In June this year, a court in the German city of Cologne heard a case involving a four-year-old child from a Muslim family who was admitted to hospital with bleeding following a circumcision. The doctor who performed the circumcision did so at the request of the boy’s parents, and was acquitted of the charge of… Continue reading The German circumcision ruling
Category: Science
Quacks like Patrick Holdford find receptive audiences in South Africa
Patrick Holford is one of the many nutritionists, doctors or specialists of one form or another who make a living by selling false or misleading promises. Sometimes, they even endorse harmful remedies, or harmful avoidance of effective remedies, as is the case with Holford’s association with HIV denialism (and Scientology). Why does a national chain… Continue reading Quacks like Patrick Holdford find receptive audiences in South Africa
The war on woo
Why do newspapers continue to publish astrological readings, and why are we not more concerned by the fact that so many people find it plausible that holograms can aid your balance?
Consumers in South Africa to stage homeopathic ‘overdose’
Consumer rights activists in South Africa have today announced their intention to take a mass homeopathic ‘overdose’ next month, as part of a major global protest against the alternative remedies.
ASASA complaint in respect of PowerBalanceSA
The text of the FSI complaint regarding misleading advertising on the part of PowerBalance, as submitted to the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa in January 2011.
Homeopathic ‘Overdosers’ Announce Global Challenge
The 10:23 Campaign in 2010 saw 400 skeptics in the United Kingdom publicly protest the use of homeopathic remedies by taking mass “overdoses” of the pills. In 2011, the campaign will be expanding internationally.
Respecting people versus respecting beliefs
There is no contradiction between saying that someone has a misguided, uninformed or laughable point of view, and at the same time recognising that person’s worth or dignity in general.
The defense of reason
Amongst the things we probably know is that (to quote Hitchens again) “the defense of science and reason is the great imperative of our time”. And the enemies of science and reason are not always somewhere else – they are sometimes next door to you, or even sharing your bed.