Skeptical Inquirer Electronic Digest 7-27-99
SkeptInq@aol.com
Tue, 27 Jul 1999 15:56:55 EDT
Skeptical Inquirer Electronic Digest 7-27-99
Visit the CSICOP and Skeptical Inquirer Magazine website at
http://www.csicop.org. Receiving over 200,000 hits per year, the CSICOP site
was recently rated one of the top ten science sites by HOMEPC magazine.
In this week's SIDIGEST:
--Reservations Still Available for Skeptics Toolbox, August 19-23, Eugene,
Oregon
--Other Coverage and Commentary on Science&Religion Debate
--LA TIMES Magazine on S. California Fringe Science and Scams
--Jerome Kassirer Fired as Editor of the New England Journal of Medicine
--Power Lines and the Cancer Scare
--NY TIMES on Falun Gong Ban in China
--Chet Raymo on the "Dirty Puddle" of Astrology
--House GOP Proposes Ten Percent Cut in NASA Budget
RESERVATIONS STILL AVAILABLE FOR SKEPTICS TOOLBOX, AUG. 19-23
Spots are still remaining for the Skeptics Toolbox in August at the
University of Oregon, Eugene. This year's topic is "Science Versus
Pseudoscience." Faculty include Ray Hyman, Barry Beyerstein, James Alcock,
Loren Pankratz, Wallace Sampson, Jerry Andrus, and Loren Pankratz. For
details go to:
http://www.csicop.org/events/19990819-toolbox/
To register call 1800-634-1610.
OTHER COVERAGE AND COMMENTARY ON "SCIENCE&RELIGION" DEBATE
The July/August issue of Skeptical Inquirer is devoted to the theme of
science and religion: conflict or conciliation? It includes articles by
Stephen Jay Gould, Steven Pinker, Richard Dawkins, Paul Kurtz, Steve Allen,
Chet Raymo, and many others.
Other periodicals have also recently taken up the topic. The summer 1999
issue of Free Inquiry devotes a special section to "The Science of Religion."
Articles include "The Past of an Illusion" by Lionel Tiger, "The Biological
Roots of Religion" by Morton Hunt, "Social-Psychological Causes of Faith" by
Bruce Hunsberger, "What Americans Really Believe" by George Bishop, "Why Do
People Believe or Disbelieve" by Paul Kurtz, and "The Roots of Religion and
its Destiny" by Tom Flynn. Free Inquiry is available in the U.S. at Barnes
and Noble bookstores and can be ordered through the web at
http://www.secularhumanism.org or by calling 1800-458-1366.
Reason magazine has also run some recent related cover articles:
On the Anthropic Principle featuring CSICOP fellow and physicist Victor
Stenger:
http://www.reason.com/9907/fe.ks.is.html
On Neo-conservative Attacks on Darwin:
http://www.reason.com/9707/fe.bailey.html
LA TIMES MAGAZINE ON S. CALIFORNIA FRINGE SCIENCE, AND SCAMS
On Sunday July 25, a special LA Times magazine was devoted to Southern
California science and techology. Two articles covered the region's history
of fringe science and health scams. Center for Inquiry-West Executive
Director Matt Cherry provided nominations for the fringe science article.
You can read the articles at:
Scams
http://www.latimes.com/HOME/NEWS/SCIENCE/SCIENCE/t000000105.html
Fringe Science:
http://www.latimes.com/HOME/NEWS/SCIENCE/SCIENCE/t000000106.html
KASSIRER FIRED AS EDITOR OF THE NEJM
Read Boston Globe coverage at:
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/207/metro/Medical_journal_s_top_editor_is_fi
red+.shtml
The following is a press release from the Massachusetts Medical Society,
publisher of the New England Journal of Medicine:
For more information, contact:
Frank Fortin
Massachusetts Medical Society
(781) 434-7099
Beeper: 800-508-1847
For Immediate Release
July 25, 1999
(Waltham, Mass.) Jack T. Evjy, M.D., president of the Massachusetts Medical
Society, owner and publisher of The New England Journal of Medicine,
announced today that the tenure of the Journal’s editor-in-chief, Jerome P.
Kassirer, M.D., will end on March 31, 2000. Dr. Kassirer will begin a
seven-month sabbatical on September 1, 1999. In a joint announcement, Drs.
Evjy and Kassirer said that there had been honest differences of opinion
between Dr. Kassirer and the Medical
Society over administrative and publishing issues. "It became evident that,
despite our mutual best efforts, Dr. Kassirer and the Medical Society were
unable to find common ground on these matters. For that reason, the Medical
Society reluctantly concluded that the best course of action was to begin the
process of searching for a new editor for the Journal," said Dr. Evjy.
In a statement, Dr. Kassirer said that he admired the Medical Society’s
staunch support for the Journal’s complete editorial independence, and that
he was grateful for its strong financial support for his efforts to modernize
the Journal’s editorial processes and extend the influence of the Journal in
electronic media and abroad. He added, "I am honored to have served as
editor-in-chief of The New England Journal of Medicineand privileged to work
with editors and staff who have never deviated from their singular focus on
quality. The unwavering support of physicians in and outside the country for
the positions I have taken has exceeded my expectations many times over."
Dr. Evjy praised Dr. Kassirer’s accomplishments. "Dr. Kassirer has been an
outstanding editor. During the past eight years, the Journal’s influence has
reached new heights. The Journal has continued to publish the most important
clinical advances of our time, and it has been a vibrant forum to debate the
most pressing health policy issues of the era. Dr. Kassirer’s editorials have
been among the most influential articles in American medical publishing. He
has been an advocate for
high ethical standards and professionalism, and he has urged us to examine
and repair the flaws in our evolving health care system. In addition, Dr.
Kassirer introduced many new features in the Journal, completely redesigned
it, shortened the turnaround time for manuscripts, and rapidly brought
critical medical developments to the attention of practicing doctors. In
short, Dr. Kassirer took a great publication and made it even greater."
The Massachusetts Medical Society was founded in 1781 to "advance medical
knowledge, [and] to develop and maintain the highest professional and ethical
standards of medical practice and health care." The MMS is the oldest
continuously operating medical society in the country with more than 17,000
physicians and student members. The Society owns and publishes The New
England Journal of Medicine, Hippocrates, Journal Watch and AIDS Clinical
Care for medical professionals, and HealthNews and Heart Watch, consumer
health
publications.
POWER LINES AND THE LINK TO CANCER
The New York Times reported on July 24 that a federal probe has found that a
scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., faked what
had been considered crucial evidence of a tie between electromagnetic
radiation and cancer. The disclosure appears to strengthen the case that
electric power is safe.
Robert P. Liburdy, a cell biologist at the laboratory, an arm of the Energy
Department, was found to have published two papers with misleading data.
Investigators said Liburdy eliminated data that did not support his
conclusions. After the investigation, he resigned quietly from the Lawrence
Berkeley Laboratory in March and has agreed to withdraw his research
findings.
For the full article, go to:
http://nytimes.com/library/national/science/072499sci-fake-data.html
Reason magazine covered the topic back in the January 1995 issue.
Go to http://www.reason.com/9501/fe.FUMENTO.text.html
Also see articles from Reason on other environmental health debates:
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
Go to http://www.reason.com/9703/fe.fumento.html
See also www.quackwatch.com at:
http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/mcs.html
Gulf War Syndrome
Go to http://www.reason.com/9703/fe.fumento.html
Two excellent books on environmental health are available from Prometheus
books. You can order them at http://www.prometheusbooks.com or by calling
716-691-0133.
_The Truth About Environmental Illness_
Stephen Barrett, M.D., and
Ronald E. Gots, M.D., Ph.D.
....Chemical sensitivity (or "multiple chemical sensitivity") describes
people with numerous troubling symptoms attributed to environmental factors,
from simple housepaint to complex building structures and materials in
offices and schools. Many such people are seeking special accommodations,
applying for disability
benefits, and filing lawsuits claiming that exposure to common foods and
chemicals has made them ill. Their efforts are supported by some physicians
who referthemselves as clinical ecologists. They use questionable diagnoses
and treatment methods, while critics charge that these approaches are bogus
and that "chemical sensitivity" is not a valid diagnosis. The complaints
associated with chemical sensitivity include depression, irritability, poor
memory, fatigue, drowsiness, constipation, sneezing, wheezing, skin rashes,
headache, chest pain,
pounding heart, swelling, upset stomach, paralysis, AIDS-like illnesses,
psychotic experiences, and just about every other symptom noted in medical
textbooks. One prominent clinical ecologist even claimed that chemical
sensitivity patients may well be human "canaries" on an increasingly poisoned
planet, and others have actually labeled chemical sensitivity as a disease.
While some people are adversely affected by exposure to some chemicals, there
is an overwhelming increase in false claims and reports from misled obsessive
patients and opportunistic doctors. Chemical Sensitivity examines this
phenomenon in depth and the scientific, legal, ethical, and political issues
that surround it. The
authors explore the speculations about environmental exposure in the light
of scientific knowledge of human physiology, allergy and immunology,
pathology, toxicology, and clinical medicine. They evaluate cases of chemical
sensitivity relative to controlled tests, and reveal that symptoms were
brought on by psychological factors rather than physical ones. Chemical
Sensitivity also critically assesses claims related to "sick building
syndrome," "mercury-amalgam toxicity," "yeast allergy," and Gulf War
syndrome. ........PAGES: 220 pp COMMENTS: ISBN:1-57392-195-5 BINDING: Cloth
PRICE: $26.95 SIZE: 6 x 9 CATEGORY: Health
_Toxic Terror: The Truth Behind the Cancer Scares_ .... Elizabeth M. Whelan,
Sc.D., M.P.H. ....Whelan rigorously critiques widespread beliefs regarding
our
nation's health, food supply, and use of technology and chemicals. While
bookstore shelves are falling over with alarmist books that claim America is
being poisoned and that disease and death will be the price we pay for "the
good life," the media has given little attention to the facts that Americans
are healthier today than ever before and that advances in science are mostly
responsible for this improvement. Toxic Terror rejects "the bad news
syndrome" and examines the alleged evidence
of adverse effects associated with technology. Juxtaposing the popular
claims with the facts, Whelan effectively dispels the often-frightening
claims made by groups and individuals who have failed to do their homework.
Potent political-environmental issues include the DDT debate and the birth of
environmentalism, Love Canal, the true story about pesticides, diet and
carcinogens, asbestos and PCBs, air and water pollution, nuclear power, and
more. "A breath of fresh air in the public
debate on toxic substances." Reason ........PAGES: 476 pp COMMENTS:
(Appendices, Index) ISBN: 0-87975-788-4 BINDING: Cloth PRICE: $27.95
SIZE: 6 x 9 CATEGORY: Health
DALLAS MORNING NEWS ON QUANTUM CONSCIOUSNESS
Dallas Morning News science writer and columnist Tom Seigfried offers an
interesting critique of "quantum consciousness."
Go to:
http://www.dallasnews.com/science/columnists/0712scicoltom.htm
NY TIMES COVERAGE OF FALUN GONG BAN IN CHINA
The New York Times reports today (July 27) that as part of an expanding
political campaign that could affect China's economic reforms, Chinese
authorities have detained about 1,200 government officials who are members of
Falun Gong, the spiritual movement that was officially outlawed last week.
Read the article at :
http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/asia/072799china-sect.html
The NY Times also includes links to all of its coverage of the Falun Gong
sect going back to April of this year.
CHET RAYMO ON THE "DIRTY PUDDLE" OF ASTROLOGY
Physicist and Boston Globe science columnist Chet Raymo eloquently critiques
astrology in his July 26 column. Raymo is author of _Skeptics and True
Believers: The Exhilarating Connection Between Science and Religion_.
Check out the Boston Globe column at:
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/207/science/Astrology_a_dirty_puddle_+.shtml
Raymo contributes "Celebrating Creation" to the July/August issue of
Skeptical Inquirer.
HOUSE GOP PROPOSING TO CUT NASA BY TEN PERCENT
Today (July 27) the Associated Press reports that Republicans pushing a
$93.8 billion spending bill through a House panel would cut NASA's budget by
10 percent and trim some housing and climate programs below President
Clinton's request.
Under the legislation, approved Monday by voice vote, the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration would get $12.3 billion for the fiscal
year beginning Oct. 1. The space agency got $13.7 billion this year, and
Clinton requested $13.6 billion.
The international space station, one of NASA's highest profile projects,
would receive $2.4 billion, $100 million more than this year but just half
the increase Clinton sought. The bill would deny the president's $150 million
request for future missions of the Earth observing system, which studies
climate, and trim $75 million from future Mars exploration missions as well.
For more information, check out http://www.ap.org.
----------------------------------------------------
SI Electronic Digest is the biweekly e-mail news update of the Committee for
the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP.)
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