The Death of Public Discourse and the Heavy Snow of Plausibility
By Louis Conte
“WARNING: This Site is Hazardous to Those Who Promote Censorship”
It is becoming apparent that all of the internet activity around vaccines and autism is frustrating those who support the “scientific consensus” that there is no connection between vaccines and autism.
On January 23, Evgeny Morozov wrote an article for Future Tense called “Warning: This Site Contains Conspiracy Theories” which proposes the notion that search engines should label and flag websites that engage in discourse about the potential link between autism and vaccines. Morozov suggests that Google and Bing install a “pop up message” advising readers to “check a previously generated list of authoritative resources before making up their minds.” Morozov’s support for censorship is particularly ironic given that he has written extensively on how authoritarian regimes have used the internet to further oppression. This article was followed up by Commentary by Dr. Kevin Pho on KevinMD.com in an article titled “Should Google censor anti-vaccine claims?” Dr. Pho described Morozov’s article as “fascinating.”
Is censorship really “fascinating”? History doesn’t usually record it that way. In fact, censorship is usually accompanied by oppression – as Morozov notes. I suspect that those who have suffered oppression – and censorship – do not sit around wondering how fascinating the experience was.
That the concept of censorship is so comfortably proposed by seemingly main stream people is of profound concern to me. It seems that those who support the vaccine program have convinced themselves that the program is above discussion and public discourse. Vaccines are all good and unquestionably safe. Those who make them, administer them and supply them are all beyond reproach. Bringing up the radioactive ‘autism’ thing really throws them into a tizzy. Not only is discussion of vaccines and autism found to be against “scientific consensus” but it is now supposed to be described as a “fringe theory.” If you talk about this issue, you are a member of a lunatic fringe. You are out there in the woods, looking for Bigfoot.
But are descriptions of vaccine injury associated with autism really crazy? Should discussion of vaccine injury and autism be verboten?
The vaccine program is a complex, multi-layered government and corporate program. It is a big part of Public Health Policy. As someone who works for a local government, it is my belief that Public Health Policy issues involve the public. That means conversation – what we used to call ‘public discourse.’ But with this program, no one is supposed to ask questions and the lecturers are above answering them. In fact, it has become fashionable to remove those who pose tough questions from lectures about how to promote the vaccine program. Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine industry spokes person who has made significant income from vaccines, has had a young journalist named Jake Crosby removed from two of his lectures and has called Mr. Crosby a “stalker.” Apparently, asking hard question gets you labeled a criminal and shown the door.
Interesting how censorship is immediately followed by oppression, isn’t it?
Back in May, you might recall that Mary Holland, Robert Krakow, Lisa Colin and I published a paper in the Pace Environmental Law Review called Unanswered Questions From the Vaccine Injury Compensation: A Review of Compensated Cases of Vaccine-Induced Brain Injury (http://digitalcommons.pace.edu/pelr/vol28/iss2/2/0). The paper showed that the US Government has been compensating children within the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP) for over twenty years for vaccine injuries that involved brain damage and seizures. And quite remarkably, many of these children also suffered from the behavioral disorder that DSM-IV - but maybe not DSM-V - calls “autism.”
Isn’t it interesting that the US Government established a compensation program to deal with vaccine injuries? Some public discourse must have prompted Congress to do this back in the 1980’s. And in this government program, the Department of Health and Human Services has quietly acknowledged that vaccine injuries sometimes “include” autism and “autism-like symptoms.”
It seems that over the past twenty four years that when Dr. Geoffrey Evans, Director of the HHS Division of Vaccine Injury Compensation, and his staff sit down and screen all the claims filed in the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program and look into individual cases, the “fringe belief” isn’t so fringe anymore. The cold, hard fact is that vaccine injury is indelibly linked to autism not because of the internet or because of conspiracy theories but because of the reality of vaccine injury. We found that there were a significant number of children compensated for vaccine injury who also had autism. This had been going for years before Dr. Andrew Wakefield, blamed by Dr. Offit for the creating the controversy, ever appeared on the scene. I find it “fascinating” that Dr. Evans didn’t think that this information should be disclosed during the Omnibus Autism Proceedings, the multi-year proceeding aggregating over 5,000 claims of vaccine-induced autism. Maybe Dr. Evans feared censorship and oppression.
All those compensated cases speak loudly and clearly to plausibility and against vaccine-induced autism being a “fringe belief.” And all of those vaccine injured children with autism have family members who talk about what happened to their children.
Interestingly, we found that Unanswered Questions was censored as well. The article was given to many, many mainstream news outlets. Many ignored the peer-reviewed article, but we also received feedback that indicated that reporters and journalists were instructed not to report on the findings. As one highly placed journalist told me, “I am stunned by what you found and what is going on here…but I am not allowed to cover this story.”
And now I read and article in the Vancouver Courier that Drs. Chris Shaw and Lucija Tomljenovic of the University of British Columbia (UBC) are beginning to draw fire from Dr. Offit for their recent work. Their November 2011 article in the Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry describes correlations and possible causal links between increased exposures to aluminum adjuvants in vaccines and increased neurological problems. Dr. Offit has informed a reporter that the peer-reviewed paper “should never have been published.” He then went on to vent his spleen about Dr. Wakefield and the MMR controversy. The message was clear: the vaccine program is above question. And if you are inclined to ask questions, remember Dr. Wakefield.
Green College of UBC planned to have a lecture series on vaccine safety. But it seems that the criticism from Dr. Offit and his crew is having its usual chilling effect. The lecture series appears to be in jeopardy and may not run. Public discourse be damned. The vaccine program must remain above inquiry.
And now it seems that those who cloak themselves in “scientific consensus " want censorship brought to the internet as well. They will try to sell it as a reasonable measure at first – nothing more obnoxious than a pop-up statement. But that is just the beginning. And history tells us that it will not be too long before censorship’s next of kin – oppression – is on display. That is what those with “scientific consensus” really want. They want contrary research retracted, rebellious doctors sanctioned, and those who ask uncomfortable questions silenced. They want websites shut down and investigative journalists run out of town. They even want to end the epidemic by un-diagnosing the thousands that they finally got “better at diagnosing” over the past twenty years. They want all discourse about vaccine injury to end. And they will claim that “scientific consensus” permits them to do so.
But there is a problem. And it is a big one.
It has to do with the fact that people – parents – are observing their children getting sick and regressing after vaccination. Some of these children go on to develop autism. These experiences are real, important, and hugely worthy of investigation. And family members will talk about what they experience no matter what the censors do.
Last year some Young men came knocking at my door after the tenth snowfall of the winter and asked if they could make a few dollars shoveling my driveway. I wanted to ask them where they had been for blizzards one through nine but I censored myself and happily agreed to have them do the job instead of me. While they were out there, one of my sons with autism went out and played in the snow and began playing with them as well. The young men were great with my son and I made a point of thanking them for being such gentlemen and good neighbors.
Then one of them said, “I have a cousin with autism so I know what this is all about…You know my aunt swears that a vaccine made him that way.”
Try censoring that.
Louis Conte is the father of triplet boys, two with autism. He has worked in law enforcement for over twenty-seven years and has been responsible for many important Criminal Justice programs in Westchester County, New York. Mr. Conte is an EBCALA Board member.
The absolute worst aberration I have seen on Wikipedia, perpetuating Pharma's big lie of "scientific consensus", is the article entitled :
"Folk epidemiology of autism"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folk_epidemiology_of_autism
How can Wikipedia be taken seriously (as if it ever was), but especially after accepting such a ludicrous sophomoric entry !
Posted by: aspiesmom | February 13, 2012 at 11:54 AM
How will censorship deal with Matthew B. Seeley, JD, and his paper “Unexplained Fractures in Infants and Child Abuse: The Case for Requiring Bone-Density Testing Before Convicting Caretakers” he published in the December 20, 2011 issue of the Brigham Young University Law Review?Seeley brings to the forefront that there are unknowns. However, how can unknowns be uncovered if the whole premise of science and medicine, which is supposed to be openness and transparency,are censored or denied?
http://www.vaccinationcouncil.org/2012/02/05/bone-density-test-can-disprove-shaken-baby-syndrome-by-catherine-frompovich/ and
http://www.vaccinationcouncil.org/2012/02/09/bone-density-shaken-baby-syndrome-part-2-by-catherine-j-frompovich/
discuss another issue--Shaken Baby Syndrome--that may encompasses vaccine injury and most likely is being mishandled by both the medical and legal professions, I think. We TRULY need open discussions and NOT censorship in the USA--that type of police state activity goes on in 'tin hat' dictatorships. Are we there yet?
Posted by: Catherine J Frompovich | February 12, 2012 at 06:19 PM
Big bad pHARMA is "frustrated" because the truth never dies. Vaccinations had become tne new holocaust,save the infrastructure,destroy the
new generations.They know that chronic diseases are rising,
we all going to be sick if things do not change.The kids will
not have a long life when mercury and aluminum damaged their
kidneys,livers and their brains.USA healthcare is at thirld world level and I say this with pain and with a great disappointment.
Posted by: oneVoice | February 12, 2012 at 04:01 PM
Someone is finally publicizing the lie of "scientific consensus" that there is no connection between vaccines and autism being proliferated online! Wikipedia discussions are using this "scientific consensus" verbiage to delete vaccine/thimerosal/mercury posts in various Wiki articles dealing with autism/Asperger's, neurotoxins, and teratogens, even posts with multiple references of vaccine/autism link to domestic/international SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH STUDIES!
Posted by: aspiesmom | February 12, 2012 at 01:04 PM
I have a son on the spectrum. From the long arduous struggle (12 years) to recover him I have come to a major revelation: modern mainstream "medicine" is a lie! The sooner the rest of the mainstream learns this the sooner they will understand that vaccines do play a major role in causing ASD. The problem is educating the masses who are constantly bombarded with distractions and propaganda. I remember when an internet search on thimerosal in 1999 actually provided the truth on the first results page unlike now when it results in the first two pages of bs from the cdc, ama, nih, fda, and drug companies all saying the same thing: "its junk science and desperate parents" I feel like I live in the Soviet Union! Never again, this country and it's "medical" system can shove it! And that is the nice thing I have to say about this topic!!!
Posted by: Joey's Dad | February 12, 2012 at 12:27 PM
Its not just the vaccines that is the big lie it is "health care" if you want to call it that. Our country is rated 37 in longevity. Cuba has better healthcare than us!!! I compiled so much research for my insurance company to win my 2nd appeal and receive coverage to treat my daughter PDD-NOS at an out of network DAN Dr. The insurance company wrote me a check for $1100 dollars! It was not my imagination that my daughter BECAME developmentally delayed. It happened very gradually. This is why they can get away with it. However because of how the cognitive skills are compromised my daughter will never be a mathmatician or a scientist. If you have too many messages entering the brain at the same time, the brain shuts down. The mercury level I passed on due to my 3 cavities as well as the mercury in the vaccines deleted the passageways (synapses) to carry the messages. That happened on the right side of her brain. Her left side of her brain is very high functioning. She has perfect pitch and is very talented in the arts. My question is how many people make it in the arts these days. Our governor complains that more high schoolers aren't interested in math and science. I say to our federal government stop messing with our children's bodies and maybe this will correct itself. This madness has to stop both for the young and old. This is how you really heal the body. www.tennantinstitute.org Why isn't Dr. Tennant's story on the news? Healthcare in this country is one big lie. The only time you will find me in a hospital is if I am in a car wreck. I will never put anything Big Pharma has to offer in my body.
This has not only affected my daughter this has also affected my father who suffers from cerebellum degeneration thanks to the mercury in the flu shots.
Posted by: Mary Cavanaugh | February 12, 2012 at 11:50 AM
Dr. Natasha, M.D. (GAPS) says it's the bugs and inconceivable that we'd vaccinate an immune-compromised infant. Prevention starts with future moms that they themselves are not immune-compromised. And the infant must be tested immediately. Once the infant is well, you can consider vaccines, separately, but not until he's around 3 years old. We have altered the bugs. We are more host than human. Antibiotics are a double-edged sword.
Posted by: Kelly | February 12, 2012 at 11:11 AM
Dear Louis, Thank you for expressing your thoughts in this well articulated and well thought out article. I am shocked at the ignorance of those who don't get the contradiction between the fact that the government compensates those with vaccine injury yet denies that vaccines cause injury!!??? Duh.
Posted by: Ronda Fein | February 12, 2012 at 11:02 AM
Anne, you say that people will become aware as more kids age out of the educational system. I am starting to wonder if that will happen. It seems to me that when I first joined autism-mercury on yahoo, 12 years ago, most of the kids were very severe, like mine. However, I now find that many parents are asking how to fix some small remaining issues. For example, one parent is wondering why their 4 year old with autism has trouble with vowels. Another parent wonders why their child switches from being close to NT one day, and acting silly and stimming the next day. If these were the only issues my child had, I would be ecstatic. It is very clear that not all children with "autism" have the same level of severity, and that many of those kids will not be all that noticeable once they age out of school.
Posted by: Kimberley | February 12, 2012 at 10:39 AM
"Autism answers and solution" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZn23JfJCPE
Posted by: GNM_Wroclaw | February 11, 2012 at 08:46 PM
A hilariously ironic thing here to note is this is a tactic used by scientology (who the clone army of Gorski abhor despite being very similar in their lack of critical thinking and zealous belief in their cause) on both their new recruits as well as active members. They are given either CDs or DVDs which are supposedly info packs but instead contain worms to creep into Internet browsers to block websites critical of scientology. Attempting to load the blocked pages will get an error message stating "This website has been blocked because it is a known hate site."
I do not know if this is still their policy as antiviral software is much more sophisticated and the Internet game has changed a lot since 2000, but I do know they did indeed used to do this.
Source: www.xenu.net
The good news is any anti-virus software worth its salt would pick up the virus, and if google decides to get cute and censor Internet information, it's a simple matter of adopting Firefox and running anti-script add-ons from trusted third party software companies.
This would open up Google to all sorts of libel and defamation lawsuits which could quite conceivably bankrupt the entire conglomerate, so I strongly doubt this will happen.
Posted by: Josh Day | February 11, 2012 at 10:53 AM
To Bob Moffit, That is an interesting comment- That they are more" frightened than frustrated" . I wonder if you might agree that over the last few years we have seen more attempts to mandate vaccines, which have not succeeded too well; we have seen a rise in numbers of people doubting vaccines; we have seen the bad news about Gardasil get out quickly. ( Hey! Whats the use of making a vaccine product that is only gonna pull in the big bucks for a couple of years and succeeds in drawing more public attention onto our lousy vaccines) And therefore- the new attempt at censorship. I wonder what is next if that fails?
What I would like to see is the OTHER parents join with us- The ones whose kids have vaccine damage and are not aware of it- The ones whose kids have or have had asthma, dyslexia, ADHD, severe allergies, infantile anorexia, diabetes, Kawasaki, Thrombocytopenia , and possibly the childhood cancers too. Imagine how many of us they would be up against then.
Posted by: Cherry Misra | February 11, 2012 at 05:43 AM
There are already censorship controls on certain internet web and petition sites. Meryl Dorey's Australian Vaccination Network, has already been targeted with 'warnings' which come up when links are activated.
More recently, a link to a petition on Facebook, asking for signatories against compulsory child vaccinations in Australia, came up as 'unavailable', although it was perfectly accessible when Facebook was bypassed. You MIGHT just question where the 'censorship' was coming from here?
Perhaps more sinister was the warning I got when attempting to access a link sent to me by John Stone in a PRIVATE e-mail. Again - no problem using the search engine instead.
These warnings were a nuisance, but were no deterrent at all in terms of accessing the information I wanted. I think Google needs to consider 'long and hard' before pissing off 'customers' using its search engines.
Posted by: Jenny Allan | February 11, 2012 at 05:18 AM
In Norway we are under police suspicion for simply believing in something.
From the Norwegian police ”Trend report 2012”. (Page 42). (English translation).
"Conspiracy theorists have been active for many years but there has been significant recruitment the last two years.
They may be classed in two camps: One includes the classical theorists who believe that the society is ruled by a small hand picked elite.
New World Order, Bilderbergs, Rothchilds, Rockefellers and the Stoltenberg dynasty (Norwegian prime minister’s family) are typically named elite groups.
Another part of the conspiracy theorist environment focuses on so-called chemtrails and anti vaccine campaigns –the authorities’ supposed intentional poisoning of the population.
There is no defined line between these two fractions and many are represented in both camps.
There are two reasons why the group should be noted as a new trend which should capture the interest of the police.
Part of the environment works actively to gain contact with official people and to then reveal their hidden agenda. Some pretending to be journalists have managed to get close physical contact with several central politicians. Most of these meetings have been directly unpleasant for the official persons.
The other factor is the organizing of unannounced actions and demonstrations against departments, health institutions and similar. The police have several times been obliged to dissolve the demonstrations and arrest people who have performed such activities.
Several of the involved in these environments have psychiatric diagnoses."
https://www.politi.no/oslo/strategier_og_analyser/statistikker_og_analyser/Tema_686.xml
Posted by: VaccineRisks | February 11, 2012 at 02:58 AM
"Part of me says that we should let them try to censor parents of vaccine injured children. And when the public starts wondering what and why they are trying to hide, the whole thing will blow wide open."
Unfortunately, acts of censorship are not accompanied by big, red CENSORED! stamps. Every issuse of every newspaper contains numerous acts of censorship, but the public does not know this. The public believes they're getting "all the news that's fit to print."
Tell your average newspaper subscriber that the New York Times, the LA Times and the Chicago Tribune all censor information in order to create a false impression about vaccine safety, and those readers would probably be surprised. Heck, most people don't even know there's mercury in most flu shots.
Posted by: Madvocate | February 10, 2012 at 12:11 PM
I have been wondering for some time, how far this madness will go. Obviously, in their eyes, the need to censor is on the table; and to become more tyrannical.
Vaccinations in the Pledge of Allegiance?
I pledge allegiance, to the flag and all the vaccinations of America, and to the Republic for which it and Pharma stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and recommended (or mandated) vaccinations for all.
Or, how about changing the motto on money?
In Vaccinations We Trust
I don't know if this is frightening or humorous.
Posted by: michael | February 10, 2012 at 10:40 AM
This is an interesting conundrum, is it not? On the one hand, if they were to begin censoring opposing views, many of the false scientists and false skeptics would praise their hypocrisy and pat themselves on the backs thinking they've won this war. But, on the other hand, if they are successful, it will show the world that they are afraid of something, that they have something to hide.
I'm really of two minds concerning this. Part of me says that we should let them try to censor parents of vaccine injured children. And when the public starts wondering what and why they are trying to hide, the whole thing will blow wide open.
If science were truly on their side, and if the science has spoken (amen), then they should not fear to allow oppositional views. The science should speak for itself, yes?
Posted by: Orac is a Quack | February 10, 2012 at 10:32 AM
This is probably somewhat relevant in this discussion - in the aftermath of the recent SOPA and PIPA failures in the US, apparently there are similar lobbying exercises underfoot here in the Great White North. Not necessarily Pharma driven, but the consequences would potentially be the same.
http://openmedia.ca/lockdown
Sandy nailed it - "scientists" advocating censorship is an oxymoron at best.
Posted by: Shiny Happy Person | February 10, 2012 at 10:02 AM
Garbo
It is very troubling as you point out that Morozov's comments are voiced so close to the technical and political hub of google. Let's be clear, I really would not like them to do this but I am not clear whether if they did it would be to their advantage. It would just make people angrier and more suspicious. They want to impose their will because they have no means of winning the argument in fair discussion, and if they want to advertise the fact, they will look heavy handed and crass.
In fact there isn't a lot of published science which says anything definitive about vaccine safety: it is just propaganda and increasingly it is imposed.
Posted by: John Stone | February 10, 2012 at 04:29 AM
These attempts at censorship are chilling, but telling. Lou aptly points out the hypocrisies of public health officials and vaccine industry lackeys who betray the very science they use as a shield. "Scientific consensus" is becoming a loaded code, just like the misused tautology "evidence-based medicine."
Vaccine policymakers choose unlevel playing fields and hand-pick reporters who will only throw softball questions -- like the White House press corps, whose passive gamesmanship merits Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s epithet "emasculated stenographers."
Slowly but surely consumers are realizing that action means more than talk. They'll see the courage it takes for people to stand up to profit-based medical conventions -- the increasingly useless government agencies mostly interested in avoiding doing the work our taxes pay for.
What other consumer product is more in need of intense public scrutiny than vaccines?
Posted by: nhokkanen | February 10, 2012 at 01:39 AM
AoA is on a roll -- another great article!
The more we lose this war, and the more the powers-that-be win it, the more they will lose it. Because if they succeed in mandating more and more vaccines, and convincing/forcing everyone to get them, there will be more and more people suffering or witnessing adverse vaccine reactions.
Posted by: Twyla | February 10, 2012 at 12:49 AM
Great article - though scary about the possibility of internet censorship. As you say, they can't censor person-to-person discourse.
Whenever I feel there's an opportunity to share vaccine info. with a stranger (usually a young parent or a pregnant mom or expectant dad) what I have to say is always, and I mean ALWAYS well received. They smile. They thank me effusively for jotting down www.nvic.org on the closest scrap of paper. They tell me how they've been warned before or already suspect problems with the vaccine schedule.
The word is out - totally out. I wonder what pharma has up its sleeve now. Maybe they'll get their goons and hired hacks in the media to call Dr. Wakefield for another round of "interviews." It's desperation time for pharma.
Posted by: Madvocate | February 10, 2012 at 12:15 AM
How is it that the existence of all these compensated cases with autism wasn't disclosed by Geoffrey Evans? How can that happen?
Posted by: Jacline Hunt | February 09, 2012 at 09:08 PM
Morozov is a visiting scholar at Stanford and a fellow of the New America Foundation, which is currently chaired by Eric Scmidt, the executive Chairman of Google. Stanford also has extremely close ties to Google:
Google's technology was created by two "Stanford computer-science grad students: Sergey Brin, now 30, and Larry Page, 31. Stanford owns the technology because it was created with university money. The school tried to license it to other companies for two years before Brin and Page licensed it for their Google start-up in 1998. Under that deal, Google pays Stanford annual license fees in stock and cash. The cash is split in three equal shares between the school's computer-science department, the engineering school and Brin and Page."
The fact that Morozov is promulgating censorship is disturbing, particularly since it is in diametric opposition to the public image that Google has put forth, from their motto "Don't be evil" to the insistence that they are all about "making the world's information universally accessible and useful".
Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that one of NAF's biggest donors for 2010 is the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Or that Google is under investigation for its privacy practices, and locked in a pitched lobbying battle with the traditional media over piracy, and needs something to proffer to the feds. Or that Stanford is also home of the Hoover Institution, home of pro-industry nabob Henry I. Miller. Or, maybe it's that Stanford also holds over 150 vaccine related patents.
Any way you slice it, you are right that an ill wind blows when those at the vanguard of Internet 2.0 have such forked tongues that they can on the one hand condone and decry as unstoppable the rampant theft of intellectual property, while at the same time calling for blanket censorship of scientific debate.
Posted by: Garbo | February 09, 2012 at 08:16 PM
a few words about using the word "holocaust" - before Abe Foxman drops by to chastize you, I just want you to know that there are a couple of israelis watching this blog who fully support using this word. We also use it when we talk about vaccines (SHOA in hebrew)
Posted by: israeli vaccine activist | February 09, 2012 at 07:32 PM
You rock, Louis! I enjoyed your painfully truthful and as of yet, uncensored, article.
My one and only bone of contention is that the video of the Lost in Space robot used for this article should depict the robot wildly swinging its arms in a deranged fashion while he is yelling out, "Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!" That is how I remember that robot. LOL.
All the best to you and your beautiful sons, Louis.
Posted by: Not an MD | February 09, 2012 at 07:26 PM
they hurt us once..they pharma..wont hurt my family again..I voted with my feet and have walked away from their crap products..hopefully my grandchildren will be healthier because they wont get all the mandated crap...we eat organic food and use homeopathics for sickness..pharma wont get my money or my families nor will they take any other member of family again..the slap in the face with the vaccine court and simpsom wood said it all...eventually there wont be healthy males or females in which to mate if we allow them to keep drugging and maiming our offspring..shame on them and on us for believing their crap and lining their pockets ..why would we allow our children to be injected with more shots than we ever recieved why does no one think of that..we are so afraid of disease that we blindly handed over our healthy babies..i dont know about anyone else but im done with pharma..i have spent tjhe last 11 yrs. recovering my son from their poisions..
Posted by: candace | February 09, 2012 at 06:49 PM
Incredibly well-stated, Lou. It's a little late now for them to think censorship is going to make this controversy disappear. The cat is out of the bag. Families telling other families about what happened to their child/grandchild/niece/nephew/neighbor is still the number one way in which vaccine safety problems are communicated, and like Anne said, there are just simply too many of us out there at this point for anyone to remain uninformed and unaffected. Unless they want to hand out pre-approved scripts detailing what can and cannot be discussed in checkout lines, at parks and playgrounds, and at social gatherings, they are pretty much screwed at this point.
How does that old saying go? "Give a man (or a medical-industrial complex!) enough rope and he'll hang himself."
Posted by: Donna L. | February 09, 2012 at 06:35 PM
Excellent article, Louis. Just not sure what it's going to take to get people to see and hear the truth about the dangers of vaccines and the absurdity of our nation's vaccine program (common sense has flown the coup in the U.S.). Here's an irony for you: If I were to put the ingredients that are in a vaccine, even just one of the ingredients in many cases, into a baby's bottle and then give the bottle to the baby, I would be hauled off to jail. Somehow, however, it's okay for "doctors" (I use that word with much skepticism and sarcasm these days) to inject these same toxic, poisonous, and flat-out disgusting ingredients directly into the bloodstream of newborns, babies, toddlers, young children, and right on up to the elderly now. I spend a great portion of each and every day trying to spread the word about the dangers of vaccines to as many people as I can. This holocaust against our children must end. Thank you for all you do, Louis. The paper that you, Mary, Robert, and Lisa wrote was phenomenal. The fact that it wasn't picked up by every major news source in the nation speaks loudly to how frightening the censorship situation has become.
Posted by: Laura Hayes | February 09, 2012 at 05:53 PM
Patricia says:-
"jabsloonies is a cesspit of a site"
I agree. This level of hate and profanity should NEVER be acceptable anywhere. The bit I quoted (below) was from the search engine; this is easily seen by any children who may be interested in researching vaccines. What are children supposed to make of this?
In the UK, the Wakefield MMR controversy was included in an important exam question. Brian Deer is particularly proud of his part in this outrage; an 'incorrect' answer could mean a fail which in turn could mean failure to obtain entrance qualifications for university.
This is nothing less than indoctrination. In the US young girls (and now boys) are told the HPV vaccine will prevent cancer; this is as yet unproven, but the children are NOT told they are taking part in what amounts to a huge clinical trial. In some states they do not have to even tell their parents they have had this vaccine, although these childrens' parents will inevitably have to deal with any adverse consequences.
If we do not complain loudly about these excesses, they will continue. Not only that, our silence will be taken as tacit acceptance and used against us. My feeling about Respectful Insolence, Left Brain Right Brain, and of course Jabloonies is that they are basically 'one man(or one woman) bands' with a few 'hangers on'. They make a great deal of noise but, as John Stone points out, their arguments have little substance.
Benedetta says American citizens are 'asleep'. Time to wake them up. I don't know anything about US politics, but apparently there is at least one presidential candidate who is 'onside' and you all have votes!!
Posted by: Jenny Allan | February 09, 2012 at 05:24 PM
Thank you Louis for your excellent article. I don't believe in censorship so I will contribute to this lack of censorship by providing the readers with a link to an article which recently was published in the American Medical Association Journal of Ethics. This article is a discussion on MANDATING participation in vaccine clinical trials. The article can be read at:
http://virtualmentor.ama-assn.org/2012/01/pfor1-1201.html
I also think the results of all vaccine trials should not be censored and should be made easily available to the greater public who wish to stay informed.
Laurette
Posted by: Laurette Janak | February 09, 2012 at 04:57 PM
Patricia
Personally, I am very happy that Jabsloonies continues. If Jabsloonies is the low class opposition and Respectful Insolence is the high class, no wonder the vaccine lobby want to control the web now as they have successfully controlled the mainstream media already. And of course the reason is that they are completely no good: they resort to abuse and ad hominem first and last. If anyone had to answer questions about the officially approved science in the mainstream media they would be just as taxed.
The mainstream media only retains a shred of dignity because it can silence its critics.
John
Posted by: John Stone | February 09, 2012 at 03:19 PM
jabsloonies is a cesspit of a site. I have just reported it.
Posted by: Patricia | February 09, 2012 at 02:57 PM
Perhaps, it is time for some young, smart, enterprising individual to create a new "uncensored" search engine. Could be very profitable!
Posted by: Rachael | February 09, 2012 at 02:07 PM
Great !!I just hope the UK sits up and listens which it hasn`t and is never going to do..All goverments have less money than PHARMA these days...End Game is who the goverments borrow money from ,who PHARMA lends it to, and if we don`t keep everyone sick nobody needs to borrow money..and so it goes on
Angus
Posted by: angusfiles | February 09, 2012 at 01:42 PM
Thanks, Louis for putting this out there. I don't think we should ever say "it can't happen."
Best line, "He then went on to vent his spleen...." Love it.
Maurine
Posted by: Maurine Meleck | February 09, 2012 at 01:06 PM
What the promoters of the so-called scientific consensus don't appear to realize is that there are many of us who are very seriously interested in finding out what *does* cause autism - both for the population at large and our own children. We pay attention to scientific information and normally trust scientists on their own fields of specialty. But the credibility of those who deny that vaccines could possibly be a causal factor is seriously impaired by their absolutism and censorship, which has been empirically present for many years.
Dogma, censorship, ad hominem attacks and straw man arguments are not attributes of real science - rather, they belong in the realms of politics and religion.
Notice that in other areas of so-called controversy, when there really is no actual scientific controversy, including evolution and global climate change, dissenting views are heard loud and clear in the main stream media and, where appropriate, in scientific fora. Such views are generally dealt with logically, based on evidence. Perhaps the powers that be find such questions less threatening than those about vaccines.
If the "vaccines are totally harmless" crowd would evidence an open mind about the logic and facts, and respect for those who ask good questions, they would have more credibility. I for one would welcome actual proof that vaccines cannot cause autism nor serious neurological injury - but there is no such proof, and at this rate, none is forthcoming.
Posted by: Sandy MacInnis | February 09, 2012 at 12:28 PM
Personally, I'm not worried very much about a call for censorship. As more and more children with autism age out of the school system and have to rely on the taxpayers for their support and care the truth will be undeniable. This is not the result of "better diagnosing" of disabled Americans who've always been here. Something has dramatically affected the health of a generation of children and we simply can't continue as a nation with so many dependent people. Once that becomes clear, we will be desperate for answers. Our future depends on stopping the destruction.
Anne Dachel, Media
Posted by: Anne McElroy Dachel | February 09, 2012 at 11:38 AM
Thank you Louis for this brilliant summary of the issue.
As more parents question the safety of the ever-expanding vaccine schedule and as more evidence shows up challenging the safety claims, health officials and mainstream medicine have no choice but to call for stronger measures against vaccine critics. For years they gave us all the experts denying any problem and all the studies showing no link but the controversy only got worse. They vilified Andrew Wakefield, ignored Bernadine Healy, and ridiculed Jenny McCarthy to no avail. The Pace Law School review of vaccine injury compensation cases and Hannah Poling's settlement were just a brief splash in the news. Calling for censorship seems like a viable solution to many I'm sure.
Over the years of dealing with autism stories in the news I've heard a number of times from reporters who'd like to cover more of the controversy, but they're not allowed to. Once a reporter said that he was interested in doing more on it but that his editor had "autism fatigue" and wouldn't let him.
Can you imagine what it would be like if news outlets actually did fair and balanced reporting on this controversy? They wouldn't dismiss the issue with "studies show no link" or "the British study was found to be a fraud." They wouldn't claim that only misinformed parents believe vaccines cause autism. They'd actually look at the power and influence the drug industry has over U.S. health officials. The coverage of the autism-vaccine controversy shows the complete failure of the media to care about what's happening to our children.
Anne Dachel, Media
Posted by: Anne McElroy Dachel | February 09, 2012 at 11:35 AM
ANNNNNDDDD it has been 30 some years that the American people have been asleep! I don't see them waking up! GRRRRRRRRR
Posted by: Benedetta | February 09, 2012 at 10:08 AM
Jenny Allen over in the UK said this: If I may be so bold as to some what quote her?
QUOTE:"
http://jabsloonies.blogspot.com/2012/01/jackie-fletcher-is-brainless-moron.html
"Jackie Fletcher is a brainless moron. Oh, I just can't be f***ing bothered. How can people take this sh*t seriously? OK. She's got a rabid....."
Becky's 'Jabloonies' rant is full of vile profanity against Jackie and AoA contributors, but I strongly object to profanity coming up on the search engine where children can see it.
I used the 'report' system in an attempt to complain to Google, but there was NO category to complain about profanity; instead I pressed the 'hate' button. Google then came up with a disclaimer stating that they were US based and had NO influence on a UK based site.
I regard this as a ridiculous 'cop out' on the part of Google. In the UK, if Jabloonies had directed their profane hate material against black persons or Muslims, this would have brought an immediate police charge and 'Becky' could have been jailed. Instead, the beautiful, dignified mother of a profoundly disabled 'admitted to be vaccine damaged' son, is apparently regarded as 'fair game' for a cyber hate campaign.
Since this rant also involves AoA, a US based site, I am asking you all to complain to Google using the same 'report' button on the Jabloonies rant above. Paul Offit and his cronies are presently trying to 'persuade' Google to put up warnings on AoA and other so called 'anti vaccine' sites.
Let's all complain about this kind of vile invective on THEIR sites!! "
UNQUOTE:
Meanwhile; the American people are asleep. You Got thyroid trouble - it just happens.
You got diabeties - Oh well run into a virus somewhere. You got a problem with weight - oh well I am just lazy, I eat too much and lay around too much. Adults have demenita - just old age. Children have autism - some have always been that way - its the parents you know - bad genes.
Untill the American people wake up - the majority - we can get ready for pop ups and worse!
Posted by: Benedetta | February 09, 2012 at 10:06 AM
The moral high ground is with us . The science is with us .
And thanks to their grand ambitions , the numbers will be with us also . There is no way they can win . Boycott the vaccines ! Simpson Wood said it all . They know the true situation all too well . The vaccine holocaust is a deliberate crime against humanity , and the story is just waiting to explode .
Posted by: NeSSuM 200 | February 09, 2012 at 07:54 AM
Thank you for this article Mr Conte. I passionately believe in citizens' inherent right to politely and publicly question decisions, taken by and for their country's 'leadership'. This forms the basis of democracy.
For vaccine millionaire Paul Offit and his ilk to promote censorship of all open discussion about vaccine safety issues, is effectively an admission of their failure to convince an increasingly sceptical public, not only about the safety of vaccines, but about vaccine safety being a priority for manufacturers and governments. Obviously, it is NOT; vaccine damage is callously dismissed as 'collateral damage' by vaccine manufacturers, and is not even acknowledged by governments.
Any attempt to 'censor' the internet is doomed to failure, for the very reasons given to me by Google, when I attempted to complain about the profanity on the 'Jabloonies' website, coming up on the search engine,(explained on another AoA thread). Google's excuse was that they are based in the US and Jabloonies is based in the UK. In other words, censoring the 'worldwide web' involves legislation in every country which has broadband-impossible!!
Posted by: Jenny Allan | February 09, 2012 at 07:08 AM
Lou .. with all due respect .. I disagree those who support the "scientific consensus" there is no connection between vaccines and autism are trying to censor the internet .. because they are "frustrated".
My friend, they are far more frightened than frustrated by the critical information the internet provides parents who have no other means of acquiring that information.
Indeed, I suspect the "scientific consensus" powerbrokers were scared to death when they saw what happened throughout the Middle East (Egypt, Bahrain, Tunisia, Lybia, Yemen, etc) .. when the peoples of those Arab countries launched rebellions against tyrants because those tyrants had lost the power to control information within their own countries.
If nothing else .. the Arab Spring provided proof positive to the "scientific consensus" .. that "information IS power".
Posted by: Bob Moffitt | February 09, 2012 at 06:46 AM