A while ago, I was a paid-up member but opted out after a hell-of-a-roasting for defending the cramp-killing properties of Cramp Stop. I was told it was unscientific nonsense due to its "6c" homeopathic dilution (Arnica, Magnesium, Cuprum, Nux Vomica).
Jonathan Milne's Powder Keg podcast about AG1 and its founder, Chris Ashenden, is equal parts frustrating and fascinating. Fascinating with regards to the depth and breadth of his investigation, and frustrating to hear about how he was allegedly scooped by Scott Carney in May 2024. Carney re-broke the story about Ashenden's criminal charges, information Milne says that Carney would not have possessed if Milne hadn't shared that information first. But them's the breaks when you're a professional journalist in a lawsuit-phobic country, and maybe the October 2024 release of Powder Keg ultimately worked in its favour as it would be Carney who would bear the brunt of AG1's initial legal posturing, while Milne's work down under continued to be underestimated. Audio clips are played throughout the podcast in which Ashenden downplays the seriousness of the charges he faced. As Milne notes, Ashenden allegedly misleads his audiences about the extent to which reparations were and were not paid, and frames the whole real estate debacle as something he persevered without any remorse about the victims. Milne, for his part, interviewed Ashenden's former employees, investors, and ex-tenants with minimal interference.
In Homeopathy news, Edzard Ernst, retired academic physician and specialist in complementary and alternative medicine (and skeptic hero) has created a “challenge for all homeopaths of the world”. In a similar way to the James Randi Educational Foundation's one million dollar paranormal challenge, Ernst has come up with a scientific way for homeopaths to “prove” their worth. What entrants need to do is identify the contents of 6 homeopathic solutions that they have chosen, but that have been transferred into containers marked 1 – 6 by a notary and sent back to them.
The Natural Health Products Bill passed its first reading in Parliament in September. It appears to have wide support across most political parties, and those who follow such things expect it to pass into law next year without significant amendment (www.lawfuel.co.nz/releases/release.asp?NewsID=2763).
Jay Mann delivered this address with accompanying liquid refreshment (with and without MSG) at last year's conference.
John Riddell spends a lot of time in the pub. Ask his wife. Often, over a pint or two, some bloke or blokess spouts forth some new age dogma which naturally requires correction.. Now a seasoned debater, he this month begins a regular series sharing his collection of responses honed to the mental capabilities of your average bar-room intellectual.
On Thursday, 19 August 1993, the Christchurch Press carried a full-page advertisement for the initial New Zealand opening of the "Matrol Opportunity".
Magic potions made from natural ingredients are generally hailed as environmentally friendly. But is this necessarily true? Not if you're a rhinocerous!