As the Reverend Paperboy has pointed out, the battle over fluoridation has already been fought. This battle over our precious bodily fluids is a battle against a monstrous and dangerous communist plot.
Stanley Kubrick made a documentary about it years ago. What a visionary.
Thursday, January 05, 2012
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
Just Getting Ahead of the Screaming
They're coming, make no mistake about it. The anti-fluoridation hit squads (I use the term because they are sad and small so it's funny like Little John was a funny name) are coming to London. Evidently the concerned citizens will be presenting/showing up/yelling at council on the 16th during the Planning and Environment Committee meeting 25th at Centennial Hall (thanks to The Mcleod Report for the correct date). I guess they figured every wingnut woo-meister from three counties would be interested, so it is now in the big place.
I thought this issue was done and gone last year, but no.
Oh joy.
Let's first go to some experts, whose opinion piece (full of facts) appeared in the Calgary Sun ahead of that city's decision to remove fluoride from the water supply.
Lindsay McLaren, J.C. Herbert Emery, and Lynn McIntyre, Guest Columnists
Calgary is on the verge of a decision to discontinue fluoridation of drinking water.
Some people, like London's own Butch McLarty, are pushing for the removal of fluoride from the drinking water. Butch points us to Betty McLarty's list of studies that purport to defend the claim that fluoride in the drinking water is bad. I say puport as no link is provided to any of the studies, or to an abstract. Other than heading to the Lawson Library for a couple of weeks and tracking down every journal listed from the microfiche archive, we'll have to take Butch's word that he, or Betty, have read every study or abstract, and that they do indeed defend removing fluoride from the drinking water.
On the other hand, here is an abstract you can read. This one is a bit more current than Ms. McLarty's offerings. The Long Term Effects of Water Fluoridation on the Human Skeleton:
Like all debates of this kind, whether it's over the ill-effects of wifi, or wind turbines, or vaccines, nothing new is said.
So, before the screaming and the threats of violence start (oh yes, this can be a vitriolic crowd if they don't get their way), why not read some more facts.
Here's another fact sheet on fluoridation from the USDA: fluoridation facts.
If you want to believe the purveyors of woo, like Chris Gupta, one of the major anti-fluoride minstrels in the area, just check out his website. He'll tell you all about how dentists are conspiring to poison our babies (because that just makes sense), how vitamin C can cure cancer, how cholesterol-lowering drugs are a scam, how red wine will heal your lungs, and, of course, how vaccines cause everything from ADD to Multiple Sclerosis.
So who you gonna trust?
I thought this issue was done and gone last year, but no.
Oh joy.
Debunking fluoride falsehoods
Lindsay McLaren, J.C. Herbert Emery, and Lynn McIntyre, Guest Columnists
Calgary is on the verge of a decision to discontinue fluoridation of drinking water.
Since this decision will be difficult to reverse, it is important that it be based on credible scientific evidence and reason rather than emotion and anecdotes.
There seems to be three main arguments against continued fluoridation of Calgary's drinking water:
1. Drinking water fluoridation was effective in the past, but it is no longer needed.
False.
Tooth decay remains a problem for children.
Recently released data from the Canadian Health Measures Survey show that, among a nationally representative sample of Canadian children age 6-11, more than half are affected by tooth decay.
When a health problem is common, it makes sense to consider wide-ranging measures.
Drinking water is a highly cost-effective way of providing fluoride to all.
Another reason that drinking water fluoridation is still needed is that it is equitable: It is an efficient way to provide fluoride to all, regardless of income, education, or access to a dentist.
Children whose parents do not have private dental insurance (e.g. through employment) have more tooth decay than those with insurance.
One-third of families with young children, according to the Canadian Health Measures Survey, do not have private dental insurance.
Research has shown that in regions without fluoridation, the gap in oral health between the rich and the poor is much greater than in regions with fluoridation. To ensure fluoride for all, there is currently no practical alternative to drinking water fluoridation.
Make no mistake - the up side of dental health is considerable.
Numerous studies show a direct relationship between poor dental health and overall health, including diabetes, heart disease and respiratory illnesses.
2. Drinking water fluoridation is unsafe, or poisonous.
False.
Credible scientific research continues to support the conclusion that water fluoridation is safe at optimal levels (0.7 ppm).
In April 2008, Health Canada released findings and recommendations from a Fluoride Expert Panel. The panel found no compelling evidence to link fluoride with an increased risk of cancer, bone fracture, or any other health concerns.
The most common consequence of excess fluoride is fluorosis, or mottling of the teeth.
The Fluoride Expert Panel found the existence of moderate dental fluorosis in the population is a potential indicator of too much fluoride.
Among children in the Canadian Health Measures Survey, none had moderate dental fluorosis.
Where fluorosis does occur, dental experts suspect that it's caused by children ingesting fluoride toothpaste, or use of fluoride supplements.
3. Drinking water fluoridation is an assault to our personal freedom.
Drinking water fluoridation is a public health measure.
Public health aims to improve the health of the population.
It values the collective good, and is based on a principle of providing conditions that enable health, without undue coercion.
Three criteria are often used to justify a public health measure: Reduction of health inequities, reduction of ill health, and concern for children who constitute a vulnerable group.
Drinking water fluoridation is justified on all three grounds. Further, it is possible to opt out: One can purchase alternatives to tap water.
Bottom line: The decision to discontinue drinking water fluoridation in Calgary must be based on scientific research and reason - rather than myths and anecdotes.
So far, city council has rejected an offer by the University of Calgary's faculty of medicine to form an advisory panel to review the arguments and studies - pro and con - about fluoridation.
Calgarians should be concerned about council's dismissal of evidence and reason.
Lindsay McLaren, PhD, J.C. Herbert Emery, PhD and Lynn McIntyre, MD, are professors, Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary
Some people, like London's own Butch McLarty, are pushing for the removal of fluoride from the drinking water. Butch points us to Betty McLarty's list of studies that purport to defend the claim that fluoride in the drinking water is bad. I say puport as no link is provided to any of the studies, or to an abstract. Other than heading to the Lawson Library for a couple of weeks and tracking down every journal listed from the microfiche archive, we'll have to take Butch's word that he, or Betty, have read every study or abstract, and that they do indeed defend removing fluoride from the drinking water.
On the other hand, here is an abstract you can read. This one is a bit more current than Ms. McLarty's offerings. The Long Term Effects of Water Fluoridation on the Human Skeleton:
Abstract
Municipal water fluoridation has notably reduced the incidence of dental caries and is widely considered a public health success. However, ingested fluoride is sequestered into bone, as well as teeth, and data on the long-term effect of exposure to these very low doses of fluoride remain inconclusive. Epidemiological studies suggest that effects of fluoride on bone are minimal. We hypothesized that the direct measurement of bone tissue from individuals residing in municipalities with and without fluoridated water would reveal a relationship between fluoride content and structural or mechanical properties of bone. However, consonant with the epidemiological data, only a weak relationship among fluoride exposure, accumulated fluoride, and the physical characteristics of bone was observed. Analysis of our data suggests that the variability in heterogenous urban populations may be too high for the effects, if any, of low-level fluoride administration on skeletal tissue to be discerned.Like all debates of this kind, whether it's over the ill-effects of wifi, or wind turbines, or vaccines, nothing new is said.
So, before the screaming and the threats of violence start (oh yes, this can be a vitriolic crowd if they don't get their way), why not read some more facts.
For more information, please visit the websites of the following professional organizations:
| Middlesex-London Health Unit | |
| Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care | Drinking Water Fluoridation |
| Canadian Dental Association | |
| Health Canada | |
| Ontario Medical Association | Ontario's Doctor's Set the Record Straight on Fluoride in Drinking Water |
| Canadian Public Health Association | Fighting the Good Fight: Fluoridation of Drinking Water |
| Government of Ontario e-Laws | Fluoridation Act |
| U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) |
Here's another fact sheet on fluoridation from the USDA: fluoridation facts.
If you want to believe the purveyors of woo, like Chris Gupta, one of the major anti-fluoride minstrels in the area, just check out his website. He'll tell you all about how dentists are conspiring to poison our babies (because that just makes sense), how vitamin C can cure cancer, how cholesterol-lowering drugs are a scam, how red wine will heal your lungs, and, of course, how vaccines cause everything from ADD to Multiple Sclerosis.
So who you gonna trust?
Fun, Fashion, & forehands : Wimbledon 1962 - British Pathe
The British Pathé newsreel archive is a wonderful time-sink. There are thousands of hours of newsreel footage to peruse from just about any topic. As is my want, I went looking for old tennis film and is there ever a gold mine of that. From Fred Perry v. Don Budge, to this great colour footage from 1969,
Here is a travelogue of lovely Vancouver, and it's American influences, from 1958.
Now get back to work.
WIMBLEDON 1962
Here is a travelogue of lovely Vancouver, and it's American influences, from 1958.
ROCKIES FLIGHT TO VANCOUVER
Now get back to work.
Sunday, January 01, 2012
Sucks to be You Matt Murdock
I always thought having heightened senses would be cool. Who wouldn't want the keen hearing, expert balance, and radar senses of Daredevil?
You just never think about the smell. Blood, cordite, Grimm funk, those are the kinds of things you figure you are going to come up against as defender of the weak in the Marvel universe.
Nobody prepares you for a dirty nappy and an aroused Squirrel Girl though, do they?
I admit, I thought Squirrel Girl's squirrelyness was a costume. A put on. I didn't know she had it going on, rodentially speaking, in and around the tail. I knew the tail was real, and that she got all interspecies with Wolverine, but really, squirrel musk?
Who says comics aren't edumacashional?
You just never think about the smell. Blood, cordite, Grimm funk, those are the kinds of things you figure you are going to come up against as defender of the weak in the Marvel universe.
Nobody prepares you for a dirty nappy and an aroused Squirrel Girl though, do they?
I admit, I thought Squirrel Girl's squirrelyness was a costume. A put on. I didn't know she had it going on, rodentially speaking, in and around the tail. I knew the tail was real, and that she got all interspecies with Wolverine, but really, squirrel musk?
Who says comics aren't edumacashional?
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