Left Out - Hewitt's Explanation at Age of Autism

The comment as posted at Age of Autism  begins after the line of dashes.
  
August 24, 2010, added reference showing the definition of research in the US Regulations goes back to at least 1991 and added excerpts from the five sources.


Added April 23,2010.In case anyone doubts that my comment was saved at Age of Autism, here are pdf screenshots.


Added April 22, 2010,  I value honest debate highly and I've considered myself part of the skeptical movement from the time when Skeptical Inquirer was published in the weird small format. I know that others don't put the same value on debate. Yet, I'm still surprised at how desperately Age of Autism ensures there readers only learn of the approved facts. Actually, that's overkill by Age of Autism, because it very unlikely that what follows or anything else could change the mind of the faithful.

Martin Hewitt wrote and Age of Autism published  How the GMC Framed Doctors Wakefield, Walker-Smith and Murch, yet another defense of the three doctors. It does not explain why the GMC panel decided that the doctors had flouted the rules governing medical research. How the GMC Framed Doctors Wakefield, Walker-Smith and Murch by Martin Hewitt is better written than past attempts. I wrote a nice, polite comment on Hewitt's article and posted it at Age of Autism on April 20, 2010 at 7:54:01 pm. I wonder if it will be published. -------------------

Thimerosal is Dangerous - Most Ridiculous Comment

This has to be the most ridiculous comment I have ever seen pointing to the dangers of thimerosal   (half of which quickly breaks down to ethylmercury).   The video shows elemental mercury damaging an aluminum beam.

time4truthnow Unfan 98 fans permalink

Speaking of thimerasol & aluminum in vaccinations; 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7Ilxsu-JlY 

This experiment gives one the idea of the "POINT" being made, all right.

Those who back safety of all vaccinations like to say; 

"But it's such a small trace of thimerasol, you'd get more mercury from tuna" & such rhetoric but they don't have one leg to stand on because brains are fragile & sensitive matter & who's to say how little wouldn't do the same harm in combination of synergy to different degrees, in different children, similar to the reaction in this clip?

    Reply     Favorite     Flag as abusive Posted 12:14 PM on 4/16/2010

-ChocLab I'm a Fan of ChocLab permalink

Never seen that clip before! Yikes!

To add to that tuna remark you made. Yes, we should avoid tuna with mercury, but there is a difference between mercury ingested and mercury injected. When ingesting mercury, the body has a chance of eliminating it from the body by not even absorbing it in the first place and excreting it. Whereas injecting mercury intramuscularly, it makes its way into the blood circulation and eventually into cells.

Use that argument against them 'time4truthnow'!

    Reply     Favorite     Flag as abusive Posted 12:24 PM on 4/16/2010

There are More Comments on this Thread. Click Here To See them All 

-quindy I'm a Fan of quindy 102 fans permalink

Also, nobody feeds tuna to a newborn.

    Reply     Favorite     Flag as abusive Posted 01:41 PM on 4/16/2010

Progress in Polio Eradicatlon

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/world/13polio.html?th&emc=th

Dr. Offit - In His Own Words

Point of Inquiry is an excellent podcast.  I've just listened to their excellent interview with Dr. Paul Offit, the devil incarnate to the anti-vaccination movement.  It was as good as I hoped it would be. I recommend it to everyone interested in vaccines and virology.  

If I can stomach watching Dr. Wakefield, in his own words, then certainly vaccination opponents can stand listening to Dr. Offit.

Particularly noteworthy was Dr. Offit's tackling of the process or methodology issues.  That neither parents nor most doctors can knowledgeably and accurately discuss the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.  

The link to the show is here.

Wakefield -Urabe Strain, In His Own Nonsense

Brian Deer has posted a video response to a video of Wakefield - In His Own Words.

What's fascinating is Wakefield's new line explaining why the UK General Medical Council has gone after him.  It has to do with the urabe strain of the mumps vaccine. Canada had just stopped using it and had switched to Merck's MMR-II vaccine because of concerns of the rate of meningitis associated with the urabe strain. The UK started using it for a few years before stopping it because of the same concerns.

Wakefield has never seemed interested in the mumps vaccine.  He has a clandestine meeting in 1999 regarding the mumps vaccine, but doesn't seem to have ever carried it farther.  A google search for   urabe wakefield  and using dates 1990-2005 has a few hundred results. I looked at a few and couldn't see signs of Wakefield discussing urabe. So Wakefield's argument de jour, that he and the others are in front of the GMC because of concerns of the government regarding urabe, doesn't make any sense.  Wakefield hadn't said anything about urabe strain from 1998-2004, so why give him a reason to possibly start talking about it, by hauling him in front of the GMC.

Wakefield Speaks on Sanctions

Age of Autism has a Statement from Dr. Andrew Wakefield Regarding GMC Hearing Sanctions.  Kwombles over at Countering age of Autism has a comment worth reading  as she notes the change from this had nothing to do with MMR to this had everything to do with MMR.

No one should ever think Wakefield is stupid. The GMC went after Wakefield mostly for two issues.  One, the unethical treatment of the children. Two, the scientific fraud engaged with the publication of the 1998 paper.  Wakefield ignores the scientific fraud issue.

Wakefield writes, 

"Doctors’ regulators have found the three of us - Professor John Walker-Smith, Professor Simon Murch and me - guilty of undertaking research on children with autism without approval from an ethics committee. We can prove, with extensive documentary evidence, that this conclusion is false."

Of course, this is total nonsense.   Wakefield and the others cannot deny the plain facts that they put together a week long protocol investigating children  with the intent that they use the information gained elsewhere -- Wakefield with Legal And and publication. The others just for publication.  That makes it medical research.   See my Game Over for Wakefield at the Start of the GMC Hearing


My Colleagues are the Victims of Collateral Damage
Showing what a brave man he is, Wakefield wants the GMC to spare his co-conspirators, Walker-Smith and Murch.

Sadly, my colleagues have suffered severe collateral damage in this effort to prevent valid scientific enquiry. They should be exonerated, and left alone with their reputations intact, in the certain knowledge that they have done only what is right. 

I have little doubt that Professor Walker-Smith, because of his sterling reputation, is a victim of the Walkefield charisma and charm. But the conspiracy could never have gone ahead without his participation as he had privileges at the Royal Free hospital and Wakefield did not..  He certainly knew that kids with autism were going through a week of hell when it was not clinically indicated. He was also the public face to the ethics committee.  I have very, very little sympathy for him.