Network Agitprop...

Mr.Atos

This is not funny. Its not cute. And its not just entertainment. Recent remarks made by characters of the popular NBC television show, "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" made the overt comparison of Republican Senator Tom Delay to a homicidal White Supremist. B&C reported yesterday (HT: Freeper Pikamax):

According to a transcript exerpt supplied B&C by DeLay's office, the show's finale features a white supremacist who kills a judge's family, and the killing of an appellate judge. As the detectives hunt for the judge killer, one says: "Maybe we should put out an APB for somebody in a Tom DeLay T-shirt."

The office of Tom DeLay, sent a letter of concern to NBC Universal Television Group President Jeffrey Zucker Thursday citing "a failure of stewardship of our public airwaves," and a "brazen lack of judgment" on the part of the Network. The B&C article goes on...

Saying he assumed it was a response to his comments about Congress closely monitoring federal judges, an obviously upset DeLay wrote Zucker: "To equate legitimate constitutional inquiry into the role of our courts with a threat of violence against our judges is to equate the First Amendment with terrorism."

NBC responded to the statement: "This episode is in keeping with the spirit and standards of the Law & Order brand.

NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly has since responded: "The script line involved an exasperated detective, bedeviled by a lack of clues, making a sarcastic comment about the futility of looking for a suspect when no specific description existed. This isolated piece of gritty cop talk was neither a political comment, nor an accusation."

Producer Dick Wolf, creator of the "Law & Order" franchise, took a swipe at DeLay in his own statement on Thursday, saying, "I ... congratulate Congressman DeLay for switching the spotlight from his own problems to an episode of a TV show."

The NBC programming was indeed both an accusation and a political comment, Mr Reilly. And the implication inherent to the subsequent remarks of the show's producer confirms that. But, what is worse -insidious in fact - is what such imbedded messages infer about the nature of contemporary Network broadcasting; especially that of NBC programming. Arguably the most popular form of information and entertainment media, television has become a vehicle for the dissemination of political propaganda of the worst variety. Like the procedure from which it orginally assumed its name, agitprop was employed by the Communist Party of the Soviet State to act on the mind, while agitation acted on emotions, thus giving rise to the term "agitation propaganda". The intent was to subvert the independent thought of its citizens.

The similar intent with shows like "Law and Order," is to subvert the independent thought of NBC viewers. The term 'agitprop' refers to any form of mass media, such as a television program or film, that tries to influence opinion for political, commercial or other ends, especially if it aims to convince people through agitating their minds with highly emotional language of problems in present-day society or politics. (Reference Wikipedia)

What was this episode if not a deliberate attempt to manifest a political opinion? ... based on a complete fabrication of the facts! It is a reality that should chill everyone in this nation down to their Orwellian recollections.

And NBC flips it off like a trivial irrelevancy. You might want to let them know that we don't.

LawOrderCI@nbcuni.com

What is Being Left... (Chapter II)

Mr.Atos

Perhaps like James Taranto's Best of the Web over at Opinion Journal, this segment needs to be a weekly installment for MySandmen to publish. There is always a wealth of new information on the deterioration of the political Left from its foundations of liberty, civility, and progress... to a reeking cesspool of concentrated hate, depravity, and violence.

Just look at this, NYC Indymedia and Chicago Indymedia (HT: Michelle Malkin)

This July 4th is Flag Burning Day!
Every summer good Americans don their best red white and blue, and gorge themselves on beer and hotdogs to celebrate our independence from England, but from its very beginnings this country has been built on illegitimacies.

Might this be an example of a n t i - a m e r i c a n i s m? ... given the fundamental concept expressed in the premise is that "from its very beginnings this country has been built on illegitimacies..." Hmm?

Get your video cameras out, charged, and ready for July 4th, because the antics sponsored on that day by Indymedia will be a video extravaganza to be certain; and an event that all American's should see over and over again. The World Left and radical Islamic fascism seem to have more in common with each other than either share with mainstream America. And both are making it known in their own distinct - and increasingly similar - ways.

As noted in the inaugueral post on this subject, the great egress continues. In his recent article in the San Fransisco Times, 'Leaving the left', Keith Thompson describes his own disillusion with the Left and why he chose to abandon the cess pool. (Excerpt Below)

"This past January, my liberalism was in full throttle when I bid the cultural left goodbye to escape a new version of that oppressiveness. I departed with new clarity about the brilliance of liberal democracy and the value system it entails; the quest for freedom as an intrinsically human affair; and the dangers of demands for conformity and adherence to any point of view through silence, fear, or coercion.

"True, it took a while to see what was right before my eyes. A certain misplaced loyalty kept me from grasping that a view of individuals as morally capable of and responsible for making the principle decisions that shape their lives is decisively at odds with the contemporary left's entrance-level view of people as passive and helpless victims of powerful external forces, hence political wards who require the continuous shepherding of caretaker elites.

"Leftists who no longer speak of the duties of citizens, but only of the rights of clients, cannot be expected to grasp the importance (not least to our survival) of fostering in the Middle East the crucial developmental advances that gave rise to our own capacity for pluralism, self-reflection, and equality. A left averse to making common cause with competent, self- determining individuals -- people who guide their lives on the basis of received values, everyday moral understandings, traditional wisdom, and plain common sense -- is a faction that deserves the marginalization it has pursued with such tenacity for so many years.

"All of which is why I have come to believe, and gladly join with others who have discovered for themselves, that the single most important thing a genuinely liberal person can do now is walk away from the house the left has built. The renewal of any tradition that deserves the name "progressive" becomes more likely with each step in a better direction."

Be sure to read the entire piece.

What is being Left is determined to undermine the mission of the United States in its global struggle with a brutal and aggressive fascist malevolence. What is being Left desires the Middle East to collapse into Civil War than for George Bush to continue to succeed seeding liberty. What is being Left would have our self-defense abandoned by the next generation of citizen-patriots. What is being Left condemns the greatest source of virtue this planet has ever know as the worst aggressor that humanity has ever seen.

What is being Left prefers the mayhem of chaos over the responsibilities of liberty! And it's concentration continues.


See also, What Is Being Left?...

The New Imperial Senate...

Mr.Atos

This morning, I have just one question... Where is the vote for cloture and confirmation of Justice Priscilla Owen? That vote was promised by Senate Majority leadership today. It should have taken place first thing this morning, regardless of controversy surrounding any 'deals.'

Are we awaiting yet another disaster, Mr. Frist? Or do you intend to let this fine professional and American be publicly humiliated for another week or two. She is better than that... and quite frankly better than you.

We have sat by for four months as Frist and his Senate apologists have asked us to wait, one more week, two more weeks, three more weeks, next week, tomorrow. And last night we got shafted. Senate Republicans gave Democrats four months to abuse some of the finest statesman this nation has produced, sitting by and allowing them to be semantically raped daily by the insane Left in media, the special interest thugs, and by Democrat Senators on the floor. Byrd Demonstrated on multiple occasions that he no longer needed a white sheet and hood to pontificate his loathsome bigotry. Democrats gave the grand wizard a platform, and Republicans gave him the time. Owens, chained to a hijacked shaft of glorified procedure, was allowed to be publicly flogged along with nearly every other Presidential nominee to come before this ridiculous body of political aristocracy; including Condoleeza Rice, and John Bolton.

What success did that time buy him, them or us?

Did Republicans lose by this 'deal?' The details are still being evaluated. Hugh Hewitt finds some silver lining to both the dark and gray clouds, but finds little to cheer about. Captain Ed breaks it down to find nothing accomplished by an argument sacrificed. Mitch Berg is just incensed, and for good reason. John Hinderaker will be on MSNBC Live at 12:45 central time, talking about the filibuster compromise (Powerline). There is much discussion over at The Corner.

You bet we lost last night! Regardless of the details of this particular deal, good men and woman have been effectively abandoned. Despite potential confirmation, in payment for tolerating unconscionable and humiliating abuse, fine citizens like Priscilla Owen got to hear the malevolent Mr. Byrd hiss the self-serving fallacious soundbite, "We have kept the Republic..." And Republicans are now treating that reprehensible little fiend like a hero. What good man or woman will ever allow themselves to be dragged through the feces of a Senate confirmation process after watching this atrocity unfold. What good Executive would ask them to do it?

And that afterall, was the goal of the vile little men and woman of the Democrat party who surrendered all semblance of civility to dedicate four months (and four years) to impugning the characters and assisinating the personal and professional reputations of good citizens of the United States of America. And what was the goal of the reprehensible little cowards who abandoned the Conservative base (and the elected President) to accommodate Democrats? Power! Media popularity.

John McCain, Chuck Hagel, Lincoln Chafee, Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, Mike DeWine, Lindsey Graham

And what don't we yet know about this agreement?

For all the recent straw arguments about majority power, minority rights, and checks and balance, what Fourteen Senators gained for themselves last night was the usurpation of concentrated Senate authority that effectively establishes a kleptocratic legislative star chamber with despotic control over every other Branch of American government.

Thank you Mr. Frist for providing opportunity for a handful of RINO's and a publicly rejected party of radical Senators to fortify Vicksburg!

UPDATE: 05.24.05:10:32

Senate Votes to End Filibuster on Judge ... The vote was 81-18 with opponents of the Texas Supreme Court justice falling well short of the 60 needed to continue their filibuster. A vote to confirm Owen could come as early as Tuesday.

Tuesday! Just what is wrong with Wednesday?! Another week, Mr. Frist?

Michelle depicts a Republican Buckle! If only the leadership knew how to employ such things to punish insolent stupidty.

Major Mike asks, Where is Spartacus? ... even slaves need strong leadership to escape the chains of their own pathetic demise.

Doug T. calls it a sucker punch. Maybe so, but it was telegraphed like hurricane warning.

OkieBoy says the seven got conned! I'm not sure they bought the bridge as much as jumped off it. Maybe they did both. Good links. I'm not sure if we're seeing a swarm or a riot.

The Anchoress asks an obvious question...why trust Democrat Senators? Indeed! Never trust scoundrels and devils.

Is there a bright side?... The Stones Cry Out.

The American Thumb...

Mr.Atos

Well, dangit! Now that Hugh mentioned part of my email on the air, I'll have to post what I told him concerning Ms. Nooyi's (President of PepsiCo) comments.

America is the thumb.

The opposable thumb is the indicator of supreme intelligence in the animal kingdom. It indicates tool users.

The middle finger is effectively useless to the functions of the hand. You don’t use it to leaf through books, its not for your ring, and you don’t pull a trigger with it. Hell, kids don’t even use it to pick their nose.

The index finger is the primary finger that is fundamental to most digital functions, anchoring every function the hand performs. But, the hand does not work without the thumb and there is only one (of each orientation).

In that regard, American is humanity's thumb. England could perhaps be considered to be it's index finger. If anything, France is most certainly the middle one.

Thumbs UP to Coke!

Thumbs DOWN to Pepsi! (Sorry Mrs. Atos!)

And Ms. Nooyi can flip herself toward France as a replacement market for the product she represents.

If you don't know what this is about, you can find out here...

In the course of a recent speech at Columbia Business School Commencement, Indra Nooyi said this:

...This analogy of the five fingers as the five major continents leaves the long, middle finger for North America, and, in particular, The United States. As the longest of the fingers, it really stands out. The middle finger anchors every function that the hand performs and is the key to all of the fingers working together efficiently and effectively. This is a really good thing, and has given the U.S. a leg-up in global business since the end of World War I.

However, if used inappropriately – just like the U.S. itself - the middle finger can convey a negative message and get us in trouble. You know what I’m talking about. In fact, I suspect you’re hoping that I’ll demonstrate what I mean. And trust me, I’m not looking for volunteers to model.

Discretion being the better part of valor...I think I’ll pass.

What is most crucial to my analogy of the five fingers as the five major continents, is that each of us in the U.S. – the long middle finger – must be careful that when we extend our arm in either a business or political sense, we take pains to assure we are giving a hand...not the finger.

Sometimes this is very difficult. Because the U.S. – the middle finger – sticks out so much, we can send the wrong message unintentionally.

Unfortunately, I think this is how the rest of the world looks at the U.S. right now. Not as part of the hand – giving strength and purpose to the rest of the fingers – but, instead, scratching our nose and sending a far different signal.

Don't blame Conservative America or any Rightwing conspiracy for the consequences of your action, Ms. Nooyi. You simply fingered yourself.



Note: I am currently on sabatical from blogging for the time being. I have another round of exams looming along with intense professional obligations that have rendered me with very limited time for my family. I am balancing my time accordingly at the moment and in favor of more precious obligations. That being said, I hope to be back on this soap box as soon as I can.

Please take the opportunity to review the archives. I think that much of what Dueler and I have said here is pertinent anytime.

I'll be back soon. Hugh has a way of poking me out of my cave to fire a few shots in the Left direction from time to time.

What Is Being Left?...

Mr. Atos

Take a political movement that was developed via modern sensibilities and enlightened ideological exploration, that flourished during a cultural orgy of unbounded depravity and ultimately - due to a natural shifting of cultural sensibilities - lost touch with mainstream ideas and was in the process of being discarded. What would happen to that movement? Pardon the apparent hyberbole for a moment and recall what happens to sewerage. Once the water is filtered from the solid waste, that sludge is deposited in ponds where it evaporates to a superconcentrated paste of septic waste.

America is well into the turning of the Cultural Revolution resulting in a maturation of sensibilities, and a renewed appreciation of ethics, morals, values, and integrity. As more and more 'good' citizens evaporate from Liberalism and the Democrat party, all that will be left is the filth... that which is untreatable, not compatible, will go nowhere else..

... and stinks unbearably of rot and decomposition.

What is being Left is a toxic poison that is attempting to feed itself to humanity... by force.

I give you, modern Liberalism:

Michael Medved encourages listeners to read this column by a Washington anti-war activist who wants the terrorists to win in Iraq.

The greatest moral quandary of our day is whether we, as Americans, support the Iraqi insurgency. It’s an issue that has caused anti-war Leftists the same pangs of conscience that many felt 30 years ago in their opposition to the Vietnam War. The specter of disloyalty weighs heavily on all of us, even those who’ve never been inclined to wave flags or champion the notion of American “Exceptionalism”.

For myself, I can say without hesitation that I support the "insurgency", and would do so even if my only 21 year old son was serving in Iraq. There’s simply no other morally acceptable option...

... We should be clear about our feelings about the war and the occupation. The disparate Iraqi resistance is the legitimate manifestation of a national liberation movement. Its success is imperative to the principles of national sovereignty and self-determination; ideals that are revered in the Declaration of Independence. The toppling of foreign regimes and the destruction of entire civilizations cannot be justified in terms of “democracy” or any other cynically conjured-up ideal. The peace and security of the world’s people depends on the compliance of states with the clearly articulated standards of international law and the UN Charter. Both were deliberately violated by the invasion of Iraq. Crushing the insurgency will not absolve that illicit action; it will only increase the magnitude of the crime.

Therefore we look for an American defeat in Iraq. Such a defeat would serve as a powerful deterrent to future unprovoked conflicts and would deliver a serious blow to the belief that aggression is a viable expression of foreign policy.

In case you doubt the foundation of these sensibilities in modern mainstream Liberalism, have a look at the ties this author, Mike Whitney, has to the Democrat Party in Washington State.

Then there's this column by a Brown University student who supports terrorists in Iraq. (HT. Medved)

On a good day, the US corporate media would have its audience believe that a kinder, gentler imperialism is the only way forward for Iraq. This is, of course, not the case. Nor does it seem plausible, after two long years of occupation, that any kind of imperialism will be tolerated by the Iraqi people, for reasons I will enumerate below. Simultaneously, predictions that a formal draft will likely supplement the current poverty draft in the United States have been made by the likes of Seymour Hersh and North Carolina National Guard Specialist Patrick Resta. While the recent claim that a draft should be expected within 75 days is, at best, a misunderstanding of the Selective Service Administration (a vestige of the Cold War, the SSA was created to intimidate the Soviets with the possibility of short-notice US conscription), a future draft is not by any means out of the question. With its roots in the mid-1990s, the national crisis in military recruiting has been marked by a recent plummet undoubtedly related to the multiform horrors of the war in Iraq-not least the increasing threats to under-armed and under-manned US troops which haveresulted in the increased use of carpet-bombing (and civilian-killing) which has typically led to increased resistance, continuing the vicious spiral.

Michael posts a link to the President of the University, in case you would like to let her know what you think.

Note the particular concern for the U.S. rightwing-corporate-propaganda-media. (Is that the same media Dan Rather, Ronald Brownstein, and Maureen Dowd, work for?) Well, Sound Politics highlights the Left's solution for that problem. (Edited 05.03.05:20:40)

From Seattle Indy Media, an announcement of nationwide plans to sabotage newspaper machines on May 9.

"Freeze the Media Day" is when people all around the country drop superglue and toothpicks into the money slots of slimy corperate media newspaper dispensers. This is a statement to figures who like to put themselves in places of power that the power still remains with the people and that we can still tear down any institutions we feel the need to because they were built over the labor on our backs. This is also a message to them that we won't tolerate the bullshit spins they put out to keep us in a constants state of fear and obediance. This is a nationwide event, and we're looking for solidarity everywhere to help spread this empowering message.

Victor Davis Hanson postulates that, at least abroad, the fashionable meme of Anti-Americanism is dissolving into reality like a Saturday morning hangover (my description not his). Facing a withdrawal of American influence, defense, and capital, associate nations are beginning again to acknowledge the virtue of the United States. Yet, while this may be the trend of global diplomacy, sadly the stench of decay from an evaporating cultural menace continues to concetrate its fetid malevolence at home. (Edited 05.04.05:08:29)

What is being Left, progressively demonstrates itself to be incompatible with life... much like those barbarous butchers it now openly supports. Advocating in favor of it's victory, and actively endorsing it's means, could adoption of the butcher's methods be so far away?

UPDATE: 05.04.05:06:50
The carnage continues, courtesy of the friends of the Left; those nationalistic, liberating 'freedom' fighters of Iraq who today butchered another 50 of their own people.

IRBIL, Iraq - An Iraqi carrying hidden explosives set them off outside a police recruitment center Wednesday where people were applying for jobs, police said. The U.S. military said at least 50 Iraqis...

"This is a horrible crime and a massacre," Massoum said in an interview outside the National Assembly. "Cooperation between the people and the security forces is necessary to fight terrorists like al-Zarqawi and Ansar al-Islam, who are the enemies of Iraq."

Al Quaeda may be friends of the American Left and Western Marxists, but they are certainly no liberators for Iraq... in the eyes of the Iraqi's or anyone else with sense.

Letter to Senator Gordon Smith (R. OR)...

Mr. Atos

This is the body of a letter that I just sent to my Senator on the subject of Social Security Reform.

Dear Senator,

A older gentleman appeared at our home the other night - friendly and polite - to 'enlighten' my wife and I about Social Security reform. Assuming that we knew nothing about the current state of the program nor the nature of the President's plan, he proceeded to misrepresent nearly all of the facts. We let him continue for a bit before enightening him of our knowledge about the issue. He quickly departed.

Granted the man has every right to support his party's agenda (assuming that the DNC button was a correct identifier). But at near retirement age himself, the man should have been ashamed of his actions. Standing on the porch of a small urban home, before two young adults, each holding a child, he attempted to encourage us with half-truths (and worse) to deliver our boys to the economic slavery of a system that is collapsing before our very eyes. Knowing full well, that he will in fact receive his benefits as promised, he neverthess desired to prostitute a political solution to a real problem. This is reprehensible and it happens every night on the news, and every time a Democrat politician gets in front of a microphone... and you know this is true. The facts about social security are there before you. Political wrangling and the vitriol spewing from a party of juvenile brats in lieu of action offers no solution. Furthermore, you know full well, that the President's plan to privatize Social Security is fractional to the entire investment, and wholey voluntary. You, like the gentleman before our door, know the truth. He was willing to look at my children and offer us handcuffs. You Sir, I expect more from as a statesman and their surrogate representation in the U.S. Senate. Do what is right and support the President's efforts at Social Security reform.

I would rather give the system up entirely for myself and my generation, than to see my children inflicted with a burden that they can neither bear, nor shrug.

Sincerely, [Mr. Atos]

Morning Optimism...

Mr. Atos

The fetching Mrs. Atos felt compelled to pass along a message of her own this morning. As always, her being is a personification of the essence of American optimism. I think you will agree...

There are, as there always were, many American's today who feel compelled to share their political view with us. They like to tell us what's really going on. What the "other side" is up to. Funny thing is, when I look out my front door and gaze around at the yards of my neighbors I can't see these people on the other side. I see people trying to get along. People who are quick to lend a hand; people who are kind and embracing. If there are sides, then up close, where it matters, it sure seems we are on the same side. And even closer in than that, I sure don't see any lines between myself and my boys. Well ok, maybe the one that's my two-year-old likes to draw on occasion.

What I say to those who are so frustrated with where we are in politics today: If it upsets you so much then do something about it. Become a part of politics or the media. If being a part of the game isn't for you then vote and let the politicians do the jobs they are elected and paid to do. Let them have the headaches. And if you fear the corruption, remember that our forefathers set up a means for the government to check itself. Pretty smart, eh? Sure some things will get through the cracks, but not for long.

Maybe I'm a dreamer, but I really think things are going to be just fine. If you need to be reminded of it once in awhile come on by and I'll see what I can do.

- Mrs. Atos

Anti-America...

Mr.Atos

Eleven dead, including six Americans in the latest wave of violence by insurgents in Iraq. Militants calling themselves the Islamic Army, claimed to have downed a civilian helicopter carrying a team of American diplomatic security personnel, plus the Fijian and Bulgarian crew. Michelle Malkin discusses this incident and its sobering details, linking to an uncensored video posted by In the Bullpen showing the execution of a Bulgarian survivor by self-proclaimed representatives of the religion of peace. This and the current revelations of the mass murder of men woman and children at the hands of Al Quaeda forces in Iraq, is enough to remind us that we are still engaged in a serious struggle for survival with very real monsters.

And yet, nearly as chilling as these recent atrocities, is the reaction by many on the Left - a near orgy of hate-filled glee - at the news of the American civilian contractors killed in service. As with the four Americans previously slaughtered, mutilated and hung from a bridge in Fallujah, these six were also employees of Blackwater Security Consulting. The celebration on the Left is the same now as it was then, if not more rancid. Little Green Footballs takes note of the stygian depths to which the Left has sunk as represented in the comments at The Daily Kos. (HT: Michelle Malkin)

Personally, I'm not surprised at the growing level of hatred emanating from the Left. I might have been 12 months ago. But, as they ratchet up the rhetoric, their true character becomes increasingly apparent. The Left is not an assemblage of reprehensible people. It is an ideological position that does, however, attract reprobates like flies to carrion. Now we know (as if we didn't before) why admirable character is so very important - not just from our representatives in government, but in our neighbors, friends, and co-workers as well; and why a philosophical position that values such traits is in fact a superior concept for Man to embrace. Can you imagine the visage of this nation as defined by the current liberal approach to reality, truth, facts, and discourse? Can you imagine the nature of such men that would care to particpate in those relationships or in that government? Unfortunately one need not merely imagine it. There are far too many examples of it in the pages of the discarded legacy of the Left's attempts at governance... the aristocracy of tyrants, the famine, poverty, corruption, depravity, oppression, negligence, violence, slavery, and the ultimate stench of the dead; persistently disguised by propaganda. In case one thinks I am engaging in ad hominen profiling of the Left, I further submit that there are few representatives of that political persuasion refusing to participate in this ugly decent into septic discourse, nor challenging those most outspoken champions of their positions regarding the war, or the current administration, and now devout Christians. Joe Lieberman, God bless him, the worthy candidate and statesman, has felt the burn of the acid of the Democrat's venom demonstrating to any and all what fate dissent from their vitriolic brethren will earn them... debased obscurity. In fact, the most outspoken proponents in our midst can be counted on to utter the most disgraceful and reprehensible statements concerning America, the President, the Administration, Republicans, Christians, Jews, and even American Serviceman and security personnel dying in their defense. Often the offenders are friends, relatives and coworkers. My own sobering example hit last Fall with a comment from a co-worker regarding the discovery of Sarin gas in Iraq. Parying the discovery with accusation, he exclaimed, "I thought we knew exactly where they are?..." and then thrusted the following reply "Anyway," he said, "I'm just relieved that instead of being hidden away now the Iraqis can use US soldiers to use them on." [quoted verbatim] This is an American citizen - an urban professional, husband, father - relishing the possibility that American serviceman might be the target of a nerve gas attack. Where do you go from this degree of hatred and venom? How do we put the nation (or Western Civilization) back together after this? Dare they hope that once President Bush is gone and Republicans are relegated to minority status, they will again be able to live with their concealed subconcious hatred for their fellow Man?... and ultimatelly their own acute self-loathing. Well, I have a bulletin for them. I don't want to live with that nor them. It is ugly and inhuman to the core and there is no cure for it, except through religion or rational philosophy and they reject both. For all the ridiculous talk about Conservatives as Nazis, radical Leftist have, in fact, donned the brown shirt and joined the fight along side the barbarians... against Mankind.

Look, we can debate the degree to which we live in a free or oppressive State indefinitely... or at least until the barbarians lop our myopic heads off. But the fact is that we are a civilization that celebrates life at war with an infection that prays to death. Freedom in fact, or freedom in theory, the alternative to the concept is immolation. You spend time arguing whether it's worth defending, and I will choose the bloody sword in defense of my life. Once we kill the infection and shed the bedclothes, then we can worry about our pants being to tight. Is it such a tremendous leap of intellectual honesty and consideration to note that Bin Laden, Zarqawi, the Kleptocracy of radical Islam and their fanatical swarm of murderers champion a cultural movement that in every way is diametrically at odds with the liberal ideals of Western Civilization?

... and that the icon – the pinnacle - of the representation of Western Civilization is, in fact, the United States of America; humanity's highest achievement toward institutional freedom?

... and that the underpinning of freedom, is the economic system of Capitalism on which this nation is founded?

... and that the target of the fury of this murderous barbarian swarm is that very system?

The real symbol of Western Civilization was manifested in the monuments of the twin towers of the World Trade Center. In it was encapsulated the symbolic roots of the freedom of one man to decide his own destiny, and to resist meglomaniacal tyrants like Bin Laden... and wicked little vermin like Militarytracy. That is why we are hated, and is ultimately the source of the desire to see us all dead. We are hated, because we think! We are hated because we create! We are hated because we live! We are hated because we know joy! We are hated because we do it all without so much as a 'by your leave' of the aristocracy of death and because we do not need them nor their perverse gods and fetid netherworld whores...

... nor their abstract consensus.

We are, by the nature of our existence, free to exist. And that is why the monsters hate us. We choose life. They want us dead. Take your pick. There are only those two choices and your time is running out.

UPDATE: 04.25.05:09:19
But wait, there's more. Pie's give way to fists, as male 'peace-activists' beats 49 year old woman supporting the troops. Paul Allaire, you're a piss ant not worthy of my boot heel. Check Michelle Malkin's piece, "Another Liberal Gone Wild."

Trojan Rino...

Mr.Atos

Pardon me while I put on my swimfins and boxing gloves...

This is beginning to look like an ambush...complete with insurgents. Reading Rich Lowry's account of today's Bolton hearing trainwreck, one comes away with the image of a sabotaged boiler and dissembed track. Democrats are said to be targeting moderate Republican Senators, like Chafee, Lugar, and now the feckless and quite incompetent Senator Voinovich. Might we begin to suspect collusion?

The Democrat Senators have clearly initiated a scorched earth political campaign against the President's nominees - judicial and all. Not only will they resort to any means necessary to torch and immolate the characters and reputations of fine citizens and statesman, they are determined to destroy the entire political environment of the United States - the rules, traditions, and honor - for generations to come. Bipartisan discourse has been eliminated, and that's just for starters. But its one thing to note, as many have, the bankruptcy and profound malevolence that has overcome the Democrat Party. Its quite another to come to terms with Republican legislators who have gained power under false pretense of solidarity, yet who lend consistent allegiance to conflicting agendas. Is it any wonder that Frist's control has been handicapped. The tendons are being severed from within between muscle and bone.

The Republican base is being deliberately pitted now against the political leadership, and the effect is certain. While billionaire marxists funnel untold millions into campaign caches, the citizen supporters of the red county majority are being poisoned with apathy and despondency. Their sysiphian efforts which held firm against the 2004 onslaught of media and special interest legions, have yielded a shallow victory in the form of an epic Executive yet with an impotent Congress, and a forlorn Judiciary. The prize for the sacrifice of fortune and effort has been revealed as a withdrawal of leadership, and a compromised trophy of majority victory.

Watch for a mass defection.

See also, Doug Tennapel, Powerline, Hugh Hewitt, Michelle Malkin, HedgeHogCentral...

UPDATE: 04.20.05:17:31
I have been holding my fire as long as possible to give Republicans a chance to do the right thing. But, alas the Republicans look like the Trojans. After winning a tremendous victory against the onslaught of an offensive force, they’re done in by poor leadership and an empty trophy full of insurgent RINO’s who, for all intents and purposes, have snuck out in the dead of night and opened the gates to the vitriolic hordes of a berzerk extremist ideological minority. With all due respect to Senator Kyle, his whining on Hugh Hewitt's show this evening about the insanity of the Press is not going to stop the collapse of our defenses. The Old Busted Media, is old and busted as the demise of the LA Times demostrates. His concern for their viewpoint reflects a disturbing lapse in judgment. Delay in the face of a determined political foe, is the mortal threat at hand. In another month, the damage may be too significant to overcome and Frist and the Republicans, after losing in 2006 and 2008, will disappear into the same oblivion as Hector and his Trojans.

Marburg: Update 4...

Mr.Atos

A recent ABC News Online update claims that Doctors [fear] Marburg virus outbreak will worsen. It is a curiously provocative assessment for a very short update that provides no new information on Angolas outbreak of Ebola-like virus.

A previous story from ChinaView provides more information, reflecting a growing sense of fear extending to neighboring countries,

A number of African countries are taking measures to ward off the Ebola-like Marburg disease after an outbreak of the illness in Angola, local media reported Sunday.

The reports said Zimbabwe's Health Ministry has asked public hospitals and entry ports to increase vigilance against the hemorrhagic fever. Returningvisitors from Angola will have to go through necessary checks and those with suspected symptoms will beput in quarantine.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also requires people traveling in and out of the 57 entry ports bordering Angola to have body temperature measured and go though strict medical checks.

The Zambian authorities have sent medical and protective equipment to the three states bordering Angola and boost people's understanding of the Marburg disease in the areas. Kenya, Cameroon, South Africa and the Republic of the Congo arealso adopting measures to keep out the disease.

According to the Angolan Health Ministry, the epidemic has killed 233 people in the country since it first struck in October last year.

A story from Reuters South Africa has a more optimistic tone than the later ABC story reporting that Angola says Marburg outbreak coming under control:

Deputy Health Minister Jose Van Dunem said government and international health workers were turning to traditional healers and leaders to talk to the population.

"We already have it under control," he told Reuters in an interview in the capital Luanda late on Sunday. "There have been no new cases in other provinces. We know exactly how to cut the epidemiological chain of transmission."

But then there's this curious bit of contradiction in the same story...

International health workers in Uige have not yet confirmed the outbreak is under control. Marburg, which is transmitted through bodily fluids such as sweat, blood and saliva, has killed 235 people and infected 22 more,the health ministry said late on Sunday.

Almost all the cases have occurred in Uige province, northeast of Luanda.A handful of cases have been reported elsewhere in the country, but all among people who had recently visited Uige, the health ministry said.

Nearly three decades of civil war has wrecked the oil producing country's transport and health systems.

Van Dumen said 70 percent of hospitals and clinics were destroyed before the conflict ended in 2002. This has made it harder to tackle the disease.

But Van Dumen said poor roads between Uige and the rest of the country had also slowed the spread of the outbreak.

Residents say the main road out of the city is often all but impassable with flooding, potholes, and landmines still common along the route.

The Australian confirms that the death toll continues its steady daily climb, however, and seems to echo the sentiments of ABC's subsequent story...

The death toll from the Marburg epidemic has risen to 235 in Angola, with some 500 people under surveillance after coming into contact with the Ebola-like virus.Health officials are treating a total of 257 cases of the killer bug that has claimed 219 lives in the northern province of Uige, the epicentre of the outbreak, which was first detected in October. Angola's health ministry and the World Health Organisation said another 513 people were under surveillance. WHO experts said last week that there was no end in sight for the epidemic...

The information that is emerging from the region is curious at best. One is left to wonder if the full nature of this current outbreak is known, and if so, if it is been accurately reported. The sentiments reflected in the latest ABC story, seems to confirm their parallel suspicions.

One thing is for certain, the death toll continues a steady and perhaps slightly accelerated climb.


UPDATE: 04.19.05:12:32
Another story yesterday from Doctors Without Borders, both confirms some previous assessments and concerns, and shows evidence that the outbreak has reached beyond the Uige province... (HT. Freeper Judith Anne)

Despite these alarming statistics, measures announced to contain the epidemic have been slow to act and have so far failed to stop the epidemic spreading. While the epicentre of the outbreak is in Uige, last week saw the emergence of new areas of infection. In Songo, an hour west of Uige, four cases have been reported. While in Negage, 30 minutes south-west of Uige, the figure stands at three. The health infrastructure in these two localities has been affected...

Since the beginning of the crisis our teams have set up two isolation and treatment units: one in Uige Hospital, and one in Amerigo Boavida Hospital in the capital, Luanda. 23 patients have already been admitted to the centre in Uige. Isolation units are also being set up in Negage and in Songo, while the unit in Camabatela is already in place.

If the Uige containment has been breached, more personnel and supplies will be required to expand the efforts now in place. Each new case must be identified and assessed. All contacts must be identified, tracked and assessed as well. As the cases grow arithmetically, the task grows logarithmically. And strict sanitary procedures must be practiced throughout the process. Treatment hospitals must be reorganized as well, as the story further notes...

... hospitals affected by the virus must completely reorganised to avoid any risk of the virus 'nosocomiale' infection (this occurs when the virus is spread in the confines of the hospital itself).

All services must be disinfected and an isolation ward must be put inplace. Triage of patients must be stepped up in order to isolate suspected cases, and to prevent those infected by the virus coming into contact with patients of other illnesses.

These precautionary measures must be applied throughout the hospital. This involves not only the wearing of safety equipment but also the suspension of all invasive procedures (surgical operations, lab inspections, intravenous and intramuscular injections, etc.) with the exception live saving operations (emergency surgery, caesarian sections, etc.) which should be carried out in accordance with strict sanitary procedures.

Both the task at hand and the danger grows with each passing day. But, do let's remember those good people that are putting their lives on the line to both save the sick, and protect the well... and thank them silently, if not vocally.

Thank you.

Safety Net

My mother’s side of the family has a long tradition of philanthropy, charitable giving, social service and people in the medical profession. Her father was one of the most compassionate people you could ever meet. He also happened to be a WWII South Pacific Theater Veteran, Medical Doctor, Fellow in the American College of Surgeons, a highly-respected member of the medical community and a proud member of the Republican Party. Yes – a Compassionate Republican. Can you believe it?

Mom and I recently had a political discussion, the longest she and I have ever had. She observed that I was starting to sound very much like her father. Needless to say, I took it as a huge compliment. As it turns out, Socialized Medicine was a subject that he was very concerned about, i.e. he was staunchly against it.

As it so happens, Wretchard recently had a short post regarding Socialized Medicine in which he linked a very interesting piece by Theodore Dalrymple, a physician that recently escaped practice in the horribly bloated U.K. system of Socialized Medicine. Both of those posts are worth a careful read.

All of this discussion caused me to think a little more about Socialism in general. I start to wonder about people who call themselves socialists, because it really represents a real pathology. So for the sake of my grandfather’s memory, I felt it important for me to put my thoughts down in the blog here.

Any person with a sense of morality or ethics desires to help others that are less fortunate. To say that such a notion is wrong is, I would hope, beyond consideration of people in civilized society. This system of morality and ethics, however, has the potential to go horribly wrong. When compassion becomes institutionalized and bureaucratized, and therefore EXPECTED by certain members of society, it ceases to become meaningful or beneficial.

As a son, and now as a parent, I know the personal satisfaction of growing up and being responsible for myself. It is a matter of both personal respect and honor of my parents and family that I not be a burden to those around me. I could still be living at home, mooching off of my parents. However, that would show a profound lack of respect for my parents, that somehow I should continue to be supported by them when I am perfectly capable of functioning in society on my own. What if my parents had never grown up, either? Somebody would have to take care of them, too. Now relate this situation to a broader society. As the number of “care-ees” increases, the number of “care-ers” necessarily decreases. At what point does everybody need to be cared for and there’s nobody there to care for them?

It’s easy to argue that such a thing would never happen, and limited Socialism is okay. However, think about the simple paradigm of an able-bodied and capable person that doesn’t have to take responsibility for themselves. In too many cases, they won’t take that responsibility simply because they don’t have to. They will inevitably make choices in their life for which those around them will need to take responsibility. Since they have no personal responsibility for those choices, those choices arise without thought of their repercussions, either on themselves or on others. In other words, they have no incentive to make good decisions for themselves. Suddenly, since the repercussions of one’s decisions are somebody else’s responsibility, anything bad that happens is always somebody else’s fault. This results in a never-ending cycle where one bad decision leads to another, and the person making those decisions never seeks responsibility for them, nor do they stop to think that the bad things that are happening really are their fault.

Thank goodness my parents taught me a sense of good judgment. Sadly, many people around me were never taught this sense. Even more tragically, contemporary Western culture has somehow caused “having good judgment” to now mean “bigoted” or “closed-minded”. A bad decision (for which others will need to be responsible) is now simply just a “life choice” (Hat Tip: Theodore Dalrymple), and me judging such a life choice to be bad or wrong makes me a bigot or closed-minded.

Is this an example of a just society? Is it too late for a sense of personal responsibility, of accountability, an awareness of right and wrong, and personal pride to be taught to coming generations?

True compassion is necessary for society to function, and sometimes bad things happen to good people. An environment where wounds are self-inflicted tests the longevity and relevance of compassion. The safety net may not always be there. Those that can’t walk the tight rope will fall to their deaths.

UPDATE: 04.19.05:08:37

Mr.Atos

See Cardinal Ratzinger's recent Homily urging a rejection of the Dictatorship of Relativism. It is posted at Roman Catholic Blog. Even if you're not particularly 'religious' or do not neccessarily base principle on faith, it is nevertheless a profoundly powerful statement.

WordStock 2005...

Mr.Atos

Author Philip Yancey is expected to be one of the more popular featured authors at this year's WordStock Festival in Portland, Oregon. From the Official Website,

Philip Yancey is editor at large of Christianity Today and cochair of the editorial board for Books and Culture. His books include Reaching for the Invisible God (2000), The Bible Jesus Read (1999), What's So Amazing About Grace? (1998), The Jesus I Never Knew (1995), Where is God When It Hurts (1990), and many others.

Some have gone so far as to call this journalist/writer the C.S. Lewis of our age. Putting that aside for the moment, here are a few quotes of Mr. Yancey from a live interview this morning on Portland's AM 1190 KEX

He opened the brief interview by pointing out that he lives and was raised in "Jesusland" America, a place he shortly thereafter referred to as the "racist, angry, legalistic south."

He went on to note that "the church has stained the truth..." without explaining how. For that, my guess is you'd have to buy a ticket or have read one of his books; neither of which I have the time nor inclination to do.

He noted that in the gospels, Jesus was asked a question regarding faith 183 times, and gave only three direct answers. Yancey seemingly offered that as a defense of his moralistic abstractions as it would appear to be the origin of his own aversion to professions of clarity or certainty.

While applying the unreferenced assessment of Christians as "uptight dogooders trying to keep others from having a good time, " Mr. Yancey as much as excepted that charge by springing toward a conclusion on that basis.

He breifly discussed his new book, "Rumors of Another World" where he attempts, as he describes, "to resurrect the rumor that their is more to life than what we see here" in an effort to "explore that rumor to find its origin."

Admittedly, I do not know much about Mr. Yancey. My initial impressions of the man have been formed by this brief interview and a few items that I have read online today. This article for instance, I Was Just Wondering, written in February of 2004 frames a few of his questions regarding the attacks of 911, and America's response..

How much would it have cost to reconstruct Afghanistan after their war with the Soviet Union, which the United States helped the Afghans fight?

How much will it cost to reconstruct it after we finish with it?

Why is the United States so much better at destroying buildings and then rebuilding them—as in Germany, Japan, Korea, Kosovo—than in keeping them from being destroyed in the first place?

Can you bomb a country back into the Stone Age if it already lives in the
Stone Age?

How much did the CIA spend training Osama bin Laden and his associates during the war with the Soviet Union?

How much are we now spending to hunt him down?

How do you demolish an ideology of fanaticism when, by killing those who preach it, you attract even more converts to their fanaticism?

During the war with the Soviet Union, Afghans lost one-third of their dwelling places. Yet, thanks to their tradition of hospitality, not a single person went homeless. Why does the richest nation in the world have so many homeless people while one of the poorest nations has none?

Could someone explain to me why the U.S. threatened to break the patent on Cipro after three anthrax deaths, yet vigorously resists “tampering with intellectual property rights” when someone suggests breaking the patent on AIDS drugs for the sake of 25 million infected Africans?

What do Christians who advocate a simple lifestyle think about our leaders urging us to spend money as an act of patriotism?

What do they think about all the people who lose their jobs when we stop spending money?

Would Jesus help his neighbors by spending money, or by maintaining his ascetic lifestyle?

Why do we Americans think of ourselves as such generous people when we allocate a smaller percentage of our Gross Domestic Product to foreign aid than does any other industrialized nation?

Why do the people who quote statistics about foreign aid fail to note that Americans prefer to give, not through government grants, but through private organizations such as the Red Cross and the Salvation Army?

Do Arab terrorists hate the United States and Europe because of our support for Israel, or hate Israel because of its association with the West?

Do any of these questions sound family? They ought to since they have curiously framed many or most of the talking points of the anti-war opposition. Knowing little more about the Man's politics, I'll leave it at that to promote WordStock itself.

WordStock'05...Portland’s Annual Festival of the Book, taking place over six days April 19-24, 2005. This year's festival will include featured readings by bestselling authors, poets and NW writing legends, panels on every conceivable subject, workshops for teachers of writing, dinners with your favorite authors, a free two day book fair with hundreds of exhibitors, two days of children's readings and activities, food, music, cooking demonstrations and more!

Given that the featured author this year is Norman Mailer, and the event originates in Portland, Oregon, one might suspect a political agenda inherent to this year's event. It looks to be a great time, nevertheless. Other authors are listed here...

Philip Yancey is scheduled to speak at Keller Auditorium at 7pm on Wednesday. Tickets can be purchased through Tickemaster.

Given time, I might consider reading more of Mr. Yancey's work, but there is a stack of books on my desk now that will take months to get through once I finish my professional examinations. And quite frankly, I am not particularly impressed by what I have seen so far. As an acknowledged Christian writer and spokesman, the man strikes me as more of a charlattan than a scholar. As for the similarities to C.S. Lewis, I do not recognize it up front; although a modern day Wormwood might wish it to be so. In the realm of Religious study, Yancey strikes me as more of a Kant than a Lewis, for what his ideas will bring to that end of philosophy is the same mortal poison that transendentalism and existentialism inflicted in the twentieth century on Reason.

Both approaches seem to be the same as an an effort devoted solely to subverting knowledge with questions that have no possible answer. Given that there are no stupid questions, there are however, stupid movements that are established exclusively on a quest to keep as many people as possible attempting to answer rhetorical questions. (Edited 04.18.05:18:53)

Hollywood is ‘Sideways’

Mrs. Dueler and I recently had a few hours of free time to see the movie Sideways. I was dreading it a little because it appeared to have a little too much of a chick-flick vibe. I was right to dread it, but it wasn’t a chick flick. Since I don’t advocate you spending your money on seeing Sideways, I’m going to spoil the plot here.

The movie examines a depressed and struggling writer/English teacher from San Diego taking his actor buddy (the groom) on an extended bachelor party road trip to Central California wine country. Sideways spends all of its time on the author's inability to confront his personal problems while simultaneously glorifying the actor's devious lasciviousness in the face of his impending wedding. All through the movie, my wife and I kept hoping that the writer/teacher would make a good decision about something. It was apparently too much to hope for that he would recognize his expertise in wine and devote his talents to becoming a bona-fide wine critic. But he never did that – he just kept focusing on how much of a pathetic failure he was, grasping for contentment in the arms of a woman he barely knows. We also hoped that the actor would get a dose of karma for deceiving his fiancée and his lustful conquests. He received said dose, but somehow a broken nose as a result of a deliberate roundhouse to the face by a motorcycle helmet wasn’t enough.

I couldn’t help but start contrasting Sideways with one of the best movies I’ve seen recently, In America. If In America is about ordinary people doing the right thing in spite of overwhelmingly difficult circumstances, Sideways is about selfish people doing the wrong thing under ideal circumstances. It is self-indulgence to the awkward extreme. Even the choice of main characters screams egotistical Hollywood Insider – who would have guessed that the movie would be about and actor and a writer? Sideways did have one good point - its cinematographic representation of the lazy autumnal amber-hued atmosphere of California Wine Country provided a soothing respite from the movie’s general discomfort.

Mind you, I don’t particularly have a problem with a person participating in the making of a movie like Sideways, nor do I have a problem with somebody’s right to enjoy the movie. However, I reserve the right to hold a low opinion of their character. What I am most disheartened about, though, is the awards and accolades the movie received, i.e. two Oscar nominations and a couple of Golden Globe awards. Those awards and accolades demonstrate just how far Hollywood has strayed from recognizing decent and timeless human values and how inwardly-focused it has become.

Hollywood used to understand the inherent dignity of doing the right thing, especially doing the right thing “in spite of it all.” Instead, it usually celebrates negative human qualities. It's one thing to recognize one's own inadequacies and shortcomings. It's quite another to then accept, rationalize, and finally glorify them. The critical realization of desiring to overcome one’s shortcomings has been nullified by Hollywood, and therefore much of contemporary culture. I fear that a profoundly damaging event is the only thing that will cause Hollywood, and American Culture in general, to re-cognize that striving to be a good and decent person (and to avoid evil) really is a timeless human value.

Angola's Marburg Crisis...

Mr.Atos

As Angola's Marburg outbreak worsens, CIDRAP notes a troubling condition impeding containment efforts... fear.

A specially equipped isolation ward at Uige province's 400-bed hospital is empty, even though Marburg cases and deaths are occurring in the area, the WHO reported. "It is apparent that, for the time being, the community does not accept the concept of isolation," the agency said. "Residents are unwilling to report suspected cases and allow these people to be managed under conditions that reduce the risk of further transmission."

Currently, the death toll in Angola's Marburg hemorrhagic fever epidemic reached 215; 65 more deaths since we reported on the outbreak last week, and nearly 100 since the WHO sent in a containment team two weeks ago. The latest figures suggest an acceleration of the infection which was first noted in October of last year. In the sixth months that followed, the virus claimed over 100 lives, making it the deadliest episode of its kind on record. Yet, in little over a month, the death toll has doubled despite the World Health Organizations efforts to contain this the outbreak. CIDRAP reports the mortality rate of this particular strain to be near 93%, meaning that of 100 persons exposed to the virus, only 7 will be expected to survive. Hence the growing atmosphere of fear. While family and friends see victims contained, extremely few ever emerge.

Fear is a particularly dangerous obstacle to containment. The atmosphere of fear, in its current stage, produces in victims a reluctance to make their potential conditions known to aid workers and officials due to the threat of permanent incarceration. The infected remain among their respective enclaves spreading the virus within and abroad. Containment is therefore breached by a passive reactionary resistance to isolation and treatment. Exposure accelerates. As the condition spreads exponentially, more aggressive methods of containment are required, employing police and even military forces. The atmosphere of fear becomes exasserbated by paranoia. Unable to fight against a microbial foe, human nature encourages a flight response. Victims flee into the security of larger population bodies where they become time bombs of mass destruction. Containment efforts in a center like Luanda - a city of four million people - could easily overwhelm current efforts.

The World Health Organization, recognizing the inherent risks of this situation, has launched an aggressive effort aimed at education:

Measures such as patient isolation and infection control that reduce opportunities for further transmission are the principal tools for bringing the outbreak under control. Given the urgency of the situation, WHO may temporarily introduce, as an emergency measure, a harm reduction strategy aimed at making a dangerous situation somewhat better. Family members and other caregivers who refuse to allow patients to be cared for in the isolation facility are being informed of ways to protect themselves from infection and given appropriate supplies. WHO has placed urgent orders for disinfectants, which are currently in short supply in Angola.

It's a bold effort to be sure. Volunteers expose themselves to a horrendous pathogen delivering certain death. Unfortunately, nature is proving to be an equally aggressive foe, as WHO reports:

In a tragic development, four Red Cross volunteers, freshly trained in social mobilization, were killed today by lightening while on their way to work. Support from Red Cross volunteers has been instrumental in controlling large outbreaks of the closely related Ebola haemorrhagic fever. WHO recognizes the importance of this support and deeply regrets the death of these volunteers.

We honor these heroic volunteers who, like soldiers, deploy themsleves on a different frontier of chaos in the protection of humanity. And yet their unfortunate loss further illuminates the danger of this present situation. Manpower being key, if current efforts at education and containment fail, the implulse for flight will eventually extend fingers of fear into the greater population of Angola; as will the fingers of infection. The danger of global outbreak increases with each passing day. A silent killer threatens to infect would-be travellers. Major Western concourses are less than the incubation period away... in all directions.

Stay Tuned.
(Edited 04.15.05:06:49)

UPDATE: 04.15.05:12:32

From AllAfrica.com today,

"Given the urgency of the situation, WHO may temporarily introduce, as an emergency measure, a harm reduction strategy aimed at making a dangerous situation somewhat better.

"Family members and other caregivers who refuse to allow patients to be cared for in the isolation facility are being informed of ways to protect themselves from infection and given appropriate supplies. WHO has placed urgent orders for disinfectants, which are currently in short supply in Angola," it added. Health care workers in hospitals and surveillances teams have been provided with protective clothing covering them from head to foot, including face masks and goggles.

WHO has repeatedly stressed that early diagnosis, isolation and tracing of all contacts are the only way to break the transmission chain of the disease, a relative of the equally deadly but better-known Ebola, which begins with severe
diarrhoea, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and chest and lung pains, and progresses to severe haemorrhage in the gastrointestinal tract and lungs.

But the Sydney Morning Herald confirms that escalting fear may compromise timely containment,

The WHO said medical teams are focusing on detecting cases and isolating them, as well as collecting bodies for swift burial.

But panicked locals are hiding sick family members for fear they will be taken away and never seen again, officials said. This is increasing concerns about contagion, and also has resulted in whole families dying from the virus.

The burial tradition which involves bathing the body, is another high-risk practice, so people resent the medical teams who pour bleach on the bodies, place them in transparent body bags and bury them within hours, without ceremony.

Update from the World Health Organization.

-