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History Holocaust Medicine World War II

Atheists and Jews and eugenics before World War II: Greg’s joking, right?

I’m always loathe to criticize a fellow ScienceBlogger, but, as the resident World War II buff and tireless debunker of Holocaust denial, I couldn’t let this one pass. While perusing the Last 24 Hours feed yesterday, I came across a most curious statement in a slapdown by Greg Laden of an attempt by Bruce Chapman […]

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Bioethics Cancer Medicine Religion

Reacting to Jehovah’s Witnesses’ refusal to accept blood transfusions

Yesterday, I wrote about the overwhelmingly sad case of Dennis Lindberg, the 14-year old Jehovah’s Witness who died because of his misguided adherence to the twisted interpretation of a 3,000 year old Biblical text and the court’s acquiescence to this lunacy. So did P. Z. Myers. In response to the post on Pharyngula, I saw […]

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Medicine Surgery

One source of inefficiency in American health care

The Buckeye Surgeon educates us with a case. In brief, it’s the case of an elderly woman with a clinical picture, including right upper quadrant pain and an elevated white blood cell count consistent with rip-roaring cholecystitis who was admitted to the medical service for her right upper quadrant pain. She underwent an ultrasound, which […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Friday Woo Medicine Physics Quackery Science Skepticism/critical thinking

Your Friday Dose of Woo: The sacred science of universal vibratory woo

I don’t know what it is about woo-meisters and vibration. I know I’ve said this before, but it seems to come up so often that I can’t help but repeat it. Everything is vibration. Everything. And if it’ not vibration, it’s waves, be they energy waves, sound waves, or, as I like to describe them […]

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Bioethics Cancer Medicine Quackery Religion

Would you die for your religion? part 2: What about the children?

It looks as though the Jehovah’s Witnesses have claimed another life. This time, though, it wasn’t an adult, as it was recently. This time, though, through the indoctrination inherent in the Jehovah’s Witness religion and, incredibly and inexcusably, the acquiescence of our legal system to their irrational and dubious interpretation of a text written thousands […]