The risk of narcolepsy was 13 times higher among those given the Pandemrix vacciney Ireland’s Health Services (HSE) wrote to families of children with narcolepsy with the threat to withhold health benefits from Pandemrix vaccine-induced narcolepsy sufferers if they sued for benefits.  Sufferers went to court today to quash the health system’s order. In response, HSE’s…

Hersh has written an in-depth piece on the intelligence about Syria’s chemical weapons attack in the London Review of Books, suggesting parallels with the justifications created for the war on Iraq in 2003. His final two paragraphs note that Al-Nusra rebels may be the only group left with access to sarin in Syria soon: The…

http://www.gocomics.com/stevebenson/2013/09/08#.UqKtwmRDsrd Steve Benson by Steve Benson September 08, 2013 Previous feature Next feature Current

How do governments do business with each other?  Of course they often share goals, and may benefit jointly from certain actions.  But at the most basic level, they offer each other carrots and threaten each other with sticks. Using some combination of these two strategies, the US government obtained the cooperation of 54 governments to…

From NBC  we learn Obama is going to give Americans more “confidence” in the NSA.  “I’ll be proposing some self-restraint on the NSA and initiating some reforms that can give people some more confidence.” But lack of confidence is not the problem.  Setting up a straw man to knock down “is an intentional misrepresentation of an opponent’s position, often used…

by Brian McFadden for Daily Kos A compendium of comments on the new statin guidelines from Gary Schwitzer at Health News Review: I’d like to see a public survey of comprehension of the recent splash of news about new guidelines for heart disease prevention and statin drug use.  Heads must be spinning.Here are some of the pieces…

The scoop on bullet wounds is very simple:  fired from a long distance, the bullet enters an object making a small entry wound, usually the size of the bullet, and leaves the object with an exit wound the same size or, usually, larger.  From the medical website “Explore Forensics“: Exit wounds – as we have…

From UPI and The Hill: WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) — Three U.S. Senate Democrats are sponsoring a measure they say would require greater transparency regarding National Security Agency surveillance. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Mark Udall of Colorado and Barbara Mikulski of Maryland introduced the measure as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which the Senate is debating this week, The…

Thanks to NGO Privacy International, we learn that over 300 companies can sell you your own surveillance package, incorporating 97 different technologies.  For example: Over the last four years, Privacy International has been gathering information from various sources that details how the sector sells its technologies, what the technologies are capable of and in some…

About 1,000 pages of heavily redacted documents were released Monday night (yesterday) by the Director of National Intelligence.  Reporters are still sifting through them.  But it is striking that a major finding is that NSA repeatedly overstepped what was legally permissible in its collection of data, and then eventually authorization through FISA would “catch up”…

Albanians celebrate on a monument to the national hero Skanderbeg after Edi Rama rejected the US request to host the chemical weapons. Photo: Arben Celi/Reuters The UN’s Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has completed its inspection work in Syria on time, and without any major hitch.  All production facilities for chemical weapons have…

New guidelines from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology for the use of statin drugs came out on November 12.  This is a very big deal for big Pharma, for doctors and for patients. Health consumers beware!   The guidelines may lead to tens of millions of healthy, low-risk people being transformed…

The first legal cases (outside the secret FISA court and post Snowden) questioning the legality of NSA spying come to the forefront next week.  See the US News piece here. The first case seeks a broad preliminary injection against “some NSA surveillance programs” and will be heard Monday, Nov 18.  It is a class action…

Glenn Greenwald (who left the Guardian to start a new online news service Nov 1) has long had a unique ability to pile on the pithy quotes.  This time he outdid himself, simply by quoting from an amazing report written for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) by Leonard Downie Jr., former Washington Post executive editor….

Yes, thanks to a tiny $2.6 million grant from the Department of Homeland Security, local Seattle police know everywhere your cell phone, ipad, and laptop have been for quite awhile.  There is likely video of you as well.  The “mesh network” that the police bought is capable of identifying and storing  “the IP address, device…

Buy a plane ticket, and TSA not only searches numerous databases about you, but then can share the information with state, local, foreign governments and may even sell the info to debt collection agencies or ???  Thanks to the NY Times for this important piece: The Transportation Security Administration is expanding its screening of passengers…

Here is today’s NY Times’ update on negotiations between Germany and the US on spying; it appears we have not given Germany much besides a promise to leave Angela’s phone alone… Just as European and American negotiators resumed work on a groundbreaking trade accord meant to tie their two continents closer together, René Obermann, the…

From the Guardian: [A new NSA document revealed in Germany’s Bild newspaper said there was a] “… not legally registered spying branch” (illegal under German law) in the US embassy in Berlin, the exposure of which would lead to “grave damage for the relations of the United States to another government”. From the Washington Post: Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich…

 From the Times: Leaders and citizens in Germany, one of America’s closest allies, simmered with barely contained fury on Thursday over reports that American intelligence had tapped into Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cellphone… Ms. Merkel herself angrily demanded assurances from President Obama that her cellphone was not the target of an American intelligence tap as soon…

From the organization itself: StopWatching.us is a coalition of more than 100 public advocacy organizations (especially the Electronic Freedom Foundation) and groups from across the political spectrum. Join the movement at https://rally.stopwatching.us.  This video harnesses the voices of celebrities, activists, legal experts, and other prominent figures in speaking out against mass surveillance by the NSA. Please…

Le Monde (France’s leading newspaper) discussed spyware and various NSA programs used to obtain information.   Discussing internal memos it has obtained: We discover here the proof of the existence of the GENIE programme, one of the most topical in the NSA: the remote delivery of spyware to computers… The document specifies the techniques used to…

I’ve wondered why Dianne Feinstein so persistently defends NSA and other surveillance abuses.  Now she is proposing a bill designed to avoid reining in these abuses–an attempt to circumvent other, more substantive bills such as that of Jim Sensenbrenner and Pat Leahy–and yesterday she penned a paean to surveillance in USA Today that, more than anything, sounds…

How does NSA avoid the legal restrictions that exist in FISA (the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) regarding data collection on US persons?  The Post article is explicit about how the law is trampled by collecting the data on Americans from outside the US: from non-US nodes in the worldwide internet. And who maintains the web…

The NY Times details how (borrowed) federal money spares no expense to equip US cities to achieve a level of surveillance of citizens thought only possible in science fiction, i.e., George Orwell’s dystopic 1949 novel, titled 1984.  Here.  Now.  In America. OAKLAND, Calif. — Federal grants of $7 million awarded to this city were meant largely…

Israeli doctor Zvi Howard Abramson reviewed the literature on healthcare worker flu vaccinations in 2012 and found the evidence to support vaccinations wanting. Read the whole article or his key points: (i)There are no studies showing that healthcare workers are at increased risk of influenza and its complications or that the vaccine is more effective…

Rumors of Syrian rebels being armed through weapons coming from and transiting through Libya abound.  Rumors I cited earlier suggest that the Benghazi consulate (which some suggest is a CIA base, not a consulate) attack had to do with several hundred surface to air missiles that were being secured. Today the BBC lends support to…

The Times titled this article: In Test Project, N.S.A. Tracked Cellphone Locations.   In his testimony, Mr. Clapper revealed few details about the project. He said that the N.S.A. does not currently collect locational information under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, the provision the government says is the legal basis for the N.S.A.’s once-secret…

From CDC: (the numbers at the bottom of the graph refer to the year followed by the week (by week number)).  Even in the midst of summer, there are about 100 positive tests reported per week, similar to today. From CIDRAP:  Though the flu season hasn’t started in the United States, media reports are starting to…

From yesterday’s Japan Times comes a sobering piece quoting the last chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Jaczko only stepped down in 2012) suggesting there isn’t any way to safely manage nuclear power in a world of earthquakes and natural disasters. The ongoing crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 plant is a sign that the world…

From the CSM, citing leaked diplomatic correspondence it had acquired: … According to leaked diplomatic correspondence, Iran has been warning Washington since July 2012 that Sunni rebel fighters have acquired chemical weapons, and called on the US to send “an immediate and serious warning” to rebel groups not to use them.  In a letter acquired by The…

No proof has surfaced to assign blame for Syria’s sarin attack of August 21.  The US government document that was supposed to lay out the proof was simply a litany of assertions, absent any evidence.  Robert Parry discussed the details, or lack thereof.  He points out that Bush’s Iraq war ‘dodgy dossier’ had a lot…

You can hire mobile units to destroy chemical weapons (including those in munitions) from Eisenmann Corp. near Stuttgart, Germany if the US Army won’t share its mobile units with Syria or with its own chemical weapons activities in Blue Grass, Kentucky and Pueblo, Colorado.   The US stockpile could be destroyed within a year if these…

You may have noticed that some flu shots are “stronger” this year, there are more brands available, and the newer ones cost more.  What should you know? Stronger flu shots This year the newer shots contain 4 antigens instead of 3 (2 each for influenza A and influenza B), although you can get shots with…

 From the BBC:  US and UK insist UN chemicals report ‘blames Syria’ The US, UK and France say a UN report confirming a chemical weapons attack in Damascus has vindicated their stance that Syria was to blame. The US and UK ambassadors to the UN said technical details showed only the regime could have been…

The Independent says sales were approved in 2012.  UK officials tell BBC that although sales were approved, approval was later revoked and no CW precursors went to Syria from the UK: SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson said: “This is utter hypocrisy from the UK government – deploring chemical weapons in public whilst approving the sale…

The US government acknowledges that chemical weapons remain at two US sites, where they will be destroyed by 2023. The sites are Kentucky’s Blue Grass Army Depot and Colorado’s Pueblo Chemical Depot.  Army documents reveal that Pueblo houses 2,611 tons of mustard agent.  The Blue Grass Army Depot houses 523 tons of sarin, VX and mustard agent. According…

From McClatchy, a discussion of discrepancies in what the USG has asserted.  Read it all.  Here is just the beginning: The Obama administration’s public case for attacking Syria is riddled with inconsistencies and hinges mainly on circumstantial evidence, undermining U.S. efforts this week to build support at home and abroad for a punitive strike against…

According to the US Army: “The Blue Grass chemical weapons stockpile comprises more than 500 tons of blister and nerve agent in weapons.”   This stockpile includes sarin, VX and mustard, enough to (theoretically) kill millions of humans, packed into weapons and presumably ready for deployment.  The weapons are being held pending construction of a…

Finally, a knowledgeable former state department insider deconstructs the Syria situation. Read William R. Polk’s entire article in the Atlantic, or just this crucial portion, part 4. Who Are the Possible Culprits and What Would be Their Motivations?             Since such information as we have is sketchy and questionable, we should…

Kerry persists today in making outsize claims that he fails to support.  My comments are in parentheses. Secretary of State John Kerry, in his remarks before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged Congress to vote in favor of the president ordering a military strike and argued that “the risk of not acting is greater than…

There are many types of chemicals that have been designated as chemical weapons by the international body established by the UN to prevent the use of chemical weapons. It is called the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and is headquartered in the Netherlands.  Only seven nations are not parties to the OPCW.  Israel and…

Washington Post today:  Sarin gas used in Syria attack, Kerry says That’s great, John.  But — does that mean you were trying to drum up support for an attack before you could prove chemicals weapons were used? Come on, John, you know this is not the real question that needs to be answered.  What we need…

     From Fox News comes this piece from progressive Democratic member of Congress Raul Grijalva: Now that President Obama has made up his mind about taking America to war with yet another Muslim country, he wants Congress to get on board.  To his credit, he’s seeking congressional authorization, as required by the War Powers Act…

Meantime, new research by US government scientists confirms what Canadian (and some other) researchers have been saying for years:  flu shots can actually increase your risk of developing influenza.  In a piece titled Swine study suggests flu vaccination may sometimes backfire, researchers found that vaccinating pigs for flu could also give them a more severe disease: During the…

Vaccinate your children for flu asap, say the experts.  From NBC News: “Get your kids their flu vaccines now, pediatricians advise.” “With the exception of children less than 6 months of age, everybody should go out and get their influenza vaccine as soon as the influenza vaccines are available,” Dr. Michael Brady of Nationwide Children’s…

Obama finally “got it” that his red line and his hawkish posturing left him standing on the brink, alone.  Hollande might jump off the cliff with him, but then again, he might not.  US Ambassadors had fanned out to foreign capitals, but were being rebuffed — no one wanted to join a coalition of hubris. …

Here is the report and it says very little. The report makes the case that a CW attack occurred.  I think by now everyone agrees it occurred.  The issue of import, however, is who did it, not whether it happened. The report also tells us, as if we didn’t already know, that Assad has chemical…

Meryl Nass, MD 45 Beals Ave. Ellsworth, Maine 04605 (H) 207 412-0004 (C) 207 522-5229 EMAIL:  merylnass@gmail.com

From the Associated Press/ Toronto Star: WASHINGTON— The intelligence linking Syrian President Bashar Assad or his inner circle to an alleged chemical weapons attack is no “slam dunk,” with questions remaining about who actually controls some of Syria’s chemical weapons stores and doubts about whether Assad himself ordered the strike, U.S. intelligence officials say… Administration…

NBC News queried 700 adults on Aug 28-29, 2013.   The most interesting answer I found to be the following: Q12  Do you think that President Obama should or should not be required to receive approval from Congress before taking military action in Syria? Should be required to receive approval ………………. 79 Should not be…

Finally, those who first jumped on the bandwagon start asking for proof.  From the WaPo: French officials also are calling for a delay in action until U.N. inspectors conclude their report. “Before acting, we need proof,” said Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, a minister and government spokeswoman, according to Bloomberg News. The latest developments suggest that Washington’s allies…

Yesterday’s top fun quote, from Conservative Member of Parliament Adam Holloway: Friends stop their friends getting into their cars at the end of an evening and driving away drunk:  I think it is one job of a British Prime Minister to stop American Presidents driving drunk, as George W Bush did (in my opinion) with Iraq…

Identifying an attack with a nerve agent (organophosphate) is not at all difficult.  The symptoms are characteristic:  pinpoint pupils, increased secretions from all orifices, suffocation.  They are the same symptoms experienced by agricultural workers accidentally sprayed with organophosphate insecticides. (I treated one such case 30 years ago.) This is said to be the poison in…

Fewer Maine children getting fully vaccinated; new program hopes to reverse trend Jeff Barnard | AP Sitting in her home in Ashland, Ore., on Nov. 14, 2011, Jennifer Margulis shows off empty vials of vaccine that she saves in case one of her children has a bad reaction. An author of books on parenting who…

The paper representing Maryland’s second largest city is featuring two articles (here and here) skeptical of Ivins’ role in the anthrax letters. It also created a site for readers to vote whether they believe Ivins was responsible for the anthrax attacks, or not.  Right now, only 27% think Ivins was the perpetrator. And now that…

The Boston bombing case was horrific and unexplainable, unpardonable.  Yet the public lacks much evidence about it and no trial has taken place. Where is the evidence the brothers made the bombs?  What is Dzhokhar’s side of the story?  Have you heard it?  One brother is dead and the other has been under wraps since…

I have reprinted in full a piece from today’s New Statesman about the death of David Kelly and the surprising calls from prominent liberal members of the media to “let it be”–denying the many questions regarding cause of death and how Kelly’s death related to the (false) justification for the Iraq war.  The ten year…

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” That is the Fourth Amendment to…

Mika Matsufuji, second from right, and other members of the “Zenkoku Shikyukeigan Vaccine Higaisha Renrakukai” hold a news conference to explain possible side effects of a vaccination against cervical cancer in Tokyo on March 25. (Asahi Shimbun file photo) The Japan Times refers to halting both Gardasil and Cervarix vaccines. In the US, attention has…

Monsanto (NYSE:MON), the Missouri-based seed company, has stopped lobbying for GMO crops in Europe. The company is backing off because it has accepted that there is low demand for genetically modified plants in Europe. A Monsanto Germany spokeswoman, Ursula Lüttmer-Ouazane said ”We’ve come to the conclusion that this has no broad acceptance at the moment.” She also noted that it was “counterproductive…

LD 754, a bill to require that a list of vaccine ingredients be provided to parents when their children are vaccinated, has stirred up a hornet’s nest in Augusta.  The gist of what was written in a Bangor Daily News opinion piece and in a paper circulated by Representatives Pringle and Volk is: •           If…

Dr. Joe Mercola published an excellent short piece on GMOs this week here. EarthOpenSource published a 123 page report on the science of GMOs, here.

Most US corn, sugar, canola oil and soy produced and sold in the US is genetically modified. That includes most food for human as well as animal consumption.  Monsanto has had patents on GMO wheat since the 1990s.   However, wheat is the US’ largest export crop. Rather than being fed to livestock or unwary…

Beginning in April, 2009 we heard from the talking health heads, especially WHO Director General Margaret Chen’s, about the world-threatening pandemic swine flu.  Her pronouncements sold a lot of Tamiflu and vaccines.  (Probably at least 5-10 Billion dollars’ worth worldwide; anyway, the price tag was so high we never got a straight answer from the…

Neuhaus got in so many great jabs in this piece I was nearly rolling on the floor.  Though published in 2002, it is as timely today, and the players are the same, too!  Enjoy. The Best BioethicistsThat Money Can Buy           Richard John Neuhaus “A bioethicist is to ethics what a whore is to…

From AFP: HELSINKI — Finnish researchers unveiled new data Thursday to link the Pandemrix flu vaccine to a higher risk of the sleeping disorder narcolepsy in adults.  Other studies had already shown a link between the drug used in the 2009-10 “swine flu” outbreak and a higher incidence of narcolepsy in vaccinated children, teens and…

Medical research is necessary:  there are innumerable unanswered questions about how to best treat patients.  When lives are at stake, answering the questions is very important.  Modern medicine was built on the back of medical research, built on clinical research that must rely on the goodwill of human volunteers. Volunteers participate as research subjects under…

Two years ago a bill was brought to the Maine legislature asking for a list of ingredients to be provided to parents with each childhood vaccination.  I wrote in support of it then. A similar bill was again presented in the legislature, and I have written again in its support.  I also enclosed a copy…

From today’s NY Times on yet another medical research project (performed at 23 top academic medical centers) that was done sloppily, missing a standard-care arm, and failed to provide truly informed consent… performed on unconsenting very low birthweight newborns, who were at extremely high risk of a bad outcome, but who might also lead a normal…

Finally, human rights advocates are asking the US government on what legal basis it can choose to assassinate people, and by the way, what is the process for choosing who gets offed and another thing, what’s up with the drones?!  The usual administration response is just too precious: “Our approach is marked by scrupulous adherence to…

A US government-Harvard-Hopkins study confirmed what was obvious from many prior, similar studies:  flu shots cause occasional cases of paralytic Guillain Barre Syndrome, with or without adjuvants.  In this case, about 1.6 additional GBS cases per million vaccinations, or approximately double the baseline risk in the six weeks following the vaccination.  From the Lancet: Dr Daniel…

Here’s the verbatim recommendation (from the Commission press release) about testing anthrax vaccine in kids: “Recommends that multiple steps must be taken before ethical pediatric anthrax vaccine trials can be considered by the U.S. government… In keeping with its recommendation of a strict risk limit in pre-event pediatric MCM research, the Bioethics Commission called for…

Reading 26 media reports describing the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues’ report on testing anthrax vaccine and other countermeasures in children, one learns very little: This was a really hard job for the Commission.  They had to get it precisely right.  The safety of kids is our most important priority.   The…

The Presidential Bioethics Commission Report on testing anthrax vaccine and other countermeasures on children was issued today, March 19, 2013. It was accompanied by a press release, an article in the NEJM, and a conference call with the press yesterday.  The result is many news articles, but there is confusion about what the report actually recommended….

The NY Times ‘ Donald McNeil has followed up the juicy story of how billionaire political donor Ronald Perelman got a sweetheart contract (OMG, read David Willman’s story and weep, that deal was so sweet) for a high-priced smallpox drug, which isn’t actually needed cause we have enough vaccine for every American, and if you…

Pertussis (whooping cough) cases are occasionally vaccine-resistant. Sometimes what looks like pertussis is a related disease, parapertussis, and the pertussis vaccine is useless at preventing this infection.  In fact, the vaccine may actually enhance nasal carriage with parapertussis strains. Usually, vaccine-induced protection is weak and doesn’t last long. Clearly a new vaccine that is safe…

Katherine Sebelius, Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has proposed testing anthrax vaccine in children—ostensibly to protect American children in the unlikely event of an anthrax attack.[1] But no credible evidence of an impending anthrax threat has ever been cited. The only US anthrax threat, in 2001, was traced by…

I attended the Selling Sickness conference in DC 2 weeks ago and also came away impressed and morose at where my field has gone… Elizabeth Loder: How medical journals can help stop disease mongering6 Mar, 13 | by BMJ Group It would be hard to collect a more fascinating bunch of topics or people in…

The full article in the BMJ is here.  It simply confirms the same increased incidence in the UK as has been found elsewhere in countries that used Pandemrix, although initially it was said Scandinavians had very high rates of autoimmune disorders and were at higher risk than others. Given the up to 10 year interval…

Study:  Getting flu shots 2 years in a row may lower protection Robert Roos  News Editor a Mar 1, 2013 (CIDRAP News) – Experts are puzzled by a new study in which influenza vaccination seemed to provide little or no protection against flu in the 2010-11 season—and in which the only participants who seemed to benefit…

Do vaccines ramp up the immune system, sometimes to the significant detriment of patients?  Yes. Why then are they pushed so hard in patients who are especially vulnerable?  The answer relates more to the religion than to the science of vaccines. You have just had a heart transplant.  You do not want to reject your…

I am honored to be on the board of the Alliance for Human Research Protection and to be working with its dynamic President, Vera Sharav, on stopping a dangerous trial of anthrax vaccine in healthy children.    Why sacrifice healthy children for this purpose, when the vaccine does not even have a useful role in post-exposure prophylaxis…

per CDC, Feb 8, 2013

I’m 3 months late on this.  Since this article came out, it became clearer that ASO3 caused narcolepsy in more countries than just Scandinavia and Ireland, and that adults were also at risk of developing narcolepsy after the vaccine.  And these are BAD cases of narcolepsy, not the minor cases I have seen in clinical…

Of 364 older Danes who were seropositive for H3N2 infection and about 1000 who were negative, it turned out those who were positive were a bit more likely to have been vaccinated this season for flu. This may mean the vaccine was of no use due to high rates of mutation.  Or it could mean…

“If you aren’t vaccinated, you must wear a mask throughout flu season, or be fired!” But what if you are in the 45-55% of healthcare workers who got vaccinated but lack immunity to circulating flu strains?  Shouldn’t you be wearing a mask too? What if you are in the 75-100% of vaccinated workers who get…

Thanks for telling us, BBC.  But this is no surprise.  You should be investigating why England denied having an increase in cases earlier.  Furthermore, the 10-16 fold increased risk of narcolepsy within 6 months will lowball the actual risk–as recent studies show some victims taking much longer than 6 months or a year to be diagnosed….

From CDC’s Fluview:

You read it here 3 days ago.  Just because Pandemrix caused a 700%-1300% increase in narcolepsy cases in children did not mean that cases of the vaccine-induced illness were confined to children.  And now we see they were not.  Grownups also get it.  And what else was caused by Pandemrix that did not shout out…

An estimated 30-60 lives may have been saved in Sweden due to use of Pandemrix, but more than 200 Swedish children developed narcolepsy due to the Pandemrix vaccine. So now Pandemrix, with the ASO3 adjuvant, won’t be used in children.   But the more important issue imho is why will it continue to be used…

Finally, a major US network, CNN, tells the truth about flu vaccine policy: The flu hasn’t hit Europe as hard as it has the United States, health officials say, but when and if it does, don’t expect a call for vaccination of the entire population.  Only the U.S. and Canada actually encourage everyone older than…

from CDC’s FluView

You have to give credit to the two federal advisory committees tasked with advising the government on a trial of anthrax vaccine in children. THEY KNOW THE SCORE, whether they acknowledged it, or not. The members knew this was one issue that could really burn them. They understood that this is a dangerous vaccine with…

An excellent piece discusses how turning over aspects of healthcare to private industry led to greater costs without accompanying benefits, and compares the US with other first world countries.

Today’s NY Times’ front page says, “Sales of Guns Soar in U.S. as Nation Weighs Tougher Limits.   The Times’ Quotation of the Day is:  “If I had 1,000 AR-15’s I could sell them in a week.” The quote is from Jack Smith, a gun dealer in Des Moines, Iowa, referring to a popular style…

CDC posts its latest stats for flu on Fridays.  See how, despite the pandemonium over flu, things are improving, and it looks like this season is less severe than 2003-4, 2007-8, and 2009-10. UPDATE #1:  January 12:  Aetna said this week it has seen a spike in flu cases this year but it is not…

What exactly is a “state of emergency”? According to Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), state declarations “may also identify state rules and regulations that are waived or suspended during the emergency…  They can include: Activation of statutory immunities and liability protections for those involved in response activities. Suspension and waiver of rules…

CDC’s weekly flu data with tables and graphs is here.  This flu season looks ho-hum, occurring earlier than usual but following a standard trajectory.  CDC, why the barrage of disinfo?  Can this really be only about the flu, or is it about encroaching on our civil rights and our bodies? Here are even earlier flu seasons…

Puh-Leeze.  A State of Emergency?  I’d laugh except declaring an emergency gives states new political powers.  Powers designed by CDC and Lawrence Gostin.  Begun by 1999, before the anthrax letters or comparable public health emergencies existed, CDC “called for strengthening the legal foundation for public health practice.” The Model Emergency Health Powers Act was only…