Logical conclusion: article fails the logical fallacy of appeal to compassion.

After all, that is a lot easier than thinking.

I think Rath, and people like him, take a small truth and exaggerate it, claiming it is a bigger truth. In this case, the small truth is “Vitamins and other nutrients are required by the human body. Not having the right amount of them can cause you to become ill.” For example, if you don’t have enough iron, you can become anemic.

Some folks see people who are ill taking vitamins/nutritional supplements and getting better. (e.g. Taking iron pills and no longer being anemic.) Then they reason that this should work for any illness, you just need to find the right vitamin.

The problem is, of course, that the vitamins/nutritional supplements cure ailments caused by a deficiency of that nutrient. AIDS, however, is caused by a virus. Yes, lacking the proper nutrition can be a complication (causing you to be sicker than you would have been had you been properly nurished), but all the vitamins/nutritional supplements in the world won’t kill a single HIV virus. For that you need anti-virals.

By actively keeping anti-virals out of the hands of people who need them, Rath is hastening their deaths and the deaths of anyone they spread the illness to. My favorite part of the chapter was when the health minister, who bought into Rath’s “cure” 100%, was questioned about the fact that all of his star patients died from AIDS. She said “It doesn’t necessarily mean that if I am taking antibiotics and I die, that I died of antibiotics.” Yet, if someone is taking an anti-viral and winds up dying, who wants to bet on how quickly Rath will claim that the anti-viral killed the patient?

Once I got it all (actually, well before the end) my disgust of humans was all the more intensified.

People trying to do real good for the right reasons are so out-numbered.

It certainly is, although legally speaking, if not economically, things have got a little better in the last 5 years. The details are for too complex to go into here (though I have discussed some of them on previous threads). I recommend going through Jack of Kent’s blog archives or checking out the Libel Reform campaign site.

I remember the day I walked into one of the few english bookstores here in Taiwan…hit up the science section and, among the regular hawk/ein/bryson selection I saw it. So …so..surprised. Bought, read, re-read, shared and want part 2!!

There is also a chinese version in print and being hyped pretty big around here last spring. In a land of chinese medicine, utter irrationality and major supersition, its nice to see it getting some local coverage!

I wasnt, really. I was just poking the embers trying to get the “DBAD” flames revived! I think he was spot on and perfectly in order to say everything he said.

as per Monkey @15: He’s almost a dick, but the accent makes him sound so nice (at least from this side of the Atlantic) how could anyone call him one?

Totally!! It is one of those situations where you read, you digest and think to your self “this cant be real…this actually happened??…where was the news coverage?!?”.

But it was real, and it did happen.

I’m reading about it now. I’ve heard that libel charges in the UK are more difficult to fight then in the US, does anyone know if that’s the case?