Leonard Horowitz

Leonard George Horowitz DMD, MA, MPH (b. 1952- ) is a former dentist, a health industry entrepreneur, and the author of a number of books, pamphlets, DVDs, CDs and articles on public health issues; the books and pamphlets have been published under his own Tetrahedron imprint.

Biography

Among Dr. Horowitz's better-known titles are "Deadly Innocence: Solving the Greatest Murder Mystery in the History of American Medicine" (1994), in which he claims that Kimberly Bergalis' dentist, David J. Acer was a pedophile and a serial killer who used HIV as his murder weapon; and "Emerging Viruses: Aids & Ebola - Nature, Accident or Intentional?" (1996), which advances the theory that AIDS and Ebola were engineered by the U.S. government with biological warfare and genocide in mind. As an author, the themes he has taken up over the years have moved away from public health advice related to dentistry, and on to general health-related conspiracy theories, opposition to vaccination, and New Age therapies, with elements of numerology and Christian apocalyptic prophesy.

Dr. Horowitz works closely with some Web-based vendors of Holistic Health remedies of various kinds, occasionally setting up their websites for them. In the immediate wake of the 2003 SARS outbreak, he and some associates promoted what they claimed was "effective treatment" for the disease, a spectrum of naturopathic products all using the name "Urbani"; Dr. Carlo Urbani, then recently deceased of SARS, had first reported the disease to the World Health Organization (WHO). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Fair Trade Commission (FTC) warned Dr. Horowitz about the products' clear regulatory infringements, but it appears he has never permanently stopped marketing the claimed SARS remedies. As an apparent adjunct to his other health-related businesses, Dr. Horowitz has also attempted to operate a spa in Hawaii, called Steam Vent Inn [http://www.steamventinn.com] . It has apparently been shut down by the County of Hawai'i Planning Department since 2006.

Dr. Horowitz's theories about viruses and about the dangers of vaccination have been well-received in some quarters. On several websites besides Dr. Horowitz's own, Bo Gritz is quoted suggesting that he deserves a Nobel Prize. The Nation of Islam cautioned African-American parents about vaccination of their children, and Dr. Horowitz seems to have had significant influence on their decision to make this announcement. On May 28th, 2008, Senator Barack Obama's former pastor at Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, mentioned Dr. Horowitz's "Emerging Viruses: AIDS and Ebola" in defense of a statement Wright had made during a sermon: that the U.S. Government "lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color." Many might term Horowitz's conclusions conspiracy theories, and it appears that Dr. Horowitz himself would be among them, since he was a speaker at Conspiracy Con in 2001, 2004 and 2007. [ [http://www.conspiracycon.com/audiotapes.html conspiracycon.com, "Video & Audio Page 2008"] , accessed 2008-05-02]

Career as a Dental and Public Health Researcher

Dr. Horowitz has published around 20 papers in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of the American Dental Association ["A review of marijuana in relation to stress-response mechanisms in the dental patient", LG Horowitz, RR Nersasion, J Am Dent Assoc, Vol 96, No 6, 1978] , General Dentistry ["Audiotaped relaxation, implosion, and rehearsal for the treatment of patients with dental phobia", Gen Dent. 1992 May-Jun;40(3):242-7] , and the Journal of School Health ["Self-care motivation: a model for primary preventive oral health behavior change", J Sch Health. 1987 Mar;57(3):114-8] .

Beginning in the early nineties, AIDS hygiene in dentistry and addressing patient fears about AIDS risks in the dental office became dominant themes in self-published titles, as well as in his peer-reviewed work. [ [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=Search&Term=%22Horowitz%20LG%22%5BAuthor%5D&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DiscoveryPanel.Pubmed_RVAbstractPlus "Horowitz LG" (Author) - PubMed Results] . (Note that Dr. Horowit's single journal paper after 1996 is in Medical Hypotheses, which is not peer reviewed.] . These subjects became topical in the early 90s with the controversial case of Kimberly Bergalis. Bergalis and five other patients were widely reported to have contracted HIV from their HIV-infected dentist, David J. Acer. Initial inquiries concluded that the patients all had the same strain of HIV, and that Dr. Acer was the most likely source of infection.

Starting from some time in the early-to-mid 1990s, Dr. Horowitz's opinions and thinking began to consistently fall well outside the mainstream of medical thought, though perhaps some such tendency was prefigured in one of his publications over a decade earlier, "In Defense of Holistic Health" ["In defense of Holistic Health", J Am Dent Assoc. 1981 Feb;102(2):154, 156.] . His personal investigation of Dr. Acer's case appears to be the starting point for his career as an author of books and other media concerned with medical conspiracies, since it concluded not only that Dr. Acer had acted with murderous intent, but also that the U.S. government had covered up evidence that HIV had been engineered. At the International AIDS Conference in Vancouver in 1996, the abstract for a presentation in which Horowitz is named as lead-investigator says that "the genocidal theory of AIDS could not be ruled out." [Citation
first1 = LG | last1 = Horowitz
first2 = Strecker | last2 = R
last3 = Cantwell | first3 = A
last4 = Vid | first4 = D
last5 = Grossman | first5 = G
contribution =
contribution-url =
title = The mysterious origin of HIV: reviewing the natural, iatrogenic, and genocidal theories of AIDS
year = 1996
pages =
place = Vancouver
publisher = Int Conf AIDS
url = http://www.aegis.com/conferences/iac/1996/WeD3678.html
doi =
id = .] In 1999, Da Vid, one of Dr. Horowitz's collaborators on the research presented at the Vancouver AIDS conference, said of his AIDS conspiracy theories that he was "giving too much credit to these people being so well organized ... I told him directly I thought he'd gone off the deep end." [cite news
last = Heather
first = Lalley
coauthors =
title = Dentist Prescribes Conspiracies; Modern Medicine Spreading Plagues for Profit, Says Prolific Author, Speaker
work =
pages = A1
language =
publisher = The Spokesman-Review (Spokane WA)
date =
url = http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Leonard.Horowitz+%22he%27d+gone+off+the+deep+end%22+-encyclopedia
accessdate = Apparent full text found in discussion section at blacklisted hyperlink www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/577695/replies?c=10.]

Role in the Kimberly Bergalis Controversy

In 1994, Dr. Horowitz published some papers [ [http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&cluster=15209413799996230977 Murder and cover-up could explain the Florida dental AIDS mystery. LG Horowitz - Br Dent J, 1994] ] [ [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7865426 Sexual homicide with HIV in a Florida dental office? J Clin Pediatr Dent. 1994 Fall;19(1):61-4] ] on the case of David J. Acer, a Florida dentist who, according to U.S. federal and Florida state health agencies ["AIDS Mystery That Won't Go Away: Did a Dentist Infect 6 Patients?", Lawrence K. Altman, M.D., New York Times, July 5, 1994] ,had somehow infected six of his patients with HIV. With the publication of his book on the theory that Acer was actually murdering his patients, "Deadly Innocence: Solving the Greatest Murder Mystery in the History of American Medicine", Dr. Horowitz came to the attention of some in the press. [ [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=WT&p_theme=wt&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB0F0A504F0CD32&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM "AIDS dentist called `serial killer'", Washington Times, Apr 2, 1994] ] ["Dentist with AIDS Possibly Infected Some Patients Deliberately", The Deseret News, Sep 1, 1994] ["The Gravest Show on Earth: America in the Age of AIDS", Elinor Burkett, 1995; p. 133] Dr. Horowitz was not alone in concluding that Acer had acted with murderous intent; reporters were quoting reputable sources making remarks like "It was murder ... simply because we've eliminated everything else," and "Whether it's scientifically valid or not, it is definitely the most prevalent theory today—at least in the dental community." [As quoted in [http://www.fas.org/irp/threat/cbw/carus.pdf "Bioterrorism and Biocrimes: The Illicit Use of Biological Agents Since 1900"] , W. Seth Carus, Center for Counterproliferation Research, National Defense University; p.80] The case evoked great public and professional concern, as it seemed to be the first known instance not only of dentist-to-patient HIV transmission, but of such transmission from any class of health provider, and because of the number of apparent HIV transmissions from a single practitioner. [Ibid.]

Earlier investigations had concluded that Dr. Acer's patients had probably been infected by procedural errors on Acer's part. However, the precise route of transmission was never identified, and numerous possible errors in CDC analysis and discrepancies in some infected patients' accounts emerged under investigation. Public attention to the review of the case peaked around the time of a June 1994 60 Minutes segment devoted to the issues. [ [http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/124/2/250 "The 1990 Florida Dental Investigation: Is the Case Really Closed?", Stephen Barr, 15 Jan 1996, Vol 124 Iss 2, pp. 250-254] ] It was no longer considered intolerably unreasonable to suggest that Dr. Acer's HIV-infected patients had simply lied about sexual activities or injection drug use, or that the CDC's analysis of HIV viral-strain similarity might have been flawed. ["What if the dentist didn't do it?", New York Times op-ed, Stephen Barr, 16 Apr 1994] However, months before the 60 Minutes segment, on April 2nd, 1994, Dr. Horowitz had already been noted as offering a competing theory: given how unlikely "accidental" dentist-to-patient transmission appeared to be, only practitioner "intent" could explain the cluster of transmissions. [See above 2 Apr 94 Washington Times story] In short, Dr. Horowitz's position was that Acer had killed Bergalis and other patients of his, by knowingly infecting them with HIV, motivated largely by a political agenda.

What distinguishes Dr. Horowitz's allegations from those of others commenting on the case during the 1994 controversy is that they were not limited to imputation of nefarious intent on Dr. Acer's part, but also implicated U.S. government agencies, both state and federal, in a coverup. What he wrote in "Deadly Innocence" prefigured his later writings in support of AIDS conspiracy theories. According to Dr. Horowitz,

"The [CDC] and Florida health officials had covered up almost all of the incriminating evidence linking Dr. Acer to thirty six serial killers studied by the FBI ... I was forced to conclude the authorities covered up the evidence implicating Dr. Acer to prevent the media, and subsequently the public, from probing into his background. The legal testimony in the case indicated he believed he was dying of a virus that the government had created. Dr. Acer, his best friend testified, believed that the virus had been unleashed for genocide against America's gay community and Third World Blacks. ["Profile in Making a Difference", undated press release, at www.tetrahedron.org/news/making_a_difference.html, reported there as being in press at a Dallas-based magazine, Holistic Networker, TX]

However, Edward Parsons, the "best friend" Dr. Horowitz cites above, in his actual testimony under oath, is reported to have said "only that Acer was angry about his AIDS infection, and he specifically said that Acer did not tell him that he was going to intentionally infect patients." [Carus, op. cit., p.80] Elsewhere, Parsons is quoted saying Dr. Acer mentioned hemophiliacs, drug addicts and gay men [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CEEDD1130F935A35755C0A965958260&sec=health&spon=&pagewanted=1 "AIDS and a dentist's secrets", 6 June 1993, New York Times] ] , among the categories that he said Dr. Acer felt were so marginal that the government wouldn't act concertedly on AIDS. However, Parsons mentions no racial, ethnic or national category, and nowhere is Parsons quoted to the efffect that Dr. Acer had said the virus was created by the U.S. government, accidentally or intentionally, or that it had been intentionally released for any purpose by any government.

Reception of "Emerging Viruses: Ebola and AIDS"

In 1996, Dr. Horowitz published "Emerging Viruses: AIDS and Ebola -- Nature, Accident or Intentional? ". Its publication resulted in invitations to speak on a community cable channel [ [http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/morgue/listings/1996_Oct_18.cable.html "Palo Alto Online", Oct 18, 1996, Cable Co-op Channel 6 Schedule ] ] , and as the keynote speaker at an epidemic diseases seminar [ [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PG&p_theme=pg&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EADFBB178AC6ADC&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM "Epidemic Seminar", June 14, 1997, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette] ] , but otherwise seems to have gone mostly unnoticed at the time. It has attracted negligible attention from mainstream book reviewers since first publication, possibly because it is a self-published title containing conspiracy theories. However, as of May 2008, "Emerging Viruses" had come to be ranked above Richard Preston's "The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story" and Laurie Garrett's "The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance" in the Amazon categories of "Infectious Disease" and "Communicable Diseases". It also had an overall Amazon sales rank above that of either book. "The Hot Zone" and "The Coming Plague", which have been in print for about the same length of time, enjoyed the support of mainstream publishers and mainstream reviewers; "Emerging Viruses" did not. The adherents of conspiracy theories are noted for interpreting negligence of a theory by the mainstream press as supportive evidence for the theory; the relative sales performance of "Emerging Viruses" is perhaps a rough indicator of this predisposition.

The book's theories about vaccine contamination were approvingly noted in "AIDS in Africa: How the Poor are Dying" ["AIDS in Africa: How the Poor are Dying", Nana K. Poku, p. 56] (2006), in a passage suggesting strong support for iatrogenic theories about HIV. The book was briefly noted in "Facing a Pandemic: The African Church and the Crisis of HIV/AIDS" ["Facing a Pandemic: The African Church and the Crisis of HIV/AIDS", Elias Kifon Bongmba, 2007, [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=53NuhEmncxAC&printsec=frontcover#PPA13,M1 p.13] , in a chapter assessing AIDS from an African perspective.] , in a list of alternative theories and urban legends about the origins of the AIDS pandemic, insofar as they relate to African origins. The book is also reviewed in Diane Rozario's "The Immunization Resource Guide" ["The Immunization Resource Guide: Where to Find Answers to All Your Questions about Childhood Vaccinations", Diane Rozario; pp.61-63] ; Rozario is skeptical of Dr. Horowitz's theory that HIV was engineered, but more receptive of his speculations about accidental iatrogenesis.

"Emerging Viruses" is cited, quoted and discussed in a number of books about conspiracy theories, mostly approvingly in the case of books written by conspiracy theorists; the genre is at least as intertwined as its theories. Among those who study conspiracy theorizing from a mainstream social pychology perspective, Horowitz seems to be a favored example, along with a few others of the genre who are endowed with a persuasively scholarly and scientific style carried over from mainstream research earlier in their careers. [See, for example, "Conspiracy Panics: Political Rationality and Popular Culture", Jack Z. Bratich; pp.118-119. After a brief review of Dr. Horowitz's thinking on HIV/AIDS iatrogenesis in a chapter on AIDS medical conspiracies, Bratich writes::For many knowledge gangsters, the truthful authority of their narrative is assumed because it is based on science. Such AIDS conspiracy researchers as Cantwell, Strecker, Douglass and Horowitz have drifted from mainstream medicine and science to the marginal status of renegade scientists, but their narratives retain scientific trappings. They seek authority through their own pedigrees, they conduct research, and their reports contain the language and styles of citation and evidence employed in mainstream AIDS science.] .

Claims of a Treatment for SARS

In a press release dated May 6th, 2003, Dr. Horowitz announced on his (now defunct) website for Healthy World Distributing, LLC that he had, in collaboration with naturopath Joseph Puleo and others, co-developed remedies for SARS. The press release mentions experimental evidence of the efficacy of one of the remedy's ingredients against coronavirus cultures, as well as the results of trials allegedly conducted by Puleo on patients with coronavirus infections. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20030603165630/healthyworlddistributing.com/default2.aspx "DOCTORS MAKE NATURAL TREATMENT FOR SARS AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE", Healthy World Distributing press release, May 6th, 2003] ] The coronavirus theory of SARS had been announced on or around March 24, 2002, [ [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-245285.html "Cold Virus Linked to Outbreak; CDC Says New Version of Coronavirus Is Likely Cause", March 25, 2003] ] . Thus, Healthy World Distributing was then claiming "an effective treatment" a mere 6 weeks after the initial identification of virus type. [There is as of early 2008 still no recognized treatment for SARS, apart from measures to reduce fever.] These claims attracted some press attention. [ [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-73825824.html "A Rush of Products Ready (or Not) to Fight SARS", Washington Post, May 10, 2003] ]

The SARS remedies mentioned in Healthy World Distributing's press release all carried the name of "Urbani" in one variation or another. This labeling was ostensibly to "recognize" Carlo Urbani, who had first identified SARS to the World Health Organization as a new, infectious and lethal disease, after it had spread from China to Vietnam, and who had died of SARS shortly afterward on March 29th, 2003. However, the press release did not mention Urbani's role in initial reporting of SARS as such; rather, he is mentioned as "one of the early victims" of SARS, and as a doctor who had been treating patients.

In 2004, the FDA sent Dr. Horowitz a letter of warning regarding his marketing of supposed remedies for SARS [ [http://www.casewatch.org/fdawarning/prod/2004/horowitz.shtml "Warning Letter SEA 04-30", May 19, 2004] ] . In response to a warning notice from the FTC on May 12, 2003, Horowitz replied the same day, at length, in an [http://web.archive.org/web/20030622131510/www.cureforsars.net/press/letter.htm "urgent open letter"] on one of his (now defunct) websites, CureforSARS.net. After referring to research that Horowitz said supported the viability of his SARS remedy, he wrote::We do not recognize the FDA, or your "commission" in collaboration with them, pursuant to this notice, as anything other than irresponsible, misplaced, and misdirected authority; ... [t] he insidious economic motive behind your political notice is transparent among well-educated consumers and natural healthcare investigators and providers.

::Such commercial interference, allegedly on behalf of American consumers and public health, is rooted in the advancing Anglo-American global Codex Alimentarious (sic) legislation that seeks to control all non-patent-protected natural cures and treatments on behalf of multinational drug companies (best termed the "global petrochemical-pharmaceutical cartel").

It appears that Horowitz continues to advertise SARS remedies that are similar, if not identical, in composition, as "Urbani SARS Formula." [www.tetrahedron.org/news/NR030507.html carries a version of the 6 May 2003 press release, with the same date. However, none of the originally touted SARS remedies can be found under the names specifically mentioned in the FDA warning notice; there is only a mention of an "Urbani SARS Formula". This Tetrahedron.org page is linked from www.healingcelebrations.com, which is registered by Healthy World Distributing. The WHOIS database reports a Len Horowitz (contact [e-mail]) as the administrative contact for healthyworlddistributing.com, healingcelebrations.com and CureforSARS.net, with the same surface mail address for all three.]

Racial Controversies

Horowitz has been cited as influential in the decision of the Nation of Islam to call for a boycott of U.S.-sponsored vaccination programs:::... Horowitz's account of the genocidal proclivities of governments and pharmaceutical companies has been taken up by the Nation of Islam. As Horowitz relates in the epilogue to the "expanded Reference Edition" [of "Emerging Viruses"] published in 1998, he was invited by Alim Muhammad, health minister of the Nation of Islam, to address a meeting headed by Louis Farrakhan. Convinced by Horowitz's account of the dangerous contamination of vaccines by unknown or possibly man-made viruses, the Nation of Islam recommended the black community should boycott all compulsory vaccination programs for children in the U.S. [Conspiracy Culture: From the Kennedy Assassination to the X-files, Peter Knight, "Conspiracy Culture: From the Kennedy Assassination to the X-files", p. 202]

In early 2004, the Nation of Islam publication, "The Final Call", wrote the following about Dr. Horowitz:::In his 2001 book entitled, "Death in the Air: Globalism, Terrorism and Toxic Warfare," Dr. Horowitz concludes that the predilection of HIV/AIDS for Black Americans and Africans is the likeliest result of successful national security policies ordered during the administrations of Richard M. Nixon and Jimmy Carter, leaving very little room for argument that there is no intentional movement to eliminate the Black population globally.

::Dr. Horowitz said national security documents reveal the intentional targeting of Blacks in America and Africa for population control, including depopulation, as is being accomplished by the AIDS epidemic today. He said every sociopolitical and economic outcome secretly planned for Blacks in the Diaspora and on the African continent by intelligence agencies during those two administrations has come to pass.

::During the early 1970s, Dr. Horowitz writes that National Security Memorandum 200, advanced by Mr. Nixon's National Security Adviser Dr. Henry Kissinger, called for massive "Third World" depopulation efforts in order to maintain the economic alignment of the superpowers.

::"Zbigniew Brezinski (sic), who replaced Dr. Kissinger in the Carter administration, secretly advanced National Security Memo #46 to cabinet chiefs only, this document authorized the FBI and CIA to initiate genocidal policies," Dr. Horowitz writes.

::He said that Dr. Kissinger's security policy specifically stated the need to dramatically reduce African populations, and Mr. Brezinski's memo explained that Black nationalism "posed" economic and security threats to America. [ [http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_1247.shtml "Activists charge pharmaceutical cartel with being a tool for genocide", The Final Call, Jan 20, 2004] ]

On April 27th, 2008, Barack Obama's former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, during Q&A at the National Press Club in connection with the general controversy over his opinions, was asked by a moderator::In your sermon, you said the government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color [ [http://www.democraticcentral.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=1C92C87942699783581B32D856757732?diaryId=1814 Democratic Central: Progressive blogging in Central Virginia, "Jeremiah Wright's 'God Damn America' sermon" (annotated transcript), Mar 28, 2008] , accessed 2008-05-03] . So I ask you: Do you honestly believe your statement and those words?

In his response, Rev. Wright mentioned Dr. Horowitz's "Emerging Viruses" book:

::Have you read Horowitz's book, "Emerging Viruses: AIDS and Ebola," whoever wrote that question? .... I read different things. As I said to my members, if you haven't read things, then you can't -- based on this Tuskegee experiment and based on what has happened to Africans in this country, I believe our government is capable of doing anything.

References in Popular Culture

A few commentators have taken note of a reported appearance of a copy of "Emerging Viruses" in the film, "I Am Legend". [ [http://www.aim.org/aim-column/jeremiah-wrights-controversial-aids-charge "Jeremiah Wright's Controversial AIDS Charge", Cliff Kincaid, Apr 28, 2008] ] The idea that the film is loosely based on Dr. Horowitz's work has appeared in at least one comment section on a popular blog [http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/05/01/daily-show-billy-graham-vs-jeremiah-wright/] .

So far, the source of the reports seems to be only Dr. Horowitz himself. In a press release dated Sep 27, 2006 on one of his websites, he prominently features the following statement:::Warner Bros. Procures Dr. Horowitz's Emerging Viruses: AIDS & Ebola for "I AM LEGEND" Starring Will Smith [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20070809225741/http://www.drlenhorowitz.com/Press/press_releases/aids_origin/i_am_legend_release.html "Warner Bros. Procures Dr. Horowitz's Emerging Viruses: AIDS & Ebola for "I AM LEGEND" Starring Will Smith", Sep 27, 2006] ] .

In his wording in that press release title and in the text, and with his omission of the real basis for the film's storyline, Dr. Horowitz could have left an impression that the film would be based on "Emerging Viruses". However, the press release's first paragraph, while repeating most of the title, adds a key qualification by substituting "in a scene of" for "for" in the title:

::Warner Bros. has just procured permission to film the book Emerging Viruses: AIDS & Ebola—Nature, Accident or Intentional? by author Leonard G. Horowitz in a scene of [WP ed. emph. added] I AM LEGEND

The press release continues, saying "The non-fiction book complements the science fiction thriller's theme of an intentionally-released virus decimating humanity," which could be read as further contradiction of any impression that "Emerging Viruses" was the basis of the film, and hence as a corrective to such an impression. Still, the press release does not unambiguously say that only a copy of the book would appear in the film, and it remains an open question whether a copy was used as a prop.

The film obviously parallels the Richard Matheson novel of the same name far more closely than Dr. Horowitz's "Emerging Viruses", which is written as a personal account of researching AIDS and Ebola. Searches on blogs and other sources have so far turned up no reports of sightings of the book's cover. It appears that Warner Brothers had, at most, only bought a copy of the book for possible use as a prop, and sought permission from Dr. Horowitz to use it in that manner; the film has no screen credit for Dr. Horowitz. In any case, filming had already begun by mid-October. [ [http://www2.nysun.com/article/41832 "Hollywood Brings Its Cameras To a New New York", New York Sun, Oct 19, 2006] ]

As to Horowitz's claim about a theme of "intentional release" of a virus in the film, it's not clear from the film whether the virus had been "intentionally released" or had escaped from labs or clinical trial settings; it is an engineered virus, but was engineered originally for the purpose of preventing and curing cancer, not for biological warfare or genocide. The film's star, Will Smith, was quoted in 1999 in Vanity Fair saying "possibly AIDS was created as a result of biological-warfare testing." [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE0D61E3FF930A3575BC0A9659C8B63&sec=health&spon=&pagewanted=9 "Double Lives On The Down Low", New York Times, 3 Aug 2003] ] , as Dr. Horowitz points out. However, it's not clear that Smith got this idea from Dr. Horowitz's book, or whether he had anything to do with the book's appearance (if any) in the film.

Credentials and Honors

Horowitz received his Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) degree from Tufts University in 1977. He also earned masters degrees from Harvard University, and from Beacon College. (From Dr. Horowitz's own descriptions of this last degree, it is either in "Health Education" or "health education/counseling psychology".) He also claims other degrees, and various honors including honorary degrees.

Books

* "Choosing Health for Yourself: A Clear and Practical Guide ...", 1981
* "Overcoming Your Fear of the Dentist", 1987
* "Freedom from Headaches", 1988
* "Freedom from TMJ Syndrome", 1988
* "Behavioral Science in Corporate Health", 1990
* "AIDS, Fear and Infection Control: A Professional Development, Risk Management and Practice Building Manual", 1993
* "Dentistry in the Age of AIDS: A Practice Building Manual", 1994
* "Deadly Innocence: Solving the Greatest Murder Mystery in the History of American Medicine", 1994
* "Emerging Viruses: Aids & Ebola - Nature, Accident or Intentional?", 1996
* "Healing Codes for the Biological Apocalypse", (with Joseph Puleo), 1999
* "Healing Celebrations", 2000
* "Death in the Air: Globalism, Terrorism & Toxic Warfare", 2001
* "DNA: Pirates of the Sacred Spiral", 2004
* "LOVE: the REAL da Vinci Code", 2007

External links

* [http://infidelguy.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=199049 Horowitz debates HIV researcher Abbie Smith on the way of reason podcast]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20070718112448/http://www.tetrahedron.org/index.html www.tetrahedron.org] - a website for Dr. Horowitz's Tetrahedron Publishing imprint, as of 2007-07-18
* [http://www.drlenhorowitz.com] - Dr. Horowitz's official website.
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20061129075856/http://www.lightstreamers.com/horowitz.htm www.lightstreamers.com/horowitz.htm] - a biography of Dr. Horowitz, as of 2006-11-29

Notes