On Dec 8, 5:00 pm, Ashley L <lockeas...@gmail.com> wrote:
> "By the way: Since we are looking at what happened in the 19th century
> can you explain how Max von Pettenkoffer managed to swallow enough
> cholera "to kill an army" according to Koch in front of his pupils and
> managed to survive?:"
>
> What you're asking here, near as I can tell, is can John explain an
> amusing anecdote from 19th century which may, or may not, even be
> true? Also, Pettenkoffer's experiment wasn't closed, could you please
> stop saying that it was?
Skeptic logic 22:
JC's anecdotes from the 19th century which may or may not even be true
are proof positive of germ theory/vaccination.
Punter's anecdotes from the 19th century which may or may not even be
true are completely worthless.
Simple question: When you made this point did you not realise how
ridiculous it would look?
>
> "I will ignore everything else you say because it is just the usual
> drivel about how I am not jumping through enough hoops to satisfy you.
> "
>
> Are you sure? That's a victory by forfeit for pro-vaccination, Punter?
If you say so. Odd considering his point had nothing to do with
vaccination, but then again as I don't know as much about Shakespeare
as you (or share the same pointless pedantry over balancing chemical
reactions) your perception is probably correct.
>
> On Dec 8, 10:31 am, punter <tristanwe...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > This is from John Snow:
>
> > "There is no doubt that the mortality was much diminished, as I said
> > before, by the flight of the population, which commenced soon after
> > the outbreak; but the attacks had so far diminished before the use of
> > the water was stopped, that it is impossible to decide whether the
> > well still contained the cholera poison in an active state, or
> > whether, from some cause, the water had become free from it."
>
> > So even the guy who came up with the water pump explanation admitted
> > that he couldn't be sure if his observations proved conclusively that
> > the outbreak was stopped by removing the handle. And yet you want to
> > use this example from 150 years ago to prove that the germ theory is
> > true?
>
> > By the way: Since we are looking at what happened in the 19th century
> > can you explain how Max von Pettenkoffer managed to swallow enough
> > cholera "to kill an army" according to Koch in front of his pupils and
> > managed to survive? The difference being that Pettenkoffer's
> > experiment was a closed system (or at least reasonably so). Snow's
> > wasn't.
>
> > I will ignore everything else you say because it is just the usual
> > drivel about how I am not jumping through enough hoops to satisfy you.
>
> > On Dec 7, 9:37 pm, JC <jc_bige...@yahoo.com.au> wrote:
>
> > > Punter,
>
> > > You're seriously losing it. "Ironic really considering what he says
> > > about me trying to defend something despite not knowing everything
> > > about it." Have you defended GNM? I haven't heard a peep of
> > > evidence, references, double blinded studies yet. Still waiting for
> > > that defence...
>
> > > With regards the differences in epidemiology and chemistry... If
> > > everyone in the world were identical, you could conduct experiments
> > > like a chemist would. Fortunately, we're not identical, and we all
> > > behave and react to pathogens, friends, "poisons", situations,
> > > differently. So if humans were as simple as 2H + O --> H2O, then
> > > epidemiology and statistics would not be necessary. But we're not
> > > identical, Tristan, so large population studies have to be completed
> > > to find out what observations can be made to support or refute a
> > > theory. I would've thought an expert in GNM would know that, with all
> > > those well worked out laws that are never broken and simple diagnoses
> > > such can be found on Greg's link.
>
> > > Can GNM explain the 1854 Broad St cholera outbreak? Can you explain
> > > it, punter, without using bacteria as a reason for it, and how the
> > > removal of the handle cured it? Surely removing the Broad St pump
> > > handle couldn't have provided a mass cure of "Indigestible chunk of
> > > anger" or "Fear of being useless". I look forward to your
> > > explanation. Greg, can you explain it? Meryl?
>
> > > By the way, Greg, on your link, it states that
> > > "Multiple sclerosis and Paralysis: inability to escape or continue on
> > > or to hold on to or not knowing what to do." So with your expertise
> > > in polio and AFP, you can surely produce some data to show that MS and
> > > paralysis occur at the same rate as each other, or at least some
> > > correlation, and of course evidence that supports the concept that all
> > > these people express an "inability to escape or continue on or to hold
> > > on to or not knowing what to do." Surely that would be easy for
> > > you...
>
> > > John- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
What John Snow write is entirely consistent with a pathogen of the
microbiological kind. I didn't claim it to be proof of the germ
theory. I'm asking you how you would explain the phenomenon of a
cholera outbreak, based on GNM - the topic of this thread. I'll
repeat "Can you explain it, punter, without using bacteria as a reason
for it, and how the removal of the handle cured it? Surely removing
the Broad St pump handle couldn't have provided a mass cure of
"Indigestible chunk of anger" or "Fear of being useless".
Did a circus come through and reduce the mass amount of anger, or did
everyone take self-confidence lessons?
John
Your question is a complex one because it isn't clear whether removing
the pump handle fixed the problem. Your patients/students and fellow
skeptics would never pick you up on your numerous fallacies but I
will.
And you created the topic as an obvious red herring to divert
attention from your utter failure to defend the important issue of
safety and efficacy of vaccinations.
First, you agree it was Katie who implied "hundreds" was too many
deaths. My simple response illuminated the folly of doing so without
addressing context. I obviously did not ignore it (let alone
"deliberately" as you put it). That was actually the point of my
comment. Please, the point has been made and your responses lack any
substance. I tried to tell you nicely. Let it go.
And again, I'm not interested in debating the merits of Hamer or GNM.
That may change one day if I become informed enough to have an
opinion. You guys can do what you like but I would personally like to
see the focus stay on vaccination, and any discussion of alternatives
be considered in a constructive manner, rather than destructive. New
ideas don't have the benefit of countless trillions of dollars spent
on their establishment, nor decades of near universal acceptance. They
suffer from inertia. Established ideas benefit from inertia. People
who wish to discuss new ideas need to be sensitive to these
considerations. In this case we are placing GNM against a very deeply
entrenched paradigm, and the case for the "no" is out to simply "win",
rather than discuss.
Regarding people who believe in the germ theory not being as likely to
consider other possibile explanations for illness, you said something
that caught my eye -- "Find them something BETTER and they'll consider
it."
Many years ago I came to understand that the argument against vaccines
is usually treated with fascination. Most people can follow the
arguments. They appreciate the logic, and the statistics are
revealing. But it leaves a vaccuum. They face going home and having
nothing to place their faith in. Where the germ theory used to explain
illness and vaccination used to promise protection, they now suddenly
have nothing. Something needs to be sucked back into that void. So the
fascination quickly turns to discomfort.
In fact, I don't think most people even let the void develop UNTIL
there is something else to fill it. I propose that it's often a
reconciliation with the good old germ theory (i.e. it can't be that
bad, surely. So many people accept it.... who am I to reject it?). But
some venture out and find something else to fill the gap. Homeopathy,
naturopathy, chiropractic etc. It's like we were on this giant land
mass. We're tempted to leave it and start swimming, but we're on the
lookout for a friendly island first. Somewhere to swim to. If nothing
takes our fancy we'll probably stay put.
But if we simply wade in we notice it's not that deep. We can actually
stand up, and we begin to consider the threats are not as great as we
thought. Health is normal. It's the normal outcome of supplying the
necessary conditions of life. And ill health is the normal outcome of
not supplying them. Hmmm... interesting. What if we get sick? Well,
that's an easy one actually.... we get better. It happens with or
without intervention. Aahhh... so the body rights itself.
Why do we need medicine and all these other therapies? Because it's
not always so simple. Sometimes we get hit by a bus and need help.
Sometimes we become ill and don't know why, or it doesn't
spontaneously resolve. So we look to the various philosophies for an
explanation (as well as a cure). And they all have something to offer.
They all present explanations which are reasonable, at least on the
surface. But none can supplant what we already know. That is, under
normal circumstances we get better.
So there is already a great force working in our favour. Our body
tends toward health, and provided we supply the conditions it
requires, it will probably achieve that. Call it homeostasis, the
healing power of nature or whatever you want, it is our best friend.
Let's not forget that.
Do we need an alternative? I think we do in a sense. We often face
situations we don't understand. Which condition did we not supply? Why
won't this go away? Logic tells us to find the cause and remove it.
That's a simple and powerful approach, but what if we can't find the
cause, or we think we have but it doesn't seem to be going away? Enter
the various theories.
But Ashley, if you're waiting for "something BETTER" you have to first
ask yourself what you mean by "better". Is it possible for something
"better" to replace what you already believe? Wouldn't that
necessitate an acknowledgement of the problems with your current "best
theory"? Or by "better" do you mean something that builds on what you
already believe?
Is GNM right? Is standard medicine right? Is anyone else right? I
don't think any of them own "right". We can however benefit from their
offerings by discussing them is a constructive way. I don't mean
pretending to like something that doesn't appeal, but considering it
with the respect you would give to your own ideas. For example, trying
to determine whether Hamer holds anti-semitic views is largely, if not
entirely, irrelevant. Our persistence with it suggests we're more
interested in a witch hunt. And when one source suggests 0%
effectiveness and another suggests 97% my guess is the data has not
been published in a verifiable format, and versions of it are coming
from a very polarised arena. We're all discussing something we
probably don't understand (except perhaps Punter, who seems to be the
only one who has bothered to study it in a constructive way).
There are lots more messages to respond to, but I'll be on the road
for a couple of days. See you after that.
Greg
On Dec 8, 12:21 am, Ashley L <lockeas...@gmail.com> wrote:
> "You think I "implied context, and chose to deliberately ignore it"
> about the hundreds of deaths with GNM? "
>
> No, what I said was that Katie implied context and you deliberately
> ignored it. You were being a pedant and pretending to make a genuine
> retort.
I don't see anywhere in my post where I'm defending or rationalising
JC's post, which as its own cogent defence, I was quite clearly
criticising your response. Tu quoque, punter, tu quoque.
"Punter's anecdotes from the 19th century which may or may not even be
true are completely worthless. "
Since you seem to have missed my point I'll re-frame the argument you
think I made: The John Snow "anecdote" is supported by a considerable
amount of supporting evidence. Journal articles written at the time
detail the epidemic and its treatment. A clear record of deaths is
also readily obtained. Snow himself admits that parts of his argument
cannot be substantiated.
The only verifiable elements of the von Pettenkoffer story, on the
other hand, are that a number of people claim that they saw von
Pettenkoffer consume a liquid, which may or may not have contained
cholera to which he may, or may not, have already had a considerable
degree of exposure. Suspect evidence, at best. After all, every slight
of hand magician performs their art in front of witnesses.
I think perhaps that you would argumentation would benefit from
considerably from greater efforts to discern the difference between
what is verifiable fact and self-perpetuating apocrypha.
I'm simply trying to figure out how GNM would explain a geographically
isolated event such as a cholera outbreak. According to GNM, the
population around the pump must have all come down with the same
"Indigestible chunk of anger" or "Fear of being useless" at the same
time. As well, MS often has a geographical predisposition. How does
that work according to GNM? And when the polio vaccine was being
introduced into the USA, polio began to follow less of a geographical
distribution and become more sporadic, as already referenced. How
does that work according to GNM?
No red herring - just trying to get my head around GNM and how it can
be applied. I'm still awaiting some sort of defence of GNM - the
topic of this thread.
John
"except perhaps Punter, who seems to be the only one who has bothered
to study it in a constructive way". Really? Where is the evidence of
that? Seriously.
John
Just saying....
John
>Since you seem to have missed my point I'll re-frame the argument you
think I made<
Just because you change an argument to suit yourself doesn't mean that
my original interpetation was in error.
> > > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -
You skeptics have picked a fight with us as you don't think we have
the right to either not vaccinate and/or disseminate our views to
others. Fair enough, no doubt in your mind this is a justifiable
position. But you can't choose the terms of this debate. You may think
logic and temporal observations are irrelevant and only epidemiology
is worth anything, but arguing from that starting point won't get you
anywhere here.
Like I said before, you wanted to debate the germ theory because it
threatens your territory but I don't care if you believe it so there
is no debate.
>And when the polio vaccine was being
introduced into the USA, polio began to follow less of a geographical
distribution and become more sporadic, as already referenced. How
does that work according to GNM?<
Really? Another blatantly loaded question?
"not only can they still choose the weapons, we aren't even allowed to
deploy ours"
I would welcome you to deploy your "weapons", and have requested you
to do so several times.
"You skeptics have picked a fight with us"
This site was set up to debate vaccination, Tristan, by Meryl Dorey, a
staunch anti-vaccine campaigner. I can't see how that equates to
skeptics picking a fight, when it was not set up by a skeptic. If you
find skeptics here debating you then, tough. I accept you have the
right not to vaccinate your self and your children - I just think it's
an ill informed decision. If people read your comments and other
peoples retorts, then I can only see that as a way of spreading more
information to the public.
Your anti-vaccine stance is predicated on a disbelief of the germ
theory, and a belief in GNM, and so both of these topics are therefore
relevant to this debate of vaccination. Your key points set to debunk
the "germ theory" were really nothing more than a demonstration of a
how a very simplistic concept of the "germ theory" could be debunked.
Hardly difficult or surprising. None of them, in reality, posed any
risk to the theory. A little more study and understanding of the
intricacies and details of microbiology, immunology and pathology are
all that's needed. As for GNM, it does not stand up to even the most
casual of analysis.
So was that a loaded question? Of course it was punter - this is, I
remind you again, a debate. How does GNM explain polio? According to
my research into GNM, some of the symptoms of polio is caused by a
conflict of "not being able to flee" or "not being able to follow".
Before polio vaccination, polio came in epidemics that could be traced
to geographically distinct regions. In other words, there were
outbreaks. After the vaccination was introduced, this pattern
changed, and the incidence became much more sporadic, and eventually
almost disappeared.
Trevelyan B, Smallman-Raynor M, Cliff AD. The Spatial Dynamics of
Poliomyelitis in the United States: From Epidemic Emergence to Vaccine-
Induced Retreat, 1910-1971. Ann Assoc Am Geogr. 2005 Jun.;95(2):269–
293.
My question, therefore, is to you, to explain these two phenomena,
firstly the outbreaks, and then the effects of the vaccine, using the
principles of GNM. Please supply references, of course.
John
cheers
K
Here's what Swiss Study Group for Complementary and
Alternative Methods in Cancer (SCAC) said in their investigation into
GNM:
"No case of a cure of a cancer patient by hamer's method has yet been
published in medical literature. Neither have any studies to this
effect been published in the specialised press. The "Hamer foci" in
the CT images in Hamer's books have been identified by radiological
experts as typical artefacts produced by the radiological device which
can appear in a poor-quality CT scan.
Speigel magazine reports an investigation by the authorities in
Germany, stating that out of 50 cancer patients who have passed
through Hamer's care, only 7 have survived."
page 2
http://assets.krebsliga.ch/downloads/01_02_hamer_e_neu.pdf
Apart from the clinic where only 7 survived (and they are probably
dead now), he opened several other illegal clinics. here's part of an
interview with one of the staff at one of them:
"In this clinic many patients from European countries and Germany
died, were sent home or sent to other hospitals just short time prior
to their death. One patient even died during transport to another
clinic. Surrounding clinics then refused to accept further dying
patients from Katzenelnbogen. According to three women who worked
there in 1985 and were interviewed in 2007 (see:
Testimonies_of_former_associates_of_Hamer), no patient was cured
there, and almost every patient died. During this period of time,
Hamer presented pictures of X-rays from patients to the media to prove
the effectivity of his New Medicine. However: some of these patients
did not survive the treatment according to New Medicine. TV broadcast
Panorama (ARD) and magazine Spiegel instead presented photos of their
graves."
http://www.esowatch.com/en/index.php?title=Testimonies_of_former_associates_of_Hamer
Also - here's a quote from a guy who has been investicating Hamer and
GNM
"The patients are dead. The list of the dead we know of
http://www.ariplex.com/ama/ama_ham2.htm grew from 60, which already is
a nightmare, to more than 130. I am afraid, that it is HUNDREDS, might
be AT LEAST 300, and even that is an extremely conservative estimate."
http://www.deathsect.com/
So hamer's success rate is so low as to be 0.
Defending him and his methods just because I don't like them is crazy.
Look at the guy. Look at what he has done.
cheers
K
I know you can't see it. But then you also accused me of cyberbullying
you after you sent me two unsolicited abusive emails. So it is fair to
say that your version of who picks fights with whom bares little
resemblance to reality.
The website gives you guys the chance to persuade us why we are very
naughty boys and girls and why we should do exactly as we are told by
the likes of you. It is not about us trying to tell all of Australia
(or the world) that if you don't abide by our ideas then you are
stupid and irresponsible. Many skeptics had complained that the AVN
website didn't give you the fair chance to make your case and that you
were being "censored" so here is your chance and all you can do is a)
tell me that my points against the germ theory/vaccination paradigm
don't matter because she'll be right and all the answers are out there
in the ether somewhere; and b) to concentrate on something completely
peripheral that you think you may be able to score cheap points off
and make yourself look like you have gotten somewhere. You haven't.
Who, reading this thread, would go away thinking that they needed to
inject poisons into their children? They may go away thinking some guy
they had never heard of is anti-Semitic and that people who challenge
mainstream medicine often make enemies, but that is about the extent
of the conclusions that could be drawn. Try as I might, I can't
imagine anybody making a leap from that to saying that they should
inject poisons into their children.
Like I said, you guys can believe whatever you like about Hamer and
his work. I honestly don't care. You can disseminate your views too -
I won't stop you.
And also just like I said, the fact that you keep going on and on
about this issue just makes you look like you have something to fear
from it. No wait, that you are all involved in a plot to kill a
fictional Danish king from several hundred years past.
But you're right one thing though. I should have abolutely no trouble
providing a reference to whenever in history there has been a
clustering of disease to what particular phenomena that group
collectively experienced. Just like you would have no trouble
whatsoever going through time and providing the proof that a
particular microbe was responsible whenever there was said clustering
of disease.
Oh but that's right. That is a "tu quoque" fallacy isn't it AL?
Actually, you feigned ignorance of the context and made a flippant
remark about the large number of people who die in spite of medical
care.
"And again, I'm not interested in debating the merits of Hamer or GNM.
"
Since you were previously defending Hamer's anti-semitism and
mentioned that you find GNM philosophically more pleasing than Germ
Theory, I'll take it that you meant "I'm no longer interested...". I
have noted your disinterest.
"New ideas don't have the benefit of countless trillions of dollars
spent on their establishment, nor decades of near universal
acceptance. They suffer from inertia. "
Not good ones, Greg, those tend to take off quite quickly. Admittedly
there are a large number of good ideas that are unprofitable which, as
you point out, do suffer from an apparent lack of motivation. That's
venture capitalists for you.
"In this case we are placing GNM against a very deeply entrenched
paradigm, and the case for the "no" is out to simply "win", rather
than discuss. "
This IS the respectful debate site, Greg and by my reckoning I'm not
discussing a novel paradigm, I'm critiquing a highly implausible and
possibly dangerous theory.
"But Ashley, if you're waiting for "something BETTER" you have to
first
ask yourself what you mean by "better". "
I have thought about this. It is difficult for me to quantise how the
quality of research is assessed. Suffices to say, you know good
research when you see it, Greg, and this isn't it.
"Is it possible for something "better" to replace what you already
believe? Wouldn't that necessitate an acknowledgement of the problems
with your current "best theory"?
Simple answer, yes.
"For example, trying to determine whether Hamer holds anti-semitic
views is largely, if not entirely, irrelevant. "
I don't have to try and determine if he holds them, Greg, it's
established fact. Furthermore, as I have quite clearly indicated,
Hamer's anti-semitic views form part of a larger ideology that is a
quite clear indicator of mental instability.
Anyone can make a rational argument, Greg. Any good speaker can
convince most people of most things and themselves of anything. Snake-
oil salesman, in their various forms, have been doing this for quite
some time. Your argument is that all ideas must be based solely on
their merit, which, in an academic sense is agreeable. However, when
it comes to human lives and when the replication of an experiment
involves someone's well-being, at the very least it would be unethical
to carry out a procedure where there was no good-faith belief in the
validity of the initial findings
"It was blatantly obvious that I made my anecdote to contrast JC's. "
What was blatantly obvious was that I was criticising you for a)
attempting to disprove one anecdote with another and when it became
clear that you hadn't understood a), that b) doing so using what is a
demonstrably inferior anecdote was imprudent.
"Just because you change an argument to suit yourself doesn't mean
that
my original interpetation was in error. "
Please review this quote by me:
I think perhaps that you would argumentation would benefit from
considerably from greater efforts to discern the difference between
what is verifiable fact and self-perpetuating apocrypha.
"You skeptics have picked a fight with us as you don't think we have
the right to either not vaccinate and/or disseminate our views to
others."
By your own argumentation, Punter, we're the Establishment, the status
quo, keepers of the ideological ennui, by your logic, you picked a
fight with us. I obviously dispute both these claims. Further, I am
not swayed by your shameless application of the victim card, and would
prefer you to cease prevaricating with histrionics, as you have done
in your following post, and return to the substance of the matter at
hand.
"Oh but that's right. That is a "tu quoque" fallacy isn't it AL? "
No. No it's not. Furthermore you have consistently failed to answer
John's specific question: What particular "trauma" has affected
individuals whose only known association is spatial co-location and
can cause such a consistent outbreak of disease? The fact that you
respond by criticising germ theory IS tu quoque.
"The website gives you guys the chance to persuade us why we are very
naughty boys and girls and why we should do exactly as we are told by
the likes of you. It is not about us trying to tell all of Australia
(or the world) that if you don't abide by our ideas then you are
stupid and irresponsible."
I'm making no attempt to convince you of anything, Tristan, or tell
you you are naughty. I'm simply taking the opportunity to display to
other people the faulty logic, the faulty ideas, the faulty
epidemiology and the faulty concepts that the anti-vaccine lobby rely
upon. For example, you're stance against vaccinate is based upon a
belief in GNM - a concept that is riddled with so many poor "laws"
it's laughable. Another example, Greg's misuse of death rates over
long periods of time - yes, they look compelling, but have fundamental
flaws. Meryl Dorey herself has promised to produce several articles
in this debate, yet has failed to produce any so far.
So no, I don't pretend to convince you of anything. I hope to
convince any other readers though that GNM is just plain stupid.
So far, you have produced exactly naught to prove me otherwise.
John
Ummm, no it isn't. Not even remotely. I stopped believing in the
vaccination/germ theory paradigm long before I had ever heard of GNM.
Indeed, I stopped believing in the germ theory long before I had given
any consideration to the safety/efficacy of vaccines. But you already
know that because I have told you this many times.
Perhaps it would be better if we let other people decide if you have
shown your opponents' logic to be faulty n'est-ce pas?
And AL, where exactly has Greg (or I) defended Hamer's anti-Semitism?
More slander.
>By your own argumentation, Punter, we're the Establishment, the status
quo, keepers of the ideological ennui, by your logic, you picked a
fight with us. I obviously dispute both these claims. <
My logic says that? How? Dare I ask is it anything to do with my
belief that the establishment is involved in a conspiracy to murder a
Danish king? I can't imagine ever making an argument along those
lines. I agree with the premise but when have I ever made an argument
that would imply that conclusion to be valid?
Are you saying that if a government rounds up and kills everybody's
first born then any parent who doesn't willingly submit their child
for sacrifice has "picked a fight" with said government. Actually, as
the skeptics generally seem to be big goverment totalitarians it
wouldn't surprise me if you did think such an argument were valid. But
I sure as hell don't and I can't for the life of me imagine ever
making such an argument.
>No. No it's not. Furthermore you have consistently failed to answer
John's specific question: What particular "trauma" has affected
individuals whose only known association is spatial co-location and
can cause such a consistent outbreak of disease? <
You obviously didn't understand my response (like the last 1000
times). I said I couldn't possibly know - nobody could - as it would
require omniscience. I could give an example of what sort of shock
might cause a clustering of disease (be it one that is considered
contagious or one that generally isn't) but, strangely, I don't
actually know every single phenomena that every single person
throughout all of human history has experienced. According to you and
JC that proves the GNM must be wrong. According to me that proves that
the both of you are asking ridiculous questions in your desperation to
find fault with the GNM. My point was (again obvious to all but you
and JC) that I could ask the same pointless question of the germ
theory. If the question were a valid one (and it certainly isn't) then
we would have to conclude that both the GNM and the germ theory were
wrong. Indeed, we would have to conclude that every single theory
related to anything (medicine, chemistry, physics etc) was completely
wrong.
So that was the purpose of my response. To show that JC's question
isn't a valid one. You didn't get it though so I just clarified it for
you. If you need further clarification feel free to ask. Or
alternatively, you could just make a list of every single fallacy in
your "Logic for Beginners" textbook.
"I said I couldn't possibly know - nobody could - as it would require
omniscience. I could give an example of what sort of shock might cause
a clustering of disease (be it one that is considered contagious or
one that generally isn't) but, strangely, I don't actually know every
single phenomena that every single person throughout all of human
history has experienced. According to you and JC that proves the GNM
must be wrong."
Not necessarily. All is shows is that you have no research, no data,
no plausible mechanism to suggest how GNM works. So you've given up
on the germ theory? Like I care. I care about what you might be
telling other people, and how they may be taken in by the "logic" of
GNM. I'm here on this thread to discredit GNM - to show it for what
it is, which is a fanciful dream without any scientific basis
whatsoever.
So what lead to the outbreaks of polio, according to GNM? Show me the
money punter, or politely decline from suggesting it is an even
remotely valid concept.
John
Sorry i have busy and just trying to catch up with everything.
My point still stands that just because someone may have unsavory view
on certain thing (aka antisemitism) does not automatically make all
their ideas wrong. Have you read anything about Henry ford or Thomas
Edison?
People are well aware about the antisemetic views of Ford and Edison,
but they aren't labelled as "nutcases" why?
As much as i dislike antisemitism i am able to put that to one side
while i look, skeptically, into a theory.
Bek
> extermination"."http://www.deathsect.com/(about 2/3rds of the way down the page)
"How? Dare I ask is it anything to do with my belief that the
establishment is involved in a conspiracy to murder a Danish king? "
Keep bringing it up, Punter, we'll all just be reminded that you can't
discern the difference between actuality and apocrypha.
"Are you saying that if a government rounds up and kills everybody's
first born then any parent who doesn't willingly submit their child
for sacrifice has "picked a fight" with said government. "
Not me, as I clearly indicated I don't grant your argument (said so,
right there in my response to you) that everyone who supports
vaccination works for "the man" or is one of the "sheeple" or that any
form of "sacrifice" is going on. It is you that believes that
antivaxxers are taking a righteous stand against the government, after
all, you granted the premise.
Honestly, sacrifice? Your histrionics do nothing to help this debate
other than prove what everybody already reasonably suspected, that
you're a dyed in the sack cloth anti-vaxxer with absolutely no ability
to function rationally.
"Actually, as the skeptics generally seem to be big goverment
totalitarians it wouldn't surprise me if you did think such an
argument were valid. "
Histrionics and ad hominem attacks are your ONLY response to valid
criticisms, punter. "Magic number generators, You're not getting my
kids, big gubmint, but I never said anything about a conspiracy." It's
tiring. I ask that you start making valid contributions or get off the
soap box. Further, I ask that the moderators to curtail punter's
continuous efforts to derail topics with appeals to emotion.
"You obviously didn't understand my response (like the last 1000
times). I said I couldn't possibly know - nobody could - as it would
require omniscience."
So nobody could possibly prove GNM? How very convenient for you.
"My point was (again obvious to all but you and JC) that I could ask
the same pointless question of the germ theory. "
Please try and keep on topic, punter, Germ theory is another thread.
You seem to be unwilling to accept the fact that criticisms of Germ
Theory do NOT validate GNM and it is YOU that first proposed GNM as
the alternative that is now the subject of scrutiny. Scientific
theories are not diametric opposites, Punter.
"So that was the purpose of my response. To show that JC's question
isn't a valid one"
I disagree. John's question is extremely valid given that the point of
if it was to point out that GNM is a self-limiting theory that
essentially taps out when things get even a little bit hard.
> > extermination"."http://www.deathsect.com/(about2/3rds of the way down the page)
Can you find a part of GNM that doesn't explain how people get sick or
how they get better?
Bek
I granted the premise but I didn't think the conclusion was valid. You
didn't grant the premise but you presumably thought the argument must
have been valid (otherwise why bring it up). You see? Probably not.
That is why I made up a hypothetical premise up to see if you would
support the conclusion. But you couldn't get your head around what I
did. You never do.
If you need to me to give you a rundown of valid/invalid/sound/unsound
arguments feel free to ask.
>"You obviously didn't understand my response (like the last 1000
times). I said I couldn't possibly know - nobody could - as it would
require omniscience."
So nobody could possibly prove GNM? How very convenient for you. <
Creating a blatant strawman? How very convenient for you.
Here are four questions you should ask yourself?
1) What piece of evidence, if any, would falsify the germ theory?
2) What piece of evidence, if any, would make the germ theory almost
impossible to argue against?
3) & 4) same as for GNM and for any other alternative theory.
Until you and JC have done that then any discourse on this is
pointless.
> > > extermination"."http://www.deathsect.com/(about2/3rdsof the way down the page)
> > > The guy is not only anti-semitic, he also seems to be a raving
> > > nutcase!!!
> > > What do you think?
>
> > > cheers
> > > K- Hide quoted text -
You really were born in the wrong country weren't you? I think North
Korea would be more to your liking.
That's true. I can distinctly reading in the Summary Hamer saying that
the iron rules of cancer don't apply to semitic people.
Do you really think the following comment is appropriate for this
forum? North Korea? Really? A "communist" dictatorship where
millions starve, on a constant war setting with the West? I would
appreciate it if punter - Tristan Wells, that is - would kindly debate
topics, rather than commit this kind of abuse. It's not contributing
to this debate really is it? I've put up robust arguments against
GNM, and he is yet to provide even the most slightly credible evidence
as to it's plausibility, let alone its efficacy. Rather than debate
the subject, he resorts to this comment.
"You really were born in the wrong country weren't you? I think North
Korea would be more to your liking."
Charming Tristan.
John
Here are four questions you should ask yourself?
1) What piece of evidence, if any, would falsify the germ theory?
Anything that was not explainable by the germ theory, as currently
understood by those who study it.
2) What piece of evidence, if any, would make the germ theory almost
impossible to argue against? A pointless question, until you can come
up with something to do with point (1).
3) & 4) same as for GNM and for any other alternative theory. (3) The
"Laws" of GNM are easily demonstrated to be false, and I have done so
on this thread. It is therefore false.
(4) I'm still waiting for something. Anything. Please.
John
I havent heard of the whole "being caught doing it un a haystack"
theory in hayfever but i have read this
http://learninggnm.com/documents/allergiesarticle.html - i think it
makes sense.
Why hasn't Hamer published a paper? Jeez remember Wakefield? And that
wasn't even a study!
Once again i must say that i dont believe GNM is 100% correct but i
feel it comes a whole lot closer than the germ theory.
Bek
I believe AL would describe that as "convenient".
(3) The "Laws" of GNM are easily demonstrated to be false, and I have
done so
on this thread. It is therefore false.
I note an interesting article here: http://sciencebusiness.technewslit.com/?p=7336
Like I said, the problem is that your falsification requires an
observation I simply can't verify. But I guess you prefer that don't
you?
1) What piece of evidence, if any, would falsify the germ theory?
Anything that was not explainable by the germ theory, as currently
understood by those who study it.
I believe AL would describe that as "convenient".
Yes. Unbelievably convenient. Almost as if it were true. Can you
suggest anything?
(3) The "Laws" of GNM are easily demonstrated to be false, and I have
done so
on this thread. It is therefore false.
I note an interesting article here: http://sciencebusiness.technewslit.com/?p=7336
And what does that article have to do with GNM, punter? What at all?
False positive rates in screening tests is hardly news. Same goes for
breast, prostate and bowel cancer screening tests. That's why we have
gold standards, but to an epidemiologist like yourself, I shouldn't
have to explain that.
"Like I said, the problem is that your falsification requires an
observation I simply can't verify. But I guess you prefer that don't
you?" Well why don't you do a little reading about septic arthritis,
aseptic arthritis and spinal TB? It's honestly not hard to find
errors in the GNM "laws". Really too easy. Too convenient.
Why don't you even try to debate the issue of GNM, punter? Why don't
you offer anything up, or are your beliefs really just based on ideas?
John
Bek, Greg and I think that a scientific theory should take all the
obvious relevant phenomena and devise a coherent explanation for said
phenomena.
You guys have very different views of what scientific theories should
do. JC, for example, thinks that the relative worth of a scientific
theory is in how many different terms for a lung cell its adherents
can name. AL believes a theory's relative worth is determined by its
adherents' knowledge of Shakespeare. You consider a theory's value in
terms of how many journals - whose prejudices presumably conform to
your own - are willing to publish the material.
Hamer's explanation for hayfever fits into this narrative perfectly.
Hamer noticed that we call something 'hayfever' and wondered why it
was so. He surmised that there might have been some connection between
it and hay. His theory was able to explain this anomaly. He was not
saying that all allergies (including those to pollen) today are caused
by the same event. What he is saying is that we connect a trauma (or
disconcerting experience) with various senses - when we experience
those senses our minds go back to the trauma and how to deal with it.
Our brains are trying to protect us, assuming that we are encountering
the same problem again and therefore need the same tools to cope. For
example, when the Hib vaccine was introduced it just so happened that
that vaccine's proteins were virtually identical to those in peanuts.
It also just so happened that since the introduction of that vaccine
which you guys say is so wonderful despite having no effect whatsoever
on meningitis the rate of peanut induced anaphylaxis has skyrocketed.
Pure coincidence I'm sure. Hamer would say that the trauma of the
vaccine is being associated by the sub-conscious brain with the peanut
proteins.
You see? Another explanation for the observed phenomena that fits in
perfectly with Hamer's theory. Of course, you don't have much time for
coherent explanations much preferring the publishing of reams of
material to determine the truth but it works pretty well for me.
Incidentally, if the publishing of reams of material of some belief
saving lives is your standard for truth, then I can only assume you
are a devout Christian?
On Dec 15, 11:01 am, Katie Brockie <katiebroc...@gmail.com> wrote:
has a couple of interesting quotes: "Despite the efficiency of
complete DNA extraction for the rapid diagnosis by PCR of
extrapulmonary tuberculosis, the false-positive results challenge our
understanding of PCR results."
and: "We specifically chose to examine extrapulmonary tuberculosis,
for which amplification techniques are of considerable interest. The
main difficulty with extrapulmonary specimens is that they yield very
few tubercle bacilli, as demonstrated by the low sensitivity of AFS
and culture."
Very interesting indeed. For those who haven't followed closely, JC
has made his entire argument against the GNM on the premise that germs
can in fact cross the tissue barrier. Now this isn't specifically one
of the laws of the GNM despite JC's intimation however I would be
lying if I tried to dismiss its significance.
Now he may well be right. Maybe germs can cross the tissue barrier. I
personally don't think that would be devastating to the principle of
the mind-body connection in disease, although it would certainly cause
great damage to the representation of the 4th biological law and
hence, Hamer's theory in totality would have to be rejigged.
Personally I would probably expect that anyway, as much as I think he
has come up with something extraordinary, I would be amazed if he had
gotten everything right. Whether it requires minor tweaking or a major
overhaul I honestly don't know.
But here's the thing. JC expects me to believe that germs can cross
the tissue barrier based on tests that seem to show very small amounts
of tubercle bacilli in non-ectoderm related organs. These tests are
notoriously unreliable and they only ever seem to find very small
amounts of the bacilli there. Let alone provide any proof that they
have "crossed the tissue barrier" or that they actually do anything in
these organs (rather than say be there as a result of vaccination).
That doesn't mean that it doesn't happen (ie that germs cross the
tissue barrier) but it is hard for me (or anyone else) to verify that
they do.
> > John- Hide quoted text -
On Dec 15, 4:21 pm, punter <tristanwe...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > John- Hide quoted text -
On Dec 15, 11:57 pm, JC <jc_bige...@yahoo.com.au> wrote:
> Tristan,
>
> 1) What piece of evidence, if any, would falsify the germ theory?
> Anything that was not explainable by the germ theory, as currently
> understood by those who study it.
> I believe AL would describe that as "convenient".
>
> Yes. Unbelievably convenient. Almost as if it were true. Can you
> suggest anything?
As a matter of fact I can. Somebody with symptoms but no germs.
Similarly, someone with germs but no symptoms. Somebody who spends all
their lives surrounded by these supposedly pathogenic and contagious
microbes but remains healthy.
So there you go. Three ways to falsify it. How did I go?
I can go further if you like. As the germ theory implies no self-
limiting ability on the pathogenic microbes to replicate then another
way to falsify it would be to have someone get sick and then get
better. That too would falsify the germ theory wouldn't it?
Further still, as it would be impossible to have an epidemic stop
without immunity or quarantining everybody affected then epidemics
such as SARS or Spanish flu could have only finished once it had
killed the entire population (or that trillions of viral particles had
simultaneously mutated into a benign form). So if humans (or indeed
any animal) exist then the germ theory is falsified.
>It's honestly not hard to find
errors in the germ theory. Really too easy. Too convenient. >
There. Fixed it for you.
On Dec 15, 1:23 pm, JC <jc_bige...@yahoo.com.au> wrote:
Well done. In showing absolutely nothing. So a study was performed
in RAPID diagnostic tests for extra pulmonary TB, as opposed to the
age old technique of culture. "What is more, in paucibacillary
tuberculosis, a much longer incubation time is always required for
positive growth, leaving clinicians with a long delay without a
positive answer. With the development of novel techniques in molecular
biology, these delays might be shortened."
Why do people seek quicker tests? Have a read of this:
http://bit.ly/w4AU9d
TB in the vertebral bodies, periosteum, disc, spine and lungs, with
treatment delayed because of the time taken to culture the TB.
Sometimes they show up in special stains. People are on the lookout
for quicker methods.
Tristan said: "JC has made his entire argument against the GNM on the
premise that germs can in fact cross the tissue barrier. Now this
isn't specifically one of the laws of the GNM despite JC's intimation"
yet from http://learninggnm.com/documents/fourthlaw.html
"Microbes don't cross the tissue threshold!" "Mycobacteria and fungi
only operate in tissues that originate from the endoderm and the old-
brain mesoderm, whereas bacteria that are not mycobacteria only
participate in the healing of tissues deriving from the new-brain
mesoderm." New brain mesoderm, according to GNM, includes bone, and
the spleen.
http://1.usa.gov/shDvKv
"Pancreatic tuberculosis with splenic tuberculosis mimicking advanced
pancreatic cancer with splenic metastasizes: a case report" Don't you
hate that? Here's a patient who they thought had pancreatic cancer, a
short term death sentence, yet they found TB, she was put on TB
antibiotics, and she's alive and well. But GNM LAWS state that TB
cannot be in the spleen.
Isn't that a bugger punter when your statements are so easily
disproven?
"Whether it requires minor tweaking or a major overhaul I honestly
don't know." but Tristan, this is a LAW we're talking about. A LAW.
not a theory that can be tweaked, but a LAW. If the LAW is false,
then so too is GNM.
"JC expects me to believe that germs can cross the tissue barrier
based on tests that seem to show very small amounts of tubercle
bacilli in non-ectoderm related organs." Small? Take a look at the
size of the lesion in the CT scan, Tristan! They were 2cm across!
"Let alone provide any proof that they have "crossed the tissue
barrier" or that they actually do anything in these organs (rather
than say be there as a result of vaccination)." Yes I did. And
what's it got to do with vaccination??? Do vaccination needles go
into the spine or the spleen now?
"That doesn't mean that it doesn't happen (ie that germs cross the
tissue barrier) but it is hard for me (or anyone else) to verify that
they do." until you walk into a hospital...
John
Pretty poorly, actually. As previously covered, these three phenomena
are not even remotely a threat to the "germ theory". It's laughable
you persist with them.
"As the germ theory implies no self-limiting ability on the pathogenic
microbes to replicate then another way to falsify it would be to have
someone get sick and then get better. That too would falsify the germ
theory wouldn't it?"
Maybe in your version of the germ theory. To mine it's completely
acceptable. Heard of the immune system?
"Further still, as it would be impossible to have an epidemic stop
without immunity or quarantining everybody affected then epidemics
such as SARS or Spanish flu could have only finished once it had
killed the entire population (or that trillions of viral particles had
simultaneously mutated into a benign form). So if humans (or indeed
any animal) exist then the germ theory is falsified."
Again, in some really weird world this might make sense Tristan, but
in not way are your observations a threat at all to the "germ
theory". You're really being stretched here, aren't you? Are you
struggling to keep it together, because this last point of yours is
making me concerned "So if humans (or indeed any animal) exist then
the germ theory is falsified." Hmmmm. I think you need to take a
break.
John
So I went to find out about how they test for these things and found
that in actual fact most of the tests they use aren't as certain as
you would make us believe. Which makes me wonder, how certain are we
that TB actually do operate in, for example, the spleen or bronchi? Is
it as certain as the notion that HIV attacks and kills T-cells? Now I
realise you are certain, just as you are certain that someone,
somewhere has written in a textbook the answer to all my questions on
the germ theory. And you and other doctors may be right, but I have a
real hard time just accepting what you all say at face value.
>Don't you hate that? Here's a patient who they thought had pancreatic cancer, a
>short term death sentence, yet they found TB, she was put on TB
>antibiotics, and she's alive and well. But GNM LAWS state that TB
>cannot be in the spleen.
An anecdote JC? I thought you guys hated them?
I have already discussed the issue of antibiotics. But I will do it
again. Drugs affect the brain and hence can affect the healing phase
(ie taking one out of it) thereby eliminating or reducing the
symptoms. Germ theorists use this as proof that they are right. The
only problem is that analgesics can do the same thing - reduce or even
eliminate the symptoms. Which raises the question - do antibiotics
work by killing the bacteria which is causing the symptoms or by
affecting the brain which is causing the symptoms?
This anecdote doesn't prove that mycobacteria operate in the spleen
merely that drugs can reduce symptoms. But there is no argument from
me on that.
> "Whether it requires minor tweaking or a major overhaul I honestly
> don't know." but Tristan, this is a LAW we're talking about. A LAW.
> not a theory that can be tweaked, but a LAW. If the LAW is false,
> then so too is GNM.
Yes JC, but it is Hamer's LAW not mine, and there is no LAW that says
I have to swallow everything he says in total - even if I agree with
him on the mind body connection. You see? That isn't to say that I
don't appreciate the fact that he has a logical cause and effect going
on, unlike the germ theory (which I have already alluded to) but
merely that I could see the principle of mind-body connection still
holding even if it turned out that this particular law was incorrect.
(Although I submit it would definitely hurt Hamer's reputation).
>"JC expects me to believe that germs can cross the tissue barrier
>based on tests that seem to show very small amounts of tubercle
>bacilli in non-ectoderm related organs." Small? Take a look at the
>size of the lesion in the CT scan, Tristan! They were 2cm across!
Come now JC. We both know that any anomaly on a CT scan is nothing
more than an artefact! At any rate the issue isn't the size of the
lesion is it but whether it was caused by TB?
>"That doesn't mean that it doesn't happen (ie that germs cross the
>tissue barrier) but it is hard for me (or anyone else) to verify that
>they do." until you walk into a hospital...
Actually, now that I come to think of it, the last few times I walked
into a hospital I did observe exactly that. Terribly sorry.
On Dec 16, 3:24 pm, JC <jc_bige...@yahoo.com.au> wrote:
> Punter,
>
> Well done. In showing absolutely nothing. So a study was performed
> in RAPID diagnostic tests for extra pulmonary TB, as opposed to the
> age old technique of culture. "What is more, in paucibacillary
> tuberculosis, a much longer incubation time is always required for
> positive growth, leaving clinicians with a long delay without a
> positive answer. With the development of novel techniques in molecular
> biology, these delays might be shortened."
>
> Why do people seek quicker tests? Have a read of this:http://bit.ly/w4AU9d
> TB in the vertebral bodies, periosteum, disc, spine and lungs, with
> treatment delayed because of the time taken to culture the TB.
> Sometimes they show up in special stains. People are on the lookout
> for quicker methods.
>
> Tristan said: "JC has made his entire argument against the GNM on the
> premise that germs can in fact cross the tissue barrier. Now this
> isn't specifically one of the laws of the GNM despite JC's intimation"
> yet fromhttp://learninggnm.com/documents/fourthlaw.html
Indeed, Katie! And with enough time and effort you could make it very
palatable. Much like how Ron L Hubbard invented a religion.
"You didn't grant the premise but you presumably thought the argument
must have been valid (otherwise why bring it up)."
Punter, I bring up plenty of your argument and assuredly, I find a
number of them lacking in merit. I am an odd fellow, sometimes my
motives aren't quite that cut and dry.
"That is why I made up a hypothetical premise up to see if you would
support the conclusion. But you couldn't get your head around what I
did. You never do. "
This from the chap who gets medical theories from a man whose mental
stability is roughly equivalent to the misfortunate soul who spews
forth unlikely eschatons on the street corner, are clearly the crafter
of argumentation so advanced that nobody but you and Greg can
understand it.
"If you need to me to give you a rundown of valid/invalid/sound/
unsound arguments feel free to ask. "
You'll have to ask that man I just mentioned when that might be.
"Creating a blatant strawman? How very convenient for you. "
You said nobody could prove the root cause of a malady under GNM
therefore a reasonable extrapolation would be that nobody could ever
really conclusive prove GNM. That's not a strawman. You seem to be bad
at identifying logical fallacies.
"1) What piece of evidence, if any, would falsify the germ theory? "
I already answered Greg on that one: prove that something else is
better. I won't be shocked if, or rather when, you don't.
"2) What piece of evidence, if any, would make the germ theory almost
impossible to argue against? "
Ab-initio explanations for every existing disease, as I said, we're
not there yet. More time and more money and we'll get there. Don't be
surprised if, once we start to comprehensively understand signalling
pathways, things lurch forward at a fantastic pace. Seems to be the
way of things in science. Yay for discovery.
"3) & 4) same as for GNM and for any other alternative theory. "
3) I don't think there's any truth to it to begin with.
4) Somehow proving that focii aren't detector artefacts would be a
good place to start, also the jew thing, I want the jew cure for
cancer, perhaps you can sneak into Zion and get it for me?
"At least GNM does offer explanations which is more than i can say of
the germ theory. "
How can demonstrably wrong answers be better than incomplete correct
answers? I realise that many people find definitive answers
comforting. Snake oil salesmen and confidence tricksters have been
using this comfort for quite some time but any hope they provide is
false hope in exchange for profit for them.
"Why hasn't Hamer published a paper? Jeez remember Wakefield? And that
wasn't even a study! "
Andrew Wakefield was the author of his own demise. Taking money from a
tort lawyer in order to fabricate a scientific explanation was an
inexcusable breach.
"I believe AL would describe that as "convenient". "
You are mistaken. I would not. I would describe that as a logical
confluence. You're much better at playing Greg then you are at acting
me.
"I note an interesting article here"
Again with your flawed argumentation. Criticism of germ theory, which
that article is not, does not answer any of John's (or mine, many of
which are distinctly different from John's) criticism. You cannot
legitimise your own argument by attacking someone else.
I have no problem with you doing both, in a debate one must address
the issue of your learned colleagues argument, but if you continue to
ignore arguments directed at you in this fashion I will be forced to
conclude that you were simply incapable of answering these arguments
in the first place.
"Like I said, the problem is that your falsification requires an
observation I simply can't verify. "
Oh, well, if it CAN'T be verified then it must be believed. How very
convenient for you.
"Yes but it all depends on what you think a scientific theory should
do
doesn't it? "
Provide an evidence based explanation that rationalises the
fundamental mechanisms underpinning reality. In lay terms, tell us how
stuff works in a logical fashion.
"Bek, Greg and I think that a scientific theory should take all the
obvious relevant phenomena and devise a coherent explanation for said
phenomena. "
Post-hoc, ergo propter hoc makes extremely poor scientific
argumentation. Would you like to buy these rocks I'm selling? They
protect from bear attacks. I've got them on a Christmas Special, comes
with free homeopathic oxygen. Give me a shout and I'll link you to my
ebay store.
"AL believes a theory's relative worth is determined by its adherents'
knowledge of Shakespeare"
No he doesn't. Further evidence that you really are terrible at acting
me.
"Hamer's explanation for hayfever fits into this narrative perfectly.
"
So does my Grand Unifying Theory Of Spaghetti Monster, it's all
explained in my book, The Grand Unifying Theory of Spaghetti Monster
Dilemma. Also available at my ebay store. (author's comment: te he he,
aint I a stinker?)
"Hamer would say that the trauma of the vaccine is being associated by
the sub-conscious brain with the peanut proteins. "
Why then, is there no such thing as a beach allergy given that saline
is also associated with the, ahem, "trauma" of vaccines? Honestly, I
think you're making this up as you go along, Punter, I don't think
even Hamer himself would go with you on this one.
"As the germ theory implies no self- limiting ability on the
pathogenic microbes to replicate"
Uh. Yes it does. Pathogenic microbes can't multiply effectively
outside of a host OR once they've exhausted their available food
supply. Furthermore, many if not most microbial organisms require the
ability to colonise in order to function at higher levels of
efficiency. The germ theory isn't required to explain what you can
learn in high school biology, Punter.
"Further still, as it would be impossible to have an epidemic stop
without immunity or quarantining everybody affected then epidemics
such as SARS or Spanish flu could have only finished once it had
killed the entire population"
Not every pathogen has the ability to kill a human host before it can
formulate an immune response, punter and not all pathogens are as
mobile as others. The fact that we can artificially increase the both
the potency and the infectiousness of these microbes is further proof
of germ theory. Speaking of which, I've brought this up a couple of
times and you've still ignored me, how DO biological weapons work
according to GNM? Also, where did smallpox go, according to GNM? Did
we stop having that form of trauma? If so, what was that trauma?
"So if humans (or indeed any animal) exist then the germ theory is
falsified. "
Evolution, anybody? You know what happens when a species cannot
survive predation, whether it be macro or micro? They die off. I know
you and Greg seem to think we're in the habit of dodgying up history
so I'll give you an extant example: European honey bees.The wonderful
confluence of science is that everything fits in with everything else.
"When I asked for it you provided things that stated nothing of the
sort -
indeed often quite the opposite. "
Indeed nothing of the sort. John Cunningham isn't, as you aware, a
biochemist working on the mechanisms of HIV, it is HARDLY surprising
that he wasn't conversant in the dated literature and linked to a
paper by someone who was. This paper: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0167-5699(91)90092-8
was described by these chaps (dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.
1440-1711.1999.00798.x) as being the first paper proposing the
currently theorised mechanism of what had already been experimentally
observed.
"Is it as certain as the notion that HIV attacks and kills T-cells? "
Notion? You imply that there is uncertainty? We can WATCH them do it.
(http://bit.ly/rDNWOe) I thought I'd already pointed this out? Perhaps
that was for polio.
"And you and other doctors may be right, but I have a real hard time
just accepting what you all say at face value. "
You don't have to accept what we say at face value, you can read all
of the literature, from beginning to end, yourself.
" "Drugs affect the brain and hence can affect the healing phase (ie
taking one out of it) thereby eliminating or reducing the symptoms.
But if all healing is carried out by the sub-conscious brain how can
non-psychoactive antibiotics affect the brain in a fashion that is
substantive in GNM?
"Yes JC, but it is Hamer's LAW not mine, and there is no LAW that says
I have to swallow everything he says in total - even if I agree with
him on the mind body connection. You see? "
How then, do you decide on what you pick to keep and what you choose
to ignore? I ask the same question of christians when it comes to
adherence to the bible, the answer is invariably whatever feels best
to me.
"Come now JC. We both know that any anomaly on a CT scan is nothing
more than an artefact! "
The shape and contrast of a lesion is visibly difference from the
geometric patterns that are generated by optics artefacts.
I think what you are trying to argue here is that because you didn’t
understand it but other people did this somehow makes me insane. If
that isn’t what you are saying could you explain exactly what the
point of that spiel was?
>You said nobody could prove the root cause of a malady under GNM
therefore a reasonable extrapolation would be that nobody could ever
really conclusive prove GNM. That's not a strawman. You seem to be
bad
at identifying logical fallacies. <
No. I said nobody could do what JC demanded because nobody has a time
machine and perfect omniscience. To do what you just asked would be
best answered by finding an example of someone being “cured” of an
affliction by Hamer (or someone using his tenets) by resolving that
particular conflict. Of course, even if you were shown examples of
this, you might argue (quite reasonably) that there are too many
confounders for it to be considered persuasive.
<"1) What piece of evidence, if any, would falsify the germ theory?
"
I already answered Greg on that one: prove that something else is
better. I won't be shocked if, or rather when, you don't. >
Exactly. You think we should always just default to whatever is most
popular. I don’t. That is fine that you feel that way – just don’t
expect me to nod in agreement whenever you say that: “in the face of
convincing contradictory evidence, scientists regularly reassess their
views”. According to you they should only do so if somebody
simultaneously comes up with a flawless alternative theory.
>Ab-initio explanations for every existing disease, as I said, we're
not there yet. <
Not necessary. A single observation of the germ theory in action would
be fine.
<"I believe AL would describe that as "convenient". "
You are mistaken. I would not. I would describe that as a logical
confluence. You're much better at playing Greg then you are at acting
me. >
What? You wouldn’t want to have your own arguments turned against you?
I must admit that thought never occurred to me when I wrote that
statement. But given that Greg, Bek, Tasha all no doubt understood it
and you didn’t I guess that proves I’m insane right?
>Again with your flawed argumentation. Criticism of germ theory, which
that article is not, does not answer any of John's (or mine, many of
which are distinctly different from John's) criticism. You cannot
legitimise your own argument by attacking someone else. >
I wasn’t using it as an argument against the germ theory (although
there was that as well) I was using it to show that JC’s premise for
disproving one of the laws of the GNM might not have been based on as
robust observations as he would have us believe. Read what has
transpired very carefully and you may just follow it. And correct me
if I am wrong but aren’t you legitimising your belief in the germ
theory by attacking the GNM? Wasn’t that precisely your point when you
claimed that to falsify the germ theory you have to come up with a
superior alternative?
<"Like I said, the problem is that your falsification requires an
observation I simply can't verify. "
Oh, well, if it CAN'T be verified then it must be believed. How very
convenient for you. >
Ummm, no it means it hasn’t been falsified in that way. And I never
implied that it would.
>So does my Grand Unifying Theory Of Spaghetti Monster, it's all
explained in my book, The Grand Unifying Theory of Spaghetti Monster
Dilemma. Also available at my ebay store. (author's comment: te he
he,
aint I a stinker?) <
Sounds great. Hundreds of pages of atheist smugness.
"Hamer would say that the trauma of the vaccine is being associated
by
the sub-conscious brain with the peanut proteins. "
Why then, is there no such thing as a beach allergy given that saline
is also associated with the, ahem, "trauma" of vaccines? Honestly, I
think you're making this up as you go along, Punter, I don't think
even Hamer himself would go with you on this one.
I assume it is because foreign proteins are just that - foreign.
Saline isn’t treated by the brain as such because otherwise the body
would be allergic to itself.
<"As the germ theory implies no self- limiting ability on the
pathogenic microbes to replicate"
Uh. Yes it does. Pathogenic microbes can't multiply effectively
outside of a host OR once they've exhausted their available food
supply. Furthermore, many if not most microbial organisms require the
ability to colonise in order to function at higher levels of
efficiency. The germ theory isn't required to explain what you can
learn in high school biology, Punter. >
So they will stay until they have devoured an entire organ presumably
killing the person in the process. So how exactly would that enable
people to survive the microbial onslaught?
As for the ability to colonise I don’t know what question that is
supposed to answer. If someone is sick from the flu then presumably
the flu virus must (according to your logic (I feel reticent to say
this because I have no idea what tangent you will run off on)) have
the ability to colonise. So how do people recover from it?
<"Further still, as it would be impossible to have an epidemic stop
without immunity or quarantining everybody affected then epidemics
such as SARS or Spanish flu could have only finished once it had
killed the entire population"
Not every pathogen has the ability to kill a human host before it can
formulate an immune response, punter and not all pathogens are as
mobile as others. >
So you are saying that the pathogen that supposedly caused the Spanish
flu couldn’t kill anyone or easily transmit itself to other people?
Hey. No arguments from me!
>The fact that we can artificially increase the both
the potency and the infectiousness of these microbes is further proof
of germ theory. Speaking of which, I've brought this up a couple of
times and you've still ignored me, how DO biological weapons work
according to GNM? <
You’ll have to ask Hamer. But presumably (other than poisons which may
be given simultaneously) I suppose if the people targeted with the
weapons believed that they worked then they could go through a
conflict shock as a result (if it is a death fright then lung cancer,
but it is possible that other conflicts could arise as a result). In
the meantime you are welcome to grab some of these artificially
strengthened germs and I will happily eat them.
<Also, where did smallpox go, according to GNM? Did
we stop having that form of trauma? >
You are a very smart guy. I really mean that. You have a tendency to
comprehend things that you want to rather than what the author intends
but you are clearly very bright. But I wonder how it could be that you
are not aware of the position of the likes of Greg and me on the issue
of small pox.
Remember how Hamer was trying to ponder the meaning of “hay”fever?
Have you ever pondered how we get the name “chicken” in chicken pox?
It is because in the past it was, by definition, a mild form of pox.
If you had pox and died then you couldn’t have had chicken pox because
such a severe case would have always been described as small pox. And
yet today, parents are told that if they don’t have their children
injected with poisons to protect them from the scourge of chicken pox
their chances of survival are less than a World War I pilot (note:
this is an exaggeration). Now why would this be I wonder? You don’t of
course. To you such a remarkable turnaround in the nature of chicken
pox is completely uninteresting. But I don’t find it uninteresting. I
find it quite fantastic. So much so that I wonder whether the whole
small pox eradication is nothing more than a change in definition.
I wonder even more when I see the exact same process unfold with every
other disease that has supposedly been reduced or eradicated by
vaccines. (BTW under Hamer’s theory pox is a separation conflict).
>Evolution, anybody? You know what happens when a species cannot
survive predation, whether it be macro or micro? They die off. I know
you and Greg seem to think we're in the habit of dodgying up history
so I'll give you an extant example: European honey bees.The wonderful
confluence of science is that everything fits in with everything else.
>
Of course! I forgot how I evolved spontaneously to be immune from the
coronavirus. You see my understanding of evolution was that it
happened before I was born and most mutations are harmful but some
turned out to be positive (in relation to the environment). But
according to you we each evolve spontaneously whenever the need
arises. So on day 50 of the SARS panic everybody in the planet was
vulnerable to the coronavirus so we had to run around in a blind
panic, on day 51 every single person became simultaneously immune and
there was nothing to worry about (or alternatively, trillions of viral
particles all simultaneously mutated into a benign form). Which raises
the question, why didn’t the public health authorities tell us this
was going to happen?
"Is it as certain as the notion that HIV attacks and kills T-cells? "
Notion? You imply that there is uncertainty? We can WATCH them do it.
(http://bit.ly/rDNWOe) I thought I'd already pointed this out?
Perhaps
that was for polio. >
From the paper you provided: “Despite thorough screening, we have not
yet detected structures that appear to represent this type of fusion
event where one might expect a partially fused virion in the act of
transferring the viral genome-containing core into the cell. One
possible explanation for this could be that the fusion event itself is
very rapid, and therefore not detected in our experiments.”
I ask for an observation of HIV attacking and killing T-cells. You
give me a paper that does no such thing. They even state that they
couldn’t see them attacking anything and they make no mention of mass
T-cell necrosis.
But they did see lots of cool spikes and stuff and they were, quite
understandably, very excited about this.
>You don't have to accept what we say at face value, you can read all
of the literature, from beginning to end, yourself. <
I prefer to read less but understand more.
<But if all healing is carried out by the sub-conscious brain how can
non-psychoactive antibiotics affect the brain in a fashion that is
substantive in GNM? >
I don’t get the point of the question. I believe that antibiotics can
affect the brain. If you don’t then you obviously won’t be satisfied
with my response.
But if you care, you can think about how these drugs are tested. Do
they give people antibiotics and then count up the number of
supposedly pathogenic microbes in the body and, if it is significantly
less, declare the drug to be a success or do they give people
antibiotics and observe any reduction in symptoms and if there is said
reduction declare the potion to be a success. One would think it was
the latter. They don’t directly observe how the antibiotics work to
alleviate the symptoms in the body they have to draw an inference.
They know that they kill living things and so they infer that that
must be what is reducing the symptoms. But whilst this is a plausible
conclusion it isn’t a uniquely valid one.
<How then, do you decide on what you pick to keep and what you choose
to ignore? I ask the same question of christians when it comes to
adherence to the bible, the answer is invariably whatever feels best
to me. >
I think for myself.
And to use an analogy with religion is pretty ridiculous. Religion
(like most mainstream science) is completely dependent on the notion
of authority (scripture). Show one thing is wrong and you
automatically call into question the basis for everything else. I can
believe one of three things: a) A significant mind body connection in
relation to disease causation is complete nonsense; b) there is a mind-
body connection and Hamer makes an extremely good fist of representing
it; or c) there is a significant mind-body connection but Hamer’s
attempt to explain it falls well short of the mark. I am very much of
the view that (a) is wrong, but I haven't decided on (b) vs (c).
<The shape and contrast of a lesion is visibly difference from the
geometric patterns that are generated by optics artefacts. >
Oh I’m sorry. I didn’t realise that you had gone over and checked
every single one of Hamer’s CT scans to ensure that every single
anomaly was consistent with one generated by optics artefacts. My
mistake.
What were you saying about how scientists are constantly questioning
their own views and are more than happy to change their minds?
"[Contrary to popular belief and the lovely little quotes that Meryl
and
punter present], in the face of convincing contradictory evidence,
scientists regularly reassess their views. That being said, the
larger
your claims the stronger your evidence needs to be. If you were going
to posit that our current understanding of germ theory was completely
wrong you would need to do it with something much more convincing
then, say, GNM. "
Of course I think this statement is completely invalid anyway but
still.
> ...
>
> read more »- Hide quoted text -
I don't think anyone doctors these days doubt the connection between
stress and disease. It certainly does not pose a problem with modern
medicine, and what Tristan refers to as the "germ theory". Where GNM
goes off the rails is in several areas. For example, "Every cancer
or cancer-like disease originates with a Dirk Hamer Syndrome ('DHS')
which is a very difficult highly acute, dramatic and isolating
shock". There is no proof of the DHS, or the Hamer Focus which you
may also read about. Another is that "All microbes are steered from
the brain", which is a statement without plausibility. That's just a
start.
As I saidf, no one doubts the link between stress and disease. It's
just that GNM doesn't explain it.
John
I think it's time for you to take a break from this debate site.
You're losing it.
"When I asked for it you provided things that stated nothing of the
sort" - except that they did Tristan, but you couldn't understand it.
"So I went to find out about how they test for these things and found
that in actual fact most of the tests they use aren't as certain as
you would make us believe." All doctors understand sensitivity,
specificity, positive and negative predictive values, Tristan, and
that there is a difference in requirements between screening tests and
other tests. No one's tried to make you believe anything.
"Which makes me wonder, how certain are we that TB actually do operate
in, for example, the spleen or bronchi?" The gold standard, Tristan -
culturing it. Which is how it was done in the case report I gave you.
"Is it as certain as the notion that HIV attacks and kills T-cells?"
Even more so.
"Now I realise you are certain, just as you are certain that someone,
somewhere has written in a textbook the answer to all my questions on
the germ theory." Yes they have, and I've even given you several
books to read, with all the evidence and references your heart could
desire.
"And you and other doctors may be right, but I have a real hard time
just accepting what you all say at face value." Yes we are, and I
know you have a hard time accepting it. Your acceptance of it or not
doesn't change it though.
"An anecdote JC? I thought you guys hated them?" We do, but when you
want to show that a law is false, you only need one exception.
Otherwise it's known as a theory. Pity Hamer called it a law.
"I have already discussed the issue of antibiotics. But I will do it
again". Please don't. This is a thread on GNM, and we know how you
hate people distracting from the argument. Oh, i see you have...
"Drugs affect the brain and hence can affect the healing phase (ie
taking one out of it) thereby eliminating or reducing the symptoms."
You do of course, have plenty of references for this statement, don't
you Tristan? Plenty of basic science and clinical examples to support
this? Or is this one of your logical steps that you enjoy taking?
"Germ theorists use this as proof that they are right." No. Germ
theorists wouldn't in their right mind use that as proof that they are
right. "Germ theorists" would use many years of science to show how
antibiotics work, and it has nothing to do with their effect on the
brain. Antibiotics actually kill bacteria, and we even know how they
do it. Some inhibit enzymes, and some open the cell walls. Maybe you
could do some reading about it? We can even culture the bacteria on
an agar plate and see how they are killed by placing discs of
antibiotics on the plate. No immune system or body to talk of - an in-
vitro demonstration, if you will, that you adore so much. Here's what
they look like:
http://bit.ly/bV7eAq
and here's some antibiotic discs on the plate:
http://bit.ly/ukIrTq
See how they grow?
"The only problem is that analgesics can do the same thing - reduce or
even eliminate the symptoms." No they don't. Paracetamol reduces
fever. Antibiotics help kill bugs.
"Which raises the question - do antibiotics work by killing the
bacteria which is causing the symptoms or by affecting the brain which
is causing the symptoms?" Hmmm i'm thinking it's the former. why?
Because you have not produced one thread of evidence yet for the
latter, apart from a whole pile of conjecture.
"This anecdote doesn't prove that mycobacteria operate in the spleen
merely that drugs can reduce symptoms. But there is no argument from
me on that. " No it doesn't. They took the person's spleen out and
cultured TB from the lesions. That kinda means that the TB was in the
spleen.
"Yes JC, but it is Hamer's LAW not mine, and there is no LAW that says
I have to swallow everything he says in total - even if I agree with
him on the mind body connection. You see?" Yes I do. you admit Hamer
wasn't right with respect to that Law. Hence, GNM, which is based on
a set of five Laws, is flawed. How can you have GNM if even one of
the Laws is wrong? Unless it's now called "Tristan Wells version of
GNM." Shall we start that thread?
"That isn't to say that I don't appreciate the fact that he has a
logical cause and effect going on, unlike the germ theory (which I
have already alluded to) but merely that I could see the principle of
mind-body connection still holding even if it turned out that this
particular law was incorrect." Yes, i can see how logical it is, even
if it's complete bullocks. Very logical, and very wrong. They sky is
blue because it's reflecting the light off the ocean. Very logical,
very wrong.
"(Although I submit it would definitely hurt Hamer's reputation)."
Yes it would, and it would rock GNM to it's core. Pity your precious
GNM is looking a tad hurt. i haven't even started on the Hamer focus
yet.
"Come now JC. We both know that any anomaly on a CT scan is nothing
more than an artefact!" Oops - you did. Pity that the lesion that
was seen on CT was also seen on ultrasound, and also cut out and
examined by a pathologist. It's hard - nigh, it's impossible - to cut
out an artefact, let alone grow TB from it. As opposed to the Hamer
focus which is an artefact - an anomaly in the machine.
At any rate the issue isn't the size of the lesion is it but whether
it was caused by TB?" Yep. And it was.
So what shall we talk about next? The Hamer focus? The great swathes
of evidence supporting GNM, or even your version of it? How about "As
natural "micro-surgeons", fungi and mycobacteria remove, for example,
colon tumors, lung tumors, kidney tumors, liver tumors, prostate
tumors, glandular breast tumors, or melanomas that are no longer
needed.". Surely you can provide adequate examples of this
occurring. Should be quite straightforward, really. We should always
see neoplastic cells within abscesses.
Or you could politely accept that GNM is a load of rubbish and give
up.
John
“Studies done over the past 30 years that examined the relationship between psychological factors, including stress, and cancer risk have produced conflicting results. Although the results of some studies have indicated a link between various psychological factors and an increased risk of developing cancer, a direct cause-and-effect relationship has not been proven (3, 4).
Some studies have indicated an indirect relationship between stress and certain types of virus-related tumors. Evidence from both animal and human studies suggests that chronic stress weakens a person’s immune system, which in turn may affect the incidence of virus-associated cancers, such as Kaposi sarcoma and some lymphomas (5).
More recent research with animal models (animals with a disease that is similar to or the same as a disease in humans) suggests that the body’s neuroendocrine response (release of hormones into the blood in response to stimulation of the nervous system) can directly alter important processes in cells that help protect against the formation of cancer, such as DNA repair and the regulation of cell growth (6).”
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/stress
“Studies on the role of stress in cancer have not been consistent in their results. Researchers who study the influence of stress on the progression of cancer face many hurdles, according to Cohen and his colleagues. Cancer can go undiagnosed for a long time, and its progression is difficult to measure with much precision. There are many types of cancers, and it is possible that stress only influences those facilitated by sustained hormonal response and impairments in immunity.
"We will need additional studies across a broader range of cancers before we can fairly evaluate the role of stress in cancer," Cohen said.”
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071009164122.htm
Cheers