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Author Topic: 200.000 Pounds Sterling later...  (Read 3313 times)

ama

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200.000 Pounds Sterling later...
« on: August 17, 2008, 11:35:01 PM »

British Chiropractic Association v. Simon Singh


http://www.badscience.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5923

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British Chiropractic Association v. Simon Singh

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British Chiropractic Association v. Simon Singh

by Blue Wode on Sat Aug 16, 2008 10:51 pm
Last month we saw the New Zealand Chirpractors' Association threaten the New Zealand Medical Journal and Professor David Colquhoun with legal action...
http://dcscience.net/?p=245

...and now this month we have the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) taking Simon Singh to court:

Doctors take Simon Singh to Court

Last Updated: 8:05PM BST 16 Aug 2008

Simon Singh expected to arouse controversy when he claimed that chiropracters knowingly promoted bogus treatments for illnesses including asthma and ear infections. The bestselling author and Bafta-winning broadcaster did not, however, expect to have a High Court writ issued against him.

Mandrake can disclose that the presenter of the Channel Four series The Code Book is being sued for libel by the British Chiropractic Association.

"It wasn't a decision taken lightly," says Dr Antoni Jakubowski, a member of the association's governing council. "I know that a lot of thought went into this."

Dr Jakubowski, whose patients have included the golfers Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam and Justin Rose, adds: "It's a terrible shame he made those comments and he has been given a full opportunity to take them back. However, he hasn't."

The association has taken the unusual step of suing Singh himself rather than the newspaper that published his claims, The Guardian.

The article was about his recently published book Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine On Trial, in which he made various claims about the treatments offered by chiropracters.

Chiropractic is a therapeutic system based on the principle that the body can heal itself when the skeletal system is correctly aligned and the nervous system is functioning properly.

Once seen as a branch of complementary medicine, it has become an increasingly mainstream form of therapy and is now offered by many NHS trusts.

Although it has become a widely accepted treatment for acute pain and problems of the spine, such as whiplash, the evidence for applications beyond that is hotly debated.

There are ongoing studies into the usefulness of chiropractic for such problems as ear infections and infant colic and it is these which Singh was discussing in his contentious article.

Singh, who has a PhD in particle physics from Cambridge University, has written several bestselling books including Fermat's Last Theorem, which he turned into a Bafta Award-winning documentary for the BBC's Horizon programme.

"I will contest this action vigorously," says Singh, who was awarded an MBE in 2003 for services to science. "There is an important issue of freedom of speech at stake. Sadly, I cannot speak about it at this early stage because I have already engaged lawyers."

No doubt, the case will be followed closely by the practitioners of other much-maligned branches of alternative medicine, such as homeothapy, which has been trumpeted by the Prince of Wales.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... court.html


Anyone else think that this might backfire on the BCA (and the New Zealand Chiropractors' Association)?
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Re: British Chiropractic Association v. Simon Singh

by Allo V Psycho on Sat Aug 16, 2008 11:56 pm
I'd like to contribute to a fighting fund - is there a way to do this? Let's fight a case we know we can believe in, to the max.
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Re: British Chiropractic Association v. Simon Singh

by puzzlebobble on Sat Aug 16, 2008 11:56 pm
I hope so.
Arseholes.
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Re: British Chiropractic Association v. Simon Singh

by Tessa K on Sun Aug 17, 2008 9:42 am
That's a pretty disingenuous description of chiropractic, making it sound little different from physio.

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Re: British Chiropractic Association v. Simon Singh

by lecanardnoir on Sun Aug 17, 2008 9:43 am
Simon's article has gone from CiF on the Guardian web site. Does anyone have a copy in their local cache?
On the Internet, nobody knows you're a quack.

http://www.quackometer.net/

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Re: British Chiropractic Association v. Simon Singh

by Tessa K on Sun Aug 17, 2008 9:57 am
In May, Mahlon Wagner came to Skeptics in the Pub and gave a talk on chiropractic. He really knows it inside out and thoroughly demolished it.

http://skeptic.org.uk/pub/archive/ and scroll down to May.

He wrote a short piece about it back in 05

http://quackfiles.blogspot.com/2005/03/ ... agner.html

I wonder if Singh could call him as an expert witness?

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Re: British Chiropractic Association v. Simon Singh

by Blue Wode on Sun Aug 17, 2008 10:35 am
lecanardnoir wrote:
Simon's article has gone from CiF on the Guardian web site. Does anyone have a copy in their local cache?

I don’t have the original article, but I’ve cobbled together the following excerpts from it. It wasn’t a long article, so there won’t be a great amount of text missing between the paragraphs:
Beware the spinal trap

This is Chiropractic Awareness Week. So let's be aware. How about some awareness that may prevent harm and help you make truly informed choices? Some practitioners claim it is a cure-all but research suggests chiropractic therapy can be lethal.

First, you might be surprised to know that the founder of chiropractic therapy, Daniel David Palmer, wrote that, "99% of all diseases are caused by displaced vertebrae". In the 1860s, Palmer began to develop his theory that the spine was involved in almost every illness because the spinal cord connects the brain to the rest of the body. Therefore any misalignment could cause a problem in distant parts of the body.

You might think that modern chiropractors restrict themselves to treating back problems, but in fact they still possess some quite wacky ideas. The fundamentalists argue that they can cure anything. And even the more moderate chiropractors have ideas above their station. The British Chiropractic Association claims that their members can help treat children with colic, sleeping and feeding problems, frequent ear infections, asthma and prolonged crying, even though there is not a jot of evidence. This organisation is the respectable face of the chiropractic profession and yet it happily promotes bogus treatments.

But what about chiropractic in the context of treating back problems? Manipulating the spine can cure some problems, but results are mixed. To be fair, conventional approaches, such as physiotherapy, also struggle to treat back problems with any consistency. Nevertheless, conventional therapy is still preferable because of the serious dangers associated with chiropractic.

I will leave you with one message for Chiropractic Awareness Week - if spinal manipulation were a drug with such serious adverse effects and so little demonstrable benefit, then it would almost certainly have been taken off the market.

There’s also this just in from a lawyer on the case over at UK Skeptics:
It would seem that the suit is being brought by the BCA in respect of an allegation made against them in the article. As a legal person (a company) it can maintain an action in defamation, though in my opinion such a representative body should not be able to do so (public authorities cannot sue for libel under the "Derbyshire Rule"). It would be quite fun if, by bringing this action, the BCA prompt the courts into extending this restriction to such bodies. The resulting gunshot wound to the foot may not be amenable to help by a chiropractor...

In any case, under Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights, there is a right to freeedom of speech. I suspect the courts, even if they do not extend the Derbyshire Rule to representative bodies like the BCA, will be loathe to restrict the freedom of speech of a scientist writing in a comment section of a quality newspaper about an important aspect of public health - that is, the treatment of children. It is exactly this sort of freedom of speech which Article 10 is there to protect.

http://www.skeptics.org.uk/forum/showth ... 707&page=2


And the story also being covered at Holfordwatch and the Quackometer:

British chiropractors join the legal intimidation party
http://holfordwatch.info/2008/08/16/bri ... ion-party/

Chiropractors try to silence Simon Singh
http://www.quackometer.net/blog/2008/08 ... simon.html
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Re: British Chiropractic Association v. Simon Singh

by Blue Wode on Sun Aug 17, 2008 10:48 am
Gimpy now as well...
http://gimpyblog.wordpress.com/2008/08/ ... -evidence/
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Re: British Chiropractic Association v. Simon Singh

by Gimpy on Sun Aug 17, 2008 11:06 am
ta, if anybody has a copy of the full article I might reproduce it in full on my blog, I'm not resident in the UK so any libel action in the UK will not affect me.
I'm hatching a blog

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Re: British Chiropractic Association v. Simon Singh

by Dr Aust on Sun Aug 17, 2008 11:59 am
Anyone here got a cache link to the removed Simon Singh article? Would appreciate an email of the link to: draustblog *at* gmail-dot-com - if you don't want to post it here

And does anyone know exactly what in the article the bone-crackers are claiming is defamatory?

It is, of course, all eerily reminscent of The Quackometer vs. the Society of Homeopaths.

- a line that springs to mind is:

"It's like deja vu all over again" - American baseball player and manager Yogi Berra
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled" Richard P Feynman
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Re: British Chiropractic Association v. Simon Singh

by Mojo on Sun Aug 17, 2008 12:47 pm
Dr Aust wrote:
- a line that springs to mind is:

"It's like deja vu all over again" - American baseball player and manager Yogi Berra

Deja woo.
"In fact, the more I think of the amazing properties of homeopathic medicines the more I am convinced that if Samuel Hahnemann hadn't invented it, Douglas Adams would have." - UseSomeSense on commentisfree.guardian.co.uk

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Re: British Chiropractic Association v. Simon Singh

by Dr Aust on Sun Aug 17, 2008 1:03 pm
Mojo wrote:
Dr Aust wrote:
- a line that springs to mind is:

"It's like deja vu all over again" - American baseball player and manager Yogi Berra

Deja woo.


Nice one. I shall have to steal that.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled" Richard P Feynman
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Re: British Chiropractic Association v. Simon Singh

by Blue Wode on Sun Aug 17, 2008 1:07 pm
Dr Aust wrote:
Anyone here got a cache link to the removed Simon Singh article? Would appreciate an email of the link to: draustblog *at* gmail-dot-com - if you don't want to post it here


Here you are:
http://svetlana14s.narod.ru/Simon_Singh ... paper.html

Not sure if the long comments section will load, but grab it while you can anyway.

(With thanks to the person who posted the link in the comments section of the Quackometer's post)
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Re: British Chiropractic Association v. Simon Singh

by Gimpy on Sun Aug 17, 2008 1:27 pm
I've replicated the text here as well as providing references for all of Singh's claims.
http://gimpyblog.wordpress.com/2008/08/ ... opractors/
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... and now: Simon Sing has won!

... and now: Simon Sing has won!

... and now: Simon Sing has won!

... and now: Simon Sing has won!


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« Last Edit: April 01, 2010, 01:26:18 PM by ama »
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Kinderklinik Gelsenkirchen verstößt gegen die Leitlinien

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ama

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Re: 200.000 Pounds Sterling later...
« Reply #1 on: September 20, 2010, 03:45:56 PM »

[*QUOTE*]
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From      Simon Singh, Ben Goldacre and Peter Wilmshurst - can you help the libel reform campaign?
Date:     Mon, September 20, 2010 21:33

     
Dear Friends
       
We are emailing as victims of England’s libel laws to ask for your help at a
crucial time for libel reform.
       
The Government is writing a new defamation bill and is due to publish it in the New
Year. This will be the first time the libel laws have been substantively reviewed in
a century. The libel reform campaign is being led by small organisations and it has
been because of your wider support that we have got to this exciting stage. Your
petition signatures have helped draw attention to the problem, your emails to
politicians have helped raise awareness in Parliament, your donations have allowed
us to host meetings and produce campaign material, your blogs and tweets have helped
spread our message and your personal accounts of encounters with the libel laws have
helped us build the case for libel reform.
       
We have to take this unique opportunity now to ensure that the reforms in the
Government’s bill address the problems we have had to face and that the
campaign has been hearing about from scientists, bloggers, journalists, human rights
activists, biographers, novelists and many others. The libel reform campaign is
exploring the potential of alternative dispute resolution, talking to bloggers about
their experiences, surveying medical and science editors on the hidden costs of the
libel laws and is running events at the three main party conferences to try to
ensure the Government fulfils its pledges.
       
Can you donate £10 towards the costs of these at
www.justgiving.com/libelreform? If 1,000 people can help us at this crucial stage,
it will help engineer a truly effective libel reform bill, as opposed to one that
might be watered down by vested interests. We know how unfair and damaging the laws
are and we need your help to ensure no other scientist, writer, blogger or doctor
goes through what we did.
       
(If you are a UK tax payer, please tick the Gift Aid box so the campaign can make
the most of your donation. Thanks.)
       
Best
       
Ben Goldacre (Matthias Rath v Goldacre/Guardian)
       
Simon Singh (BCA v Singh)
       
Peter Wilmshurst (NMT v Wilmshurst) - ongoing
       
See details of the Libel Reform Campaign events at the 2010 Party Conferences here:
http://www.libelreform.org/news/469-libel-laws-stifle-debate-will-the-coalition-stop-the-chill
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ama

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Eine Email von heute:

[*QUOTE*]
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Internet discussions, bloggers guide launch, and yet another attempt to silence scientific discussion

From: Libel Reform Campaign

Dear Friends,
        It has been a busy few weeks for the Libel Reform Campaign.
        Internet discussion and libel laws
       
Yahoo!, Facebook, AOL UK, Mumsnet and the Internet Service Providers’
Association (ISPA) have written an open letter to Prime Minister David Cameron,
calling for urgent reform of our libel laws to protect online discussion. See the
letter to the Prime Minister and coverage in the media here: http://bit.ly/9KBBq5.
A new guide to libel laws for bloggers, ‘So you’ve had a threatening
letter. What can you do?’ and weblink button is now available too,
http://bit.ly/bYW5rB, together with a summary of the effects of libel laws on online
discussion which we shared with the Ministry of Justice.
       
Another attempt to silence scientific discussion
       
Many of you may have read about Dr Dalia Nield, a leading consultant plastic
surgeon, who was threatened with libel action for comments about the effectiveness
of a £125 'Boob Job' cream. (http://bit.ly/azmfcj)
        As we reach the first anniversary of the Libel Reform Campaign – more
on that soon – it is vital that we continue to build support to ensure
that the Government’s proposed draft Defamation Bill will make a real
difference to cases like these. Please ask others to add their voices at
www.libelreform.org
        Best,
        Síle and Mike
        P.S. Have you bought your Geek Calendar yet? This fundraising project for
the Libel Reform Campaign showcases 20 of the UK's geek heroes who have come
together to support libel reform. See some of the photos and buy the
calendar (the perfect Christmas present for the geek in your life) here:
http://geekcalendar.co.uk/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[*/QUOTE*]


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Government libel reform bill is about to be published
« Reply #3 on: March 07, 2011, 03:39:31 PM »

Eine Email von heute:

[*QUOTE*]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:    "Libel Reform Campaign"
Date:    Mon, March 7, 2011
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

***To get in touch with us use Reply-To Address news[bat]libelreform.org ***


Government libel reform bill is about to be published

Dear friends

The Government is due to publish its promised libel reform bill this month and we've just heard it could be as soon as next week. Your support has taken the campaign to this exciting point - can you help us again by writing to your MP?
         
We will be in Parliament on Thursday 10th March at 11.30 am in Committee Room 5 to launch our new campaign leaflet, "What should a Defamation Bill contain?” We need as many parliamentarians as possible to come and hear from us why they should support changes to the laws to protect free speech, scientific debate and internet publishing. Can you write to your MP and ask them to come along?
         
We will be joined by high profile supporters of the campaign and by people who have been affected by the current laws. Can you come too? You can still write to your MP and tell them you would like them to attend even if you can't make it. You'll be able to find your MP's email address here and we have pasted below a suggestion of the words you could use.
         
After the publication of the Bill we will continue to work with publishers, bloggers, scientists, editors, film makers, journalists, consumer groups, ISPs and individuals to make sure the suggested reforms will protect our freedom to debate and improve access to justice for everyone. Please continue to help us by donating to our new fund:
http://www.justgiving.com/libelreformappeal2011
         
Best,
         
Mike and Sile
         
 
         
Dear [my MP]
         
The Government is publishing its draft Defamation Bill this month. On Thursday 10th March the Libel Reform Campaign is launching their document on "What should a Defamation Bill contain?"
         
I support the campaign to change the libel laws to protect freedom of expression and access to justice for everyone. Will you attend the launch of the Libel Reform Campaign document at 11.30 am on Thursday 10th March in Committee Room 5?
         
I will be at the launch and hope to see you there.
         
Yours
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[*/QUOTE*]

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Re: 200.000 Pounds Sterling later...
« Reply #4 on: June 20, 2022, 11:51:04 AM »

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