My friend Judy is in jail. It defies explanation. Nine policeman appeared at the home of Lilly Meehan yesterday with a warrant and searched her house, finding nothing of course. At the same time, Judy’s house was searched and she was arrested for being a “fugitive”. She was fired unexpectedly and went home to her husband. That’s being a fugitive? Only legal machinations, misuse of the system, could define her as a fugitive. If it wasn’t so horrible, it would be laughable. What she was “fleeing” was a veritable looney bin, having made every attempt to remain on the inside. And now they have taken her freedom. Turning her into not just a fraud, but a criminal, a thief? Come on. She is incarcerated and anything can happen. It is critical that the patient community find ways to let the authorities know that we are watching. If anyone harms a hair on her head, it will be noticed.
Dr. Mikovits was due in New York for the Mt. Sinai conference tomorrow, so would have had to leave the state in any event. And they knew very well she had been invited to that conference; it was no secret and they could have warned her that they thought that a violation of the injunction. What were they going to do if she had just gone to New York? Would she have been hauled off to jail for attending an important ME conference at which she was slated to be on a panel?
My blog is being monitored by the same law firm that sued Dr. Mikovits in the last few days. From Chicago and Kansas City. There are even 3 hits from the tech department in Kansas City. It would appear that they are actually paying really expensive lawyers to think about my blog! Are they going to spend money on a libel suit? To win a libel suit, you have to prove an untruth. I have told the truth and nothing but the truth. Everything I’ve said is my opinion and my own experience. I have nothing to hide and stand behind everything I’ve said. The only blog I regret is the one Harvey fed me about VIP Dx. I believed what he told me implicitly at the time, but now? Anything they told me is suspect. Who are these people? The sweet well-intentioned parents of a sick young woman? They must have used a very long, very strong arm to have made that happen yesterday. An intensive police effort in another state for a non-violent crime? How many cops involved? 20? You’d think she was a serial killer.
For the record, and lawyers at SNR Denton please take note, when I said that the WPI was spending money that patients donated on lawyers, I was stating my opinion, based on my assumption that the WPI’s income comes from grants and donations, and that they aren’t using grant money to pay lawyers. However, I was never privy to the books or finances at the WPI. I did not mean that there are line items in the books showing patient donations going to lawyers. The lack of accountability is part of the problem. What did happen to all that money, since there was lots of it, and apparently still enough left to burn up a bunch on lawyers? I wanted to write a blog before the annual fundraiser, but Judy stopped me. And now they have all that money, to pay lawyers to destroy Judy and go over my blog with a fine tooth comb. Very ugly.
Personally, I think it was Professor Plum in the library with the candlestick. The materials in question document a failed experiment. I have no idea where the notebooks are, but the value being put on them is smoke and mirrors, in my estimate. Their only real value would seem to be to someone with something to hide, which could be a number of people, Judy being the least likely. Any value the notebooks might have had is destroyed with this crazy maneuver. They are in the process of completing the destruction of the only scientist in the world who cares enough to have laid it all on the line. The scientist that helped their daughter by finally conceptualizing what was wrong with her, even if she didn’t have the resources, human and financial, to prove it. The damage to patients, to my daughter, is inestimable. The Whittemore’s are throwing us back into darkness. Complete meltdown for the patients. They held themselves out as our best hope, but have managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Beyond tragic. They have now ensured their own place in the community as a pariah, it seems to me. The saddest thing of all is that they are fighting about the past, and ensuring that nothing at all will happen going forward, while our hearts get dissected in the courts.
I had to cancel my trip to NYC. I have been pushing to see patients for a couple of weeks and was too close to the edge to throw myself off a cliff and hope to fly. And now this. I will be in LA on Tuesday for Judy’s arraignment. I hope that as many of you as possible will attend. Let the authorities know that we are watching. Let her know that we are with her.
A hearing for Dr. Mikovits will take place on Tuesday, November 22 at the Ventura County Government Center, Hall of Justice, Room 13, at 1:30 p.m. The government center is on Victoria Avenue in East Ventura.
County of Ventura Government Center
800 S. Victoria Avenue
Ventura, California 93009See Click here: Maps Map of the Ventura County Government Center
Parking for the Hall of Justice is accessible from Lots B & C, entering from Victoria Avenue, and from lots E & F, entering from Hill Road. Even with handicapped parking, there is considerable distance to walk from the parking lot to the Hall of Justice, so bring a wheelchair if needed.
Ventura is a coastal Southern California town between Santa Barbara and Malibu. Travel to Ventura County by car is accessible by freeway. The Ventura County Government Center is bordered by the 126 Freeway and Victoria Avenue and is close to the 101 freeway as well.
Amtrac has stops at both Oxnard and Ventura. The Metrolink train station in Montalvo is much closer to the government center than the Amtrac stations, so if possible to use Metrolink, that is the best.
>I don't think much of P either. In fact I expect the WPI to close and a new group to set up that include P and the Ws. Like we won't recognise eho they are!
>"wings of hope" – barf!
You ripped the wings off WPI and no one gave you permission to do it!
>I knew we were in for a rocky ride regarding the research that judy and the WPI were conducting into ME/CFS . However I never imagined that rocky ride would be esculated by the actions of the WPI against Judy . Over the past 2 years I have been an avid supporter of the WPI and Judy Mikovits , however I feel I cannot support WPI any longer . I myself raised a lot of money for WPI , bearing in mind I am from the UK I fail to see how any of the money I raised will now benefit myself or fellow ME/CFS sufferers who are not resident in the US . The WPI would never have receieved the vast sums of money raised by both the Chase and Vivant competitions without the support of international patients either .The way Judy has been treated is appalling . The way WPI is treating patients is appalling . When did The WPI change ? its like we are dealing with an entirely new entity . The WPI of today in no way whatsoever resembles the WPI of 2009 who welcomed patients , their input , suggestions , questions oh and their money ! the WPI of 2009 showed empathy and compassion Instead the WPI of 2011 are failing to answer questions , making corresponding with them difficult by continuously removing their FB page . when queried on such matters patients are receieving rather curt replies . it appears WPI have totally lost all compassion .
It hurts me to have to write these things but at the end of the day the biggest loosers in all this are the patients . Without the patients support WPI would never have got where they are today .I sincerley hope that any money raised from patients does not go into funding this lawsuit against Judy . I gave money to further research and hopefully a cure . All I wanted was to be well again . I did not opt in for mudslinging and lawsuits which will no doubt go on for years . Where does that leave us patients ? it leaves us getting sicker by the day with very little hope for the future . I wish Judy well and hope that she receives the backing and support she deserves and I hope another institute will see through all this and allow Judy to continue her vital work elsewhere . ..
Now things have esculated even further with the arrest of Judy I am beginning to wonder which planet the Whittemores are on . You would think with the heavy manhandling of all this that Judy was a mass murderer or psychopath , well she isnt shes a scientist whos only mistake was getting involved with the Whittemores in the first place .I hope with this weekends events that anyone who was still supporting the Whittemores rethinks their position . I hope vivant and Chase ask for their gracious donations to WPI back and give them to some other far more deserving charity and i hope that patients start demanding their donations back . It seems the only thing the Whittemores truly care about is money , well if thats the case hit them where it hurts . I hope they go bankrupt they deserve nothing less . I also hope that any former employees of the whittemores and we know theres quite a few tell their stories too . Yes the Whittemores may be a powerful family but im sorry they cannot sue everyone . I think the WPI have managed to put the final nail in their own coffin all by themselves thats quite some feat .
please pass on my well wishes to Judy ……. polly UK
>Gerwyn wrote: "inhumane unchristian and Unamerican"
inhumane and unchristian yes. But certainly not "unamerican"
Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
>Gerwyn said: "Judy actually used my disease causation model to make a pitch for trial funding for the WPI"
Mikovits used a Googleologist to help write a grant application? Yet another example of what a piss poor scientist she really is.
I have no idea what's going on with the WPI and Mikovits regarding stolen data but they were naive at best putting their eggs in Judy's basket. Sadly all this, and the behaviour of the conspiracy theorist disciples has put back the cause of CFS research by years, which is very bad for the patients.
>I wish any non-CFS patients, and all scientists, who may read this blog, to know that many CFS patients – myself included – do NOT share ANY of the "views" posted in this blog.
This is so far removed from reality it is actually quite concerning.
What will these fanatics say if Dr Mikovits is actually found to have committed research misconduct ? I suppose it will all be part of some bonkers conspiracy….
Dr Deckoff-Jones, you may have the same diagnosis as me but I no longer believe you have the same illness as me. It has become obvious.
>Dr Mikovits and Dr Ruscetti have done nothing wrong. Find a group of children to fool. It is dispicable that trolls are using this to once again spread inuendo. These people have no interest in science, who and how people are qualified in their field. Nothing. Why should anyone believe the anon above is a patient.
They are creative conspiracy theorists at best. They give no details on gossip they spread.
CFS is a label applied to many things. ME is the disease associated with HGRVs.
>Gerwyn said:
"When Andrea contacted me apparently distraught because the details of her personal treatment regime which included tenovir had been posted in a public forum I went out of my way to try and get that information deleted as I believed it was inappropriate to reveal such intimate details without her permission…"
I assume you meant Tenofovir (VIREAD), which is an ANTIRETROVIRAL.
Why are patients being told they are crazy to try antiretrovirals and that the retrovirus theory is dead, if Andrea is indeed taking Tenofovir???!!!
I don't understand how she appeared in a video a while back talking about how she can "now just take a pill…" and is doing so much better, working part time, etc. *I am HAPPY she is better, she has suffered for years, But what treatment is she getting and why if others can not have access?*
I have read of another person online who strongly feels that TENOFOVIR is the one drug that is really making a difference and improvement in their illness.
—Disclosure, I have NO firsthand knowledge about what medical treatment anyone is actually receiving or what medications they are taking, I am merely repeating what others have posted online. And I do agree that everyone had a right to medical privacy….
You have to admit this is all VERY disturbing, WHERE is the testing and treatment for the millions of people who are waiting and waiting?
Will the masses ever have access to such drugs and novel therapies or are we just doomed because of lack of resources (money??)
>The people who have the materials must be those hostile to Mikovits and Ruscetti, as Billy and RRM posted a raw gel separately on the same day and neither is willing to state where they obtained what they should not legally have access to. Those two have continually tried to tear down their discovery. The police and Dr Mikovits lawyers should be very interested in questioning and searching those people. IMHO I don't feel the WPI could care.
>Was my last comment removed? As Gerwyn stated in an above post, My question: is "the person I will not name" (named in his post) actually taking Tenofovir? An antiretroviral?
Where are the antiretrovirals for the rest of us??
Why is this person getting access to a treatment (possibly) that NO ONE ELSE has access to, and we are being told we are crazy to even think of trying ARV's?
>Is there a doctor at the WPI that is actually treating patients or what? How is "patient X" getting this "novel" treatment to treat a retrovirus? Is there a retrovirus?
What happend to the clinic at WPI which was supposed to be open and treating patients by now? I am just BAFFLED.
What about all the rest of us who are suffering and this drama is INSANE. Judy in jail! Un Flippin' real! Stay strong!
>"I wish any non-CFS patients, and all scientists, who may read this blog, to know that many CFS patients – myself included – do NOT share ANY of the "views" posted in this blog.
This is so far removed from reality it is actually quite concerning.
What will these fanatics say if Dr Mikovits is actually found to have committed research misconduct ? I suppose it will all be part of some bonkers conspiracy….
Dr Deckoff-Jones, you may have the same diagnosis as me but I no longer believe you have the same illness as me. It has become obvious."
Yeah but, who are you? This post appeals to your being a CFS patient. Without evidence of that, you could be from the WPI for all I know.
Who actually says they have CFS anyway? It's like our N-word.
I'd say *you're* bonkers and whoever you purport to be representing, this 'unspoken hoard of people soup' you spuriously refer to – I want no part in it.
Whenever things get inconvenient, it's time to hide behind the conspiracy wall. Buddy up with those calm authority figures, hug that comfortable world view where nothing shifty happens.
Allowed Conspiracies:-
Psychiatric Abuse of patients (tick)
Ignoring Piles of biomedical evidence showing clear signs of illness in ME patients (tick)
Government neglect of patients who in some countries number in 3 times as many as HIV patients (tick)
Disallowed:-
Persecute a Scientist who believes with some more work can isolate retroviruses that could be provide a unifying aetiology for ME, vindicating patients everywhere, making a lot of established figures look very stupid, and forcing medical insurance companies to pay for medical care and expensive drugs. (cross)
VP62 is an oversimplified, politically created dichotomy.
I will happily support Dr Mikovits in the spirit of innocent until proven guilty as well as my instinctual belief that she is trustworthy.
-SJ
>Gerwyn said…
"I am deeply saddened and angered by this inhumane unchristian and Unamerican treatment of a woman I consider a friend a wonderful person and a very fine scientist
I am also feeling very foolish because I suspended my disbelief and believed everything that Annette Whittmore and Andrea communicated to me in many e mails
When Andrea contacted me apparently distraught because the details of her personal treatment regime which included tenofovir had been posted in a public forum I went out of my way to try and get that information deleted as I believed it was inappropriate to reveal such intimate details without her permission
I feel duped and deceived"
I FEEL DUPED AN DECEIVED ALSO!!!
>It seems to me that the Whittemore's are acting like spoiled rich bratts who either didn't get their way or just like seeing someone's life fall apart.
Anyone see Cruel Intentions?
Again, this is just my opinion. I'd hate for my donations to WPI to be used against me (even though this is supposed to be anonymous). I'm unhappy enough about them being used against the doctor.
>On a message board there is another person who feels that Tenofovir is definitely helping them.
So there really is a virus, huh?
But what do we have to do to get treatment?
>So the improvement of Andrea W. was "scientific misconduct"?
scientific misconduct is no reason to through someone into jail.
It seems to me that the WPI is fighting for survival, but the way they do is very questionable because they forget that without Judy noone would know the WPI outside Nevada or the US.
we will see….
>On "MECFS Alert Episode 6" on YouTube (couldn't post the link) Andrea W says at about 4:10 that "now I just how to take a pill…"
And talks about how much better she is now
What pill? Why won't the WPI talk?
This video posted on September 9!!
People are sick and dying!
>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9Y-MhBa6Qg
>To get the same treatment as Andrea we need to push for a clinical trial of ARVs. To get that we need a replication study or studies using clinically validated assays. The Lipkin study is more rubbish from the WPI without Mikovits. Let's force the NIH to do this scientifically and not politically! Stop the Lipkin study as being anti Mikovits/Ruscetti discovery study! Force them to do use science!
>It has occurred to me that Abagail Smith should be questioned by the police. Either the final image on her blog was doctored or it is from the raw data, if the latter who gave her access to that gel so she could attack Judy Mikovits?
>@ Anonymous November 20, 2011 7:13 AM
If you check back at the previous entry, you'll see that I have in fact posted the source that precedes my own and Billy's post.
The filter here is just a bit unpredictable…
I again note that you should be critical of all people that claim certain things, not just me.
>@Anon 10:02PM
"It's been alleged on this blog's comments that Dr. Mikovits falsified data, lied, and committed fraud. If that were true, it's still no reason to have her arrested and thrown in jail."
Huh? Can you explain what you meant by this?
>Lol RRM you have presented no such source. Neither would Billy state his source. You will all be investigated for who you are linked to.
>Anonymous said…
To get the same treatment as Andrea we need to push for a clinical trial of ARVs. To get that we need a replication study or studies using clinically validated assays.
Unless your family has a net worth of like 400 million dollars…then you can bypass all that non sense. Right?
If they were quiet about it and wanted true privacy about her treatment, that I would RESPECT, but they opened the door to the public with a video stating she is taking a pill and now is working part time, walking her dog, etc.!
You can't just do that to a bunch of desperate ill people, who now feel that there really may be a treatment that could help some but it will never come to fruition for the masses unless you have a lot of $$$$$$$$$$$
>Once again with the "Anonymous" issue. That's usually raised by bullies or, as in this case, someone who doesn't want to believe that there are still lots of CFS patients out here who trust in science and do not fanatically follow a single researcher. I'm sure knowing my identity would make a difference to whether you actually listen to any points I make or just gallop off to some illogical horizon spouting your own material. Perhaps you're another of those people who think they should decide what research can and cannot be done. Tell you what : just set up an oppressive regime where there is no freedom of speech, freedom of scientific enquiry and everyone's identity is known to every nutjob out there. Call it "OurVersionOfCFS.com" and use the proceeds to fund the legal bills of other scientists being investigated for research misconduct. Sounds like just as sensible a plan as all the others on here….
>Lol another troll. Keep on following you unscientific beliefs in the immaculate contamination from an immaculate recombinant virus. Let's see who has said they can find all these gamma retroviruses when using clinically validated assays. Silverman, Klein, Singh, Fisher, Mikovits, Ruscetti, Lo, Alter, Hanson, Cabrera and several more you won't yet have heard of.
>OK, so what do we know?
I've been doing a bit of research. Let's look at the facts as we know them. A week after the publication of the BWG results, on the evening of the 29th September outside her house in Reno, Judy got a phone call from Annette Whittemore to tell her she was fired. Judy did what we all do at that point, she got in her car and set off for hubby and home in Ventura. She arrived there at 11:30 am having driven all night, and was met by Lilly Meehan, who testifies that there were no lab notebooks or computer gear in her car.
The last time Judy had had access to her lab, she was still an employee of the WPI. Once she was fired she was locked out.
The restraining order was issued on the 4th November, more than a month after Judy was locked out of the lab.
Two weeks later, Judy is arrested in at her home in Ventura County, where she had been, apart from fulfilling pre-existing work obligations, since the 30th September.
Things don't add up. There was far too long between the firing and lock-out, and the writ. Why arrest Judy at a time that will prevent her attending the Mount Sinai symposium? If they'd left it till Monday, she would have been in NYC today.
Here's a timeline with links
22nd Sept. BWG published
29th Sept (pm) Judy fired [url]http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2011/10/xmrv-researcher-fired.html[/url], [url]http://treatingxmrv.blogspot.com/2011/10/square-one.html[/url]
30th Sept (am) Arrives home in Ventura County. Lilly Meehan witnesses. [url]https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=235983363131553[/url] (not sure if people who are not friends of Lilly can see this link. Please supply another public one if you have it)
30th Sept. ERV publishes the Gelgate blog
Oct 26th, Annette Whittemore on Nevada Newsmakers [url]http://www.nevadanewsmakers.com/video/default.asp?showID=1375&forumid=331851[/url]
Nov. 4th Writ issued [url]http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2011/11/lawsuit-filed-against-chronic-fatigue.html[/url] [url]http://treatingxmrv.blogspot.com/2011/11/game-with-no-winner.html[/url] [url]http://www.oslersweb.com/blog.htm?post=823082[/url]
November 18th Judy arrested [url]http://treatingxmrv.blogspot.com/2011/11/china-syndrome-at-wpi.html[/url] [url]http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2011/11/controversial-cfs-researcher-arr.html[/url]
November 20th Mount Sinai conference with Dr Endlander – Judy was to attend.
Jane Clout.
>So anon 8:55AM you agree that the Lipkin study cannot be definitive and science must progress.
>Annette…God is stronger. If you are lying about Judy after all she did for your daughter along with screwing over sick people rest assure we will not sit quitely. Will get off our sick beds around the world. Do you want same treatment as Judy? Andrea…. stop telling us happy hollidays!!!! Might be happy for you since your well enough to get out bed to enjoy them but your mom screwed the rest of us by throwing our hopes and donations for a cure in the trash!!!
>Gerwyn, what exactly is "unamerican" about the Whittemore's actions? They are acting like complete bullys – exactly as America behaves on the world stage.
I hope that Dr Judy can relocate to a more hospitable country where they don't lock scientists up in prison for no good reason! Sadly America has a long history of jailing completely innocent people (e.g. Guantanamo).
>Imagine the following scenario
A wealthy family is offered a lot of money to destroy one of their employees by a well known government anti virus hunter
The wealthy family concoct a plan
They remove documents and a computer from the office of their employee while that person is away and secrete them in a safe place
They then accuse the employee of stealing the materials and the intellectual property contained therein
They convince a member of the judiciary who is an old friend of the family that the former employee has indeed stolen their property and convince him to grant an injunction which among other things forbids the person from leaving the state
They don't tell the judge that the person has already left the state before the injunction was granted
Once the judge is informed that the person is out of state he orders the persons arrest for breaching the terms of the injunction
The person is returned to the state in question
The judge orders the return of the property which of course the person does not have
The burden of proof now rests with the person to prove their innocence in the matter
What will happen to that person if through impossibility cannot comply with the judge.s order?
any guesses?
>Again can I highlight that I think some people are trying to get patients to fight each other by making xenophobic comments about the UK and US. I hope no one falls for it. The issue is the WPI and their disgusting behaviour against Mikovits.
>Annette Whittmore's husband is a lawyer with questionable connections in Nevada. See Wikipedia for details. I suspect that they wanted control and threw Judy under the bus thinking it would make them look better. Not in my eyes. Whether her research would prove correct or not she should be treated with patience and respect. This is going to backfire on the WPI. I am sorry that anyone should be treated this way. Jail time is usually for hardened criminals. This is sneaky manipulation by someone at WPI. Bloomy
>Any judge who knows the Whittemores should now recuse themselves. How could they not be seen as biased?
>"2 names comes to mind when thinking of crime against humanity; Whittemore and Hitler…"
I am as appalled as everybody else here, but this comparison is outrageous. It is insulting to everybody who has lost family under Hitler. It shows a complete absence of knowledge of the extent of the suffering of the Jews and other minorities in Europe in the 30s and 40s. It has become ok in this country to compare people with whom we don't agree with Hitler. This only serves to minimize the atrocities perpetrated by Hitler.
It also makes us, as the patients, lose our credibility in a snap.
>I'm sure who ever made the comment knows about what happened to Jewish people. I took the comparison to be more about abuse and neglect. Some people are living in hell and a treatment is available. The WPI don't have a riight to keep that hidden.
>Whittmores must think because we are sick and brain fog we are stupid and think they can pull a fast one. We are NOT stupid and know exactly whats going on!!! We won the grant for them we can spend all our energy now getting our families and friends involved on something worthwhile by helping Judy w/ her deffense funds. Andrea has some nerve asking for donations for gift bags!!!!!!! Yes Andrea hope you enjoyed those meds. After this no Doctor will help you. Someone will be writing the NY times and world wide news.
>I suggest to remove all Hitler comments including this one. I´m from Germany and this is really no comparison and an affront to the Whittemores.
>I don't think the person was comparing. Most european countries were affected by what happened to Jewish people in the 40s not only Germany.
>"Once again with the "Anonymous" issue. That's usually raised by bullies or, as in this case, someone who doesn't want to believe that there are still lots of CFS patients out here who trust in science and do not fanatically follow a single researcher."
Apparently expressing an opinion on various forums that supports Dr Mikovits be facilitated in finishing her research makes you a 'fanatic'?
I'm afraid I don't know a lot of CFS patients, I know ME patients. If you want to perpetuate an oppressive nomenclature that is clearly a narrow description of a wide array of signs and symptoms under the most up to date criteria that's your business. Few in any serious level of advocacy choose to. Does that make me intolerant? On this issue, I don't care, CFS is derogatory, that's my decision.
Questioning who you are when you place your own sentiment incumbent upon your status as 'CFS' patient in an unquantifiable group of patients you allegedly represent is not bullying, it's just sensible scrutiny. Admittedly, I'm sure there are plenty of folk who 'trust Science', but they can speak for themselves, you don't need to claim them and segregate them. Do they trust Science as reported by the most moderate advocacy groups, or by their corporate or government sponsored news source, or by the limits of their understanding of it, or because someone with the appropriate prefixes and suffixes said it?
I have nothing to say to the rest of that assumptive nonsense, you seem to have glued pieces of various advocates together and decided my views are the same as theirs.
-SJ
>Well said SJ
>The Whittemores seem to be aiming for a full retraction of the Science paper, in which case no doctor anywhere will prescribe tenofovir, the ARV that has reportedly improved Andrea's health.
Of course, if Andrea's doctor stops prescribing tenofovir for her, Annette will simply send one of her servants to Mexico to buy more.
Posting under various names, Andrea has claimed that the WPI will publish a case study about her treatments. But the WPI has made many claims and promises, very few of which have been fulfilled.
@ Annette and Andrea: The fact that Cort Johnson is now your sole supporter should tell you something.
@ Judge who jailed Dr. Mikovits: You might want to order a thorough search of the Whittemores' homes for the "missing" materials, even if doing so means less kickback from wealthy patrons.
>Cort Johnson of PR showing his true colours
one of his many mistakes in reporting no doubt!
Blindsiding includes the WPI going to work and finding and enormous amount of data missing the day after their chief investigator was removed from her job and being unable to get it back. I imagine that's where the 'friends' really parted company.
I want to point out that an unemployed Dr. Mikovits has no way to use that data and so long as she has it, if she has it, work on CFS and XMRV is being delayed.
She could have copied it and returned the originals to the WPI; why that hasn't occurred is beyond me but the implications of that data not returning are not pleasant – possibly years of work lost that cannot be redone….XMRV and other research being halted in its tracks……Does that serve the CFS community? Obviously it doesn't.
Isn,t his "concern" about delaying research into retroviral causation of ME touching?
What a road to Damascus conversion
He must be the same denomination as the Whittmores
>You discredit yourself by "making assumptions" and "stating opinions" when you admittedly do not have the facts. Sticking to what you can prove is better I think, so people don't have to wade through a bunch of supposition to get to pertinent information. Saying, "Who is paying for the lawyers?" is better journalism than "Patients' donations are paying for lawyers…I think……"
>Exactly. There are far too many people here stating opinions as fact, and basing on assumptions that may not be and in some cases simply cannot be true. There is a hearing in two days time. If you believe in looking at the data before jumping to conclusions, then maybe you should act like a jury would and at least wait until then before you render a verdict?
>Perhaps you should think before you write.
Not particularly intelligent behavior.
>The following is entirely my opinion and purely speculation:
Speaking for myself, I think I've been completely naive about how all of this would end (though I'm not saying this is the end). Historical facts around this disease (locked files, biased and non-existent funding, ignoring of biomedical evidence, co-opted "advocacy" orgs, treatment of DeFreitas, etc) all allude to decades of gross negligence by government health agencies, if not deliberate and outright coverup.
When Lombardi et al somehow bypassed the truth filters and exposed the unsavory heart of the disease, the string pullers faced a watershed moment. They could have embraced the truth and "owned up" to the past through the plausible deniability of "Mistakes were made", etc. Instead, as was made clear almost immediately, they chose to double down on coverup. Whether it was deliberate or unintentional before, it has been unmistakably deliberate to those watching since Oct 2009. The last two years have been little more than a frantic attempt to shovel enough bullshit and intimidation on the smoldering fire of truth to snuff it out before it could gain sufficient traction in the public consciousness. All means have been on the table: guided science, perversion of science, legal and emotional intimidation, disinformation trolls, coordinated media campaigns, fake advocates, and now the heavy hand of a corrupted justice system.
Details of the science aside, the reaction we have witnessed to Lombardi et al is not something I think would ever be seen in response to a simple scientific blunder or even deliberate fraud. The massive mobilization against this discovery itself tells the entire story of just how dangerous and important it is.
There is no going back now. The time for innocent "fessing up" has come and gone long ago. They've been playing for keeps while we've been trying just to get some playing time. The consequences, should we prevail in bringing the truth to light, are the kind that can bring regimes to their knees overnight: decades of lies and corruption–from the very agencies tasked with preventing this very type of thing–that have wrought devastation on the lives of millions. As shocked as I have been by what has transpired, I realize that the escalation of intimidation to this level of severity was almost inevitable against the backdrop of what is at stake. It will undoubtedly get worse. We were filed under the category of collateral damage in Oct 2009 if not long before. Yet, despite our expendability, we are the most dangerous opponents imaginable, for we carry the truth not only in our tissues but in our minds and our words.
My thoughts go out to Judy.
>"
"2 names comes to mind when thinking of crime against humanity; Whittemore and Hitler…"
I am as appalled as everybody else here, but this comparison is outrageous. It is insulting to everybody who has lost family under Hitler. It shows a complete absence of knowledge of the extent of the suffering of the Jews and other minorities in Europe in the 30s and 40s. It has become ok in this country to compare people with whom we don't agree with Hitler. This only serves to minimize the atrocities perpetrated by Hitler.
It also makes us, as the patients, lose our credibility in a snap.
November 20, 2011 10:10 AM
Anonymous said…
I'm sure who ever made the comment knows about what happened to Jewish people. I took the comparison to be more about abuse and neglect. Some people are living in hell and a treatment is available. The WPI don't have a riight to keep that hidden."
Thank you Anonymous.
My grandfather proudly fought against Hitler during the WW2 being in charge of one of the troops situated in Oslo.
By no means was this post meant to discredit Jewish ppl.
The comparisment was based on the high number of ppl affected by Hitler – not only Jews.
Today 17 million ppl suffer of ME…
And as i put "2names comes to mind"…
and that was actually all it was… it was an assosiation that came to my mind.
Elisabeth
>I will be extremely interested to see what the majority of people posting here have to say once we have seen some actual evidence.
P.S. CFS v ME : they're both bullsh*t terms for different reasons. One is a dustbin diagnosis and the other has no medical basis – what's your point ? It doesn't change the fact that I have the illness and don't agree with 99% of what appears on this blog.
My thoughts go out to all CFS/ME/PVFS patients.
>"I took the comparison to be more about abuse and neglect. Some people are living in hell and a treatment is available. The WPI don't have a riight to keep that hidden."
What treatment is available? What treatment is WPI keeping hidden? What are you talking about?