Free Republic

The flu vaccine is more effective than expected, federal health officials said on Thursday at a special news conference held to discuss the dangerous flu season, which is expected to kill more than 50,000 Americans. This year’s vaccine is about 25% effective against the H3N2 strain of flu that is causing most illnesses and deaths, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Per the NYT. But look at the AP story. The flu vaccine is doing a poor job protecting older Americans and others against the bug that’s causing most illnesses. Preliminary figures released...

Meteorite makes villagers ill VILLAGERS in southern Peru have been struck by a mysterious illness after a meteorite made a fiery crash to Earth in their area. Around midday Saturday, villagers were startled by an explosion and a fireball that many were convinced was a plane crashing near their remote village, in the high Andes department of Puno in the Desaguadero region, near the border with Bolivia. Residents complained of headaches and vomiting... Farking Excerpt Snippers... A picture of the crater and a link to an article that makes for fun reading after a Google translation. El Nuevo Diario

California Psychologist Wants 'Extreme Bias' Against Homosexuals Added To 'DSM' January 6, 2006 - In early December 2005, Washington Post writer Shankar Vedantam reported on the efforts of UCLA psychology professor Edward Dunbar to encourage the psychiatric community to add "extreme bias" against homosexuals (or ethnic groups) added to the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Professor Dunbar is considered an expert on hate crimes and serves as a consultant with the Los Angeles City Police Department, the LA Unified School District and the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. The Post article quotes Darrel...

State locks foster kids in mental ward By Sandra Mathers, Sentinel Staff Writer Posted April 2, 2002 This article misstated the age of the youngest of the children being held for months in a screening facility for the mentally ill. The youngest child held that long was 5 years old. Foster children as young as 3 are being held for months in a locked crisis unit for the mentally ill in Orange County, often because the state agency charged with their care has nowhere else to put them. Some of the children aren't even mentally ill. Instead, they're combative...