Your Review Of NY Times' June 25 article, On Autism's Cause, It's Parents vs. Research

[Guest guest]

Dan Olmstead,

The text which follows is an independent

scientist's e-mail that addressed and

reviewed the NY Times' article, " On

Autism's Cause, It's Parents vs.

Research. "

Hopefully, after reading it, you will

have a better understanding of just how

knowingly biased this article truly is.

Shoulf you have any questions that

require my direct input, you can call me

at 973-331-0131 (I'm usually at home

after 16:00 on most days).

Hopefully, you will have better luck

than I in getting the NY Times to

address the substantive issues that

were raised. [To date, the NT Times

has declined to respond to my e-mail --

much like the FDA has failed, for more

than three years (up to last Friday

[8 July 2005]) to answer the January

2002 Citizen Petition on vaccines,

assigned FDA Public Docket identifier

2002P-0025, that was submitted by the

National Vaccine Information Center.

By their own legal-binding regulations,

the FDA should have responded by 15

July 2002 because, at a minimum, their

regulations require a 180-day interim

response.]

The quoted e-mail to the New Times

follows these introductory remarks.

Respectfully,

Dr. King

http://www.dr-king.com

____________________________________

Dr. King's NY-Times-acknowledged 26

June 2005 E-mail to the Editors &

Publisher of the NY Times (through

A-CHAMP):

>NY Times Autism article is intellectually

>dishonest and attacks parents of

>neurologically injured children

>

>TO:

>Arthur Sulzberger, Chairman, Publisher

>Byron Calame, Public Editor

>Jill Abramson, Managing Editor - Newsgathering

>Gail , Editorial Page Editor

> Rich, Associate Editor

>

>As an Editor for the New York Times, I

>respectfully request your attention

>regarding the malicious, factually

>incorrect and intellectually dishonest

>article written on July 25, 2005, " On

>Autism's Cause: It's Parents vs. Research, "

>credited to Gardiner and Anahad

>O'Connor.

>

>In an irresponsible, inaccurate, and

>inflammatory front page story, the Times

>has launched a vicious attack on the

>autism community in a transparent attempt

>to influence public perception about the

>growing body of scientific evidence

>linking mercury-containing vaccines and

>neurodevelopmental disorders that now

>affect one in six American children.

>

>The New York Times has received a plethora

>of information including current scientific

>research studies and internal communications

>that clearly demonstrate industry and

>government suppression of safety information

>regarding a toxic product given to infants

>and children.

>

>Documentation detailing manipulation of

>scientific data used in published research

>studies and possible destruction of data,

>and evidence of conflicts-of-interest

>involving federal agencies have also been

>provided to the Times over the past ten

>months.

>

>Rather than disclose to the public the

>information provided by many parents,

>organizations, doctors and researchers,

>the Times cherry-picked parent

>correspondence and isolated incidents in

>an unfair, sensationalistic effort to paint

>parents in a negative light, dismissing

>entirely the thousands of requests for

>open and honest examination of the issue

>that has yet to be acted upon by government

>officials.

>

>This article is the latest in a consistent

>pattern of support for pharmaceutical

>industry spin in covering the autism/vaccine

>debate, calling into question the

>journalistic integrity and agenda of the New

>York Times and its editors.

>

>I respectfully ask that you thoroughly

>investigate all the information provided

>to the reporters of this article and the

>subsequent biased manner in which the story

>was presented.

>

>A copy of this letter is also being sent

>to Arthur Sulzberger, Chairman and Publisher

>of the New York Times.

>

>In addition, the following is a fully

>commented review of the aforementioned

>article to aid you in understanding many

>the factual errors that this article

>contains:

>

>June 25, 2005

>On Autism's Cause, It's Parents vs. Research

>By GARDINER HARRIS and ANAHAD O'CONNOR

>[with comenter's statements in bracketed text]

>

> Ehresmann, a Minnesota Department of

>Health official, had just told a State Senate

>hearing that vaccines with microscopic amounts

>of mercury were safe.

>[NO level of mercury has been SCIENTIFICALLY

>PROVEN to be safe for human consumption much

>less for direct injection and, in animal

>studies, " microscopic amounts " of mercury have

>been found to be poisonous and non-reversibly

>neurotoxic at ppb levels - levels well below

>the ppm levels found in vaccines. The

> " current " safety estimates are based on the

>data from short-term or moderate-term studies

>in adult animal models.]

>

>Libby Rupp, a mother of a 3-year-old girl with

>autism, was incredulous. " How did my daughter

>get so much mercury in her? " Ms. Rupp asked

>Ms. Ehresmann after her testimony.

>

> " Fish? " Ms. Ehresmann suggested.

>

> " She never eats it, " Ms. Rupp answered.

>

> " Do you drink tap water? "

>

> " It's all filtered. "

>

> " Well, do you breathe the air? " Ms.

>Ehresmann asked, with a resigned smile.

>[in other words, this person is willing

>to believe in any source for the

>observed mercury poisoning EXCEPT fore

>{sic;for} the mercury in vaccines and

>other drugs.]

>

>Several parents looked angrily at Ms.

>Ehresmann, who left.

>

>Ms. Rupp remained, shaking with anger.

>That anyone could defend mercury in

>vaccines, she said, " makes my blood boil. "

>

>Public health officials, like Ms. Ehresmann,

>who herself has a son with autism, have

>been trying for years to convince parents

>like Ms. Rupp that there is no link between

>thimerosal - a mercury-containing

>preservative once used routinely in vaccines -

>and autism.

>[Perhaps, Ms. Ehresman has been trying to

>convince herself and others BECAUSE that is

>what she is paid to do. Factually, these

>public health officials have no scientifically

>sound and appropriate data that clinically

>proves that Thimerosal mercury cannot cause

>the damage seen nor have they found any other

>proven causative agent that has CREATED the

>American mystery disease that is labeled

> " autism. " Moreover, in less severe cases,

>the mercury poisoning conditions labeled as

>neurological disease conditions ( " Asperger's

>Syndrome, " " delayed speech, " " tics, " " ADHD, "

> " ADD, " etc.) or other probably mercury-

>poisoning-related diseases such as mercury-

>poisoning-induced disease conditions like

> " precocious puberty " and " childhood Type II

>diabetes " seem to have been deliberately

>ignored In addition, this article has also

>ignored the 3-fold increase in Alzheimer's

>disease in the elderly who have received a

>Thimerosal-preserved " flu " shot for 5

>consecutive years over those who have

>received no " flu " shot!]

>

>They have failed.

>[They have failed because they lack any

>clinical PROOF of SAFETY for the Thimerosal

>injected at the levels and intervals used

>from the late 1980's until the early 2000's.

>Moreover, they have failed because they

>have been caught REPEATED lying, as this

>article does, about the administration of

>in-date Thimerosal-preserved " routine "

>vaccines to children up until 2004 and

>about the ongoing administration of

>Thimerosal-preserved " flu " vaccines to

>children as young as 6 months. This latter

>lie is particularly egregious because

>independent studies of " flu " cases have

>shown that the " flu " vaccine is not EFFECTIVE

>in protecting against " flu " in children 2

>years of age and younger, and only, at best,

>about 50% effective in children 3 years and

>older.]

>

>The Centers for Disease Control and

>Prevention, the Food and Drug

>Administration, the Institute of Medicine,

>the World Health Organization and the

>American Academy of Pediatrics have all

>largely dismissed the notion that

?thimerosal causes or contributes to autism.

>[Here, the article correctly states these

>agencies' official position - without even

>attempting to do the proper clinical studies

>to address the question, they simply dismissed

>the notion.

>

>Five major [uS government (1) and

>pharmaceutical-industry underwritten (4)

> " epidemiological " ] studies have found no

>link.

>

>Yet despite all evidence to the contrary,

>the number of parents who blame thimerosal

>for their children's autism has only

>increased.

>[since epidemiological studies CANNOT

>prove a link - the studies referred to here

> are not the evidence that can PROVE a

>causative link - epidemiological studies

>only PROVE the probability that there is

>a link (the " odds ratio " ) - and the clinical

>animal studies that have been preformed,

>from the mid-1930's to date, clearly

>establish proof that sub-ppm mercury levels

> can and do non-reversibly damage neurons

>(e.g., C. W Leong, Naweed I.

>Syed and Fritz L. Lorscheider, " Retrograde

>degeneration of neurite membrane structural

>integrity of nerve growth cones following

>in vitro exposure to mercury, " NeuroReport,

>12(4) pages 733-737 (2001)) and the brain

>(e.g., Mady Hornig, Chian, and W. Ian

>Lipkin, IMMEDIATE COMMUNICATION, " Neurotoxic

>effects of postnatal thimerosal are mouse

>strain dependent, " Molecular Psychiatry,

>pages 1-13, (Jun 8, 2004)).]

>

>And in recent months, these parents have

>used their numbers, their passion and their

>organizing skills to become a potent national

>force.

>[And their understanding of the science that

>supports their position, and …]

>

>The issue has become one of the most

>fractious and divisive in pediatric

>medicine.

>[so what?]

>

> " This is like nothing I've ever seen

>before, " Dr. Melinda Wharton, deputy

>director of the National Immunization

>Program, told a gathering of immunization

>officials in Washington in March. " It's

>an era where it appears that science isn't

>enough. "

>[since the " epidemilogical " studies

>referred to have been found and proven

>to be devoid of sound science and other

>clinical studies on animals including

>primates ( M. Burbacher, Danny D. Shen,

>Noelle Liberato, S. Grant, Elsa

>Cernichiari, and son Brubacher,

> " Comparison of Blood and Brain Mercury

>Levels in Infant Monkeys Exposed to

>Methylmercury or Vaccines Containing

>Thimerosal, " Environmental Health

>Perspectives, doi:10.1289/ehp.7712 (available

>at http://dx.doi.org/), The National Institute

>of Environmental Health Sciences, National

>Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health

>and Human Services, online 21 April 2005) have

>proven that " microscopic amounts " of mercury

>accumulate in the brain and, in other animal

>studies where the animals were dosed during

>development and observed over a significant

>period of time, cause various non-reversible

>neuropoisoning symptoms.]

>

>Parents have filed more than 4,800 lawsuits -

>200 from February to April alone - pushed for

>state and federal legislation banning thimerosal

>and taken out full-page advertisements in major

>newspapers.

>[One group filed a " Citizen Petition " with the

>FDA on 15 January 2002 (FDA Docket # 2002P-0025)

>that, contrary to law, the FDA refused to answer

>within 180 days as required by their own

>regulations (to date, 27 June 2005, that petition

>has NOT yet been answered)!!! In addition,

>another group also filed a petition (2004P-0349)

>on 5 August 2004 in which, though the FDA did

>provide an interim answer at the 180-day period

>that said they were studying the petition, the

>FDA has refused to address the FDA's failure to

>comply with the CLEAR statutory mandate governing

>its conduct as set forth in 42 U. S. C. 300aa-27

>in spite of the U.S. Supreme Court's 1988

>unanimous ruling (in Berkovitz v. U.S.) that

>the FDA has NO latitude in complying with any CLEAR

>law. Since the government's actions clearly

>indicate that the government holds itself

>bove the law, no wonder that those who have

>been and are being damaged by the government's

>refusal to comply with the law are mobilizing

>to pursue other means to get their concerns

>addressed!!!]

>

>They have also gained the support of

> politicians, including Senator ph I.

>Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and

>Representatives Dan Burton, Republican of

>Indiana, and Dave Weldon, Republican of

>Florida.

>

>And F. Kennedy Jr. wrote an article

>in the June 16 issue of Rolling Stone magazine

>arguing that most studies of the issue are

>flawed and that public health officials are

>conspiring with drug makers to cover up the

>damage caused by thimerosal.

>

> " We're not looking like a fringe group anymore, "

>said Becky Lourey, a Minnesota state senator

>and a sponsor of a proposed thimerosal ban.

>

>Such a ban passed the New York State Legislature

>this week. [iowa, California and Missouri enacted

>similar bans and land is attempting to ban

>mercury altogether - yet these facts are not

>even reported,]

>

>But [government-paid and industry] scientists

>and public health officials say they are

>alarmed by the surge of attention to an idea

>without scientific merit.

>[Rather than their rhetoric and flawed

>epidemiological studies that have been

>found to be without scientific validity and/or

>fundamentally flawed or distorted, this

>reviewer would like to see the in vivo and in

>vitro studies that establish that " autism " is

>a complex set of conditions CAUSED by mercury

>poisoning from the vaccine-derived mercury

>compound injected into infants WITHOUT any

>clinical proof in scientifically sound and

>appropriate long-term clinical studies

>PROVING that such injections was safe

>(with at least a 100-fold safety margin)

>over the level of injected Thimerosal-

>containing vaccines found to cause the

>onset of neurological damage. FACTUALLY,

>as even the FDA gas {sic; has} repeatedly

>admitted when testifying to Congress, the

>REQUISITE safety studies have NEVER been

>performed. Thus, there is NO PROOF of

>safety!!!]

>

>The anti-thimerosal campaign, they say,

>is causing some parents to stay away from

>vaccines, placing their children at risk

>for illnesses like measles and polio.

>[since the cited vaccines, measles and polio,

>have no Thimerosal in them (< 10 ppb according

>to the independent tests that have been

>performed looking for the " 0 " level in such

>vaccines), the expressed concern grossly

>overstates the reality that, given the evidence

>on the harm sub-ppm levels of mercury can

>cause, parents should NOT be giving their

>children any drugs, including vaccines,

>that contain ANY level of ADDED Thimerosal

>or any other mercury compounds. If, in the

>early 1990's, Russia and the Scandinavian c

>ountries, and, in 2004, the United Kingdom

>have removed mercury form their vaccines and

>drugs THEN why are Americans still being

>asked to inject an unnecessary poison into

>their children and themselves?]

>

> " It's really terrifying, the scientific

>illiteracy that supports these suspicions, "

>said Dr. Marie McCormick, chairwoman of an

>Institute of Medicine panel that examined

>the controversy in February 2004.

>[As someone who is recognized as being

>scientifically literate and who understands

>that ppb levels of mercury in the brain

>non-reversibly poison the brain, this

>commenter finds Dr. McCormick's statement

>to be, at best, disingenuous. Moreover,

>The New York Times would do well to seek

>out her trial testimony about the IOM

>panel's instructions as well as carefully

>read the transcript of that IOM panel's

>initial meeting before publishing a

>statement like this.]

>

>Experts [government and industry-paid]

>say they are also concerned about a raft

>of unproven, costly and potentially

>harmful treatments - including strict

>diets, supplements and a detoxifying

>technique called chelation - that are

>being sold for tens of thousands of

>dollars to desperate parents of autistic

>children as a cure for " mercury poisoning. "

>[Factually, these are generally only

>being sold as treatments and NOT cures.

>Moreover, these same experts (while

>chanting their " there is no proof " mantra,

>have failed to either PROVE a different

>cause or to find an alternative effective

>treatment, much less a cure. In addition,

>millions of " advertising " dollars are

>being spent on propaganda that purports

>that there is no link; but almost nothing

>is spent on clinically PROVING what the

> " cause " is OR PROVING that mercury is

>NOT a cause.]

>

>In one case, a doctor forced children to

>sit in a 160-degree sauna, swallow 60 to

>70 supplements a day and have so much

>blood drawn that one child passed out.

>[First, what has this to do with " chelation " ?

>Second, this commenter notes that many of

>the approved treatment plans for cancer are

>similarly cruel and have similar protocols

>and worse outcomes including death. What

>about the many well-researched and science-

>supported treatment regimens that have

>proof of helping the recipient to improve?]

>

>Hundreds of doctors list their names on

>a Web site endorsing chelation to treat

>autism, even though experts say that no

>evidence supports its use with that disorder.

>[since these doctors understand that " autism "

>is an artificial name for mercury poisoning

>and mercury poisoning is approved to be

>treated and is treated by chelation, these

>doctors treat their mercury-poisoned

>patients with chelation - well-recognized

>treatment for mercury poisoning. In many

>cases, chelation not only finds PROOF of

>(CONFIRMS) the mercury poisoning but also

>IMPROVES the lives of those children it

>identifies as being mercury poisoned!!!]

>

>The treatment carries risks of liver and

>kidney damage, skin rashes and nutritional

>deficiencies, they say.

>[All drugs have side effects and risks --

>so what is the problem here? Also, if the

>appropriate chelating agents are used and

>supportive supplements are given, the only

>remaining risk is a mild rash. Moreover,

>doctors routinely prescribe cholesterol-

>lowering drugs that carry similar and worse

> " risks. " What then is the point of this ad

>homonym {sic; homenin} statement - to

>frighten women and children?]

>

>In recent months, the fight over thimerosal

>has become even more bitter.

>

>In response to a barrage of threatening

>letters and phone calls, the centers

>for disease control has increased

>security and instructed employees on

>safety issues, including how to respond

>if pies are thrown in their faces.

>[bUT they have done nothing to PROVE

>that mercury-poisoning from the Thimerosal

>in vaccines CANNOT and DOES NOT poison

>the brains of developing children. In fact,

>the only study (by Brubacker {sic; Burbacher}

et al. [published in 2005] on primates

>conclusively demonstrated that at least

>TWICE as much mercury accumulates in the

>brains of infant monkeys when a trace

>level of Thimerosal is administered as

>is the case when a similar trace level

>of " methyl mercury " is administered in

>the same protocol. Unfortunately or,

>perhaps, deliberately, no long-term

>study of these animals was conducted

>to see the effects of the poisonous

>mercury that accumulated in their brains

>on the development of these primates.]

>

>One vaccine expert at the centers wrote

>in an internal e-mail message that she

>felt safer working at a malaria field

>station in Kenya than she did at the

>agency's offices in Atlanta.

>[This commenter sees no point to this

>unattributed remark!]

>

>An Alarm Is Sounded

>

>[Without any scientifically sound

>proof of safety,] Thimerosal was for

>decades the favored preservative for use

>in vaccines.

>[Factually, Thimerosal was only a

> " favored " preservative for certain

>vaccines - early studies clearly

>established that Thimerosal could

>NOT be used in " live " vaccines at

> " preservative " levels because those

>levels destroyed (denatured) the

> " live " vaccines' active components.

>Moreover, as even the FDA admits,

>Thimerosal was used illegally since

>the at least 1989 - without the

>requisite proofs of safety as explicitly

>required by 42 U.S.C. 300aa.]

>

>By weight, it is about 50 percent

>ethyl mercury, a form of mercury most

>scientists consider to be less toxic

>than methyl mercury, the type found in

>fish.

>[Factually, Thimerosal is about 50 %

>mercury by weight; it is about 57% by

>weight " ethyl mercury. " In addition,

>based on the evidence on the relative

>levels of mercury accumulated in the

>brains of infant monkeys, Thimerosal

>is at least twice as NEUROTOXIC to

>the brain as " methyl mercury. " Since

>the study was presented at meetings in

>2004 and published in April of 2005, it

>seems odd that a " most scientists

>consider " statement is made when the

>scientific evidence (Brubacker {sic;

Burbacher} et al.) has clearly PROVEN

that this is NOT the case.]

>

>The amount of ethyl mercury included

>in each childhood vaccine was once

>roughly equal to the amount of methyl

>mercury found in the average tuna sandwich.

>[While this statement may be true in

>some cases (since the level of " methyl

>mercury " in tuna varies from < 0.1 ppm

>to 1.5 ppm {increasing as the fish

>increases in size}), this statement

>ignores the fact that the mercury from

>the vaccination (typically 25 micrograms

>per dose) is " instantly " available as a

>bolus dose. In contrast, the mercury

>in the tuna fish is bound in a matrix

>that it is only slowly absorbed into

>the person allowing the person's

>detoxification mechanisms time to

>intercept and excrete the mercury before

>it becomes irreversibly bound in the

>person's brain.]

>

>In 1999, a Food and Drug Administration

>scientist added up all the mercury that

>American infants got with a full

>immunization schedule and concluded that

>the amount exceeded a government guideline.

>[First, in 1991, Merck reached the same

>conclusion. Second, this finding is much

>more damaging than portrayed BECAUSE the

>non-vaccine-active components in a vaccine

>are supposed to be present at levels well

>below (typically, at 0.1 to 0.000001 times

>the " no risk " level) the " no risk " level

>- NOT above it. Third, the simple

>counting of the amount injected IGNORES

>the bolus effect and its concomitant

>increased accumulation in the brain that

>intermittent injection of amounts (25-microgram

>amounts) causes. When injected, these

>boluses exceed the daily intake thresholds

>for any person UNLESS that person weights

>more than 500 kg (1100 lbs) BASED on

>Thimerosal's accumulating twice as much in

>the brain as methyl mercury. How many

>1100-pound persons do you know? Even if

>you accept the EPA's 0.1 microgram/kg of

>body weight per day, how many 550-pound

>children do you know?]

>

>Some health authorities counseled no

>action, because there was no evidence

>that thimerosal at the doses given

>was harmful and removing it might cause

>alarm.

>[Factually, there are animal studies

>from the 1930's that clearly showed

>that ppm levels of injected Thimerosal

>can be harmful. Moreover, by 1992,

>the Scandinavian countries and Russia

>had banned Thimerosal from their

>vaccines. Based on the 1991 Merck

>memo, the 1999 Lister Hill transcripts

>and the 2000 Simpsonwood report documents,

>Thimerosal was NOT removed in the early

>1990's in the United States because

>the US FDA's CBER, influenced by the

>vaccine industry, refused to recognize

>the risk or comply with the statutes

>that REQUIRE doing anything that can

>be done to reduce the risk of adverse

>events (Thimerosal has been long known

> to cause severe reactions {including,

>but not limited to, Thimerosal-linked

>seizures, anaphylactic shock and death}

>that were not found in the same vaccines

>manufactured using processes where no

>Thimerosal was used).]

>

>Others were not so certain that

>thimerosal was harmless.

>[The clinical studies dating back to

>the 1930's clearly have shown that

>putting Thimerosal into a formulation

>INCREASED its adverse effects!

>See cited references.]

>

>In July 1999, the American Academy of

>Pediatrics and the Public Health Service

>released a joint statement urging vaccine

>makers to remove thimerosal as quickly as

>possible.

>

>By 2001, no vaccine routinely administered

>to children in the United States had more

>than half of a microgram of mercury - about

>what is found in an infant's daily supply

>of breast milk.

>[This statement is factually false.

>General vaccines " routinely administered

>to children in the United States " that

>contained 12.5 to 25.0 micrograms per

>dose continued to be available into 2004

>BECAUSE, unlike the Scandanavian countries,

>the US FDA refused to order the removal of

>the existing " Thimerosal preserved "

>vaccines from the market when the " trace

>Thimerosal " vaccines were approved.

>Furthermore, the mercury found in breast

>milk is NOT Thimerosal!!! In addition,

>beginning unofficially well before and

>officially in December of 2003, the

> " Thimerosal preserved " influenza ( " flu " )

>vaccine began to be administered to

>children as young as 6 months of age.

>>{{Added 11 July 2005 NOTE: The " trace-

>>Thimerosal " flu " vaccine injects 1

>>microgram ofmercury NOT 0.5 microgram

>>as these authors falsely state.}}]

>

>Despite the change, government agencies

>say that vaccines with thimerosal are

>just as safe as those without, and

>adult flu vaccines still contain

>the preservative.

>[Lacking any DEFINITIVE SCIENTIFICALLY

>SOUND CLINICAL PROOF of a " safe level "

>of Thimerosal in any vaccine, the

>government agencies' statements remind

>me of past government agencies'

>statements concerning the safety of

>tobacco products and asbestos.]

>

>But the 1999 advisory alarmed many

>parents whose children suffered from

>autism, a lifelong disorder marked by

>repetitive, sometimes self-destructive

>behaviors and an inability to form

>social relationships.

>[Apparently, the writer of this article

>has confused those with " Asperger's

>Syndrome " (which they seem to be

>describing) with those with full-blown

> " autism " where those affected suffer

>from varying degrees of blindness,

>deafness, sensitivity to environmental

>changes, diminished or altered ability

>to smell or taste, self-injury, lack

>of ability to walk or crawl normally,

>inability to speak or remember, and

>terror.]

>

>In 10 to 25 percent of cases, autism

>seems to descend on young children

>seemingly overnight, sometime between

>their first and second birthdays.

>[Factually, the rapid-onset cases were

>linked to receiving Thimerosal-

>preserved vaccines shortly before

>the onset conditions were observed.]

>

>Diagnoses of autism have risen sharply

>in recent years, from roughly 1 case

>for every 10,000 births in the 1980's

>[the actual 1980's numbers are closer

>to 5 in 10,000 or 1 in 2500] to 1 in

>166 births in 2003 [the quoted numbers

>are the government's figures for

> " autism spectrum disorders " ; the

> figures for DSM-IV " autism " are closer

>to 30+ per 10,000 - more than a 6-fold

>increase in a decade plus!!].

>

>Most scientists believe that the

<illness is influenced strongly by

>genetics but that some unknown

>environmental factor may also

>play a role.

>[Not only is genetics not the cause

>of the conditions observed, the

>evidence clearly indicates that

> " autism " is triggered by some

>outside insult to the person, if

>for no other reason BECAUSE identical

>twins are NOT affected identically

>in all cases as they would be if the

> " disease " were purely " genetic. " In

>addition to mercury from vaccines,

>the level of environmental pollution

>from burning coal has continued to

>increase and to permeate the

>environment even though some actions

>have been taken in the US but not in

>Asia where more than a 1000 tons per

>year are being discharged into the

>environment. Note: Ironically,

> " autism " was virtually unknown in

>China until several years after

>US-manufactured vaccines were

>introduced in the 1990's.]

>

>Dr. Tom Insel, director of the

>National Institute for Mental

>Health, said: " Is it cellphones?

>Ultrasound? Diet sodas? Every

>parent has a theory. At this

>point, we just don't know. "

>[Dr. Insel's statements seem to

>be at odds with the information

>revealed in the 1991 Merck memo,

>and the statements made at the

>ILLEGAL 1999 Lister Hill and

>2000 Simpsonwood meetings.]

>

>In 2000, a group of parents

>joined together to found SafeMinds,

>one of several organizations that

>argue that thimerosal is that

>environmental culprit.

>

>Their cause has been championed

>by politicians like Mr. Burton.

>

> " My grandson received nine shots

>in one day, seven of which

>contained thimerosal, which is

>50 percent mercury as you know,

>and he became autistic a short

>time later, " he said in an interview.

>[This translates into about 175

>micrograms of mercury in one day -

>to probably have no effect, Mr.

>Burton's grandson would have had

>to weigh at least 1750 kg (3850

>pounds) - a weight obviously well

>beyond that of any child. How

>many 3850-pound children do you

>know of? Even if you use the FDA's

>estimated " no effect level " of 0.4

>microgram per kg per day, how many

>962.5-pound children have you met?]

>

>In a series of House hearings held

>from 2000 through 2004, Mr. Burton

>called the leading experts who

>assert that vaccines cause autism

>to testify.

>

>They included a chemistry professor

>at the University of Kentucky who

>says that dental fillings cause or

>exacerbate autism and other diseases

>and a doctor from Baton Rouge, La.,

>who says that God spoke to her

>through an 87-year-old priest and

>told her that vaccines caused autism.

>[Factually, the mercury leaching

>from mercury fillings (amalgam

>fillings) does contribute to the

>body's mercury burden and that

>person's poisoning by mercury. In

>addition, this article cravenly

>ignores the scientific studies

>uncovered and reported in those

>hearings that clearly support the

>FACT that organic mercury poisoning

>causes irreversible neurological problems.

>See references cited later.]

>

>Also testifying were Dr. Mark Geier

>and his son, Geier, the experts

>whose work is most frequently cited by

>parents.

>[This article ignores the work of all

>of the other scientists (e.g., Horning,

>Deft, Brubacker {sic; Burbacher}, ,

>etc.) whose scientific findings support

>mercury poisoning as a cause of the

>neurological damage observed and whose

>work is frequently cited by those who

>understand that there is a significant

>body of proof that mercury poisons the

>central nevous system at the sub-ppm level.

>Supportive studies include, but are not

limited to:

>

>A. Thimerosal Effects:

>1. S. Baskin, Hop Ngo and Valdimir

>V. Didenko, " Thimerosal Induces DNA Breaks,

>Caspase-3 Activation, Membrane Damage, and

>Cell Death in Cultured Human Neurons and

>Fibroblasts, " Toxicological Science, 74,

>pages 361-368 (2003). [Thimerosal Effects

>at Parts per Million]

>2. S. Makani, Sastry Gollapudi, Leman

>Yel, Shubpa Chiplunkar and Sudhir Gupta,

> " Biochemical and molecular basis of

>thimerosal-induced apoptosis in T Cells:

>a major mole of mitochondrial pathway, "

>Genes and Immunity, 3(5), pages 270-278

>(2002). [Thimerosal Effects at Parts per

>Billion]

>3. Mostafa Waly, Horatiu Olteanu, Ruma

>Banerjee, Sang-Woon Choi, B. Mason,

>Belinda S. , Saraswati Sukumar, S.

>Shim, Alok Sharma, M. Benzecry, V.-A.

>Power-Charnitsky and C. Deth,

>IMMEDIATE COMMUNICATION, " Activation of

>methionine synthase by insulin-like growth

>factor-1 and dopamine: a target for

>neurodevelopmental toxins and thimerosal, "

>Molecular Psychiatry, pages 1-13 (January

>27, 2004). [Confirmation of Thimerosal

>Effects at Parts per Billion]

>

>B. Ethyl Mercury Effects:

>1. Eddie S-E. Chao, F. Gierthy and

>Gerald D. Frenkel, " A Comparative Study Of

>The Effects Of Mercury Compounds On Cell

>Viability And Nucleic Acid Synthesis In

>HeLa Cells, " Biochemical Pharmacology, 33,

>pages 1941-1945 (1984). [Ethyl Mercury

>Effects at Parts per Billion]

>

>C. Ionic Mercury Effects:

>1. C. W Leong, Naweed I.

>Syed and Fritz L. Lorscheider, " Retrograde

>degeneration of neurite membrane structural

>integrity of nerve growth cones following

>in vitro exposure to mercury, " NeuroReport,

>12(4) pages 733-737 (2001). [ionic Mercury

>Effects at Parts per Trillion]

>

>D. on C. Stetler, L. Garbe,

>Diane M. Dwyer, R. Facklam, Walter

>A. Orenstein, R. West, K. Joyce Dudley

>and Alan B. Bloch, " Outbreaks of Group A

>Streptococcal Abscesses Following

>Diphtheria-Tetanus Toxoid-Pertussis

>Vaccination, " Pediatrics, 75(2), pages 299-303 (1985).

>

>E. R. Gasset, Motokazu Itoi,

>Yasuo Ishii and M. Ramer,

> " Teratogenicities of Ophthalmic Drugs.

>II. Teratogenicities and Tissue

>Accumulation of Thimerosal, " Archives of

>Ophthalmology, 93, pages 52-55 (1975).

>

>F. Lyn Redwood, Sallie Bernard, and

> Brown, " Predicted Mercury

>Concentrations in Hair From Infant

>Immunizations: Cause for Concern, "

>NeuroToxicology, 22, pages 691-697 (2001).

>

>G. Slikker, Jr.,

> " Developmental Neurotoxicology Of

>Therapeutics: Survey Of Novel Recent

>Findings, " NeuroToxicology, 21, page

>250 (2000).

>

>H. V. Stajich, Gaylord P.

>, Sokei W. Harry and R.

>Sexson, " Iatrogenic exposure to

>mercury after hepatitis B vaccination

>in preterm infants, " The Journal of

>Pediatrics, 136(5), pages 679-681

>(2000).

>

>I. Polly R. Sager (Corrected Slides),

> " Comparative Toxicokinetics of

>Methylmercury and Thimerosal in

>Infant Macca fascicularis, " Institute

>of Medicine, National Academy of

>Sciences, Washington, DC, February 9,

>2004.

>

>J. Amy S. Holmes, Mark F.

>Blaxill and Boyd E. Haley, " Reduced

>Levels of Mercury in First Baby

>Haircuts of Autistic Children, "

>International Journal of Toxicology,

>22, pages 277-285 (2003).

>

>K. E. A. and R. Y. Gottshall,

> " Enhanced Toxicity for Mice of

>Pertussis Vaccines When Preserved

>with Merthiolate, " Applied Microbiology,

>15(3), pages 590-593 (1967).

>

>L. F. Heyworth and Sidney C.

>Truelove, " Problems Associated With

>The Use Of Merthiolate As A Preservative

>In Anti-Lymphocytic Globulin, " Toxicology,

>12, pages 325-333 (1979).

>

>M. Lars Forstrom, M. Hannuksela,

>Merja Kousa and E. Lehmuskallio,

> " Merthiolate hypersensitivity and

>vaccination, " Contact Dermatitis, 6,

>pages 241-245 (1980).

>

>N. Abstract of A. T. Kravchenko, S.

>G. Dzagurov, G. P. Chervonskaia,

> " Evaluation of the toxic action of

>prophylactic and therapeutic

>preparations on cell cultures. III:

>The detection of toxic properties in

>medical biological preparations by the

>degree of cell damage in the L-132

>continuous cell line, " Zhurnal

>Mikrobiologii, Epidemiologii,

>Immunobiologii, March (3), pages 87-92

>(1983).

>

>O. K. A. Winship, " Organic mercury

>compounds and their toxicity, " Adverse

>Drug Reaction Acute Poisoning Review,

>3, pages 141-180 (1986).

>

>P. Neil H. and Forsyth,

> " Thiomersal allergy and vaccination

>reactions, " Contact Dermatitis, 18,

>pages 229-233 (1988).

>

>Q. Seal, Ficker,

> and Victor s, " The case

>against thiomersal, " The Lancet, 338,

>pages 315-316 (August 3, 1991).

>

>R. Albert-Jan van't Veen, " Vaccines

>Without Thiomersal Why So Necessary,

>Why So Long Coming?, " Drugs, 61(5),

>pages 565-572 (2001).

>

>S. Walter R. Schumm, Earl J. Reppert,

> P. Jurich, Stephan R. Bollman,

>Farrell J. Webb, S. Castelo,

> C. Stever, Diane , e

>N. Bonjour, Janet R. Crow, Carol J. Fink,

>Jeanne F. Lash, Beverlyn F. Cay Brown,

>Carolyn A. Hall, Barbara L. Owens,

> Krehbiel, Liang-Yu Deng and

>Mark Kaufman, " Self-Reported Changes In

>Subjective Health And Anthrax Vaccination

>As Reported By Over 900 Persian Gulf War

>Era Veterans, " Psychological Reports, 90,

>pages 639-653 (2002).

>

>T. Leander Tryphonas and N. O. Nielsen,

> " Pathology of Chronic Alkylmercurial

>Poisoning in Swine, " American Journal of

>Veterinary Research, 34(3), pages 379-392

>(1973).

>

>U. Laszlo Magos, A. W. Brown, S.

>Sparrow, E. , R. T. Snowden and

>W. R. Skipp, " The comparative toxicology

>of ethyl- and methylmercury. " Archives of

>Toxicology, 57, pages 260-267 (1985).

>

>V. Jeff Bradstreet, A. Geier,

>Jerold J. Kartzinel, B. and

>Mark R. Geier, " A Case-Control Study of

>Mercury Burden in Children with Autistic

>Spectrum Disorders, " Journal of American

>Physicians and Surgeons, 8(3), pages 76-79

>(2003).

>

>W. Mady Hornig, Chian, and W.

>Ian Lipkin, IMMEDIATE COMMUNICATION,

> " Neurotoxic effects of postnatal

>thimerosal are mouse strain dependent, "

>Molecular Psychiatry, pages 1-13, (Jun 8,

>2004). Said Havarinasab, Lars Lambertsson,

>J. Qvarnstrom and Per Hultman, " Dose-

>response study of thimerosal-induced

>murine systemic autoimmunity, " Toxicology

>and Applied Pharmacology, 194, pages 169-179

>(2004).

>

>X. S. Baskin, Hop Ngo and Vladimir

>V. Didenko, " Thimerosal induces DNA breaks,

>caspase-3 activation, membrane damage, and

>cell death in cultured human neurons and

>fibroblasts, " ToxSci Advance Access, 30

>pages, published May 28, 2003.]

>

>Trying to Build a Case

>

>Dr. Geier has called the use of thimerosal

>in vaccines the world's " greatest

>catastrophe that's ever happened,

>regardless of cause. "

>

>He and his son live and work in a two-

>story house in suburban land.

>

>Past the kitchen and down the stairs

>is a room with cast-off, unplugged

>laboratory equipment, wall-to-wall

>carpeting and faux wood paneling that

>Dr. Geier calls " a world-class lab -

>every bit as good as anything at

>N.I.H. "

>

>Dr. Geier has been examining issues

>of vaccine safety since at least 1971,

>when he was a lab assistant at the

>National Institutes of Health, or N.I.H.

>

>His résumé lists scores of

>publications, many of which suggest

>that vaccines cause injury or disease.

>[Article ignores the facts that these

>were published in peer-reviewed journals

>over the objections of their detractors.]

>

>He has also testified in more than 90

>vaccine cases, he said, although a

>judge in a vaccine case in 2003 ruled

>that Dr. Geier was " a professional

>witness in areas for which he has no

>training, expertise and experience. "

>[That Dr. Geier is and was allowed to

>testify in 90 cases in the NVIC court

>indicates that, in general, the court

>has recognized him as an expert. Since

>all vaccine court cases are tried " de

>novo " and only the treating physicians

>and recognized experts may testify, it

>seems obvious that he is a recognized

>expert. Moreover, since the

>proceedings of all such court cases

>are supposed to be sealed, it would

>seem that the authors are violating

>the secrecy constraints concerning

>such.]

>

>In other cases, judges have called

>Dr. Geier's testimony " intellectually

>dishonest, " " not reliable " and

> " wholly unqualified. "

>

>The six published studies by Dr.

>Geier and Geier on the

>relationship between autism and

>thimerosal are largely based on

>complaints sent to the disease

>control centers by people who

>suspect that their children were

>harmed by vaccines.

>[This statement is factually false.

>The complaints are submitted to the

> " VAERS " (Vaccine Adverse Events

>Reporting System) database, an FDA

> " Center for Biologics Evaluation

>and Research (CBER) " database and

>the complaints are those submitted

>by any person (doctor, nurse, patient,

>or patient guardian) that observes

>an adverse reaction associated

>with a vaccine and NOT directly to

>the CDC (Centers for Disease Control

>and Prevention). Since the studies

>are in peer-reviewed publications,

>there {sic; their} findings, ABSENT

>any proof to the contrary, MUST be

>accepted as factually valid. (Note:

>In contrast, the Institute of

>Medicine (IOM) scientific committee

>reviewing all of the Verstraeten

>studies, including the published

>findings, has found the iterative

>techniques used to reduce the odds

>ratio from that found originally (>8)

>to be scientifically unsound.)]

>

>In the first study, the Geiers

>compared the number of complaints

>associated with a thimerosal-

>containing vaccine, given from 1992

>to 2000, with the complaints that

>resulted from a thimerosal-free

>version given from 1997 to 2000.

>

>The more thimerosal a child

>received, they concluded, the more

>likely an autism complaint was filed.

>

>Four other studies used similar

>methods and came to similar

>conclusions.

>

>Dr. Geier said in an interview

>that the link between thimerosal

>and autism was clear.

>

>Public health officials, he said,

>are " just trying to cover it up. "

>[based on the information available

>to date, Dr. Geier's statement is

>supported by that body of evidence.]

>

>

>Assessing the Studies

>

>Scientists say that the Geiers'

>studies are tainted by faulty methodology.

>[First, these unidentified " scientists "

>provide no proof of the validity of

>their statements. Second, since the

>methodology the Geiers use is the

>same as that recognized as being

>scientifically sound by not only the

>peers who reviewed each article

>but also the government's own

>epidemiological study guidelines,

>this commenter would like the names

>of these so-called scientists who

>make these claims along with the

>proof that supports the claims made.]

>

> " The problem with the Geiers' research

>is that they start with the answers

>and work backwards, " said Dr.

>Black, director of the Kaiser Permanente

>Vaccine Study Center in Oakland, Calif.

> " They are doing voodoo science. "

>[This commenter is amazed that, when

>the government proceeds in the

>same manner, this Dr. Black makes

>no such similar remarks about the

>government-sponsored studies. Moreover,

>Black ignores the fact that, though

>interfered with by the government

>officials, the Geiers' initial studies

>of the VSD Datalink database clearly

>show the same links between level of

>mercury poison injected and the level

>of harm observed.]

>

>Dr. L. Gerberding, the director

>of the disease control centers, said

>the agency was not withholding

>information about any potentially

>damaging effects of thimerosal.

>

> " There's certainly not a conspiracy

>here, " she said. " And we would never

>consider not acknowledging information

>or evidence that would have a

>bearing on children's health. "

>[if her statements are true, then

>why did the CDC instruct the IOM

>studying the link between Thimerosal

>and autism to discount the in vivo

>and in vitro data in scientifically

>sound studies and to consider

>epidemiological evidence - evidence

>that independent review by another

>IOM for the Verstraeten et al.

>studies and independent scientists

>for the other studies (that, because

>of the different dosing levels used

>and the delayed dosing pattern do

>not directly bear on the US situation)

>has proven to be scientifically flawed

>and deliberately biased)? If her

>statements are true, then why have

>the original datasets and information

>been " lost " and independent access to

>the VSD Datalink database been

>improperly restricted? Finally, if

>her statements are true, why are

>none of the " link supportive "

>recent (from the early-1990's onwards)

>animal studies not {sic; not not proper

>here} even mentioned in this article?]

>

>In 2003, spurred by parents' demands,

>the C.D.C. asked the Institute of

>Medicine, an arm of the National

>Academy of Sciences and the nation's

>most prestigious medical advisory

>group, to review the evidence on

>thimerosal and autism.

>[if The New York Times will read the

>transcript from the initial meeting

>of this IOM panel, it will see that

>this panel was: a) " instructed " to

>find no link between Thimerosal and

>autism BEFORE the panel reviewed any

>evidence and guided to focus on

>only certain studies. Thus, NO

>finding by this IOM committee is

>legally credible according to the

>government's own rules governing

>such " independent " reviewers - rules

>which prohibit the CDC from

>interfering with the scientific

>processes in the manner in which

>they clearly did.]

>

>In a report last year, a panel

>convened by the institute dismissed

>the Geiers' work as having such

>serious flaws that their studies

>were " uninterpretable. "

>[This commenter finds it hard to

>believe that peer reviewers in the

>recognized journals in which the

>Geiers published their work would

>have " Okayed " their publications

>if the studies submitted were as

> " flawed " and " 'uninterpretable' "

>as this IOM panel alleges.]

>

>

>Some of the Geiers' mathematical

>formulas, the committee found,

> " provided no information, " and

>the Geiers used basic scientific

>terms like " attributable risk "

>incorrectly.

>[Apparently, the IOM panel composed

>of other than epidemiologists and

>the peers who reviewed the articles

>originally purport to understand

>the Geiers' work better than the

>journals' peer reviewers who

>performed the initial reviews. If

>only one published article were the

>problem, this commenter might be

>inclined to accept the IOM's

>unsupported statements. However,

>since 6 sets of peer reviewers are

>involved, this commenter, aware of

>the prejudicial bias of that IOM

>panel, must conclude that the IOM

>panel's statements are more empty

>rhetoric than substance.]

>

>In contrast, the committee found

>five studies that examined hundreds

>of thousands of health records of

>children in the United States, Britain,

>Denmark and Sweden to be persuasive.

>[Of these, only the United States

>study can validly be used to

>establish a link for outcomes in the

>United States BECAUSE: a) the other

>countries gave less Thimerosal at

>times different from those used in

>the United States and the level

>of autism in the other countries

>(Britain, less than 15 per 10,000;

>Denmark and Sweden, about 7 per 10,000)

>are {sic; is) well below the level of

>autism in the United States (> 30 per

>10,000).

>

>A study by the World Health

>Organization, for example, examined

>the health records of 109,863 children

>born in Britain from 1988 to 1997 and

>found that children who had received

>the most thimerosal in vaccines had

>the lowest incidence of developmental

>problems like autism.

>[study NOT applicable to US case as

>much less Thimerosal was administered

>and the administration dates were

>delayed longer than in the US - again,

>an attempt to make an " apples to

>oranges " comparison.]

>

>Another study examined the records of

>467,450 Danish children born from 1990

>to 1996. It found that after 1992,

>when the country's only thimerosal-

>containing vaccine was replaced by

>one free of the preservative, autism

>rates rose rather than fell.

>[This vaccine-manufacturer-sponsored

>study confounded: a) reporting rate

>with incidence rate and limited group

>of reporters with a larger group of

>reporters. When independent scientists

>corrected these studies to true

>incidence rates, no such results were

>obtained.]

>

>In one of the most comprehensive

>studies, a 2003 report by C.D.C.

>scientists examined the medical

>records of more than 125,000

>children born in the United States

>from 1991 to 1999.

>

>It found no difference in autism

>rates among children exposed to

>various amounts of thimerosal.

>

>Parent groups, led by SafeMinds,

>replied that documents obtained

>from the disease control centers

>showed that early versions of the

>study had found a link between

>thimerosal and autism.

>

>But C.D.C. researchers said that

>it was not unusual for studies to

>evolve as more data and controls

>were added.

>[While the " C.D.C. researchers " may

>believe that " it was not unusual for

>studies to evolve as more data and

>controls were added, " a recent IOM

>panel reviewing the same " C.D.C. "

>researchers' work on the VSD Datalink

>database found, among other problems,

>that said researchers had knowingly

>violated the fundamental precepts of

>epidemiological studies and

>deliberately manipulated the data

>in an ever evolving attempt to make

>the strong Thimerosal/autism link

>initially observed (>8) go away.

>Though the government has deliberately

>acted to corrupt and prevent access to

>the original datasets, a preliminary

>study of what could be found of the

>original datasets has confirmed that

>there was a strong link.]

>

>The early versions of the study,

>they said, failed to control for

>factors like low birth weight,

>which increases the risk of

>developmental delays.

>

>The Institute of Medicine said that

>it saw " nothing inherently troubling "

>with the C.D.C.'s adjustments and

>concluded that thimerosal did not

>cause autism.

>[Factually, a different IOM panel,

>charged to scientifically review

>the VSD Datalink database and the

>government's studies and without

>any preconceived outcome expectations,

>found that the initial IOM panel's

>findings were and are false with

>respect to the " saw 'nothing

>inherently troubling' with the C.D.C

>adjustments " and, by inference,

>the initial CDC epidemiological

>findings of a strong link (>8) to

>be the only valid result based

>on the study's initial design. This

>is the case BECAUSE it is a violation

>of the precepts of epidemiological

>study to ITERATIVELY alter the study

>design after study starts in order

>to minimize an observed odds ratio

>finding because the results are NOT

>what the researchers wanted to find -

>as was obviously the case in this

>study.]

>

>Further studies, the institute said,

>would not be " useful. "

>[Transcripts from the initial meeting

>of this IOM committee clearly show

>that this IOM committee was instructed

>to find no evidence of a link by the

>CDC before any evidence was reviewed.

>Thus, NO finding by this IOM committee

>is legally credible according to the

>government's own rules governing such

> " independent " reviewers. In addition,

>a subsequent IOM committee studying the

>iterative " adjusted " studies regime

>used found that the iterations were

>scientifically unsound and violated the

>fundamental precepts of scientific

>epidemiology. Based on the original

>Verstraeten findings of an " odds ratio "

> greater than 8 for the evidence of a

>probable link between Thimerosal

>exposure level and " autism, " further

>studies MUST be conducted.]

>

>

>Threats and Conspiracy Talk [This reviewer

>fails to see the relevance of this heading

>and its associated text to the article other

>than to attempt to paint all those who

>oppose the government's scientifically

>unsupported position as crackpots. " Since

>government officials have repeatedly been

>caught misrepresenting the presence and/or

>level of Thimerosal in the vaccines given

>to children, it would seem that their own

>duplicitous actions have provoked the ire

>of the public IN SPITE of the unending

>wave of governmental and industry-sponsored

>Orwellian propaganda such as this article

>and others like it.]

>

>Since the report's release, scientists and

>health officials have been bombarded with

>hostile e-mail messages and phone calls.

>

>Dr. McCormick, the chairwoman of the

>institute's panel, said she had received

>threatening mail claiming that she was part

>of a conspiracy.

>

>Harvard University has increased security

>at her office, she said.

>

>An e-mail message to the C.D.C. on Nov. 28

>stated, " Forgiveness is between them and God.

>It is my job to arrange a meeting, " according

>to records obtained by The New York Times

>after the filing of an open records request.

>

>Another e-mail message, sent to the C.D.C.

>on Aug. 20, said, " I'd like to know how you

>people sleep straight in bed at night

>knowing all the lies you tell & the lives

>you know full well you destroy with the

>poisons you push & protect with your lies. "

>

>Lynn Redwood of SafeMinds said that such

>e-mail messages did not represent her

>organization or other advocacy groups.

>

>In response to the threats, C.D.C.

>officials >have contacted the Federal

>Bureau of Investigation and heightened

>security at the disease control centers.

>

>Some officials said that the threats had

>led them to look for other jobs.

>

>In " Evidence of Harm, " a book published

>earlier this year that is sympathetic

>to the notion that thimerosal causes

>autism, the author, Kirby, wrote that

the thimerosal theory would stand or fall

>within the next year or two.

>[This sentence and the sentences that

>follow do not belong under the heading

> " Threats and Conspiracy Talk. " While

>this reviewer would hope that Mr. Kirby's

>timeframe is correct, he understand that,

>like the Minimata incidents in Japan,

>which began in the 1960's and were only

> " finally " resolved in 2004, it may take

>decades before even the most egregiously

>injured receive any redress for the

>knowing and willful harm inflicted by

>the UNNECESSARY mercury poisoning from

>vaccines and other drugs that occurred

>after the toxicity of mercury in drugs

>was recognized in the 1980's.]

>

>Because autism is usually diagnosed

>sometime between a child's third and

>fourth birthdays and thimerosal was

>largely removed from childhood

>vaccines in 2001, the incidence of

>autism should fall this year, he said.

>[since the Thimerosal has NOT been

>completely removed and the " flu "

>vaccine, recommended for children as

>young as 6 months is still " Thimerosal

>preserved " and provides 25 micrograms

>per 0.5 mL dose, the decline {in} the type

>of mercury poisoning labeled " autism "

>may NOT begin to fall significantly

>until four years after 2004, or 2008,

>in those children who ONLY receive

> " trace Thimerosal " flu shots, but not

>necessarily at all in children who

>continue to be injected each year

>with the " Thimerosal preserved " flu

>shot. In 2004, only about 6% of the

>doses PRODUCED were " trace Thimerosal "

>doses -- Aventis claims that this will

>double in 2005-6 flu season (to 12%?)

>but NOT to 100%. UNLESS and UNTIL

>all " Thimerosal preserved " doses of

>the " flu " vaccine are taken off the

>market, some will continue to be

>UNNECESSARILY mercury-poisoned and

>harmed.]

>

>No such decline followed thimerosal's

>removal from vaccines during the 1990's

>in Denmark, Sweden or Canada, researchers

>say.

>[When these vaccine-manufacturer-sponsored

>studies were reviewed by independent

>scientists, this statement was found

>to be not supported by the scientifically

>sound interpretation of the data in the

>study. {{Added on 11 July 2005, NOTE:

>Canada has not removed Thimerosal from

>all vaccines!}}]

>

>But the debate over autism and vaccines

>is not likely to end soon.

>

> " It doesn't seem to matter what the

>studies and the data show, " said

>Ms. Ehresmann, the Minnesota

>immunization official.

>

> " And that's really scary for us because

>if science doesn't count, how do we

>make decisions? How do we communicate

?with parents? "

>[The applicable scientifically sound

>peer-reviewed studies that have been

>published have CLEARLY established

>that the Thimerosal in vaccines is a

>cumulative neuropoison. Moreover,

>there is NO level at which any

>mercury compound in any drug has

>been unequivocally PROVEN SAFE.

>As a scientist, it does matter what

>the sound science shows and the

>sound data show. Unfortunately,

>the science and the data that the

>authors have alluded to is {sic; are}

>NOT scientifically sound.]

>

>

>

>