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Letters to the Editor: Cheaters, Poop, and Naturopaths

We got mail.
Image: Flickr/Kate Ter Haar.

Hello Motherboard readers, it's me again, Motherboard's weekend editor Emanuel Maiberg. Thank you for joining us on what is so far not a horrible weekend.

I was worried that you stopped writing to us at first, but it turns out a bunch of your letters were simply pulled into the black hole that is our spam folder.

Luckily, Motherboard's editorial staff was brave enough to go in there and wade through emails from Chinese vendors trying to sell us vertical oil tanks and totally legit offers to get rich quickly by disclosing our banking information. We emerged on the other side, covered in sewage, like Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption, with your precious correspondence in hand.

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Coincidentally, we got a few emails about sewage and poop and the differences between them, so let's get right into it.

RE: 'Rainbow Six Siege' Scandal Shows Cheating Still Undermines eSports

I read the article on cheating in Rainbow Six Siege by Leif Johnson.

The first thing that usually comes to mind is a cheater app running on the host machine, which in today's tech age is not the only, nor most effective, way to cheat. All I would need is a second host hooked up to display off screen and stream the Twitch feeds onto that from my teammates/competitors. Most people have multiple email and user accounts on various services and this would be very easy to setup. If there is a way for a spectator to watch live, what is stopping the players? If people are really dedicated and want to mask their IP they can use services like TOR, or use the neighbor's WiFi on the second device, possible shooting them a few bucks. Who can say, without a doubt, that his neighbor is not actually watching if he claims he is? The only way around it, that I can see, would be to put a delay on the streams of players so it would appear live to all but the actual players themselves.

The article itself is well written and very objective with the evidence, which is refreshing in today's pandering and force-fed biases in most media outlets. This was one article that has restored some faith that journalism (real journalism) is not a dead art. So if you see this Mr. Johnson, or Mr. Editor, Thank you.

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Cheers,

Jeremy Grier

Dear Mr. Grier,

Thank you so much for the kind note and the information. Cheating in video games is something that I'm personally very interested in and hope to cover more of Motherboard in the future.

It's always been a weird scene and it will keep getting weirder now that there's more money on the line in the form or professional, organized competition.

Thank for taking the time to write to us.

Emanuel Maiberg, Motherboard weekend editor.

RE: We Need to Stop Treating Naturopaths Like They're Medical Doctors

Dear VICE and Kate,

Frankly I was surprised by your choice to publish this article. It reads like typical mainstream media journalism—very much on the surface and pro-establishment. VICE being the supporters of medicine outside of the establishment (cannabis) I am not sure how this article, which lacked any sort of quality research component snuck through the hands of your normally critical way of interpreting society's issues. I would hazard a guess the author's only research was recycling the ideas of other articles.

FACT: Doctor prescribed medicine is a lead cause of death around the world, and so using this opportunity to get down on Naturopathy instead of looking at the other major issues implicit in this trial:

The ambulance driven by the Alberta Health Services was not equipped with critical emergency equipment even though it should have been. The dispatcher sent an ambulance from a jurisdiction further away. Other key evidence was obscured. Also meningitis is a condition that eludes the diagnosis of many doctors and medical tests. The list goes on. But somehow the take-home is about how Naturopathy is not legitimate. This type of journalism only sets back society's evolution and recycles the old adages of a system that actually cannot be fully trusted to take of the people but still pretends that it can and punishes and threaten people who want to evolve this dialogue.

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Thank you.

Kat McKernan

Dear Ms. McKernan,

Thanks for the note. As the author of the piece, I wanted to respond directly.

Naturopaths can certainly benefit some people, especially through the lifestyle advice they give their patients on diet and exercise, which I mention in my piece. But my goal here was to highlight that many of the services they advertise are still not backed by scientific studies. You mention cannabis in your email. Whatever your views on medical marijuana, there is an active field of research into whether it can help some patients. In contrast, many of the services offered by naturopaths, such as "detoxing," have no science behind them, and have been debunked many times.

The case in Alberta was sad for everyone. But it seems important now that doctors, government, and naturopaths themselves consider why some patients would seek out alternative therapies for a sick child.

Thanks for taking the time to write.

Kate Lunau, Editor of Motherboard Canada

To Whom It May Concern,

After reading this article, I was thoroughly disappointed by the author's point of view about Naturopaths. I am currently in Naturopathic Medical school in Portland OR after which I will be able to prescribe drugs just like MDs, at least in Oregon.

But that's not the point. The fact is, this author's opinion, which unfortunately is the same as many out there who misunderstand the profession, is about what one Naturopath, whom I know nothing about, made a bad decision regarding treating this child. The first principle of Naturopathic Medicine is First, Do No Harm.

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Saying that naturopathy is pseudo-science is the over-generalization of the decade, and the author needs to get her facts straight.

At accredited colleges of Naturopathic Medicine that LICENSE Naturopathic Doctors (there are 6 of them between US and Canada), students are learning the same basic sciences and pharmacology as MD students. The difference is that there are so many more hours spent working on alternative therapies so that we don't prescribe pharmaceuticals in every situation and create unnecessary side effects. That said, there are emergency situations where conventional medicine should absolutely be used, such as in the case with meningitis. Unfortunately this was overlooked in this case.

Obviously this naturopath didn't do a proper job diagnosing this serious life-threatening condition, but this is no way should be a reflection on all licensed naturopathic doctors who are saving people's lives and helping them recover from acute and chronic illnesses everyday (many of which were caused by pharmaceutical side effects).

Tell your author to get her shit straight. Saying that all naturopaths practice pseudoscience is like saying that all founders of sandwich conglomerates are pedophiles just because Jared from Subway was molesting children.

Not to mention she should read about all the studies that claim that at least 40 percent of all medical practices are deemed unnecessary if not unsafe. It takes 15-20 years for new research to take effect where the rubber meets the road in the clinic. There are countless diseases and deaths caused by doctors (many of them MDs). But of course you wouldn't mention that.

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I don't really care if you publish this letter or not, but at least let the author read it.

Maybe she's compassionate enough to realize that there are a lot of doctors (MDs and NDs alike) busting their asses to help sick people, and everyone makes mistakes.

Sincerely,

Angela Hardin, Future Antivax Hack Witch Doctor

Dear Angela,

Thanks for your note. I do recognize that most doctors, nurses, and naturopaths are working hard for their patients, and want nothing more than to make sure they get healthy and stay that way. In the case of this Alberta toddler, there are questions about how the naturopath handled it, and they've been raised in court (see more info here). As you say in your letter, there are times when conventional, science-based medicine must be used. But there's no denying we're seeing a mistrust of it, and a creep towards pseudoscience, which can have serious consequences for the most vulnerable patients, including kids.

It's something that doctors, naturopaths, and anyone who treats patients should be concerned about.

Many thanks,

Kate

RE: Turns Out That Using Human Poop to Fertilize Crops Isn't Such a Great Idea

Guys,

It is statements like the title that confuses the public and farmers. I will attach a couple of reports for your review.

The correct description of what you are calling "Human Poop" is Industrial, Hospital/Medical, Storm and Household waste.

When you state "Human Poop" you are part of the sewage deception or con that the sewage industry and EPA are a masters at.

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Just for grin read any two of the attached and keep this little known regulation 40 CFR 261.30(d) and 261.33 (4), every US industry connected to a sewer can discharge any amount of hazardous and acute hazardous waste into sewage treatment plants. In fact they are required to. Now those darn sludge heads will state that there is no need to worry, pretreatment of that hazardous waste is strictly enforced. Now read the EPA's Office of Inspector General's Report No. 14-P-0363 / 09/2014 and see what bald face liars they are.

The proponents you speak of are making money on sewage. Naturally they would be for it. Now, go ask your neighbor if they know what bio solids or sewage sludge is or what it contains.

Sincerely,

Craig Monk.

Dear Craig,

Thanks for getting in touch about our piece on biosolids! As editor on that one, I wanted to write you back.

I see what you're saying: the use of "Human Poop" in the title could be confusing, although it was meant here as a catchall phrase for sewage, which includes waste water and excrement. As you say in your letter, there is some controversy about the use of biosolids on farmers' fields, and their levels of contamination.

We at Motherboard do not wish to be part of a sewage deception.

Sincerely,

Kate

That's it for this week. If you want to share your thoughts with us, we'd love to read them. You can contact us here.