|
|
|
|
jdc325
New Member
5 Posts |
 Posted - 11/29/2007 : 03:42:26
|
Well, not wars maybe. There are some new homeopathy blogs, though. In a blatant exhibition of blog pimping I shall now link to my report on the new homeopathy blogs - http://jdc325.wordpress.com/2007/11/29/did-you-just-call-me-a-cult/
|
“It doesn't matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn't matter how smart you are. If it doesn't agree with experiment, it's wrong”
|
|
|
filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 11/29/2007 : 04:46:34 [Permalink]
|
Hi jdc & welcome!
That's an interesting article, and here's my take on the various homopathy blogs:
Homopathy has become just another shuck; pure & simple. A couple or three decades ago, when 'health food' (it's all health food -- don't eat and just see how healthy you become) became popular, unregulated capitalism reared it's ugly head and began promoting 'natural' foods and alledged healthy alternatives to various, minor ailments usually treated by a couple of asprins and a little rest. A lot of money was made at it and today, that influx of cash is as protected as any other. And the industry remains mostly unregulated.
And then, there are the True Believers(tm). These might be devouring grasshopper gonads by the pound and will never admit that it does not affect their reason for doing so in the least.
And I fear that it's worse than you think.
There really should be some sort of regulation on homopathy, especally on the 'advisors' and those who promote it the loudest. It might cut down some on the lies told to the general public.
|
"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
|
 |
|
|
jdc325
New Member
5 Posts |
Posted - 11/29/2007 : 07:46:31 [Permalink]
|
Thanks for the welcome!
You made a good point about the profits to be made in sCAM (serious Complementary and Alternative Medicine). I remember reading a blog that linked to a source showing how much money is made from homeopathy. Boiron labs (some involvement with the Benveniste study, IIRC) is, apparently, a $500m company: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ISW/is_268/ai_n15893079
EDIT: http://dcscience.net/?p=164 has some links on Benveniste, Boiron etc...
|
“It doesn't matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn't matter how smart you are. If it doesn't agree with experiment, it's wrong”
|
| Edited by - jdc325 on 11/29/2007 07:47:46 |
|
|
|
bngbuck
SFN Addict
USA
2437 Posts |
Posted - 11/29/2007 : 12:56:50 [Permalink]
|
jdc.....
Another Welcome! to these sometimes contentious pages!
If you want to get seriously concerned about the success of some of this quackery , take a look at this article on the subject of a current multi million dollar tv ad campaign - roping in the suckers at an unprecedented rate! My daughter bought one of these damn tubes of paraffin "just to see if it would work" It worked to relieve her of $7.95!
Incidentally, Randi has done a real number on these charlatans (SWIFT 7/28/06):
HEAD ON INTO QUACKERY!
Science marches on. And stumbles badly.
The latest major medical swindle being offered the American public is a raucously-cracked-up product we've now been introduced to through a massive TV advertising campaign. It's named, “Head On,” a small waxy stick that one rubs directly on the forehead to relieve headaches. It sells for $8. Looking into it, I found it was – great surprise! – a homeopathic “remedy.” Each .2-ounce (<6 grams!) stick contains a “12X” concentration (?) of White Bryony – a type of vine – as one of the two active ingredients. That means that the whole damn stick contains 1 part of ingredient in 1,000,000,000,000 parts of wax, or a stick contains .000,000,000,005,67 grams of "ingredient!" Since there are some 100 applications in a stick, divide that quantity by 100… An additional ingredient is potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) at a dilution of one part to a million parts of wax. Though this chemical is intensely red-orange in color, and is used as a disinfectant and as a stain for furniture, the 1:1,000,000 dilution makes the Head On product quite colorless – as well as without ingredients.
See how silly it gets?
When I heard that NBC-TV Nightly News was going to discuss this product, I was encouraged. Any hope I had quickly faded when I viewed the piece. They were only dealing with the inane, repetitious, TV commercial. The consensus was that the commercial – simply because it was irritating – would sell the product; not a word was said about whether the wax stick would really work, except that maybe if it didn't work, people would stop buying it. Yes, they will, but only after they've been swindled and the makers have made millions in profits. For those of you in the USA and Canada who have heard the promo, but not for others, my version will be significant:
Head On: it's a scam for the deluded.
Head On: it's a scam for the deluded.
Head On: it's a scam for the deluded.
What insanity. This product is proudly featured by Walgreen's Pharmacies. Note in the photo that this fake – and another piece of quackery seen at the right side of the photo – “The Power of Magnets” for migraine relief! – are placed among legitimate products that actually do work. This is called, association by reputation. Prince Charles would, I'm sure, rush to purchase “Head On” – as do millions of Americans, every day. And George Bush would call it a “faith-based” decision… |
HeadOn!, HeadOn!, HeadOn! Apply directly to the Asshole!
|
|
|
|
jdc325
New Member
5 Posts |
Posted - 12/04/2007 : 03:46:16 [Permalink]
|
bngbuck - The mention of Potassium Dichromate reminded me of this:
"Using potassium dichromate to treat patients in intensive care (rather than to clean the glassware)?"
http://dcscience.net/?p=206
Filthy - I've recently blogged on the amount of money in sCAM. The millions and billions of dollars flowing into the coffers of homeopathists, herbalists and food supplement salesmen. Here: http://jdc325.wordpress.com/2007/11/30/whats-woo-worth/
There's some other bad science blogs here - http://badscienceblogs.com/ - but I don't think that the site is 'live' yet. |
“It doesn't matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn't matter how smart you are. If it doesn't agree with experiment, it's wrong”
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Homeopathy Wars
