To Vaccinate Or Not To Vaccinate

Since 1998 the subject of does the MMR (Measles, mumps, rubella)vaccination cause autism. In 1998, Dr. Andrew Wakefield claimed to have discovered a link between the two. Parents desperate for an answer latched onto the study. Since then, no study has ever been able to replicate those findings and today he hearings began to determine if he and his colleagues behaved unethically and dishonestly in conducting their research.

The fact that the results have never been replicated indicates the dubious nature of his findings. In fact, 12 of his 14 colleagues that worked with him have since repudiated the study. It turns out that Dr. Wakefield filed for a patent on a competing vaccine.

Unfortunately, the damage has been done. Parents have been nervous about vaccinations since the study came out. Parents cling to the believe that their child's autism was caused by the vaccine. Their belief is fueled by two factors. First, the disease is often diagnosed at the same age that the vaccine is used. Second, the alternative theory is that the disease is genetic, and parents mistaken believe that this option means the disease is their fault.

No one can be blamed if they are a carrier of a genetic condition. Parents need to give up this guilt and look at the scientific evidence. Until we stop wasting money trying to prove what has already been disproved time and again, we'll never be able to focus on a cure.

The Greener Apple

Much ado is being made about Steve Jobs' message about Apple's environmental policies, but I found the coverage on the Greenpeace site even more interesting. The first thing I noticed is that apparently, Greenpeace can't read.

Steve Jobs used the phrase "So today we're changing our policy." According to the mangled quote on Greenpeace's website, this means Apple is changing it's polluting ways and Greenpeace is more than happy to take credit for forcing this change in policy.

Read the statement.

It doesn't say that Apple is changing it's environmental policy. It says it is changing its policy about not talking about future plans. Steve Jobs then goes on to talk about what Apple has already done. Apple has been green for years, its just that the idiots at Greenpeace weren't aware of it.

Of course, Greenpeace isn't about the environment. They don't care about the environment, they care about power. "Basically, they are using sensation, misinformation and scare tactics." Who said this? Patrick Moore, founder and past president of Greenpeace. Patrick Moore is someone who actually cares about ecology, which is why he left Greenpeace.

"The environmental movement was basically hijacked by political and social activists who came in and very cleverly learned how to use green rhetoric or green language to cloak agendas that actually had more to do anti-corporatism, anti-globalization, anti-business and very little to do with science and ecology," he stated on Penn and Teller's Bullshit.

Greenpeace targeted Apple because it's a high profile, trendy company. Not because there was any real environmental issue there.