Third of malaria drugs 'are fake'

BBC News, by Michelle Roberts, Health editor, 22 May 2012

Related Stories 

• India launches new malaria drug

Some species in Thailand and Vietnam
spread a drug-resistant malaria strain

A third of malaria drugs used around the world to stem the spread of the disease are counterfeit, data suggests.

Researchers who looked at 1,500 samples of seven malaria drugs from seven countries in South East Asia say poor-quality and fake tablets are causing drug resistance and treatment failure.

Data from 21 countries in sub-Saharan Africa including over 2,500 drug samples showed similar results.

Experts say The Lancet Infectious Diseases research is a "wake-up call".

The US researchers from the Fogarty International Center at the National Institutes of Health who carried out the work believe the problem may even be much greater than data suggests.

"Most cases are probably unreported, reported to the wrong agencies, or kept confidential by pharmaceutical companies," say the researchers.

No large studies of drug quality have been carried out in China or India - countries that house a third of the world's population and are a "probable" source of many counterfeit drugs as well as genuine antimalarial medicines, they say.

Lead researcher Gaurvika Nayyar stressed that 3.3 billion people were at risk of malaria, which is classified as endemic in 106 countries.

"Between 655,000 and 1.2 million people die every year from Plasmodium falciparum infection," he said.

"Much of this morbidity and mortality could be avoided if drugs available to patients were efficacious, high quality, and used correctly."

In parts of the world where malaria is prevalent, antimalarial drugs are widely distributed and self-prescribed, both correctly and incorrectly, say the researchers.

The study found there are insufficient facilities to monitor the quality of antimalarial drugs and poor consumer and health-worker knowledge about the therapies.

And there is a lack of regulatory oversight of manufacturing and little punitive action for counterfeiters.

Despite this, malaria mortality rates have fallen by more than 25% globally since 2000, and by 33% in the WHO African Region.

But the World Health Organization says maintaining current rates of progress will not be enough to meet global targets for malaria control.

It is calling for renewed investment in diagnostic testing, treatment, and surveillance for malaria.

Related Article:

Study: Fake Malaria Drugs Common in Asia, Africa

The making of the term 'pink slime'

Associated Press, by Candice Choi, AP Food Industry Writer, May 21, 2012

NEW YORK (AP) -- "Pink slime" was almost "pink paste" or "pink goo."

The microbiologist who coined the term for lean finely textured beef ran through a few iterations in his head before he decided to send an email about the filler to a co-worker at the U.S. Department of Agriculture a decade ago. Then, the name hit him like heartburn after a juicy burger.

AP Photo/Nati Harnik

"It's pink. It's pasty. And it's slimy looking. So I called it `pink slime,'" said Gerald Zirnstein, the former meat inspector at the USDA. "It resonates, doesn't it?"

The pithy description fueled an uproar that resulted in the main company behind the filler, Beef Products Inc., deciding to close three meat plants this month. The controversy over the filler, which is made of fatty bits of beef that are heated and treated with ammonium to kill bacteria, shows how a simple nickname can forever change an entire industry.

In fact, the beef filler had been used for decades before the nickname came about. But most Americans didn't know - or care - about it before Zirnstein's vivid moniker was quoted in a 2009 article by The New York Times on the safety of meat processing methods.

Soon afterward, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver began railing against it. McDonald's and other fast food companies later discontinued their use of it. And major supermarket chains including Kroger and Stop & Shop vowed to stop selling beef with the low-cost filler.

Bettina Siegel, a food blogger who posted an online petition asking the USDA to stop using the filler in school lunches, said the controversy isn't based on the term alone. She said consumers are just upset that the filler is not what they think they're getting when they buy "100 percent ground beef."

But Siegel acknowledges that the name doesn't hurt her cause, either. She said the term "filled a vacuum" in the public arena about the filler; her petition, "Tell the USDA to STOP Using Pink Slime in School Food" had more than 200,000 signatures within a week.

Beef Products, which makes the filler, blames its plant closings on what it calls unfounded attacks. About 650 jobs will be lost when plants in Amarillo, Texas, Garden City, Kansas, and Waterloo, Iowa close on Friday. Another plant in South Sioux City, Neb., will remain open but run at reduced capacity.

Still, the company, based in South Dakota, said it's not considering changing the filler's name. Instead, Beef Products set up a website, beefisbeef.com, to combat what it calls "media-perpetuated myths" about the filler.

Meanwhile, the author of the term "pink slime" makes no apologies about his creation. Zirnstein, who has since left the USDA, said he thinks "pink slime" is a better descriptor than "lean finely textured beef."

"It says it's lean. Great. But it doesn't describe what kind of lean it is," said Zirnstein, who doesn't think the product should be mixed into beef. "Textured. What does that mean?"

Follow Candice Choi at www.twitter.com/candicechoi

Related Article:

Pink Slime Battle Gaining Steam as Plants Suspend Operations

Nothing wrong with Dutch hemp bread

RNW, 19 May 2012

There is nothing wrong with bread containing hemp sold by a baker in the Dutch village of Oegstgeest, the Dutch Forensic Institute (NFI) has concluded.

A local police officer in the village near the town of Leiden recently seized a number of loaves on the suspicion that they contained cannabis. The NFI has refused to comment on the case and is referring calls to the police, who have so far declined to make an official statement.

Leonard Marks, manager of the bakery in question, says the police officer informed him the NFI had found his bread was alright. The baker says he sells dozens of such breads every day. The breas is made with hemp which is grown in Switzerland. Mr Marks says he uses the hemp because it’s good for the immune and muscular systems. The breads, the baker emphasises, contain just small quantities of hemp. “Maybe if you ate lots of them one after the other, you might just notice something,” he says.

Related Articles:

Juicing cannabis miraculously saves lives after physicians declare the battle lost

Boy, two, with brain cancer is cured after being fed medical marijuana (video)

Pot-based prescription drug looks for FDA OK
U.S. Justice Dept. to Stop Pursuit of Medical Marijuana Use

Evidence for homeopathy builds

"The Recalibration of 'Shoulds' " – Jan 26, 2012 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion/Worship, Lightworkers, Food, Health, Prescription Drugs, Homeopathy, Innate (Body intelligence), New Age movement, Global Unity, ... etc.) - (Text version)

Chinese heroic teacher wakes from coma

The Jakarta Post, Zhou Huiying, Asia News Network (China Daily), China, Tue, 05/15/2012

Chinese heroic teacher: Zhang Lili, a teacher who nearly died saving two
 students, lies in an ICU ward in the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical
 University in Northeast China's Hei Longjiang province on May 12. After 58
 hours of emergency medical attention, she finally regained consciousness,
the hospital announced on May 15. [Photo/ CFP]

After 58 hours of emergency medical attention, Zhang Lili, a teacher who nearly died saving two students, has finally regained consciousness, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University announced on May 15.

"But it cannot be ruled out that her condition may worsen, and the doctors are still working full out to save the heroic teacher," said Zhao Mingyan, ICU director at the hospital, where Zhang is now receiving treatment.

Zhang Lili, 29, a Chinese language teacher at No 19 Middle School of Jiamusi, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, was run over by a school bus after pushing two students out of the way on May 8.

After news of her actions spread, people began to call her "the most beautiful teacher in China".

Donations to Zhang's family from schools, companies, society organizations and organs of government have been pouring in.

Heilongjiang Welfare Lottery Center sent 100,000 yuan ($15,850) to Zhang's family on May 14.

"Her courage moved all of our staff, and we will try our best to help the brave teacher in her future life. After her recovery, we hope she can be the ambassador of the welfare lottery," said Wang Jianwei, the director of center.

A woman told CCTV that Zhang donated 100 yuan each month to her son from her meagre salary.

The provincial Women's Federation on Monday honored Zhang with the title "Excellent Female Worker".

The Ministry of Education has also named her "National Outstanding Teacher" and called on the country's educators to learn from her.

Farming Groups Supporting Dow's Controversial Genetically Modified Corn Have Financial And Executive Backing From Agricultural Biotech Industry

International Business Times, by Ashley Portero, May 12, 2012

Small farmers and public health advocates are protesting the USDA's
expected approval of Dow's new genetically engineered corn, which is
 bred to be resistant to 2, 4-D, arguing it will lead to an increased use of
the herbicide -- one of the active ingredients in Agent Orange.
(Photo: Reuters)

RELATED ARTICLES

• Farmers, Scientists Protest USDA Approval Of Dow's 'Agent Orange Corn'
• Superweeds May Lead Farmers to Use '2, 4-D' Herbicide Found in Agent Orange
• Monsanto Bt Crops: Genetically Modified Corn Linked To Soil Ecosystem Threat

As the U.S. Department of Agriculture readies its decision on whether to approve for widespread use Dow Chemical Co.'s (NYSE: DOW) new genetically engineered corn, the chemical company is touting a broad coalition of support among farmers to increase the likelihood that the agency approves the product.

Dow is taking this step to counter claims that the new corn, called Enlist, could encourage the use of a powerful herbicide found in the Vietnam War defoliant Agent Orange, because Enlist is designed to be resistant to this chemical. Enlist's opponents say that if this herbicide is more widely employed, the environment and public health would be endangered. More than 140 agricultural, consumer, environmental and public-health groups sent USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack a letter, which was signed by 365,000 people last month urging him to reject the crop.

In response to an article we ran in late April about this campaign, Dow dismissed as "hyperbole" criticism surrounding Enlist. The company said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency determined 2, 4-D (the Agent Orange herbicide) poses "a reasonable certainty of no harm," and that, in fact, a different chemical, 2,4,5-T, is the principal contaminant in Agent Orange.

"The surest way to increase per acre herbicide volume is to do nothing to solve the weed resistance problem," Dow wrote. "Returning to agriculture as it was 20 years ago ... will merely force farmers into additional cultivation connected with increasing erosion, agricultural runoff, soil compaction and fuel use with attendant contributions to air pollution."

To bolster its position, Dow sent us a list of "mainstream agricultural organizations" that the company said concur with its assessment. In a letter sent to the USDA, these groups insisted that further evaluations of 2, 4-D would disrupt the agricultural industry and deny "valuable tools to U.S. farmers by requiring costly and unwarranted environmental reviews."

While Dow has publicized this letter as a means of demonstrating the support for its new corn by industry heavyweights, an analysis of the organizations reveals that they are either backed by or led by key players in the genetically modified organism (GMO) industry. In other words, rather than being a group of unbiased representatives of agricultural interests, these groups stand to benefit from Enlist's successful introduction to the market.

Monsanto Connection

Six of the nine groups on Dow's list have clear connections to Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON), one of the world's leading producers of GMO seeds and herbicides. The company helped launch the GMO wave more than a decade ago with the release of genetically engineered Roundup Ready seeds manufactured to resist Monsanto's own Roundup herbicide. Among Monsanto's Roundup Ready crops are soybeans, alfalfa, corn, cotton, spring canola, sugar beets and winter canola.

Roundup Ready crops account for 90 percent of the soybeans and about 70 percent of corn and cotton produced in the U.S., according to the USDA. Like Dow, the company is also seeking regulatory approval for crops resistant to multiple herbicides, as its glyphosate-based Roundup continues to lose its potency in the face of so-called "superweeds."

These are the links between the agricultural groups supporting Enlist and Monsanto:

• The Agricultural Retailers Association -- a Monsanto representative is a member of the board of directors for crop and seed production
• American Seed Trade Association -- its non-profit "First the Seed Foundation," which promotes seed biotechnology, is funded by the American Seed Trade, which itself is backed financially by Monsanto
• American Sugarbeet Growers Association -- Monsanto is a financial sponsor
• Biotechnology Industry Association -- Monsanto officials serve on the executive committee and as vice chair of the food and agriculture governing board
• National Wheat Growers Association -- Monsanto is a "diamond" level sponsor
• National Corn Growers Association -- the group's chairman, Bart W. Schott, is a liaison to the Monsanto Grower Advisory Committee
• In addition, a Dow AgroSciences representative serves on governing bodies of the Biotechnology Industry Association. And Dow is a "bronze" level backer of the National Wheat Growers Association.

The three other signatories to the USDA letter -- the American Farm Bureau Federation, American Soybean Association and the National Cotton Council -- do not appear to have any professional ties to either Monsanto or Dow.

However, all of those organizations specifically describe biotechnology as "the future of modern agriculture" on their websites. Plus, most soybean and cotton crops come from Roundup Ready seeds. Hence, trade groups created around these plants are invested in the creation of new, multi-herbicide resistant seeds that can withstand herbicides such as 2, 4-D.

The Problem of 2, 4-D and Herbicide Resistance

Aside from the potentially problematic connection of 2, 4-D to Agent Orange, disputed by Dow, the chemical may pose its own risks. For example, the herbicide has been known to drift when sprayed, damaging and even destroying neighboring crops that are not genetically engineered to resist it. Dow claims a new 2, 4-D herbicide that it has developed alongside Enlist corn reduces drift by at least 90 percent.

In addition to corn, Dow is also developing soybeans and cotton with 2, 4-D resistance. Critics warn that this is only a temporary fix to the rapidly increasing problem of herbicide resistance, insisting the introduction of new and potentially toxic herbicides will deepen a vicious cycle akin to a chemical arms race with weeds.

"Dow's 2, 4-D crops are no 'solution' to glyphosate-resistant weeds. After at best temporary relief, they will trigger an outbreak of still more intractable weeds resistant to both glyphosate and 2, 4-D," wrote the coalition of critics in their letter to the USDA.

What's Next?

Dow hopes the USDA will approve Enlist soon and that the product will be available to farmers by 2013.

For its part, Dow insists that impeding the sale and use of its new Enlist products could have drastic impacts for both the American agricultural industry and the international community.

"The recommendations that pesticide opponents are making today would make farming less efficient at a time when global crop production is barely keeping pace with food demand driven by a word population expansion," Dow wrote in a statement. "It would also further impair U.S. farm productivity in a difficult economy at a time when agricultural exports are one of the single greatest contributors to our nation's balance of trade."

Related Articles:

Farm group seeks U.S. halt on "dangerous" crop chemicals

Monsanto and Genetically Modified Crops - Is there a cover-up?

U.S. Senate probes painkiller makers, allied groups

Reuters, by David Morgan, WASHINGTON, Wed May 9, 2012

(Reuters) - A U.S. Senate panel has launched a probe of possible links between three drugmakers and nonprofit medical groups that advocated for increasing the use of prescription painkillers, now the target of a nationwide law enforcement crackdown.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Democrat, and the panel's leading Republican, Senator Chuck Grassley, said the drugmakers and allied groups could be behind dubious marketing practices that have coincided with a huge jump in deadly overdoses from painkillers known as opioids.

"These painkillers have an important role in health care when prescribed and used properly, but pushing misinformation on consumers to boost profits is not only wrong, it's dangerous," Baucus said in a statement.

Baucus and Grassley said they sent letters to drugmakers Johnson & Johnson, Endo Pharmaceuticals and Purdue Pharma and seven medical groups seeking documents about their financial connections.

Officials at the three companies were not immediately available for comment.

Lawmakers hope to find out if medical groups have promoted misleading information about the risks and benefits of opioid use while receiving financial support from manufacturers.

The Senate investigation comes at a time when federal, state and local law enforcement officials are coming to grips with a national epidemic involving the illicit use of prescription drugs. Their abuse has surpassed heroin and cocaine as a source of fatal overdoses.

Opioids were involved in 14,800 overdose deaths in 2008, more than cocaine and heroin combined, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A crackdown spearheaded by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has included healthcare companies including two Florida pharmacies operated by CVS Caremark Corp. and a distribution facility owned by Cardinal Health Inc..

Privately owned Purdue Pharma is the maker of OxyContin. Endo manufactures Percocet. Both have been linked to addiction and overdoses.

"There is growing evidence pharmaceutical companies that manufacture and market opioids may be responsible, at least in part, for this evidence by promoting misleading information," Baucus and Grassley said in their letters.

One of the groups, the American Pain Foundation, posted a notice on its Web site saying its board of directors voted May 3 to dissolve the organization because of ongoing financial obligations.

The Senate probe follows an investigation by nonprofit news website ProPublica and the Washington Post, which found that the American Pain Foundation received 90 percent of its funding from the drug and medical device industry in 2010.

At the same time, it produced its guides for patients, policymakers and journalists that played down the risks of opioid painkillers and promoted the benefits.

Related Articles:

US drug company to pay $1.6bn over Depakote mis-selling

Many vets with PTSD prescribed opioid painkillers

Painkiller sales soar around US, fuel addiction

In this March 28, 2012, photo, Patricia Reynolds-Udell poses for a photo at her home in Utica, N.Y. Reynolds has struggled to find treatment after becoming dependent on hydrocodone pills originally prescribed for a broken tailbone. Sales of the nation’s two most popular prescription painkillers have exploded in new parts of the country, an Associated Press analysis shows, worrying experts who say the push to relieve patients’ suffering is spawning an addiction epidemic. From New York’s Staten Island to Santa Fe, N.M., Drug Enforcement Administration figures show dramatic rises between 2000 and 2010 in the distribution of oxycodone, the key ingredient in OxyContin, Percocet and Percodan. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

China clamps down on abuse of antibiotics

English.news.cn   2012-05-09        

BEIJING, May 9 (Xinhuanet) -- China is clamping down on the abuse of antibiotics, with new rules from the Ministry of Health set to kick in on August 1st.

It’s hoped the latest set of regulations will curb overuse of antibiotics. From now on only doctors and pharmacists who have passed qualifying examinations will have the right to prescribe antibiotics.

The plan also makes many aspects more official, including the selection, purchase and clinical application of antibacterial medicine. Monitoring and warnings will also become stricter. In recent years, the inappropriate use of antibiotics has been a growing concern in China.

Only around 20 percent of patients require antibiotics, but recent statistics show as many as 70 percent of Chinese in-patients using the drugs. The maximum recommended by the World Health Organization is 30 percent.

(Source: CNTV.cn)

Editor: Lu Hui

US drug company to pay $1.6bn over Depakote mis-selling

BBC News, 8 May 2012 

The drug was marketed for the treatment
 of dementia, despite lack of evidence that
it was effective

A US drug company has agreed to pay out $1.6bn (£1bn) after improperly marketing a mood-stabilising drug in a settlement thought to be the largest of its kind involving a single drug.

Abbott Laboratories encouraged its sales teams to market Depakote for uses that were not approved by regulators, the US justice department said.

The drug should be used in epilepsy and bipolar disorder cases.

However, it was sold to treat conditions such as dementia and autism.

According to a US justice department statement, Abbott maintained a specialised sales force to market the drug in nursing homes.

It said the drug could be used for the control of agitation in elderly dementia patients, despite the absence of any credible scientific evidence that Depakote was safe and effective for that use.

The illegal conduct was not the product of "some rogue sales representatives," US Attorney Timothy Heaphy said. The company engaged in the strategy from 1998 to at least 2006, he said.

Reuben Guttman, a lawyer who represented some of the company whistle-blowers, said that Abbott had preyed on two vulnerable categories of patient - the elderly and children.

The company "violated basic norms of health care and ethics", he said.

The company also marketed Depakote to treat schizophrenia, but clinical trials failed to demonstrate that the drug was any more effective than anti-psychotic drugs in treating the condition, according to court papers.

Abbott Laboratories will now pay $800m to federal and state governments, $700m in criminal penalties and a further $100m to resolve consumer protection issues.

The company has also agreed to a five-year probationary period to ensure that there is no repeat of the misconduct.

Related Articles:

"Recalibration of Free Choice"– Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) -(Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Lose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth, 4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Pedal wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical) 8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.)


"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Based in Greece, Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to built Africa to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - New !

Chinese alarm over formaldehyde-tainted cabbages

BBC News, 7 May 2012

Related Stories 

• China dairy destroys tainted milk
• NZ probes China clothing scare

Cabbages are a staple food
in China but can rot quickly
in the heat

Vegetable sellers in China have been caught spraying cabbages with a formaldehyde solution to keep them fresh in transit, the state news agency Xinhua has reported.

Xinhua said the practice had been common in eastern China for years.

The agency said it was being done because most farmers cannot afford refrigerated trucks for cabbages.

Formaldehyde is a toxic cancer-causing compound often used as a disinfectant and for embalming.

It can irritate the skin and cause breathing and digestive problems.

Cabbage is a staple food in China, often used as a filling in dumplings, but also stir-fried or pickled.

In recent years the country has faced a series of food safety scandals, including the lacing of baby-milk with the industrial chemical melamine.

Xinhua reported on Monday that dozens of wholesale vegetable dealers in Qingzhou city - in Shandong province - were caught selling cabbage sprayed with formaldehyde.

It did not say if the dealers had been arrested and what punishments they might face.

It said the practice has become so widespread over the last three years because vegetables in warmer months rot quickly in transit.

Correspondents say that China's wholesale vegetable dealers are not required to use refrigerated trucks for produce, and few can afford it.

China's health ministry in 2008 published a list of illegal food additives that included formaldehyde.

The chemical has also been reportedly used to soak some dried seafood to make it appear more fresh and plump.

Monkeys Get Autism-like Reactions to MMR & Other Vaccines In University of Pittsburgh Vaccine Study

Vactruth, by Catherine J. Frompovich, April 29th, 2012

A University of Pittsburgh study showed
vaccines altered the behavior in monkeys.

Someone did perform safety studies the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should have mandated be performed and vetted BEFORE numerous vaccines were released into the public sector for mass vaccinations.

Lead investigator Laura Hewitson, PhD, probably dropped a bombshell when she and her colleagues completed a macaque monkey (primates) study of the very same vaccines given to children during 1994-1999, i.e., the Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) vaccine and several Thimerosal mercury-containing vaccines injected into children during that time frame when the autism spectrum disorder skyrocketed.

The results of that pilot study were published as a Research Paper in Acta Neurobiological Experimentals in 2010 and titled “Influence of pediatric vaccines on amydgala growth and opioid ligand binding in rhesus macaque infants: A pilot study.” [1] Even though there was alleged controversy revolving around Hewitson’s monkey studies, e.g., charges of conflicts of interest since she filed a claim with the vaccine court on behalf of her child, [2] the information generated needs to be revisited and duplicate studies need to be undertaken. Why haven’t they?  Is there too much influence from vaccine makers not to do them? Parents need to make demands on the U.S. Congress to require such safety studies on monkeys be duplicated immediately, plus suspend all mandates on vaccinations until the study results are in.  Did Dr Hewitson become another professional persona non-grata because she may have been on the right track?

Congress needs to consider seriously the Hewitson, et al. report that stated:

“Vaccine-exposed and saline-injected control infants [monkeys] underwent MRI and PET imaging at approximately 4 and 6 months of age, representing two specific timeframes within the vaccination schedule. …

 “These results suggest that maturational changes in amygdala volume and the binding capacity of [11C]DPN in the amygdala was significantly altered in infant macaques receiving the vaccine schedule.” [1]

That alone should be the explicit reason for duplicating the monkey study with independent non-pharmaceutical industry conflict of interest scientists.

In this author’s opinion, no one has bigger conflicts of interest in study outcomes than the pharmaceutical makers who routinely perform them.  Those are the very studies that should be subject to the same criticism as Dr Hewitson’s.  Why aren’t they?  Good question?

For those keeping track data, ASD went from 1 in 5,000 in the 1990s to the recently acknowledged [March 2012] figures of 1 in 88 along with 1 in 6 children in the USA having developmental disabilities.  These stats were generated for data in the years 2006 to 2008. [3] There’s a 4 to 6 year lag time.  Could ASD be 1 in 50 by now at the rate it is escalating?, especially since there’s a heavier push on mandates for vaccinations.

According to the Hewitson, et al. research study, biological changes and altered behaviors did occur in vaccinated monkeys, which resembled and were similar to those observed in ASD diagnosed children.  However, there were no such symptoms showing or present in unvaccinated monkeys.  Don’t you just gotta love those little monkeys!  Guess what else the ASD monkeys came up with, and Dr Wakefield is gonna like this one: Gastrointestinal problems manifested in vaccinated macaques such as “many significant differences in the GI tissue gene expression profiles between vaccinated and unvaccinated animals.” [3] It’s been a deeply debated topic within medicine that vaccinated children who contract ASD also have GI tract issues.  Personally, I gotta wonder how the British Medical Journal is going to deal with encrusted dried egg on its face when duplicate studies confirm the Hewitson monkey results.  Perhaps the infamous BMJ retraction of the Wakefield article and Doctor’s professional evisceration, commonly referred to as the “Wakefield Syndrome,” euphemistically speaking is medicine protecting its vested interests.

Those little monkeys, however, came up with some other significant information that led former National Institutes of Health director Dr Bernadine Healy to voice some bon mots like:

“I think public health officials have been too quick to dismiss the hypothesis as ‘irrational,’ without sufficient studies of causation…without studying the population that got sick.”

“I have not seen major studies that focus on 300 kids who got autistic symptoms within a period of a few weeks of the vaccines.” [4]

Perhaps the most on-point quote regarding the monkey study came from Scott Bono, the National Autism Association chairman, i.e., something those who are accused of being against vaccinations have been questioning and demanding:

 “To date, the CDC has conducted no safety testing on the possible harmful effects of simultaneously administering multiple vaccines to infants, and has steadfastly refused to state a preference for mercury-free vaccines to be given to children and pregnant women.  It’s time for HHS and Congress to step in and take vaccine safety away from the CDC.”  [4]

This author’s retort to Mr. Bono’s remark is that vaccine safety should be taken away from the Food and Drug Administration too!  I’d like to remind readers that Congress is more at fault than anyone in this vaccine debacle.  Congress has oversight and it has dropped the ball big time, probably due to all the lobbyists from Big Pharma who prowl the halls of Congress with deep pockets and nice expensive luncheon dates.

One of the issues I feel Congress has been remiss about is that it has not demanded safety studies and interaction of multiple vaccines studies BEFORE being placed into the marketplace.  According to common and accepted knowledge, no such safety research or studies have been done on the current childhood vaccination regimen, except until the Hewitson ‘monkey business’ that was funded by independent, private money, for which everyone, I think, should be eternally grateful. However, the study had to be shot down since it was not favorable to vaccine makers.  Why isn’t someone else duplicating the monkey studies?  Are they afraid of becoming another victim of science?  Why, when isn’t that what medical science should be all about: investigating problems and theories, publishing results, and interacting with other sciences, NOT excommunication as if they were breaking some religious dogma.  Or, do they, in some vested interests minds?

CURRENT VACCINE SAFETY ACTIVISM IN CONGRESS

Now here is something every VacTruth reader should consider seriously: Supporting Congressman Dan Burton’s (R-5-IN) request to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa to hold hearings on the Vaccination Injury Compensation Program. Back on January 12, 2011, this writer filed a Whistleblower’s Complaint on Vaccines with Chairman Issa and has yet to receive an acknowledgement of that filing.

Isn’t about time to revisit, update, and do more extensive research into the Autism Spectrum Disorder pandemic that is spreading globally?

April 24, 2012 Congressman Burton posted a letter to The Hill’s Congress Blog titled, “It is time to re-engage on the autism epidemic.”  He also wants to pass legislation to force the President to address the ASD epidemic and its impact on Americans.  Burton is committed to helping millions of children, adults, and families afflicted with ASD.  We need to support Congressman Burton ASAP and here’s how:

1. Contact the Canary Party to support their Facebook pages to hold Congressional hearings and a White House Conference on Autism.  Contact News@CanaryParty.org.
2. Contact Congressman Darrell Issa at the Oversight and Government Reform Committee at 2157 Rayburn House Office Bldg., Washington, DC 20515 or preferably telephone your request for Autism Investigation Hearings to 202-225-5074.

For those who want to know about this information, the National Autism Association (www.nationalautism.org) will be holding a rally for toxin-free immunizations in Washington, DC on June 4, 2012, titled “Green Our Vaccines,” which this author thinks is an oxymoron.  How can you green vaccines when every ingredient is toxic?  Just check out the CDC’s PinkBook Vaccine Excipient & Media Summary at http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/b/excipient-table-2.pdf.

Before I leave this article, I would like VacTruth readers to know that my colleague who also writes for VacTruth, Laraine C Abbey, RN (retired) and I co-edited a 150 page monograph in January 2011 titled Vaccines & Vaccinations: The Need for Congressional Investigation, which you can read in full on VacTruth at http://vactruth.com/vaccines-vaccinations-the-need-for-congressional-investigation/.

Apparently others have read it and agree.

Congressman Burton, Nurse Abbey and I congratulate you on taking the stand you have, and we offer you our resources in obtaining a Congressional investigation.

President Obama, Nurse Abbey and I respectfully request a White House conference on Autism, and we offer you our resources to effectuate a non-biased conference.

VacTruth readers, I charge you with spreading this information and article as far and wide as you possibly can so that we can get an investigation that ought to be open, not biased, and the scientific facts—nothing but the facts, like those the monkeys finally had to prove.  It was not monkey business; it’s the real deal. 

References:

[1] http://www.ane.pl/pdf/7020.pdf

[2] http://leftbrainrightbrain.co.uk/2010/07/laura-hewitson-has-left-the-university-of-pittsburgh/

[3] http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html

[4] http://www.vaccineriskawareness.com/Infant-Vaccines-Produce-Autism-Symptoms-In-Primates

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"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Lose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Pedal wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) 

Narcotics Police in N. Sumatra Bust One of Their Own for Pushing Pills

Jakarta Globe, May 03, 2012

Methamphetamine and ecstasy pills confiscated by police officers in
West Jakarta are pictured on Feb. 29, 2012. The chief of a local police narcotics
division in North Sumatra was arrested on Thursday for selling ecstasy.

The narcotics division chief of the Serdang Bedagai police in North Sumatra was arrested on Thursday for selling ecstasy.

North Sumatra Police narcotics division director Sr. Comr. Andjar Dewanto said on Thursday that First Adj. Insp. Antonius Situmorang had been named a suspect for drug trafficking, according to okezone.com.

The police caught Antonius when he tried to sell the pills to an undercover officer. The transaction turned violent, and Antonius ended up with a bullet in his left hand.

Two of Antonius' cohorts, also crooked cops, ran away and managed to escape arrest, okezone.com reported.

Antonius is now under care at Bhayangkara Hospital in Medan, North Sumatra.

100 charged in health care fraud bust

CNN News, by Terry Frieden, May 2, 2012

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Federal agents say operation uncovered $450 million in false billings
• Arrests in seven metro areas wrap up investigation of several months
• Holder, Sebelius expected to emphasize efforts to fight phony billing

Washington (CNN) -- More than 100 people have been charged and an estimated $450 million in false billings uncovered by federal agents in a nationwide operation that authorities say is the largest bust in recent history.

Law enforcement sources say the charges were lodged in seven metropolitan areas, capping an investigation of several months into efforts to defraud Medicare, Medicaid and other federal health programs.

It is the largest of four such sweeps announced during the Obama administration.

Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius are expected to announce the operation Wednesday and emphasize their determination to combat phony billing practices in the health care industry.

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"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Based in Greece, Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to built Africa to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - New !