The Harm

Families make case for vaccine link to autism

WASHINGTON (AP) — Parents claiming that childhood vaccines cause autism should not be rewarded by the courts when the scientific community has already rejected any link, government lawyers argued Monday on the first day of a hearing in federal court.

Overall, nearly 4,900 families have filed claims with the U.S. Court of Claims alleging that vaccines caused autism and other neurological problems in their children. Lawyers for the families are presenting three different theories of how vaccines caused autism. The theory at issue Monday was whether vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal caused autism.

Lynn Ricciardella, a Justice Department lawyer, said that theory has not moved beyond the realm of speculation. She said that the Institute of Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have rejected any link between thimerosal and autism.

I understand that these parents are angry but vaccines are not the cause and this law suit will lead to more people not vaccination there children weakening herd immunity and leading to the death of un-vaccinated children.
Vaccines have saved countless lives and multiple scientific peer reviewed studies have show no connection between vaccines and autism.

If you haven’t herd there is a Measles outbreak, the largest in 7 years.
The CDC says the cause is an increased number of travelers from Europe and Israel and a decrease in vaccinations.
Okay, so the outbreak is small but but it is a example of what could happen when many don’t get vaccinated. Yes if a few don’t get vaccinated the odds of them getting what ever they where being vaccinated against is the same as those who has been vaccinated to none (depending on variety of factors). This is called “herd immunity. The problem is when enough people don’t get vaccinated herd immunity breaks down and it no longer protects the non-vaccinated from preventable diseases.
So this “outbreak” may be small and not really news but another much larger outbreak could happen in the future cause if the anti-vaccination bullshit grows.
Get your children vaccinated! It could/would save lives and the lives of others.

Thanks to Jen at Skepchick I bring you this

For a second time in two weeks, religious groups have called for the closure of Russia’s cartoon channel 2X2.

Christian and Muslim groups are demanding that 2X2 be shut down because it airs cartoons, such as South Park, which they deem to be anti-religious, violent as well as promoting homosexuality.

The Consultative Council of the Heads of the Protestant Churches in Russia is urging the country’s top prosecutor Yury Chaika to intervene.

“Through the use of cartoons this channel is pumping, day and night, an ideology into the consciousness of minors of perversion and other vices,” said the council in a statement released this week.

Umar-Khazrat Idrisov, the head of a regional Muslim association, has called on the country’s Federal Culture and Cinematography Agency to strip 2X2 of its licence. “Destructive energy” should not be aired on TV said Idrisov.

“The Federal Culture and Cinematography Agency may be able to control the activities of our channel, but the Protestants cannot,” said Yekaterina Doglosheveva, head of corporate affairs for Prof-Media — the company that owns 2X2.

The channel, which has about a 2 per cent audience share, has said its target audience is men aged 16 to 30, not children.

“We live in a fully secular, not puritan state,” Doglosheveva told the Russian news agency Interfax.

“The atheists could have just as well written a letter to demand that all religious channels and programs be closed. We work respecting the constitution, we do not violate the law.”

Earlier this month, 2X2 pulled American cartoons Happy Tree Friends and The Adventures of Big Jeff from its schedules after an official complaint from government watchdog, Rossvyazokhrankulutra, that the cartoons were too cruel and violent.

The MTV channel in Russia also shows South Park, but has not been targeted by the Protestant group.

Whats the harm here? Well its potential future harm, a channel might end up censoring there broadcasts to not offend religious people and sense any criticism of religion is offencive to many religious people they would censer criticism of religion, one of the things the deserves the most criticism.

Thanks to John C. Devorac at devorak Uncenserd I bring you thus.

A local state lawmaker who is pushing Florida to adopt an “academic freedom” law — one that would protect teachers who are critical of evolution — has invited members of the Florida House to a private screening of the movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.

The controversial documentary, staring Ben Stein, is supported by the Discovery Institute, which advocates for Intelligent Design and has been pushing for academic freedom laws to protect those who share its views.

The invitation to see Expelled on Wednesday was sent to all members of the House by Rep. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, according to his legislative aide.

Hays filed a bill very similar to a sample one posted on the institute’s website. It would give teachers the right to present “the full range of views on biological and chemical origins.” That bill, plus a companion one in the Senate filed by Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Brandon, were filed after the State Board of Education last month adopted new science standards (ones lauded by many scientists) that required the teaching of evolution.

Whats the harm? It allows ignorant teachers to bash the scientific theory with the same old pseudo-scientific propaganda and thus diminish already bad Florida schools and make it harder for any student that wants to become a scientists or biologist and make our country look even more stupid.

Thanks to the The Bad Astronomer at The Bas Astronamy Blog I bring you this.

McCain said, per ABC News’ Bret Hovell, that “It’s indisputable that (autism) is on the rise amongst children, the question is what’s causing it. And we go back and forth and there’s strong evidence that indicates that it’s got to do with a preservative in vaccines.”

No, we do know what the cause of the rise is, its caused by changes in diagnostic criteria and grater awareness of autism.[1][2] [article it self]

McCain said there’s “divided scientific opinion” on the matter, with “many on the other side that are credible scientists that are saying that’s not the cause of it.”

No, no reputable scientists says vaccinations cause autism, studies have shown no connection between the two. [3][4][5][article it self]

Whats the harm here? McCain’s statements could cause parents (out of fear of autism) not to get there children vaccinated and thus get preventable diseases that could even lead to death.
While I disagree with The Bad Astronomer on him being anti-science (I thing he’s just misinformed) his statements are non the less dangerous.

1. http://whyfiles.org/209autism/
2. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,149666,00.html
3. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=344288
4. http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/01/california-stud.html
5. http://autism.about.com/b/2008/02/04/new-british-study-shows-no-relationship-between-mmr-vaccine-and-autism-whats-your-take.htm