►February 7, 2004 - State Lawmakers Tackle Mercury Pollution - www.wbbm780.com - "May says the bill would ban the sale of mercury thermostats, switches, and relays. It would also require manufacturers to notify the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency of mercury-added products sold...The state is also expected to require power plants and factories to limit their mercury emissions."

►January 28 - February 3, 2004 - A Violation of Rights (Reflections & Observations) - Santa Monica Mirror - "The thing about experts is that they often disagree with each other, and, on the fluoride question, there are experts who allege that fluoride is toxic, as well as experts who allege that it’s safe...We don’t know how many residents want fluoride in their water, and we don’t think it matters, because this is not a question that can or should be decided for all of the people by some of the people. Nor do we know whether fluoride is good or bad for people, and we’re not sure anyone does. But we believe that every one of us has the right to choose what he or she will ingest, and we also believe that the government — city, county, state or federal — does not have the right to force-feed anything to people."

►February 6, 2004 - Legislation takes on medical secrecy - A case in which a doctor's addiction was kept secret spurs legal changes - Seattle PI - "When doctors make mistakes, they must report the errors to the state -- but they don't have to tell the patients or families who were harmed...That legally sanctioned secrecy has forced many families to file malpractice lawsuits in the hopes of learning what happened to their loved ones."

Comment:  Doctors cry the blues when they are sued (perhaps sometimes unfairly), yet many insist on taking implied responsibility for all decisions, particularly when they do not want to give parents one of the most basic rights - i.e., the right to decide whether or not to accept vaccine or disease risks for your children.  Some will even go so far as to refuse them further pediatric care, sometimes abandoning them at their time of greatest need.  If doctors are unwilling to show even that most basic respect for their patients, they shouldn't be surprised when they and their mistakes are viewed harshly.

►January 12, 2004 - The Power of Movements - www.oneworld.net - "Successful movements have internal leadership, a powerful voice for the perspectives of those most affected, and a strong people’s role in agenda setting and decision making. These are intrinsic components of what makes movements successful and their results sustainable...This is not to suggest that we do not develop new vaccines and other scientific solutions to some very serious development issues. Of course we should. But those “solutions” will work only in combination with social movement processes."

Comment:  Why is it almost always assumed there is no good reason for these lawsuits?  Perhaps there is ample reason to be concerned about vaccines. For instance, perhaps the incidence of vaccine adverse reactions is far higher than what is admitted to by the "experts".  For more on the incidence of vaccine-associated adverse reactions go to Scandals: Avoidance Of Vaccine Truth But Not Consequences -  Are We "Knee Deep in the Big Muddy"?

And what of the statistical methods to analyze the data?  One commonly used tactic, using doses, as in the above example, skews the results whenever multi-dose vaccines are used.  For instance, in the above example cited in The Scientist, given that children receive 4-5 DOSES of DPT vaccine, severe allergic reactions would then be thought to occur in at least one in 200,000 to 250,000 CHILDREN.  If you factor in under-reporting, thought by even the FDA and at least one vaccine manufacturing company to be considerable, the numbers re: severe allergic reactions alone are not so reassuring and could be as frequent as 100/200,000 or 1 in 2,000 CHILDREN.  For more on this go to Scandals: Contemporary Legends - How To Lie With Statistics I

►January 16, 2004 - Corporate CEOs Call Tort Costs a National Economic Problem - Insurance Journal - "The high cost of the U.S. tort system makes products more expensive for all Americans and inhibits investment that can create jobs. It is not an insurance industry problem, but a national economic problem, industry leaders told insurance executives attending the eighth annual Property/Casualty Joint Industry Forum, held this week in New York City."

►January 15, 2004 - Public Citizen Press Releases - 1. Mad Cow Disease an Accident Waiting to Happen; 2. Public Citizen Report Describes Some of Maryland's Dangerous Doctors as Physicians Gear Up for a March on Annapolis

►January 14, 2004 - Landrieu, Bayh announce plan to prevent future flu vaccine shortages - Leesville Leader - "As this flu season progressed into a deadly epidemic, Louisianians waited in long lines to receive vaccines in short supply...To prevent such future supply and demand problems, Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) announced their proposed Flu Protection Act, which would prevent future shortages by providing a system for recommending the number of shots needed each year and for removing economic disincentives now facing vaccine manufacturers."

Comment:  Those lucky dogs (the vaccine manufacturers).  They are apparently making plenty on vaccines (see Healthy Defence).  Unlike most markets, which are limited to those that need the drug, vaccines are targeted at entire populations, need them or not.  So just think, the entire world universally getting an endless number of vaccines!  They have their liability covered.  They get to do the research that supports the use of their products and creates demand, and no one blinks an eye (or at least almost no one).  The government and media collude in pushing their products.  And now the government will guarantee sales.  It's the dream business plan to end all dream business plans.

►January 9, 2004 - Doctors to march on Capitol - In February, they will meet here to press for changes in Virginia's malpractice laws - Times Dispatch - "Virginia doctors are blaming huge increases in malpractice premiums and policy cancellations for a growing erosion of patient services and access to care...In a rare public demonstration next month, hundreds of white-coated physicians will march on Richmond and argue for changes in the state's medical-malpractice laws, once regarded as among the country's most protective of doctors."

►January 18, 2004 - Children with disability at risk of victimisation - Sunday Herald, UK - "Children who suffer from conditions such as autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) could be wrongly caught up in the criminal justice system as a result of the Scottish Executive’s Anti-social Behaviour Bill...According to the proposed law, anti-social behaviour is anything that is likely to result in the alarm or distress of a third party, but the campaigners warn that certain repetitive or unusual behaviour by children with autism or ADHD could be misinterpreted to mean exactly this."

►January 14, 2004 - Autism fears over disorder bill - A leading charity has claimed that a new law on anti-social behaviour could be used against autistic children - BBC

►January 14, 2004 - High Court Won't Let States Out of Suits - The Washington Post - "The Supreme Court made it far more difficult Wednesday for state officials to renege on court-approved promises to improve such things as nursing home care, prison conditions or health services for the poor."