because the body begins to break down muscle tissue, including the heart, when there is a deficit of protein. Obese people would not be immune to this. They would last longer on a much reduced caloric intake; but, if there is no food, they would succumb to organ failure almost as fast as a person of normal weight.

The 400+ page paper, which I admit scanning through, indicates they expect 30% of the population to become infected.

Nah, we want to share. we'll get it one way or another. It's possible that the 1918 flu pandemic started here, in the U.S., in Kansas (it's one of the proposed origination points.)

obese and overweight can't go without food... but they can go a lot longer on a much reduced caloric input. They would need fewer calories than "normal" weight persons and could last a lot longer.

Flu pandemic of 1918 was spread by the soldiers who contracted it. They were fairly mobile, more so than the typical person.

Trying to get people to consider preparation for a never to happen zombie apocalypse is effective in getting some people to incidentally prepare for a pandemic outbreak. If it works, then let it go; more people prepared for the inevitable emergency, the better -- it doesn't matter whether it's zombies, flu, or hurricanes.

DoD always does their own projections. They have to plan for a disaster's affect on their strength and resources. They also have to consider what might happen if another country tries to attack a weakened U.S. -- perhaps because they themselves are desperate for resources. It's a thought experiment they run periodically internally.

The 2% number assumes only 30% of the population gets the flu. With the Spanish Flu pandemic, it appears to have ended only once the flu had passed around the world and everyone who could get the illness did so. So, it did not end until every man woman and child had had been infected by the flu, in one form or another.

They're assuming only 30% of the population gets the flu; and, only 2% of those succumb.

We're stubborn. We (as a country) started out as groups of outcasts, explorers and adventurers. When the King got carried away with taxation, we made ourselves into a country full of outcasts, fighting to separate ourselves from the British Empire, and then separated the western parts of the country from the Spain and Mexico. We tend to do things our own way and ignore the suggestions of others. Sometimes we even fight among ourselves... It's just the way we are.

I don't have that conversion factor in my books; however, if you are willing to provide me with the information, then YES, I'd be happy to calibrate your sensors in units of "fires of a thousand suns".

someone forgot to do the conversions before sending data to the customer.

I work for a sensor company. If you want Kelvin, then I'll use Kelvin. I don't really care if it's Celsius, Rankine, or frequency of cricket chirps. Our environmental chambers happen to be set up in Fahrenheit, because our production staff is comfortable with those units; and I used degF because it's what the U.S. centric audience would know. You might be surprised to know that in the real world, people might not use the scale you expect them to, even if it's a standard.

ok, here's a challenge for you... design a flywheel based guidance system. make it redundant. make it work in the most inhospitable environment known to man -- space. hard vacuum. reactive ions (free ionic oxygen). radiation. operating temperature range -200 degF to 200 degF. The only cooling option for your motors and electronics is via a liquid loop and a large radiator. power is limited to a few tens of watts from a solar panel. You have to design it so it works for a decade without maintenance or repairs. good luck.

The U.S can orbit stuff, they just don't have a vehicle approved for use to orbit people right now. 2015 or 2016 timeframe, that will be fixed -- there should be commercial options care of SpaceX and Boeing (NASA will not get Constellation or SLS or whatever they call it done, due to budgetary constraints that will eventually kill it. Again.)

But if you follow the money... the Chinese and Russians have the funds and the political willpower so they will be there too.