Category Archives: ten23

Some people deserve to get Ebola

The Ebola virus is currently spreading across West Africa and has infected as many as 10,000 people accross the region with approximately 4,922 fatalities. It is one of the most serious disease outbreaks in recent history. There is a vaccine being rushed through development, but there isn’t adequate time to test it because it’s needed immediately. However some protection is better than zero protection. But like all things medical there are always scoundrels out to cause harm with scaremongering, denial and general advocacy against health care.

HomeopathyPlus a sham operation based in Australia has reared it’s ugly head with a petition to the World Health Organisation titled: WHO: End the suffering of the Ebola crisis. Test and distribute homeopathy as quickly as possible to contain the outbreaks.

The petition contains the usual lies and nonsense that we have come to expect from HomeopathyPlus:

We call on those within WHO in positions of authority and influence to:
1.  Look at homeopathy’s record in the treatment and prevention of serious epidemic disease
2.  Engage with qualified representatives from the homeopathic profession to formally identify thebest-indicated remedies
3.  Test those remedies to determine which are best for the treatment and prevention of Ebola
4.  Obtain supplies of those remedies from waiting and concerned homeopathic pharmacies
5.  Bring the outbreaks under control by distributing these remedies as quickly as possible throughout the affected areas.
Finally, please end the suffering of those in the Ebola crisis by using the tried and proven homeopathic option.

 

HomeopathyPlus

It may come as I surprise to some readers of this blog to learn that I am actually an expert on Homeopathy. I also hold the necessary qualifications needed to legally administer it; as in fuck all. So back in 2011 I used my expertise to strange a public suicide attempt, whereby members of Perth Skeptics took a large overdose of Homeopathic sleeping pills and still lived to tell the tale.

I filmed the event here:

We were able to conduct this overdose safely because Homeopathy is a placebo product. The pills we took contained nothing more than a little sugar, and a hefty price tag. Yet, shonks like HomeopathyPlus and the Homeopathic industry in general are lining up to make some fast cash from the suffering of Ebola victims. The real harm to the victims are not only financial but sometimes a patient will forego medical treatment in favor of witchcraft as was the case with Penelope Dingle.  

There are currently 4,652 signatures on the petition calling for Homeopathy to be used in place of medicine. That’s 4,652 people who support taking advantage of the Ebola outbreak to cash in on the scam. Perhaps if these people got a good dose of Ebola themselves they might not be so quick to take advantage of the situation. I wouldn’t normally wish Ebola upon anyone, but in the case of scammers and cheats I’ll make an exception.

See Also: Not even a trace of evidence for homeopathy -Australian Medical Association

Francine Scrayen sends me a Cease and Desist.

It looks like two of my previous blog posts have upset Ms Scrayen to the point where she is willing to call in the lawyers. Of course nobody likes such harsh criticism of their business practices, especially when they are already surrounded by intense public scrutiny.

Ms Scrayen is so strongly opposed to my opinions and criticisms of her that she even wants me to remove them from my blog. 

I have no desire to publish inaccuracies and posting such a retraction would be doing just that. My opinions and criticisms of Francine Scrayen are based upon the facts surrounding the death of Penelope Dingle and I am more than willing to defend them in court if need be.

Ms Scrayen may be unhappy with what I’ve written about her, but I will not be removing it unless it is shown to be false. If Ms Scrayen thinks she can silence my criticism with lawyers then she is in for some disappointment.

I’m sure Ms Scrayen will read this so I’ll make this perfectly clear. You cannot silence legitimate criticism with lawyers. If you can prove the Homeopathy works and is effective for treating cancer, as Penelope Dingle was led to believe. Then I will gladly make the necessary corrections to maintain the accuracy of my blog. But if you want to sell unproven medicines to vulnerable cancer patients then you can expect to be justifiably criticised for it; especially if the patient then dies due to your ineffective treatment.

Cease and Desist Letter.

Coroners Report

My First post about Francine Scrayen

My Second post about Francine Scrayen

#ten23 comes to Perth

As many of you may already know Australia is taking part in the Homeopathy ten23 campaign to raise awareness about Homeopathy and the fact that there is nothing in it. Perth Skeptics will be one of seven skeptical groups in Australia taking part. http://tokenskeptic.org/ten23/

The plan is to meet in Forest Place by 12pm on Saturday the 5th of Feb. We then plan to hand out a Homeopathic solution containing arsenic to the general public along with a flyer explaining why it is ok to overdose on ANY Homeopathic substance, and why Homeopathy is ineffective and cannot work beyond the placebo effect.

We will also overdose on Homeopathic remedies ourselves to show that there is nothing in them. We did this last year however no one got sick. It’s just sugar after all.

More information on Homeopathy:
http://www.1023.org.uk/what-is-homeopathy.php
https://www.drstaceywood.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/SenseAboutHomeopathy.pdf

Join the Perth Skeptics #ten23 event here: Homeopathy ten23 Perth

Theres a point to Homeopathy?

I just read a very unprofessional article titled “Pill protesters are missing the point on homeopathy” written by one Clodagh Sheehy. Of course being a news site there is little if any avenue for feedback so I will make my quick reply here.

 

Swallowing a pile of homeopathic pills to prove it does not work is a bit like standing in hot sun for two minutes and concluding it does not cause sunburn.

To start off this is an absurd analogy, overdosing on magic water is nothing like short term exposure to the sun. When you consume a substance it remains in your system for as long as it takes for the body to process; whereas short term exposure to the sun is just that (short exposure). If you absorb too much sun especially thousands of times more than normal you will be lucky if a sunburn is all you get. Not only is this a silly comparison but it is also an obvious false analogy.

 

The protesters say the remedies are just sugar pills with nothing in them — hence the overdose to prove their point. Homeopathy does not work the same way as conventional medicine and so they are not proving anything.

We know Homeopathy doesn’t have any active ingredients, and the overdose shows this. Homeopathy works as a placebo which does not work that same way as conventional medicine. Add to the fact that different medicines work differently and you can quickly see how foolish the statement “does not work the same way as conventional medicine” really is.

 

If homeopathy is a con involving sugar pills why does the Irish Medicines Board, the regulating body for all medicines in this country, recognise and regulate homeopathic medicines?

Why is homeopathy incorporated into mainstream medical systems in many countries including Britain, which has specialised homeopathic hospitals? Why do health insurers in this country like Quinn Healthcare and Aviva offer cover for their clients for homeopathic treatment?

Just because something is accepted it does not mean it is automatically true. For example the Earth was once thought to be flat without any evidence to suggest that it was. We all know the fate of that belief. My point is that acceptance does not prove that something it true. Most of the Scientific community will tell you that you cannot dilute a substance beyond avagadros number. Widespread acceptance does not constitute evidence you also need to backup your claims.

 

If they were protesting about some kind of poisonous substance or dangerous drug ruining vulnerable people’s health, their indignation would be justified, but this is not the case. If they are concerned that the public is being conned, they are insulting the intelligence of the 30 million people across Europe alone who regularly use homeopathic remedies.

Again with the bandwagon. Unfortunately those 30 million people are being conned through their own ignorance, fortunate we have skeptics to point out the fraudsters who profit by exploiting the sick.

 

The demonstrators argue that patients with a serious illness might shun doctors and rely instead on homeopathy. Are they suggesting that a sizeable group of Europeans, not to mention millions of others worldwide, are incapable of taking proper responsibility for their own health?

I wrote about this in my article titled “Whats the harm in Alternative Medicine?“. Unfortunately it happens to be true not only do unethical practitioners lighten their victims wallet but can also cause serious harm to innocent people who genuinely believe they are being helped.

People should listen to their Doctors who know infinity more than they do when it comes to health. Listening to the professionals is always the most sensible option. Don’t like your Doctors opinion, seek a second opinion from another Doctor just don’t listen to the snake oil salesman who is trying to sell unproven treatments.

 

Scientists, at one point, believed the world was flat but as their knowledge improved they realised they were wrong. It is likely that in the future, quantum physics will deliver the scientific proof for homeopathy. As a gentle system of medicine, without toxic side effects, homeo-pathy is used by thousands of Irish people for both acute and chronic conditions. No one is suggesting that it is the only system of medicine.

This is the “Ad ignorantiam” the most common Logical Fallacy used by purveyors of Woo. It basically goes “We don’t know it does not work, so it must be true” see how illogical that is?

The whole purpose of the ten23 campaign was to raise public awareness that there is Nothing in Homeopathy. We can just as easily prove this fact with Mathematics but the average layperson on the street would not understand as easily as when it is done right in front of them. The ten23 campaign was a practical demonstration that Homeopathy contains no active ingredient.

You can find out more about the ten23 event here: The 10:23 Campaign

Clodagh Sheehy also draws a poor conclusion.

Maybe instead of opening their mouths to swallow a pile of homeopathic pills, these protesters could open their minds to possibilities.

Science is open to knew ideas. Scientific knowledge is constantly advancing and moving forward with new discoveries. But all these discoveries are evidence based, you cannot just invent anything you like and expect it to be accepted. Evidence is a requirement of Science and for Homeopathy there is none.

I Overdosed on Magic water and nothing happened: Exposing the fallacy.

Well, the mass overdose went ahead as planned and nothing extraordinary happened. Over dosing on actual medicine would be dangerous so it’s a good thing Homeopathy is bull shit or those of us who survived would have almost certainly been banned from the pub. Last I checked they don’t like people holding mass suicides near their venues.

We overdosed outside the 24 hour pharmacy on Beaufort st, and apart from getting some funny looks from cars waiting at the lights nobody was bothered by the fact that a group of Skeptics was attempting suicide in broad daylight on the street corner.

I have no doubt that absurd accusations that this was all staged by a major pharmaceutical company will begin to emerge from the woo-woo crowd within the next few days. But what can we expect from people who fraudulently support remedies that we (Perth Skeptics) have demonstrated do not work. There are videos of the event which I will post when they become avalible.

Mass Overdose of homeopathic remedies.

In an effort to prove the fallacy of Homeopathic remedies Perth Skeptics are going to take an overdose of Homeopathic remedies to raise public awareness about the fact that there is nothing in them. The “overdose” will take place at The Flying Scotsman in Mount Lawley. On Saturday 30th of January 2010.

This is a part of the 10:23 campain against Homeopathy.

At 10:23am (UK Time) on January 30th, more than three hundred homeopathy sceptics nationwide will be taking part in a mass homeopathic ‘overdose’ in protest at Boots’ continued endorsement and sale of homeopathic remedies, and to raise public awareness about the fact that homeopathic remedies have nothing in them.

Skeptics and consumer rights activists will publicly swallow an entire bottle of homeopathic ‘pillules’ to demonstrate that these ‘remedies’, prepared according to a long-discredited 18th century ritual, are nothing but sugar pills.
The protest will raise public awareness about the reality of homeopathy, and put further pressure on Boots to live up to its responsibilites as the ‘scientist on the high street’ and stop selling treatments which do not work.

Since Homeopathy is a fake medicine with no active ingredients overdosing does nothing more than show Homeopathy for the pseudo-science that it is. We want pharmacies who sell Homeopathy to take notice of the fact that they are selling false medicine to the public.

Although Homeopathy contains no active ingredient it still poses a serious threat to patients suffering from serious illnesses such as cancer because it offers them a false alternative to the real treatment that could save their life. There is nothing harmless about selling fake medicine and there have even been deaths as a result of people refusing genuine treatment in favor of false alternatives.