Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Do you guys have people like this in the US/UK? And are they allowed to exist under such a misleading name?

http://avn.org.au/

I know my personal opinions of them, and I'm going to try to keep them to a minimum (in the OP at least), and I'm curious as to whether a) similar groups exists overseas (I assume they would), b) if you agree with NSW Fair Trading that they need to change their name because it is misleading and c) your opinions on the issue

Is it another one of those 'vaccines lead to autism' groups? Their front page is very vague and speaks in general terms, such as 'be informed' and 'two sides to every story', but doesn't explicitly state what they mean by that, and I am not sure I want to get to much further into the website. It seems like one of those groups, and if it is, they are idiots and and dangerous ones. If they are against vaccinations, and spreading medical lies about them, the name sure seems misleading, but I don't know what the laws there would be regarding that.

 Ahtman wrote:
Their front page is very vague and speaks in general terms, such as 'be informed' and 'two sides to every story', but doesn't explicitly state what they mean by that, and I am not sure I want to get to much further into the website.

"Two sides to every story" sounds like the Intelligent Design's "teach the controversy": pretend that if one side is spouting insane bs and the other is stating actual fact, the correct path must be somewhere in the middle. A.k.a. the golden mean fallacy.

 Ahtman wrote:
Is it another one of those 'vaccines lead to autism' groups?

Ding ding ding we have a winner. They are exactly that kind of group.

 Ahtman wrote:
Their front page is very vague and speaks in general terms, such as 'be informed' and 'two sides to every story', but doesn't explicitly state what they mean by that, and I am not sure I want to get to much further into the website. It seems like one of those groups, and if it is, they are idiots and and dangerous ones. If they are against vaccinations, and spreading medical lies about them, the name sure seems misleading, but I don't know what the laws there would be regarding that.

Well the laws are enough that they are being challenged on it, I don't think it is the sort of thing that has come before enough for there to be enough precedent, but I really hope the government gets their way and they have to change. I honestly don't know what I expect to come out of this thread, I just posted because I was crazy angry at the whole lot of them (happens every time they come up in front of me really, the angry part). Gah.

They are global, in fact there has recently been a measles epidemic in the UK due to the MMR scare in the late 90's/early 00s http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/apr/25/mmr-scare-analysis

Groups like this are always based upon ignorance and wishful thinking (often with a splash of ideology) and while I find their aims repugnant and their 'research' laughable I do feel sorry for a lot of there members as they seem to be driven by the need to apportion blame to something for their child's illness and as the majority of the population are scientifically illiterate vaccinations are an easy target.

I fething hate these people. My brother started talking this gak to me the other day and I literally punched him in the temple. There are legitimate criticisms of vaccines and the development process must be kept under careful control and oversight, the H1N1 BS is example A of that, however thanks to vaccines Polio, Scarlet Fever, Mumps, Measles, Chicken Pox, goddamn SMALL POX and a host of other diseases that regularly killed ever loving fethloads of people or crippled them, or otherwise fethed gak up are extinct.

Feth me running with a chain saw there is stupid and then there is this gak.