Up Close and Personal
The monthly interview with CTM Founder, Phillip Day

ECLUB: Welcome back. How was Portugal?
PD: Never has my chicken been so piri-piri'ed, Brian.
ECLUB: Feel rested?
PD: You bet. In fact, of interest to those of our subscribers who live with the constant flux of stress is 'new' research on holidays. The basic problem is, we're not taking our full allowance, and even if we do, we let the boss know where we are so he can contact us at any time!
ECLUB: Oh, dear.
PD: Yup. Another study just out shows nearly half of all Brits either stay in contact with their boss during holiday or do some work-related tasks while they are away. The problem with this is that stress patterns build up through repetitive behaviour carried out in a state of emotion over a period of time (and become addiction patterns). It usually takes 15-30 days of isolation from the stress pattern and its locational adjuncts in order to overwrite it. Clearly most people are not taking four-week holidays in a state of complete isolation from their workplace, mission, or whatever they usually handle (yes, even kids!). One of the topics we'll be discussing on my forthcoming Attitude Tour of New Zealand and Australia is how we can reorganize our time better to use enjoyable holidays as the best form of stress-busting.
ECLUB: What else do you have for us?
PD: As most know, Mo Mowlam, former Blair New Labour acolyte and erstwhile Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, sadly succumbed to cancer last month. Mo's husband Jon Norton revealed this week that her death came as a result of the cancer treatments themselves rather than her brain tumour. Folks, to put it mildly, radiation is not good for the body. According to the Institute of Cancer Research, around four in every ten cancer patients in Britain - an estimated 100,000 people every year - receive radiotherapy. It is given to patients whose cancer is limited to one organ. The aim is to shrink the tumour and kill any rogue cancer cells that may go on to multiply. What radiation NEVER does is correct the underlying reason why cancer began in the first place. This is corrected, and can only be corrected, by lifestyle and dietary changes. If you are reading this and you or a loved one has cancer, click here to take our Internet tour on the cancer. And let us stop this mindless burning and poisoning when all the body is crying out for is some decent grub.
ECLUB: But what about the claims for survival?
PD: The cancer industry has redefined the meaning of the word survival to indicate only survival within five years of initial treatment. This deceitfully enables cancer charities to claim 80% of women survive breast cancer, when what they really mean is, 80% of women with breast cancer are still alive five years later, which they would be anyway if they went home, changed their diet and lifestyle, and stayed away from doctors. Notice, in Mo Mowlam's case, how her husband declares that "There was no recurrence of the cancer, nor the tumour. She did not have a stroke, she did not break her neck and there was no internal bleeding." Yes, but she's dead, Jon.
A reverse case of an individual using diet and lifestyle to cure himself of cancer is that of Oxford don, Michael Gearin-Tosh, whose obituary is also posted in this month's bulletin.
ECLUB: What else?
PD: A great article by Stuart Kirk entitled, 'Are we all going mad, or are the experts crazy?' which gets into the fraudulence of psychiatry and the mental health system. I am simply delighted about the $142 million kick in the rear for Merck, which is having to pay out this improbable sum to the family of just one of the 65,000-plus people it killed with its arthritis drug, Vioxx. Pie-in-the-sky perhaps to hope these jury trials will help correct the abuses and suffering mankind has undergone at the hands of the 'health industry' for the future. But it does show, in America at least, an anger at the drug lords which is starting to make itself felt.
ECLUB: Can you see a similar reaction in Britain?
PD: Hardly. The British LOVE drugs! They love the ritual of being told there's something the matter with them and receiving a prescription. Much better a pill than change their wicked ways. In Britain, prescription drugs kill six times as many people as road accidents, and that's just the ones they're owning up to (the drugs not the accidents). The UK's adverse event reporting scheme, known in football vernacular as 'The Yellow Card' (the Red presumably when you're dead), is absolutely laughable. a) it's VOLUNTARY, i.e., doctors have to report the events themselves! b) patient reports are ignored and c) the whole rotten program is funded by the pharmaceutical industry and administered by such compromised organisations as the MHRA and CSM. In other words, the wolf telling you someone's been in the hen house. And the MHRA have the gall to run around rousting sellers of vitamins, all the while presiding over this grisly slaughter?
ECLUB: I see you've lost nothing of your fighting spirit.
PD: Queuing up in Faro airport for four hours probably had something to do with it.
ECLUB: Thank you, Phillip.

Britain Should Quit EU, French Sage Says
by Colin Randall in Paris

France's most celebrated living intellectual - and probably its most constant Anglophile - called on Britain yesterday to leave the European Union.

Maurice Druon, an author, ex-culture minister and grandee of the Académie Française, said that Britain's aversion to full integration made it unsuited to the full membership for which he campaigned more than 30 years ago.

He suggested instead that it should settle for the status of "privileged partner", the much reduced level of affiliation that French opponents of Turkish EU membership believe should be offered to Ankara.

Mr Druon, 87, holder of an honorary knighthood for services to Anglo-French relations, said: "What Britain and Europe want of the EU is quite different. You want an open market, whereas the rest of us want Europe to evolve as a strong power, not just economically but diplomatically and strategically, too."

His views were aired initially in an article in Le Figaro. Britain, he wrote, was beginning to "go back in history - and when they are there, they stay there".

Mr Druon listed the aspects of Britishness he judged incompatible with EU membership: an "umbilical" link with America; demands for special budgetary treatment; support for Turkish accession in defiance of Europe's natural boundaries; and stubborn resistance to the Euro.

Britain, he said, continued to focus its policies on "the open sea". This was a reference to Churchill's remark, often quoted out of context in France since it concerned wartime events before the Common Market was even thought of: "Each time we must choose between Europe and the open sea, we shall always choose the open sea."

Mr Druon said: "Shouldn't we draw the consequences and ask whether it wouldn't be to everyone's advantage, Britain's included, for them to leave the EU's political institutions and take the status of privileged partner? You cannot stay indefinitely both in and out. If a friend cannot raise this question, who else will dare to pose it?"

He told The Daily Telegraph: "I am not suggesting that Britain should be chased out of the EU. It must be Britain that takes the first step towards a modified status."

Mr Druon said recent events had reinforced his admiration for the British. From the Queen to ordinary subject, the "calm, dignified, disciplined" response to the July bombings had reminded him of his impressions of London in the Blitz.
The Daily Telegraph, 17th August 2005

Further Resources
Ten Minutes to Midnight by Phillip Day
The Real Face of the European Union, a 45-minute PAL documentary by the Campaign for Truth in Europe on the dangers of the Euro-state and the best way forward.

British Billions to be Squandered on Euro-Defence
by Christopher Booker

It was front-page news last week that the "cash-strapped" Ministry of Defence plans to charge members of the public £1,750 a head to meet the Queen, to help defray the cost of the Trafalgar anniversary celebrations.

But in real terms this pales into insignificance compared with the billions the MoD is chucking away in the name of European defence integration, by buying defence equipment from our EU partners rather than the US. The cost so far of the MoD's "buy European" policy, according to an analysis of dozens of defence projects by Dr Richard North, is over £5 billion.

Dr North's study has identified three main categories of project where UK taxpayers are losing out. In the first category are projects where we are choosing not to buy US-made equipment in favour of an inferior substitute. This is typified by the saga of the Navy's Type-45 destroyers, six of which are now on order, at £1 billion each. One reason why the price is so high is that the MoD is determined to use a French-made anti-aircraft missile system.

This has ruled out the UK following the Australian Navy's lead and buying US-designed ships equipped with a multi-purpose missile system, at only £600 million apiece. The MoD could thus have bought their destroyers, ready to fire not just anti-aircraft missiles but cruise missiles and anti-submarine weapons as well, at a saving of £2.4 billon.

The second category includes projects where, having spent millions on a failed joint project with EU partners, we are then forced to buy from the US after all. Earlier this month the MoD boasted that its new Javelin anti-tank missile is entering service four months early. What it did not mention was that the missile has been in service with the US Army since 1996. We have only had to buy it since the failure of the "Euromissile" project, in which Britain, France and Germany were attempting to develop the medium-range Trigat.

In 1999, the MoD announced that Trigat demonstrated "our determination to promote the restructuring of the European defence industry". The following year, as the Army ran dangerously short of missiles, Britain withdrew, having wasted £109 million. We also wasted £205 million on a similar joint project to equip Apache helicopters with long-range missiles, before buying the US's Hellfire system, designed specifically for that purpose, which had been available all along.

France continued with the "Euromissile" project and will now be equipping the French and German armies with the Trigan missile, a modification of Trigat. The MoD, having sqandered £314 million in development costs, has in each case had to go back to the US for replacements.

A third category includes those projects which duplicate something the US is providing anyway. The supreme example of this is the EU's Galileo satellite system, to provide its own counterpart to the American GPS system. This has already cost UK taxpayers £400 million.

Numerous other procurement decisions add to the list, including the £166 million we are to spend on obsolescent Italian-made reconnaissance vehicles, when we could have bought US equivalents at a quarter of the price. The MoD also chose to spend £1.6 billion on German-made trucks, in preference to cheaper bids for superior vehicles from two British-US consortia, simply because these had a US component.

But all this pales beside the proposed £14 billion cost of the 3,500 Swedish-made vehicles equipped with French-made guns we are buying to equip three brigades of the British Army as part of FRES (Future Rapid Effect System), at a cost of £4.6 billion per brigade. The US Army, meanwhile, will equip 36 of its brigades with the comparable but vastly superior FCS (Future Combat System) at a cost of only £1.8 billion each.

Yet until 1999 we were equal partners with the US in developing this project. We withdrew to participate in yet another EU project which will end up giving us inferior equipment at more than twice the cost. Is it surprising the MoD must now scrabble around, charging people £1,750 for the privilege of enjoying cocktails with the Queen?
The Sunday Telegraph, 21st August, 2005

Mandelson Frowns on Blouses, Bras and
T-shirts, as Well as Trousers
by Christopher Booker

Even the BBC has deigned to notice the extraordinary shambles developing over the EU's attempt to ban huge quantities of clothing imports from China. Already Peter Mandelson, the EU's trade commissioner, has barred 55 million jumpers and 14 million pairs of trousers from entering the EU. It now seems that hundreds of millions of blouses, bras and T-shirts are also about to fall foul of the same "anti-dumping" rules.

These garments were all paid for and shipped before July 20, when the EU imposed its ban. The result is that they are piling up in ports and warehouses while thousands of retailers across Europe will be left with bare shelves this autumn. On Friday, ministers from Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Holland warned, in the Financial Times, that this may lead to job losses and bankruptcies.

What the makers of BBC programmes such as You and Yours naturally don't explain is how neatly this exemplifies the way that the EU works. Although it is a protectionist bloc, dedicated to protecting its citizens' interests against competition from the outside world, just which citizens' interests are protected depends upon which lobby has the best access to officials.

In this case, as often before, the textile industries of five countries, led by France, lobbied successfully for their interests to come first. This left out in the cold all those shopkeepers who knew nothing of the ban until goods they had paid for were already on their way from China.
The point about protectionism is that it is always a racket, favouring some at the expense of others. In this instance we should not be surprised, because the EU was designed to be nothing other than a protectionist racket in the first place.
The Sunday Telegraph, 21st August, 2005

Further Resources
Ten Minutes to Midnight by Phillip Day
The Real Face of the European Union, a 45-minute PAL documentary by the Campaign for Truth in Europe on the dangers of the Euro-state and the best way forward.

Brussels Funds 'I Hate the EU' Campaign
by Justin Stares in Brussels

Roger Helmer, the Conservative Euro-MP for the East Midlands, obtained the funds from the parliament's information budget to print car bumper stickers saying: ''Love Europe. Hate the EU'' next to a picture of a crossed-out EU flag.

Two thousand stickers will be distributed to the first people to write to Mr Helmer enclosing a first-class stamp. The printing bill of about £350 is being met by the European Parliament.

Parliamentary officials tried to stop Mr Helmer gaining access to the budget but gave in after he argued that the words on the sticker were an accurate description of his political views. All Euro-MPs have the right to funds to get their message across.

"Officials initially refused funding on the grounds that the sticker's message was not political, nor was it information; it was merely my sentiment," said Mr Helmer. He then told them that if they could think of a better slogan reflecting his views, he would be happy to use it.

"I asked them whether they would have rejected the phrasing 'Love Europe, Love the EU'," he said. "I was amused by the transparent effort of the parliamentary authorities to apply political censorship to members' information funding. But I'm glad they finally saw sense."

Mr Helmer, 61, who is standing down at the next European election, believes that the Conservative Party should not belong to the Europhile European People's Party grouping in the parliament.
The Sunday Telegraph, 21st August 2005

Sunday Times Reports on Flawed
Adverse Reaction Reporting Scheme

A major report in the Sunday Times Magazine (Death of the Magic Bullet, July 31) reported on the growing controversy surrounding the official system for reporting adverse side effects (ADRs) from prescription drugs.

With latest figures suggesting that prescribed medicines kill up to 20,000 people a year in Britain - six times as many as die on the roads in the UK - the Sunday Times report claimed that the Yellow Card system was failing to tell the whole picture about ADRs.

Part of the problem is that the scheme is a voluntary one, so it relies on health professionals being diligent about reporting ADRs. It also fails to take into account patient-reported ADRs. But of more concern to health campaigners is the fact that that the system is funded entirely by the pharmaceutical industry and that cards are checked and assessed by official bodies (the MHRA and CSM in Britain) which, traditionally, have had a high number of pharmaceutical industry representatives sitting on key committees.

The Sunday Times report says that the Yellow Cards, when they have been analysed independently, have often been found to lack important information, particularly in cases where death has occurred. The article also points out that the Medicines Act prohibits the public disclosure of information contained on Yellow Cards, thereby further protecting the interests of the pharmaceutical industry.
August 3, 2005

Are We all Going Mad, or Are the Experts Crazy?
by Stuart A. Kirk

PSYCHIATRIC researchers recently estimated that half of the American population has had or will have a mental disorder at some time in their life. A generation ago, by contrast, only a small percentage of the American population was considered mentally ill. Are we all going mad?

Freud started this. He made us suspicious that any behavior was potentially rife with psychopathology. As a neurologist, he used the medical language of pathology to suggest that the demands of civilization on our fragile human nature were such as to make all of us somewhat neurotic.

The current psychiatric bible published by the American Psychiatric Assn., "The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders," or the DSM, continues this tradition of making us all crazy.

Because there are no biological tests, markers or known causes for most mental illnesses, who is counted as ill depends almost entirely on frequently changing checklists of behaviors that the DSM considers as symptoms of mental disorder. In the recent research, lay interviewers asked a sample of people to respond to lengthy questionnaires based on the DSM lists. Computer programs then counted the responses to determine if those interviewed had ever had the required number of behaviors for any mental disorder at some time in their life.

We keep getting higher estimates of mental disorders in part because the APA keeps adding new disorders and more behaviors to the manual.

Since 1979, for example, some of the new disorders and categories that have been added include panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, social phobia, borderline personality disorder, gender identity disorder, tobacco dependence disorder, eating disorders, conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, identity disorder, acute stress disorder, sleep disorders, nightmare disorder, rumination disorder, inhibited sexual desire disorders, premature ejaculation disorder, male erectile disorder and female sexual arousal disorder. If you don't see yourself on that list, don't fret, more are in the works for the next edition of the DSM.

Because so little is known about the causes of most mental disorders, just about any behavior can look like a symptom. Here is a selection from hundreds of behaviors listed in the DSM, behaviors that signify one disorder or another: restlessness, irritability, sleeping too much or too little, eating too much or too little, difficulty concentrating, fear of social situations, feeling morose, indecisiveness, impulsivity, self-dramatization, being inappropriately sexually seductive or provocative, requiring excessive admiration, having a sense of entitlement, lacking empathy, fear of being criticized in public, feeling personally inept, fear of rejection or disapproval, difficulty expressing disagreement, being excessively devoted to work and productivity, and being preoccupied with details, rules and lists.

For children, signs of disorder occur when they are deceitful, break rules, can't sit still or wait in lines, have trouble with math, don't pay attention to details, don't listen, don't like to do homework or lose their school assignments or pencils, or speak out of turn.

Granted, one momentary feeling or behavior will not qualify you as having a DSM mental disorder; it requires clusters of them, usually for several weeks, accompanied by some level of discomfort. Nevertheless, as Freud suggested, the signs of potential pathology are everywhere.

The vast broadening of the definition of mental disorders has its skeptics, myself included, who are suspicious of the motivations of the APA and the drug companies that may view the expanding sweep of mental disorders like a lumber company lusting after a redwood forest. But unlike the environment, with its leagues of watchdogs, the medicalization of human foibles has few challengers. That's too bad: The misdiagnosis of mental illness often leaves a lasting trail in medical records open to schools, employers, insurance companies and courts.

Does it advance psychiatry to view an increasing expanse of human troubles as the expression of psychopathology rather than as part of the texture and diversity of life? Psychiatry once focused on the prevention and treatment of serious behavioral problems, of which there are plenty. But based on the metastasizing DSM, the psychiatric association appears to be caught up in a contemporary narcissistic quest for individual perfection.

The grand American experiment once was an attempt to structure our social and political institutions to create a more civil and just society. Perhaps, frustrated that we still contend with gross inequality, stinging poverty and rampant political and corporate corruption, we now embrace the perfectibility of individuals, not social institutions.

The public is being asked to swallow the view that all manner of human troubles - from anxiety, interpersonal squabbles to misbehavior of many kinds - be viewed not as inevitable parts of the human comedy, but as psychopathology to be treated, usually with drugs, as expugnable illnesses. The implicit ideal - the healthy, normal and truly happy camper - will, properly medicated, harbor no serious worries or animosities, no sadness over losses or failures, no disappointments with children or spouses, no doubts about themselves or conflicts with others, and certainly no strange ideas or behaviors. Their moods will be perfectly controlled in all circumstances, and bad hair days will be things of the past.

Is it inevitable that the rest of us, the recalcitrant, flawed resisters to the movement for individual perfection, will show up in future counts of the mentally disordered? Count me in.
LA Times 14th August 2005

STUART A. KIRK is a professor of social welfare at UCLA. He is the co-author of "The Selling of DSM" and "Making Us Crazy." His most recent book is "Mental Disorders in the Social Environment: Critical."

Further Resources
For a full examination into the dangers of psychiatry and the true nature of most mental illnesses:
The Mind Game by Phillip Day

Cancer Link: Chips Can Cause Problems
in Later Life, Say Researchers

Pre-school children who regularly eat chips may face an increased risk of breast cancer in later life, research has suggested.

Diet has long been known to influence the development of several types of cancer, with overweight and obese people most at risk. Now an American study claims that the diet of pre-school children affects their chances of getting breast cancer much later in life.

Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, said that regularly eating French fries was linked to a significantly increased risk of breast cancer. They analysed data from 582 women with breast cancer and 1,569 women without the disease in 1993, who were part of the Nurses' Health Studies.

The researchers looked at the diets of the women when they were aged three to five, using information from their mothers who were asked how often their daughters ate or drank various products.

Increased Cancer Risk
Researcher Dr Karin Michels and colleagues estimated that for each additional serving of French fries per week that a woman ate as a pre-schooler, her risk of breast cancer in later life increased by 27 per cent.

The researchers said that while eating potatoes themselves was not associated with increased risk, the preparation of French fries - frying in fat high in saturated fats and trans-fatty acids - may be of relevance. The study, published online in the International Journal of Cancer, also found that regular consumption of whole fat milk each day was linked to a small decrease in breast cancer risk.

Dr Michels, associate professor at Harvard Medical School, said: "Researchers are finding more evidence that diet early in life could play a role in the development of diseases in women later in life. This study provides additional evidence that breast cancer may originate during the early phases of a woman's life and that eating habits during that phase may be particularly important to reduce future risk of breast cancer."

Dr Michels said their data should be interpreted with caution as information on diet was dependent on the mother's ability to recall her daughter's diet. "Mothers were asked to recall their daughter's pre-school diet after the participants' breast cancer status was known and it is possible that mothers of women with breast cancer recalled their daughter's diet differently than mothers of healthy women. Other foods perceived as less healthy such as hot dogs or ice cream, however, were not associated with breast cancer risk," she said.

Role of Diet
Dr Michels said that little information was available on the role of diet during early life for breast cancer risk.

"Breast cancer is a devastating disease and research such as this is important in helping guide future studies that will demonstrate how women can reduce their risk of this deadly disease," she added.

Pamela Goldberg, chief executive of the UK's Breast Cancer Campaign, said: "Studies looking into how nutrition in early life, puberty and beyond might affect the risk of developing breast cancer are a very interesting area of research. In this case we need to take into account that the study relies solely on mothers recalling what their daughters ate perhaps 40 or 50 years ago. We would encourage women of all ages to eat a healthy well balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables to improve their general health."
The Daily Mail, 18th August 2005

Are the Dominoes Beginning to Fall?
From Paul Connett, July 26, 2005

North Attleboro, Mass, USA, Stops Fluoridation

NORTH ATTLEBORO -- The board of health delivered an order to halt fluoridation of the town's water supply to the department of public works on Monday. Health board Chairwoman Diane Battistello drafted and hand-delivered the cease and desist order, which demands that fluoridation be stopped immediately.

The order was written following the board's 2 to 1 vote earlier this month to halt fluoridation, with member Donald Bates voting against the measure.
The Sun Chronicle, 26th July 2005

Franklin, Tennessee Considers Stopping Fluoridation

A 60-year-old debate about whether to add cavity-fighting fluoride to cities' water supplies is boiling over in Franklin.

Weeks after the city's water director resigned amid allegations of poor record-keeping and other infractions, town leaders are hearing from a local anti-fluoride activist who says they ought to focus on what's in the water. And they're taking heed.

The city's Public Enterprise Advisory Committee voted unanimously last week to have city staffers gather information from other U.S. cities that no longer fluoridate their water supplies after hearing from Brentwood resident and environmental researcher Dan Stockin. They also will find evidence to support fluoridation.

"I don't think we can afford to be dismissive about this," said Alderman Pam Lewis, after hearing from Stockin and state officials in favor of fluoridating water.

All 95 counties in Tennessee add fluoride to their water supplies. Franklin has been using it for decades, but Lewis says the city should find out more about whether the practice is safe.

Stockin, a researcher at The Lillie Center in Brentwood, questioned the long-standing practice of putting fluoride "specifically silica fluoride" into public water supplies because he believes the cavity-fighting chemical has not been sufficiently researched, is unsafe and is dangerous to the public.

Harpeth Valley Utilities District, which supplies most of the water to Williamson County, adds fluoride to its water according to state guidelines, President John Brown said.
The Tennessean, 26th July 2005

For more information on fluoridation and how to get it thrown out of your neighbourhood, visit the Fluoridation Action Network

Thousands of Vioxx Lawsuits Coming Down the Pipes

It appears Merck -- the pharmaceutical firm that pulled Vioxx from the market after studies proved the drug increased cardiovascular risks -- better get ready to rumble; more than 3,800 lawsuits filed for patients allegedly killed or injured by the painkiller are coming down the pipes.

The first one out: A Texas state court case filed by Carol Ernst, whose husband, Robert, died in 2001 while taking Vioxx for hand pain.

The Ernst Case
Robert, a runner and marathoner, exercised regularly and had quit smoking and all alcohol, save an occasional glass of wine. Roughly eight months after switching to Vioxx, Robert fell into a coma late one night in May. He never regained consciousness.

Given her husband's incredibly healthy lifestyle, Carol is convinced Vioxx is to blame for the sudden heart arrhythmia that killed her husband. She also believes the company was well aware of the problems linked to Vioxx long before they pulled it off the market in September 2004. (Considering the recent recovery of an internal Merck memo, she may be right.)

And On That Note
...Merck was hit with another legal attack from the state of Texas accusing the company of covering up the drug's health risks.

Texas Attorney General announced his state had filed a separate lawsuit against Merck for at least $168 million, based on prescription reimbursements made by the state's Medicaid program during the five years Vioxx was on the market.

The lawsuit claims: Merck internal memos and e-mails (dating back to 1996) prove the company knew how and why Vioxx induced significantly higher cardiovascular risks in patients taking the painkiller compared to a control group.

The company chose not to disclose the danger and even pushed to make Vioxx available to thousands of Medicaid and other patients.
USA Today July 1, 2005
USA Today June 30, 2005

DR. MERCOLA'S COMMENT: Recently, attorneys for the plaintiff in these Vioxx cases received what amounted to a gift from Merck, when the embattled drug company mistakenly sent them a memo in which company officials admitted taking Vioxx could increase the risks of cardiovascular problems.

As news of the potential dangers of Vioxx has repeatedly surfaced over the last year or so, most of you who've heard about it only hear how studies show it is "potentially harmful" or that its use has only amounted to a small number of deaths in comparison to the thousands upon thousands of people who are helped by it. You probably don't think much about the actual people whose lives have been destroyed by this or similar drugs.

The truth is that no one should have to die from taking drugs so the drug companies can make obscene profits.

Educating yourself about the evil ways of companies like Merck, and the inherent danger in treating your health problems with drugs and surgery, is an excellent first step you can take toward realizing how this country's current health care system can do little to help you.

Finally, taking your health into your own hands and learning about what it takes to reach an optimal level of health will diminish your dependence on conventional medicine and help to assure that you will never need to risk taking a dangerous drug like Vioxx.

Excellent free newsletter available from www.mercola.com.

Further Resources
Health Wars by Phillip Day

Mercury in Vaccines: The Appalling Truth Revealed

Nothing could expose the truth about the drug industry's greed and selfishness more than this must-read Rolling Stone piece by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. He begins with a summary of a secret meeting held in the isolated Simpsonwood conference center in Norcross, Georgia ...

A Secluded Gathering
It was June 2000. A group of top government scientists and health officials -- including high-level officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the top vaccine specialists from the World Health Organization and representatives from every major vaccine manufacturer -- secretly gathered to discuss the use of a mercury-based preservative in vaccines, known as thimerosal.

It appeared a new study had raised questions about the safety of a host of common childhood vaccines that contained thimerosal. Data indicated that the toxic heavy metal appeared to be responsible for a drastic increase in autism and a mass of other neurological disorders (speech delays, attention-deficit disorder and hyperactivity) among children.

However, rather than taking immediate action to inform the public of the side effects of thimerosal-tainted vaccines and rid the vaccine supply of the toxin, the officials at the secluded meeting instead spent the majority of the next two days plotting how to cover up the troubling data.

In fact, many at the meeting were more concerned about the vaccine industry's bottom line.

Ditching the Evidence
The CDC worked hard at burying the unwanted data. Specifically:

The CDC paid the Institutes of Medicine to produce a new study that would debunk the link between thimerosal and brain disorders. The organization also withheld unflattering findings by claiming the original data had been "lost" and could not be replicated.

And to prevent the Freedom of Information Act, the CDC handed its giant database of vaccine records over to a private company -- pronouncing it off-limits to researchers.

Help From the Government
Up until last year, vaccine manufacturers continued to sell off their mercury-based supplies; and, of course, the CDC and FDA were more than willing to offer a helping hand by buying up the toxic vaccines for export to developing countries (some of which are now experiencing a sudden explosion in autism rates) and allowing drug companies to still use the preservative in some American vaccines.

What's more, instead of focusing on child safety, the FDA continues to permit manufacturers to include thimerosal in numerous over-the-counter medications.

Kennedy's Take
Kennedy explains that in light of the evidence against the use of thimerosal in vaccines, he is undoubtedly convinced that the link and the epidemic of childhood neurological disorders are real.
Moreover, he describes the collaboration between the government health agencies and the drug industry a "chilling case study of institutional arrogance, power and greed."

Though, perhaps the most arresting aspect of the story is the extent to which many of the leading detectives were willing to go to hide the disturbing evidence. Consequently, their failure to admit the dangers of thimerosal will come back horribly to haunt America and the world's poorest populations.

And what will happen, Kennedy asks, if Third World nations come to believe the help they're receiving from this country, in the form of vaccines, is poisoning their children?

Let's hope we're not around to find out.
Rolling Stone June 20, 2005

DR. MERCOLA'S COMMENT: The shocking story above is a mere summary of a far more comprehensive review in Rolling Stone magazine. I would encourage you to read the entire article by clicking on the link above.

If you would like to delve even deeper into the topic of thimerosal-laced vaccines, especially the events, I also recommend reading the series of articles written by Dr. Russell Blaylock last year, which discuss these details more thoroughly.

This type of morally reprehensible behavior is a further strong illustration of why the American conventional "health" care system is fatally flawed. The drug companies just got too far away from their roots of helping to serve people.

It is clear they abandoned any semblance of morally responsible behavior and they leave us no choice but to remove them from the current health care equation. The legal battles Merck is experiencing from Vioxx is clear evidence society is moving in this direction.

Finally, if you still have any lingering doubt as to the devastating effects of thimerosal, please read this summary of a study I posted on this topic in a past newsletter.
www.mercola.com

Michael Gearin-Tosh
Obituary

Michael Gearin-Tosh, who died on July 29 aged 65, was, for 35 years, Tutor in English at St Catherine's College, Oxford, but he became famous as the author of Living Proof - A Medical Mutiny (2002) in which he described how he had challenged the medical establishment after he was diagnosed with myeloma - cancer of the bone marrow - in 1994 and given six months to live.

Urged to undergo chemotherapy, Gearin-Tosh examined the case with the rigour he had previously reserved for his favourite poet, Andrew Marvell. He discovered that, according to one cancer statistician, chemotherapy brought significant hope of survival to just four per cent of patients with the same cancer, and that many doctors would not prescribe it for themselves. His conclusion was simple: "Touch it, and you are a goner."

Instead he embarked on a series of "alternative" treatments. He devised an exhausting regime consisting of 12 freshly-made vegetable juices a day, high-dose vitamin injections, acupuncture, raw garlic, coffee enemas, Chinese breathing exercises and the visualisation of his immune cells attacking the tumour. Confounding the medical prognosis, he survived a further 11 years and when he did eventually die, it was from a blood infection rather than cancer.

Living Proof triggered angry responses from doctors and from patients undergoing chemotherapy. Some accused him of peddling false hopes and ignoring statistics which indicated a higher survival rate for patients given chemotherapy. "If there was anything in this stuff," wrote one consultant physician, "don't you think that the medical profession would have grasped these 'cures' with both hands years ago?" But for others Gearin-Tosh was living proof that alternative therapies do work, and that it is possible not to be dehumanised by the disease or its specialists.

Michael Gearin-Tosh was born on January 16 1940 at Nambour, Queensland, Australia, and always remained an Australian citizen. His father, a surgeon, died when Gearin-Tosh was a baby. When he was four, his mother remarried and the family moved to Scotland, where Gearin-Tosh attended Aberdeen Grammar School and then Dundee High School.

He had an unhappy relationship with his step-father, who treated him unkindly. Until the age of 11 young Michael refused to part with the small leather suitcase which he had brought with him from Australia. It contained his favourite collections of fairy tales; no one was allowed to touch it and he insisted on carrying it everywhere, ready for the journey "home".

Despite his step-father's scorn, Gearin-Tosh excelled academically; he possessed, as one colleague later put it, "a mind one only comes across very rarely". At one stage he could not decide whether to read Botany, English or Classics. In December 1957 he was elected to an open scholarship at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, which he took up after studying philosophy at St Andrews University. He was made a Tutorial Fellow at St Catherine's in 1971.

Gearin-Tosh excelled as a tutor. He did not believe in spending time on publications and finished nothing until his book Living Proof. He disapproved of those scholars who neglect teaching for their research. Gearin-Tosh's students were at the heart of his life. He had a genius for picking people at the entrance interview whose talent had been frustrated or overlooked in some way, and then taking them up and helping them to succeed. He enjoyed rogues: "You will really like him," he said of one student, now a film director; "he keeps guns in his room."

This commitment continued after graduation and "Michael's Mafia" - friends and successful former students with something to offer - was often roped in to help. On one occasion bemused female friends were ordered to have an outfit made up by a fashion student whom Gearin-Tosh was helping through St Martin's.

Gearin-Tosh was passionate about theatre. He was a member of the Open Space Theatre built by Thelma Holt in 1968, and frequently wrote the programme notes for her productions. He directed Twelfth Night at the Oxford Playhouse with many of his students in the cast; Richard Curtis played the sea captain. In 1987 he helped found the Oxford School of Drama, now one of the country's leading drama schools. He established an award in memory of a former pupil, Nick Young, which enabled students to train with London Weekend Television, and also collaborated with Thelma Holt in showcases for students at the National Theatre.

His enthusiasm led to the association of the Cameron Mackintosh Chair of Contemporary Theatre with St Catherine's, and Gearin-Tosh catered for the needs of the remarkable series of professors who occupied it: Stephen Sondheim, Arthur Miller, Richard Eyre and, most recently, Patrick Marber.

A man of generous spirit and a wicked sense of fun, Gearin-Tosh won an eclectic group of admirers, from Margaret Thatcher to Iris Murdoch and John Bayley. He is survived by his partner of 11 years, Arkadiusz Weremczuk.
The Daily Telegraph, 4th August 2005

Mo Mowlam
by Patrick Hennessey

… He (Jon Norton) used an interview with the Mail on Sunday to disclose that [former British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland] Ms Mowlam was killed by the side-effects of the radiotherapy that had saved her life eight years ago when she was treated for a brain tumour.

Doctors told her about the extent of the damage caused by the radiotherapy only weeks before she suffered a heavy fall at the couple's home in Kent last month.

"They said it led to a shrinkage of her brain which put pressure on her blood vessels, causing them to fur up. It caused a form of dementia and that it would get worse," said Mr Norton.

"It was a shock, but at least we finally understood what was going on. It had not been explained to us at the time, but we had a stark choice - radiotherapy or death. At least she had an extra eight years."

Ms Mowlam died last week aged 55, after doctors took her off a life-support system in accordance with her family's wishes and the terms of a living will she signed two years ago.

Mr Norton said, "There was no recurrence of the cancer, nor the tumour. She did not have a stroke, she did not break her neck and there was no internal bleeding."…
The Sunday Telegraph, 21st August 2005

Taking a Vacation Can be a Life-Saver
By Paul J. Rosch, M.D.

President, The American Institute of Stress
Clinical Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry
New York Medical College
Originally published in the Health and Stress,
the newsletter (June 2005) of The American Institute of Stress

Since one of the topics that had attracted considerable interest in the initial institute report was the effect of vacations on the feeling of being overworked, this was explored in greater depth. This study found that 79 percent of employees had access to paid vacations but that:

Although the average number of paid vacation days was 16.6, the average number of vacation days that employees had taken or expected to take in 2004 was 14.6 days. More than one third (36 percent) did not plan to use their full vacations.

Very few (14 percent) take extended time for their longest vacations (2 or more weeks).

37 percent take less than a 7-day vacation including weekends, 12 percent take 1-3 days and 25% take 4-6 days.

49 percent take 7-13 day vacations and 14 percent take 14 days, both including weekends.

With respect to relieving stress, the amount of vacation time may not be as important as how that time is utilized. On average, employees who take paid vacation spend:

69 percent of their time relaxing and enjoying themselves with family or friends or alone.

19 percent of their time on family or personal responsibilities, including illness, funerals, caring for sick children or parents, tending to their personal illness or a medical problem.

13 percent of their time doing other things like going to school, working at another job, reserve military service, etc.

Most employees don't work during vacations.
58 percent never do work related to their jobs while on vacation.
21 percent rarely do any work during vacation.
21 percent work sometimes, often or very often.
9 percent work often or very often.

Those most likely to work while on vacation are employees with the greatest responsibilities and demands such as managers, professionals, high earners, Type As and those who regularly work the longest hours. At least one in five of those who regularly contact others or are contacted by others about work matters during non-work times frequently work while on vacation because the lines between work and family/personal time have become blurred.

There were significant gender differences too. Surprisingly, women spent less time (64 percent) than men (72 percent) relaxing and enjoying themselves while vacationing because of the need to attend to family responsibilities (24 percent versus 15 percent).

Vacation Requirements Vary by Country
As an aside, it is of interest to note that most countries require a vacation at full pay ranging from 10 days in Canada and Japan to 20 days in the Netherlands and the U.K., 24 days in Germany, 25 in Sweden and France, to 35 days for managers in Italy. In contrast, U.S. employers are not required to offer vacations. Most workers tend to get 10 days (two weeks) off after the first year and there may be periodic increases up to three weeks, depending on position and years of employment.

European countries tend to be much more liberal. French workers are legally entitled to two and a half days off for each month worked, which means they can take a full 25 days off after less than a year on the job. In addition, the French work week is now limited to 35 hours. With respect to paid holidays, totals range from eight days in the Netherlands and the U.K. to 14 in Japan. The U.S. has nine.

In many countries employers also provide a vacation allowance. In Mexico, if you are entitled to 20 days vacation, your employer must pay you for the 20 days plus another 25 percent, which would be the equivalent of 25 days pay. In actuality, Mexican employers often give much more (around 80 percent) than the statutory requirement.

In Belgium, the vacation premium is 85 percent of one month's pay and Australian workers typically receive 13 weeks paid leave after 15 years on the job. In many Muslim countries, paid leave is provided for one pilgrimage to Mecca and Indonesian workers get paid time off for prayer during the workday. In Italy, which has different priorities, you receive 15 days off with full pay if you get married.

Brazilian employees must be given one paid day off to donate blood and in some Asian countries women get one paid day off each month. In Japan, the law currently applies only to women with severe menstrual complaints. (Some say this benefits men as well.)

The Toll on Overworked Americans
Other surveys have also confirmed that Americans are overworked and need more time off. A study conducted in 2000 on behalf of Oxford Health Plans reported that one in six employees are so overworked they are unable to use up their annual vacation because of excessive job demands. The survey also revealed that:

34 percent report they have such pressing jobs that they have no down time at work.
32 percent work and eat lunch at the same time.
32 percent never leave the building once they arrive at work.
19 percent say their job makes them feel much older than they are.
17 percent say work causes them to lose sleep.

For example, a 42-year-old computer analyst in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., who had gone without a vacation in two of the last four years explained that, "If you take off a week, you've got three times as much work to do when you get back."

A 31-year-old Microsoft program manager in Seattle quit her job because she had not been able to take a vacation for five years. She remembered thinking "I can't go... I've got too many things to do." She subsequently took a less demanding position overseeing computers for the Seattle Opera in order to "have a life" and hopefully take a vacation the following summer.

The survey also showed that while most employers make it easy to keep medical appointments (70 percent) and return to work after illness (68 percent), other companies exude a corporate culture that places loyalty to the company as a prerequisite that often discourages healthy behaviors and lifestyles.

19 percent of survey respondents said workplace pressures make them feel they must attend work even when injured or sick.

17 percent said it is difficult to take time off or leave work in an emergency.
14 percent believe their employer makes it difficult to maintain a healthy diet.
14 percent feel that management only promotes people who habitually work late.
8 percent believe that if they were to become seriously ill they would be fired or demoted.

The study stated, "Americans are the most vacation-starved people in the industrialized world." This was based on statistics from the World Tourism Organization listing average annual vacation days for Italy (42), France (37), Germany (35), Brazil (34), Britain (28), Canada (26), South Korea (25) and Japan (25) with the U.S. being last at 13.

The Real Health Benefits of Taking Time Off
Oxford's chief medical officer said, "This survey is a wakeup call for Americans to realize that taking a vacation is not frivolous behavior. It's essential to staying healthy. Regular vacations are preventive medicine -- they cut down on stress-related illness and save health care dollars." He emphasized that while taking a vacation provide stress relief benefits, medical research shows that it can also lower risk of death. "Taking a vacation is a serious health issue that should not be ignored. It could save your life."

He was referring to data from the Framingham Heart Study data of women aged 45-64 showing that frequent vacations cut risk of death among all women by half. Another study from the State University of New York at Oswego published in 2000 found that regular vacations lowered risk of death by almost 20 percent in 35-57 year-old men.

A 2002 study commissioned by Expedia.com similarly found for the second year in a row that American workers do not take advantage of their vacation days because they are just too busy and can't afford to take time off. As a result of "Vacation Deprivation," workers continue to give back almost $19.5 billion in unused vacation time to their employers.

According to the president of Expedia, the nation's largest online travel agency, "Consumers seem conflicted regarding downtime. While many Americans feel too busy to take vacation, the desire to utilize it has become a top priority. Expedia.com wants to do everything possible to help Americans overcome 'Vacation Deprivation' by offering rich vacation planning solutions providing convenience, flexibility and savings in one place."

In commenting on this study, Dr. Dorothy Cantor, president of the American Psychological Foundation warned that, "Workplace stress can take its toll. In order to maintain a strong state of mental health, the human body needs a release and a source of replenishment. An ideal vacation should eliminate stress, encourage relaxation and provide opportunities for rejuvenation, making the benefits of the experience immeasurable."

Unfortunately, things seem to be getting worse rather than better. The Families and Work Institute of New York study also reported that both spouses in double-income households with kids put in over 15 hours a day on work, commuting, chores and child care. They believe, within 10 years, the projected average workweek will be up to 58 hours.

As a sign of the times, Hallmark recently marketed greeting cards for absent parents to tuck under cereal boxes in the morning -- Have a super day at school -- or to place on a child's pillow at night -- I wish I were there to tuck you in. That's pretty sad.
Per www.mercola.com

Living in an Ugly Area 'Makes You Obese'
by Celia Hall

People surrounded by graffiti, with pavements strewn with litter and broken glass, are more likely to be obese than those living in green and leafy places, said researchers yesterday.

The Medical Research Council study, in the British Medical Journal online, drew a strong link between obesity and the environment and said studies showed that neighbourhood "incivilities" such as graffiti, litter, dog dirt and discarded needles were linked to poor health in general.

The researchers analysed a World Health Organisation survey on health and housing in eight European countries and looked at people's weight against the areas in which they lived. Those who lived in urban jungles were 40 per cent more likely to be obese than those who lived in pleasant, cared for areas.

Prof Sally Macintyre, the director of the MRC Social and Health Sciences Unit at Glasgow University, said yesterday: "You are less likely to take the baby out in the stroller or walk to the next bus stop or go for a run if you are living in an area that the council does not clean up." Efforts to promote physical activity to reduce obesity "should take the environment into account."
The Daily Telegraph, 18th August 2005

From the Mailbag
Some comments from our new subscribers

"Delighted that the medical system is being exposed. Well done for having the courage and perseverance to do it." - Deidre D, Wicklow, Ireland

"Very interesting talk from Phillip Day in Eastbourne. I feel inspired and excited by the fact that it is so easy to take control and be well. Thank you!" - Sue T, East Sussex, UK

"Phillip is doing excellent work! Bless you and Sam!" - Eileen A, Dublin, Ireland

"Fantastic - Why are you not on TV?" - Lucy P, East Sussex, UK

"Very informative and interesting as well as alarming to say the least, as homo sapiens species is slowly poisoned to extinction with the majority not knowing what is happening to them and their future generations. Thank you for your hard work and campaign. The world needs dedicated people like you. On behalf of the human race and all other species we are grateful to you and your team." - Nget S, Singapore

"We so enjoyed Phillip's evening at Cobham - an excellent and fun speaker - to be highly recommended." - Tony G, UK

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"Been a fire-fighter for 25 years, as a result had PTSD, depression and anxiety. For 12 months the drugs did not work. Tried mineral therapy. WOW! Recovery amazing even to Mental Health who basically refused to report it. When asked why, could not give an answer. I have referred a number of family and friends to this avenue with over joyous results. My quest now is to help others with same issues in life."

"By the way, thanks for "The Mind Game" publication. It saved my life. PTSD programmers have approached me to consider this line of work to help others for recovery." - Brian H, QLD, Australia

"Great Britain can play its leading role with Europe but should and must avoid the attempt to subvert her sovereignty and hand over her governance to the unaccountable, bottomless-pit machinery based in Brussels. We, who believe in the UK, must all endeavour to protect that which has always been great in Britain - the freedom, the democracy and the guaranteed independence for the United Kingdom and its citizens. Long live the Kingdom, our beloved Queen, all her people and subjects." - Peter K M-M, Middlesex, UK

"A mission to bring truth and justice to the medical field and at the same time enlighten people to alternative healthcare options." - Diane L, Auckland, New Zealand

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"An illuminating site: as someone who generally believes in unity, it is alarming to see how biased the EU arrangement is!" - John A, Somerset, UK

"It's about time that the medical profession got real and for Joe Public to stop treating them as if they were gods!! We must take responsibility for our own health and only agree to make medical decisions as a result of informed choices."- Marie D, Staffordshire, UK

"Phillip's presentations in Chester have been very enlightening. Keep up the good work!" - Jane M, Cheshire, UK

"I wish I'd heard about you sooner, and both my parents may have benefited from what you write in 'Cancer, Why We're Dying to Know the Truth'." - Lois K, Angelsey, UK

"I was loaned your book 'Cancer; Why We're Dying to Know the Truth' by a friend after being diagnosed with breast cancer. So glad I read it. It has given me confidence to help myself and challenge health care professionals." - Karen M, Staffordshire, UK

"Keep up the fantastic work that you are doing; you have my full support!" - Jeffrey C, WA, Australia

"I attended Phillip Day's meeting at East Grinstead. I found it very interesting and am now doing the diet for Candida and ME." - Margaret J, West Sussex, UK

"I did my thesis on what you wrote in the book 'Health Wars', also working as nurse and working with residents. I saw in the hospitals how the doctors and the meals did not support the immune system. As nurses we would have to watch the trays for the diabetics to make sure they were correct - My father is 83 and he is free of heart disease and cancer due to the fact that we grow our own vegetables. I have watched people and how they eat and agree totally with the fact that our teens show aggressive behavior due to their poor diets." - Dr Beverly M, Kentucky, USA

"Right on. I lived 25 years in Vienna (working for the UN) and have always thought the EU was not right the UK, especially not joining the Euro. Trade is one thing; loss of a culture is another." - Robert H, B.C. Canada

"It is time for fundamental change in the way we live and view the world. We do have options and we don't have to go with the flow. I want a different world for myself, my children and others." - Dalene van A, Gauteng, South Africa

"I first read Phillip Day's writings man years ago and I was horrified. He made me aware of the truth about so-called cancer research. I appreciate the work he continues to do." - Charlotte C, Florida, USA

"I have been in search for safe alternatives and would like to learn more of them." - Syee C, Singapore

"I was invited to hear Phillip speak in Auckland. Thank you for giving me a part of your voice." - George M, Auckland, New Zealand

"I'm an MD, radiologist, and a user and giver of high dose ascorbate. I was unfamiliar with B17 but want to know more especially good sources of the product. Anything you have that can break the dependence of people on conventional medicine would be good. I know many who are dying with cancer and taking medicines to treat side-effects of other medicines they take. I like what I have read on your website." - William W, California, USA