Why you don't have to be worried about Ebola (but don't be stupid, either)

This post is going to be a little bit spread out because I have a lot to talk about, just a forewarning.

Let's start off with a little background information on Ebola.

Ebola spreads by close contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person showing symptoms. Ebola is actually a marvelous virus. It has evolved to create symptoms that specifically increase transmission. Symptoms of Ebola include Diarrhea, vomiting, unexplained hemorrhaging, fever, headache, stomach pain, and muscle pain. Notice how the first three all cause the body to expel bodily fluids. However, the virus is not contagious until the patient begins to exhibit symptoms, usually a fever first with other symptoms following later. Another facet of the situation is that Ebola can remain viable in the host after the host has died. This means that bodies remain contagious for some time after death. The virus can also remain the semen for up to three months after a patient recovers from the disease.

So, as we can see, Ebola has evolved to make transmission as likely as possible. These factors make it especially contagious in developing countries where health care systems are not equipped to handle a disease like this. In West Africa, stigmas against health care workers, a lack of facilities and personnel trained to handle an outbreak of Ebola, burial practices, and general ignorance about Ebola have caused this outbreak to spread far beyond previous ones. When a family member is sick they are often not taken to the hospital or treatment center because it is feared that they will be killed while the treatment center will often be understaffed, lack equipment, and lack trained staff. Burial practices in some places can involve touching and crying over the body of the deceased, which increases chances of transmission considerably. And finally, there are many people in West Africa that either don't believe, or don't want to believe that Ebola is real. This can be seen in the hash tags on twitter from that region that claim Ebola is a myth.

Now, As per the title, we'll talk about why residents of the United States don't have to be worried about Ebola. There have been four confirmed cases of Ebola in the country since the beginning of the outbreak. All of the infected persons either were in West Africa where they contracted the virus or were in close contact with an infected person showing symptoms. There is no transmission in the general public, and there won't be precisely because of the items listed in the previous paragraph. We have a robust health care system with trained professionals, advanced personal protective equipment (PPE), and enough hospitals to handle the load. Our culture has a very distanced approach to burial, we often do not see the body once the individual has passed on. We also have an opposite view on our health care system. We have been trained to go to the hospital when we feel unwell and there is no fear that the health care system will fail us.

That being said, people need to stop being stupid. To the Ohio nurse that got on two flights after coming into close contact with Duncan and with knowledge that her PPE had been compromised: how could you be so stupid? You do not fly across the country after having been exposed to an incredibly contagious virus in a confined metal tube. That is exactly how you spread the virus. If you had infected other people their lives would be on your head. And to you Dr. Sherman: are you even more stupid than the nurse? You got off a plane from Guinea where you were treating Ebola patients and didn't event think about going to a hospital to get checked? You flew into the biggest city in the world and just went about your business, you are a moron.

So, readers, how do you not get Ebola and/or not spread it?

1. Do not go near an Ebola patient without advanced training and PPE.
2. Do not go to West Africa without advanced training and PPE.
3. Go to a hospital immediately and tell them why if you violate one or both of the first two rules.
4. If you see or hear about someone with symptoms, report it.

It has also been announced that there will be a million doses of Ebola vaccine by 2015. Funny how that works, usually vaccines cause autism and contain heavy metals but when one is made for a horribly contagious deadly disease that's spreading like wildfire, suddenly they're miracles.

That's another topic for a different post though.

Go to the CDC website for more information: CDC Ebola Page

Dear Gov. Fallon

It does not matter in the slightest bit whether or not Oklahomans voted to define marriage as between a man and a woman. If we deemed that line of logic acceptable to govern human rights we would still have segregation. Just because a majority of your population agrees on something does not make it right. You are fighting to deny a group of people their right to marry the people they love.

We have judges that are not accountable to anyone so that they can rise above popular opinion and make the unpopular choices that are the right ones. It is part of the balance of power. You get to make the laws, the judges get to throw out the unconstitutional ones.

You can cover your tracks in patriotism and legal garbage all you want but in 30 years, if the world remembers you at all, it will remember you as a backwards bigot and nothing more.

Equality is being equal whether you believe in it or not.

Read the press release.

The Scottish Referendum

Many of you are aware that Scotland is heading to the polls right now to decide whether it will remain part of the United Kingdom or become a free state. I don't want to talk about the politics because it is honestly none of my business, what I do want to talk about is voter participation.

Scotland has 97% of the electorate registered to vote for the referendum and has broken the record for most absentee balots cast in its history. At the last election only 65% of U.S. citizens were registered to vote and only 45% actually voted. Now I know that voting for your nations independence and voting for president may seem like they are on different levels of importance, but just let it sink in that the most powerful nation in the world (at the moment) lets less than half of it's voting population decide who gets to run the country.

This country was built on the idea of democracy and that everyone should have an equal voice in how this country was run. Yet, 200 years later, despite the fact that we have technology that makes getting out to vote dramatically easier than it was in the late 1700's we have 1/3 of the population who won't even fill out an address so that they can legally vote.

Scotland, whether you vote to stay or leave I think that you have given the U.S., and the world, a perfect example of what a true democracy looks like: the whole of Scotland, participating in a choice that will determine not only their future, but that of their posterity.

Well done.

Sources for voter information

U.S. Census Bureau:
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/socdemo/voting/publications/p20/2010/index.html

BBC News:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-29238890

Water Usage

In the past month or so the ALS ice bucket challenge has become an exceedingly popular social media trend and has raised over 80 million dollars when I last checked on it. Interestingly enough, the social media backlash for the "waste" of water poured over the applicants heads during the challenge has become super popular as well. I understand that wasting water is a large issue facing not only our country, but also the world and that we should not take it lightly. I would love for people to be as ardent about actual water conservation as they seem to be when bashing the ice bucket challenge.

The majority of ice bucket videos I have seen have been using a bucket with maybe 5-10 gallons of water in it. Being generous I'll say each challenge used 20 gallons of water. Now, granted that sounds like a lot of water, especially when you multiply that by the million odd videos posted to Youtube and Facebook, but let's put that number in perspective.

Within water advocacy there is a term called virtual water. Virtual water is the total amount of water used in the production of certain goods. For example, a pair of jeans is made from cotton, which requires water to grow. It also requires dye to applied and if they are fancy jeans, they have been washed to wear them down to be comfortable. All of these things require water. How much water you ask? An average pair of jeans costs 8,000 liters (2,113 gallons) of water. A cotton t-shirt costs 2,500 liters (300 gallons). How many pairs of jeans do you have in your closet at the moment, how about how many t-shirts?

Even the food we eat has a high water cost that you might not be aware of. Pork has a virtual water cost of 5,990 liters per kilogram (717.7 gallons per pound). Beef has a virtual water cost of 15,400 liters per kilogram (1,845 gallons per pound). How often do you eat beef or pork? In contrast a cucumber has a virtual water cost of 240 liters per kilogram (28.7 gallons per pound).

I do not mean to make anyone feel guilty about their water consumption, everyone needs clothes and everyone needs to eat. I am simply trying to make a point about the scale of the issue that water conservation really is. Each year we use trillions of liters of water to feed and clothe ourselves, water that is not being replaced in the aquifers from whence it came. But we as Americans can make a difference. If everyone gets together and actually work towards a solution, we can easily achieve it.

 If you want to conserve water do not leave the faucet on when you brush your teeth. Take shorter showers, or use a low flow shower head. Don't water your yard as often and don't dump harmful chemicals into the sewers. Forget about complaining on Facebook about the ice bucket challenge and next time you're at the store don't buy that new shirt or pair of jeans or, instead of buying a pound of ground beef, make a vegetarian meal. You can easily save thousands of liters of water with one simple decision, and think about that decision multiplied by the thousands of people who have spoken out for water conservation we'll be on the right path to sustainability.

If you want to learn more about virtual water this is a very good website.

Also you can donate to ALS victims at www.alsa.org.

If you feel so inclined, you can also donate money to help secure access to clean drinking water for people in need here.

Does the punishment fit the crime?

By now everyone has heard about the events that transpired in Ferguson, Missouri. Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer after allegedly striking him during a struggle. The incident began after Brown robbed a convenience store when he was seen walking down the middle of a road interfering with traffic. The police officer confronted Brown about the traffic situation and from there the details are disputed. However, we do know Brown died from multiple gun shot wounds to his head and torso.

I think enough people have weighed in on the racial tensions in Ferguson and the statistics behind police and civilian interactions, so what I want to talk about today is one of the overarching issues that I see effecting our whole country: that everyone thinks they have the right to respond with deadly force if they feel threatened.

An unarmed man walking down the middle of the street disrupting traffic does not deserve to be shot. Even if Brown did strike the police officer, assault of a police officer is not an offense that warrants the immediate execution of the perpetrator. I do believe that police officers have the right to defend themselves, but I think the problem is that in our current society, we immediately jump to very deadly, very permanent solutions to crimes that would otherwise amount to a medium length jail sentence.

For instance if I were to go right now and find a police officer and punch them in the face I would face a minimum of six months in jail. Even if I combined that with a robbery charge for the cigars I just stole from a convenience store, the maximum sentence for simple robbery is 10 years in prison and a 20,000 dollar fine. So the absolute worst case scenario is that I would spend 10.5 years in prison and pay 20,000 dollars in fines. That is not even factoring in that I would be a first time offender (like Brown) and only stole a package of low quality cigars (like Brown). This is nowhere near the level required to convict someone of the death penalty in any state in the U.S.

People are dying because we in America are obsessed with our own safety to the degree that we are willing to kill others to keep ourselves secure. If the officer in the Brown incident had used any of the other means usually available to officers this whole situation would have turned out very differently. The officer could have used mace or a tazer, both of which are more effective at close range than a hand gun, if Brown actually was close enough to strike the officer. If the officer had used a non-lethal method Ferguson would not be torn apart by rioting and looting right now. Brown would be alive and facing assault and robbery charges rather than lying dead in the street.

We need to ask ourselves why we as a society jump to the most final of solutions in these confrontations. From shooting a young, drunk, pregnant woman through a locked porch door with a shotgun because you feel threatened to luring a robber into a garage and blasting out the door indiscriminately with a shotgun to shooting an 18 year old for walking in the middle of the street and stealing some cigars. There are better ways to deal with these situations that do not involve death. There are non-lethal solutions to protect yourself. If you are concerned about your safety take self-defense classes, buy mace, buy a tazer, call the police. Think about your actions when they may be ending the life of another human being. This world of ours is already filled up with suffering and pain. More needless violence and bloodshed is disgusting.

Religious Freedom

Some recent events in the U.S., mainly the supreme court decision to allow some companies to deny birth control claims on health care insurance on religious grounds has made me believe that we need a review session on what religious freedom means under the Constitution of the United States of America.

The 1st amendment to the constitution of the United States of America says the following: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Notice how the first sentence explicitly prohibits the creation of a law "respecting an establishment of religion" or "prohibiting the free exercise thereof". In other words no law can be made that makes ME conform to YOUR religious standards and no law can be made to make YOU conform to MY religious standards regardless of what those religious standards come from, be it Islam, Judaism, Satanism, Christianity, Atheism, or any other religious belief system.

Now, to put this in some context of recent events. The recent ruling of the supreme court that Hobby Lobby, or another "closely held", "religious" corporation can decide not to supply birth control to its employees because they deem that it goes against their, the owners, religious views. Going with the logic of the first amendment this decision is saying that closely held corporations can be treated as people with religious freedom, and because they control health care coverage for their employees, they can decline to pay for certain services because it violates their religious freedom. Tell me how a corporation having religious freedom makes sense. You can't, because it doesn't. Corporations are not people, no matter how convenient it makes your business endeavors.

I think that religious freedom is one of the best things about the U.S. It means that I can practice or abstain from religion in whatever way I see fit given that it will not effect my life, or anyone else's life, in any significant fashion. For example, if I don't want to take birth control, I DON'T HAVE TO TAKE IT. If I don't want an abortion I DON'T HAVE TO GET ONE. If I don't want to go to a mosque, or a synagogue, or a church, I DON'T HAVE TO. No one is forcing me to, I have the right to not participate in those aspects of society based on my own convictions. But, I am also guaranteed the right to participate in those aspects of society, as long as I am not negatively affecting anyone else. I am not allowed to encroach on other citizens freedoms by forcing them to adhere to my religious standards. Neither I nor congress shall make a law respecting an establishment of religion.

This country was colonized by people searching for one thing: and end to religious persecution, but now we have people who are trying to "uphold traditional American values" by pushing their Judeo-christian religious values on the rest of the country. The irony would be great if it wasn't effecting so many lives. Uphold the constitution and use it as a shield to protect the weak and enable everyone to live their lives the way they see fit without harming other people. It's not a hard concept to grasp, folks.

Sexual Violence

A quick fore word. While I was traveling I used this blog to update everyone about my travels but now I want to switch the focus to more opinion related items that I want to write about. I did a few of these before so I'm thinking that will be the format of the new ones I will write. Ok, on to the real post:

I guess I'll begin this post with a little confession. I don't really take my personal security into account when walking home late, or if I'm going to be out in the dark by myself. Especially when I am in a city I consider to be "home". Apple Valley, Ames, Dunedin are all cities that I would consider to be safe enough for me to walk homer at 3am drunk and not have to worry about anything. However, I will always walk a girl home of she asks me, not really because I think she won't be safe but more just because it's nice to walk and have someone to talk to.Now, I have come to realize that the only reason I am so relaxed about this is because I have never experienced anything that would lead me to believe anything bad would happen to me. Other people are not so lucky.

I just read an exchange on Facebook between one of my friends and one of her friends in which they describe the times that they have actually been assaulted, been catcalled, felt unsafe, or had to take preventative measures to make themselves feel safe in their own home. The exchange began after my friend posted this video on Facebook.

Now, this is a relatively foreign concept to me, and I think that speaks volumes about the depth of this problem. Now I'm not saying that I didn't know that sexual crimes didn't exist, or that they are not pervasive, but I just always pictured them as far away or not affecting the people I care about in such an intense manner. Here are some of the conversation (I got permission from my friend to use the text):  

"I get teased for not drinking a lot when I go to the bars with friends.
"She's too responsible" my friend says as he stumbles next to me.
Yep, because someone has to keep me and my super drunk girlfriend from getting assaulted.
I hate Ames. I freaking got assaulted on my motherf***ing birthday while at a bar but I couldn't figure out WHICH guy in the group standing next to me and staring at me did it. Bunch of f***ing perverts. I had to pass by them again to get out and whoever did it, did it again. I wanted to vomit and beat the s**t out of someone. I'm never, ever, f***ing ever wearing a skirt out."

"I've been followed to my car, I got literally chased by an angry man into the gym (wouldn't respond to him). I never wear both earbuds, I always have a knife (my excuse is I work in a greenhouse) and I actually do the "honey I'm home!" if there's this certain guy out in the hall or "I'll be back in a few minutes babe" when I'm leaving and he's out. I have no problems glaring at strange men anymore (let them think I'm a b***h). I do the same thing with my car, and check under sometimes even (I'm glad it's a jeep). I ALWAYS walk "confidently" because I don't want to look weak and vulnerable.
Yeah, a lot of times I wish I was fat and unattractive, too. Some guy made a comment about pulling on my hair once and I was so tempted to pull out my knife and just shear it off then and there, Mulan-style. Ugh. I get so tired of having to watch my back all the time. And then you get those guy friends who tell you you're overreacting or don't even think about it when you glare and motion at them across the bar to "Get the f**k over here NOW"."

 I see something seriously wrong with this situation. When a woman feels so unsafe in her own skin that they wish they could change it to become uglier just because they are being constantly harassed and assaulted by men is horrific. The fact that members of my gender make women feel so horribly makes me feel sick. Seriously, when was the last time you felt so unsafe being yourself that you wanted to change who you are. If you are a man, I doubt you ever have, or at least I haven't. This feeling of danger is a crime perpetrated against half of the human beings on this planet. This does not just negatively effect women. Our whole society suffers when we persecute any part of it and make it feel unsafe, insecure, or scared.

Women are men's equals in every respect and deserve so much better than cat calls, leers, and assaults. I challenge anyone reading this to take this issue to heart and work on making everyone feel safe. The only way we will solve this problem is with a concerted effort by everyone to look at their behavior and eliminate any threatening or demeaning actions from what they deem to be acceptable, and hold everyone around them to that same standard. Being drunk is no excuse, being with the "bro's" is no excuse, being horny is no excuse. You are not an animal, you do not rely on base instincts to survive, so don't let them control you. The only failure will be silently standing by and letting this domestic terrorism continue. Don't be afraid to stand up for anyone, a "no" from two people is more powerful than a "no" from one. Even if they don't or can't say anything at the time, they will be grateful to you for helping them, so do the world a favor and help make it a better place for us all.

Final Thoughts

As I am writing this, it is officially my last few hours in Dunedin. Almost everyone else has left and this place feels like a ghost town in some post apocalyptic movie. It's windy and we don't have heat, the food in my flat is almost gone, all the windows are dark. I am so excited to get home and get out of this eerie place. I already miss everyone so much.

It also occurred to me that so many things end as they begin. I will be flying into Auckland this morning and flying out of Auckland tomorrow morning very early. I slept on a couch in my sleeping bag last night, much like I slept on the floor in a hostel my first night in New Zealand. I used my travel deodorant for the first time since my travels almost five months ago and just that smell brought back so many memories of getting up in the early morning, nervous and excited to see what adventures awaited that day.

New Zealand is a wonderful place, and many of the places and people here will always hold a special place in my heart for the role they played in not only my education, but my development into the person I am now and the person I will be later in life. I never thought it was possible to get so close to complete strangers from across the globe so quickly and just how much these people would mean to me at the end of my stay here. Anyone from 378, my doors are always open and my couch is always available.

It is a weird feeling, leaving here. As I said earlier I'm excited to get home, but I also wish we could get everyone back together again for one more night. It's bittersweet knowing that what I got to experience was so amazing, but it will also never be the same again. There is a time and a place for everything and there is no place I would rather have spent my last 139 days than in Dunedin with my complex.

In short, I love you all and I hope that between now and when I see you again that you are prosperous and happy.

All the best,

-Sam

The World of Complex 378 Leith St.

My New Tattoo

I got my second tattoo yesterday as a sort of culmination of all the life changing events I have experienced here in New Zealand. I got a traditional Maori design that represents my "whakapapa" (the "wh" is pronounced like a "f") or genealogy. The Maori put a great deal of emphasis on ancestry and where you came from. Many Maori could trace their lineage back 10 or 15 generations some even to the first explorers that colonized New Zealand. This tracing of heritage gave them an identity and was almost a religion for the Maori. My tattoo is much smaller than a traditional male Maori tattoo, which would cover all of the thigh and buttocks. My tattoo symbolizes my two parents with the two large fern buds in the negative space between the blocks. They are touching to symbolize the connection between them that is me. The silver fern itself is a powerful symbol for the Maori where it shows guidance and wisdom.

The canvas

The design

The finished product

All Blacks and the Nude Blacks

Yesterday was a busy day in Dunedin. The All Blacks, New Zealand's national rugby team, played a test match against England at Forsyth Barr Stadium. They beat England 28-27 and continued their two year unbeaten streak. The All Blacks are famous for their Haka. It is a traditonal Maori war dance that is basically a challenge and a threat to the other team. Here is a video of the All Blacks doing the Kapa O Pango Haka to the Australian Rugby team. This is the same Haka they did last night.

You can see the players sticking their tongues out during the chant, this was a way for the Maori to say that they were going to eat you, the Maori did practice cannabilism. They also do throat slitting motions at the end which means exactly what you think it means. It is an incredibly powerful intimidation technique and it was crazy to see it live. My friends who weren't at the game said they could hear the Haka blocks away.There are different Hakas done at different games, another famous and popular one is called Ka Mate.

Here are the lyrics to the Kapa O Pango Haka and what they mean:

Kapa O Pango Haka:

This haka was first performed by the All Blacks versus South Africa on 27 August 2005 at Carisbrook, Dunedin. The All Blacks won 31 - 27. This Haka was written by Ngati Porou's Derek Lardelli. This Haka will only be performed before special test matches.

Kapa o pango kia whakawhenua au i ahau!

Let me become one with the land

Hi aue, hi!

Ko Aotearoa e ngunguru nei!

This is our land that rumbles

Au, au, aue ha!

And it's my time! It's my moment!

Ko Kapa o Pango e ngunguru nei!

This defines us as the All Blacks

Au, au, aue ha!

It's my time! It's my moment!

I ahaha!

Ka tu te ihiihi

Our dominance

Ka tu te wanawana

Our supremacy will triumph

Ki runga ki te rangi e tu iho nei, tu iho nei, hi!

And will be placed on high

Ponga ra!

Silver fern!

Kapa o Pango, aue hi!

All Blacks!

Ponga ra!

Silver fern!

Kapa o Pango, aue hi, ha!

All Blacks!

The All Blacks defending against and English advance

Before the game, a charity match was held between the Nude Blacks and England. Basically it was 14 naked men playing rugby in the middle of the city. Children were in attendance and it was pretty hilarious. They had the "Queen" make an appearance and she made plentiful dick jokes. They had a blind referee, a literal blind woman as the referee, and of course, a naked announcer. They did a naked Haka, the Maori war dance that the All Blacks do at the beginning of every game.

 This next picture is from the Nude Blacks game and is NSFW.

The Nude Blacks lining up before the game