In her comment ...

http://bit.ly/Q1Z7Du

... Jen made a very interesting observation about the likely defense mechanism deployed by such oiks as Lawrence, Carey, Brian Deer/Rebecca Fisher, not forgetting Gorski of course.

Of course, now that "Sullivan" is the sole beast in charge at LB/RB, we can expect a true feast of material for the professional forensic psychologist to get their teeth in to. And "the festering nastiness, the creepy repetitiveness, the weasly, deceitful, obsessiveness" ... of all the Carey acolytes ... will continue to fascinate the psychiatric pathologist.

I can't believe you folks are letting this Lawrence guy get to you. Remember that this whole neurodiversity group has been "government approved" now with its inclusion into the IACC but it has been groomed for years now, cleaning up its act, dropping Autism Diva, Ken Riebel, Kathleen Siedel and the other Skeptic mouthpieces for a less offensive PR style presented here courtesy of Lawrence.

We all know their underlying agendas and they have not changed, but the presentation has changed.

"We are all human - please try to treat each other as such. And with that, I do wish you all a great rest of the weekend and my kindest regards to both you and your families, friends, and others close to you."

What a bunch of horseshit, coming from a group that tells parents to not treat their kids' autism and that it should be celebrated.

Lawrence

But someone else does care - hence the uncomfortable manoueverings, Kev Leitch's ire, and perhaps even yours.

[email protected]"I feel an ever present burning to go back and change just one moment in time. It is perhaps unsurprising that there are some who are unable to face the truth for the horror that it holds."

You summed it up so well! Extremism so often stems from fragility. The same applies to fanatical claims by some parents that there is nothing wrong with their children, that autism (and discomfort and pain that goes with it) is just part of their personality and not caused by anything in particular and nothing should be done to change it. If you live and act that fantasy for a prolonged period of time there comes the point of no return, where admitting the truth would kill you.

"I would appreciate knowing exactly why you believe that the domain registration of LR/RB has anything to do with the appointment of Matt Carey to the IACC panel?"

Because it's domain registration is in the UK.

"Matt Carey is a US Citizen, active in the US Autism community..."

No, he's active in contributing content to a UK blog, which is all he has to show for his IACC appointment. It's what's written in his IACC bio.

Why would the blog's UK registration and ownership not matter if Kev had to turn control and ownership of the blog over to Matt Carey, move it to the US blog host Wordpress and acquire a Wordpress URL?

Lawrence

It is rather de facto isn't it? LB/RB had to disband to allow Matthew Carey to take up a position on the IACC, hence Kev Leitch's angry note.

The photo supplied by Kev in my opinion represents the IACC well...It IS what it IS. He is the face of the IACC.
However Lawrence reminds me of Paul Offit...very concerned with how the public will respond to news regarding vaccines and the confusion of how to do a vaccinated vs. unvaccinated study.

Totally appreciate the point about the thread hijacking but since some have seemed to wonder how the neurodiverse and people like "Sullivan", Brian Deer, Orac, can be so doubtful as to vaccines having any role in childrens' autism, I think 'reaction formation' could explain it- "excessive behavior exhibited to cover up something unacceptable by adopting an opposite stance. Extreme patterns can be found in persons with OCD. Usually a reaction formation is marked by showiness and compulsiveness." Can you imagine being in the health care field and having to face that vaccines may have injured your child, or working as a researcher taking monies from companies who are destroying children's health? How could you stand it? You don't- you display a reaction formation. Then again for some people it would simply be the case that they know vaccines are not well studied and poorly understood as to effects but they don't care -$$$$$. JMTC.

Lawrence, you've completely hijacked the comments away from the topic of the post after repeatedly failing to defend why a UK Blog should hold a seat on IACC - good job. As for the vindication of Prof. John Walker-Smith and Dr. Andrew Wakefield's paper, I will only very briefly set your falsehoods straight:

"As to the "vindication" of Dr. John Walker Smith - the findings showed that he believed he was treating the children in the Wakefield Study & not part of the study itself."

Bullocks, it showed the investigations described in the Lancet paper which were undertaken by John Walker-Smith were not undertaken for research purposes and were in the patients' best interest - vindicating both Prof. Walker-Smith and what you call "the Wakefield study."

"1) Wakefield did not present a defense during the GMC proceedings."

Bullocks, his defense has been described extensively on AoA by people who actually attended the hearings, unlike you.

"2) Wakefield refused to appeal the ruling of the GMC findings."

Bullocks again, he did not refuse; he did not have the money.

"3) Wakefield dropped his first defamation suit against Brian Deer & the BMJ - mind you, in a country where the libel laws are extremely plaintiff-friendly, resulting in his paying of all legal fees of the defendants."

He dropped his first defamation suit so he can defend himself in the GMC Hearing that Brian Deer initiated by his complaint, according to the judge presiding over the lawsuit.

"4) Wakefield was given the opportunity to continue his research in England to replicate his original study - and he refused the offer."

You obviously have not read the Lancet paper; it was a descriptive case series, not an experimental study.

"5) Wakefield, before his 1998 Study, was paid a large sum of money by an English litigator who was in the process of suing over a link between the MMR & autism. This conflict was not disclosed until after the study had been published."

Lies.
http://www.cryshame.co.uk//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=97
http://www.cryshame.co.uk//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=98

And you still have yet to respond to what John Stone said to you earlier:

"No, the logic is that if LB/RB have been forced to disband in its old form because of Matthew Carey's appointment he should not have been appointed in the first place."

I take that to mean you've given up on your original argument.

Why would someone this disrespectful ever be appointed to a federal government committee? He has hidden his 'opinions' under a fake name for what reason? Mr. Carey's appointment should be rescinded! He has called concerned parents of children with autism "fruit loops", (and the blog that keeps us informed). He expresses his disrespect because he is afraid of others opinion! Why is the committee appointing people that are hostile to the autism community? Why are they afraid of vaccine research? To a thinking person the answer a fairly clear.

Lawrence

About Wakefield:

1) You state as a fact that Wakefield did not present a defence at the GMC. This is a falsehood: Wakefield spent 21 days on the witness stand.

2) No, he did not appeal because he did not get financial backing.

3) He did not continue the libel suit against Deer but he had to prepare his defence at the GMC. We await optimistically the result of his action in Texas.

4) The were several follow up papers examining the issues raised by the Lancet paper. It is hard to see what Prof Pepys, GSK's favourite scientist, was on about. Some people have called for the retraction of these papers too, but to deny they exist is ridiculous.

5) Wakefield was not personally paid a large some of money prior to publication of the Lancet paper, which had nothing to do with the litigation. He did receive substantial sums over an extended period at a standard rate for expert court work. It was not the convention in the UK in 1998 to disclose expert court work as a conflict, but this matter was known to the Lancet in April 1997. That the Lancet paper was not part of the litigation was a finding of the Walker-Smith appeal earlier this year.

So please stop making up falsehoods, innuendo and half-truths when you don't even know the documents.

Of course, what you have succeeded in doing is diverting the conversation from the topic.

Lawrence, your point about increased dx of autism and decrease of mental retardation dx has been discussed here. I worked in an institution before de-institutionalization and visited several as a PASS student on a Wolfensberger course. Etiology of most kids there was known- Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus, child abuse damage, other syndromes (of which more have now been identified, yet funnily enough genetics only explains a small percentage of cases to this day. Granted this was no formal study, just anecdotal observations and I did have acces to files. I do believe there were a few kids back then who may have had autism because, wait for it- I do believe that some disease can cause brain inflammation and subsequent neurological damage. On the other hand some of those children may have had vaccine damage due to vaccines having been given now for many decades.
The whole vaccine schedule seems to be nothing more than a money grab now- how can you see hep b series at birth justifiable as a true health measure? They are poorly studied as to safety and I believe parents like these are pushing pharmaceutical companies and researchers to increased standards of integrity and better surveillance. They are being dragged kicking and screaming. Our kids need this- far too many of them are suffering and genetics isn't what ails them. Vaccines are doing more harm than good.

@Zed - Just as those doctors "observed" the African American study participants slowly die of syphilis.....there is overwhelming evidence that vaccines are effective in preventing the spread of disease - to purposely without them in a double-blind study (as has been requested - here and elsewhere), is unethical.

The kind of population study you also ask for has been done - and the results were conclusive that vaccines were not related to an increase in autism diagnosis.

As to the "vindication" of Dr. John Walker Smith - the findings showed that he believed he was treating the children in the Wakefield Study & not part of the study itself. His lawyer also admitted in Court that the question of the MMR - Autism link was "settled," meaning the results of the study were not in any way related to showing a vaccine-autism link.

In no way does what happened to Dr. JWS have a bearing on the overall judgement against Wakefield. His case was unrelated to the results of the study, since his defense was that he was only treating patients, not studying them. If that was truly the case - then it was right that he get his license back.

In the case of Wakefield, certainly truths remain:

1) Wakefield did not present a defense during the GMC proceedings.

2) Wakefield refused to appeal the ruling of the GMC findings.

3) Wakefield dropped his first defamation suit against Brian Deer & the BMJ - mind you, in a country where the libel laws are extremely plaintiff-friendly, resulting in his paying of all legal fees of the defendants.

4) Wakefield was given the opportunity to continue his research in England to replicate his original study - and he refused the offer.

5) Wakefield, before his 1998 Study, was paid a large sum of money by an English litigator who was in the process of suing over a link between the MMR & autism. This conflict was not disclosed until after the study had been published.

It was my sincere hope, that when Wakefield's abuses were finally exposed, that the anti-vaccine community would "do the right thing" and disown him. Very much like I had hoped that the community here would rapidly disassociate itself from vile alternative autism treatments like Chemical Castration & MMS - Bleaching, which have not a single shred of Science that show that they help (or have any way to help) autistic children.

There are "bad actors" on both sides of the house. I get mad every time I see an abuse by the medical establishment - but at least there are mechanisms in place to both catch and punish those that break regulations, cause purposeful harm, etc - the system isn't perfect, but it does work.

Unfortunately, there are few ways to deal with those that continue to push false hope and quack cures - they seem to be embraced even harder whenever their abuses are exposed (like Mercola & Null).

I hope, at least, that I've presented a rational point of view - perhaps one that has been stated before and rejected out of hand because it doesn't fit into the AoA worldview - I won't be changing any minds here, but I do hope that we can at least try to elevate the conversations around fact and Science, and not resort to mudslinging (and my writings regarding Wakefield above are not designed to smear, only relate the facts of the case) - so please, take them in the spirit with which I write them - not to denigrate or attack anyone here, you all have your viewpoints - which although I disagree heartily with, but please try to at least keep an open mind, that those that do not agree with you are not monsters, not in the pay of some giant conspiracy, and not trying to cause harm to anyone, either accidentally or on purpose.

We are all human - please try to treat each other as such. And with that, I do wish you all a great rest of the weekend and my kindest regards to both you and your families, friends, and others close to you.

Lawrence, "science" doesn't presume the outcome. If you already "know" that vaccines produce a healthier outcome, or that not vaccinating produces a less healthy one, the research is biased from the start. The task of legitimate science is to OBSERVE. Our money is on legitimate science, which has never been conducted.

Yes Lawrence, it doesn't stand to reason to rely on GMC panel findings on Wakefield, because that same panel was found (by a real judge, mind you!) to have twisted, bent and minced all facts, to finally base their 'findings' on nothing much at all. According to that judge, there was no rhyme or reason to the conclusions of that panel, to put it mildly. They really came out looking like a bunch of village idiots.

As this GMC panel was stupid, bent and twisted when it came to Walker-Smith, why on earth would you believe their judgement when it came to Wakefield? I've seen the facts and have seen that the 'findings' of the panel were based on fantasy, not facts.

One thing I know is that I would never employ any member of that panel as my personal detective ;-) I don't think you would be suitable for the job either, sorry.

Cheerio!

I think it is a coincidence that this particular 'Lawrence' first showed up here to defend Deer and BMJ after AW's action was announced and so people may have drawn an incorrect inference - I am sure it isn't he. He has a little bit too much manner apart from anything else.

Lawrence:

Thank you for the feedback. As you may have assumed or hopefully not- we may have to agree to disagree with one another. But as you have pointed out you are a concerned parent like the rest of us. I applaud your efforts to seek relevant information regarding the modern scourge of autism. What it must take to be a parent of an unaffected child to research the important health debates centered around the more than disturbing rate in autistic children?

You are braver than I would be. Honestly, I would not have participated in these forums or "GoogleU" had my children not been so ill as to warrant the need to find plausible answers to an unacceptable epidemic. Yes, I may be callous in this regard but it's the truth. How many parents must breath a sigh of relief and think, "better them than mine? How horrible. Someone must do something about those children. Can I give at the office? Don't we already celebrate autism awareness in April? Isn't a month more than enough?" Luckily for me, there has been heated and critical debate over the causation of autism for as we know, there is scientific proof to point towards an environmental factor in triggering said genes (which genes?) . AoA is one of many sites asking for a no-brainer study on vaccinated/unvaccinated children in relation to environmental triggers for this life long disability.

Why is this study not conducted? I'd like to have these reasonable concerns answered once and for all. 1 out of 6 children in our nation (Yay, U.S.A. is the greatest county on earth!) labor under allergies, learning disabilities, psychiatric disorders and general ill health. Why? AoA asks these pertinent questions and more not just for our children but for all children affected and yet to be affected.

GH said I will get dirty!

Lawrence;
First of all they do have science here sometimes very mind boggling bio pathways -- they even list reference from the NIH themselves. You must have missed them, in your haste to blog.

Second; You and others like minded whinnnny all the time about not being able to comment what ever comes across your little wee minds on this website. And many of us here don't care a whit about your problem because we have tried on other websites - to explain what went on with our kids - things we have actually witnessed as the years click by and to our suprise those websites don't want none of that kind of stuff. Besides what you have to say bogs down the real discussions..

Third; Developmental Delays - these kids will get better and have just a few minor problems! Yes, yes, brain injuries if it don't out right kill you as a baby does heal some what. But not if the vaccines are continually added, and the brain injury continues. Minor problems would be to you???? bipolar, heart problems, depression, mitochondria disfunction - well anything that has to do with the metabolism/immunity -- minor problems alright.

Yes let us do go there --- Has mental retiredation decreased as autism has risen --- please - let us go there. With eagerness!
My school's district starting in the early 90s increased their special ed programs because every year the population of kids needing special education services increase 6 percent. They had it down to the percentage. Notice the school district did not divide up autism and other mental retardation dignosis -- .

Lawrence

1) There have been nearly 5,000 posts on this blog to date and many will have addressed your substitution hypothesis in one way or another.

2) I suspect this blog would be impossible to operate if there wasn't pre-moderation. I personally was witness to how JABS Forum was overrun in 2007 after I submitted an embarrassing Rapid Response about Dr Ben Goldacre, which was later published. http://www.bmj.com/content/335/7618/480?tab=responses
But if people are reasonably courteous there is not usually a problem. Yesterday I deleted a comment which slipped through, asserting that Andrew Wakefield is guilty of research fraud. We've always known here the accusations were a fabrication and this is now even established in the High Court.

3) We have frequently been grateful to Joe Mercola and Gary Null for supporting our concerns, but I am not sure that they have ever been cited here as authorities.

@Christine - I appreciate your reasoned response & honest appreciation of honest dialogue, which is not the norm on this website.

Despite comments to the contrary - this is a very heavily moderated online community. Perhaps a very small number of contrary viewpoints are allowed to be posted, but the standard response is not an appreciation of the fact that there are legitimate reasons for being concerned about this "anti-vaccine everything" viewpoint, but instead accusations that anyone that disagrees with the party line must be "part of the conspiracy" or in the pay of "Big Pharma."

I, myself, stand accused of being Brian Deer - solely because his middle name just happens to be Lawrence & I disagree with the position that AoA has staked out for itself.

Instead, I am just a parent that is concerned that parents are making decisions, based not on actual Science or by discussing their concerns with their chosen pediatricians, but by spending their time on "GoogleU" or listening to individuals who have a financial stake in alternative medicine (Mercola & Gary Null spring to mind).

Somehow, these individuals are viewed as "experts" and above the financial COIs that doctors are routinely accused of, despite the fact that they profit directly from what they sell to parents that are desperate for anything to "fix" their children.

And lastly, AoA ignores that Autism is about "developmental delay," not "developmental stasis." Autistic children can make stunning progress, in fits and starts, to be sure, but many autistic children grow up to live very normal lives, with some continued challenges - but as very functional members of society, with families of their own.

100 years ago, children that were considered different - retarded, freaks, etc, were packed quietly away to government and private institutions or just ignored by society. It is impossible to say, without the knowledge we have today, that even a majority of these individuals would be considered "autistic" today - but throughout history you find individuals of singular skill, but extremely socially inept, who today would be considered autistic under the DSM definitions.

Today, with 24/7 access to information, news, and people all over the globe, we are all more aware of society in general & it is no longer acceptable to hide these children away - we are mainstreaming kids more often than ever before, and making progress in allowing these children to live more normal lives.

It is also interesting, yet not discussed here, that typical diagnoses of "mental retardation" have decreased in very similar rates to the increase in diagnoses of autism and autism spectrum.

The claim is that you want an open discussion - and if that is the case, that are many areas which should be considered - but the decision has already been made that AoA will blame vaccines, regardless of the evidence presented - and that's not an open dialogue. When you stop talking about the Science and instead vilify your opponents - making them "less than human," (the Thanksgiving cartoon comes to mind) you have lost the moral high ground and ability to effect the conversation.

AoA should not be afraid of allowing alternative opinions - unless they are afraid of parents being exposed to perhaps better methods for helping their children, instead of laying blame.

Kristina says:-
"As Lawrence points out, what difference does it make that an American citizen uses a UK web address."

I think this comment begs another question, since Kristina also states she is pleased to be updated about the Wakefield v BMJ court proceedings. A main plank of the BMJ's stated defence arguments, is that Dr Wakefield is from the UK and the BMJ is also registered in the UK and therefore any litigation should be carried out in the UK, rather than Texas.

Of course the BMJ website, like the LB RB one is a worldwide entity. In the case of the Jan/Feb 2011 Deer BMJ articles, which accused Andrew Wakefield of fraud and apparent theft of legal aid money, the UK press and media were mostly silent, regarding this material as libellous. Not so in the US where Dr Wakefield was metaphorically 'lynched' by the media-in particular a vicious attack by CNN presenter Anderson Cooper.

I find it very strange for US citizen Matthew Carey, aka Sullivan, who has now apparently bought the LB RB website from Kevin Leitch, and has updated and changed it to suit himself, to insist on Kevin Leitch being the 'nominal' owner and to also keep this website registration in the UK.

To GH and loveyour vet, Thanks a lot, for the info. Can you give a link to the research? I had always wondered why the scientific establishement was so quick to tell us how a bird sat on a pig in Guadalaoaxacauatl Mexico and made the swine flu.
Another topic- I had always wondered just what are the names of the architects of our autism tsunami. Since I dont have any inside contact in the CDC, I can only watch and guess from afar. Obviously two of the culprits are Tom Insel and Sebelious OR their handlers. Please send in your dollars to get their names etched in the black granite wallof shame at the Autism Museum. Do these people actually sleep at night?
Their message is loud and clear: Autism parents - You are on your own! Dr. Boyd Haley had stated many years ago that these people have their backs to the wall, fighting against the truth of autism causation. Now we begin to see what that means

Angus;
The name Sullivan is a big deal on the game "Uncharted" which my son will gladly tell me ever detail about. He is Drake's mentor.

Sullivan I am sure is used by more than one blogger, Bonnie included once it got started.

Oh,by the way, Jake Crosby, YOU ROCK!!!

Sure it ain`t Bonnie

...http://www.ageofautism.com/2010/11/is-paul-offits-wife-internet-trollautism-father-sullivan.html

Carey writes in two speak .one like Bonnie and another like a thick doctotor..doh!!!

Angus

"Again, how does the domain registration of a website have anything to do with qualifications of an American citizen to serve on the IACC panel?"

Lawrence, why don't you ask Matt Carey or Kevin Leitch that question. They seem to think it does or Leitch wouldn't have handed his website over to Carey and alerted AoA of that fact on the day IACC met.

This is eighth grade logic. Maybe seventh.

Lawrence

No, the logic is that if LB/RB have been forced to disband in its old form because of Matthew Carey's appointment he should not have been appointed in the first place.

I can't really see the point of Carey's appointment (except packing the committee with yesmen): his main issue seems to be the defence of the vaccine industry. I can see why a US government body would favour him but his credentials don't look very good, and evidently they didn't think so either, hence the furtive manoeuverings, and Kev Leitch's indiscreet squawk of pain.

Well it is clear that the Govt has no intention of ever admitting that there is an actual increase in autism, regardless of what their data tell them. The addition of neurodivisity bloggers to the IACC, plus the upcoming DSM-5 changes make it a foregone conclusion that they have gone all-in on denying an epidemic.

No matter how many people complain, once the government bureaucracy shifts is titanic bulk there will be no way to stop it. There WILL be less autism is the next few years, and our masters... public servants, will declare that we overestimated autism in the past and that the new numbers are the true numbers that have been here since the stone age, when hunter-gatherers obsessed over lining up rocks and wandering off into the forest alone.

Not much to do but mock them all, mercilessly... At this point, showing respect to Insel, his cronies, LBRB and the rest is like slapping oneself in the face while they laugh. Mock them and disrespect them to everyone you know with kids on the spectrum or who knows kids on the spectrum, which at this point is about everyone. Since nobody has even heard of the IACC or Kev Leitch before, this will be their only exposure to their names.

@John - you use this word "logic" - I don't think it means what you think it means....

Again, how does the domain registration of a website have anything to do with qualifications of an American citizen to serve on the IACC panel?

Actually Larry the crazy comment has just plain made me mad to just furious.

Let me tell you what it crazy;
Crazy is me paying the univerisities to teach and train me, in the truth, and I did not get it. I listened to lecture after lecture about how safe vaccine were becaue --- they just are! I swear that is what the professor said - to students that were studying biochemical pathways.

Crazy is that in one class that was also a nursing requirement -some little nurse that had come back for more training; bravely holds up their hands and tells the professor what is going on in the real world out there.
And I was embarassed for the nurses. I should have been embarrassed at the stupid professors toeing the line.

Crazy is 20 plus years later my vaccine damaged daughter that had Kawasakis as a child from her vaccins is sitting in the same classrooms hearing the same dam lectures. She has a vaccine damaged brother, a vaccine damaged husband, and before she was done with her degree in which she is paying for - she must and did submit herself for a Hep B to be further damaged by a vaccine. Hep B is only one of two others that they have no vaccine for like AIDS, and Hep C. She will still have to take the same precautions of gloves and so forth even with the Hep B vaccine.

Crazy is that she and her friend/ fellow student have to sit there together during these lectures and - her friend also has a little boy damaged by a vaccine, and who was a very sick little boy.

Crazy; is that no one --- for sure not you; wants to know the details of how any of us parents just knows our kids are vaccine damaged. Not listening to what we have witnessed as you yell crazy.

It should just be pointed out - for information - that Andrew Wakefield is a US citizen.

Larry Lawrence technical problems -- oh please!

Kevin Leitch's LB/RB blog is distinctly British and has been for years. He's been the primary mouthpiece. And sadly his erratic writings indicate he's in urgent need of a thorough lab workup at the Pfeiffer Treatment Center.

Kevin describes himself as having a mental illness, but rather than treat it he prefers to wallow in it. Sad that he takes the low road, indulging in abusive rhetoric rather than sharing useful scientific information with other families.

@Jake - you are the one harping on the ".uk" domain signature in the URL, not me.

"In other words, LBRB is still a British blog because its URL is still a UK domain name which remains under the ownership of UK citizen Kevin Leitch – until he gets around to sorting it out.

Weeks after Matt Carey was first criticized for his appointment to IACC here on Age of Autism, Carey announced to readers that Kev's blog would be moving to the US-based blog host, Wordpress. The reasons cited by Carey were primarily technical, and the blog also acquired a Wordpress URL. What was never explained, however, was why the domain name remains a UK one. Typing in the Wordpress URL brings you to the old UK domain name as soon as the site uploads."

I understand that you are upset that you were rejected, despite your "stellar" qualifications - can you let us know what those are again, exactly?

You are the one waving the "straw man" flag by continuing to highlight the "foreign" nature of an internet domain, regardless of the now ubiquitous nature of the Internet.

Continually playing "six-degrees" to attempt to connect anyone you don't like to some sort of giant conspiracy isn't journalism, it isn't research, and it isn't helping the cause of getting the appropriate attention focused on autism.

It just makes you look crazy.

"yet a key position on the IACC has gone to Matt Carey despite his background being in computer hardware, and his primary connection to autism being his writing on the LBRB web site which falls far short of the standards of professionalism than ought to be expected from somebody occupying his position."

I thought Matt Carey's "primary connection to autism" was the fact that his child is autistic.

"Standards of professionalism"? Please. Jake's standards of professionalism are not exactly something to be proud of. I mean, a blind man being led by a donkey would have figured out that the web address being .uk means nothing. What, bit.ly should be banned because its domain is in Lybia?

Poor Jake. He thinks he knows the internets.

Jake you kill me! How do you know all this! It is hilarious. "The Americanization of LBRB!" The whole thing is so absurd. LBRB has a seat but NOT the NAA. Wendy Fournier represents 12,000 families, they provide all kinds of emergency services, parent mentoring, cash grants, educational advocacy a giant annual science and behavioral intervention conference.....Wendy spearheaded the AWARE anti-wandering program that has, thankfully, save so many lives.

The fact that Wendy was not appointed a seat is all about censoring our families and denying them the voice they deserve, the voice they have earned through all of NAA's service. NAA is a huge, national autism organization with chapters in all major cities. Insel should be ashamed of the obviously political decision to deny NAA an IACC seat.

Who appoints these people?

I wonder every day how there could be so many people placed in high places who think it is ok for children to be sick for life. It's really strange.

Brian - you are missing the point. The US has many of the greatest universities and research institutions in the world, yet a key position on the IACC has gone to Matt Carey despite his background being in computer hardware, and his primary connection to autism being his writing on the LBRB web site which falls far short of the standards of professionalism than ought to be expected from somebody occupying his position.

Jake Crosby you are awesome, I love everything you write. You have a hard time ignoring the obvious (that is a jeffism) I wish there was more people that had a hard time ignoring the obvious. And I love how you take no prisoners, pull no punches, just tell it like it is.

The appointment of Matt Carey to the IACC (=International Autism Cover-up Committee) is criminal.

YOU ROCK!!!!
Jeff

I am confused. Across the internet, server farms and domain registrations can exist anywhere - China, Europe, South Africa, Northern Virgina, etc, etc.

Matt Carey has a blog that just happens to have a domain listed in the UK - but he is a US citizen & resides in the United States & writes about issues that are important in the United States, as well as issues with international significance as well.

By your logic, since Andrew Wakefield is a British citizen, he should have no standing to discuss issues relating to US autism concerns.

It is a bit of tortured logic & relies on simple semantic issues to allow you to criticize someone that you dislike.

Jake:

Well, this "fruit loop" would like like to keep up the cereal theme by invoking Tony the Tiger when I say, 'You're GREAT!" Your reportage on this individual and others has been more than informative.

Mr. Carey should resign from the IACC.

Dang, I was really looking into hearing their take on this one: Vet med research shows 2 different vaccines in animals combine into new infectious diseases. Cue the drumroll as the idiots come out to reassure people it can't happen in humans . . .

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120712144754.htm

Jake .. you are absolutely right:

"Civil servants don't gain legitimacy by blogging under fake names while taking ownership of foreign domain names for websites. In fact, that's a sure way to lose legitimacy, not that Carey has any."

Unfortunately, as the appointment of Mr. Carey to the IACC clearly suggests .. once again .. the "leadership of the IACC" has bestowed "legitimacy" upon someone who clearly is undeserving of it.