Thinking of getting a flu shot?

What do you know about flu shots? I did a few minutes research on Internet and found the following out:

Flu shot image - Fox News

1. There were 128,000,000 flu shots given last year in the US alone.
2. Current prices for the shot can be calculated fairly easily as follows. (These are NOT bulk purchase prices which may well be lower):
• 10 flu doses - $15.38
• 10 disposable needles & syringes - $4.59
• 200 alcohol prep pads - $3.49
I make that $2.01 per shot or less.
3. If you buy the shot in the US most places seem to charge $20.00. That's a healthy $17.99 profit.
4. The drug companies stand to make $250 million in sales from the flu shots in the US assuming the same number of people get one this year.
5. Assuming just one in ten flu shots is bought, Doctors and pharmacies will make $230 million from flu shots alone. They do give away the other 9 free right?
6. The CDC is keen on everyone getting a flu shot.
7.  Flu vaccine can be obtained in large bottles with multiple doses to bring costs down. These large bottles contain a preservative which contains mercury. The other single dose vaccines do not contain mercury.
8. Mercury is an accumulative poison.
9. The CDC says 5 to 30 percent of the US population will get the flu each year.
10. Other sources say 3% get the flu each year
11. Some sources say just 2 out of every 100 people will not get the flu because of a vaccine. Since 3% would normally get the flu the manufactures claim a 66% prevention rate.
12. 590 out of every million pregnant women who have a flu shot will abort. However getting flu can cause an abortion too but no-one quotes figures on that that I can find.
13. The number of people who have unpleasant side effects from the flu shot exceeds the number who get the flu.
14. Flu can kill you
15. People have died from the flu shot.
16. They put MSG in the nasal spray version of the vaccine which can cross the blood/brain barrier and cause brain problems
17. The spray vaccine contains a live virus which could give you the flu but is very unlikely to do so. 
18. Statins don't mix well with flu shots.
19. A recent report found the flu vaccine was ineffective for those under 2 and for the elderly.
20. Those who get the flu shot and who still get flu have a much greater risk of being hospitalized from it.

Now I'm not a doctor or medically qualified. It seems to me some doctors in the US have an interest in promoting flu shots though. There are doctors on both sides of the get vaccinated/don't get vaccinated argument.

One doctor, very much against the annual flu shot is Dr Mercola. He cites evidence that there are more effective prevention methods than flu shots. His suggestions also help prevent or lessen the effects of other flu like diseases such as the common cold.

• Vitamin D can be 4 to 10 times more effective. The best results coming from people who got vitamin D by exposure to sunlight. Failing that krill oil, fatty fish such as tuna, mackerel, and salmon are good sources. Take as a prevention.
• Garlic. Take as a prevention.
• Zinc supplements - Up to 50mg per day but only when you have symptoms of cold or flu.
• Vitamin C. Take as a prevention but step up the amount if you have symptoms
• A tea made from a combination of elderflower, yarrow, boneset, linden, peppermint and ginger; drink it hot and often for combating a cold or flu. It causes you to sweat, which is helpful for eradicating a virus from your system.

Can someone who knows more about this than I do explain why we should or shouldn't get a flu shot?

Something Advertisers Should Be Ashamed Of

Advertisers are using dubious methods to put your computer at risk!

Here's the problem
I recently updated my copy of the Calibre program - a wonderful bit of software against which I have no complaints, just praise. This is what I saw. I've set the screen capture to display what most people would see if they use a common screen size - 1366 x 768 pixels:

Now here's what they would see if they had a taller screen:

As you can see that large green download button isn't where you download Calibre - it's an advertisement and something the advertiser should be deeply ashamed of because it's designed to trick people into downloading something they would not normally choose to download.

In this case it tells you you are downloading 'Premium 7-Zip' but it doesn't tell you anything about the program. A search on the Web indicates it might be useful or might also contain a computer worm.

One such program I've seen people being tricked into downloading is 'BrowserSafeguard.' This is a browser extension which intercepts your searches at Google and sends back a list of five or so of it's search results before the real Google results. Nothing really wrong with that except, when I checked it, every single site they linked to was flagged by Web of Trust as being of dubious quality. It changes your proxy server settings to do this.
Can you imagine Google will be happy with that? Look closer at the images above.
See that little icon at the top right of the advert?

This means that this advertisement is being produced through Google's advertising service. Shame on you Google for allowing these trickster advertisements!

So what can you do to avoid being caught out?

1. Use the scroll bar and make sure that download button is not an advert.
2. Hover your pointer over it and make sure what the status bar tells you it is sending you to is not something unexpected.
3. Refresh the page and see if you get a different advert where that download button was:
   
   
   
   

Maybe the ultimate answer is to demand that Google and other advertising firms forbid these adverts designed to trick us. Here's how to do that:
1. When you see one of these fake buttons trying to trick you look for the small X at the top left

2. Selecting it allows you to 'Report this ad'

3. Tell Google the ad was inappropriate

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Reductio ad absurdum 3 - The revised National Curriculum 2014

"Beginning in 2014, the United Kingdom will require all British schoolchildren to complete a unit on the history of Islam, proudly reports Press TV, Iran’s very own 24-hour English language news organization.

Michael Gove (The unflattering picture which was here,
 courtesy of The Telegraph, has been removed but you won't have any difficulty in finding an equally unflattering replacement.)

British Education Secretary Michael Gove announced the addition of a Muslim-specific component after revisions were made to address an outcry over a prior draft that did not include any references to the monotheistic Abrahamic religion."

So starts an article at Yahoo News. Now I have to admit to being doubtful about it because I could find no reference to this news story at the BBC, Sky, or any of the major UK newspapers. However let's assume it's accurate and take this to it's logical conclusion. ('Reductio ad absurdum' - Latin for following implications to an absurd extent.)

Islam is the UK's third most common 'religion'. In the 2011 census, Christianity was declared as the most popular religion (59%), 'No Religious Affiliation' the second choice (25%) and 'Islam' the third (5%). Now if a religion which has a mere 5% following gets a study in the UK National Curriculum then far more time should be devoted to a 'religion' which has five times Islam's following. That means we should ask UK children to complete five study units dedicated to the history of 'No Religious Affiliation' or atheism.

Of course it's very difficult to study nothing (although for hundreds of years, many children have successfully studied it at school). So just what items should we study?

My first thought was that we leave the content to the UK politicians - after all they are very good at doing nothing, however, they are also very good at making bad decisions so we need to help them out with some ideas. To give you a start there are some excellent websites out there on why you should be an atheist of no religious affiliation. 

One of my favourites is Plasma Engineer's Something Surprising blog Try his Grandfather Gospel Challenge for ideas and follow some of his links.

The Rosa Rubicondior blog is good too. Try the article Another Easy One For Muslims... Or Not!

No 'religion' of course can be considered 'true' unless it has it's martyrs. That being the case you need to read 'On blasphemy, wielding both standards and stories' from the Richard Dawkins foundation.

I'm sure you can find lots more. Just remember these politicians need our help if our children are to avoid studying 'the nothing' from the Never Ending Story


Please - add your suggestions on what should be studied about the history of 'No Religious Affiliation' in the comments below and I'll make sure the UK's Education Secretary of State, gets them. Alternatively you can send your suggestions to the minister directly at  ministers@education.gsi.gov.uk

When your garden goes wild...

For the last few weeks I haven't been able to do anything in my garden due to an injured wrist. We've had rain and periods of sunshine and my garden has gone crazy!

This was my back lawn. I can't believe how a month of alternating rain, sunshine and no grass mowing has changed it.

All sorts of flowers we didn't plant have sprung up.

Anyone know what this is?

Cornflower?

My driveway is the old railway line I live on. Here's the end of the drive

Thistles can be quite pretty

My wrist is getting better but I'm not looking forward to mowing the lawn! I think the nettles and thistles will have to go but for this year at least I'm going to end up with a wildflower garden.

How to get round the 'bedroom tax'

Lots of people are very upset in the UK over what has come to be known as the 'bedroom tax' or 'Under occupancy rules'. It hits poorer families renting from their local authority or a housing association hard.

What is the 'bedroom tax'?

The  'bedroom tax' is reform to the way housing benefit is provided in England, Scotland and Wales. It is due to be start on 1st April 2013.

The Government calls it removing the 'spare room subsidy' but it's also been referred as an 'under-occupation charge'.

Where does it apply?

The rules apply to those of working age (currently those born after  05 October 1951) living in council houses or housing association property.
Under the new rules
• Couples are expected to share a bedroom (Whether you snore loudly or can't stand the sight of each other  or not.)
• Two boys or two girls under 16 are expected to share
• A boy and a girl under 10 are expected to share

What does it mean to the poor?

The changes mean a cut to the amount of housing benefit people will receive if they are deemed to have a spare bedroom in their council house or housing association home.Those with one spare bedroom will have their housing benefit cut by 14%. Those with two or more extra bedrooms get a cut of 25 per cent. Tenants on housing benefit will either have to make up the difference towards their rents themselves, or move in to smaller properties.

The government's idea is that they should reduce the housing benefit of those who have more bedrooms than they need. If a couple have one child and they live in a three bedroom house then the government says they should either move to a two bedroom house or rent out the spare room. By doing this they hope to reduce the pressure on housing and save a billion pounds a year. Seems a reasonable idea at first but:
1. Moving is expensive.
2. Where a family has split up keeping a bedroom available for when you look after children isn't allowed.
3. Those disabled can not assume a bedroom will be allowed for their carer or essential equipment - it's up to the council.
4. There are few available houses with one or two bedrooms
5. If you are settled in a location it's hard to be forced to move to a new location.
6. Should young children have to share a bedroom as the rules suggest?
7. If your spare room is caused by a death you have a year to find alternatives.
8. You may be forbidden to rent out a room as the government suggests in your rental agreement.

Has this sort of 'tax' been used before?

Window tax caused this blocked up window

Yes, we in the UK have had this sort of 'tax' before:
• In 1696 - 1851 a window tax was in force - we bricked up a lot of windows
• 1662 - 1689 a hearth or fireplace tax was introduced - we bricked  those up too.

Is there a way round the bedroom tax? 

Yes there is! A bedroom is defined as a room bigger than 70 square feet of floor space. Anything smaller is considered a box room. Many UK houses have a third bedroom little bigger than this. By building a false wall or a cupboard in this room it's floor space can be reduced to box room size. With careful design this permanent cupboard can be easily removed when this stupid regulation is repealed.
Unfortunately this is going to cost money for the materials - timber framing, plasterboard, a door. It may be you can persuade your housing association/council to help but if not then those least able to pay will have to do it all themselves.

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