Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are watching a DVD set (3) called TRIBE, by Bruce Parry. It is published by the BBC.

It does not have any hunting, but if you are as interested in the lives of some of the lesser known tribes in different parts of the world, especially Africa, you will enjoy it.

Bruce lives with these tribes for a certain period of time, becoming like one of them. Doing everything they do, eating their food and generally shows us certain aspcts of their lives which at least I have not heard of.

quote:

eating their food

any neighbor folks on that menu?

Bruce Parry is a great bloke, one can usually watch any program he has a hand in.

I think the secret to his success in getting accepted by the various tribes is his unassuming enthusiasm and willingness to muck in with the lads.

His personality has, as you say, given unprecedented access.

quote:

Originally posted by Will:

quote:

eating their food

any neighbor folks on that menu?

In one episode he was having a chat withe a number of cannibals, they described to him in great detail how they chop up the meal.

Apparently the brain is the best part, which means, sadly, you and me Bill are not going to provide very much nourishment for them, not having much between our ears

Does that mean that they would have a feast on Walter or starve to death?

STARVE!

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Apparently the brain is the best part...

Which is exactly how they figured out one of the scariest (to me) forms of infectious diseases called a TSE = Transmissible Spongiform Enchephalopathy. Unlike a virus, a fungus, a bacterium, or a protozoa, which are the common infectious agents for the animal kingdom, the TSE are caused by infectious PROTEINS called prions. They do NOT have DNA or RNA and therefore cannot be "killed" because they are not "alive" to begin with.

These prions attach themselves to the cells in the brains, creating pores in which the contents of the cells leaks out, thus shrinking the brain and causing a long list of symptoms. The disease is both incurable and fatal.

Studying disease in the cannibalistic tribes in Papua New Guinea lead to the discovery of the TSEs and prions. They called the tribe's disease "Kuru", which means to shake. It also known as the laughing sickness due to the pathologic bursts of laughter people would display when afflicted with the disease.

Later, it was linked to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) in humans.

Still sound unfamiliar? Then I bet you've heard of these prion diseases:

-Chronic Wasting Disease
-Mad Cow Disease
-Scrapies (in sheep)


I'm telling you, this is scary shit! Trying to rid an area of the infections prion proteins is nearly impossible, even with the harshest chemicals. That fact that it can't be "killed" with antibiotics or antivirals means that it can only be "denatured", which takes heat and/or very toxic chemical agents.

Take-Home Message: don't eat brain