denialism | August 28, 2007It's that time again. Bora's got the scoop on this new organization PRISM (Partnership for Research Integrity in Science & Medicine). They purport to be the saviors of scientific publishing, protecting us from the evil of open access. But how much do you want to bet they're the same old industry lobbying group, disguising themselves as actors in the public interest? Well, there's an easy way to tell. Let's apply the deck of cards!
There's not a lot to work with yet, but I think we've got some classics to go after right away. After all, we have an industry group - the publishers -…
denialism | August 27, 2007Anyone who has been reading Scienceblogs knows that the creationists are all in a tizzy over their new movie expelled, which plans to unite the superstar power of Ben Stein with the superscience power of creationism.
My favorite part of the whole thing, based on my appreciation for quality crankery, is the built-in persecution.
You see, it's not enough to make a movie about the supposed persecution of people like Richard Sternberg (who clearly was not persecuted despite unethical behavior). They have to be persecuted for even coming up with the movie. They have to be persecuted for…
denialism | August 27, 2007Jason Rosenhouse links this excellent feature from Radar entitled America's Worst Colleges.
My favorite? The review of Liberty university.
Notable Course: Christian Womanhood IV. Because keeping your mouth shut is too rich a subject for just three levels of study.
Raw Data: Ranked in the lowest "fourth tier" by U.S. News & World Report and awarded ho-hum grades for academics, social life, and campus attractiveness by its students, Liberty proudly accepts 94 percent of applicants. Low SAT scores do not appear to be an obstacle. On the plus side, the debate team won the national…
denialism | August 27, 2007Geek Counterpoint has done an excellent job going through Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth.
The overall impression? Mostly right, some overblown links that are rather tenuous, but ultimately thorough coverage of the science behind climate change. Good job Lorne.
denialism | August 24, 2007I've been trying to get some work done this week, hence the slow week.
In the meantime, please consider a visit to to the Unicorn Museum, soon to open up near another museum for other imaginary beliefs.
choofnagle | August 22, 2007Peter Baker of the Post reports on a White House policy manual (PDF) detailing how President Bush's advance team should prevent anyone from saying or doing anything that might not be in total agreement with our President's policies:
The manual offers advance staffers and volunteers who help set up presidential events guidelines for assembling crowds. Those invited into a VIP section on or near the stage, for instance, must be " extremely supportive of the Administration," it says. While the Secret Service screens audiences only for possible threats, the manual says, volunteers should examine…
denialism | August 22, 2007Go say high to Zooillogix, another two-brother team science blogging away here under the auspices of Seed. I will enjoy their blog, as long as they stay away from too many pictures of creatures with more than 4 legs (tentacles don't count). The African Booze tree should be your first stop there.
And that makes me think of another plug. Everybody should be reading Seed magazine. I got my first copy as a super-special scienceblogger last month and I love it. It's a great magazine, with beautiful graphical design, and some of the best-written general interest science articles I've read.
denialism | August 22, 2007Multiple news outlets have been reporting on the sudden increase in cost for birth control prescriptions at health centers on college campuses.
The cause?
Health experts say the price bump for college students was inadvertent -- a byproduct of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, a federal law that went into effect in January. The law alters how drug makers calculate Medicaid-related rebates paid to states, but it ultimately made it expensive for companies to offer schools such deep discounts on birth control. As a result, brand name prescription prices for campus clinics rose from about…
denialism | August 22, 2007From the "my god these people are dumb files" is this clip from last night's History Channel documentary 9/11 conspiracies.
Ha! Good stuff. Don't worry, they're replaying it Saturday night in case you missed it, but it apparently has the troofers up in arms.
In more 9/11 troof news, Popular mechanics has an update to their original 9/11 debunking piece. Between the two, it's a good summary of 9/11 debunking and well-researched as always.
denialism | August 22, 2007Our very own Tara Smith and Steven Novella have teamed up to write an excellent paper covering the state of HIV/AIDS denialism in the Public Library of Science.
I love the article, and Tara and Steve do a great job covering all the critical aspects of denialism inherent in the HIV/AIDS denialist movement. Starting with prominent deniers who are largely responsible for the movement, they go on to cover the basic conspiracy theories that really are inseparable from any denialist argument, the classic goalpost moving technique, fake experts, anti-consensus nonsense (also known as the Galileo…
denialism | August 21, 2007It's so embarrassing when scientists use poorly-constructed studies to blithely reinforce societal stereotypes. Today, LPH at Second Innocence brings us the latest example.
A new study by scientists from Newcastle University gives substance to the old adage 'Pink for a girl, blue for a boy'.
Evolution may have driven women's preference for pink, according to the study published today.
'The explanation might date back to humans' hunter-gatherer days, when women were the primary gatherers and would have benefited from an ability to home in on ripe, red fruits. Culture may exploit and…
denialism | August 20, 2007The debate is churning along at Monkey Trials, and I have to say it's pretty interesting. Hatfield is doing a great job in this titanic struggle between data and "raw intellect".
Check it out.
denialism | August 20, 2007As any scienceblog reader now knows, we all met up in NYC this weekend. I met many of my sciblings for the first time, including Orac, Tara, PZ, Chris Mooney and the lovely Sheril, Grrl, Zuska (we hatched an evil plot muahaha), Mo, Kemibe, Bora, Janet, Shelley, Rob Knop, RPM, Jake and Kara, Jason, Mike Dunford (his goatee is bigger in real life), our seed overlords and many many more. I learned I don't know how to pronounce allochthonous, not even close. Also, Steve Higgins is identifiable from a picture of half his head, and Razib is kind of evil. I wish we had a few more days…
denialism | August 17, 2007One of the problems with denialists is that they simply can't accept that science doesn't conform to their ideology. For instance, it's not enough to just be morally opposed to abortion, the anti-choice organizations have to misrepresent risks of the procedure, including promoting the false link (NCI) between abortion and breast cancer.
Recently, Talk to Action exposed the lies of Crisis Pregnancy centers, and the dishonest tactics they use to misrepresent the services they offer and lie about the risks of abortion. These centers which use federal money to misrepresent the science, are…
denialism | August 16, 2007The Telegraph reports on surnames which may indicate a pirate heritage.
With all that pillaging and looting, it could be one of the bloodiest reunions in history when descendants of six of Britain's famous pirates are invited to a get-together.
People with the surnames Morgan, Rackham, Bonny, Read, Kidd or Teach, are being invited to discover possible connections with the likes of Blackbeard and Calico Jack, in a series of events by English Heritage. Dressing as a sea dog is optional.
Proving your lineage with a real-life buccaneer, however, may prove difficult. Abigail Baker, of the…
denialism | August 16, 2007I can't resist, Adams thinks he has a real winner with this study's null results on vitamin C & E. As we've shown, Newstarget's claims of the medical benefits shown in this study reflect, a poor understanding of p values, and a willingness to ignore data showing increased risks from beta-carotene. However, convinced of an AMA conspiracy against natural substances by the disease-mongering and drug loving media, he continues to misrepresent the findings of the study.
Today, NewsTarget announces a grassroots action campaign to demand retractions, corrections or clarifications from major…
choofnagle | August 16, 2007Reading about the anger stoked by Karl Rove's plan to go dove hunting reminded me of a recent oped by Vicki Haddock in the Chronicle, where she explores why animals sometimes receive more sympathy than people. A few anecdotes from the story are telling, and so totally California:
...football star Michael Vick pleaded not guilty to criminal charges after authorities raiding his home found 66 angry dogs, a dog-fighting pit and bloodstained carpets. An indictment claims that losing dogs were drowned, hanged and shot, or soaked and electrocuted.
Also last week, an 8-week-old rescued kitten named…
denialism | August 16, 2007Oddly enough, I agree with (most) of one of them.
The attack on Newsweek's article "The Truth About Deniers continues with a piece from Robert Samuelson in the WaPo. Samuelson, true to form, sees a hard problem and resorts to saying, "It's hard, we can't do anything about it!" His boring fatalism on any difficult problem seems to always end with assertions that if something requires regulation, or proactive government, it's impossible. He's also critical of Newsweek's correct assertion that the attacks on the science aren't for legitimate "dissent" but rather represent an organized…
denialism | August 16, 2007The Giant Robot Edition of the Skeptics' circle is up at the Bronze Blog.
He has chosen a theme "cooler than ninjas, pirates, and pirate ninjas: Giant robots." And he's collected a great pool of fighters to defend against all kinds of woo.
Good job Bronze Dog! Check it out.