Or even with convincing ‘Africa’. Still fool-proof, methinks.
Does anyone else see the utlimate irony in the fact that the world’s most distinguished prize for peace is given by a foundation started by a man who invented one of terrorism’s most useful weapons?
This is the Pit, after all, but I’d like to ask for a cite that states that AIDS is truly a natural phenomenon and not something cooked up in a “Western laboratory.” Not that I believe that, but is it ruled out completely? I know there’s a big difference between “defiintely” and “possibly”, and the person cited in the OP was being definite, but I’d like to know.
“Western laboratory” sounds like Doc Holliday’s barber shop.
I’m not sure it’s possible to “prove AIDS is natural”, Mad Hermit, but Wikipedia says:
This last paragraph seems to be the source of Mme. Maathai’s claims.
Well, Mother Teresa was awarded the peace prize, so there’s a definite precedent for giving it to people who do charity work.
Isn’t the spread of pseudoscientific scare-mongering and slander against other nations contrary, at least to some degree, to the goal of world peace?
The West already has enough to answer for in our treatment of Africa. No good can be accomplished by shifting the focus from real issues to white-coated boogeymen.
Then again, no doubt she actually believes this theory, so it’s more a matter of ignorance than the malicious propagation of falsehoods, but nonetheless she is not contributing to the cause of peace by giving credence to this conspiracy theory.
Plus it risks undermining her outstanding positive contributions. As it is, I can imagine that the power establishments in many countries may not be too happy about communities becoming empowered to improve their lives w/o owing it to those already in power (which is sad, because that is a very important part of how the 3d World would at least start to get out of the hole). Throw in an attitude of hostility towards “outsiders” and if you’ve let your opponents paint your movement as the province of kooks and junk-science, they’re not gonna help you.
Then again, Peace Prize winners have a distinguished tradition of spouting off on stuff they know jack about, just because they’re the Peace Prize winners.
And, a precedent for giving it to evil, hypocritical frauds!
Surely they could have done better in those years than Teddy Roosevelt, Kissinger, Arafat and Mother Teresa though?
Maybe, maybe not. It’s all about time and place. If you want to fully historically deconstruct the recipients of the humanitarian, non-science awards, no one is enough of a saint to come through the process. Plus these people were often involved in controversial situations, and had to make hard and unpopular decisions. It’s not an award for “niceness”, it’s an award for geting things done, or earnestly trying to get thngs done in difficult situations.
Don’t mind milroy.
He’s just bummed that his President didn’t get the prize.
Henry Kissinger was the litmus test for me.
Good point, I was really only thinking of factual wrongness of it, and hadn’t considered the scare-mongering part of it. You’re right, it is contrary to world peace, to a degree.
Not particularly. Over his life Alfred Nobel regretted some of the uses to which his most famous invention had been put, and established the Prize in his will.
Thank you, SentientMeat and andros, for your kind answers.
So, is she scare-mongering intentionally, or does she really believe this?
The Pit-worthy sentiment here she seems to be saying if it’s not sent by God, then it’s someone else who created AIDS? There must be someone to blame, after all?
No matter what happens, there’s someone to blame. Disease, natural disaster, what have you- someone must be found to blame.
Is there another article about this, or is this the only source? It sounds like she’s trying to get a message through, but she’s having a hard time as evidenced by these quotes.
I can’t quite understand what she’s after here, though:
A mountain is endangered?
Terrorists are still using Dynamite?
That may well be true, since the hunters who ate ‘bushmeat’ (ie. chimp flesh) are likely the people who transferred the Simian Immunodeficiency Virus into humans. The nutjob sentiment here is that people deliberately created the virus, which is instantly falsified by its clear similarity to SIV which has been around for centuries, at least.
And I think she meant Mount Kenya’s ecology and diversity which was endangered, since clearing forests leads to desertification and flooding since the ground cannot hold on to nutrients or moisture.
Well, it certainly could have been created from SIV, which would account for the similarity.
Not that it’s not a nutjob sentiment. Jus’ sayin’, is all.
I’m assuming she means the local ecology of the mountain. The mountain isn’t going to up-and-disappear, but erosion and loss of habitat for native species are just two of the effects that the clearing of forests could have on the mountain. If erosion becomes a factor, then those rivers might become clogged with silt, which can affect all sorts of things, like the population of fish in the rivers, perhaps their direction of flow, their suitability for navigation by boat, and so on.
Why, of course we know who the evil scientists were. They were Jewish doctors!
I support the right to keep and arm ents!
Aluminium millinery, just to quibble. Although yours is easier to say faster when you’re drunk.