I'm more than tired of how I am constantly getting bad products, poor service, no answers to my questions, blah...blah...blah. Aren't you? So, I've decided to add this blog so that we can all honestly tell each other about what went wrong with things we've purchased with hard earned money, poor service, bad people, etc. There are bad people, bad places and bad things that we ALL want to talk about. We'd be doing a service to someone else walking into the same trap. So, let's get back at 'em!
Here's the deal. My respected minister husband and I were pulling in to our local shopping center to get our week's food. There appeared a police car behind us with his siren roaring. We stopped, the police office approached the car and told my husband that he was driving with an expired license...he picked it up while using his license plate scanner. He then handcuffed him and put him into the police car...no miranda rights read to him. I, who cannot walk without my husband's help and a cane (due to 3 bad work injuries) was told by the officer that I would have to make arrangements to get to the police station to pick up my hubby in about one hour or so. I told him I couldn't walk alone and he told me there was nothing he could do...I was on my own. Our car was impounded, I couldn't walk, and my hubby was brought to the police station and handcuffed again to a chair at the station. He was questioned about his expired license and some other ridiculous things like the color of his eyes and hair...all quite obvious if you look at him...he's a blazing red head and has green eyes. Eventually, I got to the police station a few hours later and in very bad shape (and still am). WHAT GIVES WITH THIS??? Any cops out there wish to comment? The town doesn't know who they're playing with and who we know. They WILL be sue I have put this story on two of my blogs and on another. I think it was well worth it![/Color]
Health authorities have withdrawn tens of thousands of doses of Gardasil, a vaccine against the human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV), after two teenagers who received the shots were hospitalized.
The two girls were vaccinated last week as part of a vast government program targeting adolescents. A batch of nearly 76,000 doses of the vaccine has been withdrawn from the market.
The vaccine has been available since 2006.
Sources:
AFP February 10, 2009
Dr. Mercola''s Comments
Since its launch in 2006, 40 million doses of the Gardasil vaccine have been distributed worldwide, amidst a rash of side effects and complaints. At least Spanish health authorities were quick to act this time, when two girls became seriously ill just hours after receiving the shot.
In response, close to 76,000 doses of Gardasil were withdrawn from the market, all of them part of batch NH52670. Unfortunately, this is not a move to pull the vaccine from the market entirely; only use of shots from this particular batch has been suspended.
I don’t know what more health officials from all over the world could be waiting for to let them know how potentially dangerous this vaccine actually is.
Over 10,000 adverse reactions, including 29 deaths, have been reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) in relation to Gardasil -- and that is just from the United States.
Although Merck, which manufactures Gardasil, has reported a 16 percent decline in quarterly sales of the vaccine, and said it expects sales this year to be lower than expected, a massive campaign is still underway urging young girls to get vaccinated and become “one less” victim to cervical cancer.
This is going on in many parts of the world, including in Sweden, which recently announced all primary school girls will be able to be vaccinated with Gardasil for free starting in 2010.
Merck has also been pushing for an expansion of uses for Gardasil. In the U.S., the vaccine can also be promoted to prevent two rare vaginal and vulvar cancers, and Merck just recently filed for FDA approval to use Gardasil for boys!
What Types of Risks Does Gardasil Pose?
Side effects including paralysis and death have been reported in relation to Gardasil, among many, many others. Yet, on October 21, 2008 the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in association with the FDA released a report alleging that the vast majority, or even ALL, of the 10,000+ adverse reactions reported are not related to the vaccine. Therefore, they say, Gardasil is safe.
How did they come to this conclusion? Only the investigators know, and the information is not being made public so independent researchers can make their own decisions.
Well, the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), which was co-founded by Barbara Loe Fisher, one of the top vaccine experts in the world, is now calling for the CDC and FDA to publicly release the study design, data, and names of principal investigators involved.
To not properly evaluate the risks of Gardasil, they say, is “a callous disregard for human life.” As Fisher said:
“Parents of young girls and women cut down in their prime -- some of them paralyzed or dead within hours or days of getting Gardasil vaccine -- deserve better answers than a whitewashing of this vaccine’s very serious side effects.”
On NVIC’s Web site, you can read several stories of women and girls who have been seriously injured, and in some cases died, shortly after receiving this vaccine, including:
• Christina Tarsell, a 21-year-old college student majoring in studio arts at Bard College, who died suddenly and without explanation shortly after receiving the third Gardasil shot in June 2008.
• Gabrielle, a 15-year-old former gymnast and cheerleader who can no longer attend school and is suffering from severe headaches, heart problems and seizures since getting the vaccine. She has been diagnosed with Inflammation of the Central Nervous System as a result of a Gardasil vaccine reaction, and her condition continues to deteriorate.
• Megan, a 20-year-old college student who died suddenly, without explanation, about one month after receiving her third Gardasil shot. No cause of death was found.
• Ashley, a 16-year-old who became chronically ill after receiving Gardasil, and now suffers regular life-threatening episodes of seizure-like activity, difficulty breathing, back spasms, paralysis, dehydration, memory loss and tremors.
Sadly, Merck only studied the Gardasil vaccine in fewer than 1,200 girls under 16 prior to it being released to the market, and most of the serious side effects that occurred during the pre-licensure clinical trials were merely called a “coincidence.”
It is beyond me how that explanation can hold water, considering all the bad press coming out about this vaccine. NVIC has been following the risks of Gardasil closely, and just released a new analysis comparing the vaccine to another for meningitis (Menactra). They found, compared to Menactra, Gardasil was associated with:
• At least twice as many emergency room visit reports (5,021) • Four times as many death reports (29) • Seven times as many disabled reports (261) • Three to six times more fainting reports
Further, there have been a dizzying array of reactions reported among girls who received Gardasil alone, without any other vaccines, such as:
• 34 reports of thrombosis • 27 reports of lupus • 23 reports of blood clots • 16 reports of stroke • 11 reports of vasculitis • 544 reports of seizures
On top of this, in the VAERS database there are 467 “rechallenge” reports, which involve cases where there was a worsening of symptoms after a repeated vaccination -- and nearly 60 percent of them are for Gardasil!
What Makes The Gardasil Vaccine Even More of a Rip-Off?
It’s intended to prevent a virus (human papilloma virus, or HPV) your body can clear up on its own, and does so more than 90 percent of the time!
At least 50 percent of sexually active men and women acquire genital HPV infection at some point in their lives, according to the National Prevention Information Network (NPIN). Most often, the infection causes no symptoms at all, and is easily cleared up by your immune system. In some cases the infection can result in genital warts, and much less often, cervical and other genital cancers.
Even the National Cancer Institute says:
"It is important to note, however, that the great majority of high-risk HPV infections go away on their own and do not cause cancer."
So while Merck would like you to hear that 6 million women contract HPV annually -- they do not tell you most of those cases are harmless. Cervical cancer actually claims less than 3,900 women a year -- most of which are due to not getting regular Pap smears.
You should also know that Gardasil does not protect against all types of HPV, and you can still get cervical cancer even if you’ve been vaccinated. As the CDC states:
“About 30% of cervical cancers will not be prevented by the vaccine.”
What this all boils down to is that Gardasil is largely ineffective, potentially very dangerous and a major waste of money.
If you are a parent considering the Gardasil vaccine for your daughter, you would likely be far better off teaching her how to keep her immune system strong and healthy -- and discussing the realities of sexually transmitted diseases and how to avoid them -- than having her injected with this worthless vaccine.[/Color]
Today I went to order something online. I went through all the pages to complete all the info on my name, address, telephone #, credit card info, blah, blah, and blah. I got to the very end of the last order page and clicked on "submit" to purchase. I then received a message saying that there is no such address and the item I ordered is now cancelled. I just hoped that my card wasn't charged for the item; as it turned out it wasn't. I did this process twice more with the same message that there is no such address! Come on! Give me a break! I know where I live. The address on my credit card matches this address. After spending approximately 25 minutes trying to make this purchase, I decided to call the company and order it via the phone. After being switched 4 times to 4 different people, I was given another number to call which I did. My patience and persistence kept me going...so, the sales rep could not speak English at all...I had her spell most of the words in order to understand her. This representative said that it was funny that this happened to me online and that there would be no problem placing the order by phone. Between the spelling and difficulty understanding her, we finally (after 45 minutes) got to the part where she submitted my order. Guess what! She told me that I was not giving her an address that existed according to the postal service!!! I was ready to put a hole through the wall by this time and told her that I think I know my address. She said that I possibly didn't remember when I moved to this address and possibly had the address wrong. I just ended the conversation there and told her to have a great day, forget the order, and that I would ask around to see if anyone knew who I was and where I lived.[/Color]
Do you realize that buying those cute cuddly "Snuggies" can cost you well over the advertised price of $14.95 when you order them on TV or through mail order??? Their advertising campaigns must be running into the millions...someone has to pay...could that be YOU??? My closest and dearest friend of over 25 years has been ill. At a weak moment, she saw the advertisement for this blanket with sleeves (the Snuggie) that could keep her warm as she recovered. So, she got on her phone and called the toll free number and ordered one. She figured she probably would have use for one later on, or, somebody she knew would. She received her credit card statement before she received (or didn't receive) her Snuggie. The dollar amount was for just under $60 for a $14.95 price tag on TV. Can you just imagine her surprise to learn that the difference between the awesome low price of $14.95 and almost $60 was the inflated shipping, inflated handling, and the inflated processing fees? She called "Snuggie" to get that info. She said it had already been one month since ordering this product and she wanted credit for something she never received and would refuse delivery of if and when it came. The nice little operator at Snuggie told her that she could not cancel her order since it was probably in route and neither would she be able to refuse it because she (my friend) would have to pay the shipping back. Well, now it's 2 months later and guess what? NO SNUGGIE yet! I told her to refuse it despite what they told her. She phoned her credit card company and had the charges removed due to fraud. Also, to date, she never received her Snuggie...it's been 3 months. Please people...get a life and get a nice warm electric blanket to warm you up. Also, get "snuggie" under it with your loved one!!!
FYI...If your one of those people who MUST have a Snuggie, go to your area supermarket or drug store and, in their "as seen on tv" section, you can pick one up for "only" $14.95.
My Opera
to get our week's food. There appeared a police car behind us with his siren roaring. We stopped, the police office approached the car and told my husband that he was driving with an expired license...he picked it up while using his license plate scanner. He then handcuffed him and put him into the police car...no miranda rights read to him. I, who cannot walk without my husband's help and a cane (due to 3 bad work injuries) was told by the officer that I would have to make arrangements to get to the police station to pick up my hubby in about one hour or so. I told him I couldn't walk alone and he told me there was nothing he could do...I was on my own. Our car was impounded, I couldn't walk, and my hubby was brought to the police station and handcuffed again to a chair at the station. He was questioned about his expired license and some other ridiculous things like the color of his eyes and hair...all quite obvious if you look at him...he's a blazing red head and has green eyes. Eventually, I got to the police station a few hours later and in very bad shape (and still am). WHAT GIVES WITH THIS??? Any cops out there wish to comment? The town doesn't know who they're playing with and who we know. They WILL be sue
