John Wiens DC

British Chiropractic Association sues science writer for libel

By John Wiens DC|June 17, 2009|News|

In a Guardian article in April 2008, Simon Singh, who has penned the popular science books “Fermat’s Last Theorem”, “The Code Book” and “Big Bang”, wrote about the likely risks of chiropractic treatment and whether or not there was any evidence that it was effective for various childhood conditions, including asthma and colic. The British Chiropractic Association (BCA) took offense to this, claimed that Singh had defamed their reputation and has sued him for libel.

Notwithstanding that in libel cases in Britain, it is the defendant who carries the burden of proof, and that this would be very expensive, Singh decided last year to fight on as experts said “we had a valid defence and stood a good chance of winning the case.”

However, this from the Index on Censorship website – On May 7th, 2009 the English High Court ruled that Singh must show that the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) was deliberately dishonest in promoting chiropractic as a treatment for various children’s ailments.

Mr Justice Eady ruled, with notes apparently written prior to today’s preliminary hearing, that an article by Singh, published in the Guardian should be classified as a ’statement’ and added that by use of the word ‘bogus’ Singh had inferred he believed the BCA had intent to convey dishonest claims to the British public.

In light of this ruling the matter may not go to trial. From Singh’s standing he does not believe the BCA had intent to deceive and therefore cannot prove this.

Costs of £23,000, relating to the preliminary hearing, have been awarded to the BCA.

Here is some discussion including an intelligent posting by the vice president of the BCA.
(more…)

3

Government of Canada Makes Infrastructure Investments in Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College

By John Wiens DC|June 8, 2009|Education|

June 05, 2009 16:44 ET

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – June 5, 2009) – The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology), today announced more than $350,000 in infrastructure funding for the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in Toronto.

The funding is being provided through the Knowledge Infrastructure Program, a two-year, $2-billion program designed to repair and expand research and educational facilities at Canadian colleges and universities. The program is helping to provide economic stimulus and promote employment by creating jobs for engineers, architects, tradespeople and technicians.

“This Government of Canada investment will provide a significant economic stimulus to the region,” said Minister of State Goodyear. “Our government is investing in innovation to create jobs, to help our economy recover quickly and to improve the quality of life of Canadians.”

Together with funding from the College itself, the investment for infrastructure projects at the College totals more than $1.2 million.

Canada’s Economic Action Plan sets out to stimulate the Canadian economy over the next two years and to improve our long-term competitiveness through $12 billion in new infrastructure investment, which includes the $2-billion Knowledge Infrastructure Program. This new support is the next substantive investment in the Government of Canada’s multi-year Science and Technology Strategy, Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada’s Advantage.

Knowledge Infrastructure Program Investments in the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College

Through the Knowledge Infrastructure Program, the federal government is investing $351,480 to fund two projects at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in Toronto. The College is providing an additional $858,726 in funding for these projects.



---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Institution             Project                 Federal               Other
                        Description             Contribution   Contribution
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Canadian Memorial       Diagnostic and          $225,980           $722,726
 Chiropractic College   Procedural Simulation
                        Learning Labs
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Canadian Memorial       Enhancing Health        $125,500           $136,000
 Chiropractic College   and Safety, and
                        Building Efficiency
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         TOTAL  $351,480           $858,726
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more information about the Knowledge Infrastructure Program, including program criteria and application instructions, please visit www.ic.gc.ca/knowledge-infrastructure.

2

Unveiling the beauty of statistics for a fact based world view

By John Wiens DC|May 30, 2009|Research|

Gapminder is a non-profit venture promoting sustainable global development and achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by increased use and understanding of statistics and other information about social, economic and environmental development at local, national and global levels.

This site uses beautiful, timeline animated graphics both in demonstration videos and interactive graphs that you can manipulate to help to visualize the way the world is now and how it has changed.

0

Chiropractic Is Past the Demonstration Project Stage

By John Wiens DC|May 14, 2009|News|

By Bonnie S. Hillsberg, DC, MHA, MEd; guest author for Rand Baird, DC, MPH, FICA, FICC

Source Dynamic Chiropractic

On Jan. 5, 2009, the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced yet another chiropractic demonstration project. Haven’t we been there before? Isn’t this the third demonstration project? Why a demonstration project after full facts, research and empirical evidence indicate that chiropractic works and is already a fixture of the public health delivery system in the United States? Isn’t it time we were included as a permanent part of the National Health Service Corps?

What More Do We Need to Prove?

For more than 100 years, chiropractors have raised awareness of musculoskeletal and structural issues impacting the health of our society. The chiropractic profession has made valiant efforts to join with our communities to actively support public health programs. As professional health care providers, chiropractors promote the impact of structure on health, prevention and wellness.
(more…)

1

Excerpt from the Chiro Org History Section

By John Wiens DC|May 6, 2009|General|

An excerpt from the wonderful History archive that Dr. Joseph Keating entrusted to chiro.org. These pdf’s form the data source that Dr. Keating used for his many published articles on chiropractic history and are available for browsing.

Excerpted from the pdf on Clarence W. Weiant, DC.

“Chiropractic arrived so recently in Mexico, that the history of its
invasion into this new territory would hardly be worth relating, were
it not for the fact that in so doing I might convey to those who regard
Mexico as a prospective field of practice some idea of the conditions
they may expect to encounter.
When I left Davenport and THE PSC, it was with the exalted
notion that I was to be the pioneer Chiropractor of the whole
Mexican republic, but it was not necessary to go any farther than San
Antonio to have that notion dispelled, for there I learned through Dr.
Gurden , president of the Texas Chiropractic College, that three of his
graduates had already located in Mexican towns. The first, if I am
not mistaken, was Dr. S. Voquero, a native of South America, who, a
few months previous had opened an office in Monterey, in the state
of Nuevo Leon, northern Mexico, and the report was that he was
having noteworthy success.”

1

The Inner Life of the Cell

By John Wiens DC|May 4, 2009|Media, Video|

(Rocky Hill, CT) Harvard University selected XVIVO, LLC, a Connecticut based scientific animation company, to customize and develop an animation that would propel Harvard’s Molecular and Cellular Biology program to the next level of undergraduate education. XVIVO’s recently completed animation, titled “The Inner Life of the Cell”, has already won awards. The eight minute animation transports Harvard Biology students into a three-dimensional journey through the microscopic world of a cell.

2

About John Wiens DC

British Chiropractic Association sues science writer for libel

Government of Canada Makes Infrastructure Investments in Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College

Unveiling the beauty of statistics for a fact based world view

Chiropractic Is Past the Demonstration Project Stage

Excerpt from the Chiro Org History Section

The Inner Life of the Cell