'Severed pigs heads should be hung along Hungary's border to deter Muslim refugees and migrants from entering the country an MEP has suggested'.

The Daily Telegraph spluttered in horror. The idea, put forward in 'an ill-tempered exchange on twitter' by a Hungarian MEP 'sparked outrage and disbelief.'

Pigs and pork are impure in Islam (Qu'rān 6:145), to the extent that all contact is deemed to be both contaminating and abominating. So it is not surprising that the suggestion would be considered highly offensive.

Yet Gyorgy Schopflin, the MEP who came up with the idea is not the first to have thought of using pigs to deter and upset Muslims.

After repeated uprisings in the Spanish Philippines in the late 1800s, new tactics were needed to deal with Islamic fundamentalists - Juramentados - who swore oaths to die as martyrs while killing Christians. Those who achieved their aims were buried alongside dead pig in order to pollute their corpses.

It was a grisly practice that was adopted by some officers in the US Army at the start of the 20th century when the United States became embroiled in a war in the Philippines - and faced the same problem of how to stop and discourage those prepared to murder in the name of their faith.

One officer took to ordering crowds to gather to see the burial of dead fundamentalists and to see a pig's corpse being lowered into the pit alongside. It was a practice adopted by other officers too - because it was an effective deterrent

'These Juramentado attacks were materially reduced in number by a practice that the Mohamedans held in abhorrence', wrote General Pershing who was there at the time. 'It was not pleasant to have to take such measures, but the prospect of going to hell instead of heaven sometimes deterred the would-be assassins.'

And in fact, despite the furore about today's comments about pig's heads on Hungary's border, others have revelled in similar taunting only recently. According to Business Insider, patches bearing the image of a Crusader eating pork were hugely popular with US troops serving in Afghanistan just recently - with the text being written in Arabic for the benefit of any modern day juramentados (these days called 'jihadists) who got close enough to read.

It is worth studying history. It may not repeat itself, as Mark Twain purportedly said, but it sure does rhyme.

We live in difficult times. We are seeing our species at its absolute worst. Humans are capable of acts of breathtaking violence; of allowing the flames of intolerance and mistrusts to catch and spread; of enabling inequality and persecution to deepen and bring suffering.

When we are at our best is when we co-operate and share, when we innovate and create, when we show compassion and when we demonstrate respect for each other.

Nowhere is this shown better than during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Yes, these are only Games. But they hold valuable truths for us all and teach important lessons about treating rivals with respect.

I have been overjoyed by the Rio Olympics. I know Brazil well and don't need any tips on the country's faults and failings (or its prodigies either). I know something about the IOC too, and don't need any pointers on the way it operates - perhaps best described as murky.

But I am shocked and devastated by the fact that the Paralympics are going to be curtailed by the human weakness and meanness, rather than a further celebration of generosity and kindness.

There is, apparently, not enough money to go round. Over-spending on the Olympics, poor ticket sales for the Paralympic events (where with only 12% of the tickets have been bought) and financial incompetence - including heavy bribery - mean some countries will not be able to send teams to compete, while many events are being scaled down, depriving athletes who have spent four years training, from competing.

Many have turned their fire on the IOC, on the authorities in Rio and Brazil, not without good reason. It is important in due course that corrupt officials are identified and punished; that the games are properly audited; that the money trails are looked into.

But something needs to be done quicker than that to keep the show on the road.

That's why I've started an online petition asking companies that are innovative, creative and pioneering to step up now. It would be a wonderful thing for companies that have shaped the early 21st century, like Facebook, Apple, Google and Uber and others besides to take the lead and dip into their  treasure chests and save the games.

As a good friend in Rio tells me, the organisers of the Paralympics do not even know how big a gap needs to be filled. But we need to start somewhere. Knowing that a solution is possible can make change happen in the next few days and keep the show on the road.

If you have 30 seconds spare, please sign, tweet and share my petition.

Modern politics is all about online activism. Let's see if we can get enough people to sign a petition to get those who might be able and willing to help to do so.

You can do so by clicking here: it's free. Just like a vote.