Philosophy and Critical Thinking for Children – Skeptic Zone Vodcast
The following videos were in an unedited version of the TANK Vodcast last year – here they are now in properly formated condition.
Interview with Professor Jeff Malpas – Dr Jeff Malpas interview on the origins and efforts with primary school students in Australia and the need for wider society to encourage critical thinking in schools.
Interviews with Dr Stephan Millett and Dr Alan Tapper – interview on the efforts in Western Australia to implement critical thinking into mainstream secondary education.
Get Skeptic Zone To Perth!
Skeptic Spaghetti Monster Comes to Perth!
We’ve got a wonderful opportunity – and we need your help, Skeptic Zone listeners!
Earlier this year, Richard and Rachael presented at the University of Melbourne, thanks to the generous patronage of the Young Australian Skeptics and their first-class podcast ‘The Pseudo Scientists‘.
Now we’d like to go across country to help bring skepticism to a town that can really benefit from a skeptical-boost!
The University of Western Australia is holding an Open Day in early August (August 9th) and the plan is to have a presentation on the 8th August – thanks to the efforts of the Atheists and Agnostics Society of UWA.
A repeat performance of the highly-successful Richard Saunders‘ talk ‘Skepticism 101‘ and the dedicated Dr Rachael Dunlop with ‘Dr Rachie Reports: Adventures of a Scientist in an Alternative Medicine World‘ is on the cards – along with a possible student-led activity beforehand, to help raise the profile of the Atheist and Agnostic Society on campus. It’ll be fun, it’ll be informative and it’ll be a don’t-miss show!
In addition, we’re hoping to make an appearance at the Perth Atheists‘ regular pub-event, with an impromptu ‘Think Tank’ session. We’re hoping that can be on the Sunday, 9th August for a late lunch. In conjunction with the WA Humanist Society, it’ll be a great opportunity for everyone to get to know each other and be a part of the show!
That’s where we need donations to help make this happen!
- First – flights over! From Sydney to Perth (and back, as much as we’d love to keep them here!)
- There’s the venue hire at UWA – with about $100 to get space at UWA, for not only the Skeptic Zone presentation but to showcase the Atheist and Agnostic society who will present too.
We’re hoping to keep the door-fees for the UWA event low (as a student myself, I can relate!) by gold-coin donation at the door (every bit helps though) – so please help by pledging at Paypal:
Australian Dollars donation - Paypal – also on the Skeptic Zone site here
US Dollars donation – Paypal
If you’re in Sydney, I know that there’s also an opportunity to chip in via the The Sydney Sceptics Meetup Group – and we’ll keep people tuned in for other events at UWA and online that will help raise funds for this event.
Please, send in ideas, pop the dates in your calendar – and donate to make it happen! 
Homeopathy gets a smackdown, and the death of a toddler under tragic circumstances at an alt-med clinic.
But first up, some good news for consumer protection in Australia.
Today’s alternative medicine smack-down comes to you courtesy of a sceptical colleague, Michael, who submitted a complaint to our government regulator, The Complaints Resolution Panel, several months ago. Michael’s complaints pertained to a homeopathy website, arnicamontana.com.au which was spruiking all manner of dubious products and making equally dubious claims.
Arnica Montana sell homeopathic first aid kits, homeopathic remedies for emergencies, makes claims that homeopathy is useful for serious health conditions and also tow the anti-vax line, in articles promoting the AVN and bragging about refusing the whooping cough vaccine.
This week Michael was advised that all his complaints were upheld and as a result, Arnica Montana were instructed to comply with the following sanctions: Withdrawal of Advertisement, Withdrawal of Representation and Publication of Retraction.
Regular listeners to the Zone may remember I called these people out back in February, just after the Victorian bush fires, after a listener alerted me to a passage on their website which said the following;
“In the light of recent events in Bali and the bush fires in the Eastern States of Australia information about the use of Homeopathy by the ordinary person is knowledge that should be shared.”
I called this claim offensive, not only to the deceased in Bali and Victoria, but also to the skilled health professionals working tirelessly with the burns victims using medicine and science, not magic water. Indeed, these particular claims were questioned by Michael and upheld by The Panel. You can see the full list below.
The advertiser was given an opportunity to respond to the criticisms, and rejected the allegation that there was “anything deceptive or misleading” in the advertisement/website. They claimed that the website was “intended to be an information website to educate the public about the use of homeopathic remedies” but not to the exclusion of any other system of medicine.
But the Panel deemed the website breached sections of the code which prohibit advertisements for products that;
“abuse the trust or exploit the knowledge of consumers” and was “likely to arouse unwarranted and unrealistic expectations of product effectiveness”.
This was based on the panel’s finding that “….no persuasive evidence was provided that the advertised products could have benefits in relation to the wide range of conditions referred to”.
In response the advertiser stated that “controlled trials cannot be used for homeopathy but [that] there is a mass of unpublished evidence”. (Is this because when they are used, they almost always turn up negative?).
In any case, there have testimonials all over the website…isn’t this evidence enough? Not for the Panel, who also called these into question, by stating that the advertiser did not provide evidence that any of the testimonials in the advertisement were genuine.
According to the advertising code; testimonials “must be documented, genuine, not misleading and illustrate typical cases only”. The panel cited this testimonial as an example of a breach;
“the calendula cream I make is specific to cancer skin keratoses and I have successfully treated many of these and established melanonas by using the sage cream at night and the calendula during the day”.
Overall, Michael received 9 pages of correspondence and I waded through all of it, which I’m very glad I did because buried deep in the text was this.
The Panel noted that the advertisement breached section 4(5) of the code; “..by implying that other therapeutic goods (namely vaccines and sunscreens) could be harmful….”
So it is unlawful to imply that other therapeutic goods are harmful, like vaccines? I wonder where this places the AVN? (Although given that they do not sell therapeutic goods, to the best of my knowledge, then I don’t think they are breaching this section of the code). This is a very interesting piece of legislation and one that I will file away for future reference.
One of the big things about the decision was that The Panel deemed the entire website to be an advertisement.
Since it was clear that the website offered a range of products for sale, the Panel was satisfied it constituted an advertisement for therapeutic goods. Interestingly, the complaint summary cites the subject matter of the complaint as “website advertisement” and the sanctions as “withdrawal of advertisement”, thus implying the entire website is to be withdrawn. If you go to the website, you will see the published retraction, but the remainder of the website still functions as normal. I wonder when and if we will see the entire website removed.
Not a very happy UK homeopathy week for some…
The tragic death of a toddler in a freak accident at an alt-med clinic.
What makes this story even more sad is that the death occurred in the Favira clinic in Adelaide, which is the home of Elvira Brunt, an alternative therapist who claims to be able to cure cancer with massage. More on this is a moment, but reports say the 18-month-old girl was crushed to death by a massage table while her mother was being treated.
A police inspector who attended the scene said; “A young, 18-month-old child, a girl, has died as a result of being trapped in a component of a massage table…the child was under the table when it started to be lowered.”
Regular readers might remember the Favira alternative medicine clinic from a previous Dr Rachie when I mentioned that she has advised the father of a young girl with leukemia to feed her KFC to get her kidneys functioning again. A current parliamentary enquiry in South Australia had received several submissions from members of the public about the dubious practices of Ms Brunt. Tragically, the enquiry is ongoing, hence Elvira Brunt is still practicing.
On the same day that the child died the Enquiry into Bogus, Unregistered and Deregistered Health Practitioners report named Elvira Brunt, as a person of interest, for allegedly claiming she could cure cancer through abdominal massage, encouraging patients to stop normal treatment and requiring cash payments for services.
Other alternative therapists to be “named and shamed” were ELIZABETH GOLDWAY, for allegedly saying she could cure cancer, charging thousands of dollars for treatment and not providing receipts. MONICA MILKA, for allegedly claiming she could cure cancer with injections to “kill the worms” that were causing the problem. LUBOMIR BATELKA, who allegedly subjected a patient to “vaginal blowing” with an ozone therapy machine, saying it offered a “50 per cent cure” for cancer.
The member of parliament, Ian Hunter who tabled the report said;
“While some . . . practitioners may be delusional – convinced they are able to cure serious medical conditions – the evidence presented to the committee suggested that others are driven by greed and, in some cases, sexual gratification.” “The committee heard shocking stories from people who said their loved ones had been exploited when they were at their most vulnerable, who were given false hope and who wasted thousands of dollars on bogus treatments,” he said.
The committee stated while most practitioners were ethical, proper regulation, monitoring, and exposure of unethical behaviour was needed. The committee recommended the State Government establish legislation, similar to the code of conduct introduced in New South Wales last year, to regulate health practitioners and mechanisms to monitor them.
Although it seems likely that Elvira Brunt will be banned from practicing eventually, it will be too little too late for many, including now an 18-month-old girl. You can read the full story here.
An open letter to Australian parents about vaccination
The Australian Skeptics have produced an open letter to the parents of Australia, warning them about the dangers of taking vaccination advice from The Australian Vaccination Network.
To download a high resolution pdf version, click here. We encourage you to distribute this widely; drop off a copy at your local child care centre or pin one of the community notice board.
We need as many parents as possible to see this information to warn them about the dangers and consequences of taking advice about vaccines from scaremongering groups such as the AVN.
Episode 33 – Skeptic Zone and Young Australian Skeptics!
Thanks to Dahli of YAS for the photo!
Adventures in Melbourne and meeting The Young Australian Skeptics! You can find their site at http://www.youngausskeptics.com/ and do subscribe to their podcast too!
A Grain of Salt – With Eran Segev on (W)Holistic Health Care
Dr Rachie Reports With Dr Rachael Dunlop on radionics, homeopathy/ezcema, the libel court case and Simon Singh (learn more here!)
THE THINK TANK – Richard Saunders, Dr Rachael Dunlop, Dianne, Eran Segev and Dave the Happy Singer
Don’t forget - Those in ADELAIDE – please support Simon Singh. Attend his lecture at Elder Hall, Sunday July 12th, 10:30-11:15 am.
Episode 31 – Women Get Skeptical!
Dianne, Joanne and Dr Rachael Dunlop
An excellent episode out, with medical myths, health profession, education and child-rearing all under the critical eye of Dr Rachael Dunlop and special ‘Think Tank’ guests Joanne and Dianne!
How does one question pseudo-scientific cures? What products are currently targeting specific diseases and health concerns? And most importantly – how can you get a laugh out of it all rather than just feeling disempowered and upset? The ladies of the Think Tank talk it out and show how its done.
Don’t forget to pop in a ratings on iTunes – and WE’LL SEE YOU AT the MELBOURNE UNI thanks to the Young Aust Skeptics!! 
Skeptic Zone’s Tiffany Day On 365 Days Of Astronomy Podcast
Head to the world-renown podcast 365 Days of Astronomy – to hear a Day present!
Date: May 14, 2009
Title: A Tour of Sydney Observatory
Description: A tour of Sydney Observatory with reporter Tiffany Day and Geoff Wyatt, the Senior Astronomy Educator. We learn about the history and research of the Observatory.
Bio: The Skeptic Zone Podcast – The Podcast from Australia for Science and Reason, produced by Richard Saunders is Australia’s leading skeptical podcast with reports from around the world.
Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe And Dr Rachael Dunlop – Episode #198!
For further news and discussion on the anti-vaccination lobby in Australia (and world-wide!), head to the most recent episode of the Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe.
At about thirty-two minutes into the program, Dr Rachael ‘Rachie’ Dunlop is introduced, and the projects that she has contributed to.
There is a detailed discussion of the events that you will have heard on the Skeptic Zone episode #29, such as the events behind the TV show Sunday Night and the pro-science production of the vaccination report. She further goes on to discuss the resulting ‘debate’ that happened on the next broadcast and the ongoing issues with the anti-vaccination lobby. Check out the show and remember to zip in a thank you to the SGU for featuring Dr Rachie!
Episode 29, anti-vaxers, Mind Body Spirit festival and Adelaide Gaol tour
Anti-vaxers
You can join the Facebook page, Stop the AVN and sign the petition here. Dana McCaffery’s facebook page is here. A website dedicated to her memory is here.
Some good links which offer information about vaccination;
The Australian Government’s publication, Myths and Realities about Vaccination (pdf)
The Truth About the Evils of Vaccination
The Australian Immunisation handbook for health professionals
Vaccinate your baby
Mind Body Spirit
To see the Code of Conduct which was introduced by the NSW Department of Health in August 2008 click here (pdf file). I talked about this legislation on last week’s episode of Dr Rachie Reports.
Adelaide Gaol Ghost Tour
For more information about Alison O’Born, visit her website at paranormalfieldinvestigators.com which also has an interview with Richard Saunders.
To find more information about the Adelaide Gaol Torchlight tours, phone the gaol on (Adelaide) 8231 4062 or go to their webiste
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