One Sick Mother

Kickstarter funds a Date-Rape Manual

So this guy, Ken Hoinsky  went on kickstarter looking to fund his book "Above the Game: A Guide to getting Awesome with Women".

OK So it sounds repugnant, but not outside the bounds of reason, right?

He raises a bunch of money.  However, a few hours before the funding is due to close, the alarm is raised that Ken Hoinsky's definition of "getting awesome with woman" involves inppropriate touching, overagressiveness, over-persistence, gaslighting and not taking "no" for an answer.

So at best: unwanted attention and unwanted pawing on women ( pawing is not OK ever under any circumstances, ever).  At worst: date rape.

And at VERY worst: child rape. Because what's to stop someone taking Ken's "awesome" methods; his advice like:

“Pull out your c**k and put her hand on it. Remember, she is letting you do this because you have established yourself as a LEADER. Don’t ask for permission, GRAB HER HAND, and put it right on your d**k.”

...and applying them to a 12-year-old girl?  Or a 9-year-old girl?  Or a an 8-year-old boy?

How many people are going to be hurt because of this book? The victims, obviously. But also when (not if) someone goes to jail because of this book, they and their entire family will also be hurt. And  they'll likely be on the receiving end of a whoooooole lot of unwanted touching in The Big House. Karma, eh? (but not for the original victim).

Kickstarter and Ken Hoinsky are setting themselves up for a bunch of lawsuits; both  from victims and from our erstwhile date-rapists, who will sue if they fail to get their rocks off; -or if they get their nose broken by a pissed-off woman.

Who funds this kind of shit anyway?  I had a look at the 732 people -mostly male names (unsurprisingly) and I wondered how fucking sad must they be to want or need a pile of shite like Ken Hoinsky is peddling, out on the market?

Here is the list of backers taken from the Kickstarter site. And before you say I'm an evil cunt for posting this: Well, it's public information. I did strip out all the location information and photographs. But you can see them here. Because I am a cunt. An unrepentant one. 

Here are the people who backed this project. I hope your mothers are proud. 

 

EDIT:  I removed this list after talking to a few people I trust. One of them made the point that some of those listed could be underage. Being underage doesn't excuse anyone from being a jerk or an idiot. However, on that basis, I decided to remove this list from the public domain. I still retain some copies, of course. 

I left in the Kickstarter link, JIC Kickstarter decide to reinstate the project. Seeing as they funded it, they should have the balls to follow through. Either remove the funds, or see it through. Pretending to "pull" it when they  only removed the page is a cop-out. 

You can't have it both ways, Kickstarter.  (now back to the remainder of the original post)

 

And I say this to any woman who are on the receiving end of these tactics: If anyone puts their hands on you without invitation or permission. If they pick you up, place you on their lap or expose themselves to you without prior permission: fight fire with fire:

Stiletto heel to the instep

Knucklepunch to the throat

Swift knee to the balls

Heel of the hand to the bridge of the nose

Hard elbow to the solar plexus (or to most anywhere) if you are scooped onto a lap

Kick the side of the knee if they pick you up from behind

or

Grab that exposed junk, twist and squueeeeeeeze -without mercy- until you see real tears.

He got physical first, so you're justified.  

 

My advice to children: Scream and run. You did nothing wrong. Make as much noise as you can and get out of there. 

 

Links and Sources:

The Kickstarter Project

Casey Malone's original piece exposing this

Casey Malone's follow-up piece

Petition for Kickstarter to drop the project. They said they aren't going to do so, but funds weren't released at the time of writing this. Maybe if enough people sign, they will grow some sense. 

Ken Hoinsky's attempt to justify his project after the news broke. I could have a lot of fun picking this apart, but I don't have time right now.  It's bsically more if the same if you read between the lines: Gaslighting and persistence.  

 

A Question for the NRA Supporters.

As everyone knows, there was another school shooting here in the States last week. This one was particularly bad, as 20 first-graders were killed.

I don't know if it is due to this fact, or the rise in social media; -or maybe a bit of both, but the gun control argument has really gotten intense this time. 

And the NRA has shut down it's facebook page and kept completely schtum. Apparently, this is in keeping with their policy.  

But I have things I want to say to the leadership and members of the NRA. I have questions I want to ask. I'm not the only one, I know.  And as I can't ask them on their turf, I will ask on mine. This isn't restricted to NRA members, of course. Any pro-gunner can feel free to jump in with answers.

I want to say first,  that I do respect your second amendment right to be available as an armed militia. 

(or maybe this image was more what you had in mind?)

So you can use your weapons to rise up against an unjust Government.

(Yep. I can totally see how a handgun, rifle and especially a semi-automatic would have helped out here. Um-hmm.)

Or maybe you just want to protect your home and property, as a Facebook friend of mine posted (direct cut & paste here -no changes from me):

"Oh dear! Defending myself or my family from intruders is not a DEADLY ACT! What is wrong with some of you people that are against guns? They can PROTECT ALSO!!!

Anybody else I guess that does not RESPECT my right to defend myself or my family with a use of A gun for protection and wants to DELETE me because of that ....Feel free to do so...It will not hurt my feelings... Because someone DELETED ME because of my right to PROTECT MY FAMILY.... I thought in debates LOL there was suppose to be a RESPECT ISSUE...Guess not!"

(So it's a matter of respect, apparently. OK.)

 

But I have a serious question for the "pro-gunners" out there: If I told you that in order to save the life of a child, six years old; you needed to make some concessions. Go think of a six-year old you know or knew. Think of his or her friends.  Now to save that child, would you be willing to:

• Place trigger locks on your guns?
• Use a gun safe in your home?
• Give up access to semi-automatic weapons?
• ...or high-capacity ammo cartdriges?
• Take a gun safety test?
• Carry a permit?
• Get re-certified every few years? Would you do that?
• Submit every adult in the household to a full background check?
• What about a mental health screening for you and every adult living in your house (repeated every few years)?
• How's about a 6-month wait period?  Would you be up for that? (No? how about 3 months?)

If you answered "no" to any of those questions, think back on that six year old and ask yourself what is so important about that point you are unwilling to concede, that it is worth their life?

And now put yourself in Nancy Lanza's shoes and know that the six-year-old in her case was NOT imaginary. Several six year olds died on Friday, as did several others, including Nancy herself and her beloved son. 

Nancy was a pro-gunner, I am sure. However if she were around to express an opinion today, I wonder what she would recommend? And please don't say that it will never happen to you; you're trained and take all precautions. I'm sure that's what Nancy would have said.

But the unthinkable happened to her.

And the problem with the unthinkable: you can't expect it, can't plan for it, you can't think it! So you have to take precautions against it.  Just in case.

Because it may be your right to own a gun, but it is also everyone else's right to not get shot, unless they happen to be invading your home at the time, of course.

We need to pass a test, carry a license and insurance in order to drive a car, because cars can cause damage and take lives if used improperly. Why don't we have the same basic precautions on guns, which are much more dangerous in the wrong hands?

And on the "We need more guns to protect outselves against guns" argument, I will say this. If I have a gun and I attack you, and you have your gun to defend yourself, what are the chances that at least one of us is getting shot? Pretty darn high.

However, if I don't have a gun and I attack you, and you don't have a gun to defend yourself, what are the chances of us getting shot then?

ZERO.

There might be angry words and a blow or two. We may hate each other forever and curse when we see each other. But we will both still be alive to do it.  

 And despite the fight we just had, I'd rather see you alive.

Surviving Sandy, Part ...Something.

As most of you know, I live on Long Island. Most of you will also know that we had a big old hurricane pass through here about a month ago.

Sandy.

Who the fuck calls a hurricane "Sandy"? First of all, did you ever know a Sandy who was mean and destructive? I never did! Anyone I knew called Sandy was nice. And innocuous (sorry Sandys, but you all were).

Also, it seems to me that naming a hurricane "Sandy" was just ASKING for this to happen.

But Sandy it was called, so shall it be referred.

Now, I often wonder if the Sandy thing would be so bad if Hurricane Irene hadn't happened 14 months previously. Because Irene was so hyped up as being Bad and Dangerous and many were told to evacuate and given Dire Consequences if they didn't

...and nothing much happened for me and for most of us. Certainly, Irene didn't live up to her hype.

After Irene, the evacuated people returned to their perfectly fine homes, after spending a nightmare few days with the parents or in-laws and they vowed they wouldn't put themselves needlessly through all that again.

When hurricane Sandy was forecast, the warnings were Even More Dire but several agencies held off on evacuation orders because of what happened last time. And many people -even when the evacutation orders came, refused to leave their homes. We all thought it would be another Irene. 

We were wrong.

Yes, we prepared; bought food and batteries, made sure the grill worked and the propane was topped up. But our family didn't pack any bags this time. Partly because the dangerous tree has since been removed, but also partly because it felt so bloody stupid to go about the next day unpacking and and undoing all the Dire Preparations . Although I did line the bath with plastic before I filled it this time. That made a huge difference. We didn't need it, but definitely something to file away.

The storm itself sounded and seemed milder than Irene had been. It was windy, but there was a lot less rain and no thunder/lightning. We lost power early; -around 1:30 the first day (Monday), but we were prepared, and had an epic game of Monopoly by lantern light (Grace is a great person to have as a banker, BTW. Her mental arithmetic is poor, so she is really easy to cheat).

The next day, things didn't seem so bad  We still had no power, but there was no damage to our property. We drove around the neighbourhood a bit and ...wow. Most traffic lights were out. Most businesses were closed. However, there were lines out the door and around the corner for Dunkin donuts (they have a generator). 7-11 was pretty busy, too.   

 Our power came back on Tuesday evening. I realized quickly that we were quite exceptional in that. Many people in our town were out for more than two weeks. The schools were closed for seven full days. 

...and then I started hearing from my friends.

I should point out, using this nce handy map, that I pulled from here, that our town is nowhere near a flood disaster zone.

If you look at that map, we are in the brownish area, well above sea level. The problem around here was "only" downed trees. And LIPA.

 Then I heard from a friend who lives in a dark green area.

"We had 4' of water through the whole downstairs. We have no power, no water, no heat. The truck is gone".  My friend isn't one of the people you hear about. Their area wasn't featured in the newscasts or stories that went around, because it wasn't as Dramatic or Compelling as some of the other scenes playing out around the area -and even in the next town over from them. But they lost half of their house. It took FEMA and the insurance company weeks to come and inspect the place, so they could even begin tearing out floors and carpets (they were told not to until after inspection). I stopped by on Thanksgiving and they had had power and water restored, but still no heat or hot water. All the bottom half of the house had been ripped out to the studs. They were sitting on plastic lawn chairs. Their fridge was on the front lawn.  They had to have Thanksgiving catered, because no oven or hot water.

But these are people getting on stoically with their loves, making the best of what they have. These are not the stories you hear. You really have to see it to understand how bad they have it and how widespread the damage really is. I was driving, so I couldn't take pictures. However, a lot of the towns I drove through were still virtual ghost towns. Many businesses were boarded up, with lovely messages like this one spray-painted on the boards.

It just boggled my mind that this would still be the situation on Long Island so many weeks after the storm. 

And that so much was wrong on the rest of the island for so long. You couldn't get petrol. At first, I couldn'tdrive down to help my friends in the disaster area, because I was afraid I would run out of gas between destinations. Himself lined up for six hours one day, just to learn that the gas station ran out. There were shortages of bread and milk. After the first week or so, most people  without power started running low on supplies like ice, batteries and candles. Well, the only way to get them was to borrow from a friend who had power or to have them mailed from someone outside the Northeast (the mail service was one of the few things that was working early on).

There was no garbage collection or other cleanup for some time. Cut-up trees and branches were piled up on the curbs. Bags and bags of refues and piles of household contents were there too. 

It reminded me of living in Dublin in the 70s, when there was the oil crisis and then there were strikes in the electricty supply board, the bakers unions, the dairys and by the sanitation workers. Except it was like these things had happened all at once in long Island in 2012, instead of spread out over years in 70s Dublin.

It wasn't good. It wasn't OK and we have learned many lessons from it.

I hope -sincerely HOPE- that Local government and other agencies had learned lessons too. Because this can't happen again. 

...except everyone says that Sandy is only the first and there will be more storms like this.

 

What Is a "Cure", Anyway?

People e-mail me through this blog all the time -for many reasons- and I am very glad that they take the trouble.  I try to reply to everyone who e-mails, even moreso than those who comment. Every now and again, I'll get into an e-mail conversation with someone about scams or healthcare or something, and they will make me think.  Yesterday it was a comment from somebody who was pro natural remedies and anti- Big Pharma (and pissed with me for exposing so many 'natural remedies" as scams), who made a comment along the lines of  (paraphrasing) "the medical world wants to keep us sick (so they can make money). No disease has been cured since polio".

And this latter comment got me thinking: Polio?  Really?  I didn't even think that was cured.

And I started to wonder seriously:  Which diseases have been cured?  Actually CURED?  The answer was quick and surprising:

None.

Not one single disease on the planet is listed as cured. Those fucking doctors and researchers, epidemiologists and scientists have clearly been sitting on their arses, twiddling their thumbs for centuries.

So old diseases, the ones we don't hear much about anymore. What are they if not cured? Let's have a look at them: Scurvy, Pellagra, Beriberi, Rickets and Pernicious Anemia are virtually unknown in the developed world these days. But they haven't been cured. They have been prevented by a knowledge of nutrients and balanced diet (and maybe fortified cereals).  

Diphtheria,  Measles, Mumps, Tetanus, Whooping cough, TB and even Polio are all under control in most of the developed world, too. Again, None of these diseases have been cured (no, dear e-mailer, Polio is not cured), but they have been  prevented through widespread vaccinations and inocculations.  And in some cases, helped by proper knowledge of hygiene. (handwashing is probably the #1 preventative in the developed world; even more than vaccines).

Cholera is much diminished as a cause of death, too, thanks to modern water treatment methods. And it is treatable now that rehydration techniques are understood and have been taught to many at risk. But it is not cured. 

Bubonic plague; the Black death, was a huge global problem for centuries and is now mostly gone, thanks to pesticides and antibiotics.  But only mostly. There was a famous case of a couple with Bubonic plague in New York City in 2002, although they contracted it in (I believe) Arizona, where infected fleas apparently still abound. After hearing that story, I made a mental note not to go hiking in Arizona. Ever. (There is no vaccine for the plague, although it is a bacterial infection and treatable if caught early.)

Fewer people die of snake and spider bites these days, thanks to anti-venom.  But is that a cure? Snakes are not considered a disease.  Hmmmm.

Far fewer people die of things like appendicitis and abcessed teeth these days, thanks to modern surgical techniques. But neither are these considered a cure. 

ADHD and several mental illnesses can be helped by drug therapy. But if you stop the drugs, the symptoms come back. Therefore: treatment. not cure.

Only one disease is said to be eradicated (is "eradicated" the same as "cured"?  Nope.): 

Smallpox. 

That was the first disease for which a proper vaccine was developed using a relatively harmless pathogen (methods involving the actual smallpox virus itself go more than a thousand of years); invented in 1796, and gaining recognition in the 1800s, when they started vaccinating people on a wider scale. Even then, it wasn't until 1980 that Smallpox was declared eradicated.  Almost 200 years later!  I guess it takes a long time to eradicate a global disease. Mind you, the whole process of safe vaccine development and the idea of widespread preventative healthcare had to be invented too (and not without a lot of mistakes and setbacks), so it's understandable that the first takes the longest. But it is also kind of cool that it worked so well. 

One area in which many strides have been made is in cancer treatment: Cancers can be shrunk, removed and beaten into remission by several different powerful drugs and treatments. Many forms of leukemia and lymphoma are 100% treatable. Inatinib was thought to 'cure" Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, until people realized that if they stopped taking it, the cancer returned. Not a cure then; a treatment. Many cancer patients go into full remission and are declared well or "cancer-free".   But not "cured".

Why is that, I wonder?  what does "cure" actually mean?  I decided to look at this as pertains to me. I have had numerous colds. I don't have them now.  Were they cured?  No.  They just ran their course, treated with tissues and Theraflu. And antibodies.  Because our own bodies recognize viruses as intruders and build antibodies to attack them. Those same antibodies stop me from getting that same cold virus ever again. Unfortunately, unlike the smallpox virus, which has only a few variations, there are about seventy gajillion different cold virus variations.  So immunity does me only little good.  And is not a cure.

If I seriously look at what "cure" means, -At least to me, "cure" If means that someone who was sick would get better and be back to the 100% health, with no fear of the illness ever coming back. Preferably with no side-effects, either; which rules out most drug therapies as cures.

"Cure" doesn't mean prevention though. So if I was to offer a cure for cancer or the common cold, it would mean that people would need to have Cancer or the common cold first, and then I would cure it. And to me, that's not the ideal scenario.  I'd much rather they never get it in the first place. You know, like we have been doing with Smallpox and the like?  Ask anyone who has suddenly been saddled with Tetanus or an unlooked-for pregnancy and they will tell you that prevention is far better than cure.

Therefore, As far as I know the only real cures I have heard about are in the New Testament.  And I'm pretty sure none of those were followed up scientifically.

But here come the naysayers, bitching and moaning that nothing has been "cured" yet and therefore Big Pharma and the medical community are all out to get us.

Pul-eese!  I ask anyone making such claims to me, to please do your research first. And to remember the the expression "an ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure". So  yeah, The medical community hasn't been curing Polio. It has been focusing on what's important: Prevention.

...Not that the medical community is perfect, mind. There are still many diseases out there that don't have adequate prevention or treatments. Muscular Dystrophy is one that comes to mind. Research is very well funded, thanks to Jerry Lewis and his dodgy-but-effective technique, but there are still no big breakthroughs in treating or preventing the disease. They can help some symptoms; they help people get wheelchairs and needed equipment. They do fund a lot of research, but it has borne little if any fruit. There is no way to halt or reverse the progression of the disease itself.  And no way to prevent it. It can be argued that these things take time, and they do, but still, one can't help but wonder...

...about a lot of things, really.  But not about a cure for Polio.

The FTC Has Changed The Rules For Bloggers

We all thought bloggers aren't regulated, right?  That we cold say what we want on-line and -provided we didn't directly slander (or is it libel? I am never sure) someone who gave a shit, we were exempt from liability for speaking our minds about all sorts of stuff. The First Amendment and all that.  Yes there are copyright agreements and all that good stuff, but bloggers were never required to back up any statement they claimed as fact. I could say I ran into Elvis in the Public Library last month and no-one would bat an eye.

Well, as of December 1st, 2009 that has changed. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has introduced new rules surrounding endorsements and testimonials; and it includes bloggers and message boards as well as print, radio and the telly.  There are clauses that cover celebrity and expert endorsements, too. So now Valerie Bertinelli will have to tell you she was paid by Jenny Craig to lose that weight and keep it off. (What?  you didn't know?). Links to more information from the FTC is here; full Federal Register text here, and the FTC-produced videos explaining the new regulations are here.

So I'll have to watch me P's and Qs from now on.  Just kidding! Thankfully, the FTC doesn't care about foul or salty language, or OSM would be fucked entirely.  Not that I will be impacted much by the new regulations, anyway. I very rarely endorse anything. I once wrote favorably about a book, and I do carry links to books I recommend on this site (and there is no direct language that I could see in the FTC guidelines about hosting links -which I will get to later, because I found this point very interesting indeed). Other than books, most of my mission in life seems to be to find the flaws in things and highlight them in bitchy detail. And I am good at it!  So I can never claim to be an endorser of very much at all...

I find it interesting that I found out about this through Wellsphere, where I am a featured blogger -not that you would ever know that, because I never bothered to put the little picture thingy up here on OSM. Am I now in violation of some regulation?  Eek!  Is the FTC going to come and make an example of little old me?... (I digress).  Yeah, Wellsphere e-mailed me about these new rules. (I knew they would come in useful someday). I did search subsequently and the New York Times did have an article about it a few years ago, and there was some discussion about it mostly on marketing  and reviewers blogs and message boards. I think common-or-garden bloggers such as myself didn't have a clue about it. 

And I wonder how many consumers know?

I am going to jump on a lot of points in this post -and I apologize in advance if this piece seems a bit disjointed, but I am trying to cover as much as I can here, and there is a lot to cover.

This particular set of regulations was last revised in 1980; long before Cher was flogging shampoo, Chuck Norris was pushing excercise equipment, and Billy Mays became famous just for selling anything that wasn't nailed down. It was also long before the Internet took off commercially in the 1990s. The FTC had no real regulations for the WWW and it showed and was exploited for most of the past two decades. So the new rules are long overdue and very much welcome -by me, anyway and I think by anyone who strives towards honesty in their transactions with others.  This change will level the advertising and endorsement playing field.  Now, having said that, Please don't expect everything on the Internet to be true from hereon in. Because I think most scammers will just completely ignore these guidelines, like they ignore the FDA, morals and ethics; maybe thinking that their position overseas or hidden behind a series of front companies/sites will protect them. But at least now you know that you can more freely question 'truths' you find on the internet and report questionable practices to our Uncle Sam. 

Hurray!

But how does it all work?

One point I found mentioned  ...somewhere, is that internet reviewers will now be held to a stricter standard than print reviewers. For example The New York Times (let's say)  book, food or movie critics are not required to disclose in writing if they received the book, meal or movie ticket  they are reviewing for free. A blogger, on the other hand, would have to disclose if the book or product was provided for free and if there were any conditions attached to that gift (i.e. it is only free if you say nice things about it. Or you don't get more free stuff from us UNLESS you say nice stuff about this one (although the latter condition is usually implied rather than spoken, so how do you disclose that?)).   And then I wonder about the NYT critics and other gifts: If our print movie critic gets free popcorn to go with his free movie ticket, does he have to disclose the popcorn, even if the ticket is exempt?  And are there ever any conditions;  written, spoken or nudge-nudge-wink-winked between print reviewers and the people behind the products they review?  It all gets very interesting when you start to dissect this stuff.

And Of COURSE there is my particular bugbear: The whole question of scammers and scam advertising on legitimate sites. I have made my thoughts and feelings on this issue very clear in my open letter to the head of WebMD recently. For a laugh, I wandered around some sites today that I KNOW advertise scammers and did a quick search.  Yes, it is after December 1st, 2009, but most of them are still carrying adverts for both direct and indirect scams.  Nice.  But are they breaking the law?

Sites That Carry Scam Advertising

WebMD.com

About.com

Wrongdiagnosis.com

Amazon.com

Google.com

Yahoo.com

People.com

CNN.com (in fairness, I only found direct scammers here, in my very quick search. Is that better?)

ABC.com

CNBC.com (interesting! see below)

Time.com

Newsweek.com

NYtimes.com (almost all of the scams are there!)

Washingtonpost.com

huffingtonpost.com

Timesonline.com

Irishtimes.com

Foxnews.com

I should have just listed the sites that don't advertise scammers (that I recognized as such, anyway). It is much shorter:

Sites that DON'T Carry Scam Advertisements*

NBC.com

MSNBC.com

BBC.com

Fox.com (no public search available)

CBS.com 

WSJ.com

TheCW.com (no public search available)

I could probably go on and on, but I think I have made my point. Lots and lots of legitimate internet names carry links to scams on their sites. They are paid to do this.

Now I wonder if and how these sites are liable under the new FTC regulations?

The FTC guidelines didn't specifically state that carrying product links or advertisements on a website or blog constitutes endorsement of those products. However, that is the public perception.  Read the comments on my Gordon's piece. Many of the people who bought into those products did so because a search on a legitimate site took them to Gordon's Habitual Scamming Center (through that notorious loophole: "sponsored links"). In my opinion, the legitimate sites who carry these advertisements do and should bear some of the liability burden here.  However the regulations seem to skirt around this issue.  (and I wonder how much lobbying went into the wording thereof? Hmmm)

Another thing I wonder about, in light of the the fact that different rules apply to blogs and print media: The Huffington Post (HP) is technically a blog, whereas I figure NYTimes.com is technically part of the newspaper. Does this mean the NYT carries more exemptions, as mentioned above?  Will the HP bear more liability than NYTimes.com, say if both carried the exact same review worded the exact same way?  What about if both carry exactly the same links or endorsements? 

...And what about broadcast media such as CNN and ABC? Will their site content be regulated differently than their broadcast content? 

And do responsible advertisers such as NBC and MSNBC (but not CNBC.  ...why NBC, why???) get any kind fo kudos for acting properly without a government stick as inspiration?

It's all interesting stuff, right?

Another thought that occurred to me is this one: How the fuck do the FTC plan to enforce these new regulations?  Do they have scores of staff reviewing review sites, or are they relying on consumers to report dodgy reviews? (and if so, how will consumers know what is dodgy and who to tell?) You know, although I really really welcome these new regulations and think they are a very good thing: It all seems rather poorly thought out.

However, it's a lot better than nothing, which is what we had before.

*i.e. advertisements that were immediately recognized by me as scams. However, I don't claim to be the all-encompassing authority on this subject...

I Shouldn't Know..

...that Caster Semenya may (or may not) have male sexual organs internally.

As Ms Semenya and I are not related, in a relationship, and I am not on her medical team; I have absolutely no need or right to know her medical details.

And it is none of my business whatsoever.

I should not be bombarded with medical details about her internal organs -details either real, rumored or  speculated- when I switch on my telly or open my e-mail. 

I just shouldn't know anything at all about her medical condition unless she says it is OK.

Period.

That I even know there has been speculation is wrong, wrong, WRONG.

It is a huge invasion of her privacy. Invasion on -quite literally- a global scale. And whichever persons at the IAAF and other organizations who are responsible for (grossly mis-)managing this debacle and leaking information should be made an example and jailed for a long time.

I'm serious.

A person's gender is probably the most deeply-held aspect of their identity. More than their name or their immediate family, a person's perceived gender is a huge key to who they are. And indeed to how the world interacts with them. Ask anyone with a gender identity disorder, or indeed anyone who cross-dresses for work or play, and they will tell you that they feel, act, walk, talk and are treated very differently depending on which gender they are projecting at a given time.

And if you speak to any transexual or cross-gender person who has had to deal with being "outed" in public, you will understand that many people out in the world -especially men, have a very, very, very difficult time comprehending and dealing with ambiguous gender.  In fact, many men seem to feel threatened and will respond with hatred and violence. I have seen this reaction firsthand: When I was younger, a couple of my friends were tranvestites (i.e. a person who dresses the the clothes of the opposite sex. Two of my friends were men who dressed as women. One was actually pre-op transsexual). I saw how men could switch from sexual interest in my friends to outright screaming hostility (maybe feeling that their own gender was somehow threatened?) in the blink of an eye. It was quite scary to witness.

I can't imagine what it would be like to live.

I believe that the very poor handling of Ms Semenya's case may actually put her life in danger. Some people have speculated that news like this may put her in danger of deep depression and of taking her own life. And while I see their point, I somehow doubt she would off herself. She seems too centered for that. 

I feel the greater threat to her life may come from third parties; from people who feel they were somehow deceived or cheated by Ms Semenya simply being who she is and doing what she was obviously born to do. This threat is larger, more diffuse and much more difficult to defend against.

And even worse: she comes from South Africa, from a place where people are often considered cursed or "bad luck" because they are different. A place where Albinos face discrimination and marginalization. And now Ms Semenya -who is only 18- has this great big DIFFERENCE" question mark over her head. And even if time proves this to be a big red herring, you can't un-ring the bell on this stuff. She will forever have to prove herself. As she now a high-profile person with a potentially rare difference,  who lives on a continent where albinos and some others with differences are killed and their body parts sold for superstisious reasons, can the IAAF, who originally started this whole mess, now guarantee her safety?

No. I thought not. Like I said, Someone should be locked up for this.

Elizabeth at Screw Bronze wrote about the Semenya case recently, making the point that male athletes are not subjected to the kind of degrading scrutiny of their gender as females are. And she is right.

But rather than focus on the inequities of gender (which are rampant). I feel that really this case is about medical privacy.  Here in the US. a person's medical records are protected by law. By law, a person has a right to their own medical file. Doctors are not allowed -by LAW, to share a patient's medical details with anyone unless the patient OKs it first. I think there are fuzzy areas with minors and people who are not capable of giving consent -say if they are in a coma. But overall, the rules are pretty clear. And Ms Semenya is neither a minor nor in a coma. She is perfectly able to assign or withdraw consent to share her medical history.

But was consent sought and given?  I seriously doubt it.

I don't know much about medical laws in other countries -or indeed about international athletics. But I know right from wrong.

..and this is all wrong.

Wrong in so many ways and on so may levels that I can barely comprehend the wrongness of it all. In fact. I think we may need a whole new scale to measure "wrong" based on this incident.

In the end it boils down to this: I know too much about a South African stranger. I should NEVER know about a person's  sexual organs unless that person says it's OK for me to know. 

And Caster Semenya didn't give me permission to know.

That's the bottom line.

Something Smells Fishy

I was rummaging through the medicine cupboard (outgrew a 'cabinet' long ago!) and a pack of Zicam nasal swabs fell down and hit me on the head.

 

Oops! thought I to meself. I forgot this was here. I need to throw it out.

But before I did, I decided to check on the current status. Has Zicam actually been recalled yet?  Because the last time I checked (which was some months ago), people were complaining that Zicam had caused them to lose their sense of smell, and the manufacturer of Zicam, Matrixx Initiatives, was pushing back pretty hard, saying it was perfectly safe and the hundreds of complainants were all making it up.

Around that time, I got quite engrossed with the unearthing all the herbal remedy scams I had found and I stopped following the Zicam stuff. I actually forgot about it until one fell on my head.

(Hello, Mr Newton)

So it turns out, I had stopped following the story right before the FDA stepped in. Sometimes the FDA, being big and lumbersome, is a bit slow to respond.  Anyhoo, the FDA set a letter to Matrixx, telling them to cease manufacture of three products, and on the same day, they issued a consumer warning about the same three Zicam products. The following is only an excerpt:

On June 16, 2009, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned consumers to stop using and discard three zinc-containing Zicam intranasal products. The products may cause a loss of sense of smell.

Intranasal products are administered through the nose.

What products are affected by this warning?
FDA's action affects Zicam’s three intranasal products that contain zinc. The three Zicam products claim to reduce the duration of the common cold and the severity of cold symptoms.

The products (listed with their size and product numbers) are

• Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel (15mL, NDC 62750-003-10)
• Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs (20 swabs, NDC 67250-003-20)
• Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs, Kids Size (20 swabs, NDC 67250-003-21)...

...Why did FDA take action?
The agency has received more than 130 reports of anosmia—the loss of sense of smell—associated with use of these three Zicam products.

So yes, I should officially throw out that Zicam. And unlike my secret (and dwindling) stash of VIOXX, I actually will.

But I still had some questions about how Matrixx Initiatives have handled this whole incident and continue to handle it. They did not immediately recall the product when the complaints first started. Instead they waited until AFTER the FDA sent them a letter TELLING them to withdraw the product. And even then, they were protesting all the way!  See this story from US News, particularly their response to the writer's e-mail.

And on their website, in the Frequently Asked Questions page, there is this little gem (the question is "what research has Zicam done to show that its Cold Remedy nasal products do not cause loss of smell?")

The safety of Zicam Cold Remedy is substantiated with multiple studies:

(1)    An epidemiological study demonstrates that three of the most common conditions associated with anosmia are the common cold, sinusitis, and nasal injury.  This population study in 3.7 million patients demonstrated statistically significant associations between anosmia and numerous medical conditions and multiple classes of drugs.  These factors confound any attempt to attribute an association of anosmia with Zicam Cold Remedy zinc gluconate nasal gel.

(2)    Anatomic and behavioral data obtained in animal studies showed no detrimental effects on smell associated with single doses of Zicam intranasal zinc gluconate gel equivalent to between three and 6x the recommended dose for humans.  Even at doses up to 15x the recommended dose, little or no effect to detect odors was uncovered.

(3)    Human in vivo and cadaver studies using our dosage form and nasal pump delivery device confirmed that Zicam intranasal zinc gluconate gel does not reach the upper area of the nasal cavity where smell reception occurs.

(4)    Four peer-reviewed clinicals of intranasal zinc gluconate gel products showed no difference in olfactory function between the treated and placebo subsets.

...and another answer to an FAQ (in response to a "frequently" asked question about the "unpecedented" FDA action:

We believe it is unfair for any Federal agency to take the kind of precipitous action it took against the company in a situation like this.  Had it talked with us, we would have shared with this regulatory body the compelling data and information showing that Zicam Nasal Gel and Gel Swabs are not unsafe.

WHAT? 

As I brought it up already, let's look at the VIOXX recall in comparison to this one: Merck noted in their OWN data that there was a small chance that VIOXX caused heart problems, so it voluntarily recalled the product first, then told the FDA and everyone else. Even though this decision probably cost them billions of dollars, they did the right thing. I don't usually have much good to say about Big Pharma, but I have to hand it to Merck here. They realized there was a chance that  people were being hurt by the product, and they did the right thing. They put people and reputation before money. ..and yes, OK: They probably thought it might avert some lawsuits (It probably didn't. This is America, people).

Unfortunately, the FDA needs to rely on manufacturers to do the right thing. They have limited resources, so they can only audit every two years.  If a problem is noted right AFTER an FDA audit, there is two-year window before the FDA will find it (unless complaints direct from the public or medical community start flooding in). Therefore, the FDA needs to rely on the decency of the drug companies to report issues, because most people and doctors who find a problem with the drug will report it to the drug company first, and may not report it to anyone else. As I pointed out before, Many people -particularly consumers- don't know they can report directly to the FDA and many doctors won't bother -particularly as Zicam requires no prescription.

So, this is directly to Matrixx Initiatives about their whining: The FDA took this action because they had no choice. You were not only ignoring the complaints, you were trying to dispute them. The FDA had to step in to protect people (and children -there was a children's version on that list!) because you refused to.

And now you have the nerve to whine about it? 

Grow up!

But I'm not finished. Here is another little gem from Zicam's FAQ page. This in response to a question about consumer complaints being withheld from the FDA:

Matrixx has always cooperated fully with the FDA, willingly shared all information requested by the FDA, and fully complied with its understanding of the FDA’s regulations. Any reports to the contrary are simply not true. As required by FDA regulations, Matrixx has always maintained detailed records of all consumer complaints and followed up with them. In the past four years the FDA has conducted two audits of the company, most recently in May 2009. During each audit, Matrixx made available to the FDA all adverse event complaints received by the company, along with complaint trends. These included all consumer complaints alleging loss or diminishment of the sense of smell.

Let's read between the lines here, and remove some of the spin.

...and fully complied with its understanding of the FDA’s regulations

Translation: we didn't KNOW we had to report adverse reactions to the FDA (yeah, right)

As required by FDA regulations, Matrixx has always maintained detailed records of all consumer complaints and followed up with them.

...but not actually SHARED them with anyone, like other consumers or the FDA.

In the past four years the FDA has conducted two audits of the company, most recently in May 2009. During each audit, Matrixx made available to the FDA all adverse event complaints received by the company

OK that makes sense, the FDA audits biannually. The timing is very interesting here, don't you think? The FDA audits them in May '09, then issues the warning in June '09.  Why?  Because Matrixx didn't report the adverse complaints voluntarily, that's why. Instead, they waited for the FDA to go in there and find them.

Let's just imagine the scene:

FDA Guy:  "hey, Mr. Matrixx Executive, What's in this folder tucked in here at the back of the drawer?"

Matrixx Executive (breezily):  "Oh that's nothing.  Just some positive consumer feedback.  ...er.  Have you any plans for the weekend?"

FDA G.: "Well let's take a look." (starts to remove the folder and open it)

M. E.:  "No!" (starts to move towards the FDA guy, hand outstretched to take the folder, thinks better of it, stops and clasps hands awkwardly) ...it ...it's nothing really..."  (sees the FDA guys face) Oh. You mean THAT folder?  The red one? That's the complaints folder. I was just about to show it to you..."

FDA guy: (scanning the contents) "Some of these are pretty serious. Loss of smell? How come I have no record of these?"

M.E. "but we followed up with all of the customers. We're not supposed to tell you about this stuff, are we?   I thought that.. I mean, well... (claps hands, smiles, attempts lightheartedness; -fails) ...you know about it now!

...Hang on a tick. I need the bathroom..."

(Matrixx executive rushes from the room, looking ill. However, he heads towards the CEO's office, in the opposite direction of the bathroom)

(I should write for (bad) TV. My friend AM always said it.)

And so the FDA action was taken.

One might wonder why Matrixx were so reluctant to report this adverse data and recall the products. Well the answer is very easy: Money. Have a look at their stock price. 

June 15th: $19:24
June 16th: $05.78.

Note that the volume spiked hugely too, in what was obviously an enormous selloff.

If I take into account that MTXX now have about 9.46 million shares out there,  we can estimate that the company was devalued by approximately $127 million dollars in one day in the US alone. (there are at least two other listings on other exchanges, but I didn't check them. I am pretty confident the Matrixx stock price didn't rise anywhere in June).

That's $127,000,000.00.  Just in the US.

Ouch.

So unlike Merck, Matrixx put money before people or reputation.  But you know, I bet if they had done the right thing, they would have lost less money. In fact, as a former Wall Streeter, I can almost guarantee it.  believe it or not, the market does actually take notice of things like corporate responsibility.

Speaking of corporate responsibility: I noticed when researching the stock price stuff that there was a change in principal officer. Great!  I thought They are cleaning house. But no. Instead they are promoting the guy who was acting helmsman at the time of the FDA action, to official helmsman.

Nice.

I have now decided not only to throw out the nasal swabs. But I will also throw out the (not-recalled)  Zicam tablets I got for the kids, too.

I'd rather deal with a cold than use their product

P.S. I had to laugh: When spellchecking this piece, the spellchecker, which did not recognise "Zicam" as a word, kept suggesting "Scam" as the alternative! 

P.P.S. Matrixx have until Sept 15th to respond to a class-action lawsuit (the first?) Let's watch the stock price then, shall we? 

Just for a laugh...

Towards Natural Health: Scam

Do you know where the expression "Let the cat out of the bag" came from? 

Well, it came from the practice in Old England of selling piglets in a bag (i.e. "a pig in a poke") at the market or fair. Sometimes, people would buy a piglet only to find when they got home that the wriggling animal inside the bag was actually a worthless cat. So if you were wise, you would open the bag before you hand over any money and  "let the cat out of the bag". That is, you would reveal the scam.

Many pig sellers would leave the pig's tail sticking out of the bag, so you would know it was a piglet and not a cat. However, in a less well-known variation on the old scam, some unscrupulous bastards would cut off the piglets' tails and tie them onto bags, which each contained a cat.

So there was a 'level II' on the pig scam, if you like.

I see Towards Natural Health as a Level II internet scam.  They went through all the trouble to cut the tails off the poor piggies. But it is still a freaking scam; albeit a much prettier one than some the previous scams uncovered here on OSM.  And  keeping in a porcine vein, the expression "putting lipstick on a pig" very much comes to mind here.

Here is an example of one of their sites:

 

 

Wait a sec: To get the full impact you have to load it. Click here and come right back

It's really gorgeous lipstick,  isn't it?  The zooming graphics, the spinning-around globe thingy, the leaves, the starry things, the slick "shick" sound when you roll over a menu item, the persuasive language (although I am never sure what might "suite" me best.  A bathroom installed on my ass, perhaps...?), all the links that they post... 

But look at those links again. Notice they are all general. There are never specific links to the actual condition for which you seek relief. The links are the pig's tail.

Don't be fooled: It's a scam.  They try to cover their asses  by saying things like "This particular website is aimed at helping Motor Neuron Disease patients..."  I guess if you happen to come across the exact same site for ...say Grave's Disease, or one of the 62 or so other sites that I have found (so far), they think their asses are covered.  

Now, unlike SPAH, or Herbal Product Reviews, which are identical scams to this one; Towards Natural Health even has a main site, that goes on about their humanitarian mission to save the world or some such hogwash.

But it is all bullshit. A total and complete scam.  A con. A fraud. Please don't waste your time and money on these guys or on any of the products that they recommend.

Here's how I know they are a fraud:

First off,  all of the products that they recommend are either by Solutions by Nature, Gordon's  Herbal Research Center or Healing Plants, Ltd.  ALL of which have been outed here on OSM as scams.

Often, Towards Natural Health (TNH) will recommend the Solutions by Nature Product.  Hmmm.  I wonder why? 

Well, Here is TNH's address, taken from their main site. It is also the address to which all their  domains are registered (the ones I checked, anyway). PO Box 2175, Paleagade 7, DK-1231, KBH K, Denmark

Here is Solutions by Nature's Address:

 

PO Box 2175, Paleagade 7, DK-1231, KBH K, Denmark

I included both screen grabs so you can see for yourself that they are exactly the same, with no sleight of hand by this Sick Mother. 

 

Towards Natural solutions does list a different address on some of their sites.

Does that address: 115 Abercorn St, M0013, Paisley, PA3 4AT, Scotland; look familiar to you?  

It should.

It is the exact same one as is listed on the domain registration for Herbal  Product Reviews,  which OSM has previously outed as a scam.

 Don't listen to a word that tortoise says.

He is a lying wee bastard. 

And he wants to trample your ice cream, apparently.

Now some of you; -the more trusting among you- may be thinking "It can't possibly be a scam! Why would people go through all this trouble for a scam? "

For the same reason that people would mutilate baby pigs. Because it might make them money. These guys OWN all of these fake herbal sites. There are hundreds of them because they are carpet-bombing the "sick people" market with fake solutions in the hope that some of us will be sick or desperate enough to fall for the ploy. They  are professional con artists. Scamming people it is what they do, and -judging from the number of e-mails I get from people who were scammed or who narrowly escaped because of this site; -they are pretty good at it.

And maybe there is another reason:

Maybe they like it.

Maybe they have such disdain for people with illness and disabilities, that they get some kind of kick out of messing with our heads and our wallets.

And that is really sick.  

 

Help though creating awareness?  Yes. It's what I plan to do. Thanks for the tagline.  It works far better when applied to One Sick Mother than when applied to Towards Natural Health.

Here is the list of TNH scam sites that I have found (updated Sept 6th 2009):

Abdominal Adhesions	http://www.adhesionshelp.org
Achlasia	http://www.achalasiahelp.org
Actinic Keratosis	http://www.actinickeratosishelp.org
Alopecia	http://www.alopeciahelp.org
Atrial Fibrillatin	http://www.fibrillationhelp.org
Bell's palsy	http://www.palsyhelp.org
Benign essential tremor	http://www.tremorhelp.org
Blepharitis	http://www.blepharitishelp.org
Bronchiectasis	http://www.bronchiectasishelp.org
Bullous pemphigoid	http://www.pemphigoidhelp.org
Burning mouth syndrome	http://www.bmshelp.org
Cellulitis	http://www.cellulitishelp.org
Costochrondritis	http://www.costochondritishelp.org
Delayed Ejaculation	http://www.delayedejaculationhelp.org
Emphysema	http://www.emphysemahelp.org
Epididymitis	http://www.epididymitishelp.org
Eye Bags	http://www.eyebagshelp.org
Flatulence	http://www.flatulence-help.org
Folliculitis	http://www.folliculitishelp.org
Ganglion cyst	http://www.ganglionhelp.org
Gastroparesis	http://www.gastroparesishelp.org
Granuloma annulare	http://www.garanulomahelp.org
Grave's disease	http://www.graveshelp.org
Grover's Disease	http://www.grovershelp.org
Guillain-Barre Syndrome	http://www.gbshelp.org
Hand tremors	http://www.handtremorshelp.org
Hernias	http://www.herniashelp.org
Hidradenitis Suppurativa	http://www.hidradenitishelp.org
Hydrocele	http://www.hydrocelehelp.org
Hyperhidrosis	http://www.hyperhidrosishelp.org
Ichthyosis	http://www.ichthyosishelp.org
Inclusion body myositis (IBM)	http://www.myositishelp.org
Keloids	http://www.keloidshelp.org
Keratosis  Pilaris	http://www.keratosishelp.org
Lichen Planus	http://www.lichenplanushelp.org
Lipoma	http://www.lipomahelp.org
Melasma	http://www.melasmahelp.org
Motor Neuron Disease	http://www.mndhelp.org
Myasthenia Gravis	http://www.myastheniahelp.org
Myelitis	http://www.myelitishelp.org
Narcolepsy	http://www.narcolepsyhelp.org
Osteomyelitis	http://www.osteomyelitishelp.org
Pemphigus	http://www.pemphigushelp.org
Peripheral Neuropathy	http://www.neuropathy-help.org
Peyronie's Disease	http://www.peyronieshelp.org
Polycystic Kidney Disease	http://www.pkdhelp.org
Polycythemia Vera	http://www.polycythemiahelp.org
Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR)	http://www.polymyalgiahelp.org
Porphyria (All 6 kinds?)	http://www.porphyriahelp.org
Post-Polio Syndrome	http://www.postpoliohelp.org
Premature Gray Hair	http://www.grayhairhelp.org
Prickly heat	http://www.pricklyheathelp.org
Rectal prolapse	http://www.rectalprolapsehelp.org
Retinal Vein Occlusion	http://www.rvohelp.org
Retinitis Pigmentosa	http://www.retinitispigmentosahelp.org
Scleroderma	http://www.sclerodermahelp.org
Sebaceous Cyst	http://www.cysthelp.org
Seborrheic Keratosis	http://www.seborrheickeratosishelp.org
Sjogrens Syndrome	http://www.sjorgenshelp.org
Tinea Versicolor	http://www.tineahelp.org
Trigenimenal Neuralgia	http://www.trigeminalneuralgiahelp.org
Urethritis	http://www.urethritishelp.org
Uveitis	http://www.uveitishelp.org
Vocal Cord Nodules	http://www.vcnhelp.org
Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia	http://www.wmghelp.org

 

NOTE: While compiling this list, I realized that there are many More Solutions By Nature sites than I had  found previously. I will update that page when I get a chance. Really, there is too much out here for a single person to track  (I bet that is a large part of the plan)

SPAH: The Medical Scam Clearinghouse

(This is the fifth -but most important- part of a series. Here are part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4)

Let's just imagine that you have devised a few bogus potions -so-called herbal supplements as  "guaranteed treatment" for almost 300 diseases and conditions from dandruff to cancer.  And let's just say that too many people are skeptical or leery so maybe you make some money, but not quite the millions you expected.  And suppose this isn't quite good enough for you?  You still want to sell MORE snakeoil and rake in more dollars from unsuspecting sick people. But finding new diseases to claim to treat/cure is difficult, because eventually, someone twigs and puts out the alert.  How do you one-up yourself in those circumstances, and market your snakeoil to a wider population?

Simple:  You create a bogus 'society', have it do comparisons of your bogus product against one or two other bogus products with a recommendation to always buy your product.  Here's the kicker:  The other bogus products are also owned by you, but sold by a different set of bogus websites.  So the bogus society can recommend any one of them, and you get the cash anyway.

Yes. You create two or three so called 'guaranteed treatments' for the SAME condition, market each one under a different bogus website and then set up a bogus "independent institute" to compare them all against each other, and then to "objectively" recommend one of them!

It's pure genius.   GENIUS!

Because no matter which bogus product the unsuspecting sick person chooses through your bogus "research institute" YOU get the (real) money.  Because let's face it: in this scenario, the only thing that is real is the money people lose.  And maybe they lose real time and real health.  While the owners of the bogus products and websites are laughing all the way to the (real) bank.

It's a rather sickening kind of genius, actually.  Completely Evil Genius, in fact.  I think I have found the Frankenstein's monster of the Internet..

Remember how I said that Oslo health Solutions had over 280 websites registered, but I had only found about 60 of them?  Well, I think  I have found the other 220.  And 295 from another site.  And maybe another few hundred elsewhere. I physically can't count them all!   

So here is how it works: Let's say that I am looking for a cure for Syringomyelia (which is where I started with all this stuff, let's stick with what we know, here). Syringomyelia (SM)  is a potentially devastating and excrutiatingly painful  degenerative condition of the spinal cord.  It is really difficult to treat, and many myths abound, which means that many doctors "don't believe in" the pain of it. So many people with SM have a hard time finding real help. Or they may not have insurance. So say I am in this position and I find this site, run by The Society for the Promotion of Alternative Health (SPAH -and I don't think those particular initials are an accident BTW), claiming to compare three available natural alternatives. 

So we read this, and my options are:

Omiglatex, which is marketed by Botanical Sources (BS). Omiglatex (and all the Botanical Sources products that I have checked) tries to claim a connection with the Mayo Clinic, just because Mayo once said something like plants are a good source of drugs (Duh! Most commercial drugs come from plants!). But other than that, BS makes few direct claims of its own, except for a money back guarantee and 100% natural ingredients. 

Don't take our word for it and use Omiglatex for a few days. You will begin to experience incremental long term changes. If you don't, we pledge to refund you in full, including delivery charges under our full no-questions-asked refund policy. This guarantee is valid for 60 days from the date of purchase allowing enough time for you to experience results with Omiglatex.

That  sounds stunningly familiar, doesnt' it?

I love the ingredients list for Omiglatex, which include our old friend Nux Vomica (better known as Strychnine  or "rat poison" here in the States); Coral calcium; Indian Rennett, a herb which is used to coagulate  ...stuff  and wattle bark, an old Indian herbal remedy for premature ejaculation

What does all this have to do with treating brain fog, constant burning nerve pain, paralysis and incontinence?  Dunno.  I suspect nothing at all.

So I checked out the next option on the list: Syrotab. 

Yes. Our old friend from Oslo Health Solutions.  

Nuff said about that. It's a proven scam...

 

 Maybe the third option will be the charm?  Right?

Mignitin seems to be a little different. 

It is from Berlin Homeo  Products in ...well, Berlin and is a hemopathic treatment for Syringomyelia   "The amazing 100% guaranteed treatment for Syringomyelia that is bound to leave you amazed!"  (It surely will!  You will be amazed that you paid money for this shite!)

 

Ant they have testimonials! 

 "Your organization is very professional and thank you for the continued support. This is the first time I have been introduced to homeopathy. I never thought it would work so well." - Betty - Florida 

"I can't thank you enough" - Mark - NY

"All I can say is amazing! I was about to give up after trying so many products." - Jessie - California

AND they accept PayPal!  Aren't they nice?

I'm sot too sure about the color scheme, or the picture of something that looks like the bastard love child between a feather duster and a lichen.

Mignitin lists its ingredients too.  You know, I have to LOVE these people for their consistency. They may change the colors and pictures around, but they always have almost exactly the same layout and links and very similar wording.

Here are the ingredients

Ingredient Name Dilution

Sepia D3+30C
Aesculus D1+10C
Cimicifug D1+10C
Calc fluor D6+60C
Baryta carb D6+60C
Rhus tox D1+10C
Kali carb D1+100C

Sepia =  cuttlefish ink

Aesculus = california horse-chestnut

Cimicifug... I think this is Cimicifuga Racemosa, which is Black Cohosh and sometimes used to treat menopause and some muscle (not nerve) pain

Calc fluor  = calcium flouride. -Used for "hard, stony glands" and a host of other stuff in the Quack Bible, my favorite being "threatened apoplexy"

Baryta Carb = Baryta Carbonica  "This remedy brings aid to scrofulous children, especially if they are backward mentally and physically, are dwarfish, do not grow and develop, have scrofulous ophthalmia, swollen abdomen, take cold easily, and then Always have swollen tonsils. Persons subject to quinsy... (WTF is quinsy?  Ah.  It is Peritonsillar abscess (PTA).  I prefer quinsy)...

Rhus tox = Rhus toxicodendron AKA poison ivy!

"Mignitin's composition is 100% safe and all its ingredients are purely natural and free from any side effects."

Kali carb  = Kali Carbonicum  and... oh hey!  I love this  I found it on a homeopathic site:  patient can broadly be described as compulsive - rigidly adhering to a code of ethics and rules. It is very difficult for the patient to express feelings and he exercises strong control over his emotions. Duty is one of the most important concepts for the Kali Carbonicum constitutional type. He will not park in a yellow zone. He will always return to a shop to give back change if he was given too much. He sees things in black and white. The patient is often very stoical. He neither complains about (nor notices) the stress he is under until the situation is very severe indeed. Things outside his control are very upsetting.

 That sounds rather like a description of an Aspie to me...

 ...but NOTHING like a Syringomyelia patient (unless its an Aspie with syringomyelia!).

 

So there you have it! Three Syringomyelia remedies, all bogus.

 

Bus OSM, I hear you say,  Maybe it is a co-incidence?  Maybe only the Syringomyelia treatments are bogus. Because I am so desperate for help, I want to believe! Well, I am nothing if not thorough when it comes to this stuff, so I checked out options for a few more conditions.

Leukemia i.e. cancer of the blood -all types apparently treated by one product from each of these companies.

Leukotab - from Oslo Health Solutions

Kemitin - from Berlin Homeo Products (The amazing 100% guaranteed treatment for Leukemia that is bound to leave you amazed!  Yeah. Amazed you're DEAD!)

 

Multiple System Atrophy -a gradual and fatal shutdown of the body's autonomic system. Usually fatal within two years of diagnosis.

Alpharax - from Botanical sources

Atrotab - from Olso Health Solutio...  ...uh-OH!  Typo!  Atrotab is actually (allegedly) for optic atrophy. Atrophtab  is for MSA.  That's a big mistake if you are running a legitimate service, but a simple one if you are running a SCAM!  Those two actually use different formulations, you see. Like that makes a difference!  I'm sure they are both completely bogus.

Porphotin (from Berlin Homeo Products)  -contains Arsenic.  Nice!

 

Parkinson's Disease

Niprotax -from Botanical sources

Parkotab -from Oslo Health Solutions

Parkotin -from Berlin Homeo Products (site currently unavailable)

 

Musclar Dystropy

Dystratax (from Botanical Sources)

MD-tab (from Oslo Health Solutions)

Laritin  from Berlin Homeo Products

 

Do you see the pattern?  A product that end in "x" from Botanical Sources, then a product that ends in "tab" from Oslo Health Solutions, and lastly a product that ends in "tin" from Berlin Homeo products.  The full list of SPAH websites and the diseases for which they claim to present "treatment options" is below. There are 295 of them.

295 x 2 or 3 (we'll call it 2½) = approximately 737 bogus products.  And I thought 60 was a lot!

SPAH claims to have no affiliation with the products mentioned.  Of course they claim that! This is perfectly in keeping with Rule #1 of scams: Lie Big.

I did some searches on Botanical Sources and on Berlin Homeo Products. I couldn't find much about them.  They claim to be based out of Rome and Berlin.

Here is the contact info, which is probably meaningless.

Botanical Sources
Via Canova 24, Suite # NR 320
Roma 00186
Italy

[email protected]

The Berlin Homeo Products (BHP) stuff I know even less about. 

Berlin Homeo Products
Markgrafenstr. 56, Suite 110
Berlin, 10117
Germany
4487102

[email protected]

The websites I checked are registered to Botanical Sources or Berlin Homeo Products as appropriate.  But all of their sites that I have checked look identical for each organization. The BHP sites even have the same picture of the feather duster/ lichen cross, and the exact same testimonials from the same people, regardless of the disease claimed to treat. Did it just happen that 200+ people called "Mark" in NY, 200+ called "Jessie" in CA and 200+ people called Betty in Florida just happened to contact them and say the exact same thing about 200+ different products?

Ummm-hmmm.

 

So then I searched on SPAH.  The websites I checked are owned by MAK-International. Here is their home page. Notice anything?

Yep. You immediately notice that the design is about identical to all the Berlin Homeo Products sites

 ...but hold on second...  That woman looks like... she IS!  It's my old friend: Vacant Biracial woman from most of the Oslo Health Solutions sites!

Not only that, she is right there with her buddies, Mr Serious and Mr Trying to look Sincere (who is still trying to look sincere!).  They are the same people!  Wow!  What a total co-incidence that MAK International, Oslo Health Solutions and Berlin Homeo Products use exactly the same web designers or models.

Incredible. 

Literally.

So who is MAK International?  I can't find any incorporation information, but is seems to be run by two brothers (or cousins) of (I figure) Pakistani descent who were born and educated in Manchester, England (remember my theory that it was probably a couple of young techies?  It appears I was correct).   MAK International is (officially) run out of Pakistan. If I am right, that they are Pakistani- English, they are perfectly positioned to run a scam of this kind. Born in the UK, they would have full EU citizen status, able to travel or open offices anywhere in the EU.  Having Pakistani citizenship, presumably from their parents, would give them access to cheap labor and herbal crap and enable them to set up office in Pakistan.

Here is their information (I got it off their website, so it is public domain.)

Name: Mustafa Arif
Position: CEO
Born: Manchester, UK (1979)
Qualifications:

BENG Mechanical Engineering
Imperial College, London
CCNA - Cisco - year 2000

Responsibilities:

Implementing the marketing solutions devised for clients.

Experience:

Mustafa has been involved in internet marketing for the last eight years since 1998. He has seen the market evolve over the years.

Core Expertise:

• Search Engine Promotion
• Link Building
• Paid Inclusions
• CPC Marketing
• Affiliate Marketing
• Ad Networking

Name: Kashif  Arif
Position: Customer Liaison Officer
Born: Manchester, UK (1978)

Qualifications:

BENG Electronic Systems Engineering
UMIST, Manchester

Responsibilities:

Liaising with clients providing them pre-sales support. Understanding the client's needs and devising marketing plans according to the client's business type.

Experience:

Kashif held a similar position in Pace Technologies in Cambridge, one of the world's largest producers of digital satellite decoding devices. He was responsible for negotiating contracts for Pace's clients all over the world.

Core Expertise:

• Negotiating contracts
• Devising marketing plans in lieu of the client's needs and budget

 You may contact us via email, telephone, mail and in person.

Email

Sales Enquiries: [email protected]

Existing Clients: [email protected]

Office Address

2nd Floor - 33 Block Z (Commercial)
Defense Housing Authority (DHA)
Lahore 54792
Pakistan

Phone

0092-42-5749903
0092-300-4007904

Fax

0092-42-5749902

While I was researching all this, I must say the Botanical Sources link (or lack thereof) was bothering me. I was having a hard time directly connecting BS with the other three. But something was bugging me: something that I knew was there, but I was missing. Then I realized what it was: 

The logos.

More specifically, the little leafy or swirly things that is used in every logo.  There are always two, usually in complementary tones, and they usually look like leaves or a Pieces or ying/yang symbol.  Check out the leafy things and the "product shots" used by Botanical Sources and OSH

Botanical Sources

 

 

 

 

And these from Oslo Health Solutions.  The are not alike at all. Are they?

 

 

  

 

And we have some more from OSH, this time the "Pisces" version..

 

I like how Ejucatab has both 'Pices' and 'Leafy thingys'

Berlin Homeo Products (BHP) change the pattern a little. More abstract leaves and this time they change in size, not colour. (way to mix it up!)

And of course, MAK International:

 

 

   

 

You know, I found this little dot thingy on the corner of all the MAK International pages, but I don't have the right skills/software to blow it up properly. It looks intriguingly like it could be an amalgam of some of the other logos.  The colors are certainly correct.

If this turns out to be the case, that wouldn't surprise me in the least. These people seem to like their little inside jokes:  "Murakab" -which is an Islamic term meaning "complex ignorance" as an ingredient in many of their products; The fact that  initials of Society for the Promotion of Alternative Health make the word "SPAH" (think English accent) and the wee dot thingy all point to a rather ignoble disregard for their target market: i.e. sick people and their families.

The funniest joke of all is this: The Society for the Promotion of Alternative Health, -although is doesn't claim directly to be a registered charity or non-profit agency  ...ACCEPTS DONATIONS

"SPAH is a donor based organization. It accepts donations from only two sources; volunteering professionals who dedicate their time to the activities of SPAH and secondly from individuals who out of their own will want to donate to SPAH's cause as a result of benefiting from of its sponsored initiatives. It is not possible for us to accept any other kind of donations in order to ensure minimal outside influence on the organization's work."

Yes, they will take your money to further their (ig)noble cause (i.e. ripping off sick people). Except  they won't accept it if you are a corporation or organization. I figure because a corporation or organization will report such a donation on their taxes.  Too many questions might be asked then.  There's your "minimal outside influence on the organization's work".  They don't want Uncle Sam, Mother England or ...Auntie(?) Pakistan asking too many questions.

Below is the (new) Grand List of conditions these guys claim to treat. it is rather an eye-opener. If you have any of the conditions below, or know anyone who has them, please spread the word about this dreadful scam. I am not saying this to get more hits on OSM. In fact, I didn't even want to publish this myself (I have some concerns about potential recriminations from the Arif boys).  But the one person I know in De Meeja hasn't gotten back to me, and I feel the word needs to get out there. People need to be protected. Please post the link to this story to listservs, forums, messageboards or groups for any of these diseases that you might belong to. A scam only works when it is secret. If we generate enough exposure about MAK International, we can be sure they can profit no more from the misery of others.

I warn you to be sure your anti-virus and anti spyware software is all up-to-date before you click on any of the links because (this was taken from one of the SPAH sites)

Passive Information Collection

As you navigate through a Web site, certain information can be passively collected (that is, gathered without your actively providing the information) using various technologies and means, such as Internet Protocol addresses, cookies, Internet tags, and navigational data collection. We use Internet Protocol (IP) addresses on this site. An IP Address is a number assigned to your computer by your Internet service provider so you can access the Internet and is generally considered to be non-personally identifiable information, because in most cases an IP address is dynamic (changing each time you connect to the Internet), rather than static (unique to a particular user's computer). We use your IP address to diagnose problems with our server, report aggregate information, determine the fastest route for your computer to use in connecting to our site, and administer and improve the site

So having been fairly warned, please do check this out. it is quite mind-boggling.

Abdominal Adhesions	http://adhesions-options.com
Acanthosis Nigricans	http://acanthosisnigricans-options.com
Achlasia	http://achalasia-options.com
Acrocyanosis	http://acrocyanosis-options.com
Acute Broncitis	http://acutebronchitis-options.com
Adenopathy	http://adenopathy-options.com
Adhd	http://adhd-options.com
Adrenoleukodystrophy	http://adrenoleukodystrophy-options.com
Agalactia	http://agalactia-options.com
Age-Related Macular Degeneration	http://agesight-options.com
Alkaptonuria	http://alkaptonuria-options.com
Allergic rhinitis	http://allergicrhinitis-options.com
Alopecia	http://alopecia-options.com
ameloblastoma	http://ameloblastoma-options.com
Amenorrhea	http://amenorrhea-options.com
Amlyoidosis	http://amyloidosis-options.com
Angina	http://angina-options.com
Anginoedema	http://angioedema-options.com
Angionma	http://angioma-options.com
Anklyosing Spondylitis	http://ankylosingspondylitis-options.com
Anorectal Fistula	http://fistula-options.com
Antiphospholipid Syndrome	http://antiphospholipid-options.com
Aquagenic Pruritus	http://pruritus-options.com
Arachnoid cysts	http://arachnoidcysts-options.com
Artery stenosis	http://arterystenosis-options.com
Ascites	http://ascites-options.com
Asthma	http://asthma-options.com
Atelectasis	http://atelectasis-options.com
Atherosclerosis	http://atherosclerosis-options.com
Athlete's foot	http://athletesfoot-options.com
Atrialfibrillation	http://atrialfibrillation-options.com
Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia	http://hemolyticanemia-options.com
Azospermia	http://azospermia.com
Behcet's Syndrome	http://behcets-options.com
Bell's palsy	http://bellspalsy-options.com
Benign essential blaphasospasm	http://benignessentialblepharospasm.com
Benign essential tremor	http://benignessentialtremor-options.com
Blepharitis	http://blepharitis-options.com
Blisters	http://blisters-options.com
Blood in the Semen	http://semenblood-options.com
Bone and Joint Tuberculosis	http://bonetb-options.com
Bone Degeneration	http://bonedegeneration.com
Bowen's Disease	http://bowensdisease-options.com
Bradycardia	http://bradycardia-options.com
Breath odor	http://breathodor-options.com
Bromhidrosis	http://bromhidrosis-options.com
Bronchiectasis	http://bronchiectasis-options.com
Bulima	http://bulimia-options.com
Bullous pemphigoid	http://bullouspemphigoid-options.com
Burning mouth syndrome	http://burningmouth-options.com/
Canker sore	http://cankersore-options.com
Carbunkles	http://carbuncles-options.com
Carcinoid syndrome	http://carcinoid-options.com
Cardiomyopathy	http://cardiomyopathy-options.com
Cataract	http://cataract-options.com
Cellulitis	http://cellulitis-options.com
Cerebal palsy	http://cerebralpalsy-options.com
CerebraxReiter's Syndrome	http://reiterssyndrome-options.com
Cervical spine ( i.e. "neck"!)	http://cervicalspine-options.com
Cervical Spondylosis	http://spondylosis-options.com
Cervicitis	http://cervicitis-options.com
Cheilitis	http://cheilitis-options.com
Chloracne	http://chloracne-options.com
Chondromalacia Patellae	http://chondromalacia-options.com
Chordoma	http://chordoma-options.com
Cluster Headache	http://clusterheadache-options.com
Condyloma	http://condyloma-options.com
Congestive Heart Failure	http://congestiveheart-options.com
Constipation	http://constipation-options.com
Cronkhite-Canada syndrome	http://cronkhitecanada.com
Cushings disease	http://cushings-options.com
Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome	http://cyclicvomiting-options.com
Dandruff	http://dandruff-options.com
Dark Circles	http://eyebags-options.com
Deep Venous Thrombosis	http://venousthrombosis-options.com
Delayed Ejaculation	http://delayedejaculation-options.com
Dequervains tendinitis	http://dequervainstendinitis-options
Dermatomyositis	http://dermatomyositis-options.com
Diabetes Insipidus	http://diabetes-options.com
Diverticular Disease	http://diverticular-options.com
Drematofibroma	http://dermatofibroma-options.com
Drooling	http://drooling-options.com
Drug Induced Liver Disease	http://liverdisease-options.com
Dysfunctional Uterine Bleeding	http://uterinebleeding-options.com
Dyshidrosis	http://dyshidrosis-options.com
Dyspepsia	http://dyspepsia-options.com
Eczema	http://eczema-options.com
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS)	http://ehlersdanlos-options.com
emphysema	http://emphysema-options.com
Enlarged Tonsils	http://enlargedtonsils-options.com
Eosinophilia	http://eosinophilia-options.com
Epididymitis	http://epididymitis-options.com
Erysipelas	http://erysipelas-options.com
Erythema multiforme	http://erythemamultiforme-options.com
Erythroderma	http://erythroderma-options.com
Erythromelalgia	http://erythromelalgia-options.com
Eyelid ptosis	http://eyelidptosis-options.com
Fahr's Disease	http://fahrsdisease-options.com
Fatty liver	http://fattyliver-options.com
Fibroadenoma of Breast	http://breastfibroadenoma-options.com
Fibrocystic Breast Disease	http://fibrocysticbreast-options.com
Flatulence	http://flatulence-options.com
Folliculitis	http://folliculitis-options.com
Formaldehyde poisoning	http://formaldehydepoisoning-options.com
Friedreich's Ataxia	http://ataxia-options.com
Frostbite	http://frostbite-options.com
Frozen shoulder	http://frozenshoulder-options.com
Ganglion cyst	http://ganglion-options.com
Gastritis	http://gastritis-options.com
Gastro paresis	http://gastroparesis-options.com
Gilbert's Syndrome	http://gilbertsyndrome-options.com
Gingivitis	http://gingivitis-options.com
Glaucoma	http://glaucoma-options.com
Globus hystericus	http://globushystericus-options.com
Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia	http://glossopharyngealneuralgia-options.com
Gonorrhea	http://gonorrhea-options.com/index.html
Granuloma annulare	http://granulomaannulare-options.com
Grave's disease	http://gravesdisease-options.com
Grover's Disease	http://grovers-options.com/index.html
Guillain-Barre Syndrome	http://guillainbarre-options.com
gynecomastia	http://gynecomastia-options.com
Hand tremors	http://handtremors-options.com
Hearing loss	http://hearingloss-options.com
Hemmorhoids (what, no Pileen?)	http://hemorrhoids-options.com
Hepatic Hemangioma	http://hemangioma-options.com
Hereditary Fructose Intolerence	http://fructoseintolerance-options.com
Hernias	http://hernias-options.com
Herpes Simplex and Zoster	http://herpes-options.com
Herpetiform dermatitis	http://herpetiformisdermatitis-options.com
Hidradenitis Suppurativa	http://hidradenitis-options.com
Hives	http://hives-options.com
Hookworm	http://hookworm-options.com
Horner's Syndrome	http://hornerssyndrome-options.com
Hydrocele	http://hydrocele-options.com
hydrocephalus	http://hydrocephalus-options.com
Hydronephrosis	http://hydronephrosis-options.com
Hyperhidrosis	http://hyperhidrosis-options.com
Hypertension	http://hypertension-options.com
Hypertensive retinopathy	http://retinopathy-options.com
Hypotension	http://hypotension-options.com
Hysteria	http://hysteria-options.com
Ichthyosis	http://ichthyosis-options.com
Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura	http://purpura-options.com
Iga Nephropathy	http://iganephropathy-options.com
Impetigo	http://impetigo-options.com
Inclusion body myositis (IBM)	http://myositis-options.com
Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy	http://cholestasis-options.com
Irritable Bowel Syndrome	http://irritablebowel-options.com
Jock itch	http://jockitch-options.com
Keloids	http://keloids-options.com
Keratoacanthoma	http://keratoacanthoma-options.com
Leg ulcers	http://legulcers-options.com
Lennox Gastaut Syndrome	http://lennoxgastaut-options.com
Leukemia	http://leukemia-options.com
Lichen Planus	http://lichenplanus-options.com
Lichen Simplex Chronicus	http://lichensimplex-options.com
Lipoma	http://lipoma-options.com
Liver cirrhosis	http://livercirrhosis-options.com
Liver cyst	http://livercyst-options.com
Low back pain	http://lowbackpain-options.com
Lymphadenitis	http://lymphadenitis-options.com
Malabsorption	http://malabsorption-options.com
Male Infertility	http://maleinfertility-options.com
Mastitis	http://mastitis-options.com
Melasma	http://melasma-options.com
Meniere's Disease	http://menieres-options.com
Menorrhagia	http://menorrhagia-options.com
Mental Retardation (Grrrrr)	http://mentalretardation-options.com
Molluscum Contagiosum	http://molluscum-options.com
Motor Neuron Disease	http://motorneuron-options.com
Multiple System Athrophy	http://multiplesystematrophy-options.com
Muscular Dystrophy	http://musculardystrophy-options.com
Muscular Fasciculation	http://muscularfasciculation.com
Myasthenia Gravis	http://myastheniagravis-options.com
Myelitis	http://myelitis-options.com
Myocarditis	http://myocarditis-options.com
Myopic degeneration	http://myopicdegeneration-options.com
Narcolepsy	http://narcolepsy-options.com
Nasal Polyps (Note Correct Spelling)	http://nasalpolypus.com
Nephrotic Syndrome	http://nephrotic-options.com
neutropenia	http://neutropenia-options.com
Obesity	http://obesity-options.com
Optic atrophy	http://opticatrophy-options.com
Osteo necrosis	http://osteonecrosis-options.com
Osteomyelitis	http://osteomyelitis-options.com
Osteoporosis	http://osteoporosis-options.com
Otitis media	http://otitismedia-options.com
Pancreatitis	http://pancreatitis-options.com
Papular Urtucaria	http://papularurticaria-options.com
Parkinsonism	http://parkinsonism-options.com
Paroxysmal Tachycardia	http://paroxysmaltachycardia-options.com
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease	http://pelvicinflammatory-options.com
Pemphigus	http://pemphigus-options.com
penumothorax	http://pneumothorax-options.com
Peptic ulcer	http://pepticulcer-options.com
Periodontitis	http://periodontitis-options.com
Peripheral Neuropathy	http://peripheralneuropathy-options.com
Peyronie's Disease	http://peyronies-options.com
Pharangitis	http://pharyngitis-options.com
photodermatitis	http://photodermatitis-options.com
Photosensitivity	http://photosensitivity-options.com
Pick's Disease	http://picksdisease-options.com
Pityriasis Alba	http://pityriasis-options.com
Pityriasis Roseca	http://pityriasisrosea-options.com
Pityriasis Rubra	http://pityriasisrubra-options.com
Pneumothorax	http://pneumothorax-options.com
Polycystic Kidney Disease	http://polycystickidney-options.com
Polycythemia Vera	http://polycythemiavera-options.com
Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR)	http://polymyalgiarheumatica-options.com
Polyps	http://polyps-options.com
Porphyria (All 6 kinds?)	http://porphyria-options.com
Postconcussion syndrome	http://postconcussion-options.com
Post-Polio Syndrome	http://postpolio-options.com
Post-traumatic Syndrome	http://post-traumatic-options.com
Precocious puberty	http://precociouspuberty-options.com
Pre-eclampsia (pregnancy complication)	http://preeclampsia-options.com
Premature Gray Hair	http://grayhair-options.com
Pressure Ulcer	http://pressureulcer-options.com
Priapism	http://priapism-options.com
Prickly heat	http://pricklyheat-options.com
Prostatitis	http://prostatitis-options.com
Pruritus Ani	http://pruritusani-options.com
PseudoTumor Cerebri	http://pseudotumorcerebri-options.com
Raynauds Syndrome	http://raynauds-options.com
Rectal prolapse	http://rectalprolapse-options.com
Renal Artery Stenosis	http://renalarterystenosis-options.com
Renal Failure	http://renalfailure-options.com
Restless Leg Syndrome	http://restlessleg-options.com
Retinal Vein Occlusion	http://retinalveinocclusion-options.com
Retinitis Pigmentosa	http://retinitispigmentosa-options.com
Rheumatoid Arthritis	http://rheumatoidarthritis-options.com
Ringworm	http://ringworm-options.com
Rosacea	http://rosacea-options.com
Salivary Duct Stones	http://ductstones-options.com
Scabies	http://scabies-options.com
Schistosomiasis	http://schistosomiasis-options.com
Schizophrenia (now that is dangerous!)	http://schizophrenia-options.com
Sciatica	http://sciatica-options.com
Scleroderma	http://scleroderma-options.com
Sebaceous Cyst	http://sebaceouscyst-options.com
Seborrheic Keratosis	http://seborrheickeratosis-options.com
Sensitive Teeth	http://sensitiveteeth-options.com
Shingles	http://shingles-options.com
Sick Sinus Syndrome	http://sicksinus-options.com
Sinus Tachycardia	http://sinustachycardia-options.com
Sjogrens Syndrome	http://sjogrens-options.com
Skin Abscess	http://abscess-options.com
Skin Tags	http://skintags-options.com
Soft Tissue Sarcomas	http://softtissuesarcomas-options.com
Spasmodic Dysphonia	http://spasmodictorticollis-options.com
Spider Veins	http://spidervein-options.com
Spinal Muscular Atrophy	http://spinalmuscularatrophy-options.com
Stroke (...REALLY?)	http://stroke-options.com
Sunburn (check the privacy policy)	http://sunburn-options.com
Syphilis	http://syphilis-options.com
Syringomyelia	http://syringomyelia-options.com
Teething troubles	http://teething-options.com
Temporomandibular Joint Syndrome	http://tmj-options.com
Tetanus	http://tetanus-options.com
Thalassemia minor	http://thalassemiaminor-options.com
Thrombocythemia	http://thrombocythemia-options.com
Thyroid Nodule	http://thyroidnodule-options.com
Thyroiditis	http://thyroiditis-options.com
Tick Bite	http://tickbite-options.com
Tinea	http://tinea-options.com
Tinea Versicolor	http://tineaversicolor-options.com
Tinnitus	http://tinnitus-options.com
Trigenimenal Neuralgia	http://trigenimenalneuralgia-options.com
Trimethylaminuria	http://trimethylaminuria-options.com
Ulcerative Colitis	http://colitis-options.com
Undescended Testicle	http://undescendedtesticle-options.com
Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding	http://intestinalbleeding-options.com
Urethritis	http://urethritis-options.com
Urticaria Pigmentosa	http://urticariapigmentosa-options.com
Uterine Fibroids	http://uterinefibroids-options.com
Uterine Prolapse	http://uterineprolapse-options.com
Uveitis	http://uveitis-options.com
Vitreous Hemorrhage	http://vitreoushemorrhage-options.com
Vocal Cord Nodules	http://vocalcordnodules-options.com
Vocal Cord Paralysis	http://vocalcordparalysis-options.com
Von Willebrand Disease	http://vonwillebrand-options.com
Vulvovaginitis	http://vulvovaginitis-options.com
Vulvular Dystrophy	http://vulvardystrophy-options.com
Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia	http://macroglobulinemia-options.com
Warts	http://warts-options.com
Wilson's Disease	http://wilsons-options.com
Wiskott Aldrich Syndrome	http://wiskottaldrich.com
XXXX (Look Ma!  I found the template!)	http://legulcers-options.com/aboutus.html

Many of these conditions are relatively benign or harmless. However, some are serious conditions: MSA, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Muscular Dystrophy, Syringomyelia, Ascites, Stroke, Pseudotumor Cerebri, renal failure, leukemia

Some are targeted at pregnant women (preeclampsia, Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy),

Some at babies (teething, prickly heat)

And some are just evil  (Mental retardation, schizophrenia, gonorrhea, syphilis)

Please spread the word and help shut these people down.

NOTE: Special thanks to a reader,  Kathryn who first sussed the SPAH connection.

Do I Want To Be Starting Somethin?

"Who's Michael Jackson?" 

Those were the first words out of Joe's mouth when I mentioned the Gloved One's passing to Himself over the dinner table. Grace echoed the question a second or two later: "Yeah. Who's Michael Jackson?"

Honestly, I was taken aback by this question.  Having grown up in the 70s and 80s, I was immersed in the Jacksons (most of them) growing up. Even though I wasn't particularly a fan, there was no escaping the Jackson 5 in the 70's, MJ in the 80s and early 90s (and Janet in the rest of the 90s!). Michael Jackson had been everywhere when I was growing up. It was kind of inconceivable to me that my kids hadn't heard of him.  In my generation it was immpossible not to hear of MJ. As a friend of mine once said in the late 80's: "These days, you can go to the deepest fookin jungle of Africa, and you will find a kid with a Coke can in his hand, singing a Michael Jackson song".

But thinking about it: Why would my kids have heard of him?  Joe was born in the late 90's,  a few years after MJ's initial and precipitous fall from grace.  We never played his music in the house, because -although we had both admired his talent, we weren't fans. I guess I thought my kids would have heard some songs on the radio and TV, and maybe they have heard some, but looking back, I figure not many or often.

So I managed to answer the question by saying something like "Michael Jackson was a singer and dancer. He was very famous."  They were unconcerned at his passing.

I left out the part where Michael Jackson also a child predator and molester. Because although the nuns told me not to speak ill of the dead, they also told me to speak the truth, and I honestly believe that -although acquitted-  Michael Jackson was guilty of the crimes for which he was accused (more on this later).

On Friday morning,  The Today show made mention that Thriller had jumped to the top of the iTunes download list in  a matter of hours, Al Roker appeared surprised by this fact, maybe wondering who was downloading this album; who might be a fan but not have it already? The answer is simple: parents of teens and kids, who also grew up immersed in Michael Jackson's ...everything and were shocked to hear their children ask the same question that Joe asked me on Thursday night i.e.   "Who's Michael  Jackson?".  I think some parents had the same knee-jerk reaction that I did:  how could you not know? and then; with memories of dancing nieces / nephews, friends and neighbors blooming in their minds:  But you're a kid! You have to see MJ!  You will love him! So they downloaded Thriller and Off the Wall because they want their kids to hear and see how Michael Jackson was back when he was great.

...and he WAS great! 

It is an understandable reaction, because the guy was a huge talent, and a lot of what he did both with the Jackson 5 and as a solo act is worth hearing/seeing. But then after the initial knee-jerk reaction, I got to thinking:

Should I?

I'm not being funny. There is a genuine moral dilemma here; and for me, it probably runs deeper than for most people.   You see, when I was 8 ...9, 10, 11, 12 ...13 or so, I was the target of a child molester (yes it went on for years, until I grew boobs and an ass).  He never actually succeeded in raping me (because seduction, not rape was his aim ...*shudder*); but the memory still haunts.  A lot. A few years ago, I read the transcripts of the declaration that the kid -the initial MJ accuser back n 1993 made, and it made my blood run cold, because I saw...   I recognized therein the type of manipulations and behavior patterns in which child predators engage, and I knew that the accusations against Michael Jackson  were true.  A kid can't make up something like that.  I'm sorry.  I know some people will blast me for this, but I a speaking what I truly feel in my heart here, based on an experience that few can (or want to) claim...

And now Michael Jackson is dead and my children don't know who he is. I could introduce them to his music posthumously, knowing that my son would be in no potential danger anymore.  I could allow his memory to stand -to continue in our family-  based solely on his music and talent.

 But should I?

Is it morally wrong of me to promote someone who I feel was a child predator to my children?

I know that Michael Jackson's memory needs no help from me to live in the world at large. But I am not talking about the big picture here. Not Macro Michael Jackson's Memory. Instead I am talking about how/if/should his memory remain in the microcosm of our home and family. I know that any  money/goodwill from Chez Sickmother to Chez Jackson is a mere molecule in the ocean. It won't make a dent in the huge debt and red tape mountains that the three young Jacksons will likely inherit.  And some may say that even so; -to deny my children the pleasure and knowledge of Jackson's music and to deny that potential revenue stream to the Jackson heirs is to -quite literally- visit the sins of the father upon the children.  His children are the heirs to his estate and his memory and they did no wrong.

I know  I am overthinking this, but the question is simple enough, Do I encourage my children to like someone that I believe was a pedophile, or do I allow MJ's memory to die in this family?  I know my kids may discover him by themselves in time. But hopefully by then, they will be old enough to make their own moral determinations.

And I thought further about MJ's children and I decided that -sorry; but they are not my responsibility. My children are my responsibility and with that in mind, the TV and radio have been tuned to anything except the MJ coverage in their hearing. Food Network; Cartoon network... Anything!

Michael Jackson is dead -and for this family -while I have control, I am going to let his memory die too.

Rest in peace.