ECONOMIC FORECAST REVISED DOWNWARD: “The German government Wednesday sharply revised its forecast for the economy this year to a 6.0% contraction from a 2.25% decline expected previously, saying the economy is going through its worst recession since World War II but will recover mildly in 2010.”

A BLOG REPORT from Mexico City. And here’s one from Cancun. You might want to bookmark these Mexico blogs for future reference.

I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE USE hot babe pics to boost traffic. It’s just so cheap and tawdry.

CDC CONFIRMS first swine flu death in Texas. It’s the first U.S. death from swine flu.

Plus, U.S. officials want you to drop the “swine.” “U.S. pork producers are finding that the name of the virus spreading from Mexico is affecting their business, prompting U.S. officials to argue for changing the name from swine flu. At a news briefing, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack took pains to repeatedly refer to the flu as the ‘H1N1 virus.'”

A SWINE FLU PRECURSOR OUTBREAK in Ohio?

MORE EVIDENCE THAT THE 1970s ARE BACK: My brother sends this disturbing image, and comments: “Told ya it was the 1970’s all over again! I’m gonna fire up a doobie and relax. Oh, crap, wait… this means that hair bands will be back in style in a few years. Damn. That’s worse than a recession.” I know I threw away the leisure suit, but what did I do with those skinny ties? It’s only a matter of time now . . . .

THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW: Specter condemned Jim Jeffords’ party switch in 2001.

Of course, this then was a lot closer to now: “In a March 17th interview with The Hill, Specter said he absolutely would not switch parties.” I’m sure the Dems will find him every bit as much a man of his word as did the Republicans.

Plus, from Will Bunch: “Arlen Specter: Now just another cog in the Philly Democratic machine.” But on Will Bunch’s advice!

And some campaign supporters are asking for refunds!

OH, GET REAL — that makes it sound like it’s just a bunch of media hype: “President Obama’s media cheerleaders are hailing how loved he is. But at the 100-day mark of his presidency, Mr. Obama is the second-least-popular president in 40 years.”

AHMADINEJAD: Yes, we can!

AMUSEMENT FOR WHILE YOU HUNKER IN YOUR FLU BUNKER: A Blu-Ray sale. Your bunker does have Blu-Ray, right? You wouldn’t want to ride out the end of the world with mere standard-def.

IT’S ALL PART OF THE STIMULUS PLAN! Swine Flu Increases Demand for Face Masks, Antivirals.

Plus, Mexicans put faith in masks, but do they work? “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there is not a lot of evidence that masks do much good, and have pointedly not recommended their use by the general public. Swine flu is thought to be transmitted in much the same way as seasonal flu, by touching something with the virus and then passing it to the nose or mouth or through coughing or sneezing.”

UPDATE: A hidden benefit of masks: “If things get bad, I’m wearing a thin, comfortable mask that covers my mouth and nose, and maybe even a pair of goggles. My goal is not to prevent aerial transmission, but to keep my own grubby hands from touching my mouth, nose, and eyes.”

HEH: “Early reaction (Daily Kos, Glenn Greenwald, The New Republic, MyDD, Open Left) suggests Senator Arlen Specter has somehow managed to join a political Party that dislikes him even more than Republicans did.”

PAY CUTS AT THE NEW YORK TIMES: “The Newspaper Guild, the union that represents newsroom and certain other employees of The New York Times, tentatively agreed Tuesday to a 5 percent salary cut that had been proposed by management.” Nothing about management surrendering its bonuses, though.

FROM TARA SMITH AT AETIOLOGY, A Swine Flu link roundup.

THE COUNTRY’S IN THE VERY BEST OF HANDS: Feds Knew NYC Flyover Would Cause Panic, Proceeded Anyway.

UPDATE: Col. Douglas Mortimer writes: “Is it too early to call it ‘Planegate’ yet?” Plus, more questions and a cool photo. And lawhawk has further thoughts.

Plus, What could have been done with Photoshop. Heh. Instead, we got something more like this.

A GOOD QUESTION: “Who wanted new pictures of Air Force One against the New York skyline?” And why?

And reader Matt Fay writes: ‘Were there passengers on the flight? If there were, who were they? I’d bet dollars to doughnuts there were campaign contributors on the flight.” Hmm. Perhaps someone will dig into this and find out. Robert Gibbs said that only Air Force personnel were aboard, but he’s not exactly been on top of this story, so I wouldn’t take that to the bank just yet.

UPDATE: More from Rand Simberg: “Why was it to be kept secret, particularly given that it’s hard to keep secret a 747 dressed as Air Force One flying down the Hudson, particularly being tailed by a military fighter?”

And various readers would like to see the photos that were taken. . . .

A CARD-CHECK PREVIEW? The debate isn’t free or wide-open, but there is a degree of robustness to it.

IS TWITTER CAUSING Swine-Flu Panic?

BE PREPARED: In flu crisis, US has planned for the worst. “Government leaders at all levels, and major employers, have spent nearly four years planning for the worst in a series of exercises. Their reports, as well as interviews with policymakers, paint a grim picture of what could happen if the swine flu gets severely out of control. . . . Even if the new swine flu from Mexico turns out to be especially aggressive, the worst consequences could be averted. The nation has made strides in stockpiling antiviral medicines, speeding the production of vaccines and laying down basic public health guidelines. The government got serious about worst-case planning during the 2005 bird flu scare, as the lessons of Hurricane Katrina loomed large.”

From the details in the story, I’d call the worst-case scenario they’ve prepared for more of a moderately-bad case, but still it’s something.

UPDATE: Why is the swine flu killing only Mexicans? “It’s a confounding question on the lips of disease detectives: Why have the only deaths from the swine flu outbreak happened in Mexico? . . . There are no hard answers, but a consensus is emerging: The disease in Mexico has likely been around longer and infected more people than investigators can confirm.” I suspect that’s right, and that — unfortunately — the numbers in the United States will start to look more like Mexico’s as the cases grow in number.

More: Schumer video bragging about cutting pandemic fund surfaces.

DHS Sets Guidelines For Possible Swine Flu Quarantines.

Mexican Reports: Flu Much Worse Than Reported. We’ll see. Stay tuned.

THE LARGEST, HEAVIEST amateur rocket ever launched. A 1/10 scale model of a Saturn V.

THE POLITICALLY INCORRECT AND UNAPOLOGETIC John Howard.

GAS HYDRATES: Alaska’s untapped energy source.

REVIEWING THE REVIEWERS: A roundup of book reviews from all over.

WELL, GOOD: Companies start initial work on pandemic vaccine.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE to sequence an influenza virus? Plus, the importance of getting the right samples.