The FDA and drug companies: Must read

Anonymous

Hum....

"US Federal Agents Arrest Top "Skeptic..." 

Alvarez is now in federal custody, accused of stealing the identity of a New York man and misusing it for more than 20 years. Alvarez - if that indeed is his name - had his first appearance Friday morning in federal court in Fort Lauderdale.

We don't know who this person is," Assistant U.S. Attorney Bertha Mitrani told a magistrate, while explaining that authorities would seek to hold Alvarez without bail at a hearing next week"

http://www.bolenreport.com/feature_articles/Doctor's-Data-v-Barrett/Who-the-2010-2011-Quackbusters-are.htm

Anonymous

Is this a joke?

Anonymous

Do you understand who you are quoting and the website that you are getting information from?

Anonymous

Quackbusters: "Bullys" Barrett, Baratz, Sued For 1.3 Million in Canada

According to court documents recently filed in Canada, Barrett and Baratz's "bullying" was listed in 86 separate "claims," with 176 separate "allegations," 463 requests to admit, backed by a demand for authenticity of 47 documents 

http://www.quackpotwatch.org/opinionpieces/quackbusters_barrett.htm 

Dr. Stephen Barrett of Quackwatch Exposed In Court Cases

At trial, under a heated cross-examination by Negrete, Barrett conceded that he was not a Medical Board Certified psychiatrist because he had failed the certification exam.

This was a major revelation since Barrett had provided supposed expert testimony as a psychiatrist and had testified in numerous court cases. Barrett also had said that he was a legal expert even though he had no formal legal training.

The most damning testimony before the jury, under the intense cross-examination by Negrete, was that Barrett had filed similar defamation lawsuits against almost 40 people across the country within the past few years and had not won one single one at trial.

During the course of his examination, Barrett also had to concede his ties to the AMA, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

Anonymous

Again, you did not do your research.   Stephen Barret is indeed a board certified MD.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Barrett

Now, let's take a look at the author of the article and website that you are quoting, Tim Bolen. Here he is in a deposition not remembering his education.  I read the deposition. Timmie attended community college for 15 years and never graduated. When he was asked for his course of study he replied, "I don't know, whatever interested me."

Here is part of the deposition:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw3mvtOb4Gs

Anonymous

You probably did not know that Tim Bolen is indigent and collecting welfare.  Yep, our  tax dollars are paying for the trash that Tim Bolen is spewing. He is vulgar, highly dishonest, has no intregrity or class and seems to attract the same kind of people.  Like attracts like.  I understand that  he is Vivre's mentor and hero, also.   He has such a potty mouth that I like to refer to him as Timmy Toilet Mouth or simply  timmytoilet.  His real name is Patrick and he has a cousin named TIm that wants him to stop using the name as he does not want to be mistaken for this moron.

Here is is trying to remember where he lives which is hilarious. Timmie summers in a post office box and winters in a shack in the Cleveland National Forest.  He has no electricity and uses a squat toilet.   What kind of person lives in a shack in a national forest?  Can you say unibomber.  I knew you could.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmEIF7DNnas

Anonymous

'vulgar, highly dishonest, no intregrity or class and seems to attract the same kind of people. Like attracts like. I understand that he is Vivre's mentor and hero, also. '

Are you implying that Vivre and I are vulgar, highly dishonest with no integrity or class ?  Because if you are, you need to be moderated, as you are incapable of moderating yourself.

Hard to watch the quackwatchers/skeptics' guru's very confused ramblings. Oh Boy !! he thinks he's a prophet, scarrrrry

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vky1b1_gJFw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSzQC1zKesU&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUldQZNs1X0&feature=related  

Anonymous

Very interesting things to read on this thread.

Maud, why do you say this thread is underground? Isn't BCO interested and open to discussions involving something as important as the FDA?  Especially since their new (director?) is an ex Monsanto thug. Excuse me...I meant employee

Norah

Anonymous

Hi Norah ! What I meant was that it has been taken off the Active Topics so that it's very unlikely that anyone will be running into this thread by accident 

I wish we could openly discuss these issues, but we are apparently being censored...and harrassed

Really wish Tuckertwo was still around, she had loads of good info, eg. I have to thank her for finding an integrative oncologist in my general area.  She is also very upbeat and that is a definite PLUS, just liked catching a whiff of that made my day 

Kaara

That really seems sad and unfair that people don't have an equal opportunity to view all of the active topics and choose for themselves what they would like to read.  Quite discriminatory if you ask me!

If this is truly being done, maybe the mods would care to comment on why. 

Anonymous

Freedom of speech does not exist here? Maybe I should look into who BCO's sponsors are. I was thinking of a big donation to them but not if they censor topics. Thanks for bringing this up, Maud.

Moderators: care to comment, as Kaara suggested?

Norah

candygurl

Norah, all mainstream medical sites are a little shady. They are all heavily sponsored by big pharma. Novatis Pharmaceuticals, Bristol Meyers-Squibb Company and many others pretty much control the content on this site. They are ALL BCOs partners. They have one purpose and that is to promote drugs. That's why there are biased medical articles peppered strategically all over this board.  Also, you should read "Advocates concerned about drug companies use of social media."  http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2011/7/25/advocates-concerned-about-drug-companies-use-of-social-media.aspx#ixzz1smH3hd4Q Scary stuff!

Kaara, If BCO really cared about women, they would not make a mockery of BC by shamelessly promoting these not-so-safe-drugs like they‘re warm milk and fresh cookies; give some Monsanto devil the position of Director and censor important topics. Shame on you BCO!

Maud, I really miss Tucker too.  She is smart as a whip. I think the mob ...I mean  mods made her disappear just like Paul.      

Anonymous

Hi ladies,

I've been around, keeping an eye on the threads. Missed you all (with the exception of a few). I got really fed up with the biased information doled out on BCO and took a holiday from the arguing. Don't need it and those who want to argue will be met with the IGNORE BUTTON.

 I know what's going on with BCO and they know that I know. The fact that they are pro drugs is no surprise and the fact that they have their little minions on the board to disrupt and dribble out disinformation is known as well.  I am a bit harder to get rid of than they think, though, being an old Southern gal. I will continue to post topics that will help women dealing with bc.

Maud & Zuvart, thanks for the kind words. Kaara, glad your eyes are doing well.

Blessings,

tuckertwo

Kaara

tucker:  Welcome back!  Good to see you again.

Anonymous

Hello Tucker, so glad to see you back girl !! hugs 

I ask the moderators why aren't Kaara and Norah getting the courtesy of a reply ?? ???

I ask the moderators why was Zuvart's post removed (exactly what rule did she break?) while black cat's post full of hate remains ???? 

I ask the moderators to justify the existence of an Alternative Forum at BCO if its purpose is to have so many of us slaughtered ??? ????

Anonymous

Hi there, Maud!

Good luck getting a response. You and others know why certain people are allowed to dominate and disrupt threads.....so be it. We have those wonderful things known as the IGNORE button and I plan to use it.  That way, we can continue our discussion, post relevant information and ignore the pests.

I may not post daily or even weekly....busy with lots of things right now & the weather is beautiful here I have a huge organic veggie garden & am having a blast experimenting with new plants. Did you get the results of the MRI? How are you doing?

tucker

Anonymous

Hi Tucker,

We deserve the courtesy of a reply to our questions and enquiries in the same polite manner 'others' get immediate responses to theirs.  This is a public forum, not a private club.  Zuvart was censored, not allowed to express her opinion while hateful posts remain for the world to read.

What is happening is sooo upsetting, another sister said she was viciously attacked for her treatment choices, many many disappear, Wornoutmom is getting haranged.  THIS HAS GOT TO STOP !! 

Anonymous

Hi Maud,

I agree.....but this is a biased forum, as you see...it is pro drugs and they don't want to hear about options. Sadly, many women will be turned off by the attitude of some people on this forum. The women who are really interested will check out natural supplements and not be deterred by the morons who try to push drugs only. There are other breast cancer sites. In the long run, BCO will lose lots of posters. I see that one person (Norah) wanted to donate but is turned off by the attitude she has experienced here.

It is a shame that BCO is doing this to women. In the end, it is all about drugs = money, isn't it? They must be a tad worried about the very real positive impact that natural supplements have on breast cancer, or they would not try to censor remarks about it. Censoring never works; it only creates more interest in the subject.

I hope the mods reply as well, but I am not holding my breath!  Meanwhile, my donations will go elsewhere. Sorry, BCO.

tucker

Kaara

Unfortunately if we continue along these lines, the mods might shut down this thread completely and then we will be SOL!  Like tucker said, better to just ignore the attackers and keep on providing those of us who wish to participate in a positive way, ongoing education.

Moderators

Hey All, 

When people get disrespectful on the threads, we pull them from the active topics until civility has been restored. Nothing is censored except for nasty, disrespectful comments -- especially from newbies who are just coming here. 

Our sponsors can be found on our website. We hide nothing.

Your Mods 

Anonymous

Well, I was certainly misled by the .org acronym upon which I based BCO's credibility. This misleads people to believe that this entity has an educational and charitable mission.  Apparently not.

 

Members of the Board of Directors e.g. Ms. Weiss and Ms. Karp should be made aware of the trashing and bashing that so many breast cancer women receive on this site for their alternative views.

 

"Nina Montée Karp is a producer, director, and environmental activist. She directed the award-winning educational DVDs The Happiest Baby and The Happiest Toddler on the Block. These best-selling films are used across the nation to reduce parental struggles and promote healthy family relations. She also helped create one of the first environmental documentaries, Not Under My Roof, with Olivia Newton-John and Kelly Preston.

Most recently, Nina wrote, produced, and directed Breast Cancer: The Path of Wellness and Healing. Hailed as a landmark educational guide, this DVD features the nation's most celebrated breast cancer doctors and wellness experts, including Dr. Marisa Weiss, Dr. Susan Love, Dr. Dennis Slamon, Dr. Deepak Chopra, and Dr. Dean Ornish. It also features celebrity breast cancer survivors Sheryl Crow, Christina Applegate, Melissa Etheridge, Olivia Newton-John, and others. All the profits from DVD sales are donated to Breastcancer.org and UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

I quote:

 

"especially from newbies who are just coming here"

 

Does this mean that long standing members the likes of black cat have carte blanche ? I see her hostile post is still intact 

 

Kaara

Thanks for the explanation mods.

Moderators

Our team, and Professional advisors are well aware of the issues on our discussion boards. We try to maintain a safe, and respectful environment, where we do not censor issues, only rude behavior. 

Thanks for working with us to provide a caring, supportive place to discuss these important issues. 

The Mods 

Anonymous

I would like to know exactly how you proceed to "try to maintain a safe environment"

At the same time the BCO system kicked me out (banned by the "community" or in their own language "by petition") a few weeks ago, my computer was attacked repeatedly, no less than 6 intrusion attempts were made codified Severity = high in my security history

No coincidence IMO 

ETA :  BTW, I had called no one a liar 

Anonymous

Hey all, I found some interesting stuff about Monsanto and the FDA.

http://www.rense.com/general33/fd.htm

I wonder why a chemical company, Monsanto, is in charge of the food supply?

Norah

Kaara

If you rent and watch the movie "The Beautiful Truth" you will learn tht Monsanto's goal is to control all the seeds in the world so that no farmer will be able to save seeds, but will have to purchase them each year from Monsanto to grow their new crops.  They are also putting "suicide substance" in all seeds so that they will only grow for one season....imagine that.  It's really frightening what is happening to the food supply...according to the movie there is the potential for mass famine if this practice continues.

Anonymous

Kaara,

Thank you for mentioning that movie. I would like to see it. I have been doing a lot of reading lately since my dx in January and the food supply issue is frightening. What can we do about it?

Norah

Anonymous

 

Pharmageddon, by David Healy

(University of California Press, 2012)

Reviewed by: Dr J. Mitchell Noon, Honorary Fellow, Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry

The basic thesis is this: medical doctors, pharmaceutical companies and patients have created an unholy alliance in which companies produce drugs that ostensibly help but, in fact, often do more harm than good; doctors naively accept marketing data as ‘scientific' and adhere to evidence-based rather than data-driven practice, renouncing individualised care in the process, and patients increasingly demand pills for lifestyle problems as well as illness. Is this a reasonable characterisation of medical practice? If so, how has it transpired? Focusing largely on the US, but with implications for British healthcare, Healy argues that the parlous state of current medical practice is due to a conjunction of bad patent laws, prescription restrictions and an over-reliance on RCTs reporting statistical significance that often bears no relation to clinical benefit.

This has been exploited by pharmaceutical companies through a combination of clever marketing (creating the illusion of progress) and unethical data manipulation (through which minor variations in drug effects are packaged as medical breakthroughs in the treatment of conditions that are often not life threatening). These so-called breakthroughs are then naively supported in guidelines which are increasingly mandatory rather than advisory, reducing the scope for medical discretion and judgement.

Some of the evidence adduced in support of these claims is shocking: the promotion of Paxil for childhood mood fluctuations or Zoloft for PTSD and the apparent sequestration by drug manufacturers of data showing serious adverse effects; the failure of top journals to publish critical evidence for fear of litigation; the claims by pharmaceutical companies that hard data are publically available when they are not.

Healy is passionate in his condemnation of pharmaceutical marketing and its effects on medical practice. However, he sometimes glosses complex issues such as statistical analysis, adverse event reporting and the constraints imposed on medical discretion by guidelines. He has many valid points, but the argument can be vitiated by over-generalisation which may, perhaps, alienate some readers. Nevertheless, Pharmageddon is a stimulating book which provides the beginning of an important debate. But we need to hear from all the players: the academics who permit ghost-written papers massaged by drug manufacturers; the journal editors who apparently condone this; the national organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, and NICE, who are allegedly aware of and complicit in data sequestration by pharmaceutical companies; and not least, the pharmaceutical companies themselves. There is a serious case to answer and Healy presents it well.

How plead the accused?

Anonymous

Flacking for Big Pharma

Drugmakers don't just compromise doctors; they also undermine top medical journals and skew medical research

http://theamericanscholar.org/flacking-for-big-pharma/ 

Trouble with links with new system  To read article: insert "flacking" in search function of The American Scholar 

Anonymous

Follow the Money: BPA Makers to Gross $8 Billion Thanks to FDA Rejecting Ban

http://stopmakingsense.org/2012/04/02/follow-the-money-bpa-makers-to-gross-8-billion-thanks-to-fda-rejecting-ban/