This week we start by noting that the measles numbers in Serbia from last week must be nonsense (it’s much worse) and again urge you to support Retraction Watch. We then report on Cardinal Pell’s failed appeal in Australia and the pope’s totally misguided efforts to help the people of Syria.
Brexit spells disaster for science in the UK, a British ‘Grief Vampire’ is touring in Sweden, but on a positive note, the Homeopathy Information Network provides help on fighting homeopathy in all of EU.
A Lithuanian man wants you to sleep with bees (don’t try this at home), Spanish Skeptics (ARP-SAPC) team up with the authorities to educate teachers on how to spot pseudoscience, and the Swedish government wants to implement a national digital register to keep track of vaccination rates.
Finally, we hand out a Really Wrong award to a private hospital in Finland for charging lots of money for an unproven cancer treatment.
Segments:
Intro; Greetings; Pontus Pokes the Pope; News; Really Wrong; Quote and Farewell; Outro; Out-takes
Events Calendar: https://theesp.eu/events_in_europe
00:00:27 Intro
00:00:50 Greetings
The numbers on measles for Serbia must be much worse than reported. Also, please support Retraction Watch if you can.
00:10:27 Pontus Pokes the Pope – Not well for Pell and Rosaries for Syria.
- https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/george-pell-appeal-fails-cardinal-to-serve-out-full-jail-term-20190820-p52it1.html
- https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-gives-thousands-of-rosaries-to-christians-in-syria-81785
- https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2019/08/in-new-statutes-pope-opens-vatican-bank-to-external-auditing/
00:18:34 Skeptical News
UK: Danger to science of no-deal Brexit
SWEDEN / UK: UK TV-medium touring Sweden
GERMANY / EUROPE: INH taking action in support of Spanish initiative to give homeopathy the same legal status and requirements as other medicinal products
LITHUANIA: Sleeping on beehives
SPAIN: EduSalud conference for teachers on pseudoscience and health
00:38:52 Really Wrong: Experimental cancer clinic in Finland charges huge amounts
- https://www.gp.se/nyheter/göteborg/kände-sig-tvungen-att-betala-850-000-kronor-för-cancerbehandling-i-finland-1.17188662
- https://www.gp.se/nyheter/g%C3%B6teborg/kontroversiella-behandlingen-som-p%C3%A5st%C3%A5s-bota-spridd-prostatacancer-1.17158512
00:44:10 Quote and Goodbye
“Science knows it doesn’t know everything; otherwise, it’d stop. But just because science doesn’t know everything doesn’t mean you can fill in the gaps with whatever fairy tale most appeals to you.”
/ Dara Ó Briain, Irish comedian and television presenter /
00:46:01 Outro
00:47:16 Out-takes