Incredible article in Citizen Scientist titled "Meet Dr. Doom." This is not an opinion that is as off-the-mainstream as you may initially think and, sadly, this is not the first time I have heard or read these whackos make suggestions like these. They are the modern offshot of the eugenics movement of the early twentieth century and of the Nazis and Communists, specialists in mass murder on a global scale.

AIDS is not an efficient killer, he explained, because it is too slow. His favorite candidate for eliminating 90 percent of the world's population is airborne Ebola ( Ebola Reston ), because it is both highly lethal and it kills in days, instead of years. However, Professor Pianka did not mention that Ebola victims die a slow and torturous death as the virus initiates a cascade of biological calamities inside the victim that eventually liquefy the internal organs.

After praising the Ebola virus for its efficiency at killing, Pianka paused, leaned over the lectern, looked at us and carefully said, “We've got airborne 90 percent mortality in humans. Killing humans. Think about that.”

With his slide of human skulls towering on the screen behind him, Professor Pianka was deadly serious. The audience that had been applauding some of his statements now sat silent.

After a dramatic pause, Pianka returned to politics and environmentalism. But he revisited his call for mass death when he reflected on the oil situation.

“And the fossil fuels are running out,” he said, “so I think we may have to cut back to two billion, which would be about one-third as many people.” So the oil crisis alone may require eliminating two-third's of the world's population.

How soon must the mass dying begin if Earth is to be saved? Apparently fairly soon, for Pianka suggested he might be around when the killer disease goes to work. He was born in 1939, and his lengthy obituary appears on his web site .

When Pianka finished his remarks, the audience applauded. It wasn't merely a smattering of polite clapping that audiences diplomatically reserve for poor or boring speakers. It was a loud, vigorous and enthusiastic applause.

We can only hope the good doctor contracts the very disease he wishes on the rest of us "useless eaters."

Another great article from Gary Marx of the Chicago Tribune was published today. Here's some excerpts:

MATANZAS, Cuba -- Emiliano Batista has spent more than a decade planning, scheming and risking his life in 18 failed attempts to reach Florida by raft.

Over the years, the 31-year-old laborer sold his television, refrigerator and, in the end, all his worldly possessions for materials to build boats. When that wasn't enough, he dismantled his home. Even the light fixtures and sink were sold.

"It's been a nightmare not reaching my objective," said Batista, a resident of this port city 60 miles east of Havana. "All I've thought about is leaving."
...

But hidden from view is a psychological phenomenon--a state of obsession--that can overwhelm people's lives here regardless of whether they ever reach foreign shores.

"When people say, `That guy, all he has in his head is leaving,' you know that means the person is lost," said a 27-year-old Havana resident, referring to the psychological state that can lead to sadness, desperation, anxiety and depression.
...

The average Cuban salary is about $15 a month, making a trip something that most people can only dream about.

Yet the constant stream of Cuban emigres visiting their homeland with tales of life in the outside world creates a yearning for something other than Cuba's tightly controlled socialist system. The fact that Cuba is so tantalizingly close to the United States -- 90 miles across the Straits of Florida--doesn't help either.
...

"When you get to the point when you want to leave, nothing else matters," said the 27-year-old Havana resident, who asked that she not be identified.

The woman said she became obsessed with the idea of emigrating after realizing that fidelity to the government rather than excellence was the key to advancement at work in Cuba.
...

"It's like living with a roof pressing down on you," explained a 25-year-old psychologist, who says she hit the tipping point when, after two years at an $18-a-month job, she realized she had no prospects in Cuba's tightly controlled economy.

That's the translation of the title of an award-winning 2005 documentary by Cuban director Daniel Vega. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any sites in English, nor could I find any real good Spanish sites which describe this documentary at length.

Why do I bring this up? Well, I was watching the popular Miami current events show A Mano Limpia earlier this week (if you live in South Florida, understand Spanish and don't watch this show, you are missing out on some very interesting Cuban topics), and the topic was on this documentary De Buzos, Leones y Tanqueros. This post does not do the documentary justice, but I'll try to describe it as best I can based on what I saw on the program.

The documentary interviews several Havana resident who specialize in "diving into" garbage dumpsters (thus the tanker reference) all across the city and pick up anything from empty plastic water bottles to discarded shoes. The divers then turn around and sell these items. This "business" has become fairly sophisticated, with the divers claiming their own areas of work, and often complain when others infringe on their territory. Apparently, the tourist areas are highly sought after due to the quality of the garbage found in these areas. At the end of the documentary, a member of the local CDR (neighborhood government "watchdogs") walks up to the cameraman and tells him to stop filming the divers.

A skeptic might say, "There are homeless people in the United States who go into garbage dumpsters too". That's true. The big difference between those in the US and the divers in Cuba is that in Cuba there is supposed to be equality amongst all people. Everyone is supposed to have the same opportunities. The documentary shows otherwise. If you have a good job with good pay, why in the world would you want to pick through garbage to put food on the table and support your family? For these people, this is their job. They do this because it pays more than an ordinary job offered by the government. Some of the divers even have college degrees. These aren't your ordinary "bums".

I think it's also significant that a Cuban director decided to film and show something like this. Even without openly criticizing the regime, it obviously points to a big problem in what is supposed to be a "utopian society" when young men have to pick garbage in order to make a living. The fact that this documentary has won awards in Cuba leads me to believe that Cubans realize that things are bad in Cuba, and this undercurrent of disenchantment shows itself in subtle yet recognizable ways.

Perhaps Cubans are waking up to reality and are slowly but surely manifesting their dissatisfaction.

UPDATE 11:34 AM EDT- Reader Frank was kind enough to track down a video of the A Mano Limpia show which aired the documentary. Check it out here. You can also click on the Link Externo below the video window to open up a Windows Media Player file.

Gracias Frank!