News from the left

Roberto Giraldo is seeking testimonies of those who have overcome HIV/AIDS diagnoses without using toxic ARVs:

If you are a person diagnosed as seropositive (HIV-positive) and live a normal life without taking antiretrovirals, you can help me with a book that I am writing, a book that will feature the testimonies of those who have survived this diagnosis. This book will be in support of and will be of great help to those who suffer the social Calvary of seropositivity and AIDS. History will recognize the courage and bravery of each witness and your testimony will support and bring hope to those affected, demonstrating that it is possible to escape the incorrect forecasts of the official view on AIDS.

"There is this idea that more is always better, and if a test is available we should use it. A lot of time we're doing more harm than good."'

-- Howard A. Brody, a professor of family medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston on new questions about the advisability of PSA testing for prostate cancer.

WASHINGTON — The blood test millions of men undergo each year to screen for prostate cancer leads to so much unnecessary anxiety, surgery and complications that doctors should stop testing elderly men, and it remains unclear whether the test is worthwhile for younger men, a federal task force concluded Monday.

Hmm. SOUND FAMILIAR?

One can only be rescued from a group fantasy the moment such a fantasy begins to fundamentally conflict with one's core beliefs and values.  To that end, I offer the following two quotes:

Clinton's advice to beat Aids: stay faithful

Bill Clinton made a plea yesterday for a new emphasis on monogamy as a key element in the battle against Aids.

The former US president, not noted for his ability to keep his own marriage vows, said it was very important to change people's attitudes to sex.

In an interview with the BBC recorded in Africa, Mr Clinton said that increasing support for monogamy was not just a problem for the continent worst hit by Aids but for the world.

"To pretend we can ever get hold of this without dealing with that – the idea of unprotected sexual relations with unlimited numbers of partners – I think would be naïve," he said.

Experts believe that the nature of Africans' relationships may help explain the continent's high rate of Aids. Research suggests a higher frequency of overlapping sexual partnerships.

Compare this quote to the following:

Clinton says Africans must change sexual behaviour

Former president Bill Clinton told Africans last night that they must practice sexual responsibility in order to solve the AIDS crisis.

Clinton, who has become an unofficial AIDS goodwill ambassador since leaving office, spoke to an estimated 20,000 trade unionists who had gathered in the Rimping Amphitheatre in Lagos, Nigeria.

"In this, the greatest crisis to ever affect Africans, I call on you to help us win the war against AIDS. You can start by being faithful to your wives," he said.

"It is absolutely essential that you always wear condoms," he remarked....

"We of the richer nations want to help you Africans defeat this terrible plague.... Working together, we can triumph over HIV/AIDS...."

One of these is an excerpt from a "health news" article published this morning in a prominent British newspaper.  The other comes from a piece of satire written seven years ago.  Can you tell which is real and which is satire?

Let me help you out by filling in one of the dot-dot-dot's for you:

"It is absolutely essential that you always wear condoms," he remarked. "Not only do they protect you and your partner from AIDS, they will also prevent semen stains from getting on your partner's clothing. Ruined clothes can plunge a woman deeper into poverty because she has to spend food money to buy replacements."

"You must not have affairs with young girls and come in their mouths without a condom. This is the height of irresponsibility....

Here is a link to the article that appeared in this morning's Independent, and here is a link to the satire written seven years ago.

On May 13, 2008, Semmelweis Society International (SSI) presented the Semmelweis “Clean Hands” Award to Peter Duesberg and Celia Farber.  (Click on the images at right, and click here to read a press release about the awards.)

Clark Baker, a private investigator and retired LAPD officer, was hired by the SSI to investigate Duesberg and Farber, after members of SSI received political retaliation for giving the awards.  As Baker describes in his report,

"In the spirit of freedom and science, SSI commissioned this report to respond to questions and arguments regarding Professor Duesberg’s unanswered questions of Dr. Gallo’s 1984 HIV hypothesis. As an independent investigator who could not be influenced by the threats or attacks made against vulnerable SSI members and others; and as someone who had never heard of Duesberg, Gallo, Farber, or AIDS Denialism before May 2008, SSI believed that this investigator had the unbiased and proven investigative experience necessary to examine both sides of the controversy. For his efforts, this investigator was not compensated."

Baker's complete report, "Gallo's Egg", vindicating Duesberg and Farber can be read in its entirety here.  Baker concludes, "Based upon the evidence contained in this report, this investigator must agree with hundreds of reputable scientists and doctors who remain unconvinced that Dr. Gallo’s retrovirus is real or has anything to do with the disease called AIDS.... As I looked at the evidence against Duesberg and Farber, I found evidence of prevarication, subterfuge, libel, and criminal behavior on the Gallo side against that PNAS-published science of Duesberg’s side."

You can listen to Baker interviewed on the Robert Scott Bell podcast at the following two links:

The Robert Gallo HIV Egg is Cracking, and
Exclusive Bonus Interview

Also, stay tuned to Robert Scott Bell's podcast for an upcoming interview with Duesberg and Farber this Sunday, August 3.