Re: Skeptical Inquirer Electronic Digest 9-10-99
SkeptInq@aol.com
Tue, 14 Sep 1999 08:38:40 EDT
Skeptical Inquirer Electronic Digest 9-13-99
Visit the CSICOP and Skeptical Inquirer Magazine website at
http://www.csicop.org. Receiving over 200,000 hits per year, the CSICOP site
was recently rated one of the top ten science sites by HOMEPC magazine.
In this week's SI DIGEST:
--NY TIMES on 9-9-99 Superstition
--Possible Media Bias? Howard Kurtz on the CBS/VIACOM Deal and Media Mergers
--Recent Harvard Conference on Biotechnology Highlights GM Food Scare
--Newsweek and Time on the GM Food Controversy
--Newsweek on "Why There Are so Few Women Scientists"
--Salmon Rushdie on the Kansas Evolution Debacle
--St. Petersburg Times on SETI@Home
-NYTIMES: FOR GOOD OR ILL, IT'S THE DAY OF NINES STRUNG TOGETHER
August 9, 1999
By Andrew Jacobs
Thursday could be your lucky day. It's the ninth day of the ninth month of
the ninety-ninth year; the ninth inning of a star-crossed century and, for
many astrologers, an auspicious day for new beginnings. A day to play the
lottery? Nein. The numbers 9-9-99 sold out just hours after they went on sale
last Thursday, according to the New York State Lottery. (Hey, there are nines
still available in New Jersey.) But before you pour your savings into the
Dow, soothsayers with one eye on the devil warn that today might be better
spent in a well-stocked bunker. Note what happens to those nines when this
newspaper is turned upside down and you'll understand the apprehension.
For the full article, go to:
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/national/regional/ny-nine.html
-HOWARD KURTZ ON THE CBS/VIACOM DEAL AND MEDIA BIAS
Howard Kurtz, media critic for the Washington Post, explores some of the
possible implications for news content and bias emerging from this week's
CBS/Viacom merger.
Good News for CBS? Observers Split on Merger
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 8, 1999; Page E01
At first glance, Viacom Inc.'s merger with CBS Corp. could provide the
network's struggling news division with a much-needed jolt of entertainment
energy...But critics were quick to question whether Viacom cares about news,
which traditionally has not been a major moneymaker. "When [Viacom Chairman]
Sumner Redstone and [CBS President] Mel Karmazin sat down to discuss this
deal, do you think a major point of discussion was 'How do we improve the
quality of CBS News?' " asked Ken Auletta of the New Yorker, who frequently
writes about media companies. "These are not men who consume the product they
produce. They are businessmen, business engineers."
For the full article, go to:
http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-09/08/103l-090899-idx.html
-HARVARD CONFERENCE ON BIOTECH HIGHLIGHTS GM FOOD SCARE
A recent conference sponsored by the Center for International Development at
Harvard University highlighted the genetically modified food controversy, a
hotly debated topic that merges science, politics, economics, public
attitudes, and the media. Interestingly enough, there is massive public
reaction to GM foods in Europe and the UK, while little reaction here in the
U.S..
Julian Kinderlerer of the Sheffield Institute of Biotechnogical Law and
Ethics in a paper titled "Public Reaction to Genetically-Modified Foods in
the UK" concludes that:
"The opposition to foods produced using this technology has centred around
the lack of public information and involvement in decisions about using this
technology for food, a fear of the unknown and expectation that these new
foods should undergo similar testing regimes to that used for drugs when
first introduced to the market, a real expectation of major risks resulting
from eating foods derived from these products, and a concern at possible
impacts on the environment. Scientists are not trusted. "
For the full abstract, go to
http://www.cid.harvard.edu/cidbiotech/comments34.htm
For the a summary of the entire conference, go to:
http://www.iisd.ca/sd/har/index.html
NEWSWEEK AND TIME ON GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD
Newsweek summarizes the GM controversy from a U.S. perspective in this
week's issue (9-6-99.) Go to:
http://www.newsweek.com/nw-srv/printed/us/in/in0111_1.htm
Time covered GM food in their May 31, 199 issue. Go to:
http://www.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/articles/0,3266,25411,00.html
NEWSWEEK ON WHY THERE ARE SO FEW WOMEN SCIENTISTS
Posted on the Newsweek website for 9-10-99:
Why are there so few women scientists? It's mostly discrimination, says six
senior female scholars in a Web debate launched by Nature magazine on
Thursday. The site is intended to spearhead a moderated global discussion
about why the increase in the number of women science graduates has done
little to increase the number of women scientists. "In most countries, less
than 10 percent of the top positions in science faculties are occupied by
women," says Nicole Dewandre, head of the European Commission's "Women and
Science" sector. "By 'letting women in', the scientific system can only
improve and respond better to societal needs."
For the full article, go to:
http://www.newsweek.com/nw-srv/tnw/today/cs/cs01th_1.htm
SALMON RUSHDIE ON THE KANSAS EVOLUTION DEBACLE
"Locking out that disruptive Darwin fellow"
Salmon Rushdie
Thursday, September 2, 1999
The Globe and Mail, Toronto, CA
For the full article, go to:
http://www.globeandmail.com/gam/Commentary/19990902/7RUSH.html
-ST. PETERSBURG TIMES ON SETI@HOME
Thanks to Gary Posner for sending this one in.
-MN
Still looking for E.T., scientists turn to your home PC, SETI@Home works as
a computer screen saver for you while it helps Berkeley scientists scan the
heavens for signs of intelligent life.
By DAVID BALLINGRUD
St. Petersburg Times, published August 27, 1999
When your home computer takes a breather, up pops a screen saver, those
moving images that prevent a stationary image from burning into the monitor.
What the screen saver looks like is pretty much up to the computer's owner,
and so it may say a lot about you.
For the full article, go to:
http://www.sptimes.com/News/82799/Worldandnation/Still_looking_for_ET_.shtml
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