I hope everyone here realizes that the message of mine quoting Herbert
Shelton's views on fasting for pregnant women that was forwarded to the
Veg-Raw list by Bob Avery was done without my knowledge or permission. I am
very pissed-off at Bob right now for violating confidentiality. I have been
staying out of public discussions on the listgroups as much as possible
recently because of lack of time, and a wish to avoid generating mail I
must respond to or getting dragged into time-consuming flame-wars, so I've
been making only the occasional comment about listgroup discussions via
private email. But since he has outed me publicly, I will make a statement.

First I apologize for characterizing Bob's advice as 2-3 weeks of fasting
for pregnant women rather than the 1-2 weeks he actually said. However, had
I known my message was going to be posted to the group, I would have
double-checked my statements, something I almost always do before stating
something publicly. In private mail, like I'm sure we all do, I am somewhat
more off-the-cuff, figuring I can correct any advertent mistakes that occur
after the fact since they will have less consequence than if posted
publicly. But since Bob forwarded my post without my permission, he never
gave me the chance, making me appear careless, which incenses me.

For the record, I personally do not believe it is wise for a woman to fast
during pregnancy--only in the most extenuating circumstances would it be
thinkable and even then only at the personal advice of an experienced
Hygienic physician with a lengthy fasting background assuming they believe
there is no better alternative. My purpose in quoting the Shelton passages
was to perhaps get Bob to reconsider what I felt was an extremist view. I
did not intend for the Shelton quotation to represent my own views, because
I do not believe Shelton was right about everything, but at least in this
instance Shelton's views are more moderate than Bob's, and a person whose
opinion Bob seems to respect, which was why I forwarded the quote.

--Ward Nicholson <[log in to unmask]> Wichita, KS