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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Henry Ford has been quoted, a bit inaccurately as saying "History is bunk" Here is a URL about it: http://www.who2.com/henryford.htmlI had not heard before about his anti-Semitism and pre-war support of Adolf Hitler.
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Joined: Aug 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Ford's antisemitism was reasonably well known among jews. There were two makes of car that may parents would never consider buying: Ford, and Volkswagen.
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addict
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"Christmas in July" it is! Written and directed by Preston Sturges in 1940, it starred Dick Powell and Ellen Drew. Powell, in the character of Jimmy MacDonald, uses the words as you remembered them, Helen.
Information from Internet Movie Database (us.imdb.com)
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OP
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the old guard is often scornful of newer views
How true. In fact, the old guard is always scornful of the newer view. That's why they are "the old guard".
The truth doesn't require any "guarding", least of all by those who have become overly-attached to it by reason of custom rather than acuity.
And just as there are cycles of "bunk", ushered in when a verity like the flat earth sinks like a ship over the horizon, so also there are cycles of virtue when vices become virtues and virtues become vices again.
Take greed, for instance. Thursday's Wall Street Journal carries this headline on the first page. "How Decade of Greed Undid the Proud Respectability of a Very Old Professional". And guess what, they're not talking about the world's oldest profession. They're talking about the Enron auditors who approved the Balance Sheet shell game that turned massive losses into spectacular profits, leading to the largest collapse in corporate history.
I thought greed was supposed to be good for us. Sometimes greed doesn't trickle down. It thunders down.
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Are Peter Duesberg's ideas about AIDS and HIV bunk?
What are his ideas, Fallible?
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Carpal Tunnel
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http://www.duesberg.com/ Professor Duesberg's credentials are so impressive, the fact that only a few scientists support him would not justify calling his views "bunk", even though they may subsequently be completely discredited.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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...lesser folk publish bunk.
The same phenomenon occurred with [Nobel-prize-winner] Linus Pauling's assessment of the value of megadoses of Vitamin C, not validated by later work though certainly sporting anecdotal reports and testimonials galore on its behalf.
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old hand
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old hand
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Yes, I remember well Linus Pauling's claims of great health benefits of massive doses of vitamin "C" . Bunk? I don't know, how old was Linus when he died?
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credentials so impressive what he says isn't bunk
Ordinarily, I would agree with you, wwh. But, in this case, Duesberg's "crusade" is considered dangerous by many because it subverts the "safe sex" message. Duesberg's detractors argue that his public stridency as an "HIV-refusenik" is a huge gamble and therefore irresponsible because his science is no more conclusive than the science he impugns.
A January 2002 article in the French publication "Sciences et Avenir" acknowledges that Duesberg is providing a useful service in keeping researchers on their toes, but it also warns that Duesberg has invested so much in his crusade, he may have lost his objectivity.
Perhaps we ought to consider a further refinement on your qualifications for "bunk", wwh. Fraud, ignorance + evangelical apostasy more distinguished for its potential for public harm than for public good.
I grant it is easier to debunk Duesberg's mission than his science.
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I haven't read his site in a long time, but from what I recall, his main idea is that HIV doesn't cause AIDS and that AIDS itself is not one affliction, but numerous poorly diagnosed conditions that are caused by drugs.
This probably isn't *exactly* it, but it's close enough, I think. It's a pretty unpopular view and I there's surely a lot of people who would say it's bunk. But *I* don't know enough to say that it is. I'm sure there are a lot of people who *know* a lot of things that could feel comfortable saying it's bunk. Of that number, I would guess there's very few who are actually qualified to make a judgement.
From outside we have a small group of dissenters (some of whom have very good credentials) against a vast collection of scientists who think this view is not just wrong, but dangerous.
k
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