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Old March 16th 10, 10:21 PM posted to misc.health.alternative,misc.kids.health,sci.med
john[_5_]
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Default Sebelius Asks Media to Censor Autism Debate

"...That's right. Kathleen Sebelius, the President of the HHS, has asked
newspapers, magazines, television journalists, who knows who else-
specifically NOT to listen to parents and scientists in the autism
community, not to respect their concerns, not to take seriously the
condition of chronically ill children with autism and to disregard a growing
body of evidence questioning the safety of our infant and toddler's
immunization schedule..."

Sebelius Asks Media to Censor Autism Debate

By Katie Wright

http://www.ageofautism.com/2010/03/s...sm-debate.html


By Katie Wright

"There are groups out there that insist that vaccines are responsible for a
variety of problems, despite all scientific evidence to the contrary. We
(the office of Secretary of Health and Human Services) have reached out to
media outlets to try to get them not to give the views of these people equal
weight in their reporting."

That's right. Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of HHS, has asked newspapers,
magazines, television journalists, who knows who else- specifically NOT to
listen to parents and scientists in the autism community, not to respect
their concerns, not to take seriously the condition of chronically ill
children with autism and to disregard a growing body of evidence questioning
the safety of our infant and toddlers' immunization schedule. If I have got
anything wrong I would love to hear a tape or see a transcripts of these
media "outreaches."

Pretty frightening stuff. Thank you to Jake Crosby who uncovered this frank
and disturbing exchange between Arthur (autism is not so bad and there is no
increase anyway) Allen and Ms. Sebelius.

I am taking Ms. Sebelius at her word. Ms. Sebelius has unilaterally said
that she knows that every single American parent who saw their child regress
post vaccination or experience a severe adverse reaction is wrong and she
knows better. Ms. Sebelius has ordered, suggested, beseeched, implored (?)
American journalists NOT to "give these people (anyone concerned with
vaccine safety) equal weight in their reporting" because she has decided by
informal governmental decree that the debate is closed?

Sounds like something that would happen in a communist dictatorship, right?
Was there a similar decree when "citizen dissidents" questioned the safety
of hormone replacement therapy for women? Was the media instructed to ignore
those nuisances who were suspicious of a long denied link between hormone
therapy and breast cancer? Did the HHS order a first amendment crackdown of
those trouble-making women who had long complained that Fibromalgia was a
real disease and not a psychosomatic condition. Menaces everywhere who dared
to question medical authorities! They must be silenced! You have got to be
kidding.


Sebelius boasts that she holds an H1N1 meeting every single day but cannot
find the time to attend one IACC meeting or meet with any autism
organizations. Well, not exactly, apparently Ms. Sebelius is personal
friends with Ms. Alison Singer, leader a vaccine marketing/ autism org
financed in part by Dr. Paul Offit. Newsflash Ms. Seblius: 1 in 100 American
children, and rising, have autism and this is a much bigger deal than H1N1.
One in four American parents do not think vaccines are safe for their
children. At least half of all families affected by autism believe too many
vaccines too soon triggered their child's autism. Hundreds of thousands of
parents saw their child regress post multiple vaccinations. Sebelius' answer
to this massive crisis of confidence is media censorship?
Hmmmm...Censorship has a long and illustrious history- of not working.
Thankfully, we live in a democracy with a free press. So I don't know what
is worse, the fact Sebelius asked that journalists censor the autism debate
or the fact that they did.

While I have not read more than a few reasoned, balanced or well written
pieces of journalism on the subject of autism and vaccines I have read a
host of spoon fed press releases masquerading as "news" stories about
supposedly important autism research. Journalists from "Time", "Newsweek",
"The New York Times", online health resources etc. have reported in depth on
such "breakthroughs" as a recent study concluding that "maternal
sensitivity" is a good thing for autistic children, or Kennedy Krieger's
incredible finding that autistic kids have bad handwriting (amazing, I
know!) or the Children's Hospital of Boston study which found that cousins
from the Middle East who marry are more likely to produce autistic kids. I
know, stop the presses, a cure is within sight!
In this embarrassing interview with Arthur Allen Ms. Sebelius asserts all
the science is a closed book. At the top of the list of the science of
vaccine safety studies are the definitive 2001 and 2003 "Pediatrics"
articles. While the media has kept us front row center in the breaking
developments regarding ASD kids with bad handwriting, journalists have
neglected to report on perhaps one of the most striking recent events
concerning the subject of autism research.

An author of one of the most frequently cited "vaccines do not trigger
autism" articles is Dr. Poul Thorsen. Well, well, well. this week we learned
that Thorsen has allegedly absconded with approximately $2 million of CDC
research money and is the target of an international police manhunt. We also
learned that the Univ. of Aarhus, Denmark, where Thorsen was employed when
conducting the studies (naturally in close cooperation w/ the CDC) has
released a letter detailing Thorsen's recently uncovered crimes. These
crimes include but are not limited to: theft, forgery and assorted serious
breaches of ethical norms.

Apparently Thorsen was a very, very busy scientist. He was simultaneously
and secretly employed at the Univ of Aarhus, Emory University, Drexel
University and as a "visiting scientist at the CDC." Emory and Drexel have,
some might say, inappropriately close relationships with the CDC. There
appears to be very little room for independent or unbiased science at these
research centers. All three are heavily invested in denying any
relationships between vaccines and autism. The CDC owns numerous vaccine
patents and Emory and Drexel receive tremendous financial support from
vaccine companies.

Hmmmm.I know some of you might be thinking "Emory University is in the news
a lot lately!" Yes, Emory has been in the news a great deal thanks to the
amazing anti- corruption work of Senator Charles Grassley. Ms. Sebelius
should dump Arthur Allen and have a conversation with someone who is
actually doing something to restore public confidence in our health systems
by fighting the fraud and greed inherent at places like Emory. Grassley is
conducting an investigation a pervasive pattern of corruption among Emory
researchers who fail to disclose significant financial conflicts of interest
in the outcomes of the research they conduct. Isn't it interesting that
Thorsen found a second home there?

Thorsen was working hard for everyone's benefit: his own, his employers,
pharmaceutical companies- everyone's benefit, that is, except the public's.
The health and safety of American kids being administered the world's most
aggressive infant vaccine schedule was last on his list. Thorsen was also
employed as a consultant on the official revisions of the all-important DMS
V. Thorsen was advising how to count and classify autism cases. It is
absolutely frightening that a wanted felon has such an enormous and
pervasive influence on the lives of our children.

So I am trying to get this straight Ms. Sebelius. Help me out here. We
should take lying thieves with no interest in operating in the public's
interest at their word but the media should ignore parents and legitimate
scientists who question the validity of vaccine science research performed
by alleged criminals? I'm really confused!

Wouldn't it be great if Sebelius lifted her fatwa on vaccine research
reporting and someone discovered what this creep Thorsen was actually up to
at Drexel and Emory? Why was Thorsen a "visiting scientist at the CDC" at
the same time? Apparently the CDC has known about this theft (of our money)
for some time but has chosen to remain silent. I wonder why? How likely is
it that Thorsen was the only scientist involved in what appears to be a
massive and long term scheme to manipulate and forge scientific documents?
Most importantly, why should the public believe that a thief and a liar with
no ethical standards would be honest and scrupulous in his research? I
shudder at the thought of Thorsen recounting "the facts" of his studies to
students while asserting, as he frequently did, that "absolutely no more
vaccine/autism research is warranted." Now there's a guarantee you can take
to the bank. Oops, maybe a bank Thorsen hasn't robbed.

Katie Wright is a Contributing Editor for Age of Autism.


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