Avid readers of this blog will no doubt remember "Dr" Christian Farthing, a spinal cracker who claimed to be a Doctor, but "not a Chiropractor, Osteopath or Medical Doctor". Perhaps this example demonstrates why DC has a very valid point.
The New Zealand Medical Journal have now received a letter from Quack Defender, Paul Radich, representing the New Zealand Chiropractors Association Inc. threatening legal proceedings unless a retraction is made.
Of course, these things have a habit of backfiring - remember Society of Homeopaths, Odd Obi, herbal blood cleanser Ann Walker - all ended in bloggers winning and the quacks losing more face, ground and credability than they'll ever realise.
Frank Frizelle, the editor of NZMJ, has robustly defended the journal (here - pdf alert) finishing with an imperfectly glorious phrase:
Let's hear your evidence, not your legal muscle
Imperfect, because I wish he'd written 'see' rather than 'hear' as hearing legal muscle doesn't work for me. Has anyone seen my anti-pedantry pills?
This story has been picked up in a few places:
Bad Science
HolfordWatch
JDC325
DC Improbable Science
Science & Progress
BPSDB
It's Friday, it's 5 O'Clock, it's time for Quack Attack!
ReplyDeleteDamnit, took me ages to find a title for my post on the BCA which wasn't too similar to any of the ones I'd already seen and now I find you beat me to it, and did it far better, over a week before.
ReplyDelete