More Threats to the Quackometer
Another page or two goes missing.
You can read more about this here:
and here:
Legal threats and extortion to suppress the truth
Orac is on the case. Bless him.
The BadScience Forum has more details and discussion as does the Randi Forum
A few more people looking at the issues raised by this:
Science and Progress
Rich Speaks…
No Nonsense!
Ambri–guous
Thinking is Dangerous
Rich Scopie
Brain Duck
Soberish
Skeptico
A day at the pharmacy
Fooeey
jdc325
FlammableFlower
Sunclipse
NeuroLogica I am not worthy
Paholaisen Asianajaja
Shpalman
One or two very big US bloggers picking up on this now…
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Here is the ‘lawyers’ letter that my web hosts received…
Dear Sirs,
Re Defamation
We advise Professor Dr Obi and the Royal College of Alternative Medicine. We are informed that you host the Quackometer`s website (copy evidence enclosed). Our clients hereby give you formal notice that they are determined to sue you directly for the highly defamatory contents contained on the website should you fail to immediately shut down the website and delete all of the defamatory material relating to the Royal College of Alternative Medicine, Professor Dr Obi and our clients` lawfully registered Trademarks.
In case the defamation continues beyond 12 noon on Monday the 21st of January 2008, we are instructed to hold you fully liable to the tune of £1 Million (One Million Pounds) per day [hooks little finger to mouth], together with additional punitive damages relating to the many months during which the defamatory material had and has been globally accessible via your server.
Kindly note that Google has already blocked the highly defamatory material from appearing on its search engines in the Republic of Ireland, and is currently in the process of extending the ban to other countries.
Please find enclosed photocopies of the two RCAM Trademarks and a copy letter of Good Standing from the Company Registration Office in Ireland, as well as copies of these highly defamatory articles. Please provide an undertaking that no further reference concerning Professor Dr Obi and/or the Royal College of Alternative Medicine is going to appear anywhere within the Quackometer`s website.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully,
Tanja Suessenbach LLB, LLM
I have now written to Ms Suessenbach asking her to detail her clients concerns as a blanket attempt to close down this site and not give reasons is unacceptable. Ms Suessenbach has yet to respond.
9pm 23rd Jan
I have just received confirmation that a researcher within the University of San Francisco Law School is now annotating the above letter as part of the chillingeffects.org project. That should be interesting.
10pm 23rd
A few more
Holford Watch
UK-Skeptics
Mugs and Money twice
Chemo Brain
jaycueaitch adds some commentary on the affair.
24th January
Apathy Sketchpad dissects the issues.
Overscope
And now Joseph Hewitt’s marvelous Ataraxia Theatre is in on it too with
The Insolence of Pigeons
Science Punk catches up.
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I think I can safely say that this matter is now closed. I did a bit more digging on Prof Obi, and I must say I am quite pleased with myself…
Joseph and Andrew Obi: International Men of Mystery
Posts are restored. Obi now has a Google profile like a pig farmer’s timberlands.
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