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Submitted by Brandon Smith of Alt-Market.com, One of the most dangerous philosophical contentions even amongst liberty movement activists is the conundrum of government force and prevention during times of imminent pandemic. All of us at one time or another have had this debate. If a legitimate viral threat existed and threatened to infect and kill millions of Americans, is it then acceptable for the government to step in, remove civil liberties, enforce quarantines, and stop people from spreading the disease? After all, during a viral event, the decisions of each individual can truly have a positive or negative effect on...

At least 4,877 people have died in the world's worst recorded outbreak of Ebola, and at least 9,936 cases of the disease had been recorded as of Oct. 19, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday, but the true toll may be three times as much. The WHO has said real numbers of cases are believed to be much higher than reported: by a factor of 1.5 in Guinea, 2 in Sierra Leone and 2.5 in Liberia, while the death rate is thought to be about 70 percent of all cases. That would suggest a toll of almost 15,000.

I have spent a little time compiling links to threads about the Ebola outbreak in the interest of having all the links in one thread for future reference. Please add links to new threads and articles of interest as the situation develops. Thank You all for you participation.

<p>Muslim burial practices are being blamed for the spread of Ebola.</p> <p>Remains of Secretary General of The Nigeria Supreme General for Islamic Affairs and Seriki of Egbaland, Alhaji Lateeef Adegbite at his burial in 2012.</p> <p>Islam requires family members to personally wash the corpses of loved ones from head to toe. This practise is putting more Africans at risk to catch the disease that is spread by body fluids.</p>

In the wake of the blockbuster investigation that broke an Islamic plot to take over UK public schools wide open, nothing has been done to take back those schools from Muslim goons. Nothing. Sir Michael Wilshaw, Ofsted’s chief inspector, said schools at the center of the Islamic”Trojan Horse” affair were failed to improve. The schools held hostage by Islamic supremacists at the centre of the takeover plot are still promoting an “unbalanced curriculum” and promoting Islamic supremacism and Islamic misogyny. Instead, dhimmi British authorities have targeted — Christian schools. They know Christians will not fight. They know Christians school present...

CHICKASHA, Okla. – Lunch meat, a couple of crackers, a slice of cheese and two pieces of cauliflower qualified as lunch in Chickasha Public Schools Monday. Chickasha lunchStudent Kaytlin Shelton took a photo of the skimpy lunch and showed it to her parents. “It makes me want to take that and take it to the Superintendent and tell him to eat it for lunch,” the girl tells Fox 25. “I can go pay a dollar for a Lunchable and get more food in it,” her father, Vince Holton, says. [Snip] The new lunch complies with lunch regulations championed by...

Philadelphia teachers vowed to fight a sudden move by the district Monday that cancels their union contract and forces them to start paying health premiums of as much as $140 a month. The teachers union, with about 15,000 members, accused the state-led School Reform Commission of ratcheting up its “war on teachers.” However, district leaders said there was nothing else to cut after years of funding woes that have prompted nearly $1 billion in cuts that includes the loss of 5,000 positions and the closure of 30 schools. Many Philadelphia schools operate without a nurse or librarian on duty

Editor’s Note: This story contains mature subject matter. Reader discretion is advised. A Washington state parent is speaking out after she was left stunned by a school awards ceremony that she said featured profanity, inappropriate jokes and a box of sex toys. The parent, who sent an email to KOMO-TV, but wished to remain anonymous, said she was left in tears by what she witnessed when she accompanied her 17-year-old daughter to the event put on by Bellingham High School drama teacher Teri Grimes. “I sat there with my mouth open in shock and the final straw was when a joke...

ASPEN, Colo. – Aspen Elementary School officials want students to be quiet during their 20-minute lunch, and have imposed a new set of rules and penalties for talkative youngsters to keep down cafeteria chatter. Many parents, however, are speaking up about the policy, which was outlined in a school newsletter that was recently sent home with students. School administrators reportedly told students they must use a 1-inch rule to speak during their lunch, meaning they can only open their mouths one inch to whisper, according to the Aspen Times.

The School Reform News, published by the Heartland Institute, found there are over 1,200 massive open online courses, or MOOCs, offered by over 200 universities and taken by an estimated ten million K-12 students. homeschooling Florida is the nation’s leader in offering MOOCs, where students watch video lectures recorded online and participate in online discussion boards, which could reduce the cost of higher education for students and state taxpayers. Michael Horn, cofounder of the Clayton Christianson Institute, said, “People would be foolish to overlook it.” Florida state legislators are considering moving the state to MOOCs at the K-12 level, but...

... According to a report in EAG News, a chief recommendation coming out of the state panel that was “charged” with “making recommendations to reduce the risk of future tragedies” has concluded that more oversight of homeschoolers will accomplish that goal. The report’s “chief recommendation” is “tighter scrutiny of homeschoolers … to prevent an incident such as the December 2012 slaughter of 20 first-graders and six adults at Sandy Elementary School in Newtown,” EAG said. ...

Prosecutors are using a law originally enacted to go after mobsters to accuse former principals, teachers, and administrators of trying to boost their bonuses by conspiring to artificially raise kids' test scores. While only 12 ex-educators are on trial in Atlanta, dozens of teachers and administrators were initially charged and many have since pleaded guilty in exchange for their cooperation. The dozen on trial could get up to 20 years in prison, and they might never have been prosecuted if it weren't for a pair of ambitious reporters at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC). Back in 2008, Heather Vogell, now a...

Democrat Mary Burke told education officials Friday she would fight as governor to stop the expansion of voucher schools but would leave alone the long-standing program in Milwaukee. "This is something that may sound like a good political sound bite, but it is bad public policy," she said of expanding the voucher program. "I think it is the thing that most threatens a vision of a public school system and an education for students in Wisconsin to be the leaders in our country." Her comments drew applause from her audience at a Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators conference at...

The Detroit Free Press recently reported that teacher salaries in Michigan have dropped 8 percent from 1999 to 2013 when factoring in inflation. The average teachers’ salary in Michigan was $49,044 in 1999-2000 and increased to $61,560 in 2012-13. But the gap in pay between teachers and the average worker has increased significantly over this time period. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, teachers now have 23 percent higher salaries than the median household income in Michigan, which was $50,115 in 2012. This is higher than in 1999-2000 when teacher salaries were 10 percent higher than the median household income...

Chicago's newest selective enrollment high school will not be named after President Barack Obama, as Mayor Rahm Emanuel had announced with much fanfare when unveiling the high profile school project. In a statement this morning, Emanuel said he would look for other possible names. “Over the last few months, my team has listened to questions and concerns from the community, ranging from location of the building to the naming of the school. We take that community input seriously, which is why – as we continue to look for a thoughtful way to honor President Obama – we will look for...

In what may be the ultimate Nanny State move, Vermont has outlawed consuming or bringing brownies, cakes, or cookies to school. The mandates are part of a new program titled “Smart-Snacks-in-Schools” and will apply to lunch items, vending machines, and fundraising events between midnight and half and hour after school. Boston.com reported:

It looks like the days of trading half of your peanut butter and jelly sandwich for half of your best friend’s ham sandwich may soon be over if the federal government has anything to do with it. A Richmond, Virginia mother received the following note, telling her not to pack a lunch for her pre-school age child. Dear Parents, I have received word from Federal Programs Preschool pertaining to lunches from home. Parents are to be informed that students can only bring lunches from home if there is a medical condition requiring a specific diet, along with a physicians note...

Feathers have been ruffled at California’s Ventura High School, where the principal this week banned the football booster club from selling Chick-fil-A sandwiches over fears that people might be offended. What, pray tell, could people find offensive about a plump juicy chicken breast tucked between two buttered buns? Were English teachers put off by the restaurant chain’s grammatically challenged bovine pitchmen?

(RNS) Arkansas State is removing a Christian cross decal from the back of its football helmets after a complaint that it violated separation of church and state, the university said Wednesday (Sept. 10). Athletics director Terry Mohajir said he wanted to fight the decision because the decal was intended to honor former player Markel Owens and equipment manager Barry Weyer, who both died this year. However, Mohajir said he had little choice but to follow advice from the university’s legal counsel to remove or modify the symbol. “My job is to support our players and our coaches in their expression...

The troubled city school system opened three new high schools Monday in an effort to show that officials are committed to innovating and boosting achievement despite fewer resources and the specter of massive layoffs. Superintendent William Hite enthusiastically greeted the founding staff and students at The LINC school, even while expressing uncertainty about the district’s precarious finances. He made $32 million in cuts last month to ensure classes could start on time for all 135,000 public school students. “I’m really concerned about our ability to sustain the staffing levels we have at the moment,” Hite said. …