Issue 456 Ebola: what to do about it. November 6, 2014

Well Ebola is a major thing that is happening around the world (despite the flu killing more people each year).  Ebola is a very hard disease to get but has the potential to become equivalent to the next black plague (I have my doubts).  However, my country (the United States) has become very sloppy with their handling of this potentially dangerous situation.  So let us discuss the smart way of handling this problem.

How I would handle this crisis:  For one, all flights from Africa (if any) would cease.  So this means only charter flights and proxy flights via other countries would be the only way for anyone coming from Africa to get to the United States.  This however is a temporary situation until a regime is in place to detect people who are sick.  

The regime that would be established is a special housing facility for each potentially infected person.  This would mean that they would be in a special home where they will be monitored and isolated for 21 days until they can be cleared of not having Ebola or any other potentially infectious and deadly disease.  Once these quarantine facilities are established and proper maintenance and sanitary protocols are in place, then and only then will these people be allowed to go home via regular flights to the United States.  

For the infected however, they will remain quarantined and be treated there in Africa.  So this will require special hospitals that can be built by charities without spending a single taxpayer dime.  From there we simply treat the patient with the best medicine and care possible. 

As for the people who are infected that unfortunately pass away.  We will have to burn the bodies to prevent animals from eating the diseased and potentially spreading it around further (in this case dogs).  Also, any animal detected with Ebola, if not already free of the disease will be quarantined until their immune systems remove the disease so that they are no longer a carrier.  However, if there is no chance of that occurring, then the animal will unfortunately need to be put down.  The body of the animal will then be cremated in the same fashion as the infected people who perish.  

While all this is going on, efforts will be made to further educate the African public on preventing infections and proper sanitation.  Also, charities will use their resources to help improve the African people’s homes as thatched roofs and mud floors contribute to the spread of disease.  So by building them a floor, and giving them tin roofs we can cut down on other diseases as well.  Basically any education and improvements for the African people will be needed so as to protect against diseases.  

Conclusion:  And there you have it.  This is how you fight Ebola and other serious diseases responsibly.  You do not bring the infected home, you do not mismanage a hazardous situation.  You get the job done right so that you can save people’s lives.  No room for mistakes or excuses.  So I hope my government gets its act together for everyone's sake.  

Issue 455 Pee Cycling November 5, 2014

Catchy title right?  Well there is a reason for it.  Apparently many green movement people wish to use human waste as a form of fertilizer due to the vast amounts of nutrients that are contained within.  And you know what?  I agree with them.  Let's discuss why.

Advantages to recycling human waste:  Human waste as I stated is full of nutrients that can help plant growth.  From pee, to poo we contain vast amounts of nutrients in our bodies that can, once excreted, be used to replace or supplement fertilizers.  Why this is being advocated for is simple.  For one, it turns our sewer systems into collection tanks for vital materials which now will not have to be as purified and dumped into earth's oceans.  That is right, we cleanse the poo and pee of bacteria at waste treatment plants, and then send it out into the ocean and sometimes landfills.  The problem with the current method is that it uses a lot of energy and has the potential to reduce the salt content of earth's oceans and thus hurting the ocean environment.  This has secondary impacts on available drinking water, and on the fishing industry.  So by harvesting this waste sooner and not purifying it to the point that it is almost drinkable means we save energy and protect the coastal environment for fish.  Also, energy wise, this means less fuel is required to run the waste treatment plants where they can then switch roles to removing bad bacteria and then replacing it with bacteria needed to break down the waste.  On top of that, the waste can give off methane and other natural gases which can be harvested to make the waste treatment plant self-sustaining and can even be used to power nearby towns.  So overall it saves allot of money and the environment.  

Impacts:  This method makes us less reliant on other forms of manure production from cows, horses and other animals.  As such, less fertilizers need to be produced, or it adds a cheaper alternative to the fertilizer market to help poorer farmers grow food more cheaply.  Newer waste treatment plants can now be closer to the cities and towns they serve as they no longer need to dump the waste into the ocean.  This again saves vast amounts of money for the waste need not be pumped as far. If they hybrid the plant as an energy production facility using it to collect methane and other flammable gases, then the city can essentially form a partial electrical grid which saves taxpayers money on their electric bill.  Overall taxpayers save the most money from this cleaner energy approach as food will become cheaper, and energy and sanitation bills can also be cut down as well.  

Disadvantages and negatives:  The potential negatives though come from the biological material.  Human diseases can be carried in human waste, so a facility that does not treat the material properly can potentially cause people to become sick.  Also, depending on how the facility is established, the smell can also leak out which is a negative to some people.  Of course there is still the usual potential for malfunctions in the facilities themselves causing sewage backups.  However, the most important hurdle is the infrastructure involved.  You need buyers for this form of fertilizer.  No buyers means that we end up wasting money on these conversions of these waste treatment facilities. Thankfully, the green movement also advocates hydroponics gardens and urban agriculture which could potentially solve the problem, but that depends on city ordinances which will have to be changed to accommodate.  So a lot of money will need to be spent first to both alter the facilities to make human waste fertilizer, and then market it as a cheap alternative to other fertilizers. 

 Conclusion:  So there you have it.  Human waste as a resource for the further development of agriculture and saving the environment.  So does this mean we can all be proud to sit on the toilet bowl?  Well I do not know about that.  But if this should come to pass, we could see a totally different outlook on waste management and sanitation in the not so far off future.

Issue 454 The Disappearing visitors November 4, 2014

Recently there has been a problem with some of the illegal residents and legally entered guests who enter the country.  They are disappearing.  You are probably asking Hugh?  How?  Well let me explain.

How they disappear:  So here is what is going on.  People who come here legally that are not citizens, and illegals caught are not showing up for court dates or to leave.  Once they are found, they simply run away from the hearings (if they are illegally here) or they disappear into the crowd to hide from authorities.  So they are not being kidnapped or anything bad.  They are just staying illegally and then fleeing once they get caught.

Why:  You are probably thinking why can we not keep track of these people once found?  Well it is no easy matter and many believe within the legal framework that these people will just show up when told to even when they did not want to be found in the first place. News flash, they want to stay.  So it comes down to our federal police and court system being naive.  

Conclusion:  This has the potential to very serious.  If they cannot even keep track of the majority of illegals and people who overstay their welcome, what does that say about terrorists and foreign agents who seek to do us harm.  To make matters just as bad, some of those caught have committed acts of murder and rape!  While most illegals are people just trying to make a living like the rest of us, there is a small element that in my opinion needs to be put in lockdown.  But these violent members escape as well with sometimes disastrous results.  So I ask if our NSA, FBI and CIA guys along with the State department and our courts to get their act together and fix this problem.  Our world is no longer disconnected and naive, we can see your mistakes. Losing people who are not supposed to be here is a big mistake especially if they pose a potential risk to citizen and non-citizen alike. 

Issue 453 Illegal Immigrants and the Armed Forces November 3, 2014

Welcome to a new week.  Today’s topic is all about whether or not the military should allow illegals to enlist in the armed forces.  So let's get started.

The Military and its non-citizens:  It has been announced (though this is speculation) that the United States will let illegal citizens serve.  So is this a good idea?  Personally I think it is. For one, these individuals wish to serve in the United States armed forces which proves that they wish to be an American citizen (at least this is my take on it).  This builds up the numbers of soldiers who are willing to defend the country and it means illegals who generally may not be able to work due to legal barriers will hence have an income with benefits.  They can also get an education via the military while learning other valuable skills.  What can sweeten the deal is that if a husband or a wife serve, then their spouse and any children will become citizens upon completion of their first tour of duty (basically enlisting for the two to four years in the armed forces).   As a path to citizenship this is great as it eliminates the need to punish illegals financially for entering the country illegally.  Overall, I think it is a great thing.

Conclusion:  As an idea it is great.  It can be used to help so many poor individuals in other countries who wish to come to America, or are already here, but have entered illegally.  However, there is only one concern. Terrorists can infiltrate the military as it is now.  But, if this comes to pass, the terrorists may have an easier time infiltrating.  Or at least if precautions are not taken this can be the case.  I have nothing against someone wanting to serve, no matter their country of origin, or if they committed a victimless crime such as crossing the U.S. border without permission.  So I say let them serve, and show us their pride as someone who wants to be a citizen of the United States.

Issue 452 What is ISIS/ISIL's Goals. October 31, 2014

Well here is a spooky topic to sink your teeth into on Halloween.  The goals of this radical terrorist army.  So let us begin with what they want.

What they want:  Basically they want to re-found the Caliphate which is a theocratic based government based on the religion of Islam.  To do this, they want to unite the lands that have traditionally belonged to Islamic peoples.  So this means Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia (they are next on the hit list) and basically any country that exists in the Middle East   Believe it or not, they do know their history.  A pact after World War I created divisions in the Middle East separating it into these countries we know today which included Iraq and its surrounding countries. This agreement is called the Sykes-Picot agreement and was intended to break up the Ottoman Empire into spheres of influence for Britain, France and Russia.  This territorial control would later be removed, but in their place would be warlords and kings.  However, ISIS and its new name (and larger brand) ISIL want to not only unite the countries of Iraq and Syria together, but the whole of the Middle East by force if necessary. 

Methods:  Unfortunately, while removing dictators, and oppressive kings (yea they got kings over there) sounds appealing.  ISIS/ISIL is a far cry from being any more innocent that Hitler is for causing the Holocaust.  For one, ISIS/ISIL is made up of Sunni Muslims who believe anyone can inherit the will of the Prophet Muhammad (among other things) so as to rule over the Caliphate.  However the Shiite Muslims only believe that a member of the Prophet Muhammad's on family can lead.  This is important because now ISIS/ISIL wants to kill all Shiite Muslims for disagreeing with them.  It also does not help that Shiite Muslims as a whole are outnumbered by the sheer volume of Sunni Muslims in general.  In addition to killing all the Shiite Muslims, they wish to kill all the Jews, the non-believers/atheists, and of course Christians.  So basically it is convert to their brand of Islam, or die.  And when they mean die, they mean in a gruesome and violent way.  Many families in the Middle East have been murdered in their homes with their heads placed on spikes (children which includes newborns as well).  They will take women and make them sex slaves so as to have them have "half Muslim" children and that is so long as they are useful.  Once done with these women, they will often times kill them.  Children who are converts are then whisked away to train for war.  If you thought child soldiers was solely in Africa, then you have another thing coming.  The concept of genocide is lost on these people for mass murder is exactly their method for achieving their goals.

Conclusion:  All of this is for a United Middle East in the form of a Caliphate.  That is all they want.  From there it seems obvious that once they have built up their forces, they will sweep through the rest of Africa, Asia, and the pacific Islands to absorb and build up their forces to create the largest Caliphate in history.  Europe can be kissed goodbye as these ISIS/ISIL members ready and waiting to win elections while others are set to terrorize.  Yea that is right, Europe will be conquered through the ballot box as the number of Muslims in European countries grows year by year eventually outnumbering the original population and their religions.  From there it comes down to inspiring people to vote because they are Muslim and should vote for a Muslim candidate.  At this point they will slowly make reforms and then after a long while become part of the Caliphate as well.  After that, it is all about conquering the rest of the planet.  What?  Seems farfetched?  Well, truth has always been stranger than fiction.  And you know what?  You can just see for yourselves that these are ISIS/ISIL's goals by watching their videos.  Well that is if you can find there videos on their goals in between the filming’s of them torturing and killing people.  Yea, we live in a screwed up world, and the only way to stop these twisted freaks is to dismantle their ideology, and crush the rest. Vicious, yes, but effective.  The morality clock has been turned back to the point that it looks like genocide is acceptable again.  

Issue 451 The wrong way to deal with ISIS October 30, 2014

Yes, there is a wrong way to deal with ISIS.  Let's get on with this morbid discussion which I am sure some people are advocating for.

Genocide fought with genocide:  Fact is, there are people calling for total destruction.  I mean annihilating entire cities of people.  Well, it may have merit in areas where ISIS has total control and has wiped out all dissidents, it does not work in every place.  So this is a bad idea as we end up as the murderers as well.  So Genocide (or indiscriminate killing) is not the answer.

Dragging others into the fight:  ISIS is a single group, so other groups should not be dragged in that have nothing to do with ISIS.  This also means not blaming other Muslims for what ISIS has done.  ISIS ceased being Muslim the moment they started committing atrocities, and as such they are nothing but murderers.  So we must always remember to not blame the Muslim community as a whole.  This also means sticking to the target (ISIS) and not expanding the conflict further.

Conclusion:  I kept it short and to the point for a reason.  So that we do not begin to resemble the scum that is ISIS and similar groups.  They believe the ends justify the means, but we must maintain a moral high ground of sorts so that we do not become our enemy.  We are fighting quite possibly a multi-generational war and as such, we must always be ourselves.  We must always stand on the side of justice.

Issue 450 The effective way to deal with ISIS October 29, 2014

Opposed to yesterdays "Nice" method of dealing with ISIS, well here is the effective way.  In this case we fight ISIS like we should have from the beginning.  Here is how it is to be done.

Strategic attacks:  For one, we isolate their communications network to identify their movements.  This insures we know when and where they will be, when they will attack and in what strength.  At this point we make surgical strikes to the enemy’s infrastructure so that they can no longer re-equip themselves with weapons.  Thus, we are draining them of their resources.  While we do that, we try to steer their movements so that large clusters of them gather together so we can strike them down in swaths.  In addition (something we should have done from the beginning) is to kill enemy troops as they move from city to city.   This denies the enemy the freedom of movement they have enjoyed up to this point.   Once accomplished the enemy troops become isolated and thus easier to kill off.  

Part of this strategy is also having professional soldiers trained from the indigenous peoples of the towns and cities where they live to fight ISIS and other insurgents once the towns are retaken.  Thus, these secret forces and a strong police force/militia on top of that will help secure the rear lines from being retaken by ISIS remnants.  

How to accomplish this:  Unfortunately this will require troops on the ground again.  It will need us bringing in our air force and our land battle troops to help secure areas and strike at enemy forces.  In short, it will be a third Iraq war that will also include Syria and any other European and Middle Eastern Country that wants (or is forced) to get involved. This, while a dim prospect, means we will be fighting another war that will define the early part of the 21st century as violent and brutal.  Where nations no longer just fight each other, but against large groups of individuals capable of toppling nations.

Conclusion:  Well, this is option two, which is slightly less appealing than yesterday’s option.  In this case, America will be doing the grunt work alongside its allies for this conflict.  Yes, we are probably going to end up doing this eventually, but by then we may end up waiting too long with millions dead yet again like in the holocaust. All I can say is, if we are going to do something, let's get on with it already.  I'm already sick and tired of seeing footage of the beheadings and the stories of murder and rape by ISIS commits acts of genocide.