Subject: Praxis: Spring Vol. 2
Date: 1993 (1433 lines)
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P R A X I S
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Praxis, Spring 1993, Vol. 2
CONTENTS: [items are separated by "*****" for this display]
Candida Albacans: The Mechanism Of Immune Suppression
The Great Breakthrough Medicine Solution
Excerpts From An Interview With Jeremy Selvey Of P. A. I.
Whose Denial Is This, Anyway?
The AIDS Crisis: The Other Side
If You Test Positive ... A Little Logic To Help Pierce The Fear
Mission Statement
Untitled
*****
CANDIDA ALBACANS: THE MECHANISM OF IMMUNE SUPPRESSION
by Wm. Bryan Coyle
As a long term survivor of AIDS, NINE years since life
threatening illnesses began, I claim most arrogantly to be the
REAL AIDS EXPERT. I know without a doubt the reasons I am still
alive from direct trial and error; it is no accident I've
survived.
Raw garlic therapy, for instance, became an increasing part
of my routine because IT WORKED and infections diminished with
regular use. I've learned recently that garlic is only mildly
antibiotic, but more importantly is a strong ANTIFUNGAL agent
with antiparasitic properties as well. This sole herb receives
credit for keeping me alive through my years of transition from
exclusive western medical treatment to a mostly holistic approach
with which I now remain with enthusiasm. (My exception being
DIFLUCAN, a strong daily "state-of-the-art" antifungal I find
necessary in my advanced condition.)
Candida albacans is a yeast, a member of the same general
class of living things as fungus, molds, mildew, etc. Everyone
has this yeast in their digestive tract along with many other
microbes (some of which are beneficial and necessary), all
competing for territory within the gut, and each capable of
secreting waste products which are lethal to their competition.
The trouble begins when stress, environmental factors,
antibiotics, drug and alcohol abuse and incorrect diet kill off
the beneficial bacteria (such as lactobacillus acidophilus).
This allows the aggressive yeast to gain additional territory by
causing an imbalance or symptomatic health disorder for the host.
Although it is common practice among European physicians to
instruct their patients using antibiotics to replenish their
beneficial "flora" after each course of treatment, this is NOT
routine in the U. S. In fact this was never suggested to me by
ANY of the variety of doctors I dealt with during my long- term
struggle to survive!! In Russia and Germany, I have heard,
ANTIFUNGAL medication is used simultaneously with antibiotics to
control the yeast while the antibiotics kill off the bacterial
proliferation.
With an increasing "parasitic" yeast overgrowth comes
malabsorption and malnutrition as the yeast competes with the
host for nutrients -- this progressing to the various other
opportunistic infections associated with AIDS. Presently,
western medicine considers this systemic fungal infection to be
only one of the many opportunistic infections; in fact, they
don't even acknowledge and treat intestinal overgrowth, but only
seem to diagnose it when it appears in the mouth or vagina. By
the time recurrent "oral thrush" is a problem in the mouth, the
entire upper GI tract is well on the road to being totally taken
over by this invader, and the waste products produced by all this
yeast are causing major, documented interference with the immune
system. While HIV "experts" scramble with intricate extended
theories to explain HOW the virus HIV is damaging the immune
system, there is itemized documentation recently available
(February 1991) which lists 13 different ways in which Candida
albacans interferes with the immune system. These include:
destruction of peripheral lymphocytes, destruction of T-cells,
and destruction of natural killer cells. Additionally, the major
waste product produced from yeast metabolism is ethanol (alcohol)
which can be contributing to cirrhosis and/or cancer of the
liver, even though recreational alcohol consumption may have
ceased.
The documentation I speak of above is a 100-page manuscript
I acquired while doing research to stay alive. It is entitled
CHRONIC CANDIDIASIS and was submitted to the Utah State Medical
Association by a Dr. Dennis Remington of Provo, Utah in February
of 1991. In general, it explains how candidiasis may BEGIN as
merely a mild opportunistic overgrowth, but its aggressive growth
is CUMULATIVE. Each and every time we are sick with a cold or a
flu, a herpes outbreak or exposure to suppressive environmental
toxins, some beneficial bacteria is killed off and the yeast
takes over more and more territory. In an advanced condition
such as AIDS or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (which represents still
more cases of AIDS with no HIV present), exposure to even mild
immune-suppressive circumstances can be lethal. This may explain
why toxic AZT is tolerated by some, yet deadly to others.
Professor Peter Duesberg, our world renowned authority on
retroviruses, provides only part of the puzzle, confirming for us
that HIV could not be causing this acquired immune deficiency.
It is our role as sufferers DEALING with the condition to
experiment with both natural and pharmaceutical therapies and
observe which are effective. Duesberg cites among possible
causes "drug and alcohol abuse," "overuse of antibiotics" and
toxic daily assault with approved anti-retroviral drugs which are
used and encouraged even in asymptomatic HIV-positives. Prof.
Duesberg's critics point out, however, that there are indeed
cases of AIDS in patients who have NO history of drug and alcohol
use. One such patient was referred to me by Dr. Duesberg's
secretary with the question, "Well, if HIV isn't the cause, what
should I do to stop my T-cells from dropping?" Duesberg's
answer, of course would be to discontinue any unnecessary drug or
alcohol use, as well as any anti-retroviral therapy. I did find
out from this patient, however, that he had a lifelong history of
sugar abuse!!
Regular drug and alcohol abuse (coffee, cigarettes and
"over-the-counter" medications included) CAUSES this candidiasis
overgrowth, which eventually becomes chronic as the body ages,
and inevitably continues by being exposed to such common
suppressors as fluorinated tap water -- which might be harmless
to someone in perfect health. On the Chronic Fatigue side of the
tracks, this increasing sensitivity is referred to as "multiple
chemical sensitivity" or "environmental illness;" examples
include allergies to chemicals, pollen, pesticides, pets, while
even certain common foods become a major obstacle in our daily
quest to regain health. Many AIDS patients never get as far as
these sensitivities. Immediate vices and lifestyles, as well as
the continuation of any of these detrimental factors (daily
coffee for instance) throws patients into multiple bacterial
infections. Of course, the antibiotics used in treatment adds to
their already dangerously suppressed immune response.
Many patients with a history of say, drug, alcohol, and
sugar abuse, may have eaten a little too frequently at convenient
fast- food restaurants. Those white, refined hamburger buns turn
immediately to sugar and provide instant food for the yeast!
These patients are at great risk of antibiotic therapy and may
not survive their first hospitalization! This explains why so
many obituaries cite the cause of death as "AIDS-related
complications". Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets, was no doubt
an HIV-negative example of this phenomena. Another example is
apparent in the November '92 issue of Vanity Fair, where
Elizabeth Taylor reveals that her 1990 hospitalization and brush
with death began with a sinus infection. This progressed to an
"undiagnosable pulmonary virus" (does everything have a viral
cause?) and finally to a candidiasis diagnosis but only when it
appeared as oral "thrush". Taylor admits that all of the
antibiotics administered to her had "blown my immune system."
Western medicine tends to treat all patients as if they were
identical but dietary factors might be quite different from one
patient to the next. One might eat pizza and pastries every day,
while another is eating mostly brown rice, fish, and vegetables.
As far as this dietary factor is concerned, consider the many
modern day sources of the deadly white refined flour (many of
which also have yeast!): pizza (America's new favorite food
trend), fast foods, white flour tortillas used in making
burritos, pasta and noodles (both Italian and Chinese) and for
those who eat in fine restaurants frequently, the white bread
served is warm and fresh from the oven and loaded with yeast.
These restaurants plan to fill you up so that the vegetable
portion of your main course isn't a disappointment. So you see,
whether you are rich or poor, whether you favor dessert and extra
bread or fine wine and after- dinner cordials, this candidiasis
imbalance can result from several different lifestyles.
Overzealous sun worship, for instance, is also immune suppressive
-- no matter what "spf" sunscreen a person chooses: these
protect only the skin!
I should also mention that sensitivity to sugars and white
flour (starch that turns immediately to sugar) appeared very
similar in nature to diabetes and/or hypoglycemia. "Open Hands,"
a S. F. based meal delivery service, I have learned, offers the
regular and ethnic menu, but also offers the more frequently
chosen "candida" and diabetic selections. I know at least two
gay men in their late thirties diagnosed with diabetes because
HIV was not present when their doctors tested for it. Diabetes
as you recall is characterized by an increased tendency for
infections, problems with circulation in the extremities (i.e.,
feet and hands), as well as an eye disorder known as diabetic
retinopathy which leads to blindness, just as the alleged CMV
virus does in persons with AIDS. I've personally had a tendency
towards this condition for years and feel that high doses of beta
carotene have held it off. (Remember carrots are good for the
eyes.)
A completely revised definition of AIDS is on Page 2 of the
above-mentioned historic manuscript on chronic candidiasis and
Page 202 of the resulting book entitled BACK TO HEALTH. It does
not exclusively implicate the Candida but also involves
parasitic, bacterial and viral components (herpes and hepatitis
viruses as well as the yearly flu virus playing the largest
contributory viral roles), and is referred to by Dr. Remington as
MULTI-SYSTEM DISEASE. For those of us few survivors who remember
how the situation was immediately prior to the "AIDS epidemic",
you'll recall that our gay male population was dealing with an
epidemic of both hepatitis B and amoebas such as shigella, and,
of course, herpes. And if one can appreciate the larger picture:
our simultaneous "epidemics" of Lyme Disease, Legionnaire's
Disease, Tuberculosis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Salmonella, as
well as (I believe) the breast cancer increase, and not to
mention the vaginal yeast infection "epidemic", it is fairly
conclusive what is happening! This, combined with assurance from
Dr. Duesberg that HIV is NOT the cause of immune-suppression in
AIDS, leads us to conclude that the society at large is dealing
with lesser forms of the same immune suppression. This is quite
obvious if you take note of all the "over-the-counter" symptom
relief products that are so regularly advertised on television.
After reading BACK TO HEALTH and understanding all of the
various manifestations of candidiasis, it is quite obvious that
the entire population is suffering. Vast numbers of people are
dependent on products such as: vaginal suppositories (three new
brands emerged in the past six months!), athlete's foot
"antifungal" medications, MAXIMUM strength Maalox and Mylanta,
Metamucil and a virtual flood of pills and wafers to treat
America's chronic constipation; sleep AIDS such as Nytol as well
as pain relief with sleep ingredient added for muscle and joint
stiffness and arthritis, new gas relief products, sinus and
asthma medications, cortisone creams for psoriasis and rectal
itching, etcetera, etc. This enormous industry stands in
opposition to Duesberg's case disproving HIV because the present
market for symptom-relief products is inconceivably lucrative.
Dr. Rosenow in 1925 was laughed at clear into the fifties
for claiming that rheumatic fever was the result of the
streptococcus bacteria. How could a throat bacteria be
responsible for a heart disease, they wondered. This is similar
to the multi-symptom scenario occurring with chronic candidiasis,
but correct treatment should be all the proof anyone suffering
needs. This time, the disease AIDS is afflicting a segment of
society that by now is more than fed up with bigotry and
oppression. We can be sure the Truth is emerging any time now
regardless of formidable financial foes! Favorable results
obtained by sufferers makes ANTIFUNGAL therapy a frontline
approach to treatment (and don't forget the acidophilus
supplement) can not be disclaimed by any theorizing, profit-
motivated scientist in his laboratory!!
In conclusion I want to mention my friend Ryan who checked
with me before starting AZT. He chose to believe an impersonal
politically and financially motivated medical insurance physician
rather than a concerned old friend. I have been living and
learning with this disease for 9 years, and comparing notes with
many other suffering friends as well as an older brother (who
died in June '92 after choosing the exclusive western approach to
treatment). Why anyone would make this choice regardless of all
the available information (e.g. John Lauritsen's book, AZT:
POISON BY PRESCRIPTION) we will never know. My opinion is that
candidiasis is known to cause mental symptoms as well as
physiological difficulties -- trouble concentrating,
indecisiveness, poor memory, etc. These mild symptoms of
dementia have interfered enormously in the true understanding of
AIDS, causing total chaos in our AIDS-suffering community and
allowing aggressive "opportunistic" drug companies to "run the
show" unchecked. The information is available, and it will
ultimately be the power of the people that stops the suffering.
For the U. S. government corrupted by the powerful pharmaceutical
giants, I'm afraid it's simply...BUSINESS AS USUAL!!!
[Wm. Bryan Coyle can be reached at P. O. Box 586, Woodacre, CA
94973. (415) 488-9322].
*****
THE GREAT BREAKTHROUGH MEDICINE SOLUTION
by Elliot Fox
The question of how much science is in orthodox medicine is
rarely considered by the public. Instead there is general
agreement that the medical system is based on "state of the art
knowledge" and doctors are trained in the "best treatments
available." This is very suspicious, however, since America is
the sickest country in the world with an impressive history of
treatment and research failure; claims of medical success are
trumpeted by the institutions that administer and profit from
them.
If medicine was found to be systemically flawed by
unscientific theories and useless or dangerous treatments, the
fate of those afflicted by numerous chronic and incurable
diseases would be radically changed. Chronicity and incurability
would be a function of incompetency rather than a fact of nature.
Healing would be possible provided a person could get free of the
bondage of a dysfunctional, untherapeutic system.
Andrew Weil, M. D., author and spokesman for medical
renaissance, tells how after graduating from Harvard he could not
go into practice because he wouldn't want the methods he learned
in school used on himself. More than a decade later, and after
considerable study of the alternative systems, Dr. Weil felt
competent enough to practice healing medicine. His prescriptions
average 50 to 1 -- 50 alternative health interventions to every 1
that he learned in Harvard. He's not alone. I have been told by
numerous doctors that modern medicine is a dead end -- it doesn't
work. The government accounting office, after studying the
effect of all medical treatments, states that 85% are unproven.
In 1990 Congress started a program to study "Medical Treatment
and Effectiveness;" testimony before the commission only restates
what the more enlightened health critics have always known. "We
don't know what we're doing in medicine," bluntly declares Dr.
David Eddy of Duke University. Dr. Donald Berwick of Harvard
says, "It is difficult to face the disillusionment of the
patients and the anger of the payers who ask: 'But how could
this be? I thought you knew what you were doing.'"
Experts are the last people needed to verify the problem.
Eyes, ears and some common sense make us all experts. In 1992
the medical system broke through the 800 billion dollar mark.
Each year the cost of medical care soars. There is more
sickness, more people ill than ever before. If Modern Medicine
is a science, its practice should result in success and healing:
each year more people would be cured; we would have less overall
illness and the cost of health care would go down. The exact
opposite is happening. We have explosions of:
cancer Mental illness
AIDS Chronic Fatigue
Diabetes Alzheimer's
Arthritis Multiple sclerosis
Rheumatism Epilepsy
Allergy Chronic cardiovascular illness
This shocking truth -- the incompetence of orthodox medicine
as America fast becomes one big hospital -- is covered up by some
basic lies. We're told that these incurable chronic diseases are
the effects of previous medical successes which have added on 20-
plus years to our life expectancy. This is a vicious myth and
pure propaganda. Increased life expectancy is estimated to be 3%
due to medical causes and all the rest to such factors as
sanitation, refrigeration, public sewage, heating, clean water,
etc.
Solutions for chronic health problems are falsely attributed
to seeking cures through research. Yet these conditions are
treated far more effectively through alternative systems. There
are millions of cured cases worldwide through alternative
practices. This is suppressed from the public. Instead the
research industry cons people into allowing them to engage into
what can only be called massive organized quackery. The very
diseases that are exploding most rapdily are the ones which have
been most heavily researched -- many for 40 to 50 years -- to the
tune of billions of dollars. There have been zero -- repeat zero
-- cures arising out of all this idiocy.
One of medicine's best propaganda gimmicks has been their
alleged conquest of many infectious diseases. Supposedly,
serious diseases like T. B., measles, polio, whopping cough -- to
name a few -- have been conquered by the miracle of modern
medicine. What actually happened was the natural eradication of
all of these illness as they gradually died out on their own.
Figures show continual enormous drops in their incidence for many
years prior to the introduction of the supposed medical cures.
Polio is the best example of a massive campaign to brainwash the
public. Polio disappeared in Europe at the same time as America
yet Europe had no vaccination program.
The issue of how medicine has managed to conjure up the
appearance of credibility is fascinating. Dr. Robert Mendelson's
great book "Confessions of a Medical Heretic" offers the insight
that medicine is a religion, not a science or an art. It
survives on faith and dogma. Doctors believe what they've been
indoctrinated with in school, and the nature of their profession
is total conformity. Repeated failure and damage from treatment
is "imagined" to be evidence for more research instead of proof
of defective methods and dogma. Patients, driven by fear of
monopoly opinion, exercise their religious beliefs by having
faith that the priests (doctors) in the church of scientism
indeed have the power they claim to have. The patient is to
submit, have faith and obey. Mendelson concludes that if people
dropped faith and dealt with facts, the whole system would
collapse overnight.
Religion is only effective if there's bread. Several
excellent books expose the economic banquet that our medical
industry has created. Milton Silverman's "Pills, Profits and
Politics" examines how monopoly power has concentrated around the
vast profits generated by treatments and pills -- which
guarantees more treatments and more pills, and so, assures more
profits. The great social philosopher Ivan Illich's book,
"Medical Nemesis: The Expropriation of Health," is a penetrating
analysis of the real socioeconomic dynamics of the sickness
industry. Illich shows how medicine is merely a prop for
industrial output and class exploitation. Illness assures
suppliers and elite groups of an outlet for their goods and
services. The colonization of the marketplace takes the form of
the medicalization of life. Calling iatrogenic (doctor-created)
illness the main cause of sickness, and medicine the primary risk
to the health and welfare of society, "Medical Nemesis" becomes a
must read for all those who are starting to wake up to the hidden
plague -- the disease behind the disease.
The primary ploy medicine uses to hide the fact of its
therapeutic failure is its reliance on the auxiliary sciences as
a substitute for its credibility. This has almost everyone
fooled. Chemistry, Biochemistry, Patho Physiology, Microbiology-
-along with allied fields -- pretend to be medicine. The trick
is to use the language, data and terminology of these fields to
replace the only rational basis there is to measure medical
validity -- namely cure. Cure is out; language and descriptions
about what things allegedly mean is what we're left with.
With near total reliance on the physical sciences, western
medicine finds itself without any principles of treatment, of
cure or of disease. It believes the body is a machine. That
machine, when it breaks down, must have a mechanistic cause.
Since the body is so infinitely complicated, the search to
understand it requires specific categorizations of the different
parts, experts specializing in each area, sub-areas,
measurements, necessary equipment, machines and on and on.
Somehow in the midst of all of this minutiae, a ques is put
forward: "A" could be the cause of "B. " That, then, becomes
the excuse for medicine to treat, using equally speculative
methods, until the inevitable clinical failure drives the whole
cycle to repeat itself.
Outside of the successful treatments modern medicine
provides in emergency conditions and some acute infections, all
other illness remains incurable. While a cancer or AIDS patient
wishes for a cure, they unfortunately feel in creditable hands as
their doctor explains -- in the language of biochemistry and
patho physiology -- what the doctor imagines is going on. It is
necessary to take more tests, on a regular basis, to monitor the
condition so other medicines and interventions can be given.
Since it is assumed that a doctor -- whose profession has
collectively eliminated cure from the picture -- must do
something, we have a special type of relationship. Treatment not
cure is the basis of modern medicine. Belief and ideology
sustain it -- not results.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if all this is the consequence of a
false paradigm rather than not enough research? This is exactly
what the low-tech, low cost, high-heal medical sciences of
Homeopathy, Chinese Medicine, Naturopathy, and Ayurveda, along
with Quantum Physics, Systems Theory and Ecologists are telling
us. The body, they say, is not a machine. Reductionist thinking
cannot be applied to the living organism. A living system is a
cybernetic, dynamic, self-adjusting, inter-relating whole. Any
mechanistic separatistic position taken is by its very nature
unscientific, false and doomed to fail.
No amount of research can uncover false premises. Monopoly
control only drives the medical system into ever deeper fiasco.
Counter productive infrastructure explodes to satisfy its own
appetite. Endless failed treatment requires more infrastructure,
new and bigger machines, new patients, more research, more money,
more quasi-theories, in an ever expanding tragic wild goose
chase.
The breakthrough of this new medical renaissance provides an
across-the-board solution to many incurable chronic conditions.
The message is vivid and clear. Cures are here now. It is not
more research but a different paradigm that is needed. The
weight of evidence against the mechanistic model is overwhelming,
while the plague of suffering and failure this system has created
cannot be denied. No amount of technobabble and Orwellian
language, nor the ploys of its public relations machinery, can
fool the people any longer. Enough is enough is enough. We must
have change.
The struggle for change will be difficult. A status quo
that will be 90% destroyed by the introduction of science and
curative systems will do everything to survive. Savvy activists,
recognizing the uselessness of change from within the system,
will develop strategies that try to shift the center of power
away from state and corporate control and towards the people.
Formation of a "Medical Greenpeace" can provide a strong
counterbalance to the existing arrangement. Dedicated to
educating the public, the truth can be told by bypassing the
counter productive bureaucracy. With a strong base representeed
by an environmental movement, confrontation with the system can
take the form of rAIDS. Civil and criminal suits as well as
class action suits will be filed. Books, videos and group
meetings exposing what medicine really is will become
commonplace. The faster we educate ourselves, the faster we find
solutions. We are all obliged to help. Each of us is
responsible. The action and change come from us -- or not at
all. Make up your mind what you are about. Do it and do it now .
[Elliot Fox can be contacted at 2155 Felspar St. #4, San Diego,
CA 92109 (619) 272-4640.]
*****
EXCERPTS FROM AN INTERVIEW WITH JEREMY SELVEY OF P. A. I.
My talk with P. A. I. focused on debunking! The intention
was to cast new light on "objective" aspects of HIV and AIDS that
we take for granted as being credible, scientific, but upon
closer scrutiny may not appear as well-grounded. Specifically,
we highlighted two major issues: the accuracy of the standard
HIV tests and the significance of T-cell counts. Project AIDS
International is a world-wide network of independent scientists
and researchers.
Q: Why are T-cell counts not necessarily indicators of a strong
immune system?
JEREMY SELVEY: We began investigating T-cell studies because
this is how the CDC, and a lot of other organizations, determine
whether a person has a healthy immune system or not. We became
suspicious when reviewing case studies and came across a study of
HIV positive body builders with 0 T-cells -- complete CD-4 cell
depletion -- who were not suffering from any opportunistic
infections. We thought this was a very strange thing. We then
began studying people who were running between 3 to 10 T-cells.
Upon examination, we discovered that there wasn't necessarily a
correlation between the condition known as AIDS with its
opportunist infections and CD-4 cells.
So, I began studying CD-4 cells and found it very difficult
to find information or studies done with HIV negative people;
they were virtually non-existent. The only study that we came
across was known as the "L. A. Men's Study." We soon realized
that within our own organization we had three HIV negative people
who were involved in this very study. We examined their lab
reports and discovered, again, that although they were HIV
negative and healthy, they had "abnormally" low CD-4 cells --
according to what the Center for Disease Control tells people is
normal. This made me very suspicious.
I began investigating areas where we could find HIV negative
studies. For this we had to go into the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
research area where studies had been done of people who were
positive for Epstein's Bar Virus, the virus "believed" to cause
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. (Of course, there is no proof of this
either, just as with HIV, but at least with CFS, they openly
admit it.) They had done studies with the sexual partners of
people suffering Chronic Fatigue Syndrome who were testing EBV
negative. They started doing blood studies of these people. And
what they wound up with, virtually, was studies of HIV negative
people who were perfectly healthy. We started noticing a
correlation; their numbers were so substantially low compared to
what CDC says is normal for HIV negative people.
The next area we looked into was people suffering from
leukemia and their sexual partners who also were HIV negative. It
began to come together that it was apparent the numbers, or the
propaganda, being used by the CDC was almost twice as high as
what was considered normal.
We began networking with a lot of scientists figuring that,
of course, we're not the only one to notice this type of
correlation. We contacted a scientist -- one that prefers to
remain anonymous -- who told me that I was correct: that there
were studies done on HIV negative people but had been suppressed
by the government, specifically the National Institute of Health
and the CDC, because "the numbers were not sexy enough." Which
is to say, their studies did not back up the propaganda of the
government so they were never permitted to be printed. These
studies, which are now available to the public through P. A. I.,
examined HIV negative people and studied their CD-4 counts for up
to six years, showing that my hypothesis is correct: the normal
range of CD-4 for the average HIV negative person is between 237
and 1,817.
We further inquired -- within the underground of the
unpublished research of scientists persecuted by the government
-- and discovered a study done on HIV negative U. S. Olympic
athletes in perfect health. Again the range was between 400 to
600 T- Cells. This information was purposely suppressed. These
studies have been going on for six years. In J. A. M. A.,
Journal of American Medicine, you'll find the study (Denny, et.
al.) citing the exact dates. But, of course, this is one of
those situations where it was broadcast but not necessarily
trumpeted.
Q: I'd like you now to address the validity issue surrounding
the standard HIV test, the Elisa or Western Blot test. Is it the
case that you can test negative but be encouraged to keep getting
re-tested because it could be a "false negative?" What is the
real reliability of the HIV test that most people are given?
JS: We first have to look at what studies have shown. It's a
clear cut case that if you have just received a vaccination --
there are many different types of vaccinations, but we'll say for
now a Hepatitis B vaccination -- within the next six months after
your Hepatitis B vaccination, whether you are HIV positive or HIV
negative, you will automatically receive an HIV positive status.
This is how inaccurate the test is. Why? The Elisa test is
testing for the antibody to the HIV virus and not the virus
itself. This test is very inaccurate in that the antibody to HIV
is very similar to the antibodies of HHV6, which is the Human
Herpes Virus 6. Or the Hepatitis vaccine will cause an immune
response of antibodies that resemble HIV and trigger the test.
So, this is an inaccurate test to begin with. Studies have shown
that it's 60% accurate, providing that you haven't had a
Hepatitis shot or had any other type of vaccine or viral
infection in the last six months. So, this is a very, very
frightening tool that is being used as propaganda. You'll note
that if you're tested HIV positive, you're not encouraged to go
back in six months and test again to find out if it might be a
false positive. However, if you test HIV negative, they will
have you coming in every six months until you do test positive.
And we have a very, very strong concern about this type of
manipulation.
Q: Can you also address here the subject of possibility of sero-
conversion? Many people are focused on it and claims are being
made that one treatment or another will make you sero-convert
from HIV positive to negative. Some discount this based on the
fact that they don't believe HIV is the cause of AIDS anyway, so
what significance does sero-conversion have? But the other
aspect of this is the scientific one: whether sero-conversion is
actually possible at all?
JS: Although P. A. I. has absolutely no doubts that HIV is not
the cause of AIDS, we recognize that there are many people who do
believe HIV is the cause. And although we're sometimes accused
of being dogmatic, we do recognize the needs of all people. If
people believe HIV is the cause of AIDS, it is very important to
us that we investigate the claims of sero-conversion. We
examined many different claims with the very positive attitude of
their health status by sero-converting.' Several different cases
were reviewed where people had claimed to have sero-converted.
Our first investigation with several practitioners proved a
waste of time as they were not able to confirm that the person
had HIV to begin with. In other words, they were not PCRed
before hand but only confirmed HIV positive by the Elisa test,
which as we've discussed, is not necessarily 100% accurate. The
PCR, Polymearse Chain Reaction, is precise because it is
basically cloning what is there and then being able to see the
virus for yourself. This is vastly different than checking for
HIV antibodies.
After examining several different claims where no one was
able to show any proof or documentation, we then went to credible
scientists -- such as Professor Duesberg -- and posed this
question: knowing that HIV is not the cause of AIDS, it would
still reassure people if they knew they could sero-convert. Is
this a possibility? His reply was no. HIV is a retrovirus that
cannot be destroyed. Being the asshole agency that we are, we
could not just accept his statement. We pushed further as there
are claims of documentation of people who tested HIV positive,
were treated, and then re-tested HIV negative. We asked Duesberg
to explain how this could be. His quick response was it is very
easy. HIV produces antibodies while it is flowing through the
blood system. When HIV infects a cell and is no longer in the
open blood system where antibodies can be produced, it is called
an inactive virus and no longer produces an antibody during this
period. So, the person would show to be sero-negative to
antibodies to a virus because the virus is not in the blood
stream but is in the cell.
Q: Could you also address the question of sero-conversion among
the babies of HIV positive mothers? JS: Studies have been known
for quite some time in America and throughout Europe that two
thirds of the infants born HIV positive will sero-convert to
negative within 18 months of birth. This is due to the fact that
when the infants are born, they have taken into their system the
antibodies of their mothers, but not the virus. So, if you were
to test these infants, they would test HIV positive -- again,
with the inaccurate Elisa test. So, on assumption only, doctors
have been giving AZT to infants who don't even have HIV. And we
can only guess how many babies have died this way.
J. T.
*****
WHOSE DENIAL IS THIS, ANYWAY?
You're getting better. In fact better than you've ever been
before. You're pulling yourself out of the trap of the whole
HIV/AIDS mind-set; starting to throw off the dead weight of the
past; discovering new sources of energy within that are making
you healthier every day. You're waking up to the fact that you
were buried alive!
But what's the first thing you hear as you lift your head
out of the coffin?
YOU'RE IN DENIAL!
And with that one word, you are threatened once again with
premature burial.
**
The word denial is as overworked as the word love. Yet we
have to look at the word because there's a sense in which we're
now using it against each other.
To deny is to refuse to accept as true or right; or
acknowledge as one's own. Essentially, to disown a "reality"
that everyone around you seems to be accepting. But in emerging
from the HIV/AIDS "reality" -- constructed by fear -- are you
actually denying reality or just someone else's version of it?
As soon as we invest in an idea or belief, we start building
our lives around it. Ironically, no matter how painful or
paralyzing that construct is, once we start investing in it, we
desperately cling to it to because our sense of security is now
tied up in it. And to stand alone is so terrifying.
When you come to deny the pre-packaged "reality" everyone
else has bought into, you notice something right away: you've
now a big threat to others. And in the case of HIV, once you
step out of that manufactured reality, you become a threat to the
medical establishment, your peer group ...a threat to everyone
who has unquestioningly accepted this whole set up. Your
"denial" is messing up their investment, making them feel
insecure, reminding them of things they'd like to forget.
One case in point here is an associate of mine, a very
healthy and vibrant HIV positive woman who does public speaking
about AIDS in high schools. She was told by a school nurse to
stop telling people she was healthy as it went against the grain
of popular perception. In other words, she was being asked to
deny the fact of her good health so she would fit into the
construct of those around her. This is a dangerous trend. We'd
rather see people ill and conforming than healthy and defiant.
**
Suppression is a central fact of life as we know it. We
grow up learning how to automatically deny our real response to
things -- especially submerging our pain and fear. In time, we
become so identified with this denial of pain and fear that to
face it amounts to facing death: the end of denial may mean the
end of us. Many given the challenge of a life-threatening
situation or illness have faced this "death" that everyone is
avoiding -- the ending of denial as a way of life and are
beginning to learn how to live. These people have learned that
this is the real denial that needs to be addressed.
They've also learned that denial is a survival issue. Denial
of the reality of pain and fear have brought some to the brink or
actuality of physical illness. They've seen and felt the real
connection between suppression and illness (and conversely, the
connection between freedom and health.) And when it is seen
enough times, the context of our lives begins to shift. The
release of energy stored in this pattern of denial then becomes
available to us. Awareness is directly linked with recovery and
well being.
Those now making this shift may be particularly vulnerable
because it's a time of softening and melting, dropping layers of
defense, of being emptied out. Like a new seedling emerging from
the ground, new life is emerging in us and we may not yet be
ready to take on all the elements until the new awareness becomes
more deeply rooted. Here we may need to protect ourselves a bit,
to guard our health, and seek support of others who are stepping
out of the system. As the denial gives way, a clear space begins
to open inside us.
Into that new emptiness, others still centered in denial can
project their pain and fear, so as to keep you in your place in
order to justify theirs. There is a sense in which people with
HIV and AIDS are often asked to carry around the weight of the
world -- the burden of mass denial and avoidance of death. Our
very aliveness demands that we not carry that weight any longer.
**
So, by all means DENY! DENY! DENY! Deny the false reality
constructed by suppressed fear. Deny the power of the words used
to support it. Deny the paternalism of authoritative structures
who falsely promise protection and security. Deny the power of
the peer group to lure you in by offering a fleeting sense of
belongingness.
This solitary denial is a celebration of your victory over
the darkness.
j.t.
*****
THE AIDS CRISIS: THE OTHER SIDE
by Ed Vargas
Currently 1 billion dollars is spent on AIDS research each
year by the U. S. government alone. This money is devoted almost
solely to projects based on an unproven and so far entirely
unproductive hypothesis -- HIV as the cause of AIDS -- with
mounting inconsistencies and contradictions. Specifically, most
of the research dollars are spent on vaccines and anti-virals
which may be of little value considering: A) Antibodies to HIV
have already vaccinated the blood of PWAs; and B) Such minuscule
amounts of HIV are found in the blood of PWAs that anti-virals
would have little efficacy.
How did an unproven hypothesis harden into national dogma
and what are its major flaws?
We can look back to April 1984 when U. S. Health and Human
Services Secretary Margaret Heckler announced to the world at a
press conference that an American scientist, Dr. Robert Gallo,
had discovered the "probable cause" of Acquired Immune Deficiency
(AIDS): the retrovirus subsequently named Human Immunodeficiency
Virus (HIV).
Since this announcement, the AIDS epidemic and our
understanding of it has been fought on a politicized landscape.
Margaret Heckler, a politician, made this announcement before one
single American study on HIV had been published. In addition, no
discussion, review or debate of its merits occurred in any
medical or scientific journals. This process of science by press
release violated conventional scientific procedures and customs.
The political decision to credit Gallo with the discovery of
HIV failed since subsequent investigations have established that
HIV was discovered in 1983 by Dr. Luc Montagnier of France, who
sent a sample of his discovery to Gallo. [Note: Technically,
Gallo has been partially credited with the discovery of HIV but
the French/American agreement to split profits and recognition
still remains against the will of the French government.] The
retrovirus Gallo claimed to have discovered was the same
retrovirus he had received from Montagnier.1
Immediately following Heckler's announcement, four articles
by Gallo were published in Science (May 1984) showing
correlations between HIV and AIDS. These articles, which are the
basis for the current hypothesis that HIV is the sole and direct
cause of AIDS, were proved fraudulent on many counts critical to
their scientific validity by recent investigations conducted by
the National Institutes of Health and National Academy of
Sciences.2
Since the April 1984 news conference, there has not been a
single scientific research publication that purports to prove
that HIV causes AIDS. In addition, there's been a lack of
discussion and debate both outside and within the scientific
community specifically addressing the contradictions and
inconsistencies with the current HIV-AIDS hypothesis and the
epidemiological research of which it is based on. To compound
this, the current HIV-AIDS hypothesis has been entirely
unproductive in terms of public health benefits, including AIDS
prevention, treatment, and even in predicting the course of the
disease within each individual or the course of the epidemic
within the general population.
The following document is an overview of the viral and
epidemiological contradictions and inconsistencies of the current
HIV-AIDS hypothesis which have not been specifically addressed by
our AIDS establishment.
This document hopes to show that the American government and
scientific community need to seriously reassess the current HIV-
AIDS hypothesis and their AIDS research priorities. We hope this
reassessment will lead to a more productive AIDS hypothesis and
investigations of other factors and/or causes of AIDS with or
without HIV as a factor.
The current HIV-AIDS hypothesis states that the retrovirus
HIV infects and kills CD4+ T-Cells. [Note: Retroviruses are a
subset of viruses. Essentially, they are very similar except in
replication process: viruses convert DNA to RNA while
retroviruses are the opposite in that they convert RNA to DNA.]
Depletion of these T-cells in the body is one of the hallmark
conditions in People With AIDS (PWAs) and results in a weakened
immune system, leaving the body susceptible to one or more of the
25 previously known diseases grouped together in a syndrome
called AIDS.
In the last eight-plus years of intensive HIV research it
has been proven that only 1 in 10,000 T-cells are actively
infected with HIV3, even using the newly advanced technique of
detection called PCR, Polymerase Chain Reaction, a method of
amplification, which is the biochemical equivalent to finding a
needle in a haystack. This degree of T-cell loss is equivalent
to losing a drop of blood a day. Anyone could afford to lose
this quantity without developing any symptoms. The ongoing
question in the scientific community is: What is killing the
billions of T-cells and depleting other cells in the immune
system such as Natural Killer (NK) cells, seen in PWAs, if HIV is
not solely responsible?
Even though we don't know the exact mechanisms by which
viruses cause disease, the current HIV-AIDS hypothesis claims
that HIV lies dormant in these T-cells for up to 15 years. Then,
by way of some unknown mechanism, HIV is activated to destroy
additional T-cells. This latency period is unexplainable by the
scientific community since no known virus or retrovirus takes
10-15 years or more to cause disease,4 and contradicts other long
established principles of virology.13
In spite of its political notoriety, HIV is scientifically a
run of the mill retrovirus. It is genetically so similar to
other non-pathogenic retroviruses that no one within the
scientific community can explain or show that HIV exhibits any
characteristics that would distinguish it from any of the other
retroviruses.4 There are approximately 100 retroviruses in the
human germ line. After over 20 years of intensive research on
retroviruses (Nixon's War on Cancer), none has ever proven to
cause disease.4 To date, there has been no scientific evidence
explaining why this retrovirus should be an exception.
HIV VIRUS -vs- ANTIBODIES TO HIV
The primary function of any virus or retrovirus is to
replicate itself in the cells of a host organism, such as a human
body. Some viruses, like those responsible for Polio and
Hepatitis, kill cells in the process and thus cause disease. If
the Polio virus kills sufficient neurons, the human host (body)
becomes paralyzed. A vaccine like the Salk or Sabin polio
vaccines stimulates the body to produce antibodies, which
neutralize the virus and thus prevent disease. The presence of
antibodies, especially if live virus is absent or is present in
low quantities, indicates that the body's immune system has
succeeded in controlling the virus, thus preventing disease.
Shortly after HIV infects the body the virus multiplies
rapidly, sometimes causing flu-like symptoms.4 Thereafter the
immune system goes to work producing antibodies which virtually
eliminate the virus. Only very low levels of live HIV remain, so
low they can only be detected with great difficulty by advanced
PCR techniques 2 but antibodies persist and are readily
detectable. Presence of antibodies to HIV (HIV+) in the blood has
become a prerequisite for AIDS. But longstanding principles of
virology13 hold that when antibodies are present, from any virus
or retrovirus, this indicates that the immune system has rendered
the virus harmless. The body is now protected from further
symptoms or disease. This is the principle of anti-viral
vaccination. A positive antibody test to HIV is the current
clinical indicator for AIDS. There is no scientific precedent
for an anti-viral antibody forecasting a viral disease.
EPIDEMIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE
Because no one knows of a mechanism by which HIV could
perform all the destructive activities associated with full blown
AIDS, the HIV-AIDS hypothesis has always depended solely upon
epidemiological evidence.
Epidemiology is a branch of medicine studying the course a
disease takes in a population. In short, epidemiology is a "soft
science" based on survey research. The main reason for believing
that HIV causes AIDS is statistical correlation: Most persons
suffering from AIDS also test positive for antibodies to HIV.
This correlation is much less impressive than at first appears.
Indeed, to a large extent it is a product of the HIV hypothesis
itself. AIDS is defined as prior HIV infection plus symptoms like
T-cell depletion and diseases like Kaposi's Sarcoma, pneumonia,
candidiasis and so on. In many cases, HIV is presumed where the
indicator diseases have been diagnosed, even though the HIV test
has not been performed. The statistical correlation of HIV and
AIDS is thus built into the definition of AIDS. If the
epidemiological evidence is evaluated without a pre-existing bias
in favor of the HIV hypothesis, however, many facts emerge which
cast doubt on HIV as the sole and direct cause of AIDS. As for
example ...
(1) Predictions of the spread of AIDS based on the HIV hypothesis
are continually being readjusted.9 AIDS has not significantly
spread beyond the original risk groups and there are many
fewer cases of full blown AIDS than anticipated. For this
reason the "latency period" has continuously been extended.
It is now up to 10-15 years and still growing. This "latency
period" is a statistical product designed to reconcile the
relatively low incidence of AIDS with the relatively high
level of HIV infection.6
(2) The number of HIV carriers has remained relatively constant at
about 1 million since 1985 when the antibody test was
initiated.5
(3) There is not enough HIV in the bodies of PWAs to account for
the billions of T-cells being killed.7
(4) HIV can hardly be isolated from patients with AIDS, suggesting
that the body's natural vaccination process has occurred.7
(5) Kaposi's Sarcoma (KS) has been found in many young male
homosexuals who have never been infected by HIV. Even
adherents of the HIV hypothesis now concede that KS is not
caused by HIV. Nonetheless, this disease is diagnosed as
"AIDS" -- but only when the sufferer also has antibodies to
HIV. 8
(6) Other AIDS indicator diseases with T-cells depletion are found
in individuals who do not have antibodies to HIV. In fact,
all AIDS diseases have occurred in all risk groups without
HIV or its antibodies since the beginning of the epidemic.
HIV infection is thus not a necessary prerequisite for a
diagnosis of AIDS -- were it not for the biased definition.7,9
(7) Tests show the number of HIV infected T-cells remains the same
no matter if you are asymptomatic or have full blown AIDS.
Any other viral infection would show a dramatic increase
throughout the course of the disease.7
(8) Although sexually transmitted diseases infect males and
females equally, more than 90% of American AIDS sufferers are
male. This is true even of health care workers who develop
AIDS, although two-thirds of all U. S. health care workers are
female.8
(9) The risk of getting AIDS for HIV infected people varies ten
fold with gender or country. In America, the annual AIDS risk
of an HIV infected person is currently 4%, while in Africa it
is 0.3%.6,7
(10) HIV is spread primarily through homosexuals in the U. S. and
through heterosexuals in Africa.7 This would suggest that
AIDS is possibly a non-infectious disease.
(11) So-called "African AIDS" affects males and females equally,
and also involves a different pattern of associated
opportunistic infections. These differing patterns do not
rescue the HIV hypothesis for American AIDS, but indicate
that a single virus may not be responsible for the multitude
of conditions diagnosed as AIDS in Africa and America.7
(12) About three-fourths of the 20,000 U. S. hemophiliacs were
infected with HIV almost 10 years ago. According to the HIV
hypothesis, at least half of those infected should have died
by now -- but the morality rate among hemophiliacs has
remained constant at 2% over the last 15 years.10
(13) HIV is said to be a sexually transmitted virus, yet it is
barely detectable in the semen of AIDS patients.11
(14) The same diseases are found in similar frequencies in HIV
positive and HIV negative intravenous drug users, and the
overall mortality in the two groups is the same.12
In consideration of the evidence presented, The HIV
Connection? calls on our AIDS establishment to immediately
reassess the current HIV-AIDS hypothesis and to encourage
research into other possible causes of AIDS. The group hopes
this reassessment will lead to a more productive AIDS hypothesis
in terms of public health benefits including AIDS prevention,
treatment and prediction of the course of the epidemic within the
population at large and the course of illness within each
individual.
[The above piece is a press release distributed in October of
1992 by Ed Vargas and "The HIV Connection," a group of
individuals, from scientists to lay people who came together for
the purpose of providing factual and documented information on
HIV and AIDS that is not distributed by the AIDS establishment.
Today the group consists of people from all AIDS affected
communities and is focusing on educating the media, policy
makers, people with AIDS and people with HIV. By distributing
"The AIDS Crisis: The Other Side," the group hopes to initiate a
reassessment of the current HIV-AIDS hypothesis, leading to a
more productive AIDS hypothesis. Footnotes and references for the
above piece are available upon request. Ed Vargas can contacted
at: (415) 552-9160.]
*****
IF YOU TEST POSITIVE ...
A LITTLE LOGIC TO HELP PIERCE THE FEAR
These guidelines are suggestions -- not medical advice --
written by someone who is HIV positive and merely wishes to bring
some order to an event in life that can be chaotic and confusing.
Step 1: Opening the Door Marked Fear
So, you went for "the test." Congratulations! You may have
just had your first victory over fear -- just by going. But you
got your test result and it's positive.
If you're anything like most people, your primary response
may be utter panic. The first step in this process is to give
yourself a lot of space -- to react to this "news" fully, freely
an deeply and in terms that are right for you. Staying in touch
with your real response is your first guidepost -- because it can
bring you to a reality that's deeper than the fear and turmoil
you are now experiencing.
A positive HIV test result no matter what your beliefs about
HIV are is apt to kick up a lot of stuff -- deep, emotional,
primal -- most of which defies explanation, surprises you with
its sheer force and the mere fact of its existence inside you.
Sometimes the accumulated weight of a lifetime surfaces in
moments like this. This is a chaotic, irrational phase, facing
the other side of life -- the death side -- the raw stuff that
most of us spend a lifetime suppressing. Stay with yourself;
this core energy that you are now in touch with is what is used
in the process of self-transformation.
Information may not be helpful at this point. Even if
you've read a lot material about how HIV may not even be the
cause of AIDS, that knowledge can not yet be brought to bear on
your situation. This is a simply a time to face yourself without
running away. There's probably a lot in you crying out for your
attention (love) right now. Try to keep looking and listening,
and staying present.
But through this dark journey try to remember: HIV is just
the catalyst; not necessarily reality, but an idea that has been
planted inside you. Look behind this fear of HIV to see what you
real fears are. (e.g. fear of illness, shame, persecution, being
exposed, helplessness, being out of control, death, fear of the
future, abandonment, and the grief and loss that accompany this
death-like process.)
Step 2: Self-Education = Self-Empowerment
Once these feelings run their course, you may reach some
level of calmness. Your mind can start to open; knowledge may
now be helpful. This, then, becomes the second stage --
educating yourself -- a time to look into the debate about HIV's
real role (if any) in AIDS. Many feel HIV is still an unproven
hypothesis; much of this phase is determining for yourself what
your relationship to HIV will be. It's important now to seek out
the kinds of information that helps open your mind past its fear
to new potentials -- like the possibility of your being perfectly
well even "with HIV. "
Step 3: Self-Inquiry
Not only is there a need to determine what your truth about
HIV is, but also what's true for you in a deeper sense -- about
yourself, life, illness, health etc.
The issue of HIV (what it means to you and whether you come
to believe it has nothing or everything to do with AIDS) probably
can't be resolved by the intellect, by "making up your mind"
about it. This is why the "HIV debate" can only take you so far;
one can only accumulate so much of others' opinions -- no matter
how "expert" -- before determining for yourself what's real and
how you want to live your life. The matter can only be resolved
in the heart because at the core of this HIV issue is your
personal need to discover what is true for you -- and finding the
strength to live out its credo no matter what the consequences
are. This then becomes your new ground. The whole matter hinges
on HOW YOU USE the information of a positive test result -- as a
catalyst for self-examination or as an excuse to stop living.
Questioning the alleged power of HIV is not only scientific
-- grounds enough considering the absence of any real proof that
it is the cause of AIDS. The challenge is both physical and
metaphysical; objective and subjective. What is really behind
the incredible power we've given to HIV? What in our nature has
allowed us to have the concept of this virus rule us? What
internal forces are determining outer movement? What is the
actual connection between the inner and the outer? Asking these
questions helps bring us to ourselves.
Step 4: Self-Diagnosis
The next step is to assess the actual damage possibly done
to your whole system -- but specifically your immune system. HIV
as an alleged threat to your immune system is a great opportunity
to see if and how it has been compromised. Fear is not the
problem; it's how you respond to it. You can provide a healthy
response to HIV as a "health scare" just by taking inventory.
More and more well-grounded, powerful and usable information
is being made available by independent researchers, scientists
and health practitioners studying AIDS as a multi-causal
phenomenon. Using a multi-factorial model of immune system
breakdown -- which is all AIDS is, despite the terror the word
evokes -- these causes are becoming less and less mysterious as
we remove the cloak of HIV.
There are several areas you may want to look at in terms of
your own background, should they be applicable: excessive
amounts of drugs (prescriptive and recreational), use of amyl
nitrate, heavy use of antibiotics (esp. in conjunction with amyl
nitrate), prior history of syphilis, liver damage (hepatitis,
etc.), yeast infections, and diet and nutrition (whose role in
illness is overlooked by most orthodox medical treatment). With
or without the help of a trusted health practitioner, try to
assess what kind of a host to disease you may be. Your doctor
may not be doing any of this with you. His or her response to
your HIV test result may simply be to prescribe AZT. It may come
as a surprise to learn that many of these conditions are
treatable rather than a sign of terminal illness.
These connections are discussed in many books on the
alternative approach to AIDS -- especially those on healing AIDS
holistically. Some are listed in the current and prior issue of
PRAXIS (in the "Essential Reading" column) as are the books which
contain the challenge to HIV.
Step 5: Decision Making
With or without a health practitioner, if you determine that
you are not at risk (and perhaps that HIV has little or nothing
to do with AIDS) it may now be a matter of just living --
learning new ways to deal with fear and using what you've learned
about yourself to live more fully. If, however, you determine
that you may be at risk, some decisions may now have to be made,
including:
*If and how to seek health care in areas of damage.
*And if so, what kind of health care, (western medicine,
holistic, or both, etc.)
*How much can you do on your own to fortify your system,
using existing literature on the subject.
*Whether to take AZT, perhaps the most crucial decision of
all. Again, you may want to educate yourself as to its essential
effects and decide if it is needed or has any beneficial effect.
*Monitoring T-Cells. Again, seek information about this
process to see if you believe that it's a real indicator of the
state of your immune system. Peer group pressure is intense
here. If you find yourself bucking the system in any way, seek
support for the positions you are taking, some of which may seem
radical -- but are only so in relationship to the status quo.
Final Step: Into the Unknown
HIV can kick off a process of questioning that is at the
very heart of our quest for freedom. This questioning process
demands a relentless unmasking of ourselves which permits no easy
security. An intense drive is required to break free of the
mental structures of AIDS -- which are part of a larger edifice
of fear created by past conditioning.
The key is to teach yourself to see more than you are being
taught to see.
j.t.
*****
MISSION STATEMENT
CURENOW is a grassroots, non-profit educational network
bringing together the most potent elements of the alternative
approach to AIDS in order to create a new context for AIDS
awareness and resolution. Our purpose is to demonstrate that
solutions for AIDS are here now.
The core of our network -- including its founder -- is
composed of people who are dealing personally with HIV and AIDS.
The network itself, however, is a unique fusion of people from
four realms of human endeavor: psycho-spiritual, political,
scientific and artistic (including the healing arts); elements of
each may well be needed to solve the problem of AIDS.
We offer a fresh challenge to the dominant framework of
perception defining AIDS up to now -- which is not only failing
but actually fostering AIDS and its spread: namely, that AIDS is
incurable, that HIV is its cause, and that AZT (or anything like
it) is a viable response to this crisis.
We embrace a multi-causal approach to AIDS (and a multi-
factorial approach to immune system dysfunction) which opens the
door to a multi-solution response. There are many causes of
AIDS; so there are many cures. Causes are individual, so cures
are individual, too.
The word "cure" for us means:
*Awakening
*Empowerment
*Solutions
*Effective, alternative perspectives and treatments
*A real sense of having (knowing all the energy and resources we
need are here now but are being misdirected.)
*A new context. The healing process we've all been engaged in
has set the stage for CURE by leading us to the sources of our
pain and fear and showing us how the body has acted as repository
for this pain and fear. Having gone to the source, CURE is our
next inevitable step: the power to completely eliminate the
condition of AIDS -- or any other manifestations of our pain and
fear -- from our bodies, minds and hearts.
Our primary educational vehicle is PRAXIS, a quarterly
publication designed to give readers a look at the other side of
HIV and AIDS. Our purpose is to provide information that helps
open the mind past its fear so readers can decide for themselves
what their relationship with HIV and AIDS will be. Though our
focus is AIDS, we are using AIDS to go beyond AIDS; to put AIDS
in its proper context -- as part of a much larger picture of a
global crisis in consciousness (including the breakdown of
existing systems) and planetary transformation.
To accomplish these aims, PRAXIS features:
*Profiles and essays from people with HIV and AIDS, sharing
their personal journey and discovery and providing much needed
role models -- living examples of our capacity to shatter the
AIDS myths.
*Information on alternative (non-drug, affordable) effective
treatments to rebuild the immune system and treat opportunistic
disease.
*Independent research which challenges the HIV hypothesis.
*Investigation of the many causes for immune system
breakdown.
*Articles to help put AIDS in a more sound psycho-spiritual
context.
Part of our effort includes re-defining terms, re-framing
our perception of the problem and defining it for ourselves
rather than following the officialdom's definitions. Words are
powerful; the images they evoke incline us towards health or
illness, life or death. Therefore, we print HIV and AIDS in
lower case (in our own articles, not necessarily in others'
submissions) to discharge the fear evoked by the upper case. In
this way, we take back some of the power given to HIV and AIDS.
Similarly, we do not refer to HIV as a disease (which it is not).
There are others you'll spot as you read PRAXIS.
We feel the deepest need right now is for a new vision of
AIDS -- a new context in which to solve it. We must go beyond
the continual dismal images of tragedy, loss, despair, death and
passivity -- the endless wait for a vaccine -- images spawned by
"the system" and that have come to dominate too much of our minds
and hearts. We need a forward-looking vision of AIDS which calls
forth a new energy to renew our spirits.
Our vision includes a beginning of the end of AIDS happening
now, during this three-year period of 1992-4; we see the
incipient stages occurring now thorough the collapse of the HIV
hypothesis, exposing of the real effects of AZT, and opening the
doors to the multi-causal/multi-solution model.
Our vision of AIDS is not one of tragedy but of a profound
awakening happening through AIDS: 1) people learning to go
beyond their prior limits and finding out who they really are; 2)
the coming-of-age of "alternative" health practices; 3) discovery
of new levels of love and compassion; 4) self-education and
self-care; 5) the dawning of the power of the individual through
collapse of authoritative structures; 6) a glimpse of the
incredible resourcefulness of human beings; 7) the spiritualizing
of our human nature.
There is a revolution happening in our lives thorough AIDS;
it is transforming us and helping us to rebuild this world.
j.t.
*****
UNTITLED
by Alan Zimmerman
I came HOME last nite and MORE had been REMOVED from the
GARDEN. More of MINE had been removed to be THEIRS. The ROCKS
and my FERNS. For 11 YEARS I'd put in SLIPS and TWIGS that
BECAME BUSHES and VINES -- PLACES for my CATS to CLIMB IN and
HIDE UNDER, all in low light environment, 3' x 50.' No one ELSE
was interested.
Then the people upSTAIRS came in. The BANANA trees that
PROTECTED me from the NOISE of the TRAFFIC were REMOVED. And TWO
BOXWOOD trees and MORE -- an ORANGE tree. They painted
EVERYTHING WHITE, TRAMPLED the PLANTS that didn't get PAINT on
them and SPLATTERED the SIDEWALK. When I TOLD them about TARPS
and my CONCERN, I became the BAD GUY, a GROUCHY BUSY body.
TOO many CHANGES were going on. I was being IGNORED. They
STERILIZED ALL existing CHARACTER of this environment -- (the
VIRUS had STARTED). My personal POTS would get REARRANGED --
they suggested I PAINT my DOOR and WALL AREA, the toxic white,
the DREADED KILLER of CHARACTER -- I BEING that character.
They were COVERT if NEEDED, when I would return home I'D
find THREE FOOT SECTIONS of CANNAS and PHILODENDRONS MISSING --
I'd FIND them in the DUMPSTER in the ALLEY. I said if you WANT
some SPACE, leave the PLANTS at my DOOR so I can POT them, lets
PLAN the garden, TALK about it. (I'VE been here a LONG TIME).
My FUSHIA was KILLED by PRUNING AND JAPANESE MAPLE. THEN they
cleared OUT the GROUND plants. They would say HOW MUCH they
LIKED something and NEXT week it would be GONE. I began to plot
REVENGE plants, HOPEFULLY the FAVORITES that they had LEFT. You
want it BARE? I'll TOP it and SHOW you BARE....(some control).
I found HOMES for plants. I MOVED them to a friend's GARDEN for
SAFETY. THIS became a MISSION of PRESERVATION. I ended UP with a
NINE foot by THREE foot SECTION- THEY had FORTY FEET of BARE
EARTH and (newly INTRODUCED) BABY tear clumps- looking at the
BARE ENDLESS SPACE defoliated with MINUSCULE controlled MOUNDS of
GREEN creeping its way tear by TEAR into my remaining BITS of
life.
This is ALL so SCARY to me- the GRADUAL REMOVAL of ME- the
taking OVER by a FOREIGN BODY that has NO REGARD for (ME)- this
is what AIDS is for me. EACH new SYMPTOM, EACH PART of an INCH
that gets LOST to a LESION. Each PART that is CONTAMINATED with
the RESULTS of the VIRUS, with ITS own IDEAS- means MY defense
system is THAT much MORE ineffective inch by INCH. (I SEE it as
dying). Being DWINDLED AWAY, in FRONT of my EYES into a STERILE
non ENTITY- NEWLY pulled PLANTS lying LIMP with a SHRIVELING from
life.
Last WEEK they planted FULL GROWN zinnias. Then ASKED with
PRIDE, how do you LIKE them?
Last NIGHT I STEPPED on a ZINNIA- I STORMED UP and DOWN the
WALK a few times and I just STOMPED on a zinnia- SMASHED and
BROKE it to BITS. I really IMAGINE them as not MAKING it and
MILDEWING for lack of SUN, but I HAD to take an ACTIVE PART in
the DEMISE of the FRUITS of their LABORS, not LET them take OVER
so EASILY. REMIND them that SOMEONE is STILL HERE and is NOT
CONTENT to SIT STILL.
I woke up EARLY this morning with ANTICIPATION and looked
OUT a WINDOW in the DIRECTION of the SCENE of the CRIME, the
VEGACIDE, to SEE if something OUT there was GLARING, just WAITING
for my RETURN. AHA! He LOOKED in the DIRECTION OF THE DEMISED
ZINNIA- OBVIOUSLY GUILTY!- (Or MAYBE by LOOKING out in the EARLY
light... a STRANGE HOVERING GLOW would be ETCHED in the AIR),
the VERY SPOT where the POOR FLOWER had so WANTONLY been
SACRIFICED. I wasn't even AWARE of its COLOR.... (and STILL the
VIRUS creeps).
If I CAN'T grow along ONE path, the UNIVERSE pulls up my
ROOTS and I REPLANT in ANOTHER direction. IF something DOESN'T
work FIND something that WILL work. With every GAIN a little is
LOST and except for one zinnia (life goes on). But even ONE
flower's death DIMINISHES me.
[Alan Zimmerman was an enormously talented visual artist.
He died in 1990. He is remembered for his tenacity, his
defiance of odds, and the incredible body of work he left
for us to enjoy.]
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