The Lonesome Death of Colleen Conaway – One year on

This blog was basically started in order to campaign for justice for Colleen Conaway. Today is the first anniversary of her death.

Colleen Conaway died while participating in a personal growth event led by Secret star, James Arthur Ray.

James Ray and his staff (one of whom witnessed Colleen’s death) abandoned Colleen’s body, concealed her death from the other participants, left fake messages on her cell phone to make it look they were searching for her (recordings posted here), and lied to police.

They did all that while still finding time to enjoy the closing party for the event (see photos below the fold). Ray contacted his lawyers immediately, but never contacted Colleen’s family, did not refund the $5000 she paid, and even charged her a further $10,000 for a future group she had booked.

That future group was the infamous event where three more innocent people died — for which Ray has been charged with three counts of manslaughter.

Currently, Ray’s legal team are attempting to prevent Colleen’s death and the circumstances under which it occurred from being discussed in that trial.

Nazi Medicine: Malaria & Homeopathy

I don’t know anything about homeopath John Benneth, except that he’s got a video on YouTube, the title of which I will use as a springboard for this (rather convoluted) post. But I’ll reveal that title later, because I want to first explain why I am not going to bother checking out the claims he makes in the video.*

Benneth claims that certain studies prove the effectiveness of homeopathy so conclusively that it “nukes” certain opposing arguments presented by Dr Steve Novella (who writes the excellent blog, Neurologica).

Then why are lobby groups in Brussels lobbying the EU to exempt homeopathy from proper testing?

So, Benneth, how about trying to get other homeopaths to believe you first, before bothering Dr Novella?

…

But now, on to the actual topic of this post, which I will introduce by quoting the title of John Benneth’s anti-Novella video rant, HOMEOPATHY: Jew of Nazi Medicine.

Benneth has hit on the unique idea of re-casting the supposed suppression of homeopathy in terms of Jews and Nazis: a dazzling rhetorical move of pure genius…

However, there is indeed a historical connection here, although Benneth has inverted it. It’s a revealing topic which deserves to be more widely known.

Lobbying the EU: Homeopaths want exemption from reality

With homeopathy being increasingly exposed before the public as quackery, homeopaths are becoming more aggressive in defending their $2 billion a year scam.

According to the current print edition of Spiegel magazine (12.7.2010 Germany), homeopaths have been aggressively lobbying the EU to water down the standards for defining and testing medical treatments and secure its access to the medical profession.

Medieval Quantum Theology with Deepak Chopra

I finally got around to watching the debate between Sam Harris & Michael Schermer (on the skeptic side), and Deepak Chopra & Jean Houston (promoting the cause of New Age unaccountability on the other). It aired way back in March on ABC’s Nightline.

It was a lesson in devious obfuscation from Chopra; and clarity, sincerity and intelligence from Sam Harris. Schermer was ok, but nowhere near as impressive as Harris. New Age self-important blitherer Jean Houston, could easily have been replaced with Sammy the Performing Dachshund without detracting from the intellectual level of the debate.

Chopra spoke his usual pompous mess of arrogant bullshit, alternately attacking science and claiming science for his own. He thinks his particular type of spirituality (which he sees as the only universally correct brand) can “upgrade science”. And he accused scientists of living in the “dungeon of scientific orthodoxy”.

Then he claimed that science itself (in particular, quantum physics) has actually confirmed that “we live in a sea of consciousness”, and anyone who denies this is a “scientific jihadist“.