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One year of blogging

December 19^th 2007 a man started a blog at WordPress.com and that mans was Me.

Its the birthday of Lone Wolfs Den and its one year old. And in that year the Lone Wolfs Den has done surprisingly good. In the first full month it had 1,597 views, through out 08 the average monthly (minus May and September due to unusually high number of views in those months due to two posts (5 year old voted out of class (someone linked to that post in a post at a forum with allot of members) and Large Hadron Collider will not destroy the world (The LHC was supposed to turn on that month and wa getting allot of news)) getting unusually hight number of views ) views have been increasing by 122.5 views and total views have been 28,577.
On the whole (despite my bad spelling and grammar) its been a pretty good year for my blog especially considering my initial expectations where my view would get only into the tens.

What have I learned in a year of blogging? Well one thing I learned is that there are assholes that will steal peoples copyrighted content. I learned that I can effect people (I aleveated Worrieds fears that the LHC could destroy the world). I learned that despite bad spelling and questionable grammar a person can start a blog and get thousands of views, so long as he posts interesting things.

Thanks to all people who have came to my blog, thanks to all those who have commented and thanks to all those who have linked to my blog.
© 2008 All rights reserved

No trick or treaters. Why?

Well its All Hallows Day and yesterday was All Hallows Eve or Halloween. And I have a bunch of candy left over. Do children trick or treat anymore? Or is it just my neighborhood that they don’t? Its a safe neighborhood and children do live on this street but I only got 1 trick or treater. Dose it have anything to do with modern American parents irrational fears of imaginary threats to there children?
What happened to trick or treating?

Vaccine-Preventable Diseases

Cause of the anti-vaccination nonsense there is now an outbreak of Measles. Cause of the anti-vaccination assholes who lie about the fictional connection between autism and vaccines many parents are afraid to get there children vaccinated and yes they are lying, multiple scientific studies have shown no connection between autism and vaccination, at this point they know that the propaganda they pump out is false.
With this post I hope to do something that would halp stop this antivaccation bullshit.

But first, a shameless appeal to emotion. Just to get your attention.

Measels
Measles is a disease caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. ‘German measles’ is an unrelated condition caused by the rubella virus.

The incubation period usually lasts for 4–12 days (during which there are no symptoms). Infected people remain contagious from the appearance of the first symptoms until 3–5 days after the rash appears.

The classical symptoms of measles include a fever for at least three days, the three Cs—cough, coryza (runny nose) and conjunctivitis (red eyes). The fever may reach up to 40° Celsius (104° Fahrenheit). Koplik’s spots seen inside the mouth are pathognomonic (diagnostic) for measles but are not often seen, even in real cases of measles, because they are transient and may disappear within a day of arising.

The characteristic measles rash is classically described as a generalized, maculopapular, erythematous rash that begins several days after the fever starts. It starts on the head before spreading to cover most of the body, often causing itching.

Complications with measles are relatively common, ranging from relatively mild and less serious diarrhea, to pneumonia and encephalitis (subacute sclerosing panencephalitis), corneal ulceration leading to corneal scarring[7] Complications are usually more severe amongst adults who catch the virus.

The fatality rate from measles for otherwise healthy people in developed countries is low: approximately 1 death per thousand cases. In underdeveloped nations with high rates of malnutrition and poor healthcare, fatality rates of 10 percent are common. In immunocompromised patients, the fatality rate is approximately 30 percent.
Image sources: http://www.clinical-virology.org/gallery/cvn_rash_bacteria_01.html, http://www.idph.state.il.us/about/vpcd.htm
Source: Wikipedia – Measles

Smallpox

Smallpox is an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants named Variola major and Variola minor.[1] The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning spotted, or varus, meaning “pimple”. The term “smallpox” was first used in Europe in the 15th century to distinguish variola from the great pox (syphilis).[2]

Smallpox localizes in small blood vessels of the skin and in the mouth and throat. In the skin, this results in a characteristic maculopapular rash, and later, raised fluid-filled blisters. V. major produces a more serious disease and has an overall mortality rate of 30–35%. V. minor causes a milder form of disease (also known as alastrim, cottonpox, milkpox, whitepox, and Cuban itch) which kills ~1% of its victims.[3][4] Long-term complications of V. major infection include characteristic scars, commonly on the face, which occurred in 65–85% of survivors.[5] Blindness resulting from corneal ulceration and scarring, and limb deformities due to arthritis and osteomyelitis are less common complications, seen in about 2–5% of cases.
Images sources: http://whyfiles.org/166plant_vaccines/2.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Smallpox_child.jpg
Source: Wikipedia – Smallpox

Diphtheria
Diphtheria (Greek διφθερα (diphthera)—“pair of leather scrolls”) is an upper respiratory tract illness characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane (a pseudomembrane) on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity.[1] A milder form of diphtheria can be restricted to the skin. It is caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, an aerobic Gram-positive bacterium.[2]

Diphtheria causes the progressive deterioration of myelin sheaths in the central and peripheral nervous system leading to degenerating motor control and loss of sensation. Diphtheria is a contagious disease spread by direct physical contact or breathing the aerosolized secretions of infected individuals. Once quite common, diphtheria has largely been eradicated in developed nations through widespread vaccination. In the United States for instance, there were 52 reported cases of diphtheria between 1980 and 2000; between 2000 and 2007 there were only five cases[3] as the DPT (Diphtheria–Pertussis–Tetanus) vaccine is given to all school children. Boosters of the vaccine are recommended for adults since the benefits of the vaccine decrease with age without constant re-exposure; they are particularly recommended for those traveling to areas where the disease has not been eradicated.

Diphtheria is a serious disease, with fatality rates between 5% and 10%. In children under 5 years and adults over 40 years, the fatality rate may be as much as 20%.[3] Outbreaks, though very rare, still occur worldwide, even in developed nations. After the breakup of the former Soviet Union in the late 1980s, vaccination rates in its constituent countries fell so low that there was an explosion of diphtheria cases. In 1991 there were 2,000 cases of diphtheria in the USSR. By 1998, according to Red Cross estimates, there were as many as 200,000 cases in the Commonwealth of Independent States, with 5,000 deaths. This was so great an increase that diphtheria was cited in the Guinness Book of World Records as “most resurgent disease”.

The disease remains dangerous wherever vaccination rates are low, with a child in London, England dying of the disease in May 2008[9]
Image sources: http://www.idph.state.il.us/about/vpcd.htm, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:A_diphtheria_skin_lesion_on_the_leg._PHIL_1941_lores.jpg
Source: Wikipedia – Diphtheria

Polio
Poliomyelitis, often called polio or infantile paralysis, is an acute viral infectious disease spread from person to person, primarily via the fecal-oral route.[1] The term derives from the Greek polio (πολίός), meaning “grey”, myelon (µυελός), referring to the “spinal cord”, and -itis, which denotes inflammation.[2] Although around 90% of polio infections cause no symptoms at all, affected individuals can exhibit a range of symptoms if the virus enters the blood stream.[3] In fewer than 1% of cases the virus enters the central nervous system, preferentially infecting and destroying motor neurons, leading to muscle weakness and acute flaccid paralysis. Different types of paralysis may occur, depending on the nerves involved. Spinal polio is the most common form, characterized by asymmetric paralysis that most often involves the legs. Bulbar polio leads to weakness of muscles innervated by cranial nerves. Bulbospinal polio is a combination of bulbar and spinal paralysis.[4]

Patients with abortive polio infections recover completely. In those that develop only aseptic meningitis, the symptoms can be expected to persist for two to ten days, followed by complete recovery.[41] In cases of spinal polio, if the affected nerve cells are completely destroyed, paralysis will be permanent; cells that are not destroyed but lose function temporarily may recover within four to six weeks after onset.[41] Half the patients with spinal polio recover fully, one quarter recover with mild disability and the remaining quarter are left with severe disability.[42] The degree of both acute paralysis and residual paralysis is likely to be proportional to the degree of viremia, and inversely proportional to the degree of immunity.[30] Spinal polio is rarely fatal.[31]

Without respiratory support, consequences of poliomyelitis with respiratory involvement include suffocation or pneumonia from aspiration of secretions.[43] Overall, 5–10% of patients with paralytic polio die due to the paralysis of muscles used for breathing. The mortality rate varies by age: 2–5% of children and up to 15–30% of adults die.[4] Bulbar polio often causes death if respiratory support is not provided;[37] with support, its mortality rate ranges from 25 to 75%, depending on the age of the patient.[4][44] When positive pressure ventilators are available, the mortality can be reduced to 15%.[45]

There is no cure for polio. The focus of modern treatment has been on providing relief of symptoms, speeding recovery and preventing complications. Supportive measures include antibiotics to prevent infections in weakened muscles, analgesics for pain, moderate exercise and a nutritious diet.[56] Treatment of polio often requires long-term rehabilitation, including physical therapy, braces, corrective shoes and, in some cases, orthopedic surgery.[36]

Portable ventilators may be required to support breathing. Historically, a noninvasive negative-pressure ventilator, more commonly called an iron lung, was used to artificially maintain respiration during an acute polio infection until a person could breathe independently (generally about one to two weeks). Today many polio survivors with permanent respiratory paralysis use modern jacket-type negative-pressure ventilators that are worn over the chest and abdomen.[43]
Images source: http://www.vaccineinformation.org/polio/photos.asp
Source: Wikipedia – Poliomyelitis

These diseases and other are vaccine preventable and Polio has been eradicated with vaccines. Vaccines have saved countless lives. No there not perfect but they keep diseases that one plagued humanity at bay. Even if vaccines did cause autism the benefit would far out weigh the risk but vaccines do not cause autism. How do I know this? Science! Multiple scientific studies have been done and they have found no correlation between autism and vaccines and theres growing evidence that genetics is at lest least party the cause of autism.

Links

JAMA

Time Trends in Autism and in MMR Immunization Coverage in California

Association Between Thimerosal-Containing Vaccine and Autism

New Scientist

Autism rises despite MMR ban in Japan

Science Daily

Autism: Removing Thimerosal From Vaccines Did Not Reduce Autism Cases In California, Report Finds

Epidemic?
Scientific American

Is There Really an Autism Epidemic?

Is it at least partly genetic?
Scientific American

New Theory about Autism Roots

New Scientist

‘Autistic’ mice offer hope of genetic clues

Science Daily

Kids With Autism May Have Gene That Causes Muscle Weakness

Articals and Blog posts on the topic

CDC Autism Information Center

Vaccines and autism: The incredible shrinking causation claim shrinks some more

Mercury in vaccines as a cause of autism and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs): A failed hypothesis

The Increase in Autism Diagnoses: Two Hypotheses

Do vaccines cause autism?

MMR vaccine does not cause autism<
PDF
HTML

NICHD Autism and the MMR Vaccine

CDC List of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases

WHO Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals

Science-Based Medicine | Thanks, Jenny McCarthy! Thanks for the measles!

Vaccines do not cause autism, get your children vaccinated, it could you children’s live as well as the lives of others. Do not some moron celebrity or some idiot true believers who is so unwilling to change there minds that no evidence to convince them vaccines do not cause autism. Don’t believe me, do some research, look in scientific journals and peer reviewed studies.

100 LOLz

Lone Wolf’s LOLz

The Harm and WaCW officially dead

My other blogs, The Harm and Weard and Crazy World are officialy dead. I saved and intgrated the posts from both into Wolfs Den but the blogs them selfs have been deleted.

Freedom of Speech Means Freedom to Offend

One of the most offensive statements to me are “atheists have no morals” and “atheists have no basis for morality”. Those are highly offencive to me but I know I have said things that others would consider offencive and if they have no right to say something offencive to me then I have no right to say something offencive to them. If I thought that others shouldn’t say anything that is offencive to me but I could say something that is offensive to them I would be a hypocrite. The statements “atheists have no morals” or “atheists have no basis for morality” are very offencive to be bit I would never say that others would not be allowed to say such things and I would defend the rights of others to say such things!

But why? Why would I defend the rights of others to offend me? Freedom is not limited to a select few, no one gets special rights and or privileges, not you not me not anyone. If others can not say something that is offensive to me then what right do I have to say something that is offensive to them? I have opinions that are offensive to others and if I state these opinions I would (and have) offend someone and others have opinions that are offensive to me and others. Every one has thoughts and opinions that someone else will find offensive and if there is no right to offend then you, I and others have no right to express our opinions cause they might be/are offencive to someone.

And thats why freedom of speech mean freedom to offend. With out the freedom to offend there is no freedom of speech. With out the freedom to offend there is free discussion, debate, criticism and expression of opinion. Nothing world change, nothing would get better, the world would stagnate in a nightmare of political correctness. Progress, true progress only happens when there is free discussion, debate, criticism and expression, it is through these that ideas are born, grow, evolve and die, that we find problems and errors and the best ways to fix them, it is through these that the world become a better place for everybody. And with out the freedom to offend we don’t have them.

A guide for theists on how to debate atheists

If I’ve messed some or you think you could word oneor more better, post it in a reply and I may add it.

1. Know what atheism is: Atheism is s spectrum of beliefs not a single belief. On one end you have agnostic or weak atheism on the other you have strong atheism; agnostic or week atheism is the lack of a belief in god or gods but not the belief that a god or gods couldn’t or don’t exist, strong atheism is the belief that a god or gods do not exist. Most atheists are somewhere in the middle, for instance me; when it comes to the gods of the bible, the god of Christianity,  Judaism and Islam, the gods of pagan religions, Hinduism, Shintoism and all other gods that people believe or have believed in, I believe they do not exist as the universe does not is not fit what it would look like if they or one of them existed, however a deistic god(s) (a god that creates the universe and does not reveal it self through miracle and revelation, a god(s) that hides it self or a god(s) that create the universe and is indifferent to us cause we are an unintended and uninteresting (to it/them) byproduct) I am agnostic about, theres no way to prove that such a god(s) does or does not exists.
2. People don’t just convert: No single argument will convert anybody, there are very few situations where a person will convert; a life changing event, a traumatic event or through a long time of thought.
3. When an atheist says “I don’t believe in God” he/she doesn’t believe in God: Not every one believes in God, we are not in denial of our beliefs, we do not believe.e
4. Don’t quote the bible (or what ever your holy book is): Unless the conversation turns into a debate about the bible (it has happened before, it will happen again and it is happening right now somewhere in the world) don’t quote the bible. I understand that to you its some grand holy book of truth but to us its mythology, quoting a bible in a debate with an atheist is like a pagan in a debate with you quoting something Zeus said.
5. Don’t say “you have to have faith”: Faith is not a logical argument, saying “you have to have faith” is the same a saying “just believe, it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t make any sense, have any evidence for it or even evidence against it, just believe” It may work for those who already believe and see faith as some kind of virtue but for those who don’t believe and don’t see faith as a virtue it doesn’t work.
6. Just cause your happy in your religion doesn’t mean every one else would be: Every one is different, for many your religion my not make them happy, it may even make them depressed.
7. There is no such thing as a “true Christan”: The only Christen who do not call them selfs “true Christen” are the only who do not use that phrase. All Christens (accept those who do not use that phrase) of all denomination call them selfs “true Christens” and they can not agree what a “true Christen” is. Christen A says Christen B is not a “true Christen”, Christen B says he is a “true Christen” and Christen A is not and Christen C says he is a “true Christen” and Christen A and B are not. All People who identify them selfs as Christens are Christens, it doesn’t madder if you agree with there version of Christianity or not.
8. Stalin and Mow do not represent atheism: Yes they where atheists but that has no baring on morality of other atheists and all them being atheists shows is that people of any belief system can be evil
9. Hitler was not an atheist: Hitler was not an atheist ^[1] Hitler was not an atheist ^[2] Hitler was not an atheist ^[3]
   And even if he was, see Stalin and Mow^
10. Recognise that you are flawed just like every one else: People of all religions “witness miracles” and people “see ghosts” “see UFOs” “experience alien abduction” and so on. Humans are fallible creatures, our memory is fallible, our experiences are fallible, out perception s fallible. It is easy to trick some one into believing something when they wont to believe, it is easy to trick your self into believing something when you wont to believe and people have confirmation bias. You can not dismiss the miracles of other religions with out dismissing your own, you can not dismiss alien abduction, people seeing ghosts and UFOs with out recognising that people are fallible.
11. Don’t use Pascal’s Wager: Pascal’s Wager is “Why not believe? If its wrong you loose nothing but if you don’t believe and God is real then you go to hell” Pascal’s Wager make several false assumptions. You choose what you believe, you loose nothing by believing in God and theres only two options. Belief isn’t a choice, you do loose things by believing, many people have lost many things, (harmless pleasures, there Sundays, what choices they can make and even there lives) and there is allot more than two options, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and many more.
12. Do not say atheist are amoral or have no basis for morality: Morality is separate from religion, it does not come from a god or gods. It comes from social need, with out it we could not function as social creatures.
13. The fallowing apply to all arguments and debates
    1. Do not quote mine: Quote mining is taking a quite from some one and using out of context. Fort example Darwin’s eye quote; creationists often quote mine Darwin by using this quote
       

       To suppose that the eye, with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest possible degree.

       But they leave out the rest of the quote

       Yet reason tells me, that if numerous gradations from a perfect and complex eye to one very imperfect and simple, each grade being useful to its possessor, can be shown to exist; if further, the eye does vary ever so slightly, and the variations be inherited, which is certainly the case; and if any variation or modification in the organ be ever useful to an animal under changing conditions of life, then the difficulty of believing that a perfect and complex eye could be formed by natural selection, though insuperable by our imagination, can hardly be considered real. How a nerve comes to be sensitive to light, hardly concerns us more than how life itself first originated; but I may remark that several facts make me suspect that any sensitive nerve may be rendered sensitive to light, and likewise to those coarser vibrations of the air which produce sound

       Qute mining does not prove anything and only makes you look bad

    2. Anicdotes are not evedence: Anicdotes don’t prove anything, you can talk about the “mericals” youve seen all you won’t but that donesn’t prove anything.
    3. Don’t generalize: Each atheist is different we are not all the same we do not hold the same beliefs, ideas and values. The same goes for every other group.
    4. False statistics: Do not make up statistics, if your going to use statistics have an objective source for them.
    5. Fallacy’s: these are fallacious arguments that should not be used
       1. Straw men: A straw man argument is a fallacious argument where you set up an argument that is a misrepresentation of some one else’s argument (straw man) then debunk the misrepresentation. Example: Argument: With out religion I’m free of all the pointless rules that religion has. Straw man: So with out religion you have no morality, you have nothing to stop you from raping and killing. The argument was “with out religion I’m free of all the pointless rules (like not being allowed to pleasure yourself, not being allowed to be gay, not being allowed to say certain things, having to go through pointless rituals and so on)” it said nothing about morality or rules that are not pointless.
       2. False dichotomy: A false dichotomy is when you present an argument as if it only has 2 options when in reality there are more. Example: “Jesus was ether a lier, insane or the Messiah” this is a false dichotomy cause there more than those 3 possibility’s, he could be completely mythological, the stories could be an amalgamation of mythology’s, stories and historical people, there could have been a historical Jesus but his teachings could have been altered and exaggerated over time.
       3. Slippery slope: A slippery slope is argument that states that cause “A” leads to “B” and “B” leads to “C” and “C” is wrong thus “A” is wrong. Example: “If we allow same sex marriages marry then its only a matter of time before we allow people to marry animals and children”
          Whether “A” leads to “B” and whether “B” is wrong or not has no barring on whether “A” it true or not and often “A” does not lead to “B” cause if “B” is wrong then its wrong (same sex marriages are not wrong and marrying animals or children is wrong)
       4. Red herring: A red herring is a response to another argument that does not address the arguments. Example: Argument: There is no evidence for the existence of God. Red herring: You say theres no evidence for God but you can not disprove the existence of God.
          The argument is not about the lack evidence for the existence of God not about disproving the existence of God, the red herring avoids the argument about the lack of evidence for the existence of God and instead state that you can not disprove the existence of God which is a different argument.
       5. Ad hominem: An ad hominem (Latin: “argument to the man”) is not an argument but an attack on some one and an avoidance of the persons arguments. Example: “How can you talk about right and wrong? Your an atheist, you have no morals”
          Ad hominems don’t deal with the validity of the argument and thus say nothing about the validity of the argument.
       6. Argument from
          1. Authority: An argument from authority is an argument states that “X” authority says “Y” thus “Y” must be true. Example “The Pope says using contraceptives is a sin so it must be a sin”
             Just cause some one in in a position of authority does not mean that there are right, arguments must be based on logic and evidence.
          2. Popularity: An argument from popularity is an argument that states that cause something is popular it must be true. Example: “Every one uses Windows so Windows must be the best OS”
             Just cause something is popular doesn’t mean its true, right or good.
          3. Ignorance: An argument from ignorance is an argument that states that cause we do not know the answer to something it mean that “X” must be the answer “No one know where the universe came from so God must have done it”
             Just cayuse we don’t know the answer does not mean that “X” is the answer, it means we don’t know the answer.
          4. Incredulity: An argument from personal incredulity is an argument that that cause the person doesn’t know or can’t imagine how “A” could be true, it must be false. Example: “I can’t imagine the complexity of life could come about by chance, there had to have been a designer for such complexity to exist”
             Whether “A” is true or not is independent of persons ability to imagine how it could be true.
          5. Emotion: An argument from emotion is an argument that appeals to people emotion and bypasses actual logical or evidence and does not deal with the validity of the argument. For Example “If you don’t believe you will go to hell where you will suffer for ever. Do you wont to go to hell” The argument appeals to a fear of hell, it doesn’t deal with the validity of the argument.
          6. Nature: An appeal to nature is an argument that states cause something is natural or unnatural it is right, wrong, true, false, good or bad. Example: “Homosexuality is unnatural so its wrong”
             Whether something is natural or unnatural has no barring on whether it is right, wrong, true, false, good or bad.
          7. Consequence: An argument from consequences is an argument that states that if “X” is true there would be good or bad consequence thus “X” is false or true” Example: “If evolution is true than that means humans are just animals, we are not animals so its not true”
             The consequence of something being true or false has no baring on whether it it is true or false and these consequences are not false.

Update 8/9/08: Added “When an atheist says ‘I don’t believe in God”‘he/she doesn’t believe in God”
Update: Added “There is no such thing as a ‘true Christan’”
Update 8/1/08: Added argument from personal incredulity.

Rest in Peace Its a Weird and Crazy World

Of course I know no one is going to read this post cause the only people who fallow this blog are the people in my frontal lobe, pre-frontal cortex and the colony in my pants that likes to send dirty massages to my brain (but I don’t think they fallow it, they say they do but they lie).
The posts in this blog has been few and far between for a long time and I just don’t have the motivation to keep this blog alive so I’ll just let it die.
The few posts that would be posted here will go to my main blog (Lone Wolfs Den)
It had good intentions and it had a good run but its the end for Its a Weird and Crazy World.

Rest in peace The Harm

Of course I know no one is going to read this post cause the only people who fallow this blog are the people in my frontal lobe, pre-frontal cortex and the colony in my pants that likes to send dirty massages to my brain (but I don’t think they fallow it, they say they do but they lie).
The posts in this blog has been few and far between for a long time and I just don’t have the motivation to keep this blog alive so I’ll just let it die.
The few posts that would be posted here will go to my main blog (Lone Wolfs Den)
It had good intentions and it had a good run but its the end for The Harm.