50 Years and Still Rockin'

Left-to-right: Mathy Downing, Bob Fiddaman, Kristina Gehrki, Kim Witczak

~~~

Love is all you need

~ Lennon–McCartney

~~~

Last weekend I celebrated some special champions of human rights at a star-studded Hollywood event. It was the 50th anniversary of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR). I respect this organisation and support their goals which include investigating and exposing psychiatric violations of human rights and demanding medical doctors become competent. Today's post is about the well-attended California event.

The "S" Word

For some people out there, there's an elephant in the room whenever CCHR's public health and safety work is referenced. It's an elephant I noted in my book years ago and one that I'm never shy to address. That it has to do with labels is something I find ironic considering labels are often the first tool psychiatrists use to lead unsuspecting victims down the destructive path of wrongful drugging.

CCHR is a nonprofit mental health watchdog responsible for helping to enact more than 150 laws protecting individuals from abusive or coercive practices. CCHR has long fought to restore basic inalienable human rights to the field of mental health, including, but not limited to, full informed consent regarding the medical legitimacy of psychiatric diagnosis, the risks of psychiatric treatments, the right to all available medical alternatives and the right to refuse any treatment considered harmful.

CCHR was co-founded in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus Dr. Thomas Szasz at a time when patients were being warehoused in institutions and stripped of all constitutional, civil and human rights. That the pharmaceutical companies and their PR machines often try to use one's spiritual beliefs to discredit those harmed and divert the public's attention away from real facts about the pharma and psych industry is nothing new. I've met countless victims and their families whose spiritual beliefs and the church they attend were the subject of depositions conducted by pharma. Pharma basically tried to link the SSRI-induced death of a 12-year-old girl to their family's Protestant religion and the church the family attended.

Here's the interesting thing. The surviving family members were questioned by the drug manufacturer's attorneys. They were trying to claim that the family were Scientologists because they supported the work of CCHR. For four hours the victim's sister was grilled. The drug manufacturer was trying to suggest that the family was unstable and that their sister/daughter died because of their beliefs and not because of Zoloft induced suicide.

That little girl, by the way, was just twelve-years-old and died by hanging shortly after her Zoloft dose was doubled. She weighed just 67 pounds.

Seriously, no kidding here. But what do you expect given pharma tried to blame another young child's death on possible "sex games" gone wrong. (The child was found hanging after consuming Zoloft and Pfizer claimed the boy may have died because he was possibly engaging in sex games. Matthew Miller was just 13 years old.)

So, back to the "S" word, Scientology. I was born into a Catholic family. While I no longer practice Catholicism, I also don't practice Scientology. Not that my religion should be anyone's business but my own, but apparently some people refuse to share helpful research, resources and stories of prescribed harm simply because of other people's religious beliefs or affiliations. This alarms me because as I noted, labelling and censorship is exactly what the psych and pharma industry promote to keep information about prescribed harm out of the public's eye. I'd hate to see people killed or harmed because they didn't have an opportunity to access factual information and/or read the avoidable tragedies of prescribed harm suffered by their neighbours.

I have many friends with various spiritual beliefs. They include Catholics, Scientologists, Protestants, Muslims, Hindus and atheists. While I'm always interested in learning more about my friends' personal beliefs, my friends don't pressure me to believe as they do and none have ever tried to convert me. Most people would agree it is wrong to be ridiculed and slandered based upon one's religious principles.

In my 13 years as a public health and safety advocate, I've seen one church constantly targeted and maligned by the psych and pharma industry--the Church of Scientology. It doesn't take a genius to figure out why pharma attacks Scientologists. One need only to look at the reliable and extensive research and resources freely offered by CCHR to understand why CCHR is a target of these industries. In addition, I suspect if any of these other religions advocated as CCHR does, they, too, would be targeted by psychiatry and pharma.

These well-funded, systemically-organized attacks are merely manipulation tactics. An appropriate word for this behaviour is one I've just invented and rather like: hoodwinkery. So don't be hoodwinked by hoodwinkery.

Now back to last weekend's CCHR 50th anniversary events.

Library Meets Rock Gig

A CCHR event is a cross between a library and a rock gig. This may sound like a contradiction, but here's why I describe it as such. Attend any CCHR event and you will find yourself in a room full of knowledgeable people. Everyone there knows what's going on in the dark world of brain pellets. Audience members and hosts represent the knowledge, and the rock gig vibe is represented by, well, by accomplished musicians.

This Los Angeles event was the third one I've attended. (I also previously attended a CCHR award event in the UK years ago.) This year's human rights award recipients were film-maker Kevin P. Miller and attorney Andy Vickery. I have previously corresponded with both and was glad to meet Kevin Miller last weekend. Unfortunately, I never had a chance to meet Andy Vickery because honorees are swamped by the masses at after-show parties where everybody wants to talk with them. (I know because years ago I was one of several people recognized by CCHR for advocacy work.)

I was glad to meet award-winning documentary filmmaker, Kevin P. Miller. For those who don't know, Kevin wrote and directed both Generation RX and Letters from Generation RX. Like me, Miller has met many families destroyed by products marketed as "antidepressants." I prefer to simply call these pills brain pellets. It's a dark world we both move in yet it is also rewarding when we can improve public health by publicizing the personal experiences of those who have been prescribed harm. Kevin's humanitarian efforts shine in his documentaries. He is committed to human rights and long after his films are finished, he still speaks with the families of the victims, many of whom have become personal friends. He never forgets those whose stories he compassionately shares. I was glad to see Kevin, a kind-hearted man whose previous films have covered other human rights issues such as veterans and the homeless, recognized by CCHR for his contributions to a better society. I salute you, Kevin.

Another CCHR human rights award recipient was trial lawyer, Andy Vickery. Vickery was moved to tears when delivering his acceptance speech.

If you click on the New York Times link above about young Matt Miller who died while taking Zoloft, you'll see it was Andy Vickery who represented the family against Pfizer. Vickery was one of the first attorneys to represent families harmed by SSRIs and shined a public spotlight on the link between Paxil and violence when he represented the family of Donald Schell.

In 1998 the town of Gillette, Wyoming was shaken to its core, not by invading aliens arriving in motherships playing the five tones. Gillette was shaken by the Paxil-induced homicide and suicide of Donald Schell. Schell, age 60, shot to death his wife, daughter and baby granddaughter before turning the gun on himself. At that time nobody knew why such a loving man would carry out such heinous crimes. Thanks to Andy Vickery, the public soon learned about the link between Paxil and violence.

Schell's surviving son-in-law, Tim Tobin, brought a wrongful death lawsuit against GlaxoSmithKline, Paxil makers. The jury in the Tobin v SmithKline Beecham (SKB) trial concluded that Paxil could cause someone to carry out suicide or homicide and that the drug was, in fact, a proximate cause of the deaths in this case. (1)

In 2004, some two years after the Tobin verdict, the FDA mandated black box warnings about the risk of antidepressant-induced suicidality, which SmithKline had denied, but which the Tobin case proved existed. The Black Box Warnings were a positive step in the right direction when it comes to protecting the public. However, the FDA does not require that the warning be clearly communicated by prescribers.

Vickery's award is well deserved.

(1)

For Those About to Rock... Da Sisterhood (You know who you are!)

The event itself was classy. It's glitz with a message and that message comes across loud and clear in a fantastic awards' show with top-notch talent. Award-winning Broadway star, James Barbour and Mark Isham, a Grammy-award winning, Oscar-nominated recording artist ended the program with an amazing rendition of the song "From Now On."

The spectacular finale had me wanting to jump on the table in the style of Thor whilst pulling a sword from my side. I was pumped up and proud of CCHR's accomplishments. Man, these folks know how to put on a show.

I met with past winners. I met with old friends and made new ones. I had a special time celebrating 50 years of CCHR and honouring Kevin and Andy. There really aren't enough superlatives for this ass-kickin' organisation that, in the face of extreme adversity, continue to fight to safeguard human rights for all.

It was especially rewarding for me to spend time with CCHR UK's Brian Daniels. I've known Brian for years. He's a top advocate and a dear friend (Oooh friend**). You kind of know how deep a friendship is when you, for whatever reason, don't see a lot of one another, but when you do meet again it's as comfortable as slipping into an old favourite coat. Brian is not only a friend, but he's also a fellow warrior and we share the same goals in life. (Oooh sharing friend**)

Another long-time friend, Gary Brown, was recognized for his support of CCHR. It was great to see Gary on stage. He is another favourite coat of mine.

I fully anticipate today's blog will be met by some with silence and continued censorship. While I don't give a toss if some people choose to judge or label me, I do care about protecting the innocent. If I saw my neighbour's kid playing with matches in his backyard, I wouldn't first ponder if my neighbour was a Catholic or a Muslim or a whatever before I rushed over to inform the parents and save their child from the fire.

CCHR has your back, folks, whatever your beliefs. I, unequivocally, have theirs too.

Bob Fiddaman


**In-joke

Christina Schumacher: An Update

Christina Schumacher told Vermont legislators on Thursday night that she opposes involuntarily hospitalization.

Regular readers will know that last month I wrote about the plight of Vermont's Christina Schumacher.

Schumacher had been locked up for 5 weeks or so [against her will] at the secure psych ward at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington, VT.

Mental health assessors [armed with their crystal balls] had deemed Schumacher a danger to herself and others after she had recently learned that her son, Gunnar, 14, was strangled by his father, Ludwig "Sonny" Schumacher Jr., 49, who later took his own life by hanging. Christina had separated from "Sonny" in July last year.

Despite her protests, and the protests of close friends, Schumacher was held under duress and billed for the 5 week stay.

Here's the latest...

On Jan. 24 Vermont Superior Court Judge Kevin Griffin ruled that he could not find "by clear and convincing evidence" that Schumacher was in need of treatment when she was admitted Dec. 19.

Last week, during a two-hour joint session of the Legislature, Schumacher to lawmakers she had gone through hell the day she was admitted to Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington after learning about the killing of her teenage son by her estranged husband, who then killed himself. She added, "The bottom line is nobody should have to endure the death of their son and the death of their husband and then be put into the situation,"

USA Today takes up the story...

Schumacher said she was fortunate to have a lot of support from friends after the bodies were found Dec. 18, and she decided to keep her therapy appointment the following afternoon.

"I thought it would be a logical thing to do, to actually go to that therapy appointment," she said. "So I made a choice to go."

Schumacher said she was surprised to find that her therapist had been joined by the director of the counseling program, another doctor and two guards.

"They all made a decision before I even arrived that they were going to check me in. Check me into a mental health facility. A woman that just experienced the hell of her life," she said.

"That night I went through the fires of hell just dealing with what I dealt with," Schumacher said.

Schumacher said in an interview prior to the Senate hearing that she went public with her story in the Burlington Free Press while she was hospitalized to try to ensure nobody ever again has to endure what happened to her and also to be released so she could support her teenage daughter. Schumacher said her visit to the Legislature is a continuation of her fight.

The doctors told Schumacher they wanted her to take stronger drugs, she told lawmakers.

Once Lindsey Owen of Disability Rights explained to Schumacher her legal rights while she was hospitalized, she said she began to fight.

"I started standing up to the doctors," Schumacher said. "They did not know whether to kick me out or lock me up forever. So guess what? I fought for my rights, and I'm out of there."

"And no one should ever have to endure what I have gone through," she added. "It has been hell. I will not stop fighting this fight."

"The doctors told Schumacher they wanted her to take stronger drugs"

Since when has grief, or shock for that matter, been a mental illness?

This is yet another example of the white-coated jumped up little Hitler's wishing to play God...and failing miserably.

Thanks goodness Schumacher was able to show some fighting spirit. Who knows where she would be now if her natural instinct for survival had been suppressed by mental health services and the drugs they hand out like candy.

Heads should roll at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington, VT.

This is for Christina Schumacher. She stood up to be counted... I salute her.

Bob Fiddaman

Woman In Chains

Not quite chains but one could argue that  Christina Schumacher, (Pictured) was held under duress for five weeks at the secure psych ward at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington, VT.

So, is this just another case of a person who has found daily living unbearable, so unbearable that, overnight, they have developed a chemical imbalance in their brain thus rendering them mentally ill?

Well, if mourning the loss of a child is a mental illness then Schumacher deserved to be held. The thing is, and this is the crux of the argument, mourning is not a mental illness.

What this particular story shows us is how very easy it is to make money from the dead.

Schumacher's son, Gunnar, 14, was strangled by his father, Ludwig "Sonny" Schumacher Jr., 49, who later took his own life by hanging. Christina had separated from "Sonny" in July last year.

One day after learning her son was killed by her ex, Christina is admitted to a psychiatric unit because because mental health workers believed she posed a danger to herself and others.

It's called grief.

Schumacher has now been billed for her stay at the Fletcher Allen Health Care Centre.

So, let's just get this straight.

Your son is murdered.

You learn it was an ex-spouse who murdered him.

You then learn your ex-spouse killed themselves.

Ah, yes...most obvious reaction to this would be to become dangerous to yourself and/or others.

I'm not disputing that Schumacher felt suicidal, who wouldn't after hearing such devastating news? But who in their right minds would incarcerate a woman [because that's what it is] hours after she had learned her child had been murdered?

Mental Health Services had a couple of options here.

1. They could have, quite easily, "monitored" the situation.

As patients we are constantly told by antidepressant manufacturers that we may feel suicidal during the first few weeks of taking medication. We are told...or rather our doctor's are told, that the patient should be 'monitored' during this period. Why was Schumacher singled out for a 5 week stay at the 'Nutjob Hilton' then?

2. They could have listened to Schumacher and her friends who, according to reports, "disputed her need to be confined."

Her friends didn't have white coats and stethoscopes around their necks though...they did not have the skill to see Schumacher's chemical imbalance.

If indeed Christina Schumacher did pose a threat to herself and others then what changed over the five weeks she was held against her will? Did medication help her, is there some miracle pill that can, after five weeks, cure suicidal and homicidal thoughts?

I'm thinking there's money to be made here... I'm a bit late to jump on this particular bandwagon though as pharmaceutical companies and mental health services have been doing it for years.

I could, however, get some sort of loan and open up a motel or guest house. I'd pay the unemployed to scour the streets for anyone who looked remotely sad [Are you listening Cameron?].

My 'spotter' could then text me, "Woman, mid-fifties, looks sad, just saw her purchase a condolence card...obviously a danger to herself and others. I've attached a photo."

Great! A quick phone call to Mick "The Bruiser" Jones. "Hey Bruiser, get yourself down to the card shop on the High Street, attached is photo"

Mick "The Brusier" could then wait outside and nab the woman as she came out of the card shop.

I could then hold her for five weeks, bill her, and claim I was only acting in her best interests.

Isn't this, in essence, what Fletcher Allen Health Care have done with Schumacher?

Welcome to the world of mental health folks. A world where the actions of crazy people are actually committed by those employed in the system and not those dragged into it against their will.

Full story here.


Bob Fiddaman

Coroners Court files reveal violent deaths in Australian mental health facilities.

The Age, a popular Australian newspaper, yesterday highlighted the suppression behind Victorian mental health facilities, Victoria being the state of Australia, although more than likely the age of the facilities there too.

Data obtained by The Age revealed that 119 of the 502 coronial inquests held in Victoria between 2008 and 2010 involved people with diagnosed mental illnesses. Of those 119 mental health coronial cases, almost a third related to the deaths of patients while they were being treated at state-run and private mental health facilities, writes The Age, adding, that "36 people died unexpected, unnatural or violent deaths in Victorian mental health facilities between 2008 and 2010."



The newspaper has published an investigation into the deaths of three men who died in state-run psychiatric wards across Melbourne between 2007 and 2009: Adam White, 31, Anthony Travaglini, 40, and Jeffery Hartwig, 43.


Southern Health, the health service responsible for the care of Mr Hartwig and Mr White, tried to stop The Age from reporting. A suppression order was made but, it appears The Age have, rightly so, ran with the article.


The Age:

■ Mr Travaglini, who died in September 2008 at Eastern Health's Upton House psychiatric hospital in Box Hill, was killed by a combination of powerful anti-psychotic medications given to him by staff, according to a Victorian government pathologist. Staff and patients aware of the circumstances of his death say the 40-year-old was pleading not to be given more drugs on the night he died. Staff and patients also allege there was an attempt to conceal information about the circumstances of his death from his family.

■ Mr Hartwig died at the Monash Medical Centre in December 2009 after he went into a coma following a suspected overdose of illicit drugs supplied by unknown visitors. His family says the hospital's psychiatric ward kept no visitor log nor did it supervise visits to patients. Police sources say the hospital's legal department interfered with their investigation and ordered staff not to speak about the circumstances of Mr Hartwig's death.

■ Mr White's 2007 death at Dandenong Hospital's psychiatric ward during a struggle with security guards was the subject of a recent inquest. A finding has yet to be made, but evidence to the inquest suggests Mr White was asphyxiated while being held face down by security staff. A witness told the inquest that Mr White apparently yelled ''I give up'', but security did not ease off. He died soon after.


In what appears to be a feeble excuse, Victoria's chief psychiatrist, Ruth Vine claims, "..it is difficult to manage fairly large, fairly aggressive men and I think it is the case in some of these [deaths] that there was a degree of physical unwellness underlying.''

No shit doc! You ever asked yourself why they are "fairly large" and have "a degree of physical unwellness underlying?"

Medication, such as those used in psychiatric facilities, have been known to cause weight gain and psychotic episodes.

I applaud The Age for it's two-fingered salute to Southern Health and for highlighting the abhorrent abuse of human life.

Full article, by Richard Baker and Nick McKenzie can be read HERE




Fid 


ORDER THE PAPERBACK 'THE EVIDENCE, HOWEVER, IS CLEAR...THE SEROXAT SCANDAL' By Bob Fiddaman US and CANADA HERE OR UK FROM CHIPMUNKA PUBLISHING 


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CCHR AWARD BANQUET UK APRIL 2011

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to the CCHR Human Rights Award Banquet in East Grinstead [near Gatwick]. To be honest I had no idea I would receive my second award from the powerhouse that is CCHR.

I travelled from Birmingham with a trio of *Brummie beauties, two of them volunteers for CCHR. Thank you Sarah, Vicky and Sadie, you made me feel most welcome.

Upon arriving at the lavish banquet I met up with two warriors I had met previously in Los Angeles earlier this year, President CCHR International, Jan Eastgate, and Executive Director CCHR United Kingdom, Margaret McNair.

I also met with Brian Daniels, the man with the voice of a radio talk show host. Brian and I had only previously spoken over the phone so it was great to finally meet up with him...at last, I thought, a bloody bloke!

It was only going through rehearsals that I realised that CCHR UK were going to give me an award, I was quite shocked yet very proud that the UK branch were acknowledging my advocacy work over the past 5 years.

Earlier in the year I invited a couple of special guests to share in this CCHR experience, namely Leonie and Tony, parents of Shane Clancy. One thing I love about the Irish [well, most of them] is their kindness and warmth. Both Tony and Leonie had this in abundance as did the other Irish folk I met that night. A one stage [after the event] I was sitting amongst 6 Irish people, I felt like I was at Cheltenham race course.

MC for the event was former Rolling Stones manager Tony Calder and there were three awards presented on the night, the first presented by Peter Bennett to Sharon Parnell, the second was presented by Hermann Keppler and Jan Eastgate to Dounne Alexander.

It was another night where CCHR brought people from all walks of life together, yet another moment of realisation that there are many advocates out there fighting their own corners, sticking it to 'da man'.

Myself, Leonie and Tony headed back to the hotel and stayed up into the wee hours drinking red wine, their company enraptured me. Two lovely people carrying such sadness in their hearts. We kind of clicked with one another, it must be the Irish in me [mother's side]

The day after saw me lunch with Margaret McNair and Jan Eastgate, Brian Daniels joined us later. It was another chance for me to get acquainted with the work these warriors do and the results they achieve. I cannot big them up enough, they are advocates on a mission, they acknowledge all that is bad about the pharmaceutical industry and psychiatry, they also acknowledge the good in people who fight against this psychopharmaceutical monopoly.

I love them to bits.

I'm hooking up with some CCHR people again pretty soon. This is the Birmingham branch, my hometown.

Over coffee we shall plan our art of war.

This is the beginning of my journey. If people wish to continue standing in my way then I will just walk around them with fingers in my ears. They have nothing to say that is of any interest to me, they are part of the problem and not the solution, for that they should be utterly ashamed of themselves.

CCHR ain't just rock...they are rock AND roll!


Fid

*Brummie - colloquial term for the inhabitants, accent and dialect of Birmingham.

CCHR UK

CCHR International