Q-Ray bracelets make me laugh. Maybe it is the commercial, where, in one version yoga is said to be an “ancient Chinese art”, and a runner attributes her success to the bracelet…and possibly to her new coach. It may be because that the little ice block they use to display the bracelet in the commercial is really a place-card holder turned upside down. Or it could be that it reminds me of the weird Chinese guy and his long-life rings. (Sorry, no link for that one.) Regardless of the unlikeliness of a bracelet being able to mitigate pain, people seem to love them. When I worked at a gift shop, we sold similar looking perfectly normal silver bracelets (known as Taurus bracelets) that people snapped up because they said they worked just the same. Colour me skeptical.

Back in November, Canada’s excellent show Marketplace did an expose on the Q-Ray bracelet, which you can see here: Buying Belief. It is a long video, but well worth watching if you are tempted to buy one of these things. In short, the bracelets aren’t ionized like the commercials claimed, and they don’t do a darn thing. The president of the American branch of the Q-Ray company even admitted in court that he made up the ionization claim. But it is based on traditional Chinese medicine, both he and his son say. (quanta, my darling Chinese husband, believes that is pure bunk too.)

The sad thing is all the people in the Marketplace video who really believe in the powers of the Q-Ray. It is obviously the placebo effect in action. And if that is the case, is it really so bad? Well, I think that selling people false hope at $70-$300 at a time is awful. I’ve lived with years of chronic pain, so I am well aware of how desperately people seek anything that will give them relief. I have learned, though, that it is better to find ways to relieve the pain, such as physiotherapy, then to find ways to cover it up or pretend it doesn’t exist.

In November, the US courts ruled against Q-Ray and its claims of pain relief. This past Monday, the United States Court of Appeals of the Seventh Circuit upheld the ruling, ordering Q-Ray to return $16M to purchased of their bracelets. If you bought a Q-Ray between January 1, 2000 and June 30, 2003 (when the commercials claimed pain relief), call the FTC Q-Ray Hotline at 202-326-2063 in order to find out how to get a refund.

There are a lot of things I don’t understand about the world. I don’t understand people who murder or rape or rob; I don’t understand why politicians lie. I don’t understand why Canada is one of the most taxed nations on Earth. The things I have the greatest difficulty understanding, though, generally have to do with religion in one shape or another.

Take, for example, the ongoing conflict in Israel. I just can’t wrap my head around why people keep blowing each other up. quanta tells me it is mostly over land, with religion used as an excuse. It just happens that people of one faith want the land the people of another faith are on, and vice versa.

Early this week I watched a documentary about the partition of India at the end of the British colonial rule. I just am not able to understand why people of different religions, who had lived in the same village for centuries, would suddenly insist that their neighbours must move to the other side of the sub-continent just because they belong to a different faith. It is my understanding, though a friend, that something similar happened when Bangladesh (once East Pakistan) declared its independence from West Pakistan. The results of all of this today: the on going Hindu and Muslim fighting we see on the news nearly every night, along with the destruction of precious religious landmarks.

I think that my view of religion is what makes it difficult for me to understand these (and many, many more) conflicts. First, I believe religion is intensely personal, and what you believe has no effect on me, just as what I believe has no effect on you. Then there is unverified personal gnosis–I’m willing to buy that your god spoke to you, but whatever he said has no bearing on me unless, and until, he actually speaks to me. And, the big one, I know there is no one path to spirituality and salvation (if that is what you are looking for). No one religion is right for everyone, everywhere.

To see how religion has spread across the world, take a look at this map of the history of religion from Maps of War. It doesn’t make religious conflicts easier to swallow, but it does make them a little easier to place into context.

Nuclear energy has received much bad press over the decades–Chernobyl and Three Mile Island come to mind immediately. Nuclear reactors are used to do more then power our computers and Xboxes–they can produce a radioisotope used in medical diagnostic tests for things such as cancer, bone disorders, and cardiovascular diseases. Something to remember the next time a debate about nuclear reactors starts among your friends.

I bring this up today not because I’ve suddenly gone pro-nuclear or because I am trying relive those few short days I consider Nuclear Engineering (no laughing!). Rather, I bring it up because the temporary closure the nuclear reactor at Chalk River, ON (where a friend works) has lead to a world-wide shortage of this medical radioisotope. This means that an untold number of people are having much needed diagnostic tests delayed until the reactor reopens and/or the radioisotope can be obtained from one of the two other reactors in the world that produce it.

Years ago I underwent a bone scan that made use of this radioisotope. It wasn’t a fun experience, but I was very thankful to learn that there was nothing seriously amiss with my bones. I can well understand how distressed those waiting for diagnostic test must be. I am especially aware because of a friend of the family, who has had one major and two minor heart attacks in the past week, is currently waiting for a test that is being delayed until the hospital can find a supply of this radioisotope.

Sadly, there was little that could have been done to prevent this shortage. The AECL is doing the right thing by taking time to make necessary repairs, and hospitals could not have stockpiled the radioisotope due to its short shelf life. Hopefully the reactor will be functioning again before the expected January timeline, and hopefully all those patiently and desperately awaiting tests will receive them quickly.

Related Links

• Reactor shutdown leaves many patients in lurch

– CTV.ca

• Ontario reactor shutdown forces cancellation of cancer tests worldwide

– CBC News

• Radioisiotopes in our backyard – Pembroke Daily Observer (via McMaster University)