The View from Number 80

January 7th 2004

The Devil and Laura Bush - there has been one question driving everyone nuts over the holiday season. "WHY DID LAURA BUSH SEND OUT CHRISTMAS CARDS FEATURING THE EGYPTIAN SATANIC PHOENIX BIRD?" What do you mean, you have heard nothing about this and please stop shouting? 80 is not shouting but merely repeating the way this burning question appears on the Cutting Edge website. Who they, you may well ask? In their own words, "We believe our site represents the most complete, concise and comprehensive source of information available which deals with the Biblical prophecy of The New World Order." They, and similar sites are devoted to interpreting world events through their somewhat deranged reading of the bible - and if it ain't in the good book then just use any old thing - hence the Egyptian Satanic Phoenix Bird. It appears that the First Lady sent Christmas cards out with, in the background, a wall decoration in the likeness of a bird. This was enough to set the conspiracy loons off and running - surely this bird was an evil Phoenix? Then it was remembered that Hillary Clinton had been snapped wearing a bird lapel pin, as had others in the Clinton administration. What did Cutting Edge do with this information? In their quiet and rational way this was proof enough "The Phoenix Bird is one of the foremost symbols of the Illuminati, according to former Satanists. Therefore, since Hillary Clinton was wearing this symbol, we can know conclusively that she is an Illuminist. Since this Illuminist lapel pin was worn by two people very close to President Bill Clinton, we can know for certain that he is an Illuminist, too." So worried are they about the "Phoenix Conspiracy" they have filled a page with this paranoid babble. It seems to have passed these clowns by that in the Middle Ages the death and rebirth of the Phoenix was a popular allegory for the the resurrection of Jesus. (a surprising range of animals also served this purpose.) The references they have used for the Phoenix story come from just the sort of works you would expect, such as Masonic and Occult Symbols Illustrated.  Using such works of scholarship, Cutting Edge have concluded that George W Bush is a "Black Magick practitioner" and likely a leader of the Illuminati. And Laura Bush has confirmed their surmise "We believe the Laura Bush Phoenix Bird has now proven this point. Only a practicing occultist will send out an occult Phoenix Bird Christmas card." The Cutting Edge website may appear to many as a complete waste of time and space but it has a hidden value not perceived by the uninitiated. 80 believes it is useful as a compendium of crackpot conspiracy theories and also as a primer for those who are interested as to how the bible can be reinterpreted to fit just about any nutcase's agenda.

Trust or Tolerance - they are not the same thing. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, made the centerpiece of his Christmas sermon the theme of tolerance. Not that unusual a subject except that in this case the tolerance which he seeks is that of the "secular world" for religion. He refers to the mistrust of religion by managing to lump together the views of "an educated liberal" and "the unthinking violence of an anti-Semite" and claiming the effects of these unconnected groups can be "similar" to a believer. Thanks Rowan - but you may have missed the point, the educated liberal often has no religious belief and the anti-Semite is usually full of it. (Whenever did an "educated liberal" burn down a synagogue?) If this distinction is not obvious to believers it is a sad reflection of their own ignorance. Williams also seems to be confusing trust and tolerance. 80 is tolerant of religion - so long as it is a matter of personal belief, but trust- no. He goes on to talk of multifaith unity "All our great religious traditions say something of this - which is one reason for Christians, Muslims, Jews and others to stand with each other and speak out for each other in times of stress or harassment." This may sound sensible but the scriptures upon which these faiths are based are full of the most incredible violence that God says you can visit upon those of other faiths or none. Williams seems to forget that the Old Testament of his own bible is full of the Almighty egging on the likes of Joshua to slaughter his enemies while taking a revolting glee in the proceedings - why should we trust people whose holy book is full of such horrors, many of which are perpetrated by the "good guys" at the instigation of their God? Williams also called upon Christians to show their faith was "on the side of humanity". This would be the same humanity to which the Vatican denies birth control and lies to  about the efficacy of condoms in preventing the spread of AIDS. Now some may rightly say that Williams is an Anglican and not a Roman Catholic - but he himself made no such distinction. In fact he refers to Christianity, Islam and Judaism as though they are great monolithic structures when in fact they are riven by dissenters and sects. Catholic and Protestant, Sunni and Shiite, Orthodox and Reform, and oh so many others, each fragment believes that they alone have things right. (Even the comparatively wishy-washy Anglican Christians are considering the setting up of heresy courts. What penalties will be imposed are not clear - the last time this sort of thing was popular burning at the stake seemed like a good idea.) So as far as 80 is concerned tolerance is the way to go - but trust is out of the question. (That old Reaganism comes to mind - "trust but verify" - verifying a religion has yet to be achieved - hence all their emphasis on faith and 80's distrust. Basically all religions come down to "take my word for it". It is all they can do in the absence of proof) Perhaps the best answer to Williams' appeal lies in two quotations from Mark Twain which 80 makes no apology for repeating.

"You believe in a book that has talking animals, wizards, witches, demons, sticks turning into snakes, burning bushes, food falling from the sky, people walking on water, and all sorts of magical, absurd and primitive stories, and you say that WE are the ones that need help?"

"Man is a Religious Animal. He is the only Religious Animal. He is the only animal that has the True Religion - several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat if his theology isn't straight."

Trust? Not bloody likely.................

They Asked For It - The American Family Association is "America's Pro-Family Online Activism Organization" who keep themselves busy combating the lax morals of - well, of just about anyone who doesn't fit their narrow criteria. They have now launched an online survey of attitudes to what they term "homosexual marriage". The problem with soliciting opinions in this way is you may not get the answer that you want (if you play fair). The AFA did the best they could by putting the poll page only on their website - which as you can imagine is not that popular a port of call for most websurfers. Somehow the news leaked out and currently the option "I oppose legalization of homosexual marriage and "civil unions" is at 35.26%. This is dwarfed by the response to "I favor legalization of homosexual marriage" which is at 56.45%. (the third option "I favor a "civil union" with the full benefits of marriage except for the name" is at 8.29%.) Any US citizen can register their opinion so if you qualify do please let them know what you think. As the AFA state that the results are to be presented to Congress 80 feels, as a public service, that the poll should be made more widely accessible. (Figures quoted December 22nd - although they do not appear to be independently audited)

January 12th 2004

Heroic Resolutions - did you make your New Year resolutions yet? How about becoming a superhero? Here are suggestions for some easy goals attainable through self-help books and websites, reviewed in The Wave magazine. First up is Invisibility & Levitation: A How-To Keys To Personal Performance written by Commander X. Here is a snippet of what reviewer Seanbaby thought of this tome, "The book shows many different ways to achieve invisibility. The first has nothing to do with optics; it’s just not being noticed. As you walk through crowds, be careful to not think too loudly or bump into people. Then no one notices you and you’re invisible! This is a garbage version of invisibility that made it in on a technicality, and it was so not going to work for me." Less than impressed with this, the next item is called Yellow Bamboo.com (more on YB from James Randi here). YB claim that you can learn to generate "forceblasts" with devastating effect when attacked. Seanbaby seems more kindly disposed this time "I’ve completed the training for Yellow Bamboo, and for reasons known only to mystery, I’m not going to tell you how powerful my unseen forceblasts are. But tell you what, run at me screaming and see what happens. I just hope you bring a jar with you so there’ll be something to carry you home in." Now that sounds more like it......The third book, called Practical Psychic Self-Defense: Understanding and Surviving Unseen Influences has indispensable tips and hints "The author warns you 18 times during the course of this book that battling deadly astral spirits can cause skin blemishes. Now you have two choices: Explain to your friends that these are battle scars from dream combat, or as the author recommends, draw on them with a ballpoint pen to make them disappear." The last of these invaluable contributions to human knowledge is How to Travel to Other Dimensions: An 11-Lesson Course On What You Will Find There - for Seanbaby's thoughts on this one and his take on the co-author Dragonstar, "a member of a cult of secret magicians who have been secretly doing magic since the time of Atlantis." do read the original reviews - hilarious stuff.

Heartening Tale - a grandmother had a stroke of good fortune following a heart attack on a plane. Cabin staff put out a message for help from the passengers and 15 cardiologists, en route to a conference in Florida, stood up. The grandmother, Mrs Dorothy Fletcher, after a short stay in hospital was able to attend her daughter's wedding which was the purpose of her trip. It could have turned out very differently if the 15 were, say, homeopathists or chiropractors..........

Kitchen Barbie - that icon and role model Barbie is back in the news. Last time it was the plastic doll's effect on the morals of Saudi Arabians - although 80 suspected other motives for the confiscations of the little blonde mannikin (see Barbie in Bondage). Now Mattel, the ever-so-touchy manufacturers, have lost a court case against Thomas Forsythe of Utah, USA. Forsythe produced a series of photos called Food Chain Barbie, featuring the unclad Barbie in various confrontations with kitchen appliances. (its true - look) According to the San Francisco Chronicle Forsythe claims it was a critique of "the conventional beauty myth and the societal acceptance of women as objects.'' This did not sit well with Mattel who went to court only to have the photos judged as "artistic parodies" and therefore perfectly legal. Mattel, a huge toy manufacturer, had done its research before the case "saying that it had shown Forsythe's photos to some shopping mall customers, who had mixed opinions on whether they were parodies of Barbie". But apparently even these expert witnesses failed to win the day. (Update - Both sites that feature Food Chain Barbie seem to be have been swamped, this one as well as that mentioned above - such is the popularity of naked plastic dolls)
 

Late Move - the US Food and Drug Administration has finally moved to ban the herbal supplement ephedra. The substance is described as "simply too risky to be used." The FDA wasn't exactly fast on the ban - the dangerous effects, including strokes and heart attacks, have been known for a long time but successful lobbying by manufacturers stymied any government action, although some responsible sports organizations barred its use. According to the New York Times (reg rq'd) the ephedra market was worth a staggering $1.28 billion in 2002. The likely turning point was the death of a young baseball pitcher Steve Bechler, who had been using ephedra to lose weight while training. With this adverse publicity sales dropped to $510 million this year, likely accompanied by a drop in industry pressure as the market shrank. So, after a decade of concern the FDA acted. Dietary supplements are still not subject to the same testing and controls before marketing with which drugs have to comply, even though some of these substances can be quite as powerful as prescription drugs. For example the active ingredient in ephedra and ma huang is ephedrine. This same substance, if produced in synthetic form was subject to FDA regulation, unlike the equally dangerous herbal supplement. These dual standards make little sense from a health and safety point of view but suit the supplement industry nicely. How many deaths will it take to change this crazy state of affairs? According to Billy Tauzin, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, "During the course of our investigation, we learned that some ephedra supplement makers had engaged in highly questionable behavior, such as producing products without any safety testing. These shady practices will no longer be tolerated." It will be interesting to see whether these words are translated into action.

January 19th 2004

Voodoo Hoodoo -  Here is an article from the UK Daily Telegraph about the role that voodoo can play in a federal Miami courtroom during a drug money laundering case. So much "Santeria dust" (apparently a good luck charm) had been scattered around that the presiding judge had to order the place cleaned. This was after the prosecuting lawyer complained that his dry cleaning bill had become "worryingly onerous" with the frequent need for removal of the offending dust. If the good luck dust had been spread with the aim of securing the accused's acquital it was a complete failure - he was convicted. The piece goes on to note Miami's reputation as "magic city" on account of the many weird beliefs espoused there and that the attempt to use voodoo to influence the outcome of a trial is not all that unusual although it is the state courthouse rather than the federal one that attracts this kind of attention. Handily for those of a supernatural bent the state building sits at the intersection of 13th Street and 13th Avenue and sports a janitorial team known as the "Voodoo Squad" who clean up various sacrificial offerings such as chickens and goats. In a recent murder case the influence of magic was used as a defence tactic. The accused tried to lay the blame for the crime upon the victim's first husband "a Haitian who allegedly has the ability to turn himself into an armed but headless donkey. This remarkable feat is achieved by, as one of the doctors delicately put it, "expelling three flatulents"." Unsurprisingly he is undergoing psychiatric assessment..............

Rope Faker - one of the "mysteries" of the East that has entered the public consciousness is the Indian Rope Trick. Even an old cynic such as 80 assumed that there was some basis for the story if only as part of the repartee of conjurors and tricksters who are popularly called "godmen" in the subcontinent. None of the stuff they do is beyond the ability of a good stage magician and 80 for one thought the Rope Trick fitted in with the rest. Then along came this review in the UK Guardian of a book entitled "The Rise of the Indian Rope Trick: A Biography of a Legend" by Peter Lamont which tells of the true origin. It has nothing to do with India beyond the name, being the invention of an American newspaper reporter for the Chicago Tribune back in 1890! This is an interesting review by Peter Preston who makes the point that the Rope Trick is still so well known because of many folks wish (need?) to believe in such things. Preston's penultimate paragraph makes the point well, "Are we 21st-century types too modern, too sophisticated to be taken in now? Read about the fakir at the court of Ranjit Singh buried alive for a month without food, water or air and think of David Blaine. Human nature doesn't change, nor human credulity, eternally available for exploitation."

Good News - perhaps for those purveyors of quackery known as chiropractors. A recent report from researchers at Duke University Medical Center claims the medical cost of back pain in the US amounts to a thumping $90 billion. This article from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution does not mention how much of this huge expenditure ends up in the bank accounts of the bone-bending charlatans but 80 reckons they must do pretty well out of it. Particularly in view of their practice of informing people that they need to return for regular chiropractic "adjustment" to maintain health. (80 has looked at these quacks before (see Manipulate This) and intends to do so again in the near future. Chiropractic has little or nothing to do with healthcare and a lot to do with irrational anti-vaccination propaganda, gobbledegook about the elusive phenomenon of subluxation and making money from the ill-informed. Paul Lee's excellent Quackfiles shows that chiropractic has all the hallmarks of a religious belief rather than an evidence-based medical system.)

Miniskirts and Morality - 80 has said before that if you have a religious belief you are welcome to it - but don't insist that others follow the rules dictated by your delusions. The authorities in the Malaysian state of Terengganu are planning to ban non-Muslims from wearing clothing that will offend their stuffy sensibilities. In a drive against what they term "indecency" these guardians of public virtue will prohibit women wearing miniskirts and figure-hugging apparel (whether men would be banned as well is not mentioned). It seems odd that such devout people are so lacking in ordinary self-control that they cannot be exposed to such incitements. PAS or Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS) who govern Terengganu state and one other, out of Malaysia's total of 13, would like to see sharia law adopted in this muli-religious multi-ethnic country and hope to win seats from the current multi-racial coalition government in the forthcoming elections. If they win the rest of the populace can look forward to innovations already enforced by PAS where they hold sway, such as separate supermarket checkouts for men and women. These guys (and it has to be guys) have obviously never been shopping otherwise they would realize the chances of hanky-panky at a checkout is pretty remote - even for people whose morals are so weak they need protecting from a glimpse of a women's legs.

Shermer Scoop - the SciScoop website, "a science news source and discussion forum for anyone interested in cutting-edge science and technology", has a very interesting interview with Michael Shermer of the Skeptics Society, in which he answers various questions posted by members. Most of these queries are well thought out with only a few outraged "true believers" making their views forcefully known. Shermer, author of "Why People Believe Weird Things", and columnist for Scientific American (see the latest - Bunkum!) also has his own website, Skeptic.com which is well worth your time. One eye-opener from the SciScoop session is Shermer's contention, based upon response to his Scientific American Skeptic articles, that many of the readers of that august journal are creationists! Now that is a weird thing to believe.......

January 22nd 2004

Erich's World - the idiot fantasies of Erich von Daniken have found their perfect setting in Switzerland. The writer and spinner of tales is best known for his ancient astronaut books in which he, unable to believe that our ancestors were capable of building pyramids and other massive structures claims that assistance of aliens from space was required. Apart from the insulting condescension to the ancient builders and engineers there is not a shred of evidence to support his ideas. In fact he himself is on record agreeing that he invented some of his so-called evidence. Like many in the world of cult or fringe archaeology his attitude to evidence does not meet any standards acceptable to science. He has succeeded in one thing however and that is making plenty of money from the folk that fall for his line of claptrap. Now he has another nice little earner - a theme park in his homeland dedicated to his work. Here, at Mystery Park can be found miniature pyramids and an archive of von Daniken's output. There are seven pavilions, displaying movies illustrating his "theories". It is no surprise to learn that these were designed by amusement park professionals as von Daniken is so primitive he could not have achieved anything without outside assistance. This piece on Mystery Park in Archaeology magazine does not say that the designers were aliens but the notion is as worthy of serious consideration as any of von Daniken's other ideas. (For masses of information on real and pseudo-archaeology see Doug's Archaeology Site)

Martian Mystery Mud - early images from the Spirit rover in Gusev Crater on the Red Planet are reported to show a strange substance right next to the vehicle which has puzzled scientists. It has been described as a "strangely cohesive" mud-like material with "alien textures". The Washington Post quotes Steve Squyres of Cornell University "I don't understand it. I don't know anybody on my team who understands it. . . . It looks like mud, but it can't be mud." Squyres and the other scientists need puzzle no more for 80 has realized exactly what this substance is - a face pack for the Face on Mars.......

Surprise Surprise - a recent poll of the citizens of Minnesota, USA reported in the Star-Tribune (reg rqd), showed that they think religion plays a role in causing war and many think that certain religions are more likely to "encourage violence among their believers". This belongs in the category of knowledge called the blindingly obvious.

Incompatibility - here is a quote from an interesting article in The Ledger on science and religion from Craig Spearman, president of Science Speaks (a bunch from Florida who are apparently unable to see that the term Intelligent Design is nonsense when applied to life, the universe and everything) "The Bible is not a science book. I agree that God can't be proved scientifically". So far so good, and then he goes and ruins things, "However, a number of us believe God has to be approached from a rational basis. There's sufficient circumstantial evidence that would bring any reasonable man to conclude we're not here by accident." Everyone is entitled to their own point of view but 80 inclines toward that espoused by Nobel Laureate Steven Weinberg and quoted in the same piece "I think one of the great things science has done for the world is to gradually weaken the force of religious enthusiasm, and I'd hate to see that compromised by any sort of reconciliation." He also referred to religiously inspired violence "I think the world would be better off without all that, and I think science can play a role in getting rid of it."

Princess Probe - at long last the British investigation has been launched into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in a car wreck in Paris all of 6 years ago. In a very good piece in the UK Guardian, Simon Hoggart describes it as "... the most eagerly awaited inquest since Anne Boleyn". Hopes that the results of the Scotland Yard inquiry will put to rest the huge number of competing conspiracy theories, particularly on many websites, are unlikely to be fulfilled. A tragedy like the death of the Princess to many people must have a cause beyond the obvious. The fact that the French inquiry found that the driver was drunk and may have been distracted by reporters pursuing the car and that the Princess was not wearing a seatbelt seem to many to be too trivial a reason. Hence all the chatter about death plots involving the British security services, other members of the Royal family because they feared she would marry a Muslim, and for all 80 knows, aliens from Planet X. This one will run and run......

Pressure Drop - currently in many countries there is a heated debate raging over the benefits and safety implications of the use of gun-toting sky marshals aboard commercial airplane flights. Discharging a firearm in such a location ie a pressurized cabin at high altitude, is a pretty risky business even using weapons with a very low muzzle velocity. 80 cannot get the image out of his mind of Goldfinger's ample backside disappearing through a shattered plane window. It is less than comforting. With concerns like these now might be the time to buy some taser shares..............

January 27th 2004

Religious News - a friend recently accused 80 of featuring too many items on the malign effects of religion, most particularly the fundamentalist kind. Taking this to heart the site now has a faith-based news page (see left hand margin) which is merely a list of links, with no further elaboration, to news items about humankind's least attractive invention. But now and again some religious news items absolutely demand closer treatment. World attention recently has tended to dwell on the situation in Iraq but the newly adopted constitution for Afghanistan (that was the previous war, remember?) looks to be in trouble almost immediately. It is supposed to guarantee equal rights for men and women but obviously the country's supreme court has other ideas. They have complained to the government about the shocking appearance on TV of a woman singing. "This has to be stopped " Deputy Chief Justice Fazel Ahmed Manawi said in a BBC report. The broadcast lasted for all of 5 minutes but this was too much. Manawi went on "We are opposed to women singing and dancing as a whole." What do these miserable puritans find so threatening? Perhaps they forsee a return of the county's previous rulers, the Taliban, who appear to enjoying something of a resurgence ,and feel they may have to answer to them for allowing such lax behavior. Talking of the Taliban, it appears they are so admired by an Islamic sect in northern Nigeria that they have taken the same name and have been aping the same harsh, repressive behavior as the Afghan originals. Meanwhile in Pakistan a woman, Shaista Almani, aged 22, had the temerity to marry a man from a different tribe. She had the permission of her parents but not the tribal elders. So how did these wise men react to this perceived transgression? They want to take her life in the barbaric practice of honor killing. Her new husband even divorced her in a futile attempt to appease the would-be murderers. Even President Musharraf has become involved, telling the authorities in her home province of Sindh to protect her. Reasons for such killings, of which 450 occurred in Pakistan last year alone, include committing adultery, marrying outside of their parents' consent, failing to meet their partner's dowry demands or otherwise offending Islam. Such disgusting retribution can do nothing but bring shame on any religion that treats women as less than human. So, sorry to my friend for writing about religion yet again but remaining silent is not an option.
 

Darwin Day - here is one for your diary, February 12th is the birthday of Charles Darwin. On this day and throughout the month, people from all over the world are honoring the life, work and influence of Darwin with events and activities which celebrate science and our shared humanity. His work, and the work those who have followed on, has performed a great service by dethroning humankind and showing that the conceited idea that we are above all the animals and just below the angels, in some Great Chain of Being is false. We are a species of African primate and are as much a part of the fauna of planet Earth as any other creature. Do go along to the Darwin Day website and see what is happening in your area. To quote Richard Dawkins "Along with Shakespeare and Newton, Darwin is Britain's greatest gift to the world. He was our greatest thinker." (It may also be of interest to regular readers that the Darwin Day site was designed by none other than Dave Feroe of Heresy House. 80 looked at the Heretic Feroe some while back.)

Martian Tool Time - at the top of this page it states in the introduction, referring to the websites reviewed, that "The View from Number 80 tries to give them critical attention and, in many cases, a certain amount of ridicule." But now and again this is not really possible, especially when one comes across something so toweringly daft that the job is already done. The particular page in question equals 80's fatuous face pack suggestion below, and in fact surpasses it by a large margin.The website in question is that of Richard Hoagland (popularly called Hoaxland) and his Enterprise Mission and in particular this page full of images returned by Spirit, the rover currently sitting in Gusev Crater on Mars. According to Hoaxland these show not rocks of various types as foolishly assumed by NASA but tools and metal-cased objects. This is, of course, treated as evidence of a past Martian civilization and NASA's inevitable cover-up of this astounding information. In fact the only thought that occurs to 80 when viewing the images as interpreted by Hoagland is that either he is an even more gullible fantasist than ever, or he badly needs to consult an optician. Or, much more cynically, perhaps his motivation is connected more closely with banging the drum for donations because "For This Research To Continue Your Support Is Critical" This is obviously a meaning of the word "research" of which 80 was, until now, blissfully unaware.

The Astrology Racket - is a very lucrative business to be in. It is usually assumed that real newspapers deal with getting at the truth and publishing the facts - some may make a better job of this than others but that is the general idea - except in one area, astrology columns. This is down to one very simple reason - money. What is revealed in this piece from the UK Guardian is just how profitable this business is, not just for the newspaper publishers but for the astrologers themselves, who often earn more than well-known columnists. (They also make a nice bundle from those who call their astrology hotlines at exorbitant rates. Sadly it is often those least able to afford such phone readings who are the biggest consumers of this "service".) The editors of these papers are particularly hypocritical as they generally acknowledge that the astrologer's output is garbage but are more than happy to enjoy the financial benefits of the circulation figures they deliver. What is totally unbelievable is that the astrological charlatans claim their high pay is justified. Shelley Von Strunckel, who supplies two papers with her brand of profitable nonsense, the London Evening Standard and the Sunday Times says "It looks easy, but the astrologers who survive work hard. When it comes to getting copy out we're as hard-nosed as journalists reporting from a war. We can't be late with copy. If it's lucrative, trust me, none of us is sitting back filing our nails and eating bonbons." How hard can it be to churn out the same bland, nonsensical drivel day after day? To compare yourself to a real journalist reporting from a war is absurd. What an inflated view of their own importance these peddlers of claptrap have.

Quote of the Week - from Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill describing George W Bush in meetings with his entourage "He is like a blind man in a room full of deaf people". He's that good?

January 31st 2004

Sharia Shames Sudan - how many times have non-believers been asked to show respect for the religious beliefs of others? (Or even to trust them?) This may give offence but 80 no more respects religious faith than any other delusion. An adult that says that there is a Creator who is responsible for the world we see around us deserves no more respect than if their imaginary friend/overlord was the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy. If any more were needed here is another damn' good reason for that stance. Intisar Bakri Abdulgader is 16 years old and friends describe her as "shy and gullible". She was seduced by an older man and became pregnant and now has a baby boy to care for. This sad little tale is all too commonplace and in Australia, Denmark, Netherlands or the UK for example some people would shake their heads perhaps but the girl and her child would receive help and support. Tragically Intisar does not live in a "decadent" Western democracy - she lives in the Sudan and can expect 100 lashes across the shoulders with a leather or plastic strap for her crime of "adultery". Such is the barbaric sharia law code applied to this vulnerable teenager. The alleged father has reportedly not been charged but will have a blood test to establish paternity. This is  disgusting and far from an isolated case. If you wish to help by protesting and showing the Sudanese authorities that such medieval practices are unacceptable please go to the Amnesty International page to find out what you can do. Amnesty International UK Media Director Lesley Warner said: "The Sudanese authorities must not carry out this vicious sentence on a young girl. It is a cruel punishment which completely contravenes basic international human rights law, to which Sudan is a party. The authorities should abolish all these cruel punishments now." Owing to Intisar's poor health the flogging was postponed from from 20 December to 23 January. How compassionate of the religious authorities to wait until the girl is fit before inflicting injuries upon her. She has reportedly been eating and sleeping very little, terrified of the ordeal she must face. Respect religion? You must be bloody joking.

Bias - as an example of the unfair treatment women receive from the world's major religions the above horrible story is hard to beat. For a view on Christianity's hostility to women see this piece by Karen Armstrong in the UK Guardian.

Google Hijack? - far and away the most popular search engine is Google - so much so that the word has entered ordinary language as a term to describe searching on the web, googling. This has caused Google to become concerned about the dilution of their trademark but it is likely not something they can stop. There is another worry about Google and its ubiquity as a preferred search engine and that is the possibilty (New York Times - reg rq'd) it may be open to manipulation. This would apply not only to Google itself but also to all the many other, seemingly independent, engines that use Google technology of page ranking. What has caused this worry is the phenomenon of "Google-bombing". This hijacks the page ranking system for comic, satirical or political effect by linking a search term through subsidiary websites to give a false ranking. One of the most recent and popular examples was that when you entered the phrase "miserable failure" and searched, the first hit on the list was none other than George W Bush's official autobiography page. Bush partisans and others have now climbed on the bandwagon as this page illustrates giving answers to the same query, in order, Michael Moore, Bush, Jimmy Carter and Hillary Clinton. But could this game be hijacked for nefarious or misleading purposes? Google themselves think not, but they would say that wouldn't they? Anything else would be damaging for business. Others tend to agree that the effects are in fact very limited, partly by the need for a phrase that is obscure enough not to bring up many other sites before the one intended in the ranking. It is unlikely to be a real problem but merely another source of geeky amusement and political comment - any larger scale attempts at manipulation would be detected and the relevant sites deleted from Google - an action that has already been taken in some cases. For those of you still concerned you can always try an engine that uses a different methodology such as Teoma as used by Ask Jeeves, but the real answer is something that should always be applied and that is common sense. It is relatively easy to spot skewed results and anyone should be wary of errors in results and for important searches use more than one search technique. The infallible, faith-based search engine has yet to arrive.

Update - to the above, as of  January 26th put the word "unelectable" into Google and up pops Dubya..........

Wesley Clark - the Democrat presidential contender had this to say on "family values", the mantra repeated ad nauseam by right-wing conservatives and bible-bashers "We have a Republican Party and president who use the term 'family values,' but they don't have the slightest idea of what they ought to be talking about when they talk about family values."

Talking Turkey - on a not entirely unrelated note the runners in the presidential race in the US could learn something from the Prime Minister of Turkey, Tayyip Erdogan. In this item from Zaman he said his party " regarded religion as a social value and rejected the idea of conducting politics according to religion, or formulating a state ideology based on religious values." He promotes the concept of laicism, which he defines as "...... an institutional attitude and approach that enables the state to remain neutral before all religions and opinions; it maintain an equal distance from all; and promotes the peaceful coexistence of different religious sects and thought groups." This is an admirable stance which US politicians would do well to emulate in the forthcoming electoral fun and games. Wearing your faith on your sleeve may garner you votes but means little to people of other faiths or none, and does nothing to promote harmony, even if you can score the odd point or two. Howard Dean, until Iowa the Democrat front-runner, had this to say about Jerry Falwell "Don't you think Jerry Falwell reminds you a lot more of the Pharisees than he does of the teachings of Jesus? " Dean should be careful with this, for as 80 has been told more than once when turning the biblical tables, even the devil can quote the scriptures. Religion is a two-edged weapon and you could easily cut yourself.

February 2nd 2001

Red Sea Pedestrians - latest in a long line of attempts to explain Old Testament miracles as real historical events is this effort from a couple of Russian mathematicians who obviously have far too much time on their hands. On the basis of their calculations they believe "a stormy night and a strategically placed reef" helped the Israelites cross the Red Sea when fleeing the pursuing armies of Pharaoh. Naum Volzinger, a senior researcher at St. Petersburg's Institute of Oceanology says "I am convinced that God rules the Earth through the laws of physics." (Yeah right, 80 can't wait for his Burning Bush rationalization - or the curse of the hemorrhoids.) According to the Moscow Times "The six-month study, published in the Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences, focuses on a reef that runs from the well-documented starting point of the Jews' escape to the north side of the sea. In biblical times, the reef was much closer to the surface." Six months! Time well spent in their opinion no doubt. By the way there is no well-documented starting point and no evidence the whole escapade ever took place. But, and it is a very big but, if the event did happen what was it like to cross the sea dryshod? According to our Russian friends pretty darn difficult- picture the poor old Israelites, 600,000 of them, men, women and children, walking, at night, along a reef, in winds of 30 meters a second (approx 68 mph) chased by Pharaoh's finest. On balance the miraculous version as espoused by Cecil B deMille seems more likely.............

Annual Cloning - in what is likely a reaction to grandstanding Dr Panos Zavos' announcement that he had transferred a cloned embryo into a woman's womb, Lord Robert May president of the British Royal Society said "maverick scientists"  attempting to clone humans should be outlawed around the world. Zavos' claim had been greeted skeptically by most scientists. A pointer to how realistic his announcement was is the very way it was presented with no peer reviewed research in any scientific journal and by means of a press conference. Zavos' apparent love of the limelight and attention could not have helped. Perhaps such dodgy claims about human cloning are to become an annual event, after all it was a year ago that the Raelian cult announced the actual birth of human clones. No clones or any kind of evidence has been seen since. This article on Zavos from Crosswalk by Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (was there ever a more pointless pursuit than theology?) uses the opportunity to inform us that "his announcement should be a wake-up call as civilization stands on the brink of moral catastrophe."

Holy Mohler - also from the prolific theologian is a piece (scroll way down the page) on an article in the New York Times by Nicholas Kristof in which Kristof displays amazement that more Americans believe in the virgin birth than the theory of evolution. To Mohler "It is as if Kristof has been told that a majority of Americans believe in the Tooth Fairy and deny the existence of gravity." For once Mohler has actually gotten something right. If you worry for the future of an increasingly religion-obsessed USA read the rest of what he has to say on Presidential contenders, homosexual marriage, abortion and liberals for a strange, twofold reaction. First you laugh at the obvious inanities the man is spouting (he seems to have a real bee in his bonnet about homosexuals - perhaps he protesteth too much?) then depression creeps in when you realize not only does Mohler actually believe the drivel he writes but so do a large number of his compatriots.

Sleepy Jugglers - according to a couple of reports from the BBC health pages there are two ways of "boosting your brain power". Firstly German investigators report that you can solve problems while sleeping. There has been anecdotal evidence for this but now their work strongly indicates it to be true. "...experts say it is the first hard evidence that creativity and problem-solving may be assisted by the activity of the brain during sleep." The other method, again from German research, is that learning to juggle increases the size of certain areas of the brain. This has been confirmed by scans, the "Jugglers had more grey matter - which consists largely of the nerve cells - in the mid-temporal area and the left posterior intraparietal sulcus, which both process visual motion information." So if sleep and juggling are so apparently beneficial to brain development 80 is awaiting the results from those superbrains who have perfected the the tricky feat of juggling in their sleep (don't try this at home folks) - the results should be literally mind-expanding.

What Goes Up - Steve Mirsky in his current Antigravity column in Scientific American puts the case for a "clear and present need for better math and science education in this nation." (This applys to every nation on the planet) One of his examples features the botched Ku Klux Klan initiation that 80 mentioned a short while back, accompanied by a (very) slightly guilty chuckle. Mirsky's account of a subsequent radio show attempting to grasp the gravity of the situation is hysterical.

February 6th 2004

Fair Play Activist - it seems that 80 has unwittingly joined a group called "homosexual activists". Foul play by the aforementioned bunch has skewed the results of an online marriage survey by the very uptight American Family Association (AFA). It seems that various websites, less than enamoured with their holier than thou attitude, called attention to their poll which was displayed only on the AFA website and might have escaped notice otherwise and only attract "Christian activists". In this article from MLive.com Gary Glenn, director of the AFA of Michigan is quoted as saying "Homosexual activist groups went to the trouble of skewing this particular poll. Perhaps it is some comfort to them." Sorry Gary, but you got it wrong, at least in one case - 80 is part of no "homosexual activist group" but merely wishes to see fair play. To run a survey in the manner the AFA did with the intention of presenting the results to Congress was just plain underhand. 80, along with many others, merely wanted to keep things balanced. (One wonders why the AFA feel so threatened, there does not seem to be any suggestion that homosexual marriage would be compulsory.) Here is 80's original report, They Asked For It. By the way, just over 60% in the survey favored homosexual marriage - a result the AFA would like to bury.

Telepathetic - here is a report from Nature on a debate that took place in London recently arguing the pros and cons of telepathy. Speaking for, and according to Nature finding most favor with the audience was Rupert (Who are you staring at?) Sheldrake. In the other corner, and very much against "pathological" science, was Lewis Wolpert, a developmental biologist at University College London. One wonders at the caliber of the Royal Society of the Arts' audience if Sheldrake's point of view carried the day. Sheldrake's evidence included his work on whether pets can psychically tell when their owner is about to arrive home and "the allegedly telepathic bond between a New York woman and her parrot". Sheldrake is quoted as saying "Billions of perfectly rational people believe that they have had these experiences." This is jolly interesting but as an ex-scientist he ought to know that the plural of anecdote is not data - it proves nothing. Still, apparently Sheldrake carried the day according to this perceptive observer "For Ann Blaber, who works in children's music and was undecided on the subject, Sheldrake was the more convincing. "You can't just dismiss all the evidence for telepathy out of hand," she said." Besides he has such nice eyes, a neat haircut and a voice to die for, she did not go on to say. For a critical look at some of Sheldrake's daft claims see this report from Robert A Baker and read Sheldrake's response.

Talking Dick - if what may be charitably described as a mistaken perception is repeated over and over in the face of all evidence it becomes something else - a matter of pure faith or a downright lie. Which is which can be hard to ascertain for often they can appear be the same thing. If someone has personally identified strongly with such a perception it can be emotionally almost impossible to reject it. Here is a report from the Los Angeles Times (reg rq'd) commenting on US Vice President Dick Cheney's interview on NPR, where he yet again asserted that "There's overwhelming evidence there was a connection between Al Qaeda and the Iraqi government, I am very confident that there was an established relationship there." This when the rest of the administration appears to be backpedalling on the idea. Also repeated by Cheney was his belief that weapons of mass destruction are waiting to be found in Iraq, insisting that "the jury is still out", citing the now largely debunked "bioweapons trailers". This sits oddly with President Bush's reference in his State of the Union address to "weapons of mass-destruction-related program activities" a phrase that is about as watered-down as you can get. Cheney looks more and more like a man with an obsession, one he managed to share for a while, but now everyone else has moved on (even his protege George) leaving him to repeat the same increasingly stale assertions. (Here is an overview of the administration's Iraq WMD claims and how shaky they have proved to be from Information Clearing House and for a less than kindly view of Cheney read Mark Morford's take on the man and his "sporting" activities.)

Update to the above item - David Kay, the man leading the hunt for WMDs in Iraq has quit. Sources say that the action is for a "mixture of personal reasons and his disillusionment with the search." according to the BBC news.

February 9th 2004

Two New Sciences - just like that! US Attorney General John Ashcroft is apparently more intelligent than 80 thought he was. It is not often given to someone that they can create two whole new sciences at a stroke. Ashcroft was in Vienna, Austria, trying to justify the most recent Gulf War (remember, the one that is still killing people?) when he came out with this little gem "Weapons of mass destruction including evil chemistry and evil biology are all matters of great concern, not only to the United States but also to the world community." It almost sounds like a line from an Austin Powers' villain. One wonders how evil chemistry and evil biology differ from the regular ones.  In Europe this kind of fundamentalist jargon, evil this, evil that, does not impress. Someone really ought to write Ashcroft some better material - or stop him from speaking off the cuff. (And while they are at it can they please explain to John that science is neither good nor evil, it is amoral, whereas people are rather more complicated.) Such terminology merely stereotypes the current US administration as a bunch of hicks - which is as inaccurate as it is dangerous. 

Update -  from Amnesty International to the story of Intisar Bakri Abdulgader (see Sharia Shames Sudan) the 16 year-old has had her sentence of flogging suspended, temporarily. So, another wait and more uncertainty about her fate - what kind of God would want his laws to subject a kid to this? Sadly, Intisar's is far from an isolated case.

Another Broken Illusion - two religions, both of which claim to espouse peace, are in a headlong rush to violent conflict in Sri Lanka. The two belief systems involved are Christianity and Buddhism. Christians maybe, but Buddhists, surely not? What, Buddhist Bhuddists? Aren't they non-violent? Apparently not - there goes another vain illusion. Somehow 80 thought they were different. Just goes to show you where ignorant assumptions can get you. The BBC says in one instance these were drunken Buddhists so maybe that's the reason - or is it more the case as examined in this article from the India Times that "Religion makes people fanatics"? Some say the Buddhists were reacting to evangelicals arriving and making "unethical conversions". When could persuading someone to shift from one superstition to another ever be called ethical? Religions, even if some are totally pacifist, do one thing well, they allow you to attach a label to someone as different, as others, be they threat or scapegoat. It is not necessarily any theological differences that matter, but just being able to treat others as less than human. It is not a mother, a daughter, a son that was murdered, but a Christian, a Muslim, a Jew.

Military Skeleton - do take a moment to read this interesting piece by Michael Moore (Bowling for Columbine) on the effect his recent introduction to US presidential contender, Gen. Wesley Clark, had on the surrounding press. This was in Moore's familiar boisterous style, sounding like the intro to a wrestling bout. It ended with him yelling "The Generaaal Versus The Deserterrrr!!". Now the mainstream press are usually quite bright and managed to work out who the General was - so the deserter must be none other than President George W. Bush. What did this mean? Moore offers some answers other than the one the press immediately assumed. What is intriguing is that of all the possibilities, including desertion of " the 43 million Americans who have no health coverage " or maybe he "had deserted our constitution and Bill of Rights as he tries to limit freedom of speech and privacy rights for law-abiding citizens " the one that the press immediately thought of was the President's very dodgy, intermittent National Guard service, which handily kept him out of Vietnam. The thought occurs to many folk that if you want to start wars and put others in harm's way you had better have no military service skeletons in your closet. (The mainstream press have in the past been reluctant to report much on this subject. Perhaps the current fuss may change their minds. Until then, try looking here and here and finally here. For a detailed explanation of the terms deserter and AWOL see this from Slate.)

Beauty and Obese - beauty, it is said, may well be only skin deep but it certainly goes a lot deeper than that with the girls of Mauretania, North Africa. In a country where traditionally, slim equals poor, what we would call obese is the shape to be in the marriage market. Girls from the age of seven are effectively force fed to achieve the rotundity considered attractive in these parts. The aptly named Fatematou, a woman who runs a "fat farm" told the BBC that "We grab them and we force them to eat. If they cry a lot we leave them sometimes for a day or two and then we come back to start again. They get used to it in the end." She claims her charges will thank her eventually, "They are proud and show off their good size to make men dribble. Don't you think that's good?" Maybe for their aesthetics perhaps, but the Mauretanian government has described the excessive weight achieved as "life-threatening". Which gives a new meaning to the phrase "a figure to die for". Meanwhile, a new study estimates obesity cost the US around $75 billion. Over half of this tab was picked up by taxpayers. Still, look on the bright side, the slimming industry is making lots of dough - by a strange coincidence it is worth $40 billion a year - matching the tax dollars spent on combatting obesity quite nicely. But remember this industry does not want its customers to lose weight permanently - it relies on the repeat business too heavily. (For the effects of the McDonalds' diet read about the movie Super Size Me and have your fast food prejudices confirmed)

Update - to the above. The World Health Organization (WHO) has drafted a "global strategy on diet, physical activity and health." This New York Times op-ed (reg rqd) shows that the reaction of the powerful US food industry, and in particular the Sugar Association (SA), is less than welcoming to such commonsense recommendations for "more physical activity, a reduction in sugars, fats and salt and an increase in fresh fruit, whole grains, legumes and nuts." which the SA news page describes as misguided. Well, they would say that wouldn't they? There is nothing that your doctor would find objectionable in the WHO guidelines but then, of course, he is not trying to sell you unhealthy junk foods. Never mind the health of the consumer, taking care of that all important bottom line is the order of the day.

Quote of the Week - "The potential threat posed by Iraq's stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons and Iraq's nuclear weapons program was central to the case for war. In light of Dr. Kay's statement, the president owes the American public and the world an explanation." Representative Jane Harman of California, Democrat, quoted in the New York Times (reg rqd) on former chief weapons inspector Dr David Kay's doubts about the likelihood of finding WMDs in Iraq. Also see Talking Dick below. Meanwhile Britain's Tony Blair and Australia's John Howard are sticking to their (non-existent?) guns over whether Iraq's WMDs exist and still citing them as a pretext for war. Howard should count himself lucky that he doesn't have Blair's additional worries over the Hutton report.

February 13th 2004

Georgia and the Dragon - that is evolution. Most of the rest of the world is, in turns, puzzled, amused and dismayed by the continuing American dalliance with the frankly nutty idea of Creationism. Now it is Georgia in the news with the issue of a set of educational guidelines that include the removal of the word "evolution" and a general avoidance of subjects such as the age of the earth and speciation. That will certainly help the kids deal with the modern world. The New York Times (reg rqd) quotes David Bechler, head of the biology department at Valdosta State University, "They've taken away a major component of biology and acted as if it doesn't exist. By doing this, we're leaving the public shortchanged of the knowledge they should have." Georgia's schools' superintendent, one Kathy Cox, gives an insight into the thinking, or lack of it, that went into the guidelines. She describes the term evolution as "a buzz word that causes a lot of negative reaction." and goes on to say people associate it with "that monkeys-to-man sort of thing." The scale of her ignorance is frightening. Surely if there is such a negative attitude to a well established scientific theory isn't it up to the educators to overcome this by, dare one say it, education? Cox had shown her colors before this, saying at a public debate "I'd leave the state out of it and would make sure teachers were well prepared to deal with competing theories." Much as Cox will not like the idea there are no competing theories. There is discussion about some of the mechanisms involved but evolution itself is as solid as Copernican theory (although here Cox may well believe the Sun goes around the Earth). What Cox thinks is a competing theory is not science but theology which has no place in a science classroom - not even in disguise, as Intelligent Design (ID). This pretends to be a scientific theory but is merely Creationism in everything except saying the G word. This is a transparent ploy to get the daft idea into science classes by the back door. Keith Delaplane, a professor of entomology at the University of Georgia, and a proponent of ID, says the wholesale rejection of alternative theories of evolution is unscientific. What he fails to understand is that ID is not a scientific theory. He goes on to say of his "alternate theories" (he doesn't tell us what they are) "They deserve at least a fair hearing in the classroom, and right now they're being laughed out of the arena." As well they ought. By all means discuss these things in philosophy or theology classes but, to labor the point, not in science class. According to the NYT article "Educators say the current curriculum is weak in biology, leading to a high failure rate in the sciences among high school students across the state." This should be deeply worrying to anyone who wants to know where the next generation of scientists are coming from - because it sure as hell won't be Georgia. (Or Missouri for that matter.)

Update - Georgia's and Cox's foolishness has attracted some high-level attention in the shape of former President Jimmy Carter "As a Christian, a trained engineer and scientist, and a professor at Emory University, I am embarrassed by Superintendent Kathy Cox's attempt to censor and distort the education of Georgia's students." (This information is courtesy of the excellent North Texas Skeptics website news page - recommended. The NT Skeptics are members of the Skeptic WebRing as is 80.)

Holy War - for more on the threat from the dumbing down of the US school system and the attack on science by fundamentalists do read "Onward Christian Soldiers: The Holy War on Science" by Robert Carroll, author of the outstanding Skeptic's Dictionary. For a Number 80 view of one particular Creationist website see Creationist Cartoon Capers and more generally in Dinosaur Hell Ark.
 

No, Thanks - here is an item about the continued sparring over whether the new European Constitution should mention God or religion. 80 has firmly expressed opposition to what would surely be a huge backwards step (see No Religion Required). Pressing for inclusion of a religious (preferably Christian) reference are, unsurprisingly, the Roman Catholic nations, Italy, Spain, and Ireland plus newbie Poland, the Pope's homeland. Naturally the Pope himself is in favor even though he is the undemocratic head of a state that is in Europe but is not even a member of the European Union (EU). This pressure does not sit well with some observers such as Graham Watson, the European parliamentary leader of the European Liberal, Democrat and Reform Party. "I thought we had agreed 250 years ago with Montesquieu and Jefferson that a separation between church and state was one of the fundamentals of democracy." a position in accord with the French, who strongly believe religion has no place in government. And then on the other side of the question you have someone like the Swedish Christian Democrat, Lennart Sacredeus, (who changed his last name to Sacredeus, sacred God? Sounds like the adjective is  redundant here) whose attitude is more than a little loony. Turkey, a Muslim country with a secular government has long applied to join the EU gets this response "It's up to them if they're interested in joining the union. If their ambition to enter the European Union is for it to not be a Christian club, I think they have the wrong attitude about joining the European Union." No Sacredeus, it is you that have the wrong attitude for wishing to bar membership to different faiths - it was that kind of divisive idiocy that made Europe a battleground for hundreds of years and for which the European Common Market, forerunner to the EU, was designed to prevent ever happening again. It is a fool, and a dangerous one, blinded by their faith, who ignores the lessons of history. Sacredeus, get your head out of your prayerbook and see what religious and ethnic divisions brought to the former Yugoslavia in recent history.

February 16th 2004

Cardinal Babble - ah, the wisdom of these great churchmen - it is so unworldly that at first, second and every subsequent glance it looks like prejudiced homophobic gibberish - and that is a mild assessment. Take the Belgian Roman Catholic Cardinal, Gustaaf Joos apparently a protege of the Vicar of Rome, Karol Wojtyla, better known as John Paul (80 wonders will the reactionary old Pole's successor also be a Beatles fan? Pope George Ringo sounds pretty classy). Joos gave an interview to a Belgian soft porn magazine and came out with some odd statements even by the standards of a Cardinal. "I am prepared to sign here in my blood that of all those who say they are lesbian or gay, at most five to 10 per cent are effectively lesbian or gay. All the rest are sexual perverts." said this holy man, showing a great understanding of his fellow humans. That's gays dealt with so what next, democracy? "Politics, democracy. Don't make me laugh. The right to vote, what is that all about? I find it strange that a snot-nosed 18-year-old has the same vote as a father of seven. One has no responsibilities whatsoever, the other provides tomorrow's citizens." You can really feel yourself warming to this guy, he is so full of charity and kindness. The only thing quoted in this article from The Age about Joos that is not entirely loony is his apparent tolerance of prostitution, "If a man thinks he needs sex or is going to explode, it is better to find a prostitute than seduce or rape a girl." Unless he is a Catholic priest, of course, who has trusted access to young members of his flock.

Empty Vessels - make the most noise. Things lapse into a weird kind of parody when an astrologer says "It's bizarre, people are so prejudiced against anything new age." In 80's view the exact reverse is the case, far too much credence is given to this unsubstantiated drivel. Besides, astrology is "old age" surely. The above remark was made by Elizabeth Barton, about the business licensing fee for "astrologists, psychics and other new-age businesses" in San Mateo, California where she peddles her particular brand of bunkum. She feels that the amount asked for, $500, is excessive. It sounds pretty cheap to 80, surely it can't take more than a few hours of forecasts to the gullible or ignorant before she could make the necessary amount. It is not as though she does anything like real work. Barton is a member of The Association for Astrological Networking (AFAN) who feel such fees unfairly restrict their business. She, and the Network, ought to count themselves lucky. If these people had to prove that their business actually worked, and could be reliably demonstrated to do so, before a license to practice was issued you would see no astrologers, soothsayers, mediums or any of the rest of the pack of frauds and charlatans. Make too much fuss Barton and you could find the attention you attract would be less than beneficial if someone checks the accuracy of your forecasts - but of course you will have already foreseen that........

Hogwash Correlation - by the way AFAN do not restrict themselves to astrology - they are conducting a "Homeopathic Research Survey"  on the "correlation between cell salts and sun signs". Brilliant idea - test one load of irrational hogwash by "correlating" it with another. A nice little game of pretend science. What 80 doesn't understand is why can they not forsee the outcome anyway - it would save a lot of time. Or do they still have to conduct the test otherwise there would not be an outcome to foresee in the first place? This new age stuff can be tricky. Tell the Nobel Prize Medical Committee not to wait up.

Intelligence Redesign - with the Hutton report giving, in the view of many, a biased view of the British government's conduct, there are now calls for a wider inquiry into the intelligence that was used as a pretext for war with Iraq. The BBC, which has admitted making  mistakes, does not deserve to be the whipping boy for the shortcomings of government and the spy services. The ex-Director General, Greg Dyke, who was effectively sacked, is not going quietly and is talking about legal action. Meanwhile, in the US, it is announced that there will be a commission to probe into the intelligence failures over Iraq. The White House is keen to broaden (dilute?) the scope of the investigation and the man in the frame is George Tenet, CIA boss. During his tenure not only was there the Iraq WMD intelligence failure but also 9/11, and the failure to forecast Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests. (N Korea and Libya spring to mind as well.) Perhaps he will be the whipping boy for the US administration. How involved Vice President Dick Cheney will be in the proceedings should be interesting to watch as he was still droning on about discredited claims on Iraq's WMDs and non-existent al-Qaeda connections only a week ago. He is described as being in on the inception of the commission but he is likely just following the old strategy of watching his back - his influence has been discerned in what in Britain has been called the "sexing-up" of intelligence to make a stronger case for invading Iraq, a project he (and his protege, George) has had in mind for a long time. The investigation may well push British PM Tony Blair, still grinning after the Hutton whitewash, into a similar action. Whatever happens either side of the pond one thing is certain, there will be a lot of doubletalk, fingerpointing and squeals of indignation before the dust settles. All the stuff flying around has yet to hit the fan in Australia but it can't be long.

Hubble Murder - is the charge NASA may have to answer, according to Robert Zubrin, founder of the Mars Society and tireless advocate of human missions to Mars, "If the first thing this new space policy does is murder Hubble, then it's born with the mark of Cain on it." (from an article in Wired) If anyone wants humans to be on Mars it is Zubrin, but not at the expense of the Space Telescope. NASA is under increasing pressure from many directions to rethink the plan for dumping Hubble. For those readers who are US citizens and want NASA's decision reversed you can add your name to the petition at Savethe Hubble.org. Some see a darker motive on the administration's part in this decision. Space policy analyst John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org had this to say "I think it is sort of symptomatic of this administration's orderly dismantling of the American space program." Michael Paolucci, president of Slooh.com, an online service providing live links to telescopes, is behind the Save Hubble campaign. He does not mince his words about the sense of the scrapping the telescope "There's no political risk in saying you'll put a man on Mars in 30 years. It's so bold-sounding, but at the same time we're afraid to fly 350 miles to the Hubble to fix it? I won't use the word cowardly, but we're stepping away, we're retreating." He goes on to point out "Most astronauts want to be the tip of the arrow. It's a privilege, and they'd line around block to take that risk for the Hubble." (Do read the whole article from Wired here)

Bob Wars - as noted above Robert Zubrin is a major advocate for the human exploration of space and in particular Mars. Robert Park, of the American Physical Society and writer of the What's New  weekly newsletter is just as strong in his support for a purely robotic exploration of the Solar System. They will be debating each other's positions Thursday February 6th, at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, 1015 15th Street, NW, Suite 900 Washington, D.C. 20005, starting at 6 PM. Given the fervor of the advocates it should be a lively affair. Just for the record 80 sees no problem with a mix of robotic and human spaceflight - in the case of Mars with the robots as precursors to landing "a geologist with a hammer". (Disclosure - 80 is a member of the Mars Society and in this ageing magazine article from 2001 you can read the reasons. 80 also subscribes to What's New. You can always find the latest edition in the left-hand column of this page.)

Update - the above debate is reported by Jeff Foust in The Space Review.

February 18th 2004

Caring for their Flock? - not bloody likely. Take a look at this desperately sad and worrying report from BBC news which tells how "Illegal abortions are a major cause of death among mothers in many countries in Latin America." according to a report from the World Health Organization. Abortion in any shape or form is illegal in most of these countries. heavily influenced by the Roman Catholic Church which also forbids any form of contraception. Read about the girl who nearly died after a backstreet abortion that utilized hydrochloric acid. Her uterus was perforated but purely by luck she was treated by a sympathetic doctor. Doctors often report such patients to the police which can then lead to jail. Contrast and compare this story with another BBC news item about Mexico's Catholic church leaders who have criticized the government for allowing use of the so-called "morning after" pill. Archbishop of Mexico City, Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera is quoted as saying "Although they may be called contraceptives, when they produce an abortion, it is called murder. It is forbidden to kill the innocent." A fertilized human egg is apparently more important to these holy men than the young women who are driven by desperation to the abortionists. One story is from Peru, where it is estimated that "50,000 women a year either die or suffer serious complications after an illegal abortion." The other is from Mexico "40% of the 2.1million pregnancies a year are unplanned". The common factor is the cruelty of the Roman Catholic Church.

Anecdotal Tosh - the Sun tabloid newspaper in the UK demonstrates its hard-nosed journalistic attitude to the truth in this unbelievably gullible article about a Russian girl, who, it is claimed, can see broken bones using some kind of psychic x-ray vision. If this is as true as they say, The Sun could do her a favor and put her in touch with the James Randi Educational Foundation who have a million dollars waiting for her. If she is true to the form of previous Russian and other folk with "paranormal" abilities, these powers will disappear the moment a proper test is conducted. A proper test, just to let the Sun journalists know, does not consist of breathlessly related anecdotes or appearances on morning TV chat shows.

They're Here - but nobody's talking. The US presidential race doesn't just involve the various candidates reported on ad nauseam by press and TV - there are others who run as independents who seem to get little coverage. The campaign run by one of them, Sterling D. Allan, perhaps shows why. Looking at his website, one page in particular drew 80's keen attention. Allan is one of many Americans that believe humankind, or more exactly, the US government, has been in contact with advanced alien races for years and, more astounding than that, has actually managed to keep it pretty much a secret (but obviously not from sharp cookies like Allan). To quote the man himself "Any thinking person can see that the U.S. government conceals the extent of its knowledge about and involvement with extraterrestrial visitors to this planet." Leaving aside Allan's worrying idea of what constitutes a "thinking person" why, is likely the first question that occurs, why do they come here of all places in the galaxy? Allan reckons he has the answer - he believes "that the government of the United States and other nations have actually formed compacts with certain extraterrestrial visitors, including such terms as trading of technology for rights to minerals as well as abductions for research or needed genetic material." Don't get too excited at this revelation, he also believes in the biblical flood, crop circles and also some sci-fi variant of the rapture. One thing he does not believe in is the UN (something he has in common with the present White House incumbent) and, nothing if not ambitious, has already started laying plans for his world government. "In December of 2001, Allan founded a world body ( http://www.rsicc.org ) to begin forging the documents that would comprise the constitution of a world government based on principles of freedom." (80 can't help thinking he could have chosen a better verb than forge to describe how his documents are produced. In his list of members for Remnant Saints Inter-Continental Congress, RSICC, there is at least one familiar name, David Oates, the Reverse Speech nitwit.) As if further proof of Allan's fitness to govern is required it is noteworthy that his site links to The Disclosure Project, run by Steven Greer. 80 has looked at Greer's project, and its predecessor before. It hardly needs saying that if Allan's campaign takes off he has a perfect running mate in Greer. They could form a third force in US politics, the Fantasy Prone Party.

Quote -  from the leader column in the UK Guardian " Blaming only the spooks, like blaming only the BBC, is like beating the waiter about the head because the chef has overcooked the joint." This is on the news that Tony Blair, apparently caught on the hop by his "close ally" George Bush's decision to investigate intelligence failings over the Iraq invasion, has announced an inquiry in the UK. The Guardian also makes the astute observation "That intelligence-gathering, like reporting, is an imperfect business is probably already widely understood. What needs explaining, in contrast, is how military pre-emption can be justified in future when threat assessments are so very unreliable." Which of course has implications for the way in which the world, and in particular the US, deals with "rogue states". If you have the time, do read the whole column.

Waste of Space - why bother to print a rundown of the Democratic presidential hopefuls based on astrology? This op-ed from the New York Times (reg rqd) written by Erin Sullivan is an insult to the intelligence. Hoping it was a spoof of some kind 80 scoured the article for some trace of irony or parody - in vain. The "readings" are the same bland pap that appears in astrology columns day after day all around the world, vague enough to be deniable and general enough to fit the subject - in that they would fit most human beings. Here is an example from the forecast for Howard Dean "born on Nov. 17, 1948, with a Scorpio Sun and Gemini Moon. Thus, Dr. Dean's character contains a paradox: he is both deep and shallow. He can be cool and distant or passionate and intense." My, it is spooky how accurate Sullivan is. How about Dennis Kucinich? He "desires serenity but is willing to spar for it." What little here that actually makes a statement about the candidates, as opposed to the generalized nonsense quoted above, could easily be gleaned from TV and press coverage without dressing it up as astrology. Wesley Clark is described as having " a warrior signature: when civilized it indicates a master strategist; at its most martial, it is ruthlessly determined and messianic." Wow, what amazing insight, a General who has a warrior signature, how likely is that? Note that even this reading still covers itself by being twofold - if one bit misses the other will hit. The regular reader of astrology columns only tends to remember the "hits" so this dual statement is typical of the astrologer's methods. (this is reminiscent of the cold reading techniques used by psychics and other frauds.) Who is Erin Sullivan, the author of this claptrap? She, according to her website, specializes in " in depth astrological counselling and interpretive work in individual consultations, collective psychology and the analysis of global social trends." Furthermore " her Classical Studies background and ten year training in archetypal analytic psychology add a unique depth and breadth to her work." Not on the evidence of the NYT piece which is no more than the usual old drivel - and a complete waste of space.

Poor George - maybe he just can't help himself, it has become such a habit. Or perhaps it explains his desire to widen, and perhaps weaken, the focus on the (still running) Iraq episode to include much else. (Not that widening things is necessarily a bad thing -  but there is a danger that the WMD = invasion equation that ruled at the time may be obscured or forgotten and could get "lost in the noise".) When announcing the commission to investigate the failures of intelligence about WMDs, used as pretext to invade Iraq, Bush still linked it with the war on terror. Saddam Hussein, revolting and cruel dictator that he was, did not have any proven connection with the terrorists of al-Qaeda, the presumed principal target of the war on terror. Yet Bush put the announcement like this "I'm putting together this independent, bipartisan commission to analyze where we stand, what we can do better as we fight this war against terror." Perhaps grumpy old Uncle Dick said to add that bit. Bush also added that he will "sit down with Mr. Kay" and get a briefing from him, when more likely he would like to bury him after his recent press coverage. 80 would like to be a fly on the wall at that meeting. And how will all this affect Bush's major ally, Tony Blair? (If you wonder what the cost of invading and occupying Iraq here is a running total of what the US taxpayer has to stump up.)

Strange Companions - what do Gioacchino Rossini, Pope Hilarius, Dinah Shore and astronaut Jack Lousma have in common? Here's a clue, check if the year number is divisible by 4. Still puzzled? Even if you already know the answer do take a look at this lively and informative article from Pat Sheil at SpaceDaily.

Best Comment - left on the BBC web page devoted to asking the irritating question Who Do You Worship? from a correspondent identified only as Matt, USA. "I worship myself. When you're this good, it's hard not to." Priceless, thanks, Matt.

March 8th 2004

To See Ourselves - as others see us. The US State Department's report on Human Rights around the world has, unsurprisingly, found that many countries have a long way to go. One target for major criticism is China. It details abuses of Human Rights of many kinds, including torture, imprisonment without trial and "Violence against women (including imposition of a birth limitation policy coercive in nature that resulted in instances of forced abortion and forced sterilization), prostitution, and discrimination against women, persons with disabilities, and minorities continued to be problems." The report has outraged the Chinese government. But they didn't just get mad, they have tried to get even, by publishing their own report on the USA. They don't mince their words either. The USA "has long been a violent, crime-ridden society with a severe infringement of the people's rights by law enforcement departments and with a lack of guarantee for the life of people, their freedom and personal safety." Using statistics compiled by the US Department of Justice, they state that "In August 2003, the US Department of Justice acknowledged in a report that a total of 15,586 homicide cases occurred around the country in 2000, as against 15,980 in 2001, and 16,110 in 2002, indicating a rising trend year by year." In fact, the Chinese counterblast makes extensive use of publicly available US government information, which does not paint a pretty picture. What is most noteworthy, in this tit-for-tat battle, is that similar statistics for China are simply not available. The USA, imperfect as it is, is open about the problems in society. China is exactly the reverse, as was damningly made clear in the recent, dangerous, cover-up of the SARS epidemic. Some think that this may be a case of the pot calling the kettle black, but freely available information is coming from only one side. (If the present White House incumbent wins four more years you can expect this to change, as he seems averse to unpalatable facts.)

Quote - from an op-ed piece by Nathaniel Frank in the New York Times (reg rqd) on all the fuss and bother in the US over same sex marriages "The traditionalists may well be right that a monogamous relationship between two unrelated, consenting adults makes a strong foundation for a stable family, and thus for a vigorous social order. They're just wrong that those two people have to be of different genders." Also here is a column by Harley Sorenson from SFGate.com, examining Bush's motives for his intervention

seanferris@mail.com - thanks for the message Sean, assuming that is your real name. All you have succeeded in doing is confirming the low intelligence of yourself and your anti-vaccination buddies by sending an email with the subject line "arseholes" and a message that says "You really are a bunch of contemptible idiots. I hope you wake up to yourselves.  Your views are mainstream, deluded and i hope you get what you deserve." For spreading the lies espoused by you and your pals 80 hopes that you, too, get what you deserve, perhaps a nasty case of mumps. Sadly, the end result of your misinformed campaign against inoculations may well be an epidemic that could have been avoided. If you only endangered yourselves with your actions then that would be acceptable, but your foolishness risks the health of many thousands of others. You are not principled, brave or clever but merely hopelessly sad and very ignorant. It is no doubt a vain hope, but perhaps one day you will come to your senses. Have a nice day. (A technical point for you, Sean. Do you realize the amount of information revealed in an email header? It is quite surprising.) 80 is proud to be a member of the Anti-Quackery Ring.

Two Bad Examples - A mother in the US has asked for a library book on horses to be removed from her child's elementary school. Roxanne Cleasby has filed a Request for Reconsideration of Educational Materials on the grounds that the book refers to evolution and explains the origin of horses as a product of that process, without reference to the supernatural, ie God. This is yet another tiresome attempt to shove religion into science classes. By her actions this parent sets a bad example by parading her superstition and ignorance, and in trying to allow it to adversely affect her child's education. An equally bad example is her choice of the horse to promote creationism - horses happen to have one of the best documented fossil records, starting with Eohippus, which lived about 60 million years ago.

Intelligent Protest- meanwhile there is news from Montana which shows some students do not like religion being passed off as science. Students of Darby High School, Darby, Montana left school early to protest at the school board moving to adopt what they laughingly call "an objective origins policy". As the perceptive students realized, this is merely an attempt to introduce so-called Intelligent Design into class. The youngsters were wise to that ploy as one of their signs showed "Creationism in a cheap tuxedo." Aaron Lebowitz, who organized the protest, carried a sign saying "Strike against preaching pseudoscience". He told the Ravalli Republic "I was pretty disturbed by the ignorance of our community about what we're really being taught." The result of the student's stand so far seems encouraging "Besides most of the high school student body, parents and community members came to the elementary parking lot in support of the protest and shared information."

Any Old Creation - will do. In the report from the Ravalli Republic (see above) is an explanation of Intelligent Design which highlights the problem it has trying to hide its religious basis. "...intelligent design theory - a biological origins theory that assumes there is a designer of the biological world but stops short of saying who or what that designer is." We know they mean the Christian God, but leaving the question open offers the possibility of other agencies - perhaps you would like to choose for yourself - after all one mythology is just as valid as any other. (80 looked at a typical biblical creationist website in Creationist Cartoon Capers)

Berkeley Design - in happy contrast here is the news of a website on evolution, launched by the Museum of Paleontology, UC Berkeley. Called "Understanding Evolution" it should prove an excellent resource for embattled science teachers. One such emailed the museum thus "Your gorgeous, content-rich site absolutely knocked my socks off! Don't know who the genius was who knew exactly what middle-schoolers would be interested in while learning real science, but I am totally impressed! The content is superb and the graphics beyond belief." The writer may have let his enthusiasm overwhelm him slightly but there is no doubt this site is good, well laid-out, easily navigable and best of all, claptrap free.

March 10th 2004

Heavenly Promises - We all know that politicians will promise the earth to voters in order to gain office, but it seems some candidates will also promise heaven as well. This BBC news item tells how the chairman of the Election Commission in Malaysia has issued a warning, describing such tactics as "illogical and could be disadvantageous to the other candidates". Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman did not finger any particular group, but Islamic opposition parties have been accused of such tactics in the past. The PAS or Parti Islam se-Malaysia, which controls two states where it has enacted legislation banning gambling, dancing and public consumption of alcohol by non-Muslims, has reacted angrily to the chairman's statement. Surely, if he has not named any party and yet the PAS complains, this is as good as an admission of their guilt. These characters don't seem too bright. (For more on PAS see Miniskirts and Morality.) Will this religious bribery tactic be used in the forthcoming US presidential race? Naah, that would never happen ....... would it?

Update - to the above, with more details is here from the Sydney Morning Herald.

Quote - from Senator John Kerry as he sweeps the board to become the Democrat's presidential candidate. If he is elected to the White House, "We will rejoin the community of nations and renew our alliances because that is essential to final victory in the war on terror. The Bush Administration has run the most arrogant, inept, reckless, and ideological foreign policy in modern history."

Liquid Asset - are you one of the many people who buy and drink bottled water? Sales in the UK last year were around £1.2 billion and the market is expanding. Claimed to be healthier than water from a tap, is this stuff what it claims to be, and is it value for money? In one case, that of Coca Cola's Dasani bottled water, the ultimate source is proving of great embarrassment for the giant multinational. It appears their UK product does not hail from mountain springs or glacier-fed streams, but from the regular mains water supply. Admittedly Coca Cola then treats the water using a process called reverse osmosis, a purification treatment pioneered by NASA. The UK Guardian has looked at the profit that can be made this way. "Dasani retails at 95p for 500ml; the same amount of tap water, 99.9% of which meets stringent EU safety rules, would cost 0.03p." Which begs the question just how expensive is the reverse osmosis treatment and does it justify such an incredible markup? That Coke are rattled by all the attention is evidenced by this rather defensive statement on their UK website. These sorts of questions are not the only problem for Coca Cola, as the British Food Standards Agency (FSA) "announced an investigation into whether Dasani's claims to be "pure" breach labelling guidelines." It would seem the purification process is too efficient and removes any beneficial minerals - so Coca Cola puts them back in again. Others in the business should not feel too complacent over Coke's troubles, as the publicity may well lead to much closer examination of the whole bottled water industry and its health claims. Not before time.

Quote - from Peter Jackson, Oscar winning director of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, "Every single movie that's made is a fantasy film, whether it's drama or real life, it's not real life. Films aren't real life; they're make believe."

Maudlin Passion - R. Joseph Hoffman is Professor of Religious Studies at Wells College, New York, and Chair of the Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion. Here, courtesy of The Institute for Humanist Studies, is his review of Mel Gibson's The Passion movie. "Contrary to the claim that the movie follows the gospel closely, it doesn't. The protracted scourging is pure maudlin stage business .... so is the flipping of the cross, the pecking out of the bad thief's eyes, the demon-children tormenting Judas, the occasional displays of Mother Evil,... the incredible shrinking shroud inside the tomb after the burial, and the sopping up of the precious blood from the courtyard. Doubtless more than one Christian viewer paged through her red letter edition of the King James Bible to locate the passages for these curiosities. She won't find them; they are there to give the drama an edge of the supernatural." (These curiosities are in fact taken from a book of bloody visions experienced by a Roman Catholic nun. See the current newsletter). Hoffman's insightful look at the film is well worth reading in full - recommended.

March 12th 2004