Yesterday I bumped into a friend who declared himself disappointed in me for standing against David Tredinnick over homeopathy. “I thought you were the one rational, sane science writer who had an open mind about homeopathy,” he said. I told him I do have an open mind: I am sure homeopathy is a placebo (when it does anything) but I’m willing to admit that I don’t think we’ve quite proved that yet. [read more…]
It would appear that the Chief Executive of the Society of Homeopaths, Paula Ross, has left the building. This morning, the web page that lists the staff of the Society no longer includes her profile. It were there yesterday, and now it is gone. And also, separately, a little dickie bird tells me that the Society and Ross “have agreed to part company amicably”. Chilling words that anyone who has [read more…]
Fiona Fox, Director of the Science Media Centre, has been complaining that blogs are not real journalism. She appears to be upset that bloggers are supposedly claiming to be better than journalists and that such sentiment might undermine the fragile existence of science journalism in the media. Comments quickly filled her article suggesting blogs are journalism and that she is confusing a technology medium with an approach to writing – [read more…]
People who work in public healthcare, or are involved with the promotion of health practitioners or techniques, do not have an absolute right to a reputation. It is most important that the claims, behaviours and results achieved are subject to the highest levels of public scrutiny. It is only in doing so that we can be confident that our healthcare providers are doing more good than harm. In pursuing that scrutiny, [read more…]
After writing about how Prince Charles’ charity, the Foundation for Integrated Health, is now under police investigation for possible fraud, it has become clear how I have missed one of the most shocking aspects of the Smallwood Report. The report has proved to be very controversial because it was commissioned by Prince Charles and was sent directly to government ministers in an attempt to influence them to fund the provision [read more…]
And so, maybe this week, I will become a parent. Today is our due date and everything (I think) is ready. We are feeling that huge sense of – well – impending change. Our NCT antenatal classes are something of a distant memory. Bags are packed. Car seats fitted. The dog has been told. This is the real thing and we are at the top of the roller coaster ride. [read more…]
David ‘cash for questions’ Tredinnick is the MP who liked to buy astrology software and training on expenses. He is a keen supporter of pseudoscience and appears to be heading the charge for homeopaths to discredit the recent House of Commons Evidence Check into homeopathy. The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee Evidence Check report into homeopathy will be a reference document for years to come. I have it [read more…]
This is a minor one but it is worth a brief post: George Vithoulkas is considered to be one of the top intellectuals in the homeopathic world. Revered for his teachings and fundamentalist approach to the teachings of Hahnemann, he is probably one of the best known homeopaths alive today. His writings underpin much of the contemporary homeopathic opposition to modern medicine, vaccines and science. He thinks AIDS was caused [read more…]
There are quite a few libel cases underway at present where large financial vested interests are using the insidious English libel laws to attempt to silence scientists and journalists who have questioned medical claims. To my mind, one of the most chilling and sinister concerns the case of Danish researcher, Henrik Thomsen, who gave a presentation to about 30 scientists and doctors in the Randolph Hotel in Oxford. This meeting [read more…]
So, in a few weeks, Quackometer Manor will have a new arrival, and like all good middle class parents-to-be, we are currently attending compulsory NCT classes, to learn all the mystical secrets of giving birth and looking after a little one. It’s all a bit candles and crystals, and when we are not sat on the floor with the tips of our tongues sticking out, using crayons to express our [read more…]
Copyright © 2024 | MH Magazine WordPress Theme by MH Themes