The Macho Response: Christopher Hitchens

“Beware the irrational, however seductive. Shun the ‘transcendent’ and all who invite you to subordinate or annihilate yourself. Distrust compassion; prefer dignity for yourself and others. Don’t be afraid to be thought arrogant and selfish. Picture all experts as if they were mammals. Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity. Seek out argument and disputation for their own sake; the grave will supply plenty of time for silence. Suspect your own motives and all excuses. Do not live for others any more than you would expect others to live for you.”

- Christopher Hitchens

My Cult Is Better Than Yours

Damn, damn, damn:

First, Obama "wows" meditators in Iowa - home of Tom I-never-met-a-quack-remedy-I-didn't-like Harkin - and now there's this:

OBAMA'S WORKERS BLANKET IOWA

And don't forget his connections with Oprah and The Secret.

Wake up, people:

Between Obama and Hillary, we've got a New Age Democratic Cult Contest on our hands, and - considering neither of them is smart enough to cut these con artists loose - they also ain't smart enough to be president.

We cannot trust candidates who aren't willing to run the snake oil salesmen out of town,...

What Men Are Like Without The United States

When I was in Yurp, my friends would ask me what I thought of these guys an (of course) I'd say they're gay. The Euros were shocked because, over there, these poseurs are masculine. (In America, they belong in San Francisco's Castro District.)

I made a point of bringing this tune back to the States with me, just so my friends could see how lame things can get away from home. And why Americans shouldn't be listening to Yurp about things like war: We are not - nor do we want to be - anything like them.

Below is America's masculinity ("I'm my own master/My Pop told me be your own boss/Keep integrity at every cost.") Go on, sing along with My Man, Nas, and his "Pops" (lyrics follow) and give it up for American men for a change - it's about time they got some respect:



[Intro: Olu Dara singing]
See I come from Mississippi
I was young and runnin' wild
Ended up in New York City, where I had my first child
I named the boy Nasir, all the boys call him Nas
I told him as a youngster, he'll be the greatest man alive

[Verse 1: Nas]
Let's go!... Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey --
Tribrary of these rap skits, styles I mastered
Many brothers snatched it up and tried to match it
But I'm still number one, everyday real
Speak what I want, I don't care what y'all feel
'Cause I'm my own master, my Pop told me be your own boss
Keep integrity at every cost, and his home was Natchez Mississippi
Did it like Miles and Dizzy, now we gettin' busy
Bridging The Gap from the blues, to jazz, to rap
The history of music on this track
Born in the game, discovered my father's music
Like Prince searchin' through boxes of Purple Rain
But my Minneapolis was The Bridge, home of the Superkids
Some are well-known, some doin' bids
I mighta ended up on the wrong side of the tracks
If Pops wouldn't've pulled me back an said yo
[Olu Dara singing]
Greatest man alive (Nas: Yeah, turn it up!)
Gre-Gre-Gre-Gre-Greatest man alive!

[Verse 2: Nas]
The blues came from gospel, gospel from blues
Slaves are harmonizin' them ah's and ooh's
Old school, new school, know school rules
All these years I been voicin' my blues
I'm a artist from the start, Hip-Hop guided my heart
Graffiti on the wall, coulda ended in Spoffard, juvenile delinquent
But Pops gave me the right type'a tools to think with
Books to read, like X and stuff
'Cause the schools said the kids had dyslexia
In art class I was a compulsive sketcher of
Teachers in my homeroom, I drew pix to mess them up
'Cause none'a them would like my style
Read more books than the curriculum profile
Said, "Mr. Jones please come get your child
'Cause he's writin' mad poems and his verses are wild"
[Olu Dara singing]
Greatest man - The great-greatest man alive

[Verse 3: Nas]
Hey-Hey-Hey -- My Poppa was not a Rollin' Stone
He been around the world blowin' his horn, still he came home
Then he got grown, changed his name to Olu
Come on, tell 'em 'bout the places you gone to
[Olu Dara singing]
I been to Saudi Arabia, Mozambique
Madagascar, Paris, Greece
The Middle Africa is where we lived
Better known as Queenbridge
[Nas]
Nas, Nas you don't stop
Olu Dara in the house, you don't stop
Muddy Waters' Howling Wolf you don't stop
From the Blues to Street Hop you don't stop
Tell 'em Pop

[Outro: Olu Dara singing / Nas adlibbing]
See I come from Mississippi (Let 'em know)
I was young and runnin' wild (Runnin' wild)
Ended up in New York City (Yeah!)
Where I had my first child (That's me)
I named the boy Nasir (Yeah, Daddy!)
All the boys call him Nas (Luh ya, boy)
I told him as a youngster
He'll be the greatest man alive (You the greatest, Pop)
Greatest man alive (You the greatest, Pop)
Gre-Gre-Gre-Gre-Greatest man alive!
Rest In Peace Ray Charles!

The Ultimate Cult

Police in Japan have just raided a group - the Kigenkai cult - that has the markings of almost every popular cultish idea ever invented:

They kill.

It's a religion.

They tell fortunes.

They worship nature.

It's female-dominated.

They don't like doctors.

They sell magic healing stones.

They sell magic water to cure cancer.

Needless to say, it's only a matter of time before they move here,...or, at least, to Hollywood or San Francisco.

Beliefs Suck - For Other People

"He was under a belief, we don't know why, that you can't go straight into a nursing home without being in the hospital,...He thought, 'I can overcome that problem. I'll put him in the hospital.'"

- Steve Wagstaffe, San Mateo County's chief deputy district attorney, on why a man hit his own father over the head with a hammer, which is a good description of what it can be like reading The SFGate.

Shhh,...The New Age Democratic Cult Is Supposed To Be "Hidden Knowledge"

Woo-Boy:

While looking for Rielle Hunter's denial - she's the woman John Edwards is supposed to be sleeping with - I found it, with a mention on Slate.com that "noted astrologer Jerome Armstrong" had it. Who is Jerome Armstrong? I didn't know either. He runs something called My Direct Democracy, that I also didn't know about. He seems to be a part of The Daily Kos crew. (That's Markos, above - the Daily Kos founder) Then I found something called the Riehl World View that said this - and read all of it:

"The genesis for the Netroots movement stems from a fixation on, first the stockmarket, then astrology, and it only found politics, probably, when it was barred from engaging in a previous financial fascination that ultimately led to real trouble with the SEC. Just read this quote from the new wizard, who some think is pre-destined to lead the Democrats to the promised land.

Stuart Riddle says: As Saturn turns direct, I'm reminded of the significance of Saturn in Gemini for the United States. Louise McWhirter wrote about this in her seminal text, Astrology and Stock Market Forcasting (New York: AFI Publishers, 1977; originally published in 1938). She confirmed the potential for conflict in the form of domestic and foreign wars during this transit: "Saturn has never passed through Gemini during the past 72 years without bringing a financial depression, financial panic, or war" (p. 92). *TMA Editors note: The last two Saturn-in-gemini periods coincided with the Vietnam War (1971-73) and World War II (1942-44). Saturn visits Gemini again from April 20th, 2001 - June 2003 (It also made a breif(sic) station from Aug 11th - Sept 16th in 2000, foreshadowing the bulk of the transit to come).

Now, today, this is the Netroots, as it's called, from an article today at the new Democratic Strategist.

By Jerome Armstrong (above)


Ten years from now, the Democratic Party will have fully broadened its election strategy beyond the battleground mentality that dominates strategic thinking today. Democrats will be a national party, leaving no uncontested race anywhere in the nation, and will have rebuilt a party infrastructure down to the precinct everywhere in the nation. The Democrats will have regained their majority status as the governing party, and the mapchanger approach to elections will have been the reason.

Yet, not so long ago, he was called the Astrologer Jerome by some.

Astrologer Jerome Armstrong notes that Ixion and Quaoar are following close in Pluto's wake in early Sagittarius, and connects the rise of the political version of religious fundamentalism with the astronomical exploration of the Kuiper Belt in 1992. He cites incidences as disparate as the rise of Osama bin Laden onto the world stage and the Republican Revolution of 1994, fueled by Christian fundamentalist voters and culminating now with all three branches of government in Republican control. In addition, he cites the ascendance of political Hinduism in India in 1996 with the election of the BJP. One might add to this list the emergence of Conservative majorities in Israel and the UK. [The author wishes to acknowledge the help and inspiration provided by astrologer and author Jerome Armstrong of AstroWorld.mydd.com for information and links regarding Varuna and Trans-Neptunians which have been vital to the preparation of this article.]

MyDD didn't have anything to do with democracy, direct, personal, or otherwise when it started out as an astrological tabloid, forcasting the ups and downs of the stock market based upon the stars."

Now - looking at this with everything else we've looked at - are we looking at a New Age Democratic Cult or aren't we?

Don't forget to look at the tags for forward forward to my latest posts - and Barack Obama for the whole, updated, story.

When Aliens Attack

Idiot Box

It looks like the New York Times has noticed something "occult" happening out there in television, but even with all of Hollywood's Scientologists, and Kabbalah people, they still can't quite put their finger on where it's coming from,...

The Gentle Art of Homeopathic Killing

The Gentle Art of Homeopathic Killing

by Le Canard Noir

The Society of Homeopaths (SoH) are a shambles and a bad joke. It is now over a year since Sense about Science, Simon Singh and the BBC Newsnight programme exposed how it is common practice for high street homeopaths to tell customers that their magic pills can prevent malaria. The Society of Homeopaths have done diddly-squat to stamp out this dangerous practice apart from issue a few ambiguously weasel-worded press statements.

The SoH has a code of practice, but my feeling is that this is just a smokescreen and is widely flouted and that the Society do not care about this. If this is true, then the code of practice is nothing more than a thin veneer used to give authority and credibility to its deluded members. It does nothing more than fool the public into thinking they are dealing with a regulated professional.

As a quick test, I picked a random homeopath with a web site from the SoH register to see if they flouted a couple of important rules:

48: Advertising shall not contain claims of superiority. No advertising may be used which expressly or implicitly claims to cure named diseases.

72: To avoid making claims (whether explicit or implied; orally or in writing) implying cure of any named disease.

The homeopath I picked on is called Julia Wilson and runs a practice from the Leicestershire town of Market Harborough. What I found rather shocked and angered me.

Straight away, we find that Julia M Wilson LCHE, RSHom specialises in asthma and works at a clinic that says:

"Many illnesses and disease can be successfully treated using homeopathy, including arthritis, asthma, digestive disorders, emotional and behavioural difficulties, headaches, infertility, skin and sleep problems."

Well, there are a number of named diseases there to start off. She also gives a leaflet that advertises her asthma clinic. The advertising leaflet says:

"Conventional medicine is at a loss when it comes to understanding the origin of allergies,...The best that medical research can do is try to keep the symptoms under control. Homeopathy is different, it seeks to address the triggers for asthma and eczema. It is a safe, drug free approach that helps alleviate the flaring of skin and tightening of lungs..."

Now, despite the usual homeopathic contradiction of claiming to treat causes not symptoms and then in the next breath saying it can alleviate symptoms, the advert is clearly in breach of the above rule 47 on advertising as it implicitly claims superiority over real medicine and names a disease.

Asthma is estimated to be responsible for 1,500 deaths and 74,000 emergency hospital admissions in the UK each year. It is not a trivial illness that sugar pills ought to be anywhere near. The Cochrane Review says the following about the evidence for asthma and homeopathy:

"The review of trials found that the type of homeopathy varied between the studies, that the study designs used in the trials were varied and that no strong evidence existed that usual forms of homeopathy for asthma are effective."

This is not a surprise given that homeopathy is just a ritualised placebo. Hopefully, most parents attending this clinic will have the good sense to go to a real accident and emergency unit in the event of a severe attack and consult their GP about real management of the illness. I would hope that Julia does little harm here.

However, a little more research on her site reveals much more serious concerns. She says on her site that 'she worked in Kenya teaching homeopathy at a college in Nairobi and supporting graduates to set up their own clinics'. Now, we have seen what homeopaths do in Kenya before. It is not treating a little stress and the odd headache. Free from strong UK legislation, these missionary homeopaths make the boldest claims about the deadliest diseases.

A bit of web research shows where Julia was working. The Abha Light Foundation is a registered NGO in Kenya. It takes mobile homeopathy clinics through the slums of Nairobi and surrounding villages. Its stated aim is to:

"...Introduce Homeopathy and natural medicines as a method of managing HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria in Kenya."

I must admit, I had to pause for breath after reading that. The clinic sells its own homeopathic remedies for 'treating' various lethal diseases. Its MalariaX potion:

...Is a homeopathic preparation for prevention of malaria and treatment of malaria. Suitable for children. For prevention. Only 1 pill each week before entering, during and after leaving malaria risk areas. For treatment. Take 1 pill every 1-3 hours during a malaria attack."

This is nothing short of being totally outrageous. It is a murderous delusion. David Colquhoun has been writing about this wicked scam recently and it is well worth following his blog on the issue.

Let's remind ourselves what one of the most senior and respected homeopaths in the UK, Dr Peter Fisher of the London Homeopathic Hospital, has to say on this matter:

"There is absolutely no reason to think that homeopathy works to prevent malaria and you won't find that in any textbook or journal of homeopathy so people will get malaria, people may even die of malaria if they follow this advice."

Malaria is a huge killer in Kenya. It is the biggest killer of children under five. The problem is so huge that the reintroduction of DDT is considered as a proven way of reducing deaths. Magic sugar pills and water drops will do nothing. Many of the poorest in Kenya cannot afford real anti-malaria medicine, but offering them insane nonsense as a substitute will not help anyone.

Ironically, the WHO has issued a press release today on cheap ways of reducing child and adult mortality due to malaria. Their trials, conducted in Kenya, of using cheap mosquito nets soaked in insecticide have reduced child deaths by 44% over two years.

It says that issuing these nets be the 'immediate priority' to governments with a malaria problem. No mention of homeopathy. These results were arrived at by careful trials and observation. Science. We now know that nets work. A lifesaving net costs $5. A bottle of useless homeopathic crap costs $4.50. Both are large amounts for a poor Kenyan, but is their life really worth the 50c saving?

I am sure we are going to hear the usual homeopath bleat that this is just a campaign by Big Pharma to discredit unpatentable homeopathic remedies. Are we to add to the conspiracy Big Net manufacturers too?

It amazes me that to add to all the list of ills and injustices that our rich nations impose on the poor of the world, we have to add the widespread export of our bourgeois and lethal healing fantasies. To make a strong point: if we can introduce laws that allow the arrest of sex tourists on their return to the UK, can we not charge people who travel to Africa to indulge their dangerous healing delusions?

At the very least, we could expect the Society of Homeopaths to try to stamp out this wicked practice? Could we?


Blogs commenting on this issue thus far:

Society of Homeopaths: cowards and bullies
Blog post taken down by homeopathic complaint: a chill wind is blowing
The Society of Homeopaths silence criticism through cowardly legal means
A run-in with the Homeopathic Thought Police
Society of Homeopaths
James Randi weighs in
The Gentle Art of Homeopathic Killing
The Gentle Art of Homeopathic Killing
Big altie gags the truth, or tries to
The banished quackometer post
How ethics works according to the SoH
The Society of Homeopaths
The Society of Homeopaths can kiss my arse
Silencing critics
Fight censorship!
The Gentle Art of Homeopathic Killing - A Reprint
Homeopathic thuggery - via Orac
Homeopathic Killing
BadScience.net forum
Can't silence critics
Big Altie attempts to suppress truth
Homeopathy: Removing criticism increases the effect
Homeopathic legal chill
Homeopathy, malaria & free speech
Blogswarm: Society of Homeopaths' Thug Tactics

And A Crazy Black Man Shall Lead Them,...

A while back, I mentioned that I had garnered a bad reputation on some science/medical sites because I thought they weren't aggressive enough on new age beliefs. They called me crazy, etc., when I reminded them of the words of my ex, Karine Brunck, (above) after she fell under the spell of Robert Wohlfahrt, a german homeopathic doctor:

"We're in the hospitals - we're getting legit - you'd better 'get it' before it's too late!"

Well, now they're finding out what she meant - and they're getting scared. Check out two recent events:

A bit of "homeopathic thuggery" hit an anti-woo site, Quackometer, and got it to remove a criticism of the Society of Homeopaths, prompting a bunch of sites to post copies of the criticism in retaliation (I'll be joining them, shortly, though I think this act of civil disobedience is a typically lame response to a crisis of this magnitude.). Needless to say, I saw this coming.



Now, Orac - one of the biggest bloggers in medicine online (and someone who gave me shit for my methods) has written this:

"I'm beginning to wonder if I should just give up this quixotic battle to try to insist on evidence-based medicine in academic medical centers. I'm clearly losing the battle, and sooner or later I'll be relegated to the sidelines along with the other dinosaurs who advocate scientific medicine over unproven, non-evidence-based therapies. If I were to join the Dark Side, I could probably attract a bunch of grants to fund clinical trials to look at whatever the woo du jour is. I'd never do that, of course, if only because as a former skeptic I'd represent a truly valuable scalp for the world of non-evidence-based medicine, but I feel as though I'm increasingly alone in holding out."

Like I've said, these scientist-types (who all seem to be somewhat leftist) don't seem too bright when it comes to war. It was fine when my life was destroyed by this (I was crazy, remember? Nevermind my mother-in-law's death, or the facts of my divorce, or anything like that) but, now, the doctor's are voicing despair - and showing an unsettling willingness to throw in the towel - when the nonsense I told them was coming is actually rolling up on their front doorstep.

Luckily - for all of us - Dr. R. W. Donnell is joining Orac in another battle - against Reiki (another of my ex's obsessions) that's now being used in the University of Maryland’s Shock Trauma program. Will any other doctors and scientists join them? Will the science and medical field finally start taking these "flakey" ideas seriously (check out that last link - it's a doozy) - and start really fighting - or will they leave me out here, by myself, as they try to "reason" their way forward against people who could give a damn about reason?

They can't claim I didn't warn them. They can't claim I didn't tell them it was serious. They can't claim I didn't tell them it was time to treat this like WWIII. They can't claim I didn't call for radical measures - like bringing science and medicine to a halt, if necessary. They can't say anything - except there's a fight to be had here - and I'm ready to lead:

Now who's with me?

Ignorance Is Bliss

"I'm not a Scientologist, and I couldn't tell you two things about it."

- San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, when questioned about his dating a Scientologist.

"As of yesterday, I hardly knew anything about him."

- Lance Miller, president of Scientology's Way to Happiness Foundation International, on San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom, who the cult has finally admitted they were "recruiting,...to participate in a campaign to promote L. Ron Hubbard's writings."

Ah yes - just as I've been saying all along. Let's see where we are now regarding America's favorite Cultland On A Hill:

The mayor has dated a member of the cult of Scientology (CoS) but claims to know nothing about the it, though the cult admits they were "recruiting" him. The implication being the Mayor of San Francisco, adopted home of The People's Temple, isn't up-to-speed on cults in The City or his pretty little head can't/doesn't know how to read,....two explanations which are, totally, believable. Except:

He made September 7th, 2007, a holiday for the Dahnhak Yoga cult - but claims he didn't know that group was a cult either - or that they had killed someone. (In a "blissful" manner, I'm sure.)

The cult of the peadophile Sai Baba sells their wares all over San Francisco - but, I'm sure, the Mayor knows nothing.

San Francisco's Mayor allows the Falun Gong to do their thing outside City Hall every day, because no one inside can imagine how a group of loopy, paranoid, homophobic, cultists (who have been known to set themselves on fire) might one day become a problem.

There are numerous cults working freely within the city. So many that, during a conversation about the Falun Gong, Thom Lynch of the LGBT Community Center once said, "How do we get into Chinese cults when we have so many cults here we are not addressing?" The rest of The City claims not to know what in the world he's talking about. Or what a swastika is. And the name "Mickey Mouse" escapes them as well.

San Francisco put Jim Jones, The People's Temple cult leader who murdered 900 people, in charge of it's Housing Authority. They claimed they didn't know what was going on. It's safe to assume he didn't either.

Like Ron Dellums (above) the Mayor of Oakland who endorsed Your Black Muslim Bakery until they killed a reporter covering their story, San Francisco's most popular politicians - including former-San Francisco Mayors Willie Brown and George Moscone - all endorsed The People's Temple cult and went on to glorious political careers. The public feigns ignorance, claiming that until Mayor Dellums stretches out his arm and flattens his palm, they don't know how to respond.

Anybody else noticing a pattern here? Do I know more than the entire city of San Francisco? The entire San Francisco Bay Area?

Well - I guess we'll just have to wait and see - because, Baby, this is getting GOOD!

We've got one very-good (and very-dead) reporter - now, who's going to be next?

It's Spelled N-O-B-E-L, not N-O-B-L-E

Adolph Hitler - Nazi Scaremonger - and Nobel Peace Prize Nominee.

Yasser Arafat - Middle East Scaremonger - and Nobel Peace Prize Winner

Al Gore - Climate Scaremonger - and Nobel Peace Prize Winner.

'For The Children' My Ass

This 1964 ad (above) was considered so wrong and exploitive - such a manipulative use of a child - that it only played once on American television.



But, in 2007, I see this GW ad (above) every day. Why? Can't the claims of Global Warming hold up without trying to manipulate my feelings with children? What am I supposed to think? That these kids are experts on climate change - or anything else - and I'm (as an adult) supposed to listen to them? Who are the bullshit artists behind this ad trying to kid? (No pun intended.) And this as they tell us children are bad for the planet? Anyone that can think this through has to admit these "save the planet" people are playing all the angles - and are some truly sinister bastards.

Look at this ad:



Isn't that the bad guy from Star Wars - but as a kid? Now, go to the end of this article and look at that partial list of things GW has been blamed on - everything from boredom to the end of Christmas - it's just more proof these people are malicious manipulative environmental new age assholes who will stop at nothing to keep people from thinking while convincing them, by any means necessary, to do as they're told. It's disgusting and it's wrong. The whole new age concept is so disgusting and wrong we should be discussing DW instead of GW.

That, at least, would make sense to a 5 year old.