Source: Mercola British Medical Journal June 9, 2007;334:1182-1183 Dr. Mercola’s Comment: Should young girls be required to take Gardasil by the government when possible side effects include hospitalization and death? There have also been reports from the Please realize that Merck has manipulated the medical and political system to FORCE children to get this dangerous vaccine for their own bottom line profit. The potential promised reduction of cervical cancer is the bait they use. Remember Merck, the manufacturer of this vaccine, is the same company that made Vioxx that killed over 60,000 people. It is also important to understand that this year, some 11,000 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer, which can be caused by HPV, and about 3,700 will die from it. In comparison, 16 times more American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer (178,480), and 11 times more will die from it (40,460). As Merck’s own literature says, it is important to realize that Gardasil does not protect women against some “non-vaccine” HPV types. So, even if girls accept the risks and get vaccinated, they can still get HPV. Finally, although more than 6 million women contract HPV each year, a woman’s immune system is often strong enough to clear up the infection on its own. About 90 percent of HPV infections simply clear up within two years. Remember, it is NOT the infection that is the issue as much as it is the person’s immune system. You can be exposed to these bacteria and viruses and if you are living a healthy lifestyle your body’s immune system will typically know how to address the infection.
SiCKO Michael Moore’s new film opening on June the 29th
If you want to stay healthy in America, don’t get sick. Following on the heels of his award winning hit “Fahrenheit 9/11″ and his Oscar® winning film “Bowling for Columbine,” acclaimed filmmaker Michael Moore’s new documentary sets out to investigate the American healthcare system. Sticking to his tried-and-true one-man approach, Moore sheds light on the complicated medical affairs of individuals and local communities.
If you have ever wondered about the poor state of the American health-care system and want to see shocking revelations regarding insurance companies, how they handle claims by looking for ever possible way out, and how big pharma ensures that the cost of the health care system is detrimental to your health, then please go see SiCKO. See for yourself how other countries like France and Cuba operate their healthcare systems and then wonder why we can’t have the same improved and cost-effective care. Also check out the SiCKO YouTube Channel and the SiCKO Group.
Source: UPI
Source: The Business Online
Source: Nieman Watchdog
Source: Post-Bulletin The developments are among the most dramatic steps Beijing has taken to address domestic and international alarm over shoddy and unsafe Chinese goods — from pet food ingredients and toothpaste mixed with induso trial chemicals to tainted antibiotics. Beijing’s No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court convicted Zheng Xiaoyu of taking bribes in cash and gifts worth more than $832,000 while he was director of the State Food and Drug Administration, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Those bribes allowed eight companies to get around drug approval standards, it said. Zheng also failed to make “careful arrangements for the supervision of medicine production, which is of critical importance to people’s lives,” Xinhua said, citing the court. Under his watch, six types of medicine approved were fake and pharmaceutical companies got away with using false documents to apply for approvals, it said. No other details were given. Zheng’s acts “greatly undermined … the efficiency of China’s drug monitoring and supervision, endangered public life and health and had a very negative social impact,” the court said. The punishment was appropriate given the “huge amount of bribes involved and the great damage inflicted on the country and the public,” Xinhua said. In one instance, an antibiotic approved by Zheng’s agency killed at least 10 patients last year before it was taken off the market. It was not immediately clear if Zheng would appeal. Under Chinese law, a death sentence meted out by an intermediate court automatically will be reviewed by a higher court and ultimately has to be approved by the state supreme court. [more]
Source: Judicial Watch As of May 11, 2007, the 1,637 adverse vaccination reactions reported to the FDA via the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) included 371 serious reactions. Of the 42 women who received the vaccine while pregnant, 18 experienced side effects ranging from spontaneous abortion to fetal abnormities. Side effects published by Merck & Co. warn the public about potential pain, fever, nausea, dizziness and itching after receiving the vaccine. Indeed, 77% of the adverse reactions reported are typical side effects to vaccinations. But other more serious side effects reported include paralysis, Bells Palsy, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and seizures. “The FDA adverse event reports on the HPV vaccine read like a catalog of horrors,” stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “Any state or local government now beset by Merck’s lobbying campaigns to mandate this HPV vaccine for young girls ought to take a look at these adverse health reports. It looks as if an unproven vaccine with dangerous side effects is being pushed as a miracle drug.” Judicial Watch filed its request on May 9, 2007, and received the adverse event reports from the FDA on May 15, 2007. Judicial Watch has posted the adverse event reports below. A recent study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, also questioned the general effectiveness of Gardasil. Click here to view the Garadsil Related Deaths Reported to VAERS as of May 11, 2007 Click here to view the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) Reports as of May 11, 2007
Source: News.com In one case being investigated, a girl was left temporarily paralysed and unable to talk after receiving the Australian-developed Gardasil vaccine. Health authorities have denied the cases are directly related to the immunisation. Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott and doctors urged parents not to panic, saying the benefits outweighed the small risk of side effects. Mr Abbott said risks were taken seriously but there was no evidence of a serious problem with the vaccine. Schoolgirls across Australia are being immunised with the breakthrough Gardasil, developed by Professor Ian Frazer. Australian Medical Association president Mukesh Haikerwal said it was important girls were still vaccinated. [more]
Source: Forbes If Avandia does boost heart risk, the repercussions will reach far beyond GlaxoSmithKline or even the patients who may have been harmed by the drug. Right now both houses of Congress are debating bills that would reform the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; these bills must be passed by September or the FDA will have inadequate funds. A drug safety scandal could reignite the congressional debate, putting Big Pharma back on the defensive. Some of the toughest reforms, like a proposal to create a separate FDA office that would track side effects and yank products from the market, have fallen by the wayside. [more]
Source: NY Times To resolve criminal and civil charges related to the drug’s “misbranding”, the parent of Purdue Pharma, the company that markets OxyContin, agreed to pay more than $600 million in fines. That is the third-highest amount ever paid by a drug company in such a case. Also, in a rare move, three executives of Purdue Pharma, including its president and it top lawyer, pleaded guilty today as individuals to misbranding charges, a criminal violation. They agreed to pay a total of $34.5 million in fines. [more]
Source: NW Progressive Institute He’s referring to an amendment to a bill that would have allowed US consumers to buy prescription drugs from other countries, often at significantly lower costs. The amendment, in other words, effectively rendered the bill useless. Never a more poignant, vicious appropriateness for the political jargon, “poison pill amendment.” The bill, thus neutered, was defeated 49-40. And everybody took their payoffs and went home happy. Except, of course, the American healthcare consumers, who continue to be screwed by astronomical pharmaceutical costs.
Source: Pharmalot
Source: Reuters The blurring of the lines between news and entertainment and the rise of the Internet is making aggressive responses to corporate crises more important than ever, Dezenhall and Weber write. Businesses will have to function like modern politicians: communications targeted at sympathetic audiences and pre-emptive attacks on opponents who will seek to undermine companies are the new rules of the game.
Source: America Blog
We don’t even have a list of gun owners, and we have a list of everyone who has been prescribed anti-depressants? And in fact, the article suggests that this isn’t just a database of patients who use anti-depressants, it’s a federal database of every prescription drug you’ve ever bought. What exactly do the Bushies do with that list? And what other lists do they have of which medications you’ve ever taken?
Source: Brandweek Don’t laugh—Enzyte and Berkeley are serious business. At its peak the company grossed almost $250 million in annual sales and had more than 1,500 employees, making it one of Cincinnati’s major employers. But a considerable portion of Berkeley’s business is fraudulent, federal prosecutors say, because about $100 million of the company’s revenue over the years came from repeatedly billing thousands of customer’s credit cards for refills they did not order. [more]
Source: adrugrecall.com The basis for thimerosal lawsuits lies in the connections drawn between exposure to high amounts of mercury and development of autism. A Center for Disease Control (CDC) report cited by some parents filing thimerosal lawsuits shows that originally, a study conducted by the CDC found that children exposed to 62.5 mcgs of mercury through vaccines in the first three months of life were 2.48 times more likely to develop autism. In a move that angered many plaintiffs in thimerosal lawsuits, researcher Thomas Verstraeten added more children to the epidemiological study, bringing the correlation down to 1.69 times. Verstraeten was subsequently hired as a consultant by vaccine manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline. The first of the thimerosal lawsuits was filed following an FDA report in 1999 that stated “infants who received thimerosal-containing vaccines at several visits may be exposed to more mercury than recommended by federal guidelines for total mercury exposure.” Many thimerosal lawsuits point out the shocking results of a 1997 FDA order for the drug companies to reveal the amount of thimerosal included in their vaccines-the levels of mercury found in many pediatric vaccines exceeded the amounts considered safe for adults. To date, numerous individual thimerosal lawsuits have been filed, in addition to a class action thimerosal lawsuit designed to force pharmaceutical companies to investigate whether thimerosal indeed causes autism and other forms of brain damage in children. The media attention generated by the rising number of thimerosal lawsuits has helped parents learn of the potential risks of childhood vaccines. Although the FDA ordered manufacturers of childhood vaccines to stop including thimerosal in 1999, there has as yet been no recall of vaccines containing mercury, and those stocks are still available to doctors.
Source: Moscow Times The three doctors — Olga Alikova, former assistant to the chief physician at Independent Clinical Hospital; Tatyana Slizova, head of the hospital’s pediatric unit; and pediatrician Svetlana Alexeyeva — were charged following an investigation that began March 15, said Lidia Sergeyeva, a spokeswoman for the Volgograd regional prosecutor’s office. Prosecutors opened the investigation in response to a complaint from the parents of Vika Geraskina, who was 1 year old when she was purportedly given the vaccine in November 2005. They maintain that Geraskina should not have been included in the list of 112 participants in the vaccine trial because she suffers from cerebral hypoxia, a lack of oxygen supply to the brain. After receiving the vaccine, which is designed to protect against chicken pox, measles and rubella, Geraskina’s health deteriorated, prosecutors said. Investigators concluded that both the law and the pharmaceutical company’s contract with the hospital were contravened, resulting in the inclusion of children with neurological disorders and chronic illnesses in the trial, prosecutors said in a statement released Monday. Parents also believed that their children were receiving proven vaccines and were not informed about the trials, prosecutors said. Alexeyeva denied knowingly breaking the law. “We followed all the rules,” she said Monday by telephone from the hospital, which belongs to the regional railway company. “I am suffering psychologically from the pressure,” she said. Alexeyeva complained of sleepless nights after heated exchanges with the parents of the children who took part in the trial. Alexeyeva said she was in the process of hiring a lawyer. The other doctors, Alikova and Slizova, could not be reached for comment on Monday. All three could face up to six years in prison. Michael Crow, the head of GlaxoSmithKline in Russia, dismissed the allegations as “untrue” at a news conference earlier this month. “All the parents agreed to the tests,” he said. Crow declined to comment on Monday. The vaccines were produced by GlaxoSmithKline’s Belgian trading arm, which paid Alikova more than 1.5 million rubles ($57,670) for hosting the tests at the hospital, the prosecutor’s statement said. Slizova, the head of the pediatric unit, received some 700,000 rubles (just under $27,000). After consultations with Crow, a spokesman who declined to give his name said GlaxoSmithKline would only comment, “when we have a complete picture.” A March 16 statement from GlaxoSmithKline said any link between the adverse symptoms and the vaccine were “extremely improbable.” Gennady Onishchenko, the country’s chief epidemiologist, said last month that Geraskina was part of a control group, and that her symptoms could not be a result of the tests because she was not given the specific vaccine in question. Prosecutors acknowledge that an independent panel comprising doctors, lawyers, priests and others had approved the trial. GlaxoSmithKline contracted Independent Clinical Hospital to test its new vaccine in early 2005 — part of a national battery of tests that involved 1,000 babies in 10 cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg. A statement posted on the company’s Russian web site said the company and health authorities had audited the Russian facilities involved in the trial and had discovered no violations. In February, a court ordered the Volgograd clinic to stop the trials. No date has been set for a hearing, Sergeyeva said.
Source: Swissinfo.org On Wednesday, the Japanese heath authorities said they had told importers of Tamiflu to warn doctors not to prescribe it to those aged ten to 19, after two new reports of young people injuring themselves by jumping from buildings after taking the drug. Roche said that it did not understand the rationale behind the Japanese government’s actions. “There’s no proof that Tamiflu causes suicides,” Roche spokeswoman Martina Rupp told swissinfo. “It is allowed all over the world to use Tamiflu from the age of one year onwards.” [more] Comment: Of course they deny it and say there’s no proof. What else would you expect a pharma company to do? Admit to it and open themselves up to trem
Source: Legal Newsline Lautenschlager called a news conference yesterday evening in her new role as State Chairwoman of the newly formed Democratic Judicial Campaign Committee. With her were Democratic State Representatives Chuck Benedict, Mike Sheridan, Marlin Schneider and Gary Sherman. Now an attorney in Madison, Lautenschlager believes “big pharma” is behind a recent series of pro-Ziegler ads and has already spent “hundreds of thousands of dollars” on Ziegler’s candidacy. “The corporate interests of some sort - likely pharmeceutical companies - are attempting to buy this election,” she said. She says Ziegler has already shown a willingness to ignore financial conflicts of interest as a judge. “Ziegler has a personal financial stake in the monetary success of pharmaceutical companies,” Lautenschlager said. Lautenschlager is so sure that drug-makers want Ziegler on the Supreme Court that she told reporters: “I would put my house, my husband, my children and my dog on it, OK?” Ziegler, a conservative District Court Judge, is running for the Wisconsin Supreme Court against Madison attorney Linda Clifford, considered a liberal. The election to succeed conservative Justice Jon P. Wilcox will be held early next month. Madison law firm Lawton & Cates earlier this week announced it had hired Lautenschlager and her former deputy attorney general Dan Bach as civil-litigation specialists, LegalNewsLine recently reported. They will also do some political-law work but Lautenschlager has said she will not lobby. Ziegler started the Supreme Court race last month with a big lead over Clifford but the margin has narrowed in recent weeks with accusations that Ziegler did not declare conflicts of interest in many case.
Source: Lawyers and Settlements Doctors and patients alike have a paid a heavy price for trusting the FDA’s approval of Ketek. According to a review by the staff of the Senate Finance Committee, of the Adverse Event Reporting System, between July 2005 and September 2005 alone, there were two deaths, 35 liver adverse reactions, 44 cardiac events, and 80 visual events in Ketek patients. On January 20, 2006, the FDA issued a Public Health Advisory, in response to an article in the Annals of Internal Medicine, that reported 3 cases of severe liver damage in Ketek patients. One died, another required a liver transplant, and a third patient recovered from drug-induced hepatitis after Ketek was stopped. The report also said that Sanofi reported 7 cases of liver damage in patients taking Ketek in Phase III trials. That said, it took more than year for the FDA to finally ban Ketek for use in two of its 3 approved indications, but the drug is still approved to treat pneumonia. The new labeling warns that cases of acute hepatic failure, including fatal liver injury, have been reported, with some requiring liver transplants, and some occurring after only a few doses. The new labeling also includes a boxed warning that Ketek is contraindicated in patients with myasthenia gravis, and an update about visual disturbances and loss of consciousness, and a warning about reports of diarrhea, ranging in severity from mild to fatal colitis. The FDA announced its decision to revise Ketek’s label, on February 12, 2007, a day before a hearing was scheduled to review the FDA’s drug approval policies, to include Ketek, before the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation. But the attempt to determine why Ketek was approved in the first place, has been an on-going battle. On November 17, 2006, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, held a hearing on FDA reform legislation, and the approval process for Ketek was discussed. [more]
Source: The Guardian They are on a long list of international companies accused in a UN report of paying kickbacks under the discredited oil-for-food sanctions regime, which enabled Saddam to illicitly amass an estimated $1.8bn. Ministers have agreed to fund the investigation with £22m over three years. The inquiry was ordered last week by the SFO director, Robert Wardle. Yesterday the agency confirmed: “The director of the SFO has opened an investigation centred on alleged breaches of sanctions in respect of the UN oil-for-food programme.” Under their wide-ranging powers, investigators from the SFO can order companies to disclose documentation and call witnesses for questioning. Ultimately, the SFO could launch criminal prosecutions. The investigation - the first official inquiry into the oil-for-food scandal - was urged on the British government by Paul Volcker, a former chairman of the US Federal Reserve, who compiled a UN report, delivered two years ago, into abuses of the programme after investigating the sanctions regime that enabled Saddam to survive for so long. Mr Volcker said the programme - in which Iraq was only allowed to sell limited amounts of oil abroad to buy food and medicines - had become corrupted as the Saddam regime demanded kickbacks from foreign companies in return for the contracts. He identified French and Russian politicians as the chief culprits. Mr Volcker said the kickbacks were disguised by various subterfuges. Contracts were inflated, usually by 10% to cover so-called “after-sales services” fees. More than 2,200 companies were listed, using evidence drawn from banking records and Iraqi government documents. The inquiry will draw on Mr Volcker’s evidence. He accused GSK of paying kickbacks worth $1m to win nine contracts valued at $11.9m to supply medicines. Yesterday GSK denied any wrongdoing. It said: “The UN oil-for-food programme was run in the UK by the Department of Trade and Industry and GSK operated entirely within DTI guidance in this area. Indeed, GSK had a regular dialogue with officials at the DTI in order to ensure that all its dealings under the oil-for-food programme were transparent and in accordance with the regulations.” AstraZeneca was named as having paid bribes of $162,000 to secure three contracts worth $2.9m. The company said: “We deny any allegation of unethical behaviour on our part in our trading relationships with Iraq. AstraZeneca sent a consignment of medicines originally requested by the Saddam government under the UN oil-for-food programme. Most of the consignment was delivered after the coalition forces of the US and UK had taken control of the country. The consignment was sent with all relevant United Nations permissions and UK government Department of Trade and Industry export licences in place.” Another company, Eli Lilly, was accused of securing a $3.2m contract with a bribe of $343,000. It said: “Eli Lilly and Company … denies any wrongdoing with regard to the oil-for-food scheme. As the report highlights, we deny that payments were made to the government of Iraq or its agents in violation of the programme.” The Volcker report, citing banking records, alleged that the Berkshire-based bridge-builder Mabey and Johnson paid a $202,000 kickback between 2001 and 2003 and in return was given a $3.6m contract by the Iraqis. The company said there was no truth in the allegations. [more]
Source: The Guardian Dyes, preservatives, and sweeteners were found in cough syrups, paracetamol tablets and teething gels. One product contained eight E numbers. The campaign group looked at 41 medicines for children under three. Only one, Superdrug children’s dry cough syrup, was totally free of colourings and preservatives. Some of the additives can lead to asthma or act as mild laxatives, and most are banned from food and drink for under-threes, even though they are allowed in medicines aimed at young children. Across the medicines analysed, there were four synthetic colourings or azo dyes, 10 preservatives, and six sweeteners. Some 31 out of 41 products contained preservatives, the most common being benzoates - E numbers E210 to E219; reactions can include skin rashes or wheezing. Only some of the medicines displayed warnings of additives’ possible side effects. Buttercup infant cough syrup had two E number dyes, while Calpol paracetamol, Anbesol teething gel, Sudafed children’s syrup, and Superdrug children’s chesty cough syrup, contained one azo dye apiece. Tixylix night cough syrup, sold for children over one year old, contained both benzoate and sulphite preservatives. Some medicines contained sweeteners sorbitol, maltitol and xylitol, which can have a laxative effect in high doses. A Food Commission spokesman, Ian Tokelove, said additives were usually listed in the fine print inside the product packs. “If you are a concerned parent, you are often not going to know what is in medicine until you get it home.” The commission is lobbying the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to ensure child medicines are additive-free. The agency said drug manufacturers were required to justify any additives before getting a licence to market a product; some needed preservatives to maintain their shelf-life. “Many also have a very unpleasant taste, and require sweeteners and other flavours to help ensure palatability, especially for children,” it said. “Some people, including children, have to take multiple medicines and easy identification by colour and other means helps ensure they take the right medicine at the right time.” The report said natural colourings were an alternative to synthetic azo dyes.
Source: American Chronicle As GlaxoSmithKline PLc. (GSK) attempts to combine the MMR vaccine into a 4 in 1 vaccine that includes Chicken pox. This study was to compare the MMR and a separate Chicken Pox vaccine with this new 4 in 1 combination. 5,700 children between the ages of 1 and 2 from across Europe were involved. 1,000 children in Russia alone. The Russian city Volgogard had 100 of these study subjects that participated at a small private clinic. Other than supplying the vaccines GSK had no on sight control or participation. The head of this clinic was to reportedly have received $50,000 to perform this part of the study. This is a lot of money to a Russian doctor. According to GSK mandates only healthy children were to participate. The parents were to be informed that this program was in fact a study and not part of the normal vaccine schedule. Russian Prosecutor Lydia Sergeyeva that heads this investigation says that this study is in fact, contrary to Russian law. Many of the parents claim that they were unaware that this was a study, instead of a humanitarian aid program. It was not until some of these children became ill that the facts became clear and that not all participants were not in good health. As Sergeyeva noted “one 2 ½ year old girl whose neurological illness progressed sharply after she was vaccinated. The girl can hardly speak and shows other signs of arrested development.” A spokesman for GSK says that none of this is true and claims that there were no adverse reactions in connection with this study. This entire situation recalls the original Thimerosal study of 1931. This was claimed that this preservative Thimerosal was safe as there were no adverse reactions observed in the study group of 22 dyeing patients injected. There were no long term studies as the participants were not available. And unlike the 31’ study by Eli Lilly this recent study did not involve Thimerosal. I just found similarities in how this was handled. The vaccine question and its contributions to the many neurological and immune dysfunctions that we see toady just doesn’t seem to go away. Children used as guinea pigs in 2005 bothers me and I hope you too. When you look at the Centers of Disease Controls own website there is no clarity on this issue. It is as though you are dealing with a politician. The answers are vague and you can’t find any conclusions. According to the CDC there are no studies that show what Thimerosal (ethyl mercury) can do to the human body or biological system. This is despite over 1,000 papers that have been documented on this subject. You are lead to believe that there is nothing to link Thimerosal to any disorder or disease. The GSK vaccines used in this study do not contain Thimerosal. I only use the similarities in the way the studies were done. The question of adverse reactions can be found in an article published by the Mayo Foundation in 2000 Vol.75. The Mayo Clinic has a great reputation with the American public. “Injecting a dose of common sense” allows you to read the ways the pharmaceutical and medical communities feel about this issue. You are told that there are adverse reactions and that these are expected. They range from very minor site reactions to death. These reactions are to be put into context and the public is to realize that these reactions are but a few and outweigh the benefit to humanity as a whole. The question today is that can we say the same? What is obvious to me is that these vaccine studies and programs are handled very badly. There seems to be no clear consensuses within the medical, pharmaceutical or governmental entities that promote these vaccines. The parents of those injected are left in the dark as to what may happen. After all you are made to believe that you have no choice as these vaccines are mandated. I would guess that this is another price that we pay for freedom. Contradiction Yes.
Source: Emergency Mail Network Reports show several consumers in the United States have sought emergency medical treatment for symptoms such as difficulty in breathing, muscle spasms and muscle stiffness after ingesting the suspect product. Haloperidol can cause muscle stiffness and spasms, agitation, and sedation. Therefore, the agency is reissuing its warning to consumers about the possible dangers of buying prescription drugs online. FDA laboratory analysis of the misrepresented tablets is ongoing, but preliminary analysis indicates they contain haloperidol, the active ingredient in a prescription drug used primarily to treat schizophrenia. FDA learned about these mislabeled and potentially dangerous products after their recipients complained to a U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturer. The origin of these tablets is unknown but the packages were postmarked in Greece. Photographs of the tablets in question and the shipping packages can be seen at online. If the tablets received from an Internet seller resemble those in the photos and haloperidol was not specifically ordered, do not take these tablets. Instead, consumers should notify their health care provider. and report the suspected products to FDA. Although the involved consumers have named several Internet Web sites where the products were purchased, identifying the vendors is difficult because of the deceptive practices of many commercial outlets on the Internet. FDA is investigating this illicit trade and plans to release appropriate information when it is available. Taking medication that contains an active ingredient other than what was prescribed by a qualified health care professional is generally unsafe. FDA continuously warns U.S. consumers of the possible dangers of buying prescription drugs
Source: Raw Story “There’s been a lot of pressure about the implications of vaccinating young girls against sexually-transmitted diseases,” says CNN’s Ali Velshi in the video below, “some people thinking that that encourages promiscuity at that age.” He reports though that “this thing is coming undone by word, rumor and report of connection between Rick Perry’s office and Merck.” The main lobbyist for Merck previously worked as Chief of Staff for Gov. Rick Perry. Several other states are considering making the vaccine mandatory, thanks in part to Merck’s aggressive lobbying.
Source: New York Times At least 20 states are considering making use of the vaccine mandatory for schoolgirls, and the governor of Texas, Rick Perry, has already done so through an executive order. Part of the state rush to embrace the new vaccine has been fueled by Merck lobbying that began even before federal regulators approved the product last year. The vaccine is aimed at a sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer. Critics of the vaccine’s use on moral and other grounds have used Merck’s perceived influence as a weapon to fight its use. And even public health officials who favor the vaccine say the movement to make it mandatory has come too fast, provoking a backlash that could undermine its eventual widespread use. Merck acknowledged that backlash on Tuesday, saying it would stop lobbying specifically for state mandates. Many of the state proposals have called for requiring girls to be vaccinated before the can enter sixth grade. Dr. Richard M. Haupt, executive director for medical affairs in Merck’s vaccine division, said the company acted after hearing from public health officials and medical organizations that its campaign was counterproductive. “They believe the timing for the school requirements is not right,” Mr. Haupt said. “Our goal is to prevent cervical cancer,” he added. “Our goal is to reach as many females as possible. Right now, school requirements and Merck’s involvement in that are being viewed as a distraction to that goal.”’ Dr. Haupt said, however, that Merck would continue to provide public health officials and legislators with education about the vaccine and would also continue to lobby for more funding for vaccines in general. He declined to say how much money or manpower Merck has been expending in its effort to get the cervical cancer vaccine mandated. The vaccine, called Gardasil, acts against strains of the human papillomavirus that account for an estimated 70 percent of the cases of cervical cancer. The virus, known as HPV, is transmitted sexually, so experts say the vaccine is best given before girls become sexually active. The vaccine, which costs about $400 for the three-injection regimen, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration last June. A month later a federal advisory panel recommended that girls and women 11 to 26 be vaccinated, although panelists have said that recommendation was not equivalent to recommending mandatory inoculation. But the speed with which legislatures have moved to mandate the vaccine as a requirement for school entry has galvanized critics. Some say making a vaccine mandatory would pre-empt parental choice, while others argue that protection from a sexually transmitted virus would encourage promiscuity. Those critics were joined by some worried about the influence of pharmaceutical companies. Merck has been a financial supporter of Women in Government, an national organization of legislators whose members have sponsored some of the state legislation to make the vaccine mandatory. Yesterday Dr. Larry K. Pickering, the executive secretary of Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the federal panel that recommended the vaccine’s use last July, applauded Merck’s decision to stop lobbying. “They finally are going to stop doing that, which all of us will be happy about,” he said. Dr. Pickering, who works at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that while the vaccine was a useful one, more data on its safety, efficacy and cost were needed before it was made mandatory. “This is a great vaccine,” he said. “It will prevent cervical cancer. But we need to approach it with the approach we take for all vaccines.” He said the backlash against the vaccine could undermine its use. “I think it has been somewhat counterproductive,” he said. “Anything that takes away from the process of getting vaccine into people is deleterious to the whole process.”
Pharmaceutical News Two weeks ago, the CDC released a report citing 1 in 150 children are now diagnosed with autism. Many parents and scientists believe the increased use of mercury-containing vaccines starting in the late 1980’s has led to the rise in cases. “Children and fetuses are still being exposed unnecessarily to this neurotoxin,” says father Christian McIlwain of Cary, North Carolina. “With the recently added recommendations that influenza vaccines be given to women during any stage of pregnancy and children from age six months and up, the amount of early-age thimerosal exposure through recommended vaccines has increased drastically in the last two years-it’s time for the committee to advise that only thimerosal-free vaccines be used for pregnant women and children.” Despite multiple requests by the research group SafeMinds and the National Autism Association, this is the first time ACIP has put thimerosal on the agenda in several years. Advocacy groups were told by the CDC that thimerosal would be discussed at the October 2006 ACIP meeting, but it was never assigned. ACIP consists of 15 experts in fields associated with immunization that have been selected by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide advice on immunizations. It develops recommendations for the routine administration of vaccines to the pediatric and adult populations, and is the only entity in the federal government that makes such recommendations. The public is urged to attend the ACIP meeting, and can register online by visiting http://www.cdc.gov/nip/acip/dates.htm.
Source: Donna Voetee at NewsWithViews.com Donna is angry! And Donna has a right to be angry! Considering that the children are minors and dependon their parents for protection and well-being, yet Gov. Perry’s decision essentially asks parents to surrender their children to the state for medical expirimentation, according to Donna. Donna writes that “Vaccines contain toxic chemicals like formaldehyde, methyl mercury, MSG, foreign DNA from monkeys, rotten eggs, dogs, and yes, even lung tissue from aborted babies. Each dose of Gardasil (the full protocol requires three doses) contains 225 micrograms of aluminum, known to cause tangles of nerve fibers that can lead to Alzheimer’s disease. That’s 675 mcg aluminum just from one vaccine. Add this to the cumulative total from all the other shots, and maybe it becomes clear why the Center for Disease Control tells us that 30% of young people have chronic illness of some kind.” and asks the question that everyone should think about, “Gardasil contains genetically engineered bacteria. GE bacteria in our food has caused an unprecedented rise in allergies, asthma, and other chronic disease in children. What in the world can we expect when these mutated concoctions are injected into the bloodstream of pre-adolescent children?” Based on Donna’s research, “There have already been 82 cases (read: children) of serious illness due to Gardasil since this past June reported to the Vaccine Events Reporting System. The FDA tells us that only 10% of all reactions are reported, so this means there could well be 800- 900 cases of injury. This is just short-term. Long-term consequences are immeasurable.” Read Donna’s full article and you will understand exactly why she’s angry!
You might wonder why, behind the scenes, the American Academy of Pediatrics still fights state legislatures about the use of thimerosal (mercury) in vaccines after publicly asking for its removal eight years ago, after watching Bronwyn Hancock’s disturbing documentary Vaccination: The Hidden Truth. This is the first half of the shocking but extremely informative video documentary “Vaccination - The Hidden Truth” (1998) where 15 people, including Dr. Viera Scheibner (a PhD researcher), five medical doctors, other researchers, and parents’ experiences, reveal what is really going on in relation to illness and vaccines. With so much government and medical promotion of vaccination for prevention of disease, ironically the important facts presented here come from the orthodox medicine’s own peer-reviewed research, of which a total of well over 100,000 pages has been studied by those interviewed. The result is a damning account of the ineffectiveness of vaccines and their often harmful effects. It shows that parents are not being told the truth by the media, the Health Department and the medical establishment, with a medical doctor, Dr. Mark Donohoe, confessing that “It is a problem for me that I am part of a profession that is systematically lying to people.” Find out how vaccines are proven to be both useless and have harmful effects to your health and how they are often erroneously believed to be compulsory. Many people simply refuse to believe the truth regardless of how clear it is, but the impeccable documentation presented in this amazing video has changed the minds of many who have seen it. To view or purchase the whole DVD/video, go to www.vaccination.inoz.com
Source : CBS News Drug giant Eli Lilly and Company makes thimerosal. It’s the mercury in the preservative that many parents say causes autism in thousands of children like Mary Kate Kilpatrick. Asked if she thinks her daughter is a victim of thimerosal, Mary Kate’s mother, Kathy Kilpatrick, says, “I think autism is mercury poisoning.” But nobody in Congress would admit to adding the provision, reports CBS News Correspondent Jim Acosta, until now. House Majority Leader Dick Armey tells CBS News he did it to keep vaccine-makers from going out of business under the weight of mounting lawsuits. “I did it and I’m proud of it,” says Armey, R-Texas. “It’s a matter of national security,” Armey says. “We need their vaccines if the country is attacked with germ weapons.” Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., isn’t buying it. The grandfather of an autistic child, Burton says Armey slipped the provision in at the last minute, too late for debate. “And I said, ‘Who told you to put it in?’” He said, ‘No, they asked me to do it at the White House.’” Critics say the Bush family and the administration have too many ties to Eli Lilly. There’s President Bush’s father, who sat on the company’s board in the 1970’s; White House budget director Mitch Daniels, once an Eli Lilly executive; and Eli Lilly CEO Sidney Taurel, who serves on the president’s homeland security advisory council. Officials at the drug giant insist they did nothing wrong. “No one, not our CEO, not myself, not anyone who works with me asked the White House to insert this legislation,” said Eli Lilly spokeswoman Debra Steelman. But Kathy Kilpatrick and her husband Michael argue that the thimerosal provision is not designed to protect the nation, but rather to protect Eli Lilly. Asked what he’d say to a congressman who came forward and admitted he was responsible for inserting the provision, Michael Kilpatrick says, “I would ask him if he knew he was protecting mercury being shot into our kids.” Kathy Kilpatrick asks, “Why would anyone want to save Eli Lilly on our children’s backs?” Because Armey is retiring at the end of the year, some say the outgoing majority leader is the perfect fall guy to take the heat and shield the White House from embarrassment. It’s a claim both the White house and Armey deny.
Source : Associated Press The girls will have to get Merck & Co.’s new vaccine against strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, that are responsible for most cases of cervical cancer. Merck is bankrolling efforts to pass laws in state legislatures across the country mandating it Gardasil vaccine for girls as young as 11 or 12. It doubled its lobbying budget in Texas and has funneled money through Women in Government, an advocacy group made up of female state legislators around the country. Details of the order were not immediately available, but the governor’s office confirmed to The Associated Press that he was signing the order and he would comment Friday afternoon. Perry has several ties to Merck and Women in Government. One of the drug company’s three lobbyists in Texas is Mike Toomey, his former chief of staff. His current chief of staff’s mother-in-law, Texas Republican state Rep. Dianne White Delisi, is a state director for Women in Government. Toomey was expected to be able to woo conservative legislators concerned about the requirement stepping on parent’s rights and about signaling tacit approval of sexual activity to young girls. Delisi, as head of the House public health committee, which likely would have considered legislation filed by a Democratic member, also would have helped ease conservative opposition. Perry also received $6,000 from Merck’s political action committee during his re-election campaign. It wasn’t immediately clear how long the order would last and whether the legislation was still necessary. However it could have been difficult to muster support from lawmakers who champion abstinence education and parents’ rights. Perry, a conservative Christian who opposes abortion rights and stem- cell research using embryonic cells, counts on the religious right for his political base. But he has said the cervical cancer vaccine is no different than the one that protects children against polio. “If there are diseases in our society that are going to cost us large amounts of money, it just makes good economic sense, not to mention the health and well being of these individuals to have those vaccines available,” he said. Texas allows parents to opt out of inoculations by filing an affidavit stating that he or she objected to the vaccine for religious or philosophical reasons. Even with such provisions, however, conservative groups say mandates take away parents’ rights to be the primary medical decision maker for their children. The federal government approved Gardasil in June, and a government advisory panel has recommended that all girls get the shots at 11 and 12, before they are likely to be sexually active. The New Jersey-based drug company could generate billions in sales if Gardasil _ at $360 for the three-shot regimen were made mandatory across the country. Most insurance companies now cover the vaccine, which has been shown to have no serious side effects. Merck spokeswoman Janet Skidmore would not say how much the company is spending on lobbyists or how much it has donated to Women in Government. Susan Crosby, the group’s president, also declined to specify how much the drug company gave. A top official from Merck’s vaccine division sits on Women in Government’s business council, and many of the bills around the country have been introduced by members of Women in Government.
Source : Link 1. Children who “cannot be reasonably consulted,” such as those that are mentally handicapped or orphaned newborns may be tested on. With permission from the institution or guardian in charge of the individual, the child may be exposed to chemicals for the sake of research. 2. Parental consent forms are not necessary for testing on children who have been neglected or abused. 3. Chemical studies on any children outside of the U.S. are acceptable.
Source : Global Research This hoax is then used to justify the immediate purchase of 80 million doses of Tamiflu, a worthless drug that in no way shape or form treats the avian flu, but only decreases the amount of days one is sick and can actually contribute to the virus having more lethal mutations. So the U.S. placed an order for 20 million doses of this worthless drug at a price of $100 per dose. That comes to a staggering $2 billion.
Source : New Media Explorer |
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Aspartame : Artificial sweetener or poison? Big Brother : Who is really watching us? Big Pharma: Pain, pills and scandals David Waathiq : Profile of a con-artist Debt : All about credit, debt, and banking Global Warming : Science or scam? GMO : Genetic Manipulation and engineering Goji Juice : Another Pyramid Scam? ID Theft : A Modern Epidemic Jobs : Where is yours and where is it going? Malpractice : Mistakes or crimes? Mangosteen/Xango : A cure-all scam? Noni Juice : Pyramid scheme, an MLM cure? RFID : Electronically invading your privacy Security : In the digital age Splenda : Sucralose sweetener or poison? Thimerosal : The mercury based preservative
Source: in-pharmatechnologist.com
Secret emails reveal the UK’s biggest drug company distorted trial results of Seroxat.
In the absence of any objective medical tests to determine who has ADD or ADHD, doctors rely in part on standardized assessments and the impressions of teachers and guardians while the they administer leave little room for other causes or aggravating factors, such as diet, or environment. Hence, diagnosing a child or adolescent with ADD or ADHD is often the outcome, although no organic basis for either disease has yet to be clinically proven. Psychiatrists may then prescribe psychotropic drugs for the children without first without making it clear to parents that these medications can have severe side-effects including insomnia, loss of appetite, headaches, psychotic symptoms and even potentially fatal adverse reactions, such as cardiac arrhythmia. And yet, despite these dangers, many school systems actually work with government agencies to force parents to drug their children, threatening those who refuse with the prospect of having their children taken from the home unless they cooperate.
Big Bucks, Big Pharma pulls back the curtain on the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical industry to expose the insidious ways that illness is used, manipulated, and in some instances created, for capital gain. Focusing on the industry’s marketing practices, media scholars and health professionals help viewers understand the ways in which direct-to-consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical advertising glamorizes and normalizes the use of prescription medication, and works in tandem with promotion to doctors. Combined, these industry practices shape how both patients and doctors understand and relate to disease and treatment. Ultimately, Big Bucks, Big Pharma challenges us to ask important questions about the consequences of relying on a for-profit industry for our health and well-being. Featuring interviews with Dr. Marcia Angell (Dept. of Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Former Editor New England Journal of Medicine), Dr. Bob Goodman (Columbia University Medical Center; Founder, No Free Lunch), Gene Carbona (Former Pharmaceutical Industry Insider and Current Executive Director of Sales, The Medical Letter), Katharine Greider (Journalist; Author, The Big Fix: How the Pharmaceutical Industry Rips Off American Consumers,), Dr. Elizabeth Preston (Dept. of Communication, Westfield State College), and Dr. Larry Sasich (Public Citizen Health Research Group).
Source: GNNTV When a whistleblower teamed with human rights lawyer Jim Gottstein to try to get sealed documents about the company’s practices out to the public, Eli Lilly swooped down on them and tried to erase the evidence. Unfortunately for Eli Lilly, hackers (who are still unidentified by the company) used a software called Tor that helps people in totalitarian regimes get past state sensors to put the materials on-line. Once the documents were part of the collective internet, the court ruled that Eli Lilly could not block the websites hosting them. The documents in question showed the illegal marketing practices of a company ready to advertise the drug to children and dementia patients and even hide health-related findings from the FDA. The scandal quickly snowballed and added to the trend of turning away from pills to non-medication treatments.
Source: SciDev The government claims that Pfizer conducted the trial “illegally and pretentiously” and that 196 children died as a result of taking the drug. They also claim the 37 surviving children suffered various health problems — including deafness and muteness, paralysis, brain damage, loss of sight and slurred speech. In the legal documents filed at the federal high court in Abuja, the government accused Pfizer of “fraudulent representation, illegal/unethical conduct and practice, negligence and contravention of customary international law”. [more]
Source: NY Times
Source: Huffingtonpost
Source: The Independent |
