Tag Archives: Sensaslim

The Unstoppable Underworld of SensaSlim

Posted in Alternative "medicine" scams, Big Placebo, Health, Legal, Scam by

Have you wanted a total wellness experience? Do you deserve some ‘me time’? Your wellness and health are in your hands!

Imagine how good it would feel to let your day drain away as you DO something just for You

So says Melbourne Laser Skin and Wellness Clinic. Sound a bit too good to be true? Confused at just what a “wellness” experience is? Get the feeling that stopping your money drain away from your hands is about all you need to DO for YOU? Then look no further skeptical shoppers!

That’s right skeptics! In a special offer available only to readers of this post – that’s this post only – I will reveal to YOU the shocking crime wave to have hit Chadstone Shopping Centre and steer you away from a certain scam and probably a violent death. Have you ever wanted total wellness woo revenge? Do you deserve some “justice time”? Imagine how it would feel as you report law breaking criminals to the hopelessly impotent TGA and DO something just for THE CONSUMERS OF AUSTRALIA. Well read on…

Last month as many of you know, the TGA banned the scam weight loss product SensaSlim after the ACCC uncovered misleading and deceptive conduct in advertising and promotion. The entire SensaSlim caper, brainchild of career criminal Peter Foster relied on non existent “research” at non existent institutes by non existent people. Even a non existent Nobel Prize was part of the con. Non existent successes such as the instant weight loss of the Black Caviar jockey made headlines and almost as quickly questions about honesty were raised. Complaints were first filed with the TGA back in mid March this year. You can check here for details on a long, sordid and sorry saga.

As we also know shoppers, this ghastly business climaxed with the arrest of conman and criminal Peter Foster for his role in this dark and devious scam. Technically he breached a court order to remain away from the weight loss industry as it had led to his imprisonment before, and it would be very sad indeed if that happened again. The only thing straining at credibility more than SensaSlim claims of losing weight while you sleep was the apathy of the TGA. True to form they did absolutely nothing for around eight months to de-register it as the evidence mounted. Or didn’t even appear as the case may be.

So from shonky claims, to consumer complaints, to dirty tactics, to the ACCC taking action, to more dirty tactics, to Peter Foster’s arrest which – hilariously – actually preceded the TGA ban by a full week, there’s been lots of attention on SensaSlim. So much attention shoppers, you would have to be very, very preoccupied as a supplier to not hear of this. To not know that:

It Is Now Illegal To Sell, Supply, Advertise, Export or Import SensaSlim

But is there more to this shady world of criminal enterprise and SensaSlim sleaze, shoppers? SensaSlim was masterminded by career criminal and international con man Peter Foster. The same SensaSlim that led lovable gangland figure and member of the drug lord producing Carlton Crew, Mick Gatto to invest his hard earned money? Yes shoppers! The same Mick Gatto who happened to shoot well known prolific underworld hit man Andrew “Benji” Veniamin in the face at point blank range completely by accident and managed to get off scott free even though forensic evidence was dodgy? Yes shoppers!

The same Andrew “Benji” Veniamin who was the trigger man for ruthless drug lord Carl Williams? Yes shoppers! The same Carl Williams who was battered to death inside Barwon 24 hour watch maximum security prison? Yes shoppers! The same Barwon prison whose Head Warden “went missing” on a “hunting trip” shortly after this murder? Yes shoppers!

But wait! There’s more!

As a special to readers of this post I can reveal this horrific gangland tale of shot hit men, murdered drug lords, missing wardens, unstoppable con men and their inexplicable link to one thing – SensaSlim – has come to Chadstone Shopping Centre, Melbourne. Today as the TGA tried to distance itself from any hint of blame the Medical Observer reported:

A TGA spokesperson dismissed as “nonsense” suggestions that the administration had “backed” the product by listing it on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) in 2010 and that its eventual move to effectively ban the product in Australia was “commensurate with the risk profile of the product”.

The accusations from resellers came after the TGA finally struck the product from the ARTG last month…. The delisting means that as of this month it could now be an offence to import, export, manufacture or supply SensaSlim.

But on Thursday last week at least five Australian websites were still advertising SensaSlim, with some telling MO they had not been told to stop selling the product, while others were refusing to remove the product from sale until the TGA had explained its decision.

That’s right shoppers! That bit actually had nothing to do with Chadstone! Read on…

Is it any wonder these men won’t back down. Not so for stalwart citizen Julie Grinberg of Chadstone Wellness. Clearly Julie had been very busy and just hadn’t heard of the ban or months of complaints peppering the “Wellness” industry and scattered across the media.

Another supplier, Julie Grinberg from Chadstone Wellness, which had the product advertised online, said she only heard the product was delisted when contacted by MO – after which she had the website changed.

“I was absolutely not aware of this,” she said. “Everything’s been changed to our site, just in case, just to be sure.”

Good on Julie. She’s had the website changed, “just to be sure”. So a quick visit four days later shoppers, reveals:

SensaSlim Melbourne Solution… Nobel Prize for Medicine

Oh my! Shoppers! An exact replica of the claims made by SensaSlim in direct contravention of the TGA ban.

The poster above describes the “sleep diet” and recounts the fraudulent trials that led the ACCC to take action over “deceptive and misleading conduct” and for making “unsubstantiated claims”. Not only is Julie Grinberg still selling SensaSlim she lied to Medical Observer!

Asked if he knew illegal products with connections to Melbourne’s bloody gangland war were being sold in the Shopping Centre, local resident Bill Smith said it wasn’t surprising. “The state government are always saying they’ll do something about the rising crime levels but they never really do”, he observed. “These people will do anything for money. No-one’s safe anymore”.

Local mother Jane Jones said, “What if there’s a shoot out as I go to get my nails done and my kids are caught in the cross fire all because of this… this… Senseless Slim? They just don’t care about the law. They do what they want because no-one can really touch them”, she sobbed. When told the TGA would take complaints she screamed hysterically and ran for the nearest exit.

All across Chadstone families were taking in the news the bloody gangland war had come to their town. Jimbo Flabatzki, an overweight computer junkie who spends his days in the Apple Mac shop said he felt sorry for people who fell for such fad scams. “Anyone knows when they discover a proper way to lose weight there’ll be an App for it”, he said checking the App Store on a nearby iPad.

Local lurker Shifty Shane said, “There’s nuffin ya can do. These dudes have international bank accounts, money tied up in investments, layered in legitimate income sources which redistributes in declared earnings. Or… um, so I’ve heard. Whatever this SensaSlim stuff has in it, people are willin’ to do anything to keep the trade goin’ man”.

So there you have it shoppers. Undeniable proof that weight loss scams and Melbourne’s underground gangland war are inextricably linked. To save yourselves keep away from Melbourne Laser Skin and Wellness Clinic Chadstone, or as it’s known by it’s street name Chadstone Wellness.

Lodge a complaint with the TGA here if you feel the advertisement (which is banned and should not actually exist) is not or does not:

  • socially responsible;
  • promote quality use of the products; and
  • do not mislead or deceive consumers.

All the details and instructions are above. The name to remember is Julie Grinberg of Chadstone Wellness. Phone number 03 9530 9800. Remember to add her comments to Medical Observer and include a copy of the advertisement. Parts 1 and 2 are above. Part 3 is here:

The address is Dandenong Road.

Chadstone,

Victoria, 3148.

Get that off to the TGA at these addresses ASAP shoppers! The sales price seems to be almost three times that of eBay stores. It’s not illegal to buy it so if you’re caught in the grip of this criminal enterprise save yourself a few dollars. As of today it’s over 11 days since the ban came into force. The ban that states:

It Is Now Illegal To Sell, Supply, Advertise, Export or Import SensaSlim

Fight back against these ruthless con artists and dangerous criminals. Dob in a (SensaSlim) dealer today.

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SensaSlim Shonky Shows Up TGA

Posted in Alternative "medicine" scams, Big Placebo, Health, Legal, Scam by

By now you most probably know that SensaSlim won the Choice Shonky for “making snake oil look good”. Or rather, “SensaSlim (and friends)”.

Delightfully the TGA receive an honorary Shonky for their mind blowing apathy and inbred inability to delist the rubbish. Choice report:

The TGA, who deserve an honorary Shonky for their role in this, have had ample reason and opportunity to delist the product, ensuring it can no longer be sold in Australia, but have declined to do so. Even after the TGA’s advertising Complaints Resolution Panel recommended its delisting due to non-compliance with regulations, they have sat tight and done nothing.

Of course the TGA who can, according to the TGA simply do no wrong, rejected this award in the same hilarious manner they reject any responsibility for regular TGA failures. Reported in The Australian, “Unproven slimming spray wins a shonky”:

The TGA revoked Sensaslim’s approval to make such claims, but it has not delisted the product for sale, as suggested by its panel, earning it an “honorary Shonky”. A spokesperson says the Shonky is unwarranted: “The TGA continues to take regulatory action against SensaSlim Solutions to remove it from the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods.”

The spray continues to be sold by several Australian internet pharmacies. This prompted [Ken] Harvey to write to the Pharmacy Board of Australia this week, alerting it to possible “breaches by pharmacists” of legislation prohibiting them from misleading advertising.

Which is exactly why the spray should have already been delisted. People are still being ripped off. More on the failing effectiveness if not relevance of the TGA can be read here at Australian Skeptics.

Just recently on October 27th the Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, Catherine King, hinted at regulatory change. Speaking at the Complementary Healthcare Council of Australia’s (CHC) National Conference King agreed that the Auditor General’s report into the TGA this year highlighted concerns. Pharmacy Daily report:

These issues, including poor compliance rates, resulted in recommendations for improving the process of regulation for complementary medicines and the handling of advertising complaints. Specific recommendations listed in the report, including: the timely completion by TGA of key guidance material for complementary medicines; improving the integrity of the self-assessment process for listing complementary therapies whilst limiting the use of inappropriate claims and indications, have been accepted by the TGA and are now in the planning stages for implementation.

King also said planning is now occurring for further report recommendations including making information available to the public on each listed complementary medication; improving the quality of the regulatory framework through the use of risk profiles; and the development of documented procedures for handling advertising complaints including timelines for completing investigations.

An informal working group had also identified that the current system doesn’t “sufficiently encourage compliance”. Indeed. It cannot be understated how appalling the TGA behaved in setting in train some of it’s regulatory powers, such as seeking original and stated evidence from sponsors of ARTG products, only upon discovering the Auditor General was to investigate. Put simply, the TGA can at any time ask for the evidence of any ARTG listed “alternative to medicine” product and act accordingly. Put rather more simply, they don’t.

Despite having several months to discern whether SensaSlim (and a plethora of other scam products) meet requirements Pharmacy News reported last week on the TGA dodging any criticism surrounding Sensaslim. Not happy about it’s honorary Shonky for apathy in the face of urgency, it was noted that:

… a TGA spokesperson insisted it was reviewing whether the product met the requirements for listing on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG). “It is nonsense to say that the TGA has taken no action in relation to SensaSlim,” the spokesperson said. “The TGA continues to take regulatory action against SensaSlim Solutions to remove it from the ARTG.

As for the SensaSlim Scam itself, well the European and American markets – always the primary target – are now copping it. The same flashy websites once active in Australia, with exactly the same claims are misleading consumers on those continents. The UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency cannot act to have the misleading advertising removed unless:

  • The site is hosted in the UK
  • The profits are banked in the UK
  • The product is distributed from the UK
  • And is a medicinal product

Profits from sales of SensaSlim go via PayPal into the bank account of Peter Foster’s QLD girlfriend Liana Emberg. Liana is understandably keeping quiet. Emberg was one of seven SensaSlim scam scally wags who had their bank accounts frozen by the ACCC.

Somehow I doubt poor Liana is losing out.

Check out all 2011 Shonky Awards here (SensaSlim 2:40)

Oh, Oh, Oh, O’Brien of SensaSlim gives us more hanky panky

Posted in Big Placebo, General, Health, Scam by

Peter O’Brien, SensaSlim director and rumoured buddy of Peter Foster seems unable to break the back of his attention seeking behaviour.

Peter O'Brien

Firstly however, the good news is that the initial defamation case brought by SensaSlim for $800,000 against Ken Harvey was dismissed on Monday. Harvey was awarded costs but with a mere $280,000 in the SensaSlim kitty, he is unlikely to see any returns. There is quite a queue for payments from SensaSlim who misled investors on return potential. It turned out to be zero.

Five days ago we had a SensaSlim saga update which included reference to the press release-masquerading-as-news-until-you-read-the-disclaimer, of O’Brien’s intent to sue Ken Harvey for $1 million dollars. Like all the other articles O’Brien authored on international.to it is now a mere 404 page – and I’ll get onto that. There’s a section in the above post along with most of the disclaimer. It was a kind of desperate sales pitch, personal attack on Harvey and attempt to defend SensaSlim as a genuine product because TGA regulations are geared to prevent harm, not provide efficacy.

He’s right on the last point and the very fact this nonsense continues is a black mark against the “self certification” process of the TGA. This was raised during the recent transparency review of the TGA which you can read and catch up on here. With luck O’Brien has done Aussies a favour by exploiting this appalling hole in our supposed regulatory body for therapeutic goods. Frozen assets, links to crime figures, non existent research from non existent institutes, false claims about a dud product, duped investors, defamed obesity experts, fraud, [all earning ACCC charges of misleading and deceptive conduct under Trade Practices Act 1974], defamation cases dismissed, contempt of court (I’ll get to that also) and the product still remains listed with the TGA.

O’Brien need only insist that the ingredients have been proven and used in weight loss products (and he is), point to the TGA listing (and he is) and feign unfair criticism thus defamation on Dr. Harvey’s part (and he is) to keep making money from a useless product that was a scam from day one. The Australian reported on Tuesday that he is seeking $1.75 million in damages and costs. Check The Australian Skeptics for information on donations to help Ken Harvey or head on over directly to the designated PayPal account.

A TGA representative confirmed the SensaSlim listing as it has “no unsafe products”, and in a typical bureaucratic promise of a glacially paced plan, proffered;

However, the TGA is considering a number of matters regarding the listing of Sensaslim Solution on the Australian Register of Therapeutic goods.

Nonsense. Until the suit against Dr. Harvey (which is another S.L.A.P.P.) is finalised the Complaints Resolution Panel can do nothing. O’Brien continues to profit with the TGA’s blessing. On this point there is a brand new Get Up campaign launched by the founder of The Celestial Teapot skeptic group. Calling on state and federal governments to provide consumer protection from quacks and health scams. It’s a compelling argument and thankfully includes calling to account that Victorian government bastion of all things scam-worthy and useless The Better Health Channel – which tax payers fund. Other states have similar insults.

Back to O’Brien. Yesterday it emerged that the ACCC was launching contempt of court proceedings against Peter O’Brien. It was postulated he has sent more of those ridiculous and at times thuggish “newsletters” he and Adam Troy Adams favoured to franchisees, this time warning that cooperating with the ACCC might be financially costly. Yes you read that correctly. Cooperating with the ACCC to get back money SensaSlim scammed from them might be costly. However we now know the ACCC has been granted an injunction stopping this latest rather ambitious attempt to still scam his already hurting victims. O’Briens cavalry seem to have gotten lost.

Some welcome clarification emerged also. I’ve written a couple of times about some correspondence with an editor from international.to, which is owned by RogersDIGITAL marketing. I’d complained about the content of articles written by Peter O’Brien and glowing comments published beneath. They were eventually deleted, and correspondence ceased which as I said was fine by me. It was their call to resume any exchange. I’d argued elsewhere on the deletions, “…I doubt due to my objections, but rather their own integrity given the balance of developments”.

So a refreshing development came to pass. The “Greg” singing off emails is Greg Rogers from RogersDIGITAL, who was responsible for the impossible to miss disclaimer under O’Brien’s last piece. Not only was O’Brien none to happy with this piece of honesty, but had long been advising Rogers to delete email correspondence. Fairfax write;

Simon White, SC, for the commission, said Greg Rogers, of the online news and classified websites business Rogers Digital, had contacted the commission, concerned at emails from Mr O’Brien telling him he should delete every email after reading it, and warning of the confidential nature of business relations.

”If at any time in the future [he was questioned] you can honestly say every email was erased,” one email said.

Another said he should ”never admit you are paid for a story”.

If Mr Rogers agreed that he would delete all correspondence with himself, SensaSlim and another director, Adam Adams, we can ”move forward and do a lot of business”, Mr O’Brien wrote.

He said if Mr Rogers was interviewed by the ACCC voluntarily then ”you are doing so in violation of confidentiality, both real and implied”. ”I ask you immediately erase all communication.” [….]

“Greg, I have been reading very hostile comments on sites supporting Ken Harvey,” Mr O’Brien wrote. He queried a disclaimer on the story headlined ”Sensaslim director files million dollar law suit against Dr Ken Harvey” [sic] on a Rogers Digital website.

Oh my. All in all things aren’t presently looking up for Peter O’Brien. Although according to one report he has been listed as a creditor by SensaSlim administrators.

One awaits further developments.

SensaSlim Saga Update

Posted in Alternative "medicine" scams, Big Placebo, Health, Scam by

Last we left SensaSlim, it’s ever ambitious team of supporters was getting a dressing down on behalf of The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission securely ensconced within the Federal Court in NSW.

On July 20th, Justice Yates had, according to the ACCC website;

… made orders by consent granting leave for the ACCC to proceed against Sensaslim Australia Pty Ltd (Administrator Appointed) up to 27 July 2011. Orders are extended to 27 July 2011 that Foster, O’Brien and Adams be restrained from taking further steps to make representations regarding the efficacy of the Sensaslim Spray where the basis for the representation is a clinical trial or scientific report, unless the clinical trial was conducted and is the subject of a scientific report which has been published in a peer reviewed scientific journal.

SMH also ran a piece outlining the bans sought by the ACCC against these rather dishonest chaps headed up by one Peter Clarence Foster, one of the least credible exports from our nation girt by sea;

THE consumer watchdog is seeking a 20-year ban on the corporate life of serial conman Peter Foster, over his alleged misleading and deceptive conduct with the weight loss business, Sensaslim Australia.

Lengthy bans are also sought against fellow Sensaslim Spray proponents Peter Leslie O’Brien (15 years) and seven years for Adam Troy Adams. The ACCC has not sought to disqualify a former Sensaslim director, Michael Anthony Boyle from managing corporations, but is seeking a three year ban on him being involved  in businesses which have franchising characteristics. [….]

The ACCC alleged that Sensaslim made false or misleading representations about the profitability of the business to investors who bought franchises. Sensaslim had claimed that franchisees had the potential to earn $4000 a week after they invested $59,950, and there was a ”money back buy-back guarantee”.

The ACCC said there was not the potential to generate the earnings, there were no franchisees generating the projected earnings, and there was no guarantee of a refund. The ACCC also alleges false and misleading conduct by the use of testimonials of the clinical effectiveness of the spray ”when in fact no such [clinical] trial was conducted”, and the failure to disclose Mr Fosters’ involvement in the business.

The next piece of interest was published August 9th, in The Age’s Small Business section. Authorities move to dump conman’s weight-loss spray from market. At this point SensaSlim were eight days overdue in publishing the legally required warning about the action being taken against the company, on the front page of their website.

A HERBAL diet spray linked to notorious conman Peter Foster looks set to be taken off the market, six months after health authorities first received a complaint about it.

Last week, the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s complaints resolution panel called for SensaSlim to be removed from the register of therapeutic goods, which means the spray cannot be advertised or sold.

Executive officer of the panel, Judith Brimer, asked the TGA to cancel its listing after SensaSlim Australia failed to withdraw advertising that lacked approval. A spokeswoman for the TGA said it was considering the request. The panel’s call comes six months after Melbourne academic Ken Harvey first complained about the product, prompting SensaSlim Australia to launch a defamation case against him. [….]

On July 27, the ACCC won orders in the Federal Court for the company to change the front page of its website to inform visitors of the legal action against it. While the notice was required to be posted within five business days, it did not appear on the site yesterday.

Meanwhile, Dr Harvey continues to defend the defamation case launched against him by the company, which is seeking $800,000 damages. Dr Harvey said he hoped the case, which has cost him about $30,000 to date, would be dismissed this month. Supporters are raising money to cover his costs. More than 100 franchisees are believed to have paid $60,000 each to sell SensaSlim, which has sold for about $1200 a litre or $60 for a 50 millilitre bottle.

Their RTG listing is here for your perusal dear reader, the TGA Summary here. Yet, as we know there’s no joke about seasoned con men. The ACCC may get these critters off Australia’s back, reap some monies and give them some bad press overseas but in reality they’ll just keep singing in the hope of scamming the larger European market. A scroll back through some articles here gives a hint at how much energy they put into feigning disgust at having their good names tarnished and pointing to the (still) available ARTG certificate, on the Australian Weight Loss Challenge site. The “challenge” has grown from about four to thirteen participants in just over a month.

Last night a little birdie on Twitter asked if this was real. SensaSlim director files million dollar law suit against Dr. Ken Harvey. Well, yes it is true. But my, what a tantrum Peter O’Brien seems to have had;

In a writ filed in the Supreme Court of Queensland, Mr O’ Brien claimed that Dr Harvey had no grounds for calling for SensaSlim to be withdrawn from sale given that there are no safety issues over it.

“The TGA authorised SensaSlim for sale on the basis of its unique formulation and active ingredients,” Mr O’Brien said. “It is issued with a TGA Listing number approving it for sale  as a weight loss aid.”

The Sensaslim Solution formulation combines five of the most thoroughly researched weight loss ingredients over the past 30 years.   It uses all natural active components extracted from rare fruits and minerals, which together, act to stimulate the body’s natural fat burning processes, reduce cravings of sugar and carbohydrates, maintain energy metabolism, inhibit fat synthesis, increase fat oxidation, encourage lean muscle mass and decrease body weight.

Sensaslim also contains a natural analgesic which acts to desensitise taste receptors on the tongue.

“For any  product to be withdrawn from the market it has to be because of a safety issue, and Dr Harvey knew that,” Mr O’Brien said.

“He was attempting to create headlines and be mischievous and we are calling him to account.” he said. “He is a man pursuing a personal vendetta and is followed by a small group of people who pride themselves on being sceptics and cynics’. “It is one thing for him to disagree with our advertising, but it is completely outrageous to call for a product to be withdrawn from sale simply because he is against all things natural,”

Mr O’Brien said Dr Harvey was a “chronic complainer on the complementary healthcare industry who becomes louder and more vengeful and spiteful as he realises he becomes less relevant.”

“What Dr Harvey can’t tolerate is the growth in the natural nutrition and healthcare industries, at the cost of big pharmaceuticals,” Mr O’Brien said. […..]

Wait on, wait on. What sort of news agency is going to spruik a product and run a personal attack under a seemingly routine type headline? No comment from Dr. Harvey either, which is tacky given he consults and lectures on the various conflicts of interest that do plague pharmaceutical companies. It is entirely correct and proper for Dr. Harvey to call sham products to account as well as highlight the contributing flaws in Australian regulation. This does not equate to a conflict of interest born of bias toward pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Harvey is a man of impressive integrity who has worked in Australia and overseas to ensure consumers are able to access the drugs they need. He’s worked with local S.E. Asian NGO’s helping to lobby their own governments to introduce policies that enable the sort of access we take for granted as well as tackling the horrific reality of counterfeit medication.

This also had a familiar ring to it. Much like the earlier articles about the wonder spray, the expansive jockey story and the Thank you for suing us article written by a certain Peter O’Brien that had me corresponding with an editor from international.to. Or the claims of presenting these stunning clinical trial results to scientists at the 18th European Conference on Obesity in Turkey. I’d been reliably informed they were nowhere to be seen in Turkey. As I wrote back on July 6th.

Interestingly the Thank you for suing us ad piece and the Black Caviar jockey piece by Peter O’Brien have disappeared. Follow those links and you get a 404. The following day I raised concerns with the editor about an article headed, “Obesity scientists told of SensaSlim slimming spray that has the effect of ‘Fooling the Brain’ into Thinking You’re Not Hungry” and another headed “Four Twins, a Jockey and a sensational slimming spray talk Turkey”. I received no reply. Ironically, both these articles now deliver a 404 message also.

However the editor initially responded citing he’d never heard the claims I was making. Despite links provided about the missing evidence, complaints and accusations from Dr. Capehorn. Then when the proverbial hit the fan I received on June 16th;

Thanks for taking the time to provide more details…

Our role is to be objective and your point of view is valuable..  we will not take sides….

What was once a public interest story has certainly grown into something more now that there are court cases, TV segments and reports from customers ( good and bad )..

We will get back to you..  and I would need your permission to enable me to pass on your email to a reporter to pursue ?

All the best

But I never did hear back and don’t really see why I should have. That’s their call. As I pointed out in the prior article, international.to is owned by RogersDIGITAL a marketing company based in Australia. They have had a website overhaul since I last described the pseudo-psychological marketing lingo’ on their site. Presently they have a rather prominent: We publish news, press releases and advertising on websites owned and operated by our media group.

Which might well explain the far more honest footnote to Peter O’Brien’s latest rant on international.to

Editor Note.. This press release was created and submitted by Mr O’Brien. It is not news. It is not our editorial content . IT IS A PRESS RELEASE. It is for information purposes only. http://www.International.to publishes verified press releases upon application to http://www.NewsMediaReleases.com. As with any press release it is marked as such and is not intended as a report or coverage of an event or occurrence.

A press release, news release, media release, press statement or video release is a written or recorded communication directed at members of the news media for the purpose of announcing something ostensibly newsworthy. [….]

So, we can really only wait and see how much of this is a serious endeavour and how much is to maintain the ongoing song pitched to gullible buyers and presumably very angry franchisees.

In short is it just another last ditch push to make money from the sinking ship SensaSlim by coating the hull in fake credibility?