American Loon #2104: Tom Perkins

Tom Perkins is a rich venture capitalist and founding partner of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Perkins is also delusional, and in a way that seems to have become rather common. In response to a Matthew Yglesias column, Perkins stated that “[w]riting from the epicenter of...

Read the full lunacy: #2104: Tom Perkins Encyclopedia of American Loons

A new survey of CAM-use (or is it a promotion for more nonsense on the NHS?)

A survey was commissioned in 2015 to obtain general population figures for practitioner-led CAM use in England, and to discover people’s views and experiences regarding access. Of 4862 adults surveyed, 766 (16%) had seen a CAM practitioner. People most commonly visited CAM practitioners for manual therapies (massage, osteopathy, chiropractic) and acupuncture, as well as yoga, […]

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American Loon #2103: Shelley Penney

The alkaline diet is a diet fad and type of nature woo that has recently gained quite a bit of popularity. The guiding idea is that altering your blood pH through diet change to make it more alkaline is a means to health benefits. As an idea, it is as stupid and insane as they come,...

Read the full lunacy: #2103: Shelley Penney Encyclopedia of American Loons

Trust me, I’m a doctor (but know little about dietary supplements)

The DAILY MAIL is by no means my favourite paper (see, for instance, here, here and here). This week, the Mail published another article which, I thought, is worth mentioning. The Mail apparently asked several UK doctors which dietary supplements they use for their own health (no mention of the number they had to approach […]

Read the rest here: Trust me, I’m a doctor (but know little about dietary supplements)

A birthday-card for Prince Charles on his 70th birthday

Today is Charles’ 70th birthday! On previous occasions, I have published a detailed review of Charles’ outstanding achievements in the realm of alternative medicine. For his 70th, I feel that something else is required. How about a personal birthday card? HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOUR ROYAL HIGHNESS! I know, it is not easy to become 70, but […]

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ACUPUNCTURE: journalists, be aware of your responsibility not to mislead the public

The public is often impressed by scenes shown on TV where surgeons in China operate patients apparently with no other anaesthesia than acupuncture. Such films have undoubtedly contributed significantly to the common belief that acupuncture cannot possibly be a placebo (every single time I give a public talk about acupuncture, the issue comes up, and […]

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American Loon #2102: John Pendleton

John Morris Pendleton is one of many creationists littering youtube and traveling around giving lectures to anti-science audiences. Pendleton is apparently a chemist scientist automotive technician with a BA in chemistry, though he likes to dress up in a lab coat to read the...

Read the full lunacy: #2102: John Pendleton Encyclopedia of American Loons

Massage or acupuncture for back pain?

Back pain is a huge problem: it affects many people, causes much suffering and leads to extraordinary high cost for all of us. Considering these facts, it would be excellent to identify a treatment that truly works. However, at present, we do not have found the ideal therapy; instead we have dozens of different approaches […]

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The real danger of yoga!

I came across this article; it is neither new nor particularly scientific. Yet I believe it is sufficiently remarkable to alert you to it, quote a little from it, and hopefully make you chuckle a bit: The Vatican’s top exorcist has spoken out in condemnation of yoga … , branding [it] as “Satanic” acts that lead[s] […]

Read the rest here: The real danger of yoga!

American Loon #2101: Mike Pence

A.k.a. A disturbingly good reason to be hesitant about wanting President Trump impeached even if the opportunity were to arise. Mike Pence, the 48th Vice President of the US and formerly Governor of Indiana, radio show host and Represenative from Indiana’s 6th District, is a fundamentalist science...

Read the full lunacy: #2101: Mike Pence Encyclopedia of American Loons

American Loon #2100: John Peloza

John Peloza is – or at least was – a California high school teacher. Peloza is also a creationist, and very unhappy that lying about science while trying to manipulate public school students into adopting his religious beliefs is illegal in the US. (Peloza did for instance give a student a Bible...

Read the full lunacy: #2100: John Peloza Encyclopedia of American Loons

A new and despicable low for homeopathy

Yesterday was the 80th anniversary of the Kristallnacht, the infamous start of the Nazi holocaust. For Cristian Becker, a German PR man who is currently spending much of his time promoting homeopathy and attacking critics of homeopathy, it was the occasion to publish this tweet: I will try to translate it for you: Today, on […]

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Integrative oncology is based on wishful thinking and lies

The Clinic for Complementary Medicine and Diet in Oncology was opened, in collaboration with the oncology department, at the Hospital of Lucca (Italy) in 2013. It uses a range of alternative therapies aimed at reducing the adverse effects of conventional oncology treatments. Their latest paper presents the results of complementary medicine (CM) treatment targeted toward […]

Read the rest here: Integrative oncology is based on wishful thinking and lies

Boiron: why are they allowed to make false claims?

Boiron is the world’s largest manufacturer of homeopathic products. The 2016 sales figures of the company amounted to 614 489 000 Euro [http://quote.morningstar.com/stock-filing/Annual-Report/2016/12/31/t.aspx?t=XPAR:BOI&ft=&d=0aa104b35ccf3ccacc8053e9833f0bff]. Boiron has recently been very active promoting its products, not least on Twitter where I note about 10 of their promotional tweets every day. I saw the following tweet yesterday: Acidil temporarily relieves […]

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American Loon #2099: Meghan Pearson

Meghan Pearson is a reiki practitioner and wellness blogger who primarily writes about vegan food. Though perhaps not a big name on the quack scene, Pearson does have a bit of a profile, insofar as her rants have been published by the Huffington Post. An example is her post titled “My...

Read the full lunacy: #2099: Meghan Pearson Encyclopedia of American Loons