Stanislaw Burzynski has never heard of Barbra Streisand

A one Rhys Morgan posts on his blog doubts about Stanislaw Burzynski's cancer treatment.

Well! Hell hath no fury.

Eventually, I decided to write a rather scathing blog about Burzynski and the treatment...The thought of someone being promised an effective treatment when in fact, it’s at best unproven disgusts me. The blog went up on August 11th, 2011. A few comments were posted but it soon disappeared into obscurity again. Other friends of mine have written blogs about the same subject – in particular, Keir Liddle of The 21st Floor and Jennifer Keane, a.k.a ZenBuffy. These particular blogs are excellent and go into a lot more detail about the false hope dilemma.

Orac, of Respectful Insolence, has gone into a lot of detail about Burzynski’s background and the antineoplaston therapy – it’s a blog that I strongly recommend you read.

Then, out of the blue, on the 3rd of November, I received an email from a man called Marc Stephens, claiming to represent the Burzynski Clinic. He was threatening to sue me for libel for my previous blog about the Burzynski Clinic.

Read more here and here.

Doctor sued for 'branding' patient's uterus

You can't make this shit up:

A California gynecologist is being sued for branding a patient's name on her uterus using an "electrocautery device."

Dr. Red Alinsod removed Ingrid Paulicivic's uterus during an operation at his Orange County office in 2006, according to the complaint posted on The Smoking Gun's website. The Laguna Beach doctor carved "Ingrid" on the organ, according to the site, because he "did not want to get it confused with others."

Alinsod told the site that labeling of body parts in that manner is not typical. But, he said, he "felt comfortable putting her name on the uterus" since the 47-year-old hairdresser was a "good friend."

Not anymore I would think.

Read more here.

The West Wing takes on Dr. Laura

Thus getting to the core of Christian hypocrisy, cherry picking which commandments to follow and which to ignore, to suit the prejudices of the day.

Dr. Laura: Good Riddance

Embattled radio talk show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger announced Tuesday she will not renew her contract that is up at the end of the year, telling CNN's "Larry King Live" she wants to "regain my First Amendment rights."

The right to be a hateful old croan it seems.


Read more here.

Pediatric Major Depressive Disorder: Now we can cure teenage!

While out a breakfast this morning I heard a fucked up radio ad for some clinical study, asking you to send your "depressed" child as a lab rat subject.

The good people at Studying Children Administered Medication (S.C.A.M.)* direct you to a site where these are listed as "signs of depression".

Frequent sadness, or crying
Decreased interest in activities
Persistent boredom; low energy
Social isolation
Low self-esteem and guilt
Extreme sensitivity to rejection or failure
Increased irritability, anger, or hostility
Frequent absences from school or poor performance in school
Poor concentration
A major change in eating and/or sleeping patterns
Talk of, or efforts to run away from home

I know I'm not a doctor, but that just sounds like teenage to me. It feels like someone at a drug company just finished a training manual entitled "Get 'Em While They're Young".

Testing drugs on an underage victim, a drug that might have long term effects well into adulthood, without their consent, seems unethical at best. I pity the poor kids subjected to this nonsense.

* not their real name, but sure as hell should be. They are not affiliated with Coke For Kids, or Oh My God My Child Showed An Emotion, Stamp It Out Immediately.

Visit kidswithdepression.com.

Psychiatrist Mark Goulston: Idiot of the Day

Now the studios are hiring quacks to tell us what is funny and what isn't?

On the other end of the spectrum are those viewers who don’t like Bruno, who typically feel victimized by the world and who take themselves very seriously. Their core identity is that of a victim, Goulston says.

"Show me someone who’s really offended by Bruno and I’ll show you a highly self-righteous person," he says. "These people feel that the world already treats them the way Bruno treats people.”

The movie tends to bring out the adolescent rebel in us, Goulston says.

The "adolescent" part, he's dead on....

Read more here.