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 02 September 2010

Discovery Channel Bomber Modivated By Anti-Humanist “Green” Views

September 2nd, 2010

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You may have heard by now that a man entered the Maryland offices of Discovery Communications, the parent company of The Discovery Channel, Investigation Discovery, TLC, Animal Planet and several other television channels.   The man carried firearms and had explosives strapped to his body, which he threatened to detonate.   The standoff ended when police sharp-shooters managed to shoot and kill the suspect.

The man, James E. Lee, had been protesting the programing of the Discovery Channel and its other networks, including programs which documented children and families.   These include reality tv shows like “Kate Plus 8” and “19 Kids and Counting.You can read more in this LA Times Article.

What is especially disturbing about this incident is the motivation of Mr. Lee, which he made very clear on his website savetheplanetprotest.com Lee had previously protested at the building and elsewhere and had been arrested for disorderly conduct related to his protest activities.

There’s a good liklihood that the website will be taken down in the near future, so I am copying the entirety of the site, which consists of one page of text.   The page is titled “My Demands”

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Posted in Announcements, Bad Science, Culture, Enviornment, Events, History, Politics

AP Story on “Older activists, younger crowd” Anti-Nukes

August 30th, 2010

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I’m not sure why this was even reported, although I suspect it was just a reporter with some kind of agenda.   The Associated Press usually reports news stories that are actually topical and related to current events – not just random lifestyle and interest stories.   However, a recent report from the AP has been making the rounds about older nuclear activists who are trying to renew their fight against nuclear energy as the US embarks on a new round of nuclear power plant construction.

Via the Associated Press:

Older activists, younger crowd team to fight nukes

DES MOINES, Iowa — It’s been 33 years since Raye Fleming’s arrest outside Southern California’s Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, near the height of the anti-nuclear power furor.

That was the first arrest of many and, Fleming believed, such actions paid off as a generation of Americans turned against nuclear power.

“It was just the correct, moral thing to do,” said 66-year-old Fleming.

But after years of believing they had won the fight against nuclear energy, activists suddenly feel the battle is starting all over again. And they’re trying to figure out how to win in an era of Facebook and Twitter as well as get the younger generation involved in the movement.

Lately, the option for nuclear energy has gotten more popular.

President Barack Obama has backed billions of dollars in federal loan guarantees to build two nuclear reactors in Georgia. If approved, they would be the first nuclear power plants in the U.S. to begin construction in almost three decades. Political support for nuclear power has grown, especially after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico highlighted risks of fossil fuel production. And people are more open to nuclear energy.

For those like Fleming, that change is hard to understand.

“A call for more nuclear power plants,” sighed Fleming, of Arroyo Grande, Calif. “It’s still not safe, there’s still no solution to the waste storage and it’s costly.”

For many, the issue isn’t as simple as it once was. Concerns about global warming have left several environmentalists unsure about what really is the “green” side of the issue, and it’s been more than 30 years since the last high-profile accident in the U.S.

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Posted in Bad Science, Culture, Enviornment, History, Nuclear, Obfuscation, Politics

Be sure to watch “Bad Universe” tomorrow (Sunday) at 10 ET

August 28th, 2010

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Tomorrow night, the 29th of August, the show “Bad Universe” will premier on the Discovery Channel at 10 o’clock eastern time.  If you don’t live in the eastern US, check your local listings.   The show looks pretty cool, and it stars my friend Phil Plait, (AKA The Bad Astronomer) who is a very active member of the skeptic community and has been debunking bad science for years.   It’s really huge that Phil would get a show like this on a major television network, and it’s definitely a great way for him to help spread skepticism and good science.


More videos from the show can be found here.

One nitpick: Phil can’t actually shoot rays of energy out of his eyes. If he could, I’m pretty sure I would have been zapped by now.


Posted in Amazing Meeting, Announcements, Bad Science, Good Science, Misc, Space, media

Ridiculous Uranium Scare in Moldova Gets Internatonal Attention

August 25th, 2010

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This is the kind of ignroance-based story that drives me nuts:

Via The Associated Press:

3 arrested in Moldova in uranium smuggling plot
CHISINAU, Moldova — Two former policemen and another person were arrested in Moldova on suspicion of trying to sell four pounds (nearly two kilograms) of uranium on the black market, authorities said Wednesday, although the amount was too small to be used in a nuclear warhead or a “dirty bomb.”

Officials identified the material as uranium-238 and said it had a value of euro9 million ($11.35 million).

Uranium-238 can be enriched into the fissile material of nuclear warheads or converted into plutonium, also used to arm nuclear missiles. Both processes are complex and need much more of the material than the amount reported seized, which also was much too little to be used for a “dirty bomb.”

Interior Ministry officials said the traffickers were trying to sell the uranium, which was kept in the garage of a former policeman, to people from unspecified countries.

U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner congratulated Moldova’s government for the break up of what he called a uranium smuggling ring and said an FBI team had assisted Moldovan authorities with “technical analysis.”

Moldovan authorities have sent the uranium to a German atomic center to establish the percentage of enrichment and country of origin.

The International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna declined immediate comment on the case.

“We congratulate the Moldovan Ministry of Interior for its work in thwarting what was a serious smuggling attempt,” Toner told reporters in Washington. “Preventing nuclear smuggling is a priority for this administration, and the U.S. government continues to work with partners worldwide to thwart nuclear smuggling cases.”

I’m really stunned to see such fear and ignorance-based responses at the highest levels of the government. “serious smuggling attempt”???   Where the hell does this come from?

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Posted in Bad Science, Culture, Depleted Cranium, Just LAME, Not Even Wrong, Politics

Anti-Nukes Claim Zirconium Alloy Will Burst into Flames at VT Yankee

August 22nd, 2010

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Some of the anti-nuclear energy interest groups in Vermont are trying a new tactic against Vermont Yankee, demanding that the NRC order the reactor temperature lowered and thus the power output dramatically cut. Their argument is that the zirconium-based alloy used to clad the fuel can oxidize rapidly (basically burn) at the temperatures the reactor is authorized to run at.

The NRC denied their petition, which is no surprise at all.

Via the Battleboro reformer:

NRC says VY temps within limits
BRATTLEBORO — Anti-nuclear activists were denied a petition by the Nuclear Reactor Commission’s Petition Review Board Friday.

In a June 7 letter addressed to William Borchardt, executive director for operations at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, consultants for the New England Coalition, Mark Leyse and Ray Shadis, requested that the commission lower the limit of the peak fuel cladding temperature at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon.

Zirconium alloys used in Vermont Yankee’s cladding, which are also commonly used at other nuclear plants across the country, are designed to contain the plant’s reactor fuel, consisting of uranium dioxide ceramic pellets, Shadis said.

“Everything about nuclear safety has to do with containing those pellets,” he said. “The cladding has to retain its integrity to ensure fission products, like strontium-90, never get into the environment.”

The fuel cladding temperature set by the NRC, 2,200 degrees, is far too high to ensure the public safety, according to Leyse and Shadis.

Shadis told the NRC that lowering the temperatures could help ensure an accident similar to the partial core meltdown at Three Mile Island in March 1979, or even worse, won’t occur again.

Experiments and studies conducted in Germany have shown that rapid oxidation, an exothermic reaction where the reaction is self sustaining and generates more heat as the process continues, can occur as low as 1,832 degrees.

“Once rapid oxidation begins there’s nothing you can do about it,” Leyse said. In the experiments, it took only 60 seconds for the temperatures to reach 3,300 degrees because of the runaway oxidation.”

Trying to combat it with water would only make it worse, Leyse added, because the process would just drain the oxygen from the water, rising in temperature.

Based upon the nuclear plant’s analysis, Vermont Yankee is well within the NRC accepted criteria at 2,060 degrees, Entergy spokesman Larry Smith said.

The NRC agreed, which is why the petition was dismissed.

Leyse said the NRC constantly states its purpose is public safety and that it is overly conservative in those measures.

“To be truly conservative, the temperature limits should be lowered to well below the 1,832,” he said.

He estimates that the temperature should be below 1,700 to avoid rapid oxidation.

Leyse said that although the petition was denied, it was passed along to the NRC’s rule making branch for further study and analysis and could be considered for the regulations that govern all the U.S. nuclear plants.

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Posted in Bad Science, Enviornment, Good Science, Nuclear, Obfuscation, Politics

Detox that actually works…

August 21st, 2010

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People seem to forget that there’s actually an easy way to rid your body of toxic substances, metabolic byproducts, pharmaceuticals and other substances.  Foot pad and, herbal remedies and even enemas all claim to do the trick, but there’s a much easier way to get those substances out of your body and restore balance.   It’s all natural too!

I’ve been thinking it’s about time someone made an ad to promote real natural detox.

Best to just flush it when done though.   Some quacks actually recommend drinking it (the logic is lost on me, since it’s something your body is trying to get rid of).   Don’t do that though.  For one thing, it’s just nasty.


Posted in Bad Science, Good Science, Humor, Misc, Quackery

Even worse waste of mirrors than concentrated solar..

August 18th, 2010

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What can you do with a huge array of mirrors mounted on a precise optical-tracking platform?    You could make a telescope for one thing.   That would sure be useful.

This, however, is not…



Moonlight, by the way, is almost entirely composed of sunlight that is reflected from the moon, with negligible amounts coming from starlight or lights from the earth.   It’s not a perfect reflection like a mirror, but rather it’s a diffuse reflection, like you get when you illuminate something that is opaque but not shiny.   Because the moon is basically devoid of color, the light it reflects back is also basically white.   The fact that the moon sometimes appears red or orange is entirely due to the earth’s atmosphere.

It has no health benefits.  Sorry.   In fact, your body can’t tell the difference between moonlight, sunlight and the light from a good full-spectrum source of artificial light. Moonlight does not in any way dictate your body’s rhythms. Your daily cycle is largely governed by light, but what tells your body it’s time to sleep is not the presence of moonlight but rather the lack of sunlight. Of course, artificial light can interfere with this. If this is the case, the best advice is to stop staying up late and keeping large electric lights on late at night. Moonlight will do nothing to help.

Moonlight has long been given mystical powers by various folk tales and religions.  This includes such things as stories of werewolves or claims that the moon has some kind of astrological significance.  The fact is moonlight is just like any other light.   There’s nothing special about it.


Posted in Bad Science, Quackery, media

The “HumanCar 2011″ and Why It’s NOT the Future

August 17th, 2010

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Interested in your own Humancar 2011?   They’re already taking deposits, which are just fifty US Dollars, although the actual unit will set you back more than fifteen grand!   Unfortunately, a closer look at the concept shows it to be about as unrealistic as most “alternative transportation” concepts out there.   Not only is it hyper-expensive, but the whole concept is unnecessarily complex and of limited utility.


Browsers which do not support embedded video can view videos here and here.


The maker of this vehicle states:

Specifications HC Imagine_PS™
* PHEV plug-in hybrid e-vehicle
* V2G Compatible
* Full body biometric input
* BodySteer™ Patented Chassis
* more than 100 mpg equiv.
* SyncGuideway™ compatible
* Street legal low mass vehicle
* Mobile power station 110 A/C

* Hills
* Corners
* Start-up (power-up) sequences
* Traffic

This car is beautiful and it handles like a dream. It’s fast, sexy, makes you ultra healthy and oh yeah, saves
the planet. Welcome to the future.

(apparently I’ve been using a different definition of “sexy”)

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Posted in Bad Science, Enviornment, Misc

How can a Homeopathic product be dangerous?

August 14th, 2010

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Homeopathic products are often pointed to as scams for being a complete waste of money or damaging to health by displacing real medicine, but generally they are harmless because the active ingredients are so dilute that there’s less than a 50% chance that even a single molecule is present in the final product.

So how can this be?

Via WebMD:

Study Links Zinc Nose Sprays, Loss of Smell

Zicam Zinc Nasal Products Removed From Shelves Last Year
July 19, 2010 — Just over a year ago, the FDA warned that zinc-containing intranasal cold remedies might cause loss of sense of smell.

Now a researcher who has long argued that the sprays were harmful says he has scientific evidence to back up the claim.

Last summer, the FDA warned consumers to stop using three zinc-containing Zicam products: Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel, Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs, and Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs for kids. The federal regulators cited 130 reports of loss of sense of smell among users of the products.

Zicam manufacturer Matrixx Initiatives pulled the three products from the shelves, but the company maintains that there is no link between their use and loss of smell.

In the newly reported analysis, researchers applied a statistical method used to establish a cause-and-effect link between an environmental exposure and development of a disease in an effort to confirm that zinc-containing nasal products can cause loss of sense of smell, known medically as anosmia.

University of California, San Diego professor Terence M. Davidson, MD, says the analysis supports the hypothesis.

He adds that the effectiveness of zinc-containing products for preventing or shortening the duration of colds has never been proven.

“Given that they do absolutely no good for colds and given that there is potential for harm, I see no point in putting any zinc gluconate products in the nose,” Davidson tells WebMD.

But… Zicam is homeopathic, right? Well, no, not really. In this case, the product is being sold as “homeopathic” and in doing so managed to avoid all the scrutiny, testing and regulation that over-the-counter drugs normally would receive. However, the dilution of the zinc in Zicam is only x2, meaning about one part per 100 parts of solvent. This is generally not what you find in homeopathic remedies, which are diluted to 30x or more (one part per 10^30.)

So what happened here? Simply put, the makers claimed that since the active ingredient was dilute it qualified as being homeopathic and simply by calling it homeopathic they avoided all regulation.   They just fudged the definition of how much “dilution” the zinc compound, zinc gluconate, need to be homeopathic, and since homeopathic groups are pretty dishonest to begin with, nobody raised any objection.

As it turns out, the concentration of zinc gluconate in the remedy – which may or may not have any effect on the cold virus – can most definitely have an effect on the scent receptors in the nose.  Worst still, the damage may be permanent, making it impossible for a person to enjoy the smells of fresh cut grass, apple pie or perfume and also preventing them from being able to detect odors like the smell of smoke or leaking gas.  And since taste relies heavily on smell, those with damaged senses of smell lose all but the most basic ability to taste food, being able to tell if the food is salty or sweet, but not being able to discern more complex flavors.

There is one bit of good news here, though.  It seems that the company that makes Zicam is large enough and has enough asserts to make it worth going after in civil court.  They’ve already settled quite a few lawsuits, but more are on the way. I hope they get taken to the cleaners, because it’s about time some of these fraud operations were made into examples.    Perhaps if enough attention is given it could actually lead to regulatory changes, which are so sorely needed!


Posted in Bad Science, Misc, Quackery

An Extraordinarily Dangerous Quack Product

August 12th, 2010

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Most quack products are fairly harmless in and of themselves.  Homeopathy, for example, may displace legitimate treatments but will not cause harm on its own, since it’s just water.  Herbal remedies sometimes do cause harm due to impurities from shoddy manufacturing or the occasional allergic reaction, but this is rare.  Normally products that can harm or kill when used as instructed don’t manage to stay on the shelves long.

Of course, there are a few that are very dangerous and a product called “Miracle Mineral” has recently been cited for its extraordinarily dangerous formula.   Doctor David Kroll at Science Based Medicine called it “one of the most egregious and obscene product cases I have seen in 15 years of teaching on botanical and non-botanical products.”

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Posted in Bad Science, Quackery