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Harold Varmus Trashes Edward McSweegan (WaPo)

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Mort Zuckerman

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Mar 9, 2009, 10:00:54 AM3/9/09

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Subject: Varmus Trashes Edward McSweegan (WaPo)

Date: Mar 9, 2009 9:59 AM

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/08/AR2009030801476_pf.html

"The memorandum will ensure that 'people who are appointed to federal
positions in science have strong credentials and that the vetting
process for evaluating scientific information doesn't lead to any
undermining of the scientific opinion,' he said."

http://www.actionlyme.org/TICK_BITE_CONSPIRACY.htm
http://www.actionlyme.org/McSweegan.htm
http://www.actionlyme.org/GOLDWATER_LETTER.htm

Sweeg and Durly have a vaccine agenda and they
sought to trash anyone who stood in their way...
with the *real* science.

Like, for instance, you can never have a vaccine
for Relapsing Fever, since the nature of the relapse
is antigenic variation:
http://www.actionlyme.org/STEERE_LIAR_OR_MORON.htm

'First demonstrated in the serology by Allen Steere
and accepted, originally, as the standard:
http://www.actionlyme.org/CDC_DOCUMENTS_1990.htm

KMDickson
http://www.actionlyme.org
http://www.relapsingfever.org

========================

By Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 9, 2009; A02

When President Obama lifts restrictions on funding for human embryonic
stem cell research today, he will also issue a presidential memorandum
aimed at insulating scientific decisions across the federal government
from political influence, officials said yesterday.

"The president believes that it's particularly important to sign this
memorandum so that we can put science and technology back at the heart
of pursuing a broad range of national goals," Melody C. Barnes,
director of Obama's Domestic Policy Council, told reporters during a
telephone briefing yesterday.

Although officials would not go into details, the memorandum will
order the Office of Science and Technology Policy to "assure a number
of effective standards and practices that will help our society feel
that we have the highest-quality individuals carrying out scientific
jobs and that information is shared with the public," said Harold
Varmus, who co-chairs Obama's Council of Advisors on Science and
Technology.

The decision by President George W. Bush to restrict funding for stem
cell research has been seen by critics as part of a pattern of
allowing political ideology to influence scientific decisions across
an array of issues, including climate change and whether to approve
the morning-after pill Plan B for over-the-counter sales.

"We view what happened with stem cell research in the last
administration as one manifestation of failure to think carefully
about how federal support of science and the use of scientific advice
occurs," Varmus said. "This is consistent with the president's
determination to use sound scientific practice, responsible practice
of science and evidence, instead of dogma in developing federal
policy."

The memorandum will ensure that "people who are appointed to federal
positions in science have strong credentials and that the vetting
process for evaluating scientific information doesn't lead to any
undermining of the scientific opinion," he said.

The stem cell executive order will overturn a restriction Bush put in
place on Aug. 9, 2001, limiting federal funding to what turned out to
be 21 cell lines already in existence on that date.

Because of their ability to become any type of cell in the body, many
scientists believe human embryonic stem cells could lead to new
therapies for many diseases, including diabetes, Parkinson's disease
and paralysis. But the research is highly controversial because the
cells are obtained by destroying embryos, which some consider to be
immoral.

On Friday, officials confirmed that Obama would fulfill a longtime
promise to lift those restrictions today, thrilling supporters but
stirring intense criticism from opponents, who argue that there are
alternative approaches free from ethical concerns.

As supporters had hoped, Obama's order will come without any caveats
and leave the details to be worked out by the National Institutes of
Health, which will have 120 days to develop guidelines that will be
used to vet requests for federal funding for research. The guidelines
will address a host of thorny ethical issues raised by such research,
such as how to obtain proper consent from donors of embryos used to
obtain the cells.

"As a result of lifting those limitations, the president is in effect
allowing federal funding of embryonic stem research to the extent it's
permitted by federal law -- that is work with stem cells themselves,
not the derivation of those stem cells," Varmus said.

Obama does not intend to call for the repeal of the Dickey-Wicker
amendment, which bars the use of federal funds to conduct research on
embryos directly.

"Congress will have to make a determination about how they want to
deal with that," Barnes said.