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Failed legislation

Given the recent attention paid to the poor application and use of UK legislation, it seems appropriate to mention issues related to another archaic act.

Perhaps once or twice every year, the broadcast or print media cover a story relating to a dangerous dog or a breed which has been banned. In the UK, four breeds of dog were banned by the Dangerous Dogs Act (DDA), one of which was the Pit Bull Terrier.

Superficially, introducing legislation allegedly intended for the protection of animals and humans would seem a rational and sensibly cautious measure, however this blunt and inconsistently applied legislation has caused the suffering of considerable numbers of animals and numerous humans, all at cost the public purse.

One of the most recent examples of the inconsistency with the DDA is the case of Bruce , who, without further intervention, is now due to die on Monday 6th July (three days from today) as a direct result of living in a part of Ireland where the Pit Bull breed is also banned.

- Bruce has been professionally identified as a Staffordshire Bull Terrier (a breed not banned by the DDA), not a Pit Bull terrier
- Bruce is completely innocent. Bruce has demonstrated no aggressive tendencies and has not harmed anyone.
- Bruce was taken from his family and impounded nearly two years ago, having sustained injuries and an amputated tail whilst in confinement
- Importantly, Bruce has received an offer of sanctuary from the East Galway Animal Rescue centre (EGAR), a specialist in bull breeds, where he could live comfortably for the rest of his natural life in an area where even Pit Bulls have not been banned.

Concerningly, while the court ignored the medical evidence demonstrating that Bruce was not a banned breed, the Kennel Club create ‘experts’ to identify banned Pit Bull breeds through a course lasting only three and a half hours.

The issues above are only the start of the inconsistencies with the DDA: its concept and enforcement are fundamentally flawed.

I’m planning to research and write an article on the misapplication of legislation but would be interested in cases you feel exemplify this. Please do leave comments below or email me at digest [at] skeptic.org.uk.

In the mean time, please do spare a thought for Bruce. His campaign could benefit greatly from further support. The following page provides a little more information and a link to a petition, campaigning to permit his safe passage to the East Galway sanctuary.

http://www.examiner.com/x-1513-Philadelphia-Dog-Advocate-Examiner~y2009m6d4-Can-social-networking-save-Bruce-the-pit-bull

Dr Stephen Law on Second Life

This Saturday Stephen Law will be presenting a lecture and a short Q&A thereafter about his book, “The War for Children’s Minds” at The Open Habitat Project, a Second Life programme promoting science, reason and critical thinking.

I’ll be discussing my book at Open Habitat on Saturday, 6 June, from 19:30 to 20:15 GMT (or 11:30 to 12:15 PDT). If you are familiar with Second Life then you can follow the SLURL link below to reach the island. If you are unfamiliar with how Second Life works, please see the information below.

Open Habitat Amphitheatre SLURL:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Open%20Habitat/132/204/25

The organisers have provided the following information:

Second Life is 3D interactive ‘world’ in which you are represented by an avatar. If you have ever played a computer game, or an X-Box or something to that effect where you have a character/avatar within the game that you control – that is essentially what it is like in Second Life – the main difference being that you interact with other ‘real’ people within a virtual world.

Second Life is full of interesting and exciting places to explore and interact with.

1. To start with you go to http://secondlife.com/ and sign up (it’s free) and create an avatar. Be careful in what name you choose as this cannot be changed!

2. Once your avatar is set up, click on the following link to go to Open Habitat (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Open%20Habitat/132/204/25) or simply run a search using the Second Life in world group search using the terms “The Open Habitat Project” and you will find a link to the island.

3. If you have any problems, please email Maria Hume (mhume[at]orange.fr) and/or get in touch with her in world by running a search for Marya Blaisdale (Second Life name) and she will help you get to the right place at the right time.

NB: It is important to note that you do need a broadband/cable connection to use Second Life and a ‘decent’ graphics card. You can find more information on specifications on the Second Life web site link above.

Singh to appeal in BCA case.

Here’s the latest, very helpful, update in the BCA v Singh case. Read on for comments from Simon’s high profile supporters too.
http://www.quackometer.net/blog/2009/06/simon-singh-to-appeal-bogus-decision.html

Rupert Sheldrake’s: The Shoreditch Experiment

The Shoreditch Experiment, London

June 9 and July 7

As part of my research on telephone telepathy, I am running two days of testing events as a joint project with Graham Nicholls, an installation artist who has worked at the Science Museum. We are looking for a few people to take part in these tests as subjects. The tests are happening at Shoreditch Town Hall (near Old Street Underground Station) on Tuesday June 9 and Tuesday July 7 during the daytime. Each person would be needed for about one hour, for which he or she would receive £20 plus £10 travel expenses (in cash straight after the test). Currently we have about 4 vacancies for June 9, and 6 for July 7.

What we need are people who think of themselves a quite intuitive, and who fairly often have the experience of knowing who’s calling before they answer the phone or look at the caller ID display. To take part in the test, they will each need to have three contacts, close friends or family members, who are free to take part on their mobile phones. The contacts can be anywhere in the UK, but need to be available to make a call to the subject if and when requested to do so by text message.

If you might be interested I would be very grateful. Please email me direct, with some details about yourself, and also stating whether you could take part on June 9, or July 7, or either, and whether you would prefer to come in the morning or afternoon. I will then send more details. If any of your friends or family members in the London area, might be inetersted, please pass on this information to them.

Rupert Sheldrake
sheldrake[at]sheldrake.org

If there are any problems, please feel free to message me back and I’ll try and answer questions but you are best advised to email Dr Sheldrake directly for further details.

DIY Chiropractic?

I’ll refrain from making any comment or judgement, and will let the photo and description make their own impression:

http://spinalbrace.com/cervicaltraction/vertwithdoorstrap.htm