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Ginkgo ‘no benefit’ for dementia” says the headline on the NHS site. Complete with those difficult to argue with links to other news sites like Channel 4 News.

But here is the flaw …

“A study ….”.

This whole “Ginkgo is a waste of time” thing is based on a single study. So what about all the other studies that showed that it has benefits ?

What about this one that finds Ginkgo beneficial ?

A placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized trial of an extract of Ginkgo biloba for dementia. North American EGb Study Group.

Le Bars PL, Katz MM, Berman N, Itil TM, Freedman AM, Schatzberg AF.

New York Institute for Medical Research, 1997 Oct 22-29.

What about these that also find Ginkgo beneficial ?

Ginkgo biloba and donepezil: a comparison in the treatment of Alzheimer’s dementia in a randomized placebo-controlled double-blind study.

Mazza M, Capuano A, Bria P, Mazza S.

Department of Psychiatry, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy. 2006 Sep.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial of Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761 in a sample of cognitively intact older adults: neuropsychological findings.

Mix JA, Crews WD Jr.

Department of Health Sciences, Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia 24502, USA. 2002 Aug.

The next study found that there were no differences in function compared with a placebo. It did find that Ginkgo is safe. How many modern “medications” can claim that with their multiple problems ?

Safety and efficacy of a ginkgo biloba-containing dietary supplement on cognitive function, quality of life, and platelet function in healthy, cognitively intact older adults.

Carlson JJ, Farquhar JW, DiNucci E, Ausserer L, Zehnder J, Miller D, Berra K, Hagerty L, Haskell WL.

Sport and Cardiovascular Nutrition Program, Department of Radiology, Michigan State University, College of Osteopathic Medicine, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. 2007 Mar.

“The ginkgo biloba product seems safe and did not alter platelet function …”

This further study uses a proper comparative method of many studies ….

Ginkgo biloba for cognitive impairment and dementia.

Birks J, Grimley Evans J.

University of Oxford, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, CDCIG Room 5802, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK, OX3 9DU. 2007 Apr 18.

Why was this approach not mentioned in the news items that I started this blog entry with ? Is it just sloppy ? A deliberate attempt at misleading the public ? Is it even a case of criminal malpractice that leads to patient deaths and unnecessary suffering ? I think it’s about time we knew. Why would a single study be used to come to that conclusion ? The comparative study actually concludes the following …

“The evidence that Ginkgo has predictable and clinically significant benefit for people with dementia or cognitive impairment is inconsistent and unconvincing.”

Which may seem very final, but notice the “predictable”. Read further up the extract and it shows that there were actually benefits shown for Ginkgo, it’s just not in a “predictable” fashion. This is what is covered in Dr Tracy’s book “Prozac: Panacea or Pandoro” where she says that Ginkgo has been shown to work in the most serious of cases (p. 351). It has specific applications in specific circumstances.

But we’re also dealing with a “clash of worlds” here. The “medical profession” tends to look for a “cure” involving one agent in one way (and one study ?), whereas traditional healing practices heal someone using multiple treatments, physical, spiritual, and lifestyle. Diet is addressed as well as the nature of the person being treated, so Ginkgo may well fit into a whole “fuzzy logic” approach where no single study will prove anything particularly significant.

Another thing that is in the way is the desire to understand why a treatment works, and yet it’s possible to study the safety of a treatment without knowing how it works. Even the studies above that found Gingko to be “not beneficial” admitted that it was safe.

Have we moved from actually helping patients and healing people to showing off how clever we are ? Look at AIDS, Cancer and many other research areas. Highly complex, very impressive endeavours. But where is the patient ? To me it has descended into an intellectual masturbation exercise where the patient has been forgotten. Normal codes of social behaviour have been thrown out so some people can show off how intelligent they are.

In my experience a lot of all this has to do with mindset.

The approach that can justify using expensive, highly dangerous drugs is often a “1D” (One Dee) mentality. Atomised. Things are only ever considered “one at a time” and logic progresses in a linear fashion.

These are the people who flunked on understanding Quantum Physics. Science can no longer remain valid without a consideration of this important aspect of Science which explains the interference that occurs between the “objective” viewpoint of the Scientist and what he or she is perceiving.

Discovered in the early part of last century isn’t it about time that society started taking it on board ? In my opinion it’s one of the major reasons that the “medical profession” remain so blind and keep going up blind alleys in their desire to heal people. Yes, I do think the desire is there.

Why on Earth has the Quantum model not been taken into account in the medical area ? “Science proves this”…. “Science proves that” they say. “It has been clinically proven” … they say. Actually they are being UN-Scientific. They are behind the times. Old fashioned, and stuck in their ways.

My statement above about some of this possibility being “criminal malpractice” may seem extreme, but I don’t say this lightly. These “Scientists” are literally a hundred years behind in their reading material. A lot like a mechanic only being familiar with Model-T Ford technology … now … in the next century !

Come on people.

Addenum: After writing my blog entry “The Spirit of Resistance 2: China – Calling the Kettle Black ?” I noticed that Mike Adam’s comments to his cartoon that I used in the entry includes this …

“15. There is no such thing as bioenergy, intuition, mind-body medicine, quantum physics or therapeutic touch. The entire universe operates only on the physical and chemical levels. There is nothing beyond those two levels yet to be discovered or explored.”

Extraordinary. I am obviously NOT alone in my conclusions here. Incredible as it may seem it seems like many people really are living in a “Clockwork Universe”. Am I naive, or innocent that I didn’t know this ? I doubt it. What’s wrong with “assuming good faith” as Wikipedia might say ? Assuming that people in positions with incredible authority and responsibility just won’t stand for sloppy thinking ? Who ARE these people ? In the Space Age. The Age of Cyberspace, we still have this people stuck somewhere in the Middle Ages. It almost defies belief, but it is an important insight in my opinion, otherwise it just does not make sense why seemingly normal people would stand around in the face of horrific suffering.

It also means those people have a massive weakness, as Mike Adams points out. They do not “match up” as he put’s it, with reality. So why are’nt we running rings around these people ? Why hasn’t someone exposed the Pharma companies for what they are through entrapment or some other ruse or trick ? This is not Lost. We’re not all trapped on some distant Island. It’s like Mickey Mouse has been put in charge of the North African front in World War Two.

A simple search of a medical database exposed the lies about Ginkgo being “useless” (see above). I think it’s unacceptable that these people are allowed to get away with these lies when it’s SO simple to expose them. The Pharma companies are supposed to be “powerful”. But how much power is really there ? Isn’t it more the case that they have BARELY been challenged. Their “power” is an illusion. They are Paper Tigers.

1 Tobacco ‘could help treat cancer’ ? Is this quite as absurd as the news item I saw about starting to use Thalidomide again ? Afer all it was only involved in one of the biggest medical scandals of our age. What could be producing these absurdities ? Could it be because so many people still have a babies dummy stuck in their mouths ? So juvenile that they go running after the promises of the health industry like that endless promise of a not very good Father to take you to the Park on Sunday. But he never does. The survivors run away and become real people. While the the dupes give in to self destruction and low self esteem. I really can’t decide any more. Is it the evil of the Medical Industry ? Or is the willingness of so many people to go along with their bare faced lies and promises ? Most of it isn’t even that much of a clever deception. Cancer – DNA – Drugs. The tripartite tragedy of treason. The betrayers of the human spirit. It began in the early part of the last century. The Psychiatric industry was developing, but it wasn’t just that. Take this quote from Francis Crick …

“I’d like to concentrate on a certain issue. Do people even have the right to have children? As we have heard, it would not be difficult for governments to add something to the food supply which would prevent procreation. In addition, and this is hypothetical, the government could keep another substance at hand which would counteract the effect of the first one, and only people whose procreation is desired could receive it. This is definitely not out of the question.” 2

DNA you see. The epitome of reductionism. Anti Holistic. These people take one thing in isolation, blow it all out of proportion and then wonder why they’re still looking for a “cure to cancer”. Then they can stick their Eugenic aspirations into the deal as well. Ernst Rudin was a Psychiatrist and one of “The Men Behind Hitler”. We can still see those policies at work today. Pre WW2 they were actually very popular (see “The War Against the Weak” ). Today the “weak” are Cancer patients, AIDS sufferers and people with emotional problems. The medicines are toxic and kill, or at least will give you very serious health problems. If someone says chemo “saved their life” then ask yourself. How much suffering did they allow themselves to go through ? Was that really necessary ? Was it simply blind chance that by some miracle they survived the poisoning ? Just like a game of Russian Roulette but using these “treatments”. The people that die are casualties. The few that survive are “miracle cures”. Don’t get hypnotised. There is a very real deception going on here. But the only reason it exists is because people don’t face their own ignorance and naivety. For example I was reading a review of a WW2 video game, of all things, the other day. It contained this gem of a quote…

And it was a moment in history where the lines between good and evil were crisply drawn – that’s never happened before or since with such clarity. 3

Well, it’s to sell a video game, but I’ve heard this kind of thing before. This rose tinted spectacles view of WW2. As if modern life is so complicated. It was so simple then. Is this why we can’t see that that war is still being fought now ? The “FUBAR” that ended in Hitler’s Bunker and with the Atomic Bombs in Japan happened for some very real reasons to do with the popularity of Eugenics and racial policies. I’m still learning. I’ve ordered books. But it pains me to see people treating themselves so badly when there are safe natural treatments available. “They would prove that they work if they did”.. I hear you say. I’d say. “Don’t be so naive”. Read the above. This country (UK) holds the NHS in high esteem. As it should. There are many hard working people in it. It was one of the major political polices after the Second World War. But we’re being deceived into thinking that these drugs are helping anyone. “Herbs” are very strong treatments, as powerful as anything that a company can produce. My Lavender Oil relaxes me as much as any over the counter therapy, with no “side effects”. I have literally saved my life by using many of the things you can buy in the Health Food Shop. What’s “alternative” about that ? What “alternative” about therapies that can actually make you healthy instead of giving you more and more health problems ? The NHS should throw off these nasty treatments and the whole history of oppression behind them so we can give what the people in this country really deserve. Isn’t that worth fighting for ?

It’s amazing how much debate a simple blog entry can generate. “No defence for ’stealing’ music” is an article by the BBC’s Darren Waters. While the world is full of much more serious problems, apparently, it has already been decided that your sharing of music is evil… evil … EVIL !

I think it’s definitely a debate worth having. The issue is just riddled with ignorance. Are we all distracted by more pressing issues maybe ? Anyway , it’s another sort “fait accompli” if you ask me … “Sorry folks, it’s well known you’re all criminals, now bang em up !”. Excuse me ? I havn’t seen them yet, but I suspect there are lots of Court Cases and Copyright Law clauses that have already defined this issue ! It’s just that the big music industry players would prefer you really not see them.

Just look at the comments on that blog ! A polite, intelligent debate, with people who do seem to be concerned if they are really breaking the law, or having some kind of rebound effect on Artists welfare. Hardly the weazely scum bags sneaking around in black and white banded clothing that they are supposed to be (rolls eye’s).

DJ Barney

Latest – The BBC has just published a news article about legislation being voted on in Europe … “Europe votes on anti-piracy laws”. Similiar legislation was not passed in 2008 but I recommend that you write to your MEP (as I have done). People in the UK can use http://www.writetothem.com/ very easily, just writing a single email to all your MEP’s.

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I was at an astronomy meeting a few months ago. I had a number of Mars images spread out on the table in front of me from MRO HiRise. I had already had a discussion about Cydonia with a couple of people. I had mentioned the Face on Mars, but I had deliberately not bought along any images of it. Neither was I making it the focus of my presentation which was taken up by the image of a possible Mars Glacier.

Nevertheless, a woman came up to me (forgive me, I forget your name) and actually said “You aren’t one of those Mars Nuts, are you?”.

Incredible.

It’s as if some kind of virus has crept into society.

I was reading an article by Jimbo Wales in the Guardian. He, brilliantly in my opinion (it’s often difficult to state these things in simple terms) states that there is no such thing as “The Madness of Crowds”. Assume good faith. People will do the right thing if given a chance. Could this myth that people are somehow innately evil … original sin .. come from the way we treat them ? We use top down, monolithic approaches to society that assumes that they cannot make their own decisions or even that wars will happen if people aren’t strictly controlled and manipulated. Actually it is that strict control and manipulation that actually causes those wars because not enough people are given a chance to challenge their ignorance. We’re caught in a loop. The action taken on some assumed point is actually causing the thing that led to that action being taken in the first place. A loop, an infinite regress.

The same thing can be seen in the Psychiatric system. It is assumed that a patient will never get through their problems (it is possible however serious they may appear to be) so they are never given that chance. They are given mind destroying drugs that cause further madness. It’s the same thing. Ignorance. There never was any original rational thought. Only a knee jerk reaction against the assumed state that human beings are supposed to be in …. some kind of innate stupidity. Like Jimbo Wales I believe, I know that that just does not exist.

So we get the same thing in Science (Sometimes ! Believe me, I like Science !). A top down, Monolithic approach that deems non Scientists as “unqualified”. Wider society has nothing to offer and only qualified Scientists can participate. What nonsense ! I respect those hard earned degrees and Masters. Most Scientists have much to offer and can do many great things for society. But where did the attitude come from that I started this article with ? Namely the lady who suggested I am a “Mars Nut” ?

It’s not just me. I was heavily involved in the Mars Face debate. It taught me many things and led me to find things like Wikpedia. Actually partly because of the personal attacks I was seeing and the often ignorance by the parties involved of basic facts.

Assume good faith ! If Scientists, are so enlightened then why do they resort to personal attacks and knee jerk reactions ? I am still a member of a well respected site. I highly recommend it, but I was put off it by the initial dealing with me by the site owner. I posted about the Face. The post was deleted “because we have many highly respected dignitaries here” ! I don’t want to be bitter here. I assume good faith of him. He was only trying to run his site properly, bless him. But could he have moved my post to a sub section of the forum ? Maybe he should actually ask these “dignitaries” what their opinion of “The Face” is and keep the debate going. It has taught me much.

Another forum. They actually do provide a way of discussing “Pseudo-science”, but again, I don’t go there anymore. I found the discussion revolting to be honest ! Just because a point was made by some one that “could not be true” and because they stuck to it doggedly the debate descended into nasty personal attacks. Snidey remarks about the persons character. The clubbing together of people into a “chosen few” mentality who “know” that “The Face” is not real. Ga !

Actually I still highly recommend that site (but be careful of the kind of thing I describe). I do not believe in a “Face” either way, what concerns me more is the attitude towards so many people. See the Cydonia article Wikipedia talk page for some examples.

Assume good faith !

Might those people actually have something to offer ? Yes, they probably do go off into wacky conspiracy theories. But, really, who is to say what is wrong and right ? No one certainly knows everything in this World to say the least. People make mistakes. New evidence comes to light. How can anyone be SO sure some people are talking “nonsense”, or are “nuts”.

Ah! That word again … “Nut”.

Has there ever been such a lame resort to an insult just because there is no other way to conduct the argument ? We should all get a grip on ourselves a lot more. Words do determine reality. Behaviour is the sacred responsibility of us all.

DJ Barney