November 13, 2010 at 2:26 pm (Legal Chill) (Andrew Wakefield, Andy Lewis, Association Sjokoservice Norway, BCA, Ben Goldacre, Boob Job Cream, Brian Deer, British Chiropractic Association, Burzynski Clinic, Canceractive, Chris Woollams, Clark Baker, ColonHelp, David Colquhoun, Doctor's Data, Dr Dalia Nield, Edward Tobinick, Energy and Environment, Gavin Schmidt, GE Healthcare, Gillian McKeith, Henrik Thomsen, Jeni Barnett, LBC, Legal chill, Libel, Marc Stephens, Matthias Rath, Mohamed Salah El Din Hamed El Naschie, Nature, New Zealand Chiropractors' Association, NMT, NZCA, Peter Wilmshurst, Professor Frizelle, Quirn Schiermeier, Rhys Morgan, Rodial, Sarah Myhill, SGU Productions, Simon Singh, Society of Homeopaths, Solal, Stephen Barrett, Steven Novella, Straight Pride UK, Stuart Jones, Sue Reid, The Society For Science-Based Medicine, WDDTY, Xocai, Zenyth)
A company called Rodial have threatened a doctor with a lawsuit after she raised doubts about a “boob job cream”. While Rodial’s lawyers letter states that Rodial would have provided information on “clinical assessment and product ingredients” on request, they failed to do so when contacted by Ben Goldacre. Read the rest of this entry »
June 16, 2009 at 3:58 pm (Alternative Medicine, Chiropractic) (Chiropractic, Chiropractors, Doug Blackbourn, New Zealand Chiropractors' Association, Shaun Holt)
Remarkably, chiropractors in New Zealand are risking further damage to their reputation. Having used legal muscle rather than evidence to respond to criticism in The Journal of the New Zealand Medical Association [PDF], the New Zealand Chiropractors’ Association has laid a complaint with the Broadcasting Standards Authority about comments made by a doctor named Shaun Holt. Read the rest of this entry »
February 11, 2009 at 5:45 pm (Alternative Medicine, Bad Science) (Alternative Medicine, Ann Walker, BANT, Cliff Richard, Cochrane, Contriversy, David Colquhoun, Gillian McKeith, HFMA, IANT, ION, Jeni Barnett, Jeremy Sherr, Joseph Chikelue Obi, LBC, Manufactroversy, Matthias Rath, New Zealand Chiropractors' Association, Patrick Holford, Professor Frizelle, Quackometer, Society of Homeopaths)
Here, I have some examples of the, fairly limited, debate between sceptics and proponents of Alternative Medicine – and a couple of examples of how scientists generally respond to criticism. The most recent example of a supporter of Alternative Medicine (anti-vaccinationism, with a smidge of homeopathy) responding to criticism is Jeni Barnett. She referred on her blog to incandescently stupid comments she made about MMR during a radio broadcast on LBC, and the fuss that followed the broadcast. The comments section soon included critics explaining why Jeni was so dangerously wrong. Jeni’s response to the criticism? To remove the blog post and the comments. Thankfully, it’s been preserved and is available at The Quackometer website. Further discussion at Holford Watch. LBC’s response to the original criticisms? Legal chill tactics – a pretty disgusting way to tackle legitimate criticism. Other examples of legal chill (and other threats) come from nutritionists, chiropractors, homeopaths, herbalists, and an American Christian organisation. Read the rest of this entry »
Stuff And Nonsense