Jabster
Member
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/14/simon-singh-chiropractors-appeal
"A science writer who is being sued for libel by the British Chiropractic Association is to fight on after a preliminary judgment against him was overturned on appeal today."
Good news indeed ...
Jabster
Member
@Vorjack
Hopefully it's cases like this that will make our libel laws change to be more sensible. What was put in place to protect privacy has turned into a way for those with money to silence those without it. When you have non-British nationals coming to have their cases heard in the UK courts you know that you've gone wrong somewhere. When the UN complains about it then maybe you think you must have got something right!
@Ty
I wonder how many practitioners of homoeopathy actually believe in the 'science' of it and how many just know it's a complete and utter scam?
Leo
Member
Hi All, I'm a bit new here!
It is really good news, and everything in the case so far has been so much against Simon that I only hope this right to appeal will be the turning of the tide.
The two good things that have come out of this are a healthy debate about the evidence for chiropractic, and a campaign to reform the UKs crazy libel laws with a lot of momentum.
@Jabster
I tend to think most people who practice ridiculous "treatments" like homeopathy do believe that they work, rather than just being scammers. That's what makes it so dangerous (in case like malaria prevention) and so hard to argue against, just like religion, most of them really believe they are helping people.
Jabster
Member
If you want more examples of the stupidty of British Law then take a look at http://www.private-eye.co.uk for the story of how Trafigura tried to gag newspapers reporting questions raised in the House of Commons.
Leo
Member
@Ty
Now that's an interesting point, it's something I had't thought of at all. I was thinking about homeopathic and other CAM practitioners.
I'd imagine (although I have no knowledge to back this up with) that factories are more process-based than content-based, so the process of diluting "active" ingredients to pointless concentrations would be focussed on more than the final ingredients (water) of a bottle of remedy.
The mother of a friend likes to give people homeopathic remedies if they have a problem of any kind. People keep telling her she has helped them, whether through placebo or through not wanting to be ungrateful. So she truly believes it works.
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