The Perfect Killing Machine claims people in medicine's highest echelons recognise what killed Stephen O'Neill but figure there's little they can do about it. This letter from Frank Atherton is the most extraordinary I've received from Government. To see why you need to page down to the letter to which he is responding, a letter that offers his boss, Vaughan Gething, the … [Read more...] about I Recognise these Constraints
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The Perfect Killing Machine
Somewhat like a lobster being slowly boiled as opposed to one dropped straight into boiling water, we have learned to co-exist with and ignore a Perfect Killing Machine in our midst which takes far more lives than the Covid pandemic - without it featuring anywhere in the news. This is a second post about Stephen O'Neill, after last weeks The Death of Stephen O'Neill and … [Read more...] about The Perfect Killing Machine
The Death of Stephen O’Neill and You
There will be a sequence of 7 weekly posts here about Stephen O'Neill and You that will also feature on Stephen's Voice Facebook page. This and next week's post feature videos about why everyone should help bring some good from Stephen O'Neill's death - not just because the same could easily happen you but also because his death was caused by decent and honourable people and … [Read more...] about The Death of Stephen O’Neill and You
Repetition Compulsion to the Death or Beyond?
This post is all about a marvellous article by Arthur Schafer on Conflict of Interest - or something like that. See below. But first some background. In the Last Millennium Over three decades ago, Toronto and Thalassemia came together in what became one of the most celebrated bioethical cases of any millennium that initially pitched Nancy Olivieri, Brenda Gallie and … [Read more...] about Repetition Compulsion to the Death or Beyond?
Does My Bias Look Big in This?
Big Bias (video here) may be the most important lecture I have ever given. Its not easy. The bottom line is that Clinical Trials don't work. For everyone working in health (medical Catholics), this is a bit like saying the Pope is not infallible. We have a great problem with this, partly because our response is - If not the Pope, then who? - the idea that no-one is … [Read more...] about Does My Bias Look Big in This?
Journalists and Doctors
The image is of legendary journalist Bill Haddad who did more to grapple with pharmaceutical corruption than anyone else. The opening lines of A Pill for Neoliberalism, as delivered, about the job of doctors and journalists being very similar, were not part of the transcript in last week’s post. The remarks came to me as a large crowd of media and journalism students … [Read more...] about Journalists and Doctors
RxISK Newsletter re Samizdat Launch
RxISK has just launched a writer's co-operative - Samizdat-Health and Samizdat House - for non-fiction and fiction publications falling outside the boundaries of the sanctioned conversation on issues thrown up by health. Launching a new set of imprints like this has become necessary, because publishing about treatment-related difficulties has become increasingly problematic … [Read more...] about RxISK Newsletter re Samizdat Launch
Sex Antidepressants and Neo-Liberalism
This is the French translation of what was said at a lecture in Grenoble on October 14th and in the Lyon the following day. The numbers below should correspond closely with the slides. The english is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFgTFXXChi0&pbjreload=10 1/ Sur cette radiographie, vous voyez une épaule cassée. Je suis tombé dans la douche un vendredi matin. … [Read more...] about Sex Antidepressants and Neo-Liberalism
The Decapitation of Care: The Healthcare Manifesto
Samizdat has just launched The Decapitation of Care on Amazon -- in English (print and kindle) and La santé décapitée in French (kindle) with French print in a few days time and El Fin Del Cuidado; Una breve historia del auge y caída de la atención médica in Spanish both print and kindle very soon after. The illustrations by Billiam James are a key element of this … [Read more...] about The Decapitation of Care: The Healthcare Manifesto
Neo-culturalism
This post first appeared on Samizdat Health. Anyone who wants early notifications of things appearing there should follow @SamizdatHealth on Twitter and the Samizdat Health Facebook page. Members of Samizdat will initially include anyone contributing material in book or other art form but we will look to develop a Friends of Samizdat group also. Last week's post … [Read more...] about Neo-culturalism