Whatever the views ofUniversity of Connecticutpsychology professorSeth Kalichmanon HIV and AIDS, he should not be allow to score points on the deaths of others. He seems very much to enjoy doing this -- as if he is so concerned about the death ofEmery Taylor, a man who chose, for his own reasons, not to followDr. Kalichman'sviews on HIV and AIDS treatments. Why doesn'tDr. Kalichman postabout the other side of the coin? People have died every day from the toxicities of AIDS-related drugs.
Emery Taylor
We all know that no one dies from any separate condition called AIDS; AIDS is just a re-labeling of already existing diseases, as defined by the country you live in. Why doesn't Mr. Kalichman act fairly? Getting his information from, apparently, Mr. Taylor's Facebook page is not sound academic research and not the least bit convincing. If Dr. Kalichman were not so lazy, perhaps he could post the death certificates of people defined to have HIV and what they list as the causes of death. Then we might have something to talk about.
Also, Dr. Kalichman owes a huge apology to Brian Carter, who is alive and in good health, not "the late Brian Carter." This is another example of Dr. Kalichman's stalking of private citizens on the Internet, calling it research, on behalf of a publicly funded university.
Reading the standard medical literature on HIV tests, you will discover that: - The Tests ‘test’ for no one thing. - They diagnose no one thing. - They do not show infection with any single thing. HIV tests may tell you that you have an illness, or they may tell you that you are pregnant. They give no single response, and diagnose no single condition. They may indicate immune suppression, or any variety of major or minor ailments. The complex details of HIV testing are not reported to the public; they remain hidden in the medical and industry journals, and are actively suppressed by major media in public discussion. These are important public issues, and we all should have a clear and unobstructed view of all available data, no matter how it affects or challenges a publicly-held idea or policy. It is impossible in a court of law to receive a death sentence for any crime as easily as it is to receive a false reading on an HIV test. It is a label that cannot be overcome in court, and cannot be appealed under any circumstance.
HIV/AIDS has been a taboo subject in China since the country’s first reported case in 1985. For years, public health departments reported that only homosexuals or promiscuous citizens were at risk—a policy that aggravated the spread of HIV/AIDS among heterosexuals and propagated the idea that only society’s outcasts could contract the disease.
Tainted blood transfusions in the late 1980s infected an estimated 22,000 Chinese, the U.N. reports, causing the government to take notice. But it wasn’t until 2003 that Wen Jiabao became China’s first premier to shake hands with an HIV-positive victim.
Director Gu Changwei (“Farewell My Concubine”), winner of the Berlinale’s 2005 Silver Bear, resolved to cast real HIV/AIDS victims in all extra and supporting roles for his 2011 film, “Tale of Magic.” Gu secured government funding to commission filmmaker Zhao Liang to document this process and expose the ongoing discrimination such victims face.
We met with Zhao Liang to discuss his documentary, “Together” (在一起) which showed this week at the Berlinale out of competition.
The Wall Street Journal: How did you come to make this documentary?
James Chin, Clinical Professor of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Formerly, Chief of the Surveillance, Forecasting, and Impact Assessment (SFI) unit of the Global Programme on AIDS (GPA), of the World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, Switzerland
Foreword by Jeffrey Koplan, Vice President, Academic Health Affairs, Emory University, Atlanta, Formerly Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Description This groundbreaking new book blows apart the myths about who is at risk of getting AIDS and shows how these myths are driven by moral and political pressures. It provides an objective, logical, clear, epidemiologically based analysis on the current situation and situates itself firmly at marked variance with the politically correct position of UNAIDS and most AIDS activists
The AIDS Pandemic argues that the story of HIV has been distorted by UNAIDS and AIDS activists in order to support the myth of the high potential risk of HIV epidemics spreading into the general population.
In the past, most policy makers and members of the public have uncritically accepted UNAIDS’ high prevalence estimates and projections when in fact lower HIV prevalence estimates are more accurate. Time, money and resources are being wasted worldwide.
This book is full of fresh analysis for all people working in any capacity in HIV/AIDS programmes. It will be invaluable to undergraduate and postgraduate healthcare students, health and social care professionals and the international media. Policy makers and shapers will find the pioneering information crucial to the future of the AIDS strategy.
‘For close to a half century, my work as a public health epidemiologist has involved field research, program management, and teaching, mostly on public health surveillance and prevention and control of communicable diseases. [Since 1981] I have been involved virtually full time with the international response to the AIDS pandemic which is without question one of the most severe infectious disease pandemics in modern times. During my public health career that began in the early 1960s, I have always been considered a part of conventional or mainstream medical science. However, since the mid-1990s, I have found myself swimming upstream against mainstream AIDS organisations. I have, during this period, gradually come to the realisation that AIDS programs developed by international agencies and faith based organizations have been and continue to be more socially, politically, and moralistically correct than epidemiologically accurate.’ James Chin, in the Preface
‘Controversy and differing opinions have been hallmarks of the AIDS epidemic since its onset. The scope of the problem, how to identify high risk groups without increasing the burden of stigma, the safety of blood products, the best balance between prevention and treatment, have all been hot issues sometimes dividing the public health community. The passion and conflicts about how to consider and address the AIDS pandemic reflect the huge impact this disease has had globally and its interplay with macro economic, legal, social, political, national security and ethical domains. Vital, provocative, thoughtful, direct, passionate, rational and willing to challenge conventional wisdom. The AIDS Pandemic is filled with information, rational arguments and opinions, often intermingled. It is a rare book on epidemiology that puts so much of the author's personality and viewpoints, along with his knowledge and experience, before the reader. The result is a thought-provoking, likely-to-be-controversial, contribution to the AIDS literature that should engage and stimulate the reader.’
Review Quotes
'Is it "politically and socially more acceptable" to say HIV risk behaviors are present in all populations to avoid further stigmatizing those groups with high risk behaviors? Do inflated HIV rates foster more AIDS funding? Chin addresses these and other thought-provoking questions and issues in a personal, professional, and rational manner. This book should prove valuable for all health care students, researchers, practitioners, and policy makers.' http://www.radcliffe-oxford.com/books/bookdetail.aspx?ISBN=1846191181
contract James Chin: James Chin, M.D., M.P.H. Clinical Professor of Epidemiology PHONE: (209) 477-4714 FAX: (209) 477-0684 E-MAIL:jchin@socrates.berkeley.edu
Dr. Luc Montagnier, the French virologist who won the Nobel Prize in 2008 for discovering the AIDS virus, has surprised the scientific community with his strong support for homeopathic medicine.
In a remarkable interview published in Science magazine of December 24, 2010, (1) Professor Luc Montagnier, has expressed support for the often maligned and misunderstood medical specialty of homeopathic medicine. Although homeopathy has persisted for 200+ years throughout the world and has been the leading alternative treatment method used by physicians in Europe, (2) most conventional physicians and scientists have expressed skepticism about its efficacy due to the extremely small doses of medicines used.
Most clinical research conducted on homeopathic medicines that has been published in peer-review journals have shown positive clinical results,(3, 4) especially in the treatment of respiratory allergies (5, 6), influenza, (7) fibromyalgia, (8, 9) rheumatoid arthritis, (10) childhood diarrhea, (11) post-surgical abdominal surgery recovery, (12) attention deficit disorder, (13) and reduction in the side effects of conventional cancer treatments. (14) In addition to clinical trials, several hundred basic science studies have confirmed the biological activity of homeopathic medicines. One type of basic science trials, called in vitro studies, found 67 experiments (1/3 of them replications) and nearly 3/4 of all replications were positive. (15, 16)
(NaturalNews) "The first and only person ever to be cured of HIV/AIDS is a leukemia patient treated in Berlin with HIV-resistant stem cells." This statement by Daniel J. DeNoon from WebMD comes in response to a paper published this month by the American Society of Hematology on an individual named Timothy Brown who was allegedly cured of HIV infection.
But was he the first to be cured of HIV?
In the 1990s, boxing heavyweight champion Tommy Morrison tested positive for HIV, according to the screening and confirmatory tests he took. He also sustained a viral load and maintained an antiretroviral regimen for a period of time. In 2007 he tested negative for HIV multiple times and was allowed to return to the ring.
Then a few years ago in South Africa, I spoke with doctors whose patients tested positive, but after taking natural medications for their HIV infection they then tested negative.
The multiple cases above are not isolated, as there is much testimony documented regarding scenarios where people who tested positive were later found to be negative. These instances beg the question of whether these individuals were cured of HIV. An equally important question is: were they ever even infected with HIV in the first place?
As shown in the film House of Numbers and in additional interviews taken for the film, the issues with HIV testing are enormous.
Before we can state that someone has been cured of HIV, I would like to see the scientific community come to a consensus on criteria for testing whether someone is infected with HIV. It is not plausible to determine if someone is cured unless it is proven that they are infected in the first place.
Another question that should be posed is why so much attention is being paid around the new study published by the American Society of Hematology when Luc Montagnier, the Nobel Laureate for discovering HIV, has already testified that it is possible for HIV to be cured naturally, without drugs.
See the interview with Luc Montagnier where he makes this earth shattering statement.
Intrigued by this study, I sent an inquiry to establishment scientists and The Perth Group for a comment. The Perth Group provided a brief response with a commitment to providing a full breakdown and response of the paper. The Perth Group writes:
"In the Subjects, Materials, and Methods Subjects section of this paper one reads: In February 2007, an HIV-infected patient underwent stem cell transplantation (SCT) due to a relapse of AML with a graft consisting of CCR5A32/A32 donor cells. The pre-transplant conditioning regimen included 100 mg/m2 of amsacrine, 30 mg/m2 of fludarabine, 2 g/m2 of cytarabine (day -12 until -9), 60 mg/kg of cyclophosphamide (days -4 and -3), 5.5 mg/kg of rabbit antithymocyte globuline (in three doses between day -3 and -1), and a 400 cGy total body irradiation (TBI; day -5). ART was discontinued on the day of transplantation, and 13 months later the patient received a second transplant with CCR5A32/A32 stem cells from the same donor due to a second relapse of AML. The conditioning regimen consisted of 100 mg/m2 of cytarabine (day -7 until day -1), 6 mg/m2 of gemtuzumab (day -7 and day -1), and a 200 cGy TBI (day -1)... Twelve months post-transplant, the patient underwent liver biopsy and histological examination confirmed GvHD grade I that was controlled with adaption of immunosuppressive therapy (cyclosporine A, methylprednisolone, mycophenolate mofetil)."
In other words, this particular patient received two transplants of foreign white blood cells, eight different drugs, anti-lymphocyte serum, and body irradiation, and had other drugs in the form of antiretroviral therapy, discontinued.
According to the title, all of this led to 'CURE OF HIV INFECTION BY CCR5A32/A32 SCT.' The administration of CCR5A32/A32 SCT constitutes only one part of a much larger experiment involving multiple drug and other therapies. All of these must be regarded as separate experiments, making it impossible to know exactly what 'cured the HIV infection.' If someone with hypertension is given multiple therapies, including non-pharmacological therapies, and blood pressure returns to normal, how can anyone say which treatment was responsible?
However, in order for the findings of the study to even have a valid platform for discussion, there must first be evidence that HIV exists. Until then, the question of whether someone can be cured of AIDS is moot.
Some rock stars want to free Tibet. Others want to save Mumia. The Foo Fighters, on the other hand, want their fans to ignore accepted medical wisdom about AIDS.
The multimillion-album-selling alternative rock outfit has thrown its weight behind Alive and Well, an "alternative AIDS information group" that denies any link between HIV and AIDS. In January, Foo Fighters bassist Nate Mendel helped organize a sold-out concert in Hollywood to benefit the group. Foo fans were treated to a speech by Alive and Well founder Christine Maggiore, who believes AIDS may be caused by HIV-related medications, anal sex, stress, and drug use, and implies that people should not get tested for HIV nor take medications to counter the virus. Free copies of Maggiore's self-published book, "What If Everything You Thought You Knew About AIDS Was Wrong?," in which she declares "there is no proof that HIV causes AIDS," were also passed out to the concert-goers.
HIV experts are alarmed by the possible impact of the Foo Fighters' embrace of Maggiore's theories on their potentially gullible young fans.
Republican Rep. Janna Taylor has begged the Montana courts to not prevent the death penalty. Apparently Montana prisons are rife with cases of HIV positive prisoners killing prison guards with self-fashioned HIV spitballs. And we must kill these would-be killers!
Except that’s not at all how HIV is transmitted.
Taylor pleads with the court, “Now as soon as I sit down, about five minutes later I’ll think of the exact thing I should have said. But please, PLEASE keep the death penalty in Montana.”
Umm, maybe you should have forgone standing up altogether, if this is the type of drivel you come up with when you are standing.
Eek. We’re going to have to respectfully disagree with you here, Ms. Taylor. Ignorance about the spread of HIV used as evidence to kill prisoners certainly outweighs ‘not telling people about your accomplishments’. Oh, and we’re not too crazy about you speaking in third person, either.
What do you think of Taylor’s HIV paper blowdart story?
