American Virus

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: Stupidsecrets

Lyme disease.

It probably originated in another country. Our scientists collected the ticks that carry it and took them to Plum Island where the army did research for biological warfare. The disease escaped the island because of deer that were known to swim back and forth between the island and Lyme, CT.

originally posted by: TheRedneck
a reply to: Edumakated

I disagree with your characterization, as accurate as it may be. The people in these countries are simply without a feasible avenue to improve themselves. I do agree that importing them to our country is not a viable answer, though... see my response to Stupidsecrets. That only would drag us down and destroy our economy, without providing any real help to the needy people other than making them feel like slaves to a different culture than the one they left at the sole benefit of having more 'stuff.' At least they are familiar with their own culture.

Now, if you want to talk about the leadership in these countries, I might can agree with your terminology.

TheRedneck

Yeah, I am being a bit hyperbolic in my description, but otherwise, I don't disagree with your position.

A big problem with immigration is "brain drain." The people who are best able to fix these countries leave for the US / Europe for better opportunities and thus their home countries never develop. This creates the vacuum for the despots and other two bit leaders who keep these countries and their populations down.

originally posted by: Stupidsecrets
I hear all the names of these viruses and diseases; West Nile Virus, Asian Flu...even invasive species in US waterways from other countries.

Why is all this originating from poor or 3rd world regions. I mean you never hear about the American West Mississippi Virus (joke) or the American Trout or Bass as an invasive species. Is this for real. Is there something to diseases and invasive species manifesting strictly from other countries other than western governments. Even the bubonic plague is believed to have started in the Middle East, not Europe.

Rocky mountain spotted fever
La Crosse Encephalitis
St. Louis Encephalitis
Lyme Disease(named after Lyme Conneticut)

originally posted by: Fallingdown
Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Would you like us to send you some ticks ? Lol

I think Lyme disease is named for Lyme, PA? No ... Old Lyme, CT. So it's a North American disease, or at least it was first isolated in the US.

a reply to: Edumakated

It may simply be that the world is like cities/states in some ways. There may just be places that people do not want to live, the "bad" neighborhoods.

That doesn't mean those place will never improve, only that gentrification is hard and slow process.

a reply to: Edumakated

A big problem with immigration is "brain drain." The people who are best able to fix these countries leave for the US / Europe for better opportunities and thus their home countries never develop. This creates the vacuum for the despots and other two bit leaders who keep these countries and their populations down.

You know, that is one dynamic I never considered. It makes sense, though... why would someone turn down an opportunity to leave for greener pastures, why would another country not want the best and brightest in their population, and why would it not be an impediment to progress in their home land?

Now, the four-million-tin-doubloon question: What can reasonably be done to prevent that dynamic?

TheRedneck

a reply to: Stupidsecrets

When i was in Afghanistan I watched a young boy from my MRAP drop his pants on the side of the road and excrete a tape worm then go about his day. At that point my only goal was to get my Soldiers home.

Hence the efforts to make the world a better place. It's not easy, but it's what makes us human.

a reply to: ketsuko

Did you know you have a turkey on your face?

It may simply be that the world is like cities/states in some ways. There may just be places that people do not want to live, the "bad" neighborhoods.

Those bad neighborhoods are only bad neighborhoods because the people there are unable to cope with the crime and poverty issues. It all comes back to the people. When the people decide to clean up the neighborhood, the neighborhood is cleaned up. Until they make that decision, no one can turn it into a better neighborhood.

243 or so years ago, one group of people living in an undeveloped, third-world colony of the greatest superpower on the planet at the time threw off their shackles and demanded better. They rose up and fought for that betterment. No one helped them out, at least not until they started winning battles. They were on their own... and prevailed anyway. Today they have replaced their past masters as the premiere superpower on the planet.

I am, of course, talking about us: the United States of America. France helped us in the Revolutionary War, but not at first. France only pitched in when we started winning.

My point is that the people must want to better themselves, to the point of fighting for it, or it can never happen.

TheRedneck

How about Alabama Rot, does that count?

Ironically this report just came out :
cases of syphilis, gonorrhea
and chlamydia in the U.S. reached an all-time high

news.yahoo.com...




~

originally posted by: Liquesence
a reply to: Stupidsecrets

When i was in Afghanistan I watched a young boy from my MRAP drop his pants on the side of the road and excrete a tape worm then go about his day. At that point my only goal was to get my Soldiers home.

Hence the efforts to make the world a better place. It's not easy, but it's what makes us human.

Are you willing to possibly give up your life, limbs or someone you care deeply about for that effort. Now ask yourself how important is it making the world a better place with that in front of it. Would you make that sacrifice. I seriously doubt you would do that so spare me the pious worldly view. You would not do it.

a reply to: TheRedneck

Oh, my! Do I really have a turkey on my face?! This is my shocked face ...



I also recall reading a Thomas Sowell essay or maybe it was one of his economics texts where he talks about the geographic realities of some of those regions.

Africa for example for all its size actually has very little to recommend it in the way of navigable waterways and natural ports. Those things hindered its development more than most people realize. As a whole, that landmass is just not development friendly.

a reply to: CthulhuMythos

How about Alabama Rot, does that count?

That's just something we scare Yankees with. Don't tell the Yankees, K?

TheRedneck

a reply to: ketsuko

I also recall reading a Thomas Sowell essay or maybe it was one of his economics texts where he talks about the geographic realities of some of those regions.

Every location has positives and negatives. A resourceful people will concentrate on the positives and work around the negatives. To continue with Africa as an example, yes, it lacks navigable waterways... but it also is a treasure trove of mineral wealth! Almost all of the world's diamonds are located in Africa, not to mention recent finds around the Sudan area of major oil deposits... add to that their vast land mass, most of which is cultivatable. Africa could have, had its people done what was necessary, been the economic powerhouse America is, with its poor looking wealthy to us.

TheRedneck

originally posted by: dfnj2015

originally posted by: Fallingdown
Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Would you like us to send you some ticks ? Lol

And my favorite, Lyme disease.

Ah yes...the "whoopsie" that destroyed the health of 3 of my dogs, Frontline be damned.

There's a couple of encephalitis strains named for US cities. La Crosse and St. Louis.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: TheRedneck

Oh, my! Do I really have a turkey on my face?! This is my shocked face ...

I also recall reading a Thomas Sowell essay or maybe it was one of his economics texts where he talks about the geographic realities of some of those regions.

Africa for example for all its size actually has very little to recommend it in the way of navigable waterways and natural ports. Those things hindered its development more than most people realize. As a whole, that landmass is just not development friendly.

Good points! Very interesting to think about.

You only had to ask yourself one question (I type in my best Dirty Harry voice)
Where did the Bubonic plague originate and why. ?

a reply to: Stupidsecrets

i think its called vaccination.

most of those viruses are spin-offs of other viruses. stop the main one, and the rest to have a chance to form through mutation.

a reply to: Stupidsecrets
Not true, I think the US infected the rest of the world with the teen boy band syndrome, and now even Poland and Asia has got talent, and who knows how many other countries out there are forced to listen to just bad music on a daily basis.

Not sure how rampant that's still going on, as I don't really tune in to the airwaves but once in a while, but it was pretty devastating for a few years back.

The big new who-ha disease around these parts is Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) spread by mosquitoes.

Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), commonly called Triple E or sleeping sickness (not to be confused with trypanosomiasis), is a disease caused by zoonotic alphavirus and arbovirus present in North, Central, and South America, and the Caribbean. EEE was first recognized in Massachusetts, United States, in 1831, when 75 horses died mysteriously of viral encephalitis.

Wikipedia Article

Another interesting tidbit from the article.

The causative agent, later identified as a togavirus, was first isolated from infected horse brains in 1933. In 1938, the first confirmed human cases were identified when 30 children died of encephalitis in the Northeastern United States. These cases coincided with outbreaks in horses in the same regions.

Interesting how five years after the virus was identified and isolated the first verified outbreak occurred in people. Sounds like enough time to play around with the virus, weaponize it and have it escape from the lab to infect the public at large. Of course, you'd have to identify the virus before you could verify an outbreak, but it's got to be a conspiracy, right?

Well, I should have read down to the end of that article.

EEEV was one of more than a dozen agents that the United States researched as potential biological weapons before the nation suspended its biological-weapons program with the ratification of the Biological Weapons Convention.

The Biological Weapons Convention was ratified in 1975.

It has already spread to Europe by the way.