Comments on: Age of Autism: misquotes Story Landis…jumps to unsupported conclusion

By: daedalus2u

daedalus2u — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:12:36 +0000

I don’t think she stepped down on the basis of the misquoted note, but on the atmosphere of intimidation that AoA fosters. The misquoted note is just a symptom of that, and a justification for the more radical and extremist members of AoA to become even more extremist. Paul Offit did receive death threats. He did receive threats against his children. Who needs or wants that? Who can work or even live under that level of intimidation? Not everyone can, or wants to even if they are able to.

By driving good people away from governmental and quasi-public autism research organizations, AoA is slowing the pace of research, delaying when positive results will be achieved and making the governmental and quasi-public research organizations less effective. A solution (what ever form that takes) likely won’t come from any organization that AoA is able to influence.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:04:31 +0000

I find it hard to believe that Landis simply apologized and stepped down on the basis of a misquoted note. Even if she, herself, preferred to avoid controversy, surely the institutions she represents need to take a stand. In fact, if AofA is really misquoting, wouldn’t Landis et al have a libel case in hand?

Lisa

By: Kwombles

Kwombles — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:34:39 +0000

And Landis stepped down rather than arguing that her words were being inaccurately quoted? How bad is the intimidation by the anti-vaxxers? I think we’ve seen from the Wallace piece, it gets fairly bad. So, basically, the anti-vaxxers are trying to intimidate researchers and officials in autism-related fields to see the world from their anti-vaccination stance. And researchers and officials resign rather than deal with the threats and intimidation. Who will the anti-vaxxers blame when no one goes into reputable autism related research? Oh, that’s right, they’ll be busy following Blaylock, Wakefield and the Geiers as if they were the pied piper.

By: daedalus2u

daedalus2u — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:25:03 +0000

It seems to me a pretty clear case of projection.

That is what AoA saw because that is what they were thinking because that is what they are trying to do.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:46:30 +0000

Ouch. Intentionally twisting someone elses words to create another environment of harmful ideas to incite the commenters.

Then using the “trying to make” add in that isn’t part of the scanned notes I saw at their site either.

Poor Form, KW, DK, et al.

Yet another political/propaganda peice is underway and damage has already been done.

By: David N. Brown

David N. Brown — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:28:43 +0000

Speaking of fraudulent misrepresentation of fact by AoA, last week they published a spurious article be David Burd, “Without Vaccine, Australia Shrugs Off Swine Flu”, which I consider to be either a collection of credulously reported “urban legends” or an outright hoax. I suggest LBRB help draw maximum scorn on AoA for publishing this.