R.I.P Christopher Hitchens, Dead at 62

Christopher Hitchens died Dec 15, 2011, from complications of cancer. He was uncompromising to the end.

Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse – A Practical Guide

Having survived a fake apocalypse by simply ignoring the ravings of yet another vile, fraudulent televangelist religious nutter, it is now time to prepare for a much more likely event – the Zombie Apocalypse. This comes from the CDC (Centers For Disease Control) in the US (hence the poor spelling), and is part of a social awareness campaign for disaster preparedness.

So stock up, and get ready. Even if the zombies don’t get you, you will be ready for anything else that comes along – a tornado, for example.

We’re Still Here

The end of times didn’t come, again.

Unfortunately the same can’t be said for these poor folks. Someone should hold this lunatic responsible for his fear-mongering actions.

What’s the harm ?

Steve Novella Vs Dr Oz

Image via Wikipedia

Dr Steven Novella, host of the Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe podcast and all round nice guy appeared on the Dr Oz show to discuss his position on alternative health. You can watch the entire piece below.

While I think Steve did a reasonable job under the circumstances, and presented a balanced and honest view of the state of alternative health, the same could not be said for Dr Oz. Dr Oz had his position staked out from the outset, and was not going to give any ground regardless of what points Dr Novella might make. He also came well prepared, with logical fallacies to bolster his arguments. Unfortunately for Dr Novella, all he had to defend himself with was science logic and reality. No match for Dr Oz and his brainwashed audience.

Don’t Believe ? Stand Up And Be Counted

Australia had, until the middle of the Howard years, been able to keep religion and politics reasonably separated. It wasn’t until George W. showed the power of the fundamentalist vote that our PM and potential PM started flaunting their piety. And a sad day it was, too. Even now, under an atheist Prime Minister, the Christian base seems to have untoward sway, with chaplaincy programs running in state schools, and few states offering valid alternatives for those who chose to opt out of such blatant advertising programs (Yes, Victoria, I am looking at you. For shame.). We have even seen the vile fallacy so popular in US politics – that we are a ‘Christian” nation.

Well, 2011 is a census year, which gives everyone an opportunity to ensure that those who do not profess a religion, or openly profess to have no religious beliefs at all, to be counted. The Atheist Foundation of Australia has put together a helpful website that explains how to ensure that you give a correct response to the religion question in this year’s census, and why it is important to do so.

The site is not intended to dissuade people from answering truthfully. Indeed, the aim is to ensure that the information provided truly and accurately reflects the current population. Please take a few minutes to at least go through the FAQ.

If you have a few minutes more, you might like to read this blog post by Martin Pribble, which covers even more ground.

What can I do ?

How often do you ask yourself this question ?

When you are listing to the news and a disaster strikes somewhere ? When you are listening to your favorite podcast and a skeptic or humanist talks about some form of activism or other ?

And how do you respond to that questioning voice in your head ? For many the response is “What skills do I have ?”, or “Where would I even start ?”. Not all of us are cut out to start a TAM or Ten23 or similar effort. That’s fine, because someone has already done those things, and we can support them by participating when we can.

But there are other things that we can do that make a very real difference to the world we live in, that take very little effort of our part, and while they are perhaps not directly related to skepticism, they are related to humanism in a very real way.

MJA Calls For Stronger Herbal ‘Remedy’ Regulation

The Medical Journal of Australia has called for tighter regulation of the CAM herbal remedy market following the death of a 75-year-old man following renal failure from taking chinese herbal remedies. While the patient died four years after the nephrotoxin induced kidney failure, it was as a direct result of the effects of taking long dan xie gan wan, which was found to contain aristolochic acid (AA). At the time the patient presented with blood pressure issues he was found to be taking only chinese herbal medicines which he had imported via the internet. Samples were sent to the TGA (Therapeutic Goods Association), which determined that AA was present in the long dan xie gan wan remedy. The TGA took action to ban the product and have it removed from shelves, however it is still available over the internet, and in many Chinese herbal stores.

Power Balance In Legalese Double Speak Shock

Power Balance, the company behind the discredited rubber band that provides no benefits to the wearer, have recently posted the following on their US website

Power Balance Double Speak

The statement is in response to one of several class action and other law suits brought against them in the US following the ACCC ruling in Australia in late 2010. In essence it says that Power Balance will provide refunds to anyone who is dissatisfied with the product, while making

no acknowledgement, admission, liability, wrongdoing, noncompliance or violation on the part of Power Balance

It also says that Power Balance will “also make select changes to product claims and the ways in which it advertises and markets its products in order to better define the scope of its marketing claims“, which seems extremely vague and ill-defined.

There are a couple of other lines int he statement that are worth noting;

We are pleased to resolve these matters, which will enable Power Balance to get back to the business of building a brand and further developing our Performance Technology™

From what has been demonstrated to date, Power Balance only have a brand. All their products fall into the placebo category of magic claims that made up the so-called “Performance Technology” of the Power Balance Band. Before “further developing” their so-called technology, don’t they have to develop some ?

Happy 137th, Harry

Image via Wikipedia

Happy 137th birthday to Harry Houdini – magician and skeptic.

Time.com – The New Huff-Po ?

Time.com – Time Magazine’s online presence, has posted a blog entry by one Brad Tuttle on the growing trend toward homeopathy in the US. The article, titled “Homeopathic Remedies: Natural Miracle Cures, “Faith-Based Medicine,” or Plain Old Scam?“ implies a more skeptical approach that what is actually given. After opening the article with truth – science shows homeopathy does nothing – he then jumps straight into a typical defence from a homeopath (worse, a homeopathic pharmacist – obviously a guy who skipped his ethics classes) that goes like this;

“Ultimately, who gives a damn whether it’s scientifically proven if it works? … There are very valid questions about how it works, but whether it’s my mind or the product, it’s working and it’s working without side effects.”

Who gives a damn if it is scientifically proven to work ?  We all should. That’s who. Especially if you are shelling out good money for it.

However it is the next line, from the post author Brad Tuttle, that is so very, very wrong. He says;

. . . . He has a point. If you feel that some vitamin or herb is helping, then it’s helping.

No, Brad, he doesn’t have a point. And you are simply wrong.