1. If you pay attention, you'll notice that there's no scientific evidence presented. You already know why.
[Hat Tip: Tony Burns]
This gets better and better as the week goes on. PZ Myers has discovered a company that markets fragments of DNA to promote good health. You don't actually eat the DNA, instead you drink water that has been exposed to the DNA [More Magic Snake Oil].Homeovitality® products have also been succussed at each dilution stage so they will also help to promote desirable forms of hybrid vigour in a “like promotes like” mode of action involving some of the mechanisms (4) described by Dr. Kratz, (http://kulisz.com/how_does_homeopathy_work.htm)."Succussed refers to the practice of forcefully striking the various dilution solutions in order to help "potentize" the effect. "Hybrid vigor" refers to the belief that these DNA sequences—or, more appropriately, the memory of these sequences—will produce heterozygosity in patients and that's a good thing.
Homeovitality® products are safe because firstly, they are used at similar dilutions to classical homeopathic disease remedies and secondly, hybrid vigour is a completely natural biological process that has been developed by nature over millions of years to enable all creatures to enjoy “super health” and disease resistance.
Robert Alexander Hood1 was born in 1895 in a small village north-west of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. He went to France in 1916 when he was only 21 years old. Robert fought with the 73rd Battalion and he was killed in action at Vimy Ridge on this day, April 12, in 1917. 
1. He was a cousin of Ms. Sandwalk's grandfather.
[Hat Tip: Friendly Atheist]
1. I'm not sure how to count up the gods of Christianity. If you assume that the big guy, Jesus, and the ghost are all the same person then what about Satan and some of the senior angels like Gabriel and Michael? Do they count as gods? And what about the other gods mentioned in the ten commandments? The god of the Bible says not to worship them because he is jealous but he doesn't deny that they exist. Who are they?
Yes, I'm aware of the fact there's another, possibly better, version of this poster using another word for "crap."
Homeopathy awareness week is coming up and scientists from all around the world are gearing up to explain why homeopathy doesn't work—that's why it's called "alternative" medicine. It's a part of quack medicine that's not "real" medicine. Real medicine is based on scientific evidence.Homeopathy (also spelled homoeopathy or homœopathy) is a form of alternative medicine, first proposed by German physician Samuel Hahnemann in 1796, that attempts to treat patients with heavily diluted preparations. Based on an ipse dixit[1] axiom[2] formulated by Hahnemann which he called the "law of similars", preparations which cause certain symptoms in healthy individuals are given as the treatment for patients exhibiting similar symptoms. Homeopathic remedies are prepared by serial dilution with shaking by forceful striking, which homeopaths term "succussion," after each dilution under the assumption that this increases the effect of the treatment. Homeopaths call this process "potentization". Dilution often continues until none of the original substance remains.Don't confuse it with anything else. There's absolutely no evidence that homeopathy works. The scientific data, taken as a whole, is conclusive. Be wary of those who believe in homeopathy because their advice on other forms of treatment may not be based on evidence either. Homeopathy is bad enough but it often keeps even worse company.
I agree with this point of view. I think the main arguments for creationism, and against evolution, should be discussed in science class. It's an excellent way of showing what real science is and how it should be practiced.Why schools and universities should encourage debate on evolution -- and how this could benefit science.
.... When teaching evolution, there is much to be said for allowing students to raise any doubts they have in order to shape and provoke a genuine discussion. The word "genuine" doesn't mean that creationism and intelligent design deserve equal time with evolution. They don't. However, in certain classes, depending on the teacher's comfort with talking about such issues, his or her ability to deal with them, and the make-up of the student body, it can and should be appropriate to address them.
Having said that, I don't pretend to think that this kind of teaching is easy. Some students become very heated; others remain silent even if they disagree profoundly with what is said. But I believe in taking seriously the concerns of students who do not accept the theory of evolution while still introducing them to it. Although it is unlikely that this will help them resolve any conflict they experience between science and their beliefs, good teaching can help students to manage it - and to learn more science.
My hope is simply to enable students to understand the scientific perspective with respect to our origins, but not necessarily to accept it. We can help students to find their science lessons interesting and intellectually challenging without their being a threat. Effective teaching in this area can help students not only learn about the theory of evolution, but also better appreciate the way science is done, the procedures by which scientific knowledge accumulates, the limitations of science and the ways in which scientific knowledge differs from other forms of knowledge.
[Hat Tip: RichardDawkins.net]
World Homeopathy Awareness Week takes place next week (April 10-16). This is a week devoted to making people aware of homeopathy and our local Centre for Inquiry and the Committee for Advancement of Scientific Skepticism (CASS) is planning to take full advantage of the opportunity. We'd like everyone to know there's no scientific evidence that supports homeopathic "cures" and, furthermore, the fundamental principle behind homeopathy conflicts with everything we know about modern science. HOMEOPATHY AND MENTAL WELL-BEING:
BODY AND MIND IN BALANCE
The theme of the 2010 Homeopathy Awareness Month is Homeopathy and Mental Well-being: Body and Mind in Balance. As in previous Awareness celebrations, Registered and Associate members of the Canadian Society of Homeopaths will sponsor events, displays, and special promotions in their communities across Canada.
Canadian troops and support personal have been in Afghanistan for the better part of ten years. The goal was to create a stable democratic state that could offer security to its citizens and promote the rights and values that we cherish in Western democracies.1. cut and run (withdraw all military forces)I favor option #1. We've given it our best shot and it's time to admit defeat. Afghanistan is not going to become a respectable member of the world's democratic community.
2. soldier on, perhaps with no combat troops
America has spent more than $6 billion since 2002 in an effort to create an effective Afghan police force, buying weapons, building police academies, and hiring defense contractors to train the recruits—but the program has been a disaster. More than $322 million worth of invoices for police training were approved even though the funds were poorly accounted for, according to a government audit, and fewer than 12 percent of the country's police units are capable of operating on their own. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, the State Department's top representative in the region, has publicly called the Afghan police "an inadequate organization, riddled with corruption." During the Obama administration's review of Afghanistan policy last year, "this issue received more attention than any other except for the question of U.S. troop levels," Holbrooke later told NEWSWEEK. "We drilled down deep into this."It's time to leave—the sooner the better. The people of Afghanistan have to want change bad enough to fight for it and that's ain't happening.
The worst of it is that the police are central to Washington's plans for getting out of Afghanistan. The U.S.-backed government in Kabul will never have popular support if it can't keep people safe in their own homes and streets. Yet in a United Nations poll last fall, more than half the Afghan respondents said the police are corrupt. Police commanders have been implicated in drug trafficking, and when U.S. Marines moved into the town of Aynak last summer, villagers accused the local police force of extortion, assault, and rape.
[Photo Credit: Defense Industry Daily]
[Hat Tip: Canadian Cynic]
You've been following the battles in the Accommodationist Wars for several years. If you've been paying attention you will by now have acquired a good understanding of the main arguments on both sides. You should be able to recognize which arguments are valid and which ones are false—in terms of their logic.The mere existence of the Clergy Letter Project, an international organization I founded that is comprised of thousands of clergy members and scientists, demonstrates that religious leaders and scientists are not inherently at odds. After all, more than 12,400 Christian clergy members from all across the United States have signed the Christian Clergy Letter, a powerful, two-paragraph statement promoting a shared understanding and acceptance of evolution and Christianity.
What could be clearer than these sentences from that Letter? "Religious truth is of a different order from scientific truth. Its purpose is not to convey scientific information but to transform hearts[...]. We urge school board members to preserve the integrity of the science curriculum by affirming the teaching of the theory of evolution as a core component of human knowledge. We ask that science remain science and that religion remain religion, two very different, but complementary, forms of truth."
1. Michael Zimmerman is an ecologist at Butler University in Indiana (USA). He started The Clergy Letter Project.
