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BigPharma Failures and the illegal covert actions against the whistleblowers

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Mort Zuckerman

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Dec 20, 2009, 6:42:39 AM12/20/09
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Subject: BigPharma Failures and the illegal covert actions against the
whistleblowers

Date: Dec 20, 2009 6:40 AM

ARTICLE BELOW ABOUT THE GE LAWSUIT
OF 'LIBEL' AGAINST A WHISTLEBLOWER.
==================================

As I have mentioned many times before,
children are not pre-screened for immune
competence before being hypervaccinated.

Most of the time, the parents get blamed;
Munchausens, Shaken Baby, etc, etc, it's
a free-for-all. Anyone is welcome to make
up a psychiatric disease:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/rod_liddle/article537453.ece
http://www.actionlyme.org/HOWE_BBC_SCIENCE_EVIDENCE.htm
Immunocompromised HIV children get fully
heat-killed vaccines. All the rest of the
immunocompromised children get subclinical
disease- usually encephalitis or INFLAMMATION
OF THE BRAIN, whereupon, CDC says, "'It's a
calculated risk,' that we don't tell the parents
that about 1/100 kids will become brain damaged
because we, the CDC, being BigPharma participants
and patent-holders, do not want to be liable,
too, especially for deliberately falsified data
like Lyme Disease and LYMErix."

There is a story below this article where
the blower of a General Electric product
has been sued for libel for reporting an
association between their medical product
and disease.

Clin Infect Dis. 2009 Aug 1;49(3):372-80.
Long-term immunological follow-up of children with haemophilus
influenzae serotype b vaccine failure in the United Kingdom.

Ladhani S, Heath PT, Ramsay ME, Slack MP, Kibwana E, Pollard AJ, Booy
R.

Academic Unit of Paediatrics, Barts and The London School of Medicine
and Dentistry, Centre for Infections, Health Protection Agency, St
George's, University of London, London, United Kingdom.
Shamez....@hpa.org.uk

Comment in:

* Clin Infect Dis. 2009 Aug 1;49(3):381-2.

BACKGROUND: It is not known how long children with Haemophilus
influenzae serotype b (Hib) vaccine failure retain protective Hib
antibody concentrations after infection. The objective of this study
was to determine Hib antibody concentrations in children several years
after infection and to identify risk factors for low antibody
concentrations. METHODS: The families of children from the United
Kingdom who developed invasive Hib disease after prior immunization
with Hib conjugate vaccine (i.e., Hib vaccine failure) from October
1992 through December 2005 were asked to complete a questionnaire. A
blood sample was also obtained from each child. RESULTS: Of 323
families approached, 260 (80.5%) returned a completed questionnaire,
and 175 (54.2%) children provided a blood sample. The median age at
follow-up was 8.4 years (interquartile range [IQR], 6.2-15.4 years),
and the median duration of follow-up was 4.1 years (IQR, 3.5-9.7
years). Twenty-seven children (16.1%) had been born prematurely and/or
had an underlying medical condition, and 18 (10.8%) had immunoglobulin
deficiency. The median Hib antibody concentration was 0.70 microg/mL
(IQR, 0.22-5.8 microg/mL). Overall, 95 children (56.9%) had antibody
concentrations <1.0 microg/mL, and 27 (16.2%) had antibody
concentrations <0.15 microg/mL. All 3 children with Down syndrome and
10 (42%) of 24 children aged <5 years at follow-up had Hib antibody
concentrations <0.15 microg/mL. An antibody concentration <0.15 microg/
mL was independently associated with underlying conditions, young age
at onset of Hib disease, and shorter time from Hib disease to follow-
up. CONCLUSIONS: More than one-half of the children with Hib vaccine
failure had antibody concentrations below those considered to confer
long-term protection, which suggests that these children might be at
further risk of invasive Hib disease and would benefit from another
dose of Hib vaccine.

- - - -

TRANSLATION: Since we didn't prescreen
these children for immune competence to
vaccine and adjuvant, many of them got
the disease from the vaccination-plus-
immune-incompetence.

B cell incompetence:
http://www.actionlyme.org/PAMCYS_IMMUNE_SUPPRESSION.htm
for instance.

AND, WHEREAS, "Unexplained Symptoms in Females"
is blamed on insufficent penises, the truth is
that blaming females and penises for the intellectual
incompetence or cowardice of MDs is actually
DSM-V Insufficient Testosterone Syndrome comordid
with Cerebropenile Inversion.

And that's a ^^^ *real* one. That one's been
scientifically validated.


No MD ever explained the Lyme crymes
to nobody, and especially, no male MD
ever explained the Dearborn Hoax or
Pam3Cys immunosuppression, or tolerance
to fungal antigens, or INCOMPETENCE
to fungal antigens, or mutated B cells
from chronic exposure to fungi:
http://www.actionlyme.org/080924.htm

The kids are sick from airborne slyme plus
vaccines, and we're all sick from plain old
regular slyme, whether it walks on two legs
http://www.actionlyme.org/CRYME_DISEASE.htm
or SmithKline put it in a vial for
Yale... and then tortured their victims:
http://www.actionlyme.org/Pam3Cys_Version15.htm


Now the crooks all have Lymenesia, as previously
explained; Trimorbid DSM-V Cerebropenile
Inversion, Hypogonadia and Lymenesia.

But this ^^ vortex of lies is blowing up in
their own faces, in other words. And
now the Bigs are taking desperate measures
to not be accountable for their crimes.
That was the plan all along. That is
the meaning of global fascism - the NWO:
The CORPORATIONS call all the shots.

What to do about it?
I don't know. The cops have the
same Trimorbid DSM-V cluster.


That vicious little prick Gonzales and
the dickless USDOJ...
That's the face of cowardice.
That's a blowhard.
That's Dick Cheney with a law degree.
The Butcher of Prague:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinhard_Heydrich
"However, he was a shy, insecure boy who was
frequently bullied for his high-pitched voice..."

His jingles jingle and don' jangle.
"Ting-a-ling-a-ling"

Same wid da cops.

Kathleen M. Dickson
http://www.actionlyme.org
http://www.relapsingfever.org
==================================

http://rawstory.com/2009/12/libel-gag-talk-medical-hurricane/

LONDON -- Two years ago in a conference room in the Randolph hotel in
Oxford, England, Henrik Thomsen gave his inside account of a medical
"nightmare." In a presentation to about 30 colleagues, Thomsen, one of
Europe's leading radiologists, revealed how patients treated at his
Copenhagen University hospital had subsequently contracted a rare and
potentially fatal disease.

Thomsen and other doctors were baffled about why 20 kidney patients
who had been given routine scans were afflicted by a disorder —
nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) — in which the skin gradually
swells, thickens and tightens. Some sufferers were confined to
wheelchairs. At least one died. There was no known cure.

Then, in March 2006, came a breakthrough. It was confirmed that all
those who had fallen ill with NSF had been given the same drug in
advance of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan.

Omniscan was used to enhance the images produced by the scan. The
product was sold around the world and was manufactured by GE
Healthcare, a subsidiary of General Electric, one of the world's
largest corporations.

Thomsen's presentation lasted no more than 15 minutes, with the final
slide reading: "I hope none of you meets a similar medical hurricane."
Story continues below...

The 56-year-old radiologist, now director of diagnostic sciences at
the University of Copenhagen, is part of a small group of clinicians
credited with alerting patients and regulators to the potential risks
of Omniscan for renal patients. The UK Medicines and Healthcare
Products Regulatory Agency this weekend said there had been 20 reports
in the UK of NSF after patients were given Omniscan. Five of the
patients died.

Last month, European medical regulators recommended that anybody who
needs an MRI scan should be given a check to ensure their kidneys are
healthy if they are to be given Omniscan or two other similar
products. In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is
reviewing whether to further restrict the drugs.

Thomsen, however, now refuses to speak anywhere in England on the
possible risks of Omniscan. The reason is that he faces another kind
of storm: GE Healthcare is suing him for libel in the UK High Court.

The company claims his presentation in Oxford — entitled "Management
Aspects of NSF" [7] — was highly defamatory. GE has already racked up
costs of more than £380,000 (about $615,000) pursuing the respected
academic, who has authored or co-authored nearly 400 papers and
delivered countless presentations to his peers. Thomsen will have to
pay the firm's costs if he loses the case.

In recent weeks, The Sunday Times has highlighted how London's
draconian libel laws are being used to intimidate critics of the rich
and the powerful into silence. In a number of cases, plaintiffs and
claimants have little apparent connection with the UK. Campaign groups
have warned that vital scientific and medical work is being threatened
because of the threat of libel actions.

Thomsen, who was in London last week meeting his lawyers at the firm
Carter Ruck, has no doubt about the driving force behind his case. "I
believe that the lawsuit is an attempt to silence me," he said.

How GE Acquired Omniscan

In October 2003, General Electric, one of the most watched companies
on Wall Street, made a successful bid of about $10 billion for
Amersham, the British healthcare company that had been privatized by
former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

GE has a finger in many lines of business, from manufacturing
lightbulbs to insurance sales, but this appeared a particularly good
fit. GE Medical Systems already made scanning equipment, and Amersham
made the products used to enhance medical imaging. The combined
business — GE Healthcare — had its headquarters in Buckinghamshire in
southeast England and was expected to generate about $13 billion
annually, representing about 10 percent of GE's revenue at that time.

One of the imaging products was Omniscan, which is among a small group
of drugs administered to patients before an MRI scan. Called contrast
agents, the drugs enhance the differences between fluids and
structures in the body when they appear on scans, making diagnosis
easier.

To date, Omniscan has sold more than 48 million doses worldwide. Such
products sell for about $30 a dose.

There was, however, a problem. A small number of kidney patients
injected with Omniscan and other products were falling ill with NSF, a
horrific disease that first attacks the skin and can then attack
organs. Those with healthy kidneys were unaffected; the product has
been safe for more than 99 percent of patients.

NSF was first identified in America in 1997, more than five years
after the contrast agents were introduced, and doctors were initially
mystified about the cause.

One victim, Celeste Castillo Lee, from North Carolina, who testified
earlier this month at an FDA hearing, described how the disease
migrated through her body, causing agony. "Seventy-five per cent of us
[NSF victims] are in wheelchairs," she said. "It's actually a
torture." She said swelling which started in her ankles moved
inexorably through her limbs and then attacked her insides. Her bones,
she said, felt like they were in a vice.

In British hospitals, doctors were also finding cases of the new and
strange condition. Giles Roditi, a consultant radiologist at Glasgow
Royal Infirmary, said his hospital had 16 cases of NSF in renal
patients. So what was causing it? In early 2006, Thomsen turned
clinical detective to try and answer this question. After he was told
that every kidney patient at his hospital who was diagnosed with the
disease had been given a drug for a MRI scan, he and his colleagues
alerted the medical authorities, then embarked on a review of all
known cases of NSF.

Every patient out of the 150 cases he found had been given a contrast
agent for an MRI. About 90 percent of the patients had been given
Omniscan. It was not proof that the drug caused NSF, but it was enough
evidence for Thomsen never to give it again to any kidney patient.

Omniscan is one of several competing MRI agents that contain the metal
gadolinium, which is potentially toxic. The metal is chemically
protected in its various drug forms and is quickly flushed out of the
body by patients with healthy kidneys. However, regulators believe the
chemical structure of Omniscan, and another similarly constructed
product, makes them less stable and potentially dangerous for those
suffering from renal problems.

The Danish Medicines Agency was the first to sound the alarm,
highlighting 25 cases linked to Omniscan in a notice in May 2006.

Many of the Danish patients filed claims with a Danish government
insurance agency, which pays benefits if it determines that a drug was
a likely cause of inquiry or death. In one of those cases, involving a
55-year-old woman who died from a lung embolism in 2003, the insurance
agency concluded the side effects from Omniscan had "caused" her
immobilization, which, in turn, "caused" her deadly embolism. GE
declined to comment on this case last week.

In June 2007, the Commission on Human Medicines in the UK advised
doctors not to use Omniscan in patients with severe renal problems
along with two other products, Magnevist, manufactured by Bayer
HealthCare, and Optimark, produced by Covidien. It recommended that
other products containing gadolinium should not be used for kidney
patients unless essential.

GE Healthcare reacted promptly to concerns over its product, but the
company objects to some of Thomsen's work and the decisions by the
European regulators. While it does not deny an association between its
product and NSF, the company said it was unfair to classify Omniscan
as particularly risky. GE insists that a causal link to NSF has "not
been established" and that a reporting bias (PDF) may account for the
high number of NSF cases linked to its product.

GE's arguments helped sway regulators in the U.S., the biggest market
for Omniscan. The FDA has warned doctors of an association between
contrast agents and NSF, but until recently the agency said data was
too limited to classify some of the products as more risky than
others. So far, the FDA has stopped short of recommending that doctors
stop using any of these products in kidney patients. FDA's staff has
been revisting the evidence and this month said it now believes that
Omniscan, Optimark and Magnevist pose higher risks. On Dec. 8, a
majority of members on an FDA advisory panel went a step further,
recommending that Omniscan and Optimark should not be given to
patients with severe kidney disease.

The regulatory action represents a victory of sorts for Thomsen and
may mean less chance of kidney patients suffering from this disease in
the future. But his mind is now on another looming battle with GE in
the High Court.

Academics and radiologists who attended Thomsen's presentation say it
is "ludicrous" that he faces a potentially ruinous legal action and
are writing letters of support. His PowerPoint presentation is
summarized in one GE legal filing and appears to be an objective
analysis of the association between Omniscan and NSF.

GE Healthcare said this weekend the presentation was defamatory
because it accused the company of suppressing information and
marketing its product when it was aware of possible problems. Last
week, however, a spokeswoman was unable to highlight any part of
Thomsen's presentation in which this allegation was made. GE’s lawsuit
says the defamation may have been "by way of innuendo."

Carter Ruck, which is defending Thomsen on a no-win-no-fee basis, says
the case should be dismissed because the material is clearly not
defamatory.

GE Healthcare is also suing over an article that appeared under
Thomsen's name in Imaging Management, a medical journal published in
Belgium. The article referred to rumors that the company had been
warned about possible problems with its product. Thomsen says he did
not "write or publish" the words that are the subject of the complaint
and that they were written by a journalist. He denies libel.

The GE Healthcare spokeswoman said the company supports scientific
debate and only sued Thomsen as a "last resort." She said GE always
reacted quickly and in the best interests of patients to any possible
side-effects of Omniscan and reiterated that the product was still
safe to use for the vast majority of patients.

The Debate: Defamation or Free Speech?

Thomsen’s case, however, is the latest example of the UK courts being
used against scientists who scrutinize drugs and treatments. Simon
Singh, a science writer, is being sued by the British Chiropractic
Association for describing some of their treatments as "bogus."

Another target is Peter Wilmshurt, a consultant cardiologist at
Shrewsbury hospital in central England. He is being sued by an
American company, NMT Medical, after he questioned the effectiveness
of a new heart implant device.

A Libel Reform Campaign is now urging capped damages, stricter
controls on costs and a stronger public interest defence. Index on
Censorship, a London-based free-speech group, is among a number of
organizations supporting the campaign. "[Thomsen's case] appears to be
yet another shocking example for multinational corporations going
after academics and scientists working in the public interest," said
John Kampfner, the group’s chief executive.

Sir Ken Macdonald, the country’s former top prosecutor, has already
called for reform. "The idea that we are becoming an international
haven for people to attack scientists is something that we should not
be proud of," he said.

The House of Common's culture, media and sport committee is compiling
a report which is expecting to recommend change in the country's libel
laws. UK Justice Secretary Jack Straw, the equivalent of the U.S.
attorney general, has already announced a review.

Colin Blakemore, professor of neuroscience at Oxford University and an
adviser to Sense about Science, which promotes the use of good science
in public debates, said any review should ensure the libel courts are
never used as forum for assessing the risks of a treatment. "The risk
is that the party with the most money will always win in what should
be a dispassionate assessment of evidence," he said.

GE, along with other manufacturers of contrast agents, now faces
action in the American courts over its drug. A legal brief filed in
federal court in Cleveland by lawyers acting for nearly 500 plaintiffs
says Omniscan was "routinely administered to kidney patients for years
without warnings."

The litigation suggests the debate over exact side effects of Omniscan
and other products is likely to continue for many years to come.
Thomsen's concern is about medical researchers who will need to
highlight possible risks from drugs in the future. He says it is
essential that they are not cowed by the prospect of appearing before
the libel courts in London. "It's dangerous for the patient if we
can't frankly exchange views," he said.
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"[Real] scientists are *fiercely* independent. That's the good
news."-- NIH's Top Fool, Anthony Fauci

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