2008 – Page 6 – The Quackometer Blog

Very Soon, Falsely Using the Title ‘Dr’ Will Land You in a New Heap of Doo Doo

14th March, 2008 11

If you are worried about the activities of an alternative medicine practitioner, there is not an easy way to find the right authority who might look into it. The Advertising Standards Authority are very effective at investigating complex matters, but can only really rap knuckles and leave traders to carry on pretty much unharmed. Often, the only damage is an ASA ruling placed well down in the Google result list. [read more…]

Betting on Quackery

10th March, 2008 8

On the eve of the Cheltenham Festival, the race organisers are battling to repair the storm damage after ferocious winds have been bashing the West of England. Cheltenham is one of the biggest events in the racing calendar and for one of the most famous jockeys, Tony McCoy, a little storm damage has been the least of his problems. McCoy fractured two vertebrae in a fall two months ago and [read more…]

Las Mariposas Clinic: Costa Del Quackery

8th March, 2008 86

Watching the antics of quacks is funny and I hope some of that humour comes across on this blog. Sometimes, however, humour just appears to be so misplaced. Las Mariposas Clinic, in Torremolinos, Malaga, Spain, is a clinic that offers homeopathic and nutritional cures for cancer. They promise, “Unique methods that induce the natural remission of cancer and other illnesses” Nothing about this is likely to be funny. The clinic [read more…]

Life’s 4 Living: Audiokinetron and Lumatron Nonsense

4th March, 2008 9

A bit of a ding dong has started up over at HolfordWatch after they questioned some of the activities of a charity called Life’s 4 Living. There is now a huge red banner on their homepage that proclaims the following: There has recently been a vicious, sustained and unprovoked attack on this charity.Over the next few days life’s 4 living will refute each and every allegation in this spurious attack. [read more…]

Hawley Harvey Crippen and Homeopathy

3rd March, 2008 15

Hawley Harvey Crippen (1863-1910) was an American homeopath who was born to Andresee Skinner and Myron Augustus Crippen. He trained as a homeopath and joined a homeopathic pharmaceutical company. In 1910, he emigrated with his second wife, Cora Turner , to England where he was unable to practice as a Doctor as the authorities would not recognise his credentials. Turner was a music hall singer who openly had affairs. The [read more…]

Should Cochrane Call for More Research Into Homeopathy?

1st March, 2008 14

The Cochrane Collaboration is an independent network of volunteers, funded only by donations, that collate systematic reviews of the evidence base for healthcare interventions. You can go online and view for yourself the current best thinking on how effective various treatments are. It is an important resource. (And you can help making it free throughout the EU by signing here.)Cochrane does not just cover conventional treatments, but also reviews alternative [read more…]

The Empire of Homeopaths Strike Back

25th February, 2008 10

We know it is going to be a fun year for watching Homeopaths. The fight is well and truly on for who gets to pretend to regulate the profession. The beleaguered Society of Homeopaths have today gone on the offensive for total and unyielding control. The year started off with Prince Charles and the Foundation for Integrated Health announcing the arrival on the scene of the government backed Complementary and [read more…]

Netcetera are Recreant Milquetoasts and Poltroons. Positive Internet Stand Tall.

23rd February, 2008 19

So, the Quackometer has been up and running for 24 hours now and most systems have been restored. A bit more to go though. For the technically inclined, this has involved a move from cuddly cotton wool children’s Microsoft servers to grown up, open source, Apache/Unix servers where a missed semi-colon can kill faster than a homeopath dishing out malaria pills. It’s been a bit of a bother, but I [read more…]

The Black Duck and its Phoenix like Powers

21st February, 2008 16

Please bear with me as the new quackometer goes through its re-birthing pangs. Transfering to a new, better, more helpful and cuddlier hosting provider is taking time. The Quackometer Engine and other facilities may well be out of action for a short while. Features will come on line over the next few days. Expect bugs and wierd behaviour. Repsek goes out to the Positive Internet crew who have been amazingly [read more…]

Homeopathy Research Institute – The Highest Scientific Standards…

16th February, 2008 19

The Homeopathy Research Institute (HRI) has been set up by homeopaths Alex Tournier (who apparently works for Cancer Research UK) and Clare Relton (who is based at the University of Sheffield). The Alliance of Registered Homeopaths in one of their rare press statements have made much of it. They say, The aim of the Homeopathy Research Institute is to promote and facilitate high-quality scientific research in the field of homeopathy. [read more…]