I happen to agree with your cynical rant, Mike. But what I'm getting at is a bit more prosaic. Consider, for example, a case in which one list member asks what to do about Lyme or the flu or whatever, and another says use CS because it'll work. That one could be charged with practicing medicine. Another might be accused of selling an unapproved drug by selling CS as a "dietary supplement" while telling CS list members what diseases it can cure, thus making his list chat part of his CS label. That's the way the FDA rule appears to work.
I don't know about your archive web site; I haven't seen it, but at onelist.com, for example, archives can be reserved for list members only. I don't know what protection this might provide. Probably none. I guess the best thing we call can do is be very cautious about what we say to each other, and assume that every word is being recorded by the feds. Welcome to Amerika. Colloidal Silver: Make it, use it, share it, teach it. shhhhhhhhhh! Sam mailto:[email protected] Wednesday, September 22, 1999, 5:08:47 AM, you wrote: MGD> Sam asks: >> Is this archive protected from the general public and the FDA, >> etc., per your earlier caution regarding newsgroups? MGD> Well, it was someone else who said that. Indeed the silver list is a MGD> bit more private than a newsgroup, but anybody can join. Plus, we're MGD> headed right now for greater visibility as I'm soon to summarize a MGD> lot of this stuff on the web site and provide tools there for signing MGD> up, etc. Great timing huh? MGD> In a word, no. The archive is open to the public. I'm not sure MGD> there's any reasonable way to limit it either. I'm open to any MGD> suggestions to deal with the technical issues involved, if it can be MGD> proved we can actually do anything worthwhile. >> The FDA can take anything you say about silver and make it your >> "label" thus disqualifying you from selling anything >> silver-related. This could be a major setback for some on the list. MGD> That aspect of it won't be an issue for me personally, but I MGD> understand your worry. I guess it's time for me to read that entire MGD> congressional record thingie where the FDA published their new rule. MGD> Assuming the best for a bit, this ought to boil down to everybody in MGD> the (US) industry toning down their damn claims, relabeling their MGD> products, changing their ad copy to fit whatever wiggle room the feds MGD> have left them, and going on with business as usual. MGD> "Nature's antibiotic", "all known pathogens", blah, blah, blah... MGD> These are all bullshit and everybody here knows it. There are a few MGD> "pathogens" CS won't touch, it works nothing like an antibiotic, and MGD> is not natural in any sense of the word. But of the possible ways to MGD> weed out the junk, the fedgov moving in like a 600 pound gorilla is MGD> the absolute worst. MGD> The approach we've been trying here is really the only healthy way to MGD> upgrade the industry's performance. If consumers are knowledgeable MGD> going in, then they're ready to either ignore the bullshit, or vote MGD> with their dollars for those vendors who tell the unvarnished truth. MGD> Worst case, the whole alt-health industry gets driven underground, we MGD> lose the freedom to talk about it, and the bozos succeed in muzzling MGD> not just the hypesters, but everyone. So, in the guise of protecting MGD> us from our gullibility, they get to wipe out all competition for the MGD> medical/pharmaceutical establishment. MGD> Taken to the worst police state scenario, CS is declared contraband, MGD> anyone using it, giving it away, or God forbid using it "for the MGD> children", will be guilty of a crime, child abuse, or whatever. MGD> Parents would have kids taken from them. Info on CS making, like bomb MGD> recipes, would become "unprotected speech". MGD> The government's "War on Quackery" would ultimately be as much of a MGD> success as their "War on Drugs", "War on Poverty", etc. They'd create MGD> more quackery by driving all practices into the black market, leaving MGD> consumers without access to information or legal recourse. And they'd MGD> create an even bigger bureaucracy and more regulations to enforce it MGD> and further erosion of our civil liberties. All of which would please MGD> them no end. MGD> And many of your friends, neighbors, and family would applaud the MGD> whole thing, thinking they're being "protected." MGD> I hope no one is offended by my cynicism. I've tried to see it from MGD> all sides. The one thing I know, though, is that even most alt-health MGD> enthusiasts see nothing wrong with government intrusion ... into MGD> everybody *else's* lives. MGD> So now we stand to reap what fools have sown. MGD> (Boy what a downer! Sorry folks!) MGD> Mike D. MGD> [Mike Devour, Citizen, Patriot, Libertarian] MGD> [[email protected] ] MGD> [Speaking only for myself... ] MGD> -- MGD> The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. MGD> To join or quit silver-list or silver-digest send an e-mail message to: MGD> [email protected] -or- [email protected] MGD> with the word subscribe or unsubscribe in the SUBJECT line. MGD> To post, address your message to: [email protected] MGD> List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]>
