The fat lady's singing alright

The fat lady's singing alright
Greg Crowhurst 8th Sept 2010

.... who could have envisaged Margaret Williams ever writing this  : "It may be coincidence, but a video is currently circulating on the internet featuring Francis Collins, Director of the NIH, singing “The Times They Are A-Changin’ “ on Capitol Hill (Rock Stars of Science: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SNHDlKYSt0&forumid=331851 )." 

So Near yet So far : http://www.meactionuk.org.uk/So-near-yet-so-far.htm

Such extraordinary times !! That  BBC story yesterday ,  confirming that the body is fighting infection in ME :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-11204884, 

then the CDC advertising for a new director to replace Reeves.  Harvey Alter's article -   the man who virtually discovered Hep C, finally being published in the PNAS.

 and what with  Jonathan Stoye, National Institute for Medical Research, UK   , speaking at the first International XMRV Conference  .....

hey, the fat lady's singing alright today, anyone can see that.

My concern is where do we go from here ....

For too long we, as an ME Community have been deeply divided ; that has been no coincidence : Divide and Conquer has always been used by the powerful, to oppress. Such oppression : 17 years of utter pain and agony for my wife and counting.... I find this lesson from the AIDS struggle very instructive :

"Oppressed and stigmatized communities are not only marginalized from the centers of power in society, but we are typically isolated from each other. We're often distrustful of each other because we haven't had the experience of working together toward common goals and because of the psychological and social consequences of oppression -- things like racism, sexism, and homophobia. We also often feel that we need to compete and sometimes fight with each other for a share of already scarce resources to meet our community's needs. As a larger community, it's important that we prioritize the most impacted groups so that everyone's needs are met. Conflict can sometimes emerge from this important dialogue, and that may be necessary for us to build unity based on honesty and trust. But it is not the same thing as allowing our adversaries to divide us, which is always harmful."

 
http://www.thebody.com/content/esp/art44132.html 

I have said before, I don't think we appreciate enough the power of the medical insurance lobby to shrug off whatever we throw at them. How they have got away with the nonsense over ME being a syndrome requiring behavior modification , despite all the medical evidence to the contrary is incredible. 

These are truly momentous times, history is finally  on our side and things are moving rapidly - however , like the AIDS community, we  have to become  much , much  more effective at taking a stand, at  fighting back. 

It's not over yet :

For the fat lady's singing :

"There's a battle outside ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'."

Bob Dylan