----- Original Message -----
From: "matesz" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, November 18, 2000 1:11 PM
Subject: [P-F] Vaccines = Genocide


> I found this and thought it would be appropriate to share
on the list:
>
> The Guardian
> Scientist 'killed Amazon Indians to test race theory'
> Geneticist accused of letting thousands die in rainforest
>
> Paul Brown, Environment correspondent
> Saturday, September 23, 2000
>
> Thousands of South American Indians were infected with
measles, killing
> hundreds, in order to for US scientists to study the
effects on primitive
> societies of natural selection, according to a book out
next month.
>
> The astonishing story of genetic research on humans, which
took 10 years to
> uncover, is likely to shake the world of anthropology to
its core, according
> to Professor Terry Turner of Cornell University, who has
read the proofs.
>
> "In its scale, ramifications, and sheer criminality and
corruption it is
> unparalleled in the history of anthropology," Prof Turner
says in a warning
> letter to Louise Lamphere, the president of the American
Anthropology
> Association (AAA).
>
> The book accuses James Neel, the geneticist who headed a
long-term project
> to  study the Yanomami people of Venezuela in the mid-60s,
of using a
> virulent  measles vaccine to spark off an epidemic which
killed hundreds and
> probably  thousands.
>
> Once the epidemic was under way, according to the book,
the research team
> "refused to provide any medical assistance to the sick and
dying Yanomami,
> on  explicit order from Neel. He insisted to his
colleagues that they were
> only  there to observe and record the epidemic, and that
they must stick
> strictly  to their roles as scientists, not provide
medical help".
>
> The book, Darkness in El Dorado, by the investigative
journalist Patrick
> Tierney, is due to be published on October 1. Prof Turner,
whose letter was
> co-signed by fellow anthropologist Leslie Sponsel of the
University of
> Hawaii, was trying to warn the AAA of the impending
scandal so the
> profession  could defend itself.
>
> Although Neel died last February, many of his associates,
some of them
> authors of classic anthropology texts, are still alive.
The accusations will
> be the main focus of the AAA's AGM in November, when the
surviving
> scientists  have been invited to defend their work. None
have commented
> publicly, but  they are asking colleagues to come to their
defense.
>
> One of the most controversial aspects of the research
which allegedly
> culminated in the epidemic is that it was funded by the US
atomic energy
> commission, which was anxious to discover what might
happen to communities
> when large numbers were wiped out by nuclear war. While
there is no "smoking
> gun" in the form of texts or recorded speeches by Neel
explaining his
> conduct, Prof Turner believes the only explanation is that
he was trying to
> test controversial eugenic theories like the Nazi
scientist Josef Mengele.
>
> He quotes another anthropologist who read the manuscript
as saying: "Mr.
> Tierney's analysis is a case study of the dangers in
science of the
> uncontrolled ego, of lack of respect for life, and of
greed and
> self-indulgence. It is a further extraordinary revelation
of malicious and
> perverted work conducted under the aegis of the atomic
energy commission."
> Prof Turner says Neel and his group used a virulent
vaccine called Edmonson
> B  on the Yanomani, which was known to produce symptoms
virtually
> indistinguishable from cases of measles.
>
> "Medical experts, when informed that Neel and his group
used the vaccine in
> question on the Yanomami, typically refuse to believe it
at first, then say
> that it is incredible that they could have done it, and
are at a loss to
> explain why they would have chosen such an inappropriate
and dangerous
> vaccine," he writes.
>
> "There is no record that Neel sought any medical advice
before applying the
> vaccine. He never informed the appropriate organs of the
Venezuelan
> government that his group was planning to carry out a
vaccination campaign,
> as he was legally required to do.
>
> Fatalities
> "Neither he nor any other member of the expedition has
ever explained why
> that vaccine was used, despite the evidence that it
actually caused or, at a
> minimum, greatly exacerbated the fatal epidemic." Prof
Turner says that Neel
> held the view that "natural" human society, as seen before
the advent of
> large-scale agriculture, consists of small, genetically
isolated groups in
> which dominant genes - specifically a gene he believed
existed for
> "leadership" or "innate ability" - have a selective
advantage.
>
> In such an environment, male carriers of this gene would
gain access to a
> disproportionate number of females, reproducing their
genes more frequently
> than less "innately able" males. The result would
supposedly be a continual
> upgrading of the human genetic stock. He says Neel
believed that in modern
> societies "superior leadership genes would be swamped by
mass genetic
> mediocrity". "The political implication of this fascistic
eugenics is
> clearly  that society should be reorganised into small
breeding isolates in
> which  genetically superior males could emerge into
dominance, eliminating
> or subordinating the male losers in the competition for
leadership and
> women,  and amassing harems of brood females."
>
> Prof Turner adds. In the memo he says:
> "One of Tierney's more startling revelations is that the
whole Yanomami
> project was an outgrowth and continuation of the atomic
energy commission's
> secret programme of experiments on human subjects. "Neel,
the originator of
> the project, was part of the medical and genetic research
team attached to
> the atomic energy commission since the days of the
Manhattan Project." James
> Neel was well-known for his research into the effects of
radiation on human
> subjects and personally headed the team that investigated
the effects of the
> Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs on survivors and their
children. According to
> Prof Turner, the same group also secretly carried out
experiments on human
> subjects in the US. These included injecting people with
radioactive
> plutonium without their knowledge or permission.
>
> Nightmarish
> "This nightmarish story - a real anthropological heart of
darkness beyond
> the  imagining of even a Joseph Conrad (though not,
perhaps, a Josef
> Mengele) -  will be seen (rightly in our view) by the
public, as well as
> most  anthropologists, as putting the whole discipline on
trial," he says.
>
> "This book should... cause the field to understand how the
corrupt and
> depraved protagonists could have spread their poison for
so long while they
> were accorded great respect throughout the western
world... This should
> never  be allowed to happen again." Yesterday Professor
Turner told the
> Guardian it  was unfortunate that the confidential memo
had been leaked, but
> it had  accomplished its original purpose in getting a
full response from
> the AAA. A public forum would be held at its AGM in
November to discuss the
> book, its  revelations and courses of action. In a
statement yesterday the
> association  said "The AAA is extremely concerned about
these allegations.
>
> If proven true  they would constitute a serious violation
of Yanomami human
> rights and our  code of ethics. Until there is a full and
impartial review
> and discussion of  the issues raised in the book, it would
be unfair to
> express a judgment about  the specific allegations against
individuals that
> are contained in it. "The  association is anticipating
conducting an open
> forum during our annual  meeting to provide an opportunity
for our members
> to review and discuss the  issues and allegations raised
in the book."