Ebola, France, and the Art of Civil Disobedience

Alright, I'll admit it, there is a topic I've been avoiding for quite some time now. There's many reasons for this. There's a lot of very strong, and very uneducated opinions on the matter, but it's past time I owned up to the subject.

Ebola.

This is obviously a very hot topic in everyone's mind now, and I've got to say, watching groups of fifteen year old have panic attacks in high school because they think they're going to die from Ebola is getting old.

If you are one of the many freaking out about Ebola, the only reason you're so concerned, is because you haven't actually researched the matter.

Ebola is a terrible travesty and has affected many, many people sadly.

However, when one man in Texas gets diagnosed with the disease, is immediately quarantined, and suddenly every person I know is demanding that we shut all flights to Liberia, I'm going to draw the line.

So if you are worried you're going to die of Ebola, let me give you some peace of mind.

Ebola is a very difficult disease to catch. You have to come into direct contact with fluids from another infected person, and even after that the likelihood of getting it is critically low.

Ebola is a disease that has a tendency to flare up and cause an epidemic, people panic, but the disease does not spread very well, and eventually it dies down.

Don't believe me? Here is an interview between Dr. Kent and Mr. Stephen Colbert on just the subject.

I have one other topic for today, and intend to keep it short. That is the violent protests going on in the French Forest of Sivens.

Call the activists what you will, but these brave people are fighting for what they believe in.

Their cause is that the French government is cutting down 41 acres of land containing 90 endangered species to make way for a dam.

This is a particularly concerning event, especially considering the world has lost 50% of it's wildlife in the past 40 years.

Things have turned violent when the French government responded with riot police, tear gas, and the like, causing protesters to respond, in turn, with molotov cocktails, rocks, and gas bombs. The weapons of the masses.

If you aren't subscribed to Vice News you definitely should be, they're always on top of the important stories.

That's all for today, I'll be back tomorrow with another post!

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." -Pablo Picasso