May 15, 2009
Nemenhah Band
When I originally saw this about the Nemenhah Band I thought it was something to do with competition for the Jonas Brothers market. Now that I've actually seen more about it, it;s worse than that. And it's so much worse than that that it stinks. The Nemenhah Band are scam artists, at least to the extent that the Nemenhah band are not simply sorely deluded lunatics, and it looks like a young boy is going to die as a result.
Now, OK, I admit it, I'm biased. That sounds like a bunch of kooks to me but in a free society everybody is allowed to follow their own path to kookiness.
The Internet is a funny thing. Perhaps Colleen Hauser, the mother of 13-year-old Danny, who has Hodgkin's lymphoma, also looked a little deeper on the Web and discarded critical opinions about the group, the Nemenhah Band, but I doubt it.
Too bad, because Danny's life may depend on it.
If she had, she would have found case files in which Nemenhah's leader, Phillip (Cloudpiler) Landis, who submitted testimony in the case, had been convicted of fraud in two states. Or that another member of the band, James Mooney, won a case that allows him to claim religious exemption from law and sell drugs -- peyote.
Hmm....now these are the people I would want to be determining the medical treatment of my cancer stricken son. Not. But that's what the Nemenhah band are in fact doing:
In January, Daniel was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma -- a highly curable form of cancer. Doctors recommended six rounds of chemotherapy, but Daniel and his parents stopped after one round. Doctors later notified authorities after becoming concerned about Daniel's health.
The family says chemotherapy is against their religious beliefs. Although Catholic, the family is also members of the Native American religious organization called the Nemenhah Band.
Yup, kiddie's gonna die for the nutty beliefs of these fruit loops. The Nemenhah Band is almost as good as Tom Cruise and his stupidity about psychiatry. Poorer, but if they can suck in a few more cancer sufferers, perhaps not for all that much longer.
The judge commended the family's belief in natural healing and in the Nemenhah Band as "genuine and strong".
The judge cited several Minnesota statutes that require parents to provide "necessary medical care" to their children, and that "complementary and alternative health care" is not enough.
There is a real and important issue here, one that goes well above whether this particular teen lives or dies.
Daniel is 13. He is not competent. He is not competent to decide to drink beer, to get married, to join the Army, to vote.....he is a child and thus not competent. The question is, who is competent? Normally we would say his parents, but when they end up following the nuttiness of groups like the Nemenhah
Band we don't. We don't allow Christian Scientists to ban blood transfusions for their children, we don't allow the anti-vaccine nutballs to not vaccinate their children yet still send them to public school.
Nope, sorry, Daniel gets the chemo and then if he feels violated then when he's 18 he can make his own decisions. But while he's still a minor then others must take care of him.
May 15, 2009 in Scams and Frauds | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
May 01, 2009
500 lbs of gold
You know, it is possible to steal 500 lbs of gold....and for nobody to know that you've actually stolen it.
The district attorney for New York City's borough of Queens said Teresa Tambunting, 50, was arraigned Wednesday on charges of first-degree grand larceny and first-degree criminal possession of stolen property from Jacmel Jewelry Inc.
"The defendant is accused of establishing a virtual mining operation ... which siphoned off millions of dollars worth of the precious metal from her employer," Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement.
As is the secret with any successful theft, take a little bit at a time but take a little bit every day.
Most especially in the metals business, or scrap recycling. Accounting is necessarily vague, fpor you never really know how much of the target metal is in the original stock, nor how much is lost in processiong. You can, indeed, steal a few tens, perhaps a few hundreds of dollars a day and not get caught. Over the years, that adds up.
May 1, 2009 in Scams and Frauds | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 20, 2008
Bigfoot hoax
NOW UPDATED BELOW
The body of a bigfoot has been discovered in North Georgia. Two bigfoot hobby hunters, Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer say they were hiking in the woods in July when they came across the dead sasquatch.
The dead dirty ape is seven feet, seven inches tall and weighs more than 500 pounds. Whitton and Dyer took it home - possibly by strapping it to the hood - and have stuffed it into a freezer.
The sasquatch seekers also say they saw three live bigfoots (bigfeet?) while they were hauling off their huge hairy hominid carcass.
Whitton and Dyer held a press conference on Friday and released a photo of their curious cadaver lying in a chest freezer with his intestines splayed across his torso like a string of sasquatch sausages. They claim they intend to release video footage and DNA evidence that their hirsute humanoid is what they say it is and not at all a gorilla costume and some frozen deli cuts.
UPDATE
Bigfoot has been confirmed as a gorilla costume and some frozen deli cuts!
Rick Biscardi, a Californian Bigfoot hunter, who allegedly paid $50,000 for the rights to Bigfoot turned it over to Steve Kulls, a self-styled "Sasquatch detective" for testing. Kulls was unsure of the authenticity of Bigfoot so began to melt the ice block. Within an hour the head was partially exposed, Kulls said "As I was now able to touch it, I was able to feel that it seemed mostly firm, but unusually hollow in one small section. This was yet another ominous sign. " An ice crack then appeared around the feet which meant Kulls could get his hand in and discover he was touching a rubber foot.
Whitton and Dyer confirmed in a telephone conversation to Rick Biscardi that it was a hoax and promised to return the $50,000. Whitton has since been fired from his job as a Georgia police officer.
BBC News, UK -
The claimed recent discovery of Bigfoot in the US state of Georgia has turned out to be a hoax - it was a rubber gorilla suit in a block of ice. ...
Atlanta Journal Constitution, USA
The body of a supposed ape-man found in the North Georgia mountains was nothing but an empty rubber monkey suit embedded in ice, according to ...
Times Online, UK
An American police officer who claimed to have found Bigfoot has been fired from the force, after it emerged that the hairy heap in his freezer was not the ...
San Jose Mercury News, USA
Melting ice uncovered a hoax this week, as the "Bigfoot" found in a Georgia woods turned out to be . . . a rubber Halloween costume. ...
Edmonton Sun, Canada
Two researchers trying to prove the existence of Bigfoot say that the carcass encased in a block of ice - handed over to them for an undisclosed sum ...
Reuters UK, UK
No wonder Bigfoot failed a DNA test. Researchers said on Tuesday the hairy heap claimed by two men to be the corpse of the mythical ...
Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom
Two American hunters who claimed to have definitive evidence proving the existence of Bigfoot have been exposed as hoaxers. By Catherine Elsworth in Los ...
Melbourne Herald Sun, Australia
A POLICE officer faces the sack after he and another man claimed to have the body of Bigfoot in a freezer. The body turned out to be a ...
August 20, 2008 in Scams and Frauds | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
July 30, 2008
Montauk Monster
A monster has apparently washed up on the beach at Montauk, NY.
Photographs have been released of the bizarre carcass of an unknown creature, hairless, with flippers, teeth and what appears to be a beak.
Well, I'm as much an expert on never-before-seen sea monsters as anyone, so here's what I think.
It's either an unknown species, a mutation, something created by evil geniuses in a lab or a hoax. Or a space alien.
In order of unlikeliness...
Unknown species - highly unlikely. For a creature this size to have never been seen before would be amazing, especially as it appears to be mammalian, so it would live around the surface of the sea.
A mutation - very unlikely. For something to mutate this much and yet still live long enough to grow to what seems at least a couple of feet long would take some seriously weird stuff - like being bitten by a radio-active sea-spider or something.
Something created by evil geniuses in a lab - pretty unlikely. I just don't think science is at a stage where we can create our own animals to order. If we can though, I'd like a Tigeroo. It could take me to work in its pouch and it would be great against intruders.
A hoax - most likely. Just because that's what people like to do. It's kind of cool, though.
If it's a space alien, then what's it doing dead on a beach? Did it fall out of the saucer's hatch when they were buzzing the Hamptons looking for someone to abduct?
UPDATE: Another 'monster', but this one is at least a real fish.
Daily Telegraph, Australia
REMAINS of a mysterious "creature" washed up on a Long Island beach have set websites in United States abuzz ...
DigitalJournal.com, Canada
So there’s a picture of the Montauk Monster. I don’t make a habit of helping publicize fratbrain stunts. However, the Montauk Monster thing is interesting on ...
Associated Content, CO
An unknown creature that washed up on the beach in Montauk, New York, has been dubbed the "Montauk Monster" ...
CollegeOTR, NY
Since then, the creature has earned the nickname "The Montauk Monster" and left half the Internet speculating what exactly it is. ...
Post Chronicle
It may be a dog...it may be an unknown species, an experiment or it may be a prank, but one thing is for sure - the "Montauk Monster" is ...
July 30, 2008 in Scams and Frauds | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack
March 12, 2008
Oxy Silver
This is the advertising page for Oxy Silver.
Colloidal Silver:
Silver that is electronically processed into a fine
state of subdivision that is suspended in liquid, and due to the electronic charge,
hold's it's individual character and settles VERY SLOWLY.
Ionic Silver:
Electronically processed silver that is broken down into a
free electron (or sub-atomic particle) that exists in solution.
High Grade Nano-Silver:
(2,000 ppm) Silver that has been electronically pushed into a state
where it develops a self perpetuating very rapid pulse. A definition
given by one of the world's leading physicists, Dr. Robert C. Beck,
is that "the silver, when processed by this method, loses its identity
as a traceable element and is not identified as a 'particle' and acts
more like a gas. Others have come up with the same results."
Dr. Beck tested the above three forms of silver for penetrability of living tissue. He found that all forms of colloidal and ionic silver had a 5% to 6% effectiveness for penetrating the cell membrane. When he tested the 2,000 ppm water-soluble Silver, he was astonished to see a 100% penetration!
Important Note:
OXY-Silver does not build up in your body, unlike most colloidal silver
products. Ordinary colloidal silver must be broken down by the liver
and digestive system. Our water-soluble (gaseous state) silver particles
never reach your liver because they are small enough to penetrate directly
into the tissues!
This is chemically illiterate, a gross misrepresentation of the truth, in fact, it's so bad that I would wonder whether whoever wrote ithas even opened a chemistry texbook.
This is a scam, a fraud: seriously, you really don't want to be doing anything as stupid as taking Oxy Silver.
March 12, 2008 in Scams and Frauds | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack
February 13, 2008
Pay-Ads.com
Pay-Ads.com is not something you want to add to your website. It all looks good enough, they promise $3.5 CPM ad rates for putting a banner ad into your site.
Pay-Ads.com also promise to pay you promptly: they even do pay you promptly.
However, the one thing that Pay-Ads.com don't in fact tell you is that they are going to be broadcasting malware through their banner ads. Which makes them scummy, thieving bastards of course.
And the malware from Pay-Ads.com is so bad that within a day or two of adding their ads they will in fact get you banned from Google. My page views, when I made the extremely stupid decision to add Pay-Ads.com, went from 10,000 a day to 1,000 a day.
So, just a note to people out there. You do not want to add Pay-Ads.com to your site because they are scummy thieving bastards, OK?
February 13, 2008 in Scams and Frauds | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack
January 15, 2008
Zestra
Zestra sounds like a very funny little product. I seem to recall something like Zestra a few years back under another name. Here's the claims about Zestra:
Zestra®, the only women's intimacy product clinically shown to quickly increase female sexual sensation, arousal and pleasure, is the topically applied, non-prescription solution that significantly enhances sexual satisfaction of women and their partners. Recommended by numerous books on women's sexual health, Zestra is the leading women's intimacy product in the United States and is sold at 40,000 retailers. Applied during foreplay, Zestra is the long-awaited breakthrough for the 43 percent women that have problems with desire, arousal and enjoying satisfying sexual experiences. Leading women's health professionals recommend Zestra because it's the only clinically studied product available that effectively addresses female sexual problems. Zestra's patented formula is the result of seven years of research and clinical testing. Specifically designed for the sensitive needs of women, Zestra is hormone-free and does not contain potentially harmful synthetic chemicals or parabens. Parabens, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency views as disrupters of the body's endocrine system, have been linked to breast cancer, lowered sperm counts and allergic reactions. Zestra is an all-natural formulation of two botanical oils and two extracts, protected by United States and European patents. Zestra in particular helps women who are suffering sexual side effects resulting from menopause, depression, the use of SSRI anti-depressants, a hysterectomy, hormonal changes, diabetes, and aging.
Yes, that sounds like a load of old tosh to me too. How or why is this any better (or worse) than KY jelly? And as it turns out, the secret of Zestra is th same as the secret of Spanish Fly. If causes skin irritation which then leads to greater blood flow: and one of the signs of sexual arousal is greater blood flow to the genitals.
Sexual lubricants enhance sexual pleasure mimicking natural vaginal secretions that reduce friction and provide a pleasurable slippery sensation during intercourse. Since most women secrete less of these lubricating secretions as they age, introducing store-bought lubricants is a valid method enhancing sexual pleasure. Zestra is a sexual lubricant that contains herbal ingredients that have shown to cause a tingling sensation in a woman's genitalia. Before you plunk down $24.00 for a 6.4 ml (slightly more than 2 teaspoonfuls) supply of Zestra (available as box of nine 0.8 ml per single use packets), we suggest that you try some of the other, less expensive sexual lubricants such as any of the KY products from Johnson & Johnson or their generic equivalents. These products are available at all local drugstores for prices for 1/10 to 1/20 the price of Zestra.
You'd get exactly the same effect if you added a small (very small) dose of chili powder to that KY jelly.
No, I think we'll put Zestra in the scams and frauds column. But this is interesting:
The former chief executive officer for Zestra Laboratories Inc. , a local company that makes sexual arousal fluid for women, has settled a defamation lawsuit against the product's inventor. Younis Zubchevich filed the lawsuit against the North Charleston company in July, saying that his reputation was damaged, partly because Zestra founder Martin Crosby fired him in front of other employees. Crosby ousted Zubchevich in May, giving him 15 minutes to leave the office building. A uniformed police officer monitored the event. A complaint filed later in Charleston County Court of Common Pleas alleged that Crosby "offered no justification" for the firing. When Zubchevich tried to ask questions, he was told by the police officer "that he would be arrested if he did not vacate the premises immediately," according to the lawsuit. Court records show the suit was settled last month. Terms were not disclosed. Neither party returned calls Friday. Zestra has been widely described as a female version of Viagra. Developed by Crosby, a clinical pharmacist, the company's patented topical "arousal" fluid is made from botanicals. The product is sold in more than 35,000 locations, including drugstores such as Walgreens.
January 15, 2008 in Scams and Frauds | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 24, 2007
Colloidal Silver
Coloidal silver is another one of those health fads which while it is based in a minor part of reality, is in fact a scam and a fraud. You see, while colloidal silver might indeed have certain antibiotic effects, it aslo has some rather bad side effects. And not only that, we now have vastly better antibiotics which you should be better off using rather than the colloidal silver. Here's an example of the sort of claims made for colloidal silver:
In the world of colloids, particle surface area is the property of colloidal silver that directly determines the ability of the colloid to react with its environment. Therefore the effectiveness of colloidal silver is predicated on particle surface area. The higher the particle surface area the more effective the colloidal silver. Particle surface area is defined as the total surface area in square centimeters (cm2) of all the particles in one milliliter (mL) of colloid. In the world of chemistry the ability of one substance to interact with other substances in its environment is predicated on the surface area of the substances or stated another way, reactivity increases with increasing surface area. A larger value of particle surface area increases the reactivity of the colloid. In the booklet "Silver Colloids" Professor Gibbs wrote "The size of the particles in the colloidal silver suspensions we use for health purposes is very important. Particle size controls the surface area and therefore the effectiveness of the colloidal silver suspension." For this reason particle surface area is the single most important property of colloidal silver. It is not uncommon for non-technical readers to mistaken believe that the concentration (ppm) of silver is the most important property. Companies selling silver protein type products will advertise very high values of silver concentration with the explanation that higher ppm concentrations are more effective but that is simply not true. In fact silver protein products have very low values of particle surface area owing to the very large size particles present in those products. For a complete discussion on silver protein products read The Truth About Silver Protein Products.
That's the sort of mumbo jumbo claptrap that gives science a bad name. OK, the effectiveness of colloidal solutions is dependent upon particle size: fine, we can agree with that. But what they haven't shown in any manner is that colloidal suspensions of silver do you any good at all. Or try this:
The first natural antibacterial product approved for patent by the United States Patent Office since about 1924. Clinically PROVEN to kill 536 strains of bacteria! We do not claim that Silvagen™ will cure any disease. What we are stating is that Silvagen™ has been proven to kill the bacteria that is associated with the following ailments: Pneumonia, Food Poisoning, Eye Infections, Skin Infections, Boils, Cellulitis, Post-operative infections, Toxic Shock Syndrome, Meningitis, Osteomyelitis, Sinusitis, Otitis Media (ear infections), Impetigo, Scarlet Fever, Strep Throat, Urinary Tract Infections, Wound Infections, Endocarditis, Dental Plaque and Tooth Decay, Burn Infections, Keratitis, Nosocomial Infections, Enteric Fever, Respiratory Tract Infections, Diarrhea, Throat & Sinus Infections, Epiglottis in Children, Suppurative Arthritis in Children, and more.
There's few problems with those claims: for example, cellulitis is not a bacterial infection. Nor is osteomyelitis. If it is effective against epiglottis in children (something we are most dubious about) why isn't it in adults? These are the sort of claims we associate with snake oil salesmen I'm afraid, not with proper medicine.
It's also worth noting that penicillin has been shown to be more effective in those diseases where bacteria are indeed resent: which is why the medical world uses it and its derivtives rather than silver.
Oh, and you know that silver is a heavy metal? So drinking a solution of it is giving yourself heavy metal poisoning? And if you want the full skinny on colloidal silver you can always read Quackwatch:
Colloidal silver is a suspension of submicroscopic metallic silver particles in a colloidal base. Long-term use of silver preparations can lead to argyria, a condition in which silver salts deposit in the skin, eyes, and internal organs, and the skin turns ashen-gray. Many cases of argyria occurred during the pre-antibiotic era when silver was a common ingredient in nosedrops. When the cause became apparent, doctors stopped recommending their use, and reputable manufacturers stopped producing them. The official drug guidebooks (United States Pharmacopeia and National Formulary) have not listed colloidal silver products since 1975.
Or you can see the video of the man turns blue if you prefer.
December 24, 2007 in Scams and Frauds | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 14, 2007
Mitchell Report List
The Mitchell Report list of the baseball players who too steroids is now out.
Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell unveiled the findings of his 20-month investigation into illegal performance-enhancing drugs in major-league baseball and pointed a direct finger Thursday at a star-studded list of players, including some former Cubs and White Sox.
Among the allegations are two shocking incidents involving Chicago players. In one case, Mitchell alleges that former Sox pitcher Scott Schoeneweis received shipments of steroids at U.S. Cellular Field in 2003 and 2004. In another, former Cubs and Sox pitcher Matt Karchner testified that he watched two Cubs teammates inject themselves with steroids in an apartment the three shared and hinted at wide-open discussion of illegal performance-enhancing drugs on the team.
That's not all the Mitchell report found out, either:
Major League Baseball has taken a black eye by being drawn out in the public eye for allowing steroid, human growth hormones (HGH), and other performance enhancing substances to take control of the sport and influence youth sports. The Mitchell Report brings out the worst of the MLB.
Former players, strength coaches, clubhouse employees, and subpoenaed individuals were used to compile the report for former Senate Majority Leader turned Chairman for global law firm DLA Piper, George Mitchell. The investigation and following Mitchell Report were issued by MLB Commissioner Bud Selig to help combat the violations of his sport in 2006.
There's big names on the Mitchell Report's list:
Some of the biggest names in American sport
were linked to the illegal use of performance-enhancing drugs following
the publication of the highly anticipated Mitchell Report. Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Andy Pettitte and Miguel Tejada were
named on Thursday in the report by Senator George Mitchell which
contained the results of a 20-month investigation into the use of drugs
in Major League Baseball. Former United States Senate majority leader Mitchell was appointed
by baseball commissioner Bud Selig to examine the sport's involvement
in the use of illegal substances such as steroids and Human Growth
Hormone (HGH). Mitchell held a news conference on Thursday afternoon to address the
report and discuss the period he referred to as "baseball's steroids
era". And here's the full Mitchell Report list: Manny Alexander, Chad Allen, Rick Ankiel, David
Bell, Mike Bell, Marvin Benard, Gary Bennett, Larry Bigbie, Barry
Bonds, Ricky Bones, Kevin Brown, Paul Byrd, Alex Cabrera, Jose Canseco,
Mark Carreon, Jason Christiansen, Howie Clark, Roger Clemens, Paxton
Crawford, Jack Cust, Brendan Donnelly, Chris Donnels, Lenny Dykstra,
Bobby Estalella, Matt Franco, Ryan Franklin, Eric Gagne, Jason Giambi,
Jeremy Giambi, Jay Gibbons, Troy Glaus, Juan Gonzalez, Jason Grimsley,
Jose Guillen, Jerry Hairston Jr., Darren Holmes, Matt Herges, Phil
Hiatt, Glenallen Hill, Todd Hundley, Ryan Jorgensen, Mike Judd, David
Justice, Chuck Knoblauch, Tim Laker, Mike Lansing, Paul Lo Duca, Nook
Logan, Josias Manzanillo, Gary Matthews Jr., Cody McKay, Kent Mercker,
Bart Miadich, Hal Morris, Daniel Naulty, Denny Neagle, Rafael Palmeiro,
Jim Parque, Andy Pettitte, Adam Piatt, Tood Pratt, Stephen Randolph,
Adam Riggs, Armando Rios, Brian Roberts, John Rocker, F.P. Santangelo,
Bernie Santiago, Scott Schoenweis, David Segui, Gary Sheffield, Mike
Stanton, Ricky Stone, Miguel Tejada, Ismael Valdez, Mo Vaughn, Randy
Velarde, Ron Villone, Fernando Vina, Rondell White, Jeff Williams, Matt
Williams, Todd Williams, Steve Woodard, Kevin Young, Gregg Zaun
December 14, 2007 in Scams and Frauds | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 12, 2007
Kimkins
Kimkins, or the Kimkins diet has been shown up to be just another scam on the unsuspecting.
Heidi "Kimmer" Diaz, the founder of the Kimkin's diet - a low carb, low
calorie diet - is schedule to appear in a Southern California court on
Monday, November 12th, 2007. 11 former users of her Kimkins diet
program filed a complaint against her one week ago, claiming fraud,
false advertising, and unjust enrichment.
The Kimkin's scandal began when Woman's World, a popular women's magazine featured an article on the Kimkin's diet.
Ms Diaz, who was claiming to have lost
198 pounds in 11 months using her diet plan, refused to meet with the
magazine in person, instead corresponding through email. She went so
far as to send the magazine before and after pictures that looked
nothing alike, which makes sense when people found out that the before
pictures were Ms. Diaz, however the after pictures were taken from a
Russian 'mail-order' bride web site.
The kimkins diet advised eating just 500 calories a day. That less than concentration camp victims were getting:
Kimkins diet followers reported hair loss, menstrual cessation, irregualr heartbeat, fainting spells, and liver damage from the starvation diet scam.
No damn wonder! Let's hope she's jailed where she can get a decent diet!
November 12, 2007 in Scams and Frauds | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack
