Weekly News and Blog Roundup
It’s been an exciting week for the UK: A government committee is in the process of deciding the future relationship between homeopathy and the NHS; Simon Singh appeared in the Court of Appeal; and it was discovered that Noah’s ark was in fact, round.
MPs call to cease homeopathy funding
A lot of attention has been brought to the subject of homeopathy recently. This week, the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee publicly stated that there was no justification for spending public money on this bogus treatment (although they didn’t use the word bogus – we all know where that can lead).
Watch Chris French’s appearance on BBC News, where he debated very articulately – even through his understandably clenched jaw – the use of homeopathic remedies, here.
You can also read the BBC’s news coverage of the story here.
Indian State Confiscates ‘Blasphemous’ Jesus Textbooks
The Indian state of Meghalaya is contemplating legal action against the publishers of ‘blasphemous’ textbooks. The books, which picture Jesus with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other, are used in the classrooms of a private school in an area where over 70% of the population are Christian. I’m not sure what the publisher’s intended angle was, but I would have thought they should be thanked by sandal-makers and Christians alike, for finally making Jesus cool.
Read the BBC’s news coverage here.
Simon Singh v BCA in the Court of Appeal
This week saw the much anticipated appearance of Simon Singh in the Court of Appeal. It will be impossible for me to summarise the proceedings in the short paragraph that it is customary for me to write here, and at any rate, I could not do it justice even given ample space. For a decent review of the day’s events I recommend reading Jack of Kent’s latest post. Suffice to say that the reaction from the Singh supporters present was positive, but also that his battle is not yet won.
Sign the Libel Reform campaign here.
Atheist Bus Ads Rejected in New Zealand
The now infamous atheist bus adverts, originated in the UK but spread worldwide, have been rejected by a New Zealand bus company on the grounds of poor taste. This follows an unexpectedly high support for the campaign, demonstrated through its public funding. One Atheist organisation sees this as a case of discrimination, and a spokesperson for the group pointed out that “In a way, the rejection by NZ Bus has shown why this campaign is needed in the first place.”
[Via Richard Dawkins]
Relic Reveals Noah’s Ark Was Circular
You may assume from the title that this is going to be a fluff piece, and it is. The amazing thing is that the original article with this title was not. What’s more, this is not a headline from The Onion or some nutcase website: It is a piece that was featured this week in the Guardian.
The article describes, without a trace of doubt or irony, that according to an ancient Babylonian tablet, our usual depictions of Noah’s ark are inaccurate. It was in fact, round. The author then goes on to explain how much more feasible this version of events is than our previous, embarrassingly naive, notion that the ark was like all other boats.
(Image courtesy of ant.photos)
[Via Discover Blogs]
Ian Rowland: Cold Reader Extraordinaire
Mentalist Ian Rowland is heralded as the world’s leading authority on cold reading. In this week’s Point of Enquiry podcast Rowland identifies uses for this powerful technique outside of professing psychic abilities, and explains why he thinks the skeptic community at large is doing a bad job of promoting its message beyond the converted. He suggests that we take a leaf out of the advertising industry’s book; a view that I am very much in agreement with.
[Via The Skepbitch]
Iraq Still Embracing the Magic
You may remember the recent coverage of the “dowsing rod” bomb detectors being used by the Iraqi armed forces. After their effectiveness has been demonstrated to be non-existent, their manufacturer has been arrested under suspicion of fraud, and all this has been widely covered by the media, the Iraqi Prime Minister is still insisting on their life-threatening use. It just goes to show you that you can dowse an Iraqi Prime Minister to water, but you can’t make him think (Leave me alone, it sort of works.)
[Via Discover Blogs]
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Blog Round-up | 
Will | Friday, 26 February, 2010