Skepticism, evidence, science, mythbusting, consumer protection
News headlines from Europe about skeptical activism, mythbusting, science related policy decisions, consumer protection, frauds, health scams, alternative medicine, bad scientific practices, pseudoscience etc.
Norwegian food retail giants Rema, Coop and Norgesgruppen requests government to stop the import of GMO corn, (corn 1507).
The corn is mostly used to feed livestock, and is not actually in use in Norway. The reason for the proposed ban, is that the norwegian environmental department have proposed that the corn should be allowed for import.
The food retailers claim that the norwegian consumers are fearful of GMO products and pesticides. And that the norwegian market therefore do not want GMO products.
The norwegian government currently does not allow import or harvesting of GMO plants to feed human or livestock, but the government will be reevaluating this fall.
On 20.9.16 people near Dartmoor in South West England were shocked when a UFO was spotted over their area. The object, ‘a bizarre light’ can be seen hovering in the distance in amateur footage taken by Tanya Davis and her daughter Charlee. They claim that it remained there for around two to three minutes, after which it slowly disappeared into the distance. ‘Friends told them that the light could have originated from a drone, but the pair said that it was “too big” and “silent” for that to be the case’.
However, a police officer dismissed the UFO theory, announcing that the lights were caused by a source closer to home and planet Earth. ‘I can confirm there are no #UFOs over #Okehampton. @BritishArmy have an exercise ongoing with flares. Countless 999 calls now… #WordsFail’ – he tweeted. (See Aliens are not launching an attack on West Devon – it’s just an Army exercise)
Dartmoor is used mainly for training exercises by Royal Marines and other forces.
During its 1 October symposium, the Dutch Society against Quackery, Vereniging tegen de Kwakzalverij, will announce who has won this year’s Master Quack Award (Meester Kackadorisprijs). Nominated are:
The prize is meant for the institute, person or enterprise that has contributed most to the spread of quackery in the Netherlands last year by means of act, word or writing. On skeptical blog KloptDatWel.nl, you can vote for whom you think should receive the 2016 ironic award until Friday 16:00 CET.
The Dutch Health Council (Gezondheidsraad) is letting babies and their parents down in the fight against rotavirus, medical experts say. While all surrounding countries have adopted a vaccination policy against the diarrhoeal disease, that annually kills up to half a million young children around the world, the Netherlands are yet to develop an immunisation programme.
In 2010, the Health Council, which advises the government on medical matters, actually held a majority vote in favour of adopting the rota vaccine, but it wasn’t carried out. The minority, who held that the consequences weren’t severe enough and the project too expensive, had their way. Emeritus professor in child medicine Ronald de Groot adds that ‘there are fears of rising opposition to vaccination in society. But you simply need to inform people well. (…) [Since 2010] we’ve added to the record dozens of dead children and thousands of hospitalisations that could have been prevented.’
If you are in Madrid on Saturday 24th September at 19:00 you can enjoy the first talk of this season “The Hyper credulous mind or the brain that doesn’t search for the truth” at Moe Club.
Giving the talk is Manuel Martín-Loeches, Professor of Psychology at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid and responsible for the Cognitive Neuroscience section at the Mixed Centre UCM-ISCIII of Evolution and Human Behaviour.
The Ask for Evidence Campaign has been making the case to politicians and civil servants in the UK that evidence matters when it comes to policy-making. The Speaker of the House of Commons has now agreed to make his rooms in Parliament available for a meeting on November 1st at 12.30. Ask for Evidence is calling for people to send in their reasons why evidence matters to them, in preparation for the meeting, and to come to the meeting to discuss this with politicians and civil servants.
The ARP – SAPC (Spanish Skeptics) is sorry to announce that the Skeptics in the Pub session due to take place on the 17th September in Barcelona has had to be cancelled. Due to the recent, tragic loss of his brother Sergio (see previous post), Alfonso López Borgoñoz is unable to give the previously planned talk.
Alfonso and all their family and friends are in our thoughts at this difficult time.
Dutch journalist Maarten Reijnders wrote a book about the currently most popular and (in)famous conspiracy theories and their proponents in the Netherlands. The book, titled Complotdenkers – Hoe gevaarlijk is het geloof in samenzweringstheorieën? (‘Conspiracists – How dangerous is belief in conspiracy theories?’) was deliberately published on 11 September 2016, because the 9/11 Truth movement is one of the most prominent of these phenomena in Western society at the moment. Skeptic Pepijn van Erp wrote a review; here is an excerpt:
Reijnders defines ‘conspiracists’ as people who believe in lots of different conspiracy theories at the same time, or draw rather far-reaching conclusions from such a conspiracy belief system. He calls a collective of such conspiracists a conspiracy church. That is a broad church, with many schisms. With liberals and literalists. With soft, kind and harmless believers, but also with some extremist fundamentalists. (…)
It can lead to contempt for innocent people and minorities, and we can still see enough suffering caused by that today. And we also know the example of the disastrous HIV/AIDS policy in South Africa under Mbeki, based on completely pseudoscientific ideas, that has led to an early death for an estimated 330,000 people.
It is with the greatest sorrow that we must report the loss of one of the longest standing and much loved members of the ARP-SAPC (Spanish Skeptics).
Sergio López Borgoñoz passed away as the result of a traffic accident on the 12th September 2016. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family and friends at this difficult time.
Sergio will be missed and remembered by us all.
This season in Valencia kicks off with “Science in the Shadows-forensic Investigation; science and fiction”.
Want to hear about how a body decomposes or if DNA is infallible? Then come along to Ben’s Inn on the 22nd September at 20:00 to hear this talk by chemist and science communicator J M Mulet.