16 Sep 14: Memo to public health grandees: vaping, vapers and you (by Clive Bates)

[twgbonehead]

As I mentioned previously, there's no reason to presume autism is more prevalent now than it ever was; the pertinent changes have been in the diagnostic criteria and the level of awareness among medical professionals. In the 21st century, we recognize a whole host of distinct syndromes and conditions that, not too very long ago, used to be classed collectively under labels like "mild mental ......ation."

I won't argue with you there, at all. Diagnosis these days seems to have a very strong correlation with "is there a drug that can treat this?"
I suspect that the symptoms of autism (and particularly "autistic spectrum disorders") are not a single issue. Some of it undoubtedly comes from over-diagnosis, some of it comes from stupid parenting. But there's so much of it, it's hard to believe that it's all from one cause.

Who writes the protocols for diagnosing autism?

 

[Nate760]

I won't argue with you there, at all. Diagnosis these days seems to have a very strong correlation with "is there a drug that can treat this?"
I suspect that the symptoms of autism (and particularly "autistic spectrum disorders") are not a single issue. Some of it undoubtedly comes from over-diagnosis, some of it comes from stupid parenting. But there's so much of it, it's hard to believe that it's all from one cause.

As I alluded to in the previous post, doctors 100 years from now might look back at the second decade of the 21st century and see that the definition and diagnostic criteria for "autism" were entirely too broad, and today's doctors were applying that label to any number of conditions that were actually distinct from one another, but they just didn't realize it then/now.

 

[Sirius]

As I alluded to in the previous post, doctors 100 years from now might look back at the second decade of the 21st century and see that the definition and diagnostic criteria for "autism" were entirely too broad, and today's doctors were applying that label to any number of conditions that were actually distinct from one another, but they just didn't realize it then/now.

Well..hopefully in 50 years a peer review paper will be written with the title: Use Of Electronic Nicotine Devilry devices Saved Millions.

 

[Nate760]

Well..hopefully in 50 years a peer review paper will be written with the title: Use Of Electronic Nicotine Devilry devices Saved Millions.

If the state of current research is an accurate indicator, there might be a nicotine-based cure for Alzheimer's and/or Parkinson's by then. Of course, I'd be age 90 at that point, so it might come in really handy.

 

[AndriaD]

This is a common thread in a lot of conspiracy-oriented nonsense (or, as the case may be, just plain old nonsense). For example, people who weren't alive during the Apollo program (which I wasn't either, but I was born about a year and a half after it ended) are statistically more likely to believe the lunar landings were all an elaborate hoax.

I've long been struck by the fact that the internet, which places the entire repository of human knowledge at the fingertips of every person with access to it, has somehow managed to make large numbers of people even more stupid and credulous.

I remember it very well; I was 8 yrs old, and already enthralled with all things "space" -- but the quality of the transmissions, on TV, was so poor; I couldn't understand how something so exciting could seem so boring. My fascination with the space program continued until the day I saw the Challenger go boom -- I went into shock when I saw that, and never had the heart to watch another launch, for fear of what might happen.

But I'd really love to go down and watch a real live launch. Too bad they don't launch those big honking Saturn rockets anymore! That would have been truly awesome to see.

Andria

 

[Nate760]

I remember it very well; I was 8 yrs old, and already enthralled with all things "space" -- but the quality of the transmissions, on TV, was so poor; I couldn't understand how something so exciting could seem so boring. My fascination with the space program continued until the day I saw the Challenger go boom -- I went into shock when I saw that, and never had the heart to watch another launch, for fear of what might happen.

I was in 6th grade when Challenger happened. We were finishing up Bible study class (Lutheran school, whattya do) so it was time for the pastor to leave and our regular teacher to come back; she gets to the front of the room and kind of half-casually, half-absentmindedly informs us "The space shuttle exploded. Everybody died." We weren't allowed to ask questions or talk about it for the whole remainder of the day. This was rather emblematic of what a vapid human being and a terrible teacher this woman was.

But I'd really love to go down and watch a real live launch. Too bad they don't launch those big honking Saturn rockets anymore! That would have been truly awesome to see.

Agreed. If there's anything I resent about the timing of my birth, it's that humanity's greatest adventure (and technical achievement) was already over when I popped out. I'm a huge Apollo geek and have been for most of my life, but reliving it retroactively can never match the thrill of actually having been around to experience it firsthand.

To your comment about the quality of the TV transmissions, I can see how that would've been a bummer. The really amazing thing, though, is the improvement in the fidelity of the video that took place just in the couple years between Apollos 11 and 15-16-17. The HD-remastered footage from the last three missions is absolutely breathtaking; it wouldn't look much better if you shot it today with modern digital equipment.

 

[AndriaD]

I was in 6th grade when Challenger happened. We were finishing up Bible study class (Lutheran school, whattya do) so it was time for the pastor to leave and our regular teacher to come back; she gets to the front of the room and kind of half-casually, half-absentmindedly informs us "The space shuttle exploded. Everybody died." We weren't allowed to ask questions or talk about it for the whole remainder of the day. This was rather emblematic of what a vapid human being and a terrible teacher this woman was.

Heh... I was married to my first husband; not even 10 mins after it happened, when I was still just gasping in total shock (right along with the TV announcers, believe me!), he calls me from work and says "Hey, what does NASA stand for?" I probably just hmmed or something, I was so profoundly affected... then he says "Need Another Seven Astronauts." There's some computer programmer black humor for you. I think I hung up on him.

Agreed. If there's anything I resent about the timing of my birth, it's that humanity's greatest adventure (and technical achievement) was already over when I popped out. I'm a huge Apollo geek and have been for most of my life, but reliving it retroactively can never match the thrill of actually having been around to experience it firsthand.

I kinda feel that way; although I was alive for all but the very earliest missions, I don't really remember the ones that came before Apollo, and only Apollo 11 really stood out, being the "great leap" that it was. But the idea of a "space program" is part of my very earliest memories, since it was Kennedy that really got that off and running, and I was 2 1/2 when he was killed -- apparently I actually saw Oswald's shooting, on a Sunday morning when my cartoons were preempted and I was FURIOUS about it, according to my dad.

To your comment about the quality of the TV transmissions, I can see how that would've been a bummer. The really amazing thing, though, is the improvement in the fidelity of the video that took place just in the couple years between Apollos 11 and 15-16-17. The HD-remastered footage from the last three missions is absolutely breathtaking; it wouldn't look much better if you shot it today with modern digital equipment.

I wouldn't mind seeing that! Those transmissions from Apollo 11 were so earthshaking, yet so technically abysmal. But I do clearly recall hearing Armstrong's famous line when he uttered it, and I remember the goosebumps that went over me then, and still do, when I hear that recording. It's so weird, I think Woodstock was going on at the same time, but I was 8 yrs old, to me the moon was a MUCH bigger deal than some old rock concert! But here's a cool fact for any Apollo geek: my wedding anniversary is the same date as the moon landing, July 20.

Andria

 

[twgbonehead]

Agreed. If there's anything I resent about the timing of my birth, it's that humanity's greatest adventure (and technical achievement) was already over when I popped out. I'm a huge Apollo geek and have been for most of my life, but reliving it retroactively can never match the thrill of actually having been around to experience it firsthand.

To your comment about the quality of the TV transmissions, I can see how that would've been a bummer. The really amazing thing, though, is the improvement in the fidelity of the video that took place just in the couple years between Apollos 11 and 15-16-17. The HD-remastered footage from the last three missions is absolutely breathtaking; it wouldn't look much better if you shot it today with modern digital equipment.

The funny thing is that they actually had very good footage of the apollo missions, but you never saw it on TV.

The stuff that was broadcast live was of poor quality; that's what we saw.

The high-quality was film taken on the moon. By the time it was brought back, developed, and edited, it was "old news", not worthy of TV airtime. Idiots.

I regret that, during the moon landings, I never went outside and actually looked at the moon while there were people on it. Not that it would have looked any different ;-) but it would have been nice to have experienced the event a bit more directly than just watching it on TV.

 

[Nate760]

The funny thing is that they actually had very good footage of the apollo missions, but you never saw it on TV.

The stuff that was broadcast live was of poor quality; that's what we saw.

The raw feed from the LRV cameras was actually really good for its day, the trouble was that it had to be down-converted twice before it was broadcast. The end result was that the image coming out of your TV contained less than half the information that was in the original signal.

 

[bigdancehawk]

This is a common thread in a lot of conspiracy-oriented nonsense (or, as the case may be, just plain old nonsense). For example, people who weren't alive during the Apollo program (which I wasn't either, but I was born about a year and a half after it ended) are statistically more likely to believe the lunar landings were all an elaborate hoax.

I've long been struck by the fact that the internet, which places the entire repository of human knowledge at the fingertips of every person with access to it, has somehow managed to make large numbers of people even more stupid and credulous.

That's because every idiot with a laptop has free rein to pollute the Internet and spam in-boxes with alarmist nonsense. William Shirer must be spinning in his grave.

 

[AndriaD]

That's because every idiot with a laptop has free rein to pollute the Internet and spam in-boxes with alarmist nonsense. William Shirer must be spinning in his grave.

A few years ago, I got an email from someone with whom I was acquainted "back in the day," when being "online" meant you ran or dialed up local amateur BBSs with your modem. And this guy said something that made me laugh, groan, and nod emphatically -- "remember when being online meant you had to ACTUALLY KNOW SOMETHING -- other than the location of your computer's ON switch???"



Andria

 

[Nate760]

A few years ago, I got an email from someone with whom I was acquainted "back in the day," when being "online" meant you ran or dialed up local amateur BBSs with your modem. And this guy said something that made me laugh, groan, and nod emphatically -- "remember when being online meant you had to ACTUALLY KNOW SOMETHING -- other than the location of your computer's ON switch???"



Andria

And now everybody's online pretty much all the time. I guess it's inevitable that we picture the future inaccurately, but I never imagined living in a world where every person was always holding a small rectangular object in front of their face.

 

[AndriaD]

And now everybody's online pretty much all the time. I guess it's inevitable that we picture the future inaccurately, but I never imagined living in a world where every person was always holding a small rectangular object in front of their face.

ROFL!! I don't even own a mobile phone, smart or otherwise. The rectangular object in front of me is 19" diagonal. I could hold it if I had to -- much better than those big honkin CRT monitors... but I'd really rather just leave it on the desk.

But come spring... laptop!!! FINALLY!!!! But I do plan to get one that will let me connect a real keyboard and mouse if I do happen to be at my desk!

Andria

 

[Anjaffm]

Excellent blog post from Carl Phillips on the subject of "public health".

I hope I am forgiven for double posting - this blog post was linked in another thread on the same subject.

Another take on public health. Very interesting connection to the prohibition movement of the early part of the last century.

Dear Public Health: the public despises you, so you are probably doing it wrong | Anti-THR Lies and related topics

Excellent! Great find, thank you!
Long but very much worth reading.
A great - and very precise - explanation of the thinking, attitudes and true goals of those who call themselves "public health".

This is the logical and inevitable (through predictable subconscious processes) extension of the underlying public health pseudo-ethic: The longevity and purity of bodies is the only goal that matters. Sometimes the annoying actors who occupy those bodies want to do things that are contrary to the goal, at which point they need to be forced, cajoled, or tricked into doing the right thing (compare: insects sometimes want to eat the crops, and they need to be manipulated into not doing it). But now some of those people are not merely quietly taking bad actions; they are actively speaking up against the public health goal and those who pursue it. As such, they are no longer just automata who need to be reprogrammed (without sympathy for their preferences, but also with no more personal hatred than one directs at the weather). By speaking up, the public have become the active enemies of the goal of public health.

Public health professionals — and this is not just the extremists but most everyone who exists in that culture — are so narrow-minded that even this obvious contradiction is not enough to make them realize the fundamental flaw in their worldview.

So the actual people who make up the public go from being ignored by “public health” to being genuinely hated. And with that, the temperance nuts find their home, not so much because they destroyed public health, but because public health made its way to them. They always hated people, thinking of them as sinners who needed to be controlled. The rest of public health joined them in this hatred when the public started rebelling against their pseudo-ethic and the grandee opinion leaders in the field redoubled their defense of it because they are not capable of seeing its absurdity.

source: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-yourselves-public-health-2.html#post14204166

 

[Tache]

The funny thing is that they actually had very good footage of the apollo missions, but you never saw it on TV.

The stuff that was broadcast live was of poor quality; that's what we saw.

The high-quality was film taken on the moon. By the time it was brought back, developed, and edited, it was "old news", not worthy of TV airtime. Idiots.

I regret that, during the moon landings, I never went outside and actually looked at the moon while there were people on it. Not that it would have looked any different ;-) but it would have been nice to have experienced the event a bit more directly than just watching it on TV.

I remember that night so well. The next door neighbour ran a long extension cord out the back door of their house and set their TV up in the backyard. Several families gathered in their yard to watch. We all kept looking back and forth between the TV and the "live" moon in the sky as the landing was taking place. It was awe inspiring!

 

[twgbonehead]

Excellent blog post from Carl Phillips on the subject of "public health".

I hope I am forgiven for double posting - this blog post was linked in another thread on the same subject.

source: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-yourselves-public-health-2.html#post14204166

Thanks, Anja!
Wow, that took a bit of concentration! I was distressed to hear that John Ashton has been quietly reinstated.

I think I might have chosen a different title; I'm not sure this is going to attract those who really SHOULD read it - on the other hand it's also pretty clear that those who should are exactly the ones who won't.

I find it very depressing that the decades-long battle against Snus is still ongoing - so much for "We need to put in restrictions now, until more is known". Despite proven, population-level reduction in harm and improved health, snus are still vilified, and there seems to be absolutely 0 interest in lifting the bans and/or barriers to market.

 

[NorthOfAtlanta]

Thanks, Anja!
Wow, that took a bit of concentration! I was distressed to hear that John Ashton has been quietly reinstated.

I think I might have chosen a different title; I'm not sure this is going to attract those who really SHOULD read it - on the other hand it's also pretty clear that those who should are exactly the ones who won't.

I find it very depressing that the decades-long battle against Snus is still ongoing - so much for "We need to put in restrictions now, until more is known". Despite proven, population-level reduction in harm and improved health, snus are still vilified, and there seems to be absolutely 0 interest in lifting the bans and/or barriers to market.

"Public Health" successfully desk murdering tobacco users for over 3 decades.

 

[Egzoset]

Salutations Anjaffm,

...for those who wonder why e-cigarette users can be quite militant - all we want is to live our lives.

I view the problem from a radically opposite perspective (e.g. it's not us, it's them!): there are bigots who love to hate knowing they can get away with it.



So to some people those alien-look e-Cigs would just happen to be the next threat while politicians love to exploit such drive too (fear of monsters), etc. Whatever!

Etc, etcetera...

 

[Anjaffm]

Salutations Anjaffm,



I view the problem from a radically opposite perspective (e.g. it's not us, it's them!): there are bigots who love to hate knowing they can get away with it.



So to some people those alien-look e-Cigs would just happen to be the next threat while politicians love to exploit such drive too (fear of monsters), etc. Whatever!

Etc, etcetera...

absolutely.
But what on earth is so "radically opposite" in our viewpoints? Of course the problem is not us, it's them. We just want to live our lives and enjoy the healthier alternative of consuming nicotine. Harming ourselves approx 95% less and not harming others at all. And they want to take that self-same healthier alternative away from us. Because our lives do not fit into their ideology.

And I do not really have to give examples of pure hatred and evil committed against people who live their own lives and mind their own business and who just happen not to fit into some other people's ideology, do I now?

/edit:
Oh, and that FPH, Ashton's darling employer, currently does not appear to act in a very professional manner *smiles*. Well, what do you expect from an organization whose president behaves like some intoxicated school boy....

- Scroll down in the link to September 23: http://www.clivebates.com/?p=2391

 

[Sirius]

For those interested on how hard it is for the public to change. Read this from a smokers perspective. I know she vapes now but the public is hard on change and sees us as smokers.

The Exit Door Leads In
http://theindefatigablefrog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/the-indefatigable-frog-or-why-this-wont.html