http://www4.dr-rath-foundation.org/THE_FOUNDATION/About_Dr_Matthias_Rath/letter_zurhausen_2008-aug.html

He was asked by the International Journal of Cancer (i think that’s the title) to review an article about his field, i suspect, so that they could get a fair argument from both sides and fires off a letter found at the bottom of the page that reads more like a ransom note.

It starts with him charging the editor in chief with being complacent in the deaths of cancer patients everywhere by not publishing his research then he goes on to dictate how the journal and board of directors should be changed to include a 50% share of his snake oil salesmen.

The kicker is that after a letter that makes it sound like HE is editor in chief, he is shocked, shocked i tell you, to find that they retracted his invitation to review an article. CONSPIRACY!! he writes. I’m surprised he did not sue them as well.

Well said and let’s not forget that it’s many non-Africans pushing their agendas in Africa and muddying the waters and exploiting a continent and many peoples that have already suffered massive exploitation. Amongst those exploiting AIDS in Africa to further their own agendas are the US government and how their anti-birth control/condom Christian abstinence programs are tied to AIDS funding, Big Vita/CAM types AND pharmaceutical companies, and assorted self-serving rock stars who believe their own hype (but marginalize African musicians!).

He has launched several lawsuits in Germany to stop the Axel-Springer group from publishing the truth about his involvement with the death of a nine year old boy after his parents took him out of conventional care and whisked him off to a clinic where he died taking Rath’s pills.

He has also launched lawsuits against the conventional doctors that were trying to save the boy.

Recently Rath was successful in a lawsuit against the BMJ for an article that described what happened to Dominik Feld.

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/333/7569/621-b

Rath has also launched several lawsuits in South Africa.

It’s a wonder he has any time to discover the cure for AIDS/cancer/heart disease etc.

Can crikey! be far behind?

I took lunch with Ben Goldacre (and 15 other people) several years ago. Great guy.

That’s actually a really helpful comment. When one looks at Africa as a whole though, one is struck by how many of the governments don’t seem willing or able to generate meaningful and effective programs for health on a number of levels. It’s easy to forget that many countries are trying as hard as they can, and current failures are no excuse for not supporting the governments who are really putting in the hard yards, against both corruption and superstition/woo/etc.

I hate to nitpick, but… erm, it’s really not a good thing to generalize so sweepingly about Africa. (As in “[Rath] pushed this nonsense in Africa” or “the failure of African governments to take proper action”). Africa is a really big and really diverse. Making any generalizations is problematic. Rath was operating mainly in South Africa and the SA government has been really bad on AIDS. Rath didn’t have much impact elsewhere in Africa (AFAIK) and many other African governments (e.g. Uganda) have exemplary AIDS policies.

Just sayin’….

jonny_eh – Of course, the irony is that your family member is quite possibly hastening their demise by megadosing on vitamins, taking herbs that are quite possibly tainted with poisons and all the other dangers of taking candy from (unregulated) strangers.