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sceptical patients, relatives or scientists, and inveigh heavily "By any measure, the war on AIDS has been a colossal
against inquisitive journalists alleging great harm to public health. failure...our leading scientists and policymakers cannot demon-
Thus it appears that the only hope for an immediate resolution of strate that their efforts have saved a single life."!
this troubled issue is to have lawyers appearing for plaintiffs who Perhaps the words of Eleopulos's group are of even greater por-
desire judgements that they are, or are not, infected with an tent: "The single most important obstacle in finding the explana-
AIDS-causing virus. However, even if an tion for AIDS is the belief in HIV."
examination of "HIV science" is destined to In his recent book, Dancing Naked in the
be scrutinised by courts of law, at present | Mind Field, Dr Kary Mullis writes: "Years
one must be realistic that in the short term By any measure, the war on from now, people will find our acceptance
the status quo is extremely unlikely to AIDS has been a colossal of the HIV theory of AIDS as silly as we
change. failure...our leading scientists find those who excommunicated Galileo."?
and policymakers cannot Indeed, it was Galileo who counselled:
- Areal debate? . "In Science, the authority embodied in the
Nonetheless, it is inexorably drawing demonstrate that their efforts opinion of thousands is not worth a spark of
nearer to the time when world governments have saved a single life." reason on one man."
will convene an international, adjudicated Perhaps, seventeen years in, we should all
debate on this subject. In contrast to the Dr Peter Duesberg f) pause, look around, and then take a long
13,775 participants from 177 countries who look back. oo
attended the June 1998 Geneva AIDS Conference, this should be
a small gathering where a dozen or so experts from each side put © Acknowledgement
their respective cases to a disinterested group of scientists of the The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Mr Peter
utmost stature—for example, another dozen made up largely of Bloch, of General Media International, and Penthouse Magazine,
Nobel laureates. There is a precedent for such a "consensus con- New York City, for making available excerpts of Dr Mullis's
ference" or conférence de citoyens in common sense and "along _ forthcoming book.
the lines of a model invented in Scandinavia and since applied in About the Authors:
the United Kingdom and elsewhere". A "jury" of 14 people
"screened for independence from interested parties" would have ~ Valendar F. Turner is a Consultant Emergency Physician. He can
issues "debated in front of them by scientists, non-governmental be contacted at the Department of Emergency Medicine, Royal
organizations, industrialists and other bodies", as "The power of Perth Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, tel: +61 (0)8 9224 2662,
+e researc! vac ic , t onare rz . fax +61 (08) 9224 7045, e-mail ,
public research bodies is probably the best guarantee of indepen- website .
dence with respect to private sector research and the influence of
multinationals". By AIDS standards, funding for such a meet- + Andrew Mcintyre is a Melbourne-based freelance writer and
ing would be trivial. Indeed, such would be its significance that it social commentator. He has written extensively on the gender
would make money for the organisers. wars, and takes a particular interest in social and scientific issues
Perhaps a disinterested observer could be forgiven for conclud- normally avoided or distorted by the mainstream press for reasons
of political expediency or cultural orthodoxy. He appears from
time to time on radio and television. He can be contacted care of
NEXUS Magazine.
ing that, although we are now well into the 18th year of the AIDS
era and have spent many billions of dollars on treatments and
research, the words of Dr Peter Duesberg continue to taunt us:
Acknowledgement
The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Mr Peter
Bloch, of General Media International, and Penthouse Magazine,
New York City, for making available exce f Dr Mullis's
forthcoming book.
About the Authors:
Valendar F. Turner is a Consultant Emergency Physician. He can
be contacted at the Department of Emergency Medicine, Royal
Perth Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, tel: +61 (0)8 9224 2662,
fax +61 (08) 9224 7045, e-mail ,
website .
- Andrew Mcintyre is a Melbourne-based freelance writer and
social commentator. He has written extensively on the gender
wars, and takes a particular interest in social and scientific issues
normally avoided or distorted by the mainstream press for reasons
of political expediency or cultural orthodoxy. He appears from
time to time on radio and television. He can be contacted care of
NEXUS Magazine.
Endnotes (continued) polymerase chain reaction for detection of structures", Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA
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