The initial threats of litigation against Andy Lewis at the Quackometer, for his critical essay concerning the questionable therapies and ethical practices of the Burzynski Cancer Clinic, have been superseded by a bizarre rant against a multitude of skeptical bloggers, complete with pictures!
Orac at Respectful Insolence has reposted the attack for all to see, but here’s a sample:
Andy Lewis, Just so you know that I am very serious. I copied Renee Trimble the Director of Public Relations, and Azad Rastegar the spokesperson for the Burzynski Clinic. You and your supporters can stop asking if I am an attorney. Again, I represent the Burzynski Clinic, Burzynski Research Institute, and Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski. If your articles remain online I will pursue you in court to the highest extent of the law…
You are apart of a network started by Michael Shermer called “Skeptic Society”–http://www.skeptic.com/, which is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) educational organization that examines….alien abductions”. Your network is linked to other fraudulent websites and individuals, such as, quackwatch.com, ratbags.com, the21stfloor, Peter Bowditch, Rhys Morgan, Stephen Barrett, Dr. Saul Green, etc…
Your Skeptic network uses the quackwatch.com website as the Bible to your mission of lying to the public. You are not posting your “opinion” and “concern for public health”, you and your network are posting malicious propaganda against my client which stretches back over 10 years…
If your articles remain online I will pursue you in court to the highest extent of the law.
Threats to your family? You mentioned to me that you just had a child. I advised you to spend more time with your child instead of lying to the public. I also advised that you will be affected financially once a lawsuit is filed against you. Why would you be so selfish and inconsiderate to your family to go through the stressful and financial burden of multiple court proceedings knowing that you are posting lies and propaganda?
It would be easy to dismiss this guy as a hysterical loon, despite his attempts to intimidate people exercising their right to free speech and providing the public with the information they deserve when asked to spend large sums of money on dubious therapies. But it is doubly conccerning that the Burzynski Clinic itself has not yet made any effort to distance itself from this individual or these tactics. Is this the response of a legitimate scientist or a legitimate healthcare facility?
A detailed discussion of the Dr. Burzynski and his controversial, and unproven aproach to cancer treatment has also been posted on Science-Based Medicine.
Maybe the “network” (sorry, this is hilarious), could hire someone to oust the so-called Stephens, file countersuit, and donate the money awarded back to the network to continue fighting the good fight. Maybe Stephens is actually Burzynski, since wouldn’t even the most well-intentioned good doctor want to salvage those mysterious credentials? (in other words, how does one explain Burzynski’s failure in addressing inquries and complaints about his so-called PR man?)
Mind you, it appears Stephens never actually stated he was an attorney, but is actually playing one on the internet. Don’t most attorneys attempt phone calls, letters on firm’s letterheads, and sign their name with their credentials, law firm and address?
Nonetheless, one or both of them should be thoroughly ashamed, at the very least, for picking on a teenager in the UK. He should sue for harassment!