Don't say I didn't warn you

Philippines Moves to Fight Pig Ebola
Dec. 19, 2008

But health officials say it is too early to rule out a possible threat to humans, and expressed concern over the fact that this incident, first revealed in an Oct. 30 teleconference between the Philippine government and U.S. health authorities, wasn't made public until a news conference for local media in Manila last week. (Read the rest in Wall St. Journal.)

(Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap)

What a coincidence, but shortly after reading this, I received a phone call from a leader in the local hog industry who was calling about a totally unrelated matter, but after peppering him w/ questions about the issue, admitted that they tried to dissuade Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap from publicly announcing the Ebola Reston virus outbreak.

If not for the insistence of the World Health Organization, OIE, and United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the DA officials would've kept quiet on the issue, leaving the public in the dark about possible risks to our health. Salamat Arthur Yap, ang galing mo talaga.

UPDATE (Dec. 20, 2008,11:58 AM): I've just been told that a similar WHO story was supposed to have been published in a major broadsheet today but was killed, not just by the editors, but by the WHO officials themselves. The WHO officials were supposedly afraid to offend the presidentita. Tsk, tsk...when even a global org such as WHO turns on its tail on a vital issue such as this, and gets caught up in the politics of a country it's in, then it is useless. Afraid to offend Malacañang but not afraid to risk the health of Pinoys, ey? Tsk, tsk.

Ebola in your pork

OKAY, I'm really swearing off pork now. Sure, I've said it before, and have fallen off the wagon since Christmas last year (ang sarap kasi ng jamon!), but this time I truly, sincerely mean it.

So the Dept. of Agriculture is saying that the ebola reston virus is only specific to hogs. It won't transfer to humans and infect us like the ebola virus which makes people literally bleed through every orifice in their head (nose, mouth, eyes). But the ebola virus that broke out in the African continent, if you recall, was transmitted via animals (birds, reptiles, amphibians) as well. One gets infected if he is exposed to contaminated blood of these animals.

What is troubling is that the ebola reston virus, is actually airborne. So potentially, it could be more fatal. Btw, didn't they say that the mad cow disease was specific to cows also? And yet so many people died from mad cow disease after eating tainted beef.

So uh-uh, I'm not taking any chances. I'm quitting pork.

* * * *
SO why are some people raising a fuss about MAR Roxas cussing in public? and against the Cha-cha? E nainis sya talaga, so WTF?! I know some people in Malacañang who use cuss words worse than your P*****I**, and in Spanish at that!

Tigilan mo na' yang drama mo, Jess Dureza. You're just trying to divert attention from the real issue, w/c is the evil, diabolical, and sinister Cha-Cha move of your amo the presidentita and her minions. Talk about "stooping so low"...I think engaging in corrupt activities like this government has, and the presidentita trying to extend her term beyond Constitutional limits are even lower and more foul than MAR using crude language.

P*****I** talaga!