This is one of those things that take a minute to figure out if it is
serious, or a parody.  

href="http://www.injesus.com/index.php?module=message&task=view&MID=CB007FA2&GroupID=2A004N9G&label=&paging=all">Block
African witchcraft curses against McCain and Palin NOW!

Jim Bramlett
Sep 28 2008 04:12PM

Dear friends:

THIS IS EXTREMELY SERIOUS.

Minutes ago I spoke with friend Dr.
Norman G. Marvin,
M.D. and
he is so concerned at what he has learned about Barack Obama’s family
in Kenya that he is calling a special prayer meeting in his home to
pray against the witchcraft curses attempted by them against John
McCain and Sarah Palin.

Dr. Marvin sent me the below e-mail from Flo Ellers.  Flo is
credentialed with the International Fellowship of Ministries which is
based in Washington State.  She is also a member of EndTime
Handmaidens
and Servants of Jasper, Arkansas.

IF YOU KNOW HOW TO DO SPIRITUAL WARFARE, PLEASE PRAY
TODAY AND
CONTINUALLY THAT ALL SUCH CURSES BE BROKEN AND SATAN’S PLAN FOR AMERICA
BE DEFEATED, IN JESUS’ NAME.  PRAY AND COVER MCCAIN AND PALIN
WITH THE
BLOOD OF CHRIST.  IF YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW TO DO SPIRITUAL
WARFARE, IT IS
TIME YOU LEARN!!!

You have to click on the title/link to read the whole thing, if you
want to know how spiritual warfare is waged.

In trying to figure out if this was a parody, I looked up some of the
things mentioned.  

That Dr. Norman G. Marvin,
M.D. character, apparently does exist.  He is retired from
“traditional” medicine, and now makes a living selling
glyconutritionals, as he explains on his href="http://www.ourdailybreadcenter.org/files/Mannatech_Albany_Georgia.doc_Dr._Marvin.doc_2.doc">promotional
flyer ( .doc file).  These are really special
products that href="http://ezinearticles.com/?Glyco-Nutrients---Glyconutritionals-As-Supplements&id=635873">contain:

• Galactose
• Mannose
• Xylose
• Fucose (not fructose)
• Glucose
• N-acetylgalactosamine
• N-acetylglucosamine
• N-acetylneuramic acid

True to his word, they are not products of traditional medicine.
 They are products of href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mannatech">Mannatech
Incorporated.  They are not distributed in the
traditional way, either.  They are distributed via multi-level
marketing.

Curious to know more about this, I did a little searching.  I
found a “ href="http://www.health-from-the-inside-out.com/dr-norman-g-marvin.html">tesitimony”
by Dr. Marvin about his pills.  

A series of rather recent scientific discoveries have
led to a new understanding of human physiology and how the body fights
sickness and disease. This new understanding has even led to a whole
new field of scientific study called glycogiology…

…MIT’s magazine, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Review,
has just released an issue entitled “10 Emerging Technologies That Will
Change the World.” This field was listed 1st.

Gee, I used to have a subscription to Technology Review.
 It’s a good source of information.  In fact, I had a
subscription in 2005, the year he wrote that, but I did not recall
reading about glycogiology (which probably is a misspelling of
glycobiology.)   So I went to the MIT Technology Review site.
 I searched for glycogiology.  Nothing.  I
searched for glycobiology.  Two hits, none from 2005.
 So I browse the archives.  I find the article he was
referring to: href="http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/14407/?a=f">10
Emerging Technologies (May 2005).  The technologies
are:

• href="http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=14407&ch=infotech">Airborne
  Networks
• href="http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?ch=infotech&sc=&id=14407&pg=2">Quantum
  Wires
• href="http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?ch=infotech&sc=&id=14407&pg=3">Silicon
  Photonics
• href="http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?ch=infotech&sc=&id=14407&pg=4">Metabolomics
• href="http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?ch=infotech&sc=&id=14407&pg=5">Magnetic-Resonance
  Force Microscopy
• href="http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?ch=infotech&sc=&id=14407&pg=6">Universal
  Memory
• href="http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?ch=infotech&sc=&id=14407&pg=7">Bacterial
  Factories
• href="http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?ch=infotech&sc=&id=14407&pg=8">Enviromatics
• href="http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?ch=infotech&sc=&id=14407&pg=9">Cell-Phone
  Viruses
• href="http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=14407&ch=infotech&sc=&pg=10">Biomechatronics

Nothing that is more than peripherally related to glycobiology.
 The 1st item, airborne networks, is not even remotely related
to gylcobiology.  Dr. Marvin seems to be telling a lie,
thinking we won’t check his references.  So now I am even more
curious about the guy.  I look.  He has a website: href="http://www.ourdailybreadcenter.org/Myvision.html">Our
Daily Bread Center.  He conveniently provides us
with his vision:

MY VISION

To help set the captive free of sickness, diseases, etc. By teaching,
empowering and encouraging members and those beyond the walls of the
church to live healthier lives through GOD’s word and other gifts that
HE blessed us with, and how to end the health crisis’s among us.

“And the LORD answered me, and said, write the vision, and make it
plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.”-Habakkuk 2:2

Well, you’ve read it, now I guess you are supposed to run.  

I could not find anything recent about Dr. Marvin.
 I did, however, find out more about the company that makes
the glyconutrients.  It was not difficult.  There is
a Wikipedia entry about the company.  One of the references
includes a link to a PDF file,  href="http://securities.stanford.edu/1035/MTEX05_01/2005831_f01c_05829.pdf"
class="external text"
title="http://securities.stanford.edu/1035/MTEX05_01/2005831_f01c_05829.pdf"
rel="nofollow">Jonathan Crowell, et al. v. Mannatech, Inc.

The company is involved in a class-action lawsuit by investors.
 The reason: they made numerous outrageous medical claims
about their products, then tried to distance themselves by saying that
the claims were made by sales associates.  The salespersons
are independent contractors.  They claimed that the company
itself was not liable.  When this was publicized, the stock
price dropped precipitously.

As far as I know, the case has not been settled yet.  But the
CEO has resigned, and the auditor has been
fired.  See my colleague’s href="http://scienceblogs.com/terrasig/2007/08/mannatech_more_of_the_wrong_ki.php">post
at Terra Sigillata for more about Mannatech.

Oh, and the science behind their flagship product, Ambrotose?
 It’s explained href="http://www.teammannatech.com/NEWSITE/The-Science_Ambrotose.php">here.
 Interestingly, the material they present does make a good
case for
eating more fresh fruits and vegetables, but provides absolutely
nothing to show that anyone should buy their product.

One example of illegal claims, mentioned in the court documents:
 Distributors were showing photos of a kid with href="http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/taysachs/taysachs.htm">Tay-Sachs
Disease, implying that the kid was still alive because of the
supplements.  In fact, he had died. 

Perhaps they should start claiming that glyconutrients block African
witchcraft curses.  Even the kind of witchcraft perpetrated by
Obama’s relatives in Kenya.  They probably could sell their
pills to quite a few Senators.