posted on February 8, 2004 05:47:57 PM new
Back in 1968 when there were race riots I watched a National Guard truck drop a couple guys off at a corner in Ohio with no ammo for their M-16s.
Then when the truck drove out of sight the one fellow reached in his pocket and pulled a clip out - jammed it in his weapon and worked the reciever. Handed one to his buddy who nodded thanks.
Not everybody was an idiot.
The one possibility I entertained as worthwhile was growing tomato plants in a greenhouse and innoculating them with tobacco mosaic virus. After a couple years of extracting the virus you could spend a season visiting tobacco auctions all over the south and spraying it on the pickup trucks or dispursing it by air. That is one business that could be brought to it's knees and nobody harmed that doesn't already have blood on their hands. It would take more money than I have. But if anybody else is flush there's a hobby for you.
posted on February 12, 2004 09:13:40 AM newBird Flu Found at 4 N.J. Chicken Markets
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- A strain of bird flu has been found at four live chicken markets in northern New Jersey, just days after outbreaks at two farms in Delaware led to the destruction of thousands of birds.
New Jersey health officials stressed that the findings are not unusual for the state's live poultry markets and said the strain is not known to be harmful to humans.
Nancy Halpern, the state veterinarian, said the markets likely got the virus from one of the many farms and distributors who supply them. New Jersey has about 35 live chicken markets across the state.
"We believe the virus is coming to (the markets)," Halpern told The Star-Ledger of Newark in a story published Thursday. "They can be doing everything right and still have a market that tests positive."
Halpern said the state tested the markets in late January, as it typically does every winter, and results have been received for about half the sites. She would not identify the markets where the strain was found.
Markets found to be infected are instructed to sell off all birds, and then clean and sanitize all cages and equipment before reopening.
Officials said the strain found in New Jersey is the same one found at two farms in Delaware since last week. The strain is not related to the virulent variety of avian influenza that is blamed for the deaths of at least 19 people in Vietnam and Thailand.
Clifton Lacy, commissioner of the state Department of Health and Senior Services, said there was only a small chance that the weak strain could mutate into a stronger form that could harm humans.
"The key (to preventing problems) is stringent sanitary measures on farms and culling the flocks," he said.
In Delaware, the disease was found last week on a farm in Kent County operated by an independent grower who sold to a live bird market in New York City.
Then on Tuesday, Delaware agriculture officials announced that tests confirmed avian flu on a second farm, saying it was a surprise that creates a "serious situation" for the region's poultry industry.
Even before the announcement about the second flock, China on Tuesday joined Poland, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea in banning U.S. poultry imports because of the previous discovery. Hong Kong had banned the import of live birds and poultry from Delaware only. Russia also temporarily banned Delaware imports.
Exports account for about 20 percent of the U.S. poultry industry.
posted on February 18, 2004 12:22:36 PM newRats on Menu as Bird Flu Leaves Fowl Aftertaste
Wed February 18, 2004 09:25 AM ET
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Bird flu may have decimated poultry businesses across Asia, but rat dealers have never had it so good.
"I've got a constant stream of customers," Van Vath, a rat butcher in the western Cambodian town of Battambang, told Wednesday's edition of Cambodge Soir.
With customers shying away from chicken for fear of catching the deadly flu virus that has killed millions of birds and at least 20 people, she has been selling more than 400 pounds of rodent meat every morning -- twice her normal turnover.
In far-flung corners of the jungle-clad and impoverished Southeast Asian nation, rat -- fried, grilled or roasted with garlic and vegetables -- is a highly prized delicacy.
It is not the only ingredient to be found scuttling on the rural Cambodian menu.
Spiders, water beetles, crickets, snakes, frogs and ants are all choice treats, with local tradition saying they were first eaten by starving peasants during the Khmer Rouge genocide in the 1970s.
posted on February 18, 2004 01:59:10 PM new
So, how long before there's a widespread outbreak of rabies there?
Even though thorough cooking kills the rabies virus, there are those periods prior to cooking when the utmost vigilance is required to safeguard the human handlers of infected carcases. I doubt there's an adequate supply of disposable rubber gloves in most Cambodian kitchens...
posted on February 18, 2004 02:21:00 PM new
In addition, to the problems concerning a rabid rat population. There is another dreadful prospect facing these people, MAD RAT DISEASE.
