Great documentary on homeopathy from Canadian CBC:
CBC Marketplace - Homeopathy: Cure or Con? Part 1 of 2
and
CBC Marketplace - Homeopathy: Cure or Con? Part 2 of 2
If you still buy and use them... well, there is no excuse for your brains anymore. Unless you believe in magic and witchcraft.
Want to have some laughs, check my post here.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
BMJ Articles - The Links
I just wanted to post links to the original articles from British Medical Journal (BMJ) about Andrew Wakefield fraud. I think it is extremely important to read them and realize how fake news can be manufactured and that nothing and no one can be trusted without verification. That's where peer review and the self-correcting nature of science comes in.
Part 1: How the case against the MMR vaccine was fixed
Part 2: How the vaccine crisis was meant to make money
BMJ Editorial: Wakefield’s article linking MMR vaccine and autism was fraudulent
In a related story, an interview with Seth Mnookin on Salon.com, about his new book "The Panic Virus" (next on my reading list):
Behind the vaccine panic
and also, Salon.com removes the dumbest, full of errors article from five years ago:
Correcting our record
Yes... that article that was written by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (yet another example that your social status does not make up for brains) and also published by Rolling Stone magazine. Let's see how they are going to "fix" their credibility.
Part 1: How the case against the MMR vaccine was fixed
Part 2: How the vaccine crisis was meant to make money
BMJ Editorial: Wakefield’s article linking MMR vaccine and autism was fraudulent
In a related story, an interview with Seth Mnookin on Salon.com, about his new book "The Panic Virus" (next on my reading list):
Behind the vaccine panic
and also, Salon.com removes the dumbest, full of errors article from five years ago:
Correcting our record
Yes... that article that was written by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (yet another example that your social status does not make up for brains) and also published by Rolling Stone magazine. Let's see how they are going to "fix" their credibility.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Call for Prosecution
It's good to hear that someone is calling things as they are in the mainstream media:
Read more: Vaccine-autism researcher should be prosecuted
Finally, after 13 years of needless controversy, the British Medical Journal determined that Andrew Wakefield's vaccine-autism link constituted an "elaborate fraud."I could not agree more. While, as the author pointed out, prosecuting scientists should not be undertaken lightly, this case is all about fraud, not about a scientist trying to uncover new truths. This is not prosecution of ideas, this is, pure and simple, prosecution of a crook, who designed an elaborate scheme to make money, without considering all of those he was hurting in the process.
Having already lost his medical license in the UK for unethical professional conduct, it is now time for him to be prosecuted.
Read more: Vaccine-autism researcher should be prosecuted
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Gotta Love This - To Vaccinate Or Not
This piece of audio from an Australian radio show has been making its way around the blogosphere, and it's priceless!!!
It's about time for the mainstream media to step in and tell how it really is:
To Vaccinate or Not
It's about time to stop giving the loonies time and place to vent their egos and woo-woo that has no backing in science and research. This anti-vax misinformation has been killing children all over the world and it's time to stop it! It's great to see that journalists are stepping up to the plate.
A few places to go for info:
1. Immunize For Good
2. Science Based Medicine Blog: Vaccines
3. Every Child by Two
Research, research, research... but make sure you pick your experts wisely (Jenny McCarthy, with her Google U degree does not count).
It's about time for the mainstream media to step in and tell how it really is:
To Vaccinate or Not
It's about time to stop giving the loonies time and place to vent their egos and woo-woo that has no backing in science and research. This anti-vax misinformation has been killing children all over the world and it's time to stop it! It's great to see that journalists are stepping up to the plate.
A few places to go for info:
1. Immunize For Good
2. Science Based Medicine Blog: Vaccines
3. Every Child by Two
Research, research, research... but make sure you pick your experts wisely (Jenny McCarthy, with her Google U degree does not count).
Monday, January 10, 2011
Jenny is at it Again
Our favorite Google University-trained, health professional, Jenny McCarthy is at it again, spewing nonsense and false information in her latest contribution to human science at (surprise! surprise!) HuffPo:
In the Vaccine-Autism Debate, What Can Parents Believe?
Maybe the debate is over, because nobody else has been able to repeat what Wakefield did in his "study"? Maybe because numerous other studies did not find any connection between vaccines and autism. Ooops, I was wrong! Jenny does not actually include any false information in her blog post. She does not include ANY information, and her strongest argument is:
For some reason, parents aren't being told that this "new" information about Dr. Wakefield isn't a medical report, but merely the allegations of a single British journalist named Brian Deer. Why does one journalist's accusations against Dr. Wakefield now mean the vaccine-autism debate is over?
In the Vaccine-Autism Debate, What Can Parents Believe?
Maybe the debate is over, because nobody else has been able to repeat what Wakefield did in his "study"? Maybe because numerous other studies did not find any connection between vaccines and autism. Ooops, I was wrong! Jenny does not actually include any false information in her blog post. She does not include ANY information, and her strongest argument is:
This debate won't end because of one dubious reporter's allegations. I have never met stronger women than the moms of children with autism. Last week, this hoopla made us a little stronger, and even more determined to fight for the truth about what's happening to our kids.I don't really see any good argument there...
Power Balance... and Others
If you sport one of those "fancy" looking bracelets, it'd better be for fashion, not some other, health-related reason:
Read more: Power Balance Maker Admits Bands Are Worthless
I actually saw them at a few gas stations along the I75 corridor last week, and just yesterday I noticed a rather lengthy commercial on the Weather Channel for a similar product here in the US from a company called iRenew, with an extensive use of the video of people being thrown out of balance without the bracelet, and standing still with it. Same old trick, and no essence. Don't get fooled! They are pricey for a piece of rubber. One must wonder, how a piece of crap like that would help you "live life to its fullest"?
The Australian manufacturer of Power Balance, the wildly popular rubbery bracelets embedded with holograms claimed to somehow adjust the body’s energy or vibrations, has admitted that there is no proof their product works.
Read more: Power Balance Maker Admits Bands Are Worthless
I actually saw them at a few gas stations along the I75 corridor last week, and just yesterday I noticed a rather lengthy commercial on the Weather Channel for a similar product here in the US from a company called iRenew, with an extensive use of the video of people being thrown out of balance without the bracelet, and standing still with it. Same old trick, and no essence. Don't get fooled! They are pricey for a piece of rubber. One must wonder, how a piece of crap like that would help you "live life to its fullest"?
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Autism and Vaccines - New Year Starts Off Well
More bad news for Andrew Wakefield:
... and from Orac: "Piltdown" medicine: Andrew Wakefield's scientific fraud was worse than previously thought
It's amazing how people can cling to their misguided views and heroes who are shown to be frauds.
This guy did more harm to children than we can imagine, by depriving so many of them of one of the best and most effective medical treatments and preventive measures. He also sent so many parents of autistic children on a misdirected hunt for cures that don't exist. And to top it off, he's still trying to defend himself and his terrible deeds.
Let's hope 2011 is the last year we hear of Andrew Wakefiled.
An investigation published by the British medical journal BMJ concludes Wakefield misrepresented or altered the medical histories of all 12 of the patients whose cases formed the basis of the 1998 study -- and that there was "no doubt" Wakefield was responsible. The journalist who wrote the BMJ articles said Thursday he believes Wakefield should face criminal charges.More from CNN: Doctor defends retracted autism study
... and from Orac: "Piltdown" medicine: Andrew Wakefield's scientific fraud was worse than previously thought
It's amazing how people can cling to their misguided views and heroes who are shown to be frauds.
This guy did more harm to children than we can imagine, by depriving so many of them of one of the best and most effective medical treatments and preventive measures. He also sent so many parents of autistic children on a misdirected hunt for cures that don't exist. And to top it off, he's still trying to defend himself and his terrible deeds.
Let's hope 2011 is the last year we hear of Andrew Wakefiled.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)