Mexican Lawmaker: Factory Farms Are "Breeding Grounds" of Swine Flu Pandemic David Kirby Large-scale swine producers in Mexico deny that their industry is the source of the deadly new influenza strain, saying the animals are all healthy, and that it is scientifically "not possible" for hogs to infect people with the illness. But lawmakers in the eastern state of Veracruz are now charging that large-scale hog and poultry operations are "breeding grounds" of infection that are making people sick and fueling the pandemic. On Sunday, the state government of Veracruz confirmed swine influenza in a five-year-old girl in the village of La Gloria, located near a massive US-owned hog facility. The bodies of two other village children who died in February and March will be exhumed and tested for signs of the illness, local media reports said. And in the western state of Guerrero, 500 pigs were just killed after becoming ill with swine flu. The nation's hog industry says it is not to blame for any human illness. "We deny completely that the influenza virus affecting Mexico originated in pigs, because it has been scientifically demonstrated that this is not possible," said a statement issued by the National Organization of Pig Production and Producers and its president, Mario Humberto Quintanilla González. The group said it had ordered a series of lab tests and sought technical support from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and others, "in order to demonstrate, once again, that pigs are not the cause of the flu that is affecting the country. It must remain clear that the flu problem is caused neither by the proximity to swine operations nor by the consumption of pork meat or pork products." The statement went on to say, however, that pork producers, "will respect whatever scientific determination is made as to the actual causes that have provoked this health problem." Meanwhile, one of Mexico's largest producers, Granjas Carroll, a subsidiary of US hog giant Smithfield Foods, issued its own statement saying there was no sign of swine flu at any of its operations in the states of Veracruz and Puebla. The company's huge facility near the town of La Gloria was first mentioned as a possible source of the new human-swine flu outbreak by Tom Philpott at www.grist.org. According to El Universal newspaper, the company reported no signs of disease in any of its 907 workers - nor in its 60,000 breeding sows or 500,000 feeder pigs, all of whom were vaccinated against swine flu. "The press release stated that that the virus was found in people who were not near swine production facilities, and who did not have contact with pigs, and therefore, 'it has been concluded that the contagion has been between humans,'" El Universal reported. But the industry statement that this disease was not transmitted from pigs to people contradicts virtually all Mexican government statements so far, including Mexico's Health Minister, Jose Angel Cordova, who said the virus, "mutated from pigs, and then at some point was transmitted to humans." Whether they were Mexican pigs or not remains a mystery, of course. As Philpott pointed out in his post, Mexican newspapers have been reporting for weeks that residents living near Granjas Carroll's massive hog facility at La Gloria are falling ill with severe upper respiratory diseases. One five-year-old girl in the village just tested positive for swine flu - the bodies of two more children who died recently are being exhumed. According to an April 5 article in La Jornada newspaper, "Clouds of flies emanate from the lagoons where Granjas Carroll discharges the fecal waste from its hog barns - as well as air pollution that has already caused an epidemic of respiratory infections in the town." More than 400 people had already been treated for respiratory infections, and more than 60 percent of the town's 3,000 residents had reported getting sick, the paper said. State officials disputed that claim, and said the illnesses were caused by cold weather and dust in the air. The problems began in early March, when many neighbors of the hog CAFO (confined animal feeding operation) became sick with colds and flu that quickly turned into lung infections, causing local health officials to impose a "sanitary cordon" around the area and begin a mass program of vaccination and home fumigation. "According to state agents of the Mexican Social Security Institute, the vector of this outbreak are the clouds of flies that come out of the hog barns, and the waste lagoons into which the Mexican-US company spews tons of excrement," La Jornada reported. "Even so, state and federal authorities paid no attention to the residents, until today." The state legislature of Veracruz has demanded that the Smithfield subsidiary turn over all documents and environmental certifications on its three massive waste lagoons, but so far, the company has only supplied information on one of them, news reports said today. On Friday, the chairman of the state legislature's Committee on the Environment, Marco Antonio Núñez López, called on Veracruz's Secretary of Health to impose a "sanitary cordon" around all hog and poultry CAFOs in the area - as well as bus terminals and airports - to prevent the spread of influenza among the population. He said the factory farms should be considered "breeding grounds" (focos rojos - which might also translate as "hot spots") of potential infection for the cities of Veracruz, Boca del Río, Coatzacoalcos, Córdoba, Orizaba, Xalapa and Perote. "I asked the Secretary to inform us about what was going on in La Gloria with Granjas Carroll, because avian flu is spreading from birds to pigs, and from there to humans, and that urgent measures are needed," Núñez López told reporters. He was referring to another CAFO, this one containing poultry, called Granjas de Bachoco, located near the state capital of Xalapa. He said there was an epidemic of avian flu among the chickens being raised there, but that this was being kept quiet so as not to interfere with exports. Influenza-infected chickens raise the risk of cross-infection to pigs in the same area, scientists say. Meanwhile, on the other side of Mexico, about halfway between Mexico City and Acapulco in the town of Cocula, Guerrero, health officials ordered the destruction of 500 pigs infected with swine flu, local newspapers reported. One hundred of the animals fell sick at the Rancho La Joya operation and were sacrificed last Wednesday. On Thursday, 400 more infected pigs were killed. There is no proof that this illness emerged on a Mexican hog factory farm, or in Mexico, or even in hogs. But we do know that Mexican pigs with swine flu are being destroyed. And we know that Mexican lawmakers think that CAFOs are making people sick. And now we know that a five-year-old girl in La Gloria has swine flu. I wonder if the CDC is going to go check on her, and see how she contracted that virus.

An Essay from Any Mom, Any Dad Managing Editor's Note:  I read this recently and I thought it spoke to and about all of us.  K A Parent's Essay How do you explain to someone that you spent two hours straight (your only good quality time with him after school) just trying to get your four-year-old child to say the "puh" sound?  How can any normal family understand what it's like that despite how badly your child wants the "P" snack (pecans), despite the fact that he's very hungry, and despite the fact that he can physically make that sound, that he cannot fulfill such a simple request?  It's not that he doesn't want to do it.  It's not that he's being difficult.  He wants more than anything to get his reward for doing it.  But in two hours, he could only make the sound one time.  One time.  And despite his frustration - despite your frustration, it was a small victory.    You know he's learning from each and every interaction.  You know he can probably even spell the damn word you're just trying to elicit one sound from.  And you know one day, when it's his time, his light switch will turn on and all his hard work, all your hard work will be worth it.  But he has autism and nothing you or anyone else can do will flip that switch.  You just have to be patient and wait for his brain to make those connections.  A few prayers to his maker can't hurt either.  But you have to keep on teaching, keep pushing, and fight the urge to cry every time you bring him to tears trying to teach him to communicate his most basic needs.  You have to do it because you love your child and it's the only way.  And you need the support of the people who love him, who love you, to do it day after day.  You want their understanding too, but it's not possible to comprehend the mind of a child with autism unless you live with it every day.  So just support us.  Share in our small victories and help us to keep striving for more.   April is Autism Awareness Month.  Odds are good that in 2009, someone you know is affected by autism.  Supporting research and education are great ways to help, but so is just loving, supporting, and accepting the children with autism and their parents who would give anything in this world to help their child.

Don't miss it! 4 days until Dr. Temple Grandin

Don't miss it! 4 Days until.... Autism the Way I See with Dr. Temple Grandin & Silent Auction Tuesday, April 21, 2009 Hilton Garden Inn - 2821 E. Harmony Rd. Fort Collins Bidding starts at 5:30 pm and closes at 8:15 pm Dr. Grandin's presentation starts at 7:00 pm Winners will be announced at 8:45 pm Read auction item descriptions online at www.autismlarimer.org Pre-registration is recommended Door is limited to the first reserved 200 people Register at alsc@autismlarimer.org or call 970-377-9640 Please leave us the names of each person attending, phone number and email address. www.autismlarimer.org aslc@autismlarimer.org 970-377-9640 If you do not wish to receive future e-mails or newsletters, please reply to this message with 'Remove' in the subject line.

Mystery Epidemic Hitting the UK after HPV Jab. Since September of 2008 a mystery illness has struck the UK after the HPV jab Cervarix was implemented in a school vaccine program. It has been reported in the UK Mail Online that 1,340 reports have been filed coincidentally after the HPV vaccine Cervarix was implemented in September. This mystery illness causes Paralysis, Convulsions, Sight problems, Nausea, Muscle Weakness, Fever, Dizziness and Numbness, Bell's palsy, Hypoesthesia (loss of sense of touch) and Guillain-Barré syndrome. With the knowledge that I have from an insider as to how the young girls and women are being treated by the medical establishment in the UK, I feel it is safe to say that approximately only 1% are reporting. So if 1% are reporting that means that the real number of girls affected by this mystery epidemic is more like 134,000. That means that 19% of the girls getting the jab have acquired a new medical condition. I came at this percentage because it states in the article at 700,000 girls aged 12 – 13 have been vaccinated. This vaccine is also being given to 17 and 18 year old girls. This sounds like the same epidemic that is hitting the United States that is causing vibrant, athletic young women to become disabled, sickly or have died from "unknown causes" coincidentally. Right now in the United States we have total Gardasil reports to VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) as of January, 2009 and the numbers now reporting stand at 15441. If you use the same principle of 1% reporting you have 1,544,100 young girls affected by this mystery epidemic. 43 Died 2786 Not Recovered 3553 Unk. Recovery 348 Disabled 204 Life Threatening 6186 ER visits Let us take into consideration that it is stated that 13,000,000 doses have been administered in the US per an Australian publication. That means in the United States, if we use the 1% rule, we have 12% rate of "New Medical Conditions" due to this mystery epidemic that is sweeping the United States. Another percentage to note here is that in the closeout document that was presented to the FDA dated September 11, 2008 about Gardasil it states in a table named "New Medical Conditions" that 73.3% of the participants had a new medical condition. I want you to keep the percentage rates in the back of your mind. I know you are wondering where I came up with the 1% rule. If you go to the NVIC (National Vaccine Information Center) website it states that only 1 – 10 % report. I also I want you to know that this is about vaccines in general. It is my experience that the doctors in the US do not acknowledge that Gardasil is causing the adverse reactions. Back to the UK story. Reports of adverse reactions to drugs and vaccines are collated by the drug safety watchdog, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), from reports by doctors. Their latest analysis found there had been 1,340 reports in total, with 2,891 different adverse effects noted. Most were minor complaints such as rashes, swelling on the injection site, pain or allergic reactions. But there was a range of more worrying problems. Four girls had convulsions, one had a seizure and one had an epileptic fit. There were several cases of paralysis. One had Bell's palsy, which paralyses the face; one had hemiparesis, which paralyses or severely weakens half the body; two experienced hypoesthesia, in which the sufferer loses much of her sense of touch, and one had Guillain-Barré syndrome, which paralyses the legs. There were almost 20 cases of blurred vision and one girl was reported as developing anorexia. Last night Jackie Fletcher of the vaccine support group Jabs said: "When they introduced this new vaccine, we had major concerns about its safety. The current statistics detailing adverse reactions - including cases of epilepsy and convulsions - bears out that we were right to be concerned." "The Government needs to look at the future of this programme given the number of side-effects coming through." I believe Jackie Fletcher of Jabs is right in the fact that the UK government needs to rethink this program considering that prevention and early detection have brought the rates of cervical cancer down considerably. I now want to reference a CDC (Center for Disease Control) document. Hysterectomy Prevalence and Death Rates for Cervical Cancer -- United States, 1965-1988, Published January 17th, 1992 / 41(02);17-20 Because declines in cervical cancer mortality … can be attributed largely to use of the Pap test, additional cervical cancer mortality may be prevented by greater compliance with recommended Pap test guidelines. As you can see by the date of this publication that the Pap test is what brought about the decrease in cervical cancer. In the United States the rate of death from cervical cancer is 1.7%. That is quite a percentage point difference from 12% that could be long term disability or illness. I want the countries of the world to look at it this way. Let us say that 15.5% which is approximately the average of the percentages between the United States – Gardasil and the United Kingdom's – Cervarix. Also, considering that many countries have a national health system - what would happen to that system if 15.5% of the population of young women became disabled or chronically ill? Don't you think that it could bankrupt or overly tax the country's health system? Just a final note: The UK is considering giving Cervarix to the boys. I guess in the UK it is not bad enough that 19% of the vaccinated girls are having problems but now they want the boys. I want you to consider this. A new Cambridge University study's figures show 1 in 38 British boys has an autistic condition. Autistic spectrum conditions are already costing the UK £28 billion per annum: "One child in 60 'suffers from a form of autism" By Sue Reid, Daily Mail, UK 20th March 2009. The new study authors advise Government services planners to revise calculations of child service provision on a rate of 1 in 60 British boys and girls, but 4 in 5 cases affect boys. Let us look at the UK percentage for this mystery epidemic this way. If 19% of girls are affected that means there could be the direct possibility that 76% of the boys getting the shot could be stricken by this mystery illness. That could throw the health costs in the UK for children into the trillions. What do you think? Love, Gabby. :0) http://stemcellfora utism.blogspot. com/ "I know of nobody who is purely Autistic or purely neurotypical. Even God had some Autistic moments, which is why the planets all spin." ~ Jerry Newport

A Listing of the Twenty-One Fabricated Studies by Dr. Scott Reuben Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor (NaturalNews) The health community is up in arms over the discovery that a highly-respected and influential clinical researcher, Dr. Scott Reuben, fabricated the data used in over twenty pharmaceutical studies published in peer-reviewed medical journals. Read the full NaturalNews report on this topic here: http://www.naturalnews.com These studies promoted the safety and "benefits" of drugs like Bextra (Pfizer), Vioxx (Merck), Lyrica, Celebrex and Effexor. The lead researcher on these studies, Dr. Scott Reuben, was being paid by Pfizer and Merck, so there's a verified financial connection between this clinical researcher and at least two of the drug companies that benefitted from his fabricated findings. (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/h...) "What this scandal reveals is that even peer-reviewed medical journals cannot be trusted to publish truthful, accurate information about pharmaceuticals. Note carefully the names of the medical journals that published Dr. Reuben's fabricated data (see below). These so-called "science journals" claim to be peer-reviewed, which means these studies were approved by multiple scientists who agreed with the findings. What this scandal reveals is that even peer-reviewed medical journals cannot be trusted to publish truthful, accurate information about pharmaceuticals. In fact, they are just as much a part of the Big Pharma / FDA conspiracy as the pill-pushing researchers who fabricate these studies, in my opinion. The only honest medical science journal I've found is PLoS Medicine (http://medicine.plosjournals.org). Everything else I've seen is just tabloid medicalized fiction sandwiched in between pages of false advertising. Click here to learn more. - Hospital Gets Subpoena Tied to Doctor's Studies - Wall Street Journal - Feds Subpoena Records of Dr. Scott Reuben, Clinical Trial Fabricator - Injuryboard.com - A New Low in Drug Research: 21 Fabricated Studies - Dr. Mercola www.autismlarimer.org aslc@autismlarimer.org 970-377-9640 If you do not wish to receive future e-mails or newsletters, please reply to this message with 'Remove' in the subject line.

Laid Off? Volunteer! Here's Why And How Tara Weiss, 02.24.09, 07:15 PM EST It will do good for you and your career as well as for the cause you embrace. In Pictures: Six Steps To Successful Volunteering Becky Groom always wanted to volunteer, but she had little time for it during her 19 years in business operations at Washington Mutual. Then she got laid off last year, and she started helping out at Habitat for Humanity's outlet store in Seattle. The experience might have felt more fulfilling while she was still employed and eager to get away from her computer. Instead, it frustrated her, because it did nothing to forward her career and gave her no networking opportunities. Now, she is in a new volunteer position, working pro bono as a project manager for a team of five professionals developing marketing materials for ElderHealth Northwest. She finds it an ideal situation: She's using her professional skills, making new contacts and learning about health care, one of the few fields where there's growth and hiring right now. When you're out of work, volunteering isn't just about giving back to the community. It's also a way to keep your professional skills sharp, beef up your résumé and make new connections. The right volunteer job can help you get back in the workforce. Groom found hers through the Taproot Foundation, which places people in assignments based on their professional experience. It operates in seven U.S. cities in a variety of fields, including finance, marketing and information technology. Its volunteers work in teams of five (they can do so remotely) for at least five hours a week, for periods of five months. Groom wanted to parlay her finance background into a new career in health care, so she asked to work with a nonprofit in that sector. She has gotten to know the members of the board of ElderHealth Northwest and a number of health care executives. Her new colleagues have reviewed her résumé and helped her tailor it for health care jobs, removing finance terms that aren't relevant. They've also gotten to see what a diligent worker she is and can recommend her for open positions. That sort of thing is happening a lot, says Aaron Hurst, president of Taproot. "We've heard in the past that people were finding work from volunteering," says Hurst. "If someone has experience working with a colleague on a project, they'll be more likely to hire them because they already know them. It's like interning at a company." Many unemployed Americans have already caught on. The Ronald McDonald House of New York has had a 10% increase in volunteers since this time last year; many say they were recently laid off. Applications to Taproot have increased a remarkable 171%, Hurst says. He attributes this partly to President Obama's national call to service, but he knows it's also because of layoffs, since all applicants are asked why they're signing up. "The majority these days say, 'I'm not unemployed and am looking for ways to stay engaged, to network and feel good about myself,'" he says. The Ronald McDonald House of New York, which provides lodging for the families of hospitalized children, recently started making a computer lab available to its volunteers, so they can network and look for paying jobs. They're also encouraged to volunteer at Wall Street Pink Slip Parties, which bring together recruiters and job seekers. When they do check-in or other work at the parties, Ronald McDonald House pays for their admission, which normally costs $20. One way to find a volunteer job is through volunteermatch.org, a national organization that finds gigs based on your interests and geographical location. Another is Boardnetusa.org, which places people on the boards of nonprofits. You fill out a profile of your interests and professional skills; nonprofits then choose whether to interview you for their board positions. "It's an excellent opportunity, as long as you're not doing it just to meet people," says Lynda Zakrzewski, national director of Boardnet. "The skills developed in being on a nonprofit board overlap the skills of leaders in corporate America--negotiation techniques, strategic formulation, recruiting talent, influencing." As for Becky Groom, she's feeling a lot better about herself, even though she has been out of a job for a year. "This has really helped me feel more professional again," she says. "Having been out of work so long, I was starting to feel down and worried that I'd lose some of my skills. It's been a really good way to reengage and feel good about myself." In Pictures: Six Steps To Successful Volunteering www.autismlarimer.org aslc@autismlarimer.org 970-377-9640 If you do not wish to receive future e-mails or newsletters, please reply to this message with 'Remove' in the subject line.

Sports Camp - Plan Ahead

The National Sports Center for the Disabled and the Colorado Rapids would like to invite you to the Rapids Soccer Sports Camp for kids with disabilities Tuesday, May 5, 2009 6:00-8:00pm Dicks Sporting Goods Park Field #10 6000 Victory Way Commerce City, CO 80022 Directions from I-70 and Quebec: North on Quebec to 64th East on 64th This free interactive camp allows kids with disabilities, either physical or developmental, ages 6-18 to experience first hand the sport of soccer. This fun-filled day will include instruction and skill development, use of equipment, games, prizes and end with a snack. Appearances could include players, coaches and the Rapids mascot. Camp Schedule 5:45 - 6:00pm Registration & Check In 6:00 - 7:45pm Skills Clinic 7:45 - 8:00pm Snacks & Giveaways Register online at www.nscd.org Questions call 303-293-5308 www.autismlarimer.org aslc@autismlarimer.org 970-377-9640 If you do not wish to receive future e-mails or newsletters, please reply to this message with 'Remove' in the subject line.

Don't miss Temple Grandin on April 21

In Honor of National Autism Awareness Month Join the Autism Society of Larimer County for an evening with Dr. Temple Grandin. The evening will kick off with a silent auction, light desserts and culminate with Dr. Temple Grandin sharing practical strategies for parents and professionals. Dr. Grandin will get down to the REAL issues of autism, the ones parents, teachers, professionals and individuals on the spectrum face every day. Temple will offer helpful do's and don'ts, practical strategies, and try-it-now tips, all based on her "insider" perspective and a great deal of research. Date: Tuesday, April 21, 2009 Time: Silent auction bidding starts at 5:30 pm Location: Hilton Garden Inn, 2821 E. Harmony Road, Fort Collins Cost: FREE EVENT SCHEDULE 5:30 pm—7:00 Silent Auction Viewing 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm Presentation, Dr. Temple Grandin 8:00—8:40 pm Book Signing 8:40 pm Silent Auction winners announced Pre registration is recommended Phone: 377-9640 or Email: aslc@autismlarimer.org ----------------------------------------------------- SILENT AUCTION Come and bid on some of the following great items: Bed & Breakfast at the famous Stanley Hotel 10 hours of Learning Clinic Instruction from Neurodevelpment, LLC Guitar & Piano Lesson from the Piano Institute Stay at the Antlers Pointe Suites on Fall River AND SO MUCH MORE! www.autismlarimer.org aslc@autismlarimer.org 970-377-9640 If you do not wish to receive future e-mails or newsletters, please reply to this message with 'Remove' in the subject line.

Olmsted on Autism: 1 in 10,000 Amish Managing Editor's Note:  Dr. Max Wiznitzer of University Hospitals in Cleveland is an expert witness for the government against the families who file in the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.  By Dan Olmsted It is unanimous, apparently -- the rate of autism among the Amish is low. Really, really low. So low that if it were the same in the rest of the population, we wouldn't even be talking about the subject. Shockingly low.   But not so shocking that anyone feels compelled to follow up on the information or its logical implications -- not four years ago when I first pointed it out, not today when the clues it contains are more intriguing than ever -- in fact, never, never, never.   In April 2005 I wrote a UPI column called The Amish Anomaly that began this way: "Where are the autistic Amish? Here in Lancaster County, heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, there should be well over 100 with some form of the disorder. I have come here to find them, but so far my mission has failed ..."   In case anyone had any lingering doubts about the virtual absence of autism among the Amish, they were effectively put to rest on Friday night's Larry King segment when Dr. Max Wiznitzer -- defending the vaccine program, arguing autism has not increased and insisting it is a genetic disorder preset from birth, said the rate of autism in northeastern Ohio, the nation's largest Amish community, was 1 in 10,000. He should know, he said: "I'm their neurologist." So in a nation with an autism rate of 66 per 10,000 -- cut that in half if you want, to focus just on full-syndrome, classic, Kanner autism -- we're looking at a population with one-sixty-sixth, or one thirty-third, or one-whatever, the going rate. Heck, let's just say the autism rate in the USA were only 10 per 10,000; for some reason, the Amish autism rate would still be an order of magnitude lower. That, as they say in the medical journals, is statistically significantly. Massively so, I would say.   That leaves, it seems to me, two questions: Why is the rate so much lower, and why doesn't anyone in mainstream medicine seem to care, other than to fling it out as a debating point to demonstrate -- what, exactly?   Dr. Wiznitzer said those Amish were vaccinated. Well, OK, interesting. That's half right, according to what I reported about that same area back in June of 2005:   "The autism rate for U.S. children is 1 in 166, according to the federal government. The autism rate for the Amish around Middlefield, Ohio, is 1 in 15,000, according to Dr. Heng Wang.   "He means that literally: Of 15,000 Amish who live near Middlefield, Wang is aware of just one who has autism. If that figure is anywhere near correct, the autism rate in that community is astonishingly low.   "Wang is the medical director, and a physician and researcher, at the DDC Clinic for Special Needs Children, created three years ago to treat the Amish in northeastern Ohio.   "I take care of all the children with special needs," he said, putting him in a unique position to observe autism. "The one case Wang has identified is a 12-year-old boy."   He said half the children in the area were vaccinated, half weren't. That child, he said, was vaccinated, but let's not split hairs here. Either vaccinated or unvaccinated, that's a low rate -- 1 in 5000. The question I didn't think to ask at the time but will soon, is, exactly how were those half vaccinated? Flu shots for pregnant moms? Hep B at birth? Chickenpox and MMR on the same day at one year? Rotavirus, Hep B, Hep A, and on and on? Or did it look more like the less intense, less front-loaded schedule in place in the rest of the country back before the autism epidemic began? The kind Jenny and Jim and J.B. and Jerry (hey, the four J's!) keep harking back to when the autism rate was, like, 1 in 10,000 and we still managed to stave off wholesale plagues.   Let's even stipulate that the vaccine schedule for every single Amish child is now fully loaded and follows the CDC to a T. What is Wiznitzer's point? That the Amish genes protect them? Well, good for them, then, let's find out why. Or, that some kind of other environmental risk is absent? In that case, autism is a genetic vulnerability with an environmental trigger, and something about the Amish world is not triggering it, which puts us back about where I started four years ago. There would have been plenty of time to have the answer right now if Julie Gerberding weren't still filibustering the question by talking about numerators, denominators and getting more research into the pipeline as fast as bureaucratically possible (meaning never, never, never).    Critics of the Amish Anomaly -- like critics of the idea that vaccines might be implicated in autism -- want to have it every which way. First, they want to say I just plain missed all the autism cases -- droning on about the Clinic For Special Children, which refused to speak with me over a period of many months. When one of their doctors did finally talk to a blogger whose stated purpose was to tear my reporting apart (a "fraud," he called me), that doctor said, oh yes, they do see Amish kids with autism -- but then went on to say those were ONLY kids with other identifiable genetic disorders. In other words, risk factors. He specifically said they DO NOT  see "idiopathic autism," a basically nonsense phrase that he used to mean autism without any other accompanying disorders. In other words, they don't see the kind of autism now running at a rate of 1 in 100 or so in the rest of the country. The kind no one can figure out. The kind that is destroying a generation and their families and our future along with it. ("You don't have an affected child," people tell me. Yes, but I have an affected world.)   By asserting the Amish have an autism rate of 1 in 10,000 Wiznitzer is in fact scoring a point -- they call it an "own goal," an "oops, I didn't mean to tap the other team's shot in." The point he's accidentally but effectively reinforcing is the one made by the unfailingly intelligent Bernadine Healy -- that there are so many, many obvious studies being left undone by those afraid to do them, even as they sneer and snarl at the rest of us. The Amish are just one study left undone among -- well, one among ten thousand or so. Dan Olmsted in Editor of Age of Autism.

NEW YORK - A suburban New York county has adopted the nation's first ban on the chemical found in plastic baby bottles and sippy cups The measure banning the sale of baby bottles containing BPA was signed by Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy on Thursday after county legislators passed it last month. Several states including California, Oregon and Hawaii are considering bans the chemical formally known as bisphenol A, but Suffolk County, on Long Island, is the first place in the nation to enact one. Canada announced in October it was banning BPA in baby bottles, becoming the first country to restrict sale of the chemical, which is commonly used in the lining of food cans, eyeglass lenses and hundreds of household items. The Suffolk County ban will take effect within 90 days of being filed with New York's secretary of state and applies to empty beverage containers used by children ages 3 and younger. Baby bottles frequently contain BPA, which is used to harden plastic and make it shatterproof. Some scientists believe that long-term exposure to BPA is harmful to humans, but the European Union and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration say the chemical is safe. "While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration stands by, Suffolk County is taking measures to protect their most vulnerable population from the potential harm of BPA exposure," said Urvashi Rangan, a senior scientist and policy analyst at Consumers Union, the nonprofit that publishes Consumer Reports magazine. Levy, the Suffolk County executive, said children's exposure to potentially harmful products should be minimized. "Of all the things a parent must worry about," he said, "whether or not their child is being harmed by a baby bottle should not be one of them." www.autismlarimer.org aslc@autismlarimer.org 970-377-9640 If you do not wish to receive future e-mails or newsletters, please reply to this message with 'Remove' in the subject line.

World Autism Day April 2nd Click on this link to see all the autism groups throughout the world http://www.worldautismawarenessday.org/site/c.egLMI2ODKpF/b.3917083/k.6AFB/Autism_Organizations.htm www.autismlarimer.org aslc@autismlarimer.org 970-377-9640 If you do not wish to receive future e-mails or newsletters, please reply to this message with 'Remove' in the subject line.