Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress

[From Sunday Times Jan 10, 2010]

Ex-Libris

Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet, and Threatens Our Lives Michael Specter Penguin Press (2009)

A science and public-health writer for the New Yorker, Michael Specter tackles the disturbing trend of the 'denial of scientific advancement' among some Americans: perceiving science as harmful and turning to natural remedies as alternatives.

Excerpt

There's a lot to be said for buying locally grown produce: it can help sustain community farmers and focus attention on the quality of the environment. It tastes better, too.
But is organic food healthier for you than food that contains genetically engineered ingredients or that has been harvested by robot-guided combines instead of human hands? Is it more likely to sustain the planet or the majority of its inhabitants? And are organic fertilisers and pesticides clearly a more virtuous and earth-friendly choice for the consumer than those made of synthetic chemicals?
There are no short answers to those questions (at least none that are true). But there has certainly never been a study that would suggest the answer to any of them is a simple yes. There is no evidence, for example, that a single person has died or become seriously ill as a result of the accumulated residue of pesticides in their food.
The same cannot be said of the toxins contained in 'natural' food - as any number of salmonella outbreaks or raw milk poisonings in the United States continually demonstrate. In 2009, after salmonella and listeria contamination sent dozens of people to hospitals in six states, the Food and Drug Administration even warned Americans to avoid raw alfalfa sprouts - perhaps the signature food of a healthy, organic lifestyle.

Extracted by Chong Thong Yang from the National Library Board.
The book is available at NLB's public libraries. Call No.: English 306.45 SPE
------

Organic food just means that there are no inorganic (and thus artificial) fertilisers and pesticdes used to grow the food. Without pesticides to protect the fruit, pests may invade the fruit, so that organic fruit juice may just contain the ground up remains of an insect or other pests. But guess what? Those things are organic! So no false advertising there when they tell you the juice is 100% organic. Me, I'd prefer my juice to be 100% fruit.

Singapore could see more than 15,000 COVID-19 cases a day as Omicron wave hits: Health ministry

The Omicron variant now causes at least 70% of daily cases, says task force co-chair Gan Kim Yong.

Ang Hwee Min

21 Jan 2022 

SINGAPORE: Singapore will likely see a “significant wave” of COVID-19 soon, with the more infectious Omicron variant now causing at least 70 per cent of daily cases, said co-chair of the multi-ministry task force Gan Kim Yong on Friday (Jan 21).

“But in reality, the proportion is likely to be higher, perhaps close to 90 per cent or more. Omicron has clearly dominated over Delta variant in Singapore,” Mr Gan said at a press conference.

“Given that the Omicron variant is more infectious, it is likely that we will soon see a significant wave.” 

We are Taiwanese’: China’s growing menace hardens island’s identity

A shopping district in Taipei on Oct 5, 2021. More than ever, Taiwanese are embracing an identity that is distinct from
that of mainland China, a shift that is partly generational.  - The New York Times

January 23, 2022


CHIAYI (Taiwan) — When Ms Li Yuan-hsin, a 36-year-old high school teacher, travels abroad, people often assume she is Chinese.

No, she tells them. She is Taiwanese.

To her, the distinction is important. China may be the land of her ancestors, but Taiwan is where she was born and raised, a home she defines as much by its verdant mountains and bustling night markets as by its robust democracy.

In high school, she had planted a little blue flag on her desk to show support for her preferred political candidate; since then, she has voted in every presidential election.

“I love this island,” Ms Li said. “I love the freedom here.”

'If it's your time to go, it's time to go': Henan survivors pick up the pieces after deadly floods

Rescue teams try to reach flooded villages in Zhancheng, Henan province. (Photo: Olivia Siong) 

Olivia Siong

05 Aug 2021

ZHENGZHOU, Henan: For 11 hours, Zhu Gongjun perched precariously on a ladder in his home, watching floodwaters rise at an alarming rate.

Similar scenes played out across the city: Residents holding hands to cross streets covered in torrents of water, shop owners frantically moving goods to higher ground and people forced to stay the night at their workplace as the city's electricity and water supply came to a juddering halt.

And pure terror in Zhengzhou's subway system where more than a dozen people drowned in a flooded carriage.

CNA witnessed the aftermath of the deadly floods in July and spoke to survivors. These are their stories.

Commentary: Joe Biden is missing the opportunity to reset 50-year progress in US-China relations

The US is no longer the world hegemon, but behaves as if it is in dealing with China, say Hong Kong observers.

United States President Joe Biden listens as he meets virtually with Chinese President Xi Jinping from the 

Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington on Nov 15, 2021. (File photo: AP/Susan Walsh)

Andrew Sheng

Xiao Geng

30 Dec 2021


HONG KONG - Next year will mark 50 years since US President Richard Nixon travelled to China to meet with Communist Party of China Chairman Mao Zedong and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai - a major step toward restoring relations after decades of estrangement and hostility.

A half-century later, the progress they launched has been all but lost, and US President Joe Biden is partly to blame.

The ideological differences between the United States and China in 1972 could not have been starker. But both sides recognised the vast benefits of a détente.

Commentary: Myths about the South China Sea stoke tensions with Beijing

A major shipping route, yes, but vital? False claims about the value of these waters only make diplomacy harder, says an economist.

John Quiggin

29 Dec 2021

BRISBANE: US officials regularly present China as an aggressive and expansionist military power while Chinese state sources criticise the United States in similar terms.

The verbal sparring has only increased concern about the prospect of a future war between China and the United States

The most likely casus belli is seen as arising either from an attempt by China to take control of shipping routes and disputed territory in the South China Sea, or from an attempt to forcibly reincorporate Taiwan into the People’s Republic of China.

Tension has been stoked by a series of myths about the South China Sea. Five of these shibboleths in particular should be refuted.

Dark shades, beige berets, submachine guns: The police counterterrorism unit made up mostly of NSFs

Police officers from the Protective Security Command (ProCom) clearing a room. (Photo: Calvin Oh/CNA)

Aqil Haziq Mahmud

19 Dec 2021

SINGAPORE: On Dec 29, 2019, Inspector (INSP) Herman Mohamed Sidek was on a regular patrol with three other police officers – all full-time national servicemen (NSF) – near Paragon shopping centre when he heard a loud bang in the direction of Lucky Plaza nearby.

“We thought that something exploded,” the 43-year-old regular from the Protective Security Command (ProCom) told reporters on Thursday (Dec 16). “So, my first thought was to run (to the incident).”