Giving False Hope To Cancer Patients
Over the past week, sceptical bloggers have been abuzz with news that some sceptical U.K. bloggers have been bullied, threatened and intimidated by the Burzynski Clinic in Houston, for criticising the clinic’s questionable and unproven form of cancer treatment. Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski claims that he can treat cancer using a treatment called antineoplaston therapy, which has no good clinical evidence to suggest that it has any worthwhile affect on cancer.
How it started
I follow Le Canard Noir (blogger Andy Lewis ) on Twitter and saw a blog post by him mentioning that he and his family had been threatened by a representative of the Burzynski Clinic for a post he written on his Quackometer website about a fund raiser for a little girl with cancer. Andy voiced is concerns about the controversial, and very expensive treatment offered by the clinic. He also questioned their lack of supporting evidence for the treatment. According to Andy, within 24 hours of his post, he received an email from a Marc Stephens who threatened legal action if the post was not removed immediately.
You can read the entire email exchange here.
Bullying a school boy
It was as a result of Andy’s post that sceptical bloggers learned that Rhys Morgan, a 17yr old who gained notoriety for exposing Miracle Mineral Solution as a dangerous scam, had also been threatened by Marc Stephens. This moron also took his threat a step further by including a Google image of Rhys’ home. Rhys did take down his post in good faith to try and “correct” the allegedly defamatory statements that Mr. Stephens objected to, but reposted it – along with all the threatening emails – after receiving advice from fellow bloggers like Simon Singh.
Read Rhys’ post here.
Since these two posts, sceptical bloggers around the world have been writing and tweeting about the Burzynski Clinic and their bullying tactics when it comes to criticism about their very, very expensive and unproven cancer treatments. Their heavy handed tactics backfired spectacularly and eventually resulted in a press release.
For a list of blogs dealing with the Burzynski Clinic, please do yourself a favour and look at Josephine Jones’ Master list.
The Burzynski Clinic issued a press statement which apologised for Mr. Stephens’ rants, however they still intend pursuing some kind of action against many of the bloggers who dared to criticise them. They also added a list of citations for all that scientific research as evidence to back up the Burzynski Clinics claims. However, it has all been picked apart by Blag Hag – Jen McCreight.
For a more scientific and evidence based criticism of Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski and his clinic , go to Dr. Davis Gorski’s post here on the Science Based Medicine website.
Before anyone accuses me of being cold hearted, I lost someone very, very dear to me six months ago to cancer. I understand what it’s like to want to grasp at anything that offers some kind of hope for just a little more time with a loved one. I also know that anyone who promises a miracle cure for profit to someone who is at their most vulnerable is a lying, cheating scumbag who should be rotting in a prison cell.
It’s Time For A Change.
I’ve neglected my blog for a few months now and was seriously considering giving it up, but I have decided that some changes are in order instead. I will be doing a complete overhaul of my blog and comments will be temporarily closed for now.
The new look Skeptic Blacksheep will be up soon.
Religion Is Evil
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking over the last few weeks; some recent events have made me look quite hard at the things I believe and the opinions I hold. After all my introspection, I have come to the conclusion that not only am I an Atheist, but that I am an anti-theist as well. I think that religion is the most evil invention ever thought up by humanity. The following quote from Mark Twain sums it up best, he said…
There is no better Denial, than deferring to a Deity, it absolves the adherent of complicity and provides a scapegoat and justification for any behaviour, and also gives the adherent a taboo that should not be questioned.
Then I received a comment on my “Why I am an Atheist” page that asked me this question……
“So why exactly do you believe in the evolution theories and what questions do you have that has no answers?”
He was referring to a point I had made about religion not offering any satisfactory answers to the questions I had. I replied to his question with the usual questions about his god and one or two questions about the bible. But I have another question that I want answered, and I’d like to see what people offer up as an explanation to my question.
First of all there is no doubt that I support the Theory of Evolution. So that part of his question has been answered.
Here is a brief story leading up to my question….
Anne is a deeply religious woman, she has obeyed and served her god in accordance with his demands. She prays every day, she attends church regularly,and even goes as far as studying at a bible academy for years in the hope of spreading her god’s message to everyone else. She serves her community and helps those in need despite having problems of her own. She does all this with courage, determination, love, grace, humour and piety; one of those few people who could truly be called an angel.
How does the god she worships and serves reward her devotion?
Her god gives her a husband who can no longer work because he’s been injured in a car accident. She finally manages to fall pregnant and miscarries at 8 weeks. Not satisfied with that little test of her faith, her god allows her to fall pregnant again but this time the baby girl dies just a few weeks before she is born. Then, as if that is not enough suffering, He makes Anne ill and she dies 3 weeks after the birth of her dead baby at the age of 36. Through all this, her god is deaf the prayers said on Annes behalf. He ignores her familys pleas for his mercy. Oh yes, her god is all powerful.
So here’s my question – Why?
You are not allowed to use the following answers:-
It was god’s will.
Only the good die young.
God moves in mysterious ways.
Anne had served her purpose.
Her job here on Earth was done.
That story demands answers to other questions; what kind of god punishes those who do exactly as he commands? Why didn’t he punish an evil Atheist like me?
I’ll tell you why,…..it’s because Anne’s god doesn’t exist.
Boobquake
In response to the idiotic comments made by Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi, that promiscuous women cause earthquakes, Blag Hag Jen McCreight has decided to offer up her boobs in the name of science.
Her reasoning is simple; if women who dress provocatively and tempt people into promiscuity are to blame for earthquakes – as stated by Sedighi, then by organising a mass exposure of womanly flesh, we should be able to produce an earthquake. Thus, the idea for Boobquake was born.
The idea might seem silly to some, but there are serious issues behind this light-hearted stab at stupidity.
One is obviously the moronic linking of natural disasters to the way women dress and behave. The other more serious issues are the insidious laws that Islam uses to subjugate women (here is a link to an old article in Time which explains the role of women in Islam). While Jen was being sarcastic, what Sedighi said is based on what he genuinely believes to be true, and these beliefs affect millions of women everyday.
This is why Jen’s boob joke has prompted so many people to react to the ludicrous statements Sedighi made. This is also why, I for one, will be taking part in Boobquake on the 26th April 2010.
By the way Jen, I don’t find it offensive at all and those criticising it as such should read the Times article I linked to. If that doesn’t make you angry enough to want to take a stand against the injustices suffered by women, then nothing will.
I’m Part Of A Zoo
I’ve just become part of a Zoo. Fellow skeptic and science educator Alice in Galaxyland aka PenguinGalaxy , a veteran of the Galaxy Zoo project, decided to launch a Skeptic Zoo.
The Zoo has just launched a new project: Animal Skeptic Zoo. There is a worryingly insane panda on the rampage, chomping bamboo and hugging slandered politicians, as well as a chimp, cat, black duck, and penguin. That’s quite a lot of skeptic animals on the loose, so we thought it best to round them up and get them classified.
Alice, I am honoured and priveledged to be included in your Skeptic Zoo
and humbled by the company you’ve inluded me in.
Thank you.
World Homeopathy Awareness Week
This week is World Homeopathy Awareness Week and it would be remiss of me not to make my readers aware of how absolutely useless homeopathy was, so here it goes…..
Are you aware of the fact that…
1. Homeopathy is based on the ideas of a German physician, Samuel Hahnemann, who lived two hundred years ago. These ideas have remained unchanged since their invention despite the incredible advances of medical knowledge and medicines in the last two centuries.
2. Homeopathic remedies contain nothing but water. Homeopaths believe that the more a remedy is diluted the stronger it becomes.
3. Homeopaths believe that like – cures -like, so if you cannot sleep the best cure for your insomnia would be caffeine. Homeopaths still prescribe caffeine – or coffea – as a cure for insomnia.
4. As of 2009 the homeopathic industry in Europe was estimated to be worth €1.05 billion, that’s an awful lot of money spent on plain water.
5. Despite the best efforts of the , 1023 Campaign no – one has overdosed on homeopathic remedies.
6. The Science and Technology Select Committee in the U.K. released a report into it’s investigation on homeopathy and has recommended that MPs urge government for the complete withdrawal of NHS funding and official licensing of homeopathy.
7. Clinical trials into homeopathic treatments concluded that any apparent benefits were simply placebo effects.
In short, I hope this post makes you aware of the fact that homeopathy is useless and that you should rather spend your money on something that works.
Why Aren’t More Catholics Asking Questions?
Since the latest child abuse scandals in Catholic Church broke, I have been trying to comprehend the reaction, or rather the lack thereof, of Catholics worldwide. Yes there have been a few who have spoken out, but considering the severity of the crimes, I don’t think Catholics have been vociferous enough. Had these allegations been levelled at any other institution or group, there would have been resignations, criminal investigations and, hopefully, justice would have prevailed. However, the Catholic Church, and any other religion for that matter, seems to be exempt from the everyday laws that govern the rest of us.
The Catholic Church’s handling of the scandals would certainly have had me questioning my faith as well as my membership of a religious group that is quick to protect criminals and which sees nothing wrong in laying blame on the victims.
The Church had a chance to redeem itself after the release of the Irish abuse report in May 2009. Instead of dealing with the report immediately, it took the Pope ten months to write a weak letter of apology to the victims of abuse. Think about it, in an age where it takes seconds to communicate with someone on the other side of the planet, it took the Pope ten months to respond to the victims. I’m sure that if he had written the letter in the month following the publication of the report and dispatched his apology to Ireland using medieval transport methods; it would have still got there faster. I don’t accept any excuses as to why it took him so long. The findings in the report are extremely serious and I think a prompt response would have shown Irish Catholics that the pontiff was sincere and determined to deal with the scandal. And, why did it have to take a nine year investigation into allegations of abuse before the Church even considered dealing with the problem or issuing an apology to victims? Were they hoping against hope that it would all just go away?
In the past year or so, the Church has come under growing criticism for the way it has dealt with some of the headlines it has made. I can think of a couple of instances where the Church has lost touch with reality and still clings to medieval ideals of morality.
Despite living in the 21st century, where people are dying from sexually transmitted diseases that are easily preventable, the Vatican continues to defend it’s stance on the use of condoms, with the Pope foolishly saying that if anything, condoms cause AIDS. If the Vatican believes this to be true, then the Church should be held responsible for every AIDS related death, every AIDS orphan and it should be forced to financially support the large families they so eagerly encourage.
In dealing with paedophile priests, the Church should have defrocked the criminals within their midst, handed them over to the police immediately for investigation, and provided extensive support and therapy for the victims at the Church’s cost. Instead the Vatican closed ranks and protected the abusers while pointing the finger of blame at the victims – one can’t get more morally bankrupt than that.
Why won’t the Vatican open the files of complaints so that a proper investigation can be done? It’s definitely not to protect the victims. Those who were brave enough to come forward publicly with allegations of abuse, were humiliated and blamed for the abuse they went through by the Church itself. In most cases, the paedophiles were moved to another church, only to abuse more young children.
Another story that had me questioning the Vatican’s idea of morality was the story of a nine year old child, the victim of incest and rape, who was excommunicated because she had to have an abortion to save her life. Her step father, the rapist and father of the twins that were aborted, was not excommunicated – why not?
Which brings me back to the opening line of my post, why aren’t Catholics protesting in their droves over the latest child abuse scandals? Are they afraid that by criticising the Church and the Pope they risk eternal damnation of some sort? Why aren’t congregations coming together to demand that the Vatican opens its records so that criminal investigators can gather evidence? Why aren’t thousands of Catholics demanding an explanation from the Pope about his role in the cover up? Are they all afraid to question Gods chosen messenger?
I’ve read the news reports extensively, particularly the comments sections and have found that there are hardly any dissenting Catholic voices. The majority of Catholics rather add messages of support and condemn those who rightly criticise the Pope and the Vatican. Don’t they realise that by giving moral support, and monetary support, to the Church that they are part of the problem? None of these atrocities could have happened if people spoke out from the beginning. The few victims that have been financially compensated have been paid with money donated by church goers, doesn’t even give them a slight twinge of guilt? I would be horrified and outraged if my contributions were used to pay for some sick bastard’s crimes, crimes that he got away with.
Had I been a Catholic, my disappointment in the religion I trusted for my spiritual and moral guidance would would be devastating and profound; I would find it extremely difficult to put into practise the lesson of forgiveness.
Perhaps they are afraid to ask these questions because it will inevitably lead to them questioning their faith and their God. After all, what kind of God would allow these horrible, horrible things to happen in the first place?
SpeakZA – Bloggers for a Free Press
Last week, shocking revelations concerning the activities of the ANC Youth League spokesperson Nyiko Floyd Shivambu came to the fore. According to a letter published in various news outlets, a complaint was laid by 19 political journalists with the Secretary General of the ANC, against Shivambu. This complaint letter detailed attempts by Shivambu to leak a dossier to certain journalists, purporting to expose the money laundering practices of Dumisani Lubisi, a journalist at the City Press. The letter also detailed the intimidation that followed when these journalists refused to publish these revelations. We condemn in the strongest possible terms the reprisals against journalists by Shivambu. His actions constitute a blatant attack on media freedom and a grave infringement on Constitutional rights. It is a disturbing step towards dictatorial rule in South Africa. We call on the ANC and the ANC Youth League to distance themselves from the actions of Shivambu. The media have, time and again, been a vital democratic safeguard by exposing the actions of individuals who have abused their positions of power for personal and political gain. The press have played a vital role in the liberation struggle, operating under difficult and often dangerous conditions to document some of the most crucial moments in the struggle against apartheid. It is therefore distressing to note that certain people within the ruling party are willing to maliciously target journalists by invading their privacy and threatening their colleagues in a bid to silence them in their legitimate work. We also note the breathtaking hubris displayed by Shivambu and the ANC Youth League President Julius Malema in their response to the letter of complaint. Shivambu and Malema clearly have no respect for the media and the rights afforded to the media by the Constitution of South Africa. Such a response serves only to reinforce the position that the motive for leaking the so-called dossier was not a legitimate concern, but a insolent effort to intimidate and bully a journalist who had exposed embarrassing information about the Youth League President. We urge the ANC as a whole to reaffirm its commitment to media freedom and other Constitutional rights we enjoy as a country.
Blog Roll
http://thoughtleader.co.za/siphohlongwane
http://vocfm.co.za/blogs/munadia/
http://vocfm.co.za/blogs/shafiqmorton/
http://blogs.news24.com/needpoint
http://thoughtleader.co.za/sentletsediakanyo
http://thoughtleader.co.za/davidjsmith
http://letterdash.com/one-eye-only
http://boyuninterrupted.blogspot.com
http://hamishpillay.wordpress.com
http://memoirs4kimya.blogspot.com
http://thoughtleader.co.za/azadessa
http://thelifeanddeathchronicles.blogspot.com/
http://blogs.timeslive.co.za/common-dialogue/
http://www.clivesimpkins.blogs.com/
http://mashadutoit.wordpress.com
http://blogs.timeslive.co.za/stompies/
http://helenmoffett.book.co.za/blog/
http://01universe.blogspot.com
http://groundwork.worpress.com
http://fionasnyckers.book.co.za
http://attentiontodetail.wordpress.com
http://blogs.women24.com/editor
http://www.missmillib.blogspot.com
http://www.vanoodle.blogspot.com
http://alistairfairweather.com
http://blogs.african-writing.com/zukiswa
http://www.mielie.wordpress.com
http://blogs.timeslive.co.za/gatherer/
http://thoughtleader.co.za/sarahbritten
http://blogs.news24.com/FSB_AP
http://twistedkoeksuster.blogspot.com
http://whensmokegetsinyoureyes.blogspot.com/
http://trinklebean.wordpress.com
http://commentry.wordpress.com/
The Funny Side Of Spam
Like any other blogger, I get my share of spam. I guess the type of spam depends on what words the spammers pick up in my posts, so if I mention the word “sex” – even if it’s in the context of discussing gender – I’ll get a lot of spam with links to porn sites.
There was the one weird comment in my spam box from a guy who said he found my blog “sexy” and then sent a link to his cockatiel website – I nervously linked to the site provided expecting to find porn, but it turned out to be about birds, the comment was still weird though.
Sometimes I get spam like the one I’m going to post below, that is so funny that I feel the need to share it word for word. Enjoy!
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And, as set, you surely give birth to occasion for to run anti-virus and anti-malwarebytes programs in the future an exit comes up. But fair here and now you are faced with the maladwell-deserveded of ‘what to do to fix it?’
If your browser has been hijacked and you don’t already obtain vamp programs established you could be up against the wall. numberless hijackers actively defer you from visiting sites where you can download the pickle, which implies you ordain from to get on another set, download the programs and put them to the infected system from a removable drive. And there’s also one named Hijack This. Each of these are wonderful programs and can take some, but very likely not all browser hijacks. ( a compulsory command of warning: numberless malevolent programs represent as being anti-virus/anti-spyware programs. )
While leader this I couldn’t escape but expect of Robert Deniro and how a mark he power tease would mete out with a browser hijack. It’s a dishonour we can’t well-deserved gun the people who do it down while saying, ‘Hijack this!!’ But at least there are some unaffected-soul, workable options, such as those listed above.
More info beside Internet insurance you can realize on malware bytes
Thanks, Newbie
Simply Slim Skips Interview With Carte Blanche Consumer
I was not surprised at all that Simply Slim decided not to do the interview with Carte Blanche Consumer. This was the perfect opportunity for them to speak to their consumers and explain what happened, but instead they chose to cancel their interview at the last moment. Sorry guys, but that move makes you all look a lot more guilty and enforces the fact that you don’t care about your consumers, only their money.
Lance Rothschild, the marketing and communications manager for Simply Slim – the one who has been busy all over the internet denying that Simply Slim has any side effects – would not make any statements unless the camera was turned off. This is the same person who boldly stated that anyone suffering side effects from Simply Slim had Munchausen’s Syndrome.
I sincerely hope that business schools take note of this whole mess and use it as a case study for future students as an example of abysmal communications failure.
You can read the transcript of the interview here.
On a more positive note, the MCC at least had the balls to admit that they had failed on their side and that the problems with slimming products being so easily distributed without adequate testing will be looked into and revised. Unfortunately, they said that they are unable to pursue a legal route and that the responsibility of taking further action lay with the Director-General of Health. If you would like to see this taken further, I encourage you to write to the Director- General of Health, Mr Thamsanqa Dennis Mseleku, and urge him to take further action. His contact numbers are on the link provided.
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