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Friday 29 August 2014

Porkies In Uganda

Two piglets were cross examined by police in Uganda for "terrorism-related material," after being daubed in the colours of the governing party with slogans alleging MPs are corrupt, and then let loose in the Ugandan Parliament by anti-corruption protesters.

The Trotters In The Slammer
The Trotters In The Slammer

Hardly a surprise when you consider that Uganda is notorious for its graft levels, in a continent where corruption is the only way to get things done ....
 

Leopard Woman

Anything mountain man Blažo Grković from Bosnia Herzegovina can do, a 54 year old Indian widow can do better .... well almost.

Leopard Attacks Increasing In India
Leopard Attacks Increasing In India

If you recall, Mr Grković fought off and killed a brown bear with his bare hands, while protecting his flock of sheep, and I posted on it, to scepticism in some quarters .... so steady yourselves while I recount the tale of Kamla Devi from Koti Bodna village in Uttarakhand.

Londonistan Thrives

Over the years, I have posted a number of times on the apparent infiltration and corruption of the political processes by an Islamic clique in Tower Hamlets, London.
  • In March 2010 I posted that an investigative journalist had suggested that a major London mosque, run by extremists, had also taken over the local Labour Party in Tower Hamlets.
  • In November 2013 I also posted on the re-emergence of Rotten Boroughs in UK politics and that leading the way was Tower Hamlets. Included in the post were serious allegations of both vote rigging and financial mismanagement.   
  • Finally, in June this year I alluded to the electoral malpractices that meant the European election results were delayed for 3 days because of dubious goings on at the vote counting stations in Tower Hamlets ~ including apparently threats and intimidation to the counters.  

The fact that a clique originally used the local Labour Party to achieve all this, has meant that both the national Labour Party, and successive governments just apparently ignored it. What was even more worrying was that all the local checks and balances, that are supposed to stop local political corruption without the need of a government intervention, apparently failed under the system of political correctness.

Londonistan Mayor Shows His Affiliations
The Mayor Shows His Affiliations

Well finally it seems that this last voting scandal has finally embarrassed the powers that be (possibly because it was reported on overseas), in to some sort of action.

Lutfur Rahman, the Mayor of Tower Hamlets has finally (the string of allegations he has rung up is impressive), been served with High Court papers under the Representation of the People Act 1983, alleging that his campaign as an independent for the 'Tower Hamlets First' (prior to 2011, he was in the Labour Party) was a fraud, with claims of people voting who were not entitled to (not for the first time in that borough), and promises of council housing given to the Bangladeshi and Somali communities in return for their votes.

The ISIS Flag (or Rayah) Londonistan
Flag Flying Is Popular In Tower Hamlets .....
The ISIS Flag (or Rayah), Was Later Taken Down By A Catholic Nun

Apart from the claims of straightforward corruption, the allegations also include the claim that he used 'spiritual influence' (presumably backed by the Mosque), by telling 65,000 Muslims that if they voted for the Labour party (they don't vote for Liberals or Conservative, so no need to mention them), it would be a 'sinful act' and that 'Allah would punish them'. The threats also included the promise from a few friendly Imams, that Muslims who voted for the very halal Lutfur Rahman, would be rewarded in paradise for this 'virtuous and Islamic act', and he backed this up with an earthly pleasure, by holding banquets for various Muslim groups. These are all unproven allegations and the case will be heard in court in the Autumn.

However in the meantime Mr Rahman has made no move to step down until the case is heard .... something that would be expected of the Mayor in any other area of the country, which is a sure sign of how far from 'British standards' these backward ghetto communities have been allowed to drift ..... but the Labour Party, who must have been aware of what was happening over the years did nothing. Possibly as he was the Labour leader of Tower Hamlets London Borough Council from 2008 to 2010, but they finally acted, when he allegedly used ghost voters to try and win the selection as Labour Candidate for the post of directly elected mayor. He was finally rejected from the process, and left the Labour Party to stand as an 'Independent' in 2010 .... he won, but with further allegations about his methods, including claims that he threatened council officers.

As one national newspaper commentator put it. "We spend far too much time protecting the culture of those who join our country. And far too little defending the culture they have chosen to replace".

UPDATE April 2015:

Mr Rahman was found guilty of numerous malpractises by the Electoral Court. However apart from ordering a new election and barring Mr Rahman from one election, he has got off easily. Corruption in public office should result in a prison sentence, and its a surprise that in this example it hasn't .... or perhaps its not a surprise at all. The end result of this leniency is that Rahman's confederates are carrying on with the same illegal racial claims ..... we are fools.
 

UPDATE April 2022:
Mr Rahman was re-elected by Muslim voters of Tower Hamlets and he and his all male Muslim cronies are back in power again .... we reap what we sow.
  

Gun Toting Teachers

In the USA, after every Columbine style massacre, of which there have been many, the same old arguments rage. Should 'gun control' be brought in or tightened ....

Arming US Teachers Advocated By Some ...... Such As The NRA
Arming US Teachers Advocated By Some ...... Such As The NRA

.... but the debate is always stalled by politicians who will publicly shed many tears over the deaths, but privately block, or better still, quietly stall, any gun control legislation that's proposed.

Friday 22 August 2014

Lego Pi Life

Life sometimes imitates art .....

A Bengal Tiger On A Boat Isn't Philosophical At All
A Bengal Tiger On A Boat Isn't Philosophical At All

Most of us are aware of a book and movie called 'Life of Pi' .... in which an Indian boy from Pondicherry, Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, explores issues of spirituality and practicality from an early age. He survives 227 days on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker (as both a deceased tiger hunter and the Bengal tiger). 
 

By Jingo - Its A RusBurger

Do you remember 'Freedom Fries' or 'American Fries'?

Freedom Fries - Jingoism At Its Finest
Freedom Fries - Jingoism At Its Finest

It was that bit of US jingoism which erupted in 2003 when the then Republican Chairman of the Committee on House Administration, Bob Ney, renamed the menu item in three Congressional cafeterias in response to France's opposition to the proposed invasion of Iraq ... an act followed by several other national restaurant chains. My how clever that looks now!! Boy who was right, and who was wrong .... needless to say that the bit of the Anglo-Saxon hubris that 'Freedom Fries' represented was very quietly dropped later, and now its "French Fries" again.

So you would think that the Russians would have learnt something from this episode .... but apparently not, if the antics in the Crimea are anything to go by. In April McDonald's closed its three fast-food outlets in the Crimea, citing 'problems with sourcing ingredients' ... yeah right! Anyway, the abandoned franchise stood empty and then rumours circulated that Burger King would take over the restaurant in Sevastopol (after the CEO of the chain's Russian operation suggested that they could step in), but this didn't happen after the US Parent stepped in.

So, the shop was taken over by a local concern, probably at war-time prices aka a steal. Now at the moment, Russian nationalism is at full tide ... so no chance the venue would retain any American feel in the name. They got their heads together and no doubt many names went through their minds 'Putin Pullets'? ..... No, too political. 'Rah Rah Raspullets'? What to serve, maybe 'Veal Orloff', Chicken Kiev? ..... or maybe Sturgeon fillets with Tartar Sauce? 

The list seemed endless but back came the Russian PR companies advice .... and up went the signs.

Rus Burger - Paid A Pretty Rouble For This Name
Paid A Pretty Rouble For This Name

RusBurger says it only uses Russian produce, such as veal, vegetables and cheese, and so won't have the ingredient problems its US rival faced .... err OK.

In the rest of Russia, Putin's supporters in the consumer watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, have turned on the remaining McDonalds chain with the decision to temporarily shut McDonald's four restaurants in Moscow along with Russian MPs also calling for checks on other US fast-food brands, including Burger King and KFC. The actions come amid continuing rising tensions and sanctions between Russia and the West, over the crisis in Ukraine.

What's the betting that in a few years, the name RusBurger will have been dropped for something like 'Tex Burger' .... its all a storm in a McFlurry.

Impressions Of Edinburgh Fringe - 2014

As part of the Edinburgh Festival experience I also post up a few picture impressions ..... So without further ado, here's a few that sum up the annual jolly from PC Towers.

The View From Waverley Steps - Princes Street
The View From Waverley Steps - Princes Street

View Of Grass Market
View Of Grass Market

Near The Underbelly
Near The Underbelly

Udderbelly Looms On Horizon
Udderbelly Looms On Horizon

High Street Monsters Abound
High Street Monsters Abound

Dinosaurs Walking Amongst Us
.... Joined By Dinosaurs Walking Amongst Us

Performers Tout Their Acts
.... Some Of Them Human.

It Always Ends Up Here In The Pub
After All That Walking .... It Always Ends Up Here.


Best Of The Fringe - 2014

Well we at PC towers are back from our August sojourn to Edinburgh ..... and although slowly recovering from the vast amount of alcohol and walking .... so as usual, here are the personal *ratings / the 'Best Of Our Fest' from the shows we personally saw:

Austentatious: (5 Star)
Improvised Jane Austen style playlet (but with largely professional and well practised cast) - Truly excellent and well performed - and worth every penny ... great reviews and you can see why.


On the Box: (5 Star)
Comedy musicians 'Bowjangles' in a TV station parody. Well performed, inventive and slickly written, its truly excellent and worth your time in even the most crowded schedule.


Henning Wehn 'Eins, Zwei, DIY': (4 Star)
Does what it says on the tin and makes you laugh. He is now a consummate comedy performer and far funnier than when on TV.


One Man Star Wars: (4 Star)
Mime, Mouth, Hands and Hans Solo. Very similar to his 'Lord of the Rings' to which he makes some allusion but still very good.


Frisky and Mannish: (4 Star)
Still very good, but compared to earlier versions of their shows there was a little bit of flatness, especially in the middle, where a 'dream sequence' seemed designed to fill a lack of material.


Winter Is Coming: (3 Star)
Australian comedy group but don't let that put you off .... however you need to watch 'Game of Thrones' to truly get all the references, and the gratuitous use of the 'C word' for no purpose, mean rating not higher.


Casual Violence: (2 Star).
Much the same as when we saw them a couple of years ago. Could do with a professional writer to harness some undoubted talent. Won't see them again.


Bears In Space: (2 Star).
Puppetry, comic skills and music. We were unimpressed, but many in the audience seemed enchanted by it. So we accepted that we 'just didn't get it' and give them 2 stars because it isn't always about us.


Neil Hamburger: (0 Star).
Apparently a Cult Icon - actually a turgid little act, obsessed with bodily fluids and foul imagery of ancient pop and film stars being forced to ingest them. When were Gene Simmons or Marilyn Manson ever 'legendary' in the last 30 years? The worst we have seen since Terry Clement: Din Times 8, for whom we once very generously gave a 1 star, but this one was so terrible, it just stinks the whole hour out and leaves you wanting a shower.

The reviews expressed on this post represent the 'personal opinion' of this blogger or those who expressed an opinion about shows to this blog only, and do not necessarily agree with other reviewers opinions. Similarly, the review stars are based on the criteria described below.

*The personal ratings system on this page are:
5 star - Exceptional
4 star - Very Good
3 star - Good or Better
2 star - Average to Good
1 star - Poor
0 star - Shouldn't be at Festival 


Friday 15 August 2014

Pet Laps - An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Pet Laps ..... a strange idea, but actually the more I looked at the picture, the more I thought it was very clever. I no longer have a pet as my lifestyle is too selfish to be tied to one, but in the past I have had cats. I know that an old (or not so old) jumper or fleece attracted an almost instant attempt to settle down to sleep on it ......
 
Pet Laps - One Happy Pet and A New Jumper Saved.
One Happy Pet and A New Jumper Saved.
 
So a frugal idea, that also saves your new clothes, as well as cutting pet hairs from furniture and carpets ..... to be honest it made me laugh, as it was rather like a Guy Fawkes I made as a kid, that also somehow never made it the 'head stage' .... still it made me some money, probably for much the same reasons as I laughed this time ... it looks stupid.

I pass it on, as an idea whose time has come .... 

Y2K Bug Strikes ... At Last

In a 'told you so' blast from the past moment. the Y2K bug finally bit something.

The Y2K Bug As It Was Portrayed In Cartoon.
The Y2K Bug As It Was Portrayed.

Remember the Y2K Millennium Bug, which was a goldmine for I.T. professionals everywhere in 1999, as they rushed to reassure panicking companies (and made vast sums of money), who were all convinced that their world would come to a standstill in the year 2000?

Socialist Feudalism

Socialist Political dynasties are not a new thing .... 
 
The Kims A North Korean Socialist Dynasty
North Korean Socialist Dynasty
 
 .... the North Korean regime has been run via hereditary Chairman since its inception, and is held up to some ridicule for its 'inherited' political power as Kim Il-sung, passed the baton on to son Kim Jong-il who duly passed it on to the latest supreme ruler, Kim Jong-un.

Justifying Genocide

In order to kill another race or people, particularly in an attempted genocide, you have to first dehumanise them, and their likely suffering.

For centuries in Europe the Christians were told that the Jews were 'Christ Killers', and therefore the periodic slaughter of the local Jews in the Middle Ages was permitted (up to a point) ... however their money lending abilities, were too useful when Christian Monarchs needed cash, to get rid of them completely (but reducing the debts was also a good excuse to wipe them out occasionally).

However, this constant portrayal of Jews as being almost less than human, led directly to the pogroms of Eastern Europe, and later fed into the Nazi tyranny across much the same region. Even so, it took years of Nazi propaganda to the base masses, before the Germans were sufficiently primed for genocide (and of course they also included the Slavs and Gypsies in the 'Untermensch' ideology).

Now we are witnessing the rise another ideology, that also dehumanises all those who don't sign up to its creed or ideals ... In a manner very similar to that of the Nazi's, it preaches that non-memebers are lesser peoples, and its no secret that Kaffirs or Kuffars (non believers), are not accepted as being of equal worth to Muslims in Sharia 'justice'. These peoples can be forced to convert, or be killed, especially if not under local Muslim protection, as a people of the book.

'People of the book', refers to any believers of any monotheistic Abrahamic religion that is older than Islam, (which is all of them), and who are therefore seen as having had divine guidance from God to man, but that guidance has been incomplete or corrupted (although how this could be for a perfect god is not explained) .... and people of the book living in an Islamic nation under Sharia law were given a number of rights, such as the right to freely practice their faith in private and to receive state protection. In turn, they had a legal responsibility, the payment of a special tax called jizya ("tribute") in place of the 'zakat' tax. 
 
However I say 'were' because invariably, the numbers of 'people of the book' in any Muslim state diminishes very quickly, and although for example the Middle East still had 20 - 25% Christian populations around 1914, it is now less than 10%, and expected to be gone from all but Egypt by 2050. However as a commenter pointed out on another post, with around 10,000 Christians murdered by Muslims every year in the region since 2000 AD, its not hard to see why this is ....

But others for example, Buddhists and Hindus, can also expect little mercy when under Muslim rule except where they vastly outnumber the invaders e.g. The Hindus of what is now Pakistan and Bangladesh are almost gone, and the remainder treated as Kaffirs and regularly attacked, suffering rape conversions or murder, whereas Islamic scholars in India 'accepted' that Hindus were suddenly 'People of the Book' with Muslim rulers usually willing to consider Hindus as people of the book, after forced conversions just stirred up rebellions, and also perhaps it was unsurprising, given that the Muslim invaders were outnumbered by the Hindus several times over. Buddhism doesn't get afforded this same status anywhere, and so very few if any Buddhists live in Muslim majority countries .... Afghanistan was a Buddhist state before the Arab invasions in the 7th century AD.

So this abhorrent behaviour by ISIS militants is entirely consistent with the way Islam has spread - pliant in its beliefs when out numbered, and violent in its suppression of other faiths when in the ascendency. So while the Christians and Jews are in theory are 'protected' (as long as they pay the extra taxes imposed for this armed protection), in reality this is not actually the case for very long (see the Greeks or Armenian's under the Turks).

Genocides Of Christians Every 100 Years In Middle East And Asia
Genocides Of Christians Every 100 Years In Middle East And Asia

This has all been brought to public notice by the ISIS caliphate in Syria and Iraq, where the Mandaeans and Yazidis can be killed, or their women gang raped and sold as slaves. Reports say that after being used, they are trading hands for as little as $5, and such is their terror, that many are jumping to their deaths in the mountains, or having male relatives kill them .... all disturbingly reminiscent of the Armenian girls, who almost exactly a century ago jumped down wells to their deaths, rather than be caught by the Turks (or ironically the Kurds who acted as the Turks henchmen in the Armenian Genocide) .... who says history doesn't go in terrible cycles?

And all this barbarity and inhumanity is justified because in the theology of the Sunni Muslims, because their victims are not followers of the book (who are given four options, to pay a bribe (jizya), convert, flee, or face death), these others simply face the choices of fleeing, conversion or death. 
 
Rape and forced marriage is actually accepted as 'conversion' for women in this instance (following the example of their prophet, who took a Jewish wife ~ Safiyyah ~ in a similar manner), hence the fact that both ISIS and Boko Haram take non-Muslim girl prisoners, to hand over as 'conquest brides' for their fighters. Boko Haram has taken nearly a 1,000 non-Muslim girls and women, and according to reports several hundred Yazidis girls have now been taken as 'slaves' ... Oh what a life of fun for those 'western' Muslims who have popped over for a bit of recreational Jihad, Murder, Rape and Genocide.

Whether many in the the West likes this truth or not, the fact is that this treatment of non Muslims is entirely consistent with mainstream current Islamic teaching and practice outside of the West, right from when it first started its path of conquest in the 7th Century, to its conquests in the last few months. So while those Imams in the West like to tell us that this is extreme behaviour, its exactly what Islamic conquest has been about since it first started.

The exhibition of milder attitudes in the West, is also the same behaviour as Imams in the past have exhibited in areas where they are outnumbered, and pretended that the locals religions are the same and almost but not quite to be treated as equals, but this always changes when Muslims grow to outnumber those other religions. Are not the recent random attacks on Non Muslims by 'Muslim patrols', the schools ideology row, and voting frauds in the UK, not just all aspects of this same idea that once 'Muslims' take an area, its their rules not ours that are to be enforced.

Ideologies that preach superiority by reason of birth, race or religion can be easily swayed into accepting genocides on those who are considered inferior by reasons of  birth, race or religion. We opposed the Nazi and fought to eradicate the very ideology from the face of Europe, but for reasons of political cowardice, and an almost supine fear of 'offending' the practitioners of the new threat, we remain mute about the actual basis of the ideology that ISIS are currently carrying out.

Facts are facts ... we ignore the behaviour of ISIS and similar groups at our very peril .... the reason why they can turn to genocide so easily, is because they are primed to do so by the religion they practice.

Friday 8 August 2014

Beckham, Mean, Moody And Magnificent

I was on a train, reading the 'free paper, the Metro', when the unknown woman next to me said, and I quote, "That (David) Beckham, he's so mean and moody in that picture". She was pointing at the picture below ....

Beckham - Mean And Moody And Magnificent .
Beckham - Mean And Moody And Magnificent ... well according to women (and some men).

And to be fair, and with my metro-sexual hat on (It don't fit well, but one has to try and keep up with trends), looking at this picture, I can't argue with her general sentiments. Here he is with a group of friends, motorcycling across Brazil, as a part of the TV coverage of the World Cup 2014 tournament. He was filming a documentary to meet the 'Yanomami' .... a machete wielding tribe of Indians.

Why, wasn't very clear ..... in fact as they had no TV's, it would be one of the few times for Mr Beckham that he wouldn't be recognised by anyone there ... something he said he looked forward to.

But even in the mud of the Amazon rainforest, he looks like an advert for hair products .... its enough to make you sick. Mind you, as the Yanomami don't wear clothes, there will be no TV adverts of Mr Beckham in the jungle with them .... so that's something to be thankful for at least.
 
NB: I watched the show in 2022 and it wasn't too bad ... Mr Beckham was recognised by nearly everyone outside of the jungle.  

Wet Wall Of China

Its been observed by many, that the Chinese often lack some of the social graces expected in the West, especially with regards to expectorations, and public expulsions of body matter generally.
 
No Spitting Sign
No Spitting Sign
 
This lack of social graces in public led to Singapore, a state largely populated by people of Chinese descent, introducing some infamous edicts, with fines or even imprisonment, simply for spitting in public places, or even being caught chewing gum ... a $500 fine is not uncommon.
 

A Cancerous Growth

This map illustrates the rise of the Jihadist States, aka 'Caliphates', in the last decade or so .... in fact ever since the ill fated 'War Against Terror' commenced ....

The Proto-Caliphate's World Wide Now On The Rise
The Proto-Caliphate's Now On The Rise.

When you look at this map, its almost like the spread of a cancer ....
 

Road To Hell

The BBC is covering the Middle East stories with all its usual biases in full and open display:
  • Pro Muslim
  • Anti Israeli
  • Anti Christian
It wrings its hands over every 'Palestinian' Arab casualty at the hands of the Israelis, with pictures of babies crying in every shot. It devotes thousands of reporting hours on the TV, Radio and the Web, to what is effectively a propaganda campaign for Hamas.

But it is hardly 'balanced' in its reporting, as it rarely points out that:
  1. The Gaza Arabs voted for Hamas, a prescribed terrorist organisation, to be their government.
  2. That for many years Hamas has launched several rockets daily at Israel - this blog covered the same issue way back in 2008. Or that if that had been say, Scotland launching rockets at England, no one would be surprised that England retaliated, and the BBC would have to support that retaliation or be closed down.
  3. They rarely dwell on the 'human shields' policy of Hamas - launching rockets from school playgrounds, or hospital car parks etc, is illegal, but the BBC says almost nothing.
  4. The fact that the BBC hasn't been able to report from Gaza in decades, because they would be kidnapped by Hamas (or other equally nasty terror groups who find havens in Gaza), and that its only now able to do so, because Hamas wants them to serve as its propagandist mouth pieces. A role the BBC is apparently happy to fulfil.
Nazis and Hamas - what's the difference if your Jewish?
Nazis and Hamas - what's the difference if your Jewish?

On the first point (1) - The Nazi party was voted into power in Germany ... however I don't recall hearing that the BBC were ever crying over German casualties during the second world war ... or about them ever ignoring the concentration camps.

Friday 1 August 2014

Crazy World Of Chris Kamara

Chris Kamara is a TV football pundit and match summariser for Sky TV.

Crazy Chris Kamara Ladbrokes TV Advert - Blackman Blonde Woman Trope
Crazy Chris Kamara Ladbrokes TV Advert

To those not interested in sport, they will probably be more familiar with him as featuring in a series of Ladbrokes Oddsfather adverts, in which ever stranger things happen to him.
 

Choco-Pies And Phones A Revolution Make

Life in North Korea is about as tough as it gets on this planet outside of a conflict zone .... 
 
Pyongyang Is Clean But Empty -  Other North Korean Cities Are Grubby And Grey
Pyongyang Is Clean But Empty -
Other North Korean Cities Are Grubby And Grey

..... a mad dog regime, risk of arbitrary arrest, justice, even life and death at the whim of the elite.
 

Hamas Sweeties

While the battle on the ground rages on in Gaza, the battle for hearts and minds continues apace. In a Chicken or the Egg war (Does the fact that Hamas have been daily launching missiles for year after year, constitute good cause for Israel to finally act, or is it legitimate for Hamas to 'resist' in this manner because of the blockade?), black-ops and psych-ops continue to be waged.

So according to Hamas, Israel has been handing out hundreds of lollipops, bearing anti-Hamas messages on two cities in the West Bank .... Nablus and Ramallah. The Israeli troops threw the sweets to children after deploying heavily in the region as part of their search for three teenagers who went missing while hitch-hiking in the West Bank.

Anti-Hamas Lollipops: Black ops or double bluff?

.... Or as Fatah who control the West Bank reported nothing, Hamas are making this up, in a cunning attempt at a reverse propaganda coup, to expose Zionist perfidy, to a waiting Arab world.

Of course there is the vexing question of what Israel might get from this plan, especially as the soldiers were conducting house to house searches? Hardly an opportune moment to win the kiddies over. Of course this sort of story plays well with Arab minds .... where every action is a 'Zionist plot' .... so maybe its a secret Fatah black-ops, to discredit both Israel and Hamas? 

Ebola Of A Threat

There was a low level, but increasingly concerning health threat developing in Africa when I wrote this post ....its now grown alarmingly. I have been following the story for the last few weeks, in the hope that that it would actually fizzle out. It is of course the current outbreak of the very deadly Ebola virus in West Africa, the symptoms of which include fever, diarrhoea and vomiting, followed by bleeding, and eventually pretty much a high risk of death, with mortality rates often between 50% and 90%.

The virus was first identified in September 1976, when the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium, was asked by a Belgian Doctor in the Congo to confirm what 'mystery' bug was killing people in what was then Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo. The package was a standard Thermos flask containing blood samples, some of which were broken and had leaked inside the flask .... had he known what he was being exposed to, the researcher Peter Piot would have run ... literally for his life. Instead, he was merely curious.

Mr Piot (right) and Ebola Virus

Initially examination showed a very large virus, which exhibited as being similar to the Marburg virus of the late 1960's (where the laboratory staff caught it from infected monkeys imported from Uganda), but obviously something different ....  Mr Piot flew to Zaire, and then went deep into the jungles to the village of Yambuku, where the latest outbreak was being reported, and discovered the cause of transmission ... direct contact e.g shared needles, or washing the dead. Initial transmission into a human population was via 'bushmeat' (Fruit bats seemingly carry and spread the disease without being affected by it and were eaten locally). They named the new virus after the local river, and not the village to limit local stigmatisation.

Treatment For Ebola Outbreak Not Changed Much Since Zaire 1976

What's most disturbing about this latest outbreak is that there is still no vaccine or cure, and the advice for containing this outbreak is much the same as it was in the 1970s. "Soap, gloves, isolating patients, not reusing needles and quarantining the contacts of those who are ill - in theory it should be very easy to contain Ebola," according to Mr Piot.

However, superstition amongst the natives is a factor that doesn't help, and something that Mr Piot didn't encounter. For instance in the current outbreak in Sierra Leone, treatment centres have seen a sudden drop in referrals, because local shamans have accused them of using witchcraft, and even of murdering the patients for body parts. There are also rumours swirling around that the Ebola is stronger in the hospitals, that its 'ju-ju', 'mu-tu', 'urongo', or whatever the local term is, makes it more dangerous there. This all stems from the very high death rates, which mean many who go in to treatment centres never come out again alive.      

Modern treatment is just as basic as then, rehydration of victims, controlling bleeding and antibiotics to treat secondary infections .... we are just lucky that its a disease of "poverty, and of dysfunctional health systems" .... but as the Marburg virus outbreak showed, globalisation means that we are only ever a few hours away from those evils.    

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