Re: laetrile

From: J (nobody_at_to.contact)
Date: 12/18/04 

Date: Sat, 18 Dec 2004 16:00:03 -0500

john wrote:

> McQueen frequently called me on my FBI-tapped telephone. One call McQueen
> made to me, he stated in his famous hero voice, "I am going to blow the lid
> off this Cancer Racket." This of course freaked out the Cancer
> Establishment. The FBI then leaked it out to the National Inquirer scandal
> *** of the CIA. This exposure was to discredit me. McQueen was then
> constantly watched and harassed by the FBI, CIA and the Media.

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/spotquack.html
23. They Claim They Are Being Persecuted by Orthodox Medicine
and That Their Work Is Being Suppressed Because It's Controversial.

The "conspiracy charge" is an attempt to gain sympathy by portraying the quack
as an "underdog." Quacks typically claim that the American Medical Association
is against them because their cures would cut into the incomes that doctors make
by keeping people sick. Don't fall for such nonsense! Reputable physicians are
plenty busy. Moreover, many doctors engaged in prepaid health plans, group
practice, full-time teaching, and government service receive the same salary
whether or not their patients are sick—so keeping their patients healthy reduces
their workload, not their income.

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/quacksell.html
How Quackery Sells (read it all please)

This is just an excerpt
Handling the Opposition

Quacks are involved in a constant struggle with legitimate health care
providers, mainstream scientists, government regulatory agencies and consumer
protection groups. Despite the strength of this science-based opposition,
quackery manages to flourish. To maintain their credibility, quacks use a
variety of clever propaganda ploys. Here are some favorites:

"They persecuted Galileo!" The history of science is laced with instances where
great pioneers and their discoveries were met with resistance. Harvey (nature of
blood circulation), Lister (antiseptic technique) and Pasteur (germ theory) are
notable examples. Today's quack boldly asserts that he is another example of
someone ahead of his time. Close examination, however, will show how unlikely
this is. First of all, the early pioneers who were persecuted lived during times
that were much less scientific. In some cases, opposition to their ideas stemmed
from religious forces. Secondly, it is a basic principle of the scientific
method that the burden of proof belongs to the proponent of a claim. The ideas
of Galileo, Harvey, Lister and Pasteur overcame their opposition because their
soundness can be demonstrated.

A related ploy, which is a favorite with cancer quacks, is the charge of
"conspiracy." How can we be sure that the AMA, the FDA, the American Cancer
Society, drug companies and others are not involved in some monstrous plot to
withhold a cancer cure from the public? To begin with, history reveals no such
practice in the past. The elimination of serious diseases is not a threat to the
medical profession -- doctors prosper by curing diseases, not by keeping people
sick. It should also be apparent that modern medical technology has not altered
the zeal of scientists to eliminate disease. When polio was conquered, iron
lungs became virtually obsolete, but nobody resisted this advancement because it
would force hospitals to change. Neither will medical scientists mourn the
eventual defeat of cancer. Moreover, how could a conspiracy to withhold a cancer
cure hope to be successful? Many physicians die of cancer each year. Do you
believe that the vast majority of doctors would conspire to withhold a cure for
a disease which affects them, their colleagues and their loved ones? To be
effective, a conspiracy would have to be worldwide. If laetrile, for example,
really worked, many other nations' scientists would soon realize it.

Claims of "suppression" are used to market publications as well as treatments.
Many authors and publishers purport to offer information that your doctor, the
AMA, and/or government agencies "don't want you to know about."

Organized quackery poses its opposition to medical science as a "philosophical
conflict" or "paradigm shift," rather than a clash between proven versus
unproven or fraudulent methods. This creates the illusion of a "holy war" rather
than a conflict that could be resolved by examining the facts. Another
diversionary tactic is to charge that quackery's critics are biased or have been
bought off by drug companies.

Quacks like to charge that, "Science doesn't have all the answers." That's true,
but it doesn't claim to have them. Rather, it is a rational and responsible
process that can answer many questions -- including whether procedures are safe
and effective for their intended purpose. It is quackery that constantly claims
to have answers for incurable diseases. The idea that people should turn to
quack remedies when frustrated by science's inability to control a disease is
irrational. Science may not have all the answers, but quackery has no answers at
all! It will take your money and break your heart.

Many treatments advanced by the scientific community are later shown to be
unsafe or worthless. Doctors also make mistakes. Such failures become grist for
organized quackery's public relations mill in its ongoing attack on science.
Actually, "failures" reflect a key element of science: its willingness to test
its methods and beliefs and abandon those shown to be invalid. True medical
scientists have no philosophical commitment to particular treatment approaches,
only a commitment to develop and use methods that are safe and effective for an
intended purpose. When a quack remedy flunks a scientific test, its proponents
merely reject the test.

Each of these ploys represents a basic technique called misdirection --
analogous to what magicians do to shift the audience's attention away from what
is important in order to deceive them. When faced with a criticism they cannot
meet head on, quacks simply change the topic.

How to Avoid Being Tricked

The best way to avoid being tricked is to stay away from tricksters."
J