What could possibly go wrong?

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The measles outbreak in the USA has now killed at least two people, including a 6 year old girl, and has infected at least 430.

430 might not seem like a huge number, but it’s worth remembering that even if infection doesn’t cause death, it can result in deafness, blindness and brain damage, as well as having other serious long-term effects.

And we’ve been through some of the reasons that this outbreak is happening. Indeed, the parents of the little girl that died gave an interview after her death in which they said that they remained strongly anti-vaccination. And while you can argue that that’s their right (sadly, it is), maybe for some context we should add another of the things they said in the same interview:

“The measles wasn’t that bad.”

That ‘s them describing the disease that just killed their daughter.

Absolutely terrifying. Not least given that they have 4 other kids.

Of course, one of the other reasons (other than religion) that measles vaccination has waned is Andrew Wakefield’s long-disproven link between MMR and autism.

A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.

There are now many, many studies refuting Wakefield’s “work” – and it’s a horrible lesson in how incredibly damaging and dangerous spreading falsehoods can be.

It’s absolutely clear that Wakefield’s “study” was – at best – terrible science, and – at worst – completely fraudulent.

So it’s both weird and worrying that The Department of Health and Human Services in the US has decided to launch a study into… er… “the connection between immunisations and autism”, and even weirder and more worrying that [gosh] they’ve chosen a prominent anti-vaxxer to help run it.

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.

He’s certainly never medically examined children even though he holds no medical qualification.

Grier and his father have long been grifting while pretending that there’s a link between vaccines and autism. They then tested and “treated” their patients at huge expense to the parents, while raking in money for representing them at (unsuccessful) legal hearings into their childrens’ disorders.

Anyway, he seems like the perfect guy to run an unbiased, objective, non-partisan study into this allegedly contentious and emotive non-issue.

What – I ask again – could possibly go wrong?

I want a MAGA hat*

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* Careful now!


After yesterday’s post, that title may come as a surprise to most all of you.

So let me immediately unsurprise you by saying that No. It’s not one of those MAGA hats.

It’s one of these MAGA hats:

(B)eagle-eyed readers will note the Greenland flag on the side of the cap, and yes, this was designed by Greenland activist Aannguaq Reimer-Johansen, who – with the continued bizarre sabre-rattling interest from the US in the mineral-rich, independently-run Danish territory – said:

Sisimiuni innuttaasoqatinnut innersuut: Vancep nuliata tikeraarnera qujangeqqusaarneruvoq. Qungujukkussigit qungujullusiluunniit assileqatigigussigit nunarsuarmi tamat paasitissuasi USA nuannaralugu peqataaffigerusullugulu. Innersuukkusunnarpoq soqutigineqassanngittut, akerliussutsimik takutitserujussuaqqammerpungut tamanna attallungu soqutiginaveersaarniartingit.

Damn straight, Aannguaq.

He’s basically reminding the people of Greenland to stand together as the latest provocative visit from the Second Lady, Usha Vance, and her group of officials to the territory goes ahead:

Vance’s wife’s visit is a charm offensive. If you smile at them or take a selfie with them, you are sending a message to the world that you love the USA and want to be part of it. 

And while this is all about Greenland, how many people worldwide would love a hat like this? Not just to show solidarity with the potentially threatened nation, but also because America Going Away would just be a really great thing to happen. Even more so after the last 10 weeks (and yes, that’s all it has been).

I don’t think that we in SA will be high on the list to get stock of these items. Geography alone puts us behind a lot of other places. But maybe there’s a tribute cap to be made at a local cap embroiderers.

Because I love the sentiment.

I wish I hadn’t…

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To cut a long story slightly shorter: I have been sleeping with the dog.

Not like that. Get out.

But the beagle is very bandaged up and not very mobile. From Wednesday, she’s going to be less bandaged up, but also not very mobile, but that’s another story. Anyway, she’s still trying to navigate the slings and arrows of her current situation, and quite regularly getting herself stuck. Either lying down, sitting down or standing up.

And so, at the moment, I’m spending my nights downstairs on a spare mattress and helping the beagle each time she gets stuck. It happens quite a lot each night.

It’s not been fun, I’ll be honest. My sleep is so disturbed that my smartwatch can’t even detect that it’s happened. Perhaps because it’s not really happening. And so I’ve been grabbing an hour or two’s nap during the day to try and keep myself going.

This morning, I couldn’t do that, because of reasons, and so I sat with the dog and I read the world news.

Dear lord. It’s not pretty out there, is it?

Because of the situation described above, and perhaps because of just a reasonable amount of self-preservation, I haven’t really been keeping too up to date with the situation in the USA. And of course, it’s always difficult to find objective, unbiased views when wanting(?) to learn about these things, because these days, the world is more polarised than a pair of expensive sunglasses.

But it’s easier to make judgements about the rights and wrongs, and about how I feel about what’s going on, when the actual information is coming directly from the goons themselves. In years to come, historians are going to have an absolute field day with all those primary sources.

They really just put it out there, don’t they?

The scary bits for me are twofold. OK, threefold. But the first fold is a fairly obvious one. Still, I guess that it shouldn’t be overlooked.

The fact that the (apparently, potentially) legitimately elected President of the USA is… well… like that.

250 years of democracy and it’s evolved to give us… him? What went wrong?

Obviously, a lot went wrong: there are many, many factors in how this came about, but honestly… what an absolute disaster for the entire world (minus Russia and China, obviously).

Number two – and I use that term with all of its meanings – that they are so open, so brazen, so completely shameless and unabashed about the things that they are doing and the way that they are doing them. Everyone keeps referring to that guy in Germany in the 1930s, and terrifyingly, that’s quite reasonable, but there have been plenty of other examples before and since and none of them have been pleasant, and none of them have worked out well. The thing is that many of those examples weren’t elected: they seized power via non-democratic means and then held on – and on, and on.

This twat won an election (apparently).

And that brings me on to the third fold. His supporters. It’s a cult. It’s just a well-managed cult of frighteningly stupid, easily-led people.
I don’t use the c-word lightly, but if it looks, smells and quacks like a cult… well…

It doesn’t seem to matter how outrageous the claim or the story (or the lie) that is used to justify the action: it’s lapped up like manna from heaven. There is literally not a second given to even contemplate questioning the motive or think critically about the situation.

Orange man good.
Weird – and I mean really weird – billionaire good.

That’s a cult. And it’s running one of the most powerful nations on earth. It’s unbelievable.

Ah Jesus.

I don’t think I’m going to surprise anyone in making the somewhat radical statement that I really don’t think that this is going to end well. And it’s going to be f******g miserable while it gets us there, as well.

I read the news today, oh my.

I wish I hadn’t.