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.
>Apparently, ERV has a dfferent take on this:
XMRV and chronic fatigue syndrome: I fought the lawl and the lawl won.
http://scienceblogs.com/erv/
From what I've seen of the evidence, it's substantial.
>What a pathetic bunch of deluded losers.
>It is so great that you, Dr. Deckoff-Jones, are going to be with Judy Mikovits. I wish you could bring proxy support and votes with you. Add my name to the list.
Please tell her she has lots of support out here in the CFS world and most of us believe in integrity and principles, and support her dedication and commitment.
And if you find out where we can email or call to express our outrage, please let us know.
>ERV is once again incorrect. No one has accussed her of stealing anything, as how would she have access. The issue relates to the final image posted on that foolish blog. As it does not match the published western blot or slide from Ottawa. Thus two options present themself. One is that it was doctored, the other that it was from the raw material. That will be of interest to the Feds and Mikovits lawyers regardless of what crime against humanity may occur in relation to HGRV science.
>Patricia surely people can still attend if they wish to.
>PLEASE DO NOT ATTEND THE COURT PROCEEDIG ON 11/22
Although apparently there will be a legal proceeding of some type tomorrow tomorrow, it seems there will be no opportunity for people to show their support for Judy. Dr. Deckoff-Jones will not be there.
We can still show our support by donating to the Mikovits Legal Fund and by sending her cards, notes and messages.
Please post your message to Judy on this thread and we will see that she receives it:
http://www.mecfsforums.com/index.php/topic,10539.0.html
This will be a short proceeding (likely 3-5 mins.) inside a crowded courtroom and signs and demonstrations of any kind are not allowed inside the courthouse. There will be no opportunity for supporters to see Dr. Mikovits outside the courthouse. It would be much better if people send their good wishes now and postpone personal visits until another time.
As noted, Dr. Jamie Deckoff-Jones will not be there, and there will be no opportunity for people to see or speak with Dr. Judy Mikovits.
>People can still attend if they wish.
>Yes, but signs and so on can be shown outside the courtroom as a show of support. People have been doing that for decades and more all over the country outside court buildings.
However, it's understandable if folks can't get there, what with the traveling and expense, if there's no chance to see Dr. Mikovits.
But we should find out how to send emails and call the courts, to register our opposition to this lawsuit, hearing, detention, etc. There needs to be pressure brought to bear in addition to support for her personally.
>This is only an arraignment to decide what happens next. It will last roughly 3 min. My friend works for judges and prepares these types of dockets. Many appear during the course of the day. The small courtrooms are for family members and council that attend for the short process.
>The Chicago Tribune posted an article stating that Dr. Judy has been charged with two felonies: Possession of stolen property and Conspiracy .
Sorry! I'm posting via my phone and cannot post a link to the article.
>They will like tag on extras regardless simply because they were led to believe she was not able to leave the state she had already left! Can we ignore Trine and any other pathetic blogger and intend help Dr Mikovits.
The research will also need to be defended as it will be part of the case. So can people think about responding to the latest VP62/XMRV papers that didn't look for the Lombardi/Lo zoonoses gamma retroviruses.
>People can still attend the arraignment. I don't know why others are trying to stop them.
>Yes. People can attend the arraignment.
And people can always hold up signs outside the building.
Don't discourage anyone from attending who wants to. Or call her attorney and ask or call the court and ask.
>I have CFS. Obviously, there are worse things. Thanksgiving is still appropriate. I am thankful for those days when I wasn't too sick to much give a rip. Earth is a circus. Stupid and ugly are always popular. Sigh. Don't let the bastards wear you down :)
Al
>The get-together I proposed earlier, that of setting an intent to hold to Highest Probability, is still on for those interested.
Regardless of physical circumstances, it will be powerful.
>Al,
CFS has a wide range of presentations and levels of severity.
For people who are very sick with CFS, there is nothing imaginable that could be worse.
"Voices from the Shadows" is a documentary that depicts very severely affected CFS sufferers. Insofar as folks have the opportunity, I would like to encourage them to watch that film.
Best,
Lisa
>CFS is only a label and creates a mixed cohort, not levels of severity.
>I have just spoken to David, Judy's husband, who asked me to get the following message out to the patient community. Dr. Mikovits and the WPI are in negotiations right now, and the criticism coming from the patient community towards the WPI is not helping Dr. Mikovits. They ask that everyone please hold off on their criticism of the WPI for the sake of Dr. Mikovits and the negotiations in progress. Many have asked me what they can do to help, and at the moment this is what you can do: please, everyone, despite the strong feelings everyone is experiencing, please back off in the furor being expressed online and in direct contact with the WPI. Please stop and urge your friends to stop. Later today Dr. Mikovits' husband is planning to send a direct message, but for now has asked me to convey this message to all of you. Permission to repost
This message has been reviewed and approved by David, husband of Dr. Mikovits.
Thank you everyone,
Lilly Meehan
>Well, It looks like WPI was right about material being taken!
"On Monday evening, Mikovits' former employer, the Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuro-Immune Disease in Reno, filed signed affidavits in district court in which a coworker states that she enlisted him to take the lab notebooks for her.
The affidavit from graduate student researcher Max Pfost states that he used her desk and office keys to take 12 to 20 lab notebooks, which he hid at his house in a large, multi-colored "Happy Birthday" gift bag before turning them over to Mikovits in mid-October.
"As I left for work at WPI that morning, Mikovits further requested that I keep her informed as to the whereabouts of WPI personnel so that Mikovits could avoid detection in Reno," Pfost wrote.
The affidavit also states that Mikovits had the two of them set up "a new separate email account for our secret communications about WPI" and that Mikovits told Pfost she was hiding on a boat "to avoid being served with papers from WPI.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-pfost-affidavit-1-20111122-pdf,0,3711476.htmlpage
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-pfost-affidavit-2-20111122-pdf,0,4628981.htmlpage
>Lilly — it's kind of too late. People have slimed the WPI, the Annette and Andrea Whittemore and I guess it was all in vain. Turns out that Judy asked Max to steal the notebooks and then took possession of them. She was asked to return them, she did not. She then hid out on a boat to avoid being served with legal papers. She did return to Nevada apparently. She is a fugitive from justice, she was involved heavily in the theft of items. Now she has dragged Max Pfost into all of this — his career will be ruined. I feel slimed at this point but not by the Whittemores.
>I think appologies are due the Whittermores. Judy not so innocent after all. I wonder what is in those notebooks?
>Wow, listen to all those open minded people rushing to apologize!
(cricket)…
>crickets
>Poor Max. I don't think anyone reputable would hire him after he did this. The fact that he hid them indicates he knew very well that what he was doing was wrong/illegal. Way to drag others down with you, Judy!
>I am taking a wait and see position.
If anyone thinks anything resembling the truth has come out in its entirety they are naive.
And, honestly, holding someone hostage in order to silence a whole patient community speaks volumes. I got the message loud and clear about who holds the guns, regardless of the outcome.
>Is there anyone from Planet Earth out there ?
A LOT of apologies are in order. Anyone care to start ?
>Mikovits wasn't held hostage. She was arrested for breaking the law. People who break the law get arrested. She will no doubt have to answer for her actions in a court of law just like anybody else who breaks the law and gets caught. Being a researcher does not put you above the law no matter how much you are loved.
>*tumbleweed*
>I agree with you. Apologies are in order. The WPI couldn't exactly not report this theft, and the justice system appears to be just doing its job. The disappearance of these research materials could be a huge loss for the patient community, whatever they hold. I hope this will open the eyes and cool the ardor of some in this community who have wanted to turn Judy into a saint and to see everyone else as evil conspirators. Everyone involved is just human beings. Big surprise! Black-and-white thinking leads to fanaticism, and fanaticism is always dangerous.
>Even if the Pfost affidavit is accurate and complete (something not at all clear – he's a low-income grad student, still works for WPI, and would be vulnerable to the same tactics used against Mikovits and worse)…..
Why were the lawsuit and criminal charges necessary? Most institutions allow researchers to leave, and take their research with them.
>"Lilly — it's kind of too late. People have slimed the WPI, the Annette and Andrea Whittemore and I guess it was all in vain. "
YA THINK? Thanks to all the folks over at the crazy ME-CFS forums, led by Patricia Carter.
Sheesh.
>http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/268451/exh-1-reply-iso-motion-for-preliminary-injunction.pdf
http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/268454/exh-2-reply-iso-motion-for-preliminary-injunction.pdf
>"Most institutions allow researchers to leave, and take their research with them."
Bollocks they do. More ignorance about how research works.
>I agree with Nick above.
The principles of who owns the thinking, creativity, work and research is not a given. I'd agree with a scientist any day.
I do think there's a wait and see what happens, and what Dr. Mikovits and her spouse are saying and doing, and her attorney, of course.
I still object to the jailing and detention issues .. no way to treat a scientist.
>Max affidavits are sworn under notary public subject to perjury.
WPI is accountable for all reasearch material under Federal Law NIH Grants and would be a big world of hurt with the Feds for the missing research material.
They had no choice and in fact gave Judy two months to return all the material.
The question everyone should be asking is why did Judy lie or mislead the patient community so that the WPI would get slimed?
>But Judy would never steal, she's an angel, she's a saint, she's…
…a CRIMINAL? An EGOMANIAC?
Hmmm. I wonder what the other saint, Hilary Johnson has to say about this now?
>Normally, you are under contract with an institution, company or corporation so that all work product or intellectual material produced utiltizing the resourses of said facility becomes the property of said facility.
Under NIH Grant policy the institution is accountable for any and all research material created under those NIH Grants so no Judy did not have the right to remove said material from the WPI.
>A thief is a thief whether done by a low life drug user or a researcher. Ever heard of equality before the law. Seems that Judy might have told a few porkies to Jamie and to Lilly.
The affadavit from Max can easily be verified in terms of where Mikovits was as she used rental cars which means she would have had to produce her driver's licence and this is filed by car rental companies. Why drag this Max person through the mud — why would he have lied on his affadavit — the result of this affadavit probably means his career is ruined and he could be arrested for theft too.
>still more crickets…
>Anon @ 3:28 I wasn't referring to the issue of jail, etc. That's a different discussion.
I was referring to being told to shut up while "negotiations" were in progress. The implication being that there would be dire consequences elsewise.
It turned out to be quite effective, too. Like always.
>I am unclear as to what all this means. Does it mean that the lab notebooks and materials contain valuable information regarding HGRV's? Does it mean HGRV's will likely be the cause of the disease? What does it mean in regards to Lipkin? My sources implied that Lipkin's study will be negative wtih respect to XMRV/HGRV's….so why are these notebooks important? I am so sick and feel without hope again.
>Probably Judy wanted the notebooks in order to destroy them, to cover up evidence of scientific fraud. Just a guess, of course.
>HGRV's are not the cause of the disease. The theory never made sense, and has since been proven not to be the case.
There is no one single cause. Most people have multiple causes.
There is hope, many people are getting better, although very slowly. But for the most part not by taking toxic drugs.
>Well well well…..
Patricia carter & ur sheep you should be hanging your heads in shame
>All the Lombardi data was seen by Science and Coffin prior to publication. The western blots were not performed by Mikovits. As usual a person is innocent until proven guilty and it is only an unproven accusation. The question still remains how people who are hostile to Mikovits/Ruscettis discovery were able to post alledged raw Lombardi data.
>At 5:25, which part of — it was in a PowerPoint presentation supplied by Mikovits herself, formatting was turned off and voila, raw data — do you not understand.
This is a moot point. Is this all you have to grasp on to. How about an apology to the WPI and the Whittemores for all the false statements. In one respect, the Whittemores can use all the nasty comments as proof of damages caused by Judy's actions.
>Disgusting to know that so many people took the "Judy could do no wrong" stance. Boy, did you hurt a hell of a lot of people with your relentless crusades.
>Still no apologies.
Meanwhile, the sheep continue to clap so Tinkerbell will live…
>i never understand the people who keep insisting the disease has many causes. it does not. there is a pathogen that is resulting in these damn common infections becoming active. there is a pathogen resulting in single digit NK cell function. resolving these re-activated infections DOES NOT bring the NK cell funcion back to normal levels. it can be raised a little and then it comes back down again. why can you people not understand this? it is ONE pathogen that is at the crux of the situation, whether it is working with a herpes virus or not. and if lipkins deep sequencing doesn't find it, we are ALL DEAD.
>@Anonymous November 22, 2011 5:25 PM
– Not all the data was seen by the reviewers. The argument that the 5-aza was left out for editing reasons is as silly as it gets, because:
1. It wasn't mentioned in the Supporting Online Materials either. There is (virtually) no limit in size for the SOM, and this is EXACTLY what the SOM are for.
2. When one checks the PATENT filed by Mikovits and Ruscetti (and others), one can see that there is NO MENTION of 5-aza in those documents either, while describing the Science Figure 2C experiment. As (I hope) you will know, for patents you have to really supply ALL information regarding an experiment (which is why they usually take 128 pages).
– A person is (f)actually not innocent until proven guilty. A person is either guilty or innocent before a court reaches its verdict, but is CONSIDERED to be innocent by the court before it.
In no way must any private party factually consider someone to be innocent until it is proven in a court of law. If that were the idea behind the presumption of innocence, it would be kinda hard to press charges against someone, or for a prosecutor to, err, prosecute someone.
The crazy thing is that people are misuing the presumption of innocence concept in this case. You claim to have been raped by X, but because we must presume X to be innocent, we consider you to be full of [censored]. The same really goes here. The WPI have been viciously attacked (to the point of Mikovits and her husband asking for some restraint), and when someone argues against it, the "Mikovits is innocent until…" gets thrown out.