When someone found a dead rooster on his Manhattan apartment fire escape, the worried resident sensibly thought something was amiss and called police. If this were Thailand or Indonesia we might be thinking bird flu. But there was a vital clue pointing to a non-viral etiology: the rooster was missing its head.
This was a case for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The trail soon led to a neighbor:
Humberto Rodriguez, 52, told agents that he bit the rooster's head off because he blamed it for injuring a pet pigeon that he also kept in the apartment, [ASPCA spokesperson Joe] Pentangelo said. (AP via Newsday)
I'm sure if the rooster could testify against Mr. Rodriguez he'd say something like, "Sure I annoyed his pigeon. But he didn't have to bite off my head!"
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So he kills the rooster for pecking (literally) on a pet pigeon.
My only question is: why throw it on the fire escape when he could pluck it, clean it and throw it in a pot with some wine, vegetables and herbs?
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1863850,00.html?gusrc=rss…
Please read about the new strain of TB referenced above. Perhaps soon the interest in birds and bird flu will diminish, including roosters without heads, and this new monster virus will take its place.
This new strain of TB--called extreme drug resistant TB, has killed 52 out of 53 patients in South Africa. It has drug resistance to all known medications. Or perhaps, if we are really lucky, this monster virus will combine with bird flu, and save the world from a population explosion.
Right now this extreme drug resistant TB has a kills about 98% of those infected. The doctors in South Africa are horrified.
Please remember TB is transmitted through inhalation of the virus. If this monster becomes a pandemic, and no drugs are found to counteract it, it may remain at 98% lethal.
Remember when doctors worried about AIDS going airborne. This monster TB will kill you a lot faster then a theoretical airborne AIDS.
Do you remember how the rich laughed as they watched starving peasants die? Well guess what rich people. You will not laugh if world poverty turns this monster loose on you rich guys, because it will find your rotten ass and kill you. Thanks for destroying our public health infrastructure, you rotten corrupt rich bastards.
This monster may soon seek you out wherever you hide and kill you.
There is a bit of exaggeration in the above post. Those patients who died had HIV. If you are not infected with HIV and you contact extreme drug resistant TB, there is only a 10% risk of the disease turning into active disease.
Right now this monster virus is only prevalent in 2.9% of TB patients. But that could change.
What is clear is it is a mistake for rich societies to ignore poverty in the world. Poverty breeds disease, and if poverty creates the conditions in which this monster can grow, then the monster may kill many in the rich countries, who ignore poverty at their peril.
That is where the neoliberal argument which insists society owes nothing to those without resources breaks down.
For the record, TB is caused by bacteria, not a virus. Hence, it will respond to antibiotics. Although a drug-resistant strain may require more expensive drugs or longer treatment. And yes, someone with a supressed immune system is at much greater risk.
A dear friend of mine told me of a new couple moving into his tough neighborhood. The area looks quaint and all - but it has been a solid place for da cholos for generations.
Well, this couple had a upper story duplex and a lovely vine covered balcony. They owned a very fine, colorful, loud, and expensive parrot. They put the parrot out during the day and probably more then one cholos thought about the the heist... but only one guy had the what-evers to do it.
The couple got home to find Polly gone, but within a hour of calling the police, the police got a call from the local emergency hospital trying to understand how one of their male patients had lost his fingers but refused to tell the doctors how....
Steal it? All you have to do is let it free. Warm-weather areas have year-round colonies of "feral" parrots.
Janne: Two attempts at slow-roasting a rooster prove the meat still too tough/gamey. When I mean slow, I mean 12 hours and 36 hours. Got any recipes for that wine and herbs?
William: As for African MDR-TB / HIV, it's an 'old' story. I don't mean to dismiss it out-of-hand because it is a battle that many concerned public health officials, doctors, politicians, and NGOs are fighting valiantly.
Darin, the trick to any tough meats like rooster or old egg-laying hens is to either hang the meat for some time or a sour marinade - unless you live rurally the second option is greqatly preferable. What you're looking for is something like Coq au Vin - fowl marinated in wine. Usually recipes call for the bird to be cleaned and taken apart (but not boned or anything) then marinated in wine and herbs for a day or two (and I mean a day or two - 24 hours minimum).
Fry the pieces in a pot with bacon (for taste) and some vegetables like whole onions, carrots, celery, cabbage root (whatever that's called in English) or whatever you like to give it some color. Add the wine again and slowly boil for an hour or two (if you're going for a longer, slower boil, remove the veggies and put them back for the last half-hour). Once the wine has reduced, add some stock and bring to a boil again. thicken the stew, boil for another few minutes and serve.
If you want to get fancy you can remove the meat and vegetables before you thicken, remove the bones from the meat, strain the sauce then add everything back into the pot for the final step. It looks tidier and you don't have to mess with chicken bones at the table; of course now you'll have to mess with them at the sink instead.