US (no) Vaccine News

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There’s plenty going on in the world of the anti-vaxxers over in that weird place, with Florida rolling back the years to the happier times of diphtheria, polio and chicken pox because of [checks notes] “slavery”.

Right.

And then a couple of days later, a voice of reason piped up with this line:

“I think those vaccines should be used. Otherwise, some people are going to catch it and they are going to endanger other people.”

And that voice of reason was [checks notes] [checks notes again] [and again]… er… it was Donald Trump.

What?

At a White House event, the president added: “You have vaccines that work. They just pure and simple work. They’re not controversial at all, and I think those vaccines should be used.”

He went on to say, “The polio vaccine I think is amazing. A lot of people think that Covid is amazing. When you don’t have controversy at all, I think people should take it.”

What?

I’m so confused right now.

Thankfully(?), he reverted to type a 4 days later, amplifying a post from anti-vaxxer and [wow, there’s a lot of note checking to be done today, sorry] vaccine advisor to the Department of Health, David Grier.

Trump posted an undated video clip on Truth Social of anti-vaccine activists Mark and David Geier discussing thimerosal in vaccines with the text on the clipped video reading: ‘They’re ALL poison. Every. Single. One.’ David Geier has been leading an inquiry within the Department of Health and Human Services, at the direction of Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., into debunked assertions of a link between vaccines and autism.

Yes, David Grier that you read about here.

David Geier has written several papers on the alleged dangers of vaccines in causing developmental disorders in children, several of them funded by the non-profit Institute of Chronic Illnesses (ICI), Inc.

The CEO of the Institute of Chronic Illnesses (ICI), Inc. is one David Grier.

Everywhere else in America rolling back the years to happier time when kids died from measles. And the latest hotspot is Chicago. And the best bit about the latest patient in Chicago – an unvaccinated 4 year old – is that they had recently travelled through O’Hare Airport, which handles almost 300,000 passengers a day.

The public might have been exposed on Thursday, September 11 at O’Hare International Airport, at terminal 5 between the hours of about 7:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.

Fantastic news. It’s proper Outbreak stuff. But with less Ebola.

Elsewhere in the States, dyslexic anti-vaxxers are being blamed for a serious of attacks on beauty salons…

It’s a rubbish joke, but I still laughed, because otherwise, I’d still be crying.

The Heating Debate

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Households in the UK are already settling into a slightly earlier than usual Heating Debate, as in: should they put the central heating on yet?

Earlier than usual because of a bit of a cold snap over there, but whenever it happens, it prompts arguments:

No surprise that Belfast households argue more than any other. They could fight each other over stuff they agree on.

And they do.

But of course, down this end of the world, we’re heading the other way: into hotter times, and the joys of summer.

Except not yet.

So there was absolutely no debate at all when we got home this evening, that the fire was being lit.

Bloody freezing*!

* it’s 11°C

Let’s move on

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After all the exciting football news, it’s time to remind ourselves that this blog isn’t actually a football blog. No, here at 6000 miles…, we like to see every sport represented in its own right. And so is some other news from other recent sporting events that might otherwise have passed you by.

The Austrians claimed victory on home soil in the 2025 Tram Driving WM event, held in Vienna. You might remember that last year Hungary won it in the last European only event in Frankfurt.

But there was no stopping the Austrians this year, and with Poland taking second, and the Championship moving to Warsaw next year, I know who my money is on.

It’s Poland.

In the World Ploughing Championship (remember this post?), just over the border in the Czech Republic, a Yorkshireman took the honours.

Sue Frith, chief executive of the Society of Ploughmen, said: “This is a tremendous result for James Witty and for England. To say we were delighted when James was announced as World Champion is an understatement.”

Witty had previously also won the [checks notes] “World Reversible Ploughing Championship” in 2003, and becomes only the third person in history to have won both titles. I think we’re aware that the reversible plough is more efficient than the conventional plough, which throws the furrow slice to one side of the travel direction because it has a lower draught requirement and a larger field capacity. So being able to master both techniques is very impressive.

Obviously.

And then OUTRAGE in Scotland at the World Stone Skimming Championship – it is a very addictive sport:

…where some competitors had suspiciously circular stones.

Entrants choose their own stones and judges use a measuring device, the “ring of truth”, to ensure they are no bigger than three inches in diameter.

Organiser Dr Kyle Mathews, also known as the “Toss Master”, told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland that judges heard “rumours and murmurings of some nefarious deeds”.

“There was a little bit of stone doctoring,” he said.

“They had shaped it so that it was perfectly circular and fitted our three inch measurer.”

The event is held annually in an old slate quarry that was filled with water from a tidal wave in 1881, and was won this year by American Jonathan Jennings with a 177m total over three throws.

That’s your round up of all the big sporting action of the last few days, and plenty of fodder for upcoming pub quiz answers as well.

The Return of the Prodigal Son

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Guess who’s back?

I’ve been watching football for long enough that I understand a lot of it. Business, though? Not a clue.

That’s why I leave running the club to the people who do understand the business bit. But it seems like they might not quite have understood the football side of things.
And if you want to run a successful football business, well, you need to know both.

But look here. Maybe our American owners have learned a bit about the football side of things from this whole affair. That there’s more to managing a football team than just an allegedly pretty face and a seductive accent. And while the strict facts and figures approach might work for a biggest clubs, we aren’t them. And when you need to grind out results, week in, week out, then you need grit, passion and someone who understands the club.

Chris Wilder is absolutely that.

Fan, ball-boy, player, manager (manager, manager).

Is he the right man for the job long-term? I’m not 100% sure. But already – thanks to his usurper/predecessor – this season is just about establishing ourselves again, steadying the ship, and not getting relegated. Making up that lost ground on the teams at the top of the league will certainly be the aim, but that might already be too big a job.
Sure, it’s a marathon, not a sprint, but who starts a marathon 13 points and 19 goals behind the leaders?

That’s not even how marathons work.

And so I think this two season deal is just perfect. Consolidate and build this time around, and mount another charge for Premier League glory next time around. It seems absolutely ridiculous that we’ve basically lost a whole season thanks to this weird, unwanted, wholly unsuccessful 3 month intrusion, but here we are.

So. Onward and upward. And pity help Charlton Athletic this weekend*.

* T&Cs always, always apply.

Gone

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Finally. The manager that no-one wanted in the first place, has been sacked.

And what a waste of three months.

Sure, he’s ruined the season already, with everyone else having a 5-game and a +11 goal difference start on us, and why would we trust the club’s owners to bring in the right person this time around after they shocked us with this drivel mid-summer?

But it’s a step in the right direction and I don’t know whether to play Kool & The Gang’s Celebration or Yazz’s The Only Way Is Up (older fans of the Blades will remember this from the end of many matches around the end of the 80s).

Either way, possibly – hopefully – the season starts now. #UTB