Are you prepared for what occupation brings?

2005-06-17 Thread Gary Denton
Disturbed by torture?  Prepare for more as the price of Empire.

COMMENTARY
 Torture's Part of the Territory
 .
 By Naomi Klein

Brace yourself for a flood of gruesome new torture snapshots. Last
week, a federal judge ordered the Defense Department to release dozens
of additional photographs and videotapes depicting prisoner abuse at
Abu Ghraib.

The photographs will elicit what has become a predictable response:
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld will claim to be shocked and will
assure us that action is already being taken to prevent such abuses
from happening again. But imagine, for a moment, if events followed a
different script. Imagine if Rumsfeld responded like Col. Mathieu in
Battle of Algiers, Gillo Pontecorvo's famed 1965 film about the
National Liberation Front's attempt to liberate Algeria from French
colonial rule. In one of the film's key scenes, Mathieu finds himself
in a situation familiar to top officials in the Bush administration:
He is being grilled by a room filled with journalists about
allegations that French paratroopers are torturing Algerian prisoners.

Based on real-life French commander Gen. Jacques Massus, Mathieu
neither denies the abuse nor claims that those responsible will be
punished. Instead, he flips the tables on the scandalized reporters,
most of whom work for newspapers that overwhelmingly support France's
continued occupation of Algeria. Torture isn't the problem, he says
calmly. The problem is the FLN wants to throw us out of Algeria and
we want to stay. It's my turn to ask a question. Should France stay
in Algeria? If your answer is still yes, then you must accept all the
consequences.

His point, as relevant in Iraq today as it was in Algeria in 1957, is
that there is no nice, humanitarian way to occupy a nation against the
will of its people. Those who support such an occupation don't have
the right to morally separate themselves from the brutality it
requires.

Now, as then, there are only two ways to govern: with consent or with fear. 

Most Iraqis do not consent to the open-ended military occupation they
have been living under for more than two years. On Jan. 30, a clear
majority voted for political parties promising to demand a timetable
for U.S. withdrawal. Washington may have succeeded in persuading
Iraq's political class to abandon that demand, but the fact remains
that U.S. troops are on Iraqi soil in open defiance of the express
wishes of the population.

Lacking consent, the current U.S.-Iraqi regime relies heavily on fear,
including the most terrifying tactics of them all: disappearances,
indefinite detention without charge and torture. And despite official
reassurances, it's only getting worse. A year ago, President Bush
pledged to erase the stain of Abu Ghraib by razing the prison to the
ground. There has been a change of plans. Abu Ghraib and two other
U.S.-run prisons in Iraq are being expanded, and a new 2,000-person
detention facility is being built, with a price tag of $50 million. In
the last seven months alone, the prison population has doubled to a
staggering 11,350.

The U.S. military may indeed be cracking down on prisoner abuse, but
torture in Iraq is not in decline  it has simply been outsourced. In
January, Human Rights Watch found that torture within Iraqi-run (and
U.S.-supervised) jails and detention facilities was systematic,
including the use of electroshock.

An internal report from the 1st Cavalry Division, obtained by the
Washington Post, states that electrical shock and choking are
consistently used to achieve confessions by Iraqi police and
soldiers. So open is the use of torture that it has given rise to a
hit television show: Every night on the TV station Al Iraqiya  run by
a U.S. contractor  prisoners with swollen faces and black eyes
confess to their crimes.

Rumsfeld claims that the wave of recent suicide bombings in Iraq is a
sign of desperation. In fact, it is the proliferation of torture
under Rumsfeld's watch that is the true sign of panic.

In Algeria, the French used torture not because they were sadistic but
because they were fighting a battle they could not win against the
forces of decolonization and Third World nationalism. In Iraq, Saddam
Hussein's use of torture surged immediately after the Shiite uprising
in 1991: The weaker his hold on power, the more he terrorized his
people. Unwanted regimes, whether domestic dictatorships or foreign
occupations, rely on torture precisely because they are unwanted.

When the next batch of photographs from Abu Ghraib appear, many
Americans will be morally outraged, and rightly so. But perhaps some
brave official will take a lesson from Col. Mathieu and dare to turn
the tables: Should the United States stay in Iraq? If your answer is
still yes, then you must accept all the consequences.
 
 Copyright 2005 Los Angeles Times
 
http://fairuse.1accesshost.com/news3/latimes92v.htm

--
Gary Denton
http://www.apollocon.org June 24-26

Easter Lemming 

Re: Faith crimes

2005-06-17 Thread William T Goodall


On 17 Jun 2005, at 4:36 am, Warren Ockrassa wrote:


On Jun 16, 2005, at 3:25 PM, Russell Chapman wrote:


Or, just maybe, these people are beating up these kids coz they're  
psycopaths who enjoy it (or derive some missing feeling or power  
or whatever), and then suddenly start talking religion and devils  
when they get caught ?  Call me cynical...




It might be the other way around. Sadistic people with delusions of  
inadequacy might be using religion as an excuse for torture.


A simpler explanation is that religion is evil. I found a fuller  
version of these stories but I think registration is required so here  
it is:


http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=665252005

Boys trafficked for human sacrifices

ANGUS HOWARTH

Key points
 Metropolitan police say African boys are sent to London to be murdered
 Met report also says young Africans being sent to UK as sex slaves
 London education authority reveals 300 black boys vanished in 2001

Key quote
People who are desperate will seek out witchcraft experts to cast  
spells for them. Members of the workshops state that for a spell to  
be powerful it required a sacrifice involving a male child  
unblemished by circumcision - leaked Metrpolitan police report


Story in full AFRICAN boys are being murdered as human sacrifices in  
London churches, according to a shocking Scotland Yard report.


The Metropolitan Police has uncovered a trade in black boys being  
trafficked into the city. A number of fundamentalist sects believe  
powerful spells require the ritual killing of male children.


The leaked report also reveals countless examples of African children  
killed after being identified as witches by church pastors.


The ten-month study was commissioned in the wake of the inquiry into  
the death of eight-year-old Victoria Climbi, who was brought to  
Britain from Ivory Coast by relatives and was starved and brutalised  
after they said she was possessed by the devil.


A police spokesman said: The Met undertook a project based on  
recommendations arising from the Victoria Climbi report aimed at  
improving our knowledge of issues impacting child abuse within the  
African and Asian communities of London.


Working in Newham and Hackney, community partnership officers ran a  
number of workshops with various sections of these communities  
debating issues such as female genital mutilation, physical  
chastisement, forced marriage and faith-related child abuse.


The leaked report is quoted as saying: People who are desperate will  
seek out witchcraft experts to cast spells for them.


Members of the workshops state that for a spell to be powerful it  
required a sacrifice involving a male child unblemished by circumcision.


They allege the boy children are being trafficked into the UK for  
this purpose.


The report is also quoted as saying that children may be brought to  
Britain as sex slaves, some of them for men with HIV who believe that  
if they have sex with a child they will be cleansed.


In discussions with African community leaders, officers were told of  
numerous examples of children being murdered because their parents or  
carers believed them to be possessed by evil spirits.


Police are now investigating the claims further. The police spokesman  
said: The aim of the project was to open a dialogue within these  
communities and encourage a debate which would help reduce the risks  
of harm to children.


The recommendations in the report, due to be published later this  
month, are being carefully considered at the highest levels in the  
MPS in conjunction with partner agencies and community groups.


The report concludes police face a wall of silence when dealing  
with the fundamentalist African community.


Earlier this month, two women were convicted at the Old Bailey of  
torturing an eight-year-old child they accused of being a witch.


The girl, an orphaned refugee from war-torn Angola, was stabbed,  
kicked, beaten, had chilli peppers rubbed in her eyes and was forced  
into a laundry bag and threatened with drowning in a river.


Last month, Scotland Yard revealed it had only been able to trace two  
of 300 black boys aged four to seven reported missing from London  
schools in a three-month period.


Child welfare experts say the number highlights the scale of the  
trade in children brought to Britain. The figure emerged through the  
murder inquiry following the discovery of a child's torso in the  
Thames in September 2001.


The identity of the victim, named Adam by police, is not known, but  
his background was traced to Nigeria.


It is believed he died in a ritual sacrifice. Detectives asked each  
London education authority to give them details of black boys aged  
four to seven reported missing from school between July and September  
2001. It emerged that 300 had vanished, 299 from Africa and one from  
the Caribbean.


The true figure for missing boys and girls is feared to be several  
thousand a 

Re: Even better links on this project Re: life imitates art imitating life?

2005-06-17 Thread William T Goodall


On 14 Jun 2005, at 11:18 pm, David Brin wrote:



WHy these guys would go with claytronics I don't
know.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4102018.stm

They came up with the idea based on claytronics, the animation  
technique with involves slightly moving a model per frame to animate it.
We thought that a good analogy for what we were going to do was  
claymation - something like the Wallace and Gromit shows, Dr Mowry  
told BBC World Service's Outlook programme.


--
William T Goodall
Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Web  : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk
Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/

It is our belief, however, that serious professional users will run  
out of things they can do with UNIX. - Ken Olsen, President of DEC,  
1984.


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Re: Faith crimes

2005-06-17 Thread Leonard Matusik


William T Goodall [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
On Fri, 17 Jun 2005 10:43:58 +0100 William T Goodall wrote


On 17 Jun 2005, at 4:36 am, Warren Ockrassa wrote:

 On Jun 16, 2005, at 3:25 PM, Russell Chapman wrote:


 Or, just maybe, these people are beating up these kids coz they're 
 psycopaths who enjoy it (or derive some missing feeling or power 
 or whatever), and then suddenly start talking religion and devils 
 when they get caught ? Call me cynical...


 It might be the other way around. Sadistic people with delusions of 
 inadequacy might be using religion as an excuse for torture.

A simpler explanation is that religion is evil. I found a fuller 
version of these stories but I think registration is required so here 
it is:

Actually, a simpler explanation is that AFRICANS are evil, AIDS is a punishment 
from God and the (so-called) white man was acting as Gods instrument of mercy 
when he enslaved them to America, BUT I choose not to believe that nonsense 
EITHER.

Actually, I've found that one can prove ANY opinion if you give only one side 
of the argument and you provide enough citations. 

Leonard Matusik [EMAIL PROTECTED]

 
The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence 
whatever that it is not utterly absurd; indeed in view of the 
silliness of the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more 
likely to be foolish than sensible.
- Bertrand Russell

There's a sucker born every minute -PT Barnum 

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Re: Faith crimes

2005-06-17 Thread Warren Ockrassa

On Jun 17, 2005, at 2:43 AM, William T Goodall wrote:


On 17 Jun 2005, at 4:36 am, Warren Ockrassa wrote:


On Jun 16, 2005, at 3:25 PM, Russell Chapman wrote:

Or, just maybe, these people are beating up these kids coz they're 
psycopaths who enjoy it (or derive some missing feeling or power or 
whatever), and then suddenly start talking religion and devils when 
they get caught ?  Call me cynical...


It might be the other way around. Sadistic people with delusions of 
inadequacy might be using religion as an excuse for torture.


A simpler explanation is that religion is evil.


Not inclined to agree there; that's actually more of a one-dimensional 
point of view -- simplistic rather than simple, or perhaps 
oversimplified.


China has been abusing Tibet now for half a century; yet it's China 
that is purportedly the atheist nation, not Tibet. If religion were the 
evil force, one would expect China to convert to some flavor of it and 
use that to justify their power-grabs. (One could say, At least 
they're being honest about it and not hiding behind the skirts of a 
priest -- I'd probably have to agree with the intent there, if not the 
conclusion. Say what one will about the methods -- at least China's 
honesty is refreshing. They just flat want power, and aren't using any 
Holy Writ to justify their reasons. ;)


But there are examples of religious institutions attempting good as 
well. In the 1960s Vietnamese Buddhists weren't just setting themselves 
on fire; they were engaging in relief efforts for the laity. Actually 
IIRC the war there *forced* them into action -- they realized that 
simply sitting and meditating and burning incense was not going to be 
sufficient to address the suffering around them, and so *changed their 
religious policy* from one of non-involvement to something now called 
(by Thich Nhat Hanh) engaged Buddhism.


And what of organizations such as the Salvation Army? They make 
positive differences in the lives of the indigent, homeless or 
substantially financially disadvantaged -- as do, believe it or not, 
the Hare Krishnas.


There's no argument that some of the policies adopted by some religions 
can be evil, and there's no argument that some people involved in 
religion are themselves classifiable as evil (though the definition 
of the word evil is highly plastic and the subject of another 
discussion entirely!). But you can find that sort of evil prevalent 
in much ore earthly organizations, such as Enron, Halliburton or the 
currently constituted US federal government.


It might be more practical to assert that groupthink is what can lead 
to evil. That is, falling into the view that one's in-group (whatever 
it might be) is THE right one, that everyone else is deluded or 
subhuman or lacking a soul or grist for one's financial mills or what 
have you. Get a large enough cadre of like-minded folks and you've got 
something that can feel a lot like a cult. (Ever see footage of 
Wal-Mart management conferences? They look like a combination of a 
political rally and a major church revival. VERY spooky.)


Whatever language is used to justify the groupthink -- or its actions 
-- is completely irrelevant. It can be called jihad, crusade, free 
enterprise or manifest destiny; the results are often the same and, I 
think, they come from the same intellectual place within the players.


Religion's an easy target because it is so prevalent, but I think the 
evil lies not in our cults, but in ourselves.



--
Warren Ockrassa, Publisher/Editor, nightwares Books
http://books.nightwares.com/
Current work in progress The Seven-Year Mirror
http://www.nightwares.com/books/ockrassa/Flat_Out.pdf

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Re: Faith crimes

2005-06-17 Thread William T Goodall


On 17 Jun 2005, at 6:04 pm, Warren Ockrassa wrote:


On Jun 17, 2005, at 2:43 AM, William T Goodall wrote:



On 17 Jun 2005, at 4:36 am, Warren Ockrassa wrote:



On Jun 16, 2005, at 3:25 PM, Russell Chapman wrote:


Or, just maybe, these people are beating up these kids coz  
they're psycopaths who enjoy it (or derive some missing feeling  
or power or whatever), and then suddenly start talking religion  
and devils when they get caught ?  Call me cynical...




It might be the other way around. Sadistic people with delusions  
of inadequacy might be using religion as an excuse for torture.




A simpler explanation is that religion is evil.



Not inclined to agree there; that's actually more of a one- 
dimensional point of view -- simplistic rather than simple, or  
perhaps oversimplified.


China has been abusing Tibet now for half a century; yet it's China  
that is purportedly the atheist nation, not Tibet. If religion were  
the evil force, one would expect China to convert to some flavor of  
it and use that to justify their power-grabs.


Communism is a quasi-religion. Religions don't have to be theistic.

--
William T Goodall
Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Web  : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk
Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/

Invest in a company any idiot can run because sooner or later any  
idiot is going to run it.  -  Warren Buffet


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Scouted: Onward (Moderate) Christian Soldiers

2005-06-17 Thread Dave Land

The Daily Kos reports on Republican former Senator John Danforth's
rejection of the Dobson/Frist agenda:

Moderate Christians are less certain about when and how our
beliefs can be translated into statutory form, not because of a
lack of faith in God but because of a healthy acknowledgement of
the limitations of human beings. Like conservative Christians,
we attend church, read the Bible and say our prayers.

But for us, the only absolute standard of behavior is the
commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves. Repeatedly in
the Gospels, we find that the Love Commandment takes precedence
when it conflicts with laws. We struggle to follow that
commandment as we face the realities of everyday living, and we
do not agree that our responsibility to live as Christians can
be codified by legislators.

It's all right here:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/6/17/115225/108

Dave Tastes Great! Less Certain! Land

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Re: Faith crimes

2005-06-17 Thread Dave Land

On Jun 17, 2005, at 10:45 AM, William T Goodall wrote:


On 17 Jun 2005, at 6:04 pm, Warren Ockrassa wrote:


On Jun 17, 2005, at 2:43 AM, William T Goodall wrote:


A simpler explanation is that religion is evil.


Not inclined to agree there; that's actually more of a one-dimensional
point of view -- simplistic rather than simple, or perhaps
oversimplified.

China has been abusing Tibet now for half a century; yet it's China 
that
is purportedly the atheist nation, not Tibet. If religion were the 
evil

force, one would expect China to convert to some flavor of it and use
that to justify their power-grabs.


Communism is a quasi-religion. Religions don't have to be theistic.


Right, like a knee-jerk reaction to the mention of religion. I have tons
of respect for atheists and theists both who show their work, but not
so much for those who only give the answers. It's no good writing
Religion bad. QED.

Dave

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Re: Faith crimes

2005-06-17 Thread Warren Ockrassa

On Jun 17, 2005, at 10:45 AM, William T Goodall wrote:


Communism is a quasi-religion. Religions don't have to be theistic.


That succinctly states the point of the eight grafs I sent earlier on 
the topic, yes. ;)


What you may have overlooked is that I lay the blame squarely at the 
feet of each of us, or rather I suggested caution for all of us, 
because we've all got the same urge to join, thrive and dominate.


Including atheists.


--
Warren Ockrassa, Publisher/Editor, nightwares Books
http://books.nightwares.com/
Current work in progress The Seven-Year Mirror
http://www.nightwares.com/books/ockrassa/Flat_Out.pdf

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RE: Faith crimes

2005-06-17 Thread Horn, John
 Behalf Of Warren Ockrassa
 
 On Jun 16, 2005, at 3:25 PM, Russell Chapman wrote:
 
  Or, just maybe, these people are beating up these kids coz
they're 
  psycopaths who enjoy it (or derive some missing feeling or power
or 
  whatever), and then suddenly start talking religion and devils
when 
  they get caught ?  Call me cynical...
 
 It might be the other way around. Sadistic people with delusions
of 
 inadequacy might be using religion as an excuse for torture.

Isn't that more or less what he said?

 - jmh
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Re: Faith crimes

2005-06-17 Thread Warren Ockrassa

On Jun 17, 2005, at 11:34 AM, Horn, John wrote:


Behalf Of Warren Ockrassa

On Jun 16, 2005, at 3:25 PM, Russell Chapman wrote:


Or, just maybe, these people are beating up these kids coz

they're

psycopaths who enjoy it (or derive some missing feeling or power

or

whatever), and then suddenly start talking religion and devils

when

they get caught ?  Call me cynical...


It might be the other way around. Sadistic people with delusions

of

inadequacy might be using religion as an excuse for torture.


Isn't that more or less what he said?


:D

Yeah, I suppose it is; I guess I was thinking more along the lines of 
people committing heinous acts and, upon being caught, falling back on 
any excuse -- as opposed to joining a cult for the express purpose, at 
the outset, of committing heinous acts.


It's probably hair-splitting. Those who want to behave sadistically 
will do so, and will use any excuse they can imagine to dodge a bullet 
-- or attempt to do so -- when they're brought to justice. Whether it's 
just following orders from a superior officer, or just following 
orders from a talking dog, the acts are the same, and it might be that 
the motivations are as well.


Certainly from the perspective of the victims, the question why seems 
meaningless.



--
Warren Ockrassa, Publisher/Editor, nightwares Books
http://books.nightwares.com/
Current work in progress The Seven-Year Mirror
http://www.nightwares.com/books/ockrassa/Flat_Out.pdf

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Re: Plans B

2005-06-17 Thread Deborah Harrell
 Julia Thompson [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
  Deborah Harrell wrote:


http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-05-31-malpractice-suits_x.htm
 snippage now
  
  Fear of getting sued leads an alarming number of
  doctors to practice defensive medicine, such as
  ordering unnecessary tests and avoiding risky
  procedures, a survey found.  The practice has been
  around for decades, and is no secret to many
 patients. But the survey of 824 Pennsylvania doctors
 suggests it
  is surprisingly common, researchers said 
  
  Ninety-three percent of the Pennsylvania doctors
 [from
  high-liability specialties] surveyed in 2003 said
 they
  sometimes or often practiced defensive medicine
  because of malpractice concerns.  That means they
  engaged in unsound practices that exposed patients
 to potential harm, said Dr. Peter Budetti, a
  physician-lawyer and public health professor at
  University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. He
  called the numbers staggering

{I don't completely agree with that statement - frex
ordering extra lab tests when a few are completely
justified only adds to the expense, not any extra
danger.  He was a bit hyberbolic there.}

 So, I'm wondering something now about my own most
 interesting experience in a hospital
 
 I gave birth to twins almost 21 months ago.  10 days
 before I gave 
 birth, an ultrasound was performed for the purpose
 of determining the 
 position of each fetus.  They were both head-down,
 and I'd given birth 
 to a fairly large baby previously, so my doc and I 
 were on the same page, vaginal delivery.
 
 I was induced sniplet and the first baby, the 
 one who'd been lower down for at least a couple of
 months at that point, 
 was born without any major incident.  sniplet
 
 Then it was time to deliver the second twin.  SOP in
 this case seems to 
 be, rupture the amniotic sac and deliver.  Well...
sniplet when his sac was ruptured, he decided he
 didn't like the 
 position he'd been in for entirely too long. 
 Attempts to turn him 
 manually failed, so the doc was left with 2 choices:
  breech delivery or 
 quick, unplanned c-section.  She opted with the
 breech delivery, and 
 apparently shocked the rest of the medical personnel
 in the room; 
 apparently, that just isn't *done* at that
 particular hospital.
 
 Now, I think it was the best thing for everyone
 directly involved -- it 
 was over more quickly, once she made the decision, I
 didn't have an 
 incision in my abdomen to recover from, and I think
 it carried less risk 
 to the baby, given that she'd had some experience in
 breech deliveries sniplet 
 
 So, in that case, what would be the defensive
 action?  The breech delivery or the c-section?

I think this was more of a judgement call; both
courses have potential risks/bad outcomes (of course,
so does vaginal delivery!), so your doc made her best
call -- and it worked out fine.  I don't recall
precisely what the time-to-delivery is in an emergency
C-section, although I think it's ~ 7-10 minutes; if
blood/oxygen flow is compromised for that time, and
breech birth time is shorter, the risk to the baby
would be lesser (as you noted, not having your gut
sliced-n-diced was better for you).

Defensive medicine that would have involved possible
*increased* risk would have been to electively
C-section without a try at vag deliv.  [my opinion]

Debbi
who read yesterday that women docs have suicide rates
*130% higher* than non-physician women (male docs have
a 40% higher suicide rate than non-doc men)

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Re: Scouted: Onward (Moderate) Christian Soldiers

2005-06-17 Thread Deborah Harrell
 Dave Land [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 The Daily Kos reports on Republican former Senator
 John Danforth's rejection of the Dobson/Frist
agenda:
snip 
  But for us, the only absolute standard of
 behavior is the
  commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves.
 Repeatedly in
  the Gospels, we find that the Love Commandment
 takes precedence
  when it conflicts with laws. We struggle to
 follow that commandment as we face the realities of
 everyday living, and we
  do not agree that our responsibility to live as
 Christians can be codified by legislators.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/6/17/115225/108
 
 Dave Tastes Great! Less Certain! Land

I liked this statement as well:

We strongly support the separation of church and
state, both because that principle is essential to
holding together a diverse country, and because the
policies of the state always fall short of the demands
of faith. 

Debbi 
Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show Maru ;-D



 
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Cover-up or protection?

2005-06-17 Thread Gary Denton
Suppose a CDC researcher had uncovered evidence that a mercury
preservative introduced in children's vaccine's was implicated in a
15-fold increase in autism in youngsters.  What would the CDC do?.

If you know the strong ties between large drug corporations and the
administration the answer is no surprise.

Extraordinary lengths were gone to to hide the study.  The conference
on high-level researchers to decide how to respond was itself
covered-up.  The study was privatized to keep it away from FOI
requests.  The CDC researcher was given a new job with the vaccine
industry.  The companies were allowed to continue to use the mercury
compound for years and encouraged to export the vaccines to other
countries.  A new study was initiated with the researchers instructed
as to what conclusions should be reached.

Just bidness as usual.

In fact, the government has proved to be far more adept at handling
the damage than at protecting children's health. The CDC paid the
Institute of Medicine to conduct a new study to whitewash the risks of
thimerosal, ordering researchers to rule out the chemical's link to
autism. It withheld Verstraeten's findings, even though they had been
slated for immediate publication, and told other scientists that his
original data had been lost and could not be replicated. And to
thwart the Freedom of Information Act, it handed its giant database of
vaccine records over to a private company, declaring it off-limits to
researchers. By the time Verstraeten finally published his study in
2003, he had gone to work for GlaxoSmithKline and reworked his data to
bury the link between thimerosal and autism.

Vaccine manufacturers had already begun to phase thimerosal out of
injections given to American infants - but they continued to sell off
their mercury-based supplies of vaccines until last year. The CDC and
FDA gave them a hand, buying up the tainted vaccines for export to
developing countries and allowing drug companies to continue using the
preservative in some American vaccines - including several pediatric
flu shots as well as tetanus boosters routinely given to 11-year-olds
...
The story of how government health agencies colluded with Big Pharma
to hide the risks of thimerosal from the public is a chilling case
study of institutional arrogance, power and greed. I was drawn into
the controversy only reluctantly. As an attorney and environmentalist
who has spent years working on issues of mercury toxicity, I
frequently met mothers of autistic children who were absolutely
convinced that their kids had been injured by vaccines. Privately, I
was skeptical. I doubted that autism could be blamed on a single
source, and I certainly understood the government's need to reassure
parents that vaccinations are safe; the eradication of deadly
childhood diseases depends on it. I tended to agree with skeptics like
Rep. Henry Waxman, a Democrat from California, who criticized his
colleagues on the House Government Reform Committee for leaping to
conclusions about autism and vaccinations. Why should we scare people
about immunization, Waxman pointed out at one hearing, until we know
the facts?

It was only after reading the Simpsonwood transcripts, studying the
leading scientific research and talking with many of the nation's
preeminent authorities on mercury that I became convinced that the
link between thimerosal and the epidemic of childhood neurological
disorders is real. Five of my own children are members of the
Thimerosal Generation - those born between 1989 and 2003 - who
received heavy doses of mercury from vaccines. The elementary grades
are overwhelmed with children who have symptoms of neurological or
immune-system damage, Patti White, a school nurse, told the House
Government Reform Committee in 1999. Vaccines are supposed to be
making us healthier; however, in 25 years of nursing I have never seen
so many damaged, sick kids. Something very, very wrong is happening to
our children. More than 500,000 kids currently suffer from autism,
and pediatricians diagnose more than 40,000 new cases every year. The
disease was unknown until 1943, when it was identified and diagnosed
among 11 children born in the months after thimerosal was first added
to baby vaccines in 1931.

This version is easier to get to than the original

http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/061605HA.shtml

Gary Denton
http://www.apollocon.org  June 24-26

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