BOOK REVIEW:
"The first casualty when war comes is truth."
- Senator Hiram Johnson
"Dispatches from the front," is how John Lauritsen describes
his new book "The AIDS War: Propaganda, Profiteering and
Genocide from the Medical Industrial Complex," a collection of
his writings from the "New York Native" from February 1985 to
present. (with some new chapters written especially for this
book). "I want them to stand for the record," Lauritsen says,
"so that no one, when the truth finally prevails, can pretend
that there were no AIDS-critics, or that we didn't speak out."
Lauritsen employs war as a central AIDS metaphor for reasons
he considers obvious: "the terrible suffering, loss of life,
propaganda, censorship, rumors, hysteria, profiteering, espionage
and sabotage. ... I maintain that AIDS reporters should be
regarded as war correspondents ... and that the salient
characteristics of war coverage are also those of AIDS coverage."
The book reads like a chronicle, covering virtually all aspects
of AIDS, from one who has been on the front lines for over a
decade.
Lauritsen is a Harvard-educated, survey research analyst by
profession. As in his first book [the indispensable "AZT Story:
Poison by Prescription (1990),] this book employs his wide range
of journalistic and research skills; it is painstakingly
documented and referenced, grounded in his solid knowledge of
survey research protocol and presented in a tone that is fair,
sane, and reasonable. The book is overflowing with information
(most of it fascinating and freeing) but somehow manages to avoid
adding to the "AIDS info overload:" the work is infused with a
spirit of independent inquiry--a passion for truth-- which stands
in stark contrast to most "official" sources of AIDS information,
much of which is mindless rehash of the same unchallenged
assumptions.
With characteristic frankness and ardor, Lauritsen
relentlessly and in detail exposes the bad research and botched
industry grossed upwards of $50 million a year) and the health
hazard they represent (lung and immune system damage, anemia,
cancer). Largely due to the combined efforts of Lauritsen and
Hank Wilson (co-author of "Death Rush,") poppers were made
illegal in 1989, with the impetus coming from the gay community
itself.
In a previously unpublished piece ("The Political Economy
of AIDS Incidence") he dispels the notion of AIDS as an epidemic,
(and the mass hysteria generated by that perception) by
demonstrating that there is still no evidence that AIDS is
spreading beyond the original risk groups. He challenges the
continually dismal official AIDS projections and even suggests
that AIDS may have already peaked: he contends that AZT use is
producing a continuance of AIDS when we should really be seeing a
decline by now. The fact is, AIDS is not behaving like an
infectious disease at all; it seems "the numbers" are routinely
inflated--and the notion of epidemic continuously fueled--in
order to generate funding.
In "Science by Press Release (August '89), Lauritsen refers
to the work of Noam Chomsky, political analyst, and his seminal
work "Manufacturing Consent" (co-authored with Edward Herman) in
which a model of modern-day propaganda--and the media's role in
it--is put forth. In their model, criticism and dissent are
tolerated as long as they are within the presuppositions of what
they call the "elite consensus," a system so powerful as to be
absorbed largely without awareness. Lauritsen picks up from
there and postulates an "AIDS elite consensus" consisting of an
"elaborate mythological system which is so well internalized by
most AIDS writers that they could recite the basic catechism in
their sleep: AIDS is a new deadly disease, invariably fatal,
caused by HIV ... and so forth. Facts that don't fit into the
official paradigm transmute into unfacts and go down the memory
hole!"
In a chapter covering the 6th International AIDS Conference
in San Francisco (written July 1990), Lauritsen captures the
energy and atmosphere of these events, particularly the
information overload--with over 2500 abstracts distributed
(making the "evidentiary weight of any one abstract nil"), and
wonders aloud on what basis the other 2500 abstracts submitted
were rejected: were they not good enough or did they simply not
uphold the orthodox view? (Of the 1,000 he personally scanned,
not one disputed the HIV-AIDS hypothesis or the benefits of AZT.)
As one might expect, Burroughs Wellcome's presence dominated much
of the conference. Lauritsen comments, "One realized what
conferences like this are really about: billions of dollars of
profits for the medical industrial complex." He concludes:
"Whatever the merits of this conference might be, it has a least
provided a historical record of great magnitude. Literally
millions of words were recorded for posterity. Some day, when it
has been established that HIV and AZT were the two greatest
blunders, hoaxes and frauds in all of medical history, historians
will be able to delve into the conference documents--to
contemplate with amazement the delusions of which even well-
meaning and otherwise intelligent scientists are capable."
The centerpiece of this book is the newly written chapter
"The Risk AIDS Hypothesis" for it is here that Lauritsen puts
forth a new AIDS paradigm. He argues that underneath the
information overload and AIDS "technobabble," AIDS is basically
simple.
With the current paradigm, AIDS is defined entirely in terms
of old diseases in conjunction with "dubious test results and
even more dubious assumptions." He argues that "although people
are undeniably sick, AIDS itself does not exist;" it's a phony
construct ... "a product of muddled thinking and hidden agendas."
Lauritsen argues that the official definition of AIDS-- the
presence of one or more indicator diseases and the "tendentiously
named" HIV--is a "tautology:" the CDC has given the retrovirus a
causal role as "an artifact of the definition." Indicator
diseases are said to be caused by the underlying condition of
immune deficiency which is said to be caused by HIV. But, he
argues, "In fact, everything about the paradigm is wrong. The
presumed condition of immune deficiency is not present in all
AIDS patients, tests used to diagnose immune deficiency are new
and inaccurate, many of the heterogenous indicator diseases are
not even caused by immune deficiency, and the hypothesized
microbial culprit, is harmless." [My underlining]
Lauritsen then presents an alternative hypothesis as to the
real nature of AIDS and what its causes might be in different
groups. His is a toxicology model, not a microbial one--which
seems more viable in that it addresses itself to the reality of
people's illnesses, rather than the vagaries of an unproven
theory of causation. He states, "Under the obfuscatory rubric of
"AIDS" lies the reality of people who are sick in diverse ways
and for diverse reasons."
"The Risk AIDS Hypothesis" asserts that the AIDS diseases are
entirely separate conditions caused by a variety of factors (most
of which have in common only that they involve risk behavior) and
does not see AIDS as being a transmissible condition at all. It
suggests that AIDS is caused by non-infectious agents (including
drugs, antibiotics, AZT, etc.) According to Lauritsen, different
risk groups and individuals are getting sick in different ways
and for different reasons. "We need to find out what risks have
affected their health in ways that caused them to develop one or
more of the old illness that qualify for a diagnosis of AIDS ...
With regard to any specific risk group, the question is not 'Why
have these people developed AIDS?' but rather, "Why are these
people sick?" The rest of the chapter attempts to answer this
question one risk group at a time.
Why are IV drug users sick? From drug use, Lauritsen
states, and from the same related illnesses from which they've
been suffering for the last 30 to 40 years: lung disease and
emaciation (resembling an AIDS patient profile). Yet our whole
approach and effort with regard to this risk group is centered
not in the actual effect of the drugs but in the "shared needles"
idea, which he discounts immediately--partly with an excellent
quote from William Burroughs which suggests sharing needles is
not even a common practice amongst IV drug users. [Similarly,
elsewhere in the book he dispels the notion of accidental needle
pricks causing AIDS amongst health care workers. "There are now
well over 1,000 well-documented cases of health care workers
accidentally stuck with syringes that had been used on AIDS
patients. In no case has AIDS resulted."]
Why are gay men getting sick? For a particular "subset of
gay men," with a "fast-lane lifestyle" the answer is in the use
of recreational drugs, repeated incidents of VD, and
psychological factors. [Note: this is touchy territory for some
gay men and may make many uncomfortable, but the value of his
theory is in the impetus it can provide for one to take stock of
oneself, one's past habits and abuses, to face the facts on what
was actually ingested. The issue is not blame but
accountability: no one knew--or now knows--the long-term effect
of many of the drugs and antibiotics we've all ingested.]
Lauritsen assembled this profile from survey research, interviews
with people with AIDS, and his own observations.
What about hemophiliacs? As Lauritsen states, "Nothing
demonstrates more clearly the phoniness of the AIDS construct
than hemophiliac cases which represent less than 1% of total AIDS
cases but have claimed a lot of media attention. Why are
hemophiliacs sick? They were born sick and the sickliness of a
hemophilia goes far beyond the inability of the blood to clot.
Once a hemophiliac has been diagnosed with HIV, he will not be
allowed to die of anything but AIDS." The Ryan White case is
used as a good example as it was one of the most widely
publicized AIDS cases (with the media especially fond of the
"innocent victim" angle). Though White's death was viewed as an
"AIDS death" with the assumed cause of HIV, the media
successfully covered up the simple fact that Ryan White, a
hemophiliac, had died of hemophilia. (This was verified by
calling the Hemophilia Society in Indiana and speaking with
people who knew Ryan White and confirmed that hemophilia itself
was his major health problem and the cause of his death.)
Lauritsen claims that AIDS amongst hemophiliacs is "nothing more
than congenital sickliness aggravated by the toxicities of Factor
8 Concentrate [a blood clotting agent] and nucleoside analogue
therapy."
Lauritsen then discusses transfusions. The "official
mythology" holds that previously healthy people received
transfusions of tainted blood which led to HIV infection which
led to AIDS. This belief is punctured by what he calls "the
most important study to date regarding HIV infected blood." Of
the 437 patients who received HIV infected blood who died within
4 years, 97% died of causes having nothing whatsoever to do with
AIDS.
The chapters's conclusion is cogent: "Prevention is crucial
in the AIDS epidemic. If my arguments are correct--that AIDS is
a phony construct and that people are getting sick from specific
health risks--then the proper course of action is to identify and
eliminate those health risks."
In the next chapter "Recovery From AIDS" Lauritsen puts
forth his model of health. "There will never be a cure for
AIDS," Lauritsen claims, "because it is not one single thing to
be cured. However recovery from AIDS illness is possible and has
been happening without publicity since the early days of the
epidemic." His recovery program consists of detoxifying both the
body and mind; its components include taking charge of one's own
recovery, questioning the diagnosis itself, a healthy skepticism
of doctors and medical advice, rejecting "voodoo" ( e.g.
pronouncements like "AIDS is invariably fatal"), eliminating all
health risks (prescriptive and recreational drugs, drinking,
smoking, sugar, etc.), good nutrition, exercise, stress reduction
and proper rest.
In the chapter "Hiv Voodoo from Burroughs Wellcome (Jan.
"Living with Hiv" ads we've all seen in newspapers and at bus
stops. He illustrates the truth in the statement "The virus
doesn't kill; the diagnosis does." by revealing the elements of
hypnosis in these ads: "highly sophisticated psychological
techniques are being used to make gay men perceive themselves as
sick and become sick in order to qualify as consumers of AZT." He
also discusses the Burroughs Wellcome video sent to doctors where
they are told to "ally with the treatment," by knocking down any
objections their "HIV-infected" patients have about going on AZT.
And finally, in a chapter on AIDS organizations, Lauritsen
explores the role most mainstream agencies have played in
promoting AZT and keeping the AIDS delusional system intact.
The good news message of this book is that the HIV
delusional system is falling apart. "As the HIV hypothesis goes
into its death agony, even more crazy and convoluted sub-
hypotheses are spun out about how HIV might really cause AIDS,
perhaps with the assistance of this or that cofactor, an ever
increasing incubation period, and even more arcane diagnostic
criteria."
I found myself in accord with the vast majority of material
in this book. I view it as a major work, one in a handful of
books I consider essential in terms of my own "alternative AIDS
education." I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that
Lauritsen's message--and in particular his "Risk AIDS
Hypothesis"--can save lives.
There's little I can add to this book--except to state, that
in my understanding, the "AIDS delusional system" is part of a
much larger illusory structure--created by fear and ignorance.
This fear and ignorance is the preexisting condition, the context
of our times. It preceded AIDS and AIDS orthodoxy and provides
the fuel for any "delusional system." We've all played a role in
the creation and perpetuation of an environment in which illusion
flourishes and authoritative structures shape our perception. If
our fear hadn't already stopped us from thinking for ourselves,
we wouldn't be so eager to believe what authorities tell us; if
our fear hadn't already made us dependent, what hold would
authority have over us?
If AIDS is indeed a war, (though I am uncomfortable with
that AIDS metaphor) then the enemy (in my book) is not other
people, or "the establishment;" it's the fear and ignorance
itself. That "enemy" is within as well as without. It's vital
that we look inside ourselves to see those demons lurking, not
just to condemn their external manifestations.
Lauritsen closes with an optimistic bulletin from the front
lines: truth is winning! He cites recent developments--like the
discrediting of the "co-discoverer" of HIV, Dr. Robert Gallo
(indicted on two counts of scientific misconduct by Public Health
Service's Office of Research Integrity (ORI); the recent release
of the Concorde study; current media breakthroughs, and more
coverage of alternative perspectives (e.g. PBS's "Tony Brown
Journal). I share in his optimism and base mine on some of the
same recent developments. The illusion is being shattered.
Reality is breaking through. People are waking up.