Swine Flu Scare Makes a Comeback 33 Years Later

In 1976, the U.S. government implored all Americans to be vaccinated as “protection” against Swine Flu — and 46 million Americans took the shot, according to a report by Mike Wallace of CBS’s “60 Minutes“. Afterward, some 4,000 of those who took the shot filed claims for damages — up to and including paralysis and death — caused by the vaccine. And only one died from Swine Flu in 1976.

Wallace’s report, which aired on CBS, appears in two parts. Watch them here.

Blogger Targeted by ‘Spin’ in $27 Billion Lawsuit

By Bob McCarty

For most of the past three weeks, I’ve been trying to learn as many details as possible about the a $27 billion class-action lawsuit pitting the Amazon Defense Coalition against Chevron. Only last night, however, did I come to realize fully how large the stakes are in this 16-year-old lawsuit being tried in an Ecuadoran court.

Barely an hour after “60 Minutes” reporter Scott Pelley’s story, “Amazon Crude,” aired on CBS Sunday night, I had exchanged e-mails with representatives on both sides of the lawsuit.

On the plaintiff side, Andrew Woods, a Huffington Post blogger and Harvard Law School graduate who serves as one of the attorneys for the plaintiff, got things started by sending me a link to the “60 Minutes” piece along with a transcript of the CBS segment at 8:10 p.m. Central. He ended his message by saying, “I’d be interested in your reaction.”

On the defense side, media advisor Justin Higgs sent a message 15 minutes later. In response to his question about whether I had seen Pelley’s piece, I told him, “Coincidentally, I’m watching it online right now.” He followed up by sending me a link to a Chevron Flickr page which offers photos that, he explained, “haven’t been publicized until recently.” Six photos to be exact, all of which were shot by a Chevron consultant, according to Kent Robertson, a Higgs’ colleague with whom I also exchanged e-mails. One of the photos accompanies this post.

To find out more about the "spin" I encountered, visit Bob McCarty Writes.