Posts

May 22, 2013

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2:24 PM | Portland votes ‘No’ to fluoridation

We’ve been following this story about Portland Oregon’s vote for or against fluroridation. They have voted ‘no’ which is disappointing to health advocates. Portland rejects water fluoridation, the largest US city without plans to add the chemical. The mayor of Portland, Oregon, has conceded defeat in an effort to add fluoride to the city’s drinking water. With more than 80 per cent of the expected ballots counted late Tuesday night, the Multnomah County election […]

May 21, 2013

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7:03 PM | I feel bad for the turtles

A completely credulous, poorly researched, biased and kind of silly article about acupuncture for sea turtles. Acupuncture helps hypothermic turtles – Quincy, MA – The Patriot Ledger. Two endangered sea turtles that are shells of their former selves after getting stranded on Cape Cod during a cold spell are getting some help easing back into the wild – from an acupuncturist. Dexter and Fletcher Moon, juvenile Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles, remained calm as acupuncturist Claire […]

May 19, 2013

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11:00 PM | Heidi Stevenson - Fake Measles Epidemic and Censorship Heidi...

Heidi Stevenson - Fake Measles Epidemic and Censorship Heidi Stevenson has recently wrote a blog post were she claims that the Welsh Measles Epidemic is faked. In this video Nega talks about the data she presents and her ruthless censorship. My blog post about her http://mylespower.co.uk/2013/05/05/welsh-measles-epidemic-was-faked-apparently/ via . Website: http://www.mylespower.co.uk Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/#!/powerm1985 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/powerm1985

May 18, 2013

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6:46 PM | Herbal remedies do not cure cancer. Cancer quack to be sentenced.

This type of story about empty promises to very vulnerable people can apply to many around the world. Too many continue to make money for their hyped and useless, possibly dangerous, “cures”. Doctor who promised cancer cure faces sentencing – Yahoo! News. At the age of three, Brianica Kirsch was diagnosed with brain cancer. Her parents, desperate to find alternative measures for their daughter who had undergone surgeries and chemotherapy, turned to Dr. Christine Daniel, who […]

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6:46 PM | Herbal remedies do not cure cancer. Cancer quack sentenced. (Updated)

This type of story about empty promises to very vulnerable people can apply to many around the world. Too many continue to make money for their hyped and useless, possibly dangerous, “cures”. Doctor who promised cancer cure faces sentencing – Yahoo! News. At the age of three, Brianica Kirsch was diagnosed with brain cancer. Her parents, desperate to find alternative measures for their daughter who had undergone surgeries and chemotherapy, turned to Dr. Christine Daniel, who […]

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5:09 PM | Animal Planet continues to confuse fantasy animals with reality

This is very disgusting, but not unexpected. Animal Planet Channel, part of the Discovery network, is showing a sequel to the dreadful Mermaids fake documentary. BE AFRAID…BE VERY AFRAID, ANIMAL PLANET’S MONSTER WEEK SLITHERS BACK TO THE SMALL SCREEN MAY 20-27 WITH 24 PREMIERE HOURS OF ALL-NEW SPECIALS : Discovery Press Web. Perhaps the most haunting, lingering imagery from last year’s MONSTER WEEK is the physical evidence linked to the existence of mermaids. In MERMAIDS: THE BODY […]

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5:09 PM | Animal Planet continues to confuse fantasy animals with reality

This is very disgusting, but not unexpected. Animal Planet Channel, part of the Discovery network, is showing a sequel to the dreadful Mermaids fake documentary. BE AFRAID…BE VERY AFRAID, ANIMAL PLANET’S MONSTER WEEK SLITHERS BACK TO THE SMALL SCREEN MAY 20-27 WITH 24 PREMIERE HOURS OF ALL-NEW SPECIALS : Discovery Press Web. Perhaps the most haunting, lingering imagery from last year’s MONSTER WEEK is the physical evidence linked to the existence of mermaids. In MERMAIDS: THE BODY […]

May 15, 2013

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12:00 AM | Eugenie Scott: Deja vu all over again: Denialism of climate...

Eugenie Scott: Deja vu all over again: Denialism of climate change and of evolution Eugenie Scott, a former university professor, is the Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education. She has been a leading activist opposing creationism/intelligent design for over twenty-five years, and is an expert on the educational, legal, scientific, and religious issues surrounding evolution. Eugenie is the author of Evolution vs Creationism and co-editor of Not in Our Classrooms: Why […]

May 14, 2013

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2:25 PM | Skeptical Science: Debunking Animal Rights Misinformation

Speaking of Research regularly puts its efforts into debunking the pseudoscience put about by animal rights groups. This post aims to bring together some of the more popular of those articles. Naturally, much of our debunking exists on our “Bad … Continue reading →

May 13, 2013

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11:53 PM | Psych! Part II: Electric Boogaloo aka Dr. Oz & Theresa Caputo (Again)

Here we go again. I ranted about these two dipshits months ago. Dr. Oz and Theresa Caputo have teamed up again. I can’t really say it better than Jamy Ian Swiss over at JREF: I think Dr. Oz is fundamentally undermining how people think about medical science and medical care, and how to make judgments … Continue reading »

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8:43 PM | Poison for pain, the homeopathic way

At my local mega-grocery store last weekend, I happened to stroll down the aisle dedicated to homeopathic treatments. I saw shelf after shelf of brightly colored packages, all claiming health benefits. Most of these "medicines" were not cheap. Amazing. To an average shopper, all of these products look like real medicine. The packaging is similar, the claims are similar, and it's all on display at a respectable grocery store. The difference, though, is that none […]

May 12, 2013

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11:00 PM | “Doctor” Bob - The Drugless “Doctor” In...

“Doctor” Bob - The Drugless “Doctor” In this video Nega talked about a man online calling himself Doctor Bob, the drugless doctor. Although Bob would have you believe he is a medically trained doctor he in fact got his qualifications from the National University of Health Science in Chiropractic and the second is in Natural Health from Clayton College. These are NOT medical qualifications and he is not qualified to give medical advice or prescribe drugs. Yet on his website, named Dr.Bob […]

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8:25 PM | Opt out of complementary medicine, Australia

Why pay for something that doesn’t work and you won’t use? Opt out call for complementary medicine – Medical Observer. Friends of Science in Medicine, founded by University of New South Wales emeritus professor John Dwyer, is distributing a form letter which it wants people to send to their insurer asking to be spared the cost of complementary health services. The letter reads: “As a member of the fund I am disturbed to find that when purchasing extra cover I am obliged to […]

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8:25 PM | Opt out of complementary medicine, Australia

Why pay for something that doesn’t work and you won’t use? Opt out call for complementary medicine – Medical Observer. Friends of Science in Medicine, founded by University of New South Wales emeritus professor John Dwyer, is distributing a form letter which it wants people to send to their insurer asking to be spared the cost of complementary health services. The letter reads: “As a member of the fund I am disturbed to find that when purchasing extra cover I am obliged to […]

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2:24 PM | Hypnotists rejoice in Huntington Beach!

They are free to practice again. Just kidding. It doesn’t seem like this is such a big deal but a reflection of some outdated laws. Ban on hypnotism to be lifted in Huntington Beach. The Huntington Beach City Council has approved the introduction of an ordinance that would repeal a law prohibiting hypnotism. “I just saw no reason for this to even be on the books,” Harper said, chuckling about his discovery. “It makes it so that assemblies or certain Christmas parties, […]

May 10, 2013

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11:57 PM | Tongue acupuncture for a child. Yeah, that’s not right…

Woo therapy for a chromosome defect. Plausibility of working? Nil. Therapy hope for young boy. Dunedin man Jason May is taking his son, Sinclair, to Hong Kong for a month to undergo tongue acupuncture from the man who pioneered the technique. While he looks like a ”normal little boy”, an undiagnosed chromosome defect means the 6-year-old has delayed development. Sinclair can only say a few words, and Mr May hoped the therapy could stimulate energy points at the base of the tongue, […]

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11:00 PM | Kastljósviðtal við lækninn Edzard Ernst um óhefðbundnar...

Kastljósviðtal við lækninn Edzard Ernst um óhefðbundnar lækningar Læknirinn Edzard Ernst er með fyrstu prófessorum í hjálækningum og óhefðbundnum lækningum. Kastljósviðtal frá 30. apríl 2013. via Vantruis.

May 09, 2013

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9:10 PM | How Psychics Play the Odds and Still Lose

Psychics use common sense and a few psychological principles to provide the illusion of accuracy. Continue reading →

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1:47 AM | Daily Deals and Altmed Pseudoscience

I’ve been noticing the occasional product on the daily deal site I frequent that is, how to put this delicately, BS. Today I saw one that I just had to have some fun with and hopefully give people some idea of what the product is really about at the same time. In this case the

May 08, 2013

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11:00 PM | The League of Reason Presents…: Episode 5 - Vax Populi In...

The League of Reason Presents…: Episode 5 - Vax Populi In this episode, we discuss vaccinations, the anti-vax movement and related issues. Also the AronRa/Jason Burns saga. Duration: 26:55 via League Of Reason TV.

May 07, 2013

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8:20 PM | No such thing as ‘Allopathy’

Over at FreethoughtBlogs, an uncharacteristic petit faux pas in the prolifically excellent ‘A Million Gods‘ motivates me into publicly scratching an irritation. The first time I think I heard/read the term ‘allopathy’ was in the context of something discussing homeopathy. And it seemed quite reasonable to me at the time: homeopathy = ‘like cures like’; ‘allopathy’ = err, something other cures it; or it cures something other. Until I got wise on who coined this term, and why? One […]

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12:20 PM | Atacama Specimen

One persistent theme that skeptical investigators encounter is the fact that true-believers of various stripes often whine about the fact that they are not taken seriously by scientists and that their claims are dismissed out of hand. Ironically they often direct their whining at skeptics, even though we are the ones addressing their claims and [...]

May 06, 2013

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12:11 PM | The Lunar Effect and Confirmation Bias

I gave a seminar recently to science teachers and the topic of whether or not there is a lunar effect came up. I was not surprised to find that 80% of them believed that emergency rooms and police stations are more busy during a full moon. I was also not surprised, but only because I [...]

May 04, 2013

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6:41 PM | Multiplying Dimensions at TEDxCERN

Yesterday was the first ever TEDxCERN event. I was lucky enough to take part as a volunteer in the social media team. [1] I spent the day live-tweeting and live-blogging about the event, as well as generally running around helping speakers, stage managers and so on. It was a lot of fun, and got me thinking about lots of new ideas. Credit: Alex Brown If you go down to the woods today... For those of you who don't know,... Read more

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6:17 PM | Silly scribbles: CBC News asks graphologist to comment on new officials

Graphology? SERIOUSLY? Earlier this week, we linked to a story about the popularity of this nonsensical analysis in France. It showed up in Canada now. What the new Bank of Canada governor’s signature may say about him – Business – CBC News. Now that we know that Poloz will be the next governor, we thought it would be fun to ask a handwriting expert to analyze the signatures of the last few governors, as well as the next man to sign Canadian banknotes. Elaine Charal analyzes […]

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6:17 PM | Silly scribbles: CBC News asks graphologist to comment on new officials

Graphology? SERIOUSLY? Earlier this week, we linked to a story about the popularity of this nonsensical analysis in France. It showed up in Canada now. What the new Bank of Canada governor’s signature may say about him – Business – CBC News. Now that we know that Poloz will be the next governor, we thought it would be fun to ask a handwriting expert to analyze the signatures of the last few governors, as well as the next man to sign Canadian banknotes. Elaine Charal analyzes […]

May 03, 2013

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11:46 AM | Yet further comment…

(I know at least one reader will be interested in this, thus making it a topic theme worth continuing…) I have of late been banging my head at the ongoing frustration borne of repeat attempts to post comment on a pretty questionable, seemingly homeopathy-lauding paper published in a scientific medical journal. Yesterday, my eye was caught by something over at the BioMed Central blog, whence appeared an interesting post, entitled ‘Can open peer review work? Biology Direct suggests it […]

May 02, 2013

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11:00 PM | The Honest Liar - Homeopathy: Money for Nothing In the first...

The Honest Liar - Homeopathy: Money for Nothing In the first installment of “The Honest Liar”, Jamy Ian Swiss punctures the pretense of homeopathy. How much is too much to pay for a remedy with nothing in it? via JREF Video.

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3:51 PM | Can Handwriting Identify Better Employees?

Graphology, the practice of determining personality from handwriting, is being used to screen job applicants. Continue reading →

April 30, 2013

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8:00 PM | Graphology rubbish – no better than astrology or numerology

Worse than a lie detector test, and no better than a psychic reading, graphology is still used in France. BBC News – A French love affair… with graphology. What would you do if you went for a job, and the HR person said one of the criteria for selection was a favourable analysis of your handwriting? In most of the world, the use of graphology in recruitment is marginal. But in France – despite an appreciable decline of writing in recent years thanks to computers – the […]