August 2009 Blog Posts

JANDO

I just got this email, via the blog's feedback mechanism, from someone calling themselves "Jando" (email address withheld). Interesting reading about all points of view is available. I can't help but think that these blogs are a bit too personal (ie riddled with one-liners, insults, comebacks, counter insults etc) from both sides to provide any real mature context for the debate on wether to vax or not to vax. What everyone here needs is a good shot of rationale open debate. I suppose I also wonder why one side is SO pro and one SO anti, maybe the pro's should let...

posted @ Thursday, August 20, 2009 12:21 PM | Feedback (2)

Meryl undermines her own case again

They're not as smart as they'd like you to think, these antivaxers. The latest salvo in Meryl Dorey's Twitter War against vaccination: Polio surge in Nigeria after vaccine virus mutates - Yahoo! News: Polio surge in Nigeria after vaccine virus mut.. http://bit.ly/DhFf0 Whoah, scary headline. And it's true. A poorly-implemented polio vaccination program in Nigeria does appear to have caused the emergence of some new genetic variants of Polio. This is scary. Surely this means that all vaccinations are suspect now? Well, no. You see, Nigeria still uses an old, outdated, live polio vaccine because, basically, it's cheap. Cheap as chips. Trouble is, there are... problems with it. Turns out that...

posted @ Tuesday, August 18, 2009 6:39 PM | Feedback (1)

Antivax: Sometimes what you omit defines the most effective lies

As ever, the twitter backlash against the Australian Vaccination Network continues. One particular item has grabbed my attention. @nocompulsoryvac, a twitter account run by Meryl Dorey on behalf of the AVN, tweeted this little gem today, on a claimed 155% risk increase for Autism. Well, this piqued my interest. That's a fairly spectacular figure, representing a significant 2.5x increase in risk. Wow. And it's quite a specific number too. Must be conducted in quite a rigorous manner, eh? Well, no. Not really. You see, even though Meryl left that little gem unattributed*, I decided I was going to hunt down this data point...

posted @ Monday, August 17, 2009 5:37 PM | Feedback (11)

Oh look, my blog is back!

Now isn't that a thing? Yes, the server fell down for a while. Well, actually, for ever. There's a new server running the blog now and it's much more powerful. Also more resilient. Also more expandable. Also, tapered. No, not tapered. But better. So what's been happening while I've been away? Well, before the great server apocalypse of '09, crazy things were happening with the antivax nutters of the Australian Vaccination Network. Crazy things are still going on, but we're winning, hard. Since my last post, the AVN have decided that an open group on Facebook doesn't support their requirements any more. It's too...

posted @ Wednesday, August 12, 2009 10:40 PM | Feedback (4)

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The Blog of Jason Brown, Geek, Atheist, Skeptic, Musician, Mountain Biker, Climber, Curmudgeon.

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