This 24/7 news culture and its thirst for any bit of PR to fill its column inches and/or airwaves is getting beyond a joke.
As the father of two, whose on-smoking wife was/is teetotal but not averse to a cup of coffee or two, one has to wonder what next half-a*ed bit of maybe research will get trotted out, with varying experts saying it's anything from a disaster to no problem.
How we can have the threat of miscarriage on two cups go out in the same slot as a Doctor saying 'a moderate amount is ok' beats me. Is coffee (plus chocolate and colas) a baby killer or not? Trying to pin it down seems simply daft science and serves no one.
The net result is that the media spews out everything and ends up saying nothing. Which means we (well, I) just get unnecessarily disconcerted... and then do sod all about it.
As with most eco-pronouncements, it is a vain hope that the media could resist waiting until there is a definitive peer-reviewed conclusion, with coherent advice attached.
Fat chance. Oh, but speaking of fat...
Junkk.com promotes fun, reward-based e-practices, sharing oodles of info in objective, balanced ways. But we do have personal opinions, too! Hence this slightly ‘off of site, top of mind' blog by Junkk Male Peter. Hopefully still more ‘concerned mates’ than 'do this... or else' nannies, with critiques seen as constructive or of a more eyebrow-twitching ‘Oh, really?!' variety. Little that’s green can be viewed only in black and white.
Monday, January 21, 2008
1 comment:
I believe in freedom of speech. But I also don't like bullies on blogs, even verbal ones, as they can drive away those with something valid to say... or offer.
Subjective is fine, but well argued and substantiated is even better. Calm and polite tops. Anything that crosses my personal line will not go up. There may be reasons given, but not guaranteed.
I'm not too keen on 'Anon' as a handle (and the content usually explains why), so if that's what you opt for it may not make it. Sorry.
It does seem strange that places like Holland & Belgium, where strong coffee is consumed in huge amounts in comparison to the UK, have no apparent higher rates of miscarriage than we do here in the UK.
ReplyDeleteAs you say, sometimes the media would be much better off waiting until fully peer reviewed and repeat research, showing the same results, was published, but by then it wouldn't be newsworthy.