Chimps and Tools
These chimps seem very smart indeed. Especially the women. I guess I'm not surprised after all we have read this term about the intelligence of animals, and chimps in particular. I'm always fretting about eating meat, and ironically this made me feel better because it shows that meat eating is just a natural thing. It seems like so far, chimps haven't gotten caught up in neurotic guilt cycles.
Colossal Squid
I read an article in the New Yorker years ago about colossal sguid. Fishermen have been saying that they've seen them for years. Marine biologists scoffed at the idea and said the fishermen were just hallucinating, that this was merely the stuff of folklore like mermaids. When I read that article, they still hadn't caught one. In 2004 they finally did, and this is one is even bigger. Who knows, maybe mermaids are next...
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Week Twelve: Vaccination and Public Health
Parents' Roles in Immunization
The one thing that I really regret as a mom is not having more input for my kids' immunization schedule. I was at a stage in my life when I just blithely trusted the wisdom of western medicine. As a consequence, when the doctor suggested that we get some shots out of the way before we even left the hospital, I said "great". Both of my boys got a bunch of shots before they were four weeks old. The older one got shots preserved in mercury (thimersol). Thankfully, my kids have come through it all unscathed, but lots of kids don't. The wholesale assault on the babies' immune systems at such a young age is unnecessary and very damaging. So, obviously I am of the view that parents should play a very active role in immunization schedule. To that end, see generationrescue.org for a safe vaccination schedule.
Compulsory Vaccinations
I think this is such a tough issue. I think a lot of parents now just opt out of immunization without any real information on the risks and benefits. As a result, all kids are at risk, even immunized ones to some degree. I think that the institution of vaccination has gotten too out of touch with the real risks and the negative experiences of lots of kids and parents who have developed autism and other developmental problems as a result of vaccines. The medical establishment just wants everyone vaccinated, fast. The better approach is to change the schedule for vaccinations, so that kids are able to tolerate them. And, if kids have siblings who have developmental difficulties, they should be especially careful. But, I think the benefits of vaccinations outweigh the risks. Families should be able to opt out only if they have really educated themselves.
The one thing that I really regret as a mom is not having more input for my kids' immunization schedule. I was at a stage in my life when I just blithely trusted the wisdom of western medicine. As a consequence, when the doctor suggested that we get some shots out of the way before we even left the hospital, I said "great". Both of my boys got a bunch of shots before they were four weeks old. The older one got shots preserved in mercury (thimersol). Thankfully, my kids have come through it all unscathed, but lots of kids don't. The wholesale assault on the babies' immune systems at such a young age is unnecessary and very damaging. So, obviously I am of the view that parents should play a very active role in immunization schedule. To that end, see generationrescue.org for a safe vaccination schedule.
Compulsory Vaccinations
I think this is such a tough issue. I think a lot of parents now just opt out of immunization without any real information on the risks and benefits. As a result, all kids are at risk, even immunized ones to some degree. I think that the institution of vaccination has gotten too out of touch with the real risks and the negative experiences of lots of kids and parents who have developed autism and other developmental problems as a result of vaccines. The medical establishment just wants everyone vaccinated, fast. The better approach is to change the schedule for vaccinations, so that kids are able to tolerate them. And, if kids have siblings who have developmental difficulties, they should be especially careful. But, I think the benefits of vaccinations outweigh the risks. Families should be able to opt out only if they have really educated themselves.
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