tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90581398428664274822024-03-12T17:13:50.211-07:00Sick Of It All Observing the modern Skeptic movement and industry propaganda through an independent lens. Vixen Valentinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924365433583975370noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058139842866427482.post-49453525126650664842023-01-26T12:29:00.001-08:002023-03-09T17:50:35.729-08:00Moving Day<p>It's been a good run here at Blogger, but I feel like it's time to update to a more modern platform for those times I feel inspired to write, so from here on out I'll be posting on Substack. </p><p>Yeah, yeah, I'm one of those people now. </p><p>I've duplicated the archives and this blog will remain, but all future posts will be made at -</p><p><a href="https://sickofitall.substack.com/">https://sickofitall.substack.com/</a></p><p>As a segue, check out <a href="https://disinformationchronicle.substack.com/p/latest-online-trolling-tactic-claiming">my guest post</a> where I wrote a piece outlining my Twitter troubles with a disgruntled Skeptic named Mary who loves Monsanto over at the DisInformation Chronicle. Occasionally Skeptics, and as you might have guessed, industry disinformation is a frequent topic over there. </p><p>Enjoy, and I'll see you on Substack!</p><pre class="frontend-publish-settings-EmbeddableFormElement-module__codeBlock--39Zek" style="--tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border-radius: var(--border-radius-4); box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--color-primary) !important; font-size: 19px; margin: var(--size-32) 0; padding: var(--size-16); position: relative; word-break: break-all;"><pre class="frontend-publish-settings-EmbeddableFormElement-module__codeBlock--39Zek" style="--tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border-radius: var(--border-radius-4); box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--color-primary) !important; margin: var(--size-32) 0; padding: var(--size-16); position: relative; word-break: break-all;"><br /></pre></pre><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><br />Vixen Valentinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924365433583975370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058139842866427482.post-24803246380373080662022-10-21T11:17:00.002-07:002022-10-22T13:54:54.230-07:00Pandemic Play Along - Covid19 Minimizer BINGO Cards<p>It's fall 2022. The Winter of our Dystopian Plague is upon us. We have a sustained SARS-CoV-2 surge, hundreds of deaths per day, abandonment of all mitigation strategies save the pharmaceutical ones, immune-evasive variants that render some of those pharmaceutical interventions useless, multiple circulating variants (variant soup), pediatric wards full of sick kids, and minimizers as far as the eye can see. <i>Oh the minimizers</i>. They infest every level of government and the media.</p><p>Might as well hunker down as much as we are able, fire up the Corsi-Rosenthal box, and play some games until spring - because this winter is comin' in like Hannah Montana. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtDux7ij_g8Khvnh-Su0gt2smZ0cjSksI4-E5dgg23z1xj-nnMe09swUCfYUmJJIeiyyFMFJua2cAP5a4Yy6bblT30gGkxfoUe9tJWRtJjwHzQ5UcmRKC9Or7R-iaO3DDuVVfbJTsQARf0OBqBnzDg3ubX0_mKbV0f-gWqSERvPs2aJVap59b-7TNK/s5564/Miley%20Wrecking%20Ball%20Covid.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5564" data-original-width="4588" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtDux7ij_g8Khvnh-Su0gt2smZ0cjSksI4-E5dgg23z1xj-nnMe09swUCfYUmJJIeiyyFMFJua2cAP5a4Yy6bblT30gGkxfoUe9tJWRtJjwHzQ5UcmRKC9Or7R-iaO3DDuVVfbJTsQARf0OBqBnzDg3ubX0_mKbV0f-gWqSERvPs2aJVap59b-7TNK/s320/Miley%20Wrecking%20Ball%20Covid.jpeg" width="264" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Covid19 Minimizer BINGO Cards may be saved and disseminated by clean air lovers everywhere. </h3><p><br /></p><p><i>U.S. Versions 1 & 2</i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAGA07YeGnmbGVOcxyCVujDFy5ydgOkH23We4psink765cyrnJBB9BK3W5PTYxZNBaUWWNNNNjJnBXvE3Kh9MopLQRQkUMD22N5nNCr7SK5p4hxecsD8NMrloAsZp59ltpuU4sR36C-W2n2mcNG_eNgGl1c8TldmBulq-E9Et99MbBvFEnUH1vwhC-/s6000/Covid%20Minimizer%20BINGO.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6000" data-original-width="5441" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAGA07YeGnmbGVOcxyCVujDFy5ydgOkH23We4psink765cyrnJBB9BK3W5PTYxZNBaUWWNNNNjJnBXvE3Kh9MopLQRQkUMD22N5nNCr7SK5p4hxecsD8NMrloAsZp59ltpuU4sR36C-W2n2mcNG_eNgGl1c8TldmBulq-E9Et99MbBvFEnUH1vwhC-/w581-h640/Covid%20Minimizer%20BINGO.jpeg" width="581" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR61eSngzMpQmR_Yrl4QV7uudez4Uez0Idx2XDT5g8XckRanUIvWB7bUnc9E44NKgZ4k0WvHbv9DzEDGyHykU-EMayNYuK-CtAbKjwB308l67k9ZqPEqVNDyNJVlX9gA07VWlZ-MEsWeOGj8pKz9OGxH5v4qs97VkJXsKMaIvFcK3hqFMIFSxiVq4i/s1909/Covid%20Minmizer%20BINGO%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1909" data-original-width="1731" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR61eSngzMpQmR_Yrl4QV7uudez4Uez0Idx2XDT5g8XckRanUIvWB7bUnc9E44NKgZ4k0WvHbv9DzEDGyHykU-EMayNYuK-CtAbKjwB308l67k9ZqPEqVNDyNJVlX9gA07VWlZ-MEsWeOGj8pKz9OGxH5v4qs97VkJXsKMaIvFcK3hqFMIFSxiVq4i/w580-h640/Covid%20Minmizer%20BINGO%202.jpeg" width="580" /></a></div><br /><p><i>O Canada Edition</i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWcKShEj05QmZRyYX5SC-VVgWvY_lC0aaopV_ypL85DPWOSBpYjtWu0uZD5-RE5FbEn45nLjfMjk0R3wbOkhyIWCV3KxstyEqPhBRvV7-dm1_LeyT43twqMMMOJLON2v9Mr29IjKl1HqLfdNrhh_Q9AEaXCOo2tzjnpmuD_981Onr882_FXvpjtFe6/s6000/Covid%20Minimizer%20BINGO%20Canada.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6000" data-original-width="5441" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWcKShEj05QmZRyYX5SC-VVgWvY_lC0aaopV_ypL85DPWOSBpYjtWu0uZD5-RE5FbEn45nLjfMjk0R3wbOkhyIWCV3KxstyEqPhBRvV7-dm1_LeyT43twqMMMOJLON2v9Mr29IjKl1HqLfdNrhh_Q9AEaXCOo2tzjnpmuD_981Onr882_FXvpjtFe6/w581-h640/Covid%20Minimizer%20BINGO%20Canada.jpeg" width="581" /></a></div><p><i>U.K. Edition</i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72-FGszLVIV4jKGjKW-rs6rNSJrgz4ZHy0Syxjlu86cWkgxA3L48k6MGiaHX4xzj8sv-veu0HCZ_vOzOu9Dv3tP7mj7PXu82_HskuorghpIBAABqwxrl187mPETjXzBatu2wQV_9MIXMWRMusEX2D8S-5AyzEveKtTLElBx-QMvEyWrO3Zmrg75Bl/s6000/Covid%20Minimizer%20BINGO%20UK.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6000" data-original-width="5441" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72-FGszLVIV4jKGjKW-rs6rNSJrgz4ZHy0Syxjlu86cWkgxA3L48k6MGiaHX4xzj8sv-veu0HCZ_vOzOu9Dv3tP7mj7PXu82_HskuorghpIBAABqwxrl187mPETjXzBatu2wQV_9MIXMWRMusEX2D8S-5AyzEveKtTLElBx-QMvEyWrO3Zmrg75Bl/w580-h640/Covid%20Minimizer%20BINGO%20UK.jpeg" width="580" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><i><br /></i><p></p>Enjoy, mask up, and stay safe out there!<p></p>Vixen Valentinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924365433583975370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058139842866427482.post-56309486860521779002022-04-08T14:46:00.002-07:002023-01-16T11:50:05.325-08:00R-E-S-P-E-C-T My Unbiased Science Authority!<p>As written about here before, there are certain contentious issues that Skeptics like to zero in on and the controversy over Lyme disease is no exception.</p><p>For those who may not be aware, there is ongoing debate as to the cause of post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome, or PTLDS which is also referred to as chronic Lyme. Some deny that a persistent infection is at play, even while <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dpR1T0nXcCIL5rgjuwr6PQ7jGClTF6Wt/view">much research exists</a> that supports this. From the <a href="https://www.columbia-lyme.org/lyme-disease">Columbia University website</a>:</p><blockquote>When patients are treated shortly after infection, most patients recover fully and do well. For patients whose symptoms return or for those whose initial infection wasn't caught early, the course of illness may be more prolonged and the treatment uncertain. Because we do not yet have a diagnostic test that is a sensitive marker of active infection, patients and doctors are left with tremendous uncertainty regarding whether or not to treat with additional antibiotics. This uncertainty can lead to conflict — with some doctors advocating treatment and others stating further treatment is not indicated. Such conflict can create anxiety in patients as they become uncertain whom to trust — and it can even cause conflict between doctors who hold different perspectives on this illness.</blockquote><p>As you can see, this conflict plays out even among physicians. Sadly, it's the patients who end up caught in the middle of this messy business. </p><p>In today's example we find a doctor of philosophy who has decided that <i>she</i> is the defacto expert when it comes to Lyme disease, PTLDS and chronic Lyme, and you must <i>never</i> question her authority! </p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzp01ehqTrIJ-L7hNKvebOuOpSO5xy5PNEBQO0SJw-xCEXYm2Btstfocy2NejCWU7JJinQIMDUyoUP0sVitmQ2oxcqsI-sNu_-6VvmQewSBawa2fOLd8To9w6IWf8f0v2l0HGmQph-udrsGkmbFm5yLaCFIFHSfFH3khV92uXhmsWiuWREGKPBINEc/s904/Screen%20Shot%202022-04-08%20at%202.32.24%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="717" data-original-width="904" height="509" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzp01ehqTrIJ-L7hNKvebOuOpSO5xy5PNEBQO0SJw-xCEXYm2Btstfocy2NejCWU7JJinQIMDUyoUP0sVitmQ2oxcqsI-sNu_-6VvmQewSBawa2fOLd8To9w6IWf8f0v2l0HGmQph-udrsGkmbFm5yLaCFIFHSfFH3khV92uXhmsWiuWREGKPBINEc/w640-h509/Screen%20Shot%202022-04-08%20at%202.32.24%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Comments on this echo chamber have been limited to Substack subscribers only.<br />(Side note - pictured is the <a href="https://grad.uw.edu/for-students-and-post-docs/gsa/mentoring/mentor-memos/turning-your-dissertation-into-a-book/#:~:text=Dissertations%20differ%20from%20books%20in%20several%20ways&text=In%20a%20dissertation%2C%20the%20author's,books%20are%20often%20far%20shorter.">bound dissertation by Dr. Love, not a book</a>.)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>Andrea C. Love, PhD of the <a href="https://www.unbiasedscipod.com/about" rel="nofollow">Unbiased Science podcast</a> (USP) cohosted with Jessica Steier, DrPH, PMP, shared links to the USP episodes on Lyme disease last weekend and were met with much criticism from Lyme patients. I watched from the sidelines as comments disappeared and people were banned. Links to <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dpR1T0nXcCIL5rgjuwr6PQ7jGClTF6Wt/view">legitimate research</a> on chronic Lyme were deleted. </p><p>Dr. Love is firmly in the camp that denies chronic infection is at play. She is of course entitled to her own opinion on the matter and to express that opinion through social media and through the podcast and website that she contributes to in her personal time, just like I'm doing here.<br /><br />There are however, a number of issues that are problematic with the USP <a href="https://www.facebook.com/unbiasedscipod/posts/525143372607331">Facebook</a>/<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb5Sw70O8qj/">Instagram</a> posts. (Full disclosure: I have not listened to the podcast episodes, and do not address them in this blog.)</p><p>First is a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/unbiasedscipod/posts/525143372607331">specific and unusual assertion made by Dr. Love</a> that is contradictory to the CDC and IDSA guidance on treating Lyme disease.</p><p>“As such, there is no thing as a chronic Lyme infection. <b>Even without antibiotics, most infections would self-resolve</b>.”</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjctIY_YxTNiZ0il-m7mmwrjmaU4GLj5ywtdUgNxWpLcL-xZjgrna4-vba8BLVAxF3oX3r3ljy4TnmJ5xGjJu1NApQkriY0VEqqjOydJ_qeEq4Hfye9kuaakguZGCob-WpfC8QQP4BPwVS4jJAFLYOsvNlkuRwOrTkNI_N_CYKesAvKds4Zojd9NVWs/s991/Infection%20Would%20Be%20Cleared%20Unbiased%20Science%20Podcast.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="991" data-original-width="877" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjctIY_YxTNiZ0il-m7mmwrjmaU4GLj5ywtdUgNxWpLcL-xZjgrna4-vba8BLVAxF3oX3r3ljy4TnmJ5xGjJu1NApQkriY0VEqqjOydJ_qeEq4Hfye9kuaakguZGCob-WpfC8QQP4BPwVS4jJAFLYOsvNlkuRwOrTkNI_N_CYKesAvKds4Zojd9NVWs/w566-h640/Infection%20Would%20Be%20Cleared%20Unbiased%20Science%20Podcast.jpeg" width="566" /></a></div><p><br />In the restricted comment section (followers only!) on Instagram Dr. Love also advises a follower that “<b>infection would be cleared by the immune system even without abx treatment</b>."<br /><br />As I stated earlier, there is quite a bit of controversy over the cause of PTLDS or what it should be called, <i>but </i>one area where everyone agrees is that infections <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/treatment/index.html">need to be treated with antibiotics</a>! This is not at all in question. It is a universally well-accepted fact that <a href="https://www.columbia-lyme.org/lyme-disease">an untreated infection can lead to serious illness and even death</a>. Not treating a patient with such an infection would be considered malpractice.<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" />It is very concerning that Dr. Love, who is <i>not</i> a medical doctor, through her credentials and podcast, is influencing people to not take tick bites seriously or to delay or forgo necessary and lifesaving treatment.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFt8oaecoF6Jv6UfGQcu1iMZAwwZwpNs_he496uWG4M96K5bk0urUIroEQekkHll0yjhiXnWDk8X424kYvr5BK6ZaBPlXRUej8U2Q27C47XYPBEBzKT5Dyb9jK1z6RYXzg9deqvdmTOd8rUa50g_KDs49LGR007yLVfSQomEpmCtUTtlKqRz6y_ygL/s655/Ticks%20All%20Over%20Me%20Unbiased%20Science%20Podcast.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="101" data-original-width="655" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFt8oaecoF6Jv6UfGQcu1iMZAwwZwpNs_he496uWG4M96K5bk0urUIroEQekkHll0yjhiXnWDk8X424kYvr5BK6ZaBPlXRUej8U2Q27C47XYPBEBzKT5Dyb9jK1z6RYXzg9deqvdmTOd8rUa50g_KDs49LGR007yLVfSQomEpmCtUTtlKqRz6y_ygL/w640-h98/Ticks%20All%20Over%20Me%20Unbiased%20Science%20Podcast.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">***THIS IS A VERY BAD PLAN***</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>Of course in addition to this, Dr. Love is refusing to allow discussion by banning people and restricting comments on the social media pages for the USP - which means this dangerous advice has gone uncorrected. </p>Communication goes <i>both ways</i>. If you want to be a science communicator, you best get that right. As a scientist who has elected to use her advanced degree to communicate science to the public, she is responsible to disseminate <i>accurate</i> information and to allow a <i>fair</i> exchange with stakeholders. She's also responsible to check her ego at the door in favor of the health and well being of the public and USP's followers. <div><br /></div><div><blockquote>"Our content educates the general public about scientific matters that have direct relevance to their lives and health-related decisions...We know that now, more than ever, the world needs accurate information. We know misinformation is a threat to people’s lives and the stability of our societies. At Unbiased Science, we fight for truth, health, and the evidence-based way." - <a href="https://www.unbiasedscience.org/about-us" rel="nofollow">Unbiased Science Institute</a></blockquote><div><br /></div><div>The <b><i>fucking irony</i></b> in calling your organization "Unbiased" and then engaging in this juvenile, arrogant behavior is enough to make Alanis Morissette roll over in her metaphorical grave!</div><div><br /></div><div>When she's not podcasting, <a href="https://www.unbiasedscipod.com/merchandise" rel="nofollow">merching</a> or <a href="https://theunbiasedscipod.substack.com/" rel="nofollow">Substacking</a> (only $55 per month!), Dr. Love portrays Lyme patients (sick people) as deluded zealots who doctor shop, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/unbiasedscipod/posts/525855902536078">drink urine</a>, have "implausible coinfections," are hostile toward evidence-based medicine, have Munchausen's, Munchausen's by Proxy, and are medical child abusers.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>A degree is not a free pass to demean and gaslight patients. There is no excuse for this shit.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The USP also <a href="https://www.facebook.com/unbiasedscipod/photos/pcb.527928825662119/527927282328940">claims</a> that biofilms and cyst forms of Borellia are "not real problems with Lyme disease"...except again, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C30&q=lyme+biofilm&btnG=">there is actual research on this</a> and it even has pictures!</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpqXiPOgLQQ8_KE7p73n_AjPUddEXedmq5q7BVded5Y92NMBcQ5eeR4LQpTk7ZJeXzrwV0i5rMnCMN3ckyK_mvaatOmpfJCbzH5Rif3na5sDOCQ5tcJivOgc9ZhyVAQaAurPS1wxNf-2nlKMp9TjwxSEG_bHJaaczTOT0tpb9KBkfvhQQ3gGkG5QSH/s2863/biofilms%20lyme.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2044" data-original-width="2863" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpqXiPOgLQQ8_KE7p73n_AjPUddEXedmq5q7BVded5Y92NMBcQ5eeR4LQpTk7ZJeXzrwV0i5rMnCMN3ckyK_mvaatOmpfJCbzH5Rif3na5sDOCQ5tcJivOgc9ZhyVAQaAurPS1wxNf-2nlKMp9TjwxSEG_bHJaaczTOT0tpb9KBkfvhQQ3gGkG5QSH/w640-h456/biofilms%20lyme.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Imaginary Lyme biofilms</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The USP echo chamber is not much better. Mz./Mr./Mrs./Ms./Mx. Tooth over here has decided that <i>you </i>and <i>your health</i> are a worthless anecdote and only "fully fleshed" (ew, wtf) research studies matter, but not the ones you post, those get deleted! Fuck off you lousy cripples with your pseudoscience! </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrCnVIyBLDjGmY-v8k9WEyXJDZhAC-T_Ry8P3Ll8SbLHKcwqUC1s2o0s8P2ooJkAaPwTWnWrZdI0PKO1D76NWJ1hQJfL2181Qw5dejyM-Iir1UYriYqv_UmMJfrsxKCR6ROoR35GorlNy-FywaJ0RxBf4P3Fa9x6wBagww8spy_mp8587GimuS6YM9/s493/Screen%20Shot%202022-04-08%20at%203.15.10%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="122" data-original-width="493" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrCnVIyBLDjGmY-v8k9WEyXJDZhAC-T_Ry8P3Ll8SbLHKcwqUC1s2o0s8P2ooJkAaPwTWnWrZdI0PKO1D76NWJ1hQJfL2181Qw5dejyM-Iir1UYriYqv_UmMJfrsxKCR6ROoR35GorlNy-FywaJ0RxBf4P3Fa9x6wBagww8spy_mp8587GimuS6YM9/w640-h158/Screen%20Shot%202022-04-08%20at%203.15.10%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>It should come as no surprise then, that the USP engage in typical Skeptic behavior when it comes to other areas of science and ethics, not just Lyme. Did you know, <i>everything is a chemical</i>?<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj52XqBNYP3vK5FAkFIXGWTgo8QiKtAL78PuoQ7vGVzEHLkQfxDnWisIsReCPDiEbbzc7Ws1pPDhQNawLdcgqL5sc3U850w4ir6Mw5voCLECLIMXhjkYZvSXVGGRfg9fAGP49gb_N7txS7wXxCJC4---Cg69Ci4nNAEEqVaG9cGdx4YmvKiAlDXDIgk/s1080/USP%20Chemicals%20Dose.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj52XqBNYP3vK5FAkFIXGWTgo8QiKtAL78PuoQ7vGVzEHLkQfxDnWisIsReCPDiEbbzc7Ws1pPDhQNawLdcgqL5sc3U850w4ir6Mw5voCLECLIMXhjkYZvSXVGGRfg9fAGP49gb_N7txS7wXxCJC4---Cg69Ci4nNAEEqVaG9cGdx4YmvKiAlDXDIgk/w640-h640/USP%20Chemicals%20Dose.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A popular myth about <a href="https://endocrinedisruption.org/assets/media/documents/2007-04-30_does_the_dose_make_the_poison.pdf">dose response</a> straight from the chemical industry.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Also, it's totally normal for your nonprofit to have paid ad <a href="https://www.unbiasedscience.org/programs" rel="nofollow">partnerships with 3M</a> right? Right?? </div></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Hp1tdng4TToT1TGFiPFd7Do5jDuDDBX6E-a0odEfVjEhFKjBOO00W8e2AZUVnIkhw8i_pEJUVE97XKZw6X_-RSsrcnmyl3r6hpTUy_enwxXUhq2peKjoGZEbkoAy3TKvhacyOs7yKSn7yq3GrKyRMpZacFXUAmrU-EU4qia18VymIiZ7Y73SUeP-/s1704/USP%203M%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1704" data-original-width="1535" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Hp1tdng4TToT1TGFiPFd7Do5jDuDDBX6E-a0odEfVjEhFKjBOO00W8e2AZUVnIkhw8i_pEJUVE97XKZw6X_-RSsrcnmyl3r6hpTUy_enwxXUhq2peKjoGZEbkoAy3TKvhacyOs7yKSn7yq3GrKyRMpZacFXUAmrU-EU4qia18VymIiZ7Y73SUeP-/w577-h640/USP%203M%202.jpeg" width="577" /></a></div><br /><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3uNHE1XtkITGgQxoui0TomR-GqorVhRUT21z5RkbGkcgcPhgh9ZRR0r7GgfdM6vueNYBZK_6vUvhswjz-hNmjQl9OPMn70UoO5JMg73lPQbO70JB-U1r99HDLmlWXkWuUbODENjms5Mizyewg33J3O0OOVlGRIk-eGEj-OBp8L96KMS6Fyaqh5oQJ/s1705/USP%203M%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1705" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3uNHE1XtkITGgQxoui0TomR-GqorVhRUT21z5RkbGkcgcPhgh9ZRR0r7GgfdM6vueNYBZK_6vUvhswjz-hNmjQl9OPMn70UoO5JMg73lPQbO70JB-U1r99HDLmlWXkWuUbODENjms5Mizyewg33J3O0OOVlGRIk-eGEj-OBp8L96KMS6Fyaqh5oQJ/w576-h640/USP%203M%201.jpg" width="576" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div>(Full disclosure: <a href="https://theintercept.com/2018/07/31/3m-pfas-minnesota-pfoa-pfos/">3M has ravaged my community</a> and poisoned the bodies of my friends. I'm not unbiased towards them.)</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVdfZlpd8JED8MGhvOZzwlWRjAoFQAGufvVRTPk7E2nkypAlwxdDa1xqLdRPSjHeKJpHE88Pzx0YjToUyYEWHKYiU_DF230hBuHL42JIZeSArgREiWlf2UE_K6sKp2dNytA1gcH5zzq1Ngsc-3UuI9sXxRHwikxwWZNFQExvDCX8UK4hSzrAyzqh8b/s1080/USP%20Organic%20Myths.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVdfZlpd8JED8MGhvOZzwlWRjAoFQAGufvVRTPk7E2nkypAlwxdDa1xqLdRPSjHeKJpHE88Pzx0YjToUyYEWHKYiU_DF230hBuHL42JIZeSArgREiWlf2UE_K6sKp2dNytA1gcH5zzq1Ngsc-3UuI9sXxRHwikxwWZNFQExvDCX8UK4hSzrAyzqh8b/w640-h640/USP%20Organic%20Myths.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You MUST hate on organic food (and straight up lie about it) if you want to be a Skeptic.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Here are a couple more graphics that have <i>not</i> aged well...</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm-qbg6o9ZBwMaRBBJuJRaclv3eeCL1V9CJTuVWcH34nzViy7BbYrwRaS984IakLay56ZDW8NpwGfi3uuG9cENjHCDN73ChGvI8E_sw_gBBoPTThDIRWV1kYbSKBUzFW6EhVXfeXZhgKyOfMlRp2AFOcKftAx19rrzL4HLBjB3TjEMqKai1XV9jDTT/s1080/USP%20C19Vaccines%201.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm-qbg6o9ZBwMaRBBJuJRaclv3eeCL1V9CJTuVWcH34nzViy7BbYrwRaS984IakLay56ZDW8NpwGfi3uuG9cENjHCDN73ChGvI8E_sw_gBBoPTThDIRWV1kYbSKBUzFW6EhVXfeXZhgKyOfMlRp2AFOcKftAx19rrzL4HLBjB3TjEMqKai1XV9jDTT/w640-h640/USP%20C19Vaccines%201.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakthrough infections: SO RARE!<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpuyPiSL3rjbaVEqdkvDJJvcQ_2IeeNGMpyxgYXxeqnPE0d0uovSVUky3x8R5oJqwnN5PWwiS0BAjQ78Knjp707jsBSL5Iy4yWZx7yczEroXhj_xb4pgWYv50aZDCT6F3_bAxbqbxIMNd-6SBcWX9Abh9ncOWPt8xaCSZs8O8CqKoQHF88RyrPMwfE/s1080/USP%20C19Vaccines%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpuyPiSL3rjbaVEqdkvDJJvcQ_2IeeNGMpyxgYXxeqnPE0d0uovSVUky3x8R5oJqwnN5PWwiS0BAjQ78Knjp707jsBSL5Iy4yWZx7yczEroXhj_xb4pgWYv50aZDCT6F3_bAxbqbxIMNd-6SBcWX9Abh9ncOWPt8xaCSZs8O8CqKoQHF88RyrPMwfE/w640-h640/USP%20C19Vaccines%202.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spoiler: KEEP YOUR MASK ON YOU FUCKING DOPE</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I guess the question we need to ask is <i><b>how much are we willing to tolerate from these twatwaffles in the name of "science"?</b></i></div><div><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div>Why is it that David Avocado Wolfe, Dr. Joe Mercola and Gwyneth Paltrow are held to a standard that doesn't apply if you and your bestie have degrees and call yourselves Unbiased Science? Well, probably because these people are filthy fucking hypocrites, that's why.</div><div><br /></div><div>Would you like to see a new day where we hold sci-commers accountable for their actions instead of them getting to hide behind science as a virtuous shield while they shoot missiles at sick and suffering people, and suckle off the teat of toxic industries?</div><div><br /></div><div>Ah well, we can dream.</div>Vixen Valentinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924365433583975370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058139842866427482.post-57977232178959755722022-01-28T13:21:00.006-08:002022-03-13T12:07:07.479-07:00A Brief History of Pandemic Front Groups The Covid-19 pandemic has enriched some of the elite, but it has also gotten in the way of powerful corporate profits. Let’s look at a brief chronological history of pandemic inspired front groups seeking to promote the financial interests of a certain few. <div><br /></div>Do you remember when America’s Frontline Doctors suddenly burst onto the scene in crisply pressed matching embroidered lab coats for a well publicized press conference?<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLoNNUk-O9KHplhOKca4fOLgBxoE7vN5u4yPZ5lEb5gkiXWKCQptXYA_DF-pj_XfhOc_pbr613_iccbkGu19T1cK2gzrEzq1rw7JOISwYxYc96dHthTowibYlVFabRcl7OtViPjGGNT8gm2_XfkWPomL0785WSKQy0QBImHOmdJZL5xCNzLPlXjDXE=s720" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="720" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLoNNUk-O9KHplhOKca4fOLgBxoE7vN5u4yPZ5lEb5gkiXWKCQptXYA_DF-pj_XfhOc_pbr613_iccbkGu19T1cK2gzrEzq1rw7JOISwYxYc96dHthTowibYlVFabRcl7OtViPjGGNT8gm2_XfkWPomL0785WSKQy0QBImHOmdJZL5xCNzLPlXjDXE=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div>According to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/dark-money-pac-s-coordinated-reopen-push-are-behind-doctors-n1235100">a report by NBC News</a>, “The event was hosted and funded by the Tea Party Patriots, a right-wing political nonprofit group led by Jenny Beth Martin, the group's co-founder, who spoke at the news conference...Tea Party Patriots have been critical of measures enacted to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Before America's Frontline Doctors, the group launched the Second Opinion Project, a website that hosted videos of doctors attacking state and local coronavirus efforts.”</div><div><br /></div>This circus featured Dr. Stella Immanuel, who brought the side show with her claims that <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/07/28/stella-immanuel-hydroxychloroquine-video-trump-americas-frontline-doctors/">endometriosis is caused by demon sperm</a>. No really.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhDZfDeOVmjSh_2u31xh4QD5SgUGGk0ruJL8iLMP9Ky8EXLiL4QNgdwHkbefx4eImdX8pqDel185d5uVInC02xBrnJLYVbGZYmxzDLvnMGB0ItgPL_X5PGdvjVpMj_XuuBDMbd79x1Dwd7eBGUqbWGjOlbW0DljbNajh9cGJ_ttdpRcxcWCyEIuvccT=s680" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="680" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhDZfDeOVmjSh_2u31xh4QD5SgUGGk0ruJL8iLMP9Ky8EXLiL4QNgdwHkbefx4eImdX8pqDel185d5uVInC02xBrnJLYVbGZYmxzDLvnMGB0ItgPL_X5PGdvjVpMj_XuuBDMbd79x1Dwd7eBGUqbWGjOlbW0DljbNajh9cGJ_ttdpRcxcWCyEIuvccT=w640-h360" width="640" /></a></div><br />She’s continuing the world class level of entertainment by now claiming that the messenger RNA vaccines will <a href="https://twitter.com/leader_truth/status/1346189828413665285">turn you into nephilim and you won’t be allowed into the kingdom of God</a>. She provides scriptural citations, oh ye of little faith.<div><br /></div>Unfortunately for the public under viral assault, this dark money fueled stunt failed to elevate the conversation about HCQ beyond Orange Man Bad! territory so who the fuck knows if it’s any good or not? Their goal was really to oppose any restrictions or mitigation anyway…<div><br /></div>After America's Frontline Docs faded off into semi obscurity, a new cowboy rode into town! A town called Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Of course this just so happens to be the home to the decades old front group, the <a href="https://www.desmog.com/2020/10/26/american-institute-economic-research-great-barrington-declaration-herd-immunity-covid-19/">American Institute for Economic Research</a>.<div><br /></div>In her <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691179001/why-trust-science">book</a> Why Trust Science? Naomi Oreskes, the co-author of Merchants of Doubt states that AIER “promotes anti-scientific discussion of climate change, much of which promotes the familiar canard that climate change will be minor and manageable.” <div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-6OQmc3TSCkviVvZGVw7onN3b1u1JDzPS2nOLtUo7pBswhMibZsz0O8gP3tLhXr0eilGnAXSZr3-5I_bEzeFnJ3Vt3XsIGZ3eRjLNf3mxHy1X6rb5WAHVJplXeUrT-kl3VP9T54NfPBe1LWZlkOJWKPBT_vMSaJrbWe8seKhlLSpHb2v2I1d1g6QI=s500" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="500" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-6OQmc3TSCkviVvZGVw7onN3b1u1JDzPS2nOLtUo7pBswhMibZsz0O8gP3tLhXr0eilGnAXSZr3-5I_bEzeFnJ3Vt3XsIGZ3eRjLNf3mxHy1X6rb5WAHVJplXeUrT-kl3VP9T54NfPBe1LWZlkOJWKPBT_vMSaJrbWe8seKhlLSpHb2v2I1d1g6QI=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><br />The main authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, Martin Kulldorf, Jay Bhattacharya and Sunetra Gupta seen <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2268/rr-1">posing in front of the AIER Cotswold Cottage mansion</a> below, advocated for a somewhat vague “focused protection” strategy after Jeffrey Tucker, former Editorial Director for AIER <a href="https://youtu.be/I5gXS6z6NGY">slid into Kulldorf's DMs on Twitter to invite him to the mansion for some R&R</a>. ‘We’ve got a nice place here, why don’t you come and visit us - two hours away? We’ll feed you well and relax a bit.’ And he wrote me back and said ‘Okay.’<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiucpLDEcZjL9a5TWR8mCENsOgSsuvc0I5gp7BN1PwLlg3wVuCrhDd4H3sBSUtWQ7jdCKa29baXePL7MmwReXRN02H_A3ndl5MsRPaYWChX1vzjdvAGUdHOq17OsxIWpPcpn2jNQ3ZmdrVwp1hENeQd_Iw_f7h5EiJJfEFgrQ8o0siUaqt8FyDszrTn=s800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="800" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiucpLDEcZjL9a5TWR8mCENsOgSsuvc0I5gp7BN1PwLlg3wVuCrhDd4H3sBSUtWQ7jdCKa29baXePL7MmwReXRN02H_A3ndl5MsRPaYWChX1vzjdvAGUdHOq17OsxIWpPcpn2jNQ3ZmdrVwp1hENeQd_Iw_f7h5EiJJfEFgrQ8o0siUaqt8FyDszrTn=w640-h312" width="640" /></a></div><br />A principle intention of the declaration was to allow the virus to spread through the population to create “herd immunity.”<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjdHrPdfaxUi7Hb55SNENesFmST1XjnIKRb5NKou0EO0E4ZmmfpwCMvK2KcwKmmNOkXPTjNfRGI2PkdUbTNQMu4_WqMGPCNjGlXY5QeJybppecr0G6wEjlCZgryEPpqd4kqvwiFsjeYaSPXZVKMjiLm82eSvhUs9YcInlnAxN5Y1tivWx294Hp-MRod=s553" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="553" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjdHrPdfaxUi7Hb55SNENesFmST1XjnIKRb5NKou0EO0E4ZmmfpwCMvK2KcwKmmNOkXPTjNfRGI2PkdUbTNQMu4_WqMGPCNjGlXY5QeJybppecr0G6wEjlCZgryEPpqd4kqvwiFsjeYaSPXZVKMjiLm82eSvhUs9YcInlnAxN5Y1tivWx294Hp-MRod=w640-h458" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://twitter.com/vixenvalentino/status/1486845980641316868">Click for animation</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/89204">Says Gupta</a>, “…not only is it a good thing for young people to go out there and become immune, but that it is almost their duty." </div><div><br /></div><div><i>It's your DUTY to get infected with an organ and immune system damaging virus for the economy, kids! </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div>Gupta even claimed that we had maybe already reached herd immunity back in 2020.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiMnHJZZmtcDGkO0IjrhBJ1siNFlpqyMid5GtcsaU8MtF4M4ZvZgdOUrakbQttOAhkt9TM2AgVOl6WpMPQ0G4PamrQGzx9PtZMM0YYi3BeEZ9MqkG2iU9KBnePNs1_QT0Edq1b0-Nxm04e7trgATyJ4vEoXWgC9JNBKhynbDy990vLvGNT05hrrN_eN=s680" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="647" data-original-width="680" height="608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiMnHJZZmtcDGkO0IjrhBJ1siNFlpqyMid5GtcsaU8MtF4M4ZvZgdOUrakbQttOAhkt9TM2AgVOl6WpMPQ0G4PamrQGzx9PtZMM0YYi3BeEZ9MqkG2iU9KBnePNs1_QT0Edq1b0-Nxm04e7trgATyJ4vEoXWgC9JNBKhynbDy990vLvGNT05hrrN_eN=w640-h608" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Ooops!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0qZAv-IiDuSd2rNcnetWRc0-bS7LmK3U6O5NgQgc5BgKtstCH9nj4tP42h_rgtNUSHHqUPeUNEoUKcR8f6xFqf9m5M_s4iryBdTQubkNAGbG2T1I4JMbu4xPotTyQb4OYpUY5h3IUHQdrpUXqRa2_62VWL6N76PXkQYvHR_M2UCZEfWye5tp5JdZ7=s1031" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="1031" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0qZAv-IiDuSd2rNcnetWRc0-bS7LmK3U6O5NgQgc5BgKtstCH9nj4tP42h_rgtNUSHHqUPeUNEoUKcR8f6xFqf9m5M_s4iryBdTQubkNAGbG2T1I4JMbu4xPotTyQb4OYpUY5h3IUHQdrpUXqRa2_62VWL6N76PXkQYvHR_M2UCZEfWye5tp5JdZ7=w640-h290" width="640" /></a></div><br />But not only are the GBD authors terribly, horribly, stupidly wrong, they are also the public face of a <a href="https://www.dailyposter.com/how-the-koch-network-hijacked-the-war-on-covid/">network of moneyed interests</a> that want to make sure the economy continues to grind on regardless of the high risk of death or disability for those caught in the wheels.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhAUND7H-89u0N6_4AajuJgXqSKqqIEJ4W08sNUL_pbCssujhyZ_2iyvUD8ih7c_RHuBcsqg0qC3M7ctrOlSNeFeEHTwJ3-3QRRnMQu1zIjImHr7OJQm8WRFPnAByRC6KAi1ofuMXZB3I1DMhacs3XQOlmqWl_ElWTEjYFZ2sxrdHnVpcnf5dF3F-gv=s883" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="765" data-original-width="883" height="554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhAUND7H-89u0N6_4AajuJgXqSKqqIEJ4W08sNUL_pbCssujhyZ_2iyvUD8ih7c_RHuBcsqg0qC3M7ctrOlSNeFeEHTwJ3-3QRRnMQu1zIjImHr7OJQm8WRFPnAByRC6KAi1ofuMXZB3I1DMhacs3XQOlmqWl_ElWTEjYFZ2sxrdHnVpcnf5dF3F-gv=w640-h554" width="640" /></a></div><br />It should therefore come as no surprise that the Tea Party, who were intimately involved with America’s Frontline Doctors, makes another appearance behind the GBD, along with the <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2268/rr-1">orchestration and support</a> from AIER mentioned previously.<div><br /></div>This brings us up to the present time, where during the most massive surge yet in the pandemic another group of “experts” are calling for lifting the already weak and inconsistent patchwork of pandemic mitigation strategies being utilized in public schools.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKHnCzfUNYOEfIM1lq7sUUCpHs49SvVUZkHqNAbBYJRb2enU-Fbpj_on78ADwavm5msqMp_B0E-hFkyjwAulKENgPEDLr2cBNvekvAueGTf7QxXjpyjL_sevAzeRHIx-QXE4grdzU64XC7xfWmawWteOFRG3yV0bmH_meQ6FWFv6bcU5_IP0BmEomP=s1589" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1589" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKHnCzfUNYOEfIM1lq7sUUCpHs49SvVUZkHqNAbBYJRb2enU-Fbpj_on78ADwavm5msqMp_B0E-hFkyjwAulKENgPEDLr2cBNvekvAueGTf7QxXjpyjL_sevAzeRHIx-QXE4grdzU64XC7xfWmawWteOFRG3yV0bmH_meQ6FWFv6bcU5_IP0BmEomP=w618-h640" width="618" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_P8aIjiQwA0K3Lvs96skYwQjLjB7nCEh9MKx7PK_y9545BnZqgXWGSPyabdniBGQPATNvAXFPKrtrae5rBA140dIvcmZ_oiLO6xgKRTyaWaOPzej-Q5UxRkNQ5tXMyqA9q3tpB9YSsDiykp1fC6NfOAynBGDHDQ-eI86TR2Gr4mSZ10pfFeWaaIFn=s1748" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1748" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_P8aIjiQwA0K3Lvs96skYwQjLjB7nCEh9MKx7PK_y9545BnZqgXWGSPyabdniBGQPATNvAXFPKrtrae5rBA140dIvcmZ_oiLO6xgKRTyaWaOPzej-Q5UxRkNQ5tXMyqA9q3tpB9YSsDiykp1fC6NfOAynBGDHDQ-eI86TR2Gr4mSZ10pfFeWaaIFn=w562-h640" width="562" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UrgencyOfNormal?src=hashtag_click">#UrgencyOfNormal</a> launched a webinar which was open to the public, well, unless you have ever tweeted about <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UrgencyOfEquity?src=hashtag_click">#UrgencyOfEquity</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVIDisAirborne?src=hashtag_click">#COVIDisAirborne</a>, then you were digitally escorted out. <br />Monica Gandhi rounded this out by blocking people who have never engaged her...<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbjy8bavTXHc9RhateRQA-5BF1UlajoO9H_iJgPz5ubnzvcv7kZ_3aLlU11ixpk0oLIfWstUjIIJG0VmsfNIgD5hsTXXQwqASN3emXJm8tB4RZryC5NbmUObIhZRh1snOcNfULL2A1ywpWKwXAPG7v0uOQVYnhSJWJtf6cnbU3O0EZGmW9Q2Llh6Cp=s1343" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1055" data-original-width="1343" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbjy8bavTXHc9RhateRQA-5BF1UlajoO9H_iJgPz5ubnzvcv7kZ_3aLlU11ixpk0oLIfWstUjIIJG0VmsfNIgD5hsTXXQwqASN3emXJm8tB4RZryC5NbmUObIhZRh1snOcNfULL2A1ywpWKwXAPG7v0uOQVYnhSJWJtf6cnbU3O0EZGmW9Q2Llh6Cp=w640-h502" width="640" /></a></div><br />…and deleting her tweet about the toolkit, that despite being described as “evidence based”…<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-7eVRzotL1yhyADUpwi7B3AYt67ur-D4s_47b1vdPK-JG0xgAlL-4mDTC2iNlVLiHRNeW7V29Yw2D9DET6pQNGNV60xC_wM94VC9vWBuCdLRup_QepA0Ui6_-286rKidji3ZE-wuv0H2ZcMbG08Eo6Y-68_4BwVq6_84EtTEcPKIPt_glNmFOp07y=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="946" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-7eVRzotL1yhyADUpwi7B3AYt67ur-D4s_47b1vdPK-JG0xgAlL-4mDTC2iNlVLiHRNeW7V29Yw2D9DET6pQNGNV60xC_wM94VC9vWBuCdLRup_QepA0Ui6_-286rKidji3ZE-wuv0H2ZcMbG08Eo6Y-68_4BwVq6_84EtTEcPKIPt_glNmFOp07y=w296-h640" width="296" /></a></div><br />…reads like some <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103873/">Dead Alive</a> baby birthed from the Independent Women's Forum after the GBD impregnated it in the dining room of a house full of zombies. <div><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2zkbSMUI7L3mHMIJnCTlwDfqlvE7FVZUMxmLDOdc9nNUViOQUWlMopV3YYu7BQYJAC85EkYdAlpROHAhnA6SNdPydhRqj1rxB7aWTnT0o8HkCHGBfajkHGmzdDT8gEZgNPqJbEukXbhZUILtYPaxQZAMhhVceXpBQZGj7FzVWGJm2360EYm0-l5hb=s750" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="750" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2zkbSMUI7L3mHMIJnCTlwDfqlvE7FVZUMxmLDOdc9nNUViOQUWlMopV3YYu7BQYJAC85EkYdAlpROHAhnA6SNdPydhRqj1rxB7aWTnT0o8HkCHGBfajkHGmzdDT8gEZgNPqJbEukXbhZUILtYPaxQZAMhhVceXpBQZGj7FzVWGJm2360EYm0-l5hb=w640-h360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKf_y0hpoNDp1GGD8A_flGx7iQwMY_3sOwg7k5GAUk7mT4lzn9XVFXQIk_-8lgLuCu6E2V52uVe0V_dI2aM7e3Z2yZ-eUZ23WQEgUnExs8s_zS7qpRv_lpKg_ypHh9-qOwaaQ2H4PmzSkIimxu4TWkmQ_sCLiNjfOlO6mb9fzviWlSfLxzZypU4GAc=s1536" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="875" data-original-width="1536" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKf_y0hpoNDp1GGD8A_flGx7iQwMY_3sOwg7k5GAUk7mT4lzn9XVFXQIk_-8lgLuCu6E2V52uVe0V_dI2aM7e3Z2yZ-eUZ23WQEgUnExs8s_zS7qpRv_lpKg_ypHh9-qOwaaQ2H4PmzSkIimxu4TWkmQ_sCLiNjfOlO6mb9fzviWlSfLxzZypU4GAc=w640-h364" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilRR1PXmumdSw7Xal5DD3Y3Ij_SknL5Xi7I_pJJrQXk2LtACz3NlhcJE6KRbMp3x6IPJYgVJVR7fj-SjW0ITTUkILW8S_6eAB0qriGMHH0UaDnvVHomIO4KuH3jFtEStHuww3j9MN_8y-mScD4av3mW-InczJCo-3zmvUqxisYZQE1VDECXyKSMOnT=s1641" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1641" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilRR1PXmumdSw7Xal5DD3Y3Ij_SknL5Xi7I_pJJrQXk2LtACz3NlhcJE6KRbMp3x6IPJYgVJVR7fj-SjW0ITTUkILW8S_6eAB0qriGMHH0UaDnvVHomIO4KuH3jFtEStHuww3j9MN_8y-mScD4av3mW-InczJCo-3zmvUqxisYZQE1VDECXyKSMOnT=w600-h640" width="600" /></a></div>The citations and cherry picked, misrepresented stats in the toolkit are easily dismantled, and have already been <a href="https://twitter.com/AboutPediatrics/status/1486800774797606916">multiple times</a> just on Twitter. <div><br /></div>But less clear is the funding, support, and/or political motivation behind this well-coordinated effort that appears more legitimate on the surface than America's Frontline Doctors and the GBD. It is somewhat differentiated by its focus on children, who <i>are</i> clearly suffering due to the shit response to the pandemic by the adults around them.<div><br /></div><div>Despite the framing of this being "for the children" the timing and message don’t pass the sniff test. The agenda is not even remotely in the best interest of children. </div><div><br /></div><div>Keep both eyes on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UrgencyOfNormal?src=hashtag_click">#UrgencyOfNormal</a> in the coming weeks to see if we can catch a glimpse of the man behind the curtain.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7_XjyHVSy279MaNTzViW8G0wTaFGqBlSofpprQLrkoc6Iq2V-Yj_IFOeRilX1rDB2e9CJKvtbS9H-LpjXRo-HrFKU3R8aC6_SdKE744G41JaPKrmd9I-yEkAVtxS1ZzVT7Ngln01cGpPVm8em5_fWXx_7aQuQoyGozhzAyaybNwX8kAE0zemcz0PY=s474" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="474" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7_XjyHVSy279MaNTzViW8G0wTaFGqBlSofpprQLrkoc6Iq2V-Yj_IFOeRilX1rDB2e9CJKvtbS9H-LpjXRo-HrFKU3R8aC6_SdKE744G41JaPKrmd9I-yEkAVtxS1ZzVT7Ngln01cGpPVm8em5_fWXx_7aQuQoyGozhzAyaybNwX8kAE0zemcz0PY=w640-h414" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is that a voting machine? I'm keeping my gaze turned to the LEFT this time ahem ahem</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Monday January 31</b> - And already we have <a href="https://twitter.com/justthefacts85/status/1488087548840710150">an update</a>. Joe Friday reports a game of musical chairs, where five of the original Urgency of Normal authors (see screen shots above) have disappeared and been replaced. Monica Gandhi, Jeff Vergales, Amy Beck, Tara Henderson and Aparna Bole have been replaced by Vinay Prasad, Jennifer Grant, Martha Fulford, Ram Duriseti and Todd Porter. </div><div><br /></div><div>What does this all mean? It's anyone's guess but there are some clues.</div><div><br /></div><div>Prasad is listed as an <a href="https://brownstone.org/authors/" rel="nofollow">Author and Contributor at the Brownstone Institute</a>, along with the GBD Authors Kulldorf, Bhattacharya, and Gupta. Brownstone <a href="https://brownstone.org/about/" rel="nofollow">describes itself as the "spiritual child" of the GBD</a>, naturally. And wouldn't you know, the Founder and President of Brownstone is Jeffrey Tucker. That guy sure gets around!</div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Wednesday, March 1</b> - Oh, hey, looks like <a href="https://punchbowl.news/wp-content/uploads/IMPACT-COVID-positioning-strategy-memo.pdf">this memo</a> might explain in part the political motivation behind <i>some</i> of this new "Urgency."</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Vixen Valentinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924365433583975370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058139842866427482.post-76227067495558376902021-10-01T14:34:00.009-07:002023-01-22T11:27:56.226-08:00Giving the World a #ScienceHug<p>If there is one thing that fake skeptics are known for, it's not their warm and fuzzy demeanor. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWdPUgpXM42MoSCc47k-TZd5PSK-gGaL6u3ATWz6B0pbg9NmJLaagEPywrIuGcYjnK8mzPOi-tOUy8mdOv5TXmmWMgQHp71yTzMI-cW4yytuIB5REyuf602_NS4bQVIuabcatSrGLWRPw/s979/Screen+Shot+2021-09-23+at+4.17.04+PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="714" data-original-width="979" height="467" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWdPUgpXM42MoSCc47k-TZd5PSK-gGaL6u3ATWz6B0pbg9NmJLaagEPywrIuGcYjnK8mzPOi-tOUy8mdOv5TXmmWMgQHp71yTzMI-cW4yytuIB5REyuf602_NS4bQVIuabcatSrGLWRPw/w640-h467/Screen+Shot+2021-09-23+at+4.17.04+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://youtu.be/FrFRbGjUtJk">Don't Be A Dick Guys, Says Phil Plait</a> <br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>This makes the new hashtag that our old friend Kevin Folta is trying trying to popularize, that much more ironic.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgksq5Hy9qMV0HL5IwJ2KW-0Yieus8xWgQkyXmxcUlhPz_7iNk06uORCVdJSPCgI9Yd2YUW-gQxCbzl88Slk1RZ9hfiA0TGrzE30CEf5zBkoPXOZ259SPP6hh-cwPcpmJkUnXuoTqlWFGI/s878/Folta+Science+Hug.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="444" data-original-width="878" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgksq5Hy9qMV0HL5IwJ2KW-0Yieus8xWgQkyXmxcUlhPz_7iNk06uORCVdJSPCgI9Yd2YUW-gQxCbzl88Slk1RZ9hfiA0TGrzE30CEf5zBkoPXOZ259SPP6hh-cwPcpmJkUnXuoTqlWFGI/w640-h324/Folta+Science+Hug.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i>"In this week of technical failures and personal challenges, this week’s podcast investigates the merits of <b>civil conversation</b>. In an angry online environment, can we use the tools of <b>trust building, listening, and empathy </b>to build trust and have greater influence? I discuss my current circumstances and the status of the social media discussion of vaccine hesitancy and genetic engineering. Can we influence the acceptance of good technology with a <b>soft touch</b>? Can we <b>win more hearts and minds</b> with <b>kindness</b> than with data? This is a very important episode I hope you’ll find illuminating."</i><p>Clearly the need for this type of outreach speaks to the deficit in basic civility from a lot of self-described science communicators. It has been touched on here before how important science communication is, which is why this blog exists in large part. The warped form of "SciComm" displayed by fake skeptics harms the efforts of legitimate scientists, journalists, activists, and educators to improve public knowledge and inspire action on a manner of important topics that affect every living being on earth. Quite literally the future of our species and planet are on the line here, and we can't afford to fuck this up.</p><p>So while we can definitely see examples out there of science communication being done right by both professionals and laypersons alike, have things improved with the behavior of those who identify as Skeptics since Phil Plait's blunt admonishment? This blog alone is a testament to the fact that things seem to only be worsening. The continued popularity of social media accounts and celebrity Skeptics with surly attitudes who endlessly debunk the same tired shit and throw around insults is evident to those who pay even a minimum amount of attention. </p><p>Is the #ScienceHug a real good faith effort, or is it just a ploy? Does Professor Folta really practice what he preaches? Will he help Skeptics turn a new leaf?</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2pqvX0OSeTiE0JsZgI3XIli5TdCwmIYZYKztSqe_CAijY9quKfUYAmrn4mGrM-2sxSyW6p7W3s_bTtPhcMaC967IHBlOy4FPMi1bkb27C0KsmLJuKgdx2LkKslf8dCPizv96P2bO7x3o/s1343/KF+activists+lie.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1043" data-original-width="1343" height="498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2pqvX0OSeTiE0JsZgI3XIli5TdCwmIYZYKztSqe_CAijY9quKfUYAmrn4mGrM-2sxSyW6p7W3s_bTtPhcMaC967IHBlOy4FPMi1bkb27C0KsmLJuKgdx2LkKslf8dCPizv96P2bO7x3o/w640-h498/KF+activists+lie.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Well, in this first example, he's using the hashtag to call someone a liar...not off to great start. Wonder how they took it?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJtFyd5VL61S2Knj7G_WasVpdDyKg48TG7wW0BfT2BJJlUyzW7b0eGo_rQ0CDLTl4WQqMO7JjUddr8tBfHvISuVOFtcXqNDtEd_-FAl8d4p6sl5Oecja_wIMp2ULUBfXpXX96qkA1-H3s/s1343/Folta+Poe+Bullies.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="837" data-original-width="1343" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJtFyd5VL61S2Knj7G_WasVpdDyKg48TG7wW0BfT2BJJlUyzW7b0eGo_rQ0CDLTl4WQqMO7JjUddr8tBfHvISuVOFtcXqNDtEd_-FAl8d4p6sl5Oecja_wIMp2ULUBfXpXX96qkA1-H3s/w640-h398/Folta+Poe+Bullies.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Mmmm, not so good. How about Folta's followers? Are they giving Twitter a big, warm #ScienceHug? Let's find out!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkt1GopMpSJiIOcVKsOcX64d3CQhvE5AuMcGnR4JsycQn7rbYarKKmd_4QWWLVALjHtaUgEZQ2sNqMOR9YUeAUBqggS_MdkCu67lUDaUnba3zjW1Tg8CNaY8tPo-ceM04GCC7iaqC9xdE/s1343/ScienceHug+1.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1153" data-original-width="1343" height="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkt1GopMpSJiIOcVKsOcX64d3CQhvE5AuMcGnR4JsycQn7rbYarKKmd_4QWWLVALjHtaUgEZQ2sNqMOR9YUeAUBqggS_MdkCu67lUDaUnba3zjW1Tg8CNaY8tPo-ceM04GCC7iaqC9xdE/w640-h550/ScienceHug+1.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNHEhgTja0qnedwe7R5RdEtyNtHTxyV_CRGWhoHfVd6AYD3ivEFo3h2PWZ9BopbY3CVp3mHZ6YQPd5l8OmJiOSjOk-6KimwrnuRfsf5xMJ7dSxfLqkyZdr0k92UfsHFnSgFpLYl638J3I/s1421/ScienceHug+2.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1421" data-original-width="1343" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNHEhgTja0qnedwe7R5RdEtyNtHTxyV_CRGWhoHfVd6AYD3ivEFo3h2PWZ9BopbY3CVp3mHZ6YQPd5l8OmJiOSjOk-6KimwrnuRfsf5xMJ7dSxfLqkyZdr0k92UfsHFnSgFpLYl638J3I/w604-h640/ScienceHug+2.jpeg" width="604" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtKUPlqoJcteStF36ow1-L4EqpvSgF437lmCTaOjN2f61cifZKb2Vzb0v1E8HnMljToRhFzoUPG32NYzOuFiVoY_j-qLCniEZFBBhy9xXzTury9iAZQSRTy5JV2rseOZVT1BJiQtkPeoI/s1361/ScienceHug+3.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1361" data-original-width="1343" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtKUPlqoJcteStF36ow1-L4EqpvSgF437lmCTaOjN2f61cifZKb2Vzb0v1E8HnMljToRhFzoUPG32NYzOuFiVoY_j-qLCniEZFBBhy9xXzTury9iAZQSRTy5JV2rseOZVT1BJiQtkPeoI/w632-h640/ScienceHug+3.jpeg" width="632" /></a></div><div><br /></div>So, not really off to a great start.<p>If Kevin's <a href="https://usrtk.org/our-investigations/kevin-folta/">past track record</a> is any indication, we can expect that #ScienceHug isn't going to bring about any lasting change to the attitudes of a particular faction of SciComm.</p><p>See <a href="http://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2017/10/science-bullies.html">Science Bullies</a>, <a href="http://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2016/08/censorship-or-consequences.html">Censorship or Consequences</a>, and <a href="http://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2019/01/empathy-deficiency-syndrome.html">Empathy Deficiency Syndrome</a> for a slice of the recent history of SciComm by fake skeptics. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Vixen Valentinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924365433583975370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058139842866427482.post-90288343736885931422021-09-29T12:04:00.007-07:002023-01-22T11:27:05.231-08:00Two Sides of the Same Coin<p>I'm a rather busy person, but sometimes I have deep thoughts when showering or brushing my teeth. This latest installment of Sick Of It All (the blog, not the band) comes to you from the nether regions of my brain and my impeccable hygiene.</p><p>It's been well established here before that many Skeptics are not in the habit of peering through the lens of self-reflection, perhaps because their enormous egos cast a shadow that obscures the view. Whatever the case may be, it seems to go unnoticed by them how their club has become one of the extreme ends of a varied spectrum.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzDr-yahY_qaPQiGquab59xIF2xhar42KfKzNFw13e_iSweVT-QixaWGMqyggQpgPn_aKFGJGr5TjetQz7PMJ1CX1LDCPumpeNWo5gmMu6DvEA-zWSCp5JyW2J8HAkdpsEiatA9UOWmSs/s2236/SPECTRUM+OF+SCI.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1047" data-original-width="2236" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzDr-yahY_qaPQiGquab59xIF2xhar42KfKzNFw13e_iSweVT-QixaWGMqyggQpgPn_aKFGJGr5TjetQz7PMJ1CX1LDCPumpeNWo5gmMu6DvEA-zWSCp5JyW2J8HAkdpsEiatA9UOWmSs/w640-h300/SPECTRUM+OF+SCI.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Crude Spectrum of Scientific Thought & Opinion </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />Skeptics have essentially cast themselves in the role of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/846328232094681/videos/907398372654333">hero and savior</a> to the Regular People who they seem to believe, at any moment, could be sucked into the vortex of Fringey Cringey. The dimension where chemtrails criss cross the skyline of a flat earth populated by deep state illuminati lizard people that you access just by say, visiting a chiropractor or using some essential oils.<div><br /></div><div>Steven Novella <a href="https://www.facebook.com/846328232094681/videos/907398372654333">has described Skeptics</a> as the "last line standing" to protect the rest of the world who are at risk of "being completely overwhelmed by quackery and nonsense."</div><div><br /></div><div>And yet, more and more we see that they have become a caricature that is simply a mirror image of the quackery and nonsense they claim to be protecting us from. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Skeptics are the Conspiracy Theory Conspiracy Theorists. Take this example from prominent Skeptic voice, David Gorski.</div><div><br /></div><div>You may recall back in 2016 when Zika virus was all over the headlines because of its link to microcephaly. Brazil had such a large increase in cases compared to elsewhere, that it seemed that there was another factor at play. Some public health professionals brought up the idea that the larvicide pyriproxifen may have had a role in increasing cases of microcephaly. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rather than concede that this should at least be properly investigated, which is what the scientific method calls for, Gorski, in his role as Orac <a href="https://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2016/02/15/say-it-aint-so-george-george-takei-falls-for-a-zika-virus-conspiracy-theory" rel="nofollow">wrote at Respectful Insolence</a> of this hypothesis as a baseless conspiracy theory that was something to be mocked.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghXbrAgHujHQEesQ5QSP29KHwrbOCPrEfgnOUM7aU7i-jQtRmyqF7jk9n04dPpceVd-ODazIK2OfB41Xjiurm0la5-8ml1wGnu6ApqU6HWgamLKxAkQY6S3wU3JeoEVEFXezFWRBfpB7Y/s601/Screen+Shot+2021-09-29+at+2.44.08+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="289" data-original-width="601" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghXbrAgHujHQEesQ5QSP29KHwrbOCPrEfgnOUM7aU7i-jQtRmyqF7jk9n04dPpceVd-ODazIK2OfB41Xjiurm0la5-8ml1wGnu6ApqU6HWgamLKxAkQY6S3wU3JeoEVEFXezFWRBfpB7Y/w640-h309/Screen+Shot+2021-09-29+at+2.44.08+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>"Monsanto. It just had to be Monsanto. I will give these cranks props for figuring out a way to blame Monsanto for the microcephaly suspected to be caused by Zika virus without mentioning GMOs. Well played, Second Nexus, well-played. Not so well-played, Mr. Takei. Not so well-played in falling for this."<div><br /><div>What did Mr. Takei share that was so horrible? An article based on a report from <a href="https://reduas.com.ar/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2016/02/Informe-Zika-de-Reduas_TRAD.pdf">Physicians in the Crop-Sprayed Villages</a>. Despite Gorski's lame attempt at science cockblocking, the scientific community heard the recommendation by doctors from the <a href="https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/brazilian-association-of-collective-health-(abrasco)">Brazilian Association forCollective Health (ABRASCO)</a> who demanded that urgent epidemiological studies be carried out to look for a causal link.</div><div><br /></div><div>Flash forward to today, when these studies have now been conducted. One such study found a potential mechanism that could explain the increase in microcephaly case in areas where pyriproxifen was used.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2OLAle-dZgtyvIMKYpOA3wbhEqqUcX333w4y1scFSbapeZyiVrjdkhh6Nkd2oN2xDbaw3LbPp2LZDikVpIRFsPYgP0DC92Y_qWUBEsNl_akf3hVEXVK2puEkEdMw-dTRrvDRVzHWcLPg/s720/Screen+Shot+2021-09-29+at+2.47.20+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="601" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2OLAle-dZgtyvIMKYpOA3wbhEqqUcX333w4y1scFSbapeZyiVrjdkhh6Nkd2oN2xDbaw3LbPp2LZDikVpIRFsPYgP0DC92Y_qWUBEsNl_akf3hVEXVK2puEkEdMw-dTRrvDRVzHWcLPg/w534-h640/Screen+Shot+2021-09-29+at+2.47.20+PM.png" width="534" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>A <a href="https://theconversation.com/common-pesticide-may-have-made-the-zika-epidemic-worse-new-research-167833">report in The Conversation</a> by the study authors says, "...we have shown that pyriproxyfen could indeed exacerbate the already severe effects the Zika virus has on foetal brain development." And describe the possible mechanism that they show in their study, "...pyriproxyfen impairs thyroid hormone signalling in the brain, modifying crucial processes for its proper development."<div><br /></div><div>Does this sound like a conspiracy theory to you?</div><div><br /></div><div>If Gorski and friends had their way, and sometimes they do succeed in this, their debunking would be taken as the authoritative source on topics they don't wish to see researched. For the people exposed to this larvacide, we are lucky they did not succeed here. But it's doubtful they will ever admit or correct these types of blunders, they would rather just ignore the new science, and move on to another subject.</div><div><br /></div><div>This isn't much different from how cults like QAnon operate on the other extreme end of the spectrum. "Trust the science" may as well be, "Trust the plan." I'm not suggesting that Skeptics are cult members, but they do exhibit some cult-like behavior at times. When the predictions (or debunking) doesn't bear out, they just move to a new target. </div><div><br /></div><div>Skeptics use a flawed version of the scientific method, as the above example illustrates. This is not any different than the pseudoscientific methodology used by flat earth proponents and others on the Fringey Cringey end of the spectrum. It doesn't matter if your conclusions end up being correct, and we have just seen that they don't always land on the right side in many cases. It is the method you use that matters. </div><div><br /></div><div>One might cloak themselves in talk of science, evidence and reason, but if they don't follow the scientific method, they may find themselves on the extreme end of the spectrum of scientific thought and opinion.</div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div></div></div>Vixen Valentinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924365433583975370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058139842866427482.post-269532613783173972021-02-21T12:05:00.005-08:002021-02-21T12:05:51.855-08:00The Bromance Continues: Kevin Folta Hearts Patrick Moore<p>The most recent episode of Talking Biotech podcast is yet another chapter in one of the love stories for the ages, that between Kevin Folta and Patrick Moore. We've seen their affection on display before in <a href="http://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2019/03/turning-blind-ideology.html">Turning a Blind Ideology</a>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmC_gwSrRNkRBniUJ7Ks0bCY1EvlNKV6BURYd8l9lSe6lvP3ze1EwsaUn531goD9LfKGr8VfFJ_yxfarQvsdYUVvbM1eBnUzTQaoU1wHzeZoE0ovHYfmSwEdXUqwQ1tjEAjB9l5QGpGFw/s1924/FoltaMoorePodcast.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1924" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmC_gwSrRNkRBniUJ7Ks0bCY1EvlNKV6BURYd8l9lSe6lvP3ze1EwsaUn531goD9LfKGr8VfFJ_yxfarQvsdYUVvbM1eBnUzTQaoU1wHzeZoE0ovHYfmSwEdXUqwQ1tjEAjB9l5QGpGFw/w510-h640/FoltaMoorePodcast.jpeg" width="510" /></a></div><br /><p>Despite the title, the topic of climate change comes up for a large portion of this interview. Folta's description at the end also understated Moore's stance just a little bit. </p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF0Xb-hCWLTmnq0IrZf9F20szj7towN3fN49sf5qY3HqhEbs-fDfkPHTU6xMICTEMDfZxp2V4vhztZd1hiGeB2QuwnLTOujM43mgM6L8a4D__Hvw5PdH9rvPFKy-ue3mJ8EFAufL3-Xas/s826/Moore+CO2.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="826" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF0Xb-hCWLTmnq0IrZf9F20szj7towN3fN49sf5qY3HqhEbs-fDfkPHTU6xMICTEMDfZxp2V4vhztZd1hiGeB2QuwnLTOujM43mgM6L8a4D__Hvw5PdH9rvPFKy-ue3mJ8EFAufL3-Xas/w640-h454/Moore+CO2.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="text-align: center;">The dude is a full on denier.</span><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>In order to save you the pain of listening, I have <a href="https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1363122850043985924.html">summarized their discussion</a> as follows</i></h3><div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><i>In addition to spouting utter BS about climate, Moore says to Folta “People have been indoctrinated to believe plastic is destroying the oceans.” Regarding the great pacific garbage patch, “It’s a fake, it doesn’t exist. It’s is not there. There is no pacific garbage patch.”</i></div><div><i><br /> </i><div class="content-tweet allow-preview" data-action="click->thread#showTweet" data-controller="thread" data-screenname="vixenvalentino" data-tweet="1363141044976648193" dir="auto" id="tweet_5" style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 1.58; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><i>He continues, “It is a photo shop on the internet.”</i></div><div class="content-tweet allow-preview" data-action="click->thread#showTweet" data-controller="thread" data-screenname="vixenvalentino" data-tweet="1363141044976648193" dir="auto" id="tweet_5" style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: 1.58; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><i><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></i><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EurZjkEXIAAsrOI.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1da1f2; cursor: pointer; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><i><img alt="" class="b-loaded" height="480" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EurZjkEXIAAsrOI.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-radius: 15px; border: 1px solid rgb(225, 232, 237); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.8rem; margin: 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 514px;" width="640" /></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="http://b.parsons.edu/~pany468/parsons/political_website/source2/index.html">Source</a><br /><br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table></div><i>After you read his book, unless you are “completely indoctrinated into the cult of climate catastrophe,” you will believe what he’s saying. Also, polar bear counters are lying.</i></div><div><i> <br />Kevin now chimes in to say he’s not a climate skeptic, he’s a skeptic of the catastrophic interpretations....then a half ass push back on one of Moore’s claims, who talks over him a bunch to declare, “we are actually in a 6,000 year cooling period now.”</i></div><div><i> <br />“Read my book Kevin.”</i></div><div><i> <br />“I’m a member of the CO2 Coalition. (<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/CO2_Coalition">A front group</a>) Our conclusion is clear, increased CO2 is 100% beneficial for the environment.” </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Kevin then says he relies on the info from the National Academy of Sciences re climate, then asks Moore “who am I supposed to trust?” Moore bashes the NAS, and spews more propaganda. “We (humans) have restored a balance to the global carbon cycle.”</i></div><div><i> <br />Folta reiterates his question about who can people trust, Moore says read my book.<br /><br />Folta continues glossing over Moore’s ridiculous claims and kisses his ass.<br /><br />Moore unsurprisingly says, “The solution is nuclear energy.” <br />He then sings the praises of fossil fuels, and goes on a tangent about nuclear again.<br /><br />Nuclear, nuclear, nuclear.</i></div><div><i> <br />Kevin loves it.<br /><br />Kevin loves Patrick.<br /><br />Fin. </i><div class="content-tweet allow-preview" data-action="click->thread#showTweet" data-controller="thread" data-screenname="vixenvalentino" data-tweet="1363152972893614081" dir="auto" id="tweet_13" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; font-family: Georgia, Cambria, "times new roman", Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875rem; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="tw-permalink" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #cccccc; display: inline-block; font-size: 14px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: hidden; width: 12px;"><span class="fas fa-link" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; font-family: "Font Awesome 5 Free"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 900; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto;"></span></span></div><div class="content-tweet allow-preview" data-action="click->thread#showTweet" data-controller="thread" data-screenname="vixenvalentino" data-tweet="1363250092380192769" dir="auto" id="tweet_14" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; font-family: Georgia, Cambria, "times new roman", Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875rem; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="entity-mention-threadreader" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></div></div><p>In all seriousness, this is bad. Kevin has given this guy a platform to sell his book and promote his brand of ideological pseudoscience. Folta once again demonstrates how he gives Moore a pass on climate science (and basic fucking ecology and logic). He weakly challenged Moore's assertions which just adds to the evidence that any credibility afforded to Folta by virtue of his teaching position at the University of Florida is undeserved. This whole podcast was an embarrassing farce. </p><p>Several on Twitter also noticed this and voiced their criticism.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2Zp-a0g5PC7R9ISXW6JYeKPotyBWapPNTDVEKBlRNl9G-14RaXVvNz4r-tyOH3Oa-RJ0qn2cysGY8ktwzLB4NREB21qQTZUvp3tkTe-2y_2v2O_FGfdDY8VNt7lzBoUqqxZP0PoHlvI/s1803/Folta+Criticized+Moore.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1803" data-original-width="1343" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2Zp-a0g5PC7R9ISXW6JYeKPotyBWapPNTDVEKBlRNl9G-14RaXVvNz4r-tyOH3Oa-RJ0qn2cysGY8ktwzLB4NREB21qQTZUvp3tkTe-2y_2v2O_FGfdDY8VNt7lzBoUqqxZP0PoHlvI/w476-h640/Folta+Criticized+Moore.jpeg" width="476" /></a></div><br /><p>Sadly though, many who should definitely know better, including one of the organizers for the March for Science liked Kevin's shares of the podcast with Moore. Facepalm.</p><p>If you want to learn about climate science, <a href="https://onlinepublichealth.gwu.edu/resources/sources-for-climate-news/">here's a list</a> compiled by MPH@GW, the George Washington University online Master of Public Health program. They don't list Moore, his book, The CO2 Coalition, or Kevin Folta, so you should probably be okay.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div></div>Vixen Valentinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924365433583975370noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058139842866427482.post-39464630852461923902021-02-07T12:35:00.000-08:002021-02-07T12:35:49.251-08:00A Skeptic Promotes DDT...Again<p>Just in case we aren't already on the same page that getting your science information from <a href="http://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-babelist.html">people who call themselves babes</a> is a bad idea, Yvette d'Entremont Ross (SciBabe) decided to make sure it was heard loud and clear with her "<a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20210207195506/https://www.facebook.com/scibabe/posts/257515249272729">Moment of Science</a>" dated January 30, 2021.</p><p>While the world is upside down and on fire, we can all take great comfort in the fact that Yvette is out there swooshing her lab coat over to the computer to type up a citation-less, expletive-peppered missive in defense of toxic chemicals and launch it onto her Facebook page.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyiwIPpuvCttTh5QGN7HlCRjoXfDYNlKkYa6x5pQIybM6ZqVnhxA4TAjtKOuzsJDFT78OsQLaIPSYbPrTyLzdB6s7RWAEjprBnOcvKI1tK6u2psZ9iJPW-6SWOCGy6tFu2k7nMUZmWEj0/s677/Screen+Shot+2021-02-07+at+1.54.18+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="677" data-original-width="593" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyiwIPpuvCttTh5QGN7HlCRjoXfDYNlKkYa6x5pQIybM6ZqVnhxA4TAjtKOuzsJDFT78OsQLaIPSYbPrTyLzdB6s7RWAEjprBnOcvKI1tK6u2psZ9iJPW-6SWOCGy6tFu2k7nMUZmWEj0/s16000/Screen+Shot+2021-02-07+at+1.54.18+PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3GvUFIf83rUW4jagnReOtIdYpYmRYrEbXOe3jGOEQgLlAWwNBAoxHcFJ5Jiu4Az66vKHlYCCnmK6ihO9dk-uwvt99Gog4ONshqd10AXCBedc33aZ70tFyPf5M_AcdUCeUnSO-aUb8Nes/s623/Screen+Shot+2021-02-07+at+1.54.51+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="623" data-original-width="587" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3GvUFIf83rUW4jagnReOtIdYpYmRYrEbXOe3jGOEQgLlAWwNBAoxHcFJ5Jiu4Az66vKHlYCCnmK6ihO9dk-uwvt99Gog4ONshqd10AXCBedc33aZ70tFyPf5M_AcdUCeUnSO-aUb8Nes/s16000/Screen+Shot+2021-02-07+at+1.54.51+PM.png" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzZ7gI76AYA7yzt1GKDGtupwWmxGl9tM2Ix6_i7dysnZhEYji2PAdk6AQWZrifdrmvYsK5uihAUHazAYYB2XvjJgRESZ-ytjhKU0zZgPYIkMLtAh1spbbqD2U2OCJhCDQc8cJJWA4f8fM/s465/DDT+elephant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="302" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzZ7gI76AYA7yzt1GKDGtupwWmxGl9tM2Ix6_i7dysnZhEYji2PAdk6AQWZrifdrmvYsK5uihAUHazAYYB2XvjJgRESZ-ytjhKU0zZgPYIkMLtAh1spbbqD2U2OCJhCDQc8cJJWA4f8fM/w416-h640/DDT+elephant.jpg" width="416" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DDT, the "miricle pesticide"</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDwCE-efV_zoCJVfsP2C6Z_ojDfwWUSwQnDuNvsLe8i-MWX3_114aIAnE8-ealu_ORQeQaRQhup-Gq_zUq-e5O-D5Nv_Gk2WW0X-WCoq1lXmq_jveIwtW7QPz4vXYOkJpgdgsFP-_p6_I/s586/Screen+Shot+2021-02-07+at+1.57.50+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="159" data-original-width="586" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDwCE-efV_zoCJVfsP2C6Z_ojDfwWUSwQnDuNvsLe8i-MWX3_114aIAnE8-ealu_ORQeQaRQhup-Gq_zUq-e5O-D5Nv_Gk2WW0X-WCoq1lXmq_jveIwtW7QPz4vXYOkJpgdgsFP-_p6_I/w640-h174/Screen+Shot+2021-02-07+at+1.57.50+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Here is the TL;DR version -</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Early pesticides were very toxic and bad!</li><li>Enter organic chemistry...</li><li>DDT saves half a billion lives! Wow!</li><li>DDT safe!</li><li>DDT safe!</li><li>Everything's a chemical!</li><li>Rachel Carson's book is just overblown bullshit!</li><li>Okay so DDT was sorta bad for some birds...and it's a persistent organic pollutant...</li><li>It's also a probable carcinogen, but coffee, so just ignore that.</li><li>Risk is something I'm going gloss over in this sentence.</li><li>INVOKE 500 MILLION LIVES STAT AGAIN FOR MIC DROP</li><li>"DDT is good for me-e-e!" 🎶</li><li>People will know I'm full of shit when they read this, but...</li><li>Oh well! </li></ul><div><br /></div><div>There is a <a href="https://timpanogos.blog/ddt-chronicles-at-millard-fillmores-bathtub/">veritable library of information</a> on this topic, should readers wish to learn more about the history of DDT and malaria that Yvette seems to think isn't "nuanced" enough to include in her hastily written Facebook take. </div><div><br /></div><div>This isn't the first time SciBabe has used her platform to share <a href="http://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2017/02/fake-skeptics-spread-fake-news-about.html">myths about DDT</a>, and it probably won't be the last. </div><p></p>Vixen Valentinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924365433583975370noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058139842866427482.post-68940351752378927402020-10-24T13:40:00.002-07:002020-10-27T07:26:54.299-07:00The Babelist<p>Alright, the time has come to make another list. A list of Babes. A list of the persons surfing the waves of the internet on a tired-ass trope meant to mock Vani Hari, the Food Babe. This tactic has worked to some degree, judging by the number of Babes known to me up 'til now. If you happen to know of others, don't hesitate to send an email or drop a comment below.</p><p>Now, onto the list. Since you can't really rank dumpster fires, I think I'll just start at the beginning of the story.</p><p><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Food Babe, Vani Hari</h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit5zoHT6FPZEflQNg_2tuFSybH8HAUtYtB-yt4qGMNSpuyQ-yS1hHNvywASDpYoSn3IT3M5lKydNlPCJJhDw4E-BwJO2NifaMrem3UEJQmizMMFKw4sqe3WNMRIR31pn-WGH2uAus9V5U/s1257/Vani-Hari-Feeding-You-Lie.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1257" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit5zoHT6FPZEflQNg_2tuFSybH8HAUtYtB-yt4qGMNSpuyQ-yS1hHNvywASDpYoSn3IT3M5lKydNlPCJJhDw4E-BwJO2NifaMrem3UEJQmizMMFKw4sqe3WNMRIR31pn-WGH2uAus9V5U/w319-h400/Vani-Hari-Feeding-You-Lie.jpg" width="319" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The Original Babe, Vani has become a favorite punching bag for Skeptics and the agriculture industry. The mouth-foaming diatribes, lectures, flaming arrows and take-down articles aimed at her brand peaked around 2015-16. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDuqi3EYPKIWBGrjeWcdbvEwDa81oSiTS5ayoBhQ9_d0zpjNNqEtOaTaiU_IhfGRwjEzEz6j5nrs_JMJR2Mxegvs_W58tvkHrsJUeqtb4VIYcuDXi1ru0_CXCJxulU9fV_clO6_QV9IfA/s1215/Folta+WreckHerBrand.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="1215" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDuqi3EYPKIWBGrjeWcdbvEwDa81oSiTS5ayoBhQ9_d0zpjNNqEtOaTaiU_IhfGRwjEzEz6j5nrs_JMJR2Mxegvs_W58tvkHrsJUeqtb4VIYcuDXi1ru0_CXCJxulU9fV_clO6_QV9IfA/w640-h288/Folta+WreckHerBrand.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kevin Folta, a <i>big fan</i> of Ms. Hari's work<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The attacks launched on Hari (an easy target for debunking) are what some refer to as "fame trolling."</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0YgOmoiFSaRQ-Y3rnWTh5SNQYpHiq8lLZRNw5TjqRqj3MN9_F-RSmSzTH2r-B5tX5lETEyOgQiaiyrePEVo7SS64RoLFLTu5rdpIzkNvkMRrMGM8ooNRhV8eaNSEihpmrZjK8k22bg6A/s601/Screen+Shot+2020-09-15+at+12.08.47+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="601" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0YgOmoiFSaRQ-Y3rnWTh5SNQYpHiq8lLZRNw5TjqRqj3MN9_F-RSmSzTH2r-B5tX5lETEyOgQiaiyrePEVo7SS64RoLFLTu5rdpIzkNvkMRrMGM8ooNRhV8eaNSEihpmrZjK8k22bg6A/w640-h404/Screen+Shot+2020-09-15+at+12.08.47+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><p>And so, borne of the desire to elevate one's own brand by scrambling to the top of a gigantic heap of the picked clean bones of Vani Hari, Gwyneth Paltrow and the like, the world has been bestowed with a bevy of bogus Babes.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXx2xes042xZLOMlruwslzO34RFLJ25lGaWKJF0c1yIirFB8lS9PA3lT9LPNVbogGOIs2wH-NFlyJPuGCAEBnaSnf9mAfTNIOvBQX-8of2F6JFjXKNrnQ6TdrhfJC9SVP6w37JiOqZv-M/s594/fembots.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="594" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXx2xes042xZLOMlruwslzO34RFLJ25lGaWKJF0c1yIirFB8lS9PA3lT9LPNVbogGOIs2wH-NFlyJPuGCAEBnaSnf9mAfTNIOvBQX-8of2F6JFjXKNrnQ6TdrhfJC9SVP6w37JiOqZv-M/w640-h412/fembots.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://youtu.be/j2FgjxOVapg">Bring in ze FemBOTS!!!</a></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /><br /></p><p><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">SciBabe, Yvette d'Entremont</h3><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisr-3UAmd7ePBXs1gpBnhhWyQUEbZhEL8MdhFyFV-NafN63gIt-AJVlc2BtXIal4MTHHfl8QIEFSVRHUSPamMJhAVwMA2EK9XmbuZv6QA6zfyOo3zxsn5OvF_PzT7I7IcSkqTtxMzj_lk/s2048/sci-babe-monsanto-talk-.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisr-3UAmd7ePBXs1gpBnhhWyQUEbZhEL8MdhFyFV-NafN63gIt-AJVlc2BtXIal4MTHHfl8QIEFSVRHUSPamMJhAVwMA2EK9XmbuZv6QA6zfyOo3zxsn5OvF_PzT7I7IcSkqTtxMzj_lk/w300-h400/sci-babe-monsanto-talk-.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Yvette_d%27Entremont">Yvette d'Entremont</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I've written entirely too much content on this Babe, so we will just go with a brief synopsis here by another Babe - ChiroBabe - whose name is a play on SciBabe. If SciBabe is the anti-Vani, then ChiroBabe is the anti-Yvette, in the form of a blogger who gives a lesson on the history of chiropractic in <a href="https://medium.com/@chirobabe/the-science-babe-is-neither-scientist-nor-babe-shes-bullshit-89eba206cd9">this hilarious rebuttal</a> to one of her articles. An excerpt:</div><div><br /></div><blockquote><i>The first time I encountered Yvette d’Entremont was when she wrote a blog for that esteemed, peer-reviewed scientific journal, Gawker, entitled “The Food Babe Blogger is Full of Shit.”</i></blockquote><p>SciBabe and her brand of bully babe scicomm still lives on after numerous "This Person/Thing is Bullshit" articles, an artificial sweetener affiliate deal, gluten-free bath bombs, a porn podcast and a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/scibabe/photos/yall-itll-be-some-months-until-its-out-but-i-can-finally-announce-im-going-to-be/1695053080631460/">show on the weather channel</a> which wrapped up its first season with an <a href="https://thetvdb.com/series/weird-earth/seasons/official/1">episode</a> called "Ghost Apples and Space Jelly."</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTOp3K_X0Op2b1n-nurhyphenhyphenLx61x0x-FGYfPnp4gRT49vPs-Rm3DZtyj_5scq9Dk-eIuvpRGZFOPuPmdVkKJpOcfKLtOWJ_NDVrJ0ouVGmqOZwbO-z4rfoT_apxyN-vl5VwQPiwwLlOLl4o/s1535/lEXMzofw.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1535" data-original-width="1343" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTOp3K_X0Op2b1n-nurhyphenhyphenLx61x0x-FGYfPnp4gRT49vPs-Rm3DZtyj_5scq9Dk-eIuvpRGZFOPuPmdVkKJpOcfKLtOWJ_NDVrJ0ouVGmqOZwbO-z4rfoT_apxyN-vl5VwQPiwwLlOLl4o/w560-h640/lEXMzofw.jpeg" width="560" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">*Yvette picks her teeth with Vani's bones* "I'm so done with take downs." *belches* </td></tr></tbody></table><p><br />Also, it's totally normal for a science communicator to have <a href="https://scibabe.com/about-scibabe/coi/" rel="nofollow">a list of COI on their website</a>, right? </p><p><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Food Science Babe, Erin Something or Other</h3><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZgTZYoDTMXVcJItv5GJmjFoTjrc09kpzViaGh0bVj6-ft32iWBHbuaT3Tb0_7okLLBb4gBwq9GTjA-8kriBry40oO-0utKVriFvuJw9E0nscdcuea5KPCnCZrBhSk72p-YSd5i1rnmY/s1108/Food-Science-Babe-Headshot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1108" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZgTZYoDTMXVcJItv5GJmjFoTjrc09kpzViaGh0bVj6-ft32iWBHbuaT3Tb0_7okLLBb4gBwq9GTjA-8kriBry40oO-0utKVriFvuJw9E0nscdcuea5KPCnCZrBhSk72p-YSd5i1rnmY/w260-h400/Food-Science-Babe-Headshot.jpg" width="260" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2018/03/whose-one-liner-is-it-anyway.html">Everything is a chemical!</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Food Science Babe, not to be confused with the aforementioned SciBabe or the Artist Formerly Known As <a href="https://www.calentertainment.com/portfoliotype/dr-debbie-berebichez/">Science Babe</a>, works in the food industry, and has a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota. One would assume from her branding that she has a degree in food science but I guess you can just get a degree in Chemical Engineering and still get a job as a "food scientist" anyway! And she wonders why people don't trust the food industry…</div><div><br /></div>She's "clearing up the myths about food and the food industry to give you factual information that’s based on science." An example:<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO9SC_qKbvmps5l6g4833Mk5wpv37FK_WzhcQE0wDFLFAHWO7z37dq6Ltp9DFHxGcT4NF7pXKQ5v-o-mIWQfvZ0bhi2ypSvSdWVgqfCA_8Q06rwo7B_Ph9HWCGTC-0thblwwSGONNjBn4/s594/Screen+Shot+2020-09-27+at+5.04.22+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="594" height="580" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO9SC_qKbvmps5l6g4833Mk5wpv37FK_WzhcQE0wDFLFAHWO7z37dq6Ltp9DFHxGcT4NF7pXKQ5v-o-mIWQfvZ0bhi2ypSvSdWVgqfCA_8Q06rwo7B_Ph9HWCGTC-0thblwwSGONNjBn4/w640-h580/Screen+Shot+2020-09-27+at+5.04.22+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div>You would think that as a chemical engineer, she'd have a better grasp on the toxicity of "ChEMiKiLLz<span face="system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif" style="background-color: #f5f8fa; color: #14171a; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">" </span>like PFAS -<span face="system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif" style="background-color: #f5f8fa; color: #14171a; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="https://theintercept.com/2019/06/18/pfoa-pfas-teflon-epa-limit/">scientists suggest a limit of 1ppt</a><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif" style="background-color: #f5f8fa; color: #14171a; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - </span>and chlorpyrifos, which has been found by the EPA to<span style="color: #14171a;"><span style="background-color: #f5f8fa; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/miriam-rotkin-ellman/epa-toxic-pesticide-fruitsveggies-puts-kids-risk">harm children's brains at the "safe" levels found in foods</a>. </div><div><br /></div><p>Maybe she's too busy stocking her store to research this stuff?</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNh_-BAtnf-14RccdO9sA_D2k0dqguBhkI5hULT2AiDvK5VVlR2sMVBhzPZ0gjEIe_mMg43UIk7q5dI8rJqIAHIOKAyUowx9sat6Sdg6rOGBpzO7VN-UGAcU8r6Ul56XCP2TFeAn_z6uQ/s596/Screen+Shot+2020-09-27+at+5.06.07+PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="596" height="558" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNh_-BAtnf-14RccdO9sA_D2k0dqguBhkI5hULT2AiDvK5VVlR2sMVBhzPZ0gjEIe_mMg43UIk7q5dI8rJqIAHIOKAyUowx9sat6Sdg6rOGBpzO7VN-UGAcU8r6Ul56XCP2TFeAn_z6uQ/w640-h558/Screen+Shot+2020-09-27+at+5.06.07+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2016/06/i-looked-for-store.html">I Looked For "The Store"!</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Farm Babe, Michelle Miller</h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioJPak8RkUmNu5kO4Srk3d9fONtJYk1Q9zEBL0E5UwqDqSGXzod-RqI2IxI54TTnzrABTNBDEonUgPkGWLmS_7S9v0xxtYpq9vUULhegp4gWE1h70RqVXgU5FZr9iTqwtzt-zpdQfvfl4/s768/farmbabe-michelle-miller-home-hero-mobile.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="768" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioJPak8RkUmNu5kO4Srk3d9fONtJYk1Q9zEBL0E5UwqDqSGXzod-RqI2IxI54TTnzrABTNBDEonUgPkGWLmS_7S9v0xxtYpq9vUULhegp4gWE1h70RqVXgU5FZr9iTqwtzt-zpdQfvfl4/w400-h209/farmbabe-michelle-miller-home-hero-mobile.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><br />From the Farm Babe website:<blockquote><div>Honest. Funny. Insightful.<br /><br />With an average social media reach of 2-3 million a month and 120K followers, Michelle has made a name for herself as a dedicated myth-buster in the food industry.</div><br />Michelle brings a unique perspective as a big city globetrotter turned Iowa Farm girl, and plants the seed inside the minds of those looking to understand the truth about modern agricultural production. With one of the most popular and vibrant food and farming social media followings, the Farm Babe™ is the real deal.</blockquote><p>Michelle answers the hard questions.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiexj_EHbXYWbFgmUQT-TDPLnjb26U4cxeXnZcMgF5mX0wh2yWgcco5hAUIe0Wi4AkO9SckSfnsOYA2f1VFan5ffAt9xl81fN3f7ssNa11cr9ClhdbvmJyVvcDOElJOWqNOGXwpgnXJk7s/s1129/Screen+Shot+2020-09-27+at+6.04.57+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1129" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiexj_EHbXYWbFgmUQT-TDPLnjb26U4cxeXnZcMgF5mX0wh2yWgcco5hAUIe0Wi4AkO9SckSfnsOYA2f1VFan5ffAt9xl81fN3f7ssNa11cr9ClhdbvmJyVvcDOElJOWqNOGXwpgnXJk7s/w640-h340/Screen+Shot+2020-09-27+at+6.04.57+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Such an <i>original </i>name! How<i>EVER</i> did she come up with that one? Spoiler alert: <a href="https://www.agdaily.com/crops/come-name-farm-babe/" rel="nofollow">she copied Vani Hari</a>.</p><p>(Wait. You saw that right? Did she actually fucking trademark the name Farm Babe?)</p><p>Anyway, Miller's stolen branding has won her the accolades of none other than Leslie Kelly of High Heels and Canola Fields, and Dr. Kevin Folta of Unrestricted Grant and Hidden Consulting fees fame. Her client list also includes, Weston Sharp the Vice President of the Iowa Agricultural Aviation Association and Robert D. Saik, the founder of Agri-Trend. </p><p>She is often published in AgDaily where <a href="https://www.agdaily.com/insights/6-ways-to-detect-internet-pseudoscience/" rel="nofollow">she recommends you fact check sources</a> using Activist Facts dot com, a website from the infamous "<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/meet-rick-berman-aka-dr-evil/">Dr. Evil</a>," <a href="http://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2016/01/5-astroturf-groups-you-should-stop.html">Rick Berman of the Center for Consumer Freedom</a> an industry lobbyist and front group puppet master to the stars. </p><p>She can be found on social media, defending harmless agrochemicals like chlorpyrifos...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR5B2ZbUNjBCAbD0uTnNt35Xouisg36e1UewGe8xbQXxkJ5xHoxbdA4yGxHks3GYbuTQtJFVP4o9z7Hf9xIRgaANk0x8QLr0vWwsSHz2jWkfOgEZrRURB9tnQEIHFEL39B7k9k0pdAhu8/s1646/FarmBabeChlorpyrifos.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1646" data-original-width="1208" height="686" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR5B2ZbUNjBCAbD0uTnNt35Xouisg36e1UewGe8xbQXxkJ5xHoxbdA4yGxHks3GYbuTQtJFVP4o9z7Hf9xIRgaANk0x8QLr0vWwsSHz2jWkfOgEZrRURB9tnQEIHFEL39B7k9k0pdAhu8/w518-h686/FarmBabeChlorpyrifos.jpg" width="518" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>...and selling CBD oil. Don't forget to use the coupon code for free shipping!</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo4QNZQZZprFx9i3EGg8P34LkLy5PgGztOig9_KNxa3d-vfnW_o0JS0UOyxNtK347xm9JmGdPJ_qeV0jY3_BteebFw4xOw7O7bTOMRleSO6havEVh_NswpqQQbWQ80N6l3IrrhUknym4Q/s1505/FarmBabeCBDoil.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1450" data-original-width="1505" height="616" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo4QNZQZZprFx9i3EGg8P34LkLy5PgGztOig9_KNxa3d-vfnW_o0JS0UOyxNtK347xm9JmGdPJ_qeV0jY3_BteebFw4xOw7O7bTOMRleSO6havEVh_NswpqQQbWQ80N6l3IrrhUknym4Q/w640-h616/FarmBabeCBDoil.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><div><h3>Swine Babe, Paige Something or Other</h3><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyk5SpGEHE7A6dBy7Jp5QMf7HFVX6JnlbVbUn7sC3qixrS7EV91JwZezgRP5ZFdu9-6wowLZ_URehlwN9NqY2WK37Zc-wk0hJ60PqkJMaxeEZNQrUOuljqC4mjm8h5pFWCEYMHLpUc5LA/s778/Swine+Babe+Profile.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="778" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyk5SpGEHE7A6dBy7Jp5QMf7HFVX6JnlbVbUn7sC3qixrS7EV91JwZezgRP5ZFdu9-6wowLZ_URehlwN9NqY2WK37Zc-wk0hJ60PqkJMaxeEZNQrUOuljqC4mjm8h5pFWCEYMHLpUc5LA/s320/Swine+Babe+Profile.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div></div><div>The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SwineBabe/">Swine Babe Facebook page</a> seems pretty defunct, but it harkens back to a golden age of CAFOS, gestation crates, and sequined ruffles, where synchronized swimmers do choreographed moves in pink manure lagoons while an orchestra plays in the background.</div><div><br /></div><div>But seriously, I'm going to spare you the pics of semen collection and artificial insemination demo.</div><div><br /></div><div>...Moving on now!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Biology Babe, Lauren Uhde</h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5jqRo1GcpeksxVxKVPZRbOcviCSeR9S4Yld9XjigxcT53uY02kNyWloSBHvCrAl56o-i44aUrnz0tqWfXF4RjxpksETMobBpOvu4Mt0AVqFUZ6NSiMnIBk0Bsy_P10Ibyi__tfS8FkqM/s512/BiologyBabe.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="303" data-original-width="512" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5jqRo1GcpeksxVxKVPZRbOcviCSeR9S4Yld9XjigxcT53uY02kNyWloSBHvCrAl56o-i44aUrnz0tqWfXF4RjxpksETMobBpOvu4Mt0AVqFUZ6NSiMnIBk0Bsy_P10Ibyi__tfS8FkqM/w400-h236/BiologyBabe.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Yet another defunct babe persona, Biology Babe's social media accounts are all 404 now. </div><div><br /></div><div>She once <a href="https://www.blogtalkradio.com/scienceenthusiastpodcast/2016/06/01/tse-003--biology-babe-discusses-cancer-woo" rel="nofollow">appeared on the podcast</a> of the David Avocado Wolfe of Fake Skeptics - A Science Enthusiast - and was a writer for the site.</div><div><br /></div><div>There is not much to be found from this bygone babe, save for a few echoes from the past.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFoe-acSFzDmjrf6w8YU-wh6KthQWv8kD2Ny9T6y6SPmcUyRGhe0Sy3m3dcHnlACCDmil3raS1J2iZvTgble7QHq58RCoxSGD7mmYcwFYpPxx6QleDJO3JYrolXlDmyw9uu6aOpdRCvHU/s628/Screen+Shot+2020-10-24+at+2.17.31+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="602" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFoe-acSFzDmjrf6w8YU-wh6KthQWv8kD2Ny9T6y6SPmcUyRGhe0Sy3m3dcHnlACCDmil3raS1J2iZvTgble7QHq58RCoxSGD7mmYcwFYpPxx6QleDJO3JYrolXlDmyw9uu6aOpdRCvHU/w614-h640/Screen+Shot+2020-10-24+at+2.17.31+PM.png" width="614" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Chow Babe, Some Dude</h3><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgciDGb05_PKTfxYT-77gkRbnuSanG2lusYASt1vyH72vwsifwZOdCg3R4l9MVK0aAWJs8N86dTobIAi8i5c0z7nmlU7juIbAZqnoRGBtdnkHW4DU6XLz2z80CinVvA-zM8qDv2ynhXo4c/s400/ChowBabe.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgciDGb05_PKTfxYT-77gkRbnuSanG2lusYASt1vyH72vwsifwZOdCg3R4l9MVK0aAWJs8N86dTobIAi8i5c0z7nmlU7juIbAZqnoRGBtdnkHW4DU6XLz2z80CinVvA-zM8qDv2ynhXo4c/w400-h400/ChowBabe.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div></div><div>This character was clearly meant as satire to bag on Vani Hari. </div><div><br /></div><div>Though most people assumed the person behind the screaming apple pic was female, rumor has it Chow Babe was actually male. Yup, Sheena was a man.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXLsGz13xUWyh1sUgAf2IPE8L5duBBDC5RiEmtToT1hmgpoU0dOd5lZdsFWCx1OPbSZCAwRYMk9WdkW33Md5iGql5Be1qMA4PEwMZXRRgPvNlKl33ZxYAVcuUtCIE0e6H3fD7Lii06yvs/s500/toneloc-3405.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXLsGz13xUWyh1sUgAf2IPE8L5duBBDC5RiEmtToT1hmgpoU0dOd5lZdsFWCx1OPbSZCAwRYMk9WdkW33Md5iGql5Be1qMA4PEwMZXRRgPvNlKl33ZxYAVcuUtCIE0e6H3fD7Lii06yvs/w400-h400/toneloc-3405.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ah, the days when pop songs about date rape drugs were in the top forty.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /><br /></div><div>Nobody but Chow Babe really knows for sure why "she" disappeared from the public eye. But, like the Funky Cold Medina, Chow Babe is now just another cringy af relic of the past. Word to your mother.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">The End of an Era?</h3><div><br /></div><div>Are there more babes in our future? Perhaps this Halloween...</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsc9XqkH9CNW6XIOn67g_GavFofYxF-w00oBIU0bGb4YwnpF55VNFS3rSjpUUo56pYXrCA4xYybpql6bn8ZuuWu9hkSaj8_vIuW76LKtNGuC-BTMh_iU_ZpjScW-Ubg8ajeAEsM9Cj1w0/s657/Screen+Shot+2020-10-24+at+4.22.38+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="657" data-original-width="601" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsc9XqkH9CNW6XIOn67g_GavFofYxF-w00oBIU0bGb4YwnpF55VNFS3rSjpUUo56pYXrCA4xYybpql6bn8ZuuWu9hkSaj8_vIuW76LKtNGuC-BTMh_iU_ZpjScW-Ubg8ajeAEsM9Cj1w0/w586-h640/Screen+Shot+2020-10-24+at+4.22.38+PM.png" width="586" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Or, have the babes hit their peak? Are they going the way of the dodo? </div><div><br /></div><div>God I fucking hope so.</div><div><br /></div><div>Well, that wraps up the Babelist, and I hope that you have been both enlightened and inspired by the stupidity of the human race today. Don't forget to drop some babes in the comments if I missed any!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br />Vixen Valentinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924365433583975370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058139842866427482.post-84617925760452099852019-03-17T13:48:00.001-07:002023-01-22T11:21:47.504-08:00Turning a Blind IdeologyPerhaps, like me, you've noticed an overlap into a specific ideology within <a href="https://kiwifarms.net/threads/the-skeptic-community.31217/">the Skeptic community</a>, as they're sometimes referred to. There's this distinctly pro-industry mindset among certain people who are very cozy with the Skeptic crowd (as well as being rampant among the Skeptics themselves). These aren't your typical celebrity Skeptics, we're talking about people that Skeptics use as sources, and run in the same social circles.<br />
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Some are really easy to spot - they hate activists, non profit consumer groups, journalists who investigate corporate malfeasance, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and they <i>love</i> to defend industry.<br />
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If you were to do a Google search for someone who fits that bill, like David Zaruk for instance, he shows up with numerous Skeptics, like Dr. Kevin Folta, and Cameron J. English "freelance science writer" in addition to the Consumer Choice Center, a <a href="http://www.tobaccotactics.org/index.php?title=Consumer_Choice_Center">tobacco funded astroturf group</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj56UGUlsWsslKY3LWTu3zjnv7G0_9_j_9sc-nnzxL2tFllUOob8vogdvBDtZjbztsa9XHdRe_TXp6DwCb4bFoF6-eE_yPsqUmOETiX8E6SuX47c8ftBYglGg3P20l9Wfm2osaS0CFR3do/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-12-24+at+1.34.59+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="369" data-original-width="701" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj56UGUlsWsslKY3LWTu3zjnv7G0_9_j_9sc-nnzxL2tFllUOob8vogdvBDtZjbztsa9XHdRe_TXp6DwCb4bFoF6-eE_yPsqUmOETiX8E6SuX47c8ftBYglGg3P20l9Wfm2osaS0CFR3do/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-12-24+at+1.34.59+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Cameron is also <a href="https://medium.com/@VixenValentino/5-astroturf-groups-you-should-stop-sharing-from-c5870a4bfefe">the creative force</a> behind the American Council on Science and Health website called Deniers for Hire where <a href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2019/01/24/corporate-front-group-american-council-on-science-and-health-smears-list-of-its-enemies-as-deniers-for-hire/">the ACSH attacks</a> journalists and others who question industry tobacco science tactics.<br />
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ACSH has been described in <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/ACSH-email.pdf">Monsanto internal emails</a> as such:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkz4l2PIVzW3H_K1Sepj35qPAYVaQcTC3jwPXtymSjtfPCH9XKNwyf8Q2DPUWu6WJMXMJSN6p8A_vRwKdDER2gHLyP4XtDZm-bZJfneAKjj9QIGaqqWKnlqeCwE55YCM3wKYpiUv0DIL8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-12-24+at+1.46.37+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="752" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkz4l2PIVzW3H_K1Sepj35qPAYVaQcTC3jwPXtymSjtfPCH9XKNwyf8Q2DPUWu6WJMXMJSN6p8A_vRwKdDER2gHLyP4XtDZm-bZJfneAKjj9QIGaqqWKnlqeCwE55YCM3wKYpiUv0DIL8/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-12-24+at+1.46.37+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Their former president, Hank Campbell, mentions our friend Zaruk here in <a href="https://www.acsh.org/news/2018/06/28/if-our-science-tribe-was-dd-game-11400" rel="”nofollow”">this totally bizarre article</a> about <a href="https://medium.com/@VixenValentino/5-astroturf-groups-you-should-stop-sharing-from-c5870a4bfefe">Astroturfers</a> and Friends if they were a Dungeons and Dragons team. In addition to keeping such stellar company, Zaruk harbors a dirty little secret that's not so well kept about the Skeptic community.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIzTbxDfPEkO4b_rfmKc0-m4Yjch771O4c4qBoNnwGf1zumdRpqf2wW5F9Bw3oAd5hQ3euWOnCm7yNnnQ-Ip3uZsZF62fADnM9PxTgmyM5RsKVF3RNcfZqdt9raYgroKlGnxYNxzGcIbs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-02-02+at+4.10.06+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="587" height="558" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIzTbxDfPEkO4b_rfmKc0-m4Yjch771O4c4qBoNnwGf1zumdRpqf2wW5F9Bw3oAd5hQ3euWOnCm7yNnnQ-Ip3uZsZF62fADnM9PxTgmyM5RsKVF3RNcfZqdt9raYgroKlGnxYNxzGcIbs/s640/Screen+Shot+2019-02-02+at+4.10.06+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhujXuUXc9JxpYaa54mdAIYCtfGl3CirlIbmuSo28LctkGJ98rS-IblOCxmBDz1wPgmJhUzKCu1ZuhGVfBhxAObVwUT5e-aV2_fe6DY3YGBZnFGL-QJpHReDn6RGaCEkavDzkyQI6UwS4c/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-02-02+at+4.06.25+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="661" data-original-width="632" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhujXuUXc9JxpYaa54mdAIYCtfGl3CirlIbmuSo28LctkGJ98rS-IblOCxmBDz1wPgmJhUzKCu1ZuhGVfBhxAObVwUT5e-aV2_fe6DY3YGBZnFGL-QJpHReDn6RGaCEkavDzkyQI6UwS4c/s640/Screen+Shot+2019-02-02+at+4.06.25+PM.png" width="610" /></a></div>
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They give a free pass to climate science deniers...so long as they toe the line on the other <a href="https://theethicalskeptic.com/2016/07/22/differentiating-scientific-literacy-from-social-propaganda/">fundamental conclusions</a> of modern fake skepticism.<br />
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One example of the hard line they take on scientific topics can be found in this graphic that been distributed online.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW3Idw2_s66O0RMIyAPqmoILpZjf9iD5y0EhEcEhOgKq0EAJbaRp-DTNtfc8xoW5m8YngIupi4wbxuDquXs90IRhLfxpELz0XEMGhrJUI3-N_M6Ei0Qjj1lv_4rLvirkVVy9OEQdj_67c/s1600/Lynas+Anti+Meme.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="792" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW3Idw2_s66O0RMIyAPqmoILpZjf9iD5y0EhEcEhOgKq0EAJbaRp-DTNtfc8xoW5m8YngIupi4wbxuDquXs90IRhLfxpELz0XEMGhrJUI3-N_M6Ei0Qjj1lv_4rLvirkVVy9OEQdj_67c/s640/Lynas+Anti+Meme.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This graphic came from GMO apostate Mark Lynas' website where he uses <a href="https://theethicalskeptic.com/glossary/glossary-a-f/">Celeber Cavilla</a> and <a href="https://www.metafilter.com/53877/Nutpicking-a-rhetorical-scourge-finds-a-name">nutpicking</a> to discredit critics of industrial agriculture by taking an explosively hot button issue like vaccination and comparing it to the polarizing issue of agricultural biotech. Glenn Stone <a href="https://commonreader.wustl.edu/c/the-dubious-virtue-of-apostasy/">appropriately calls</a> the rhetorical weaponry Lynas regularly engages in "discursive ventriloquism–appropriating your opponents' voice to cast their position in an unfavorable light." In this case, <a href="http://www.marklynas.org/2016/03/anti-gmo-anti-vaccination-campaigns-two-faces-movement/">he tries to portray</a> anyone who is critical of genetic engineering as an insane tinfoil hat-wearing kook.<br />
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Skeptics insist that if you are pro science - you cannot question vaccines or GMOs. "You can't criticize one while believing the other." Let's be real, anyone who questions or criticizes GMOs or vaccines <i>at all</i> will immediately put themselves on the outs with Skeptics, being labeled an "Anti." (This is easily testable, scoffers.) Same with evolution. No (insert label here) allowed in Skeptic Club!<br />
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So if we apply the logic of Mr. Lynas and look at the other unquestionable conclusions of modern skepticism, what do we find?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwXeZ30EGPEhp4bgDYYu0VYL3Y7h7Ug8tzyfAak-RF5vEdeQpd9R69bToFbxrsaWxIfnMGNNoEfS_ndi1x6q-WUxSfnYQ2AR5Rka7ewhYPNLEq_CTKWlkuT44nM_vy5Hn_rEzONgC_w74/s1600/case-studies-in-scientific-propaganda.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="313" data-original-width="351" height="569" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwXeZ30EGPEhp4bgDYYu0VYL3Y7h7Ug8tzyfAak-RF5vEdeQpd9R69bToFbxrsaWxIfnMGNNoEfS_ndi1x6q-WUxSfnYQ2AR5Rka7ewhYPNLEq_CTKWlkuT44nM_vy5Hn_rEzONgC_w74/s640/case-studies-in-scientific-propaganda.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Course taught by Celebrity Skeptic Kevin M. Folta at UF</td></tr>
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Consistently, we come across these main four, but many such similar lists exist with slight variations.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgbwHVg7nXiJkLq5kkRnTTmcNd6B4CZ_MMgRLR5oZI2BTbj_nYCDMPQnJUd4Loh2sSyntE729XA2yTEXOg1yROGt0JeioCNBTZPzuFklCXRqGPwbABnHcUmwn6-J6cSyOb4H1wkQLS00s/s1600/StandUpForScience.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="557" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgbwHVg7nXiJkLq5kkRnTTmcNd6B4CZ_MMgRLR5oZI2BTbj_nYCDMPQnJUd4Loh2sSyntE729XA2yTEXOg1yROGt0JeioCNBTZPzuFklCXRqGPwbABnHcUmwn6-J6cSyOb4H1wkQLS00s/s640/StandUpForScience.jpg" width="556" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Share this meme to show the world how you Critical Think all by yourself!<br /><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeJpciR8qBV_czwhaUDsiavKa3LNijeE3eapY2S7y6D1QdAVm6MqLvAKAhWwlr0sNOsQaIMaKY88XY_-Vlosmr33UdfELKTLoV6fRnVXuT-UkuoAkjY9Is0V9x2wviQiBgdvt3kroR_cI/s1600/VaccinesWorkSignGuy.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="744" data-original-width="585" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeJpciR8qBV_czwhaUDsiavKa3LNijeE3eapY2S7y6D1QdAVm6MqLvAKAhWwlr0sNOsQaIMaKY88XY_-Vlosmr33UdfELKTLoV6fRnVXuT-UkuoAkjY9Is0V9x2wviQiBgdvt3kroR_cI/s640/VaccinesWorkSignGuy.jpg" width="502" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do not worry about the PCBs and PFAS in the water behind me though...</td></tr>
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Despite these lists of <a href="https://theethicalskeptic.com/2016/07/22/differentiating-scientific-literacy-from-social-propaganda/">conclusions</a> Skeptics are obliged to pledge their uncritical and undying allegiance to should they want to be seen as "science literate" and "<a href="http://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2018/01/stand-up-for-critical-thought.html">critical thinkers</a>" there is the one issue mentioned at the outset where those social rules get a little bit loosey goosey. Climate change.<br />
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David Zaruk is not the only friend of the Skeptics whose ideas on climate change goes against club conclusion (and against the overwhelming scientific evidence). One can only speculate on why this is exactly.<br />
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Not only do Skeptics regularly use several of these people as sources, but they also promote them and vice versa, as well as attending events with them as I have documented here before.<br />
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Recently, writer and coal baron Matt Ridley who was once <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/royal-society-global-warming-climate-change-benefits-matt-ridley-michael-mann-a7372306.html">described as</a> a "climate-change-denier villain" wrote <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/2019/03/lying-with-science-a-guide-to-myth-debunking/">this steaming hot fucking garbage pile</a> published in the UK Spectator. Genetic Literacy Project <a href="https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2019/03/04/from-pesticide-scare-stories-to-insect-extinction-reporters-are-addicted-to-pseudoscience-says-science-writer-matt-ridley/">picked it up</a> of course, and our good friend Kevin Folta sang Matt's praises on Twitter.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8aJ9ajagSOop5mg5Mdxbj8Z9QjqE1BkrgUmigIm7k7fUiph9rHdKCXYfOlKyPVRzApNZ4ankQwy3HgscHQp17A5G7A80XqJXo2LJv_IC7jbs9Xa-y9iTRVNpRjA5R3oG-janyQi7-nZg/s1600/FoltaRidley.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1578" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8aJ9ajagSOop5mg5Mdxbj8Z9QjqE1BkrgUmigIm7k7fUiph9rHdKCXYfOlKyPVRzApNZ4ankQwy3HgscHQp17A5G7A80XqJXo2LJv_IC7jbs9Xa-y9iTRVNpRjA5R3oG-janyQi7-nZg/s640/FoltaRidley.jpg" width="486" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Folta: This needed to be said 'because he's defending Roundup, er, ah, I mean science! Yes that's right!</td></tr>
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Ridley isn't the only climate change denier Folta has publicly praised. Patrick Moore, founder of Golden Rice Now, (<a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/patrick-moore">not Greenpeace</a>) has been mentioned by Kevin on Twitter also.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuaIQsbBFfpbuHVj7vXuLb7YDccvYaoT45leEsx_cCiA6OAvtx2rzS_jaqaxGUgx1ZXesUypGfrBVFlWIoKNWSDTtO26uO6pPHaDv3GKFhOtwf7998_4tgRNa0B5tJWq7KIR7tPMSuxbA/s1600/TrumpMoore.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="492" data-original-width="960" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuaIQsbBFfpbuHVj7vXuLb7YDccvYaoT45leEsx_cCiA6OAvtx2rzS_jaqaxGUgx1ZXesUypGfrBVFlWIoKNWSDTtO26uO6pPHaDv3GKFhOtwf7998_4tgRNa0B5tJWq7KIR7tPMSuxbA/s640/TrumpMoore.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The POTUS Tweets Moore's comments about climate change. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrwyvNRYpdS7NmxAq5l2YXlvpHkawJOyNzyDCKuW0ge1Xohx85mTHXRv1fm3BY1HRjL6hXVfnUJzg5Rk8CJZehaSneMWdxo8L8E0R-KHBqvQ9_tORe1XZ2s3hu8dk-75dGi1fVwAlIGhA/s1600/FoltaMooreGRN.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="1024" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrwyvNRYpdS7NmxAq5l2YXlvpHkawJOyNzyDCKuW0ge1Xohx85mTHXRv1fm3BY1HRjL6hXVfnUJzg5Rk8CJZehaSneMWdxo8L8E0R-KHBqvQ9_tORe1XZ2s3hu8dk-75dGi1fVwAlIGhA/s640/FoltaMooreGRN.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Folta promotes Moore's organization.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9OU0jtlK1nM-7Flu1F-uQAYoDUafQqKv-1Mx5PwvSxMyxsRWxH3P20Orzj7CIBCf9RKxAMku9BhLukShMXe6g9tXkUzH8_rtjsyoz0QM3yCsgWmharn2GuDTlUNc-vJS7nbZjkAggQtk/s1600/MooreFoltaHero.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="936" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9OU0jtlK1nM-7Flu1F-uQAYoDUafQqKv-1Mx5PwvSxMyxsRWxH3P20Orzj7CIBCf9RKxAMku9BhLukShMXe6g9tXkUzH8_rtjsyoz0QM3yCsgWmharn2GuDTlUNc-vJS7nbZjkAggQtk/s640/MooreFoltaHero.jpg" width="584" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You are the wind beneath my wings.</td></tr>
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Another fine example of discursive ventriloquism is found in this We Love GMOs and Vaccines, graphic.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0kNQUwGXO_ojyQEbZ474LLnNgCxGCRsXZT1XNdNNbxvhfJu-NGEcOB31pzhKAC-94Bz5kEz15eRRrrkcLSgipR4LpNNArnztlMIMzI4PYPJxnb1RqLoGbMGwHDin1xQafl4_-qllTZ3Q/s1600/AntiListsWeLoveGV.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="798" data-original-width="1058" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0kNQUwGXO_ojyQEbZ474LLnNgCxGCRsXZT1XNdNNbxvhfJu-NGEcOB31pzhKAC-94Bz5kEz15eRRrrkcLSgipR4LpNNArnztlMIMzI4PYPJxnb1RqLoGbMGwHDin1xQafl4_-qllTZ3Q/s640/AntiListsWeLoveGV.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Clearly a copycat of the meme Mark Lynas shared on his website above, the theme of nutpicking and zero tolerance for deviation from the Skeptic belief set continues.<br />
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And yet, the creator of this list also turns a blind eye to a couple of climate change deniers when it suits his beliefs.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLn4wjd9Op-Yg_Y1EjoPXl5B5KDhBuctv31b3FIJOWqXwP0VX5aXfs0RIPcYHgILGeq6S4lPNd2qPUjGDO2QA-IhXO8fRX2MmsZIx1gEg8IKX_54EHKC6OmAa3pBUvSuvEovNGXA44PDw/s1600/WLGV+MarchOfUnreason.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="800" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLn4wjd9Op-Yg_Y1EjoPXl5B5KDhBuctv31b3FIJOWqXwP0VX5aXfs0RIPcYHgILGeq6S4lPNd2qPUjGDO2QA-IhXO8fRX2MmsZIx1gEg8IKX_54EHKC6OmAa3pBUvSuvEovNGXA44PDw/s640/WLGV+MarchOfUnreason.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The Intercept <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/15/how-self-appointed-guardians-of-sound-science-tip-the-scales-toward-industry/">reports</a> that Dick Taverne has "<a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200405/ldhansrd/vo050223/text/50223-24.htm">argued in the House of Lords</a> that as much as 80 percent of global warming might be attributable to solar activity, even though that theory had been <a href="http://www.heatisonline.org/contentserver/objecthandlers/index.cfm?id=4361&method=full">discredited</a> two years earlier."<br />
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We Love GMOs and Vaccines has also <a href="https://www.facebook.com/welovegv/photos/a.1381768752093176/1772854129651301?type=3&sfns=1">promoted an article</a> written by <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/debunking-lomborg-climate-change-skeptic-75173">Bjorn Lomborg</a> who has been granted the distinction of being in a <a href="https://www.beforetheflood.com/explore/the-deniers/top-10-climate-deniers/">top ten list</a> of climate change deniers.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC02EAkqBmZ6GB79XhAjp8m-Oh_-d1TrM56vQtyBe1u4sZmlS6jlBgqah0AcfaiUiDpve73E1xkD3qZkAOGpNtJk3njVlVKxB55OWmF34FlH8YsbmGjOt1PsUKTxKQIx0vaF3ZPZ3WGrY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-17+at+3.51.27+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="503" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC02EAkqBmZ6GB79XhAjp8m-Oh_-d1TrM56vQtyBe1u4sZmlS6jlBgqah0AcfaiUiDpve73E1xkD3qZkAOGpNtJk3njVlVKxB55OWmF34FlH8YsbmGjOt1PsUKTxKQIx0vaF3ZPZ3WGrY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-17+at+3.51.27+PM.png" /></a></div>
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To be fair, We Love GMOs and Vaccines founder did wag his finger at a couple other climate change deniers once with <a href="https://medium.com/the-method/the-elephant-in-the-pro-gmo-living-room-climate-change-deniers-84056d82c4ad">this exercise in virtue signalling</a> that was basically ignored by other Skeptics. Because blind eye, you know.<br />
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Mark Lynas mentioned earlier, plays similar games when it comes to deniers. <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/2018/02/09/these-are-climate-science-denier-mps-lobbying-hard-brexit">Owen Patterson</a> (brother-in-law to Matt Ridley) spoke at an Alliance for Science event in 2016.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_fgb8n7JtkfJ8_R7uu8zkHXdwb7imTcdwjDegYRf0f6XUsqSp45Hqw4xAb9pUNcW17ESqzbBGzPlIsnPWuDweYusEFXMKzL0JCuzRat77rwZLOl1HqSxNxZWFRlNE2JvDlsXxjhWyhxc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-17+at+4.16.26+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="631" height="636" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_fgb8n7JtkfJ8_R7uu8zkHXdwb7imTcdwjDegYRf0f6XUsqSp45Hqw4xAb9pUNcW17ESqzbBGzPlIsnPWuDweYusEFXMKzL0JCuzRat77rwZLOl1HqSxNxZWFRlNE2JvDlsXxjhWyhxc/s640/Screen+Shot+2019-03-17+at+4.16.26+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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How likely then are we to see them host someone with differing views on say GMOs, then?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwBPF1VCYQRCwNsTeUAfw7TklamkS5Qs3lDCOTG4FB0k3O5Qq75_iW6JURUWj0MJY3WR9liGLrkxncOIjF35lHZnJCfp7QV1GqD5Isur5oqb-XXVyKXRGsRsD1-u6FBO8n7LkwgelEfho/s1600/Magic_8_Ball_-_Do_I_get_my_Christmas_wish__%25286521326205%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1031" data-original-width="1375" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwBPF1VCYQRCwNsTeUAfw7TklamkS5Qs3lDCOTG4FB0k3O5Qq75_iW6JURUWj0MJY3WR9liGLrkxncOIjF35lHZnJCfp7QV1GqD5Isur5oqb-XXVyKXRGsRsD1-u6FBO8n7LkwgelEfho/s640/Magic_8_Ball_-_Do_I_get_my_Christmas_wish__%25286521326205%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />Vixen Valentinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924365433583975370noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058139842866427482.post-61177726854422485752019-01-03T14:24:00.001-08:002020-10-15T07:20:15.955-07:00Empathy Deficiency Syndrome<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Abbey Stanford describes herself as "a writer who has been living with a chronic neurological disorder since my early teens, but which was only diagnosed 3 years ago. I often write about disability and the effects of illness, as well as wider issues such as women and those from lower-income backgrounds. I often write with humour to address serious issues, especially those around my own health."<br />
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On Dec 28th she made a tweet which I rather tend to agree with.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiR72wQQ2yvlvR6tPHFtrWM_9xclgiXUaKfDEvp3t6jVzWSKKQPplPSVkXv_mUzXTjnxXXLaa_vdYjrUZtpb3MkCpZZsQqq6NBbSSoRxOchBJF-7vtDaCol4diPtrfKAtEPgdQNK-BWJo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-12-30+at+3.51.02+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="485" data-original-width="613" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiR72wQQ2yvlvR6tPHFtrWM_9xclgiXUaKfDEvp3t6jVzWSKKQPplPSVkXv_mUzXTjnxXXLaa_vdYjrUZtpb3MkCpZZsQqq6NBbSSoRxOchBJF-7vtDaCol4diPtrfKAtEPgdQNK-BWJo/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-12-30+at+3.51.02+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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People who take advantage of sick and suffering people, have a special place on my shit list. Another special place on that list belongs to people who pretend they are the champions of sick and suffering people, waving their science flags,<br />
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bravely fighting the quacks on behalf of the innocent. When in reality...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNv-mTLAWv1mbXmV19rIFFjqVpkLNLc0cF6jRzM7qkvpjjscwJd4u2j5hAQuoKuwuxhn8AIvEI7e6qAyPXa6D5jokaMMvXi6lJP9gaNpITKvurix332UoURHarS4uoSVXiDvDjgEw92s4/s1600/WLGVfakeIllnes.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="575" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNv-mTLAWv1mbXmV19rIFFjqVpkLNLc0cF6jRzM7qkvpjjscwJd4u2j5hAQuoKuwuxhn8AIvEI7e6qAyPXa6D5jokaMMvXi6lJP9gaNpITKvurix332UoURHarS4uoSVXiDvDjgEw92s4/s640/WLGVfakeIllnes.jpeg" width="618" /></a></div>
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...they view the victims as punching bags not worthy of an ounce of common decency. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgieu9vKwYu1rOS5W1nBQd7I3hrU2VNNHEnS_FffOTm28ThOXQ0zoGu7yEYkn6UnEOYIg2AR6OzLM8-mf3R_BCzREzH69KivruO8PU87KGxyy848POBUgWQe0Vdld5f5OSli6x3mpps1is/s1600/suchempathy.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="493" height="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgieu9vKwYu1rOS5W1nBQd7I3hrU2VNNHEnS_FffOTm28ThOXQ0zoGu7yEYkn6UnEOYIg2AR6OzLM8-mf3R_BCzREzH69KivruO8PU87KGxyy848POBUgWQe0Vdld5f5OSli6x3mpps1is/s640/suchempathy.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Somehow, and I don't care how many science degrees you have, or how "evidence based" you claim to be, it's kinda difficult to accept that loads of people are really going around pretending to have life-changing chronic illnesses for attention or because they are bored. Even a person with a mental illness that would cause delusions or pathological attention seeking still has a real illness. They are sick, and they deserve compassion, not derision from up on your high science horse.<br />
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Someone like <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Yvette_d%27Entremont">SciBabe</a> who has a couple of chronic conditions herself, shows her true colors in this now deleted post. Her Skeptic fans, <a href="https://twitter.com/vixenvalentino/status/1079146294839574529">even when confronted with evidence</a>, which they are so fond of, <a href="https://twitter.com/vixenvalentino/status/1079377665029742592">still do a song and dance routine</a> to try to cover for their favorite dirty joking porn critic as I quickly found out the other day.<br />
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Apologies for the epic screenshots, but I got such a laugh out of this exchange that I just had to share. Skeptics are not immune to the things they accuse so many others of. When confronted with evidence, they say that they change their minds. But in my experience they try to infer that you are a kook, and whip out all manner of logical fallacies. In this case, all to protect one of their club celebrities. And for what?<br />
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Skeptics claim to be fighting for the little guy - protecting the public from 'woo' and 'quackery'. But is their activity having a net positive effect and helping people that are suffering and sick? Or, is this behavior really just a cover for their hatred of certain groups of people?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vaccinate your damn kids or we will stab them with a rusty nail! Why won't you listen to us?!?</td></tr>
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They definitely have their favorite punching bags, and Lyme disease I've noticed is a <i>big</i> one. <div><br /></div><div>In this <a href="https://skepchick.org/2019/08/lil-nas-x-got-fooled-by-the-chronic-lyme-disease-scam/" rel="nofollow">uniformed, painfully ignorant post</a> from Rebecca over at Skepchick, she displays the same attitude as our previous examples.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmGPeSxIoyK0jcS95ok8Q7PUvgccA1_n0MrLpDvj5Xm801iFv5eWdI7YLa2Q6cQLjaVlCBuzwZ8iIn6hThIzhu7fNSj5Ij2Dr-zI-t-J4dqxMr_IYRQ-XUOEhn-RuHiuaZO6_-fKVJrtM/s768/Screen+Shot+2020-10-15+at+9.54.04+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="695" data-original-width="768" height="581" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmGPeSxIoyK0jcS95ok8Q7PUvgccA1_n0MrLpDvj5Xm801iFv5eWdI7YLa2Q6cQLjaVlCBuzwZ8iIn6hThIzhu7fNSj5Ij2Dr-zI-t-J4dqxMr_IYRQ-XUOEhn-RuHiuaZO6_-fKVJrtM/w640-h581/Screen+Shot+2020-10-15+at+9.54.04+AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><blockquote><div><br /></div><div>"It’s because David doesn’t have Lyme Disease. His family claims he has “chronic neurological Lyme disease,” which, I am happy to inform you, does not exist. Congratulations, David, you’re cured!"</div></blockquote><div><div><br /></div><div>These Skeptics call 'chronic Lyme' a fake disease, but if they <i>actually cared about helping people</i> who are suffering, they'd be advocating for funding research into Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS) in order to <a href="https://www.niaid.nih.gov/sites/default/files/NIAIDLymereport2015.pdf">answer the question of why some people remain ill</a> after treatment with antibiotics instead of arguing over semantics.<br />
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The CDC says the cause of PTLDS is not known. Well, what are you waiting for, Skeptics? Aren't you guys the gatekeepers of all things science?<br />
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One surefire way to keep people from wasting time and money on miracle cures and <a href="https://www.medicalmedium.com/">scam artists like this</a> is to develop accurate tests to look for the presence of the disease, thus answering the question of whether or not <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l8Cw4tG3D7QKrQ93hASVBDyYKUnixT88/view?fbclid=IwAR0ze2PVzyaJ0fANjNXfOLltSS6NpYd6zF4XMQ4KatHUkPpxmZhLqwY21GQ">persistent infection</a> is a cause of some people not getting well after treatment.<br />
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People with misunderstood and stigmatized ailments could <i>really</i> use help - but Skeptics are busy selling t-shirts, doing podcasts, and making You Tube videos and snotty memes. That debunking and self promotion takes precedence for these people really says it all, even if they are verbally stating that they care or even retweet Ms. Stanford's thread at the beginning. This is all an act.<br />
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Science was not created to use as a power play against people you don't like, to use sick people as a punchline or to pretend you are a champion of the people, fighting quacks on their behalf.<br />
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Real ethical skeptics and scientists put the knowledge they gain from the scientific method to good use to help people and solve problems. Even <a href="https://bioethics.georgetown.edu/2016/07/an-italian-doctor-explains-syndrome-k-the-fake-disease-he-invented-to-save-jews-from-the-nazis/">fake diseases</a> can save lives.<br />
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History gives us plenty of examples where a syndrome or illness or <a href="https://theethicalskeptic.com/tag/h-pylori-timeline/">cause thereof was denied</a> by many in medicine or by Skeptics. Such closed minded individuals will not be the ones who solve our most pressing mystery ailments. Do not rely on them for an unbiased take when it comes to these issues. Look for those who show compassion and bravery to speak on behalf of those who are ill, advocate for patients, and support using science to find answers.<br />
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</style></div></div></div></div>Vixen Valentinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924365433583975370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058139842866427482.post-45473992363100223182018-12-15T12:35:00.000-08:002019-01-04T12:58:25.954-08:00Biotech Boot Camp JournalismPreviously, we took a look at the Johnson versus Monsanto case, and the interactions between the reporter assigned to the story and fake skeptics.<br />
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In this follow up we are going to look at other journalists who also report on food and agriculture, and how they might be influenced by the agrochemical industry.<br />
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As mentioned before in part one, a source in one of the articles on the Johnson case, Dr. Val Giddings, helped to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/academics-review-the-making-of-a-monsanto-front-group/">Academics Review</a>, an industry front group, that went to fund <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/academics-review-the-making-of-a-monsanto-front-group/#BLPbootcamps">Biotech Literacy Project "boot camps"</a>. These bootcamps were intended to train journalists about how to present the debate about GMO's and pesticides.<br />
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As the name suggests the events were funded by the <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Genetic_Literacy_Project">Genetic Literacy Project</a> - another industry front group started by Jon Entine.<br />
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Experts, you say?<br />
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Let's start with the first bootcamp in 2014.<br />
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As mentioned in the previous blog post, Dr. Giddings was a key feature in setting up <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/academics-review-the-making-of-a-monsanto-front-group/">Academics Review</a> along with Eric Sachs, the director of regulatory policy in scientific affairs at Monsanto, Bruce Chassy, professor at the University of Illinois, and Jay Byrne, the former director of corporate communications at Monsanto, and current president of <a href="https://www.v-fluence.com/about-us/">v-Fluence Interactive</a>, a public relations firm.<br />
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Dr. Giddings has helped to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars that went to fund the BLP journalist bootcamps. According to <a href="https://progressive.org/magazine/how-the-biotech-industry-cultivates-positive-media/">a piece in the Progressive</a> by investigative journalist Paul Thacker, "The only traceable money source is the biotech industry." He also reports that in emails, "journalists are described as "partners.""</div>
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In addition to Giddings, Sachs, Chassy and Byrne, event organizers <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3862243-BIO-Funded-and-Political.html">included</a> the former chairman of the horticultural sciences department at the University of Florida, <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Kevin_Folta">Kevin Folta</a>, who was caught (again) recently taking <a href="https://www.biofortified.org/2018/08/kevin-folta-coi/">undisclosed consulting funds</a> from Bayer, and consultant Cami Ryan who shortly after this event started <a href="https://camiryan.com/about/">working for Monsanto</a> - now owned by Bayer.<br />
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A couple of the<a href="https://www.usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/TamarHaspel1.pdf"> journalist "partners" in attendance</a> at the first bootcamp were Tamar Haspel from the Washington post and Keith Kloor who was with Discover Magazine.<br />
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Probably unsurprisingly, a member of the <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Council_on_Science_and_Health">American Council on Science and Health</a> had a hand in the 2015 bootcamp held at the end of May in at UC Davis. "Experts" indeed. This follow up to the first event was <a href="https://www.science20.com/biotechnology_literacy_project_boot_camp_2015_davis_ca-154548">promoted</a> by former ACSH President Hank Campbell's on his website Science 2.0. Hank was also a presenter as part of the journalism round table and also moderating a panel related to chemicals in the environment as clearly, he's an expert in such things.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkvm95WLBUmTccmN87HLGpsOGBvcUXaoDTRYnIDaDmxWAZgAMu-RQbWEHvf-8dLqi4hAyC3P1RLI3QfRtL1HmPYROQrrVbnpbHtjC4plo6bgtOVgkYWuFN_EpPLL5ENGkL_gdiyCPwIek/s1600/HankBioaccumulation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="1024" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkvm95WLBUmTccmN87HLGpsOGBvcUXaoDTRYnIDaDmxWAZgAMu-RQbWEHvf-8dLqi4hAyC3P1RLI3QfRtL1HmPYROQrrVbnpbHtjC4plo6bgtOVgkYWuFN_EpPLL5ENGkL_gdiyCPwIek/s640/HankBioaccumulation.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://extoxnet.orst.edu/tibs/bioaccum.htm">Bio accumulation is a billion dollar Big Environmental conspiracy, yo.</a></td></tr>
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Another well respected, academic luminary who contributed their expertise was <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Yvette_d%27Entremont">Yvette d'Entremont</a> aka SciBabe as <a href="https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/chemical/docs/#id=fgfm0226">keynote speaker</a>. Because who better than to teach journalists how to talk about GMOs and pesticides than a woman who used to work for <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2007/apr/08/local/me-amvac8">Amvac Chemical Corporation</a> who sells Lorsban (chlorpyrifos) and had an <a href="http://www.amvac-chemical.com/News-Media/Press-Releases/2011-Press-Releases/June-21-2011">agreement</a> with Monsanto to promote Roundup Ready GMO crops? I'm sure she provided an unbiased perspective.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNHGsFIc1SC8IomnvOadTwsQbJd0ar4T8uQbYN9703ESFNF6lzHGmCocX-kk0Hgcgow1aTt-tZVkDOXzdpSyAR2MXQ3UswUbPCk4D7YMhu6bHC1MOGlvT388pgf3F9ie2gFZ5EsDMWQQQ/s1600/300px-Scibabe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="348" data-original-width="300" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNHGsFIc1SC8IomnvOadTwsQbJd0ar4T8uQbYN9703ESFNF6lzHGmCocX-kk0Hgcgow1aTt-tZVkDOXzdpSyAR2MXQ3UswUbPCk4D7YMhu6bHC1MOGlvT388pgf3F9ie2gFZ5EsDMWQQQ/s640/300px-Scibabe.jpg" width="550" /></a></div>
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Other <a href="https://d204ow4atx1glk.cloudfront.net/app/uploads/2018/01/31235607/Biotechnology-Literacy-Project.pdf">presenters</a> include, Entine, Chassy, Folta and Byrne, <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/SciMoms">SciMom</a> Anastasia Bodnar, Biology Fortified's <a href="https://www.biofortified.org/about/experts/">David Tribe</a>, Monsanto's Cami Ryan, <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/alison-van-eenennaam-key-outside-spokesperson-and-lobbyist-for-the-agrichemical-and-gmo-industries/">Alison Van Eenennaam</a>, and journalists Keith Kloor (again), Nathanael Johnson, and Brooke Borel. <br />
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Borel <a href="https://www.popsci.com/on-science-journalism-and-conflicts-interest">wrote about her ethical conundrum</a> regarding the acceptance of the $2000 honorarium for presenting at the 2015 BLP boot camp in Popular Science.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I was offered a $2000 honorarium as well as expenses. I wrote back and asked who would provide the honorarium and was told it would be a combination of bonds from UC Davis, USDA, state money, and the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO).</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Now, BIO is an industry group. When I saw it listed, I decided then that if I went to the conference, I wouldn't take that money, because they cover GMOs here at Popular Science as well as other outlets. Not everyone would see it this way but in my view this is especially important in a case like this because GMOs are so polarizing for many folks."</blockquote>
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The sponsors of the second boot camp listed on the Science 2.0 site are the Genetic Literacy Project, Academics Review, the World Food Center Institute for Food and Agricultural Literacy and the University of Florida. <br />
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When writing <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3862246-Bruce-Chassy-on-Bootcamps.html">an email to scientists</a> in 2016 Chassy of Academics Review states that, "the three day Boot Camp is relatively expensive since we pay everyone's travel and lodging as well as honoraria. Participants receive $250 and presenters as much as $2500 (journalists aren't inexpensive) ... I need to be clear upfront that our support comes from BIO, USDA, state – USAID and some foundation money, so industry is indirectly a sponsor. We are 100% transparent about sponsorship." <br />
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One has to wonder if Tamar Haspel, Keith Kloor, and Nathanael Johnson had a similar ethical dilemma when it came to taking the honorarium as did Brooke Borel?<br />
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<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Tamar_Haspel">Tamar Haspel</a> is a freelance writer who regularly publishes articles in the Washington Post. Haspel has been quoted on the website Sense About Science USA. She states, "...STATS is invaluable to me,"referring to their advisory service to journalists.<br />
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Sense About Science has <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/15/how-self-appointed-guardians-of-sound-science-tip-the-scales-toward-industry/">been criticized</a> for their industry slanted position. The Intercept reported in 2016, ""When journalists rightly ask who sponsors research into the risks of, say, asbestos, or synthetic chemicals, they’d be well advised to question the evidence Sense About Science presents in these debates as well."<br />
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In addition to the BLP bootcamps, Tamar also appeared as part of a panel at <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/monsanto-scientific-american_us_56fc41d7e4b083f5c606a649">an event sponsored by Ketchum PR</a>, who have been <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/gmo-industry-doesnt-want-you-to-see-this-video/">hired by the agrochemical industry</a> in recent years to work on the GMO Answers website along with other favorable messaging. Atlantic contributor David Freedman <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/monsanto-scientific-american_us_56fc41d7e4b083f5c606a649">canceled his appearance</a> at the same event upon learning who the sponsors were. Haspel obviously didn't have the same change of heart.<br />
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Haspel's colleague <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Keith_Kloor">Keith Kloor</a>, who attended both bootcamps has been noted for his enthusiastic promotion of genetically engineered crops and behind the scenes collaboration with Kevin Folta, another bootcamp alumnus. Emails have revealed Kloor communicated with both Folta and Entine after Folta's undisclosed $25k grant from Monsanto was revealed through FOIA requests by USRTK in 2015. Kloor and Folta collaborated to preemptively release the information as a form of damage control. Huffington post reports that, "Folta <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3894671-Preemptive-Release.html">alerted Kloor</a> that he was going through the emails to figure out how to deal with any bad press, including his funding. “I started going through this last night and I’m thinking a preemptive release of the materials is good, but selectively.”"<br />
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Kloor's <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/gm-crop-opponents-expand-probe-into-ties-between-scientists-and-industry-1.18146">story</a> published in Nature insisted that "The records...do not suggest scientific misconduct or wrongdoing by Folta." Anyone familiar with the saga, already knows Kevin was less than honest about his connection to Monsanto. He publicly stated on the Joe Rogan show that "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD1J6KiGAWU">I have nothing to do with Monsanto</a>." The records more than suggest that he was taking money from them for his outreach program and in touch with them regularly prior to this statement made on the JRE podcast on June 4, 2015.<br />
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Does <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3894671-Preemptive-Release.html">this</a> sound like someone with nothing to hide?<br />
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After the story about Folta was published in Nature, <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3862260-Kloor-on-Nature-Article.html">Entine contacted Kloor via email</a> to complain about his use of 'close ties' to describe Folta's relationship with the agrochemical industry. Kloor stated that he "agonized" over the story, and that the phrase was added in the final edits. He described Folta's objection to its use as "fair." He then states to Entine, "You and I should also talk. You are in the emails."<br />
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In addition to his adventures with Folta and Entine, Kloor has <a href="https://gmwatch.org/en/news/archive/2014/15596-keith-kloor-trash-talking-the-enviros-or-just-talking-trash">earned a reputation</a> of relying on rhetorical tactics to discredit Big Agribusiness critics. He's <a href="https://twitter.com/keithkloor/status/496484704779264001">accused</a> registered dietitian Carol Bartolotto who once dared to question the touted benefits of GE crops, of fearmongering and "pure denialism." Bartolotto was mentioned in one of <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/collideascape/2014/08/07/vaccine-gmo-denial-treated-equally/#.XBQgfhNKiu4">Kloor's articles</a> flogging the tired guilt by association maneuver of dragging out the contentious topic of vaccination. This is a favorite of <a href="https://commonreader.wustl.edu/c/the-dubious-virtue-of-apostasy/">people who do not want to address legitimate concerns</a>, because shit, that's hard.<br />
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Kloor has <a href="https://issues.org/forum-spring-2014/">been criticized</a> by Professor of Anthropology Glenn Davis Stone at Washington University for his take on farmer suicides in India. Farmer suicide is a complex problem, and while myths about the causes behind it are being widely spread by both sides of the "GMO debate" Stone notes that Kloor does little to draw attention to the root causes and instead uses the suicide as an opportunity to slam environmentalists. "But Kloor’s goal was not to understand the problem of farmer suicide, but rather to use it to whip up hatred toward Vandana Shiva and “liberal and environmentalist circles,” where GMOs are unpopular. The intent was to turn a complex social science question into a moral fable." He concludes his critique stating that, "In other writing Kloor calls GMO opponents unscientific. However, I would suggest that it is articles like this, which bash one side’s irresponsible claims but not the other’s, and which aim to create exasperation rather than insight, that are the real impediments to the scientific understanding of our world."<br />
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Nathanael Johnson, the other journalist mentioned earlier who joined the boot camp ranks with Haspel and Kloor, was recruited to join in the 2015 event as seen in <a href="https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/chemical/docs/#id=xffm0226">these emails</a>. He's a favorite of Entine, who <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/01/09/261076195/a-green-movement-website-shakes-up-the-debate-over-gmos">praised him</a> over a 26 part series on GMOs he says "Sets Stage For GMO Science Journalism Conclave" in <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonentine/2013/07/18/grist-challenges-its-own-shaky-crop-biotechnology-reporting-sets-stage-for-gmo-science-journalism-conclave/#318f455c5233">Forbes</a>. He states, "How can science journalists refocus the public’s attention on empirical data and away from fear mongering? We see hopeful signs of that happening with journalist-blogger Keith Kloor, plant geneticist Kevin Folta, and young scientist-communicators like Anastasia Bodnar and Karl Haro von Mogel at Biofortified." How grand it must be, to have your reporting be praised by an infamous agribusiness apologist and atrazine defender who heads an industry front group.<br />
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Johnson also appears in the recent documentary "<a href="https://www.foodevolutionmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/FoodEvolutionPressKit.pdf">Food Evolution</a>." I reviewed <a href="https://twitter.com/vixenvalentino/status/990385272956256256">that steaming pile of shit and wasted time</a> on my Twitter feed if you're interested.<br />
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I think at this point it's safe to say that the agrochemical industry is making a concerted effort to control the narrative on GMOs and pesticides. Part of this plan as we can see is to influence journalists and provide them with industry favorable talking points. Questioning where, and how journalists get their information is never a bad idea.<br />
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Vixen Valentinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924365433583975370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058139842866427482.post-42177834768521072042018-07-12T13:03:00.003-07:002023-01-22T10:30:53.964-08:00A Precautionary StrawmanChances are if you've stuck around long enough, you've noticed a common theme amongst the Skeptic crowd - they aren't fans of the <a href="https://www.sehn.org/ppfaqs.html">precautionary principle</a> (PP).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6HQkVVBzANf4XLQaBQt-lRhwKhQ90ks9mx5Ta9YjguRCQXybQIAkw-evxkJlm-8g7H92Bu9CHKa2q-d96V1OHHPPfffiA6PPoCrICCljEwI6u7a8dJwJq6olMYaJetY6KW6NaJ_LNREE/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-07-12+at+12.51.20+PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="367" data-original-width="634" height="369" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6HQkVVBzANf4XLQaBQt-lRhwKhQ90ks9mx5Ta9YjguRCQXybQIAkw-evxkJlm-8g7H92Bu9CHKa2q-d96V1OHHPPfffiA6PPoCrICCljEwI6u7a8dJwJq6olMYaJetY6KW6NaJ_LNREE/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-07-12+at+12.51.20+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David Zaruk waxes poetic on the PP.</td></tr>
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The PP is a guideline for decision making when faced with scientific uncertainty. It has <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1240435/">been described as</a> having "<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif; font-size: 15.9991px;">four central components: taking preventive action in the face of uncertainty; shifting the burden of proof to the proponents of an activity; exploring a wide range of alternatives to possibly harmful actions; and increasing public participation in decision making."</span><br />
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The <a href="http://sehn.org/wingspread-conference-on-the-precautionary-principle/">Wingspread Statement</a> defines the principle: "When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically."<br />
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And yet, popular Skeptic bloggers and <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/SciMoms">SciMoms</a> Alison Bernstein aka <a href="http://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2016/11/median-lethal-dopes.html">Mommy PhD</a> and <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Kavin_Senapathy">Kavin Senapathy</a> define the PP as something entirely different in the Forbes <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kavinsenapathy/2016/01/13/how-marketers-use-fear-of-chemicals-3-steps/#34180f5218b2%20rel=%22nofollow%22">article</a>, "How Marketers Use Fear Of Chemicals For Profit: 3 Easy Steps"<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBBJIl-DL7hMbBjyo3pqF1lq3fe2le7k9futgqt9xrbEwc6oGLghh-M8ll-NoTwSm6sclMRcKyv1FbT98PuLvvDdgpxVolxqUtui87TsdUglJPWN4uubjvfmyQZb5sLzCnXufQunryyVM/s1600/PP_SciMoms.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="328" data-original-width="847" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBBJIl-DL7hMbBjyo3pqF1lq3fe2le7k9futgqt9xrbEwc6oGLghh-M8ll-NoTwSm6sclMRcKyv1FbT98PuLvvDdgpxVolxqUtui87TsdUglJPWN4uubjvfmyQZb5sLzCnXufQunryyVM/s640/PP_SciMoms.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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Their statement even goes so far to imply that the PP is somehow irrational, harkening back to Zaruk's string of ad hominem descriptors at the outset of this post.<br />
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Another popular Skeptic blogger, Michael Simpson (aka Skeptical Raptor) lists the PP under logical fallacies on his <a href="https://www.skepticalraptor.com/skepticalraptorblog.php/logical-fallacies/precautionary-principle-logical-fallacies/">website</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJkNBqed-QL0sAcdjfts2dYufzWcJ22XnlUN94ROKNEdU0DxDu_0OydCKATRy_upvY9aOGVyFIgeeRMrz-NYpMijuCxEzu0t_05t7hh-oS9_pX-p6RWEnuQH_KIE1zfikeZdAyOcopAZo/s1600/PP_SkepCraptor.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="1536" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJkNBqed-QL0sAcdjfts2dYufzWcJ22XnlUN94ROKNEdU0DxDu_0OydCKATRy_upvY9aOGVyFIgeeRMrz-NYpMijuCxEzu0t_05t7hh-oS9_pX-p6RWEnuQH_KIE1zfikeZdAyOcopAZo/s640/PP_SkepCraptor.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
His rationale for including it in the logical fallacy category? "Although the precautionary principle is not a formal logical fallacy, it is very dependent on the logical fallacy, argument from ignorance, which asserts that a proposition is true because it has not yet been proven false.<br />
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In addition to creating their own definitions of the PP, another popular tactic is proposing absurd strawman applications of the principle in order to undermine it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgedEYHuBUWy-2-ZVHmGX21PlvY_UTPOn5HdUmRDK8-gCGLIx7x4SKiH0oyO9tS2QBOcepdvuGwehlvQWZPLlcZ0aJ4JgnT1ry7lqsAWKwHk8NR28Xbm0a6ScwmiEurWJ6qyPoRFbfZpUQ/s1600/PP_Trevor.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1360" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgedEYHuBUWy-2-ZVHmGX21PlvY_UTPOn5HdUmRDK8-gCGLIx7x4SKiH0oyO9tS2QBOcepdvuGwehlvQWZPLlcZ0aJ4JgnT1ry7lqsAWKwHk8NR28Xbm0a6ScwmiEurWJ6qyPoRFbfZpUQ/s640/PP_Trevor.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQXKtBvTXZPB1JVlHoRESWqQgDP6_3RETuJdXV46zXLX8ES_tPPPuEGSReb8Neb3Wobwd59V6gojWTgMZQZDAGxxQb8OqU525ss8p_q9wVvM5loXET-NlBwLZEYlbICKumtPW52aZJlJ8/s1600/PP_Zaruk.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQXKtBvTXZPB1JVlHoRESWqQgDP6_3RETuJdXV46zXLX8ES_tPPPuEGSReb8Neb3Wobwd59V6gojWTgMZQZDAGxxQb8OqU525ss8p_q9wVvM5loXET-NlBwLZEYlbICKumtPW52aZJlJ8/s640/PP_Zaruk.jpg" width="592" /></a></div><div><br /></div>
Of course, none of their definitions or examples are accurate when you actually compare them with the PP. Their biases are on full display here, and unfortunately this type of misrepresentation is not beneficial to stakeholders who may be affected by decisions made without due consideration to the effects on the environment or human health. But they are beneficial to the industries who are happy to <a href="http://keepyourpromisesdupont.com/">shift the burden of proof to the public</a> to prove unequivocally that their products are toxic as they continue to pump them out into the air and water <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/leaded-gas-poison-invented-180961368/">only to find decades later</a> that long term harm has occurred.<br />
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<br />Vixen Valentinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924365433583975370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058139842866427482.post-65404261919050460702018-04-08T13:48:00.000-07:002018-04-08T13:48:14.972-07:00Ecomodernism - A New Ideology of the Anthropocene Ecomodernism is a recently conceived movement that's been described as "an environmental philosophy which argues that humans can "decouple" anthropogenic impacts from the natural world."<br />
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These ecomodernists are featured often in the media, are part of academic institutions and even receive awards for their work. Their ideas are portrayed as the 'future of environmentalism' in the press, but is their philosophy one that will truly benefit humans and the environment, or is it just a lot of hot air?<br />
<h3>
<br />The Manifesto</h3>
In April of 2015 the '<a href="http://www.ecomodernism.org/">An Ecomodernist Manifesto</a>' was released. The numerous authors include controversial characters like <a href="http://www.spinwatch.org/index.php/issues/science/item/5490">Mark Lynas</a> known for his almost religious 'conversion' to an aggressive promoter of conventional agriculture and his <a href="http://gmwatch.org/en/news/latest-news/18072-lynas-lies-and-marketing">creative interpretation</a> of history. Then there's aspiring politician and nuclear energy proponent Michael Shellenberger and Roger Pielke Jr. who was at one time part of a brief <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/26/science/lawmakers-seek-information-on-funding-for-climate-change-critics.html?_r=0">investigation</a> by Democratic lawmakers (that never amounted to anything) for potential issues with research funding. And also David Keith who is a strong advocate for <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/david_keith_s_surprising_ideas_on_climate_change">geoengineering</a>.<br />
<br />
The manifesto starts out acknowledging our impact on the planet, and stating their position on how best to manage it. In it they "<i>affirm one long-standing environmental ideal, that humanity must shrink its impacts on
the environment to make more room for nature, while we reject another, that human societies must
harmonize with nature to avoid economic and ecological collapse</i>." They argue further that, "<i>Natural systems will not, as a general rule, be protected
or enhanced by the expansion of humankind’s dependence upon them for sustenance and
well-being.</i>"<br />
<br />
Few people will argue that humans are having a great impact on the planet, but many would question the wisdom of the Ecomodernists suggested approach to managing it. The idea that we must shrink our impacts on the environment is reasonable, but is that best achieved by rejecting the idea of harmonizing with nature? The Ecomodernists say the solution is "<i>Intensifying many human activities — particularly farming, energy extraction, forestry, and settlement
— so that they use less land and interfere less with the natural world is the key to decoupling
human development from environmental impacts." </i>The idea that we can 'de-couple' ourselves from the planet we live on is so far from reality that you have to wonder where this level of hubris stems from.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DVmwa84VuNZMQGP0t3fihB9sQQoDbbazn5E2-IJza06McI0OY08WdJc_OhN-2PDtvKx05831czVX-VBwofSSN0mdGQI2P8QwfU0FLkfkVIA___Fiayw0GD4WFU-w5oJSW5Xt1UOoW8E/s1600/EGO-ECO1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="524" height="467" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DVmwa84VuNZMQGP0t3fihB9sQQoDbbazn5E2-IJza06McI0OY08WdJc_OhN-2PDtvKx05831czVX-VBwofSSN0mdGQI2P8QwfU0FLkfkVIA___Fiayw0GD4WFU-w5oJSW5Xt1UOoW8E/s640/EGO-ECO1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An over-simplified illustration to be sure, but it still provides some much needed perspective.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The Ecomodernists believe that we must reduce our dependence on natural systems yet at the same time recognizing that we are "<i>completely dependent on the living biosphere</i>." We are not able to decouple ourselves from nature simply because we came from it, we are a part of it, and we depend on it for our own survival.<br />
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This sort of inconsistency isn't unusual - the Ecomodernists have been called out before on their statements about <a href="https://ethics.harvard.edu/blog/breakthrough-institutes-inconvenient-history-al-gore">Al Gore and climate</a>,<a href="https://cleantechnica.com/2013/06/17/the-breakthrough-institute-why-the-hot-air/"> renewable energy</a>, <a href="https://grist.org/climate-policy/breakthrough-institute-gets-it-wrong-on-climate-economics-again/">climate policy</a>, <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/debunking-breakthrough-institutes-attacks-on-obama-gore-and-top-climate-scientists-a339b565105f/">climate scientists</a>, their track record of <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/memo-to-media-dont-be-suckered-by-bad-analyses-from-the-breakthrough-institute-the-way-time-wsj-npr-a0b77f6f846c/">bad analyses</a> as well as the <a href="http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/elist/eListRead/the_technofix_is_in/">failures of the manifesto</a>.<br />
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<br />
<h3>
The Breakthrough Institute (TBI)</h3>
<div>
The Ecomodernist's progressive think tank organization founded in 2003 by Michael Shellenberger, <a href="https://thebreakthrough.org/about">describes itself</a> as "<i>a global research center that identifies and promotes technological solutions to environmental and human development challenges</i>." Senior fellows include Pamela Ronald, <a href="https://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/37843/title/Mislabeled-Microbes-Cause-Two-Retractions/">queen of retractions</a>, the aforementioned Roger Pielke Jr., and <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Stewart_Brand">Stuart Brand</a>, co-founder of the Long Now Foundation and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/georgemonbiot/2010/nov/10/ddt-monbiot-stewart-brand">unrepentant purveyor</a> of played out <a href="http://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2017/02/fake-skeptics-spread-fake-news-about.html">DDT myths</a>.<br />
<br />
TBI has had it's fair share of criticism over the years from its <a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2014/04/11/climate-change-messaging-avoid-the-truth/">messaging on climate change</a> to the <a href="http://www.koomey.com/post/140237813493">quality of the data</a> they present. Their blatantly technocratic worldview is on display in their magazine The Breakthrough Journal where int heir latest issue they promote technofixes like <a href="https://thebreakthrough.org/index.php/journal/no.-8-winter-2018/geoengineering-justice">geoengineering</a>, <a href="https://thebreakthrough.org/index.php/journal/no.-8-winter-2018/a-tale-of-two-technologies">nuclear energy</a> and even become apologists for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO's).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4teZzN3jIdQrVU0SpsEmB1M82kUxVliS-q32yOibGbk3U1nc2pB4veUnZhy57l3xQDBuMedQBTfnoS-N0rJK7IC8dezAjckXy8M54pOU026H_9fz90B4dPaTJggXEBvkp9HyenvnJL5A/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-03-25+at+3.29.06+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="602" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4teZzN3jIdQrVU0SpsEmB1M82kUxVliS-q32yOibGbk3U1nc2pB4veUnZhy57l3xQDBuMedQBTfnoS-N0rJK7IC8dezAjckXy8M54pOU026H_9fz90B4dPaTJggXEBvkp9HyenvnJL5A/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-03-25+at+3.29.06+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Science Mom' Jenny Splitter <a href="https://thebreakthrough.org/index.php/journal/no.-8-winter-2018/better-living-through-technology">sings the praises</a> of CAFOs.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Under their mission statement they proclaim that "<i>We believe that technology and modernizations are at the foundation of human progress." </i>and<i> "We believe that...long-term government investment is required to accelerate technological progress, economic growth and environmental quality."</i><br />
<br />
TBI is a wet dream come true for industry. At least the ones they promote anyway, like industrial agriculture, nuclear energy and the like. Let's look at one example.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqDzH1tsCqszD3fHoOTvZ7RpGxnufGkWqjcNc1c7XgBRnMinC0PJaCAmhkfCshUXUukAxekxWfrXN8CIpuvrrTEhL8kAwskFqDPB9H6qnc4Ka9KXc_bL8j1CWAOtZX06sZeRkWqEfdUjE/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-04-08+at+3.33.42+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="629" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqDzH1tsCqszD3fHoOTvZ7RpGxnufGkWqjcNc1c7XgBRnMinC0PJaCAmhkfCshUXUukAxekxWfrXN8CIpuvrrTEhL8kAwskFqDPB9H6qnc4Ka9KXc_bL8j1CWAOtZX06sZeRkWqEfdUjE/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-04-08+at+3.33.42+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monsanto's Director of Millennial Engagement praises <a href="http://www.rachellaudan.com/2018/01/thank-you-breakthrough-institute.html">BTI award recipient Rachel Laudan</a>, who "celebrates technological, industrial, “artificial” food."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Vance Crowe promotes ecomodernism quite often, alongside the other <a href="http://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2017/04/my-friend-vance.html">'tribes' he is trying to connect</a> on behalf of his employer's best interests. He is a member of Stuart Brand's Long Now Foundation (#5454) as he announces on his Twitter bio.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkRYUKvNdXSmzwcQ4bczXYIpwLjNMSGuvJn_lp83KGIQOKiTWa0-0RaamTnMfFpk_0neh0eJHfhkEJP4EZmifRCWfkHtpqjjB6Hnt3OPWNd8mQMaJo9G6HwPp63spPf0iavtRrXhl5AVw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-04-08+at+3.39.29+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="723" data-original-width="621" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkRYUKvNdXSmzwcQ4bczXYIpwLjNMSGuvJn_lp83KGIQOKiTWa0-0RaamTnMfFpk_0neh0eJHfhkEJP4EZmifRCWfkHtpqjjB6Hnt3OPWNd8mQMaJo9G6HwPp63spPf0iavtRrXhl5AVw/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-04-08+at+3.39.29+PM.png" width="548" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vance wants to connect the Skeptic tribe with ecomodernism.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPYwEsvxVB8Xt2J0EPrWdjQqlqyCyikwxe8CiHSf38KxMZJe0eduewmxwlYmUhzDY78SV5Pe362-xwdESaGroZZCYy625AYRd-KHMzW8vAkx1_ZV6uhE5zQ2Ygpk0pbhqT8jEXofu4skQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-04-08+at+3.41.02+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="624" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPYwEsvxVB8Xt2J0EPrWdjQqlqyCyikwxe8CiHSf38KxMZJe0eduewmxwlYmUhzDY78SV5Pe362-xwdESaGroZZCYy625AYRd-KHMzW8vAkx1_ZV6uhE5zQ2Ygpk0pbhqT8jEXofu4skQ/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-04-08+at+3.41.02+PM.png" width="618" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cringey-named Trolling With Logic podcast starring Vance and Vice Chair of the Finnish Eco-modernists.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Clearly, Monsanto and the rest of the agrochemical industry is not what we'd think of as a leader in sustainability, or planetary health. Their love of all things ecomodernist should give us pause as to the direction the Ecomodernists would like to take us. Their promise of a 'great Anthropocene' is perhaps well-intentioned, but their sheer ignorance of ecology, inconsistent rhetoric, and distortion of statistics is something to be seriously wary of. Ecomodernism seems much more ideologically based than it is grounded in reality.<br />
<br />
"Beware of people preaching simple solutions to complex problems." - Steve Herbert<br />
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<br />Vixen Valentinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924365433583975370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058139842866427482.post-77565719189924861852018-03-10T14:42:00.001-08:002023-01-22T10:29:15.989-08:00Whose One-Liner Is It Anyway? The scientific method is vital to knowledge development. It has helped the human race to save lives and do and discover many amazing things. Science is a hot topic these days. Scientific findings like climate change have been embroiled in controversy and politics, leading to more exposure in the news media also television shows like Cosmos, and events like the March for Science have helped to popularize it.<br />
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Sadly, scientific literacy is being diluted down to soundbites and axioms by the pop science Skeptic movement. How often have you heard phrases like these?<br />
<i><br /></i><i>The plural of anecdote is not data</i><i><br /><br /></i><i>Everything is a chemical</i><i><br /><br /></i><i>Correlation is not causation</i><i><br /><br /></i><i>The dose makes the poison</i><i><br /><br /></i><i>Science doesn't care what you believe</i><i><br /><br /></i><i>Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence</i><i><br /><br /></i><i>That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence</i><i><br /></i>
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These one-liners are designed to make the person delivering them sound sciencey and smart, but when someone is using a phrase like this it often belies a facile understanding of a complex issue.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0WMhyphenhypheniX9xz1vN11ZjBgDkSsFoEeRB5jUun7bwe0I1VqzwZDPIQTqtRaJqXTIICecS4OgIINweECe5daQqDIR16E2lHpuM5sRTcGUDxPQfEquQ26Xo0qMbq-CiaugKlWAjazntqaUaiUo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-07-11+at+2.12.48+PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="544" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0WMhyphenhypheniX9xz1vN11ZjBgDkSsFoEeRB5jUun7bwe0I1VqzwZDPIQTqtRaJqXTIICecS4OgIINweECe5daQqDIR16E2lHpuM5sRTcGUDxPQfEquQ26Xo0qMbq-CiaugKlWAjazntqaUaiUo/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-07-11+at+2.12.48+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sigh. I feel your pain, kid.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br /><div>
This particular quote is often used to dismiss people's observations as having no value. While one anecdote alone isn't concrete proof of something, observational data is in fact very useful. The <a href="http://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2017/05/no-benefit-from-parachutes-study-shows.html">humorous example</a> in the British Medical Journal of the article entitled <i>Parachute use to prevent death and major trauma related to gravitational challenge: systematic review of randomised controlled trials</i> reminds us of this. That's even aside from the fact that this commonly used aphorism is being badly mis-quoted. The original version comes from a man named Raymond Wolfinger. In a <a href="http://blog.danwin.com/don-t-forget-the-plural-of-anecdote-is-data/">2003 email correspondence</a>, Wolfinger relays the story behind his famed quote:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I said 'The plural of anecdote is data' some time in the 1969-70 academic year while teaching a graduate seminar at Stanford. The occasion was a student's dismissal of a simple factual statement-by another student or me-as a mere anecdote. The quotation was my rejoinder."</blockquote>
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Isn't it strangely ironic then that the <a href="https://theethicalskeptic.com/2018/01/07/anecdote-the-cry-of-the-pseudo-skeptic/">Skeptic crowd</a> would popularize the exact opposite of what the phrase was meant to convey?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuoDWmOoKScgps8q46WPI8QY9qDEMvCr8b5JxJr2dDehOReFQDODxOBGMY3rH0CAPwj15aeeIhiwXX0AXx6bCEcB3lIxoUQxA1JaMvg0uMmQEfGz7q50dtQBM-iFQyIKSmWG8s8BLU7Bs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-03-09+at+3.24.41+PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="324" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuoDWmOoKScgps8q46WPI8QY9qDEMvCr8b5JxJr2dDehOReFQDODxOBGMY3rH0CAPwj15aeeIhiwXX0AXx6bCEcB3lIxoUQxA1JaMvg0uMmQEfGz7q50dtQBM-iFQyIKSmWG8s8BLU7Bs/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-03-09+at+3.24.41+PM.png" width="620" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buy this sticker and you too, can pretend to be science literate.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This one generally gets whipped out <a href="http://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2016/08/do-you-suffer-from-chemophobia.html">when people use the term chemical</a> to refer to a synthetic or manufactured substance, food additives or those products made by the chemical industry...what do they call those things? Oh yeah, chemicals.<br />
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Yes, all matter has a chemical structure. No, not all chemicals are bad. Shouting that 'everything is a chemical' in the middle of a conversation is about as helpful as shouting 'the sky is blue' in the middle of a conversation about airplanes. It might be correct, but it doesn't really serve to inform anyone.</div><div><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtP-cbBiiC-Q7z3d6jYI85kvvwe0PFzhV_c8gAbEBejPndLO7Kv7xW8UUrASkizLNUySICvV5tDAz-vOpkkb0M-x0HMbidiYvpYDD-OnMQP4i1g7RwLT7gjlkhpx0n_xRcwPrdzLWWQTw/s1600/correlationsharks%2526icecream.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="600" height="532" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtP-cbBiiC-Q7z3d6jYI85kvvwe0PFzhV_c8gAbEBejPndLO7Kv7xW8UUrASkizLNUySICvV5tDAz-vOpkkb0M-x0HMbidiYvpYDD-OnMQP4i1g7RwLT7gjlkhpx0n_xRcwPrdzLWWQTw/s640/correlationsharks%2526icecream.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The louder you shout it, the more scientific you sound.<br />
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Correlation alone is not proof of causation, this is true. But a correlation is also not a claim of proof either. And many times, what is mistaken as simply correlation is actually part of a <a href="https://theethicalskeptic.com/tag/correlation-causality/">collection of data</a> that reinforces itself statistically. A correlation is a part of scientific investigation and it is pseudoscience to demand proof before an hypothesis can be fully tested. Imagine where we would be if every time a scientist noticed a correlation in some collected data they just waved their hand and said, 'No need to research this any further, correlation does not equal causation!'<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhObIdf0itVQi-UmpN_MBWAeO5oJeKsrvml8ZbcCKGWhZRxgitfvOqNAuQxiISMwu0ZLMJAk55jcgk1ztNQLxF2ztBN3vFxYKYob4wAWIEWr3cggAsedifbGg_GwLsIzUzEiSZFCLY_iYU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-03-10+at+2.53.41+PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="721" data-original-width="625" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhObIdf0itVQi-UmpN_MBWAeO5oJeKsrvml8ZbcCKGWhZRxgitfvOqNAuQxiISMwu0ZLMJAk55jcgk1ztNQLxF2ztBN3vFxYKYob4wAWIEWr3cggAsedifbGg_GwLsIzUzEiSZFCLY_iYU/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-03-10+at+2.53.41+PM.png" width="554" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, because PCBs and asbestos are the same as potatoes and pears.</td></tr>
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This one is a classic - literally. The axiom comes from the 16th century '<a href="http://www.toxipedia.org/display/toxipedia/Paracelsus">father of toxicology</a>' Paracelsus. The original quote is, "All things are poison and nothing (is) without poison, only the dose makes that a thing is no poison." Does dose matter? Of course, but keep in mind Paracelsus lived before we knew about things like <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22419778">low dose effects and non-monotonic dose responses</a>. Other factors influence toxicity too like individual susceptibility, timing, sequence, and accompanying exposures. The idea that low doses are always too low to be harmful betrays an ignorance of some of the most basic toxicological science. And as in the example above, it is used frequently by the chemical industry to confuse consumers and distract from <a href="https://www.endocrine.org/news-room/2018/endocrine-society-experts-express-concern-with-fda-statement-on-bpa-safety">the science</a> surrounding their products that exhibit worrisome toxic effects.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhexa-vur_B-a6bGnmhJquMDnuiiXRDpsL7QVhjeEkzzn4IAcURv_-JFyH-MQW7DL6wY84HVQMitjLUvpnV1RFZBOkw58vCOrE_EssFIroFR-4RnfwPkNOZJYp-8vKplfGH1Eux3eHqi-Q/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-03-10+at+3.50.46+PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="423" data-original-width="495" height="546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhexa-vur_B-a6bGnmhJquMDnuiiXRDpsL7QVhjeEkzzn4IAcURv_-JFyH-MQW7DL6wY84HVQMitjLUvpnV1RFZBOkw58vCOrE_EssFIroFR-4RnfwPkNOZJYp-8vKplfGH1Eux3eHqi-Q/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-03-10+at+3.50.46+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A phrase so popularized, it even has its own Facebook page. It's all Oprah's fault, I'm sure. </td></tr>
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Science isn't a person, so no, of course it doesn't care what you believe. Don't be a fucking asshole.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUn79-msM2My8UNZhhhQLm7iV9u6_oT-J7Cvhyphenhyphensyvssb8r3ueE_yaQUiZ6Wm3KKd-wQbVvgNRkU3iWutUHmqUIddIQpgyeHF8nynn0IwT1F4dU0qpY2eaRFj5L5DNuVDyks3U-xbflvns/s1600/SaganQuote.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="377" data-original-width="377" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUn79-msM2My8UNZhhhQLm7iV9u6_oT-J7Cvhyphenhyphensyvssb8r3ueE_yaQUiZ6Wm3KKd-wQbVvgNRkU3iWutUHmqUIddIQpgyeHF8nynn0IwT1F4dU0qpY2eaRFj5L5DNuVDyks3U-xbflvns/s640/SaganQuote.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not to be confused with the poster on Mulder's office wall. </td></tr>
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While Sagan has done more for science literacy than he hasn't, we still could have done without his popularization of this one. First it lacks any real context. What defines an extraordinary claim? What would be accepted as extraordinary evidence? Does this mean the evidence required to prove the existence of a new earth species is different or less than that to prove the existence of an alien life form? It doesn't seem logical that the required scientific evidence for proof of claims should be on some kind of arbitrary Skeptical Sliding Scale.</div><div><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiktJJHTNirEUjFkIk4BS7_Cv-IscI34ofSUmoNl_le8A1vpX34tHuGpjBcRokstgN6mbHz-Xk9Kg8p_oAfIrvAZrgeLllNTG96TBixNCvF0GHXeeITXo2tRdYd830TjDF_5c8l5UXnlA8/s1600/HitchensEvidence.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="850" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiktJJHTNirEUjFkIk4BS7_Cv-IscI34ofSUmoNl_le8A1vpX34tHuGpjBcRokstgN6mbHz-Xk9Kg8p_oAfIrvAZrgeLllNTG96TBixNCvF0GHXeeITXo2tRdYd830TjDF_5c8l5UXnlA8/s640/HitchensEvidence.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Speaking of arbitrary and illogical...<br />
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This segues nicely into our last one-liner from Skeptic sourpuss, Chris Hitchens. "That which can be asserted with out evidence, can be dismissed without evidence." How the hell can anyone take this nihilistic shit seriously? You can't just make up your own rules as you go along and pretend it's somehow evidence-based to absolve yourself from presenting any evidence at all. This is the height of intellectual laziness, and we should pity any person who repeats this rubbish.<br />
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Science literacy is more than memorizing a series of catchy phrases, and skepticism is a discipline of thinking which cannot be accomplished by oversimplifying complex issues which is exactly what these expressions do. Make sure not to be seduced by this flashy style fake skepticism - there are no shortcuts here. Learning about science takes time and effort, but it's worth doing right.<br />
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</style></div>Vixen Valentinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924365433583975370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058139842866427482.post-63946570711519504602018-02-10T14:53:00.001-08:002019-01-16T13:01:32.030-08:00Sham News Sites Promote False Narrative<br />
If you've been following the controversy over the world's most popular herbicide active ingredient glyphosate, you know things have been getting <a href="http://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-campaign-against-iarc.html">increasingly heated</a> since the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified it as probably carcinogenic to humans back in 2015.<br />
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During this time, a <a href="https://www.baumhedlundlaw.com/defending-iarc-scientific-integrity-against-monsanto/">series of reports</a> have come out of Reuters by a reporter named Kate Kelland. These '<a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/bsk-pdf-manager/2019/01/Letter-brief-over-AHS-evidence.pdf">exclusives</a>' can all be <a href="https://theecologist.org/2016/apr/21/industry-fingerprints-all-over-reuters-attack-iarc-over-glyphosate-and-cancer">traced back</a> to <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/monsanto-spin-doctors-target-cancer-scientist-in-flawed_us_594449eae4b0940f84fe2e57">Monsanto</a>, the agrochemical company that made glyphosate famous with their lucrative product Roundup. As a result of this reporting, and perhaps some lobbying efforts, the U.S. House Science, Space and Technology Committee has launched an investigation into IARC, threatening to cut funding to the independent organization. Three of <a href="https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/glyphosate-cancer-data/">Kelland's</a> <a href="https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/who-iarc-glyphosate/">stories</a> <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-cancer-glyphosate/large-u-s-farm-study-finds-no-cancer-link-to-monsanto-weedkiller-idUSKBN1D916C">were cited</a> in letters to IARC by House Science chairmen Lamar Smith and Andy Biggs. The first letter was sent in <a href="https://science.house.gov/news/letters/chairmen-smith-and-biggs-letters-iarc-hhs-re-glyhposate">November 2017</a> and a follow-up in <a href="https://science.house.gov/news/letters/chairmen-smith-lucas-and-biggs-follow-letter-iarc">December 2017</a>.<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "roboto" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><br />
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Most recently, the House Science committee has held <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92wegHycsgk">a hearing</a> titled "In Defense of Scientific Integrity: Examining the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Monograph Program and Glyphosate Review" wherein Andy Biggs refers to glyphosate as "glyphosphate." It was just as appalling as it sounds. But then, this is <i><a href="https://twitter.com/i/moments/804654626733748224?lang=en">that</a></i> House Science committee.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgITdfZrx_ci3HaKBgECaqnUrfnWEEIfCBPtxMyD2BrwN9hVtZF5BEIPSK9p6ntecATjPUj8Yd6bIEz93EoJc1H9Ejw59wD_i6942lPA8vlwYKnm6flphstHvOqKj6X7PvrfZGnT4w65ys/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-02-08+at+4.30.24+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="622" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgITdfZrx_ci3HaKBgECaqnUrfnWEEIfCBPtxMyD2BrwN9hVtZF5BEIPSK9p6ntecATjPUj8Yd6bIEz93EoJc1H9Ejw59wD_i6942lPA8vlwYKnm6flphstHvOqKj6X7PvrfZGnT4w65ys/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-02-08+at+4.30.24+PM.png" width="592" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/house-science-committee-tweets-climate-change-denying-breitbart-article-debunked-n690986?cid=par-twitter-feed_20161202">NBC reports</a>: The article claims the science behind global warming is “in its final death rattle.”</td></tr>
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And if you think they learned after that first go-around...well, you'd be wrong.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsKs41VK7kxFEOoXb8kjN8l-0_bMM34hBHysG73rSJPySCVNKl5h5IKz_P85Ry45fcOoTNsTFqby_pbk7e8JNdrVurVvGrteFUXy3zyvv9VLnBscazvGSTRw1TTm98h_uevhyWk-Rg1VI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-02-08+at+4.45.19+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="635" data-original-width="618" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsKs41VK7kxFEOoXb8kjN8l-0_bMM34hBHysG73rSJPySCVNKl5h5IKz_P85Ry45fcOoTNsTFqby_pbk7e8JNdrVurVvGrteFUXy3zyvv9VLnBscazvGSTRw1TTm98h_uevhyWk-Rg1VI/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-02-08+at+4.45.19+PM.png" width="619" /></a></div>
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Despite their name, the House Science committee needs some serious work on their science literacy. The criticisms made by Chairman Smith, who has accepted <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/summary?cid=N00001811&cycle=2016">thousands of dollars in contributions</a> from the agribusiness industries, have been <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/02/who-rebuts-house-committee-criticisms-about-glyphosate-cancer-warning">thoroughly rebutted</a> by IARC Director Christopher Wild in several written responses, and yet the 'investigation' continues to drag on - much like their tweets featuring rock solid sources.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgilI5X8Z60ZK78Zf5xVEozNGf1IYuk-Mvs1IaH8ytG3i9MnW9z6IaFWZoXNAMn-zdX1HlOSNTrAq58kRBNTDwMlI8s9ZlawldZGyVIMT2g5_gC9Sy8MwKjmGrTFJYDUFqySPS-J_tfcdw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-02-10+at+2.17.57+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="441" data-original-width="605" height="465" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgilI5X8Z60ZK78Zf5xVEozNGf1IYuk-Mvs1IaH8ytG3i9MnW9z6IaFWZoXNAMn-zdX1HlOSNTrAq58kRBNTDwMlI8s9ZlawldZGyVIMT2g5_gC9Sy8MwKjmGrTFJYDUFqySPS-J_tfcdw/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-02-10+at+2.17.57+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ACSH is American Council on Science and Health - <a href="http://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2016/01/5-astroturf-groups-you-should-stop.html">a notorious front group</a>.</td></tr>
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While this circus has been going on, Monsanto has been rolling out their "<a href="http://baumhedlundlaw.com/pdf/monsanto-documents/72-Document-Details-Monsantos-Goals-After-IARC-Report.pdf">Preparedness and Engagement Plan</a> for IARC carcinogen rating of glyphosate." In one section of this plan, they state their first objective is to "Protect the reputation and FTO (acronym for 'freedom to operate') of Roundup by communicating the safety of glyphosate." One of the first actions in the plan is "Engage Henry Miller." The finished product of that engagement was <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160306162557/http://www.forbes.com/sites/henrymiller/2015/03/20/march-madness-from-the-united-nations/#66e3801f2e93">an article on Forbes' website</a>, which has now been removed along with all of Miller's articles. It turns out Henry <a href="http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/08/04/monsanto-ghostwriting-stanford-university-hoover-institution-fellow/">submitted a draft</a> written by Monsanto. Ghostwriting, for obvious reasons, is in direct violation of Forbes' contract with contributors. Oops.<br />
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Another part of the plan specifies "Share SM messages (Twitter, Facebook)." This is interesting considering a number of ads that people have been seeing on the social media platforms from anonymous and fictitious news sites.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwvFpE_NZ2HmLvlA1Yfmt0bFbGk6wH4SiQsbiQaH3DgUyDza-gK6Ei2HdNCpdb8RBRdLQAUdfVtNqlpou8zPGknOAXaKCspqDGkZmfu-ri7NO2b2cNI-7d7jDG9Nvu6okhcfax-gjABhI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-02-10+at+2.58.21+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="817" data-original-width="603" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwvFpE_NZ2HmLvlA1Yfmt0bFbGk6wH4SiQsbiQaH3DgUyDza-gK6Ei2HdNCpdb8RBRdLQAUdfVtNqlpou8zPGknOAXaKCspqDGkZmfu-ri7NO2b2cNI-7d7jDG9Nvu6okhcfax-gjABhI/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-02-10+at+2.58.21+PM.png" width="472" /></a></div>
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The Facebook page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sciencenewstoday/">Science News Today</a> with posts dating back to March 18th 2015, (two days before the IARC monograph 112 was released) have since removed <a href="https://web.archive.org/pg/Science-News-Today-1927007787570501/reviews/">their reviews</a> because so many people called them out - they had a rating of 1 star with 124 reviewers as of October 2017.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjyD0qZfso7DF2OoOgBqoFinL9nJo0SAptrrMWaKMNp8iimiqDgjObe4WlNdNvmB6uOhoiTFQg4oHhWgnGaYWbcDdcipUqb33AHjJ-fbhBIaVKg4p2c8tz-eBhV1bxWnCcldHtuHp25a8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-02-10+at+3.30.01+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="1032" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjyD0qZfso7DF2OoOgBqoFinL9nJo0SAptrrMWaKMNp8iimiqDgjObe4WlNdNvmB6uOhoiTFQg4oHhWgnGaYWbcDdcipUqb33AHjJ-fbhBIaVKg4p2c8tz-eBhV1bxWnCcldHtuHp25a8/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-02-10+at+3.30.01+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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In addition to that Facebook page there are at least two more that people have noticed, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/inthenewsnow/">In The News</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/afactofscience/">Facts of Science</a>.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlFFORuzgSWzG5uLEkRV85V1ecx3mcjzJ7kG-yGr-7fO5nVKzaOBvxypUjB90VJmPWq8V4naU3V7llu7_p_pAVXTAh1MG5rMAbmtP7G8OD84TbsdIiXPFfFRRhoA3kMPaYrAFXqnJ_Hiw/s1600/InTheNewsAd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1173" data-original-width="1203" height="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlFFORuzgSWzG5uLEkRV85V1ecx3mcjzJ7kG-yGr-7fO5nVKzaOBvxypUjB90VJmPWq8V4naU3V7llu7_p_pAVXTAh1MG5rMAbmtP7G8OD84TbsdIiXPFfFRRhoA3kMPaYrAFXqnJ_Hiw/s640/InTheNewsAd.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was in my news feed not long ago.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMqfr90JPbcwSuCXiToUrNL7r6vb49eC4a1GMrNngauH-SoBzbG2_U17YSQ00u8GiM-UwbDe0sMlA9lKK72ILyGIEenIwsJIst-yLgJ7wx-a5GSl9bLL2aYjYKKhAfXELhzrBkKENbbw/s1600/InTheNewsReviews.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="558" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMqfr90JPbcwSuCXiToUrNL7r6vb49eC4a1GMrNngauH-SoBzbG2_U17YSQ00u8GiM-UwbDe0sMlA9lKK72ILyGIEenIwsJIst-yLgJ7wx-a5GSl9bLL2aYjYKKhAfXELhzrBkKENbbw/s640/InTheNewsReviews.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/inthenewsnow/reviews/?ref=page_internal">Reviews</a> are still up.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb6yB9C6IQQpH8NF7yQuyXrx_VVpNPGPe5QptjmQOFgU1LV1fUpQZ5Hezz8D3VNSAPV2vXPIJr5AX6AUpXPS58nm9A7Z_QDO2gUjpq8E03ID_4JXpEQpzqJRZT-8NIXQTs92ynHeUd3OY/s1600/AccidentalReview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="466" data-original-width="1200" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb6yB9C6IQQpH8NF7yQuyXrx_VVpNPGPe5QptjmQOFgU1LV1fUpQZ5Hezz8D3VNSAPV2vXPIJr5AX6AUpXPS58nm9A7Z_QDO2gUjpq8E03ID_4JXpEQpzqJRZT-8NIXQTs92ynHeUd3OY/s640/AccidentalReview.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The only three star review was an accident.</td></tr>
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I think it's fair to say people are noticing something fishy about these accounts. They are painfully obvious.<br />
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This tweet, now deleted, was being promoted on Twitter by <a href="https://twitter.com/AFactOfScience">Facts of Science</a> in January.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSoqXo1DHF-u3ho9TmVA4cObF8HjboMhBHOP0lyJFsUWDoWcUqpNoFCuhYS2UsdfIiqucSYA7e4wSNO0gJ4EkZPJXwz5FEbmrApJWgPAQYyJGCB6zPCP3JdblNIM0PsKJNzS7ibr4fcL0/s1600/FactsOfScienceAd.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="615" data-original-width="615" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSoqXo1DHF-u3ho9TmVA4cObF8HjboMhBHOP0lyJFsUWDoWcUqpNoFCuhYS2UsdfIiqucSYA7e4wSNO0gJ4EkZPJXwz5FEbmrApJWgPAQYyJGCB6zPCP3JdblNIM0PsKJNzS7ibr4fcL0/s640/FactsOfScienceAd.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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The account is really bizarre, it was created in May 2017 with a creepy-feeling focus on single mothers along with some awkward replies to certain tweets.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGCb1XO5VrOZzMAWXcjV97zRyhcVRgrfLbZLGsDAOwscJlpl8wh-8MVI4ZknwDvnxieZgWE0A6vqeqCq1bL79TKZlfz2zQmiETIc9PGREZ4MAuRbt_A7AxA2_QXs0X8SXvO76vZwQPWBw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-02-10+at+5.32.58+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="116" data-original-width="585" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGCb1XO5VrOZzMAWXcjV97zRyhcVRgrfLbZLGsDAOwscJlpl8wh-8MVI4ZknwDvnxieZgWE0A6vqeqCq1bL79TKZlfz2zQmiETIc9PGREZ4MAuRbt_A7AxA2_QXs0X8SXvO76vZwQPWBw/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-02-10+at+5.32.58+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/afactofscience/">Facts of Science</a> account on Facebook has posts going back to October 2017. It has no reviews but you can still see what people are saying about this page.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhWn-sBKwSRdJRMYLoZ-jOP30g8hhyphenhyphenj5CJ7avfupefsuR-JC7gwVREldLS0MMhDfTlzZ9UwmTwKz3oRgB54ZjTpZn94pyDuBdzrRNSVDRK2yYrkuEQQHmJufpXcaXZNg6G3kOprYfdBcg/s1600/FrenchVersion.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="497" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhWn-sBKwSRdJRMYLoZ-jOP30g8hhyphenhyphenj5CJ7avfupefsuR-JC7gwVREldLS0MMhDfTlzZ9UwmTwKz3oRgB54ZjTpZn94pyDuBdzrRNSVDRK2yYrkuEQQHmJufpXcaXZNg6G3kOprYfdBcg/s640/FrenchVersion.png" width="475" /></a></div>
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Bottom line, someone is creating these accounts in an attempt to look like multiple independent sources, and are using them to buy ads on social media to promote the narrative that glyphosate the wonder chemical is being unfairly maligned by those fraudulent scientists over at IARC. This is a bunch of bullshit, straight out of the tobacco playbook and you have to wonder who is behind it.<br />
<br />
If I had to give it a guess, I'd say, oh I don't know, someone in the chemical industry?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDGCSx6wKQbMiljoQwNzaiacWmn-_R1e2-8tSA2kJe6gf_NTt0eR9FJQqE800wDSRPVO7QrvDGmmotnYh2Jp_3yObXBY1SD9kfrtvPEuwlQOmJ-LCg5KAMvp7Me0KYgs4YLw8arhqCZvc/s1600/KermitTea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="703" data-original-width="1249" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDGCSx6wKQbMiljoQwNzaiacWmn-_R1e2-8tSA2kJe6gf_NTt0eR9FJQqE800wDSRPVO7QrvDGmmotnYh2Jp_3yObXBY1SD9kfrtvPEuwlQOmJ-LCg5KAMvp7Me0KYgs4YLw8arhqCZvc/s400/KermitTea.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />
<b>Updates</b><br />
<br />
3/31/18<br />
<br />
I was sent a screen shot today of another fake news outlet, sponsoring <a href="https://twitter.com/SharedNewsStory/status/966406766496972801">this tweet</a>. Shared News Story have both a <a href="https://twitter.com/SharedNewsStory">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharednewsstory/">Facebook</a> account fitting the same pattern as the others.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiAxcl4DbHfLC3w9tr7mBXVFnRtdMMzKbuzSE5ca2xFd33heeFwRMGdj4WexJT4zxu28lcVj_HxOLQpzKby1KbnSyWeK6Anf_j-CDALhAF4DwbSdWd-hHLnkZ6IWcJLrLV0UzeVhxhmyI/s1600/SharedNewsStoryPromoted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="748" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiAxcl4DbHfLC3w9tr7mBXVFnRtdMMzKbuzSE5ca2xFd33heeFwRMGdj4WexJT4zxu28lcVj_HxOLQpzKby1KbnSyWeK6Anf_j-CDALhAF4DwbSdWd-hHLnkZ6IWcJLrLV0UzeVhxhmyI/s640/SharedNewsStoryPromoted.jpg" width="464" /></a></div>
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<br />
4/26/18<br />
<br />
The promoted tweets from Shared News Story continue...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSG7xpcCkC6O155Mq9GiaI4Mjx-DXbeOAxYr7krj0pvaRHbpp-alJgrl_zy-Jd-FHWbFXIst7GeH28vkuyle4KKU6q-eFWCDths3NVP-eq_3fA-ALFV63e7MBq94cvBPG3DY13g9nANj4/s1600/SharedNews1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1250" data-original-width="1536" height="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSG7xpcCkC6O155Mq9GiaI4Mjx-DXbeOAxYr7krj0pvaRHbpp-alJgrl_zy-Jd-FHWbFXIst7GeH28vkuyle4KKU6q-eFWCDths3NVP-eq_3fA-ALFV63e7MBq94cvBPG3DY13g9nANj4/s640/SharedNews1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh8IYmynZHJZmHqK6Gv8a5jfA5xB8i6673qZ3d63fnZDaseGLEU5GCALWERkhW2tN-kC3kVOAnbWyuDfQbLlcOEVGRQiFKc51rEHjc5CxAu7d8Qf0t1qlQFIC9cLzETyw6aY_HZJfzuZA/s1600/SharedNews2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1286" data-original-width="1536" height="532" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh8IYmynZHJZmHqK6Gv8a5jfA5xB8i6673qZ3d63fnZDaseGLEU5GCALWERkhW2tN-kC3kVOAnbWyuDfQbLlcOEVGRQiFKc51rEHjc5CxAu7d8Qf0t1qlQFIC9cLzETyw6aY_HZJfzuZA/s640/SharedNews2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyAoFaNXdVmF0hB5mO9ZNnkSUcyw2QanM1KYqDuJ6kw3Z53NxXL6R5A-70I-8BzV2CsYHh1g1UG4tjUpGFBEE1DRPncAa8Ye9fFtTcYVElCn9OYB8Z_A3UdFPHN_Uh9LFv-1yY_eCCh7w/s1600/SharedNews3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="1154" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyAoFaNXdVmF0hB5mO9ZNnkSUcyw2QanM1KYqDuJ6kw3Z53NxXL6R5A-70I-8BzV2CsYHh1g1UG4tjUpGFBEE1DRPncAa8Ye9fFtTcYVElCn9OYB8Z_A3UdFPHN_Uh9LFv-1yY_eCCh7w/s640/SharedNews3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHviBUfOVYRnYk-D_XO7sWYDKkrzng5dIHAf_MopgA-qmTsaOyfGtK6oSipdmh9nNRQMYTYdOLQQflBih0_kuwHPnMfO3l7QPtWl1skPDDqfnXqn2uiLqnPljUhPIsOfa8OIto1R9hEjY/s1600/SharedNews4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1536" height="353" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHviBUfOVYRnYk-D_XO7sWYDKkrzng5dIHAf_MopgA-qmTsaOyfGtK6oSipdmh9nNRQMYTYdOLQQflBih0_kuwHPnMfO3l7QPtWl1skPDDqfnXqn2uiLqnPljUhPIsOfa8OIto1R9hEjY/s640/SharedNews4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIvhv05hmH6AVbYV2bCTTQBT2bgOfg8pLy-La8D_3sjiGvFH0ajyeU2HUpM8ZYK_nk3pVw_guQ9CNGf8Rv-ft7TARERMcQbHgj9hwRVkMXrrh3heo-ECqoJXoMlTsw_xz4dD6GoO1xrVk/s1600/SharedNews5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="915" data-original-width="1536" height="379" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIvhv05hmH6AVbYV2bCTTQBT2bgOfg8pLy-La8D_3sjiGvFH0ajyeU2HUpM8ZYK_nk3pVw_guQ9CNGf8Rv-ft7TARERMcQbHgj9hwRVkMXrrh3heo-ECqoJXoMlTsw_xz4dD6GoO1xrVk/s640/SharedNews5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I think it's fair to say there's a pattern here...</div>
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<br />
5/1/2018<br />
<br />
But wait - there's more!<br />
<br />
A new promoted tweet showed up in my feed the other day, this time it's a survey offering the chance to win a free Apple iWatch.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPUqcaonR0Xhrvwm9uNHJ7q9ZIRlD_4g42PkMtiqrK9itzLfUttTMKSny-NCWJ4lslPxf85lWGp_P9igkPGlmJi_IcmFMlT22WURsenmmrSZTGwi7C3sA0YGkT2_k_KTqs0FYOgA9qLDI/s1600/SharedNewsSurvey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="1536" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPUqcaonR0Xhrvwm9uNHJ7q9ZIRlD_4g42PkMtiqrK9itzLfUttTMKSny-NCWJ4lslPxf85lWGp_P9igkPGlmJi_IcmFMlT22WURsenmmrSZTGwi7C3sA0YGkT2_k_KTqs0FYOgA9qLDI/s640/SharedNewsSurvey.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6TVIU-cUc9MiZWhI_TWXYdYnFT8y_Wa8q_TFmth6gDkCazCYSrR1ks3QRh-H-v6PBJ74e-P3sgFG-vz4Mclb_5J_xRqLNPLhOA36lNe6kR3PBCLeN79hd73lA-HTMTvb3aTT_fjX196E/s1600/SharedNewsAppleWatch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1280" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6TVIU-cUc9MiZWhI_TWXYdYnFT8y_Wa8q_TFmth6gDkCazCYSrR1ks3QRh-H-v6PBJ74e-P3sgFG-vz4Mclb_5J_xRqLNPLhOA36lNe6kR3PBCLeN79hd73lA-HTMTvb3aTT_fjX196E/s640/SharedNewsAppleWatch.jpg" width="512" /></a></div>
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So, before I took the survey I decided to look at the privacy policy.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE9whBMEVPkJ0Ql2kuKRPrvoJ5PyHha5c6Le63jMfrhaToUV1aj1ptMJPt6usrUWLBQpK65ytRGvGpAVkVrAZIfBHMkI3O9bqwGHaduNjxFDmNc8eHShtNhApAlx7DZkhzEYWCR_eKKQw/s1600/SharedNewsPrivacyPolicy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1281" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE9whBMEVPkJ0Ql2kuKRPrvoJ5PyHha5c6Le63jMfrhaToUV1aj1ptMJPt6usrUWLBQpK65ytRGvGpAVkVrAZIfBHMkI3O9bqwGHaduNjxFDmNc8eHShtNhApAlx7DZkhzEYWCR_eKKQw/s640/SharedNewsPrivacyPolicy.jpg" width="512" /></a></div>
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LoudDoor, LLC? What's that? I'll have to look that up in a bit. I went ahead with the survey...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkDKzGCSPCTnTwNxAcmnc3YB_TEM3UJIdMXfBKpwN-1atazPiCdm6Gb5p8oa2UeaQkYdQzHwmCYu60zIrYGsZ_EZGpKcfL0CTe0ULmUbeKwgudkT-vYCASEK2Fqf7evWnE3DaWAFjePDU/s1600/SharedNewsQuestion1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="1435" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkDKzGCSPCTnTwNxAcmnc3YB_TEM3UJIdMXfBKpwN-1atazPiCdm6Gb5p8oa2UeaQkYdQzHwmCYu60zIrYGsZ_EZGpKcfL0CTe0ULmUbeKwgudkT-vYCASEK2Fqf7evWnE3DaWAFjePDU/s400/SharedNewsQuestion1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I answered yes. I wonder where they are going with this???</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5aObsYnMo5f7GuHRyz_sXgMJZFYgyqgIFFvfy-BHImvzjf6u1rjdV6a0-V9W4nqoI-40TqI2ANkvvVhTZlxZSlueVa-24kTXUcRqSsYvU7qkZg351C7jG_JaCuMzPBhG-uxIgo5FM-J0/s1600/SharedNewsQuestion2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="763" data-original-width="1311" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5aObsYnMo5f7GuHRyz_sXgMJZFYgyqgIFFvfy-BHImvzjf6u1rjdV6a0-V9W4nqoI-40TqI2ANkvvVhTZlxZSlueVa-24kTXUcRqSsYvU7qkZg351C7jG_JaCuMzPBhG-uxIgo5FM-J0/s320/SharedNewsQuestion2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Exactly where I thought...and I answered no to this one.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFuh2JjX3lJQAaAHaXAKux0qVlWu1xp1DCnC_BbWmOqWoMla8M1ehjZm2lpIRKnipsL9iSyx4mLOOzdxfKUvHq8l4SU9uwdgBTgSwGRqpzlhu0BvDP4eYEpq7-zCB1UNIC8nhCTL-FBAI/s1600/SharedNewsThankYou.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="762" data-original-width="1536" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFuh2JjX3lJQAaAHaXAKux0qVlWu1xp1DCnC_BbWmOqWoMla8M1ehjZm2lpIRKnipsL9iSyx4mLOOzdxfKUvHq8l4SU9uwdgBTgSwGRqpzlhu0BvDP4eYEpq7-zCB1UNIC8nhCTL-FBAI/s320/SharedNewsThankYou.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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No Apple iWatch for me, I guess! Better see what's up with LoudDoor...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGTsiVS1CPaQ8TrZT0MqWZJ_bwltlAfvn0B5-yRmxiEjAjjCr-y4UaaQMyNhET0ENsOOUXxqR0244QxPKIy_-H6DZIwmmzXCn47VJTRNKcm0I16RwDhbw3c_ay6UUDPE9UQvwiNEOJgjA/s1600/LoudDoor1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1370" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGTsiVS1CPaQ8TrZT0MqWZJ_bwltlAfvn0B5-yRmxiEjAjjCr-y4UaaQMyNhET0ENsOOUXxqR0244QxPKIy_-H6DZIwmmzXCn47VJTRNKcm0I16RwDhbw3c_ay6UUDPE9UQvwiNEOJgjA/s640/LoudDoor1.jpg" width="547" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKkM9jlE1zZUG9dMkCJo9vRn0dRAQYtDNeT-T97fA5AnwdQ9As2CamNRuSEYg9ZqHJMTv6FuZ-OObkOCB9X49iLggmbvZ1OdRJYYjdXGOZJYaawPAagv8v5jrkcc3m-GMbT2zBSk7iT0/s1600/LoudDoor2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1282" data-original-width="1536" height="532" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKkM9jlE1zZUG9dMkCJo9vRn0dRAQYtDNeT-T97fA5AnwdQ9As2CamNRuSEYg9ZqHJMTv6FuZ-OObkOCB9X49iLggmbvZ1OdRJYYjdXGOZJYaawPAagv8v5jrkcc3m-GMbT2zBSk7iT0/s640/LoudDoor2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://louddoor.com/">LoudDoor</a> was clearly hired by someone. Do you think it's someone who manufactures and sells Roundup brand weed killer perhaps? </div>
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<br />Vixen Valentinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924365433583975370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058139842866427482.post-47164278723344771402018-01-18T12:22:00.000-08:002018-01-18T12:22:59.854-08:00Jesus Christ Poseurs (or Jesus Christ, Poseurs!)I don't generally write about me, because that's not what this blog is about. But today, I'd like to talk about a personal experience and how it relates to what I observe within the <a href="https://theethicalskeptic.com/tag/what-is-social-skepticism/">fake skeptic movement</a>.<br />
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I am a cult survivor. I was raised from the age of three in a fundamentalist religious cult. At about the age of 19 I made a full exit from the religion that I will refer to in this blog as The Cult, not to be confused with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCOSPtyZAPA">the band</a>, which I absolutely adore. It took me a little time to side step out the back door, but I did, successfully, and have not ever regretted it. I credit my rebellious nature for helping me to hasten my exit. I always felt miserable and suffocated by The Cult and its oppressive rules about what to wear, how to speak, whom to socialize with, and the like. In true cult fashion, the punishment for breaking these myriad soul sucking rules is excommunication or shunning by all family and friends in The Cult. Though I was careful to make my exit on the sly, and not get caught doing all the sinning I was doing (oh so much sinning) I exited alone and without the one family member who was inside with me. Though I am not officially marked by The Cult for shunning, my close family member still practices a modified form towards me by attempting to emotionally blackmail me to reform my sinful ways and return to The Cult.<br />
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Well, it ain't gonna fucking happen.<br />
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I am gloriously free of the oppressive control of the elitist group of men who deem themselves (and <i>only</i> them) to be speaking for God. I won't ever give that up for anything. This feeling might be difficult to understand for someone who has never been in the clutches of a high control cult. To this day, I bristle at anyone who takes an air of authority and attempts to tell people what is true, whether they hide behind religion or science while they are doing it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj0YC6jxxAltNkDf9JHs96IK6GqndZydcuQjfxZUOS3NESQT7LSaCbzKat_At6EdRgqiETTLVsCKJMz92IVUH7Dg-w5PVF9OjpPf-FloTqnF-JK30zd5X0xbagke1Wci8U66IAlKN2dho/s1600/PennJquote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="737" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj0YC6jxxAltNkDf9JHs96IK6GqndZydcuQjfxZUOS3NESQT7LSaCbzKat_At6EdRgqiETTLVsCKJMz92IVUH7Dg-w5PVF9OjpPf-FloTqnF-JK30zd5X0xbagke1Wci8U66IAlKN2dho/s640/PennJquote.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No amount of smirking or magic tricks can hide the fact that you're a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZxycccPZEs">nihilist in an atheist dress</a>, Penn. </td></tr>
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No, you arrogant motherfucker, this life, and my beliefs or lack of is for me to figure out - it's not up to you to tell me what is true or what to think. This is of course entirely different from someone teaching people <i>how</i> to think by giving them practical tools. But we have among us those that say they are doing one while doing the other, much like the leaders of The Cult have been doing for decades. I don't like people's controlling bullshit and dogmatic teachings, and I would think that my comrades who also grew up alongside me in The Cult would be on the same wavelength as me here.<br />
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Sad to say, I see some of them not just gravitating towards, but enthusiastically embracing the celebrity pundits of what is known as New Atheism, which is really just nihilism in sheep's clothing. Nihilism, on a <a href="https://theethicalskeptic.com/2015/01/07/no-you-are-not-an-atheist-you-are-a-nihilist/">spectrum of belief and non-belief </a>is at the opposite end of theism, but it is still belief. In between rest the agnostics and atheists like me who <i>lack</i> belief. From my vantage point, the two ends of the spectrum give me the same uneasy feeling bordering on total revulsion at times, depending on who is doing the speaking.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">*shiver*</td></tr>
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<br />The thing about being and becoming a non-believer is I didn't need any guidance from the 'atheist community' to get where I am. I left the cult and I concentrated on living my own life! I gave myself a much needed break from even thinking about religion. The last thing I wanted to do was to join a club where all they do is talk about fucking religion, and more than half of them can't even articulate to me what the religion I escaped from believes with any type of accuracy! Why the fuck would I want to learn about other religions from these asshats when they can't even accurately describe the beliefs and practices of the cult I left?<br />
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This is why for the life of me, I can't understand why anyone, let alone someone making a cult exit would slobber and fawn all over guys like Dawkins, Hitchens and Harris. They're <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/30/we-can-save-atheism-from-the-new-atheists">dicks</a>! All they're doing is feeding you another set of beliefs - they aren't helping you to become a critical thinker, they aren't helping you to learn science, and the kicker is <i>you don't need them</i>. No one on this planet holds any special truths that you aren't able to find for yourself. Always remember that.<br />
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It is depressing to see friends from The Cult trading one set of men bearing beliefs for another set of men bearing beliefs. It feels to me like they haven't truly broken free of their indoctrination, and that in wanting to do so in their vulnerable state they have embraced another belief system pretending to be atheism or science-based with promises of truth, rationality and critical thinking being made by these poseurs.<br />
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My friends from The Cult aren't the only people to buy into this belief set masquerading as science and atheism, the so-called New Atheists have a fairly large following. My hope is that people will question their beliefs - no matter what end of the spectrum they happen to land on - and learn to recognize both the <a href="http://old.freedomofmind.com/Info/BITE/bitemodel.php">high control groups</a> out there, and the groups pretending their nihilist religion is atheism in order to have real freedom of mind.Vixen Valentinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924365433583975370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058139842866427482.post-20287043410974852532018-01-09T12:37:00.003-08:002023-01-29T11:12:46.638-08:00Stand Up For Critical Thought It's likely you've heard this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRxx8pen6JY">popular quote</a> from celebrity astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson, "The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it."<br />
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But is science really just a collection of incontrovertible truths? Or is there more to it than Tyson's clever sound bite?<br />
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Science is a method of gathering knowledge. Through the scientific method we collect information about the world around us. Sometimes conclusions about this information change or are challenged as we continue to compile more data and make new observations. Sometimes we are only partway through investigating a subject, or an observation has not yet been investigated at all. Just because there is little or no evidence for something, does not mean we can draw a conclusion that it is false or does not exist. This would be pseudoscience. An ethical skeptic applies a philosophical approach called <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epoche">epochè</a> when this is the case. This means they would suspend judgement on the topic while it has a chance to be investigated via the scientific method. An ethical skeptic asks what step is next, in contrast to a fake skeptic who uses a lack of evidence to dismiss things he or she dislikes while using a flawed methodology to enforce favored conclusions. This does not mean that all of their conclusions are wrong, nor is this an excuse to employ denial of evidence regarding established knowledge like that of evolution or climate change. Critical thinking and skepticism is about <i>how</i> we think not about what we conclude.<br />
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It is the fake skeptic's method that is the pseudoscience, not necessarily the conclusion itself although there are examples of where they have been wrong in the past. See the story behind the father of hand washing, <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/01/12/375663920/the-doctor-who-championed-hand-washing-and-saved-women-s-lives">Ignaz Semmelweis</a> for a cautionary tale about dismissing an observation before the scientific method can be fully applied. "Doctors are gentlemen, and a gentleman's hands are clean." This chilling quote from one of Dr. Semmelweis' colleagues, <a href="https://www.economist.com/news/technology-quarterly/21584441-biomedicine-smart-antiseptic-dispensers-promise-save-lives-subtly-encouraging">Charles Meigs</a> parallels the hubris and incompetence we see demonstrated today, especially regarding some of the <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2016/09/21/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-pace-trial/">misunderstood medical issues</a> of our time.<br />
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Plenty of examples of dogmatic conclusions abound in what I've observed as a popular pastime for fake skeptics - list making.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Also available as a mug!</td></tr>
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It's vitally important that science literacy be taught to the public, and made as accessible as possible. This is how we move beyond fringe ideas like flat earth and the like, but also how we make progress against serious threats like climate change denial. Saturating people with lists of conclusions, calling them truths, and treating them as dogma is not going to accomplish this. It may make some people feel better about themselves to share or wear things like this, but we must realize that standing up for science is about protecting the integrity of the method, using it to help others and solve urgent problems.<br /><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic;">“There is a conflict in the heart of science between science as a method of inquiry based on reason, evidence, hypothesis, and collective investigation, and science as a belief system, or a world view. And unfortunately the world view aspect of science has come to inhibit and constrict the free inquiry which is the very lifeblood of the scientific endeavor.” – Rupert Sheldrake</span>Vixen Valentinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924365433583975370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058139842866427482.post-9964959915144675812017-11-24T15:29:00.002-08:002023-01-22T10:15:08.215-08:00Science Moms Documentary: A ReviewI've been observing the behavior of the Skeptic movement for many years. Those observations led to my starting this blog several years ago. One Skeptic group I've been openly critical of call themselves the 'Science Moms'. Just recently their documentary by the same name became available for purchase. I thought it only fair that I watch the film and see what they have to say.<br />
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They open the documentary with a quote from Gwyneth Paltrow - who has now joined Vani Hari as a Skeptic community soft target du jour.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH5Ocgy3IHZUCiNk4xw04mSzo7_kj7mIX5ZiooAoZH64sYLsSi9chdLekcGS-ajnVB-2GAkar-zvCKIxpNSJpgL4T_q-2EWAEXYdCKi42vDWG6ppzLSRrTj0XhkoyaM2G1KtUs_Z1cEBE/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-11-22+at+12.53.48+PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="248" data-original-width="588" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH5Ocgy3IHZUCiNk4xw04mSzo7_kj7mIX5ZiooAoZH64sYLsSi9chdLekcGS-ajnVB-2GAkar-zvCKIxpNSJpgL4T_q-2EWAEXYdCKi42vDWG6ppzLSRrTj0XhkoyaM2G1KtUs_Z1cEBE/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-11-22+at+12.53.48+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Science Moms director Natalie promotes the film on Twitter.</td></tr>
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The first segment introduces us to the Science Moms and gives them a moment to tell the audience what led them to their respective role in this group. Three of the five Moms featured have science degrees. Anastasia Bodnar is a <a href="https://geneticmaize.wordpress.com/about/">plant geneticist</a> and describes herself as an 'ecomodernist'. <a href="https://gmoanswers.com/experts/layla-parker-katiraee">Layla Katiraee</a> is a GMO Answers contributor, has a Ph.D. in molecular genetics and works for a <a href="https://www.idtdna.com/site">biotech company</a>. Alison Bernstein aka Mommy Phd is a neuroscientist who describes herself as "committed to promoting science and destroying pseudoscientific claims" on her Twitter profile.<br />
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<a href="http://groundedparents.com/author/ksenapathy/">Kavin Senapathy</a>, is referred to in the film as a 'science communicator'. She is a co-founder of March Against Myths (MAMyths) and an author of The Fear Babe: Shattering Vani Hari's Glass House. She is also employed by a company founded by her father called <a href="https://www.genome.com/">Genome International</a> specializing in bioinformatic technologies.<br />
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<a href="https://www.clippings.me/users/jennysplitter">Jenny Splitter</a>'s backstory is definitely the most enthralling of the five. She is described by the filmmakers as a science communicator and story teller. "I didn't have any interest in science until probably a couple years ago, just, you know, getting involved in the Skeptical movement as a parent. But I was not doing science experiments in my garage or anything like that,"she states at the beginning of the documentary.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This can't even is brought to you by Kavin.</td></tr>
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For all its production value - it is well filmed and edited, and nicely scored - the content is what I have come to expect from Skeptics. There was nothing in this film I hadn't heard before, there are no new revelations or profound ideas to mull over. They mention the hard hitting issue of vagina steaming, homeopathy, and 'fear based marketing' along with some of the common misleading catch phrases employed by Skeptics - 'everything is made of chemicals', 'all our food is genetically modified'. Senapathy, the co founder of MAMyths, ironically enough repeats <a href="https://source.wustl.edu/2016/06/genetically-modified-golden-rice-falls-short-lifesaving-promises/">a common myth</a> about the holy grail of genetic engineering, golden rice. "Because of anti-GMO ideology and lobbying and over regulation, this rice has not reached the people who need it. Tragic!"<br />
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While some of the points made by the Moms have merit, like criticism of marketing techniques for instance, they feel misplaced. Organic food becomes the fall guy here, but what about <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC416565/">junk food advertising</a> to our kids? Have they never been in a cereal aisle? Rising <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26198689">autism rates</a> are brushed off as just 'better diagnosis' and the dumbfounding claim that "30 years ago, a <a href="https://spectrumnews.org/opinion/viewpoint/leo-kanners-1943-paper-on-autism/">diagnosis</a> didn't even exist" is made. Leo Kanner aside, thirty years ago was when the movie Rain Man was made. Did they miss it? <a href="https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/statistics">Cancer statistics</a> are badly misrepresented as people simply 'living longer' and they fail to mention declining fertility, increases in autoimmune diseases, celiac, obesity, diabetes and other chronic conditions. They present things like <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trying-to-get-pregnant-science-suggests-eat-organic_us_5a0e3622e4b0e30a95850584?ncid=engmodushpmg00000004">choosing organic</a> or <a href="https://endocrinedisruption.org/assets/media/documents/Rochester2013AcceptedManuscript.pdf">avoiding BPA</a> as 'fear based' parenting.<br />
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All in all the Science Moms present a rosy view of the future, where technology in all its forms and uses can and should be embraced unequivocally simply because it's 'science'.<br />
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Life, and especially parenting really does get overwhelming at times and so I can see the appeal in this hakuna matata attitude towards food, medicine, and chemical exposures. But in reality these topics are so much more nuanced that it couldn't begin to be covered appropriately in a 30 minute documentary film. For all their talk about evidence, the Science Moms don't actually provide anything to back their claims made in the film, and upon my investigation many of their stated opinions turn out to be false, cherry picked or even just logically fallacious, as one of the Moms states in the film, "Personal research is not science!"<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mind blown.</td></tr>
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I believe that these women came together for the reason they state - because Buffy the Vampire Slayer and other celebrities <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=44&v=KNti91H7wpg">supported labeling</a> of genetically engineered foods. I do not think that this film or this group was created by Monsanto or any other company as has been suggested by some, but between what I have observed and what they themselves state, I cannot feel confident that their message is fully independent of some level of industry influence. I also feel like <a href="https://medium.com/@BioChicaGMO/were-scientists-we-re-moms-and-we-avoid-non-gmo-products-33bc0aa351a3">Moms 4 GMOs</a> would have been a more accurate title for the film and the group, seeing that this technology is their main focus.<br />
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It's no secret that the Skeptic movement is <a href="http://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2017/04/my-friend-vance.html">targeted by industry public relations</a> people. Some of the Science Moms themselves have what can be considered a conflict of interest (COI) as they work in the biotech industry and therefore their message may be influenced by their source of income. One of the Science Moms, Layla Katiraee is listed as <a href="https://gmoanswers.com/experts/layla-parker-katiraee">an expert</a> on the Ketchum PR biotech funded website GMO Answers - as is <a href="https://gmoanswers.com/experts/mary-mertz">one of the producers</a>, Mary Mertz. In fact, amongst the list of producers we have quite a diverse array of people, many with connections to the biotech, agriculture and food industries.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_mnsGSzCpm1jiMyFxBmqD58NbdTtQZOCIixLs3kJXV69awRJu9GNfLNHv5cqD5KWWGBvRCWWjrCpFhLV4NIbpIG7lyHbNDN2DGBUmgu_6f6pHFR_qePI2VC9ftjEkkpyRG9jBxk1pLAU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-11-23+at+4.28.52+PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="407" data-original-width="935" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_mnsGSzCpm1jiMyFxBmqD58NbdTtQZOCIixLs3kJXV69awRJu9GNfLNHv5cqD5KWWGBvRCWWjrCpFhLV4NIbpIG7lyHbNDN2DGBUmgu_6f6pHFR_qePI2VC9ftjEkkpyRG9jBxk1pLAU/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-11-23+at+4.28.52+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://alumnius.net/washington_universit-8730-22">Frieda A. Custodio</a>, a nutrition researcher based in St. Louis, MO shares the producer credits on Instagram.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/GreenwayPork">Peggy Greenway</a> is a pork producer, Bill Price is Director of Statistical Programs in the College of Agriculture at the University of Idaho, Kim Bremmer founder of <a href="http://aginspirations.com/kims-tribe/">AgInspirations</a>, <a href="https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/afs-team">Joan Conrow</a> from the Cornell Alliance for Science and <a href="https://mx.linkedin.com/in/montserrat-benitez-84717b12">Montserrat Benitez</a>, currently with Syngenta, formerly with Monsanto and PepsiCo. <a href="https://camiryan.com/about/">Cami Ryan</a>, Social Scientist for Monsanto Company is <a href="http://www.sciencemomsdoc.com/thank-you.html">listed</a> as a one of the many <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/153157298/science-moms/description">Kickstarter</a> donors and unsurprisingly, <a href="http://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2017/04/my-friend-vance.html">Vance Crowe</a> is amongst the names receiving special thanks at the end of the film. The director Natalie Newell counts him amongst her friends.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-WRkCXRbB2sZLDUHCBqsFTS4Xy3wxhRgeCRbtJwMT74xMgjzhcO5YbR0qb0gIRWUpA5oMuskI6JulPw2adNO21CWeIi55Sdc7SskRLkujBsC0KjgfRG9XnPClqTk2d5LO9LJbpBGXOwM/s1600/OpenAboutMonsantoFriends.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="637" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-WRkCXRbB2sZLDUHCBqsFTS4Xy3wxhRgeCRbtJwMT74xMgjzhcO5YbR0qb0gIRWUpA5oMuskI6JulPw2adNO21CWeIi55Sdc7SskRLkujBsC0KjgfRG9XnPClqTk2d5LO9LJbpBGXOwM/s640/OpenAboutMonsantoFriends.png" width="640" /></a></div>
Of course this makes people wonder about the level of influence these friends have, and I think it's fair to question whether the opinions expressed in the film are truly impartial.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdKwWdMxrghwhxx7C3-HKBGd_U5HMeZeWsvUyJAa9q1sG_btO-0bP5krMaxdW51_c8vl3ZE8mXKf76tL1Hixn_VAFCz8vbDJZUprd0GvO75MtAerm-hbPB3aQ_iAUSu_MQ9YBaXEJUIvM/s1600/CornSyrupLove.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdKwWdMxrghwhxx7C3-HKBGd_U5HMeZeWsvUyJAa9q1sG_btO-0bP5krMaxdW51_c8vl3ZE8mXKf76tL1Hixn_VAFCz8vbDJZUprd0GvO75MtAerm-hbPB3aQ_iAUSu_MQ9YBaXEJUIvM/s400/CornSyrupLove.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Choosy moms choose Jif! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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All in all, the Science Moms documentary is on par with the type of content being disseminated by most Skeptics. I don't see this as being a vehicle to enhance further discussion of parenting topics, science or technology. It's not a film that goes beyond pushing conclusions and facts to its audience, and does little to promote science literacy or critical thinking.<br />
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A wise man once said - "I am not impressed by the correctness of your regurgitations, rather the insight and power of your ideas."<br />
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<br />Vixen Valentinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924365433583975370noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058139842866427482.post-68204239591174186092017-11-02T15:50:00.001-07:002018-04-03T09:48:13.413-07:005 More Astroturf Groups: Part 2 Electric Boogaloo And now, the long awaited follow up to <a href="http://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2016/01/5-astroturf-groups-you-should-stop.html">5 Astroturf Groups You Should Stop Sharing From</a> - ok, maybe not. Regardless, here is another list of some fake grass front groups pushing industry junk science on the unsuspecting public.<br />
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<h2>
#1. ENDOCRINE SCIENCE MATTERS</h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTVBcC7X4bgWo3JO4qCWwrREr0zQhErREdFzWvD9kWHTF6zjbOFQqB99cgZXVZ_D0Gon8h0NJfmlaQ2yry9LH_WuOH8MDFOIEIX3UoiuOJqxkrqy-EX__GCUMqMUamvxOmhfM78lDPzMg/s1600/ESMLogo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="127" data-original-width="439" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTVBcC7X4bgWo3JO4qCWwrREr0zQhErREdFzWvD9kWHTF6zjbOFQqB99cgZXVZ_D0Gon8h0NJfmlaQ2yry9LH_WuOH8MDFOIEIX3UoiuOJqxkrqy-EX__GCUMqMUamvxOmhfM78lDPzMg/s400/ESMLogo.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Well, yes it does. And it matters where you get your science from, like independent endocrinologists or the chemical industry. Guess who is behind Endocrine Science Matters? Spoiler alert: <a href="https://croplife.org/crop-protection/endocrine-science-matters/">it's not independent scientists</a>.</div>
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On the ESM about page; "Endocrine Science Matters is a project of <a href="https://croplife.org/about/members/">CropLife International</a> and its global network, which are the voice and leading advocates for the plant science industry."<br />
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CropLife's members?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOX9lEL0xk2O-NmxKU_SOby_nodjEptIgJYRBbsVcOCtCwXid6E7UtVNe_qz68416M9qKwC-cd92Wnv-z96kmBV_5SQ0_jo-7o_9d4GKCa7E-j5uy8PVEYAuo7BWqeFvZG8EwbN77c7WQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-10-02+at+3.50.32+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="507" data-original-width="954" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOX9lEL0xk2O-NmxKU_SOby_nodjEptIgJYRBbsVcOCtCwXid6E7UtVNe_qz68416M9qKwC-cd92Wnv-z96kmBV_5SQ0_jo-7o_9d4GKCa7E-j5uy8PVEYAuo7BWqeFvZG8EwbN77c7WQ/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-10-02+at+3.50.32+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Surprise!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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It's evident that the Big 6 (for now, anyway, pending mergers) and friends have a rather strong financial interest in NOT having any of their chemical products declared to have endocrine disrupting effects.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqmdEgjDJOlaDEaG4vJYvduGYHBfkazDksjyS1i60xEW9O5iUGWiKhFfyyW-weVwA1SLhnvVPeAnIZJ68ayxYO9jen3-MxmiF89dtaMu3QsqQnlFhrfGR5JO6HMUsPLtb17QYDkfrp3k8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-10-03+at+5.03.16+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="633" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqmdEgjDJOlaDEaG4vJYvduGYHBfkazDksjyS1i60xEW9O5iUGWiKhFfyyW-weVwA1SLhnvVPeAnIZJ68ayxYO9jen3-MxmiF89dtaMu3QsqQnlFhrfGR5JO6HMUsPLtb17QYDkfrp3k8/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-10-03+at+5.03.16+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here they are trying to throw shade on a recent study looking at <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170726110954.htm">declining sperm counts</a> in Western countries by sharing a link from the very aptly named <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/JunkScience.com">Junk Science</a> website run by <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/deltoid/2004/02/13/milloy/">Steve Milloy</a>. Similarly, they seem extremely bothered by estimates of human cost burden from exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) calling them "grossly exaggerated" on their <a href="http://endocrinesciencematters.org/estimates-human-cost-burden-exposure-endocrine-disrupting-chemicals-grossly-exaggerated-gregory-bond-daniel-dietrich/">website</a> along with half a dozen or so tweets making similar accusations about <a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(16)30275-3/fulltext">research</a> conducted by NYU scientists. The 'experts' they cite are <a href="http://www.science20.com/profile/gregory_bond">Gregory Bond</a> a former Dow Chemical employee, and <a href="http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/2013/eu-conflict-list">Daniel R. Deitrich</a>, who has received funding from industry as well as working closely with chemical companies like Dow and Bayer.<br />
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One might notice too that their logo is not so dissimilar to that of the <a href="http://www.endocrine.org/advocacy/priorities-and-positions">Endocrine Society</a>, a legitimate science organization - you have to wonder if this was purposefully done to confuse the public.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbQX0RaH-IbI-7T-QbCNYNYfaHc7ayzZ9yUxU9-2Vp9n0jcmuyqMoryix_VqPkRyO3ojkcAkTC3Z-Qa4ke__JIBHbavVCmtlqjlIXJnY8AwueIFOEKUCk-qe239Zky4VBVvwY_VgZcSh4/s1600/EndoSoc.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbQX0RaH-IbI-7T-QbCNYNYfaHc7ayzZ9yUxU9-2Vp9n0jcmuyqMoryix_VqPkRyO3ojkcAkTC3Z-Qa4ke__JIBHbavVCmtlqjlIXJnY8AwueIFOEKUCk-qe239Zky4VBVvwY_VgZcSh4/s400/EndoSoc.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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If you're looking for endocrine science that matters, best to skip over this industry front group.<br />
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<h2>
#2. CAMPAIGN FOR ACCURACY IN PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH (CAPHR)</h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOdRVMDGEj2vO-insokocRLIxrGVDCLYJfwbfy4_KwRs-fK6N-qSgCdm0K6YY6A30yz9-6zHUFdUzJ63HzjnCDSDdWGFmu8rNo7jEIwjcUQOtlm6n7FdLxan9AsMRjq1C9UJ9FYCjMm0k/s1600/CAPHR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="208" data-original-width="944" height="87" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOdRVMDGEj2vO-insokocRLIxrGVDCLYJfwbfy4_KwRs-fK6N-qSgCdm0K6YY6A30yz9-6zHUFdUzJ63HzjnCDSDdWGFmu8rNo7jEIwjcUQOtlm6n7FdLxan9AsMRjq1C9UJ9FYCjMm0k/s400/CAPHR.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is a group <a href="http://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-campaign-against-iarc.html">I've written about before</a> more extensively, but I'll give a short recap here. The CAPHR is somewhat unique in that they are focused on the findings of one group of independent scientists - the International Agency for Research on Cancer arm of the World Health Organization, known as IARC for short. CAPHR is a project of the <a href="https://www.americanchemistry.com/Membership/MemberCompanies/">American Chemistry Council and its members</a> who happen to be exactly who you would expect them to be.<br />
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Here they are making the argument that out of the hundreds of compounds and agents evaluated, only one has been categorized as probably not likely to cause cancer.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigrLZ0tq8TikRHFHi3FwhsdvvTBoiJ6wIqBJADemfubo5Ke95S5-wRh1-yq6IqgkwuUxFd-iVh5IkR7iNM_URuTe8mCO6s20mF9Sbi9TqfcY0jNwkXl8wGk_0-KxNzNYn01qFqPcTyjLg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-10-07+at+2.11.53+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="661" data-original-width="635" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigrLZ0tq8TikRHFHi3FwhsdvvTBoiJ6wIqBJADemfubo5Ke95S5-wRh1-yq6IqgkwuUxFd-iVh5IkR7iNM_URuTe8mCO6s20mF9Sbi9TqfcY0jNwkXl8wGk_0-KxNzNYn01qFqPcTyjLg/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-10-07+at+2.11.53+PM.png" width="612" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inadequate evidence to classify the carcinogenic potential of caffeine is impacting enjoyment of pumpkin spice lattes everywhere. It's a crisis of epic proportions. </td></tr>
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If you listen to the pumpkin spice latte enthusiasts over at the CAPHR, it would seem as though IARC just chooses things at random to evaluate simply so they can scare people into avoiding benign substances, such as asbestos, tobacco, or plutonium.<br />
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This of course isn't really the case. IARC explains on their <a href="https://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/News/Q&A_ENG.pdf">monograph Q&A</a> about how they choose which agents to evaluate:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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IARC works with international experts to identify priorities from among agents suspected of causing cancer, based on the availability of scientific evidence of carcinogenicity and evidence that people
may be exposed to the agent. Priority can be given to a wide variety of agents or substances with
different impacts on public health. For example, air pollution has a high public health impact
because everyone is exposed, even if exposure levels are generally low. On the other hand,
occupational exposures, such as those involving vinyl chloride, may be very high and can therefore
have a marked impact even if very few workers are exposed.</blockquote>
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So, they are evaluating things that are already suspected of of causing cancer in the first place, which would explain why only one has been found to be probably not carcinogenic to humans and placed in group 4.<br />
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IARC's mission is in the interest of public health, by categorizing hazards that health agencies around the world may use for conducting risk assessments. The science they rely on is available to the public and peer reviewed. Their monographs are updated periodically as new data emerges. While <i>constructive</i> criticisms are warranted with most any large scientific group and how they operate, it's not very hard to see the picture that the CAPHR paints is heavily biased towards the interests of the ACC and its members.<br />
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<h2>
#3. PEEL BACK THE LABEL</h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTp-rEygfCD-J1vzI5_VkPrSLPj8tNoy4ezUMlBoTp5EoAmLKTI6IX2eJJ7mRiyedaakhGV8-AUpeIl7HSaKZD44O9ISLSWZ98kAufGxOTVECw1RhpytpsSaMZiY3YtpqFtK5bKSJVYfw/s1600/Peel-Back-the-Label.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="499" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTp-rEygfCD-J1vzI5_VkPrSLPj8tNoy4ezUMlBoTp5EoAmLKTI6IX2eJJ7mRiyedaakhGV8-AUpeIl7HSaKZD44O9ISLSWZ98kAufGxOTVECw1RhpytpsSaMZiY3YtpqFtK5bKSJVYfw/s320/Peel-Back-the-Label.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is a relatively new organization, <a href="http://americanagnetwork.com/2017/08/buyer-beware-peel-back-the-label-campaign-to-expose-deceptive-front-of-package-food-labeling/">launched in August 2017</a> by the <a href="http://www.nmpf.org/">National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF)</a>. It seems that a major impetus for this campaign is <a href="http://www.dannon.com/the-dannon-pledge-on-sustainable-agriculture-naturality-and-transparency/">Dannon's pledge</a> to remove genetically engineered ingredients from its supply chain for many of their major products, as well as providing labeling indicating whether a product is produced with genetically engineered ingredients. The long term goal seems to be to transition all products "towards the use of fewer and more natural ingredients that are not synthetic and non-GMO.' </div>
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This change isn't going over so hot with the dairy industry, in particular the NMPF. They've<a href="http://www.nmpf.org/latest-news/press-releases/oct-2016/leading-farm-organizations-challenge-dannon-and-other-food"> publicly challenged</a> Dannon and other food manufacturers on what they call "deceptive food company marketing claims." They base this argument on the fact that some foods are being labeled 'non-GMO' like orange juice for instance. They use as one example that "Florida's Natural adding a Non-GMO Project certification to its orange juice labels, despite the fact that there are no commercially-grown, genetically modified oranges."<br />
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There are in fact no GE oranges on the market (<a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/14/gmo-oranges-citrus-greening-southern-gardens_n_7244858.html">yet</a>). But it's a bit hard to follow how this is deceptive. The oranges have not been genetically engineered - so how is it 'deceptive' to label them as such? I've seen no explicit statements like, 'no genetically engineered oranges used in Florida's Natural products' and that I could see as implying that there is a commercially available counterpart. But labeling a non-GMO product as non-GMO?<br />
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This seems like quite a stretch. Honestly, as a consumer, a non-GMO label can only tell you so much and sometimes it seems redundant on certain products - but do consumers really need the dairy industry to sweep in and protect them from labels? Kosher labels are not relevant to a gentile like myself, but even I can appreciate that they are there for informational purposes, even if I am not using the information for myself. The real issue Peel Back The Label has with this doesn't seem to be about consumer welfare as much as it is about protecting the supply chain.<br />
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In their <a href="http://www.nmpf.org/files/Dannon%20letter%20-%20Final.pdf">open letter</a> to the Dannon corporation, NMPF states, "Your pledge would force farmers to abandon safe, sustainable farming practices that have enhanced farm productivity over the last 20 years while greatly reducing the carbon footprint of American agriculture." Would it surprise you to know that the letter was co signed by the American Farm Bureau Federation, American Soybean Association, American Sugarbeet Growers Association, National Corn Growers Association, and U.S. Farmers and Rancher's Alliance?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0OdqsSRkXAnjsh29sC92t9tIxuOx4SqPz_Fm6gDXGKvneuATkYAGlDOl_6_sAFzM7kNtehjagLhAQyWLmd2z3QBcfQlPj3brS60LzoP9tVr9PC9OvOoCSJbjDJYnqh9oLc81A_VMZVo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-10-09+at+3.24.41+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="130" data-original-width="764" height="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0OdqsSRkXAnjsh29sC92t9tIxuOx4SqPz_Fm6gDXGKvneuATkYAGlDOl_6_sAFzM7kNtehjagLhAQyWLmd2z3QBcfQlPj3brS60LzoP9tVr9PC9OvOoCSJbjDJYnqh9oLc81A_VMZVo/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-10-09+at+3.24.41+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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No? Then it should also come as no surprise that the campaign is taking a cue from none other than the Astroturf Kingpin <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Rick_Berman">Rick Berman</a> with another of their arguments against GMO labels. Leaked audio of a speech Berman gave reveals his tactics for manipulating public opinion and discrediting opponents. His 7th commandment? Push "fear and anger". <a href="https://www.prwatch.org/news/2014/10/12646/rick-berman-exposed-new-audio-detailing-tactics-against-environment">PR Watch reports</a>, "Berman talked about pushing people's emotional buttons...stating: "you could not get into people's heads and convince them to do something as easily as you could get into their hearts or into their gut to convince them to do something. Because, emotions drive people much better than intellectual epiphanies."<br />
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The Peel Back The Label campaign is putting this to use by portraying labels they don't like as 'fear mongering' in fact, they use the word fear quite a bit, it's all over their Twitter feed and website. By positioning the companies meeting consumer demand by dropping GE ingredients, or adding labels to their products as 'fear mongers', they are attempting to do two things - discredit the proponents of labels, and elicit an emotional reaction from the public. Some may feel embarrassed that they have been 'deceived' and don't want to be seen as fearful or naive. Embarrassment is a<a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/intense-emotions-and-strong-feelings/201112/embarrassment"> strong emotion that can motivate behavior</a> - the campaign is readily exploiting this. Watch, as they invoke the Spectre of Fear Mongering - spooky!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz7J73c0jOyD_Sz4pdqVoikK4KLrd3cB0BzBSt3Sg7Fv2cK9F4qqWBYbJ_JjWthTvtgEV2MWnX3VjIU79BNJA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Logically, we know labeling an orange or a tomato that is not genetically engineered, as not genetically engineered or 'non-GMO' that this is true, and not a deceptive statement. The Peel Back The Label campaign uses propaganda to emotionally manipulate the public, fights transparency and promotes what is best for their profit margins, not consumers. </div>
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<br />#4. THE CENTER FOR FOOD INTEGRITY</h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcDnwfLhswD7ktm6oiCz32gsy1B7WFWP4ATXMWOSl0M4fqfsWv-d0TS08npKeKCaBVI2eZ9d8wW-kah-UfWaJ3UjpRs-KdkjSgwaSL0BvXzKV7MjHySakvUM84GD4sBlEYwrB7Dz5d5Uw/s1600/CFI_Logo_SM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="709" data-original-width="1250" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcDnwfLhswD7ktm6oiCz32gsy1B7WFWP4ATXMWOSl0M4fqfsWv-d0TS08npKeKCaBVI2eZ9d8wW-kah-UfWaJ3UjpRs-KdkjSgwaSL0BvXzKV7MjHySakvUM84GD4sBlEYwrB7Dz5d5Uw/s320/CFI_Logo_SM.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Center for Food Integrity (CFI) was <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Center_for_Food_Integrity">launched in 2007</a>, by a PR firm called CMA Consulting. The name is quite similar to that of independent consumer group, Center for Food Safety (CFS). The legal director for CFS Joseph Mendelson, believes this is no coincidence. He is quoted in Food Navigator-USA.com as saying, "The name was obviously chosen to try to distract attention from groups like ours and confuse consumers."<br />
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CFI's <a href="http://www.foodintegrity.org/about/members/cfi-members/">members</a> include the American Farm Bureau Association, Chik-fil-A, DuPont, Iowa Pork Producers Association, McDonald's, Merck & Co., Monsanto, Purdue Foods, Tyson Foods, Inc., and the United Soybean Board.<br />
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A main focus of CFI is on conducting informal research on consumer attitudes to inform their members on what they consider to be '<a href="http://www.foodintegrity.org/research/consumer-trust-research/">important food system issues</a>.' The purpose of this research is to 'identify key audiences and insights for Food and Ag to earn trust.' CFI states on their website, "We survey U.S. consumers to measure and track attitudes on important food system issues. Each year's results build on the previous year - culminating in a greater understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing the food system, and translating into new CFI strategies to effectively engage, increase transparency, and earn consumer trust."<br />
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As a service to their members, CFI also offers '<a href="http://www.foodintegrity.org/programs/influencer-direct-outreach/">Influencer Direct Outreach</a>.' Influencers are what CFI calls consumers. They <a href="http://www.foodintegrity.org/programs/bestfoodfacts/">created the website</a> <a href="https://www.bestfoodfacts.org/">Best Food Facts</a> to 'help consumers make informed choices'.<br />
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Best Food Facts website's blog tackles in depth and hard hitting topics like:<br />
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Ask An Expert: Is German Chocolate Cake Really From Germany?<br />
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How Long Does Halloween Candy Really Last?<br />
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and<br />
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The Art Of Eating Insects<br />
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They also answer your questions about genetically engineered salmon, how 'science' created gene silenced Arctic apples, pesticide use on food, and one post specifically <a href="https://www.bestfoodfacts.org/glyphosate-in-food/">about glyphosate</a> where a professor of crop and soil sciences and a weed scientist (clearly experts on human biology and toxicology) assure you not to worry about this herbicide residue in food, because...wait for it... it's '<a href="http://www.thomasbackhaus.eu/glyphosate-a-stupid-comparison-of-toxicity-data/">safer than table salt</a>.'<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNl3IaWYie6wF3cvCVWQ-LeL1hyphenhyphenBkjcLGtdgUroucjoikXT14oyWmFLxxNYgjUuDD63coervhkztV54Jd3jokETk3qMhbZyFzFyarwe4v-xTJE3nvMV_CRDWVlE1Liu5S0mnHR3nwGxQo/s1600/EyeRollAgain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="418" data-original-width="454" height="367" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNl3IaWYie6wF3cvCVWQ-LeL1hyphenhyphenBkjcLGtdgUroucjoikXT14oyWmFLxxNYgjUuDD63coervhkztV54Jd3jokETk3qMhbZyFzFyarwe4v-xTJE3nvMV_CRDWVlE1Liu5S0mnHR3nwGxQo/s400/EyeRollAgain.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seriously, it's <a href="https://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2016/11/median-lethal-dopes.html?m=0">getting old</a>.</td></tr>
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The bottom line from them on all of these topics, as you might have guessed, is that everything is fine and dandy in our agricultural and food systems.<br />
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Well, the reality is that we are facing some big problems with <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/a-x9447e/x9447e05.htm">resource depletion</a>, <a href="http://www.fao.org/food-loss-and-food-waste/en/">food waste</a>, <a href="http://www.fao.org/land-water/land/sustainable-land-management/en/">land management</a>, <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-drug-resistant-bacteria-travel-from-the-farm-to-your-table/">antibiotic resistance</a>, and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2984095/">abuse of pesticides</a>. This is not going to go away because you deploy public relations teams to conduct surveys and try to manipulate consumers opinions with fake grassroots looking campaigns.<br />
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#5. THE COALITION FOR SAFE AFFORDABLE FOOD</h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzfEsNezBYBVgdLR9oBQjNyZUjDSkR5jOlgU7qUS5FZFr6wqbJNYRFgvUf49iJjYElm_lBPLYV0ppLOT87vDVsy_9LSQlTsMIPkYHUfGOX-jaKQT4qaGlvHQBeQ0k8bn9VVDKVgQZMKI4/s1600/CFSAFF.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzfEsNezBYBVgdLR9oBQjNyZUjDSkR5jOlgU7qUS5FZFr6wqbJNYRFgvUf49iJjYElm_lBPLYV0ppLOT87vDVsy_9LSQlTsMIPkYHUfGOX-jaKQT4qaGlvHQBeQ0k8bn9VVDKVgQZMKI4/s320/CFSAFF.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Formed in 2014, the Coalition For Safe Affordable Food (CFSAF) is an industry funded lobbying group that includes <a href="http://coalitionforsafeaffordablefood.org/coalition/">members</a> such as CropLife America, and the Grocery Manufacturers Association. Monsanto Company has even announced their involvement with CFSAF on social media.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8uKSTAUqWZsAIsnMS7DchFwDYjaIfT_S0W-91qwmzBKa8E4fl_L_IMApfFa5MTddqnrGhX7LJ5sQ-5kRoBLc35n5l-EOuDdo1c6hcC7h-jpnj0HJvPX1J2GyN9TzAqmUlT7PYNCV-IqA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-11-02+at+3.04.14+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="132" data-original-width="502" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8uKSTAUqWZsAIsnMS7DchFwDYjaIfT_S0W-91qwmzBKa8E4fl_L_IMApfFa5MTddqnrGhX7LJ5sQ-5kRoBLc35n5l-EOuDdo1c6hcC7h-jpnj0HJvPX1J2GyN9TzAqmUlT7PYNCV-IqA/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-11-02+at+3.04.14+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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As you might have guessed, CFSAF and its members main focus is on food labels that would identify crops or products made with genetically engineered ingredients. They fought mandatory state laws and promoted voluntary labeling like the bogus <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/10-reasons-why-gmo-smart-label-isnt-smart-at-all-1882130207.html">SmartLabel</a> as a federal standard for disclosure of genetically engineered ingredients. Between 2016-17, they spent at least <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=F107958&year=2017">360,000 dollars on lobbying</a> efforts through the firm <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/firmsum.php?id=D000035346&year=2017">Russell Group</a> who has a very long list of agricultural and food industry clients, along with both the tobacco and chemical industry.</div>
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The money spent by the Food and Ag industries on labeling is hard to tally, but one estimate puts the number at about <a href="https://civileats.com/2015/09/30/gmo-labeling-fight-is-there-big-spending-on-both-sides/">51.6 million dollars</a> - just for the first half of 2015 alone. Compare that to the spending by what some ironically call 'Big Organic' to lobby for labeling in the same time period that came to just under 1.5 million dollars. </div>
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Clearly the playing field is not close to level from even an industry standpoint, never mind consumer representation. Big Food Frontgroups like CFSAF are not doing anything to fight for consumers, transparency or science - only what is best for their members business interests. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjdvYJHLIwp3XpF5xyusLyXtfYYeYft8ueZU7Csrw56dZDpW7xQXA_Xd3pXYEMpMlnqMUL45deOaBUjmialysyKRBFBNx3UCg_0z9aWbuGBCm7YXhN5rY-SEHGDthZo8pbW20J3bP6U-U/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-11-02+at+5.18.13+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="524" data-original-width="633" height="528" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjdvYJHLIwp3XpF5xyusLyXtfYYeYft8ueZU7Csrw56dZDpW7xQXA_Xd3pXYEMpMlnqMUL45deOaBUjmialysyKRBFBNx3UCg_0z9aWbuGBCm7YXhN5rY-SEHGDthZo8pbW20J3bP6U-U/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-11-02+at+5.18.13+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you spot the Astroturf? </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaZUxroYpVUF9iKTRmW1DWDtFgt7s7uPpPQjCeOz_o2iUXr9FFEym8CAT8KEEPPg0xKjggwLY3k_5umGCcra53dVjChNW8VFRefsy2Wc64khkwxVh-ENfsJQIau9uf2bVP1bqW-L1VZhE/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-11-02+at+5.19.52+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="267" data-original-width="626" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaZUxroYpVUF9iKTRmW1DWDtFgt7s7uPpPQjCeOz_o2iUXr9FFEym8CAT8KEEPPg0xKjggwLY3k_5umGCcra53dVjChNW8VFRefsy2Wc64khkwxVh-ENfsJQIau9uf2bVP1bqW-L1VZhE/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-11-02+at+5.19.52+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Technology isn't deserving of trust - that can only be earned the industry deploying it.</td></tr>
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What this industry doesn't seem to understand is that while they can pour millions of dollars into lobbying and campaigns made to look independent and scientific, <i>they can never buy our trust.</i></div>
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Vixen Valentinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924365433583975370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058139842866427482.post-796926609263026902017-10-24T13:53:00.001-07:002023-01-21T13:51:34.556-08:00Science Bullies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If you've stuck around the internet long enough, chances are you've come across the elitist club of fakers calling themselves Skeptics. They eagerly patrol social media sites, chat rooms, <a href="http://guerrillaskepticismonwikipedia.blogspot.com/">Wikipedia</a>, and reader comment sections enforcing their bastardized brand of 'science' and 'evidence'. I'm currently watching this group in action as they attempt to exert their influence on the reviews of a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Whitewash-Killer-Cancer-Corruption-Science/dp/1610918320/ref=mt_hardcover?_encoding=UTF8&me=">newly released book</a>. The crime? The author dares to document the behavior of Monsanto surrounding their blockbuster chemical product glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup herbicide.<br />
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Despite their declarations, their activities actually have very little to do with science and evidence. These bullies do not employ the scientific method, nor do they practice <a href="https://theethicalskeptic.com/2014/03/31/ethical-skepticism/">ethical skepticism</a>, but a twisted pseudo-philosophy called <a href="https://theethicalskeptic.com/2015/12/10/the-warning-signs-that-a-social-epistemology-is-at-play/">social epistemology</a>.<br />
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This behavior manifests in many ways, including but not limited to:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><br />Portraying those advocating for precaution as 'fear-mongers' </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Talking about science and evidence, endlessly at times, while demonstrating a lack of science literacy</i></blockquote>
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<i>Making appeals to settled science and consensus where it does not exist</i></blockquote>
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<i>Using social pressure to suppress and discredit evidence that runs counter to their 'facts' </i></blockquote>
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<i>Pigeonholing those with legitimate concerns, criticisms or requests for more evidence as one of their favored pejoratives - 'denier' 'anti' 'illiterate' "conspiracy nut' etc.</i></blockquote>
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<i>Presenting as 'bad guys' the aforementioned, as needing to be stopped from their unscientific activities, lest we face dire consequences </i></blockquote>
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<i>Recycling the same information through their social networks via blog posts, Twitter, and Facebook to rally followers and present the newest target being deemed 'woo' or 'pseudoscientific' and in need of being taught a lesson by their cabal</i></blockquote>
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The 'celebrities' inside of this online club have at their disposal the already existing network of Skeptics, primed and <a href="http://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2017/04/my-friend-vance.html">exploited by industry PR</a>.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8JQ1mnzNUb2HHpF6jJOTSUgiCLLAl1K6Ubw4g5EdzVzOF80RwbCYfnWZclrsAtqnWEZnt3irVzER0lKBIXgBxFAKlXl95Rl2EsPWztTiiuELPdclvOnM4CaFfjV206LEkUVuYWle818Q/s1600/VanceSkepticsInternet.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1013" data-original-width="1184" height="546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8JQ1mnzNUb2HHpF6jJOTSUgiCLLAl1K6Ubw4g5EdzVzOF80RwbCYfnWZclrsAtqnWEZnt3irVzER0lKBIXgBxFAKlXl95Rl2EsPWztTiiuELPdclvOnM4CaFfjV206LEkUVuYWle818Q/s640/VanceSkepticsInternet.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fake skeptics, the self-appointed 'immune response system' of the internet. PR much, Vance?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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These followers are ready to begin drooling like Pavlovian pooches when their masters ring the bell to signal a threat to their carefully crafted correctness. Their bastardized version of science, and the power it gives them must be defended vigorously.<br />
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In the current example mentioned at the outset of this post, a Skeptic bell-ringer claimed censorship of their verified purchase, one-star Amazon review with no explanation. They claimed the author herself somehow <a href="https://twitter.com/welovegv/status/921528471305809921">had the review removed</a>, and the troops rallied to the cause and the one star reviews poured in. Most on the same day that the Skeptic reviewer reposted their reportedly deleted review.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg480HSbr4TBXHaECYy3vUYaKOPHa4e89GvEL78LZ4pgKxqZY0aQD1FTWR_l7fmw_UzcpNC9MBRLJEOuVMwOXj_0VUQNyT1X_3P-74MeBj9jNFd4tX1XpYhzTxGONgG8aNd2wSqB59qZzw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-10-23+at+2.13.45+PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="726" data-original-width="1068" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg480HSbr4TBXHaECYy3vUYaKOPHa4e89GvEL78LZ4pgKxqZY0aQD1FTWR_l7fmw_UzcpNC9MBRLJEOuVMwOXj_0VUQNyT1X_3P-74MeBj9jNFd4tX1XpYhzTxGONgG8aNd2wSqB59qZzw/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-10-23+at+2.13.45+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Serious charge against an NGO - making death threats! Should we ask for evidence of their claim?<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqKQhy34sYdXT8GULCP52UducAT80Pc0VV4c6WkbQ_RI5zcZw0dCCVN1sZdlOsG0KMJIMILe5t3l5-FgM_Z12_D-11d0dHZihyphenhyphenaneFKbBPboJ1t02UWG4q5jVGMC2SZlYlJvAdGHddB0U/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-10-23+at+2.15.51+PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="727" data-original-width="1064" height="437" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqKQhy34sYdXT8GULCP52UducAT80Pc0VV4c6WkbQ_RI5zcZw0dCCVN1sZdlOsG0KMJIMILe5t3l5-FgM_Z12_D-11d0dHZihyphenhyphenaneFKbBPboJ1t02UWG4q5jVGMC2SZlYlJvAdGHddB0U/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-10-23+at+2.15.51+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do we really think all these people actually read the book?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Skeptic leaders got in on the action, writing at least three <a href="https://medium.com/@welovegv/amazon-whole-foods-and-the-new-york-times-will-science-survive-6a326be847c1">different</a> <a href="https://storify.com/mem_somerville/a-whitewash-by-carey-gillam">blog</a> <a href="http://kfolta.blogspot.com/2017/10/amazon-deletes-review-protects-bottom.html">posts</a> about this cruel injustice - the review you couldn't see for half a day but is back up now - and <a href="https://twitter.com/kjhvm/status/921849746922151936">asking for followers to upvote</a> the new review while admitting they have yet to read the book personally.<br />
<br />
If you think this is just a one-off, try looking at the following example of science bully mob mentality documented by A Science Enthusiast. Because nothing will teach these science illiterate heathens a lesson quite like a good old fashioned <a href="http://ascienceenthusiast.com/organic-farm-denies-dihydrogen-monoxide/">DHMO trolling</a> perpetrated on an organic farm owned by an elderly woman.<br />
<br />
And for an even more egregious example, go ahead and type 'seventeen reasons to ban glyphosate' into Google. Or click <a href="http://lmgtfy.com/?q=seventeen+reasons+to+ban+glyphosate">here</a>. I'll wait...<br />
<br />
Okay. Notice anything strange? The real link by Nancy Swanson can be found <a href="http://www.stopsprayingnb.ca/resources/41.pdf">here</a>. What has been done in this instance is much more sophisticated than your typical DHMO hoax or flooding a site with negative reviews.<br />
<br />
Dr. Swanson's list was deemed such a threat, that someone went to the trouble of flooding Google search results with links to gibberish. Who would be motivated to do such a thing, and why? German blogger Nico DaVinci has <a href="http://nicodavinci.blogspot.de/2017/04/wie-konzerne-unser-wissen-manipulieren.html">followed the breadcrumb trail</a> a bit on his site, however it doesn't take much to see that this was a deliberate act meant to suppress information that runs counter to someone's interests.<br />
<br />
While most Skeptics you are likely to run into are not operating on such a sophisticated level, they can still be a royal pain in your ass at the very least. Science is not a weapon to be used to exert power over someone else yet, to so many of these fakers, science has become an excuse to work out deep seated issues on unsuspecting bystanders. A socially acceptable form of bullying - at least, it is in their social club anyway.<div><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrgS3-WkeZgCo8JZap31YMme6CDcDgrntaid88Tmd9_NGiZk9Ml2SwGLXYkj09Qrv6pd7VIvnRfNeN3NpTHQUzEqjtvPtrG3st8XLN0OZZo7vMfg2libYAvnbiEnb_shlHGXCWOPmaxd4/s1600/ScienceEnthusiastTshirts.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="1396" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrgS3-WkeZgCo8JZap31YMme6CDcDgrntaid88Tmd9_NGiZk9Ml2SwGLXYkj09Qrv6pd7VIvnRfNeN3NpTHQUzEqjtvPtrG3st8XLN0OZZo7vMfg2libYAvnbiEnb_shlHGXCWOPmaxd4/s640/ScienceEnthusiastTshirts.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo credit: The Ethical Skeptic </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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As for the rest of us, we can readily see this perverted method at play and should not back down to these tactics.<br />
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<br /></div>Vixen Valentinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924365433583975370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058139842866427482.post-66563663319698859762017-07-17T14:42:00.002-07:002023-01-21T13:46:51.155-08:00EDCs In The Mac n CheeseIt's pretty likely you've seen the New York Times article about phthalates in boxed mac and cheese products.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-iXkDbOzPDmxrnCbJ5fpnG3q3q8jMKaN0RrXPef9eB3ybaA9iZZX493qQs6U2odebwwf9hNlyxzr5HEmCdMnyLe1QSXX9NnF2mS7Nw10fJeq7QF10JdAwJ10XxqAu0Fexa5iOAhyphenhyphenGVHQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-07-16+at+5.07.50+PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="736" data-original-width="627" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-iXkDbOzPDmxrnCbJ5fpnG3q3q8jMKaN0RrXPef9eB3ybaA9iZZX493qQs6U2odebwwf9hNlyxzr5HEmCdMnyLe1QSXX9NnF2mS7Nw10fJeq7QF10JdAwJ10XxqAu0Fexa5iOAhyphenhyphenGVHQ/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-07-16+at+5.07.50+PM.png" width="544" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="headline" id="headline" itemprop="headline" style="visibility: visible;">
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/12/well/eat/the-chemicals-in-your-mac-and-cheese.html">The Chemicals in Your Mac and Cheese</a></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
It's spurred numerous <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2017/07/14/whats-in-your-mac-and-cheese-besides-macaroni-and-cheese/#144feab34caf">other headlines</a>, and a few knee jerk reactions (more on that later). A consumer advocacy group called the <a href="http://www.kleanupkraft.org/">Coalition for Safer Food Processing & Packaging</a>, commissioned <a href="http://kleanupkraft.org/data-summary.pdf">testing of various brands and types</a> of mac and cheese products. This group is led by a woman whose son suffered from a type of <a href="http://pulse.seattlechildrens.org/study-links-chemical-in-plastics-to-genital-abnormalities-in-baby-boys/">genital abnormality that can be caused by phthalates</a>. She states, "my son was born with a birth defect called hypospadias with chordee –
one of the most common among babies in the United States. At just eight
months old, my son needed a three-and-a-half-hour surgery to dismantle
and reconstruct his penis." <br />
<br />
<div class="Para">
The group's choice to test mac and cheese products is based on <a href="https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1476-069X-13-43">research</a> that dairy products are a significant source of phthalate exposure for infants and women of reproductive age. This <a href="https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1476-069X-13-43">review concludes:</a></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="Para">
"DEHP in some meats, fats and dairy products were found at high
concentrations (≥300 μg/kg) in food monitoring surveys and significantly
contributed to exposure in epidemiological studies. Similarly,
assessment of daily dietary DEHP intake resulted in dairy as the highest
contributor to exposure. Exposure estimates based on actual diets for
infants exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency’s reference level
while estimates based on high meat and dairy consumption resulted in
exposure above this limit for adolescents. Some of the ADI’s developed
by the CPSC for reproductive outcomes were also exceeded. We provide
guidance on future research in this area to further understand food as
an important phthalate source and to help identify methods to reduce
dietary phthalate exposures."</div>
</blockquote>
<div class="Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="Para">
Many studies have shown that phthalate contamination is <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/wormuthanal.pdf">common throughout the food supply</a>, diet is considered a <a href="https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1476-069X-13-43">significant exposure pathway</a>, and levels can be higher in certain foods than others. Additional research on phthalates suggests that it <a href="https://www.hindawi.com/journals/tswj/2012/615068/">may bioaccumulate</a> in some<i> </i>instances. In 2008 the <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/phthalates.pdf">National Academy of Sciences concluded</a> that the EPA ought to be assessing phthalate toxicity using a cumulative risk assessment approach - because people are exposed to multiple phthalates. Some of these <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/phthalates.pdf">combinations have been shown to be more toxic</a> combined than with isolated exposures. These combinations can be as toxic as a high level at low levels, even.<i> </i></div>
<br />
<div class="Para">
We do have some restrictions in place due to the known risks of exposure to phthalates in the US and other countries in some consumer products. Wouldn't it be awfully prudent then, that we should take measures to remove this contamination from our food supply, as well? It seems that this is exactly what the Coalition for Safer Food Processing & Packaging is trying to do with their <a href="http://kleanupkraft.org/data-summary.pdf">testing</a> and <a href="https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/kraft-get-rid-of-any-1?source=c.em&r_by=18288229">petition</a>. </div>
<div class="Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="Para">
Of course, rather than look at this evidence and say 'hey, if we can prevent painful genital surgery for babies, maybe we should really take a closer look at this and see what we can do to cut exposures' the reaction from Skeptics is unfortunately, predictable. </div>
<div class="Para">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTWPYwvEeixXM3nbfLWQREah8oF0oOJ6ChRgMSoxkMA7tXVpxk_UaHv0felCvlnhP1qQS9tDt3oP6l2kAaH_T7jgpe7MXZmJgREGfvEXTkqnrI_XE1YC0q14APxaWCO79xItatQ6rbunQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-07-16+at+4.44.16+PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="739" data-original-width="632" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTWPYwvEeixXM3nbfLWQREah8oF0oOJ6ChRgMSoxkMA7tXVpxk_UaHv0felCvlnhP1qQS9tDt3oP6l2kAaH_T7jgpe7MXZmJgREGfvEXTkqnrI_XE1YC0q14APxaWCO79xItatQ6rbunQ/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-07-16+at+4.44.16+PM.png" width="546" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jenny Splitter wants you to 'calm the fuck down' </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="Para">
<br /></div>
<br />
<section class="Section1 RenderAsSection1" id="Sec13"></section><br /><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgw3wA1eU___ddWeRuMJKt34SK_TM5dyJxI-_aZ-1tycBcKC8ruMiLQPSTjaZ1GOUAIq59oVqC5GbqcDaSwTV_99AyBPmEcfSXJ3lrmtajXD8VCsEExbn4Y6upxKpNpuJMLHpJ0vro46E/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-07-16+at+4.31.12+PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="765" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgw3wA1eU___ddWeRuMJKt34SK_TM5dyJxI-_aZ-1tycBcKC8ruMiLQPSTjaZ1GOUAIq59oVqC5GbqcDaSwTV_99AyBPmEcfSXJ3lrmtajXD8VCsEExbn4Y6upxKpNpuJMLHpJ0vro46E/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-07-16+at+4.31.12+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kevin Folta wants you to know you're a chemophobe who won't die from eating mac n cheese</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjuzFSB-dnX3yQKNPNDlkJ2CFy5c6ywZiLuicW5-q3niYv3tAdTFBausydfK7B3lvlruCFqbi6K-oN0DL83Qny-_q3XMj_CzIEh4qQaOtaXJqmAy140Nb_yD3pKWoxvGzeCFfgvVixso8/s1600/MacNSchwarcz.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="824" data-original-width="1536" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjuzFSB-dnX3yQKNPNDlkJ2CFy5c6ywZiLuicW5-q3niYv3tAdTFBausydfK7B3lvlruCFqbi6K-oN0DL83Qny-_q3XMj_CzIEh4qQaOtaXJqmAy140Nb_yD3pKWoxvGzeCFfgvVixso8/s640/MacNSchwarcz.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When all else fails, invoke the spectre of the Food Babe. OoooooOOOOOoooooo! <br /><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I'm not going to break down every detail of these articles but the arguments I've seen have been pretty similar, and pretty flawed - this is an activist organization, the testing wasn't peer reviewed (even though it was done correctly) everything is a chemical, zomg chemophobez, Food Babe, 'dose makes the poison', etc. But anyone who has done even just some cursory reading and looked at the scientific literature isn't going to fall for the 'it's all fear mongering everything's fine' tropes. While I fully agree some of the headlines are alarmist, this still isn't an unfounded concern.<br />
<br />
And it's amazing to me that anyone would think that the impetus for this campaign is some random hatred for Kraft, when it's much more likely that watching your eight month old baby boy endure painful genital surgery is the motivating factor here. Is it wrong to want to prevent this and other harmful effects for others? Even yet, this doesn't stop Folta from calling this group shills in his article: 'shouldn’t they be calling themselves shills of themselves?' And he makes a big blunder with the statement, 'According to the logic of the report, Kraft manufactures this popular
product with the intention of causing birth defects. Certainly you can
see why Kraft would want that, because it is M&C is an obvious
choice for children stricken with <i>reduced limbs and fused fingers</i>.' GENITAL ABNORMALITIES KEVIN. If you don't know enough to even correctly name the health effects these chemicals are being linked to - please sit down and shut up. Also, no one has accused manufacturers of purposely adding phthalates to food. So many of these ridiculous arguments are crafted from straw. <br />
<br />
The response from the Skeptics has not been surprising to me, or probably a lot of you reading but it is once again illustrative of how they stand in the way of moving forward with science and applying it in ways that can help people who are suffering. And so often take the position that benefits industry over one that benefits the public.<br />
<br />
I for one am not panicking over the boxes of Annies in my pantry, but I did sign this petition several days ago when I first saw it. This isn't a mac and cheese issue, this is a food production issue, one of public health, and making sure that we eliminate these cumulative dietary exposures that may be putting people at risk of harm. That feels quite reasonable and science-based to me. <br />
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<br />Vixen Valentinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924365433583975370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058139842866427482.post-67495264942747530522017-07-16T10:24:00.002-07:002023-01-21T13:34:38.970-08:00The Little Black Book of JunkOur good friends over at <a href="http://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2016/01/5-astroturf-groups-you-should-stop.html">American Council on Science and Health</a> have shat out a <a href="http://www.acsh.org/sites/default/files/Little%20Black%20Book%20of%20Junk%20Science.pdf">new book</a> called "The Little Black Book of Junk Science." Released on June, 29 with a star studded panel consisting of:<strong> </strong><br />
<br />
<strong>Dr. Angela Logomasini</strong>, Senior Fellow at <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Competitive_Enterprise_Institute">Competitive Enterprise Institute</a> who specializes in environmental risk, regulation
and consumer freedom. Her articles have also appeared in Wall Street
Journal, NY Post and many more places.<br />
<br /><strong>Dr. Alan Moghissi</strong>, Long-time member of the American
Council on Science and Health Board of Scientific Advisors, a charter
member of the Environmental Protection Agency, where he was Principal
Science Advisor for Radiation and Hazardous Materials; and Manager of
the Health and Environmental Risk Analysis Program, and now Associate
Director of International Center for Regulatory Science at George Mason
University and President of the Institute for Regulatory Science.<br />
<br /><strong>Professor <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Nina_V._Federoff">Nina Federoff</a></strong>, Professor Emeritus at Penn
State University, who was appointed to the National Science Board by
President Clinton, was Science and Technology Adviser to U.S.
Secretaries of State Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton and was a
recipient of the National Medal of Science from President George W.
Bush. Among her many books is <em>Mendel in the Kitchen: A Scientist's View of Genetically Modified Foods</em>.<br />
<br /><strong>Dr. Alex Berezow</strong>, Senior Fellow in Biomedical
Science at the American Council on Science and Health, frequent
contributor to USA Today, Wall Street Journal and BBC, and author of <em>Little Black Book of Junk Science</em> and <em>Science Left Behind</em>.<div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9a98PomGVyXbUL-Mhjcn1OeOztlFeVtBrNGB0JgNtKMoyrYFBwMZU7mlfrrnQjXM2_eG6E5gpT0g_syfiglv8_VxtUcbx5hlx0lctC067XtIVezg3o9rc_v_HV0fmPjGAEGoM8frwDwg/s1600/PressClubACSH.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="828" data-original-width="1440" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9a98PomGVyXbUL-Mhjcn1OeOztlFeVtBrNGB0JgNtKMoyrYFBwMZU7mlfrrnQjXM2_eG6E5gpT0g_syfiglv8_VxtUcbx5hlx0lctC067XtIVezg3o9rc_v_HV0fmPjGAEGoM8frwDwg/s640/PressClubACSH.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L-R: Angela Logomasini, Alan Moghissi, Nina Federoff, Alex Berezow</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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It is appropriately named at least, with emphasis on "junk." I thought we could take a look at a few excerpts and have a cringe and chuckle.<br />
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Here are just <i>some</i> of the lowlights:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDgH5LsOIRafOZsswjomt24STbsCvgQiQv4RL0FetR3ngtbdhnrHVEcnG-N8YYugLX7mbzP5u2VM1iKfSgIK38rFhG_eOlrlYcKHD5YHdrXgU4QE9otl5GSzatmr7dMKWwxOenQ15bcho/s1600/LittleBlack1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="997" data-original-width="1313" height="483" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDgH5LsOIRafOZsswjomt24STbsCvgQiQv4RL0FetR3ngtbdhnrHVEcnG-N8YYugLX7mbzP5u2VM1iKfSgIK38rFhG_eOlrlYcKHD5YHdrXgU4QE9otl5GSzatmr7dMKWwxOenQ15bcho/s640/LittleBlack1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Second hand smoke? Pay no attention to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/secondhand_smoke/general_facts/index.htm">warnings from the CDC</a>!<br /><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7sr8rqQO1RGKbzAeQMXfd51ofDLQrt04z-_1X-z85KbWD5O2CnhqN1BI3rQgtrgXEcdTlChRFZdRW8zXxgZtIN649OLKfnVaCK11-3zeiSa4_Ao3fQWRARcRyRhd5SDjIRNt_tgPsPQ/s1600/LittleBlack2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="1114" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7sr8rqQO1RGKbzAeQMXfd51ofDLQrt04z-_1X-z85KbWD5O2CnhqN1BI3rQgtrgXEcdTlChRFZdRW8zXxgZtIN649OLKfnVaCK11-3zeiSa4_Ao3fQWRARcRyRhd5SDjIRNt_tgPsPQ/s640/LittleBlack2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have no idea what the fuck they're talking about here. Maybe themselves?</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYDrZk8k9GAFGob6NnBxhTjTr-7JJoNICpHNwH3DQUj5IgTXBOZLuKY4dKQFN9OxxqBfJw5TsxMtYrGP9v74QGMin2nl937rVSzH_F33Rhfi6xc2yqprdXSDVN0pYCwHjwJxc5yPGaSpM/s1600/LittleBlack3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="703" data-original-width="1277" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYDrZk8k9GAFGob6NnBxhTjTr-7JJoNICpHNwH3DQUj5IgTXBOZLuKY4dKQFN9OxxqBfJw5TsxMtYrGP9v74QGMin2nl937rVSzH_F33Rhfi6xc2yqprdXSDVN0pYCwHjwJxc5yPGaSpM/s640/LittleBlack3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fuck the ecosystem and those <a href="http://ns.umich.edu/new/multimedia/slideshows/20366-ecosystem-effects-of-biodiversity-loss-could-rival-impacts-of-climate-change-pollution">hippies with their science</a>!<br /><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivgVtdjOp-OXC6MLS1YRS1KKjtKU0_eSWyy3UArrce_DDuKMPtvZG7Ard573tlKrUY80f69MYtKU0UwIJJjoiyBFqnjnaaNr0__oY3zGoCYdRpEuDiKT8gagwygtWAWzNKAtOzij8YPCY/s1600/LittleBlack4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="919" data-original-width="1140" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivgVtdjOp-OXC6MLS1YRS1KKjtKU0_eSWyy3UArrce_DDuKMPtvZG7Ard573tlKrUY80f69MYtKU0UwIJJjoiyBFqnjnaaNr0__oY3zGoCYdRpEuDiKT8gagwygtWAWzNKAtOzij8YPCY/s640/LittleBlack4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hey, why blame <a href="https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/relationship-between-prescription-drug-heroin-abuse/prescription-opioid-use-risk-factor-heroin-use">the dealers</a> when you can put it all on the addicts? It's <a href="https://www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/legislative-activities/testimony-to-congress/2016/americas-addiction-to-opioids-heroin-prescription-drug-abuse">complex</a>!<br /><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZvlDIpdJ2Nitoc8j60OWyfe14wBTHPBz3Qwtd2AYv3i2dVZDZ6yYoHD4vFoStJxvhtVwNsnNMRRaqrtPAiEcBi_ZtdbEdXdie7Ovaw3PAlQi_PiOJJ2iEhZguz-OJtSoAsh7BskuyZI8/s1600/LittleBlack5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="1312" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZvlDIpdJ2Nitoc8j60OWyfe14wBTHPBz3Qwtd2AYv3i2dVZDZ6yYoHD4vFoStJxvhtVwNsnNMRRaqrtPAiEcBi_ZtdbEdXdie7Ovaw3PAlQi_PiOJJ2iEhZguz-OJtSoAsh7BskuyZI8/s640/LittleBlack5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No worries about <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1480494/">'low levels' of PCBs</a>! OK sure they bioaccumulate...</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNkhZCa7cfmyG-RwOX4LY4lfW7zWTWVoi4bUFrKaCe8KzjL-kOCb8sU14gzgrscqL90xK_51tB26hxutxKDrvUQQIqUb8bMY6WeJuTLsGsj7r_dJoLAtK259_8GUHb9gTyzKH3kxbi8ls/s1600/HankBioaccumulationBS.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="580" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNkhZCa7cfmyG-RwOX4LY4lfW7zWTWVoi4bUFrKaCe8KzjL-kOCb8sU14gzgrscqL90xK_51tB26hxutxKDrvUQQIqUb8bMY6WeJuTLsGsj7r_dJoLAtK259_8GUHb9gTyzKH3kxbi8ls/s640/HankBioaccumulationBS.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Except when they are an invention of Big Environmental! Oh, Hank.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
The main goal of the Little Black Book of Junk Science seems to be to reassure all you irrational chemophobes about the safety of 2,4-D, atrazine, BPA, DDT, EDCs, flame retardants and the like. They go on to cite <i>themselves</i> no less than 26 times, as well as other highly regarded peer reviewed publications such as Forbes, Natural News, and David Wolfe dot com.<br />
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Once again, the ACSH prove themselves to be an agenda driven outfit, more concerned with industry interests than science or health. At least the title of their book was accurate.<br />
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<br /></div>Vixen Valentinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924365433583975370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058139842866427482.post-18102894693017935072017-05-30T12:19:00.001-07:002023-01-21T13:32:56.061-08:00No Benefit From Parachutes, Study Shows*beeeeeeeeeep* "We interrupt tonight's regularly scheduled programming for a very special breaking news report from our Senior Skeptic Correspondent, Fara Faelle."<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Iei4kqGu_14bc07rY4-3Hq6w-VxgS_c9HsdYl9nkdWNdYZPbHjMRB70kJqHUjy9PmKggGD3ixc08VBaz6h1o9FO_Dq535ShhgAq66fck-WH6Cui3Va9FGlPzC3pfrEIOX1-lIqO5aUU/s1600/SnookiReporting.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="651" data-original-width="939" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Iei4kqGu_14bc07rY4-3Hq6w-VxgS_c9HsdYl9nkdWNdYZPbHjMRB70kJqHUjy9PmKggGD3ixc08VBaz6h1o9FO_Dq535ShhgAq66fck-WH6Cui3Va9FGlPzC3pfrEIOX1-lIqO5aUU/s640/SnookiReporting.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="ng-binding ng-scope">I offer straight talk on science, medicine, health and vaccines.</span> </td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">"Good evening, Fara Faelle reporting for Forbes. A new study from the University of Bullschvitz has reviewed the existing medical literature on parachutes as an effective intervention to prevent major trauma related to gravitational challenge. Researchers were <a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/327/7429/1459">unable to identify any randomized control trials</a>. Therefore there is no evidence that parachutes do any good to prevent people from going splat when they fall out of planes. Since there isn't enough evidence to draw any conclusions, all observational data must be relegated to the Land of Mere Anecdote. We all know correlation is not causation, therefore no further study is warranted. Parachutes are clearly quack therapies. Save your money, and don't even attempt to try this snake oil scam."</span><br />
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<br />
Does this sound <span style="font-size: small;">illogical</span> to you? That's because I'm using an example of something that is easily observable - parachutes either work or they don't. No randomized, double-blind, placebo control trials needed.<br />
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It's not always so clear cut with other interventions, and this is where fake skeptics will use sciencey sounding language to push an agenda and squash further inquiry into areas they don't like. "There's <b>no evidence</b> that _______" Or my favorite, "There's no <b>credible</b> evidence to show ________"<br />
<br />
Many times just doing a cursory search of the scientific literature will reveal that there is indeed evidence, sometimes quite a bit, and that using the qualifier 'credible' is just another attempt at stifling information one does not like. But even when there truly has not yet been any formal investigation, fake skeptics will still make claims based on this lack of evidence - despite this being totally unscientific. When there exists only observational evidence on a topic the ethical skeptic takes a neutral position on the matter and awaits more research. This mindset is known as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/epoche">epoché</a> - a Greek word that means suspension of judgement.<br />
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Fake skeptics view observational evidence as something to be dismissed, not as it should be, a call for more formal investigation and experimental research. Not everything we observe will turn out to be correct, but <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/the-toxins-that-affected-your-great-grandparents-could-be-in-your-genes-180947644/">breakthrough research</a> has resulted from investigating areas where we thought nothing was to be found. Imagine the things we would be missing if we routinely dismissed observations as mere anecdote? Imagine the things we <i>are</i> missing.<br />
<br />Big 'S' Skeptic logic is once again found to be fallacious and not rooted in reason or the correct application of the scientific method. Stating that there is 'no evidence' falls under <a href="https://theethicalskeptic.com/tag/evidence-sculpting/">Wittgenstein sinnlos</a> as it "is correct at face value but disinformative or is otherwise useless." Beware of anyone claiming to 'communicate science' who engages in this type of evidence manipulation and lying through facts. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXL8yE-gaP6v6r7ISv3Qhb8W15RkdhJYBsaL51vpjB8mhYw6sN0e0A-t5M0dmqDNpe27HDkFtz8sM5V9pyNqTptQC8iI1-XHh1jB-RKyUktrKeyrFS70E3YEmRpMufEu9OqtxOtmHmNOk/s1600/NoParachute.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="261" data-original-width="560" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXL8yE-gaP6v6r7ISv3Qhb8W15RkdhJYBsaL51vpjB8mhYw6sN0e0A-t5M0dmqDNpe27HDkFtz8sM5V9pyNqTptQC8iI1-XHh1jB-RKyUktrKeyrFS70E3YEmRpMufEu9OqtxOtmHmNOk/s640/NoParachute.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nooooo Evideeeeeeeencccccccce!</td></tr>
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<br />Vixen Valentinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924365433583975370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058139842866427482.post-3970655939588046722017-05-12T14:35:00.001-07:002017-08-19T09:35:39.926-07:00The Campaign Against IARCIn March, 2015 the specialized cancer agency of the World Health Organization, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) released <a href="https://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/pdf/MonographVolume112.pdf">IARC Monographs Volume 112</a>: evaluation of five organophosphate insecticides and herbicides. Five pesticides were evaluated; malathion, diazinon, tetrachlorvinphos, and parathion insecticides and the herbicide active ingredient glyphosate.<br />
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Glyphosate was classified as group 2A, <i>probably carcinogenic to humans</i>. From a news release dated March 20, 2015 -<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"For the herbicide glyphosate, there was limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The evidence in humans is from studies of exposures, mostly agricultural, in the USA, Canada, and Sweden published since 2001. In addition, there is convincing evidence that glyphosate also can cause cancer in laboratory animals. On the basis of tumours in mice, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) originally classified glyphosate as possibly carcinogenic to humans (GroupC) in 1985. After a re-evaluation of that mouse study, the US EPA changed its classification to evidence of non-carcinogenicity in humans (Group E) in 1991. The US EPA Scientific Advisory Panel noted that the re-evaluated glyphosate results were still significant using two statistical tests recommended in the IARC Preamble. The IARC Working Group that conducted the evaluation considered the significant findings from the US EPA report and several more recent positive results in concluding that there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals. Glyphosate also caused DNA and chromosomal damage in human cells, although it gave negative results in tests using bacteria. One study in community residents reported increases in blood markers of chromosomal damage (micronuclei) after glyphosate formulations were sprayed nearby."</blockquote>
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Further down in the release they state -<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />
"Glyphosate currently has the highest global production volume of all herbicides. The largest use worldwide is in agriculture. The agricultural use of glyphosate has increased sharply since the development of crops that have been genetically modified to make them resistant to glyphosate. Glyphosate is also used in forestry, urban, and home applications. Glyphosate has been detected in the air during spraying, in water, and in food. The general population is exposed primarily through residence near sprayed areas, home use, and diet, and the level that has been observed is generally low."</blockquote>
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As you can imagine, <a href="http://news.monsanto.com/news/monsanto-disagrees-iarc-classification-glyphosate">Monsanto</a> (the maker of Roundup herbicide, and glyphosate) and the rest of the chemical industry who enjoy the profitability of the now off patent active ingredient glyphosate, were very unhappy about this news. On their website Monsanto clearly state, "<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Based on the overwhelming weight of evidence, Monsanto strongly disagrees with IARC’s classification of glyphosate.</i>" No real surprise there.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Of course since this time, the IARC classification has spurred numerous mounting lawsuits against Monsanto, as well as the announcement that the state of California intends to label Roundup and other glyphosate containing herbicides as a carcinogen under Prop 65. Monsanto is currently fighting this in court, along with <a href="https://usrtk.org/pesticides/mdl-monsanto-glyphosate-cancer-case-key-documents-analysis/">more than fifty lawsuits</a>. One of these have, through the discovery process, made many internal documents available to the public. Back in March a U.S. District Court Judge ruled that these <a href="https://usrtk.org/pesticides/mdl-monsanto-glyphosate-cancer-case-key-documents-analysis/">discovery documents</a> could be unsealed. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The Center for Biological Diversity and U.S. Right To Know have submitted FOIA requests to obtain more information that may shed light on the extent of Monsanto's influence on the decisions made at the EPA. From their press release:</span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: small;">"Court documents released last month indicate
that the chair of the EPA’s Cancer Assessment Review Committee on
glyphosate had a cozy and collaborative relationship with Monsanto and
was someone the company thought might be “useful” in defending
glyphosate safety. The records include discussion of how the chair of
the EPA committee may be able to thwart a Department of Health and Human
Services’ review of glyphosate’s safety, saying that if he was
successful he <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-pJR4cGo9ckcE0ydmtFZ2FfYUE/view" target="_blank">deserved a medal</a>. The department never did review glyphosate’s safety."</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: small;">This is merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all the controversy surrounding glyphosate, and it's causing what I'd wager is a <i>whole lot</i> of dick pain for our friends in the chemical industry. This is why early this year, <a href="http://www.politico.eu/article/trump-international-agency-for-research-on-cancer-christopher-wild/">a new group formed</a> called Campaign For Accuracy In Public Health Research, or CAPHR for short. It may come as no surprise to you that <a href="http://campaignforaccuracyinpublichealthresearch.com/about/">this campaign is a project</a> of the American Chemistry Council and its members. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"CAPHR is an education and outreach initiative to promote credible,
unbiased, and transparent science as the basis of policy decisions and
help the public and policymakers understand the relevance of public
health studies in our daily lives.<br />
<br />
<b>In particular, CAPHR will promote reform of the International Agency
on Cancer Research (IARC) Monograph’s Program </b>and bring to light the
deficiencies, misinformation, and consequences associated with its work."</blockquote>
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I know, I know, you're shocked. But IARC isn't exactly a stranger to this type of, ah, attention. The agency's director, Christopher Wild has been quoted as saying, “Since that time, this is probably the most aggressive that it’s been.
What we see is, it’s linked to classifications where there’s a very
strong commercial interest,” in regards to when IARC classified second hand smoke as a carcinogen and now, with glyphosate.<br />
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Just by browsing the CAPHR website, you can get an idea of the quality of the arguments being used against IARC. There's the typical rhetoric: IARC confuses consumers!" In reality though, it's CAPHR that's trying to deceive and confuse consumers.<br />
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I noticed on one of their pages a graphic they were using looked just like one by Compound Interest, run by a chemistry teacher named Andy Brunning. He's a talented graphic artist and does a nice job of making chemistry interesting and easy to understand. Kudos to him on that.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ94FLbtfn8TLDmW-H2B4M3KYwGbZ9Y0ExGrUbrSZ4WU0cCgdvEjR9rbMTavoJv5_A0q5Nn0Yk4XnlUNpfBNs3KwPq0Vro-Ejg24VYcvX-0RLq-iMSgfnx_HVf_RUMAO9ti6KEOCsxPhU/s1600/A-Rough-Guide-to-IARC-Carcinogen-Classifications.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ94FLbtfn8TLDmW-H2B4M3KYwGbZ9Y0ExGrUbrSZ4WU0cCgdvEjR9rbMTavoJv5_A0q5Nn0Yk4XnlUNpfBNs3KwPq0Vro-Ejg24VYcvX-0RLq-iMSgfnx_HVf_RUMAO9ti6KEOCsxPhU/s640/A-Rough-Guide-to-IARC-Carcinogen-Classifications.png" width="452" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image by <a href="http://www.compoundchem.com/2015/10/26/carcinogens/">Compound Interest</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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It is clearly stated on the <a href="http://www.compoundchem.com/content-usage-guidelines/">Compound Interest website</a> with regard to sharing online, that <br />
<br />
<div class="panel-collapse collapse in" id="78acaff70ec7ab08f" style="height: auto;">
<div class="panel-body toggle-content">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The graphics are shared under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence. This means they can be
freely shared as long as a few conditions are met.<br />
<br />
Firstly, <b>they must remain unaltered </b>– this includes the cropping off
of watermarks/credit on the graphics, or cropping out other parts of the
graphic. Secondly, they cannot be used for commercial purposes without
prior permission. Finally, <b>attribution to Compound Interest must be
given clearly when re-sharing the graphics, and the attribution should
also include a link back to the post containing the graphic."</b></blockquote>
<br />
I've complied with these stipulations when sharing CI's work before, and again, just above. It wasn't difficult at all. CAPHR it seems, has a problem following simple directions.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh964lNjLPH_1spJFYBJfEZXsHZtg5W6Bce2IV2ciEcx7tVLlkEdOfR33vnpTMkDBtY8GEf6v_K7NjvsW0ph4JI3WKVG8jvhUS1oPuNp5LT8i3_VGDfWDg0oADHgP41yJ8hjBZXgBepv30/s1600/CAPHRiarc.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh964lNjLPH_1spJFYBJfEZXsHZtg5W6Bce2IV2ciEcx7tVLlkEdOfR33vnpTMkDBtY8GEf6v_K7NjvsW0ph4JI3WKVG8jvhUS1oPuNp5LT8i3_VGDfWDg0oADHgP41yJ8hjBZXgBepv30/s640/CAPHRiarc.jpeg" width="420" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170418161313/http://campaignforaccuracyinpublichealthresearch.com/iarc/">View archived link here </a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
This page along with a '<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170418182331/http://campaignforaccuracyinpublichealthresearch.com/glyphosate/case-study/">case study</a>' and 'fact sheet' using this are now gone, since they were caught red-handed committing plagiarism.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYuCgchRFxhPhhv7S8ZEkLTJA84Kx9Rj9ebdrJjJF4pVwwVofAhOW5n8o7wVxNHVDBJk8Z4L06rx31esrW72kIa1BBzOxiiFo9ZD7OsnJtzcEJRDJ-f_Ea4HyKg-NJIBLG-f-duwsQhCc/s1600/CAPHR_Plagiarism.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYuCgchRFxhPhhv7S8ZEkLTJA84Kx9Rj9ebdrJjJF4pVwwVofAhOW5n8o7wVxNHVDBJk8Z4L06rx31esrW72kIa1BBzOxiiFo9ZD7OsnJtzcEJRDJ-f_Ea4HyKg-NJIBLG-f-duwsQhCc/s640/CAPHR_Plagiarism.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Someone must have tipped him off about his altered graphic on the CAPHR website... </td></tr>
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This is a great indicator of the CAPHR's level of honesty and ethics. They are purposely being deceptive about IARC in an attempt to silence and discredit them. Their Twitter feed alone is a treasure trove of examples, many of them just plain absurd.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwV9Zazdu_IjF8v-mE1ihuRkicQK00bWXPAFaVeuK8DzyRXsARRQ-o9iQlli29kN4BXajmi1LUsAlsxoeGDfl7qwGsjOWnD1nZvJ0V6lYLcFAIiw3cdlLL0objzCsr8n6ITcZ4YJsci_E/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-05-04+at+12.36.26+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="585" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwV9Zazdu_IjF8v-mE1ihuRkicQK00bWXPAFaVeuK8DzyRXsARRQ-o9iQlli29kN4BXajmi1LUsAlsxoeGDfl7qwGsjOWnD1nZvJ0V6lYLcFAIiw3cdlLL0objzCsr8n6ITcZ4YJsci_E/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-05-04+at+12.36.26+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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They link to another <a href="http://campaignforaccuracyinpublichealthresearch.com/red-meat/case-study/?platform=hootsuite">case study on processed meat</a>. It contains numerous quotes from 'experts' most of which are directly tied to the meat industry, and they even use Beef Magazine as a citation. Can't make this stuff up!<br />
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They also make a big deal about hazard assessment vs risk assessment...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYlWadW5_PomQRQyXHlUFKNswMklekQLOXvLMFf5M6dbI9dV0w_yOgJdGVc5wFlxUoIaf_amVDgUdZYnj4Mfmq2310uimIKgQY7VT6zNbSfQGVhkHJAHIg74pdWY0e7Q7UuiNIUKju2_0/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-05-12+at+5.10.38+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="580" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYlWadW5_PomQRQyXHlUFKNswMklekQLOXvLMFf5M6dbI9dV0w_yOgJdGVc5wFlxUoIaf_amVDgUdZYnj4Mfmq2310uimIKgQY7VT6zNbSfQGVhkHJAHIg74pdWY0e7Q7UuiNIUKju2_0/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-05-12+at+5.10.38+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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...then contradict themselves by implying IARC lists the risk from bacon and plutonium as the same.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg46bi0KBdoHENi57Z-p9DCXYZnZZvM0u4fX1bBS9I3dWY5SX-GfuljB2QU1C443QEfz0l2pyvOJkpU8xngV1tm3mF8uzNVzKBSvSux9ncPTssKWfyuY5n-vKraknaLwgqgy3pHOw-AGIg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-05-12+at+5.21.34+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg46bi0KBdoHENi57Z-p9DCXYZnZZvM0u4fX1bBS9I3dWY5SX-GfuljB2QU1C443QEfz0l2pyvOJkpU8xngV1tm3mF8uzNVzKBSvSux9ncPTssKWfyuY5n-vKraknaLwgqgy3pHOw-AGIg/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-05-12+at+5.21.34+PM.png" width="618" /></a></div>
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They accuse IARC of cherry picking studies...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_8_q_QmI0NiLwbR4rzqjB1ORfQ2wLpKo2VH8wA7AF1RO6Ll2MzcGrhvUeG7MayvxxSSo7xArZew-4n3gpl8IHYcE6l7SW6uEe0UcXQjhG6lVnOlIX2_d8womRDqrZrRsO4btd788NiEQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-05-04+at+4.15.36+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_8_q_QmI0NiLwbR4rzqjB1ORfQ2wLpKo2VH8wA7AF1RO6Ll2MzcGrhvUeG7MayvxxSSo7xArZew-4n3gpl8IHYcE6l7SW6uEe0UcXQjhG6lVnOlIX2_d8womRDqrZrRsO4btd788NiEQ/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-05-04+at+4.15.36+PM.png" width="627" /></a></div>
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Except it's just another misrepresentation of what IARC does. The <a href="https://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/pdf/Q&A_Glyphosate.pdf">scientific studies IARC uses</a> are those in the public domain, meaning published, peer-reviewed research. Whereas <a href="http://jech.bmj.com/content/early/2016/03/03/jech-2015-207005">regulatory bodies</a> rely primarily on industry conducted studies that are not published, never have been subjected to peer review and are kept hidden as proprietary information. And they have the nerve to say IARC is not transparent. <br />
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Can we really trust that the <a href="http://jech.bmj.com/content/early/2016/03/03/jech-2015-207005">regulatory agencies</a> are basing their conclusions on strong scientific evidence? Using chlorpyrifos and Dow as an example, let's ponder that question. As <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/01/14/dow-chemical-wants-farmers-to-keep-using-a-pesticide-linked-to-autism-and-adhd/">reported in The Intercept</a>, during the discovery process of a lawsuit against them, Dow was required to provide various documentation. The attorney for the plaintiff hired neuroscientist and Stanford professor Robert Sapolsky to review Dow’s own studies on the pesticide.
After reading them, Sapolsky wrote to the lawyer for the plaintiff in an email, that he was “simply
stunned at how bad the work was, how utterly awful every aspect of them
was, from the scholarship to how the studies were conducted to how data
were analyzed, to how everything was then interpreted.” The Intercept goes on to report:</div>
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</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="panel-body toggle-content">
"Eventually, Sapolsky enlisted a dozen postdoctoral neuroscientists at
Stanford to systematically review as much of the company’s research on
the pesticide as he could find. According to an unpublished <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3288787-Sapolsky.html">report</a> they
produced in 2008-2009, all the Dow studies on chlorpyrifos they
reviewed had some errors and <i>89 percent had errors that broke the basic
rules of science</i>. And these weren’t randomly distributed mistakes,
according to Sapolsky. “<i>Every one of the errors in the papers worked in
Dow’s favor.</i>” Thus tailored, the company’s studies “were all sterling
testimonies to [the] utter safety of the stuff,” according to the
neuroscientist. </div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="panel-body toggle-content">
Dow heavily promoted this rosy vision of chlorpyrifos. Even as it was
spinning the science, collecting reports of poisoning incidents, and
fending off legal responsibility for them, Dow — or Dowelanco, as it was
called at the time — was also boasting about the safety of its
pesticide. “The 20-plus years of chlorpyrifos use involving millions of
applications confirm that there is not a single documented incident of
significant adverse health effect resulting from proper use of Dursban
insecticides,” announced one 1991 brochure under a picture of a woman
with a small child on her lap. “Does Dursban have any long-term
effects?” the brochure asked before supplying the answer: “No.”</div>
</blockquote>
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Does any of this sound familiar? Due to the discovery process in the lawsuits against Monsanto for glyphosate/Roundup, there are similar documents coming forth such as the one I mentioned at the outset of this post. That particular email's subject line was, '<a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user230519/imageroot/2017/03/14/2017.03.14%20-%20Monsanto%205%20-%20EPA%20Kill.jpg">RE: Glyphosate IARC Question</a>' dated April 2015, right after IARC released their monograph.<br />
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In this document, Donna Farmer, Monsanto's lead toxicologist is quoted saying that Monsanto "cannot say that Roundup does not cause cancer" because, "(w)e (Monsanto) have not done the carcinogenicity studies with Roundup" In the real world no one uses glyphosate alone, it is always used with proprietary co-formulants. Seems like it would be relevant to test the actual product being used, rather than just one ingredient if you want to make safety claims about it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr6zxxbOmSLVY_Ao6004B_YQ_7GS8FVLKN0tt4MLp-NkETHTbZ1OtomWTmHLbNrl-DPbG-Cfeq7MtcIHGtiXMPDbErPICtYKsCJV8GmSXZOB_9dH7Lbyd1Cv7Yp25JHwAbylblJeqaUxg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-05-08+at+3.31.24+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="521" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr6zxxbOmSLVY_Ao6004B_YQ_7GS8FVLKN0tt4MLp-NkETHTbZ1OtomWTmHLbNrl-DPbG-Cfeq7MtcIHGtiXMPDbErPICtYKsCJV8GmSXZOB_9dH7Lbyd1Cv7Yp25JHwAbylblJeqaUxg/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-05-08+at+3.31.24+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Say what now?</td></tr>
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Interestingly enough, IARC looked at <a href="https://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/pdf/Q&A_Glyphosate.pdf">both</a> glyphosate alone <i>and</i> whole formulated products. However the CAPHR accuses them of 'failure to consider the weight of the scientific evidence' on their website. That's pretty laughable, given this context.<br />
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They also quote critics of the IARC classification as part of their argument, such as Hank Campbell of the astroturf group <a href="http://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2016/01/5-astroturf-groups-you-should-stop.html">American Council on Science and Health</a>, Jay Vroom, President and CEO of the agrochemical industry trade association <a href="http://www.croplifeamerica.org/who-we-are/">CropLife America</a> and the <a href="http://www.monsanto.com/iarc-roundup/pages/2015-glyphosate-expert-panel.aspx">Intertek panel</a> assembled by Monsanto.<br />
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The CAPHR also uses loads of rhetoric and flawed arguments to push their conclusion that glyphosate is safe.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />
"Glyphosate is less toxic than either caffeine or table salt. Over the
last 40 years, the herbicide has been rigorously tested and studied by
regulatory agencies worldwide that have found it poses no risk to human
health when used as directed.<br />
Indeed, there is global scientific consensus that glyphosate is safe..." </blockquote>
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"<i>Glyphosate is less toxic than either caffeine or table salt.</i>"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU1fd1KpiuWCUzMZqUY4Mr7P9_Q3f-j9ujeyt_NezLvuwcM4iFCt8PKcrp7EayZwVXdA7EpIcin1lpd2msxFZ_FuiXHF6-jgIOn1sFe8O35d6nqwhBnwP1kwzALPSoUWrD5Ac_p75-vuQ/s1600/eyeroll.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU1fd1KpiuWCUzMZqUY4Mr7P9_Q3f-j9ujeyt_NezLvuwcM4iFCt8PKcrp7EayZwVXdA7EpIcin1lpd2msxFZ_FuiXHF6-jgIOn1sFe8O35d6nqwhBnwP1kwzALPSoUWrD5Ac_p75-vuQ/s400/eyeroll.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Groan. Give us a fucking break with this shit please. I've already hashed this out more times than I'd like. (If you don't already know why this is a steaming pile of bullshit please <a href="http://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2016/11/median-lethal-dopes.html">see here</a>.)<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Over the
last 40 years, the herbicide has been rigorously tested and studied by
regulatory agencies worldwide that have found it poses no risk to human
health when used as directed." </i><br />
<br />
Can we consider Roundup to be 'rigorously tested' if the EPA isn't even requiring it to be tested as stated by Monsanto's lead toxicologist in her deposition above?<br />
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<i>"Indeed, there is global scientific consensus that glyphosate is safe..." </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
They make it sound so sciencey and authoritative, surely it must be true!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://theethicalskeptic.com/definitions/"><b>Consensus</b></a> – is the collective judgment, position,
and opinion of the community of scientists composing a particular field
of study. It is not a popularity poll among scientists in general or
even necessarily inside the field of study in question. Consensus can
only be claimed when multiple opposing explanatory alternatives have
been researched in objective detail, and a reasonable body of those
scientists who developed the field of opposition alternatives, have been
convinced of the complimentary alternative’s superiority. Just because a
null hypothesis exists, and only that hypothesis has been researched,
does not provide a basis for a claim to consensus, no matter how many
scientists, or those pretending to speak for science in the media, favor
the null hypothesis.<br />
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What experimental studies have been done to see what glyphosate based herbicides' long term effect are on the human microbiome? How about chronic low dose exposure and how it effects the endocrine system? Intergenerational effects? Mmmm, seems a <i>bit</i> premature to be <a href="https://theethicalskeptic.com/2015/01/31/spinning-scientific-consensus/">claiming such an assured and widespread consensus. </a><br />
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<a href="https://theethicalskeptic.com/definitions/">
</a><a href="https://theethicalskeptic.com/definitions/"><b>Consensus Appeal to Authority</b></a> – in so far as
scientists speak in one voice, and dissent is not really allowed, then
appeal to scientific consensus is the same as an appeal to authority.<br />
<br />
Try dissenting on the topic of glyphosate's safety online, and let me know how that goes for you. Also see<i> </i><a href="https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-016-0117-0">here</a> and <a href="http://jech.bmj.com/content/early/2017/02/22/jech-2016-208463">here</a> as to why that statement is just more bullshit. <br />
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So, if when observing the Campaign for Accuracy in Public Health Research, you are left feeling like Mugatu,<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglzb6PGXMR1LgxpNibPBDNb43VfW6emqciSUi41Cc66yQebQVchNoly21T9xmzZVaN7C5corVPUlE4-_g3C9zBbt0c9DIIOeEBFlFf805NJsc3TJ_Uie69mtBdwSZbqavZ1lPFx5ySHDM/s1600/carzypills.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglzb6PGXMR1LgxpNibPBDNb43VfW6emqciSUi41Cc66yQebQVchNoly21T9xmzZVaN7C5corVPUlE4-_g3C9zBbt0c9DIIOeEBFlFf805NJsc3TJ_Uie69mtBdwSZbqavZ1lPFx5ySHDM/s400/carzypills.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doesn't anybody notice this?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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don't worry, you are not alone. Many other people have noticed that CAPHR's campaign isn't for accuracy, nor is it in the interests of public health. <i> </i><br />
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<br />Vixen Valentinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924365433583975370noreply@blogger.com2