The View from Number 80

February 1st 2003 

Armageddon Double Whammy - A bone of contention regarding the catastrophes that are thought to have led to some of the Earth's great extinctions may be nearer resolution, according to recent research. Two of the greatest dangers to the future of life on the planet (apart from overwhelming human stupidity) are massive asteroid or comet impact - such as that postulated to have taken the dinosaurs out of the picture at the close of the Cretaceous era - or huge volcanic eruptions - such as those mooted to have taken the dinosaurs out of the picture at the end etc etc. These two scenarios have often been treated as an either/or situation or an infelicitous coincidence - now research shows that the two may be more closely linked. It appears that a large impacting body could well set off huge outpourings of lava known as mantle plumes, a finding arising from a study of past strikes and eruptions which showed a strong correlation. The words "double and "whammy" come to mind. The exact mechanism has yet to be determined but the connections seems strong. The thought of such a calamity may be comforting to the End Times nuts, smug in their conceited belief of being "chosen", but 80 hopes to be safely (and permanently) dead before such an occurrence. Unless of course the end of the world has already started.........

On a somewhat more hopeful note there seem to be signs recently of some change for the better in the more repressive Islamic regimes, with news from "evil axis" alumnus Iran, where a dissident cleric, one Ayatollah Hussain-Ali Montazeri, has been released from 5 years house arrest, which he incurred for taking a stand on human rights issues - never a popular subject with religious fanatics of whatever persuasion. Also from Iran comes the refreshing story that the barbaric shariah law penalty for adultery, stoning to death, has been suspended, hopefully never to be reinstated. A lesson can be learned here by those regional Nigerian authorities  who want to apply this punishment (see banner at the top of this page). On the subject of Nigeria, the 21 year-old journalist, who was blamed for an outrageous outbreak of hatred and violence over her coverage of the Miss World competition, says she will probably have to spend the rest of her life in hiding. It is a sure sign, not just of religious fanaticism, but also of much social unrest for one young woman's insensitive comments to trigger such a shameful series of events. Above all it shows the weakness of any religion whatsoever that needs to resort to violence and murder in order to protect their own narrow little view of God. As the journalist in question, Isioma Daniel herself puts it, "There's no reason why someone should write something and you immediately think it gives you the right to go out and kill innocent people.They used it as an excuse to unleash their anger, their frustration with other aspects of their life. And unfortunately, I gave them that excuse. It was not a normal reaction." 

Some surprising, and, if accurate, very welcome news comes from Saudi Arabia this week. Government ministers from this country, which is not known for an atmosphere of tolerance in the field of religious or political dissent (despite being an "ally" of the USA amongst others) have been meeting with a delegation from Human Rights Watch  "to discuss its judicial system and women's rights." Perhaps if such talks had taken place a long time ago and action taken Saudi Arabia would not have to deal with the uncomfortable fact that of the 19 September 11th hijackers, 15 were Saudi nationals.

Scientific American has a piece on the moon hoax hoohah, Sheer Lunacy by Steve Mirsky, asking the question "Which is nuttier: denying we ever went to the moon or trying to convince the true nonbelievers?"

Plus Gary Kasparov strikes a blow for wetware (that's us) against the hard/software of chess playing computer, Deep Junior, causing the machine to spend 20 minutes contemplating its next move - an age for a silicon thinker. (80 is far from knowledgeable on this subject but surely that would be like Kasparov taking a few weeks if not months to deliberate.) To no avail, as the team behind Deep Junior resigned after 40 minutes of play.

And finally, the loopiest item of the week comes from Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, who, confirming his priorities in these terrorist-ridden, recession-hit, world-on-the-brink-of-war days, announced a move to change the name of US Highway 666 to something less likely to offend superstitious clowns. Now New Mexicans are able to sleep safe and sound protected from the Highway of the Beast and can count themselves fortunate to live in a state represented by a politician who has a such a firm grasp upon what is really important.

STS-107 Columbia - It was with great shock and sadness that 80 learned of the loss of Columbia and her crew. Amidst the grieving and detailed accident investigation there is a need to re-examine the future of the whole shuttle fleet and its possible replacement. Unlike many of a skeptical frame of mind 80 believes that human spaceflight is vital to the exploration of our solar system. Robots can only be considered a precursor to human presence. Our current level of technology has yet to create a machine with the intelligence and flexibility of an astronaut crew, despite the need  for expensive life support and thermal protection systems to protect their fragile bodies. The space shuttle fleet is ageing and, whilst a great engineering achievement, it has always been crippled by the circumstances of its birth, an unhappy compromise between scientific and military priorities. NASA has spent vast amounts of money investigating replacement vehicles - so far with little to show. It is owed to the men and women of the astronaut corps that they have safer and reliable access to not just low earth orbit but beyond. It is to be hoped from this tragedy that the development of a true shuttle replacement becomes a priority. Consider if the space station partners had first set themselves the goal of making such a vehicle before building the ISS - now maintenance of the station, indeed its very ability to remain in orbit, is tied to what is left of the shuttle fleet, and the Russian Soyuz vehicles, both remnants of Cold War era technology. 

Netting a Saint - with a fine grasp of what is truly important the Vatican's impressive (and weird) sounding Congregation for Divine Cult and Discipline of Sacrament is looking for a candidate for the post of patron saint of the internet. The LA Times (registration required) seems to consider this a new story but in fact it has rumbled on for a good while. Given the current pontiff's penchant for creating saints at the drop of a cardinal's hat it is surprising that one has not already been assigned to this vital post. In fact, 80, wrongly it appears, thought that the choice had already been made in favor of St Isidore, a votive statue of whom, clutching a notebook computer, stands next to 80's monitor. The Times reports that an Italian website is taking votes on possible candidates. Amongst those suggested are a motley crew, including St. Clare of Assisi, patroness of TV, Archangel Gabriel ( named recently by the Vatican as patron saint of telecommunications officers in the armies of Colombia and El Salvador) and Saint Alfonso Maria de Liguori. One much more interesting and original submission is Thomas Jefferson although it is hard to see even the saint-obsessed pope slipping a halo on him. (80 has looked at saints and sainthood before)

Looney Real Estate - Rene Veenema has an interesting client list including, according to Wired, Ronald Reagan, Johnny Carson, Jimmy Carter and David Letterman. What do these assorted luminaries have in common in their dealings with Veenema of the Lunar Embassy, now awaiting trial in the Netherlands? They, and many other dupes, bought plots of land on the Moon at $1600 a go from the alleged fraudster, who happily admits he has been running his scam for the last ten years. More proof, if it were needed that "there's a sucker born every minute" and some of them have sat in the Oval Office.

Noah and the CIA - candidate for nuttiest recent news item has to be this from Pravda revealing that the CIA have been instrumental in a cover-up of the true location of Noah's Ark, which that secretive organization has been working on since the 1940s. This farrago of ill-informed speculation certainly proves one thing - they get slack news days in Russia too. Best part is the last paragraph which neatly suggests an explanation for the non-discovery of this imaginary artifact - it was there until the Americans stole it. It now doubtless rests in some secret US goverment repository - filed under A for Ark right next to Indiana Jones' Ark of the Covenant.

Micah Spradling, Texas Tech student, needed a recommendation for his post-graduate studies in prosthetics and orthotics but felt unable to comply  (NYT registration required) with a professor of biology's stricture that students "truthfully and forthrightly affirm a scientific answer" on the origin of the human species. Spradling, a creationist, felt he could not compromise his religious faith by doing so. The professor, a Dr Dini, has written, quite understandably, "The central, unifying principle of biology is the theory of evolution. How can someone who does not accept the most important theory in biology expect to properly practice in a field that is so heavily based on biology?" Recommendation was not forthcoming under the circumstances and now the Liberty Legal Institute , a group of Christian lawyers, has initiated legal action on behalf of Spradling, treating this as a "religious freedom case". 80 wonders whether their definition of "religious freedom" involves the right not to subscribe to biblical fairy stories. Spradling himself revealed that his legal knowledge of the constitutional separation of church and state was on a par with his evolutionary learning with the irrelevant and somehow pathetic statement "They've taken prayer out of schools and the Ten Commandments out of courtrooms, so I thought I had an opportunity to make a difference." Maybe you have, Spradling, maybe you have, but it is not the kind of difference that the US education system can be at all proud of. 

(Update to the above - here is a good, detailed look at this sorry situation from Chris Mooney at CSICOP)

Amazing News - James Randi's 1995 book "An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds and
Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural" is now available in its entirety on the web! On the subject of Randi do look here at his latest Commentary - a weekly fix of sanity and humor. 

A recent report is claimed to show that large numbers of folk consider the internet a primary source of information. Despite this "only 52.8 percent of Internet users found most or all of the information online to be credible in 2002, down from 58 percent in 2001, and 55 percent in 2000." This merely confirms that "news" items such as Pravda's Ark story and this piece of tosh on Sodom and Gomorrah from Ark Discovery, like so much else on the internet, need to be taken with a very large pillar of salt.

And finally, for those who cannot shake their addiction to sugary drinks but feel the need to make a statement, look here, and if you want to know what the stuff tastes like without endangering your tooth enamel, click here.

Penn & Teller, (website) up there with the very best stage illusionists, have a confrontational style all of their own and little patience with peddlers of claptrap of all kinds. The title of their new TV show makes this abundantly evident - Penn and Teller: Bullshit. In a series liberally sprinkled with profanity the intrepid pair take on and hilariously destroy various irrational and thoroughly deserving targets such as alien abductions, communicating with the dead, fortune tellers and, to be honest, "anyone with faith in anything they can't see, hear or prove." Teller says in The Star Ledger, "There's a lot of rage pent up in us for people who take what is our art form, deception, and use it to give people bad information about our world." The one episode 80 has managed to catch so far, on Showtime cable, was excellent and featured, amongst others, David (Beware the Lizard Dynasty) Icke, whom 80 has looked at previously. In short, if you have access to Showtime cable, this is a must see. Let's hope it will be more widely aired. 

Oz Apparition - this could be an excuse for puns galore but 80 shall exercise uncharacteristic restraint - apart from Bathers, Sun, and Holy Post. Yes, the devout and perceptually challenged have a fresh sighting of their favorite delusion. The Virgin Mary has popped up on an Australian beach and is attracting awed crowds of the simple. Never one to repeat a trick, having done tortillas, road signs, chapatis (see Glance - The Miracle of Saint Rorschach) the mother of God has now decided to appear as, if you squint a little, and hold you head just so, whilst mumbling through your rosary beads, a fence post. This resident of Coogee, site of the miracle, was quoted by The Daily Telegraph, "It was fantastic, just unbelievable," she said. "Some people see her, some don't. I just want to sit here and look at her." On a saner note an English tourist said this after seeing the throng of believers "I haven't seen anything, I was standing here for ages before I realised what was going on. I thought someone had slipped off the rocks or something." Mmm, "Slipped off the rocks" is doubtless a new euphemism for faith-based gullibilty. The Australian Skeptics have already received nominations citing the holy post's adherents for this year's Bent Spoon award. Finally, Natalie Wyazbek of South Sydney quoted in The Age  "I think it is amazing that so many people are gathered in one spot to see her." A statement which is wrong by only one word - strike out amazing and insert ludicrous. 

Update - The Virgin gets smashed........

St Valentine's Day, February 14th - Although this saint is no longer honored by the Roman Catholic church he is held in very high regard by other organizations with much more clout - such as greetings card manufacturers, florists and gift shops. But who was Valentine - did such a person even exist? Oddly enough there seems to have been a few Valentines - even if they were not exactly a dime-a-dozen. There was the one martyred by the Moors in 715 CE (he had two sisters with intriguing names, Fructus and Engratia). Another was bishop of Rhaetia and died, rather boringly for an early saint, of natural causes, circa 470 CE. Yet another was martyred in circa 305 CE, about whom nothing else is known. The next two are the ones generally connected with February 14th and possibly may even be one and the same saint. The first is known as Valentine of Terni, Italy, and is described as an "evangelist, miracle worker and healer". Whatever his supposed gifts they did not endear him to a Roman prefect with the oxymoronic moniker Placidus Furius, who had him imprisoned, tortured and beheaded. The last Valentine, Valentine of Rome, is the best documented and most likely to be our man. A priest or possibly a bishop in Rome in the mid 200s, he was imprisoned for aiding jailed martyrs and later beaten and beheaded, circa 269 CE, on the Via Flaminia, which is also where Valentine of Terni got his. His feast day is likely a christianization of an existing pagan celebratory day (possibly Lupercalia), a common practice with the early church - no need for folk to lose a holiday, just change the name and carry on as usual. His responsibilties go far beyond the well-known romantic ones, as his brief also covers things as diverse as beekeepers, epilepsy, plague, travellers and fainting - which must keep him pretty busy. He is represented by such charming images as "bishop being beheaded" or "bishop with a crippled child at his feet" or, more happily, birds and roses. 80 would like to take this opportunity to reassure all incurable romantics that there is no truth in the rumor that Valentine is to replaced by the dynamic duo of Saint Hallmark and Saint Interflora.  

Valentine Fatwa - February 14th is not much of a date to celebrate for author Salman Rushdie, for it was on this day in 1989 that the Ayatollah Khomeini, hardline clerical leader of Iran, put out a murder warrant on him. The reason? He and other fanatics objected to Rushdie's book The Satanic Verses - a tome they are unlikely to have read. This was on the grounds the book was " against Islam, the Prophet and the Koran...". It seems a strange deity that needs humans to kill on its behalf. In 1998 the new president withdrew state backing for the fatwa but that notwithstanding there is still a threat to Rushdie's life from hardliners. Here is some background to the whole barbaric business from the American Atheists, and here is a site devoted to a brave voice amongst the clamor, Islamic Skepticism.

Visit the Darwin Day Program web site to find out about this international celebration of science and humanity.

"Darwin Day is February 12th, the date of birth of Charles Darwin in the year 1809, at Shrewsbury, England. On this date, and throughout the month, people from all over the world are honoring the life, work and influence of Charles Darwin with events and activities which celebrate humanity and the science in our lives."

As an example of sloppy and poor reporting of Darwin Day this piece in The Washington Times is hard to beat with such ridiculous statements as "the naturalist's theory that men evolved from apes" (men and apes share a common ancestor) and "...everything evolves, or changes, over thousands of years in order to survive against enemies...". Does this indicate the level of the writer's own ignorance or a clumsy and condescending attempt at dumbing down? Whichever it is, such misinterpretation provides fuel to creationists by effectively using their own language. For example a Genesis literalist is quoted in the same article referring to "...ape creatures turning into people.." Many may think such misrepresentation is not important with things like worldwide terrorism and the pending attack on Iraq to worry about. Let Steve Jones in a quote from the UK Guardian answer that one " If you look at Africa, US fundamentalism, and the Muslim world, you realise evolution supporters are outnumbered by creationists. Yet these are people who have deliberately chosen to be ignorant. They are flat-Earthers without the sophistication. We need a Darwin Day to counter that ignorance." 

Hey psst! Wanna take some speed? Then join the USAF! This article from Wired tells how the use of dextro-amphetamine to maintain pilot's alertness beyond the normal fatigue barrier flies in the face of warnings from the Drug Enforcement Agency ,whose list of potential side effects is enough to give anyone the willies. Whilst the airforce states the use of speed is voluntary the refusal to take it can result in removal from flight status. The official view that the use of such drugs presents no danger is surely pseudoscience of the most pernicious kind when you consider the destructive potential of a modern warplane in the hands of a pilot with drug-impaired judgement. Such use is already being cited as the cause of a tragic "friendly fire" accident involving the deaths of Canadian troops in Afghanistan. Funny, this guy certainly doesn't look like a drug pusher.

Blithely Unaware of the irony involved in the whole exercise the Vatican has recently released a report on New Age practices entitled "Jesus Christ, Bearer of Living Water. A Christian Reflection on the 'New Age'". Cardinal Paul Poupard, president of Pontifical Council for Culture had this to say "The phenomenon of the New Age, together with so many other new religious movements, is one of the most urgent challenges for the Christian faith. It is a question of a religious challenge and at the same time a cultural one: the New Age proposes theories and doctrines about God, man and the world, that are incompatible with the Christian faith. In addition, the New Age is both the symptom of a culture in deep crisis and the wrong answer to this situation of cultural crisis: to its restlessness and its questions, to its aspirations and hopes." To the cynical eye this sounds like "we are worried that folk are now believing in new irrational drivel instead of our superior old irrational drivel". There is an interesting phrase used in a column on the subject in the UK Guardian "New Age thinking, inspired by eastern philosophies and religions.." As opposed to Christianity? Which is of course a product of near eastern religions and philosophies - and therefore so much more believable. 

Sometimes a Cyclops is..... just a Cyclops and an elephant is just an elephant. In what seems like a desperate search for literalism (and a snappy headline) the skull of an extinct elephant-like beastie, Deinotherium Gigantisimum, recently unearthed in Crete, has been claimed as a possible inspiration for the mythical one-eyed giants, the Cyclopes mentioned in Homer's Odyssey and elsewhere. Poor old Polyphemus and his bretheren do not need heavy-handed rationalization in this way. Surely the suggestion of sea-going elephants colonizing Europe 7 million years ago is amazing enough without gratuitous reference to mythology.

February 21st 2003

Mock Methusalehs - here is an interesting piece of skeptical investigative journalism from Mark Honigsbaum in the UK Guardian. The Valley of Vilcabamba, Ecuador has long been celebrated for the amazing longevity of its inhabitants. Many explanations involving diet and climate have been offered for this but perhaps something  more straightforward lies behind the  record number of apparent centenarians in the area.

Lies, Damned Lies.......and census results? Norwich, Norfolk, England threw up a surprising result in the UK 2001 census figures. The Times newspaper reports that the city is "the atheist capital of Britain" after nearly one in three peopled checked the "no religion box" on the census form. Commentators on this state of affairs range from the local bishop to the member of parliament for the area, each putting their own spin on the results. A spokesman for The National Secular Society was somewhat bemused "It is mystifying that there should be more atheists in that part of the world than anywhere else. We have only 15 members in Norwich." Another oddity from this same census was the number of folk, 390,000 who stated their religion was the Jedi faith, of Starwars fame. This was in the mistaken belief, circulated by email, that if a certain critical number of Jedi adherents were to declare themselves the "religion" would have to be officially recognized.

Alien Abductee Stress is real says a report from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Those individuals who "have a tendency to believe in fantasies and suffer disturbing experiences in their sleep" are so convinced of their experiences that they exhibit traumatic stress symptoms as real and debilitating as those of combat veterans. This, in 80's view, only makes the so-called therapists that pump abduction drivel into the heads of their distressed patients all the more despicable. On a somewhat related note Michael Shermer's latest piece in Scientific American is Demon-Haunted Brain, subtitled "If the brain mediates all experience, then paranormal phenomena are nothing more than neuronal events".

New Age Gibberish creeps in all over the place these days. This is from an online ad for Qwest "Qwest is fully committed to energizing the Spirit of Service at the heart of our heritage." Oh good grief......... 
 

Update - Here is a review of the Penn & Teller Bullshit show, now running on Showtime, mentioned last week. 80 caught the latest episode on health scams and con artists, focussing on magnet therapy, reflexology and that classic, chiropractic. P & T take no prisoners and give the practitioners of these "treatments" what for. An added bonus was contributions from Robert Park (What's New) and Stephen Barrett (Quackwatch). If you have access to US cable this is not to be missed - failing that, bully your local station to run this breath of profanity-laced fresh air.

February 28th 2003

Take This Tablet - with a large pinch of salt. In a Past View (Remnant Spam Tablet) 80 looked at the so-called Temple Tablet of King Jehoash of Judah, claimed by some as independent evidence of events chronicled in the Old Testament, including the existence of Solomon's temple. It was noted that there was a good deal of doubt regarding the authenticity of the inscription on palaeographic and linguistic grounds. Now it would seem that the material of the tablet itself and the apparently authentic patination thereon are capable of duplication, according to this detailed piece from The Bible and Interpretation website by Yuval Goren of Tel-Aviv University - the words "clever" and "forgery" spring to mind. As if that was not enough the inscription is comprehensively shredded in an article from the same site by Rochelle Altmann, who also pointed out the discrepancies in the language and lettering on the "James Ossuary". The tablet and the ossuary show how vigilant archaeologists must be against, on the one hand, forgers out for profit and, on the other, those who crave any evidence, no matter how dodgy, to shore up their religious beliefs.

Amazing Meeting - The latest Commentary from James Randi is as informative and entertaining as ever - it also contains a link to Larry Thornton's site which amongst many other good things has a detailed report on The Amazing Meeting, held at the end of January in Florida. This is full of enjoyable stuff with many links to other sites as well as giving a taste of the atmosphere at the gathering. One bonus therein is a link to an interview with Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller fame, extracted from a two-part article in The Onion talking with both illusionists - well worth a read. (See below for an item on P & Ts new, skeptical TV show.)

Flipper MD - here is an item from the BBC about the "alternative" medical practice called Dolphin Therapy  (scroll down). It looks at the plight that parents find themselves in if their child suffers from a serious condition that is untreatable with the current level of medical knowledge. Often they are reduced to clutching at straws - and Dolphin Therapy seems to be one such straw. Great benefits have been claimed but it is hard to distinguish these from wishful thinking. The therapists featured in the BBC article seem to stay away from the loonier claims of "dolphin energy" that can be found elsewhere but do claim to be effective in treating an astounding range of conditions - at a good price. Others offer unsubstantiated fuzzy statements such as "Dolphins offer unconditional love with nothing in return" Quite what the dolphins gain from all this is unknown - as is whether they are in fact harmed by such human contacts.

Tears for Fears - The Bangladeshi city of Chittagong is all agog with the news that a statue of the Virgin Mary has begun to weep tears. Whilst such oozing sculptures are common in countries with a Roman Catholic heritage it is most unusual in a predominantly muslim country such as Bangladesh. Many attribute the phenomenon to the Virgin's sadness at the recent violence that has erupted in the area. Tears on a statue seems an insultingly trivial reaction to matters of such genuine concern - perhaps more likely she is crying at the destruction of her Australian fence post.

March 6th 2003

Baghdad Battery - Anyone reading those words at the moment could be forgiven for thinking of anti-aircraft guns around Iraq's capital but in fact they refer to a mysterious artifact which may possibly be the world's first electrical device. Hailed by some as an example of Out Of Place ARTifactS (see Past View - OOPARTS Evilution Geode) - something so anachronistic that aliens or lost technological civilizations have to be involved, the truth is still interesting and puzzling. This recent article takes a good look at the artifact(s) found near Baghdad in the 1930's, consisting of a small (125mm) clay jar containing an iron rod encased in a copper cylinder. Using a weak acid such as vinegar as an electrolyte solution and a stopper made of locally available bitumen this device could have functioned as a battery, and, if linked together in series may just produce enough power for electroplating, although no one has managed to duplicate this, despite claims to the contrary. The fact that no traces of wires have been found also does not bode well for that idea. No other examples have turned up and even the story of their original finding is inconsistent. Mysterious they may be, but they are made of materials available at the time and place of their construction, generally dated to around 200 BCE - which falls in the Hellenistic Period when scientific enquiry and technology flowered, and need no spacemen or alternative history fantasizing.

No Honor in Killing - this article from BBC News about a revolting and barbaric practice, this time in Jordan, is sadly one of many on the subject. What is honor killing? ""Honour" killings of women can be defined as acts of murder in which "a woman is killed for her actual or perceived immoral behavior." (Yasmeen Hassan, "The Fate of Pakistani Women," International Herald Tribune, May 25, 1999.) Such "immoral behavior" may take the form of marital infidelity, refusing to submit to an arranged marriage, demanding a divorce, flirting with or receiving phone calls from men, failing to serve a meal on time, or -- grotesquely -- "allowing herself" to be raped. This description is from the Gendercide Watch web page and shows the violence towards women in many cultures lousy with "patriarchal" religion and standards. The page singles out Pakistan, Jordan, Palestine/Israel and The Balkans as places where this murderous behavior is prevalent but it is not restricted to them. Despite protestations many countries still have laws which allow this horror to continue - Jordan for instance. The UN estimates as many as 5000 women and girls a year are killed in this way by their own fathers and brothers, aided and abetted by other family members. It is through the actions of organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch that these crimes are exposed - governments seem to be largely ineffective or even uncaring.

Militant Agnostic - "I don't know and you don't either." This is a phrase you may well have seen around- according to this Google search it crops up a lot. One sighting was in a column written by Oregon Senator Tony Corcoran, about a bid to put the Ten Commandments on display in school classrooms. Corcoran's comment was "I’m uncomfortable with the mix of religion and politics, …so I’m a militant agnostic… like the bumper sticker says, "I don’t know, AND YOU DON’T EITHER!" If anyone knows the origin of this phrase please let 80 know. A roundup of information on the push to have these ancient religious rules placed in modern schools can be seen here from the ACLU and this page asks "Which Ten Commandments?", a question which has some surprising answers. The only thing in favor of the Ten Commandments is perhaps their relative brevity, compared to say, the 282 of Hammurabi, although the latter's provenance is far better historically attested.

Stevolution - Following a talk entitled "Scientific Ignorance as a Way of Life: From Science Fiction in Washington to Intelligent Design in the Classroom." by Lawrence Krauss a statement was issued by over 200 scientists called Steve which begins "Evolution is a vital, well-supported, unifying principle of the biological sciences, and the scientific evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of the idea that all living things share a common ancestry." That this still needs saying is a sign of widespread and, in some cases wilful, ignorance and the statement is a jocular response to the practice of creationists of issuing lists of scientists who can't get their heads around evolution. Steven Weinberg, Nobel Prize laureate, had this to say " Of course science isn't decided by manifesto; this statement pokes fun at such efforts. If you want to know whether scientists accept evolution, you should look in the scientific literature. There you find that evolution is alive and well, as a central and unifying principle of science." Find out more on Project Steve at the National Center for Science Education, a nonprofit organization dedicated to defending the teaching of evolution in the public schools.

How to sell a dangerous substance? - Don't call it a drug, call it a health supplement. That way you can avoid most of the testing and regulation with which regular drugs have to comply. Such is the case with ephedra, associated with the death of a 23 year-old US baseball pitcher (NYT registration required). He took the substance in an attempt to shed weight whilst spring training. Ephedra has been banned by the National Football League, the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the International Olympic Committee but not by many other professional sport organizations. This, and other doubtful supplements are available through health food stores, not just in the US, where industry lobbying allowed them to remain unregulated, but elswhere in the world - take a look at your local "health" food store. For more info see this and this from Quackwatch.

March 9th 2003

Depressing Figure - A recent Gallup poll, quoted in this piece (registration required) from the New York Times by Nicholas D Kristof puts the percentage of Americans who described themselves as born-again or evangelical Christians as 46 per cent. This figure is left floating on its own in the article as we are not told the size or area of the sample polled - but if accurate it is no great cause for celebration. If that wasn't concern enough Kristof throws in some more statistics that show the uphill struggle that scientific, rational and humanist thinking has in the world's most powerful nation "A new Gallup poll shows that 48 percent of Americans believe in creationism, and only 28 percent in evolution (most of the rest aren't sure or lean toward creationism). According to recent Gallup Tuesday briefings, Americans are more than twice as likely to believe in the devil (68 percent) as in evolution." The main thrust of the piece is that whilst one may not (and Kristof doesn't) agree with the influence of such religionists on politics and thereby legislation and education he says that "mockery of religious faith is inexcusable". He also drags Enstein in for a quotation "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind." On this subject 80 much prefers the company of Mark Twain "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?"

One Nation Without God? - This is the challenging title of a conference organized by The Council for Secular Humanism scheduled for April 11, 12, and 13, in Washington, DC. You can find out more by clicking here for details and registration. There is a packed program of events with many subjects of great interest - Who Fans the Flames of Hatred? Religious-Political Extremism in America, Will Islam Come into the 21st Century? Secularization of Islamic Societies and Spreading the Gospel with Your Buck - Faith-Based Initiatives, to mention just three. Speakers include Christopher Hitchens, Paul Kurtz, Massimo Pigliucci, Eugenie C. Scott and many others.

Update - On a related note see this from CNN,  A federal appeals court Friday rejected the Bush administration's request to reconsider its decision that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional because of the phrase "under God."
 
Tasteless Telegrams - maybe. Afterlife Telegrams is a new service described thus "For a fee of $5 per word (5 word minimum), our customers can have a telegram delivered to someone who has passed away. This is done with the help of terminally ill volunteers who memorize the telegrams before passing away, and then deliver the telegrams after they have passed away. We call this an "afterlife telegram". The first thought is, are these people serious? Cleverly they do have a disclaimer "Since we can not guarantee delivery nor prove that a message has been delivered successfully, our customers do not pay for "deliveries". They pay for "delivery attempts". So if you either have more money than sense or are just plain old gullible cut along to Afterlife Telegrams and give them your cash. Alternatively follow the links there to The Stickman Murder Mysteries...................

Lutraphobia - if you can think of it you can bet someone has a phobia about it - or at least a psychiatrist has coined a word for it. What sort of "it" might we be talking about? Well have a look at The Indexed Phobia List and take your pick. Why didn't the chicken cross the road? Answer - Dromophobia. What happens to fundamentalist christians come October 31st? Answer - Samhainophobia. Some are so weird and irrational one wonders what strange case revealed such fears, for example Automatonophobia - fear of wax statues (sounds like an old Vincent Price movie). Others seem so obvious (at least to this observer) Fear of theology - Theologicophobia, (this is more of a loathing surely) and Fear of Nuclear Weapons - Nucleomituphobia (except for North Koreans and the bunker-busters in the Pentagon.) This one is a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy - Fear of Long Words - Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia. And the phobia that opened this ramble, that insidious chilling threat leading to cold sweats, shaking and unreasoning, blind panic? Lutraphobia is the fear of otters.

March 13th 2003

Half Measures - the recent death of a baseball pitcher, Steve Bechler, once again brought attention to bear on the way potentially dangerous drugs, such as ephedra, can be packaged as "dietary supplements" thereby avoiding clinical testing and legislation. (see - How to sell a dangerous substance?). Now the US Food and Drug Administration has announced  new rules for such supplements. Sadly the changes will not enlighten consumers as to whether the these substances are injurious or even effective. They refer to the level of contaminants (which have been reported as including bacteria, glass, pesticides, and lead) and also the quantity of active ingredient, which can vary greatly from that shown on the label. Many feel this is far too little and far too late in the way of regulation of this booming industry. One pharmacologist quoted in the SF Chronicle described the current situation as a "madhouse". The article goes on to state "In a study three years ago, he found that half the brand-name ephedra products differed from label strengths by at least 20 percent. Some had other drugs that should have been on the label, and some had heavy metals." In case you think this is a problem solely in the US check out ephedra and other supplements in a search engine to see how available they are in your country - you may well be surprised.

Veterinarian Confidential - in an otherwise sad piece about a spate of mysterious deaths amongst the inmates of the prestigious Washington National Zoo there is one of those odd quotes, that leave one mentally gasping. It also comes near the top of any bizarre list of evasions and excuses that one may wish to compile. "The zoo has admitted that the two pandas died after eating rat poison, but has refused to release post mortem reports on the causes of other deaths, saying the animals have a confidential doctor/patient relationship that protects their privacy." For once 80, like the Norwegian Blue, is stunned into silence...............

Profit After Life - In a jamboree of bad taste, money-grubbing, publicity-seeking tomfoolery this Sunday, March 9th is the date set for a seance to contact Diana, Princess of Wales on pay-per-view cable. The Master of Ceremonies is actor Patrick Macnee, better known as John Steed from cult tv series The Avengers. Aiding and abetting in this repulsive little moneyspinner are, amongst others, Craig and Jane Hamilton-Parker, a "psychic" husband and wife team that 80 has looked at before and will again. (Particularly as they threaten (please no!) a TV Psychic Channel) Their webpage trails the seance show as "the USA's hottest show" Also appearing are Simone Simmons, described as "Psychic healer and one of Diana’s closest friends and confidantes." and Penny Thornton, "personal Astrologist to Diana for 6 years." Top winner of the striking names award in this line-up must surely go to former nun and mid-wife, Oonagh Shanley-Toffolo who was apparently "healer and acupuncturist to the Princess." Shanley-Toffolo certainly has a way with diagnostic terms. Upon meeting Diana she noticed that "the whole landscape of the body was in depletion." according to this gushingly uncritical puff about her from Shelley Ackerman. Ackerman herself has a nice line in imagery, describing Shanley-Toffolo as having "elements of Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman and Maria Von Trapp." She also has this striking description of an acupuncture session with S-T, "I’ve personally levitated off the table after being "needled" by her." 80 can quite understand such a reaction....As for the seance, it would seem that just the same as when she was alive, assorted charlatans, quacks and peddlers of claptrap are still battening onto Diana, Princess of Wales and doubtlessly doing very well out of the association. A final thought is, surrounded by such psychically-gifted and astrologically-versed individuals as she supposedly was, how come not a single one of them was able to warn Diana of her impending fatal car crash? You would think Penny Thornton in particular might be somewhat ashamed to have missed such a thing when checking her client's stars, although it has not stopped her hawking her nonsense.

(Update - this email from Shelley Ackerman clarifies Oonagh Shanley-Toffolo's role in the above, which was not as promoted or advertised.)


Appeal to Science - In 1992, in the Indian city of Ayodhya a 16th century mosque was torn to the ground by a mob who believed the mosque had displaced the ruins of a temple that enshrined the birthplace of the Hindu god Ram. The subsequent rioting killed more than 2000 people across India. According to this article from BBC news a court has now ordered the Archaeological Survey of India to dig the site to ascertain what structure, if any, predated the mosque. This could be applauded as an appeal to science and reason but where religion and fanaticism is concerned the findings of archaeologists will take a back seat. There is always room to dispute the interpretation of whatever is found - archaeology, and indeed all science, can only give us probabilities, of smaller or greater weight. It is religion and politics that lay claim to certainty. Both the Hindu and Muslim factions in Ayodhya and elsewhere in India already know the answers to everything - pity the poor archaeologists caught in the middle.

The Palace of the End - it is worth taking a moment to read this article by Martin Amis in the UK Guardian on the imminent war against Iraq, its rationalization and ramifications.
"The coming assault on Iraq may perhaps be the Last War of the Ottoman Succession; it will certainly be the first War of the Age of Proliferation - the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction."

A Devil's Chaplain - here is a review by Kenan Malik originally in the UK Sunday Telegraph of Richard Dawkins' latest book. One quote is reminiscent of Nicholas Kristof's piece mentioned below "We can't question Dawkins' rationalism, many people feel, but does he really have to be so upfront about it? Does he have to be quite so rude about religion or nasty about alternative medicine?" Yes he certainly does, as the reviewer acknowledges in the last paragraph which is worth quoting in full "There are many issues on which I disagree with Dawkins, and there are times when his fixations lead him astray. But in an age in which the British Prime Minister takes part in New Age ceremonies, and the American President blocks medical advances because of his reading of the Bible, an obsessive concern with reason seems to me to be a virtue not a vice. We could do with a few more obsessives like him."

(If you purchase a book through the Amazon links below the Number 80 website benefits)

March 18th 2003

Pro Fact - Anti-abortion activists may have many reasons for opposing the procedure, most, but not all, religious.They have also also tried to use scaremongering tactics by claiming there is a link between abortion and the increased risk of breast cancer. Now a press release from the US National Cancer Institute lists findings from an Early Reproductive Events and Breast Cancer Workshop.The last two items in the list of "population-based findings in the report that were presented as supported by evidence that was well-established" are as follows - Induced abortion is not associated with an increase in breast cancer risk. and - Recognized spontaneous abortion is not associated with an increase in breast cancer risk. Now the inaccurately named "pro-life" groups will have to try and find some other medical objections that will withstand scientific scrutiny.

Crewed Entertainment? - latest from the world of "reality" TV, a new show, The Ark, is being launched. The producers describe their intentions thus "We're trying to popularise theology, using the Big Brother format to bring these fascinating Biblical characters to life and introduce them to a whole new generation." (Well, you only have to look how well these fairy stories have served preceding generations to see what a great idea this is.) Promoted as a sort of biblical "Big Brother" the show features 12 strangers thrown together on the Ark for 40 days and 40 nights, who will while away the time with games, challenges and discussions - and caring for the animals on board. The crew, numbering among them Bathsheba, Eve and Sampson will get the chance of voting off a shipmate every fourth day. As a method of promoting Christianity to "seasoned gamers - the sort of people who might be very sniffy about picking up a Bible.", this vessel seems not so much an Ark and rather more of a scow.

Patently Absurd - This may be old news but 80 had not heard of an original new game show format that has been submitted to the US Patent Office. Here is the description taken from the patent application "A child adoption proceeding is conducted in the form of a television game show and online media event, wherein couples compete against each other to win legal custody of the child. Adoptive parents are selected using a vote-by-phone and/or Internet voting scheme, together with 24-hour surveillance of the prospective parents, which enables television viewers and Internet users to inspect prospective parent-contestants in detail before voting for the winning parents. The present invention overcomes inequities of state-run or private adoption agencies, permitting a fairer selection process while providing greater time and access to observe a pool of prospective parents." This is "reality" TV of the worst kind in that it suggests turning what should be a sensitive and careful process into a media circus. The attempt to justify such an idea as anything but a mercenary and cynical scheme is just unbelievable. The thought of subjecting children up for adoption and their prospective parents to a sordid little quiz show is callous in the extreme and demonstrates a complete disregard for the emotions of all parties during what can be a traumatic and stressful experience. Who dreamed up this snappy little idea and felt that it merited patent protection? The application states that the inventor is one Geller, Uri (Berkshire, GB). 80 finds it amazing that there must be two people with such a distinctive name living in the same English county - for surely it is patently absurd that such a repulsive scheme could have been dreamed up by psychic, spoonbender and benefactor of humankind Uri Geller.........could it? (It does not seem to be in his list of inventions - scroll down- on his web site. Thanks to HotAIR for the heads-up.)

Imaginary Xenoglossy - Documents recently released by the UK Public Records Office reveal a quandary faced by the Ministry of Defence back in 1972 when the Royal Air Force was invited to take part in a BBC TV show on UFOs. It was the problem of appearing to give credence to the tales of aliens and their strangely elusive spacecraft - yet to refuse would feed the fantasies and egos of the conspiracy nuts. They did eventually take part - and yes, they attracted the attentions of at least one crank whose recollection of the show would appear to have been greatly at variance with the reality. "........the star performer of the evening was a gentleman who, if my memory is not at fault, holds a government certificate of proficiency in the more exotic branches of xenoglossy and speaks fluent Uranian or Plutonian." he wrote in a letter to the ministry. Sadly and unsurprisingly the authorities were unable to lay their hands on anyone adept in speaking those languages.

Do You Feel Lucky? - Psychologist Richard Wiseman along with the British Association for the Advancement of Science is conducting an online survey to find out how superstitous we are. To take part go to The Luck Project web site ( before you start the actual survey it is worth taking a couple of moments to learn more about the project, which has been running since 1994, and find out whether you can change your luck for the better). A BBC page on the psychology of superstition survey invites your comments which are posted on the page - and interesting reading they make. Some are surprisingly ignorant, "There's more to humans than we are able to comprehend. After all, half of our brain isn't used so what's the other half for?" That particular correspondent can only be using half of his/her brain to believe that old chestnut. (Anyway isn't it supposed to be 10%?) More in line with 80's sympathies is this "Since science is considered to be hard and boring the result is a culture of people who have little knowledge in science and their lack of knowledge leaves them vulnerable to con artists and superstition which is used to fill the void."

March 25th 2003

Thespian Passion - A while ago 80 pointed out that "Just because someone is gifted as an actor, singer or dancer does not automatically imply that they have wisdom or knowledge in other fields - they may indeed do so but it should not be assumed purely because of their celebrity". Now actor Mel Gibson is building his own church with a view to returning to the old values of Roman Catholicism - traditional or fundamentalist style, before it was corrupted by the reforms of the 1960's. One such reform was to discard the idea that the Jews were responsible for the Crucifixion. Where does Gibson get his "back to the roots" catholicism with its implicit anti-semitic stance? From his holocaust-denying dad it would appear from this article. Dad Gibson also has some unusual theories about who was behind the September 11th atrocities too, claiming the airliners involved were flown not by al-Qaeda but by "remote control"- not that Mel is known to support that particular delusion. Gibson junior's new movie, The Passion, about the last 12 hours of Jesus is being filmed in Latin and Aramaic with no subtitles - that should aid comprehension, especially where the Jews shout out before Pilate "His blood be on us, and on our children." (Matt. Chap.27 Verse 25). At least the average audience will not understand this vile calumny that has led to 2000 years of persecution. (A minor point but if Pilate talked without interpreters to Jesus or the mob it is unlikely he spoke Latin or they spoke Aramaic - they would most likely have used a Greek lingua franca known as koine. After enduring Braveheart and The Patriot, two earlier efforts, it would seem to 80 that historical authenticity is not high on Gibson's list of priorities.)

Ike Clone - Michael Shermer's latest piece in Scientific American is on the subject of cloning. He suggests as a rational antidote to a blanket ban of the technology based upon ignorance and fear, that there should be 3 Laws of Cloning analogous to Isaac Asimov's 3 Laws of Robotics. On the way there he takes the time to demolish the 3 most common myths promulgated by clone opponents. Recommended - as is the latest Commentary from James Randi featuring Bin Laden in the bible and the return of the Russian teenager with "eyeless vision", the first ever repeat applicant for the JREF million dollar prize.

Ho-Hum - Frightening quote of the week comes from the BBC's Washington correspondent, Justin Webb,  "The Bush administration hums to the sound of prayer. Prayer meetings take place day and night." 

Piscatory Prophet - Everybody by now has surely heard of the carp that, before its gefilte fish destiny, shouted out in Hebrew. This has led to a Jewish sect claiming it was the voice of God, although others think the fish was channeling a recently deceased community elder. There were only two witnesses to this outburst, one a Gentile worker and his Hasidic co-worker who interpreted the utterances as Hebrew. This did not deter either man from his work, miracle or no miracle, as this quote from the UK Observer makes clear. "The animated carp commanded Rosen to pray and study the Torah. Rosen tried to kill the fish but injured himself. It was finally butchered by Nivelo and sold." A local resident had this to say " It is very rare that God reminds people he exists in this modern world. But when he does, you cannot ignore it." This can only lead 80 to wonder when God, the Virgin Mary, and various saints deign to manifest themselves to us mortals why do they choose such trivial means - a fencepost, a chapati, a tortilla - and now a dead fish? Miracles ain't what they used to be....... (thanks Brian C)

If your irrational superstitions tend towards snakes rather than fish do take a look here.

Clone Law Lords - There has been a setback in the UK for the misleadingly named Pro-Life Alliance. The House of Lords (an unelected upper chamber of the government) has rejected a challenge to the laws that allow therapeutic cloning. This type of cloning holds great promise in the repair of damaged organs and also treatment of Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's. A mouthpiece for the Pro-Life Alliance (or pro-death if you suffer from the debilitating diseases mentioned above) had this to say "Cloning is wrong because it involves the experimentation and destruction of early human life." Expect the Alliance to mount a legal challenge to God for allowing the carnage known as "spontaneous abortion." (It is estimated that up to 50% of all fertilized eggs die and are lost (aborted) spontaneously, usually before the woman knows she is pregnant.)

Wrap Rap - The president of Lithuania should be concentrating on his country's pending membership of Nato and the European Union - instead he is having to defend his relationship with a Georgian mystic, Lena Lolisvili, who has a novel form of treatment for what ails you. She uses her powers to "energise" toilet paper which she then wraps around the patient - whether it is quilted or moistened or just the plain regular tissue we are not told. Also God tells her the future - she apparently foretold president Rolandas Paksas' success in elections. In this mainly Roman Catholic country Paksas has attracted flak from the head of the church there, Cardinal Audrys Backis, who pulled no punches calling Lolisvili a "false prophet" and "a wolf in sheep's clothing" and has said "this is clearly the work of the devil." Nothing like the traditional old gobbledegook resenting a newcomer.

April 1st 2003

Soundbitten - A man very much in the public eye at the moment, Donald Rumsfeld, US Secretary of Defence, has his own unique way with the English language, its structure and grammar, so it is noteworthy when he chooses to use someone else's words to express his philosophy. The quote in question is "You get a lot more with a kind word and a gun than you do with a kind word alone." This has echoes of Theodore Roosevelt's maxim "Speak softly and carry a big stick" which Teddy apparently borrowed from a West African proverb. But what is the source of Rumsfeld's quotation? Is it an earlier statesman like Roosevelt? Perhaps a twist on a borrowed proverb? No the man who provided the inspiration for Rumsfeld was none other than racketeer and gangster, Al Capone. Perhaps in the future he should choose his sources with more care. On the subject of quotations here is a good one from that paragon of virtue and straight-dealing, Henry Kissinger, "Of all the despots I've had to deal with, none was more ruthless than Donald Rumsfeld."
For aficionados of Rumsfeld's original use of grammar and syntax BBC Radio's Broadcasting House has assembled an inspirational collection of their Donald Rumsfeld Soundbite of the Week.

Food of the Gods - Not wanting to be outdone by the New York fish talking in Hebrew, it is reported that the vegetable kingdom has struck back - the name of Allah, written in Urdu, has appeared, outlined in the seeds of an aubergine/eggplant. This latest food based miracle is reported from India where a woman sliced open the vegetable to see the script within - it is now on display in the local mosque. Fascinating though this wondrous event may be it is not original. In 1996 in Bolton, England an aubergine was claimed to contain the phrase "Allah exists". Althought the ultimate fate of the Indian version is unknown the Bolton version was eventually sliced up and "shared amongst the faithful". If you look at this page you will find even more wonderful aubergines, tomatoes, a potato, a melon, and yes, a fish. Although this fish is not reported as speaking and merely sports the name of the deity on its flank at least in a Muslim community it is most unlikely to be turned into gefilte fish as was its New York cousin. (80 is now busy researching the origins of the phrase "Holy Mackerel")

Weapons and Gardens - Here are a couple of items from New Scientist that throw a different light upon aspects of the ongoing war in Iraq. The first looks at how vital it is for the coalition forces to find and expose the so-called "weapons of mass destruction" that precipitated the military action in the first place. They have special inspectors who will be racing to find such weapons - assuming that they aren't used at some stage and thereby reveal themselves. The remark "Failure to find the weapons would be highly damaging." is somewhat of an understatement. The second article looks at the threat to Iraq's unique archaeological sites, which include remains of some of the most ancient cities on the planet. It is very likely that the Iraqis will place weaponry on and within such sites using them as "cultural shields." Although the sites have been placed on "no strike" lists any such move by Iraq will immediately transform their status to targets. Whilst trivial compared to the loss of even one human life this is still a matter of great concern. (Oddly, in citing some of the places at risk, New Scientist drags in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon - the fact that they are nowhere mentioned on the many clay tablets found in that city and have defied discovery by archaeologists leads many to conclude that they belong more to legend than history. Here, in an otherwise good ABC News piece on the threat to Iraq's historical heritage, the Gardens surface again with this highly imaginative statement "The gardens, which represented the first effort to integrate greenery, irrigation and architecture, were among the crowning achievements of the ancient Babylonian empire". Says who?) 

Princely Pair - A couple of news items about that odd dinosaur tribe known as royalty have surfaced recently. Firstly was the report of the inept management of the household of new age, touchy-feely, Charles, Prince of Wales, which showed him, and his cronies, in a less than flattering light. Secondly was the amazing decision of the citizens of Lichtenstein who voted to give their Crown Prince absolute powers in order to forestall his threat to go and sulk in Austria if he did not get his way. It is amazing that the populace of a supposedly modern 21st century European country should, of their own free will, take such a giant step backwards. Reading the news items about these two unelected individuals one phrase springs to mind "No one is fit to rule by birth". Particularly two pampered, privileged, petulant, (and in Charles' case, preachy) princes such as these. (Before it is pointed out that Charles does not actually rule anything he certainly uses his privileged position to pontificate on many subjects - most of which are way beyond his competence.)

God on the Brain - This is the title of a new documentary from the BBC TV series Horizon, which recently brought us an episode evaluating the claims of homeopathy featuring James Randi and also did good service pointing out the inconsistencies, omissions and errors in the fantasies of cult archaeologist Graham Hancock. This new program will look at the work of Dr Michael Persinger, who appears to have found a link between religious visions and temporal lobe epilepsy. The blurb from the BBC would have us believe this has led to the new study of neurotheology. Persinger claims to be able to "generate religious feelings in anyone - believer or not". Participating in the program is Richard Dawkins, although the advance information does not say if Persinger used him as a subject - now that would be interesting. (What "religious feelings" actually are is an interesting question - are they so very different from the feelings of awe and humility 80 finds looking at the stars in a clear night sky or the sense of hushed reverence felt in the stillness of a redwood forest?)
Note - the Horizon program has been delayed from March 20th to April 17th. Horizon programs are often shown on Nova in the US and elsewhere.

April 6th 2003

Influencing the Jury - The popular game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire? has been the subject of offscreen attention recently. A contestant was accused of cheating by collaborating with a member of the audience who allegedly used a series of coughs to let the would-be millionaire know the right answers to the multiple choice questions. The whole matter has ended up in court in London, but this Monday, March 31st, the case had to be adjourned owing to the jury suffering from "a bout of uncontrollable coughing". It is amusing to speculate about the influence this may have on the verdict as just such an "uncontrollable bout" was the reason given by the accused audience member because of "cough variant asthma". The case continues this week................

It's not what you say - it's the way that you say it. Recently there was mounted a survey of the most promising extraterrestrial radio signals. Over 150 targets were selected on the basis of information from the seti@home project and backed by the Planetary Society. A quick analysis of the data received shows nothing that looks like ET although more detailed work is to follow which will take some weeks. Apart from the fact that any sort of signal would be proof that we are not alone in the universe, with all that would imply for many fields, science, philosophy and even 80's favorite timewaster, theology, it is interesting to see how the survey has been reported. Two examples will suffice. The first is from the downbeat BBC - ET fails to 'phone home'- " A search for intelligent life in space has drawn a blank. Scientists have found no signs of alien beings after analysing radio signals collected in the world's biggest distributed computing project." It is only further into the piece that it is made obvious that this work is preliminary. The other side of the coin is the upbeat SpaceDaily - SETI@home Completes Stellar Countdown - "The SETI@home team has completed a successful run at the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico re-observing promising radio sources in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence." Which headline and initial paragraph would be more likely to entice you to read on and learn more of the project?
 

Readings From The Backside - When 80 heard of a practitioner of the nonsense that is palmreading had turned over a new leaf the thought occurred that at least one person is honest enough to renounce such claptrap. Wrong! An Indian headteacher, one Pothuri Murali Krishna, claims to be the only exponent of what he calls Reverse Palm Technology - yes, he makes up his predictions based on the appearance of the back of the hand. This is apparently often more accurate, according to the teacher, who says his gift comes from God. Front or back of the hand the amazing thing is this person is actually allowed into a classroom.

Not with a bang... Amidst the coverage and comment on the war in Iraq, the military briefings, the informed and uninformed speculation and the pictures of prisoners, explosions and tanks that dominate the media right now there is another story that should be attracting more attention than it does. A new form of pneumonia has appeared, first in China, called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and now, thanks to the interconnectedness of our jet travel world, cropping up all over the place. It took pressure from the World Health Organisation (part of the much-maligned UN) to get the Chinese to open up about the outbreak, prone to secrecy as their government is, especially anything that casts the People's Republic in a bad light. In spite of Beijing's declaration that the spread of the disease is now controlled (more spin than fact) new cases are appearing every day. The identity of the virus responsible is as yet unknown. Laboratories all over the world are trying to pin down the cause of this latest disease to emanate from southern China where the close proximity of people to their livestock has already proved a breeding ground for new forms of influenza, which first mutate in animals and then cross over to humans. It is to be hoped that the scientists combating this threat are funded at least as well as their companions in the military/industrial sector, whose handiwork is shown every night on the TV news.

Someone To Watch Over You - Is someone looking over your shoulder? Can you feel breath on the back of your neck? Are you surfing to sites that you really shouldn't? That breath could be from your best friend, your spouse or even your preacher. A new monitoring service uses a "buddy" system to help save you from yourself. Netaccountability, a Christian oriented outfit, offers an alternative to the often ineffective filters that are used to deny access to sinful sites, by enrolling someone to whom a regular report is sent listing which websites you have visited. It is hoped that this big brother monitoring, which costs around $4 a month, will stop the desire to look at porn and perhaps other "unsuitable" sites. Now this may sound naive but for a Christian who believes that everything, everywhere, is seen by an omniscient and omnipresent God, this ultimate Big Brother surely would be reason enough to deter dirty surfing? 

Revealing By Concealing - On a related note many countries, particularly those with repressive governments, regularly block access to sites they deem unfit for their citizens. A while back China famously blocked the Google search engine for instance and in Saudi Arabia you will be unable to view pages critical of the regime there. Now the University of Toronto has launched Internet Censorship Explorer which allows you to enter a website address (URL) and the country of interest to see if that site is denied to citizens of that country. There has been a certain amount of concern as the scanning technique used is perilously close to those used by malicious hackers/crackers as it, without permission, uses the resources of the target servers. Submitting an inoffensive page, such as this one, results in a mixed bag of results - many countries merely display the page of this site's host, some time out (not necessarily because of blocking) and some show the page as normal. Try looking for Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch to reveal regimes who are scared to let their people see some unpalatable truths.

April 10th 2003

Christian Aid? - The USA has no state religion. This may come as a surprise to many but it is true despite the current administration's inability to understand this. This also seems to be something of a problem for the Florida Department of Health who have issued an AIDS information brochure entitled "A Christian Response to AIDS" with scriptural references and images of Jesus curing the sick. If members of the Health Department wish to put out Christian tracts they should do it in their own time and with their own money and not that of taxpayers. This is the attitude taken by the American Civil Liberties Union who have asked that the brochure be recalled. "From the point of view of addressing a public health crisis that the spread of the AIDS virus represents," said Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU of Florida quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, "the state has to restrict its message to what is medical, to what is scientific, and not embrace what is contained in a 16-page pamphlet as a theological perspective on this. One of the most striking things may be that there is not a single word about prevention. What is the point of the Health Department purchasing and distributing this if not to stem the spread of the illness?" Apart from the obvious exclusion of people of different faiths or none another troubling question is where did this brochure originate? The Chronicle says it has been previously issued in Pennsylvania and Washington DC but was withdrawn following similar complaints. (It is still possible to order CRA01 A Christian Response to AIDS from The Connecticut Department of Public Health)
 
Colossus of Squids - Cryptozoology, literally "the study of hidden animals" is a field of research that has attracted a lot of ridicule owing to its stranger elements being obsessed with such unlikely creatures as Yeti, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and a variety of other fantastic beasties. The folk that actually turn up real evidence as opposed to windy speculation seem to be conventional zoologists. Dr Steve O'Shea of New Zealand's Auckland University is an expert on Giant Squids and can now add Colossal Squid to his resume/CV. These creatures are known from the contents of the occasional sperm whale's stomach where their beaks and hooked tentacles were found. The mind boggles at the titanic battles that must occur between these  behemoths far down in the abyssal blackness. Now a complete but immature specimen has been caught in Antarctic waters near the surface. Kat Bolstad, also from Auckland University, had this to say "This animal, armed as it is with the hooks and the beak that it has, not only is colossal in size but is going to be a phenomenal predator and something you are not going to want to meet in the water." Such a real-life creature makes Bigfoot and Nessie and those that spend their time trying to prove their existence seem more than a little quaint...............

The Company You Keep - One of several reasons (and one getting more airplay as no Weapons of Mass Destruction have surfaced - yet) given justifying the ongoing coalition operations in Iraq is Saddam Hussein's regime's appalling human rights record. Many who oppose the military action point out that if this was the reason there are many other governments whose record is as bad or little better. The chillingly loony Stalinist state of North Korea has to top many people's lists, but a good few others also make the cut. So how about the 49 countries that are listed in the coalition put together by the US? They must be OK - after all they are the good guys. Not all of them, according to the US Department of State - in a report titled "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" presented to Congress it appears a few "friends" make a very poor showing. This BBC page presents the 14 culprits in an alphabetical list from Albania to Uzbekistan. Now realpolitik means having to work with what you've got and not necessarily what is ideal but after Iraq who is next? Not just "axis" states like North Korea but "allies" had better start cleaning up their act - if you want to be in the gang you should at least meet the standards set down by the leader. If not questions may be asked as to just how much of a blind eye is turned on these miscreants by that same leader in the name of expediency. (Offended at being judged by others, China plans to produce its own report on the US in a the next few days. Perhaps they can use the opportunity to explain the way they have handled the SARS outbreak.) (Update on China and SARS April 5th)

Hollywood Science - Back in July 2001 80 looked at a couple of sites that examine the way the laws of physics are often bent or broken by the movie world. Phil Plait of Bad Astronomy fame has a page dedicated to the subject of astronomy-mangling from the truly awful Signs to the hilarious Men in Black. Much more general is the Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics site which is well worth a look. Now the BBC has got into the act with their TV series Hollywood Science which poses questions such as "Could Pierce Brosnan really manage to fox thermal cameras to steal a Monet? What about Brad Pitt making soap out of liposuction fat, or Kevin Costner turning his pee into drinking water. Could these stunts be based on real science, or is it just Hollywood Science?" (Additional trivia point - one of the presenters is actor Robert Llewellyn, better known as Kryten from TV show "Red Dwarf" which did a fair amount of damage to the laws of physics in its time.)

April 15th 2003