What’s Really Behind the Current Measles Outbreak?

What’s Really Behind the Current Measles Outbreak? Tedd Koren, DC In this nation of over 300 million, a little over a hundred cases of measles have been reported with no deaths. Some epidemic. Why is everyone so concerned? How many epidemic scares have we seen in the past few years? Both swine flu scares, SARS, bird flu, H1N1 flu, the Ebola scare and wasn’t heterosexual AIDS predicted to wipe out a quarter of the earth’s population? And this is only a partial list! As George Carlin once said, “Americans panic easily.” But who can blame us when the “experts” say terrible things are going to happen and the media doesn’t give the other side of a story? The media merely parrots the official medical party line and even ignores and mocks those with opposing views. The fact that they’ve been wrong every time doesn’t matter; people still freak out when told, “It’s coming and it’s gonna be bad this time.”   What exactly is measles? Measles is a short-lived viral infection that begins with a fever that lasts for a couple of days, followed by a cough, runny nose and conjunctivitis (pink eye). A rash starts on the face, hairline and upper neck, spreads down the back and trunk, and extends to the extremities. After about 5 days, the rash fades.   How dangerous is measles?     Measles is a mild and harmless disease that leaves a stronger, healthier child in its wake; most adults today who were born before 1965 got measles and have lifelong immunity as a result. Serious problems from measles are very, very rare. This, by the way, was standard medical policy; measles was just a rite of passage. It changed when the measles vaccine came on the market in the 1960s. Suddenly this mild, beneficial rite of passage became a deadly disease. Some MDs still don’t buy the hype. As Jay Gordon, MD, former UCLA Medical Center pediatrician recently said:   This measles outbreak does not pose a great risk to a healthy child and quite frankly I don't think it poses any risk to a healthy child. Doctor explains why he lets kids avoid the measles vaccine. http://vaccineimpact.com/2015/ucla-medical-center-pediatrician-let-parents-choose-on-measles-vaccine/#sthash.SvNqgHrZ.dpuf    How deadly is measles compared to the measles shot? Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, in an Associated Press interview in 2014 stated that there have been no measles deaths in the US since 2003. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr59/nvsr59_04.pdf http://vaccineimpact.com/2015/zero-u-s-measles-deaths-in-10-years-but-over-100-measles-vaccine-deaths-reported/#sthash.jsHvonAX.dpuf However, the CDC’s National Vital Statistics Reports show 2 deaths associated with measles for 2009 and 2010.   Now let’s look at this measles vaccine “Pediatricians continue to defend vaccination to the death.  The  question parents should be asking is, ‘Whose death?’ Robert Mendelsohn, MD Another government reporting agency, The National Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), reports 108 children died from the measles vaccine during a ten year period. http://www.medalerts.org/vaersdb/index.php But that may be a fraction of the real number because MDs often do not report vaccine injuries. Death certificates, usually filled out by MDs, very rarely mention vaccination as the cause of death. They may write encephalitis or brain inflammation rather than vaccination even though vaccines can cause brain inflammation) on the death certificate. We don’t know the real number of vaccine injuries and deaths. But they are most likely much greater than what VAERS reports due to underreporting. According to Dr. David Kessler, former head of the Food and Drug Administration, "Only about 1 percent of serious events [adverse drug reactions] are reported to the FDA." Kessler DA, Natanblut S, Kennedy D. et al. Introducing MEDWatch A New Approach to Reporting Medication and Device Adverse Effects and Product Problems. JAMA. 1993;269(21):2765-2768. We don’t know how many vaccine injuries and deaths there are but if we apply the above underreporting number to vaccine injuries then possibly as many as 10,800 children might have been harmed or killed by the measles vaccine during the period that at most four died from measles. In addition two serious diseases rarely found in the non-vaccinated:   Atypical measles Atypical measles occurs only in the vaccinated and can be fatal. http://www.cdph.ca.gov/HealthInfo/discond/Pages/Measles.aspx Atypical measles was initially thought to occur only in those who received the killed measles vaccine, but several investigators have reported this illness in children who had been vaccinated only with the live measles vaccine. Nichols EM. Atypical measles: a continuing problem. Am J Public Health. 1979;69(2):160-162. http://healthimpactnews.com/2013/outbreaks-of-measles-in-vaccinated-children-intensifying/#sthash.kXoMlUEy.dpuf   SSPE   The measles vaccine can also cause subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), which is 100% fatal, in a very small number of children.   SSPE is a progressive neurological disorder of children and young adults that affects the central nervous system (CNS). It is a slow, but persistent, viral infection caused by defective measles virus. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/subacute_panencephalitis/subacute_panencephalitis.htm   Measles amongst the non-vaccinated? The Amish are a religious community the vast majority of which are not vaccinated. They reported not a single case of measles between 1970 and 1987. Sutter RW, Markowitz LE, Bennetch JM, Morris W, Zell ER, Preblud SR. Measles among the Amish: a comparative study of measles severity in primary and secondary cases in households. J Infect Dis. 1991 Jan;163(1):12-6. while the local highly‐vaccinated communities still reported epidemics every 2‐3 year.  Based on this experience measles appears to circulate more amongst the vaccinated than the non-vaccinated.   Vaccine recalls However useful or safe properly manufactured, distributed and administered vaccines might be in theory—and the jury is still out on the issues of safety and efficacy for a number of vaccines—vaccine experts have repeatedly reversed themselves about the safety or effectiveness of vaccines they have previously sworn were safe.  Science often provides an imperfect answer. Properly tested and licensed vaccines were later found to cause injury and death and were stopped by vaccines authorities.  A 1993 MMR vaccine was found to cause mumps and encephalitis Sawada eta. 1993; Lancet 342 (7 August): 371 the Edmondson-Zagreb measles vaccine was stopped because children had an increased rick of death from other diseases years after vaccination Weiss, R. 1992.  Measles battle loses potent weapon. Science; 258 (23 October): 546-547 the pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine was boycotted by doctors in Japan after 57 severe reactions and 37 deaths. The Japanese government switched to a different vaccine Sato Y, et al. 1984. Development of a pertussis component vaccine n Japan. Lancet; 1: 122-126 and Noble GR et al. 1987 Acellular and whole-cell pertussis vaccines injapan:report of a visit by US scientists. J Amer Med Ass; 257: 1351-1356. In 2010, the Rotarix (rotavirus) vaccine was recalled because it was contaminated with DNA from pig virus. It was given to one million U.S. children, and about 30 million worldwide. A measles vaccine was also found to contain low levels of the retrovirus avian leukosis virus, and Rotateq, Merck's rotavirus vaccine, was found to contain a virus similar to simian (monkey) retrovirus. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/04/24/most-recalled-type-of-drug-will-surprise-you.aspx In 1955 hundreds of babies and adults came down with polio after they were vaccinated with the Salk vaccine.  The vaccination program was temporarily halted. Eventually the Salk vaccine was replaced with the Sabin vaccine that was found to cause polio and was then changed back to the Salk vaccine. People have a right to choose because the science is never absolute.   Vaccine fraud? Pharmaceutical companies have lost millions due to dishonest practices. In 8 years (2004-2012), there were twenty pharmaceutical company settlements in the $345 million to $3 billion range. Criminal fines in the $100’s of millions are common, and have been as high as $1 billion (Pfizer 2009, GlaxoSmithKline 2012). This is routine business practice. List of largest pharmaceutical settlements (2004 – 2012), Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_pharmaceutical_settlements Merck, manufacturer of the mumps vaccine, is going to trial in two separate lawsuits for allegedly falsifying the efficacy rate of its mumps vaccine. One suit was filed by former employee-whistleblowers, the other by pharmaceutical competitors. Lawsuits claiming Merck lied about mumps vaccine efficacy headed to trial, Fierce Vaccines, September 9, 2014, http://www.fiercevaccines.com/story/lawsuits-claiming-merck-lied-about-mumps-vaccine-efficacy-headed-trial/2014-09-09   Not only are vaccines dangerous, they are also ineffective Diseases have occurred in fully vaccinated populations. Here is a sampling of recent headlines: Immunized People Getting Whooping Cough http://www.kpbs.org/news/2014/jun/12/immunized-people-getting-whooping-cough/ Vaccine Failure — Over 1000 Got Mumps in NY in Last Six Months http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/03/06/vaccine-failure–over-1000-get-mumps-in-ny-in-last-six-months.aspx Over 98% were vaccinated in measles epidemic Hersh BS, Markowitz LE et al. A measles outbreak at a college with a prematriculation immunization requirement. Am J Public Health. 1991;81(3):360-364. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1994745 NY measles outbreak: 90% were vaccinated. http://experimentalvaccines.org/2014/03/31/new-york-measles-outbreak-90-vaccinated/ Ohio mumps outbreak: 97% vaccinated. http://experimentalvaccines.org/2014/04/03/ohio-mumps-outbreak-97-vaccinated/ Pertussis outbreak: 91% fully vaccinated. http://experimentalvaccines.org/2013/10/09/91-fully-vaccinated-involved-in-pertussis-outbreak/ 99% vaccinated in flu epidemic http://experimentalvaccines.org/2014/10/28/99-vaccinated-%20involved-in-navy-flu-outbreak/   Did vaccines eradicate measles? Deaths from measles, scarlet fever, typhoid, whooping cough, and diphtheria were down up to 99% BEFORE vaccination. The vaccines did nothing to increase the downward trend and may have kept the diseases from disappearing due to “viral shedding.” http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/salud/salud_vacunas145.htm The measles shot can only be said to work if it worked backwards in time. After the shot came out the drop in measles deaths stabilized. What caused the great drop? Clean water, sanitation, indoor toilets, hot and cold running water, less crowding and improved living conditions resulted in better resistance to disease. Medicine had comparatively little to do with it. You can’t cure an epidemic by throwing chemicals at it. By the way, there was no vaccine for scarlet fever yet deaths dropped just the same. Why? More proof that factors other than vaccination had the major role in decreasing deaths from childhood disease.   Autism and measles vaccine– coincidence?   Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes? – Chico Marx in Duck Soup (movie) Some medical experts say that they have proven that the measles vaccine does not cause autism yet mothers across America and around the world report a different experience. A mother brings her healthy child to the pediatrician for a measles shot. An hysterical mother calls soon afterwards saying something is wrong. Perhaps the child had a seizure shortly after the visit or spiked a high fever, slept for an entire day, stopped speaking, forgot his letters, no longer makes eye contact, is spinning in circles, is screaming and is no longer the child he was a few days ago. Sometimes the child dies (referred to as SIDS or crib death). Such events are reported repeatedly by mothers around the world after various vaccinations. In fact since 1987 the federal gov’t has paid over $3 billion to families whose child has died or been maimed for life after such an experience. “It’s just a coincidence,” the pediatrician says. But when he gets the same call about another child in his practice what does he say then? “These vaccines are safe, the government says so”? But when another, and another and another mother gives a similar story asking, “What did you do to my child?” How many times will the pediatrician say, “It’s just a coincidence”? This happens over and over – when do you allow parents to stop the shots? Who is right, the mother or the doctor? A medical researcher once told me, “Always go with the mother’s observation. She knows her child best.” The government says your child must be vaccinated, I say, let the mother choose. Even today the vaccination-mandate zealots belittle and dismiss the concerns of all parents by questioning their intelligence. http://slate.me/1A3oNGg Today’s medical denial of the vaccine-autism link reminds me of a scene in the Marx Brothers’ movie Duck Soup where Chico is caught red-handed dallying with a pretty young woman. He denies it adding, “Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes?”   Measles vaccine-autism link? Government authorities say they are confident they have proven that no link exists.  Is this enough to force parents to vaccinate their children? Autism affects as many as 1 in 50 children but a few decades ago (when vaccines were few) autism rates were 1 in 10,000. When will they stop the shots? When it’s one in two? We should note an interesting phenomenon: immigrants who come to the US from native lands that have never known autism (they don’t even have a word for it) suddenly find their American born (and vaccinated) children develop autism and other neurological disorders. https://www.autismspeakus.org/science/science-news/study-finds-high-rate-autism-among-minneapolis-somali-community   Say no to drugs Vaccines are unsafe and ineffective. It's time we simply said no to drugs – especially these drugs. They are creating a generation of sick children and bankrupting their parents. When I was in a large elementary school in New York I remember seeing three or four kids in a special class who were brain injured or had birth injuries. They were few. Years later entire classrooms would be devoted to brain injured (autistic and otherwise) children. Now there are entire schools for these children. Are we so sure that vaccines do not contribute to at least some of this damage to eliminate a parent’s right to choose not to expose their children to the possibility that vaccines might contribute to that damage? Despite the billions spent on media hype and corporate research science can never prove a negative. Repeatedly experts have told us they know the truth, to change their minds later. No studies trying to placate an increasingly concerned public, no media hype designed to humiliate parental vaccine doubters can stop vaccine-damaged kids from coming whatever the source. For many patients the vaccine decision comes down to a child having a week lost from school or the possibility of a lifetime lost.   Autism is just the tip of the iceberg Sadly, autism is just the tip of the iceberg. We have a generation of chronically ill children. Today one in six children has neurodevelopmental disorders, one in eleven has asthma, one in twelve has food allergies, and one in 400 has diabetes. Let’s not forget ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, “processing disorders,” vision and hearing disorders, digestive disorders, immune system disorders and more. It’s getting worse. For how long will parents be denied the truth? They know their child. They even have videos of their child before and after the shot – it’s not the same child. Whatever shots are doing they are not preventing children from getting sicker. They are not preventing autism and the growing number of health problems faced by children. As Viera Scheibner, Ph.D. writes British Medical Journal Rapid Response 24 March 2005:   The fact is that there IS evidence of the causal link between MMR and autism - perhaps the best one is that the autistic children are the living proof documented by many of their parents’ videos ‘before’ and ‘after’… However not just is there an obvious temporal association but all the criteria for establishing a causal link set by “the father of medical statistics”, Bradford Hill (1969) “The environment and disease: association or causation?”,Proc Royal Soc Med:295-300 are met, including very importantly, biological plausibility. There is a debate on this issue – why does the media, the pharmaceutical companies and many medical doctors ignore this and assume the matter is settled? Much research links autism and vaccination. Here is one link citing 97 research papers connecting autism and vaccines. At the least there is controversy so why not err on the side of caution? http://experimentalvaccines.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/86-Research-Papers-Supporting-the-Vaccine-Autism-Link.pdf Why should government strong-arm tactics and media hype override what parents believe on their own experience and scientists find in study after study? While it may not be conclusive, any argument that says, “We have proven that there is no link” is also not conclusive.  Why should the government prevent parents from erring on the side of caution?   Why do they call them childhood diseases? Why do they call measles, mumps, chicken pox and the rest childhood diseases? This is not a trick question. The answer is simple; they were contracted during childhood. Not as a baby, not as an adult, teenager, or – but a child usually around ages 4,5,6,7. It happens after you’ve used up the immunity you got from your mother (known as passive immunity). When I was a kid almost nobody got measles in high school. You rarely if ever heard of an infant getting measles. But now newborns, infants, babies, teenagers and adults get measles and other “childhood” diseases. Why aren't they childhood diseases like they used to be? It’s because vaccination has altered the natural immunity cycles. Some research reveals that childhood vaccination appears to upset the age of occurrence of disease and is responsible for babies and adults getting these diseases – ages when they are more dangerous and even fatal. http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/dangers-of-childhood-diseases-for-adults It is important for people to get measles when they are children. Not before and not after.  Vaccination disturbs this natural order of life.   California Measles Surveillance Update February 13, 2015 Since December 2014, there have been 113 confirmed measles cases reported in California residents. Table 3. Age distribution of confirmed measles cases. http://bit.ly/1A42coj As you can see from the above chart the majority of those that got the “childhood disease” measles were not children. They were infants and adults. Why?   What changed things? When little girls normally got measles and other childhood diseases they developed full immunity and years later they were able to pass on that immunity to their unborn child. Their baby is born protected against measles and lots of other diseases from the protection the mother passes on during pregnancy through the placenta (hence the term “transplacental” immunity). Breastfeeding also permits the baby to obtain additional immune factors from the mother.   Vaccinations interfere with transplacental immunity   One unanswered question is: when a little girl is vaccinated is she not able to develop full natural immunity? She passes on less immune factors to her unborn child. It has been shown that breastfed infants of vaccinated mothers have nearly three times the risk of measles infection compared to those of naturally immune mothers.  In 1963 the measles vaccine was introduced and the following was discovered:   Infants whose mothers were born after 1963 had a measles attack rate of 33%, compared to 12% for infants of older mothers. Infants whose mothers were born after 1963 are more susceptible to measles than are infants of older mothers. An increasing proportion of infants born in the United States may be susceptible to measles. . . Papania M. et al., Increased susceptibility to measles in infants in the United States, Pediatrics, November 1999, Vol. 1045, No. 5, e59, pp. 1-6. Are babies today getting measles because their mothers were vaccinated and stopped long-term breastfeeding?   Antibody levels are lower in women young enough to have been immunized by vaccination than older women”. Lennon JL and Black FL. Maternally derived measles immunity in era of vaccine-protected mothers. J Pediatrics. 108(1):n671-676. Is that why newborns and infants today can develop what used to be “childhood” diseases? Vaccine mandates are imposed upon millions of children without addressing this question.   What’s in a vaccine? In addition to live and killed bacteria, viruses and their toxins, children are injected with some of the most lethal poisons known: formaldehyde, mercury, aluminum, phenol (carbolic acid), borax (ant killer), ethylene glycol (antifreeze), dye, acetone (nail polish remover), latex, MSG, glycerol, polysorbate 80/20, sorbitol, monkey, cow, chick, pig, sheep and dog tissues and cells (may be contaminated with animal viruses), gelatin, casein, fragments of human fetus cells, human viruses, antibiotics, genetically modified yeast, animal, bacterial and viral DNA (may affect recipient's DNA) – all of these substances are contained in one or more vaccines. It is scientifically established that mercury poisons the nervous system Vimy MJ, Lorscheider FL. Faculty of Medicine, Univ. Of Calgary, July 1991. (Study findings) & J. Trace Elem. Exper. Med. 1990;3:111-123.] in addition research also reveals that the aluminum in vaccines may be as poisonous as mercury. Shaw C, Petrik MS. Aluminum hydroxide injections lead to motor deficits and motor neuron degeneration. J Inorg Biochem. 2009;103(11):1555.   Synergy While mercury is not in the MMR shot even more significant is that the synergistic effect of adding many of the vaccine’s ingredients together have not been studied in children. We really don’t know what the chemicals we are putting into children does to them. More and more vaccines are recommended and mandated (101 vaccines in multiple doses by the time a child is child age (CDC recommended vaccination schedule 2015) and yet the safety of the entire vaccine schedule has not been studied:   It is indisputable that the vaccination schedule has never been tested for safety in its entirety, or in the way that it is administered. In other words, while the government renews, licenses, and compels individual vaccines, it does not test – or require vaccine makes to test – the safety and efficacy of vaccines given simultaneously or the cumulative effects of multiple vaccines.  Allen Tate, The Greater Good. Chapter Ten.  Vaccine Epidemic Edited by Habakus and Holland p.83 Skyhorse Publishing: New york 2011. One expert’s concern reflects those of others:   What if it were true that the way we now vaccinate our children causes more death, chronic disease, and disability than it prevents in America? Judy Converse, MPH, RD, LD On a personal note My work investigating the issue of vaccination reached a new level of clinical insight after developing Koren Specific Technique; a healthcare protocol used to determine if a patient has toxic, emotional or structural stress causing or contributing to their problems. I consistently found that autistic children revealed greater toxicity than non-vaccinated children.   Childhood diseases are good for children Finally, the traditional hygienic school of health must be addressed because lost in the argument about measles is the fact that Infectious diseases of childhood are good for the overall health of the child and society. The hygienic school is a long-standing approach towards health that sees the body acting intelligently and that symptoms serve a purpose. By suppressing symptoms we interfere with body function and drive disease deeper. The child experiences physical and mental growth spurts following a childhood infectious disease. That is noticed in cultures all over the world. For example, in India measles is referred to as “visitation from a goddess.” As the medical historian Harris Coulter, PhD writes:   Contracting and overcoming childhood diseases are part of a developmental process that actually helps develop a healthy, robust, adult immune system able to meet the challenges that inevitable encounters with viruses and bacteria will present later on. Coulter HL. Vaccination, Social Violence and Criminality: The Medical Assault on the American Brain. Washington, DC: Center for Empirical Medicine. 1990. That may include protection from cancer: The study consistently revealed a lower cancer risk for patients with a history of febrile infectious childhood diseases. Albonico HU, Braker HU, Husler J. Febrile infectious childhood diseases in the history of cancer patients and matched controls. Medical Hypotheses. 1998;51(4):315-320. Others have observed the link between cancer and vaccinations.   I am convinced that the increase of cancer is due to vaccination. –  Forbes Laurie, MD, Medical Director of the Metropolitan Cancer Hospital, London. Quoted: Vaccines, Are They Really Safe and Effective? by Neil Miller The most frequent disposing condition for cancerous development is … vaccination and re-vaccination. – Dennis Turnbull, MD (30 years cancer researcher) Quoted: Vaccines, Are They Really Safe and Effective? by Neil Miller The Australian vaccine researcher Vera Scheibner, PhD writes:   There is no need to protect children from contracting infectious diseases of childhood. These diseases are there to prime and mature their immune system … chronic ill-health, colds, otitis media, and upper and lower respiratory tract diseases are well-documented in vaccinated children…. A well-nourished child will go through rubella, whooping cough, chicken pox and the rest with flying colors. Scheibner V. Immunization: The Medical Assault on the Immune System. Blackheath, Australia: Author,1993; xxii. A logical person, reading the above, would take their child to a measles party and never give the measles vaccine to them. But with vaccination we’re usually dealing with emotion, not logic. We’re dealing with fear mongering from the medical profession and the media. Hence the uproar over a mild condition that is ultimately a blessing in disguise. The vaccine-mandate zealots move forwards with more and more vaccines to be given to our children (and adults) without addressing these very important questions – questions that might have life or death significance.   What should we do about measles epidemics? The vaccine-mandate zealots believe they have the facts, all the facts, and nothing but the facts. However the reality is that they are often mistaken. Among mistakes made about vaccines in the past was that measles would be completely eradicated in 1982. Hinman AR, 1979. The opportunity and obligation to eliminate measles from the United State. J Am Med Ass; 242 (11): 1157-1162 And that it was eradicated in the US in 2000. This is from the US Centers for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/faqs.html   Q: Has measles been eliminated from the United States? A: Yes. In 2000, the United States declared that measles was eliminated from this country. The United States was able to eliminate measles because it has a highly effective measles vaccine, a strong vaccination program that achieves high vaccine coverage in children and a strong public health system for detecting and responding to measles cases and outbreaks. Childhood diseases run in cycles no matter how much or how little vaccination is done, no matter how much money is spent.   Every 2-3 years, there is an upsurge of measles irrespective of vaccination compliance. Robertson SE, Markowitz LE, Dini EF, and Orenstein WA. 1992. A million dollar measles outbreak: epidemiology, risk factors, and selective revaccination strategy. Publ Health Reports; 197 (1): 24-31. See more at: http://www.vaccinationcouncil.org/2013/01/18/the-ineffectiveness-of-measles-vaccines-and-other-unintended-consequences-by-dr-viera-scheibner-phd/#sthash.Qi7hw6ru.dpuf How many children must die, be crippled physically and mentally and live lost lives before we recognize what we have done? In our worship of technology when will we recognize our hubris and realize that we are not God?  We do not know enough to justify mandating 101 vaccinations from birth, for every single child. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/imz/child-adolescent.html What should we do about measles epidemics?  We must work with nature. Since measles returns cyclically irrespective of vaccination rates, returning to traditional healing wisdom will return us to a time when autism, allergies, asthma, diabetes and other illnesses seen so often in children today will once again be rare or non-existent. That is what led Dr. Robert Mendelsohn, the famous pediatrician and anti-vaccination campaigner to say, “One grandmother is worth two MDs.” A sick child needs love, nourishment, comfort and support while they are going through a healing crisis no matter what the cause.  Natural, non-suppressive healthcare systems such as chiropractic, homeopathy, naturopathy, herbalism, Chinese Medicine, Indian Medicine and many other “natural” systems work with the body. Researchers, medical doctors and health educators need to remember our place in nature, acknowledge our limitations and learn some humility. In our struggle to “conquer” disease we have unleashed an epidemic of chronically ill children who would have been far better had we not interfered with natural diseases and instead worked with the natural cycles of life; recognizing that the wisdom that permeates nature is wiser than us all.     Tedd Koren, DC founded Koren Publications, Inc.  (www.korenpublications.com) to further patient and provider education. He is the developer of Koren Specific Technique [KST] (www.korenspecifictechnique.com), a breakthrough in patient care. His book Childhood Vaccinations: Questions all Parents Should Ask is available from Koren Publications. For more controversial, yet eye-opening articles and cutting edge research please visit http://www.teddkorenseminars.com/articles.asp Dr. Koren can be contacted at dr.koren@korenpublications.com.

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Fake IRS phone calls tops list of tax scams

By Jeanne Sahadi   @CNNMoney

If someone calls saying he's an IRS agent and demands that you send money immediately, hang up.

It's a phone scam.

In fact, it tops the IRS "Dirty Dozen" list of tax scams this year, and it's been surging in recent months, the agency said Thursday.

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), which oversees the IRS, has received reports of 290,000 scam calls since October 2013 and said nearly 3,000 victims have been swindled out of $14 million so far.

By altering their caller ID number to make it look like they're calling from an IRS office, these scammers often threaten vulnerable people like the elderly and new immigrants with things like arrest, deportation or the loss of their driver's license if they don't pay immediately for money purportedly owed.

Related: 7 most common tax mistakes

Often leaving messages that say it's "urgent" you call them back, the scammers use common names and sometimes say they are from the IRS Criminal Division. They may even claim to know the last four digits of your Social Security number and send follow-up emails that appear to be from the IRS, TIGTA said.

 They often demand that payments be made by prepaid debit card.
Once they make their threats, the scammers have been known to call back and again disguise their caller ID so it appears they are calling from the police department or the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

Or sometimes when they call, they may say you have a refund due and ask you to provide personal information so you can claim it.

The real IRS will usually contact you by regular mail first, if it needs to contact you at all. And the agency never demands immediate payment by phone or asks for credit card or debit numbers if they do call. It also never asks for personal or financial information by email, text or social media.
If you get what you suspect is a scam call, report it to TIGTA through its Web site or call 800-366-4484. 

IRS warns of shady tax preparers stealing refunds and identities

By Jeanne Sahadi   @CNNMoney

Tax preparers are supposed to help you navigate the complex world of tax returns and tax laws, not steal your money.

While most preparers provide "honest, high-quality" service, there are some who are dishonest and unscrupulous, the IRS said Tuesday. They will engage in refund fraud, identity theft and other illegal scams that can hurt you.

"We see bad actors every year that steal from their clients or compromise returns in ways that can severely harm taxpayers," said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen in a statement.

Roughly 60% of tax filers use tax return preparers. If you're among them, the IRS recommends you choose carefully.

Make sure they have an IRS Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) for 2015. This certifies the person is authorized to prepare federal tax returns.

Related: Fake IRS phone calls top list of tax scams

Check to see if the preparer has any special credentials. Some preparers may be certified public accountants, attorneys or enrolled agents (EA). An EA is certified to represent you before the IRS. Some belong to professional tax organizations, or have completed continuing tax education courses to keep current on the latest changes in tax law. For instance, this year all tax preparers should be up to speed on all the ways the Affordable Care Act provisions might affect clients' tax situation.

Don't use someone who bases his fee on the size of your refund. And always have your refund sent directly to you or your bank account. Never have the IRS deposit it directly into your tax preparer's bank account.

Work with preparers who can e-file your return. Tax professionals who prepare more than 10 returns must be able to file returns electronically, which is the safest and most accurate way to file, according to the IRS.

Pick a preparer who will be available after April 15. You need to know you can contact your preparer after your return is filed should questions arise.

Avoid preparers who don't ask to see your records and receipts. They need to verify what you tell them, and you need to have proof of anything the preparer puts on your return. Avoid anyone who says he can just file your return using your last pay stub instead of your official W-2 form from your employer.

Related: IRS warns of phishing tax scams, fake emails
Also steer clear of someone who encourages you to make up expenses or claim tax breaks you know you're not eligible for and can't back up with records.
Don't sign a blank or incomplete return. You're legally responsible for all the information on your return. So you have to review everything on it and get any questions you have answered or errors corrected before signing it. Don't just trust your preparer to take care of everything without your oversight.
Make sure the preparer signs the return and gives you a copy. A paid preparer is required to sign her name and include her PTIN on your return. She should also give you a copy of the completed return sent to the IRS.

If you think you've been scammed by a tax preparer, report it to the IRS by filling out two forms: Form 14157, which registers your complaint; and Form 14157-A, if you suspect the preparer filed or changed your return without your consent.