KILLING THE PATIENT: How a Billion Dollar Industry, Entrusted With Saving Lives, Maybe Killing the Very Patients It Is Treating.

“The doctor of the future will give no medicine; but will interest his patient in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.” - Thomas Edison


I first heard Gary Null on WBAI in the 1980s. His radio show, Natural Living with Gary Null, deals with alternative treatment for illnesses such as cancer, eating natural foods and maintaining a regiment of a balanced diet and exercise. During his career Null has been extremely critical of the medical profession for what he says is a steadfast refusal to consider the merits of alternative medicine as treatments for serious illnesses. His assertion is that rather than trying to save lives and bring about cures for diseases like cancer, the medical profession’s main goal is treatment. “There is no healthcare in the United States,” he says, “or in England, or anywhere else. It doesn't exist. We have sickness maintenance."

At the heart of the problem is the money the medical profession, particularly the pharmaceutical industry, rakes in each year from the treatment of these illnesses, to the tune of billions of dollars. “Any doctor in the United States who cures cancer using alternative methods will be destroyed." While stopping short of saying that physicians are guilty of conspiring with the pharmaceutical industry – he prefers to believe that they are simply trained to accept the premises of their profession – he does point out that doctors are given huge financial incentives for agreeing to dispense medications as the first line of treatment, while at the same time minimizing or suppressing alternative, non-evasive treatments “to protect the medical establishment's solid-gold cancer train.”

Critics of Null – and there are many – site his educational background, namely his PhD from Union Institute & University in Cincinnati, Ohio, in human nutrition and public health sciences. While the school is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools its accreditation does not cover awarding of PhDs in the sciences, only in the humanities. Another criticism regarding Null has to do with his methodology. James R. Laidler, MD, criticizes Null’s work for double counting statistics and for presenting a simplistic and skewed view of medicine. Still another area of criticism directed at Null has to do with the fact that he has overly and unjustly criticized the medical profession while failing to point out the good it does and how many lives it saves. Harriet Hall, MD, has accused Null of “doctor bashing,” while Dr. Stephen Barrett, who maintains a website he calls Quackwatch, disparages Null's PhD thesis, his alternative health claims, and several of his commercial products.[21]

Null’s latest venture will, like his previous ones, stir the pot on both sides of the debate. AIDS, Inc. is a film about the multi-billion dollar AIDS industry, and how it profits from continuing fears and misconceptions about the disease. While AIDS grabs the headlines and raises billions of dollars with celebrity endorsements and billionaire endowments, Null says we are no closer to finding a cure than when the scourge first appeared 30 years ago.

Could it be that after so many years of research, and so much money being spent, that the entire orthodox medical establishment has been wrong about AIDS, or even worse, has sought to profit on a system that it knew was flawed from the beginning? Doctor Robert Gallo who discovered the HIV virus said that there is no legitimate dissent when it comes to AIDS. But there are more than 5,000 physicians, microbiologists, journalists and activists who disagree and say that we have been misled about the real causes of AIDS and the nature of its treatment. The mainstream media has chosen not to provide an outlet for their opinions. In this important film, Null traveled to more than 30 countries over an eight-year period to seek them out and get their interviews.

The first issue that Null’s movie challenges is the assertion that HIV equals AIDS. In the first few years, there were no major dissenting voices on this issue. The medical community accepted the initial data and “lined up, virtually in unison, to get research grants to find the appropriate drugs or vaccines that would either help prevent or treat the condition.” That, by itself, would be inexcusable, but what happened after was, to Null, even more reprehensible. Whenever a scientist would challenge the data and findings, or even question the literature, he or she was criticized nonstop. They were intimidated, ridiculed and threatened with having their grants canceled. The lack of any open scientific forum, or dearth of any meaningful dissent at Congressional hearings meant a rubber stamp on the treatment of AIDS for more than 20 years.

Null takes a close look at AIDS treatments, particularly AZT, which is the number one treatment prescribed for AIDS’ patients. It was the first anti-HIV drug approved for use in the United States. But the inventor of the drug says, according to Null, the drug is too toxic for cancer patients. The “T” stands for DNA termination. “It’s a DNA disruptor,” Null says. “Can you imagine giving that to people.” One of the main points of the film is that AZT may actually be killing more people than the AIDS virus itself. But the medical profession continues to endorse and prescribe the drug, in spite of the overwhelming data. The slogan at lectures is, “Put time on your side and take AZT.”

Another point throughout the film that Null makes is the millions of dollars that AIDS groups are given to endorse the taking of AZT and other drugs. If they said “Yes, use condoms and take your drugs,” you got money. If you said, “Yes, use condoms but don’t take the drugs, rebuild your immune system,” you got nothing. As always, Null’s central theme is the money trail and where it leads. He refers to AIDS conferences as “an embarrassment. They look like an expensive flea market for pharmaceuticals. Dozens and dozens of booths. All about drugs. And, of course, who do they hire, and pay first class to get there? Gay activists. It’s all about, “Get this drug, this is the newest and hottest drug.”

Despite the recent uproar his movie is bound to cause, Null isn’t overly optimistic about the future. “Nothing will happen. They (the AIDS industry) will get away with it. I wish that I could say otherwise about the people who have exploited this crisis to their advantage, who have lied about it, who have kept false information going forward, and who have kept people in a panic. No body has ever been held accountable, as long as you’ve got a corporate title in front of you. Let’s face it. One hundred thousand people have died because of Vioxx*, and they knew in advance that it was dangerous, and they hid that information. Have you heard of a single person at Pfizer being held accountable? No. Only in America could you kill a hundred thousand people and get a raise!”

Like Michael Moore, Gary Null is unapologetically anti big business in the medical and pharmaceutical industries. Curiously, while his critics have brought to light legitimate concerns regarding his education, methodology and lack of objectivity, what has never been questioned is his passion and dedication to uncovering issues and problems within the medical profession. His first paper on the harmful affects of caffeine was the first of its kind; he also was among the earliest professionals talking about the virtues of eating right and exercising regularly – unless, of course, you count Jack LaLanne. His latest movie, like Moore’s Sicko, uncovers important information and brings to light serious issues within the medical profession. It should be required viewing for all people, regardless of their political persuasions.

* These numbers have NOT been verified and are the opinion of Gary Null.

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU PRAY FOR!

A lesson is learned on the floor of the Senate; but will the Religious Right Take Notice?


The sight of a Hindu clergyman saying the US Senate's traditional morning prayer was too much for members of a Christian group, who yesterday tried to shout him down before being arrested.

As Rajan Zed, director of interfaith relations at a Hindu temple, offered the prayer, two women and a man began shouting "this is an abomination" from the gallery.

The trio continued to yell at the Hindu cleric as they were taken away in handcuffs by police, yelling, "no Lord but Jesus Christ!" and "there's only one true God!". The male protester told the Associated Press, "we are Christians and patriots".

Police identified the protesters as Ante and Katherine Pavkovic and their daughter Kristen, members of a Christian organization called Operation Save America/Operation Rescue.

The group said in a statement: "The Senate was opened with a Hindu prayer placing the false god of Hinduism on a level playing field with the one true god, Jesus Christ. This would never have been allowed by our Founding Fathers."

Reverend Flip Benham, the leader of the group, said: "Not one senator had the backbone to stand as our Founding Fathers stood. They stood on the gospel of Jesus Christ! There were three in the audience with the courage to stand and proclaim, 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me'."

Once more, a valuable lesson is dumped into our laps; an opportunity to see what happens when the lines between Church and State are blurred. The Christian Right's encroachment on civil liberties and their insistence on rewriting history books - they have a particular fascination for the founding fathers - has now come full circle. In what can only be described as the irony of the decade a religious group about as 180 from Christianity as any religious group can be, took to the floor of the Senate to exercise its freedom of religious expression and was met by a strong dose of reality. In this increasingly myopic nation of ours, freedom of religious expression is reserved for those whom God has chosen. The zealots who run the Republican party would have you believe that the actions taken by this lunatic organization were justified because the Hindu god is a non-monotheistic god, not consistent with the Judaic / Christian God of the bible. That's code for, no God but ours. Apparently religious freedom only counts when it concurs with the beliefs of the majority. So much for a Republic.

None of this surprises me. I have been saying this now for two years. We are witnessing the birth of the Imperial Presidency, and the growing emergence of a theocracy. I don't care whether you agree with Hinduism or not, or even whether you agree that it should be allowed on the floor of the Senate. What is at stake here is far more serious than a simple prayer.

We all saw what happened in Germany when learned men stood by and let a bunch of thugs hijack a nation by rewriting its history, and then "silencing" anyone who challenged the authority of its new authors. DO NOT think it cannot happen here. This isn't about Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, or any other religion you care to name; it's about the legacy of a nation founded by men who knew all too well the perils of a state dominated by religious oppression, whose leaders considered themselves ordained by God Almighty to rule without question. Above all else, they wanted to avoid a repeat of that very same system in this new country they had formed. This bold, new experiment is called the United States of America, and the document they wrote to protect us from just such a system is called a Constitution. And that Constitution does NOT, contrary to what the Religious Right says, care which religion you belong to. ALL are welcome, and ALL are free to express and practice their beliefs free from persecution and ridicule.


"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." These historic words taken from our Declaration of Independence illustrate plainly the difference between a constitutional form of government and a monarchy. In the former, the government gets its power from the governed; in the latter it is derived from God. No matter what the zealots on the Right say as they pervert our history, the United States is NOT, and was NEVER intended to be, a Christian state. Such a state would have been inconsistent with the ideals and values of our founding fathers.

When you worship at your local church, you have the same rights as the Jew, the Hindu, the Buddhist, or the Muslim: the right to worship your God in your own way. There is no other country like this, and I will be damned if I'm going to let a bunch of religious Nazis steal away my heritage.

SICKO IS AS SICKO DOES.

The Sheep and the Goats – Matthew 25:31-46

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Whatever else you may think of Michael Moore, he is very good at two things: making an entertaining movie, and making you squirm in your seat. His latest film Sicko is a case in point; it takes a serious and critical look at the current state of health care in the United States. Like his other films – Fahrenheit 9/11, Bowling For Columbine, and Roger and Me – Moore is hardly objective in his criticism of the current problems in America’s health care system. And while some of his data might be faulty – for instance he states that the average cost of health care for each U.S. citizen is $7500 compared with $25 for the average Cuban citizen, when in fact the actual numbers are $6096 and $226 respectively – Moore has on point nailed three undeniable truths.

1. Health care in the United States is run by the Insurance and Pharmaceutical industries. Both of these industries care about one and only one thing: how much profit they can make for their investors. Denying health care is an essential vehicle in increasing profit for the insurance industry, and prescribing medication – whether it is needed or not – is equally vital to the pharmaceutical industry. Both of these industries have spent hundreds of millions of dollars lobbying the United States government in an attempt to thwart even the suggestion of a universal health care system.

2. The United States is the only industrialized nation in the Western hemisphere NOT to have a universal health care system. Canada, Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany and Japan all have such systems and all enjoy the fruits of health care with no out of pocket expense. While there may be some issues with all of the universal systems, these “issues” have been dramatically blown out of proportion by the American media. France, vilified by the conservative press in this country, has the number one rated health care system in the world!

3. There is a rabid paranoia over any mention of such a system of universal health care within the United States. Those who attempt to do so are branded Communist and / or unpatriotic. Virtually every politician who has taken up the issue of universal health care has either been defeated or been forced to “see the light.” Hillary Clinton, as former First Lady, once championed the cause of universal health care. Now, as the Democratic frontrunner for the Presidency, she has been strangely mute on the subject. Not coincidentally, she also has received almost a million dollars in campaign contributions from the insurance lobby – the largest percentage among Democrats. Hmmm.

It didn’t take long for Moore’s detractors to come out swinging against Sicko. Websites like freemarketcure.com are advocating that what is needed most is for the Congress to administer a strong dose of capitalism. “Cures” such as reducing the size of the FDA (you know that agency that determines if the drug or food you’re consuming is poisonous or not); giving grants to the states for Medicaid spending thus reducing overall costs of funding the program (where have we heard that one before?); and instituting HSA’s - Health Savings Accounts - to individuals that would act like the school voucher program proposal, allowing participants to “opt” out of an insurance plan that they don’t like. (Curiously, such proponents fail to point out that such defections from current health care plans would mean an increase in premiums for those still left in them. That increase would be born on both the employee AND the employer. Just goes to show you that even capitalists forget to use their calculator from time to time!)

No health care plan is perfect, that is for sure. But it is time for the United States to wake up and smell the anesthesia. Allowing almost 50 million people to be without health insurance is criminal; and yes, in spite of anything you may hear to the contrary like some “prefer” not to be insured, there are almost 50 million uninsured. Allowing those who do have insurance to be denied treatment on strictly financial grounds is equally criminal. And in a supposedly Christian nation, for us not be out front on this issue belies the very principles we espouse most.

There are many things that a free-market, capitalist society brings to the table, and certainly no sane person would wish for a society where we are told what to buy, what to do, what to say, and where to go. But a truly free-market approach to health care is simply inconsistent with a compassionate and caring society, and ultimately in such a society we all pay for its shortcomings, either morally (through our burning consciences) or financially (by subsidizing substandard care for us all).

The words of Jesus serve as a warning to us all. Isn’t time we heed them?