Given the fact that the alleged murderer of Jo Cox has been charged, it is important that any discussion of the surrounding issues is contextualized by the requirements of the criminal justice system. There is guidance on reporting restrictions and contempt of court provided by the Crown Prosecution Service here. But if we step outside […]
Posts under ‘Science’
How not to criticise space travel
Nov 13th, 2014 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.What a stupendous achievement. The landing of a space probe on comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko 300 million miles from Earth is one for the history books, up there with the first space flight, Moon landing, and interplanetary mission. Sure, the Philae lander might be sliding about the surface a tad but nonetheless this is a triumph of […]
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It’s time to use evidence not knee-jerks in deciding Britain’s drugs policy
Nov 1st, 2014 by Diane Abbott.Last week the House of Commons had an important debate on UK drugs policy. The speeches suggested that, slowly, politicians are inching towards a reform of legislation which more closely resembles the views of the general public and informed scientific opinion. For instance a recent YouGov poll for the Sun Newspaper revealed (to the papers […]
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In remembrance of Sir Patrick Moore – the good and the daft
Dec 10th, 2012 by Carl Packman.Sir Patrick Moore, who Queen guitarist Brian May once described as the “father of astronomy”, died over the weekend, as many will have no doubt already heard. As I wrote something by way of a tribute to his work on Twitter and Facebook I was speedily reminded that he also had very hairy political views. […]
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Socialism and homeopathy: what’s the quack?
Sep 7th, 2012 by Carl Packman.Was I not copied in on the email that said socialism and homeopathy were intrinsically linked? I wouldn’t have listened but it would have been nice to know. Though I suspect there is no such email knocking about. Which is all the more disturbing. Why do some socialists support this stuff? My mate Dr Amanjit […]
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Politics correltates with brain structure. Should we be worried?
Apr 11th, 2011 by Jon Lansman.Political orientation is correlated with the structure of our brains. This is revealed in a study published last week in Current Biology led by Ryota Kanai, a postdoctoral fellow of the University College London. Conservatives tend to have a larger amygdala, a brain structure linked to threat recognition, whilst those of us on the Left tend to […]
