FRESH MEAT

Friday, September 25, 2009

Celebrities and their BS about autism and vaccines

Why do people believe celebrities instead of experts? | Talking in Circles

You’ve probably seen news coverage of the debate over the safety of vaccines and whether they cause autism in children. In fact, you might have seen new-age medicine spokeswoman and former Playboy model Jenny McCarthy speak out against vaccines on Oprah’s hugely popular television show.

Actually, being honest here: if you’re reading this blog, I doubt you watch Oprah. But I’m sure you’ve at least heard about McCarthy’s appearance and her subsequent role as anti-vaccine crusader. In fact, most of you probably know that there’s absolutely no scientific evidence linking autism to vaccines, and the connection has been rightly written off as pseudo-science by all the real doctors and scientists.

... read the link above for the whole post.

Again, Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism
The evidence is in. The scientific community has reached a clear consensus that vaccines don’t cause autism. There is no controversy.” So begins an in-depth discussion of the vaccines-cause-autism nonsense penned by “SkepDoc” Harriet Hall in a recent issue of eSkeptic. It is a must read for any thinking person who has been baffled by the likes of Jenny McCarthy and her unconscionable sponsors, boyfriend Jim Carrey (who bankrolls McCarthy’s dangerous ignorance) and Oprah Winfrey (who provides McCarthy with television time so that she can endanger the lives of even more children).
... read the link above for the whole post

More information about vaccines and concerns about vaccines

Home - VOICES FOR VACCINES
Voices For Vaccines has been formed to speak for those who value the vital protection provided by vaccines and want accurate communication of their safety profile. Our goal is to maximize the ability of vaccines to prevent disease, disability, and death, here and abroad, by supporting sound vaccine policies and practices.
Voices for Vaccines is guided by the following principles:
Science
We will follow the most reliable scientific findings in formulating our positions. We will be frank and clear about what is known and the limitations of current knowledge.
Independence
To allay concerns about conflicts of interest, we will accept no funding from companies that manufacture or distribute vaccines, nor from any government.

National Meningitis Association
The National Meningitis Association (NMA) is a nonprofit organization founded by parents whose children have died or live with permanent disabilities from meningococcal disease.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends meningococcal vaccination for all adolescents 11-18 years of age.
NMA Mission
NMA's mission is to educate families, medical professionals and others about bacterial meningitis and prevention approaches to the disease.

Meningitis Angels
Meningitis Angels is a 501 (C) 3 nonprofit, publicly supported organization founded in memory of Ryan Wayne Milley and dedicated to others who lives were taken, the survivors of meningitis, and their families. Bacterial Meningitis, like many vaccine preventable diseases is deadly. It has no boundaries of race, age, economical, social levels or geography. However some age groups, races and countries are at a higher risk than others.

We educate the public, schools, daycares, colleges, government and media on bacterial meningitis and the preventions including immunizations. We promote and sometimes conduct research on meningitis and the after effects.

Autism Science Foundation
We still don’t know what causes autism, but we have learned what doesn’t cause it. Numerous studies have failed to show a link between autism and vaccines.

The Autism Science Foundation is a nonprofit corporation organized for charitable and educational purposes, and exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code.

The Autism Science Foundation's mission is to support autism research by providing funding and other assistance to scientists and organizations conducting, facilitating, publicizing and disseminating autism research. The organization also provides information about autism to the general public and serves to increase awareness of autism spectrum disorders and the needs of individuals and families affected by autism.

Our organization adheres to rigorous scientific standards and values. We believe that outstanding research is the greatest gift we can offer our families. Every research dollar needs to count.

The Autism Science Foundation's mission is premised on the following facts and principles:

·     Autism is known to have a strong genetic component. Research must aim to discover the mechanisms of action that trigger autism, as well as safe, effective and novel treatments to enhance the quality of life for children and adults currently affected.

·   Early diagnosis and early intervention are critical to helping people with autism reach their potential, but educational, vocational and support services must be applied across the lifespan. Science has a critical role to play in creating evidence-based, effective lifespan interventions.

·   Vaccines save lives; they do not cause autism. Numerous studies have failed to show a causal link between vaccines and autism. Vaccine safety research should continue to be conducted by the public health system in order to ensure vaccine safety and maintain confidence in our national vaccine program, but further investment of limited autism research dollars is not warranted at this time.

Information about Vaccines

Welcome to the Vaccine Education Center : Vaccine Education Center - Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
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Our resources explain how vaccines work, how they are made, who recommends vaccines, when they should be given, if they are still necessary, and, most importantly, if they are safe.

Vaccines changed medicine
Vaccines have literally transformed the landscape of medicine over the course of the 20th century.

Before vaccines, parents in the United States could expect that every year:

Polio would paralyze 10,000 children.
Rubella (German measles) would cause birth defects and mental retardation in as many as 20,000 newborns.
Measles would infect about 4 million children, killing 3,000.
Diphtheria would be one of the most common causes of death in school-aged children.
A bacterium called Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) would cause meningitis in 15,000 children, leaving many with permanent brain damage.
Pertussis (whooping cough) would kill thousands of infants.

Vaccines have reduced and, in some cases, eliminated many diseases that killed or severely disabled people just a few generations before. For most Americans today, vaccines are a routine part of healthcare.

However, the disappearance of many childhood diseases has led some parents to question whether vaccines are still necessary. Further, a growing number of parents are concerned that vaccines may actually be the cause of diseases such as autism, hyperactivity, developmental delay, attention deficit disorder, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) among others. These concerns have caused some parents to delay vaccines or withhold them altogether from their children. For more specific information on these concerns, visit the Vaccine Safety section of the site.

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Click on the top link to visit this site. And there are many links on the site to more detailed information.

Flu Nonsense in the Georgia Straight

Confessions of an Asshole Skeptic: FLU Nonsense in the Georgia Straight
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"My kids will not be getting either the swine-flu or the regular flu shot this year." Which is anti-vaxish for: "I will negligently contribute to the undermining of herd-immunity this year and will directly endanger my own progeny."
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Thursday, September 24, 2009

Ontario Swine Flu and Flu Vaccination Schedule

HealthZone.ca
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Ontario's influenza campaign will roll out in three stages:

In October, seasonal flu vaccine will be made available to persons 65 and older, and to residents of long-term care facilities.

In November, the H1N1 vaccine will become available in a sequenced fashion with those most susceptible to serious illness at the front of the line.

And in December and January, the regular seasonal flu vaccine will again be made available, this time to the rest of the population.

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Plants vs Zombie game - free flash version

Plants vs Zombies™ Official Site - PopCap Games - Free Online Games
If you haven't already played this very fun game, here is a free on-line flash version.

Anglo-Saxon Treasure foound

TheStar.com | World | Anglo-Saxon treasure found in farmer's field

Raphael G. Satter
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LONDON – An amateur treasure hunter prowling English farmland with a metal detector stumbled upon what has been described as the largest Anglo-Saxon treasure ever discovered, a massive collection of gold and silver crosses, sword decorations and other items, British archaeologists said Thursday.

One expert said the treasure would revolutionize understanding of the Anglo-Saxons, a Germanic people who ruled England from the fifth century until the Norman conquest in 1066. Another said the find would rank among Britain's best-known historic treasures.

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Comic book characters grouped by religious affiliation

Religious Super-Teams
A strange but thorough site.
I didn't know that "Hippy" was a religion.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Trailer Park Boys finale - Countdown to Liquor Day movie

Countdown to Trailer Park Boys movie - The Globe and Mail
This, apparently, is to be the last Trailer Park Boys film. The movie hits the big screen this Friday.
A promotional photo for TRAILER PARK BOYS COUNTDOWN TO LIQUOR DAY shows John Paul Tremblay (left), Mike Smith (centre) and Robb Wells in the Mike Clattenburg directed film.

A promotional photo for TRAILER PARK BOYS COUNTDOWN TO LIQUOR DAY shows John Paul Tremblay (left), Mike Smith (centre) and Robb Wells in the Mike Clattenburg directed film.

Healthcare around the World

BBC NEWS | Health | Healthcare around the world

Healthcare figures

US, UK, France and Singapore are compared in this news item.

Here are the Canadian numbers compared to the US

Expenditure on health % GDP (Wikipedia - 2005): US: 15.2% , Canada: 9.8%
Expenditure on health per capita (Wikipedia - 2005): US: US$6,347 per capita, Canada: US$3,463 per capita
Expenditure from the private sector (Wikipedia - 2005): US: 55% , Canada: 30%
Live Expectancy (Wikipedia - CIA World Factbook 2009 estimates): US: 78.11 (ranked 50th on this list) , Canada: 81.23 (ranked 8th on this list)
Infant Mortality Rate (deaths per thousand) (from Wikipedia - CIA World Factbook 2009 estimates): US: 6.3, Canada: 4.8
Population without healthcare: US: 15.3%, Canada: 0%

Enforcing bedtimes improves kids' health

Enforcing bedtimes improves kids' health - CNN.com

A child's bedtime routine could affect his or her sleep pattern throughout a lifetime, a researcher said.

A child's bedtime routine could affect his or her sleep pattern throughout a lifetime, a researcher said.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Plans to reduce the volume of loud TV commercials

Effort to Shush Loud TV Commercials | LiveScience
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A technical organization that sets standards for digital TV broadcasters moved forward on Sept. 16 with new recommendations that may finally dial down the volume of these obnoxious ads.
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Thursday, September 17, 2009

Smell Cthulu

Now You Can Find Out What Cthulhu Smells Like - sci fashion - io9
Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs has created a bunch of perfumes inspired by HP Lovecraft. Including - yes - a Cthulhu scent. Here's how they describe it: