Pigs can be consumed, the lobbyists insisted; they can even be petted and hugged, or tickled until they squeal. But pork cannot be blamed for the pandemonium gripping the globe. The culprit, evidently, is H1N1, a strain of the flu virus. If only folks could remember that, the lobbyists said.

For going on two weeks, the Washington professionals who represent the nation’s 67,000 pork producers have been in a mad dash to, as President Obama once said, put lipstick on this pig. Hundreds of people have been infected in more than a dozen countries, prompting the closure of scores of schools across the United States, including four in the Washington region.

In Canada over the weekend, officials said a farmworker passed the virus to a herd of hogs. Although the farmer and the pigs apparently have recovered, and top U.S. and Mexican officials yesterday projected a cautious optimism that the new virus is not as lethal as initially feared, intense worldwide focus on swine flu shows no signs of abating.

Each morning, the pork lobbyists assemble to figure out how bad it got overnight. On this day last week, word came that officials in Egypt had ordered the slaughter of every pig in sight — about 300,000 of them. In Iowa, the first two possible cases of swine flu were reported, and the Russians and Chinese were considering banning pork imports from that Midwestern state, America’s biggest hog producer. On CNN, a news anchor teased an upcoming flu segment with footage of dead pigs.

On Friday, 3,000 passengers came down the gangway of the cruise ship Carnival Splendor. But they didn’t set foot on Mexican soil, which was where they were supposed to be. Rather, fears of catching the swine flu had forced the ship to change course and head back across the border to San Francisco.

Cruise lines around the United States are yanking their advertised stops to Mexican ports, penciling in alternative ports of call as precautions against a disease for which 787 cases have now been reported around the globe. Of those cases, 506 have been reported in Mexico.

On April 29, Carnival announced that it had cancelled all stops in Mexican ports until Monday. The company was searching for alternative stops and was offering the option of rescheduling cruises for a future date.

On Saturday, Royal Caribbean cruise line said it had suspended trips departing from South Florida to Cozumel by four of its ships and would instead spend additional time in Key West, the Bahamas, or Jamaica and add another day at sea. Cruises leaving from Los Angeles have a “fully revised itinerary,” according to a company statement, which includes stops along the West Coast and Canada.

The revised itinerary includes a notice to passengers that “the weather on the revised itinerary is considerably colder. Guests should remember to pack clothing that is appropriate for this new itinerary.”

While these changes may be disappointing to cruise travelers, they can be a boon to local merchants not accustomed to the heavier tourist traffic. In San Francisco, each cruise ship accounts for about $1 million spent at shops and businesses, notes television station KGO. And the number of cruise ships scheduled to stop there has doubled, from nine to 18.

But instead, some Egyptians called the move a knee-jerk overreaction that even the World Health Organization said was unnecessary.

Egypt, which has no swine flu cases, is the only country in the world to order a mass pig slaughter in response to the disease. The move mirrored Egypt’s battle with bird flu, in which the government killed 25 million birds within weeks in 2006.

But international health officials said the swine flu virus that has caused worldwide fear is not transmitted by pigs, and that pig slaughters do nothing to stop its spread. The WHO on Thursday stopped using the term “swine flu” to avoid confusion.

In Egypt, even the editor of a pro-government newspaper criticized the order to slaughter the estimated 300,000 pigs, which was pushed by parliament and issued by the government.

“Killing (pigs) is not a solution, otherwise, we should kill the people, because the virus spreads through them,” wrote Abdullah Kamal of the daily Rose El-Youssef. “The terrified members of parliament should have concentrated on asking the government first about the preventive measures and ways of confronting the problem.”

The Egyptian government has come under criticism in past years for being caught flat-footed by crises.

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He landed at Baghdad airport and is due to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki at a nearby U.S. military base.

Divided by years of sectarian bloodshed triggered by the invasion, what Iraqis want from Obama differs greatly. But many questioned on the streets of Baghdad were clear on insisting Obama back his words with action.

“I hope he’ll withdraw the U.S. troops…We need action. If he speaks, he must act. If it’s just talk, he can stay away,” said Qableh Mahmoud, a Baghdad housewife.

About 140,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq and Obama has pledged to withdraw all combat troops by the end of August next year. All are due to leave Iraq by the end of 2011 as part of a deal signed with Iraq by former U.S. President George W. Bush.

He visited a day after seven car bombs ripped through Baghdad, killing 37 people. Violence has fallen sharply in Iraq over the last year but insurgent attacks are still common.

Deep mistrust remains between majority Shi’ites and minority Sunnis, though all those interviewed agreed Obama was an improvement on Bush, who ordered Iraq’s invasion six years ago.

“Obama’s words are better than those of Bush, but what we want is some implementation,” said office worker Mohammed Abbas.

Obama said in Turkey prior to his visit to Iraq that the United States was not at war with Islam, and he has offered an olive branch to Shi’ite Iran, Iraq’s neighbour and till now Washington’s arch foe due to a row over Iran’s nuclear plans.

That may please Iraqi Shi’ites, but annoy Sunnis.

“We want reconciliation between Iran and the U.S.,” Iraqi soldier Zaid Firas, a Shi’ite, said.

For some Iraqis, traumatised by a war that has killed tens of thousands and wounded and displaced many more, Obama was not welcome, regardless of his new approach to the Middle East.

But there are those who disgree with a broad desire to end the U.S. involvement in Iraq’s destiny.

“If the U.S. forces leave, there will be a bloodbath,” said photographer Alwan al-Sudani, highlighting the challenges Iraq faces as it starts to plot its own future after years of war.

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After being run at Aurora Downs Racetrack in 1938, the race was on hiatus until 1963 when it was revived at Sportsman’s Park Racetrack where it remained util 2003.

Since 2001, the Illinois Derby is a prep race to the Kentucky Derby. Prior to that it was run between the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. The 2002 Illinois Derby won by War Emblem was the last one run at Sportsman’s Park Racetrack.

2004 winner Pollard’s Vision, a colt whose right eye is blind, was named in honor of Seabiscuit’s jockey Red Pollard, who also lost sight in his right eye.

In 1997, at Sportsman’s Park, Wild Rush set the record for the fastest time in the Illinois Derby at 1:47.51.

The Illinois Derby was first run in 1923 at Hawthorne Race Course located in Stickney/Cicero, Illinois just west of Chicago. After being run at Aurora in 1938, it was discontinued and was only revived at Sportsman’s Park in 1963.

Discuss Illinois Derby Picks & Tips in the horse racing handicapping forum.

Apparently, horse racing handicappers convinced Bill Johnston, the late Sportsman’s Park president, into resurrecting the 1 1/8-mile race.

“Good idea, Dave,” Johnston said when it was first suggested in 1960. But his racing secretary, the late Robert P. McAuliffe, said, “Feldman is crazy. This race won’t draw flies at 1 1/8 miles.”

The purse, at that time, was only $25,000, but a full field competed, and Lemon Twist won it before a packed house.

The Illinois Derby was such a success that owners and trainers started to ship horses from everywhere. The race has grown to be one of the richest for 3-year-olds.

Since 2001, the Illinois Derby is a prep race to the Kentucky Derby. Prior to that it was run between the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. The 2002 Illinois Derby won by War Emblem was the last one run at Sportsman’s Park Racetrack.