Monday, March 29, 2004
Spiegel on Science and Religion
(Via Petra) First the good news. Seems like Der Spiegel has decided to publish an English edition. The English edition will apparently include articles when they feature international affairs. You can get a flavour of Der Spiegel in this piece on the dodgy relationship between fervent religiousness and scientific policy within the Bush administration. This is an issue I have seen several American friends of mine tearing their hair over, especially friends who have anything to do with the life sciences, public health etc.
In Bush's America, critics complain, religious fanatics, corporate lobbyists, and fundamentalists on questions of security now have control over science. In league with the administration, they have created a medieval climate that worries many people: Ideology is winning out over information; America's hard-liners are not afraid of falsifying the facts.
More than sixty prominent scientists have signed an open letter, among them are twenty Nobel laureates, pre-eminent authorities from some of the country's foremost universities, and former scientific advisors to Democratic as well as Republican presidents. All accuse the Bush administration of politicizing scientific research, of suppressing, distorting or manipulating scientific facts to support its own policies. The signatories call on Congress to investigate.
Previous administrations may have acted similarly, but "I don't ever recall it's having been so blatant in the past," says Val Fitch of Princeton University, winner of the Nobel Prize in physics in 1980. There is a method to this madness. At many schools, in spite of the risk of AIDS, teachers have been forbidden to use the word "condom." Wherever federal funds support sex instruction, the lesson plan says it isn't prevention but abstinence that can protect against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Bush already supported this policy when he was governor of Texas, for his supporters in the ranks of the Christian right believe anyone who explains the use of condoms is encouraging premature sex and promiscuity.
The devout powers-that-be are not interested in the fact that researchers have found nothing to support this belief, but rather that there is excellent proof of the effectiveness of condoms. Texas is near the top on the list of states with the most teenage pregnancies.
Moreover another danger threatens scientific research in the United States. Following September 11th, new visa regulations have been making entry into the U.S. more and more difficult for foreigners who do a large part of the research work at U.S. universities. Many have to endure weeklong security checks and interviews at embassies and consulates.
At Cornell University, for example, the number of applications by Chinese students has dropped by 36 percent. Senior researchers are not being spared either. Charles Weissmann, a renowned 72-year-old prion expert from Switzerland, was supposed to have headed a research institute in Florida beginning March 1st. But he'll probably arrive six weeks later because prions are on the list of possible terrorist weapons, and so his entry application is being scrutinized with special thoroughness.
In Bush's America, critics complain, religious fanatics, corporate lobbyists, and fundamentalists on questions of security now have control over science. In league with the administration, they have created a medieval climate that worries many people: Ideology is winning out over information; America's hard-liners are not afraid of falsifying the facts.
More than sixty prominent scientists have signed an open letter, among them are twenty Nobel laureates, pre-eminent authorities from some of the country's foremost universities, and former scientific advisors to Democratic as well as Republican presidents. All accuse the Bush administration of politicizing scientific research, of suppressing, distorting or manipulating scientific facts to support its own policies. The signatories call on Congress to investigate.
Previous administrations may have acted similarly, but "I don't ever recall it's having been so blatant in the past," says Val Fitch of Princeton University, winner of the Nobel Prize in physics in 1980. There is a method to this madness. At many schools, in spite of the risk of AIDS, teachers have been forbidden to use the word "condom." Wherever federal funds support sex instruction, the lesson plan says it isn't prevention but abstinence that can protect against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Bush already supported this policy when he was governor of Texas, for his supporters in the ranks of the Christian right believe anyone who explains the use of condoms is encouraging premature sex and promiscuity.
The devout powers-that-be are not interested in the fact that researchers have found nothing to support this belief, but rather that there is excellent proof of the effectiveness of condoms. Texas is near the top on the list of states with the most teenage pregnancies.
Moreover another danger threatens scientific research in the United States. Following September 11th, new visa regulations have been making entry into the U.S. more and more difficult for foreigners who do a large part of the research work at U.S. universities. Many have to endure weeklong security checks and interviews at embassies and consulates.
At Cornell University, for example, the number of applications by Chinese students has dropped by 36 percent. Senior researchers are not being spared either. Charles Weissmann, a renowned 72-year-old prion expert from Switzerland, was supposed to have headed a research institute in Florida beginning March 1st. But he'll probably arrive six weeks later because prions are on the list of possible terrorist weapons, and so his entry application is being scrutinized with special thoroughness.
