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Infectious Myth – Chris Shaw on Dangers of Aluminum Too – 10.20.15

In Episode 75 David discusses the toxicity of Aluminum with Professor Chris Shaw, following on from the interview with Chris Exley in episode 71. Dr. Shaw started examining a degenerative neurological illness on Guam that his research indicated was caused by a combination of phytosterols in cycads and aluminum, and then went on to study Gulf War Syndrome, which he believed was at least partly due to the exposure to aluminum in over 20 vaccines given to soldiers in a short time. In 2013 he co-authored a paper that claimed a strong correlation between increased exposure to aluminum in vaccines and Autism Spectrum Disorder. But his major area of study is not epidemiology, but studies with mice, which have shown that injection of aluminum causes degeneration of the nervous system.
Chris also comments on the absolutism prevalent in mainstream discussions of vaccine safety, including the time when the Canadian public broadcaster, CBC, went after him, trying to get his management to criticize his research, something they refused to do, insisting that peer review of his grant applications and publications was sufficient, a major victory for academic and scientific freedom.

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Infectious Myth – Judicial Abuse of Children – 10.13.15

David discusses judicial abuse of children in custody battles with the sisters Hope and Elizabeth Loudon. Just a few years ago, when they were 14 and refused to spend time with their father, they were put in handcuffs and spent several days locked in a juvenile detention facility before the judge backed down and eventually gave full custody to the mother. Many other situations do not end nearly as well. The sisters wrote an article in the Washington Post describing a situation in which three children claimed their father was abusive, but this led to them being sent to juvenile detention. An international outcry ended up changing this to a summer camp. But afterwards, rather than giving custody to the mother, even partial custody, the judge awarded full custody to the father.

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Infectious Myth – The Mysterious Acceptance of Bad Science as the cause of AIDS – 10.06.15

In episode 73 David tackles four weighty issues. A different take on Planned Parenthood. The Roseburg/Umpqua mass shooting. The complex issue of sexual consent. And finally, the original four Robert Gallo papers that cemented the HIV=AIDS theory in one fell swoop. Oh, and don’t forget the US government press conference that preceded their publication by a few weeks.

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Infectious Myth – Edmond McNack and his Awful AIDS Drug Experience – 09.29.15

March 25, 1998 changed Edmond McNack’s life. It wasn’t that there was anything special that this sheriff’s deputy was transporting. It wasn’t that when she bit him she actually harmed him. But the fear of HIV transmission was so great that he was immediately put on a 12 week course of PEP (Post-Exposure Prophylaxis). And these toxic AIDS drugs destroyed his health in the ten weeks that he persisted and changed the course of his life.
David talks with Edmond in this Episode 72, about how quickly the AIDS drugs caused serious health problems, problems that continue today. Another astonishing aspect of this case is that, in a bizarre ruling, the Missouri Labor and Industrial Relations Commission denied him compensation, because a doctor stated that although the drugs he’d been given could easily cause his symptoms in an HIV-positive person, there was no information on their effect on HIV-negative people. Even though HIV obviously played no role in the side effects.
Despite this Edmond McNack has always maintained a positive attitude, and is happy to share his story, to give other people, possibly faced with a similar situation, pause to think.
You can email Edmond atedmondmcnack@yahoo.com or phone him at +1-816-325-0587

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Infectious Myth – Chris Exley on Aluminium Toxicity – 09.22.15

David talks with Dr. Chris Exley about the toxicity of Aluminum (or Aluminium, as the British call it). This professor of Bioinorganic Chemistry at Keele University in the UK has been studying this metal for his entire scientific career.
Aluminum is a major component of the planet’s crust (along with Silicon and Oxygen) but the modern world has liberated it into forms that can be biologically absorbed either unintentionally (e.g. as a side effect of manufacturing) or intentionally (e.g. because it stops powders from clumping).
Aluminum toxicity has long term chronic health effects that are not fully quantified, but appear to relate to lethargy and also to low sperm counts. Exley, and other researchers in this area, are frustrated because it is almost possible to get government or industry funding. He believes that nobody wants to know the answer because aluminum is so commonly and intentionally used in products such as pharmaceutical drugs, anti-perspirants and cosmetics and also found in tobacco smoke and baby formula. It is even found in breast milk but at levels much lower than in formula.
One of the most controversial uses is in vaccines. This usage is proof that aluminum can be biologically active because it is used to enhance the immune reaction, although nobody knows exactly how. This exposure is often dismissed in an idiotic fashion by noting that babies consume more aluminum even in breastmilk, let alone formula, than is injected in their standard baby vaccines. The problem with this logic is that only a tiny percentage of oral aluminum is absorbed into the bloodstream versus 100% of whatever is injected.
On a more positive note, Dr. Exley notes that drinking mineral water with high silicon (or silica) levels and sweating are good ways to excrete a lot of aluminum. So get out there and exercise, have a sauna afterwards, and rehydrate with a liter of mineral water.

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Infectious Myth – John Dowe on Mefloquine and the Military – 09.15.15

In episode 70 David talks to former soldier John Dowe whether the drug Mefloquine (see Episode 67’s interview with Dr. Remington Nevin) could have played a role in the so-called Somalia Affair. In 1993, the same year as the Battle of Mogadishu and Black Hawk Down, soldiers from the elite Canadian Airborne Regiment were also in a restless and violent part of Somalia. Frustrated with locals sneaking in to steal and sabotage, someone ordered them to start “roughing up” anyone they caught. One group of soldiers interpreted this as setting up a trap. When the searchlight was suddenly turned on the soldiers literally blew one Somali into pieces, and severely injured another. In a second incident, a Somali was captured and beaten to death by two other soldiers.
When photos were released, a public inquiry and criminal investigation were launched, resulting in one soldier trying to commit suicide, one being sentenced to five years, and several others disciplined. The head of the military was forced to resign due to the scandal, and his successor. The Minister of Defence also resigned. Most significantly of all the entire Canadian Airborne Regiment was disbanded.
John Dowe, like many others, has noticed severe personality changes after taking the weekly malaria drug Mefloquine, and he believes that this, along with other factors such as stress, alcohol, boredom and poor leadership, allowed this scandal to occur. In fact, when he walked into the bunker where the Somali was being beaten to death, one of the soldiers doing the beating came up to him and said that “This is not who I am, John”.
John became an activist only in 2014, when he discovered that this drug is still in use by Canadian and other militaries. He is part of a small group of Canadians trying to raise awareness, in cooperation with similar groups around the world.
Although there is no website yet, John can be reached via Email at johndowe49@gmail.com, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=636190328 and Twitter: @johndowe49.
For more information on the Somalia affair, please see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somalia_Affair

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Infectious Myth – Adam Lankford on Guns – 09.01.15

In Episode 69 David interviews professor Adam Lankford who recently published research, at an American Sociological Society conference, showing that the strongest factor that he studied that correlates with the number of mass shootings in a country is the rate of civilian gun ownership. David and Adam talk about whether mass shootings are important, as they represent only a small fraction of total gun deaths, and what some of the characteristics of gun shooters are, compared to other murderers, and how they differ between the US and other countries.
Some of the surprising statistics is that mass shooters are almost all male, whereas a small but significant fraction of other gun murders are by women. Mass shooters in the US on average kill fewer people, perhaps because of faster and more effective police response. Mass shooters outside the US are more likely to target military facilities, whereas American mass shooters are more likely to target civilian areas, such as schools, shopping malls and movie theaters. Mass shooters do tend to be loners, and they often focus their feelings of despair on a specific group, but this targeting does not appear to be the main reason for their violence.
Professor Adam Lankford’s website is: http://adamlankford.com

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Infectious Myth – Sinead McCarthy on Undisturbed Birth – 08.04.15

In episode 68 David talks with Sinead McCarthy about undisturbed or unassisted birth, in which a woman, and her partner, take full responsibility for the birth, without even a doula or midwife. They talk about the medicalization and institutionalization of pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding, and how birth is a natural process that can be reclaimed by mothers.

Sinead recommends the writings of Sarah Buckley, MD, author of “Gentle Birth. Gentle Mothering” (http://sarahbuckley.com) and of Michel Odent, MD, a male surgeon who pioneered a much more natural and humane approach to birth (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Odent). She also recommends the website of two midwives who opted out of licensing to gain more freedom:http://www.indiebirth.com

Sinead’s own website is: http://sacredmaternity.com

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Infectious Myth – Dr. Remington Nevin on dangers of the malaria drug Mefloquine – 07.28.15

In episode 67 David interviews Dr. Remington Nevin about the controversial anti-malarial drug mefloquine that for decades was given to soldiers in the US and other militaries because of its ability to kill the malaria parasite, despite knowledge of its toxicity. Mefloquine is a member of the Quinoline family of drugs, several of which have psychiatric side effects, but Mefloquine became …

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Alice Dreger on Academic Suppression in Sexuality Studies and Anthropology – 07.21.15

In Episode 66 David interviews Alice Dreger who is a Professor of Clinical Medical Humanities and Bioethics at Northwestern’ University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, author of “Hermaphrodites and the Medical Invention of Sex” and the 2015 book, “Galileo’s Middle Finger” which discusses sexual ambiguities and academic suppression, which sometimes are strongly related. Any discussion of sexuality makes people uncomfortable, and …