if this video was not intended to be taken seriously, it would be the perfect tool for teaching logical fallacies.

So what is it that they have in common?  Well, according to this video, it’s the following:

1.  Both are made by multi-billion dollar corporations.
I suppose this is generally true, although multi-billion dollar corporations also make automobiles, computers, aircraft, paper towels, underwear, duct tape, aspirin and many many many other things.

2.  Both products have addictive qualities.
Uh, well, strictly speaking, cell phones are not addictive in any physical or biochemical sense.   Using them may be psychologically addictive, but just about any enjoyable activity can be psychologically addictive.   People get “addicted” to television, Facebook, video games, pornography, junk food, sex, sports, instant messaging etc etc etc.

In the true sense of being “addictive,” cell phones and cigarettes could not be more different.   Cigarettes contain nicotine, a substance which causes physical and neurological addiction.  Cell phones don’t have any chemical interactions with the body.   They may just be fun to use.

3.  Both have been linked to illness.

If by “linked” you mean someone has at some point claimed that they may be the cause of illness.   There’s no definitive scientific evidence for cell phones being linked to illness – although there is for cigarettes.   Some other things that have been “linked” to illness:  the full moon, evil spirits, “chemtrails,” HAARP, sinful behavior, undead corpses, astrological influences, warewolves, banshees, black cats, witchcraft, the number thirteen and foul odors.   All of these have, at one time or another, been blamed for being the cause of illness!

4.  The industries deny health concerns.

This one is my favorite.   The circular logic in it is absolutely breathtaking.   The proof of harm is apparently based on the fact that the companies deny that it causes harm.   Think about this for a second.   The act of denying something now is proof that it is true.    So what is a company to say if their product is not harmful?   That it is harmful?
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If we only had such fervor for actual science and debunking unfounded claims:

Click here for story text or if your browser does not support the embedded video.

So the guy had brain cancer.  That’s too bad, really it is, and I don’t mean to say that sarcastically.  Luckily he lived through it, no doubt thanks to modern medicine and cancer treatment.    The fact that he survived cancer makes him a sympathetic character, but it doesn’t actually make him an expert on anything.

So why is this couple “convinced” that cell phones caused his brain cancer or cancer in general?   It may come down to seeking an explanation for what caused his cancer.   The vast majority of cancers have no attributable cause and cancer can strike anyone, healthy or not without warning.   It’s comforting to think have some kind of control, and for someone who suffered through brain cancer, blaming it on cell phones is a way to make sense of the events and feel like there is something to fight back against.   Given the attention it gets in the media, it also is the most obvious scapegoat.
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The Active Denial System is a non-lethal crowd control device that has recently gotten a great deal of press.  It is produced by Raytheon, primarily for the US military but with versions under development for law enforcement.

It has also become the subject of a huge number of conspiracy theories. Here are just a few:

Uncovering the Truth #4: Active Denial System
The Pentagon’s People Zapper
Man made earth quakes – Active Denial System Weapon
The Pentagon’s Pain Compliance and Mind Control Weapons
Depleted Uranium, HAARP and ADS – The Ultimate Weapon
US torture weapons used against civilians
Stop Canadian Complicity in Torture – The Active Denial Torture Ray
Michael Jackson Assassinated By CIA Using ADS Microwaves
Bio-electromagnetic weapons can kill, torture, enslave and escape detection
American Mass Murder Weapon?
DEW EMF ILLEGALLY TARGETED SLEEP DEPRIVATION
Air Force Plan: Hack Your Nervous System

The rational for the Active Denial System:

The US military, like many militarizes around the world has found itself engaged in more and more complex peacekeeping and policing actions.   In areas like Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq, military activity is not limited to traditional battlefields, but rather involves security and policing of urban areas with large civilian populations.   Some of the greatest dangers and most difficult situations arise when crowds of civilians are involved.

A suicide bomber could easily hide in a mob of otherwise unarmed persons and even an unarmed crowd can potentially block movement of vehicles or endanger soldiers and civilians.  A heated protest can easily erupt into a riot.  Maintaining order in these type of situations has always been an extreme challenge.  The use of deadly force would undoubtedly work, but would be considered unacceptable in all but the most extreme situations.   Even well armed soldiers can find themselves cornered by a large group of angry civilians, and in such situations, they are faced with the limited options of doing nothing or using deadly force.

This problem has existed for both the military and police forces for decades and to this end, a number of non-lethal methods of dispersing crowds or suppressing entry to areas have been developed.   Some of the most common ones include the following:

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Colony Collapse Disorder is a phenomena which has been observed in North America, Europe and to a lesser extent Asia and Australia.  It’s the depopulation of bees, primarily European honey bees and related species and has caused a great deal of concern over the potential impacts to pollination of vital crops.    The problem has become  acute in recent years, with some areas seeing as many as 40% of honey bee colonies die off due to CCD.

The exact cause of the condition remains uncertain, but data indicates that the most likely cause is related to parasites or viral infection of the bees.   This may be exacerbated by other stresses on the species including localized pollution, insecticides and environmental changes. Israel acute paralysis virus has been suggested as a likely cause or contributing factor to colony collapse.

Unfortunately, the condition has also been a lightning rod for questionable scientific claims. For some time, a number of groups have latched onto this and claimed that it is likely the result of genetic engineering of plants or other organisms. Despite there being no evidence for this, the Sierra Club stated:

Highly respected scientists believe that exposure to genetically engineered crops and their plant-produced pesticides merit serious consideration as either the cause or a contributory factor to the development and spread of CCD

Well no scientist I have much respect for.

Needless to say, there’s no evidence for this and no reason to presume it would be the case. Others have blamed the feeding of bees with high fructose corn syrup or other sugars from genetically modified plants. This despite the fact that the phenomena has not been shown to have any relationship to this practice. It has also not been shown to be more likely to occur in areas where genetically modified crops are in use. Indeed, colony collapse has been seen across Europe, including areas where genetically engineered crops are all but non-existent.

Others have claimed that colony collapse is related to electromagnetic radiation, especially from cell phones. This claim too lacks any empirical evidence to support it and would seem to make even less sense than some of the others. Somehow these honeybees of the UK were able to whether World War II and the early Cold War, despite the Island nation bristling with high power RAF radar installations. The hundreds of kilowatts of FM radio and television didn’t phase them nor did the decades of microwave relay networks. Now, however, some are claiming that the minuscule amount of radiation from a cell phone tower is killing bees and thus endangering civilization as we know it.

There is also no explanation given for why there appears to be no coloration at all between cell phone coverage or signal strength and colony collapse. While colony collapse has been observed in rural areas of the United States (where cell service ranges from fair to poor) it has not been seen in parts of Asia that have extreme density of mobile base stations.  In Europe, CCD appears to be limited primarily to southern portions of the continent. The UK, Sweden and other countries have seen only sporadic and mild to moderate cases of CCD. This despite the fact that their mobile coverage is at least as good (or better than) that found in the rural US or other areas where CCD has been at its worst.

To this end, a study was conducted, and not surprisingly, it’s a very poor one.
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Tomorrow a major international study on cell phone use and cancer will be published in the International Journal of Epidemiology. The study, known as the “Interphone Study” was sponsored by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer. Despite the study not being published in its entirely, some of the data has already been reported.

Based on the headlines, you might think that the study proved a link between cell phones and cancer. You might also think it didn’t. You might think that it’s inconclusive. Here are just a few of the headlines from various news sources:

The Scotsman: “Study links mobile phone use to brain tumours”
CP24 (Toronto News): “More than 30 mins of cell use/day increases cancer risk: study”
The Australian: “Industry study shows brain tumour link to heavy mobile phone usage”
Sydney Morning Herald: “Mobile phone-cancer link possible: study”
Wire Update: “INTERPHONE finds no increased risk of brain cancer from mobile phone use”
AFP: “Study finds no brain cancer link to mobile phone use”
BBC News : “WHO study on mobile phone cancer risk ‘inconclusive‘”
CTV News: “Link between cellphones, brain cancer ‘inconclusive’”
ABC News Australia: “Calls for more phone cancer research”
CBS News: “Cell Phone-Brain Cancer Link Deemed Inconclusive”
Independent Online: “WHO: No clear answer on cellphones and cancer”
CourierMail: “Brain cancer link to mobile phones”
Boston Herald: “No proof of cell phone, cancer tie”
Time Magazine: “Cell Phones and Cancer: a Study’s Muddled Findings”
Montreal Gazette: “Cellphone users shouldn’t relax yet: Cancer study”

BELIEVE IT OR NOT, ALL THESE HEADLINES REFER TO THE SAME STUDY!

So what did the study really find?
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There are literally thousands of studies that have been done on the effects of RF radiation, such as from mobile phones or other consumer wireless devices. Here are a few of the best, largest studies that have been conducted by objective groups, respected researchers and published in peer reviewed journals. While some very narrow and fringe studies have slipped through and been published, the following represent the largest, longest term and most highly regarded studies to date.

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I’m actually a bit surprised the proposal was defeated, as it does have all the kind of appeal that politicians love, especially given that it’s for “The children,” but it seems that the warning label bill for cell phones in Maine, which had previously been reported,  has been defeated.   The bill would have required all cell phones sold in the state to come with a warning label stating “Warning, this device emits electromagnetic radiation, exposure to which may cause brain cancer. Users, especially children and pregnant women, should keep this device away from the head and body,”  along with a ridiculous graphic showing a young child’s brain and cell phone sending dangerous radiation into it. This despite the fact that all credible research indicates they do not.

If they are going to put that kind of message on a phone, I’d insist they also put a message saying that it may reduce the risk of brain cancer and children and pregnant women should place the device as close as they can to their head and body to increase the protection it provides.   There is, after all, at least as much evidence that that statement is true.

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Irrational fear of radiation:  first it was nuclear power plants, then it was medical reactors and then it was medical imaging.   There’s an extra measure of jackassery when you go after life saving imaging procedures, but now it’s gone one worse.   Thyroid cancer patients are the latest scary radioactive monster.

Now imagine the following situation:  you’ve been diagnosed with thyroid cancer.   Your doctor tells you that the odds are good that you’ll beat it, but your thyroid gland needs to be removed.  After removal, you’re dosed with some iodine-131 to kill any remaining tissue from the cancerous organ.    You’ll be taking synthetic hormones for the rest of your life to replace the function of the thyroid, but thankfully, the procedures are basically over.

Now what do you want to do?   Probably go home and try to relax.   That’s what most people would want to do after that kind of ordeal, and in general they are allowed to do so.   But some now say that needs to change.

Via USA Today:
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Recently the magazine Popular Science ran a major story on individuals who believe they have electrosensitivity or electrohypersensitivity.   I’m sorry to say that it was an example of horrible reporting that really only talked about the issue as if it were proven real.   It stated the claims of the various individuals who claimed to have the condition without once considering that it might be “all in their head” and not real at all.   (I’m working on a post with a more definitive and full report on all the problems with the PopSci article.)

While it did contain some language about how long term harm, such as cancer, is not proven to be related to RF radiation, it reported about being “Allergic to radio Waves” is if it were conclusively proven as fact. Not surprisingly, the story has generated a lot of hype and has been championed by those who insist that the condition exists.

Well then, I’m going to make an offer.   I contend that electrohypersensitivity is not real.   The condition is psychosomatic.  RF fields do not produce nausea, headache, fainting, skin rashes or any other acute effect on the human body.   No person can, under controlled conditions, show that they manifest these symptoms more often around a low power rf transmitter than when away from radio sources.

Do you think I’m wrong?    Then prove it.   I’m willing to put up one grand of my own money to be proven wrong.   Honestly, I’m so confident about this, I’d put up more than that, but I want this to be a credible challenge and so I’ll put up an amount I know I can provide if I need to. I’m very serious and I’m willing to make the effort of setting up a test to conclusively and fairly settle the issue. And I will eat my words and fork over the money if you can prove me wrong!

The Challenge:

To prove that you manifest symptoms of electrohypersensitivity and that these symptoms are reliably linked to RF radiation by demonstrating the ability to detect the state of RF transmissions in a controlled enviornment.

The Reward:

1.   One thousand US Dollars, provided in the form of a certified check, money order or other mutually acceptable monetary instrument.

2.   I will admit I was wrong about electrosenstivity / electrohypersensitivity not existing.

3.  Your case will be brought to the attention of researchers, with whom I am in communication, and efforts will be made to report your condition and the verification in peer reviewed journals.

The Test Setup:

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As everyone now is aware, there was an earthquake in Haiti recently that caused a great deal of devastation.   In terms of seismic energy and ground shaking, the earthquake was not one for the record books, and was considerably less powerful than many other earthquakes the world has experienced in recent years.   However, due to the construction of buildings in Haiti and the location of the epicenter, not far from Port Au Prince, the quake resulted a great deal of devastation.

Of course, most rational people realize that these things happen.  Earthquakes have caused damage and loss of life since antiquity and Haiti is located right near the boundary of the small Caribbean plate – a seismically active area.   The fact of the matter is that places like this experience earthquakes and when these quakes are severe enough and occur close enough to human settlement, they can be disastrous.  It was well known that Haiti lacked the kind of construction and infrastructure that can hold up to an earthquake, but as the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, there wasn’t much they could do about that.  This wasn’t the first time this kind of thing has happened and it won’t be the last.

That explanation doesn’t seem to cut it for some.   They insist that the United States Government, the Illuminati, the Jews, the Freemasons, Major League Baseball, the Crabpeople or whoever else they choose to fear was actually behind the earthquake.   Why?    Perhaps so they could end up spending a lot of money on the relief effort or maybe they’re just really mean.

Their weapon for causing the quake?   HAARP, of course!

This crudely edited video, which implies that HAARP is the reason for the quake is not the only one that was posted on Youtube and there will likely be even more, as well as rantings on conspiracy theorist websites. Apparently the idea that earthquakes simply happen is not good enough for some.