Nexus - 0804 - New Times Magazine-pages

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REVIEWS dren brought up on nutrient-depleted diets Service (SIS or MI6) and popping up in B oO oO K Ss and who eventually refused to eat were defi- France, Australia and New Zealand, only to Reviewed by Ruth P: lI cient in zinc, and he reversed their condi- be arrested, searched and deported by police ee WeO DD UE SIne tions with zinc supplementation. agencies on orders from MI6. But there's MEDICAL PIONEER OF THE 20TH The path has not been an easy one for the always another side. Tomlinson describes ENTURY: An A iograph dedicated Dr Kalokerinos, despite the suc- for the public record his recruitment to MI6 c U utobiography cesses over the decades. His key contribu- while at Cambridge, the training he under- by Dr Archie Kalokerinos Biological Therapies Publ., Australia, 2000 SBN 0-646-40852-6 (464pp tpb) tions to understanding cancer, otitis, scurvy, | went and the secrecy technology/practices SIDS, shaken baby syndrome, vaccine dam- _ he was privy to, and the details of his " age and other problems are still bein involvement in MI6 operations in Moscow, Price: A$24.95 + AS6 p&h in Aust, A$10 "processed" by the medical and judicial Sarajevo and elsewhere, His original gripe (0 NZ, A$13 to Asia/ Pacific, A$18.50 to establishments. His work does not cease, with MI6 was a personnel issue, but the UK/Europe, ASI6 to USA/Canada even in retirement; nor does his influence. agency didn't see things his way and has Available: Australia—Biological hounded him in the five years since he left. Therapies, POB 702, Braeside, Vic 3195, THE BIG BREACH Sure, Tomlinson reveals sensitive informa- el +61 (0)3 9587 3948, Biol@Biol.com.au hy Richard Tomlinson tion about foreign operations that the SIS his is the long-awaited autobiography by HarperCollins, Australia, 2001 (first pub- would prefer were not revealed, but he also Dr Archie Kalokerinos, the much-loved lished by Cutting Edge Press, UK, 2001) paints a damning picture of the behind-the- Greek-born Australian physician, now inhis — |SBN 0-7322-7094-4 (319pp tpb, Aust); scenes workings of an agency that considers 70s and "retired", who has pioneered new 1-9038-1301-8 (UK) itself above the law and unaccountable to medical treatments, fought injustices and Price: A$29.95; NZ$34.95; £9.99 the public. His book is both a real-life spy incurred the wrath of some sections of the Available: ‘Aust/NZ— HarperCollins; thriller and a call to action to change British medical establishment over the years. UK—The Book Service, tel 01206 256000, secrecy laws in the public interest. Dr Kalokerinos's story is not in complete Yga_—Trafalgar Square Publishing, tel Secret Wardd ol MIE chronological order; some chapters focus (802) 457 1911 more on specific discoveries and clinical f you've read the article entitled "On Her experience. He tells of his upbringing, his Majesty's Secret Service" in NEXUS 7/06 medical school training and disillusionment, and the affidavit in 8/01, you'll have had a his overseas travels, his life as an opal miner sneak peak of former MI6 agent Richard and his return to medical practice. . Tomlinson's story. The Big Breach is the From the late 1950s he tumed his attention —_ ook he had published first as a Russian lan- to reversing the extremely high infant mor- guage edition in Russia in January, so as to tality rate in Australian Aboriginal commu- _ put it on the public record and circumvent nities. His observations of diseases caused any suppression by the British Government by vitamin deficiencies led him to under- through the courts. Understandably, it's stand the critical importance of vitaminC in — become a bestseller in the UK since the not only preventing diseases like scurvy but English version was published in February. in counteracting the life-threatening symp- If you followed the mainstream press cov- toms of acute scurvy. (Vitamin C pioneer erage, you'd be none the wiser about this Dr Linus Pauling he counted as a personal "renegade" British spy threatening to spill friend.) Dr Kalokerinos also found that chil- the beans on the British Secret Intelligence JUNE — JULY 2001 Service (SIS or MI6) and popping up in France, Australia and New Zealand, only to be arrested, searched and deported by police agencies on orders from MI6. But there's always another side. Tomlinson describes for the public record his recruitment to MI6 while at Cambridge, the training he under- went and the secrecy technology/practices he was privy to, and the details of his involvement in MI6 operations in Moscow, Sarajevo and elsewhere. His original gripe with MI6 was a personnel issue, but the agency didn't see things his way and has hounded him in the five years since he left. Sure, Tomlinson reveals sensitive informa- tion about foreign operations that the SIS would prefer were not revealed, but he also paints a damning picture of the behind-the- scenes workings of an agency that considers itself above the law and unaccountable to the public. His book is both a real-life spy thriller and a call to action to change British secrecy laws in the public interest. NEXUS 71 www.nexusmagazine.com