Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Forbes Magazine & CDC’s Rogue Scientist
Below is Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s response to Emily Willingham's August 10th article in Forbes titled Hey, Interpol, I Found Your Autism Researcher Fugitive.
By Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Emily Willingham's strained defense of CDC’s rogue researcher, the international fugitive, Poul Thorsen, is yet more evidence that Forbes prioritizes Pharma's mercantile interests ahead of the health of American children. (“Hey, Interpol, I Found Your Autism Researcher Fugitive”, Forbes, August 10, 2015)[1]
Stark facts belie Willingham's dismissive assertion that Thorsen is merely the creature of an anti-vaccine conspiracy mill. Poul Thorsen is subject of a 22-count indictment by the US Department of Justice for wire fraud and money laundering in connection with more than $1 million in research grants that he allegedly pilfered from CDC as he was ginning up fraudulent studies to “prove” that vaccines don’t cause autism.[2] His crimes have won him a slot on HHS's "most wanted" list.[3] (Oddly, US Officials have not requested an extradition order against Thorson despite a treaty providing for extradition between the US and Denmark). Thorsen has also been disgraced and dismissed by his former employer, Aarhus University.[4] As of 2014, Denmark’s university hospital system has permanently expelled him from practice. The fact that he is roaming free and is easy to find, despite the US Federal indictment, does not imply Thorsen’s innocence, as Willingham suggests. Rather it suggests a lack of enthusiasm by HHS and CDC to press for his capture and extradition. The agency undoubtedly fears that a public trial would expose the pervasive corruption throughout CDC’s vaccine division and the fragility of the science supporting CDC’s claims about thimerosal safety.
Dr. Thorsen is one of the co-authors and data manager for two leading foreign studies offered by CDC as the foundation of its claims that vaccines do not cause autism. Only purposeful misstatement or journalistic sloth can account for Willingham’s declaration that Thorsen’s conclusions “have not been called into question”. For over a decade, myriad critics have exposed those studies as brazen fraud. Thorsen’s thimerosal study, Madsen et al. 2003,[5] is one of the principle publications offered by CDC to exculpate thimerosal – the mercury based vaccine preservative from suspicion that it causes autism (The Institute of Medicine largely based its milestone 2004 finding that thimerosal was safe on Madsen et al. 2003, another similarly flawed Scandinavian study, one study from the United Kingdom and two American studies, both of which CDC whistleblower, William Thompson recently exposed as dubious). Madsen et al. 2003 purports to show that autism rates increased in Denmark after the Danish government removed thimerosal from vaccines in 1992.[6] But critics point out that the alleged increase in autism was the illusory artifact of Denmark’s new reporting protocols.
Here’s how Madsen, Thorsen and the CDC team crafted their deception: In 1992, the year after Denmark fully enacted the phase-out of thimerosal, it required, for the first time,that outpatient autism cases be reported on the government’s national health registry. Prior to 1993, only inpatient cases were reported representing approximately 7% of the total. The new requirements increased the reported autism cases by thirteen-fold.[7] Furthermore, the registry’s inpatient body count prior to 1993 omitted the patients at Copenhagen’s largest autism clinic which housed 20% of the national total. After 1993, the clinic’s patients were included.[8] Finally, Denmark enlarged the diagnostic criteria for autism in 1994 increasing the potential number of autism cases in the registry by up to 25-fold.[9] Dr. Thorsen and his cronies took advantage of the artificial rise caused by the new registry rules to fraudulently conclude that real autism incidence had increased following thimerosal’s ban. This, of course, was craven chicanery - but the fraud got worse.
Despite the “cheats” in the Madsen et al 2003 paper, the Registry data still showed a pesky drop in autism rates between 1999 and 2001 in 7-9 year old children. This was significant since these children were the first generation born after Denmark’s thimerosal phase out in 1992. Leaked CDC documents show that the authors responded to this with an audacious breach of established protocols, deleting that entire year class from the final published version of the study. That maneuver constituted scientific fraud of the highest order; CDC scientists deliberately manipulated the final dataset to prevent public disclosure of the decrease in autism since it did not support the study’s conclusion that there was no association between thimerosal and autism. Secret CDC emails obtained by SafeMinds via former Congressman Dave Weldon, show that the decision to omit the 2001 year data was made at the suggestion of Poul Thorsen with the direct approval of CDC’s then Developmental Disabilities Branch Director, Coleen Boyle[10] and against the pleas of the Danish study’s primary author, Kreesten Madsen. [11] (Coleen Boyle made her bones at CDC orchestrating the infamous coverup of the links between Agent Orange and Vietnam vet morbidity during the 1980s). It’s no wonder that CDC is not anxious for a public trial of Poul Thorsen. Danish journalist, Ulla Danielsen has speculated that Thorsen’s carefree lifestyle in Denmark and the fact that he has never been interrogated by police despite the extradition treaty between the US and Denmark – is evidence that US agencies are protecting him.[12]
The finished study was a barefaced sham and responsible journals, including Lancet and JAMA summarily rejected Madsen et al. 2003 for publication.[13]
After, JAMA and Lancet rebuffed the Madsen 2003 article, the CDC team was desperate. At Poul Thorsen’s request, CDC’s Developmental Disabilities Branch Chief, Coleen Boyle drafted a letter that was signed by CDC’s Jose Cordero, then director of its new National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD)[14], to strong-arm a lesser journal, Pediatrics, to finally publish the grievously flawed study. Pediatrics raises a substantial amount of its operating budget from vaccine makers and has earned notoriety as the go-to publisher for vaccine industry junk science.[15] In an October 31, 2003 letter to CDC Director, Julie Gerberding, Congressman Dave Weldon rebuked the agency for inappropriately bullying Pediatrics into publishing a propaganda study that had already been rejected by two esteemed publications.[16]
The peer reviewers at JAMA and Lancet were only the first to find fault with Madsen 2003 – many others followed:
- At the 2007 National Academy of Sciences/Institute of Medicine (IOM) meeting, “Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunity for Research,” peer reviewer, Dr. Irva Hertz-Picciotto, the internationally renowned environmental epidemiologist and Director of the Northern California Collaborative Center for the National Children’s Study at the University of California, Davis MIND Institute, criticized the Madsen et al. 2003 study as “not a rigorous design”. Picciotto complained, “You cannot compare the before (1992) and after periods because of artifacts in how the database was constructed, and specifically how it changed over time.”
- During the only federal trial of an autism case, Easter v. Aventis, et al, in the Texas Federal District Court, the government’s own expert witness conceded that the CDC’s Danish studies, (CDC hastily published fiveScandinavian epidemiological studies simultaneously all taking advantage of the same data anomalies) including Madsen et al. 2003 were fatally flawed. The government witness, Dr. Philip Wang, who subsequently became Divisional Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, acknowledged that the “dramatic” rise in autism reported in Sweden and Denmark after thimerosal was removed from vaccines “most likely reflect[ed] changes in diagnostic practices and the availability of services for autism.” [17]
- In 2004, the Journal for the American Physicians and Surgeons published a note critiquing the Madsen et al. 2003 paper.[18] That article showed that even the most conservative calculations of the numbers published in the Danish registry yielded a downturn in autism incidence rates in Denmark following the thimerosal ban. The results for the 2-4 year olds, for example, showed a 75% decrease in autism incidence after thimerosal’s withdrawal from vaccines.
- CDC itself has lost all confidence in its ability to convince reviewers that Madsen 2003 is legitimate science. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has disclosed that during its most recent review of vaccine safety science in 2011, CDC officials took the unprecedented and telling step of ordering the IOM Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines not to review any of the thimerosal studies. At that same meeting, IOM’s panel made the seismic decision to reject, as flawed, 17 of the 22 published studies long offered by CDC to “prove” no link between vaccines and autism.[19]
- Madsen et al. 2003 was absolutely and finally demolished by CDC’s later study, Gronborg et al. 2013, published in JAMA Pediatrics.[20] In direct contradiction to the Madsen study, Gronborg and her co-authors demonstrated a 33% drop in autism spectrum disorder incidence in Denmark following the withdrawal of thimerosal in 1992.
- Despite Willingham’s assertion, numerous published critiques have also faulted Thorsen’s landmark Danish studies. See e.g., Trelka, J.A. and Hooker, B.S.: More on Madsen’s Analysis.[21] Hooker, B.S. et al.: Methodological Issues and Evidence of Malfeasance in Research Purporting to Show Thimerosal in Vaccines Is Safe.[22] Trelka, J.A.:How Mercury was Absolved: Creativity, Collusion and Censorship.[23] Bernard, S.: Comment on: Association Between Thimerosal Containing Vaccine and Autism .[24] Blaxill, M: Something is Rotten in Denmark.[25] Blaxill, M: Danish Thimerosal-Autism Study in Pediatrics: Misleading and Uninformative on Autism Mercury Link.[26] Yazbak, E.: The CDC Finances, Writes and Publishes Danish Research. [27]
Finally, Willingham praises the Danish health population registries whose recordkeeping she describes as “meticulous”. But SafeMinds found that the Danish psychiatric registry, upon which the Madsen studies relied, was surprisingly shoddily maintained using ever changing baselines, health codes and diagnostic criteria that made it impossible to track trends.[28] Furthermore, the Registry lost, on average, about ten percent of autism cases every year between 1992 and 2001.[29] The fact that the autism incidence reported in the Danish studies from 1971 to 2000 vary by as much as 25%, also speaks to the poor quality of the database. [30]
Madsen’s and Thorsen’s companion study on the MMR vaccine, (Madsen et al. 2002)[31] used similarly deceptive statistical flimflams and flawed data to “prove” MMR safety.[32] That study employed CDC’s trademark ruse of including many children who were too young to receive the autism diagnosis, which at that point usually occurred at age four. CDC epidemiologists have consistently used this ploy in their phony autism studies to dampen the autism signal and exonerate the vaccine.[33] The 2002 Madsen et al. MMR study also included a substantial number of unvaccinated children and employed a suite of other statistical gimmicks to mask the association with the MMR vaccine.
Having trained as a foreign visiting scientist in CDC’s sophisticated fraud during his apprenticeship, in the two notorious Madsen studies, it’s no wonder that Poul Thorsen felt comfortable stealing $1 million in CDC funding entrusted to him by the agency to be spent on data management for these and other studies.
Contrary to Willingham’s assertion, Thorsen was far from a minor player in the fraudulent Danish studies. Leaked CDC emails show that it was Thorsen who served as the liaison between the Danish researchers and the CDC, asking Coleen Boyle for input, including whether to omit certain datasets to manipulate the study outcome.[34] It was Thorsen’s idea to have CDC pressure Pediatrics to publish the flawed study after it was rejected by Lancet and JAMA.[35] Thorsen coerced his CDC bosses to write a letter to Pediatrics as a last ditch effort to get this study published “underlining the importance of getting this information out now”.
It would be difficult to overstate the cataclysmic impacts of Thorsen’s mischief on global health. The study he is accused of fabricating was an instrumental piece of evidence cited by The Institute of Medicine to justify its infamous 2004 conclusion that thimerosal was not causing autism. IOM’s declaration laid the foundation for dismissal of some 5,000 autism cases by the United States Court of Claims (The Vaccine Court). The Madsen et al. 2003 study has been repeatedly cited by public health agencies to justify the inclusion by CDC of thimerosal in 50 million flu shots given to Americans, including pregnant women, and the World Health Organization’s (WHO) decision to inoculate 100 million children in developing nations annually with thimerosal preserved vaccines.
Emily Willingham’s knee-jerk impulse to defend the CDC’s corrupt scientists and flawed vaccine science reflects poorly on Forbes journalistic rectitude. If we want to restore credibility to government science, we might start by revitalizing the journalistic commitment to research and integrity.
[1] http://www.forbes.com/sites/emilywillingham/2015/08/10/hey-interpol-i-found-your-autism-researcher-fugitive/
[2] United States of America vs. Poul Thorsen” indictment, U.S. DOJ, April 13, 2011.
[4] http://www.rescuepost.com/files/thorsen-aarhus-1.pdf
[5] Thimerosal and the Occurrence of Autism: Negative Ecological Evidence From Danish Population-Based Data, Kreesten Madsen, et al., Pediatrics, September 1, 2003.
[6] http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/04/us/study-casts-doubt-on-theory-of-vaccines-link-to-autism.html
[7] Methodological Issues and Evidence of Malfeasance in Research Purporting to Show Thimerosal in Vaccines Is Safe, Brian Hooker, et al., BioMed Research International, Vol. 2014.
[8] IBID.
[9] IBID.
[10] Email from C. Boyle to P. Thorsen with comments to the Pediatrics review of the Madsen et al. manuscript, January 23, 2003
[11] Email from Kreesten Madsen to M. Lauritsen, P. Thorsen, and D. Schendel, November 13, 2002; Lead author Kreesten Madsen commenting that “the decreasing rates of ASD in 2001 seems to be of importance and probably should be added.”
[12] “Researcher, Not University Hospital, Accounted to U.S.-CDC,” by Ulla Danielsen, NBJour, February 15, 2012.
[13] Email: M. Lauritsen to K. Madsen, P. Thorsen, D. Schendel (CDC), November 13, 2002.
[14] CDC Letter from NCBDDD Director Jose Cordero to Jerold F. Lucey, Editor-in-Chief Journal Pediatrics, December 10, 2002, http://putchildrenfirst.org/media/5.11.pdf.
[16] Letter U.S. Congressman Dave Weldon, MD, to Dr. Julie Gerberding, Director CDC, October 31, 2003.
[17] 109 Wang R. at 90 (Ex. B-6 from Defendants’ Brief). 110 Plaintiff’s Response in Opposition to Defendants’ Daubert Motion, 56, Easter v. Aventis Pastuer, Inc., No. 5:03-CV-141 (E.D. Tex 2005). 153 Id. At 01848 at 89.
[18] More on Madsen’s Analysis, Trelka and Hooker 2004, J. Am. Physicians Surgeons 9(4):101
[19] IOM Report: Adverse Effects of Vaccines: Evidence and Causality, 2011 https://iom.nationalacademies.org/Reports/2011/Adverse-Effects-of-Vaccines-Evidence-and-Causality.aspx, p. 145
[20] Recurrence of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Full- and Half-Siblings and Trends Over Time A Population-Based Cohort Study,Therese K. Gronborg, et al., JAMA Pediatrics, August 12, 2013.
[21] See e.g.: More on Madsen’s Analysis, Brian Hooker and Jeffrey Trelka, Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, Vol. 9, No. 4, 2004 9(4):101.
[22] See e.g.: Methodological Issues and Evidence of Malfeasance in Research Purporting to Show Thimerosal in Vaccines Is Safe, Brian Hooker, et al., BioMed Research International, Vol. 2014
[23] See e.g.: How Mercury was Absolved: Creativity, Collusion and Censorship, Jeffrey Trelka, Medical Veritas, Vol. 4, 2007
[24] See e.g.: Comment on: Association Between Thimerosal Containing Vaccine and Autism, Sallie Bernard, JAMA, Vol. 291(2), 2004.
[27] The CDC Finances, Writes and Publishes Danish Research, F.E. Yazbak, 37-page brief 2005, http://www.vaccinationnews.org/sites/default/files/THECDC~1.PDF.
[28] An Investigation of the Association Between MMR Vaccination and Autism in Denmark, G.S. Goldman and F.E. Yazbak, Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, Vol. 9, No. 3.
[29] Analysis of the Danish Autism Registry Data Base in Response to the Hviid et al Paper on Thimerosal in JAMA (October, 2003), S. Bernard, SafeMinds Website, http://www.safeminds.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Hviid_et_alJAMA-SafeMindsAnalysis.pdf
[30] Methodological Issues and Evidence of Malfeasance in Research Purporting to Show Thimerosal in Vaccines Is Safe, Brian Hooker, et al., BioMed Research International, Vol. 2014.
[31] A Population-Based Study of Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Vaccination and Autism, Kreesten Madsen, et al. New England Journal of Medicine, November 7, 2002
[32] An Investigation of the Association Between MMR Vaccination and Autism in Denmark, by G.S. Goldman and F.E. Yazbak, Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, Vol. 9, No. 3.
[33] IBID.
[34] Thorsen email to D. Schendel and Coleen Boyle, January 22, 2005
[35] P. Thorsen email to D. Schendel, November 26, 2002, “Could you or Coleen write a cover-letter (sic) underlining the importance of getting this information out now?”
Danchi is correct. The US Government official web pages on Poul Thorsen's fraud indictment have been retrieved, but there are other official pages still out there. Copy them while you can:-
"Thorsen Allegedly Absconded With Over $1 Million
http://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/gan/press/2011/04-13-11.html
ATLANTA, GA - POUL THORSEN, 49, of Denmark, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of wire fraud and money laundering based on a scheme to steal grant money the CDC had awarded to governmental agencies in Denmark for autism research..........."
Posted by: Jenny Allan | August 26, 2015 at 07:01 PM
Birgit, you wrote, "The way the press is acting is shameful." I don't think you can shame an industry which lacks integrity. Willingham makes the case perfectly. Shame doesn't work when a person or an enterprise has no code of ethics or moral compass.
If Willingham were writing for the Nazis or Fascists, shame is of no consequence or relevance. Shame only matters when you have some humanity or conscience. Willingham has neither.
Posted by: michael | August 26, 2015 at 06:20 PM
I found a link to the fugitive profile page of Poul Thosen but I am reluctant to post it because the CDC/Government/pharma has agents looking for them. At least this is what I believe. I have a screen shot and have also put the info on a portable hard drive for safe keeping. I'm going to ck with the site owner to see if the information is secure from attacks. If it is I will post the link. Since this site doesn't allow images on the comment board I don't know how to post it here for others to see. Any suggestions?
Posted by: Danchi | August 26, 2015 at 05:26 PM
CDC/government has been busy sanitizing the Poul Thorsen Fugitive webpage. The page has been disabled. I was able to get screenshots of his arrest warrant and the incitement letter.
"https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/fugitives/profiles.asp"
It's pretty clear at this point the Willingham story was a setup to prove that Thorsen wasn't an issue and isn't on a Interpol list anywhere and by removing that page from the government site they think that it discredits the charge that Thorsen defrauded the government and created a fraudulent study which the meme "there is no connection between autism and vaccines/thimerosal" is based on. Wrong. There are ways to obtain that page and it will be found. Just like the CDC page on SV-40 was found and put in a format that can't be removed when the report broke that the government has know since the 1950's that there were cancer causing viruses in the Polio vaccine. They went to great lengths to remove that page and the cache but it was later found. My advice, when anyone does get access to the page-make a screen shot-don't rely on just saving it in a file.
Posted by: Danchi | August 26, 2015 at 04:52 PM
Alt media coverage
http://www.wnd.com/2015/08/forbes-shoddy-journalism-on-vaccine-autism-link/
Posted by: Ottoschnaut | August 26, 2015 at 06:44 AM
Please delete previous efforts to provide working link. Looks impossible.
GOOGLE CACHE is available for Footnote (3) - https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/fugitives/profiles.asp
"This is Google's cache of https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/fugitives/profiles.asp. It is a snapshot of the page as it appeared on Aug 17, 2015 21:45:02 GMT."
Posted by: reader | August 25, 2015 at 09:31 PM
(3) Google Cache
This is Google's cache of https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/fugitives/profiles.asp. It is a snapshot of the page as it appeared on Aug 17, 2015 21:45:02 GMT.
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:pAeW_Srho2YJ:https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/fugitives/profiles.asp+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us">https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/fugitives/profiles.asp+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us">http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:pAeW_Srho2YJ:https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/fugitives/profiles.asp+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
Posted by: reader | August 25, 2015 at 09:19 PM
Jenny! You are absolutely correct. The way the press is acting is shameful. The way they are avoiding truthful reporting, however, does not just affect the reporting on the science and all that is connected to autism. It also concerns evveryone's trust in any kind of reporting. How can we trust what we are being told when the media are purposely avoiding doing proper research on what they report.
Posted by: Birgit Calhoun | August 25, 2015 at 03:58 PM
Good to read that something useful is happening. It's about time that Aarhus University has something official to say.
Posted by: Birgit Calhoun | August 25, 2015 at 03:49 PM
Thanks Carol - Here's No. 3. I guess this concerns us all:-
AARHUS UNIVERSITET
To whom it may concern STATEMENT
http://www.rescuepost.com/files/thorsen-aarhus-1.pdf
Statement regarding Dr. Poul Thorsen’s involvement in Aarhus University projects
"Aarhus University has decided to issue this statement in response to a number of requests on the part of CDC Denmark project partners.
Issue: The extent and nature of Dr. Poul Thorsen’s continued involvement in the CDC Denmark project for which he once provided primary scientific and administrative oversight, as well as of his continued relation to Aarhus University.
Background: The Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation (DASTI) has been a grant recipient as part of a cooperative agreement with the US National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, CDC, since 2001. The grant has been administered by Odense University Hospital and Aarhus University (AU) under the direction of Dr. Poul Thorsen.
The grant has multiple components and involves collaborators at other institutions in Denmark, including the University of Copenhagen and SSI (Statens Serum Institut). This successful collaboration has resulted in numerous valuable scientific results, and many more are forthcoming.
Unfortunately, a considerable shortfall in funding at Aarhus University associated with the CDC grant was discovered. In investigating the shortfalls associated with the grant, DASTI and Aarhus University became aware of two alleged CDC funding documents as well as a letter regarding funding commitments allegedly written by Randolph B. Williams of CDC's Procurement Grants Office which was used to secure advances from Aarhus University.
Upon investigation by CDC, a suspicion arose that the documents are forgeries.
DASTI conducted an internal investigation of the authenticity of the documents and have filed a police report with no specific person named in the filing.
A police investigation is ongoing.
Side 2/2
AARHUS UNIVERSITET
In March 2009, Dr. Thorsen resigned his faculty position at Aarhus University.
In the meantime, it has come to the attention of Aarhus University that Dr Thomsen has continued to act in such a manner as to create the impression that he still retains a connection to Aarhus University after the termination of his employment by the university. Furthermore, it has come to the attention of Aarhus University that Dr Poul Thorsen has held full-time positions at both Emory University and Aarhus University simultaneously. Dr Thorsens double Full-time employment was unauthorised by Aarhus University, and he engaged in this employment situation despite the express prohibition of Aarhus University.
Conclusion: Aarhus University wishes to confirm that Dr Poul Thorsen no longer has any connection to Aarhus University, and that Aarhus University will not be able to collaborate with Poul Thorsen in the future. To the extent that other parties collaborating with Aarhus University wish to draw on Poul Thorsen’s expertise, Aarhus University will only accept such collaboration if it has the purpose of securing data or protecting the interests of participating researchers and funding agencies.
Jørgen Jørgensen Managing Director
Posted by: Jenny Allan | August 25, 2015 at 03:14 PM
Well, actually, I managed to mess up the link, I guess through a crap cut-and-paste. Please feel free to correct my stupid errors. This should work: https://web.archive.org/web/20150814192441/https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/fugitives/profiles.asp">https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/fugitives/profiles.asp">https://web.archive.org/web/20150814192441/https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/fugitives/profiles.asp
Posted by: Carol | August 25, 2015 at 03:13 PM
Thanks Carol, John
Posted by: John Stone | August 25, 2015 at 02:55 PM
https://web.archive.org/web/20150814192441/https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/fugitives/profiles.asp">https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/fugitives/profiles.asp">https://web.archive.org/web/20150814192441/https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/fugitives/profiles.asp
OIG Fugitive: Poul Thorsen
From approximately February 2004 until February 2010, Poul Thorsen executed a scheme to steal grant money awarded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CDC had awarded grant money to Denmark for research involving infant disabilities, autism, genetic disorders, and fetal alcohol syndrome. CDC awarded the grant to fund studies of the relationship between autism and the exposure to vaccines, the relationship between cerebral palsy and infection during pregnancy, and the relationship between developmental outcomes and fetal alcohol exposure.
Thorsen worked as a visiting scientist at CDC, Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, before the grant was awarded.
The initial grant was awarded to the Danish Medical Research Council. In approximately 2007, a second grant was awarded to the Danish Agency for Science, Technology, and Innovation. Both agencies are governmental agencies in Denmark. The research was done by the Aarhaus University and Odense University Hospital in Denmark.
Thorsen allegedly diverted over $1 million of the CDC grant money to his own personal bank account. Thorsen submitted fraudulent invoices on CDC letterhead to medical facilities assisting in the research for reimbursement of work allegedly covered by the grants. The invoices were addressed to Aarhaus University and Sahlgrenska University Hospital. The fact that the invoices were on CDC letterhead made it appear that CDC was requesting the money from Aarhaus University and Sahlgrenska University Hospital although the bank account listed on the invoices belonged to Thorsen.
In April 2011, Thorsen was indicted on 22 counts of Wire Fraud and Money Laundering.
According to bank account records, Thorsen purchased a home in Atlanta, a Harley Davidson motorcycle, an Audi automobile, and a Honda SUV with funds that he received from the CDC grants.
Thorsen is currently in Denmark and is awaiting extradition to the United States.
Posted by: Carol | August 25, 2015 at 02:49 PM
Nope I couldn't get Link 3 either. I note link 4, which is a 'to whom it may concern' letter from Aarhus University about Thorsen, is a 'rescue post'. It would seem SOME vested interests don't want us to see this damning evidence about 'gov fraud'.
Posted by: Jenny Allan | August 25, 2015 at 11:57 AM
Hi Carol
The link is fine, it is the page that seems to have been made inexplicably unavailable. I tried to visit it yesterday morning independently of the article and was equally unsuccessful.
John
Posted by: John Stone | August 25, 2015 at 09:33 AM
Link [3] is dead.
Posted by: Carol | August 25, 2015 at 09:07 AM
I happened upon this the other day...a speech given in 1969 by then Nixon Vice President Spiro Agnew about he media. Agnew argued that television newscasters had unchecked unlimited power to shape public opinion. He went on to compare television to print news, saying that news in print had less potential to have a negative influence. Agnew's position on the media's portrayal of current events and politics, which then centered mainly on The Vietnam War and domestic protests, is something that could be argued from different perspectives. But clearly problems with the media date back to at least then.
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/spiroagnewtvnewscoverage.htm
Posted by: Linda1 | August 25, 2015 at 08:41 AM
msg to "Gathering Signatures for NO on SB277"
London wishes you well & every success .
California's success , is for everyones benefit .
Beware the interlopers and infiltraitors !
Posted by: Sophie Scholl | August 25, 2015 at 06:54 AM
I never could have imagined that journalism could fall to such depths. When I was a child watching the evening news felt like a privilege, widening our view of the world.
Now so narrow and distorted; so many Goebbels queueing up to be the latest minister of propaganda, passing up the story of a century for a corporate message.
Mr Kennedy, I remember seeing you getting arrested at a Keystone XL demonstration and wondered why someone would leave a comfortable life for that cause, and it made me take a close look at the issue and stand up.
I am sure many legislators have been influenced by your testimony in state after state, bringing recognition to the breadth of problems with the CDC, our vaccine safety, and our pusillanimous press. (Thanks John)
Great battles, great warriors.
Posted by: Greyone | August 25, 2015 at 06:52 AM
I spoke too soon about Brian Deer and LB RB. He can be found pontificating on a LB RB Matt Carey article on autism and inflammatory bowel disease. I won't bore you with Deer's ignorant and unqualified medical opinions on the Lancet 12 childrens' bowel problems, (which Deer previously forcefully averred did not exist!)-except if you want a good laugh, have a read.
His comment ends with another whinge about Professor Walker-Smith's successful High Court appeal, where Judge Lord Justice Mitting restored the Prof's licence to practice, with some scathing comments about the GMC's 'superficial, inadequate, and often completely WRONG appraisal of the evidence against the 3 doctors, mostly supplied by BRIAN DEER!
Deer states 'in his opinion' the GMC panel should be reconvened to re-strike off Professor Walker Smith. Sorry Brian- Didn't you know the GMC was forced to abandon those 'Kangaroo Courts' following the Mitting appeal and completely reform their procedures? The GMC could have appealed the Mitting verdict, following the Walker-Smith High Court Appeal. They chose NOT to do so. The 3 year GMC inquisition wasted an estimated £8million, and the High Court appeal several hundred thousands (which the GMC as 'losers' would have been liable to pay). Enough was enough!!
Deers LB RB comment was ridiculous enough to provoke censure from one of Carey's faithful deciples in another comment:-
"As much as I admire your work in exposing the fraud and deception of Mr. Wakefield,your comment here displays a remarkable amount of ignorance as far as the various medical conditions underlying autism is concerned.Theseconditions are many and varied.I do understand this may not be something you concern yourself with, but I would advise you against making speculation about that which you know little."
Good advice Brian -not that Deer will listen, since he considers himself a world authority, having been permitted to write articles in the BMJ. Deer is now making a laughing stock of every article he comments on, and every editor who promulgates Deer's nonsense.
Posted by: Jenny Allan | August 25, 2015 at 05:59 AM
"Jenny,
I took a peek at Matt Carey article and it's like a mutual brown shirt orgy over there." Yes it's nauseating Danchi. My comments on LB RB were my first -and LAST comments there. Those sycophantic groupies are a farmed 'herd'. Brian Deer and Dorit Reiss are less 'in your face' these days. Backing off??
Posted by: Jenny Allan | August 25, 2015 at 04:33 AM
RFK Jr for President!
Posted by: RFK jr for President! | August 25, 2015 at 03:39 AM
@Birgit Calhoun "In this country (US)the press is not too embarrassed to write whatever pays the bills. If it is a good read, it gets put in even without having been properly researched.............There are certain countries where this is against the law. The USA does not have such laws. It is not illegal to spread lies."
From above article Robert F. Kennedy Jr:-
"It would be difficult to overstate the cataclysmic impacts of Thorsen’s mischief on global health"
Both John Stone and myself complained to the recent UK Leveson Inquiry into press standards and malpractice. There was and is plenty of documented proof Brian Deer fabricated evidence against Dr Wakefield and his colleagues, for his Sunday Times so called 'investigative journalism' exposes. Lord Leveson chose to ignore it.
Worse, Deer IGNORED any evidence which did not 'fit' his 'stories', crucially the Royal Free Hospital research consent forms, asking parents to consent to 'extra' biopsy and other samples, taken during routine diagnostic investigations. One of these forms is in my family's possession. (My autistic grandson was a patient 1998-2002, post Lancet Paper). Deer's articles were all based on Royal Free documentation he obtained INCLUDING these consent forms, so Deer was well aware there were NO ethical transgressions, well before he wrote his 'stories'. Professor Walker-Smith ALREADY HAD ethical approval to take extra research samples as part of his Paediatric Gastroenterologist NHS position. I reproduce the form below:-
The form is a standard form, issued 'To parents' This is what it says:-
"Your child has been referred for diagnostic colonoscopy and/or endoscopy. Several small pieces of tissue (biopsies) are taken during the procedure for diagnostic purposes. Clinic inflammatory bowel diseases are still little understood and their cause is unknown. It is therefore of great value for laboratory research to have such biopsies available to study how inflammation in the bowel develops and is influenced by treatment. Your permission is asked to agree for two extra biopsies to be taken for these purposes.
Whether or not you agree to this will in no way influence your assessment or treatment.
(My daughter agreed to this and signed the form; the date was 14-03-99, AFTER the Lancet article. )
The form is headed with the names:- Professor Walker-Smith (Head of Dept), Dr Simon Murch and Dr Alan Phillips (Sen Lecturers) and Dr Mike Thomson (consultant)"
Dr Wakefield's name DOES NOT APPEAR on this form.
In my opinion, particularly in view of the terrible worldwide harm being done to our children and young adults by defective vaccines and other medicines, (including psychotropic drugs, often force administered to autistic children and aduts to 'control' their behaviour), persons who write articles in newspapers or produce media programmes, who DELIBERATELY, fabricate false 'evidence' and write malicious lies, to serve the interests of corporations and governments, should be prosecuted under the criminal laws of their country. Politicians and government officials involved, should also be prosecuted.
Posted by: Jenny Allan | August 25, 2015 at 03:22 AM
Thank you RFK Jr, great work with your response. The corruption is immense. It's scary. If Forbes is going to allow these lies to be published under their name I no longer care to even read that rag.
Posted by: Linda | August 25, 2015 at 02:18 AM
If Robert F. Kennedy ever runs for president, he's got my vote!!! Great article!
Posted by: beverly gardner | August 25, 2015 at 12:34 AM
Jenny,
I took a peek at Matt Carey article and it's like a mutual brown shirt orgy over there. They really go out of their way scratching each other backs on the comment board. It's actually rather nauseating to read.
Posted by: Danchi | August 24, 2015 at 11:42 PM
Actually, with reference to what Birgit said, it is in certain circumstances already illegal to spread the truth. It's called a gag order.
Posted by: Linda1 | August 24, 2015 at 09:18 PM
"It is not illegal to spread lies."
No, but they're trying to make it illegal to spread the truth.
Posted by: Linda1 | August 24, 2015 at 09:16 PM
Thank you, RFK, Jr., for your dedication to speaking the truth about this issue. As parents of vaccine-damaged children, it is difficult for us to put into words how much courage you inspire in us, how uplifting it is whenever we see you or read your words.
Onward.
Posted by: David Taylor | August 24, 2015 at 09:09 PM
My guess is that Willingham is paid for what she writes. Certain people troll for writing jobs that have a certain drift.
It is well known that certain articles might look like they are objective. But that doesn't mean that these people were not told what to write. Many articles are on purpose not objective. In this country the press is not too embarrassed to write whatever pays the bills. If it is a good read, it gets put in even without having been properly researched.
That is true for reputable papers and magazines, as well, and when the story sounds good for the purpose for which it is written, nobody questions it.
There are certain countries where this is against the law. The USA does not have such laws. It is not illegal to spread lies.
Posted by: Birgit Calhoun | August 24, 2015 at 06:48 PM
One of President Kennedy's sisters, Rose, had a mental handicap that was hidden to a great extent by the parents. But reading Wikipedia, she might well have been mercury-poisoned. She was...reportedly subject to violent mood swings. Violent mood swing are a hallmark of mercury poisoning.
Posted by: Birgit Calhoun | August 24, 2015 at 06:26 PM
Further to Danchi's comment about Dr Wakefield sueing Emily Willingham over a malicious Forbes article, this was reported on AoA:-
Andrew Wakefield Responds to Emily Willingham and Forbes
http://www.ageofautism.com/2014/05/andrew-wakefield-responds-to-emily-willingham-and-forbes.html#more
From above:-
"Dear Emily Willingham,
It has been brought to my attention that on or about April 30, 2014, Forbes ran an online article authored by you entitled, “Blame Wakefield For Missed Autism-Gut Connection.” The article can be found online at:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/emilywillingham/2014/04/30/blame-wakefield-for-missed-autism-gut-connection/
In this letter you made demonstrably false and misleading claims that have the effect of defaming me. Your false and defamatory statements are reckless, stated without due regard to the available evidence, and malicious. Accordingly, pending review by my lawyers, you will be sued for defamation."
In the event I don't think Dr Wakefield sued. Instead Willingham was forced to retract some of her worst lies and excesses, although NOT on the original article, only providing a link. More recently, Matt Carey, 'resurrected' Willingham's article, blaming Dr Wakefield for the lack of gut research in autistic persons,on his Left Brain/ Right Brain website.
A bad tempered (on his part) exchange with Carey, where his responses to a one paragraph comment by me, pointing out what can (and CANNOT) be decided or inferred by raw hospital data provided on US autistic child admissions, resulted in a tirade from Carey, including the usual insults about Dr Wakefield and the 1998 Lancet Paper. (My first comment did not mention Dr Wakefield or MMR vaccine, but Carey will be well aware of my stance on these matters since he monitors AoA.)
I was delighted to reply with the REAL facts about Dr Wakefield and his colleagues, and a by now furious Carey in his response claimed Dr Wakefield 'lied' when he said all autistic children had bowel disease. Of course Dr Wakefield said no such thing. Carey made it up, as he 'makes up' much of the vaccine defensive stuff on his webpage.
I sweetly informed Carey about Dr Wakefield's letter to Willingham following her article, and reminded him Dr Wakefield no longer puts up with malicious lies about him on public internet sites.
Carey's next response was a change of comment, not admitted to be a 'retraction'. This time Dr Wakefield was alleged to have stated a 'majority' of autistic children have bowel disease. This too was NOT a Dr Wakefield comment, but several OTHER US sources have made this claim. The American Academy of Paediatrics examined the research and put the incidence at between 9% and 90% in their Journal Paediatrics (UK spelling), calling for more research. It's quite scandalous that we have had to wait so long for this issue to be admitted. We are still waiting for this issue to be addressed. Autistic children with bowel disorders are left to suffer.
The likes of Carey, Willingham, Reiss, Offit and all the other cowardly Pharma sponsored defenders of the indefensible, are like rats, one by one deserting a sinking ship. History will expose and vilify them.
Posted by: Jenny Allan | August 24, 2015 at 02:22 PM
I believe one of Dr. Thorsen's Denmark studies concluded that Autism rates ...went UP by a factor of 20... following the removal of Thimerosal from vaccines in the early 90's.
This of course, would mean that "mercury prevents Autism" and should have been placed back into the vaccines.
Posted by: go Rand | August 24, 2015 at 01:56 PM
I don't know if autism has afflicted any Kennedys and I hope very much that it has not.
But I have started to think that those who speak truth to power, those who cannot "NOT" see what is true, may well have a gene that is also linked to susceptibility to autism and other neurological disorders when exposed to certain chemicals. And this makes me start to believe the theories that just maybe the powers that be are not that disturbed that it is our potentially truth telling, independent thinking children who are the ones most likely to be harmed by vaccines. Maybe they are glad to wipe us out. I used to think this was crazy but look at us. Look at how, even though we could set this aside and take care of our own children and ignore the world, we can't help fighting against mandatory vaccination. If this is true, or if it is just a coincidence that we parents of vaccine injured children are not sheeple, or if we were simply made this way by our experience, it means we are a force to reckon with.
RFK JR, I saw you at the Trace Amounts screening in Sacramento. It seemed to me that you were haunted --meaning that you know this truth, and you CANNOT walk away and live with yourself, exactly like your father who fought against the Vietnam War, who surely could have chosen an easier life for himself at many junctures but was driven to speak the truth. Had people only listened to him sooner, tens of thousands would still be alive today. But because he spoke out when he did, I am sure it sped the ending of the war and saved many lives. And even if you were NOT related to him, I would have thought of this analogy immediately after hearing you speak at the screening. You, too, are using time when you could be doing other stuff, either more fun or more profitable, to push people to wake up. If you knew how much it keeps myself and others from despair to know that some of what we believed in in childhood about the best of this country is still true. . .Thank you for fighting for us. There is no way to adequately thank you. I wish you could be the head of the EPA in next administration. Nelson Mandela overcame the evils of Apartheid to became president of South Africa; we can overcome this.
Posted by: Gathing Signatures for NO on SB277 | August 24, 2015 at 01:50 PM
Thank you to Mr. Kennedy. You do justice to your famous name. You are standing up for injustice and for those who have been harmed by it, in the tradition of your father, Uncle Jack and Uncle Ted and your cousin John. The Kennedy family have been heroes in our country and few people even realize it, because of the mainstream media, who have always attempted to discredit them. I, for one, appreciate all that your family has done to correct injustice in the world and am sorry that they have paid such an enormous price for their courage I am so glad that you have inherited this trait and I thank you for your courage.
Posted by: have been heroes | August 24, 2015 at 01:01 PM
Thank you! I would also say the "research" actually done with CDC funding is the far bigger crime, but the stolen 1-2 million "research" dollars for personal use, continuing to go unaddressed, should signal something is really wrong in the U.S. vaccine program (if not the entire U.S. government) to anyone capable of waking up to it.
Posted by: Jeannette Bishop | August 24, 2015 at 12:16 PM
Thank you for this article. Great summary of events! I still have doctors try to use "the Danish Study" to exonerate the MMR vaccine from any autism connection. It's very sad many pediatricians are content to remain so ill-informed, and can't (or don't want to) see what's happening in front of their very eyes.
@ Danchi, I loved your post also: "The Willingham story, IMHO, did not have the impact that the CDC/HHS/pharma hoped it would. One thing it did do was indicate who big pharma owns" ...
I totally agree! All these blatant lies printed by publications like Forbes, Time, The Washington Post, LA Times, etc only serve to highlight their Pharma ties, and make it very easy for anyone still on the fence to now completely disregard everything they write on this topic.
If it weren't so serious, their lies would almost be comical. In some ways, the more bold the lie, the more helpful in that it exposes them for the pharma whores they are. Anyone who does the bare minimum fact-checking can see through these articles. This is not "journalism," and more true journalists need to start calling people like Emily out before their profession loses all credibility.
The same can be said for anything coming out of the CDC regarding vaccines and autism. Whenever they, and all the talking heads, come down hard against any autism treatment (or biomedical practitioner who treats kids on the spectrum), I know that's probably a treatment I need to research right away. Seems it never fails, if the CDC is against it, it is usually a very effective treatment!
Posted by: AnneJ | August 24, 2015 at 12:08 PM
Thank you, Mr. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. It is so uplifting for us, in the autism community, to have a champion with such integrity, intellect and compassion. We are grateful for your efforts!
Posted by: Gina Rengstorf | August 24, 2015 at 11:56 AM
Excellent rebuttal!!!
Posted by: Twyla | August 24, 2015 at 11:34 AM
pusillanimousness
John, I love that word:)
If America cannot address these issues for much longer with the courage displayed by Mr Kennedy here, the consequences will be dire.
The consequences are already dire. This goes back to America's involvement in WWII when the American people were sold on why it had to get involved in the war. Polio was the next widespread bill of good although we now know that the government/CDC health depts were involved in a number of pernicious operations against the American people-specifically certain ethnic groups before that public relations campaign that harmed and killed more people than it helped:
-In 1935, after millions die from the disease, the director of the U.S Public Health Office would finally admit that officials had known that it was caused by a niacin deficiency for some time, but did nothing about it because it mostly affected poor African-Americans. During the Nuremberg Trials, Nazi doctors used this study to try to justify their medical experiments on concentration camp inmates. No wonder the US offered these criminals new identifies in the US. The Nazi doctors were just the kind of soulless creatures the US was looking for. I would be willing to bet some of these men were working in top positions in the health sectors of the US government and were involved in the development of some of the vaccines that to this day continue to harm not only American, but people worldwide. After all they were on board the eugenics program long before it was know that the origins of the Nazi solution was created in the US.
-1932-1972 The U.S. Public Health Service in Tuskegee, Ala. diagnoses 400 poor, black sharecroppers with syphilis but never tells them of their illness nor treats them; instead researchers use the men as human guinea pigs to follow the symptoms and progression of the disease. They all eventually die from syphilis and their families are never told that they could have been treated. Even though now that the program has been exposed the CDC/government rationalizes it. The families were never compensated and to this day the impact of the experiments affects generations heath many years later.
If you read through the history of just vaccines (not the site put out by the CDC/government) you will discover hundreds of pernicious atrocities perpetuated upon people around the world all in the name of science. That being said, there have always been minions who serve at the pleasure of the evil doers. They all think they have some special place within the circle but they are disposable. It always happens that way.
As I recall Willingham was being sued over a article she wrote. I think it was about Dr. Wakefield and because of a suit being filed (not really sure if it was) she went from contributor to subscriber back to contributor status on forbes. Despite the fact that Willingham is now listed as a forbes “Contributor” again, she hasn't been a contributor as before in the past. Maybe this is her way of getting back in forbes good graces by writing another completely misleading and dishonest story. Obviously she's a more convincing liar than a truth teller and the CDC/HHS need that sociopathic skill right now to distract from the many reputable reporting on Poul Thorsen. However it appears the same people jump on board with her-the Dorits, mike stevens, Lazarus, katia, -all the Science blogs hommies. Somehow they seem to think their comments, dorit and her thank you for writing this article spiel and the trolls en-mass up arrowing each other ad nausea, somehow adds creditability to the story and compels people not to continue their own research.
Whatever credability forbes may have had in the past is long gone. It is a know government shrill rag. It's not left leaning or right leaning as people take a stand for or against vaccines, forbes stand strong-right in the center of the government just like CNN, MSNBC, CBS, Time and all the other pharmaceutical owned media outlets. The one thing that the rabid push for mandatory vaccines has done is wake people up. The Willingham story, IMHO, did not have the impact that the CDC/HHS/pharma hoped it would. One thing it did do was indicate who big pharma owns.
Posted by: Danchi | August 24, 2015 at 09:09 AM
"The Madsen et al. 2003 study has been repeatedly cited by public health agencies to justify the inclusion by CDC of thimerosal in 50 million flu shots given to Americans, including pregnant women, and the World Health Organization’s (WHO) decision to inoculate 100 million children in developing nations annually with thimerosal preserved vaccines."
Just a small matter then .
Msg for Emily - do you realise the magnitude of the game you have dropped yourself into ?
Whatever they are paying you, it cannot be worth this .
I'd have a rethink if I were you .
msg for Colleen , sorry girl , there is no hope for you .
Posted by: Sophie Scholl | August 24, 2015 at 08:10 AM
"It is of course a great honour to welcome Robert F Kennedy Jnr to the columns of Age of Autism"
seconding JDS comments as usual .
Amazed to see this article here .
Emily - what are we going to do with you - naughty child .
Posted by: Sophie Scholl | August 24, 2015 at 07:40 AM
Thank you to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for this thorough accounting of the Madsen, Thorsen debauchery. It is sickening to read about his tricks to hide obvious health problems in children and the "Willing" collusion (HHS, CDC, "Pediatrics," Jose Cordero, Colleen Boyle and Julie Gerberding) in this whole mess. Forbes is completely guilty of not fact checking and had been called out as garbage. Congrats. I think their party is just about over. My only question is: how do these people live with themselves?
Posted by: "Just an aide in a classroom" | August 24, 2015 at 07:24 AM
Also from across the Atlantic, a heartfelt thank you to Robert F Kennedy for his courage, persistence and fortitude. Thanks also to John Stone and Age of Autism. I have a large 'collection' of UK and Scottish Government responses, citing the Madsen/Thorsen flawed papers, as though they are some kind of 'sainted gospel truth', instead of fraudulent, manipulated data and 'spin'.
Posted by: Jenny Allan | August 24, 2015 at 06:55 AM
"Danish journalist, Ulla Danielsen has speculated that Thorsen’s carefree lifestyle in Denmark and the fact that he has never been interrogated by police despite the extradition treaty between the US and Denmark – is evidence that US agencies are protecting him."
As I recall original indictment of Poul .. there were 3 or 4 "unnamed co-conspirators" also indicted at the same time .. who were they? I suspect they must have been high-level CDC personnel .. which would explain why the US may be protecting THEM by not extraditing Poul.
AND THE BAND PLAYS ON AND ON .. as the corruption continues to widen .. to include Justice Department for not extraditing Poul .. and .. not to forget .. the professional alibi witnesses in our national media .. who earn a living spewing whatever misinformation and deceit they are tasked to do.
Posted by: Bob Moffitt | August 24, 2015 at 06:47 AM
Willingham, of course, is part of the problem - a kite flyer on behalf of certain interests and her patronage no doubt depends on it. When you point out that she's being slippery over this or that point she affects not to understand. In the comments to her column on Thorsen she was playing the line that Denmark don't extradite. This is obviously another attempt to mislead. There is a treaty, and if by any chance there were any complications we have not got to that stage - it was just another red herring.
I seem to recall the rubric over Ms Willingham's column was something like 'I write about the science they want to sell you" which was a conceivably interesting proposition: now it is "The brain is my beat" and I scarcely think so. What she was of course trying to tell us on this occasion was Thorsen is not important (and who would want you to think that?)
It is of course a great honour to welcome Robert F Kennedy Jnr to the columns of Age of Autism: it is alas also a commentary on the corruption and the pusillanimousness of the mainstream media that they have given up on the scrutiny of important functions of government. If America cannot address these issues for much longer with the courage displayed by Mr Kennedy here, the consequences will be dire.
Posted by: John Stone | August 24, 2015 at 06:26 AM