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Hello,
Happy Friday, Weekend, and a moment of humor to glance upon the superstition known as "friggatriskaidekaphobia" (fear of Friday the 13th). Sometimes superstition can be harmful, especially at times of heighten public anxiety over public health.
A quick update: Last week I commented on how televangelist Jim Bakker was selling products with colloidal silver as a mechanism to prevent COVID-19 infection. According to the National Center for Complimentary and Integrative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health (NCCIH) says that colloidal silver "consists of tiny silver particles in a liquid that is sometimes promoted on the Internet as a dietary supplement. However, evidence supporting health-related claims is lacking. In fact, colloidal silver can be dangerous to your health."
Firstly, the Mayo Clinic says that "Colloidal silver isn't considered safe or effective for any of the health claims manufacturers make. Silver has no known purpose in the body. Nor is it an essential mineral, as some sellers of silver products claim." On the efficacy of silver as a supplement, the NCCIH says, "Scientific evidence doesn’t support the use of colloidal silver dietary supplements for any disease or condition."
The Attorney General of New York has issued a cease and desist letter to Bakker's ministry ordering them to "immediately cease and desist from making misleading claims regarding the Silver Solution's effectiveness as they violate New York's consumer protection statutes." Now, the State of Missouri is suing him for the same.
What is effective is not snake oil, but hand washing. Here is a quick video on the World Health Organization's guide to hand washing.
Have a great week,
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Jason Frye, CEO
Secular Policy Institute |
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International Update:
AFGHANISTAN
Women in Afghanistan fear that peace between the Taliban and the United States may lead for more repression. Additionally, the International Criminal Court will investigate whether belligerents in the US-Afghan War have committed war crimes.
Read more...
CANADA
The New York Times published a commentary on the cultural effects of Quebec's prohibition of religious symbols in the workplace.
Read more...
FRANCE
Asia Bibi, formerly sentenced to death for violating Pakistan's blasphemy laws has claimed asylum in France.
Read more...
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UNITED STATES UPDATE: (Mostly) Abortion Law Updates
FLORIDA
Florida's state legislature passed a bill and has sent it to Governor Ron DeSantis' desk in which a patient under the age of 18 seeking an abortion would require a parent's consent.
Read More...
MISSISSIPPI
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked a Mississippi law prohibiting abortion once cardiac activity is detected.
Read More...
UTAH
According to an article in the New York Times, the largest investment fund of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was worth $38B in stocks and mutual funds at the end of 2019. Additionally, the Utah House of Representatives passed a measure in which women seeking abortions would have to listen to the fetal heartbeat prior to the procedure ( HB364, 47-20). Lastly Brigham Young University reemphasized that "homosexual behavior" as incompatible with its honor code.
Read More...
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Update on SPI Fellows: Drs. Loftus, and Nasrin
Elizabeth Loftus:
Dr. Loftus gave a lecture for Georgia Institute of Technology's "Frontiers of Science" series: "The Fiction of Memory."
Read more....
Taslima Nasrin:
Dr. Nasrin is releasing her autobiography of her early years. In My Girlhood: An Autobiography, Nasrin tells of her first 14 years growing up in Bangladesh.
Read more....
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Science News
Skull of Smallest Dinosaur Found in Amber: Smaller than the bee hummingbird, a skull of the Oculudentavis khaungraae was discovered in a mine in northern Myanmar.
read more...
The Return of the Air Ship: An article in Foreign Policy discusses the return of the commercial dirigible for the sake of transporting cargo in a more environmentally sustainable way that current airplane transportation.
read more...
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Sign On Letter
Sign on letters are coming soon.
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