Well I don't know anything about Mercola, but I think the authour needs to put things in the right context.

Obviously it's a US site, (by the phone number listed at the top of the page) and so we need to start there.
We need to understand that this in not Australia and we have different health care systems.
The US doesn't have free heathcare like we do, you're forced to pay high insurance premiums that have increased a large amount in recent times, and many opt to go without coverage and instead pay a fine.
In this environment you're going to have people searching for ways to help themselves, and everybody knows there is good and bad info on the internet, so I'm really not sure why you are making such a fuss.

In regards to would I trust Mercola on the issue of vaccines?
On face value I'd be somewhat sceptical, but this is what you'd expect from this kind of site.

Do I myself question the safety and effectiveness of vaccines?
Most certainly, and I don't have to follow articles on Mercola to come to that conclusion.

Tell me whats worse the common flu or prolonged siezures and brain damage of your young child?

Look up FLUVAX, read news and other articles (good one in 'The Conversation') - spend as much time as you did scrutinising Mercola's site and then tell me that what you just read gives you 100% reassurance in the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.

You can't can you?
Back to the drawing board...

At some level, the vaccine industry is 'deceitful marketing bs' and includes the very same complaints you made about Mercola's website.

I'd rather have my kid die from whatever condition it was, than have both our lives destroyed, and the heartbreak of watching a mentally retarded child struggle with their life, whilst blaming myself for believing the 'safe and effective' lie, over a stupid flu vaccine.

I just hope the multi billion dollar vaccine mob are not as dishonest as the so called climate 'scientist' who fudge figures, make idiotic predictions and line their pockets. Certainly the flu shot seems to be a total con.

Thanks, Amanda Midlam. We need more articles like this on OLO. The anti-vax movement may not be growing, but it is very loud and it is very dangerous.

Mercola is a dangerous quack, dishing out poor advice to millions of people. It never ceases to amuse me how all these peddlers of pseudoscience, who talk incessantly about the greed of so-called “Big Pharma”, all have their own online store of “miracle cures”. It seems the scepticism of conspiracy theorists is quite selective.

Speaking of which, why am I not surprised that Armchair Critic and runner are the first one’s in to question the science?

--

runner,

Do you have any evidence for the flu vaccine being a “total con”?

'runner,

Do you have any evidence for the flu vaccine being a “total con

AJ since when were you ever interested in evidence? You still can't give any for the big bang myth. You also totally ignore all medical research showing how unhealthy sodomy is. And you clain to be rational? Give me a break.

To summarise the article's intent: "Hitler was a vegetarian - kill the vegetarians!"

Hitler was at least famous, whereas I've never heard before about this Dr. Mercola (perhaps the author and it's friends invented them for this purpose?).

Runner,

So in other words, you don’t have any evidence.

<<... since when were you ever interested in evidence?>>

Why am I not surprised?

<<You still can't give any for the big bang myth.>>

Oh, I’ve noted it many times. True to form, however, you just keep claiming that I haven’t.

<<You also totally ignore all medical research showing how unhealthy sodomy is.>>

Do I? What exactly did I say?

*Crickets chirping*

--

Yuyutsu,

I read the article again and still couldn’t see how you determined this:

<<To summarise the article's intent: "Hitler was a vegetarian - kill the vegetarians!">>

Why am I not surprised that you are disparaging of an article that stands up for science?

<<Hitler was at least famous, whereas I've never heard before about this Dr. Mercola (perhaps the author and it's friends invented them for this purpose?).>>

Or, you know, perhaps you could just Google him?

http://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/anecdotal

Hey AJ Philips,
'Total Con'...
Thanks, you just made this topic way more interesting.

What exactly is 'The Con'?
And who actually is being 'Conned'?

If we think about the idea of being 'Conned' then that idea in itself concerns being 'taken for a fool', or to have the 'wool pulled over ones eyes'.

On this point I believe it is you that has been 'Conned'.
It's you that has been conditioned to believe things that aren't true.
That somehow my 'opinion' is dangerous to society, and that free speech should be oulawed.

Firstly I'm not trying mislead anyone, it's you that's been mislead.
I support the right of all people to have access to unbiased facts, to become better informed on both sides of the argument, and choose what they think is right for themselves and their family based on that information.
Nothing more, Nothing less.

I'm not trying to force anyone to do anything.

My comments were based on articles in the public domain by reputable news organisations who reported CSL's statement to the media, at the time.

Again, I'm not trying to mislead anyone and it's you that have been 'Conned'.

I'm not against the science of innoculation, I'm against unsafe vaccines with known side effects and questions of effectiveness being marketed as '100% safe and effective' and mandated to parents without any informed consent.

'Who is Conning Who'?
You've been 'Conned' into believeing that logical, factual and reasonable questions surrounding vaccine safety be considered dangerous.

And that AJ, I'm afraid to say is in fact 'The Real Con'...

..*Believing that if we are going to trust advice found on the internet, we need to first evaluate the source of that advice*..

Good advice, we are all aware of. Pay Pal so far so good. eBay, always ring the contact number if supplied; if no phone number, beware!
Microsoft security software? Abandon Microsoft on every level quickly, for the sake of your wallet and credit card details. Scammers around Microsoft are legendary!

Be highly suspicious of anything branded USofA. Every second person in the US is a doctor I'm sure! (Although I just bought a book from NY promising to cure diabetes (which I don't have, so I feel safe with that one), in two weeks. Good diet though; it backs up what I believe to be true, to my own hard won biases!

Now, vaccines. I have no idea what is true and what isn't. I'm sure I'll be dead and buried before any believable truth comes out of that wash!

Now back to something that makes sense, back to painting the house!

Speaking of Google AJ, did you google news seach 'fluvax' yet?

Did any of you notice that no news came up at all?
You need to click the 'Google News Archive Search' link.
This follows on with a discussion in the general forum how Google is selective and preferences it's news and search results.
It's called 'Social Engineering', but anyway...

So here's some of the headlines I found.

Flu Vaccine Production Methods triggered fits: CSL
Kids get banned Fluvax vaccine
Settlement for Saba Batton severely disabled after Flu Vaccine
Girl left disabled by flu jab wins millions
Virus traces in Fluvax cause of childrens convulsions
Fluvax given to children under five despite ban, prompting warning by Australias Chief Medical Officer
Fluvax given to dozens of young children despite ban
Toddler who was given adult flu shot is left severly brain damaged
Adult flu shot CSL Fluvax has been given to 43 underage kids despite ban
Flu shots with side effects on offer again
10 Deaths Linked to Anti-Flu Vaccines
-2136 cases of adverse affects...

Does that sound 100% safe to you?
You don't even have to look at other vaccines, you can learn enough about whether they are 100% safe and effective right here, whether the systems they have in place to ensure they are 100% safe and effective (if that's what they claim to be) are in place.
Clearly they are not.

I'll ask again 'Who's being Conned here'?

You should really go find and read that Fluvax article from The Conversation.

Well folks I'm no expert on vaccination, though when I went overseas with the Army, we were injected with everything, on both arms. From memory I didn't suffer from any side effects other than the mandatory Small Pox sore which you're apparently had to have, to ensure it had 'taken' properly as it were.

And to be truthful, I/we didn't catch anything of consequence, and that's after we were trudging through primary jungle, and wading through creeks and being constantly wet, even without the monsoon rains, which usual cleaned up the joint and cooled you down. The constant sweating while carrying damn heavy packs, ammo, rations and other kit, together with my SLR. which weighed around 12/13 lbs. or so, loaded. Everyone had webbing rashes everywhere the webbing touched, causing little sores on the skin to come-up under the webbing straps themselves.

We had a 'mandatory' Malaria tablet - either every week or fortnight, can't remember. However I did get Malaria, and my liver had shown signs of contracting 'Chronic Active Hepatitis, which was associated with Malaria in some way, however it only required monitoring, though potentially fatal, if it was to be irritated, according to No.1 Field? Well I'm still in the vertical, so my liver must still be functioning Ok?

What I'm trying to say, if we'd NOT received all those different vaccinations, we were given (pre-embarkation in Australia), surely more of us would have got crook.

It was however claimed I missed one of the anti-malaria tablets hence my attacks of Malaria. If proven I would've been charged, as it was a disciplinary offence. Especially if it was found you deliberately injured yourself, or failure to mandatorily self-medicate, while on active service? Again it was 1. Field Hospital. that saved my arse. From memory I didn't miss a tablet, it was said that a particular strain of the Malaria parasite, occasionally was not killed by the medication we took, I really don't know?

If questioned whether to Vaccinate or not Vaccinate? I'd always say Vaccinate, without doubt! That's despite the occasional side-effect(s) some poor bugger(s) might experience.

Dear O Sung Wu,

You were/are a warrior.

As a warrior, it is your duty to try and make the best out of imperfect situations. You have voluntarily agreed to sacrifice your life and limb, as necessary, which for you is both a matter of duty and of honour.

As a warrior, you have a country to protect and an enemy to defeat, so you cannot afford to be down with malaria. In that sense, having the vaccination-toxins in your body is on a par with the webbing rashes and the real possibility of being wounded in battle.

This said, not everyone should be expected to be a warrior: some are born with such characteristics and this particular calling, others are not.

Armchair Critic,

If you put it into practice by not vaccinating your own children, or spreading lies about vaccines, then, yes, I think your opinion is dangerous.

<<… and that free speech should be oulawed.>>

Where have I even suggested such a thing? We’re becoming a little melodramatic now, aren’t we?

<<Firstly I'm not trying mislead anyone, it's you that's been mislead.>>

Not purposefully, no. I’d like to see the evidence for your claim that I have been mislead, and not from the usual fake news links you read, either. I mean real, peer-reviewed studies from people who have devoted their lives to studying disease and immunity.

<<... I'm against unsafe vaccines with known side effects and questions of effectiveness being marketed as '100% safe and effective' ...>>

And which vaccines would these be? Vaccines are only 99.99% safe and 90-99% effective. I don’t know of any pharmaceutical company that has promoted any vaccine as 100% safe and effective.

<<You've been 'Conned' into believeing that logical, factual and reasonable questions surrounding vaccine safety be considered dangerous.>>

People who do not vaccinate their children, and actively campaign against vaccines, are not just asking questions. They are putting their children, and the children of others, at risk. Particularly newborns and immune-compromised children who cannot be vaccinated and rely on heard immunity.

<<Did any of you notice that no news came up at all?>>

Sounds like a hiccup. I searched for “fluvax” in the standard web search and then clicked “News” and got plenty:

http://www.google.com.au/search?q=fluvax&source=lnms&tbm=nws&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwji_uL27NfVAhXGvrwKHUMEDKIQ_AUICigB&biw=1920&bih=950

So they’re not doing a very good job of hiding information, if that’s what they are indeed doing.

<<… Google is selective and preferences it's news and search results.>>

So why do they not “censor” a search for the most (unnecessarily) controversial vaccine: the MMR?

<<So here's some of the headlines I found.>>

They were archived because they were old. I skimmed them all and there was not much there that was particularly scary, despite the headlines.

<<I'll ask again 'Who's being Conned here'?>>

It looks like you are. Either that or you’re very paranoid.

Hooray for Doctor Mercolas website and daily newsletter. Doctor Mercola is of course an Osteopath - but so what.
I have been subscribing to it for over 15 years. It provides all kinds of useful information re how to live a healthy life, and a comprehensive well-informed criticism of the lies/propaganda promoted by big (toxic) pharma, big (toxic) agri-business, and the mainstream phood industry.

As far as I know Doctor Mercola has a research team that researches all of the latest (and old-time) findings of leading edge medical research, by both "maverick" main-stream and non-orthodox researchers. He quite often features very useful video interviews with various researches.

And why cant Doctor Mercola make money (even heaps of money) by promoting the various vitamin, mineral, herbal and specialized food supplements that he sells. There is an enormously huge industry/market for such products. And of course main-stream medically "approved" drugs, ALL of which have multiple toxic side effects.

Meanwhile one of the biggest money-spinners for (toxic) big-pharma is of course the manufacture and sale of vaccines. They now have an ever-growing captive market, inventing spurious vaccines for every conceivable complaint. And of course, luckily for them they have been granted legal immunity for ANY damage that their intrinsically toxic vaccines inevitably cause.

Meanwhile there is heaps of research out there which support Doctor Mercola's quite valid questioning of the lies, cover-ups and dis-information produced by the vaccinate everything-that-moves industry.
This references introduces some of the research.
http://www.naturalmedicine.net.nz/category/vaccination
Nexus magazine also regularly features essays which question the bondafides of the vaccination industry.

Hi there YUYUTSU...

Your opinion of soldiers is quite correct, that is their job to go wherever they're sent, and do as they're told. Individually most are just ordinary, unremarkable men and women, with the same strengths and weaknesses as anyone else in our community.

Occasionally one or two of them will excel in one form or another. In leadership, or courage even both in some instances. The one common denominator though, we're all in it together, whether it's getting our many vaccinations prior to being sent abroad, or sweating in a humid S E Asian jungle somewhere, covered in rashes and sores caused by poor personal hygiene, and yes sweat - we're ALL, every one of us, in it together and that's what makes it tolerable.

The Army, Navy and Air Force, all work in unity, both individually and collectively, otherwise how could they ever hope to defeat an enemy and protect our precious Nation from others? Still that's the nature and function of the Military for you.

Daffy Duck,

As a general rule, I avoid engaging with anti-vaxxers. However, I couldn’t help but notice your claim that vaccines are “intrinsically toxic”, because it is typical of the unscientific thinking that anti-vaxxers engage in.

Nothing is “intrinsically toxic”. Toxicity is determined by dosage.