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In Britain, Better Not Call It Bogus Science

Posted by timothy on from the oh-nothing-just-dowsing-for-magnetic-vitamins dept.

Geoffrey.landis writes 'In Britain, libel laws are censoring the ability of journalists to write stories about bogus science. Simon Singh, a Ph.D. physicist and author of several best-selling popular-science books, is currently being sued by the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) for saying that there is no evidence for claims that visiting a chiropractor has health benefits. A year earlier, writer Ben Goldacre faced a libel suit for an article critical of Matthias Rath, who claimed that vitamin supplements can treat HIV and AIDS in place of conventional drugs like anti-retrovirals. In Britain, libel laws don't have any presumption of innocence — any statement made is assumed to be false unless you prove it's true. Journalists are running scared.'

11 of 754 comments (clear)

  1. Proof of absence by jklovanc · · Score: 1, Troll

    The statement "there is no scientific proof" is not provable; it is only disprovable by presenting the scientific proof. Proving absence is very difficult; e.g prove there is no god.

  2. yeah by GarretSidzaka · · Score: -1, Troll

    these kind of things are what make me not want to ever visit UK. I mean, how can you BE WORSE THAN USA with people's rights!!??!!

  3. Britain has no freedoms. by 7-Vodka · · Score: 0, Troll

    This is why every colony tried unsuccessfully to be completely free of them.

    News at 11.

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    Liberty.

    1. Re:Britain has no freedoms. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

      The people of the United Kingdom have been far freer, and had far more rights than the citizens of the USA have ever had.

      Such as the freedom to be drawn and quartered; a charming little entertainment which Britain didn't abolish until the 19th century.

      While the USA was trumpeting their "Freedom" from the Great Britain, a large portion of their population owned other human beings - a practice made illegal in the British isles.

      Slavery quite legal in the UK's colonies up into the 20th century. They just called it something else. Britain's record is pretty bad, especially in Africa, Arabia, and India.

      Slavery was also quite legal in Britain at the time of the American Revolution. Ever hear of a little episode called the mutiny on the Bounty? Do you know why Bligh was collecting breadfruit? It was to be cheap fodder for British slaves in the Caribbean colonies. And this took place a decade after Britain agreed to American independence.

      The UK is now a pathetic little postage-stamp sized country on its way to breaking up into two, three, or even four smaller postage stamps. It's also established the type of surveillance society that Orwell warned about in 1984.

      But keep on thinking that you're better. The last thing that we want is more weak-chinned inbred British ninnies coming here. All the British men who were any good died in two world wars, and American GIs took all the British women who were any good. What's left in Britain is just trash.

  4. Re:Well Then by MightyMartian · · Score: 0, Troll

    You must be one of the lying evil turds who modded my parent post down.

    --
    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  5. Just like a regular Internet forum by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    That's just like an Internet forum, where moderators mod down messages if they say something they don't agree with, unless they can come up with idiot-proof evidence.
    Shouldn't be much of a change for british slashdotters.

  6. Obligatory 1984 Reference by sexconker · · Score: -1, Troll

    Insert your own you lazy fucks.

  7. Re:Well Then by MightyMartian · · Score: 0, Troll

    And stuffing french fries up your nose until they're coming out your eyes cures knee pain. Don't scoff, because I'll bet you never tried it.

    --
    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  8. Re:Did Singh really say anything bogus about the B by techno-vampire · · Score: 0, Troll

    I do: you're allowed to bring it up as a defense, but even if you prove your point it may not be enough for you to win the case.

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    Good, inexpensive web hosting
  9. Re:Well Then by Cyberax · · Score: 0, Troll

    "Again, there is no massaging of muscles involved with chiropractic. Only direct rapid adjustments design to push misaligned vertebra back into alignment."

    Which is just a form of massage. So?

    "Our methods of evaluating efficacy have been demonstrated to be false repeatedly. The miracle drug prozac doesn't even beat placebo in studies anymore."

    WRONG! You're so wrong, that it burns.

    You're telling me that double-blind studies do not work by providing an example of double-blind study. Way to go.

    Also, your example is trivially wrong - do a PubMed search yourself.

  10. Re:Well Then by Cyberax · · Score: 0, Troll

    "A double blind study that didn't work..."

    That's incorrect by definition.