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RANDOM MUSINGS FROM THE TOP OF THE HILL

10/28/2014

FYI

For your information, Ebola is a river in Africa. It was near this river that the disease was first identified - that was in 1976.  

The Ebola River is located in a country they called the Belgian Congo when I was in grade school.  In 1960, the Belgian Congo achieved partial independence from Belgium and became the Republic of the Congo-Leopoldville. (Leopold was King of Belgium)  After five contentious years, the Congolese achieved complete independence and the country was called Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In 1971, its president changed the name to Zaire.  (A famous Muhammad Ali fight with George Foreman was fought there in 1974 - George ended up making grills.)  That name lasted until 1997 when the name was changed back to Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Now that you know all this, don't get this country confused with the Republic of the Congo which is a neighbor.  (I assume they are un-democratic and don't care if you know it.)  Africans must have a problem with names.
o.o


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