Shambolic science in the Daily Express

In a week where certain sections of the media are getting a well deserved bashing, it's important to remember the kind of damage they can do through perfectly legal means. Indeed, there is a front page story in the Daily Express today that will garner very little criticism, but could very easily lead to major health problems for its readership because of its abuse of scientific research.

Their front page, as seen to the right, proudly declares that 'Now salt is safe to eat', claiming that reducing your intake 'does nothing to reduce your risk of heart disease.' (They also call Public Health specialists 'Health fascists' for good measure)

It is very easy to see how they came to this conclusion, but easier still to see how they got it completely and dangerously wrong. This headline is essentially extrapolated from one piece of research, published in the Cochrane Library. As such, it comes from one of the most reliable sources possible, and we can be sure that the research is thorough, but it seems the Daily Express only read what they wanted to believe.

The review of literature covered nearly 7,000 participants, and found that although lowering your salt intake was correlated with a lower BP, they couldn't find a link to a reduction in your chances of developing heart disease.

An Attack on Doctor's Pensions

Public sector pensions have been in the news quite a fair amount recently, and there are plenty of commentators around who can explain better than me why the changes are deeply unfair to workers, and so I shan't talk about pensions as a whole. Instead, I want to write about something that I, as a medical student, have a personal future interest in, the NHS pension scheme.

The BMA remains highly critical of both NHS reforms and of proposed pension reform.

It may seem a pretty dull subject, so I shall try to keep this short and to the point, and in those interests here are a few quick facts about the current scheme.

• It was renegotiated as recently as 2008, with the introduction of tiered contributions to ensure fairness for the lowest paid and an increase in the retirement age for new entrants to 65.
• Employers contributions (i.e. the taxpayers) have been capped.
• The scheme is due to be £10bn in surplus by 2015, providing the Treasury with £2bn a year.

Such a scheme would seem ideal for a government looking to cut costs, not only are costs not spiralling out of control, they're recieving money from the surplus! In light of this, it seems even more bizarre that the government, fronted on the issue by Danny Alexander, is issuing threats to public sector workers that they must accept new settlements or lose out even further.

News of the World's criminality.

For months people have been wondering whether there could be any more revelations in the phone hacking scandal, whether News of the World and the tabloid press in general could sink any lower. Whether Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson could possibly be dragged in more disrepute than they are already in.

Today, we got an answer, yes they can. And the most damaging aspect of today's news, that they hacked the phone of missing schoolgirl Milly Dowler, is that the issue now has a very personal - and very shocking - side to it. This isn't now an issue of idle celebrity tittle-tattle, it's an issue that everyone can relate to, and that no-one can condone.

Why I've returned.

It's been a couple of months since my last post here, I struggled to muster the enthusiasm to start blogging again after I decided to take a break for my last set of exams. (Which I passed, so maybe it paid off!)

Part of the reason why I didn't feel the need to start blogging again was that this site is something of a vent, if I don't write things down I tend to rant, and for the sake of keeping friends it's better to let it all out on the internet than in person.

Recently, however, I've had Twitter available as an outlet, and so felt less need to write out time-consuming blog posts. Twitter does have it's drawbacks though, and the need to fit everything into 140 characters does somewhat stifle the quality of debate sometimes. And that is ultimately the reason behind me starting up this blog, for those occasions when even Twitter isn't enough of an outlet, and I want to write in more detail.

Some people might think it quite egocentric to think that enough people will care about what I say to make this worthwhile, but that misses the point. If people read it, then excellent, but if not this can be more like a personal journal, albeit quite a bizarre journal. Think of it more of a blog/Twitter hybrid, they should hopefully compliment each other.

So, I hope some of my old followers are still around, and long live the blog.

Can death be good?

This could be one of my more controversial posts. Equally, I could be judging the mood wrong and people could find it perfectly reasonable. Either way, it's going to be written. Though of course, I have no idea what it must feel like to be a survivor or relative of one of those in 9/11, and so my opinion counts for little.

It comes after the news broke early this morning that Osama bin Laden has been killed in his hide-out in Pakistan, after an apparent fire-fight with US Navy SEALS. What came next was a day of relentless news coverage showing scenes of jubilation around America, and world leaders congratulating Obama on his success. The question I want to look at now is the question that plagued me during the day. How am I supposed to feel about all this?

It may seem rather an obvious question, the man was responsible for some of the most hideous terrorist attacks the world has seen, and so I should be happy at his demise. But equally, I have never and will never be supportive of the death penalty, or any such form of retributive justice, and so how do I reconcile these two conflicting beliefs?

One article that helped me make up my mind was this by Emma Burnell, who puts his death in the context of a conflict, where casualties occur and can be justified. Like her, I believe that in an ideal world he would have stood trial for his crimes in front of an international court. But we don't live in an ideal world. His captivity would have provoked revenge killings and provoked Al-Qaeda to take hostages in an attempt to secure his release. That is a situation I think no-one could live with.

In the context of a global war perhaps it is justifiable to have killed Osama bin Laden, especially when the cost of his captivity could have been so monumental in human terms.

What I would still disagree with, however, are the scenes of jubilation that his death has sparked.  I do not criticise anyone who feels relief or joy at the death of this man, that he committed heinous crimes is beyond doubt and I cannot begin to imagine how those who suffered losses at his hands might feel. What I simply want to explain is why I would not join the celebrations, and it is summed up rather well by Harry Waizer, a survivor of the 9/11 attacks:

"If this means there is one less death in the future, then I’m glad for that, but I just can't find it in me to be glad one more person is dead, even if it is Osama bin Laden."

If anything, I feel today should be about marking a line in the sand and remembering all those lives that have been tragically lost, not about jubilation. I don't think us reverting to a primitive eye-for-an-eye attitude and dancing in the streets at death is in any way justice for his heinous crimes.

If his death can be justified in the context of a conflict then so be it, but we should be extending our warm feelings to those who lost everything they hold dear rather than expressing joy that we found revenge. I was most struck by the story of one individual who, upon hearing the news, went down to Ground Zero to pay his respect to those who had lost their lives. What he found on arrival was a carnival atmosphere, and had to leave soon after. Again, I can more than understand those individuals sense of joy, but is it possible that in their carnal search for revenge they have lost sight of what is important?

Perhaps that is what I wish for most, in my idealistic mind. That this day marks the turning point. That we can now focus on moving on with our lives, whilst never forgetting the terrible losses that people suffered. From now on let us no longer celebrate death, but let us treasure life.