Skeptic

So why did he stop hunting for UFOs on behalf of the American government? In short: Because congressional leaders believe in conspiracy theories with absolutely no substantial proof. “Our efforts were ultimately overwhelmed by sensational but unsupported claims that ignored contradictory evidence yet captured the attention of policy makers and the public, driving legislative battles and dominating the public narrative,” Kirkpatrick said in Scientific American.

The world has long been obsessed with strange lights in the skies and what it might mean for our place in the cosmos. The current craze around UFOs, now UAPs, began in 2017 when a research group backed by Blink-182 frontman Tom Delonge published videos of UFOs purportedly taken by U.S. Navy pilots. Years later, The New York Times reported on it and the Pentagon declassified the videos.

The videos were real, but it wasn’t clear that they showed aliens. After debate and furor, the Pentagon established the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) and put Kirkpatrick in charge of it. They’ve issued reports over the past few years that have routinely debunked the idea that the Earth has been visited by visitors from the stars. “AARO discovered a few things, and none were about aliens,” Kirkpatrick said in Scientific American.

According to Kirkpatrick, what the AARO discovered was a web of governmental leaders who believed in bizarre conspiracy theories and were willing to spend taxpayer dollars on it.

One of the world’s most prestigious general science journals, Nature, was the target of a two-year-long sustained and virulent secret attack by a conspiratorial group of extreme Brexit lobbyists with high-level political, commercial and intelligence connections, according to documents and correspond

Also climate denialism.

The campaign was led by former chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) Sir Richard Dearlove in conjunction with retired history academic Gwythian (Gwyn) Prins, and lobbyist John Constable of the privately funded climate change denial group Global Warming Policy Foundation. The scientific member of the group, oncologist professor Gus Dalgleish, was a prominent member of UKIP who had stood as the party’s parliamentary candidate in a south London constituency then campaigned for “Leave Means Leave”. All were avid supporters of Brexit.

Prins meant not only Nature, he explained, but also the Royal Society (of Science) and Imperial College, and the London School of Economics. He wanted them all targeted as nodes of “climate catastrophism”.

Bill Mumy is most well-known for being Will Robinson in the 1960s sci-fi TV show Lost in Space and the boy who wishes people into the corn field in that Twilight Zone episode (I can't remember the name). He was also Lennier in Babylon 5 and co-wrote the song Fish Heads with his band Barnes and Barnes.

Apparently he's been producing Ancient Aliens for years. 130 episodes from seasons 11 to the upcoming 20th season. As far as I can tell, there's not even a good reason to have him involved with the show. His only other producing credit is for a documentary about Lost in Space.

So now you know who to blame for keeping that show going.

I liked his involvement in all of the things I listed above too. Makes me sad.

Reposted because users didn't bother to look at the video or channel and understand who the hosts are.

For the love of Sagan, stop thinking you know what something is just by palm-reading the title.

12:51

In this episode of Beyond the Noise, Dr. Paul Offit discusses the 13 November 2023 meeting held by Marjorie Taylor Greene (R, Georgia) to discuss COVID vaccine safety.

Show notes at https://www.microbe.tv/btn/btn-022/

Sedona Chinn, a researcher who studies how people make sense of competing scientific, environmental, and health-related claims, has found that the more a person values the concept of "doing your own research" , the less likely that person is to actually do their own research.

In the episode we explore the origin of the concept, what that phrase really means, and the implications of her study on everything from politics to vaccines to conspiratorial thinking.

CFI calls on our supporters to help defeat a pro-homeopathy amendment being proposed for the federal appropriations bill H.R. 4368. The homeopathy lobby is pushing hard for this amendment, and we need CFI supporters to voice their opposition to their members of Congress.

Homeopathy groups such as Americans For Homeopathy Choice (AFHC) are lobbying strenuously for Appropriations Amendment #4. This amendment would bar FDA enforcement of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act against new homeopathic drug products as long as a product complies with “standards for strength, quality, and purity set forth in the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States.” In other words, it would replace much-needed federal regulation with the industry’s own standards.

CFI has consistently pointed out that homeopathy is bunk science that does not work beyond the placebo effect. Homeopathic products are typically diluted to the point that no active ingredients remain. It is quack medicine and consumer fraud.

The Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia’s standards of quality are not medically valid. Yet the amendment would exempt homeopathic products from FDA regulation and oversight if they comport with those standards. This amounts to an argument of “No need for federal regulation, we can regulate ourselves with our own standards even if they constitute medical fraud” – or, more succinctly, “Let the fox guard the henhouse, please.” (Indeed, CFI has tussled with the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia before.)

At the moment, AFHC and the homeopathy lobby are seeking additional co-sponsors in the House of Representatives for their amendment. This is where CFI’s supporters come in.

We need our supporters to mobilize and contact their members in the House of Representatives immediately. Please let them know, in no uncertain terms, that homeopathy cannot and must not escape federal regulation. It is crucial to keep Appropriations Amendment #4 out of the federal appropriations bill.