Turning A Pint of Tea Leaves into Pure Gold

27th May, 2008 12

Dr James Colthurst and the Fenzian Machine No, I haven’t gone all Daily Express on you. There is a genuine Lady Di connection here. But first, the Daily Telegraph. We are told (May 10, 2008) how a man had a bad knee and how ‘laser acupuncture’ made it better again. Time for the Quackometer to investigate. So, why do alarm bells ring? The Telegraph reports, Last year I heard about [read more…]

Exradia: Angels or Demons?

12th November, 2007 14

Last June, I wrote about emerging company, Exradia, and their attempts to sell a magic mobile phone battery to the major handset manufacturers, such as Nokia and Sony Ericsson. Their replacement batteries are supposed to offer health benefits to their owners by jiggling around with the electrical currents in the battery. (Don’t ask me – it’s their theory.) What was shocking about Exradia was they were not your usual flaky [read more…]

Clarins: Untruthful, Scaremongering Quacks

15th August, 2007 5

Six meddlesome members of the public have complained to the Advertising Standards Authority that Clarins have been making untruthful, unsubstantiated and scaremongering claims about their E3P product. Previously, I wrote about this product and how it is making claims that it can protect against ‘Artificial Electromagnetic Waves’. The claims made and the evidence given by Clarins were utter tosh. Specifically, the ASA considered three complaints: 1. Clarins could substantiate the [read more…]

Potty Paper and the Tower of Doom and the Magic Hair Dryer

7th August, 2007 3

Two classics from the Daily Mail today. An example of two types of quack story perpetuated by the media. Firstly, a good old scare story. Secondly, an unquestioning promotion of a quack remedy after a press release has been issued. But first, the paper reports that Orange have removed a mobile phone mast from a tower block in Staple Hill, Bristol, after pressure has been put on by local residents. [read more…]

The Breakspear Hospital and Electromagnetic Therapy

6th August, 2007 20

The development of new forms of quackery continues with the publication of the latest research from the University of Essex showing yet again that mobile mast radiation was unlikely to be the cause of electrosensitivity. The excuses from the lobbies that support sufferers is piling in with a trend towards excommunication of those that failed the tests as being ‘psycho cases’ and so probably not worthy of support of the [read more…]

Where there’s Electromuck, There’s Brass.

24th July, 2007 0

Dr George Carlo is an interesting character. Founder of the Safe Wireless Initiative in the US, he is the leading thinker behind a lot of the concerns about the dangers of mobiles and Wi-Fi. The campaigners in the UK are in lurve with him. Sites like Electrosentivity-UK worship him. Mast Sanity too. And the EM-Radiation Research Trust. What appears to be a common thread in nearly all the electrosensitvity sites [read more…]

Autism: If You Can’t Blame MMR, Let’s Try Wi-Fi

10th July, 2007 21

Maybe we are witnessing the death throes of the MMR controversy. The arguments that autism is caused by the triple-jab have been shown to be without merit and only the foaming go on about mercury in vaccines anymore (MMR never had any mercury in it). Andrew Wakefield is scrabbling with his last gasp of PR before his GMC disciplinary meeting. Undoubtley, the die-hard campaigners will see a cover up and [read more…]

Powerwatch is not Scaremongering and Profiteering (anymore)

22nd June, 2007 1

A few weeks ago, I pointed out that some of the science on the Powerwatch site appeared to be significantly less than convincing about the link between mobiles, WiFi and ill health. I also pointed out that Powerwatch had a very close relationship with another company called EMFields.org. Basically, both companies domains were registered to Alistair Philips of Powerwatch. I was concerned that the commercial interests of selling anti-EMR gear [read more…]

Exradia: Big City Corporate Quackery?

4th June, 2007 15

I’ve been writing rather a lot recently about the quackery that surrounds the whole question of whether electromagnetic emissions are harming our health. Apologies. But it is quite interesting to witness a new form of quackery being born. What has been interesting so far is how the alternative medicine camp have been jumping in on the scare and offering all sorts of bonkers products, along with their potty theories about [read more…]

Stapling the Stomachs of Anorexics

31st May, 2007 11

Yes, a deliberately provocative title for this blog entry. The distressing and puzzling illness of anorexia is very real. We see people convinced that their body is repulsive and overweight and they diet their way into oblivion. We feel helpless in the face of the strength of their conviction that something is wrong with their bodies. From the outside of the illness, it is clear that their beliefs are an [read more…]

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