How AIDS Denialism Can Kill You Part II: Accountability and Liability for Spreading Medical Disinformation

"with Nessies and psychic phenomena and UFOs and the like, there are many evident gaps in empirical knowledge, so there exists the possibility (somewhere in the “unknown unknown” *) that future observations could provide satisfactory understanding of the empirical data. As concerns extrasensory perception, there’s even a plausible analogy in the phenomenon of quantum entanglement at the sub-microscopic level. With HIV/AIDS, there’s no such hope, because data in hand have already disproved decisively the notion that HIV causes AIDS" Dr. Henry Bauer

AIDS Deniers tell you not to bother getting tested for HIV and if you have tested positive to avoid taking HIV treatments. Christine Maggiore, Brian Carter, Michael Geiger and others share their life experiences hoping to persuade you to join their fragile bubble. These private citizens are free to say what they want regardless of whether it places you in the same peril that they have chosen for themselves.

But the accountability is different for professional denialists. AIDS Denialists who can call themselves ‘Doctor’ can be easily mistaken for medical doctors. Dr. Peter Duesberg, for example, does not have a medical degree, has never conducted research with humans and has never seen a single patient. When Dr. Duesberg says that HIV is harmless people are apt to listen with deadly consequence.

Denialist Henry Bauer's Logic and AIDS

What Constitutes Common Knowledge?

Guest Post by Concerned Citizen 

Very recently I attempted to engage Henry Bauer in dialogue at his HIV Skeptic site.  From the start of my argument it was obvious that I was not a dissident, but to his credit, Bauer went along with the dialogue.  Unfortunately, the dialogue ground to a halt after my third post.  I attempted a discussion on the reliability of HIV Testing based on the specificity of antibodies.  As proof of the highly specific nature of antibodies, I gave an example of vaccinations.  Vaccines are incredibly successful against the organism being inoculated against because of the specificity of the antibody elicited.  I also conceded that the dialogue was doomed to failure since Henry claims HIV has never been isolated and therefore, by that logic, the specificity of the antibodies to HIV could not be confirmed. 

Vito Mbeki?: AIDS denialism at the Italian Ministry of Health

A policy analysis raises the specter of AIDS Denialism in the Italian Health Ministry. The study examined official records and found numerous cases where an AIDS diagnosis is discussed independent of HIV infection.

The authors initially investigated epidemiological evidence regarding HIV infection and AIDS in Italy using only official data published by the Italian National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità) and by the Italian Ministry of Health (Ministero del Lavoro, della Salute e delle Politiche Sociali). The authors concluded that the Italian Ministry of Health appears to be convinced that HIV is not the [sole] cause of AIDS. The authors describe the serendipity of their findings:

“In the wake of the recent Nobel awards for Medicine, we wished to prepare an essay concerning the numbers of the AIDS epidemic in Italy and the efficacy of the Italian Ministry of Health’s policies to contain and fight the disease. We also wondered whether the Nobel awards could put an end to the polemics concerning the viral origin of AIDS with particular reference to the theses (often referred to as ‘AIDS denialism’) put forward by Prof. Duesberg et al. and Bauer. AIDS denialism refers to the views of a loosely connected group of individuals and organizations who deny that HIV is the cause of AIDS. To this end, a young student (MPG) preparing his bachelor’s thesis began to search the official documents of the Italian Ministry of Health (http://www.ministerosalute.it) and, after a thorough search, we came to a rather paradoxical conclusion: policies, guidelines, definitions and data provided for by the Italian Ministry of Health are indeed consistent with the hypothesis that AIDS could be independent of HIV infection.”
The authors go on to state: “according to the Ministry, AIDS can be diagnosed in the absence of signs of HIV infection; there is legal prohibition to communicate new HIV infections to referring physicians and Health Authorities as if HIV spread were not a threat to public health… no national registry of HIV infection is implemented; and AIDS is not classified among relevant infective diseases nor among infective diseases that are susceptible of control interventions; one fourth of pediatric AIDS cases is not imputable to mother–son transmission.”

Goodbye Duesberg's and Ruggiero's Articles! Did You Ever Exist?

Over the past couple of months two AIDS Denialism articles were published in a journal called Medical Hypotheses. These papers surprised many of us because Medical Hypotheses was once a peer-reviewed medical journal that is printed by the world’s largest science publisher Elsevier. But it did not take much to notice that these papers were not peer reviewed.

The article “Aids denialism at the ministry of health” by Marco Ruggiero (seen here at the gates of UC Berkeley) was received by Medical Hypotheses on June 3, 2009 and was accepted on June 3, 2009. Hmmm, now that was fast. And the article “HIV-AIDS hypothesis out of touch with South African AIDS – A new perspective” by Peter H. Duesberg, Joshua M. Nicholson, David Rasnick, Christian Fiala, and Henry H. Bauer was received on June 9, 2009 and accepted on June 11, 2009. Obviously the Editor at least contemplated Duesberg’s article before accepting it. Just as obvious, neither paper underwent peer review.

Henry Bauer Returns Home to Vienna: For the International AIDS Conference?

I decided to sit out of the International AIDS Conference this year. I have only gone to a few of these, mostly because they have become less important for researchers. The last good one was Vancouver 1996 when combination therapies were generating excitement for a possible cure. Personally, I find the International AIDS Conference to be a bit of a circus. So guess what? The circus has some new clowns. Check out the AIDS Denialism side show in Vienna. Have a Schnitzel with Peter, Claus, and Henry (they speak the native tongue). Watch for the AIDS Deniers protesting AIDS science. Have fun. But please, do not feed the AIDS Deniers...they are dangerous and they are attracted to food.
UPDATE: More Russian coverage of Denialism as science. Amazingly, they have never heard of Peter Duesberg before.


AIDS - Knowledge and Dogma
Conditions for the Emergence and Decline of Scientific Theories
Congress, July 16/17 2010, Vienna, Austria


Final Program
Simultaneous translation into English and German is provided for all
presentations.

Lunch and coffee breaks are provided for all participants.

Download the actual Congress Program as PDF
Friday, July 16th
09:00   Registration
09:30 - 10:15   Uta Santos-König
"Immaculate conception or maculate perception - A view of science
through Ludwik Fleck’s spectacles"

Deconstructing David Crowe

Next to Henry Bauer, David Crowe is my favorite AIDS Denialist.

It was, after all, David Crowe who took me under his wing to give me a bird's eye view of AIDS denialism. Crowe and Henry Bauer taught me that AIDS Deniers are sincere when they say that HIV does not cause AIDS. In fact , they don't just say it -  they live it! Crowe and Bauer really believe that HIV is harmless and that HIV tests are invalid.  It is their reality.  Using my nickname, Joe Newton (for obvious reasons), the psychopathology that runs through Denialism was vividly displayed by my AIDS Denialist mentors. AIDS Denialism is no joke...still it is easy to mistake David Crowe the AIDS Denialist for David Crowe the comedian. 

I recently saw David Crowe's (the AIDS Denialist) latest essay. Trying to keep the legacy of former South African Denialist President Thabo Mbeki in our hearts and minds, David Crowe rants that AIDS In Africa is caused by poverty, HIV tests are invalid, the numbers are cooked, blah ......  

I have not read Crowe's essay myself. I tried. I cannot. I am finding it increasingly difficult to read the same old crap spewed by AIDS Denialists, over and over and over again.

AIDS Denialist Henry Bauer Offers a Messy Cure for AIDS

Posted by Henry Bauer @ HIV/AIDS Sketicism

A simple, inexpensive, non-toxic cure for AIDS that has no negative side-effects has been described by Pacini and Ruggiero at the 6th International AIDS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (Rome, 17-20 July 2011).The basic mechanism involves stimulation of the immune system which increases CD4 counts and corrects CD4/CD8 balance, in “HIV-positive” people and also in HIV-negative people.
Recall that AIDS was discovered and defined in the early 1980s as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, the immune deficiency being specifically a loss of CD4 cells. Later the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defined AIDS as being “HIV-positive” with a CD4 count below 200. Therefore an increase of CD4 above that level constitutes reversion of AIDS to non-AIDS.

Peer Reviewing Peter Duesberg – REJECTED—RETRACTED—REJECTED Again

This summer’s saga of Peter Duesberg’s Medical Hypotheses retracted article should probably be put to rest. The sad story of this broken scientist has been told many times. Here though Duesberg reaches an all time low as he teams up with pseudoscientist Henry Bauer to yet again claim that HIV is harmless.

Duesberg and his long time accomplice David Rasnick along with Loch Ness Monster Scholar Henry Bauer published the article “HIV-AIDS hypothesis out of touch with South African AIDS – A new perspective” in the non-peer reviewed journal Medical Hypotheses. The article focused on the South African AIDS epidemic and research reported by Harvard scientist Dr. Pride Chigwedere in the respected Journal of AIDS. Duesberg disputes the death of over 300,000 South Africans and 30,000 babies unnecessary infected with HIV. Duesberg and Rasnick have a stake in denying AIDS in South Africa because they advised former President Thabo Mbeki to deny AIDS and delay HIV treatments. Duesberg’s ideas were so flawed that the publisher, Elsevier Science, took the unusual step of retracting the article.

AIDS denial: A lethal delusion

ON 27 December 2008, a well-heeled 52-year-old woman died in a Los Angeles hospital. Her death certificate describes a body riddled with opportunistic infections typical of the late stages of AIDS. Christine Maggiore had tested HIV positive 16 years earlier, but she had shunned ART, the antiretroviral therapy that stops HIV replicating and prevents AIDS.

This was not the first time a death in Maggiore's family had made headlines: five years earlier her 3-year-old daughter Eliza Jane had died. The autopsy described a chronically ill little girl who was underweight, under-height, and had encephalitis and pneumonia - all AIDS-related. When pregnant, Maggiore had again rejected ART and she had breastfed Eliza Jane, another way of transmitting the virus.

Why, in 21st-century California, would a middle-class woman and her young daughter die like this when there is tried-and-tested treatment for their illness? The answer lies in a bizarre medical conspiracy theory that says AIDS is not caused by HIV infection (see Five myths about HIV and AIDS).
[UPDATE: further discussion of the New Scientist artcle is posted at GayNZ.com]
It is tempting to dismiss the so-called AIDS denialism movement out of hand, but it has a strong internet presence, with a plethora of websites and blogs that can mislead the unwary. While the movement has lately suffered some significant blows to its credibility, it has in the recent past wielded extraordinary influence, especially in southern Africa, the centre of the world's AIDS epidemic. "Denialism has been relegated to the fringes of the internet, but it isn't of no consequence," says John Moore, an immunologist at Weill Cornell Medical College, Ithaca, New York, and one of the world's foremost AIDS researchers. "It can still cost the lives of unsuspecting people."

The origins of the AIDS denialism movement can be traced back to 1987, four years after the discovery of HIV. Peter Duesberg was then a renowned researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, who had shown that some cancers were triggered by retroviruses. In March that year, Duesberg performed an about-face, publishing an article in which he questioned his original finding that retroviruses caused cancer, and also whether HIV (another retrovirus, although not one that he had studied) caused AIDS.

At the time, HIV science was in its infancy, and Duesberg was not the only mainstream scientist to speculate whether AIDS was actually caused by lifestyle factors such as taking drugs, for example. Indeed, New Scientist published Duesberg's manifesto of dissent in 1988.

"Duesberg did get laypeople's attention, and they, in turn, got him scientific attention," says University of California sociologist, Steven Epstein, author of Impure Science, a book on AIDS research. "Credibility was cycled back and forth."

As the clinical and epidemiological evidence linking HIV with AIDS accrued, however, support for denialism among mainstream scientists fell away. In the mid-1990s came the clincher. Cocktails of ART were found to halt the replication of HIV and reverse and prevent the development of AIDS. By the end of 1996, doctors in the west were witnessing the "Lazarus effect": AIDS patients who had been mortally ill were rising from their beds, putting on jackets and ties, and reporting for work.

By rights the denialism movement should have died out there and then. Yet it persisted. Not one of the denialists was a researcher studying AIDS or HIV - they simply critiqued the work of those who did. Much of the movement's output has been journalistic rather than scientific, spawning numerous articles, books, films (often self-published or self-produced), and lately websites. Tellingly, most of the studies they cite are quite old, reflecting the fact that mainstream support has long since died out.

Ask what the denialists do believe, however, and there is no consensus (see Five myths about HIV and AIDS). Some hark back to the early idea that AIDS in gay men is caused by amyl nitrite use; others say the cause is ART itself - although no one can explain why AIDS arose before ART was developed.

Some denialists accept that HIV may be present in those with AIDS, but claim it is just another opportunistic infection, rather than the cause. Others say, incredibly, that HIV has never been proven to exist at all.

Perhaps the most staggering of their beliefs, though, is that everyone else has got it so wrong. Denialists claim the scientific community cannot afford to admit their error because too many reputations and too many research grants are now at stake. Once ART was developed, the multibillion-dollar drugs industry had a vast investment at stake too.

It is certainly true that the scientific peer-review process can slow down the acceptance of new theories. And pharmaceutical companies hardly have a spotless record either. Yet the clinical and epidemiological evidence for the viral cause of AIDS is overwhelming, from virologists who see HIV under their microscopes, to doctors the world over who witness AIDS patients begin ART and make dramatic recoveries.

Denialism in the west continued to limp along, attracting a following of conspiracy theorists, attention seekers, peddlers of pseudoscience and HIV patients in denial. The movement's leaders vary in their credibility. Duesberg's most vocal supporter is David Rasnick, a former biochemist who makes much of his research background, as he once studied a group of enzymes called proteases. HIV possesses a protease enzyme, and protease inhibitors represent a key class of ART drugs. However Rasnick only worked on rat proteases, never on HIV's.

Then there is Henry Bauer, a retired chemistry and life sciences professor at Virginia State University in Petersburg, who edits the Journal of Scientific Exploration. This publishes research on such topics as alien abductions and telepathy. Before dabbling in virology, Bauer was a leading authority on the existence of the Loch Ness monster.

Leading AIDS denialist Henry Bauer is a former expert on the Loch Ness monster

Racism

The effects of AIDS denialism in Africa are no joke, however. In 2000, as the movement was rapidly losing all credibility, South African president Thabo Mbeki asked some of the leading denialists to sit on an advisory council to guide his response to the epidemic. On their advice he did everything in his power to resist ART use in his country.

Mbeki felt the mainstream western view that AIDS was caused by a sexually transmitted infection reflected racist beliefs that Africans were promiscuous. Western science, Mbeki believed, was blind to an obvious cause of immune deficiency in Africa: poverty.

It wouldn't be the first time. A century ago TB became endemic among black, but not white, South Africans, leaving western scientists flummoxed. Some pondered a genetic explanation, while overlooking the obvious - in white-ruled cities black people lived in the crowded conditions that encourage the spread of TB. In other words, blacks were falling ill as a result of white domination. Mbeki argued that the same thing was happening again. AIDS was simply a name for the diseases of poverty that had been legion in Africa since the days of colonial rule.

Mbeki was forced out last year - although not because of his denialism - and South Africa's new president, Jacob Zuma, supports ART. But immense damage has already been done. Last year, a study found that if Mbeki's government had provided HIV treatment, there would have been 365,000 fewer premature deaths in South Africa (Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, vol 49, p 410). The legacy of Mbeki's denialism might still have an influence on the treatment decisions of many HIV-positive South Africans.

In Australia there is now the "Perth Group", led by Eleni Papadopulos-Eleopulos, whose science qualification is an undergraduate degree in nuclear physics. She appeared as an expert witness in 2006 for an Australian man appealing his conviction for failing to tell his sexual partners he was HIV-positive. Papadopulos-Eleopulos stood up in court and claimed that HIV does not exist. The man lost his case, however, with the judge noting that Papadopulos-Eleopulos had "no formal qualifications in medicine, virology, immunology, or any other medical disciplines... Her opinions lack any credibility."

Along with Christine Maggiore's death, you might think that these events would significantly weaken the denialists' case. Yet it would be premature to predict the movement's demise.

Consider that in the US, two small surveys have shown startlingly high numbers of people - around 1 in 4 - who question whether HIV causes AIDS. This probably reflects lack of education about the virus, rather than active denialism, since there is no evidence that people are seeking alternative AIDS treatment in large numbers. It does suggest, however, a troubling lack of communication between mainstream medicine and ordinary people. It is precisely such gaps in communication that internet quacks and conspiracy theorists can exploit.

Gaps in communication between mainstream medicine and ordinary people can be exploited by internet quacks and conspiracy theorists

Seth Kalichman, a psychologist at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, who carried out one of the surveys, has recently published Denying AIDS, a book about the movement. "My perception is that there is certainly a lot more mischief, like books and documentaries shown at film festivals," he says.

For some, no amount of evidence will overturn their entrenched beliefs. Maggiore blamed her daughter's death on an allergic reaction to antibiotics. For a long time she publicly cited her own good health as proof that HIV does not cause AIDS.

It is unpleasant to imagine what went through her mind last year as her own health worsened. She apparently continued to refuse the potentially lifesaving ART. Perhaps that is no surprise. To accept the drugs she had denied Eliza Jane would have been tantamount to accepting responsibility for her daughter's death.

To accept the drugs she had denied Eliza Jane would have meant taking responsibility for her child's death. And that's something that anyone would want to stay in denial about.

Note New Scientist article by Jonny Steinberg is the author of Three Letter Plague: A young man's journey through a great epidemic (Vintage), published in the US as Sizwe's Test

My year as an AIDS denialist

"For a year I had two lives," says Seth Kalichman, a psychologist at the University of Connecticut in Storrs and editor of the journal AIDS and Behavior. "It was pretty disturbing."

Kalichman was researching his book, Denying AIDS, which was published in the US earlier this year. The book charts the development of AIDS denialism into its current incarnation as a ragbag of eccentric scientists, crusading conspiracy theorists and HIV patients in denial.

Kalichman wanted to get close to the denialists - and that meant becoming one of them. "I knew that they would never talk to me as Seth Kalichman, the AIDS scientist," he says. So Kalichman became public health student "Joe" (a nickname he sometimes uses).

The denialist movement has a strong internet presence. As Joe, Kalichman started posting on websites and blogs. "I would pose questions, and they indoctrinated me into denialism," he recalls. "There were times when I felt I was being groomed."

His next step was to get Joe on an internet list of "AIDS dissidents". Denialists often cite this document, which currently has 2651 international signatories, as a list of scientists who dispute that HIV causes AIDS. In fact, only some of those listed are scientists, and even fewer are biologists - although alternative therapists often crop up.

As a budding denialist who was part of the medical establishment, Joe would no doubt have been seen as a great catch. Once he passed a brief email cross-examination, his name went up.

"That list is a roster of who can be trusted," Kalichman discovered. Joe now gained access to, and regularly chatted with, other prominent denialists, including the Canadian journalist David Crowe.

Kalichman began to find his double life surreal. "I was going to meetings at the National Institutes of Health during the day and in the evenings blogging with David Crowe," he recalls. But Kalichman wanted to meet denialists face to face. He heard that the movement's founder and star scientist Peter Duesberg was holding an invitation-only cancer conference.

SUSPICIOUS

Duesberg was once widely renowned for his discovery of the first cancer gene, but he is now derided for his eccentric views on HIV. He works in a small, privately funded laboratory where he researches his outlandish theories of cancer.

Joe's status as an AIDS dissident won him an invite. He felt nervous his subterfuge would be discovered, either by inadvertently using his real name or through his appearance. "I had been telling them I was a student, and I'm 48 years old," he says.

Still, Kalichman got through the door and talked to other attendees, including Duesberg's right-hand man David Rasnick. Rasnick seemed suspicious but did not get him thrown out.

Finally, Kalichman met Duesberg himself, and it made him revise some of his opinions about the man. Kalichman had previously wondered if Duesberg's stated views could be genuine. "He looked me dead in the eyes and said this is not an infectious disease," he says. "I have no question that he really believes this. He ignores the science to retain this belief."

Why? In Kalichman's opinion: "In that very small circle of AIDS denialism, he's a rock star. He was the focus of attention the whole time and he was very comfortable with that."

After the conference Kalichman abandoned his double life. He has no doubt that his time spent as Joe gave him unique insight into the denialists' world. "For Peter Duesberg, he's the big fish in the small pond. For people with HIV, denialism protects them from having to face that fact. Our beliefs are a substantial part of our psychological survival."

Note: Interview in New Scientist by Clare Wilson

My AIDS Denialist Fan Club

Do you feel the love?

Readers of Denying AIDS have noticed that AIDS Denialists are busy spewing their venom my way.

Nothing unexpected.

I thought you might like to see some behind the scenes excerpts.

I would prefer not to include attack comments and hate mail in my regular posts. Still, Denialist attacks should have a place on my blog. Hence this post.

To start things off, here is an email that was circulated among the Rethinkers. Thanks for sending it my way! I probably should not disclose who was included on this email. I doubt that Claus, Henry, and Michael would appreciate it. So do not even bother to ask.

New: Scroll down comments to read a letter from AIDS Denialists to the University of Connecticut Department of Psychology ‘telling on me’. WARNING: Empty your bladder and sit down before reading to avoid potentially harmful or embarrassing accidents. Be prepared to laugh!
____________________________________________
UPDATE: Celia Farber's new website, The Truth Barrier is up and running. Among the first posts is a review by Claus Jensen (who ever that is) of Denying AIDS. Thank you Claus. Your endorsement means much to me. Without a strong reaction from AIDS denialists Denying AIDS would have no credibility at all.

UPDATE: Henry Bauer has a new passion. Me! That's right. First Nessies and Aliens. Then AIDS. Now ME. Check out what Henry says will be dozens of Blog postings. Even Robert Gallo does not have a whole blog about him! Boy is Bauer pissed at me and Joe. Hopefully he will calm down or he might develop AIDS from the Seth-Stress.
___________________________________________

From:
Date: March 24, 2009 10:01:53 PM PDT
To:
Subject: Kalichman

As I doubt you will get an answer to your question from Snout, I will share with you an example of what I consider Seth Kalichman's juvenile level of scholarship with a few notations by me. Examination of more of his pieces may be useful in exposing his insanities.

Following is a bit from Seth Kalichman's research projects. It seems obvious that he teaches what he most needs to learn. The following excerpts are from one of his papers called "Coping and Safer Sex Maintenance Intervention for Men and Women Living with HIV-AIDS . A Group Leader’s Guide". In his guide for group leaders, Seth wrote the following.

First, Seth describes what qualities make an effective versus ineffective group facilitator. He should soon be an expert on this one. I loved the following:

Qualities of ineffective facilitators

Oriented toward individuals more than groups.

Places personal needs before group needs
Seth would never do that, now would he?

Anxious in groups Overly charismatic – needing to be the center for the group
Such as his latest attempt to be at the center of the battle to stop the damned aids denialists?

Has an “us versus them” mentality
Who? Seth Kalichman and his notoriously documented need to be the "us of hiv orthodoxy" versus the them of "those damned deranged aids denialists

Views self above the group
Such as his attempt to present himself as being all knowing about hiv/aids while never answering a single question that is posed to him, or while censoring on his blog all those who would correct him?

Needs to dominate the discussion
Such as is evidenced by his censoring nearly every post on his site that dissidents have written that show him to clearly be wrong

Inflexible and non-adaptive
Seth inflexible? Oh no, not Seth. He is the most open minded and most flexible individual (like a snake in the grass) that I have ever encountered

Physically and emotionally removed
Such as running off when he is exposed as wrong and as is displayed by his ignoring every pertinent and reasonable question asked of him

Begin with a discussion of stress factors in life. We all have things that create stress in everyday life.
Amazing how he easily notices this, except for one obvious exception: Except for Christine Maggiore, who Seth has portrayed as having had no stress at all after her daughter died of a reaction to amoxicillin and after she was relentlessly attacked in nationwide newspapers and magazines and blogsites and labeled an aids denialist mother whose aids denial and refusal to have her daughter tested or on aids drugs and thereby stood publicly acused and convicted as having caused the death of her daughter

Seth Continues

Some stressors are minor and easy to deal with, while other stressors are significant and can be overwhelming.
Unless your name is Christine Maggiore or you are an aids denialist, then whatever is thrown at you is because you had it coming and is not the cause of your illness because only hiv could do that

HIV can be a long-term stressor that is difficult to deal with.
How astute. Is he aware that suicide, both passive and direct, is the leading cause of death in those diagnosed as hiv infected sexual lepers? No mention anywhere by Seth of just how stressful such a diagnosis can be. And of course, in one is an aids dissident, then one's greatest stress often becomes how to stop the insanity of the hiv pushers such as Seth from destroying your life or the lives of those you love.

For some people HIV can be at the top of the list as a stressor, for others HIV may not be the number one stressor in life.
Oh really? And just how stressful can it be Seth?

In either case, HIV can present added problems and stress for you that can effect your health. WHAT??? Did I read that right? Seth Kalichman herein fully and publicly admits that STRESS can affect physical health??? If that is what he believes, then why did he ignore this when Christine was stressed to breaking as he fought vehemently to portray Christine's only problem as a lack of aids drugs? Why does he ignore that she was endlessly attacked in the media, including by him? Why does he ignore she had just been portrayed as a murderous denialist mother in a recent Law and Order episode just one month before she became ill? Why does he ignore the stress Christine was facing at the trial of the coroner that she was scheduled to testify at the week after she got ill and died? Why does Seth conveniently ignore the massive nonstep grief and stress that Christine was faced with?

For the group discussions, Seth's entire agenda seems to be created for kindergarteners, such as is evidenced right from the beginning of Seth's group meeting discussions. Seth recommends the following:

Select a partner… get to know each other Questions:

1. Who are you?

2. What is one thing you find stressful and how do you cope with it?

3. If this was your day and you could do anything you want, what would you be doing?
From there the activities of Seths group is to watch role playing movie clips with brief discussions centering on "what would you do if it were you" and "would this be stressful for you". Then Seth likely reveals to us his own real motivations in the following

The Stress of Hiding Parts of Ourselves: The Bird Cage, trying to be straight scene; Partners in Crime, Surgeon General scene.
trying to be straight? Could this be Seth's little secret? Highly likely.

Sometimes we all try to hide things about ourselves or things we’ve done from others and this can be stressful.
Ah Ha! Just what is it Seth is hiding about himself?

The group should enjoy the comical nature of the two clips and no discussion is necessary.
So just what IS IT THAT SETH the pseudopsychologist IS HIDING ABOUT HIMSELF? What seeming vile thing has he likely partaken in or that he is tempted to partake in that he has hidden even from his wife? Did he play the girlfriend role for his older brother or father when he was 10? Is it that Seth cruises the park at night for sexual encounters? Just what is it that Seth has done, as he seems to be clearly informing us that he too is hiding something from his loved ones? And furthermore, is it that Seth also uses his own fear of the hiv boogeyman to keep from acting out his own fantasies and desires? Does Seth also personally NEED the fear of aids?

Obviously SOMETHING is driving this man. Something he keeps well hidden. And whatever his motivation is, it is certainly not about being a loving compassionate would be savior to hiv positives nor is it a benevolent desire to save the world from suffering death by aids. Not for Seth. For Seth this is a very personal crusade.

And to answer your question about Seth's "scholarship"..... Read the paper. The astoundingly juvenile nature of his "best works" in psychology gives me sincere question as to how someone such as Seth ever got a degree, let alone a professorship, in of all things, psychology!

AIDS Denier Henry Bauer is Unlikely to be Appointed to Journal of Cryptozoology Editorial Board

Monster Hunting 2.0 by Dan Cossins for ScienceNews

So long as the standards are kept high, then I think it will demonstrate that cryptozoology isn’t just full of crackpots chasing Nessy. —­Darren Naish, University of Southampton, U.K.

Since the demise of the journal Cryptozoology in 1996, there has been no peer-reviewed English-language periodical for the controversial field, which studies animals known from anecdote, folklore, or fragmentary physical evidence, but not yet authenticated with actual specimens. So when the U.K.–based Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ) approached popular cryptozoology writer Karl Shuker about launching a new journal, he was happy to oblige.

“I felt it imperative that a journal of this nature should exist again as a platform for formal scientific cryptozoological research and reviews of past cases that mainstream journals may not be willing to consider,” says Shuker, who has a PhD in zoology and comparative physiology from the University of Birmingham, U.K. Having assembled a panel of reviewers who then pored over the first batch of submissions, the CFZ and Shuker published the first issue of The Journal of Cryptozoology in October 2012. Editor-in-chief Shuker insists that all articles are subjected to the “same level of rigorous peer-review evaluations as [in] any mainstream journal.”

Death by Denial: Maria Papagiannidou dies of AIDS

"It is said that a cure for 'AIDS' cannot be found, but I was 'HIV-positive' for 10 years, had full-blown 'AIDS' for another 12 years and have now become perfectly fine again without any doctor's intervention or medication."
Maria Papagiannidou


Word has spread that Maria Papagiannidou  has died. She became hooked into AIDS Denialism and paraded about by her pals at The Rethinking AIDS Society. She gained media attention in her home country of Greece when she proclaimed AIDS was a myth. She chronicled her denial in her book Goodbye AIDS! Did you ever exist?
Ms. Papagiannidou is the most recent in a long succession of AIDS Deniers who have died of AIDS. They made the misinformed choice not to take antiretroviral medications; dying earlier than they could have if treated. 
Once again, the leaders of AIDS Denialsim -- David Crowe, Peter Duesberg, David Rasnick, and Henry Bauer are living to very (very) ripe old ages, while those who listen to them die young. 
The leaders of Rethinking AIDS have much in common - they are all crazy old white men.
Those who listen to them and die have much in common too -  they are young, men and women, racially and ethnically diverse, HIV positive, and refuse treatment. 
Fortunately, the AIDS Deniers are becoming increasingly irrelevant. 
I would like the old guys at Rethinking AIDS to hold one more AIDS Denier's conference before they completely disappear. I want one more chance to say Goodbye AIDS Denialists! Did you ever exist?

Rethinking AIDS: When 99% of the world disagrees, we must be right

The AIDS Denialists are planning their World AIDS Day conference. If you are in Washington on December 1, you should drop by the Washington Court Hotel. In case you find it hard to believe that anyone in 2011 questions the existence of HIV, seeing these guys is believing.  Here is the latest announcement that Rethinking AIDS emailed to potential attendees.  Remember, this is not a joke, at least it is not meant to be a joke.


UPDATE: As discussed in comments below, the AIDS Deniers have cancelled their 2011 Rethinking AIDS conference. 
So sad. 
The reason is obvious -- 
     a clash of delusions. 
The AIDS denier camps are fighting, again. There is a battle between those who say HIV does not exist (Perthians) and those who say HIV exists but is harmless (Duesbergians).
I am not sure why they just don't have a denialist debate? What are they afraid of?  I would be happy to sponsor the debate and host it on this blog. 
Any takers?
Have a few minutes for some mindless entertainment? Visit the Rethinking AIDS page in Facebook. 
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Rethinking AIDS Convention 2011: Will the rooms be padded?

AIDS denialists will hold their 2011 convention in Washington, DC on December 1, World AIDS Day. The conference will focus on uncovering the US government's and pharmaceutical industry's global conspiracy to sell HIV tests and medications. The conference organizers say "The myth that blames a single retrovirus for a complex multi-factorial syndrome has left in its wake millions of people terrified of an 'HIV test', a pharmacopeia of toxic drugs prescribed without informed consent and an effort by the myth-makers to shut down intelligent public discussion. Thousands of scientists, epidemiologists, academics, physicians, journalists, and activists who oppose the use of toxic medications and inaccurate tests have been called 'denialists', an attempt to equate dissent with those who deny the Nazi Holocaust."

How AIDS Denialism Can Kill You Part VI: Emery Taylor Dies at age 28

The Rethinking AIDS Website predominantly displays Emery Taylor as one of many people  living just fine without HIV medications. The Home Page at Rethinking AIDS says…

.

“HIV+ for over 10 years, no meds, healthy”

Emery Taylor was interviewed at the RA2009 Conference:"According to the numbers I have AIDS, but when you look at me you see a healthy 28-year old ... I don't spell AIDS at all ... I work 70 hours a week ... It's just not consistent with what my doctor said would happen eleven years ago when I tested positive."

Emery Taylor has died. The following Facebook page announces his memorial service.

"It's with heartfelt sympathy that Rehoboth Temple communicates the passing of one of its members, Emery Taylor. 
Our condolences and prayers are with his family, friends and the many whose lives were touched by him.


See past stories on How AIDS Denialism Can Kill You
Part V: Karri Stokely 
Part IV: One Too Many Coincidences 
Part III: Lambros Papantoniou
Kim Bannon
Part II: Henry Bauer
Part I: AIDS Myths Exposed

AIDS Denialists Donate to AIDS Charities - Thank You!

With the global economy in recovery, it is incredibly generous of AIDS Deniers to be so supportive of AIDS charities.   

First, thanks to David Crowe, Henry Bauer, Peter Duesberg, David Rasnick and their friends for taking the time to help me (and Joe Newton) write Denying AIDS. We made our first donation from the book royalties to the Family Treatment Fund, and the timing could not be better. The Administration of the Family Treatment Fund wrote:

"Dear Seth, Thank you for your amazing contribution to the Family Treatment Fund. Your gift could not come at a better time. PEPFAR [The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief] funding is flat and we are using every penny to continue to start 81 desperately ill patients a month on treatment. I am truly touched by your generosity that is saving lives and helping families."

Don't thank me. 

Thank the Rethinking AIDS crowd for giving me such a great journey to write about. 

I could have never done it without them.

Perhaps just as thoughtful is the donation resulting from the slanderous comments that AIDS deniers Clark Baker and Michael Geiger posted at the Spectator website. Their rude remarks against AIDS scientist John Moore brought this public apology:

An apology to Professor John Moore

28 August 2010

The Spectator apologises to Professor Moore for certain postings by contributors using pseudonyms "CWBPI" and "Michael" under our "Questioning the Aids Consensus" blog in October 2009. The comments were removed following a complaint by Professor Moore. We are happy to accept that these comments were both abusive and untrue. The Spectator has agreed to make a donation to a HIV/AIDS charity.

The Spectator is not the first to be duped by these poop heads and I am sure they will not be the last. The Spectator offered Dr. Moore a monetary settlement, which he asked them to donate to the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) of South Africa.  

Book royalties and  libel payments - the fruits of AIDS denialism. What is next? I can't hardly wait!

By the way, if you are feeling left out, why not go buy something Product (RED)?

David Crowe's Incisive Interview with David Crowe on Global Warming

I was recently asked whether AIDS Denialists are involved in other denialisms, such as Holocaust denial, the anti-vaccine movement, 9/11 Truth Seeking, etc. 

The answer is, of course, yes. Gary Null is an AIDS Denier and Cancer Denialist. Liam Scheff and Tom Bethell are AIDS Denialists and creationists. There is overlap between AIDS Deniers and the anti-vaccine crowd. Henry Bauer is an AIDS Denier and a well known Anti-Reality Activist. 

I suppose I should not have been surprised when I saw that David Crowe, President of the Rethinking AIDS Society, is also a Global Warming Denialist. David Crowe is well known for his AIDS and cancer denialism. But Global Warming too? 

I suppose when it comes to the wacky world of AIDS Denialism, nothing should surprise us. 

My Position on Global Warming and Climate Change

by David Crowe

March 19, 2010

If I can be classified it would be as a left-leaning environmentalist, with a history of environmental concerns dating back to my pre-teen years in the 1960s. I was one of the founders of the Alberta Greens political party in 1990 based on support for a federal Green candidate in 1988, and was the party's president until 2004 and then CFO until a right-wing takeover in late 2008.

I have organized my position on global warming/climate change as a self-interview because my concerns have arisen as I have been asked more questions about this and some of my green friends exhibit shock at my position.

Beyond Kary Mullis: The Alien Conspiracy Theory of AIDS

Ok, so this one falls under the category 'Just when I thought I had seen all of the crazies in AIDS denialism.' There is a theory that AIDS is the result of an Alien plot against Earth.

Kary Mullis, the alien abducted Nobel Prize winning AIDS denier, has obviously never connected the celestrial dots. Now we have proof... Mullis' glowing raccoons crafted HIV to kill earthlings. Obviously the whole Drugs=AIDS myth is just a cover up.

Why are the AIDS Denialists keeping this a secret?

Why hasn't TruthBearer Celia Farber told us about this?

With his extraterrestrial contacts Henry Bauer surely has knowledge of the plot. Why is he silent?

Is Irving Newton former weatherman in Roswell, Joe's father?

Could it be that there is a larger scheme at work?

Is there an interplanetary conspiracy beyond any of our wildest imaginations? The sort of thing that is only revealed by excessive dopamine in the brain, and LSD of course. Read the terrifying story below or visit The AIDS-ET Connection Hypothesis.

The AIDS-ET Connection Hypothesis

The AIDS-ET Connection Hypothesis is a new, unifying scientific concept, which logically and simply explains and unifies the known facts relating to HIV/AIDS and Ufology (the study of Unidentified flying objects). Like any hypothesis, it is in the least well established stage of scientific knowledge, and provides a guideline for further study, investigation, and possible modification.

Science, pseudoscience and professional responsibility

New article in Health-e

By John Moore
Surveys have consistently shown that over 40% of Americans do not believe in evolution. It is not surprising, then, that our society is vulnerable to being fooled by people who misrepresent scientific or historical facts.

Henry Bauer in search of Nessies

We are now all too familiar with the crazed activities of the 'Birthers', anad hoc, right wing political group refusing to accept President Obama was born in the United States. Earlier this year, we saw media coverage of the insane views of a clique that refuses to accept American astronauts walked on the moon 40 years ago. The "9/11 Truth Movement" flourishes on the internet, arguing that the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were not hit by hijacked jetliners, but were blown up by the CIA at the behest of Israeli intelligence. Conspiracy groups like these usually do little real damage to society, although the activities of the "9/11 Truth Movement" foster anti-Semitism and insult the memories of the nearly 3000 Americans who died on 9/11. Unfortunately, other equally bizarre and factually unfounded, internet-based conspiracy groups can, and do, harm, even kill, significant numbers of people. This is not just an American problem, as the ripple effects of conspiracy theories spread worldwide via the internet. Indeed, the most serious consequences of one such group’s actions have been felt in Africa.

A small group of misguided and, in some cases malicious, individuals have long promoted the view that HIV does not cause AIDS or, in an even more bizarre twist of the truth, that HIV does not even exist. An even nastier variation of the theme is that HIV was created by the US government as a device to kill "undesirables", such as people with black skins or who are gay. None of these opinions is true, and there is not a shred of credible scientific or historic evidence to support them. Unfortunately, the Mbeki administration in South Africa put in place policies based around the premises that HIV is harmless but anti-retroviral drugs are dangerous. This decision caused over 330,000 unnecessary deaths during the first half of this decade. And yet the "AIDS Denialists" even question this death toll, a tactic no different from Holocaust Deniers asking "Did six million really die". Many Americans and Europeans have also died, persuaded by the "AIDS Denialists" that they did not need to take anti-retroviral drugs to treat their HIV infections. Distrust of the federal government and the medical establishment among African American communities has adversely affected AIDS prevention and treatment programs in the USA, in no small measure due to the crazy belief that HIV was created as a weapon of selective genocide. Indeed, this particular rumor even re-surfaced in the last Presidential election campaign. Real people die real deaths as a direct result of the pseudo-science promoted by the "AIDS Denialists".

In a similar vein, groups that claim vaccination is harmful have harmed global immunization programs, and thereby caused avoidable deaths worldwide. A conspiracy theory group often called "The Mercuries" has been particularly vociferous in its argument that a mercury-containing preservative found in some vaccines causes autism. There is less mercury in a vaccine shot than in a tuna fish sandwich, and the mercury present in the fish is in a more dangerous chemical form. Overall, a now vast body of solid scientific evidence has proven that autism has no connection whatsoever to any vaccine or vaccine component. This is now settled science within the professional community, which understands that the cause of autism is based in human genetics. But despite the facts, the distrust of vaccines that has been created by “The Mercuries” and other anti-vaccine conspiracy groups is now damaging efforts to counter swine flu by vaccination, both in America and, increasingly, elsewhere. The polio vaccine eradication campaign has been harmed, notably in Nigeria, by rumors that the vaccine is contaminated with dangerous chemicals, or even with HIV, or that it was designed by “white people to sterilize black people”. As a result, this dangerous infection has still not been eradicated from Africa, where it lingers on, killing and paralyzing yet more people.

The mindsets of the "AIDS Denialists" and "The Mercuries" are similar to each other. Both groups are irrational on the science, twisting the facts to a perverse extent and stubbornly ignoring and rejecting all the evidence that speaks against their views. Each group is bolstered by a very small number of scientists whose paper qualifications provide them with a superficial, wafer-thin veneer of academic credibility. The two conspiracy groups contain individuals who will resort to threats of violence and who harass those who dare to speak up against them. A common tactic of both groups is to smear scientists and physicians who recommend AIDS drugs or the use of vaccines as being nothing more than paid tools of the pharmaceutical industry. Yet both the "AIDS Denialists" and "The Mercuries" are supported by promoters of “alternative (i.e., quack) therapies" who have a financial interest in damning approved anti-HIV drugs or licensed vaccines. “Ambulance-chasing” lawyers have also been heavily involved with the anti-vaccine groups, fostering the hopes of grieving parents that they (and the lawyers) might receive a payout from a scientifically ill-informed jury.

The conspiracy theory groups also receive the support of a small, but noisy, subset of media professionals who seem attracted to the personalities involved, smelling stories in the controversies. This has been particularly problematic recently in the anti-vaccine arena, where some American chat shows and right wing news programs have given undue attention to “The Mercuries”. Bizarre as it may seem, the views of medically unqualified Hollywood celebrities are given equal, or even greater, weight on these shows than those of expert physicians and scientists. Science and pseudoscience should never be “balanced” in this way. To make an analogy: if a film star claimed that we should not fly on a jetliner because mercury contamination could make the wings fall off, we would simply laugh, preferring to listen to the views of qualified aeronautical engineers and metallurgists (and to our own experience as travelers). Yet, nowadays, film stars’ views on vaccine composition are given huge weight by some chat show hosts.

The "AIDS Denialists" and "The Mercuries" are no different from the "Birthers", the moon-landing hoaxers, the "9/11 Truth" members and the Holocaust Deniers in the irrationality of their views and their belief in government conspiracies and cover-ups. Indeed, some members of the various groups flit from one conspiracy-themed web site to another, seeking and finding solace in a variant form of irrationality. One of the very few academic supporters of the" AIDS Denialism" movement also investigates the Loch Ness Monster, Alien Crop Circles and other such fringe or paranormal themes. It would be funny if it were not so tragic.
What can be done about dispelling this kind of damaging nonsense? America has a strong tradition of free speech, so dangerous views will continue to be promoted, however harmful they are to public health and the best interests of society. The internet is the territory of the conspiracist, and it is likely to remain so. But media professionals should not be so unquestioning of the science when they provide airtime or column inches to those with fringe views. Controversy may help sell advertising, but at what cost?

A particular concern is that the ideas that HIV is harmless and that vaccines cause autism have been underpinned by a very few academics or physicians working in American or European universities or hospitals. These “thought leaders” for the conspiracy groups should now be made to face the professional consequences of their scientifically unsupportable actions. Is academic freedom such a precious concept that scientists can hide behind it while betraying the public so blatantly? When the facts are so solidly against views that kill people, there must be a price to pay. Post-tenure review of the progress of academic careers is something the university system could put in place if it chose to. How can bona fide universities justify their employees teaching students, even medical students, that HIV is harmless? How can academic and medical institutions still employ people whose views lead to the deaths of over 330,000 South Africans? Shielding the proponents of pseudoscience by doing nothing is a dereliction of a duty to the public. It is also moral cowardice. It is now time for Africa to speak out and demand action against those who have been responsible for so many deaths on this continent.

AIDS Denialist Crank Convention: Gearing Up for Oakland

"They are all prostitutes, most of them, my collogues, to some degree, including myself. You have to be prostitutes to get money for your research. You are trained a little bit to be a prostitute. But some go all the way." Peter Duesberg

I don’t know about you, but I am getting pretty excited about the Rethinking AIDS conference. What a great opportunity to meet all of the AIDS Denialists and learn about their latest delusions! I am familiar with the venue – same place Peter Duesberg held his Aneuploidy Conference. Truth is the Aneuploidy meeting attempted to present some science. There were some real scientists there, albeit not very comfortably. The Rethinking AIDS Conference promises to be even better. Just look at what the AIDS Deniers are saying…