Illich was a bit of a radical, quite enjoyed reading his stuff. Think it might have been Israel but might have happened in the US too. Of course a reduced death rate could be explained by not having people at work to sign death certificates, and you ain't dead until a doctor says you are
Mac, I don't think there is a conspiracy and I also think the vast majority of surgeons are very well trained and very competent. I don't accept the high figures given, and apologies for my poor arithmentic. However a coronor can only act on the information given to him. If he does want to know more he will genrerally get somebody to call the houseman, and we all know the joke about housemen and mushrooms. More often than not the houseman's bumbling answers will be enough to keep the coronor happy. They missed Shipman for gods sake.