Dear Homeopathic Friends,
I would like to draw your attention to the following website
http://www.badscience.net/forum/
Which supposedly 'debunks' things that are not 'scientific'. If you go onto the site and click on the badscience discussion page you will see a thread called 'Sue the young Homeopath'.
This thread is now 37 pages long and is basically not 'debunking' but tearing a real Homeopath apart. She (and I ) have active websites, high on the rankings and consequently come up on searches. She is being pulled apart BECAUSE SHE IS A HOMEOPATH.
I have copied the letter below to all the major publications in the Uk (the Times and 12 other papers and the General Medical Council) and the educational organisations in the list.
The man who 'runs' the site is called Dr Ben Michael Goldacre you can read his profile here http://www.badscience.net/?page_id=4

I joined their site for 3 days to see what they are up to and its a sad reflection of how one man's 'funny idea' has turned into a campaign to kill off Homeopathy.

It's one thing not wanting to use Homeopathy, its another when certain people organise sustained attacks against our chosen field of work.If you look at their 'shop' they sell T shirts implying that Homeopaths are monkeys......In the Uk there is a concerted effort to remove the Homeopathic hospitals we have, and as you will see, also the professional Homeopaths in private practice such as myself.

Would YOU like to be called a 'Moron'?.....

Mary English DSH RSHom
www.maryenglish.co.uk

Dear Sir,
I am writing to draw your attention to a journalist from the Guardian newspaper who has created an on-line, Internet 'discussion' forum to debunk anything that hasn't got a 'scientific' water-tight, signed in triplicate, peer-group reviewed explanation.
I am sure I don't have to furnish you with the intimate details of this person, or their site but I would like to point-out the following facts.
The forum has over 4000 members. Around 50 of them regularly 'post' messages and 'discuss' points of interest.
I'm not worried about the 'members' in far-flung countries who have probably joined to spend some time reading members opinions. We're all entitled to opinions aren't we?
However,it is when those opinions and views involve hounding people that are trained and work in the health sector, that (in their view) aren't of a 'scientific' persuasion, I find it too distressing to ignore.
I am a Registered Homeopath. I work daily, helping clients with a wide variety of health issues. I trained for 5 years and then post-grad spent a further 2 years becoming a registered member of the Society of Homeopaths.
I didn't do this to find, in practice, that I would be 'judged' as a moron by numbers of predominantly male members of various so-called prominent University's.
I list the educational establishments they belong to:
University of Westminster
Edinburgh University
Birkbeck University of London
Nottingham University
Kings College London
University of Warwick
University College London
Cardiff University
University of Bath
University of Birmingham
Some of them are 'students' 'studying' science, some of them work in the research departments.Some work in other 'reputable' establishments:
Blackpool Victoria Hospital NHS Trust
Science & Science Technology Facilities Council
For those of you without an Internet connection, I will give you a flavour of what their home page has listed on it as 'subjects for discussion'.

"Bad Science Click here for action, and all the fun of the fair: quackery, scare stories, miracle cures, iffy adverts, passing banter and the great british sport of moron baiting...

Meaningless Banter
you don't know the meaning of procrastination.
Activism The time for talking has passed. I draw the line at kidnapping, incidentally.

Secret For when activism requires the element of surprise.
The Rules Of Engagement Words of advice on fighting.
Bickering
Some people on internet forums like to squabble and get personal. Watch them play in here."

Since when, in civilised society do we need a forum for people to indulge in 'moron baiting', or 'fighting'. Since when did being involved in science mean you have a license to assume someone who isn't part of your profession has to be 'baited'? Have we just flipped back to the middle ages?
I am truly shocked by this site. By the people who have signed to be 'members' of it, who think its 'fun' to mock members of the Homeopathic community, medically trained or not. I was brought up to respect other people's views.Not to be aggressive or un-thinking. The idea that the next generation of 'medical interns' is going to have this as their past-time with a medically trained member of the GMC as their 'leader' leaves me speechless.
Yours faithfully
Miss M English DSH, RSHom