Ebola

What 'health measures'? People are still moving in and out of infected countries.

I'm not sure that's very reassuring.The disease has a high mortality rate and I think that is what makes it a worrisome issue, not the technicalities on how it is spread.

Ah, yes, the bats.The Ebola virus has shown in West Africa because the people there eat roadkill en masse.When will we be ready to rightly attribute the cause of this outbreak to bad and inferior cultural practices?And, more so, will we be ready to actually start doing something real about these bad cultural practices?Edited by Jon, : No reason given.

You are right. It is technically called bushmeat. But it is very different from the sorts of animals typically hunted in the Midwest. Being malnourished is.

More bone-headed failures that have allowed Ebola to spread.Good idea or bad:I know the answer. Do you?

You should wonder why they don't eat meat from domesticated animals known to be safe.But then again, no one really needs to wonder why they don't. We all know why.

Essentially, yes. The Ebola pandemic is largely the result of failed states incapable of providing even the basics of necessities to their citizens.It's not that it's impossible for West Africa to do anything meaningful about Ebola; but that it's impossible for the failed states of West Africa to do anything meaningful about Ebola.I know it feels good to treat these nations as though they are capable, but they are clearly not. Their failure to be capable and the West's failure to acknowledge theirs has gone a long way in allowing this outbreak to spread.The right response was to quarantine the region until it got its shit together.Wanna help? Send people in. No need to let them back out, though, until the job is done.

The rest of the world didn't fail in deciding not to quarantine the region? It didn't fail in deciding that travel in and out of the region would still be allowed? It didn't fail in not mentioning in the popular media that the Ebola virus in humans comes from eating tainted vermin much like AIDS?This entire outbreak has been plagued with failure from every angle. And yet, if flights in and out of the region had been suspended, there would be no cases in Europe or America. As I said: No need to let them back out, though, until the job is done.And if they do need to leave before the disease is eradicated, there are ways to work through that.The disease has a known incubation period. It does no good to screen for symptoms at airports because infected people could be in asymptomatic stages. If air travel to and from the region is required, it is not at all unreasonable to limit it to essential persons and only allow them out of the region after they have been quarantined for 1.5 the max incubation period to ensure they have not contracted the disease.Is this unreasonable?Do you think this might have gone a long way in preventing the spread of the disease to Europe and America?

Sure it is. It is a reflection on the failed states and their inability to provide basic necessities.Or are you saying that governments and the things they do aren't part of a society's cultural practices?

Of course. But you should wonder why they eat disease-ridden bushmeat.With things like AIDS and earlier outbreaks of Ebola, why are people still engaging in this risky behavior?

Of course now I expect you to present me with the infection rates in the U.S. from wild game. Don't forget to mention any diseases that became human-human transmissible and have spread across the globe creating regional epidemics and killing large numbers of people.You will also have to show me the relevant laws regarding bushmeat and demonstrate how they are similar to the laws in U.S. states regarding game.Maybe you're right. Maybe it's just the (un)luck of the draw for these poor African folk. Or perhaps cultural failings really do play a significant role in the acquisition and spread of these diseases along with the inability to stop them.Whatever the case, though, I'm sure you'll settle the matter with some good evidence.

You want us to believe that there is little difference between hunting game in the U.S. and bushmeat consumption in West Africa.If you didn't want to support this claim, then you shouldn't have made it.

I understand.You don't want to talk about the real problem because it makes you feel uncomfortable. Why are these people starving?

Overreact much?Bushmeat handling/consumption is clearly a problem. It has led to epidemic diseases in the human population.Do you oppose any and all regulation on the 'grounds' that there are people who depend on bushmeat for protein?Edited by Jon, : No reason given.

Message 26 was the first post that mentioned U.S. hunting together with bushmeat consumption; it was a post by you implying the practices were similar.If you didn't want to back up your claim that the practices were similar, you shouldn't have brought hunting in the U.S. into the topic (it's certainly not relevant).I'm under no obligation to simply accept as true any nonsense you throw into the debate. Also, telling you that I don't think you're right and asking you to prove your nonsense does not constitute a unique claim.If you want to back off from your initial statement implying a similarity, then I am prepared to drop the entire topic of how similar/dissimilar the practices are.