Today’s Letters to the Editor in Fairfax’s The Age offer ample criticism and no praise for the Blackmores scam (see PDF below) outlined here recently. Pharmacist and health store proprietor, Ian Collins writes;
AS A pharmacist and health store proprietor, I find the guild’s action of linking with one company a most naive and money-grubbing action. To be forced to recommend one company bringing out a new range of products, whose composition has not been widely discussed and has no track record, is beyond belief. To attempt to give all people with blood-pressure problems, no matter what the cause, one formula, ignoring all other health factors, is incomprehensible.
There are so many other products from different brands that may be more effective, products with a history of being useful; why pick this small range of untried products? Maybe the answer is that complementary medicine is basically ignored in pharmacy degrees and very few pharmacists have the knowledge to discuss or ask the relevant questions regarding complementary products.
How embarrassing for pharmacists to be caught with their hand in the till.
I AM a health consumer and am disgusted at this agreement. If it wasn’t enough that pharmacies credulously offer such quackery as ear candles and the good old magic water of homeopathy, the agreement with Big Quacka means that any lingering vestiges of trust in pharmacies has vanished. Pharmacies are putting financial objectives well ahead of the ethical treatment of customers.
All guild pharmacies should come with a health warning and advice to customers to wash off the snake oil after visiting their pharmacy. I trust the guild will also make available the results of the peer-reviewed randomised double-blinded clinical trials of Blackmores Companion preparations so customers can make informed choices.
In a comprehensive Opinion article, Dr. Ken Harvey digs for some evidence to back this caper, finding little more than a business deal. He writes in part;
So what is the evidence to support the use of Blackmores Companions products?
Its Biotic Companion contains the probiotic strain Lactobacillus reuteri, which is claimed to reduce antibiotic-associated bloating, flatulence and diarrhoea. The risk of suffering these side-effects is relatively low. There is some evidence certain probiotics may reduce the incidence of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea in some populations, but routine use is not recommended by medical authorities. In immune-compromised patients, occasional cases have been reported where probiotic organisms have caused serious blood-stream infection.
Anti-HT Companion contains zinc gluconate to complement use of antihypertensive therapy. There are occasional reports that such therapy may lower zinc levels, but I am unaware of any independent medical authority that recommends routine zinc supplements with antihypertensive drugs.
Stat Companion contains coenzyme Q10 and vitamin D3 allegedly to support statin use. Muscle pain occurs in about one to two patients in 1000 receiving statins, especially if a high dose is used. The evidence that coenzyme Q10 and vitamin D3 can relieve statin-associated muscle pain is not clear-cut and the evidence that taking these ingredients together with statins prevents muscle symptoms is even less clear. As a result, the routine use of CoQ10 and vitamin D in statin-treated patients is not recommended.
PPI Companion contains magnesium to aid use of proton pump inhibitors. There are only occasional reports of clinically significant magnesium deficiency occurring in the many patients receiving PPI therapy. If this rare problem is diagnosed, the recommended management is to stop the PPI. Routine supplementation with magnesium for all patients on PPIs is not recommended.
The fine print of the material Blackmores provides about its products states that if a nutritional deficiency is suspected, pharmacists should refer customers to their GPs for further investigations. I agree.
When the rare person develops a nutrient deficiency on a prescription drug, the evidence-based approach is to confirm the diagnosis objectively with a blood test, case by case, and then treat accordingly. Sometimes that might mean prescribing a supplement. There is some evidence to support that.
But what the Pharmacy Guild-Blackmores arrangement implies is supplementation en masse, in the hope nutrient depletion will be prevented. I am unaware of any good evidence to support that. More importantly, this deal unnecessarily adds to the ”medication burden” and financial cost that many elderly patients already struggle with when taking multiple drugs.
Debate over the lack of evidence to justify the move as patient, not profit oriented, was also reported in Pharmacy News. CEO of APESMA, Chris Walton observed;
We are deeply concerned that pharmacists are increasingly being asked to put their expertise and professional ethics aside by pharmacy owners more interested in making money than doing what is in the best interests of their patients
One can be forgiven for wondering exactly how pharmacist members of The Pharmacy Guild of Australia, will keep a straight face when giving advice about medication.
Not that they don’t have the training to do so. Far from it. Which is what makes the money spinning deal to push Blackmores’ “companion products” to certain medications particularly galling. By it’s very nature this “Coke and fries” (to use Blackmores term) deal is predicated on pharmacists pre-empting doctors and making on the run diagnoses. Diagnoses that they aren’t equipped to make and that may also prove deleterious.
The scam works like this. Blackmores have identified key prescription medicines and isolated potential “nutritional consequences”. They’ve proposed a “companion product” to the prescription with scant regard to the fact that no standing recommendations exist. More so, research into this approach to supplements is both ambiguous and has revealed negative effects.
The four areas you should be terrified about are:
Proton pump inhibitors and magnesium deficiency with muscle cramps, vertigo, hyper-irritability, excitability and the inevitable poor concentration. But if you can remember where you’re going for long enough you can limp to the chemist, stagger from wall to wall and unleash your hyper-rage upon stock to ensure a swift diagnosis.
Antibiotic treatment, upset GI microflora and the need for probiotics helped along by icky stories of bloating, farting and diarrhoea. Fear not you gaseous, smelly, splattering assault upon polite society, for they have just the probiotic for you.
Anti-hypertensives and zinc deficiency along with poor immunity, poor appetite, impaired sense of taste and smell. Topped off with poor skin health (delayed wound healing), GI tract issues with the inevitable diarrhoea which compounds zinc deficiency. Can’t eat, can’t heal, can’t taste, can’t smell and you’re stuck in the toilet. There’s a plus in there somewhere but no doubt you need a zinc supplement.
Statins (cholesterol lowering drugs) and myalgia plus (get this) “muscle soreness”. Along with cramping, weakness and fatigue, you clearly need Coenzyme Q 10 and vitamin D3. What a pity you’re already too shattered to get out of bed.
Of course dealing with the nutritional consequences, may have… er, consequences. For example Blackmores go on to tell consumers, CoQ10 may:
• Have hypotensive effects in patients with hypertension and may have additive effects on antihypertensive medications
• Interfere with some types of chemotherapeutic agents. Use with caution
• Decrease the anticoagulant effect of warfarin
• Decrease blood glucose levels in people on hypoglycaemic therapy
Vitamin D3 may theoretically cause hypercalcaemia if taken with thiazide diuretics. Caution is advised in those with hyperparathyroidism, malignancies that increase serum calcium levels or other risk factors for hypercalcaemia. Zinc may decrease absorption and blood levels of tetracycline and quinolone antibiotics unless doses are separated by at least 2 hours.
Magnesium may decrease the absorption and efficacy of tetracycline and quinolone antibiotics, bisphosphonates and chlorpromazine unless doses are separated by at least 2 hours. If using [Blackmores’ probiotic] with antibiotics to which [Blackmores’ probiotic] is sensitive, separate doses by at least two hours.
This is enough to make you pause and think about chatting at length with your doctor. There’s a few other useless spooky observations that the (s)CAM industry simply rock at pulling off. Such as vitamin D deficiency being widespread and associated with poor CV health. Magnesium contributes to healthy teeth, bones, muscle/nerve function, electrolyte balance and normal energy metabolism. Myalgia is one of the most common reported adverse effect of statin use.
Many patients – particularly older ones – may already have poor nutrient intake… 1/3 of Aussies over 18 don’t get the RDI of magnesium. My favourite is the veiled suggestion GP’s aren’t capable of doing their job: “…the TGA have advised prescribers to be alert to hypomagnesaemia in people taking PPIs”. To which I can easily imagine Professor Farnsworth from Futurama saying, “Why yes… which is exactly why cowboy’s like you should stay the hell away from grown up science”.
With the help of Dr. Ken Harvey, who we know here from the SensaSlim saga, we can pin down the extent of frivolity being advanced by this joint venture. The statin claims are particularly bold, given side effects. Also, noting Wyman et al;
Some small clinical trials seem to show that coenzyme Q10 supplements can be used to lower blood pressure and to treat or prevent myalgia caused by hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins). However, larger trials are needed to determine if they are truly effective for these purposes.
There is some evidence that prophylactic probiotics reduce the incidence of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea but the appropriate combination of agents has not been established, so probiotics cannot be recommended for routine use. In immune-compromised patients, occasional cases of probiotic-associated bacteraemia have occurred
Regarding zinc and magnesium supplementation there is no standing recommendation for use with anti-hypertensive therapy and PPI use respectively. As Farnsworth just reminded us, being on the lookout for symptoms is for trained health professionals. Blackmores’ hijacking of professional guidelines is just another trick for selling for the sake of it.
Consumers Health Forum of Australia chief Carol Bennett claims in Fairfax that the entire caper is unethical and urges consumers to demand evidence and report pharmacists who lean on fears. Geraldine Moses, who is a drug safety researcher reminds us of the folic acid related seizures epileptics sustained after taking a supplement to combat the reduction in folate specific to epilepsy medication.
PHARMACISTS have been accused of putting money ahead of patients’ interests after striking a controversial deal to market dietary supplements with prescription medicines.
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia, which represents 94 per cent of Australia’s 5200 pharmacies, has agreed to start recommending a range of Blackmores products to patients when they pick up prescriptions for anti-biotics, blood pressure drugs, cholesterol medicine and proton pump inhibitors.
Last week, Blackmores chief executive Christine Holgate told Pharmacy News the deal meant they could provide ”the Coke and fries” with prescription drugs while providing pharmacies with ”a new and important revenue stream”.
Her comments prompted sharp criticism from doctors and consumer advocates who said it risked turning pharmacies into McDonald’s-like businesses that push products onto patients who do not need them. Under the deal, when a prescription is filled, a prompt in the pharmacist’s computer system will remind them to discuss a particular Blackmores product that has been designed to offset possible side-effects of their prescription drug.
[……]
Australian Medical Association president Steve Hambleton said the move was outrageous and smacked of commercial interest rather than clinical need.
He said he did not know of any solid evidence backing the combination of dietary supplements with the prescriptions included in the deal. ”I think the evidence for Coke and fries is about the same as the evidence for these products,” he said. Dr Hambleton said the recommendations had the potential to confuse patients, who should trust their doctors to prescribe them what they need without any conflicts of interest.
Geraldine Moses, a drug safety researcher and pharmacist based at Brisbane’s Mater Hospital, said she was concerned about the deal because of good evidence that the more drugs a person took, the more likely they were to have adverse reactions and interactions. She said while Blackmores may have evidence showing that prescription drugs reduce particular nutrient levels and that their supplements increase those nutrient levels, it was incorrect to presume that replenishing those levels was the right thing to do.
Outrageous, unethical and potentially dangerous according to experts. This is undoubtedly a grab for money targetting a demographic that is unable to afford trumped up scams with potential risks. Given the appalling performance of the alternative product industry in the recent Auditor General’s Report and concerns raised about regulation of same in the TGA Transparency Review in July, the Pharmacy Guild should be ashamed of itself.
I wish Professor Farnsworth could get a piece of them.
For an American citizen, Meryl Dorey, president of The Australian Vaccination Network pays scant attention to her homelands recent history.
The tragedies caused by polio were fierce and unrelenting. ‘‘It was an atmosphere of grief, terror, and helpless rage,’’ remembered a nurse who worked on the medical wards at a Pittsburgh hospital. ‘‘It was horrible. I remember a high school boy weeping because he was completely paralyzed and couldn’t move a hand to kill himself. I remember paralyzed women in iron lungs giving birth to normal babies.’’ [….]
Four of the boys got polio that summer. One day no one could find our head counselor, Bill Lilly. He took what happened to those boys pretty hard. The police were called and, after they searched all around the lake, they found that Bill had hung himself from a tree – hung himself. We were all huddled around the beach when the police came to tell us. I’ll never forget it.’’ [Source]
As is plain in the video below by 1950 33,000 polio cases in which 50% affected children under 10 were reported. Whilst it was uncommon to catch, remote to be injured by, and extremely rare to die from polio, Americans feared it almost as much as the atomic bomb. As one who claims vaccination had no impact on polio at all – personal hygiene, public sanitation, clean water and mama’s apple pie eliminated vaccine preventable diseases – this video holds a surprise for Meryl Dorey.
In the post war years clean water and public sanitation meant less prevalence of a milder, wild type of polio virus. Previously maternal antibodies and/or exposure to this wild type from very young ages had equipped the young with sufficient immunity. Polio is taken in orally and water or vapour are it’s most common mode of infection. In a more prosperous America exposure was occurring later in life, particularly during summer months. The virus itself was more virulent and within a few seasons was also striking adults severely.
In a nutshell, as described by eloquently by Dr. Paul Offit, as sanitation improved exposure occurred later and cases rose. And so pfft! goes another well worn antivaccination lie, recently peddled by Viera Scheibner on Sunrise TV.
Of course today, anti-vaxxers carry the burning Stupid as a beacon to light their way and tend to blame almost any outbreak on vaccination. Indeed only a day or so before the video below aired, Meryl Dorey refers to this viral polio outbreak in China as “vaccine associated polio”, blaming the vaccine. Even worse, she linked to the same article as here, which kinda informs the reader by paragraph two. Even worse… well no, actually so incredibly stupid it hurts to comprehend, Dorey thinks the file picture is an account of it’s own as to what’s happening. I shag you not. She writes;
What type of vaccine do they use in China – is it oral or injected? The picture looks like someone getting oral in which case, that is most likely where the outbreak is coming from
That’s our girl! “Australia’s leading expert on vaccines” looked at the picture.
A member of her Facebook page decided to point this out. The brave Emma Hill was banned, her comment deleted to make room for vaccine blaming and business briskly resumed. Meryl hates suppression of dissent or impinging on free speech as she often opines. She just has a unique way of showing it.
Pre Ban Hammer
Post Ban Hammer
As Emma notes the outbreak is caused by WPV1 spreading from Pakistan. But in defence of Meryl, we’re now getting into facts and that just won’t do. So, back to 1950’s America.
This doco looks at the impact of increasingly devastating outbreaks, infantile paralysis, the quest for a vaccine under Jonas Salk and the development of government quality control following the Cutter Incident. As documented well, also by Dr. Paul Offit poor quality control led to live virus vaccines being distributed and consequent infection in some cases. Program centres around Wytheville in the US.
The decision by Uniting Church to form a task force and probe it’s relationship with ACCESS ministries, in addition to how best to teach Christian education, is welcome news. As reported UC have “backed away from supporting the beleaguered agency.”
It’s not difficult to see why. ACCESS ministries, under Evonne Paddison is broken. It can no more fulfill it’s obligations under the education act than Alan Jones can deliver a balanced lecture on climate change science. Despite all the fluff and damage control of late it’s clear even more now that as far as respecting parental wishes and acknowledging the flaws of proselytising nothing has changed.
From the earliest days of dissent with the ACCESS monopoly, to exposure of Evonne Paddison’s blueprint for converting students and raising congregations within schools, to the so-called Federal Inquiry into adherence to education guidelines, one theme has persisted. That aggressive secularism and atheism is behind the criticism of ACCESS. Nothing could be further from the truth. Paddison is a victim of her own arrogance and delusion.
Her monochrome vision means one is either a Christian or an anti-theist driven by the need to attack the messengers of God. When it became manifestly clear that Christian families were dissatisfied with her manipulation of the secular system, she resorted to intimidation. In another theme that’s become all too common, the Education Department did her dirty work.
The feverish evangelical fervour of ACCESS ministries has proven time and again that it is at variance with mainstream Christianity and education guidelines that stipulate proselytising is forbidden. Concerned Victorians have been awarded lip service from ACCESS ministries and recidivist impotence from federal and state education ministers. Yet as so eloquently scribed by Rev. Ronald Noone in May this year, not only does Evonne Paddison believe her vision is just because “students are lost without Jesus”, such a claim is “manifestly untrue”. Elaborating, Noone continues;
There is, of course, a certain kind of evangelical Christian who believes the message is the same regardless of the context in which it is expressed. They believe this task is carrying out the God-given role assigned to them – to preach the Gospel and make disciples of all (Matthew 28). Given this is a primary text for many evangelicals, is it any wonder that conversion is an aim of their presence in school classrooms?
In contrast to a parish setting, a classroom is where formal education takes place and the overall aim is to promote knowledge and understanding of the ways in which human beings have made sense of the spiritual dimension in all of human experience. […] The classroom is a place to promote intellectual rigor and provide a context of genuine enquiry and where respect for religious traditions is matched by an honest and open appreciation of the theological, philosophical and exegetical complexities embedded in religious beliefs, texts, traditions and cultures. It is not a place for narrow forms of instruction.
As I noted recently, far from appreciating such an axiomatic notion, Paddison’s disdain for those who would articulate it came a week later in a Crosslight article, Christian religious education takes a secular beating;
What has developed over a few short months is a deliberate attempt by the media to start a faith war – to divide Christians against other Christians; faiths against faiths; congregations against congregations.
It’s sensationalist journalism – find a schism in the foundation, a rat in the ranks, report the division and watch the Letters to the Editor or the news blog implode with atheistic comment. [….]
With 12 million Christians in Australia, and nearly 65 per cent of parents opting their children into CRE classes, Christians too should have a choice. Detractors claim that CRE should be confined to Sunday. I’ve got news for them – God is with us, always, not just on the day of rest.
The tone is unmistakable and that anyone or any minister could be fooled into trusting such a person beggars belief. For thirty four minutes at the 2008 Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion Evonne Paddison spelled out her plan to save Australian churches from “a slow death march”, through the application of CRE. We can be in no doubt about, and must not waver toward accepting excuses for, Paddison’s intention to shirk legislative responsibility in favour of theocratic vision.
Much has been made of her comments to “make disciples”. But the speech contained far more insight into her conviction to the cause. It’s important Victorians never loose sight of this intent. Being a key stake holder for direction and tactics of the National School Chaplaincy Association, all Australians should be wary of Evonne Paddison’s arguably ruthless dedication to pure evangelism.
Proud to proclaim the ACCESS vision is “to reach every child in Victoria through the transforming love of God and His son, Jesus” (see video below) the 2008 EFAC performance is robust confirmation of her intent to use the privileged position held by ACCESS. This is no “bread and butter” Christian values at play here. The welfare of children or wishes of parents outside of “Christ’s new society”, as she calls it is of no moment. She seeks to;
…promote the same marks of discipleship for young people as those that the Bible presents to us. But of course, in a way that is appropriate and contextual to them. The first step in becoming a disciple is clearly believing, but so many of our young people have never heard the gospel.
Paddison stated that children and students are the greatest mission field for disciple making in Australia. Happy to admit classrooms are being used for ministry in place of education, “both at state level and at national level both in government and non government schools”, she goes further;
… but we must ask how much of that ministry is actually resulting in Christian conversion and discipleship growing and resulting in church growth? We have a huge challenge ahead of us. We must develop the right attitude and framework and goals and models in order to see not only Christian ministry taking place but conversion, discipleship and commitment to a Christian faith community.
We reached 250,000 children every week. Our goal is to double those numbers. However despite all the ministry going on here in Victoria and across Australia we need to recognize that what isn’t happening and what isn’t happening is a connection between school and church.
There’s no question that to be a Christian is to belong to Jesus’ church. Membership of a faith community is vital. And our model for discipleship must include this. [….] We need to be like Jesus who became one of us and pitched his tent in order to reveal grace and truth….
In this way we will show that Christ and his church provide a love more true than those available in popular culture. And importantly can I urge we must move them to an acceptance of the centrality of Scripture. Through modeling our own adherence to it. Making it central to any gatherings we have with them and showing it as a door or two growing in a relationship with Jesus.
One can be forgiven for being confused about the actual beneficiaries. Paddison even instructs her lackeys to hold to Trinitarian logic, “in our encounter with students”;
Our engagement must show that Jesus is the best of all choices. Do not water it [Scripture] down. We have to reflect the relationships of the persons of the Trinity in our relationships in Christ’s new society. As we develop this perspective in our encounter with students we will tap into their longing for belonging and acceptance that has grown out of a world of divorce and division.
What really matters is seizing the God-given opportunity we have to reach kids in schools. Without Jesus, our students are lost…. Our churches in the West are on a slow death march. We have the opportunity to create life. It may be uncomfortable but so what? What a commandment, make disciples. What a responsibility. What a privilege we have been given. Let’s go for it.
As we know, Evonne Paddison did not budge, insisting that her speech had been taken out of context. Eventually in late July the Commonwealth Ombudsman criticised management of the National Chaplaincy Program. ACCESS went into damage control.
Paddison claimed to “strongly support” the finding of the Ombudsman. “Public debate about religion in schools is nothing new”, we’re told pleasantly and has “it’s genesis” in the case being brought before VCAT and the NSCP High Court challenge. Evonne could now “acknowledge” some debate arose about her speech, but ACCESS still had no compromise to make. In a video of Paddison reading from script we’re told;
I accept that parts of that speech could have better emphasised that ACCESS ministries does not and never has condoned proselytising in schools. I understand how people could have interpreted it otherwise… that was never my intention. What I meant is that ACCESS ministries has an opportunity to teach children what Christians believe.
ACCESS ministries forbids proselytising and we continue to respect the context in which we honour our privilege and serve the school community. The federal government recently conducted an investigation… and found no evidence that we had tried to convert in breach of government guidelines.
What a joke. It’s intriguing to imagine how she tries to pass off similar lies to honest colleagues, genuine educators and fellow board members with integrity.
Although her influence remains a problem, Paddison is foolish to think her legion of opponents can be tarred with the brush of “secular” and “atheist”. Which brings us back to Uniting Church. Barney Zwartz writes;
THE Uniting Church, one of the key partners in Access Ministries that provides religious education in Victorian primary schools, has backed away from supporting the beleaguered agency.
The church’s state synod (parliament) declined to vote on a proposal that the church continue to support the work of Access, instead forming a task group to explore the relationship between it and the synod, and how best to teach Christian education. [….]
Annette Blaze, a Uniting Church representative on the Access board, proposed that the synod support Access, suggesting the ministry was victim of a campaign to attack the Christian base of Australia’s culture and noting that investigations by both state and federal education ministers found criticisms of Access were unfounded.
But the synod opted for a proposal by Macedon Ranges minister Avril Hannah-Jones to investigate the Access curriculum. ”There have been complaints. Some, clearly from the secular and new atheist perspective, I thought we could discount, but some came from parents and Uniting Church volunteers which I thought were worth exploring,” Dr Hannah-Jones told The Age last night.
Hannah-Jones’ comments themselves should be cause for concern. Paddison may well be the most vocal, the most corrupt, the most malignant presence in a secular education system. But the impact of religiously inclined ministers is reflected in the confidence by which Hannah-Jones marks her territory. Those with a differing ontology to the steadily declining view that Christianity has merit, much less meaning, have been, are being and will continue to be discriminated against. Yet still their complaints may be automatically “discounted”.
Still, there is well earned and justified schadenfreude here for those who see the value of religious education in a modern secular society. As I said at the beginning the typical theme has been that any dissent can be written off as unwarranted attack. A plot, a plan, a conspiracy amongst the angry. How delightful then that all this time later, the defence is the same.
Despite Paddison’s grovelling act, ACCESS board member Annette Blaze can only resort to the standard mantra of fallacious personal incredulity. There is “a campaign to attack the Christian base of Australian culture”.
Although demonstrably false, the official line again it seems is that ACCESS is “a victim’.
Reaching every child in Victoria through the transforming love of God and His son, Jesus
To be held in Melbourne, Australia from 13-15 April, you may want to head on over to the site if you’re keen to attend. According to Religion Editor, Barney Zwartz – who I’ll wager will be attending – in The Age yesterday in ‘Four Horsemen’ draw godless crew;
TICKETS are selling fast to what organisers say will be the most significant atheist gathering in history next April, when the ”four horsemen of the apocalypse” share a stage for the first time.
The four horsemen are the world’s most famous atheists – scientist Richard Dawkins, philosophers Daniel Dennett and Sam Harris and journalist Christopher Hitchens – who will speak at the second Global Atheist Convention at the Melbourne Convention Centre.
”I don’t think this convention will ever be repeated. You will never get these speakers together again,” said organiser David Nicholls, president of the Australian Atheist Foundation, yesterday.
He said tickets were marching out the door, despite being on sale for only three weeks and not being advertised yet.
Of course it goes without saying that some pretty awesome, very talented and hard working individuals are striving hard behind the scenes to pull together an incredible international event. One Melbourne can be proud of. Sure, the term atheist applies but far from being anti-theistic in tone I’ve little doubt this event will be an intellectual feast.
The last convention which I also attended, drew bemusing criticism on the misguided assumption it was strictly a gathering of non believers. A product of internet debate and backlash toward the rise of the “new atheists” this cynicism was sorely misplaced. To be sure there are some very annoying atheists amongst the masses (no pun intended) who wear the title fundamentalist with aplomb. But assuming such an array of minds can be labelled as one is quite misguided.
Celebration of reason is an apt title. Yes, the godless do celebrate life. Far from any ritual or cross to bear, the burdensome weight setting us apart is that of genetic superiority and profound modesty to the point of deep humility (See what I did there). Seriously though. Non theists come in all intellectual shapes and sizes with the vast majority having a functional world view not unlike that of the majority of theists. Debating differences at times renders this hard to see.
Here’s looking forward to an event that will, given the huge array of speakers, prove to be a most stimulating weekend indeed.
A Celebration of Reason – 2012 Global Atheist Convention
