• Organic Consumers Association August 31, 2008

Dr. Mercola’s Comments: Imagine being a farmer who is trying to grow organic, non-genetically modified crops. Then imagine those crops being contaminated by a neighbor’s GM crops, whose seeds or pollen have blown over onto your land. Then imagine Monsanto coming in and trying to SUE you for violating the patent they’ve placed on those seeds!

That is outrageous!

Only a desperately evil company like Monsanto would have the unbridled greed to pull something like that. What is most shocking, though, is that Monsanto’s practice of targeting farmers for patent infringement is common, and well planned out.

It is not only the farmers whose crops have been contaminated by Monsanto’s GM seeds that are being investigated, but also farmers accused of saving Monsanto’s patented seeds to use the next year. Never mind that this is the way farmers have operated for generations; saving seeds from one year to the next makes sense financially and environmentally.

Of course Monsanto saw it as a cut in their profits, so they began to patent their seeds.

Since the 1980s, Monsanto has become the world leader in genetic modification of seeds and has won 674 biotechnology patents, more than any other company.

But Monsanto is not only patenting their own GMO seeds. They have also succeeded in slapping patents on a huge number of crop seeds, patenting life forms for the first time — without a vote of the people or Congress.

Farmers who buy Monsanto’s Roundup Ready seeds are required to sign an agreement promising not to save the seeds or sell them to other farmers (What if the farmer doesn’t sign one? Not to worry, Monsanto has actually admitted to forging farmers’ signatures on technology agreements if they didn’t have one on file).

The end result of the agreements? Farmers must buy new seeds every year, and they must buy them from Monsanto.

Monsanto’s Seed Police

How would Monsanto know if farmers were reusing their seeds? They’ve hired an army of private investigators and agents to do just that. It’s difficult to say exactly how extensive this army of “seed police” actually is today, but as of 2005 Monsanto had 75 employees and a $10 million budget solely to investigate and prosecute farmers for patent infringement.

Let’s just say, for argument’s sake, you were inclined to agree with Monsanto about their right to monitor their seeds. They have, after all, invested millions of dollars into these (typically toxic) genetically modified seeds, and they need to recover some of that money. Well, can anyone rationally say that a farmer is responsible for patent infringement if a seed blows onto his property?

Of course not. And this is where the bill AB 541 will protect California’s farmers from this type of harassment.

I don’t believe for one second, though, that Monsanto has any justification in any of these matters. They are slowly working to take control of the entire food supply, and this is not an exaggeration.

Monsanto is considering using what’s known as terminator technology on a wide-scale basis. These are seeds that have been genetically modified to “self-destruct.” In other words, the seeds (and the forthcoming crops) are sterile, which means farmers must buy them again each year.

This solves their problem of needing “seed police,” but they are obviously looking the other way when it comes to the implications that terminator seeds could have on the world’s food supply: the traits from genetically engineered crops can get passed on to other crops. Once the terminator seeds are released into a region, the trait of seed sterility could be passed to other non-genetically-engineered crops, making most or all of the seeds in the region sterile.

If allowed to continue, every farmer in the world could come to rely on Monsanto for their seed supply … and this is not a company that you want in control of your food supply.

Why GM Crops are a Threat to Your Health

There have been no safety studies conducted that prove GM foods are safe. To the contrary, dicing and splicing the components of your food supply into never-before-introduced combinations has been found to:

Why are these products still on the market (and in the United States, making up the vast majority — 75 percent — of processed foods)? Because there’s money to be made with them, and because it’s difficult to link health problems directly to them, in large part because many of the side effects happen over time.

This is not to say that no links have been made. It’s been proven, for instance, that bacteria in your gut can take up DNA from GM food, that GM peas caused lung damage in mice, and GM potatoes lead to cancer in rats.

Only time will reveal, as Jeffrey Smith, author of Seeds of Deception, points out in this excellent video, the extent of the unforeseen and surprising illnesses caused by GM foods.

How to Protect Your Health, and Support Organic Farmers

First, I urge you to get informed on the issue by watching The Future of Food. This in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind genetically modified foods is one of the best documentaries I have ever viewed. It will help you understand the very real threat that ALL future generations face as a result of genetic engineering.

Please do not be shy about forwarding this video to all of your friends and family, as it is something that everyone should see.

Next, support organic (and local) farmers who do not use Monsanto’s GM seeds by boycotting all GM foods. The GMO food guide is an excellent start to doing this, as you can print it out and take it with you to the store so you can avoid GM foods like the plague.

• MSN Health

Seemingly positive and helpful articles like these really highlight how pervasive the conventional drug culture is. Although these drugs are exposed as being dangerous and best avoided at all costs, the writer failed miserably in providing “healthier” alternatives; in all cases but two, merely citing alternative drug treatments.

Folks, there are far better alternatives than drugs that fail to address your underlying problem.  My schedule prevents me from expanding a comment on all of these, but you can always use the search engine on the site (at the top of every page) for an expanded review of the items I did not review. But  let’s take a look at  three of them now.

A Better Strategy for Asthma

Increasing allergies and asthma may be in large part due to the more sterile environments we are now living in and the widespread continued use of antibiotics, anti-bacterial soap, and vaccinations. This theory, known as the “hygiene hypothesis” has been discussed in my newsletter numerous times.

Other reasons of course include all the environmental toxins that you are exposed to, such as solvents, pesticides and heavy metals such as mercury. Vaccinations and unresolved emotional stresses are also likely significant factors in most individuals.

Advair is clearly not a healthy option to prevent or control your asthma, but neither are inhaled corticosteroids, which this MSN Health article recommends.

According to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1997, people who inhale corticosteroid drugs are at increased risk for developing cataracts (a loss of transparency of your eye’s lens).

According to that study, cataracts affecting the central (nuclear) area of the lens were 50 percent more prevalent among those who used inhaled corticosteroids compared with people who never used the drugs. Additionally, cataracts affecting the back (posterior) surface of the lens — the most visually disabling type — were 90 percent more prevalent among steroid users.

Other asthma drugs that contain triamcinolone can have an adverse effect on your bone mineral density, and effectively lowers your immune system, making you more prone to infections of all kinds.

Instead of relying on asthma and allergy drugs that carry the risk of debilitating side effects, here are a few viable alternatives and guidelines to help you prevent or manage your asthma naturally.

• Apples and selenium – Research has found that eating at least two apples per week can reduce your asthma risk by 22 to 32 percent. And, people with the highest intakes of selenium ( 54 to 90 micrograms a day) have been found to be about half as likely to have asthma as those who consumed the least amount of selenium (about 23 to 30 micrograms daily)
• Vitamin E — Since asthma involves increased levels of free radicals (oxidants), antioxidants such as vitamin E may reduce the likelihood of asthma by reducing levels of these compounds
• Healthy exposure to bacteria and viruses – There’s a strong hypothesis that exposure to viral infections or endotoxins in early childhood is protective against the development of asthma. It seems clear that you need exposure to bacteria for a healthy immune system, as natural bacteria and viruses act as natural vaccines
• Breast feeding — Research has found that introducing milk other than breast milk to infants younger than 4 months old increases their risk of developing asthma
• Avoid antibiotics — If allergies are making your life unbearable and you find you can’t go a day without your inhaler, the real culprit might not be your congested head; it could be the microbes in your gut. Scientists have shown that antibiotics can change the balance of microbes in your gastrointestinal tract, which in turn has an impact the way your immune system responds to common allergens in your lungs.
• Avoid fish but take Omega-3 — Frequent fish intake has been linked with asthma, which is most likely due to heavy mercury contamination However you can obtain your animal omega-3 from other cleaner sources like krill oil.
• Address Underlying emotions. There are a number of good case studies documenting the effectiveness of EFT for asthma. Here are two:
  • Asthma Relief Without Medications
  • How a New Multi-Purpose Healing Method Relieved an Asthma Attack in Minutes

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, more than 16 million adults, and almost 7 million children suffer from asthma in the United States alone. If you are among them, I also strongly recommend you to consider utilizing what is perhaps the most effective preventive against allergens in your home: a high-quality air purifier.

A Better Strategy for Diabetes

That health disaster Avandia gets the thumbs down is good news. But simply switching to metformin, a drug that makes your body’s tissues more sensitive to insulin, is not the answer here. This drug-switching recommendation is a particularly unfortunate one, since type 2 diabetes is virtually 100 percent avoidable, and can be effectively treated without medications, supplements or surgery.

Type 2 diabetes is not a disease of blood sugar, but a disease of insulin, and perhaps even more importantly, leptin signaling. Therefore, diabetes can be controlled by recovering your insulin and leptin sensitivities. And, the only known way to reestablish proper leptin and insulin signaling is through a proper diet and exercise!

You may also remember that normalizing your weight and treating diabetes go hand-in-hand. Fortunately, following these simple guidelines will help you achieve both.

• Severely limit or eliminate sugar and grains in your diet. Following my nutritional type diet will help you do this without much fuss. While nearly all type 2 diabetics need to swap out their grains for other foods, some people will benefit from using protein for the substitution, while others will benefit from using more vegetable-only carbohydrates. Therefore, along with reducing grains and sugars, determining your nutritional type will give you some insight into what foods you should use to replace the grains and sugars.
• Exercise regularly. It increases the sensitivity of your insulin receptors, causing the insulin already present to work much more effectively, so your body doesn’t need to produce as much
• Avoid trans fats
• Get plenty of omega-3 fats from fish oil or krill oil
• Get enough high-quality sleep every night
• Treat the emotional issues that brought your health to this low point by learning a valuable, effective and non-invasive tool like the Emotional Freedom Technique.

If you can’t seem to follow this advice, then you may want to try medical hypnosis to eliminate the subconscious barriers to your success.

A Better Strategy for Heartburn and Acid Reflux

Extinguishing the fire with over-the-counter drugs Zantac or Pepsid AC instead of Prilosec or Nexxium is plain misinformed advice. Losing weight, as recommended by Dr. Michael Roizen is a step better, but his explanation still does not tell the whole story.

As Dr. Jonathan Wright explained in detail in an interview I did with him earlier this year (if you’re a member of my Inner Circle, you may have received it already), heartburn and GERD are almost always caused by a LACK of stomach acid, rather than an overproduction thereof.

You can get your stomach acid level checked through a simple and precise test, which will tell you if your level is too high or too low. According to Dr. Wright’s own clinical experience, 95 percent of all heartburn cases are actually due to stomach acid being too low.

So what happens if you have low stomach acid and take acid blockers like Zantac and Pepsid AC?

It gets worse!

The answer to heartburn and acid indigestion is to restore your natural gastric balance and function by taking some extra hydrochloric acid with your meals, which is available in every health food store.

For more guidelines and natural alternatives for managing the ailments that the other drugs in this MSN Health article addresses, I recommend you search my site. I have literally thousands of pages covering all of the ailments that these drugs are designed to treat.

• FDA September 5, 2008

• WebMD.com September 5, 2008

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:It’s difficult to fathom the immense power of the pharmaceutical industry at times, but consider this: The global market for pharmaceuticals was worth more than $693 billion in 2007.

It is expected to increase to over $737 billion in 2008 and will top $1.0 trillion by 2013.

To put these mind-boggling numbers into a larger perspective, the pharmaceutical industry was worth more money in 2007 than the gross domestic product (GDP) – which is the market value of all the output produced in a nation in one year — of these COUNTRIES, according to statistics from the World Bank:

• Belgium ($448.5 billion)
• Sweden ($444 billion)
• Switzerland ($415.5 billion)
• Norway ($382 billion)
• Saudi Arabia ($381.7 billion)

In fact, if placed on the list ranking the countries of the world according to gross domestic product, the pharmaceutical industry would rank number 17 out of 185 countries in 2007!

So, when I liken the pharmaceutical industry to a giant wielding a mighty club, I really mean it. Their power and influence over government, the field of conventional medicine, and your mind through massive marketing efforts, is in a class of its own. It’s just that most people don’t realize the magnitude of their financial influence, and therefore are blinded and deceived by the manipulated perception that the industry is “helping mankind.”

However, as has been repeatedly demonstrated, and as this latest FDA watch-list of drugs that potentially pose serious risk, the pharmaceutical industry is NOT putting out magic elixirs for good health.

On the contrary, the industry is gaining power and strength from propagating disease, not from achieving cures.

With Friends Like That, Who Needs Enemies?

These numbers are a sad reminder of just how successfully the industry has turned our society into a “pharmacracy” where every twitch and hiccup is deemed treatable with another prescription.

Unfortunately, treating disease symptoms with drugs will invariably create other health problems, which lead to yet another prescription to counteract the side effects from the first one, followed by another one, and another… It’s an evil circle that is clearly evident when you review the statistics of prescriptions per capita, which has grown exponentially in the past 75 years.

In 1929, the average American received less than two prescriptions per year. By 2006, the average annual prescription rate per capita in the United States was:

• just over 4 prescriptions per child (age 0-18)
• almost 11 prescriptions per adult (age 19-64), and
• 28 prescriptions per senior, aged 65 and over!

If these drugs did in fact treat and cure disease, the United States would have the healthiest inhabitants on the planet. Instead, we’re seeing ever mounting numbers of people suffering from completely preventable diseases like diabetes, and we’re seeing a mounting death toll directly attributable to prescription drugs.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), adverse drug reactions from drugs that are properly prescribed and properly administered cause about 106,000 deaths per year, making prescription drugs the fourth-leading cause of death in the U.S. Compare this to the death toll from illegal drugs — which is about 10,000 per year — and you begin to see the magnitude of the problem, and the magnitude of the coverup.

We are indeed a nation of drug addicts, and just like old-fashioned street junkies, we’re spending every penny we have to feed the beast; we believe the sweet-talking, free-sampling salesmen, and are dying in droves because of our dependency on a quick fix.

Looking for a Safe Drug? Keep Lookin’

But how can it be that clinically tested, FDA-approved drugs that are supposed to “cure” diseases are ending up hurting, and in some cases killing, so many people?

One reason is because even under the BEST circumstances — such as with a drug that has gone through unbiased, stringent, long-term testing — when it is released into the uncontrolled environment of your body, literally anything can happen. It may interact badly with another drug you’re taking, or perhaps a food you eat causes an unforeseen reaction, or maybe your genetic makeup, metabolism or the state of your immune system will cause it to have an unpredictable impact.

There are countless possibilities, and only a tiny fraction has been “tested for” in a lab.

And that’s the best case scenario. Unfortunately, studies are frequently biased, results are skewed, and drugs are put on a fast-track to be approved long before anyone knows whether they’re safe.

In essence, it’s all a gamble, and there are NO 100 percent safe drugs.

To Medicate or Not to Medicate, That is the Question

You have to remember that, ultimately, it’s your body, and the decision to medicate yourself for an ailment is yours alone.

If your doctor suggests you take a drug, research it before you take it. Do not believe for one minute that your physician will have all the answers and all the latest research findings at his or her fingertips. They won’t. Most physicians will have little to offer you aside from the lines they learned from their drug reps.

Make sure you are aware of the potential side effects of the drug, read the package insert, and remember that even if it lists a side effect as rare, it can still happen to you. Then decide whether the potential benefits truly outweigh the potential risks.
Also remember that a large number of drugs are vastly over-prescribed and unnecessary. They’re frequently referred to as “blockbuster drugs.” If several people you know are on it, ask yourself, “why?”

Curing Disease Means Finding Health

If you make drugs a last option, not a first choice, you will have taken a major step in the right direction.

For example, all of the following conditions can be treated or prevented with LIFESTYLE CHANGES, yet if you go to a typical doctor, you will likely be prescribed a potentially dangerous drug instead:

• Diabetes
• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Insomnia

I realize that it takes a massive shift in thinking to realize that your body can heal itself, and that often drugs only hinder the process. But I can’t stress enough the importance of the most basic principle of HOW to resolve an illness: finding the underlying cause of the problem. Masking it with a drug that lessens your symptoms does not fix anything.

Disease can only be resolved by addressing its root cause.

What many people fail to realize is that it is possible to maintain optimal health by simply avoiding unnecessary drugs and by understanding the fundamentals of good nutrition and exercise, which include:

• Eliminating sugar and most grains
• Eating unprocessed, high-quality foods, organic if possible, right for your nutritional type
• Eating your food as close to raw as possible
• Consuming enough omega-3 fats
• Exercising regularly

• Earthfiles August 31, 2008

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:If lack of honey is the first thing that springs to mind when you hear that honeybees are dying off, you’re not alone. But creating honey is only a small portion of what bees do to help keep us all alive here on planet earth. 

Can We Survive Without the Honeybee?

Honeybees are critical components of agriculture, used to pollinate many of the nuts, fruits and vegetables you have grown to love.

A full one-third of the U.S. food supply depends on pollination from bees. Apple orchards, for instance, require one colony of bees per acre to be adequately pollinated. The California almond crop alone requires 1.3 million colonies of bees, and bees actually add an estimated $15 billion in value to crops like these. So if bee colonies continue to be wiped out in unprecedented numbers, major food shortages could result, adding to the current food crisis.

Debate About the Cause of Colony Collapse Disorder Continues

American beekeepers surveyed by the USDA Agricultural Research Service in the winter of 2007 reported a total loss of about 36 percent of their bee colonies, up from 13.5 percent the year before. Historically, beekeepers would incur losses of between 5 and 10 percent in an average year.

The cause has been dubbed colony collapse disorder (CCD), as it can seemingly wipe out hives overnight, but the debate is still ongoing about what’s causing it. So far, things like cell phones, genetically modified crops, high-fructose corn syrup used for feeding bees, and viruses and parasites that compromise the bee’s immune system have all been mentioned. And while most researchers are pointing to a combination of the above factors, it’s hard to ignore the scientific findings about pesticides and other chemicals.

For instance, Penn State scientists analyzed pollen, beeswax, adult bees and larvae and found dozens of chemicals, including pesticides, present. These chemicals, especially when combined with these other stresses, are more than capable of overwhelming the delicate system of the honeybee.

Current German and U.S. Lawsuits Try to Shed Light on the Problem

Two of the latest developments in the effort to determine the main culprit of the bees’ demise include the filing of a legal complaint against Bayer Crop Science on August 13, 2008, and a lawsuit by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on August 18^th.

On the European front, German beekeepers and a consumer advocate group filed a legal complaint against Bayer Crop Science to determine what Bayer really knows about the environmental impact of its nicotine-based pesticide clothianidin.

And in the U.S., just days later, the NDRC filed a lawsuit against the EPA to

“uncover critical information that the U. S. government is withholding about the risks posed by nicotine-based pesticides to honey bees. EPA should be evaluating the risks to bees before approving new pesticides, but now refuses to tell the public what it knows. Pesticide restrictions might be at the heart of the solution to this growing honey bee crisis, so why hide the information that EPA should be using to make those decisions?”

The NRDC had tried to obtain the agency’s original data from Bayer on the pesticide under the Freedom of Information Act since 2006, without success.

Are Bayer’s Nicotine-Based Pesticides to Blame?

Currently, the two main pesticides being scrutinized as potential causes for the worldwide die-offs of bee colonies are Bayer’s clothianidin and imidicloprid. Clothianidin and related nicotine-based pesticides generated about $1 billion of Bayer’s $8.6 billion in global sales for 2007.

Bayer, a German chemical and pharmaceutical company, is also the third largest pharmaceutical company in the world.

It seems incriminating – but not surprising — that the EPA is ignoring requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act. Especially when you consider that the EPA’s own fact sheet on clothianidin says:

“Clothianidin has the potential for toxic chronic exposure to honey bees, as well as other nontarget pollinators, through the translocation of clothianidin residues in nectar and pollen … In honey bees, the effects of this toxic chronic exposure may include lethal and/or sub-lethal effects in the larvae and reproductive effects on the queen.”

It’s quite disconcerting that this chemical was so readily approved by the EPA back in 2003. Aside from the potential to kill honeybees, the EPA’s clothianidin fact sheet also notes that:

“Assessments show that exposure to treated seeds through ingestion may result in chronic toxic risk to non-endangered and endangered small birds (e.g., songbirds) and acute/chronic toxicity risk to non-endangered and endangered mammals …

The fate and disposition of clothianidin in the environment suggest a compound that is a systemic insecticide that is persistent and mobile, stable to hydrolysis, and has potential to leach to ground water, as well as runoff to surface waters.”

Despite this knowledge, clothianidin is widely used to douse the seeds of corn and canola in the U.S. and more than 120 other countries. But some countries are wisening up to the problem. The German Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety has prohibited the use of clothianidin as of May 15, 2008, until further studies can prove its harmlessness.

Imidacloprid, another systemic chloro-nicotinyl compound developed in 1989 by Bayer A.G, has since become the number one active ingredient in insecticides around the world. It’s used in products for seed treatment on wheat, tomatoes and potatoes, as well as pesticides for control of grubs, subterranean termites, and carpenter ants.

It is also the active ingredient in Advantage®, the best selling product for the control of fleas on dogs, cats and other pets.

After reporting large losses of bees after exposure to imidicloprid, France banned it for use on corn and sunflowers, despite protests by the multi-national giant Bayer.

Beware of New Bayer Pesticides Designed for Home Garden Use

Recently Bayer and Pursell Industries, Inc. formed Bayer-Pursell, LLC, which will market a new Imidacloprid-containing product called “Merit” to the U.S. consumer market. The joint venture will also introduce the brand, Bayer Advanced™, designed for home garden use.

Needless to say, if you have any concern for the welfare of the pollinators in your neck of the woods, I recommend you stay clear of these new Bayer products. And, when it comes time for you to make choices about the food you’ll purchase to feed your family, choosing pesticide-free varieties will not only protect your health, but will give the honeybees a fighting chance as well.

Canaries in the Coal Mine

Personally, I believe there’s more than just one thing causing the disastrous destruction of bee colonies. Just as you are bombarded with toxic chemicals from the air you breathe, to the soil your food is grown in, to the toiletries you use and the water you drink, bees are the true canaries in the coal mine, showing us what’s in store for you and me if we don’t clean up our act on several fronts.

I do believe pesticides are largely to blame, but I’m also relatively convinced that the epidemic increase in cell phone use is another major contributor to this disorder, as it coincides rather precisely with the decline in the bee population.

It took from 1984 to 2004 to reach the first billion cell phones and then only 18 months to get to the second billion, nine months to the third, and we will hit four billion cell phones by the end of this year.

Wireless broadcasts are loaded with information containing packets, which resonate at various frequencies (depending on the source), and can cause biological effects when the frequency is the same, or similar to, the biological system of the organism.

In the case of the bees, it appears to disrupt intercellular communication and cause disorientation of the magnetite in their bodies that they use to orient themselves to the earth. Wireless technology is also being linked to the death of migratory birds.

• Prison Planet September 15, 2008

• BBC News September 15, 2008

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:One of the reasons I love the web is because it offers access to virtually limitless amounts of information. Information needed to make conscious, well-informed decisions about your health, for example. Today, the web is one of the few places where you can find non-suppressed truth being told, as the vast majority of mainstream media has been corporately influenced and biased to the point where many are little more than mouthpieces for various industry interests.

It also allows a forum for everyone, including me, to be challenged.

However, what the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is proposing is to pull the plug on free speech, free thinking, truth telling, and personal decision making, where only industry-sponsored propaganda is allowed to flourish freely.

What a nightmare.

What is the World Wide Web Consortium?

W3C is an international consortium of members that work together to develop Web standards and guidelines to make sure that various web technologies are compatible, and that hardware and software used to access the web work together. Since 1994, W3C has published more than 110 such standards, called W3C Recommendations.

As of 23 September 2008, the W3C has 420 Members, which include many of the biggest players of the corporate world, colleges and universities, hospitals, pharmaceutical giants, government agencies, and military entities. 

Are You Capable of Rational, Independent Thought?

Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director and inventor of the World Wide Web, said in his BBC News interview:

“The internet needs a way to help people separate rumor from real science. On the web the thinking of cults can spread very rapidly and suddenly a cult which was 12 people who had some deep personal issues find a formula which is very believable. A conspiracy theory of sorts, and one which you can imagine spreading to thousands of people and being deeply damaging.”

He follows up by saying:

“One of the things I always remain concerned about is that the medium remains neutral. It’s not just where I go to decide where to buy my shoes — which is the commercial incentive — it’s where I go to decide who I’m going to trust to vote. It’s where I go maybe to decide what sort of religion I’m going to belong to or not belong to; it’s where I go to decide what is actual scientific truth — what I’m actually going to go along with and what is bunkum.”

Now I have enormous respect for Tim; by every right he should be the richest person on the planet as he invented the web (not the internet) but consciously chose to let it be free and open, and did not retain any intellectual ownership of it.

What is so deeply disturbing about this though is that he, along with his consortium members, believe they have a monopoly on neutral and truthful information; that somehow some “entity” should decide for you what’s “bunkum” and what’s not, rather than letting you make up your own mind.

Based on the conspiracy theories, or “cult thinking,” examples he gave, letting this group have anything to do with deciding what scientific truth is, is nothing short of information genocide; vital truths that can save lives will be effectively driven into the silent depths, with their “unreliable” or “false” labels around their necks like a two-ton slab of cement. 

Have You Heard the Rumors About Vaccines?

Of particular concern to Berners-Lee and the consortium is what he refers to as “the spread of rumors” that the MMR vaccine given to children in Britain is harmful. 

Rumors? What rumors?

What about the undisputed fact that the British government introduced three brands of MMR vaccines in 1988, and by 1992, two of those brands were withdrawn from the market after serious adverse reactions were recorded in Canada, Japan and Britain? Granted, at the time the government announced it was merely a “change in supply,” rather than fessing up the ugly truth. Only later was it admitted that these vaccines had caused encephalitis (a serious brain condition) in some children.

Far from what the W3C would have you believe, the fears that vaccines are harmful and damage children’s health are anything but unfounded conspiracy theories created by a hysterical few.

And, although autism gets most of the attention when discussing vaccines, it’s by no means the only health risk. The MMR vaccine, for example, is not implicated directly as causing autism, since it does not contain mercury, but rather as having other dangerous side effects and potentially being a contributor to other neurological disorders that stem from over-vaccination.

The list of scientific research backing these claims is a very long one. (For a short list, see this link.) Yet somehow the totality of these findings is to be ignored as disinformation from within the scientific and medical community itself?

Another interesting fact to note is that most of the studies funded by industry conclude vaccines are safe, whereas independent studies keep finding serious flaws and raise alarming questions about their safety and efficacy.

Could this be because the pharmaceutical industry is worth more money than the gross domestic product (GDP) of these COUNTRIES?

• Belgium ($448.5 billion)
• Sweden ($444 billion)
• Switzerland ($415.5 billion)
• Norway ($382 billion)
• Saudi Arabia ($381.7 billion)

What most people don’t realize is that the pharmaceutical industry’s power and influence over government, the field of conventional medicine, and your mind through massive marketing efforts, is in a class of its own. In fact, if placed on the list ranking the countries of the world according to gross domestic product, the pharmaceutical industry would rank number 17 out of 185 countries in 2007!

If you still believe that money doesn’t talk; where have you been?

Just the Facts, Ma’am

In the early 1980s, the incidence of autism was 1 in 10,000 births. In 2001, it was 1 in 500, and by 2005, the incidence had leaped to 1 in 250 births.

Today it is 1 in 150 births, and some estimate lower than one in 50, and still climbing.

One of the strongest links to this terrible set of disorders was a drastic change in the vaccine programs of the United States and many other countries, which included a dramatic increase in the number of vaccines being given at a very early age.

No other explanation has been forthcoming from the medical elite.

In 1976, children received 10 vaccines before attending school. Today they will receive over 36 injections. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Center for Disease Control assures parents that it is safe to not only give these vaccines, but that it’s safe to give multiple vaccinations at the same time.

Is this true? Or are we being lied to on a grand scale?

The medical establishment has created a set of terms, which they use constantly to boost their egos and firm up their authority as the unique holders of medical wisdom – the mantra is “evidence-based medicine”, as if everything outside their anointing touch is bogus and suspect.

But a careful examination of many of the accepted treatments reveals that most have little or no scientific “evidence-based” data to support it.

One often repeated study found that almost 80 PERCENT of medical practice had NO scientific backing!

There’s a persistent double standard when it comes to “our” evidence versus “theirs.” The proponents of vaccination safety can just say they are safe, without any supporting evidence what-so-ever, and it is to be accepted without question or opposition.

Yet, let any otherwise accomplished scientist or medical expert suggest that excessive vaccination can increase the risk of not only autism, but a host of other neurodegenerative diseases as well, and the proponents claim there’s “no supporting evidence,” despite the reams of studies showing harm is being done.

Censorship by Any Other Name is Still Censorship

What the W3C consortium is offering by labeling web sources as either “reliable” or “unreliable” is nothing but an extension of this already corrupted “evidence-based” system.

Mandatory vaccine policies depend on overwhelming public acceptance, but public confidence is being eroded by reports in the free media on the web about conflicts of interest, secrecy, and questionable data. No wonder the industry feels pressured to put on the gloves and quench the opposing side once and for all.

But the whole concept of the government and industry forcing experimental treatment on healthy individuals is disturbing to those who value freedom, and unilaterally censoring information deemed unfavorable to industry interests should be an outrage to all capable of independent thought.