Medical Deception?

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Updated

Slate ran an interesting article last week about a health stat that you should know about, but probably don’t. EVERY AMERICAN should know about this health stat– but somewhere along the way medical companies made sure it was confusiong enough you didn’t. It doesn’t have to be confusing after all — but it was made to be.

What do you need to know? It’s called N-N-T. “Numbers Needed to Treat”. Just because a drug has a a 31% reduction in say heart attacks, doesn’t mean that 31 people out of a hundred face reduced odds if they took the drug.

That’s what you thought? Didn’t you? I certainly did. Simple math.

Not so quick.

The article says, ” What, after all, does a 31 percent relative reduction in heart attacks mean? In the case of the 1995 study, it meant that taking Pravachol every day for five years reduced the incidence of heart attacks from 7.5 percent to 5.3 percent.”

“Suppose that 100 people with high cholesterol levels took statins. Of them, 93 wouldn’t have had heart attacks anyway. Five people have heart attacks despite taking Pravachol. Only the remaining two out of the original 100 avoided a heart attack by taking the daily pills. In the end, 100 people needed to be treated to avoid two heart attacks during the study period –so, the number of people who must get the treatment for a single person to benefit is 50. This is known as the ‘number needed to treat.'” (Treat Me?The crucial health stat you’ve never heard of.By Darshak SanghaviPosted Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2006)

So, a 31% reduction in heart attacks, means two people out of 100 were spared a heart attack. Did you know that is what this meant?

Next time, when you are taking a prescription drug, ask for the NNT, then look at the side effects.

Don’t miss this article. Read it here.

You decide: Is this practice deceptive? Or do you think it is necessary for 50 people to take a drug for the benefit of one?

True Story: Answer

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If you haven’t read this, STOP and read this FIRST. No need to get the answer if you haven’t read the question/story!

Is your friend telling you the truth or a lie?

Answer: A lie

Two readers questioned this and they were right. I know many people have stopped by, peered and wondered.

This is a true story that was told to a member of my family last week. When the story was relayed to me, it just didn’t sit right. Mind you, I didn’t hear the story being told by the perpetrator (we don’t even know who that is), nor did I see facial expressions or clues that this was a lie. This lie was simply discovered by applying logic. Furthermore, the person who told my family member was a recent widow and the more I thought about it, the madder I got. Being a recent widow is enough. Then to have to hear this story is just too much. Of course, now I wonder who started it and why!!

As I sat contemplating how I’d have to change my lifestyle if two thieves were running around my neighborhood, I kept hearing my family member relay the story to me. In particular, I kept hearing them say, “It takes 10 days to get published in the newspaper.” As I looked out the kitchen window, those words kept playing through my mind like a bad song you can’t purge from your memory.

After I stopped thinking about all the ways this would affect me, the broken record finally got through and I knew this was pure bull dust! We live in the information age. Ten days? No way! Maybe back in the stone age, but as long as I have been alive — the morning headlines have always been up-to-date. I knew this was pure and dirty hogwash.

Another thing that immediately bothered me was the word “robberies”. People weren’t being held up with a gun. These were burglaries. If the cops knew about this — and were perhaps at the association meeting — this would have been stated accurately. And frankly, you don’t call an association meeting and tell people this horrifying news without police support and guidance to (a) help catch the bastards (b) give safety advice to the neighbors/neighborhood. While the words could get mixed up, it was just another flag that I filed in my list of concerns.

Furthermore, I started to question the fact that these guys were black. How do we know these guys are black? Did someone’s security camera get them taped? Did someone see them? If so, then where are the artist renditions or video footage or black and white photos?? Why aren’t there WANTED signs posted around? Furthermore, why weren’t they handed out at this supposed association meeting?

Another signal to me was why would one neighbor know about this from the association meeting and not the other? The likelihood is that both neighbors live in the same association. If this information was going to be told at an association meeting — wouldn’t there have been a flier put out, perhaps? Maybe, maybe not — but if the police were involved — and wanted to catch this guy — you can pretty much be sure they would want to let everyone know — so people could help spot these guys and solve the crime spree. So, likely there would have been a flier — and a flier with faces of these guys on it. It’s not a certainty, but certainly likely. Another red flag.

Also, the details were spooky. Who was dreaming this up? A hat and gloves? They’d only take jewelry, drugs and cash. What, these guys didn’t care about TVs, DVDs, or computers? That’s unusual. People who steal for drugs — want money!! Anything valuable is worth money.

And they didn’t break anything, but took these specific valuables. Twenty four homes had open windows and doors — in a matter of a couple of weeks — that were left unlocked when no one was home. What are the odds??

This story was smelling really rotten to me.

At this point, I got online and browsed the local papers.

Nothing. Zip nadda.

Then I asked my husband to call the local police and ask. I wasn’t buying it — and furthermore I wanted this demon of monsters roaming my neighborhood stopped. We don’t have many black people in our town — and I can’t imagine how a rumor of this proportion would affect them — unfairly!!

On our way home from my relatives house, we saw a black family fishing and my heart sunk. How many people looked at them with fear? Unfairly. Unjustly. How many people treated them rudely out of pure ignorance?? It was vile and wrong.

My husband called. The police said they weren’t aware of any break-ins in the past couple of weeks. When my husband said he had heard there were 24, they said they would absolutely know about them and that there were none reported — rest assured.

Truth exposed.

Thankfully!

Be vigilant. Look over the facts, think about them. Ask yourself are they logical. Question them and then, if possible verify what you can. While your friend may not be knowingly telling a lie — someone is and has passed it on to her — and you have the power to stop it — dead in its tracks.

True Story

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Imagine you live rural, and you get a phone call.

(((Ring, ring)))

It’s your neighbor friend. She says hello and then you say hello. Then she starts talking…

“How are you? I’m just calling because I found out something you might want to know about. I guess there have been 24 robberies in the neighborhood very recently — so recently it hasn’t made the news yet. You know, it takes 10 days or so for the papers to get the story published.”

She goes on, “I’m really afraid. I went out and bought some security equipment.” She explains the equipment to you, and tells you how vulnerable she feels living alone.

“They say it is two black men, and they break in during the day when no one is home. They don’t break windows or anything — they take entry via open doors and windows. They take cash and jewelry and prescription drugs. They also wear gloves and a hat.”

You can tell she is concerned. You live in an area where there are lots of vacant vacation homes. She continues, “I found out about it from my neighbor who lives right next door. She went to an association meeting where they discussed it. Be safe, okay?”

Is your friend telling you the truth, or a lie?
Why do you say that?

Word Nuances

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It’s amazing how word order in speech (and even in writing), word groupings, word choices and voice influctuations can affect the meaning of what we say. It’s not uncommon for me to use this information to determine information about someone. It is precisely what can point me in the direction that perhaps someone is lying. While sometimes I can see the lie directly, other times it is the word order than provides me with a hint to look further. Word order that is not normal or accurate is one clue that can hint at deception.

Take for example John Karr and what he is saying. He says, “I killed JonBenet Ramsey. I love her.”

He loves her, yet if he killed her, wouldn’t he say, “I loved her.” Past tense? You see when people lie, they don’t always cover their tracks 100% because they don’t think through every detail. They don’t come naturally.

Last night, I heard someone say, “He keeps his yard up. He isn’t the pig.”

What can you glean from that statement? Anything?

You can’t spot a lie in the second statement, but you can read into. You can pretty much surmise that whoever said that believes that while this guy isn’t the pig, SOMEONE ELSE IS. Someone else is the pig. Perhaps that would also suggest that this person is picky, neat, precise… clues to put in your cap which may point out inconsistencies down the road. If this man later told me that he is a slob and order doesn’t matter — I’d know better.

Little word nuances: They can have big impact.

John Mark Karr

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Case Summary:
John Mark Karr confessed to killing JonBenet Ramsey, daughter of John and Patsy Ramsey ten years after her death. John and Patsy Ramsey have adamantly denied any involvement in the murder.
* * *

Karr is supposed to return to the U.S. today and we’ll hopefully soon get our answers about this unique and odd individual.

Many people have come to my website to check and see if I believe Karr when he says he killed JonBenet Ramsey, he was with her when she died and it was an accident.

I do NOT believe any one of these three statements made by John Karr. I believe he is knowingly deceiving people though I do not believe this man is mentally healthy.

I think Karr fixated on JonBenet years ago, and I believe he has become so fixated on her that he wants in anyway to be associated with her — even if it means confessing to a crime he did not commit. He just wants to be part of JonBenet, positive or negatively – it doesn’t matter.

When Karr speaks to the media, he is unable to answer any important questions. He stutters for words, moves his eyes in ways that shows he has to consciously think before he speaks to say the “right things”. None of Karr’s words come naturally — which they would if he was telling the truth. A killer who confesses and would finally want this done and over with — would give some true signs that he was the killer. Karr cannot do this.

Furthermore, Karr shows he is very nervous, and he flashes tiny expressions of glee which I believe represent the glee that he feels because he is actually getting away with this. It thrills him. This expression furthermore tells me that John Karr knows he is lying. He knows he didn’t kill JonBenet — at least during these interviews. If Karr suffers from delusions however, that state of mind may change and there may be times when he believes he killed her.

I also found a statement made by John Ramsey unique. His comments about Karr were something to the effect we shouldn’t jump to conclusions — until all the facts are in. Ramsey stuttered while he said it. This also raised my eyebrows. Does he know this man is innocent?

Hopefully, DNA and other evidence will clear this guy, and he won’t be made to be the fall-out guy. This man definitely needs psychiatric help.

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Update 10-23-06:
DNA did not match up to John Mark Karr — CNN reports it here.

Newest Post on John Mark Karr:
John Mark Karr Returns, June 7, 2007