News you won't see in controlled mainstream media.

Dear Editor

The coauthors of the Verstraeten et al. 2003 Pediatrics study erroneously report in their P3R response to Dr. Mark Geier, that the SAFEMINDS coalition was involved in the review of the different phases of the CDC study currently under web review.

Unfortunately, at no time were the SAFEMINDS individuals involved in review of this document, neither were any presumed recommendations by SAFEMINDS ever enacted. This is based on a conversation I had with Lyn Redwood, President of the SAFEMINDS organization (3/23/04). In fact, concerning the CDC study, Ms. Redwood was quoted as follows in Insight on the News - National Issue: 12/23/03 CDC Study Raises Level of Suspicion:

Lyn Redwood, a registered nurse, mother of an autistic child and president and cofounder of www.SafeMinds.org (Sensible Action for Ending Mercury-Induced Neurological Disorders), a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending devastation caused by the needless use of mercury in medicines, tells Insight that "there are so many problems with the study, but over time you can see how all the manipulations of the data slowly bring down the signals for neurological disorders. I think they were trying to get lower numbers. It must be very hard to admit that a program that was designed to eradicate infectious disease has resulted in an epidemic of a whole new kind of disease. But to think that we weren't given a choice when the regulators and manufacturers knew these products contained mercury is inconceivable."

Redwood says with a sigh, "On a scale of one to 10, I give the CDC study a big fat zero. I think it started out good, but when they saw the early numbers it scared the hell out of them. I don't have any faith in the CDC doing a decent study of this matter. It's like having the tobacco industry monitor cigarettes for safety. From a parent's perspective and from a health-care professional's perspective it's maddening that we can't get products that are safe, and yet we're forced by law to use them. They need to just get the thimerosal out. It's barbaric." (Insight on the News - National Issue: 12/23/03 CDC Study Raises Level of Suspicion By Kelly Patricia O Meara)

Thus, the information that Dr. DeStefano and Dr. Rhodes posted on the Pediatrics P3R website on 3/2/04 (in response to Dr. Mark Geier's peer-reviewed comment) is false. I would like to give the investigators the benefit of the doubt and say that this misstep was merely an error, but unfortunately, it is completely clear that this misrepresentation was intentional. Given the track record of this publication and the evident gross institutional and commercial conflict of interest, it would be best if the entire submittal were withdrawn as soon as possible.