A large number of organisations and individuals have signed this letter to the WBAI management asking them to reverse a decision to restore supplement-entrepreneur Gary Null's show to WBAI radio. You can sign on by emailing [email protected] [1].
To: Tony Bates, Interim Program Director
Berthold Reimers, Interim General Manager
Mitchel Cohen, Local Station Board Chair
Arlene Englehardt, Pacifica National Board and Executive DirectorTo whom it concerns:
We are writing as individuals and organizations who are deeply distressed by WBAI's recent restoration of supplement-entrepreneur Gary Null to the airwaves of WBAI Radio five days a week.
We are gravely concerned about this prospect and the consequences for people at risk of and living with HIV. Mr. Null and his frequent radio guests support the notions, among others, that HIV does not play a role in causing AIDS; that the disease is not transmitted sexually or via dirty needles; that HIV tests are meaningless; and that antiretroviral drugs are not only poisonous but can actually cause AIDS. Legitimate concerns and grievances about the pharmaceutical industry are eclipsed and diminished by this life-threatening stance.
The spread of false claims about HIV and AIDS is deadly, and particularly harms the poor communities of color most devastated by HIV/AIDS. Disinformation about HIV has caused the unnecessary suffering and death of an estimated 300,000 men, women and children (see http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/26/aids-south-africa [2] ).
Both the existence of HIV and its role in the causation of AIDS has been amply demonstrated (see, e.g., www.aidstruth.org [3]). Among the destructive effect of spreading these falsehoods is to reduce condom use, increase infection risk and dissuade people from the use of life-saving antiretroviral therapy (among other modalities).
We respect the station's longstanding free-speech tradition, and support open debate on critical public health issues. We also deeply appreciate the fiscal difficulties facing WBAI and the Pacifica network. However, the notion that WBAI's survival is dependent on relying on Mr. Null while spreading a message of death is antithetical to the mission of the station and of the Pacifica Network to which it belongs.
We call on WBAI management to immediately reverse its decision to add Mr. Null's program to its schedule.
Signed,[This list will continue to be updated]
Institutions:
ACT UP/East Bay, Berkeley-Oakland, CA
ACT UP/NY
ACT UP/Philadelphia
African Services Committee
AIDS Action Baltimore
AIDS Community Research Initiative of America (ACRIA)
AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition (ATAC)
Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project (CHAMP)
Foundation for Integrative AIDS Research (FIAR), Brooklyn, NY
Global AIDS Alliance
HealthGAP
Housing Works, Inc.
Middle East Childrens Alliance, Berkeley, CA
New York Buyers’ Club (NYBC)
Project Inform
Proyecto SOL Filadelphia
Treatment Action Group (TAG)Individuals:
Aaron Boyle
Alice Iversen, former Bd Member, Two Harbors, MN Co-op Credit Union and Community Health Center (the first community clinic n MMO in USA-see NY Times, 1947)
Amanda Lugg, African Services Committee
Andrew Velez
Andy Humm, veteran gay activist
Ann Brameier, L. Ac.
Ann Northrop, member, ACT UP/NY
Anna Forbes, MSS
Charles King, President and CEO, Housing Works
Charlotte Winczer
Chloé Forette, member, ACT UP/Paris
Dan Borden
Donald Grove
Elizabeth Harvey Richards
Ellen R. Shaffer, PhD MPH
Eric Sawyer
Eustacia Smith
George A. Bishopric, MD
George M. Carter, Director, FIAR
Grant Gailey
Gregory 'gar' Russell, ACT-UP/East Bay
Gus Cairns, editor, HIV Treatment Update
Hans Kindt
Holly Horne
James Wentzy
Jared Becker
Jeanne Bergman, AIDStruth.org
Jeff Burack, MD, East Bay AIDS Center, Oakland
Jennifer Getty, Atlanta, GA
Joel E. Gallant, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
John Iversen, enrolled member Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Berkeley Needle Exchange Co-founder
John Riley, member, ACT UP/NY
John Winters, ACT UP/East Bay
Jon Winkleman
Jose de Marco
Julene Weaver
Julie Davids, CHAMP
Ken Bing, member, ACT UP/NY
Kendall Q. Morrison
Laurie Wen, member, ACT UP/NY
Lily Kirsanow
Liz Highleyman
Lynda Dee, AIDS Action Baltimore
Marilyn Ringstaff, CNM, JD, Women of W.O.R.T.H., Inc.
Mark Milano
Matt Sharp
Maudelle Shirek, former Vice Mayor, Berkeley, CA
Michael Mooney
Nanette Kazuoka, member, ACT UP/NY
Nelson Vergel, Director, Program for Wellness Restoration
Nina Reznick, Esq.
Paul Dalton
Paul Davis, HealthGAP (Global Access Project), Kenya
Paul Iversen, Duluth, MN Central Labor Council, enrolled member Minnesota Chippewa Tribe
Paul Volberding, MD, San Francisco
Phyllis Bloom, L. Ac.
Richard Jeffreys
Rob Camp
Robert Carpick., OHD, Piladelphia, ACT UP/East Bay
Shoshana Silberman, NP
Steven Kovacev, marathon runner, author and 25+ year HIV survivor
Steve O'Brien, MD, East Bay AIDS Center, Oakland
Timothy Lunceford, member, ACT UP/NY
Tony Arena, member, ACT UP/NY
Tony Howard
Tym Tschneaux, ACT UP/East Bay
Udo Schuklenk, PhD
