Seeing it in the stars

BadPsychics:

Nikki, the famed "psychic to the stars", maintains a list of predictions for the coming year on her website. One of her categories is the morosely named "Death Watch and Health Watch" section.

A visit to her website will lead you to believe that she predicted Heath Ledger's death. This would be a powerful demonstration of her abilities since, as far as I know, Heath had no adverse issues that predisposed him to an early and untimely death. We should all bow down to Nikki's Woo.

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But I happened to give a talk last night on the Way of the Woo, and in my research, I copied Nikki's 2008 predictions two days ago. Looking at my copy, I didn't see Heath Ledger's name mentioned anywhere. So, did Nikki REALLY predict Mr. Ledger's death and just forget to put it on her website? Or did she make a Post Hoc prediction?

What's more, Nikki also removed her prediction that Angelina Jolie would be nominated for an Oscar this year. And this was AFTER the nominations had been announced. I did a comparison with her original page (thank you Google cache!) in MS Word.

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But I happened to give a talk last night on the Way of the Woo, and in my research, I copied Nikki's 2008 predictions two days ago. Looking at my copy, I didn't see Heath Ledger's name mentioned anywhere. So, did Nikki REALLY predict Mr. Ledger's death and just forget to put it on her website? Or did she make a Post Hoc prediction?

What's more, Nikki also removed her prediction that Angelina Jolie would be nominated for an Oscar this year. And this was AFTER the nominations had been announced. I did a comparison with her original page (thank you Google cache!) in MS Word.

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So easy to see the future when you go and write it in the future.

McCain on reproductive rights

Look at the "moderate" "maverick"'s record on reproductve rights. Cause, it still shocks me to see the occassional liberal actually talk about him not being so bad", or being a true supporter of these rights for women. That is patently ridiculous. I talked about some of his other quirks here.

Feministing:
Now that most of us have come to terms with the fact that John McCain is going to be the Republican nominee, it's time to start getting real about his record. On a whole slew of important issues, he's not a maverick or a moderate. (He's pro-war, anti-gay rights, not great on environmental issues, a total idiot on the economy, etc.) Think Bush is awesome? Then you'll love McCain!

And when it comes to choice, don't be fooled just because ultraconservatives like James Dobson have, uh, a few reservations about him. McCain scores a zero from both Planned Parenthood and NARAL on choice issues. At this year's March for Life, he told anti-choicers, "If I am fortunate enough to be elected as the next President of the United States, I pledge to you to be a loyal and unswerving friend of the right to life movement." He also basically compared countries where abortion is not a crime to communist dictatorships. Plus, he's been using his adopted daughter to "prove" his anti-choice street cred on the campaign trail. (Of course, MSNBC has not described this as "pimping.") It's not just that he's anti-Roe. According to NARAL, McCain "has never cosponsored or supported legislation that would prevent unintended pregnancy or reduce the need for abortion."

Here's a convenient bulleted list (largely based on this detailed report (PDF)) breaking down McCain's record on reproductive rights -- just in case you find yourself thinking he'd be any better than Bush on these issues.

• Repeatedly voted for (and cosponsored) the Federal Abortion Ban. After the court upheld the ban, he said, "Today's Supreme Court ruling is a victory for those who cherish the sanctity of life and integrity of the judiciary. The ruling ensures that an unacceptable and unjustifiable practice will not be carried out on our innocent children."
  
• Supported the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, a law that grants separate legal status to an embryo or fetus
  
• Voted in favor of four anti‐choice U.S. Supreme Court nominees. "I’m proud that we have Justice Alito and Roberts on the United States Supreme Court. I’m very proud to have played a very small role in making that happen." (May 3, 2007 Republican debate)
  
• Repeatedly voted to deny low‐income women access to abortion care except in cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment
  
• Voted to permit federally funded Title X family‐planning clinics to decline to counsel women on abortion services
  
• Voted against lifting the ban that forbids U.S. servicewomen from obtaining abortion services at overseas military hospitals with their own funds
  
• Voted to require Title X family‐planning clinics to notify a teen’s parent before providing abortion services
  
• Voted in favor of the Teen Endangerment and Grandmother Incarceration Act
  
• Voted against the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE)
  
• Voted to terminate the Title X family‐planning program
  
• Voted against funding teen‐pregnancy‐prevention programs and ensuring that “abstinence‐only” programs are medically accurate
  
• Voted to uphold the Global Gag Rule
  
• Voted for the domestic gag rule, which would have prohibited federally funded family‐planning clinics from providing women with access to full information about their reproductive‐health options
  
• Voted to de‐fund the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), an organization that provides family‐planning services – not abortion – for the world’s poorest women
  
• Voted to earmark one‐third of all HIV/AIDS prevention funds for abstinence-only programs
  
• Voted to take $75 million from the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant to establish a new “abstinence‐only” program
  
• Voted to impose a federal parental‐consent law on teens seeking birth control. Not abortion. Birth control
  
• Voted against legislation that would have required insurance coverage of prescription birth control, improved access to emergency contraception, and provided more women with prenatal health care
  
• Voted to allow medical residency training programs in obstetrics and gynecology to receive federal assistance even if they ignore abortion training requirements

About the only things that record is missing are a few thinly veiled death threats toward abortion providers and a picture of him escorting his daughter to a Purity Ball.

UPDATE: Planned Parenthood Action Fund is airing radio ads in the DC area to set voters straight on McCain's record on choice.

Washington ain't over

Huckabee seems unwilling to walk away from Washington state with an incomplete vote count. That's crazy.

Still he seems pretty upset that 13 percent of the vote left, and less than a 2 percent difference between the candidates. Apparently the GOP chair is trying to get close as we can to 100 percent". Bless him, he is trying so hard...two days and going later.

I mean, don't knock yourself out, right?

More from TPM.

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But state party chair Luke Esser said that he just thought it was the right thing to do. According to Esser, sometime overnight Esser did some sort of back of the envelope statistical analysis of the the margin of McCain's lead (1.8%) and the number votes left uncounted (13%) and decided that Huckabee didn't have a chance and he'd shut the thing down and declare McCain the winner.

So was that a good idea? Here's Esser's rationale ...

“Maybe it would have been safer if I hadn't said anything. But it was an exciting and historic day for the state and I thought if I was confident about what the outcome would be I should share that with the people who had gone out to their caucuses.”

So it was just such a rollicking good time Esser figured he owed the participants a decision as long as he was confident what the outcome would be.

I'm really not sure I've ever heard anything that ridiculous.

In terms of consequence, Bush v. Gore it ain't. This is a relatively small contest in a nomination campaign that appears to be over. But this is something you'd expect either from Soviet history or a farcical passage in a Faulkner novel. And let's not forget the context. Huckabee starts the day with a blowout win in Kansas. That evening he gets the largest number of votes in Louisiana. Then in the third contest he's neck and neck with John McCain and looks like he may win all three contests of the day -- a shut-out for the all-but-declared nominee. Then as it's going down to the wire, the head of the state party decides he's seen enough and calls it for McCain.

Here at TPM, as we watched the rate of the reporting slow to halt on Saturday evening, we joked amongst ourselves that with McCain already getting beaten by Huckabee twice that day maybe the organizers of the election figured that if they just held out long enough people would just forget they'd held a caucus. But as it got later and later we started to wonder if it wasn't a joke.

I still find it pretty hard to imagine these bozos would try something quite this brazen. And it may well be an electoral tempest in a teapot. But this one looks and quacks like a duck. So someone should give it a much closer look.

Late Update: It seems that Washington State GOP chair Luke Esser spent most of the day avoiding calls from the Huckabee campaign. And when he finally got back to them he told a lawyer for Huckabee's campaign that they'd probably count the rest of the votes some time next week. When the lawyer, Lauren Huckabee, the candidate's daughter-in-law, requested that a Huckabee lawyer be present when the remaining votes were counted, Esser hung up on her. Before the hang up, Huckabee also asked Esser about the DIY statistical analysis he did to conclude that he should call the race (Esser's expertise in statistics apparently stems from previous work as a state prosecutor and a sports writer). Was there an analysis of what precincts the remaining votes came from? According to Huck campaign manager Ed Rollins, Esser admitted that he didn't know which precincts the remaining votes came from.

Huckabee's press release on this.

It's all about 2012...or not.

No this is not about elections...but maybe it is...

2012 is a big year for prophecies. It is said that it is the of us all, according to the ancient Mayan calendar. A lot is made of this..but what is what?

Gia addresses this silliness.

The Maya of ancient Mexico had very advanced concepts of mathematics, astronomy and Time. They kept track of solar and lunar years, eclipses and the cycles of visible planets. To carry out their calendric and astronomical calculations they developed a sophisticated mathematical system where units are written with dots and bars are used to represent five units. They also developed a vigesimal (20 base) positioning system, similar to the decimal positioning system we use today.

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The Maya used several calendars simultaneously - one was 13 days long, another was 20 days long, they had one which covered 260 days and another covering 365 days. They even had calendars covering much longer periods of Time. One of these called the ‘Long Count’, and is a continuous record of days from the ‘Zero date’ beginning of the Worshipful Man- which according to the Maya’s detailed calendars happened at Long Count 0.0.0.0.0. This date is thought to correspond to August 12th or 13th, 3114 BCE in the Gregorian calendar. According to the Maya, the current Long Count will finish on 13.0.0.0.0 or on the 21st or 23rd of December 2012 CE.

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So worshipful man, made from corn, came into being in 3114 BCE? Shouldn't that be people's first warning flag?

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What I can’t understand is why people think the Maya had more of an ability to see into the future than any one else. The Unarians thought aliens would invade Earth in 2001. Didn’t happen. The Concerned Christians cult believed an earthquake would wipe Denver off the map in 1998. Didn’t happen. The Third Reich was supposed to have lasted 1,000 years. Didn’t happen…

Or why not believe the Lord’s Witnesses who believe the world will end on the 21st of March this year? Some guy named Harold Camping has written a book which clearly states that the Bible predicts the end of the world to be in 2011. Why not believe him? Why not believe that the end of the world will happen sometime between the first of March and the first of April THIS YEAR, when the world’s population reaches 6.66 billion??!

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Man, ever the optimist keeps thinking the next time around the end will come. Yay!

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When it’s pointed out to believers in Mayan prophecy that they sound ‘whacky’ they will often say, ‘It won’t be the end of the whole world, just a monumental change!’ I’d say that there have have been all kinds of monumental changes recently - the discovery of penecillin was pretty world changing. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was pretty monumental. The Moon landings were one small step off our planet for the very first time. I’d say that changed things pretty significantly. Hell, even Live Aid changed the way we think about the less fortunate in the world!

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I’m afraid that anyone who believes there is any deep significance in Mayan Prophecy is quite clearly incapable of finding joy and wonder in the real world and instead insists on creating stories which are based on fear, negativity, insecurity and self-loathing. Seriously, you can’t predict the end of the world *and* love Yourself, Humanity and the Universe, can you?

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Faith over Hygiene

RichardDawkins.net

Muslim medical students are refusing to obey hygiene rules brought in to stop the spread of deadly superbugs, because they say it is against their religion.

Women training in several hospitals in England have raised objections to removing their arm coverings in theatre and to rolling up their sleeves when washing their hands, because it is regarded as immodest in Islam.

Universities and NHS trusts fear many more will refuse to co-operate with new Department of Health guidance, introduced this month, which stipulates that all doctors must be "bare below the elbow".

The measure is deemed necessary to stop the spread of infections such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile, which have killed hundreds.

Minutes of a clinical academics' meeting at Liverpool University revealed that female Muslim students at Alder Hey children's hospital had objected to rolling up their sleeves to wear gowns.

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Hygiene experts said last night that no exceptions should be made on religious grounds.

Dr Mark Enright, professor of microbiology at Imperial College London, said: "To wash your hands properly, and reduce the risks of MRSA and C.difficile, you have to be able to wash the whole area around the wrist.

"I don't think it would be right to make an exemption for people on any grounds. The policy of bare below the elbows has to be applied universally."

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But the Islamic Medical Association insisted that covering all the body in public, except the face and hands, was a basic tenet of Islam.

"No practising Muslim woman - doctor, medical student, nurse or patient - should be forced to bare her arms below the elbow," it said.

Dr Majid Katme, the association spokesman, said: "Exposed arms can pick up germs and there is a lot of evidence to suggest skin is safer to the patient if covered. One idea might be to produce long, sterile, disposable gloves which go up to the elbows."

I do have sympathy for cultural and religious differences. But this is medicine, and it is hygiene. And I don't like cutting corners or looking the other way in matters like this. And this also goes for the pharmacist that don't care to properly dispense medicine and aid. Or legislatures that feel the need to dictate medical practice. Humanity has worked long and hard to dig out of ignorance. It took long enough for germ theory to take, and to break from bleedings and leeches. Bad medical practices are just that, bad.

Some questions about Washington

McCain had one win yesterday. Washington.

We're starting to lose confidence that the Washington state GOP is ever going to report the last 17% of the results of today's caucus. Perhaps they think if they wait long enough people will just forget they held one and they'll just pretend it didn't happen. That said, let's look at the results with 83% reporting ...

Huckabee 24%
McCain 26%
Paul 21%
Romney 16%
Uncommitted 12%

First thing you have to note is that 74% of caucuses showed up to vote against their all-but-certain nominee. Romney's showing a couple days after dropping out of the race is pretty impressive. And uncommitted even put in a respectable number. The truth is that beside Huckabee's feeble candidate, of the remaining three, one has officially dropped out, another has said he's shifting his focus to his congressional campaign and the third isn't even a person.

Almost anyone they put up can tally real numbers against McCain. We'll know how serious this is on Tuesday.

Not an inspiring win, especially with such a large loss in Kansas.

But what happen last night?

As you know, John McCain lost two of the three contests yesterday. He was losing narrowly in Washington state and then pulled ahead by a narrow margin (less than two points) toward the end. But then with 87% of the returns counted, the Washington state GOP, which runs the caucuses stopped releasing results. That left us and a lot of other news organizations in a bit of a quandary last night since it looked like McCain was going to pull it off. But as late as 1:30 AM on the east coast promised new results kept failing to materialize.

Then over night the Washington state GOP put out a press release announcing McCain the winner based on the 87% returns. Now, I think it would be borderline for a media organization to declare one candidate a winner when the margin separating first and second was 1.8% with 13% of the results still uncounted. But for the officials holding the election to declare the result on that basis is simply bizarre. But that's what they did.

The release says final results are not expected to be available until Monday.

How OUR FRIENDS treat women

Saudi's

Saudi police arrested and strip-searched an American businesswoman for the crime of visiting a Starbucks with a male colleague.

"Some men came up to us with very long beards and white dresses. They asked 'Why are you here together?' I explained about the power being out in our office. They got very angry and told me what I was doing was a great sin," she told the Times.

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Iraq

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In Iraq, women who violate "Islamic teachings" are tortured and murdered. ...

CNN - The images in the Basra police file are nauseating: Page after page of women killed in brutal fashion -- some strangled to death, their faces disfigured; others beheaded. All bear signs of torture.

The women are killed, police say, because they failed to wear a headscarf or because they ignored other "rules" that secretive fundamentalist groups want to enforce.
"Fear, fear is always there," says 30-year-old Safana, an artist and university professor. "We don't know who to be afraid of. Maybe it's a friend or a student you teach. There is no break, no security. I don't know who to be afraid of."

Afghanistan

Here's your horrifying news of the day:

The fate of Sayed Pervez Kambaksh has led to domestic and international protests, and deepening concern about erosion of civil liberties in Afghanistan. He was accused of blasphemy after he downloaded a report from a Farsi website which stated that Muslim fundamentalists who claimed the Koran justified the oppression of women had misrepresented the views of the prophet Mohamed.

Mr Kambaksh, 23, distributed the tract to fellow students and teachers at Balkh University with the aim, he said, of provoking a debate on the matter. But a complaint was made against him and he was arrested, tried by religious judges without – say his friends and family – being allowed legal representation and sentenced to death.

To sign a petition to save Kambaksh, click here.

UPDATE: The Afghan Senate has withdrawn its demand for the death sentence.

There is always dirt to throw, especially when you are the leading dirt manufacturer

The conservative arsenal is being prepped and primed as you read.

A conservative group -– Citizens United -– that has produced a film now in distribution attacking Hillary Clinton called “Hillary, the Movie,” has its sights set on a new target: Barack Obama.

The group has budgeted about $1 million to produce a documentary film about Mr. Obama that is set to be distributed this summer. At the moment, Citizens United has its researchers poring over Mr. Obama’s records as a community organizer, state legislator and United States senator in the same way that it scoured Mrs. Clinton’s record with a highly critical eye and a sharply conservative point of view.

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Trouble for the NRCC

The NRCC, National Republican Congressional Committee, is in a bit of trouble.

Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas), a certified public accountant, had pushed for months for an internal audit of the National Republican Congressional Committee, according to GOP members, but the committee’s treasurer at the time was reluctant.

Finally, at a recent meeting, the now former NRCC treasurer, Christopher J. Ward, relented, giving Conaway what was supposed to be an official internal audit from 2006. That document was a fake, the GOP members said. Even the letterhead on which it was sent was a forgery.

Revelations about the falsified document touched off an unfolding scandal that has rocked the NRCC and spurred a criminal investigation by the FBI into the committee’s accounting procedures.

Fearing the fallout from the discovery, the NRCC informed its principle lender, Wachovia, of potential accounting problems. Wachovia, which declined comment Thursday, had lent the committee $9 million in 2006, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Knowing the bank was required by law to notify federal investigators of any “suspicious activity,” the NRCC also alerted the FBI, Republican insiders confirmed.

At the same time, NRCC officials notified the FEC that the committee may have filed inaccurate disclosure statements.

Curses, foiled again

Crooks and Liars:

For a while, the Republican electoral-vote scheme in California seemed like a fairly serious effort, and certainly something to keep an eye on. Fortunately, at least for now, it’s dead.

If you’re just joining us, it was quite a clever little scam: the state GOP, far-right activists, and Swiftboat financiers, under the guise of “fairness,” wanted to split California’s 55 electoral votes by congressional district, as opposed to the current winner-take-all system. There’s no real mystery behind the effort — the goal is to deny Dems about 20 fairly reliable electoral votes, making it difficult for the party to win a presidential election.

As of last fall, the initiative was in deep trouble. But before we could move on to other matter, some members of Rudy Giuliani’s team intervened, relaunched the effort, and eyed the November ballot.

I’m pleased to note that the whole effort, sometimes called “California Counts,” was a flop.

Proponents of a controversial proposed ballot measure that would have reallocated California’s electoral college votes by congressional district — instead of the current winner-take-all system — have abandoned their effort.

“It’s not going to make the ballot this year,” said David Gilliard, a Republican political strategist organizing the campaign. “The money never materialized to put it on the ballot.”

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Blame it on the vagina

Feministing has a couple of good examples of trying to lay blame on women...for being women, and having girlies parts.

Women to blame for violence against them?

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I'm speechless. To end violence against women we need to make society less male- hostile? WHAT?! Another psychologist, Sidney McGill, goes on to explain that men don't know how to deal with their emotions, so of course they're going to channel all that anger toward the women in their lives. He then makes this most appalling of logical leaps

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Women have an advantage when their male loved ones plot to kill them? The mind reels. And after faulting women for getting too uppity and making poor men feel inferior, he goes on to say they're too nurturing and home-based.

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Anti-feminists hate vaginas

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Poor Cupid, tethered to the unreasonable feminist demand that women not be raped.

It's that time of year again, folks! Since it's almost Valentine's Day, colleges across the country are gearing up to put on performances of The Vagina Monologues. And as they love to do (since they have shit else to complain about), anti-feminist organizations like the Independent Women's Forum (IWF) and the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute are likewise launching their annual campaigns against the award-winning play. (The above image is from IWF's Take Back the Date flyer.)

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The organization has even put together a booklet encouraging students to protest the "vulgar" play, "The Vagina Monologues Exposed: A Student's Guide to V-Day."

What's particularly irritating to me - despite the tired notion that feminists are somehow killing romance by raising awareness about violence against women - is that these organizations refuse to talk about the incredible things this play has done for women across the globe. The Luce Policy Institute website even says that "V-Day has no real impact on the violence." I guess raising over 30 million dollars is no biggie for women, huh?

It's amazing that these groups would rather spend their time and money denigrating a play because it has the word "vagina" in it than actually, you know, do something on behalf of women.

RLS

Steven Novella:

Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) is a neurological disorder in which there is a sensation of restlessness in the legs. This may be perceived as an unpleasant “drawing” sensation or a feeling of crawling on the skin. These sensations are relieved by moving the legs, and therefore the desire to move increases, ultimately becoming irresistible. The symptoms of RLS are most prominent just before falling asleep and therefore they may delay the onset of sleep, and may also interrupt sleep, and therefore RLS is considered a sleep disorder.

In 2005 Requip (ropinirole) became the first drug approved by the FDA for treatment of RLS. In 2006 this was followed by Mirapex (pramipexole). As we live in the age of the internet and anti-”Big Pharma” conspiracy theories are in vogue, there soon appeared claims that RLS is a fake syndrome, made up by Boehringer Ingelheim and GlaxoSmithKline in order to manufacture a market for their drugs.

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Another endorsement for Huckabee

Even with the growing talk of McCain's ascendency, James Dobson is pissed. He is going to endorse Huckabee.

Will this change any states, like Texas? Will it drive more people to sit out the election? Will the followers sneak out to the polls anyway?

Mukasey tries to make us feel better

From TPM.

• Mukasey: The Law Is What The Justice Department Says It Is
• Mukasey: No, I Will Not Enforce Citations for Contempt of Congress
• Mukasey: No, I Will Not Investigate Waterboarding
• Mukasey: No, I Will Not Investigate Warrantless Wiretapping

And to TPM who has worked to ensure the DOJ was investigated and challenged...

• Mukasey to TPMmuckraker: Go Jump in a Lake
• Mukasey to Muckraker: Get Press Releases off The Website

Just a reminder to Lieberman

You are no longer a Democratic superdelegate.

You are actively backing a Republican candidate, but also backing his conservative plans for a right leaning push in the courts. And you seem ready and eager to make a splash at the Republican convention in Minneapolis.

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Lieberman's endorsement of Republican John McCain disqualifies him as a super-delegate to the Democratic National Convention under what is informally known as the Zell Miller rule, according to Democratic State Chairwoman Nancy DiNardo.

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Today at CPAC

TODAY:

Romney backed out of the race...FOR AMERICA!

And John McCain, the presumptive nominee, managed to stir up the crowd to BOO him.

Dismantling a ghost story

Norton, Teeside Ghost Child

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Now looking at it, without the forced perspective, does it really seem that paranormal? Why is it not just a kneeling child hiding, after possibly having a spat with the crying child? We only have several conflicting stories from several different sources to say there was no other child there in that room. I think we can safely discount that information as being innacurate.

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New Mobile Phone Ghost Image

With all this recent hullaballo surrounding this now infamous mobile phone ghost picture, recently carried by several highly uncritical news agencies. (and yes, that has been circling the web for a long time now). I decided to see how often this type of phenomena is reported.

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Euston Road Fire Station Ghost

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Do you notice how remarkably steady the footage is, considering this was allegedly filmed on a mobile phone?
It is rock steady, which is quite unusual considering the person filming it believed he was filming a ghost. You would expect there to be at least a small amount of pitch and yaw, yet apparantly there is no discernable movement. The cameraman filming does state "I cant move", but it is unlikely that his arms would not sway even slightly. There can only be three possible explainations for the circumstance of this footage to be considered a factual account.
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St Saviour's Cemetery in Bamber Bridge Ghost

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It would appear to be regular steam or smoke like you would get from extinguishing a candle or holding a hot drink under the camera, or even breathing on a cold night. The image is grainy and pixelated, which only adds to the rorschach jumble that you could imagine was any number of shapes. I myself see a large ethereal"jammy dodger", or perhaps a "coconut ring".

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Voter Turnout

Results show that the interest in this primary season clearly falls to one side.

Looking at a fraud

Meet a classic fraud.

"Gary Mannion is a 19 year old Indigo Child with amazing psychic and healing gifts. Working with his Spirit Surgeon, Abraham, Gary will demonstrate Psychic Surgery on some willing members of the audience. These operations, which are completely safe and painless, are non-evasive, and require no surgical instruments, or removal of clothing. Whilst working, Gary will talk about how he and Abraham ended up working together, and how Psychic Surgery works."

Abraham is Garys so called spirit guide, and performs the miracles through Garys body.

"Psychic surgeon" demonstrating his "ability" in London Tonight

Prof' Chris French Report On Gary Mannion Show

Tom Roberts Report On Gary Mannion Show

I was told the doors opened at 6-30pm. I was there at 6-28, and my watch seems to be 2 minutes fast. There were about 12 people ahead of me in the queue and when I got in, there were about 50 people already seated right at the front, around the area Gary was to do his demo. I don't know how they managed to get in so early.

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Gary’s talk was delivered in an informal, amiable way – plenty of jokes. He said that he would invite volunteers up for healing from the whole church, but in fact the 4 or 5 he treated all seemed to come from the front.

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I was familiar with some of the things Gary said from visiting his various websites. I wasn’t sure how the recording would work out, so I jotted down some of his more interesting comments. Here, they are, in no particular order.

Soya milk and goats’ milk are high in oestrogen, which can cause breast cancer.

Microwave cookers kill germs but also everything in the food

The oranges we buy in the shops are injected with arsenic

He is a fan of sea-salt – in America, a dog was drained of its blood, transfused with sea water and went on to live for 9 years

Blue algae is good for Alzheimer’s

Someone asked what would happen if Abraham didn’t know what condition someone was suffering from or how to treat someone. But Abraham has a bank of 37 doctors and surgeons to refer back to.

He said he works with GPs but is unable to name them for professional reasons – but he did mention Dr Gowri Motha -

Manesh Naidoo - Head Physiotherapist for Northwick park Hospital

Dr Glen Davies - Homeopathic Doctor, all of whom he mentioned at the beginning of the thread on UK Skeptics forum.

He recommended two other Psychic Surgeons – the first I couldn’t catch, but also John of God in the Philippines.

Mozart and Einstein were “Indigos”.

He is in favour of the new law in April protecting consumers from fraud.

People can get healing from just being in the building, without even being touched by Gary.

Throughout the one and a quarter hours, he repeatedly said “just my opinion” or words to that effect.

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A Response From Dr Gowri Motha regarding Gary Mannions Claims

A look at church and cash

Here is a clip from 20/20 looking at this topic