Urgent message for all members!

Eddie wrote:An update on diabetes.co.uk and the provisionally planned meeting for Thursday 24 Sept.  with Mr. Panesar diabetes.co.uk owner. Mr.Panesar changed the original time via a twitter message. I telephoned DCUK on Monday afternoon to be told Mr. Panesar was in a meeting. I sent him my telephone number via tweeter private message and he replied with his number. He has not tried to call me. I telephoned again today around lunch time, to be informed he was out for lunch, and he would call me back on his return. He had not returned my call as of 4.30. I have been telephoning his office constantly from 4.30 and the switchboard has been constantly engaged.

It should be remembered Mr. Panesar contacted me with a view to visit his office in Coventry for a "chat!" since that suggestion via twitter, he has been impossible to contact directly and has had ample time to contact me. With this in mind, and as I have many questions to ask him, I feel further communication would be best in writing. This should negate the chance of any misunderstandings, the last thing I would want is to be accused of "misquoting" Mr. Panesar. In view of the fact my questions concern his public forum, and others including members of this forum, and people across the world, have an interest, I feel it only right and fair to conduct our "chat" in the public domain. I will keep you informed with developments and our communications here.

I agree with Nom, standard runaround policy. They probably blocked your phone #. When I used to get this, from salesmen but usually from managers and even directors, I used to play "good cop, bad cop" and sic my boss on them, or sometimes even one of our directors. After they'd been put in their place they were much more willing to talk to me as the less unpleasant alternative!

I remember

this thread well. It started with Jopar trying to ingratiate herself to the current mods trying to get her job back, I think in her day Turboturd was another mod, they were part of the original Ruling Clique. My only surprise is that Sid was never a moderator, just someone who sicced them on people after winding them up.

Utter bollocks about PMs not being read, one of the first things that happened there was an old friend from usenet PMing me to tell me about a different forum, which I never received. She emailed me the contents which contained a link. It may be that PMs containing links were cancelled, much as posts linking off their site were also moderated, obviously a commercial decision to keep posters "onsite" and so what if it breaks the intent of the internet?

"Much like anything in life there are rules and regulations that one must adhere too, and internet forums are no exception. Goodness knows we have had our share of idiots posting on this forum in the past,causing trouble at every opportunity and still doing so from afar, who's purpose is to cause trouble and undermine the moderation team on this forum for their own ends, often staging personal vendettas against certain individuals by attacking their integrity and even their state of health, thankfully these days have now past but given the opportunity they would be back in a instant so careful monitoring needs to be in place to prevent this."

Knobhead describes EXACTLY what he and his moderator cronies were and still are doing. So did the Cherub

"Does the OP want to go back to the days when she was a Moderator here. If I recall correctly. you were repeatedly taken to task by other Moderators, as were posters, who did not subscribe to a particular dietary programme of management for their Diabetes. A Dietitian was mocked repeatedly because she did not subscribe to this particular clique's diet.
The Moderation team were divided by diet and some posts were just removed without telling the poster, people were verbally abused by people who should have known better and all because we chose to manage our own diabetes in our own way."

Knobhead again

"I believe that there are certain members past and present who have a hidden agenda, this is to turn the forum around for their own ends, should they succeed then I foresee many experienced forum members who contribute regularly and make this forum what it is leaving and never to return."

They succeeded for the last ten years or more and continue to succeed.

Obviously Monty Panesar, sorry Arjun, doesn't have any knowledge of the background as it actually was, only what he has been told it was.

I'd still like to know what he thinks the rationale is for banning low carbers while allowing antis to run wild.

Perhaps Mr Panesar didn't expect Eddie to call his bluff and knowing he can't defend the indefensible chickened out 

From Sitefinders mission statement "We believe we have a moral obligation to our users, employees and partners."  That would not seem to apply to his biased egotistical forum mods who have a distinct lack of morals

Thank you Sally

Without doubt Jimmy Moore is very well known in the US and around the world. Many millions have read his blog and he is constantly travelling the world giving presentations and holding seminars. He has written top selling books and interviewed some of the most famous medical professionals in the low carb and paleo arena. That being said, he has always found time for the ordinary guy trying to spread the low carb message. Yet again he has helped me out today. He re-tweeted my open letter today to the diabetes.co.uk owner, Jimmy is followed by almost 26,000 people on twitter and he also featured my letter in the LCHF experts on line newspaper. Thanks Jimmy I owe you.

Jimmy is in London next month looking forward to buying him a drink.


The paper can be read here http://paper.li/biohackerslab/1427149722?edition_id=1abe3c70-62d1-11e5-85c9-0cc47a0d1605&utm_campaign=paper_sub&utm_medium=email&utm_source=subscription

Mr. Panesar replies to my open letter here.

"Thank you for your letter. I appreciate you taking the time to outline your concerns. But frankly, your complaints are based on a deliberate misinterpretation of what we do. The Diabetes Forum has played a key part in the low-carb movement: the community was the driver, and the forum the platform.

You accuse us of deliberately silencing the low-carb voices on the forum as part of a collusion with pharmaceutical companies. As even the most cursory glance at our website shows, this is completely untrue. Here are just a few examples:

David Unwin publishes more evidence of low-carb diet benefits in the BMJ

“Ignore the guidelines, eat low-carb and high-fat”: Dr. Sarah Hallberg on how to reverse type 2 diabetes

Reversing type 2 diabetes low-calorie vs. low-carbohydrate

Low-carb diets and power of our community

“Every last shred of evidence”: Why low-fat dietary guidelines should never have been introduced

We’ve published a book in association with Dr. David Cavan, head of Policy and Programmes at the IDF, on reversing type 2 diabetes. The book fully supports a carb-restricted diet.

We’ve published low-carb meal plans (and haven’t charged a penny for them) and thousands of low-carb recipes. We’re working on three projects (the details of which, for now, are top secret) focused on food.

The forum is full of low-carb success stories. You’ll notice that none of them have been banned or otherwise silenced.

We have been featured in the Daily Mail, Mirror and a number of magazines where the diabetes community forum is referred to as the place individualsfirst find out about the benefits of low carb. Real people saying that if it wasn’t for the community and understanding the impact of food, their health wouldn’t have improved. The community is absolutely fantastic – propagating positive health outcomes through engaging.

I have a personal connection to all this: type 2 diabetes runs in my family. My grandmother passed away from heart complications. When my grandfather was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, I supported him in reducing his carbohydrate intake. His doctor is amazed by his blood glucose and HbA1c results.

Safe to say, we support low-carb. I support low-carb. But it doesn’t work everyone, and our project has never been about aggressively insisting on a particular lifestyle. The Forum, first and foremost, is a place of support, where members can respectfully and kindly debate diabetes management. We encourage these debates, but we demand that they be conducted decently. Health is a deeply sensitive issue, and we won’t tolerate bullying.

Which, unfortunately, is what much of your behaviour constituted. We saw the relentless trolling, bullying and victimisation of the diabetes community that you and your friends have spearheaded. I have consoled many members of the Diabetes.co.uk team and fielded calls from at least 15 people in the last 18 months alone, all of whom felt harassed and threatened by your community. Most of them agree with low-carb in principle.

You and your friends publicly “outed” Giverny, our forum moderator, because she didn’t align with your paradigm and attempted to troll her on Twitter simply to ‘get off’. You did the same to Ben when he was Forum Moderator. Your blog is littered with hatred and contempt for those that don’t share your agenda. Moderators have resigned because they couldn’t handle the harassment that ensued with supporting a moderate view to diet. You repeatedly victimise diabetes forum members who don’t share your world view. In 2014, you wrote a series of spoof blog posts about how wearing a turban would help improve blood sugar levels. As a Sikh, it was upsetting and insensitive; the behaviour of a man more interested in doling out personal abuse than having a constructive debate. The IP addresses were from the same pool as other accounts you had created. We took legal advice. We had a strong case to impose a cease and desist, but we didn’t pursue it: it’s a distraction and we don’t want to engage with it.

Beyond this, what exactly are you accusing us of? Yes, we connect patients to clinical trials – in order to not only provide a very valuable service but also to generate revenue – which is significantly reinvested into worldwide education, apps and management services. Yes, we are (or were) a start-up. Yes we’re interested in hearing from insurance companies – but you don’t understand the motive. We want to help (and we are!). We have evidence to suggest that using services such as the diabetes forum or Diabetes PA helps improve control – and that in turn can reduce insurance premiums. It’s for the benefit of the community.

Most companies generate venture capital – we haven’t. Why? Because our mission is simple – to help the community reduce their HbA1c; outside investors may not share the same motive. I’m not interested in generating revenue. I’m interested in improving healthcare through digital engagement. When I was presenting the benefits of the diabetes community and the Hypo Awareness Program, having been nominated for Social Enterprise of the Year, and I was asked ‘why is your profit so low?’ The answer I have to the interviewer is the same I will give to you: because profit is not our motive. Influencing change is. We’re not interested in politics, geographical boundaries or prejudices – we want to change the future of healthcare. And we’re doing it. 7 out of 10 improve their understanding of diabetes and 1 in 2 improve their diet choices as a result of joining the forum. Hospital admissions reduce when you join and complete the Hypo Program. As I said, our motive is simple – improve health.

I ask you to sincerely engage with what we’re achieving, rather than picking fights on spurious grounds. Look at what we Diabetes.co.uk and the diabetes community has done over the past three years. 10 years ago, the prospect of reversing type 2 diabetes was implausible. Now it’s very much a reality.

As always, you’re welcome to come to our offices for a chat. We have nothing to hide – we’re improving the health outcomes of those who engage with us – and we’re proud of that.

I wish you all the best."

I will reply to Mr Panesar in due course.

Note this.

"You and your friends publicly “outed” Giverny, our forum moderator, because she didn’t align with your paradigm and attempted to troll her on Twitter simply to ‘get off’."

All I did was post a link to Giverny's open to public twitter page. Which showed her reclining on a sofa with a can of Carlsburg in her hand. As for "getting off" I have six children older than her and have worked for the last twenty years subject to regular full disclosure criminal record bureau checks , because I work with children. BTW the Coventry Police did contact me, as witnessed by some members here, it came to nothing. I had broken no laws.

So, this is the way Mr. Panesar operates, attempting to besmirch my good name, accusing me of "getting off" over a person not much older than a child. If this is the level of his argument, I think it says far more about him than me.

Please also note this.

"In 2014, you wrote a series of spoof blog posts about how wearing a turban would help improve blood sugar levels. As a Sikh, it was upsetting and insensitive; the behaviour of a man more interested in doling out personal abuse than having a constructive debate."

This was taken directly off his forum as a cut and paste (we have the proof) this poor guy is completely delusional with not a clue as to what goes on, on his own forum. Who is he trying fool, what is he trying to pull, the race or the religion card? whatever it ain't fooling me.

He thinks YOU are DR Jones? Unbelievable! But would explain a lot.

Here's a simple question for him, has any non low carber EVER been banned from DCUK, yes or no?

He seems a tad isolated from what is and has for years been occurring on the ground, no?

chris c wrote:He thinks YOU are DR Jones? Unbelievable! But would explain a lot.

Here's a simple question for him, has any non low carber EVER been banned from DCUK, yes or no?

He seems a tad isolated from what is and has for years been occurring on the ground, no?

Clearly he has no clue as to what has gone on for years, I will enlighten him further at the weekend. Then again he may know fully the state of play. Time will tell, it always does.

Yes indeed, he may have been comprehensively lied to by those he trusts.

One place I worked, our MD was a shit hot businessman, who like the best always had an eye on niche markets he could make our own.

He was so successful the holding company that owned his previous employer headhunted him back.

It was widely suspected he would BUY our company as it fitted neatly into niches he didn't yet have, so when he left I said "see you later then when you buy us"

He took me to one side and made it plain why that would NEVER happen, he was much more clued in than he let on to the failings of many of our managers, and that he was being comprehensively lied to, and that he had sussed that this could not be changed, so he bailed.

Soon after that I left before I was forced out, and subsequently the family owners also sold the firm, which went through several owners quite rapidly.

I strongly suspect Herr Panesar has no clue as to how much he has been and is being lied to.

Mr. Panesar wrote:"In 2014, you wrote a series of spoof blog posts about how wearing a turban would help improve blood sugar levels. As a Sikh, it was upsetting and insensitive; the behaviour of a man more interested in doling out personal abuse than having a constructive debate."

That is a complete lie if you had a modicum of decency you would retract that statement with an apology, it would appear your the one doling out personal abuse based on factually incorrect data.

Graham

Graham we have a comment on our blog dated, from Mo when he was a mod at the flog. He clearly says how he got rid of the writer of the Turban writing posts (a complete imbecile) and deleted his posts. We only copied and pasted it to show the lunacy that was occurring at the flog. One of our members Squire Fulwood talked about this chump here https://lowcarbdiabetic.forumotion.co.uk/t1731p20-urgent-message-for-all-members#18325

Eddie wrote:Graham we have a comment on our blog dated, from Mo when he was a mod at the flog. He clearly says how he got rid of the writer of the Turban writing posts (a complete imbecile) and deleted his posts. We only copied and pasted it to show the lunacy that was occurring at the flog. One of our members Squire Fulwood  talked about this chump here https://lowcarbdiabetic.forumotion.co.uk/t1731p20-urgent-message-for-all-members#18325

Eddie as you well know the same person has infiltrated this forum and our blog that Mr. Panesar has attributed his posts to you smacks of desperation, I would say the as Mr Panesar has little involvement or knowledge of the day to day running of the forum he has been ill advised on the source of the post by his admin or moderation team.

Again I call for a retraction of a lie do the honorable thing Mr Panesar or is that to to much to expect will your pride get in the way.

Graham

I would put this to Mr. Panesar seeing has he's been lauding the work done to promote Low Carb just why has he installed a moderation team that has in the past and to this present day been openly hostile to low carbers, catherincherub and noblehead are prime examples they have a  history of provocative and sarcastic post aimed at low carbers.

So now we know the reason for the delay in getting back to you - someone (and almost certainly not Mr Panesar himself) has been composing that response.

Part of that letter accused me of attacking Benedict here is what I said about him on our blog.

Wednesday, 7 November 2012

Benedict at diabetes.co.uk Has he been subjected to third degree tactics ?

I like Benedict at diabetes.co.uk our favourite forum. A forum administrators and moderators job can be a thankless task at times, especially when dealing with boat rockers and lowcarb militants like me. Benedict is a young type one diabetic who is one of the very small number of type ones holding safe BG numbers, over 90% of type ones do not get to a safe HbA1c according to the annual NHS audits. Clearly Benedict knows what he is doing, and in my opinion, he is a very even handed and fair forum mod. As with almost all the forum members, who have gained excellent control of their diabetes, Benedict is a lowcarber. He made a post today that left me a little bewildered, had he had a boozy lunch time ?, had he been doing a bit of DIY and using high solvent glue ? One thing’s for sure, his post was very much out of character to what we have come to expect. Then it dawned on me, had he been got at, had he been subjected to some third degree ?

Look at it this way. One prominent member of diabetes.co.uk recently tried to get a policy statement out of the management of diabetes.co.uk regarding diet and drew a blank. The answer is obvious, if DCUK became known as a lowcarb forum it would cost them a great deal in advertising revenue and sales. Let us never forget, diabetes is one of the worlds greatest earners, that’s why diabetes.co.uk exists. It never was and will never be some sort of benevolent philanthropic venture, it is there to advertise money earning services and products. Helping people is secondary, and 100% down to the many members, who work tirelessly for no financial reward whatsoever.

I see the thread has now been locked, that post of Benedict’s back fired big time for sure. The big question is why did he post it, and was he ordered by the bean counters ?

Eddie

Tuesday, 7 February 2012

Please sign the Benedict Jephcote test strip petition linked below.

Responsible department: Department of Health

Self testing of blood glucose levels is an essential tool in helping people with Type 2 diabetes to manage their condition, to prevent complications, to reduce dependency on medication and improve overall quality of life. -The undersigned agree with and support the following statement: Access to blood glucose testing on prescription should be offered to EVERY person with type 2 diabetes as part of the structured education that the NICE guidelines recommend. This facility should be ongoing to enable people with type 2 diabetes to best manage their health on a permanent basis. It is recognised that ongoing testing on certain medication regimes may need to be provided on a reduced basis according to the requirements of the individual patient.

Monday, 6 February 2012

Diabetes.co.uk forum back to being one of the best.

If anyone has been more critical of d. co.uk than me, I would be amazed. What went wrong, and why, has been extensively covered on this blog. The forum is back to being a fantastic resource, especially for the newly diagnosed, and long term poorly controlled. The forum is back to having a level playing field. Benedict has done a great job turning the forum around, and the moderators, moderate and do not set the agenda. The forum has helped countless people, myself included, and many of my diabetic friends.

It’s no secret, the NHS dietary advice, for most diabetics, is at best poor, and at worst criminal. Type two medications and drugs, are being withheld from prescription or banned. Test strips are becoming ever harder to get prescribed for type two’s, and now we hear of type one’s free issue test strips being severely reduced. The NHS as we know it, will soon be a thing of the past. The epidemics of diabetes and it’s often linked obesity, will only get worse. Never, has it been more important, for diabetics, who have achieved good, safe and stable control, to spread the word. If you have achieved weight loss, non diabetic BG numbers, and vastly improved lipids, it’s a fair bet, you were helped by a forum or a blog. If that is the case, repay what others have done for you, by playing your part in the fight, against stupidity, out of date information, and the greed of big Pharma and junk food companies. There can be no finer example than the forum post below.
　

EXACTLY how I remember it too-The blog was very supportive in it's posts about Benedict as a person and his role as a forum administrator-I spoke to him via PM a few times and found him to be a totally fair and affable man and IMO,things started to go south again when Giverny took over from him...I would love to know what sources Mr Panesar used for insinuating you 'Trolled' Ben as it's a myth!!

This whole saga gets more weird and sinister by the day.

Did you see the comment to me posted here today. Made my day. God bless her.

http://thelowcarbdiabetic.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/diabetescouk-boss-mr-panesar-replies-to.html?showComment=1443190151099#c2583613412526988130

I did see it-yep,Jo is a 'Good 'un' for sure! Always been supportive of me in the past and a real nice lady! She summed up DCUK nicely in that short post.

sanguine wrote:So now we know the reason for the delay in getting back to you - someone (and almost certainly not Mr Panesar himself) has been composing that response.

I phoned his office this afternoon and asked his secretary if he could call me back when available. One thing for sure, his staff have heard of me, why he avoids me on the phone is beyond me. It seems to me he knows what goes on at the flog and aides and abets it. Or, he does not know, and as Captain of the ship he is grossly negligent, especially when we are talking about a health forum, where lives are at stake and peoples health. Did he write all, part or none of letter? time will tell. Nothing is ever what it seems at the forum of flog, other than the blatant lies, hypocrisy and duplicity. What is Mr. Panasar's roll in all this? time will tell.

Eddie wrote:

chris c wrote:He thinks YOU are DR Jones? Unbelievable! But would explain a lot.

Here's a simple question for him, has any non low carber EVER been banned from DCUK, yes or no?

He seems a tad isolated from what is and has for years been occurring on the ground, no?

Clearly he has no clue as to what has gone on for years, I will enlighten him further at the weekend. Then again he may know fully the state of play. Time will tell, it always does.

Here's another question, when Dr David Unwin first posted he was called a troll by Sid Bonkers. Why was Sid never banned and why is the post still there?

graham64 wrote:I would put this to Mr. Panesar seeing has he's been lauding the work done to promote Low Carb just why has he installed a moderation team that has in the past and to this present day been openly hostile to low carbers, catherincherub and noblehead are prime examples they have a  history of provocative and sarcastic post aimed at low carbers.

Well to be fair he just inherited them. Some of them anyway, and no doubt they recommended the others.

It's a valid point though that the mods continuously attack, ban and threadlock low carbers while allowing far more egregious behaviour from non-low-carbers, not limited to Sid Bonkers.

I had the impression from email correspondence with Dan that he was trying to achieve a forum where low carb and high carb had *equal* numbers of posts and success stories, not realising this was frankly impossible.

From that point of view I suspect he didn't care when thousands of posts and hundreds of threads were deleted by Ken and Sue not because of their content but because of the identitiy of the posters, all low carbers. Of course this information having been deleted means no-one else will believe it was ever there (hint: is it still on the Wayback Machine?)

chris c wrote:

Eddie wrote:

chris c wrote:He thinks YOU are DR Jones? Unbelievable! But would explain a lot.

Here's a simple question for him, has any non low carber EVER been banned from DCUK, yes or no?

He seems a tad isolated from what is and has for years been occurring on the ground, no?

Clearly he has no clue as to what has gone on for years, I will enlighten him further at the weekend. Then again he may know fully the state of play. Time will tell, it always does.

Here's another question, when Dr David Unwin first posted he was called a troll by Sid Bonkers. Why was Sid never banned and why is the post still there?

I am not sure that is correct. As I remember it it was mongoose who called him a troll and he was banned until his credentials could be verified. Of course Sid could have joined in but I think mongoose started it.

Squire Fulwood wrote:

chris c wrote:

Eddie wrote:

chris c wrote:He thinks YOU are DR Jones? Unbelievable! But would explain a lot.

Here's a simple question for him, has any non low carber EVER been banned from DCUK, yes or no?

He seems a tad isolated from what is and has for years been occurring on the ground, no?

Clearly he has no clue as to what has gone on for years, I will enlighten him further at the weekend. Then again he may know fully the state of play. Time will tell, it always does.

Here's another question, when Dr David Unwin first posted he was called a troll by Sid Bonkers. Why was Sid never banned and why is the post still there?

I am not sure that is correct. As I remember it it was mongoose who called him a troll and he was banned until his credentials could be verified. Of course Sid could have joined in but I think mongoose started it.

I'll be back in a minute...Sid did imply SouthportGP was a "Low carb troll" openly-I'll just grab the evidence.

Edit just grabbed the screenshot of the blog...

Your evidence would stand up in court. Thanks for taking the trouble. I just remember the mongoose bit which was nowhere near as graphic as Sid's.

PS, I tried to re-visit the scene of the accident and can't even find the bit I remember. I claim old age and stupidity.

Squire Fulwood wrote:Your evidence would stand up in court. Thanks for taking the trouble. I just remember the mongoose bit which was nowhere near as graphic as Sid's.

PS, I tried to re-visit the scene of the accident and can't even find the bit I remember. I claim old age and stupidity.

Chances are it's been removed by the mods-Seem to remember a lot of editing going on at that time due to some members including GezzaThorpe giving the Southport GP a lot of stick and lighting the blue touch paper.

We have many entire threads backed up, screen shots, plenty of evidence. The good thing is thousands or people are reading the letters and are being copied and tweeted across the world. This time speakers of the truth cannot be threatened, banned and deleted. Witness statements and independent comments and emails. The great irony, without Graham, myself and others including Jan being banned, for no good reason, our blogs and this forum would never have started. People want a voice and they have it here and our blogs. Many big names are behind us both in private and openly. Mo saw what went on and walked as a flog mod, most of the good mods have done the same.