Homeopathic overdose – (cont.)
Contrarian reader Andrew Bourke points us to this trenchant sketch on the plausibility of homeopathy from the British comedy duo Mitchell and Webb: ...
20 January, 2010
UK skeptics plan mass homeopathic overdose
A British group calling itself 10-23* will stage a mass self-inflicted overdose of homeopathic remedies to protest the Boots pharmacy chain's continued sale of the worthless** nostrums. At 10:23 a.m., January 30, 300 protesters will down a whole bottle of homeopathic pills each. The joke is that homeopathic mixtures have been diluted so many times, they no longer contain any of the original putative active ingredient. From an open letter to the Boots chain: The majority of people do not have the time or inclination to check whether the scientific literature supports the claims of efficacy made by products such as homeopathy....
19 January, 2010
A father responds to the Down’s ‘cure’ debate
Silas Donham responds to posts on the New York Times Motherlode blog criticizing those who would reject potential chemical treatments intended to improve intellectual function of infants with Down syndrome. This difficult topic provoked a debate here on Contrarian that was remarkably thoughtful and respectful. But when the Times picked up on our discussion, many commenters were incredulous that any parent would hesitate accept such treatments for their children. A few had nasty things to say. Silas responds: First, the disclosure: I am Jenn Power's husband, father to Jacob and Josh, and son to contrarian.ca, the blogger who got all this...
14 January, 2010
Haiti
I was struck by the portentously antiquarian wording of the New York Times' lead headline the morning after the calamity in Port-au-Prince: Haiti Lies in Ruins; Grim Search for Untold Dead I may eventually have something to say about this ghastly, stultifying event, but for the moment, I am speechless. ...
14 January, 2010
Visual data: The words China censors
In response to Google's dramatic announcement that it is reconsidering its presence in China after a series of disquieting acts of censorship and sabatage, the Information is Beautiful website produced this clever graphic of word searches and websites blocked in China: Incidentally, China hand James Fallows, whose Atlantic Magazine blog has interesting and measured posts on the Google announcement here and here, tells me that publishing a list of the banned words is itself a crime in China....
14 January, 2010
In the interests of equal time
Richmond MLA Michel Samson responds belatedly to our post of October 28, Annals of Unseemliness: "Mixing condolences with thinly veiled point scoring"?? Get a Life Parker. You never miss an opportunity to take a cheap shot when you can. I thought you may have learned a little class following my comments on your appointment as mouth puppet of the Tar Ponds. Guess I was wrong. Maybe you should focus more time on paying off your debts from lost wagers. It's true: I owe Michel a two-four....
14 January, 2010
Welcome New York Times Motherlode readers
For those who have followed the debate over potential treatments for Down syndrome in the New York Times parenting blog Motherlode to its source here on Contrarian, I have assembled a series of links you might want to follow. Our discussion of this issue began with this post back in November. Jenn Power elaborated on her concerns here, and Dr. Ahmad Salehi, the Stanford researcher whose work touched off the discussion, responded thoughtfully here. Jenn's husband Silas Barss Donham, my son, weighed in here. Other reader commented here, here, and here. Jenn is the community leader of L'Arche Cape Breton in Iron Mines,...
13 January, 2010
NY Times picks up our Down syndrome thread
Motherlode, a New York Times blog on parenting, has picked up on Contrarian's discussion about potential treatments for the intellectual impairment associated with Down syndrome — and touched off quite a debate of it its own. Our own discussion began with L'Arche Cape Breton Community Leader Jenn Power's disquiet at the assumption that Down syndrome constitutes a disease in need of curing. Jenn, who is both the adopted mother of identical twins with Down Syndrome and — disclosure — my daughter-in-law, spoke eloquently of Down traits that don't need fixing: [I]ncredible smiles, overflowing affection, stubbornness, great sense of humour, cute toes, love...
13 January, 2010
The real CBRM stands up
At long last, someone on the Cape Breton Regional Municipal Council has delivered a stinging rebuke to Mayor John Morgan's portrayal of Cape Bretoners as helpless victims of Halifax. Council is scrambling to meet a March 31 deadline for producing a sustainability plan, without which it stands to lose $7 million per year in federal gas tax rebates for four years. It has to scramble because senior governments rightly rejected an earlier grandiose plan proposing virtual provincehood for CBRM, with Comintern-like powers for its "legislature." That nutty document, cobbled together with mayoral encouragement by CBRM's Gyro Gearloose development director, was submitted to...
12 January, 2010
The thwarted Christmas Day bombing – feedback
Responding to our post on the failed Christmas Day airplane bombing, Cameron Bode points to another section of Glenn Greenwald's trenchant analysis of US response to the failed Christmas airplane bombing: Ever since I began writing in late 2005 about this fear-addicted dynamic, the point on which David Brooks focused yesterday is the one I've thought most important. What matters most about this blinding fear of Terrorism is not the specific policies that are implemented as a result. Policies can always be changed. What matters most is the radical transformation of the national character of the United States...
04 January, 2010