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Bioethics Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery

Here we go again: More radiation for Starchild Abraham Cherrix

I’ve written extensively before about Starchild Abraham Cherrix, the (now) 17-year-old who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease when he was 15 and who, after one course of chemotherapy, refused any further evidence-based medicine in favor of the quackery known as Hoxsey therapy. His refusal led to a big legal battle in Virginia, and the court […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Politics Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has declared a crank-off!

Has it really been two years? Amazingly, it has indeed. On June 16, 2005, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. deposited the biggest, steamingest, drippiest (not to mention stinkiest) turd I had as yet seen in my then young blogging career, specifically an article published simultaneously by both Salon.com and Rolling Stone entitled Deadly Immunity. Along with […]

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Announcements Skepticism/critical thinking

The 63rd Meeting of the Skeptics’ Circle: Summer solstice edition

Here, on this summer solstice, a traditional time of great importance for woo, I bet you need a shot of skepticism, don’t you? Fortunately, mcsquared over at Relatively Science has your back with the 63 Meeting of the Skeptics’ Circle. As he puts it: …”if you are in the Northern hemisphere this will be the […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery Religion

More scientology madness: This time, John Travolta

I’ve done my fair share of ranting about Scientology, be it about Tom Cruise’s aggressive and arrogant antipsychiatry nuttiness a couple of years ago or the very recent piece I wrote about the disturbing and idiotically conceived anti-psychiatry museum run by the Church of Scientology. The Church of Scientology is, of course, a target-rich environment, […]

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Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine

Acupuncture and blood pressure

Having exhausted myself for the time being on two things that irritate me a lot (namely creationist neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Egnor and the antivaccination pseudoscience being presented as “evidence” that vaccines cause autism at the Autism Omnibus), it’s time for a change of pace. For all my tendency to deride certain “alternative medicine” modalities as […]