Tribune Watchdog Or Tribune Skunk? Part 2

By Teresa Conrick

As I said in Part 1 of this series, I love a good mystery.  Now it's time to again look at  the current Chicago Tribune obsession with autism treatments.  On January 17th, The Trib came out with the third installment in their autism hit pieces on biomedical treatments. The question remains as to why?  Why would the Tribune, and maybe more specifically, why would the author of these apparent prefabricated and fictitious accounts write so disdainfully about biomedical treatments helping children with an autism diagnosis?

For those who do not know, there are many groups who have been fighting hard to suppress the fact that vaccines can cause autism.  They are people in the media, in public health, in medical organizations, in vaccine development and patents, in universities with autism gene chasing grants, in the public sector (NIH, CDC, AAP, et al) in the private sector, (pharmaceutical companies) and many in between. 

Each of these denying and often untruthful entities have people running them that are often parroting each others words.  We have seen our share of them attempt to stop the truth about not only the damage done by vaccines, ie- mitochondrial, neurological, immunological, and gastrointestinal assaults to the children but now the attack is on the treatments that can stop pain, stop inflammation, recover speech, restore health and increasingly end the behaviors of "autism" by curing the child of the injury done. One would wonder if showing "recovery" from autism via biomedical treatments aimed at these specific damaged systems is scaring those who need to keep Pandora's box closed on vaccine injuries as their is money, future vaccine revenues, and pharmaceutical sales at risk.

So here we are in the beginning of a new year but with the same old crap. I was curious about the blatant and recurrent theme that the Trib was trying to pass as truth. What I found was an interesting connection as some facts came to light from some good and reliable sources.  Trine has a relative, a sister, Danielle, who is involved in Public Health.
(HERE).

Now that might have some impact on Trine's obvious anti-biomed slant but I decided to see what that Public Health involvement might be.  It seems she worked for a company that did multi-center NIH-funded health studies.  Well, autism is part of the NIH studies so that too could sway Trine so I then decided to see who some of her sister's clients had been.

That proved to be quite a list.  Here are some of the names known to the autism community: Department of Defense, Harvard University, National Institute of Health,  National Institute of Mental Health, and the US Department of Health and Human Services, to name some biggies.  For those of you who also may not know, if someone you love is injured, dies, or receives an autism diagnosis due to vaccines, it is you vs. the US Department of Health and Human Services, so they do play a big part in the current issues dealing with autism causation, especially vaccines.

Another interesting factor is Trine's use of information from certain people and then total disregard of others.  For example, she cites Kathleen Seidel and her neurodiverse website.  Again, for any newcomers in the autism suffocation of the truth, the neurodiverse make up a movement of mostly adult autistics who feel that they are fine just the way they are.
 
They do not want a cure for their autism and many function in the world very well.  They do not want anyone to tell them that vaccines could have caused their "autism" and fight a bitter battle to stop any research or evidenct to that fact. They are reasonably happy and God bless them.  But the members of the autism community that we are discussing are the victims of a medical procedure that caused harm.  They are not well and most can not function.  Many have daily pain centered around inflammation in both gut and brain.  They are children who regressed into "autism" after vaccination.  They have medical issues and behaviors that effect their speech, social, emotional, and often cognitive functioning.

Enter Kathleen Seidel, Queen Bee of the neurodiverse (ND) movement.  She also has many connections to people who are not neurodiverse but seem to cling to her movement as it feeds fuel to their agenda fire, mainly trying really hard to disprove vaccines cause autism.  One of those such people is Dr. Paul Offit, vaccine inventor, then vaccine patent salesman, and ultimate vaccine millionaire (See Blaxill and Olmsted's, Voting Himself Rich), who tellingly dedicated his vaccine-infomercial-posed-as-a-science-book-on-autism-treatments, "Autism's False Prophet's",  to Seidel and others in the ND muck.

When that book, "Autism's False Prophet's" came out, there was a blog that allowed some back and forth discussions, mostly followed by the aforementioned group. HERE is an interesting passage from Dr. Offit that makes one wonder how and why he has been allowed to present himself as an expert on autism:

"Regarding my characterization of children with autism: I think one of my limitations in writing this book is that I'm not a neurologist, psychologist, or developmentalist. I'm an infectious diseases specialist with an expertise in vaccines. So I don't come in contact with many children with autism."...."my characterization of children with autism in AUTISM'S FALSE PROPHETS came exclusively from what I read in newspapers, which no doubt slants descriptions to more extreme symptoms, or to descriptions from a handful of people, like Richard Grinker, Peter Hotez, Kathleen Seidel, and Camille Clark."

Dr. Offit admits his limitations then again limits the reader by only using these neurodiverse followers as "experts."  There is a purpose to that as they allow his  agenda to come shining through but always at the expense of the injured children labeled autistic.  Trine does the same thing by again limiting the reader's knowledge to a rigid neurodiverse viewpoint rather than people on both sides of the autism-vaccine issue. So it was interesting that Trine would also pick Ms. Seidel,  thus showing us the direction, focus, and intent of her articles.  This was not science or even concern about our children or autism.  It was about trying to squash the message that is getting louder and louder: Vaccines can cause autism. (See TIME Here)

Here's another fascinating addition to this story that I happened upon by recently joining Facebook.  You can have a friend and see all their friends and so on - meaning, I was looking through a friends list of their friends and lo and behold, I saw Alison Singer's list of her friends.  For those of you who do not know her, Ms. Singer has made quite a resume for herself. 

She initially was known as the woman in the Autism Speaks, "Autism Every Day"video who was filmed saying she had thought about taking her daughter's life.  Now that caused quite a reaction in the autism community.and beyond.  She then proceeded to become quite a big shot at Autism Speaks as Executive Vice President of Communications and Awareness but one year ago quit.  (See Newsweek Here)  "Over and over, the science has shown no causal link between vaccines and autism. My feeling is that if there was an unlimited pot of money at the NIH [National Institutes of Health] from which to fund autism science then it would be fine to say let's study it more. But we don't have that." 

In that same article, Bob Wright, founder of Autism Speaks had this to say, .."more authoritative research needs to be conducted on the safety of vaccines given to children under 2. "We all know that autism has genetic causes, but it's highly associated with environmental factors we can't get our hands around," says Wright. "Vaccines fall into that category."
 
She left but was found to be part of a new organization within days, one in which Dr. Offit also was involved:

ASF Press Release: New advocacy group will focus on non-vaccine-related autism research

April 18, 2009 (SEATTLE, WA)--The Autism Science Foundation, a new not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting and funding autism research,launched its operations today,....The organization is co-founded by Alison Singer, formerly Executive Vice President of Autism Speaks.....  Singer will serve as President of the new organization. .....Vaccines save lives; they do not cause autism. Numerous studies have failed to show a causal link between vaccines and autism.  Vaccine safety research should continue to be conducted by the public health system in order to ensure vaccine safety and maintain confidence in our national vaccine program, but further investment of limited autism research dollars is not warranted at this time....Joining Singer on the Autism Science Foundation Board of Directors are Dr. Paul Offit, Chief of Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia..

More history on Ms. Singer's history with Dr. Offit here: (J.B. Handley's Singer Feeds the Hungry Lie Twice) and (J.B. Handley's Singer Feeds the Hungry Lie)

Are you getting the picture?  What really then sealed the deal for me is that on the list of Alison Singer's friends that I saw on FB was Trine Tsouderos with Tribune Company under her name. How disappointing to know that a reporter from a newspaper doing a series on autism was just another used piece of media for an agenda.  How wrong ethically also to use your advantage of being a part of the media to   apparently deny and confabulate so others may profit. 
 
I am sure by the time this is seen by those involved many Facebook accounts will become invisible to you and me but the damage to their plan has been done.

Teresa Conrick has two beautiful daughters. When she is not teaching, she is researching the biomedical implications of autism, both past and present.

 

Comments

[Gatogorra]

Thank you, Teresa. Brilliant.

I feel really bad for the poor little rats depicted in the trap in the article's graphic. I don't feel bad for the little rats in *your* trap.

[Jim Thompson]

By any other name would smell as sweet...

"Tribune Watchdog Or Tribune Skunk?”

[Facebook Elf]

For Lisa Jo-

Thou protests too much...

"How disappointing to know that a reporter from a newspaper doing a series on autism was just another used piece of media for an agenda. How wrong ethically also to use your advantage of being a part of the media to apparently deny and confabulate so others may profit."

[nhokkanen]

"Suffocation of the truth" -- apt and evocative words from Teresa's steller follow-up. I'd add "strangulation of ethics," as well. One needs a geneaological flowchart to keep track of this twisted family tree of corruption and collusion.

Thanks to all the commenters for your unsavory revelations, as well. While I worked for newspapers and magazines I saw shortcuts taken by writers and reporters, but never such blatant bias, nepotism, and cronyism. How morally repulsive -- but don't expect the watchdogs of journalism to bit back; nowadays they're defanged.

We each must continue to expose these conflicts of interest and not-so-hidden agendas that damage children's health and harm the reputations of the good people trying to help heal them.

[michael framson]

Teresa, you wrote, "as their is money, future vaccine revenues, and pharmaceutical sales at risk." The only thing I might add is their "credibility" is at risk.

This I'm sure of, if Teresa had access to the VSD and the ear of an honest Attorney General and US Marshalls, the CDC and all those connected to it would be brought up on charges of Crimes against Humanity. There would be Nuremberg trials.

" Have they no shame?" I remember reading some time ago that doctor's reluctance and dreaded fear, to admit to mistakes, is because of the shame that would come with such an admission. It's the shame they run away from.

I once consulted a physician on an editorial(vaccine related) I was writing and I wanted to shame the medical community for their behavior. This physician quickly steered me away from that approach.

I am wondering out loud if we need to shame each and every person in this multi-layered cabal, because they continue their despicable behavior with impunity. They are obviously solidifying their alliances to make their world impenetrable. They maintain the stranglehold by keeping the information secret, inaccessible, because they know the outrageous truths are being known by larger numbers.

Even if Obama was 1000% committed to force a level of transparency in government, VAERS and VSD and everything known about vaccine damage will not see the light of day. There is too much at stake, not the least of which is "the shame". Protecting vaccinations, protecting the religion, is also protecting them from shame.

[Lisa]

Just FYI, I have nearly 600 Facebook friends, including (among others) both Mark and David Geier, Harold Doherty, etc. I'm also "friends" with Alison Singer, and many, many others. I'm interested in knowing what people in the autism community are up to, and so when they "friend" me I generally accept.

I should note, BTW, that I now have an autism at about.com fanpage where I have more than 250 fans -- and I am absolutely certain that they come from all sides of the autism debates and controversies.

Not everyone I "friend" agrees with me. Nor do I agree with everyone I "friend."

Just wanted to let you know.

Lisa Jo Rudy
autism.about.com

[Sylvia]

Great work digging deeper into that hack Trine. What a pathetic piece of work that woman is! Thanks for putting the spotlight on her connections.

[Parent]

Claims of "ad hominem attack" - gee, is that code for "don't dig up conflicts of interest!"?

[bensmyson]

I suggest someone write to the Tribune's "Problem Solver" columnist Jon Yates takes on people's consumer problems and works for a solution then writes about it. Maybe someone can write him and tell him that vaccines injured your child and that insurance isnt paying for biomedical treatments. He has done a similar article in the past, http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/problemsolver/chi-problem-0519-may19,0,6182468.column

His email is yourproblem@tribune.com

And Im sorry did I forget to mention he is married to Trine Tsouderos.

[have they no shame?]

Some familiar names on the Immunization Action Coalition Advisory Board

http://www.immunize.org/aboutus/advisoryboard.asp

William L. Atkinson, MD, MPH


National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, CDC

Dr. Atkinson, a medical epidemiologist, develops technical and training materials for immunization providers and conducts training on vaccine-preventable diseases. His previous responsibilities at CDC included national measles surveillance, investigation, and vaccine consultation. He has conducted numerous vaccine research projects, served as a consultant to the World Health Organization, and published numerous articles and book chapters. The satellite broadcast of Atkinson's vaccine training course repeatedly receives rave reviews.

Stephen L. Cochi, MD, MPH


National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, CDC

Dr. Cochi, pediatrician and preventive medicine specialist, is the former Acting Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and currently is Senior Advisor, Global Immunization Division. Dr. Cochi has spent more than 27 years at CDC working in the field of immunization, and since 1985 has served in what is now the NCIRD. He has had a major impact on the prevention of virtually every one of the vaccine-preventable diseases for which NCIRD/CDC has lead responsibility.

Neal A. Halsey, MD


Institute for Vaccine Safety, Johns Hopkins University

Dr. Halsey is a professor in the Departments of International Health and Pediatrics and the director of the Institute of Vaccine Safety, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. He has served on the Committee on Infectious Diseases ("Red Book Committee") for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for CDC. He has also served in varied capacities in the U.S. Public Health Service and on advisory committees for the World Health Organization.

Samuel L. Katz, MD


Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society

Dr. Katz chaired the ACIP of the U.S. Public Health Service from 1985 to 1993 and currently serves as the liaison to ACIP for the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). He also co-chairs the National Network for Immunization Information. He has served on the Infectious Diseases Committee ("RedBook") of the American Academy of Pediatrics which he chaired for 2 years. He has been an active member of many NIH and WHO committees on infectious diseases and vaccines, as well as international advisory boards on vaccines. Besides his service on numerous boards and committees, including past president of the American Pediatric Society, Katz is the Wilburt C. Davison Professor of Pediatrics Emeritus at Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC.

Paul A. Offit, MD


Vaccine Education Center, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Dr. Offit is chief of the division of infectious diseases and the director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. In addition, Dr. Offit is the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of vaccinology and a professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He was also a recent voting member of the ACIP. Dr. Offit is the recipient of many awards and is the co-author of three books. In addition, he has published more than 120 papers in medical and scientific journals in the areas of rotavirus-specific immune responses and vaccine safety and is the co-inventor of a rotavirus vaccine.

Walter A. Orenstein, MD


Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Dr. Orenstein, pediatric infectious disease specialist, serves as a deputy director for Vaccine-Preventable Diseases in Integrated Health Solutions Development of the Global Health Program at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. From March 2004 to October 2008 Dr. Orenstein was the director of the Program for Vaccine Policy and Development and associate director of the Emory Vaccine Center at the Emory University School of Medicine. Prior to that, he served for more than 25 years at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including as director of the former National Immunization Program (now called the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases). Dr. Orenstein is a co-editor of the fifth edition of the textbook "Vaccines," as well as more than 200 other works. He is a renowned national and international speaker and the recipient of numerous awards.



Stanley A. Plotkin, MD



Consultant in Vaccinology
Dr. Plotkin, pediatric infectious disease specialist, is a consultant in vaccinology and Emeritus Professor of the University of Pennsylvania. From 1991 to April 2009, he worked at sanofi pasteur as Medical and Scientific Director and, most recently, Executive Advisor to the CEO. Prior to 1991, Dr. Plotkin was Professor of Pediatrics and Microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania, Professor of Virology at the Wistar Institute, and at the same time, Director of Infectious Diseases and Senior Physician at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Plotkin's healthcare career spans more than fifty years of brilliant service. He has been chairman of the Infectious Diseases Committee and the AIDS Task Force of the American Academy of Pediatrics, liaison member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and Chairman of the Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Research Committee of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Plotkin has received numerous awards, including the Bruce Medal in Preventive Medicine of the American College of Physicians, the Distinguished Physician Award of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, the French Legion of Honor Medal, the Distinguished Alumnus and the Gold Medal Award of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the Sabin Gold Medal award, the Fleming (Bristol) Award of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the medal of the Fondation Merieux, the Finland Award of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, and the Hilleman Award of the American Society for Microbiology. Dr. Plotkin has authored more than 675 articles and has edited several books including the standard textbook "Vaccines." He developed the rubella vaccine now in standard use throughout the world, is co-developer of the newly licensed pentavalent rotavirus vaccine, and has worked extensively on the development and application of other vaccines including polio, rabies, varicella, and cytomegalovirus.