The rhetoric of this article was not convincing at all. The author wants to establish a certain connection to the reader by addressing him directly and by including himself in the audience. For me this does not really work, simply because of the way he is talking about his conspiracy theories. He does not support his poorly developed arguments with facts but with strange conspiracies. In addition to this, he himself says that he is no physician, government official or health official (even though not in this blogpost but in the About-section of his blog), which evokes the feeling that he has no clue about the topic. The author relies on a strong emotional appeal related to his credibility. He talks about numerous conspiracies, saying that should smallpox ever again occur in the U.S. it has to be a Russian attack. He also claims that certain varieties of flus were attacks as well, simply because of their similarity to other, already extinct, seasonal flus. Knowing that each seasonal flu subtype is different to the one that occurred in the year before I wonder why it should not be possible that one subtype resembles another one and how this could possibly work as an argument for the flu being a biological attack from whatever country. By using such poor arguments the author lost all his credibility immediately and I don't believe anything he says.
31/03/2014
Comment on rhetoric of: "YOU HAVE NO CHANCE TO SURVIVE MAKE YOUR TIME. HA HA HA!!"
I found a pretty amusing blogpost treating the topic of biological warfare. It is called "YOU HAVE NO CHANCE TO SURVIVE MAKE YOUR TIME. HA HA HA!!" - as soon as I read this title I knew it was gonna be a good one to comment on its rhetoric. So, here we go.
23/03/2014
Creation of a biological weapon!
As I already mentioned in my first CAJ-post, Biological Warfare (BW) is the practice of infecting people with an infectious disease caused by microorganisms such as viruses or bacteria. It can, however, also be used to harm crops or animals and thus have an effect on people. BW is, due to the progress in biotechnology, highly effective and can be adjusted to almost every need.
In order to create a biological weapon several steps have to be taken. First of all, a suitable biological agent has to be chosen, acquired and cultivated until there are sufficient quantities of the pathogen (Krankheitserreger). The choice of an agent already requires detailed knowledge as numerous characteristics have to be taken into account. Some of these would be the agent's :
When the agent is in available, it can be modified and altered until it targets exactly what or who its creator wishes to attack. It can be modified to have a shorter incubation period, to be more aggressive when broken out, to spread more easily or to be more resistant to possible treatments.
When everything is the way the creator wants it, the agent is ready for its release. This is again a little difficult because the microorganism leaves the perfect artificial environment that was created to grow it and is now exposed to stresses like temperature, ultraviolet radiation and many more. The agents are often frozen, freeze-dried, converted into a stable solid, liquid or gaseous solution or powdered to ensure their effectiveness and then dispersed in whatever state they are.
Some of the main differences between BW and other means of mass destruction such as nuclear and chemical weapons are the following:
Because of the fact that pathogens are not that difficult to get, that the equipment required is easily available and also that many of the procedures needed are described in published scientific literature, it has become fairly easy to create a biological weapon. Of course, it is still related to much difficulty, but with a sufficient amount of time, money and knowledge it can be achieved. This is actually rather scary, because all of these three requirements can be obtained if you're only determined enough the create a biological weapon.
http://www.fas.org/programs/bio/bwintro.html
In order to create a biological weapon several steps have to be taken. First of all, a suitable biological agent has to be chosen, acquired and cultivated until there are sufficient quantities of the pathogen (Krankheitserreger). The choice of an agent already requires detailed knowledge as numerous characteristics have to be taken into account. Some of these would be the agent's :
- pathogenicity -> how much of the agent is needed to cause the disease
- incubation period -> how much time passes between infection and outbreak of the disease
- virulence -> how debilitating (schwächend) the disease is
- transmissibility -> how easily the disease spreads
When the agent is in available, it can be modified and altered until it targets exactly what or who its creator wishes to attack. It can be modified to have a shorter incubation period, to be more aggressive when broken out, to spread more easily or to be more resistant to possible treatments.
When everything is the way the creator wants it, the agent is ready for its release. This is again a little difficult because the microorganism leaves the perfect artificial environment that was created to grow it and is now exposed to stresses like temperature, ultraviolet radiation and many more. The agents are often frozen, freeze-dried, converted into a stable solid, liquid or gaseous solution or powdered to ensure their effectiveness and then dispersed in whatever state they are.
Some of the main differences between BW and other means of mass destruction such as nuclear and chemical weapons are the following:
- the release of an agent is barely ever detectable
- the first sign for the use of biological weapons is usually someone showing symptoms, getting sick or dying
- these diseases often spread without someone realizing because it's possible that someone is infected but shows no symptoms yet due to a long incubation period
- while the release of the agent might be in Asia the outbreak of the disease can be (e.g.) in Africa because of the incubation period and the differences in susceptibility (Anfälligkeit) of the individuals exposed to the agent
Because of the fact that pathogens are not that difficult to get, that the equipment required is easily available and also that many of the procedures needed are described in published scientific literature, it has become fairly easy to create a biological weapon. Of course, it is still related to much difficulty, but with a sufficient amount of time, money and knowledge it can be achieved. This is actually rather scary, because all of these three requirements can be obtained if you're only determined enough the create a biological weapon.
http://www.fas.org/programs/bio/bwintro.html
17/03/2014
Biological Warfare
Hi Hello!
Well, I chose Biological Warfare for my CAJ. So, what am I supposed to make out of it? I have no idea.
I basically chose it because I think it's an interesting topic...how people use science and inventions to actually just hurt others or destroy them in whatever way.
One of my favourite series, Perception, treated this subject once:
The story was about a farmer who lost everything because, and that's where it gets complicated - but I'll do my very best to explain it - the grain he harvested and sold was of a new genus that a huge company invented and patented. He, however sold it without permission and said that it was another genus, and when the company found out that it actually was their new genus they sued him so that he lost everything. After some further investigation, the FBI agents who were working on this case find out that it actually never was the farmers fault because the grain this company invented was spreading over the surrounding area all by itself and growing rampant like some super effective weed. The company knew about it and used this characteristic for suing and destroying the business of all the small farmers that might present a potential threat for their predominance in the grain market.
That was one point when I thought that this might be an interesting topic for my CAJ, so here I am.
As this basically is the only thing I know about Biological Warfare so far I will start at the very beginning and then hopefully find somewhere to go into depth about this topic so that I will achieve the task we are given.
So, what is the actual definition of the term Biological Warfare?
According to merriam webster it is "the use of harmful living things (such as germs that cause disease) as weapons in a war", according to Oxford Dictionaries it is "The use of toxins of biological origin or microorganisms as weapons of war".
Well, Biological Warfare already started in the early years of men and of course was used mainly in wars. Some techniques of the past were poisoning wells with decomposing bodies or dipping weapons in decomposing bodies in order to infect the wounds they were causing. Another example is that colonialists gave smallpox-infected blankets to the natives in order to decimate their numbers.
Since these simple yet rather effective methods we've developed rapidly and the methods used nowadays are far more efficient and malicious.
The Geneve Protocol, signed by 108 nations already in 1925, prohibits chemical agents (as the germs and viruses used in Biological Warfare are called). However, there is no way the compliance with this multilateral law is guaranteed.
So, in my next blog post I will hopefully already have managed to actually inform myself a little more and have a better overview over my whole topic.
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/biological_warfare/article_em.htm
Well, I chose Biological Warfare for my CAJ. So, what am I supposed to make out of it? I have no idea.
I basically chose it because I think it's an interesting topic...how people use science and inventions to actually just hurt others or destroy them in whatever way.
One of my favourite series, Perception, treated this subject once:
The story was about a farmer who lost everything because, and that's where it gets complicated - but I'll do my very best to explain it - the grain he harvested and sold was of a new genus that a huge company invented and patented. He, however sold it without permission and said that it was another genus, and when the company found out that it actually was their new genus they sued him so that he lost everything. After some further investigation, the FBI agents who were working on this case find out that it actually never was the farmers fault because the grain this company invented was spreading over the surrounding area all by itself and growing rampant like some super effective weed. The company knew about it and used this characteristic for suing and destroying the business of all the small farmers that might present a potential threat for their predominance in the grain market.
That was one point when I thought that this might be an interesting topic for my CAJ, so here I am.
As this basically is the only thing I know about Biological Warfare so far I will start at the very beginning and then hopefully find somewhere to go into depth about this topic so that I will achieve the task we are given.
So, what is the actual definition of the term Biological Warfare?
According to merriam webster it is "the use of harmful living things (such as germs that cause disease) as weapons in a war", according to Oxford Dictionaries it is "The use of toxins of biological origin or microorganisms as weapons of war".
Well, Biological Warfare already started in the early years of men and of course was used mainly in wars. Some techniques of the past were poisoning wells with decomposing bodies or dipping weapons in decomposing bodies in order to infect the wounds they were causing. Another example is that colonialists gave smallpox-infected blankets to the natives in order to decimate their numbers.
Since these simple yet rather effective methods we've developed rapidly and the methods used nowadays are far more efficient and malicious.
The Geneve Protocol, signed by 108 nations already in 1925, prohibits chemical agents (as the germs and viruses used in Biological Warfare are called). However, there is no way the compliance with this multilateral law is guaranteed.
So, in my next blog post I will hopefully already have managed to actually inform myself a little more and have a better overview over my whole topic.
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/biological_warfare/article_em.htm
15/03/2014
PSA -> After Death Avatars!
Everyone will eventually experience the loss of a beloved person.
Deal with the grief and the pain in a natural way.
In the end the After Death Avatar will only hurt you more than the actual death did.
Because it's not the same.
It's just not.
A day in the life of a Birgit!
A day in the life of a Birgit is as often exciting as it is boring. It is either filled with happiness and laughter or depressing thoughts and a f*ck-you-world attitude. The common Birgit is, as you can see, a highly dangerous and unpredictable being. Luckily, the day we encountered our Birgit was a good one. Its mood was all glorious and happy and there was lots of laughter and stupidtiy around it.
First thing it did when its alarm clock rang was, as usual, making a cup of its favourite tea (Yogi Tee -> Lebensfreude), turning on its laptop and trying to wake up while browsing the internet and checking its mails. As the day was bright and the sun was shining its mood lifted immediately and it was looking forward to getting the day started.
Even Uni was highly enjoyable for this particular Birgit on this particular day because Birgits tend to think that a day is exactly what you make out of it and, as it was in such a good mood, it made the best of it.
When Uni was over the day got even better for the Birgit. It convinced its friend of a similar species, the Laura, to accompany it on a shopping trip. Even though it had to buy jeans, and Birgits usually hate that because they just can't find ones that fit, this Birgit had the best time because - believe it or not - it wasn't that hard after all to find a fitting one. After this delightful and surprising experience the Laura made the suggestion of rewarding themselves with some ice cream. No sooner said than done.
They enjoyed their delicious ice cream with a considerable amount of joy and laughter, and our photographer even managed to get a close-up photo of these two rare species in interaction.
A little later the Laura and the Birgit seperated, and we followed our Birgit to its home. There it took a shower and a little later the Laura came visit the Birgit for dinner, all dressed up nicely. They spent some time cooking a delicious meal and enjoyed it with a glass of wine. When they finished the Birgit had to dress up as well because the Birgit and the Laura had big plans for the evening: they wanted to go to the Casino. Quickly the Birgit dressed and put some make up on and soon they left to meet their friends, followed by our camera team. They finally arrived at the Casino, as the first of the whole group, but they didn't care and just started the evening feeling pretty and enjoying a good glass of wine while waiting for the others to finally show up. Even thought the group consisted of six people half of them refused to have their photo taken, so we only managed to get one of our Birgit, the Laura and one representative of another very rare species, the Fabio. Unfortunately we cannot provide any photos of the rare and endangered species Sandra, Marco and Sabrina, that were present as well.
After gambling a little and loosing all its money the Birgit and its companions decided to go for another drink to a bar, where they spent the rest of the evening. The Birgit was lucky enough to get a lift home from the generous Fabio and finally fell asleep with a smile on its face.
I think we are on the best way to gain the Birgits trust and hopefully we will be able to deepen our records of this particular Birgit in the future as it really is a highly representative member of this very rare species and we are glad that we found it.
First thing it did when its alarm clock rang was, as usual, making a cup of its favourite tea (Yogi Tee -> Lebensfreude), turning on its laptop and trying to wake up while browsing the internet and checking its mails. As the day was bright and the sun was shining its mood lifted immediately and it was looking forward to getting the day started.
Even Uni was highly enjoyable for this particular Birgit on this particular day because Birgits tend to think that a day is exactly what you make out of it and, as it was in such a good mood, it made the best of it.
When Uni was over the day got even better for the Birgit. It convinced its friend of a similar species, the Laura, to accompany it on a shopping trip. Even though it had to buy jeans, and Birgits usually hate that because they just can't find ones that fit, this Birgit had the best time because - believe it or not - it wasn't that hard after all to find a fitting one. After this delightful and surprising experience the Laura made the suggestion of rewarding themselves with some ice cream. No sooner said than done.
They enjoyed their delicious ice cream with a considerable amount of joy and laughter, and our photographer even managed to get a close-up photo of these two rare species in interaction.
A little later the Laura and the Birgit seperated, and we followed our Birgit to its home. There it took a shower and a little later the Laura came visit the Birgit for dinner, all dressed up nicely. They spent some time cooking a delicious meal and enjoyed it with a glass of wine. When they finished the Birgit had to dress up as well because the Birgit and the Laura had big plans for the evening: they wanted to go to the Casino. Quickly the Birgit dressed and put some make up on and soon they left to meet their friends, followed by our camera team. They finally arrived at the Casino, as the first of the whole group, but they didn't care and just started the evening feeling pretty and enjoying a good glass of wine while waiting for the others to finally show up. Even thought the group consisted of six people half of them refused to have their photo taken, so we only managed to get one of our Birgit, the Laura and one representative of another very rare species, the Fabio. Unfortunately we cannot provide any photos of the rare and endangered species Sandra, Marco and Sabrina, that were present as well.
After gambling a little and loosing all its money the Birgit and its companions decided to go for another drink to a bar, where they spent the rest of the evening. The Birgit was lucky enough to get a lift home from the generous Fabio and finally fell asleep with a smile on its face.
I think we are on the best way to gain the Birgits trust and hopefully we will be able to deepen our records of this particular Birgit in the future as it really is a highly representative member of this very rare species and we are glad that we found it.
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