Burned Retinas, Hallelujah!

Thanks to Dublin-based 'clairvoyant' Joe Coleman, Ireland has managed to make a tit of itself on the international scene once more as thousands of rapturous mooks descended yesterday on the Knock Shrine, Co. Mayo, in anticipation of an appariton of Our Lady herself. Following several hours of staring at the sun observers noted shimmering coloured patterns in their eyes and proclaimed it a miracle, evidently taking a phenomenon observed by EVERYBODY ON A SUNNY DAY, EVER as a sort of spiritual IOU, in lieu of an actual appearance from the Holy Mother. Here's the Irish Times' take on the whole sorry business, while over at Pharyngula PZ is having second thoughts about his upcoming trip to Irish shores.

English libel battle rages on

"For years, London has had the reputation of being the place to go to court if one wants to divorce, and fleece a partner while doing so. Less publicly, however, it has equally become a place to sue, or threaten to sue, scientists and those writing about scientists" writes Mark Hennessy in The Irish Times. Commented upon recently by Richard Dawkins in the Guardian, the worrying trend of scientists being sued by practitioners of pseudoscientific medicine and medical companies alike has gained increased media attention since the case of Simon Singh began over 18 months ago, and has drawn in individuals far beyond the borders of the city in question. Síle Lane, a native of Co. Cork who studied stem cell research at UCC, has joined the fray by heading the Keep Libel Out Of Science campaign on behalf of Sense About Science, a London-based lobby group backed by prominent scientists like Dr. Dawkins and other intellectuals, such as Stephen Fry. Set up in 2002, the group's intention is to combat what it calls "an anti-science" atmosphere in the UK, and it has received increased media attention since Singh's case began as well as support from, amongst others, the Liberal Democrats, who have, according to Mark Hennessy's article, "overwhelmingly backed reform", a move Lane calls "a great step forward" in challenging the "chilling, stultifying effect" of English libel laws. With libel cases in the UK costing four times as much as in Ireland, which is in turn ten times dearer than the next most expensive European country, Italy, scientists cannot afford to speak out for fear of legal action, the net result being that, as Sense About Science puts it, "a country that...once led the world in technological advances [is] now falling behind". Scientific, and, by proxy, societal advancement is dependent by its very nature on critical thinking, open questioning and debate, skepticism and the ability to voice concerns, hypotheses, misgivings and opinions without fear of oppression. One can only hope that as media attention continues to focus on the outrages in progress, such as the Singh case, real progress will be made in ensuring they can never be repeated.

Lib Dems call out Blair on torture

The UK's Liberal Democrats party has demanded that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair (he of the Faith Foundation) should not be nominated to be the first President of the European Union Council - a post he has apparently expressed interest in - until a full and independent inquiry has been launched to ascertain his (and the British government in general's) involvement in and knowledge of torture and rendition cases since 9/11. According to The Irish Times, the Lib Dems insist it would be "wholly inappropriate for him to occupy such a position before an inquiry has established his role in the formulation of British policy on torture". Apparently the man often described as George Bush's lapdog (once, colourfully as a "yippy little Pekingese in Uncle Sam’s stars-and-stripy lap") only has time for the 'values of respect, justice and compassion' espoused in his pet-project's mission statement as long as you're not talking about innocent civilians subjected to illegal extraordinary rendition and torture with no hope of a fair trial.