View Full Version : Sceptics stage mass overdose
Strong
01-02-2010, 12:34 PM
Article: BBC News - Sceptics stage homeopathy 'overdose'
Homeopathy sceptics have staged a mass "overdose" of homeopathic remedies, in a bid to prove they have no effect.
Protesters ate whole bottles of tablets at branches of Boots in places such as Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, London, Leicester, Edinburgh and Birmingham.
They have asked the pharmacy chain to stop selling the remedies, which they call "scientifically absurd".
The Merseyside Skeptics Society (MSS)! :sqlaugh:
The world needs more militant scientific geeks! They make their point well I think, else peeing dolphins would be the scourge of mankind.
Strong
01-02-2010, 01:13 PM
That's powerful stuff!
I once tried homeopathic hayfever stuff. It worked marginally less well than willpower.
Muddy
01-02-2010, 01:35 PM
VIaV8swc-fo
Ferre
01-02-2010, 01:44 PM
It is a smart move I would say; to build a whole industry on the placebo effect.
Question is whether this is ethical, in my opinion it isn't.
Strong
01-02-2010, 01:48 PM
My thoughts exactly!
Stop reading my mind Ferre. :sqwink:
Muddy
02-02-2010, 12:33 AM
2Oazoacqw3w
Strong
02-02-2010, 05:55 AM
You would have thought the manager of the store would have come to meet his customers. I wonder why he didn't?
Cryren8972
02-02-2010, 07:22 AM
Article: BBC News - Sceptics stage homeopathy 'overdose'
The Merseyside Skeptics Society (MSS)! :sqlaugh:
The world needs more militant scientific geeks! They make their point well I think, else peeing dolphins would be the scourge of mankind.
Proving that they don't kill you in mass quantities doesn't qualify them as a placebo...
Muddy
02-02-2010, 08:23 AM
Proving that they don't kill you in mass quantities doesn't qualify them as a placebo...
No, but it proves that they're not as potent as they're supporters claim.
Cryren8972
02-02-2010, 08:32 AM
No, but it proves that they're not as potent as they're supporters claim.
I've reversed a bird's liver disease with Milk Thistle. I have the blood work to back it up...that's pretty potent. However, if you take a whole bottle of Milk Thistle, it's not going to kill you. That's the whole beauty of natural medicine, it DOESN'T do all of the harm to your body that man made medicine does.
Muddy
02-02-2010, 08:36 AM
I'm definitely not trying to start a fight Cry, I like you way too much for that...just a thought and maybe more thoughts later:
Is it possible that bird would have healed without the milk thistle? Is there a way to know?
Cryren8972
02-02-2010, 08:40 AM
He had been in a bar most of his life, and people would actually pour liquor into his food dish. He was in a rescue for months on a better diet when I got him...but she told me he wasn't going to live long due to liver failure. He'd had blood work, and his liver was shot. He wasn't even digesting his seed at that point, it would come out whole (not to be graphic). I started him on a liver detox tea made of milk thistle, he showed improvement within a month, and now, six months later, his blood work is normal. I dunno...can I PROVE that's what did it? In my mind, yes.
I'm not arguing Muddy, this is something that I've been studying for quite some time. In a more private setting I could actually tell you how a holistic approach helped me, when conventional medicines didn't. It wasn't in my head, because I really wanted the meds to work...they didn't, and in a panic, I tried a holistic path. It did work....
Strong
02-02-2010, 09:36 AM
BWE1tH93G9U
Proving that they don't kill you in mass quantities doesn't qualify them as a placebo...
To my mind the maths don't lie. That James Randi video that Halo posted puts it into perspective. The solution they present as a medicine is so dilute that there cannot be any active ingredients left. Since that is what the maths tells me, I can only conclude that the thing which has provided the efficacy is what was going through the patient's mind. Placebo.
The human mind is a powerful thing and the human body can and does cure itself at times.
Ferre
02-02-2010, 09:55 AM
You would have thought the manager of the store would have come to meet his customers. I wonder why he didn't?
Because he is a manager, this guy works only for Boots, a big chain, out of coincidence, he could have the same job at any other big chain.
Managers at local department of big chains are not into their job because of the products, they are into their job because of the job itself; managing.
Those guys do not own those shops, they have no influence on the range of products and are in fact as much affiliated with the products as the person who works at the cash register.
That's what you get with all those big chains nowadays, no one working in those shops is responsible or has any real affiliation any more, all decisions are made somewhere in an office by people who don't even visit those shops and those shops are managed by people who's only job is managing, which only comes down to being one little very replaceable element in a large corporation.
Anyway, I can see why a manager wouldn't come out and speak with those people, they are not "his" clients at all and he has no authority whatsoever within that chain to make any statements to those protesters, it can only get him in trouble with his many bosses.
I started him on a liver detox tea made of milk thistle, he showed improvement within a month, and now, six months later, his blood work is normal. I dunno...can I PROVE that's what did it? In my mind, yes.
Too many variables in there for me to be convinced. We could repeat an expirement but getting a load of birds drunk doesn't seem right.
Have you considered the possibility Cry, that it was being around you that perked the bird right up? I know a few chaps around here that you have the same effect on. :sqwink:
Cryren8972
02-02-2010, 11:52 AM
I actually gave the bird milk thistle leaves soaked in water. It wasn't in pill form, which can and does come in different doseage amounts, and you have to guard against that. Go straight to the source, and don't rely on companies to sell you a viable product.
My particular cure came from diet changes and removing toxins from my body...not pills. There are many things that can be controlled or cured with diet alone.
Cryren8972
02-02-2010, 11:57 AM
Too many variables in there for me to be convinced. We could repeat an expirement but getting a load of birds drunk doesn't seem right.
Have you considered the possibility Cry, that it was being around you that perked the bird right up? I know a few chaps around here that you have the same effect on. :sqwink:
Thanks, that was sweet, but I find it harder to believe that just my mere presence would have cured the bird as opposed to the milk thistle.
Muddy
02-02-2010, 11:58 AM
There are many things that can be controlled or cured with diet alone.
I've heard that's true (http://ezinearticles.com/?Sperm-Taste-%96-10-Simple-Tips-For-Better-Tasting-Semen&id=164106).
Muddy
02-02-2010, 11:59 AM
Thanks, that was sweet, but I find it harder...
And what's wrong with that?
Cryren8972
02-02-2010, 12:12 PM
cancer Pleasant Stone Farm Clinical Reports (http://pleasantstonefarm.com/clinical/?tag=cancer)
Hepatitis C Trust | August | Silymarin (Milk Thistle) Improves Quality of Life During Hepatitis C Treatment (http://www.hepctrust.org.uk/news/2008/August/Silymarin+-+Milk+Thistle+-+Improves+Quality+of+Life+During+Hepatitis+C+Treat ment.htm)
Milk thistle (Silybum marianum): Evidence - MayoClinic.com (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/silymarin/NS_patient-milkthistle/DSECTION=evidence)
All reliable sources...giving very honest results on Milk Thistle. This is just one herb...I could list many more that actually do have a positive affect on the body.
Cryren8972
02-02-2010, 12:13 PM
And what's wrong with that?
I do love you Muddy! :sqrofl:
Strong
02-02-2010, 01:29 PM
Because he is a manager, this guy works only for Boots, a big chain, out of coincidence, he could have the same job at any other big chain.
Managers at local department of big chains are not into their job because of the products, they are into their job because of the job itself; managing.
Those guys do not own those shops, they have no influence on the range of products and are in fact as much affiliated with the products as the person who works at the cash register.
That's what you get with all those big chains nowadays, no one working in those shops is responsible or has any real affiliation any more, all decisions are made somewhere in an office by people who don't even visit those shops and those shops are managed by people who's only job is managing, which only comes down to being one little very replaceable element in a large corporation.
Anyway, I can see why a manager wouldn't come out and speak with those people, they are not "his" clients at all and he has no authority whatsoever within that chain to make any statements to those protesters, it can only get him in trouble with his many bosses.
Those guys only wanted to deliver a letter to him, he could have just accepted the letter, made so bland, non-committal statement and retired to his office, but he chose to turn his back on his customers and their concern. At least that is how I see it. That to me is bad management. But not all big chain managers are like that.
Comet, in Croydon, Purley Way, for instance. When we were looking for a large LCD screen TV, we went to many shops but were unsatisfied. Finally we went to Comet and spoke to one of the assistants there. He was useless and we were about to leave when the manager approached us and spent 45 minutes demonstrating the TV. He even hooked up a blue ray video for us to check out the HD abilities, he even threw in a £35 HDMI cable for free and allowed us to come back several weeks later and change our payment method to some special vouchers that saved us a considerable amount. On top of which the TV had been reduced since we had bought it, so we got the difference paid back as well.
That is what I call caring for your customers. The fact that he got off his backside and made the effort and put his customer's needs first. Because of that I am way more inclined to go back there instead of the numerous other places we searched for a TV. It takes a lot to impress me, but that guy did for sure and there was no other reason for him to do that, then me walking into his store.
Good managers of large stores do exist, but perhaps more need to take an interest in their customers, like the one at Boots.
Cryren8972
02-02-2010, 04:30 PM
I once tried homeopathic hayfever stuff. It worked marginally less well than willpower.
A better way to combat allergies is actually to eat the local produce...especially the honey. This will build up your body's natural defenses against the allergen. This of course doesn't work if you're allergic to peanuts, trying to eat peanuts....but it works remarkably well with sinus and respiratory allergies. Not sure what medication you took...but I personally wouldn't take a homeopathic hayfever medicine. True holistic medicine supports your body so your body can do what needs to be done...
Not sure what medication you took...
Me neither, 10 or 15 yrs back it was. Just something from the chemist section at Boots store.
I'd like to keep bees and have my own honey but my gf put the foot down and said no. :3argh:
Cryren8972
03-02-2010, 01:54 AM
Me neither, 10 or 15 yrs back it was. Just something from the chemist section at Boots store.
I'd like to keep bees and have my own honey but my gf put the foot down and said no. :3argh:
Maybe she'd change her mind if she knew it were beneficial to you:
Oh come on HONEY, it's for my health! :sqbiggrin:
Strong
03-02-2010, 06:01 AM
Me neither, 10 or 15 yrs back it was. Just something from the chemist section at Boots store.
I'd like to keep bees and have my own honey but my gf put the foot down and said no. :3argh:
You CAN keep bees! You just don't have to keep them in the garden. The hive can be placed anywhere you get permission. There is a movement at present to increase the number of bee hives in urban areas. In London there are bee keepers even putting hives on top of tower blocks. It works quite well in cities because there is less competition for the bees, think of all those gardens and dedicated gardeners. The honey produced is of a good quality because of the diversity of plants in urban gardens.
There are bee keepers that have to travel by train to get to their hives. Your gf can't complain about that surely. :sqconfused:
You CAN keep bees!
My gf is in Malawi at the mo' so maybe you're right. She could come back to a bunch of hives, and I'll say "want a honey piece".
There are bee keepers that have to travel by train to get to their hives. Your gf can't complain about that surely. :sqconfused:
Closer would be better as I don't even get to my studio as much due to dodgy joints etc.
And cue Eddie:
Xs-tl6GBOBo
Great TED talk with a speaker who reminds me of a giant bee.
3GXlvP4kLHg
Muddy
03-02-2010, 11:27 AM
Great talk! I've thought about getting bees before. We have the privilege of living where Tupelo Honey comes from. If you've never had it, it's one of the very best in the world. It never crystallizes. Unique and delicious taste.
That talk inspires me to think about converting the lawn to a meadow. My wife would love it, I'm the big lawn guy. My wife loves chaos where I need order. But with enough flowers I could see where it would be cool. Especially if it attracted birds, bees, butterflies, etc.!
My wife loves chaos where I need order. But with enough flowers I could see where it would be cool. Especially if it attracted birds, bees, butterflies, etc.!
You can just tell yourself what first appears chaotic is part of a larger ordered plan. :3smile:
Here's a pic taken just over an hour ago. Like Groundhog day it's snowing again a little. The pic appears a little blurry but the aim was to get the snow in focus.
I can imagine the look on my gf's face getting back and finding a row of hives. :3argh:
Muddy
03-02-2010, 01:23 PM
You can just tell yourself what first appears chaotic is part of a larger ordered plan. :3smile:
That's a good way to look at it!
Cryren8972
03-02-2010, 01:39 PM
You can just tell yourself what first appears chaotic is part of a larger ordered plan. :3smile:
Here's a pic taken just over an hour ago. Like Groundhog day it's snowing again a little. The pic appears a little blurry but the aim was to get the snow in focus.
I can imagine the look on my gf's face getting back and finding a row of hives. :3argh:
I think hives would be the perfect backdrop. =)
Strong
03-02-2010, 01:50 PM
Use the 'they need my help argument' Halo!
Bees really do need that extra bit of help at present. Hives are being killed all over the world due to a strange virus that lives on mites that live on the bees. So any and all help we can give them is welcome. So by all means plant out that meadow Muddy and try and persuade your gf Halo, and lock up your birds Cry.
BTW only Australia does not have the bee killing virus at present. They are having to export hives all over the world. If we lost bees we wouldn't be able to pollinate crops and food production would halt. We would have to survive on sea food, cos we wouldn't be able to see any on land.
Muddy
03-02-2010, 01:54 PM
You will really enjoy that TED talk Strongy.
Strong
03-02-2010, 05:27 PM
I've tried it several times with no luck so far this evening. I'll try again in the morning. The Eddie Izzard clip was fun :sqbiggrin:
"You're not interested in what happened to the bees?"
-BRZ0u01KwQ
Not a great movie, some great visuals, but overall seems like Shyamalan read a short (Sky news perhaps?) science based article and constructed a whole movie around it.
Alas, it looks like Einstein didn't talk about bees (http://www.snopes.com/quotes/einstein/bees.asp).
Strong
04-02-2010, 05:23 AM
You will really enjoy that TED talk Strongy.
I finally got to see it this morning. Very informative, and a tad worrying. Thanks Halo!
Muddy
09-02-2010, 02:30 AM
OGFz9gt0-Fc
Strong
09-02-2010, 05:36 AM
Two of the greats of British comedy together. I've never seen them work together before. Excellent!
Muddy
24-02-2010, 12:47 PM
Stop funding homeopathy, say British MPs - health - 23 February 2010 - New Scientist (http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18559-stop-funding-homeopathy-say-british-mps.html)
Strong
24-02-2010, 01:36 PM
Yep! The NHS over in the UK has been funding Homeopathetic treatments for a few years now. Crazy waste of tax payer money IMHO. It is about time Parliament pulls its fingers out of its ears and did something.
Worst still the Select committee had a bunch of homeopathetic representatives give evidence and fed them a pack of crap. So I'm glad they have seen through the hogwash.
Muddy
24-02-2010, 01:45 PM
Yeah, that's amazing it lasted that long.
Crazy waste of tax payer money IMHO ... Parliament
:sqwink:
Strong
25-02-2010, 06:24 AM
(Unintentional funny there) :sqlaugh:
And I agree. There are some MPs need a good political kicking where it hurts at the next election, right in the ballot box btw. We are over due electoral reform AND Parliamentary reform too. No wonder so many Scots, Welsh want to break up the Union.
Strong
25-02-2010, 01:04 PM
Well it has happened before, the whole ruddy place burnt down and they had to rebuild it. But I was hoping for more subtle changes to the political system. :sqlaugh:
Modern verbiage.
OXEIwEc1dxY
Strong
21-08-2010, 12:31 PM
http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/dilution.png
via xkcd (http://xkcd.com/)
This thread needs some sort of award.
Muddy
21-08-2010, 09:57 PM
bloJQjLdues
Feed 'em all some of that Jim Jones cool-aid I say.
I've not read the article yet, I'm growing weary of reading, isn't there a simple yellow brick path somewhere I can follow to homeogeny? I'm tiring of looking things up in the dictionary as well, jeez this internet is taxing, and I've just come in from a trim session with the bushes, sure is hot out, humid too, no matter, must be done come rain sleet or snow. Maybe I'll read it after a nice half a cuppa comeoffme.
I couldn't find a link to the article so I just watched the video in post #2. I think I should stock up on some of those radiation pills.
Septics stage mass overflow
http://3t9.com/Atom/btwgl96.jpg
Muddy
11-09-2010, 12:50 PM
^ The last thing a plankton sees.
http://3t9.com/Atom/btwblkhrt.jpg
Muddy
11-09-2010, 03:06 PM
She's about to foal!
http://3t9.com/Atom/blackheart_8_A1_E_800.jpg
http://3t9.com/Atom/3b_3.JPG
"we all use Merchant's Gargling Oil Liniment" I love that lol!
http://3t9.com/Atom/3b_3btw2.jpg
"C'mon kids, ... line up for your weekly dose of liniment oil" ..
Muddy
11-09-2010, 06:00 PM
"Bend over kids, Uncle Atom's found his turkey baster."
http://3t9.com/Atom/btwcrayola-crayons.jpg
Give 'em all Castor oil I say. Good for what ails 'em. And throw in a tablespoon of molasses for good measure.. metered out like a circadian clock.
Anyone remember the wheatgerm thing? Obviously I survived it but not without considerable perseverance in the hope that it would all soon be over.
Meted out, sorry. I knew I shoulda went to college.
Muddy
12-09-2010, 06:19 PM
At least you made god good.
You get IEN's too? Kool, that's the way to go I think.
Funny that thing where they stop coming if you don't visit for a while, I'm still trying to figure that one out.
Muddy
12-09-2010, 06:37 PM
You get IEN's too? Kool, that's the way to go I think.
I do, but I actually saw your post first. I often see stuff right away due to my habit of clicking New Posts every few minutes.
Muddy
12-09-2010, 06:39 PM
Funny that thing where they stop coming if you don't visit for a while, I'm still trying to figure that one out.
It seems like they only come if it's a new one. Subsequent posts are not reported until you visit the thread and then it's reset and you'll get one for the next post.
I do, but I actually saw your post first. I often see stuff right away due to my habit of clicking New Posts every few minutes.I see, well that's cool too.
My style of posting causes me a lot of editing.
It seems like they only come if it's a new one. Subsequent posts are not reported until you visit the thread and then it's reset and you'll get one for the next post.It seems to me that what happens is that the IEN feature is reactivated by a return visit but only if you've not visited for a specific amount of time, and, alternatively, it never deactivates.
Muddy
12-09-2010, 07:04 PM
I think you're right about that...I recently posted on Toronto Chat and suddenly started getting notifications again. For old threads I'd posted in long ago.
Ok I messed my wording all up to hell. What I mean at the end there is if you never go long enough without visiting, the IEN feature will be active indefinitely.
I think you're right about that...I recently posted on Toronto Chat and suddenly started getting notifications again. For old threads I'd posted in long ago.Yeah, it's crazy.. I've been trying to figure this out for many years actually, lol. Also there is the wrench that the admin can turn a member's feature on after it's been turned automatically off, at their discretion.
I could be wrong on that last point but I don't think so. A few IEN's have been leaked to me out of the blue in the past, then promptly ceased. I can't really think of any other likely reason for that happening except by manual intervention.
I do believe that the auto-off mechanism is valid though, I mean.. I think there are a lot of people out there who would love to be able to read each post in a given thread without visiting the forum. lol
Do they sell Jim Jones coolaid in the novelty shops? Can you imagine? And wtf happened there anyway? Jeezus! That guy really knew how to draw the toonies.
BTW, I'd like to formally announce my recent conversion to the moonies, I'd have said something sooner but it just happened like 30 seconds ago, thank you for your time and have a sunshiny day and here, take a flower on the house.
Anyone see Airplane/lol?
Muddy
14-09-2010, 01:45 PM
qse_wf57tZM
I had to watch that twice due to excessive tear-age the first time lol!
Muddy
14-09-2010, 01:57 PM
LOL! I know!
ewomack
20-09-2010, 06:42 AM
I haven't seen Airplane since puberty... does it still stand up? Seems like it might...
Muddy
20-09-2010, 10:22 AM
It does for those of us who are still going through puberty.
I haven't seen Airplane since puberty... does it still stand up? Seems like it might...I still find the scene that I posted to be pretty funny, don't you? There's a few others as well that I like, even to this day.
Muddy
22-09-2010, 02:49 PM
Good lord. Now my mother and her sisters think that making sure the head of your bed is pointed north (in line with the earth's magnetic field) will cause you to sleep better.
I knew I picked a bad day to quit sniffing glue.
Strong
23-09-2010, 09:37 AM
Good lord. Now my mother and her sisters think that making sure the head of your bed is pointed north (in line with the earth's magnetic field) will cause you to sleep better.
And pointed South makes you do hand stands better. BTW where is that sister of yours?
Muddy
23-09-2010, 10:16 AM
And pointed South makes you do hand stands better. BTW where is that sister of yours?
I just talked to her yesterday...have to ask her for a complete report on her absence here!
Actually she's busier than a Vermonter chuggin' grape juice. Three kids and a husband and I think she took some kind of side job. She's far too responsible.
Muddy
23-09-2010, 10:17 AM
But yeah...point your beds north! Jeeezuz.
I knew I picked a bad week to quit chewing milkweed husk.
The head of my bed points to approximately 240 degrees if you absolutely must know. I've allowed a thick build of spiderwebs beneath to ward off the evil Halloween spirits and toe feasting mice.
Cows tend to face North-South apparently (http://www.wisegeek.com/why-do-cows-face-north-south.htm).
I have a different mood for each degree.
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