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Many of the things we rely on for energy end up ultimately depleting our vigour, such as drinking coffee or swallowing batteries. Endeavour a new energy renewal with today’s Groupon: for $15, you get a Harmony Balance-Band from Balance-Band.net (a $40 value).

Harmony Balance-Bands, made of tourmaline, seek to stimulate healthy physical activity and improve daily life by emitting approximately 1,500 negative ions per cubic centimetre. Some scientists suggest that wearing the negative-ion-emitting bands helps balance the high percentage of positive ions squatting in the atmosphere, which can cause impaired heart function, weakened bones, and constricted blood vessels. Each colourful bracelet ($40) encircles the wrist in an effort to neutralize free radicals, revitalize cell metabolism, enhance immune function, and break down the fourth wall. By donning a wrist wrap 24 hours each day, customers often claim to sleep more deeply than a store-bought baby and exercise with the vigour of a bubby aerobics instructor. Because the bands are free of magnets, pregnant women and swimmers are also able to sport the Harmony Balance arm belts.

Break down the fourth wall? This silicon band lets you talk to the people watching you on TV?

Thrown in with the crazy claims, they suggest that magnets are somehow harmful to pregnant women?

I went to the actual site for Harmony Balance-Bands, and they have WebMD logos and MSNBC logos without context – no links or rational explanation. They also have Facebook and Twitter images without links. At one point the site says “Don’t believe us? Check the Further Reading section (there isn’t one) or Google for yourself!”

I did find these four internal links to the four important key features that these expensive placebos:

They claim these hunks of plastic; emit light in the Far Infrared thanks to MAGIC TOURMALINE!, blah blah blah negative ions (which increases nitrogen in urine? Huh?), convert moisture to negative ions and make electricity (sweat and you get negative ions and an electric shock?), and that tourmaline (which is where in the band?) generates ALPHA WAVES!

I did a bit of a search, and it seems this Harmony place is just parroting the same claims as nearly every other maker of this sort of bands.

If you’ve already purchased one, have considered buying one, or know someone who has, maybe you should check out the identical product that’s just as effective; Placebo Bands. They’re just as effective, but come in a couple nicer colours and are much more affordable.

Very generic predictions like “More people growing their own food” and “Increased awareness of natural remedies and health freedom” so that he can point back at them a year later and claim them as hits if only one more person can be shown to be doing either. His third super-general prediction shows that he knows we’re in the Matrix, dude… “More people waking up to reality.” He continues on “people will come to understand that their lives are mere illusion” and how “they’ve been following programming set out for them by others”

My predictions for 2011? Someone will finally realize that Mike Adams is a danger to himself and others and get him admitted to a nice, quiet psychiatric hospital with organic restraints and plenty of homeopathic Thorazine.

Specific upcoming victories in the world of natural health

Mike Adams must think he’s the only one able to channel “The Internet” if he can call some of these predictions. #1 is too general of a statement to be anything but a success at the end of the year when Mike looks back. #2? Well, there’s a story from Reuters in early December 2010 with the FDA asking for input on amalgam fillings, which I’m sure is an admission as far as Mike is concerned.

The next big battle is over fluoridation? Welcome to 1965. It’s like you’re not even trying, Mike. What about electromagnetic hypersensitivity and wi-fi induced illness, Mike? Isn’t that what all the anti-fluoridation types have moved on to by now? Looking forward to your mini-documentary (aka Youtube rant?) on the issue to set us all straight.

Numbers 4 and 5 are basically the same point. You need an editor, Mike. “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” – basically the central idea of Libertarianism. Well, that and the idea of “Fuck you, I got mine.”

Specific short-term predictions

He starts off well enough, pointing out that the Net Neutrality and Wikileaks issues can be a big problem. Well, he means that he doesn’t want to be told he can’t sell his expensive unproven remedies on the Internet, but he phrases it as if he cares about protecting the views of everyone.

Mike goes on to show that he almost understands what inflation is, and that prices for things go up. He’s taking a view of the next two years and predicting that prices will go up and the US dollar will go down. Talk about betting on the obvious horse in the race.

Long-term predictions

The Health Ranger (I picture him wearing a bath towel cape and a tinfoil covered bike helmet, standing on the roof of the house with that name). I really have nothing to add on these last three; I think they speak for themselves.

He claims a lot of successes on his past predictions, but doesn’t link to those predictions. Mike learn these techniques from Sylvia Browne? Last year he also predicted new evidence would link vaccines and neurological disorders, that the US power grid would suffer catastrophic failure, a massive satellite breakdown, deadly superbug mutations running wild, vaccines for smoking and alcoholism, terrorist attacks on US water supply and “another” 9/11 false flag incident.

I love the text of his prediction for the water supply one.

#34 – Terrorist strike on the U.S. water supply (The text of this prediction has been removed, as I don’t want to be blamed for giving terrorists any specific ideas. In no way do I wish for any terrorist attacks on anyone. But I should note that terrorists are pretty clever and they have ways to come up with their own ideas.)

He never published any text in #34 as far as I can tell. A lot of kooks and link spam sites grabbed the article shortly after he published it on his own pages, and they all have the “text removed” version. Basically he couldn’t think up how this could be done, but he saw it in a movie once… way to phone it in, Health Ranger!

Also, check his claimed “79% accuracy rate” from his 2009 predictions.

The obvious advice includes “Price does not equal value” and “Try before you buy” which I can’t imagine any human being surprised be. Of course, they trot out the insane with a four page spread of astrological predictions – two full columns of garbage for each of the twelve zodiac signs. According to the Capricorn columns, I started a journey in 1989 to reinvent myself… I’m thinking that this astrologer knows their target audience is rather older than I am. There are a couple other specific years mentioned that don’t line up with anything either. Everything else is boringly generic; extended travel, good but not all good financially, good but not all good at work, good but not all good at home… about the same as all the other signs…

There’s one that offers the tip “Know how to make a Caesar (not the salad!)” and that’s fine, if stupidly simple. I’d change it to “Know how to make a Caesar salad dressing from scratch, including the anchovies” as I think that is something much more refined than some tomato based drink.

Don’t try to learn something new after 40

The writer urging people to accept their fate and die stupid begins with “The entry into early middle-age (44) has coincided with a move to the real Canada (five years in Toronto doesn’t count), where people ski, skate and speak French.” REAL CANADA? Of all the other stories I saw in the dead-tree version, this is the only one that I went online to comment on at first.

I also went to comment on the piece offering medical advice in the form of “When all hope is lost, PRAY”, but after reading the comments, my points had already been mostly addressed by others. The comments from True Believers are an interesting bunch;

God bless you Marcella Dubuque, sounds like a good Acadian French Catholic name to me. I am from New Brunswick, of Scots-Irish descent that loves all Christians. It is a pleasure to read this type of praise report in a post modern newspaper. It seems these days that most news journalists are either atheists or at least secular-agnostics and therefore adverse to publishing an article such as this so I also say God bless you, Jo-Anne MacDonald (MacDonald is my wife’s maiden name, by the way) for writing this article and also The National Post for publishing it. People need to have their faith in God encouraged and miracles like this being so generously published helps to accomplish that.

Nothing like someone writing under the nickname “The Nationalist” going on and on about regions and nations and God…

Police have invoked a rarely used witchcraft charge against a Toronto woman [Vishwantee Persaud] accused of defrauding a lawyer [Noel Daley] of nearly $150,000 after she reportedly suggested she was possessed by his dead sister’s spirit.

Wait a minute; isn’t this the same trick that all the brand name psychics use? Possessed by spirits, communing with spirits, etc? Maybe we could use this law to fight Slyvia Browne books and appearances within Canada?

veteran criminal lawyer Noel Daley – began to serve as a mentor to Ms. Persaud in February 2009 on the basis that she was bright, articulate and very knowledgeable about criminal law.

Woman pretended to be a law student, and talked her way into a bit of a job with a criminal lawyer. That a criminal lawyer could fall for this scam is sad. I wonder if any of his past cases need to be re-evaluated in light of this glaring failure in critical thinking skills.

Ms. Persaud told him “she came from a long line of witches and she was capable of doing Tarot card readings.” … “What she brought up in the reading was that the deceased sister’s spirit had returned to earth to guide him in business success and financial prosperity, and that the spirit of his sister had inhabited a female form close to him that he had recently met

This isn’t really that different than any case you’d get with a regular psychic; it’s all about the money. Detective Constable Jones writes off psychic readings as a ‘business arrangement’ and that what makes this case so different is that “the whole idea is to separate them from their money, really.” That’s the whole idea behind Naturopathy, Homeopathy, Psychic readings, Natural Health Fairs and so much more; it’s about parting you from your money.

The law, outlined under Section 365 of the Canadian Criminal Code, doesn’t make witchcraft illegal, but rather the deceitful practice of it: “Every one who fraudulently … pretends to exercise or to use any kind of witchcraft, sorcery, enchantment or conjuration … is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.”

Going back to homeopathy; their potions could easily be defined as enchantment – it’s not science, so what else could it be? Let’s give the Naturopaths prescribing rights, but let’s start charging them with witchcraft when they offer anything other than science.

Well, this is the Internet, and we noticed. Missing words in the new release are in square brackets, and added words in bold.

BCA Response to Decision on Right of Appeal 14th October 2009

British Chiropractic Association (BCA) v Singh

Dr. Simon Singh has been granted permission to appeal against the decision of Mr. Justice Eady. As the Claimant is not permitted to be represented in a hearing of this nature, the Judge of the Court of Appeal, Lord Justice Laws, did not have the benefit of being able to consider all the issues, nor indeed, has he heard any argument from the BCA.

Dr. Singh has used this case as a platform to argue that science writers should be immune from the law of libel and be free to write what they please. Ever since the Eady decision of 7th May 2009 he has engaged in a high profile media campaign to assert that the BCA’s action is a restriction of the freedom of speech. It is nothing of the sort.

The BCA supports and would never seek to stifle legitimate open scientific debate. However, this action is a simple libel claim based on the fact that the BCA was maliciously attacked libelled by Dr. Singh in the Guardian newspaper. When given the opportunity to retract his words and apologise, Dr. Singh refused. This claim has been brought to restore the good reputation of the BCA and that of its members.

Dr. Singh may now put his case before a full Court of Appeal. Here the BCA will, for the first time, have the opportunity to present its case. The BCA remains confident that once in possession of all the facts the presiding judges will refuse the Appeal.

Jack of Kent alerted me to the changes in the BCA release.

Watch as the British Chiropractic speaks, apparently ironically, of supporting scientific debate! Amaze that they accuse Dr. Simon Singh of a malicious attack! Wonder how they can bend their spine in such a way as to allow easy cranial-anal interface! Ponder their motives in demanding that others speak nicely of them, while they speak ill of all!

This is really why I don’t like libel laws anywhere UK or US – it’s just too easy to bring bogus, malicious libel claims like the BCA has launched against Simon Singh. Judges in the UK and elsewhere seem all too willing to engage the insane. People with resources can easily force their hand against those without resources, effectively bullying opponents into compliance. That is the problem. Personally, I would have liked to see the initial judge toss the complaint out, laughing.

BCA Response to Decision on Right of Appeal 14th October 2009

British Chiropractic Association (BCA) v Singh

Dr. Simon Singh has been granted permission to appeal against the decision of Mr. Justice Eady. As the Claimant is not permitted to be represented in a hearing of this nature, the Judge of the Court of Appeal, Lord Justice Laws, did not have the benefit of being able to consider all the issues, nor indeed, has he heard any argument from the BCA.

Dr. Singh has used this case as a platform to argue that science writers should be immune from the law of libel and be free to write what they please. Ever since the Eady decision of 7th May 2009 he has engaged in a high profile media campaign to assert that the BCA’s action is a restriction of the freedom of speech. It is nothing of the sort.

The BCA supports and would never seek to stifle legitimate open scientific debate. However, this action is actually a simple libel claim based on the fact that the BCA was maliciously attacked by Dr. Singh in the Guardian newspaper. When given the opportunity to retract his words and apologise, Dr. Singh refused. This claim has been brought to restore the good reputation of the BCA and that of its members.

Dr. Singh may now put his case before a full Court of Appeal. Here the BCA will, for the first time, have the opportunity to present its case. The BCA remains confident that once in possession of all the facts the presiding judges will refuse the Appeal.

Does Ms. Rogers not understand that pneumonia is a potentially dangerous infection if left untreated? Perhaps she thinks that smelling essential oils and drinking mystical chinese tea and ‘lifestyle coaching’ are all that is needed to ward off an infection?

Oh, right, Ms. Rogers has a bit of a history as the local new age kook at this free weekly paper in Toronto;

• You Want… To Get Through The Year Without Getting Pneumonia


• Wild medicine – Herbal remedies grow like weeds in Toronto yards and parks


• Get well without going broke – Three pay-less options for better health, whether you seek medical care, a relaxing rub or a good, deep stretch


• Booster shots – Toronto holistic health experts share their best tips on how to improve your immune system to fight the running-around rundown blues.


• 2009 Resolver- Looking ahead to a healthier, happier new year

Pneumonia can result from a variety of causes, including infection with bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites, and chemical or physical injury to the lungs (Wikipedia).

Things that might help; stop smoking, get a vaccine against common pneumonia agents, and see a doctor if you’re having trouble breathing. Getting a massage may feel great, but it does nothing to boost your immune system or to fight off infections of any sort.

Wikipedia on the prognosis of those with pneumonia:

With treatment, most types of bacterial pneumonia can be cleared within two to four weeks. Viral pneumonia may last longer, and mycoplasmal pneumonia may take four to six weeks to resolve completely. The eventual outcome of an episode of pneumonia depends on how ill the person is when he or she is first diagnosed.

In the United States, about one of every twenty people with pneumococcal pneumonia die.[29] In cases where the pneumonia progresses to blood poisoning (bacteremia), just over 20% of sufferers die.

The death rate (or mortality) also depends on the underlying cause of the pneumonia. Pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma, for instance, is associated with little mortality. However, about half of the people who develop methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) pneumonia while on a ventilator will die. In regions of the world without advanced health care systems, pneumonia is even deadlier. Limited access to clinics and hospitals, limited access to x-rays, limited antibiotic choices, and inability to treat underlying conditions inevitably leads to higher rates of death from pneumonia. For these reasons, the majority of deaths in children under five due to pneumococcal disease occur in developing coutries.

Damina refers people to a Naturopathic Clinic for weight loss and cancer care. For hangovers and chronic pain, she suggests shiatsu and accupuncture, and for all the general malaise sort of things (chronic fatigue?) she recommends the local school of homeopathic “medicine”.

Nowhere is there even a small suggestion that someone should actually see a doctor if they’re coughing up blood or if they have a tumor… Nothing.

Unqualified quackery, aimed at new students who may not know better, and framing it as “Wellness.”

You Want… To Get Through The Year Without Getting Pneumonia
Favourite Add to your favorite Recommend: 0 BY Damian Rogers August 26, 2009 17:08

Fuck the flu. Even without the threat of a pandemic spreading across campus, students suffer through all kinds of pressures that diminish their health and well-being, from lack of sleep to stress headaches to binge drinking to regrettable sex. The complementary health sector offers some powerful alternatives to feeling like ass all the time, but racking up a whack of bills for massage therapy sessions might just make you edgier. The following healthcare education institutions feature respected student clinics that give you the chance to sample various approaches on a tight budget.

Robert Schad Naturopathic Clinic at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, 1255 Sheppard E., 416-498-9763, www.ccnm.edu

The program: Naturopathic medicine is a distinct system of primary healthcare that seeks to address root causes of illness and promotes the body’s own healing ability through natural therapies that include acupuncture, Asian medicine, botanical medicine, clinical nutrition, homeopathic medicine, lifestyle counselling and physical treatments like massage and hydrotherapy. Graduates are called naturopathic doctors.

What to expect: Go on their website to fill out and submit the adult intake form, which asks about your medical history and physical habits (how much you exercise, what you eat on an average day, etc.). Clinic patients are assigned to a senior intern — a student in their final year of schooling — under the direct supervision of a regulated naturopathic doctor. The initial appointment takes about 90 minutes and follow-up appointments last an hour — much better than the 10 minutes you often get from a rushed family doctor. Book ahead — the clinic sees more than 100 patients a day.

Best for: Pretty much everything. The clinic has focused programs for treating weight loss, cancer care and sports injuries, but since naturopathic medicine has a preventative focus, many patients go to the clinic with the goal of raising their overall health.

Clinic hours: Mon 2:45pm-7pm; Tue-Fri 8:45am-7pm; Sat 9:45am-5pm.

Rates: $65 initial consultation; $40 follow-up appointments. (Compare with professional rates, which run around $150-$200 for the initial and up to $120 for follow-ups.)

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The Shiatsu School of Canada Student Teaching Clinic, 547 College, 416-323-1818 x: 23,
www.shiatsucanada.com

The program: The shiatsu theory diploma program runs two years full-time or three years part-time. The acupuncture diploma program runs three years part-time.

What to expect: The clinic treats several people at once in an open area where students are supervised by instructors. Clients discuss concerns with both the student and his or her supervisor; it’s an open environment that encourages clients to ask questions as well. Don’t get too attached to the student working your meridian points, though; they are only allowed to see each client five times to ensure they receive a variety of experience.

Best for: Both shiatsu massage and acupuncture can help address a wide range of issues, from insomnia to chronic pain to hangovers.

Clinic hours: The Shiatsu Student Teaching Clinic operates Wed only, 10:15am, 12:15pm, 2:45pm and 4:30pm. The Acupuncture Student Clinic operates Mon and Thu 6:15pm, 7:30pm, 8:45pm; ?Sun 10:15am, 11:30am, 2pm, 3:15pm, 4:30pm.

Rates: $35 for about an hour and 20 minutes of shiatsu; $20-$65 for an acupuncture session.

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The Toronto School of Homeopathic Medicine, 1881 Yonge, ste 500, 416-966-2350, www.homeopathy-canada.com.

The program: The school offers a three-year specialized program that leads to a diploma. Unlike naturopaths, homeopaths are currently unable to use the term “doctor” according to Ontario law, something that is controversial within the community. The system, developed in the late 18th century by a German doctor named Samuel Hahnemann, is practised around the world.

What to expect: After filling out a questionnaire, your first visit will last about an hour and a half and you will be asked to speak at length about your illness or concerns and the related issues. Patients often find this to be a powerful experience and it can sometimes be quite emotional. After the consultation, your homeopath will prescribe the appropriate homeopathic treatment.

Best for: Because homeopathy addresses the whole person, it’s especially good for disease prevention and for treating interconnected issues, like a pattern of stress and anxiety that causes insomnia, headaches and an inability to focus.

Clinic hours: Thu-Fri 10am-7pm.

Rates: $40 initial consultation, $25 follow-up. This includes all taxes and the prescribed homeopathic remedy.

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It’s classic Crazy Person, so I couldn’t just delete it, so it gets its very own post for you to enjoy while I go enjoy Taylor Martinson’s china passport and money. Whoo!

Submitted on 2009/07/07 at 4:23am
my name is martin taylor is me doing program in china and i win world market shanghai china in fact am not happy about cctv you people calling my name every day and every time i need my money or my china passport and my America passport you people enjoy my money in beijing but am not enjoy am sufer in side room doing program i never see any payment money only i hear about billions of dollors and billions of yuan i never see any $1 why people walked me martin handle global net work is me handle world ecomoic so is me world health and world wide watch like me hurry every day why infact only God can george now check this no money to pay my house rent no money to buy food infact i need my market document undersand me i need my payment in guangzhou i need cerdit card information

I graduated with my Associate Degree in December 2006. I walked June 12 of 2007. Then I took a semester off. I went back to College for my Bachelor Degree in April 2008. I recently graduated with my Bachelors in April 2009. I am seeking a reimbursment [sic] of $70,000 from my tutision [sic] because the office of Career Advancement Information Technology Couselors [sic] are not making sure their e-recruiting clients call the graduates that recently finished College for a [sic] interview to get a job placement. They have not tried hard enough to help. I also want to sue them for the stress I have been going through.

A college student being under stress? How is that the college’s fault. Show me someone who isn’t under stress, and I’ll show you someone who is independently wealthy with average or failing grades and likely a drug abuse problem.

Someone looking for work is under stress? Please. Unless there’s a work placement for on the job experience as part of the course, the college owes you nothing.

Trina later describes the nature of the action as;

The Office of Career Advancement did not help me with a Full Time job placement. I am also sueing them because of the stress I have been going through.

She then breaks down what she’s looking for with regard to settlement;

I am asking for a $70,000 reimbursment [sic] and $2,000 for the stress I have been going through looking for a Full Time job on my own.

She then fills in a blanks indicating the total damages sought should Monroe fail to appear in court, where judgement will be entered by default for the sum of;

75,000

I think that maybe she should take her next degree in math.

A man wearing a T-shirt depicting a cartoon character holding a gun was stopped from boarding a flight by the security at Heathrow’s Terminal 5.

Brad Jayakody, from Bayswater, central London, said he was “stumped” at the objection to his Transformers T-shirt.

Mr Jayakody said he had to change before boarding as security officers objected to the gun, held by the cartoon character.

Airport operator BAA said it was investigating the incident.

Mr Jayakody said the incident happened a few weeks ago, when he was challenged by an official during a pre-flight security check.

“He says, ‘we won’t be able to let you through because your T-shirt has got a gun on it’,” Mr Jayakody said.

“I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’.

“[The official's] supervisor comes over and goes ‘sorry we can’t let you through and you’ve a gun on your T-shirt’,” he said.

Mr Jayakody said he had to strip and change his T-shirt there before he was allowed to board his flight.

“I was just looking for someone with a bit of common sense,” he said.

“It’s a cartoon robot – what threat is it to security or offensive to anyone at all?”

A BAA spokesman said there was no record of the incident and no “formal complaint” had been made.

“If a T-shirt had a rude word or a bomb on it, for example, a passenger may be asked to remove it,” he said.

“We are investigating what happened to see if it came under this category.

“If it’s offensive, we don’t want other passengers upset.”

He was allowed to board after changing his t-shirt. Poly / cotton blends are known supporters of terrorism. Didn’t file a complaint over an incident ‘weeks ago’… does kind of water down the complaint if it isn’t documented. Sadly, the story is just too believable.