The 15th of April was a good day for science and free speech, and skeptics will be relieved. Simon Singh took up the burden of fighting a libel suit brought against him when most others would have given up. No wonder: British libel laws can incur a cost far beyond other countries, and few would be willing to take the risk and have in the past given up. These laws have even led to libel tourism, with people from outside Britain carrying their cases to London in the hope of silencing critics of their doubtful claims.
However, the victory is only a first step. Simon Singh has said that “we need to maintain pressure” and pointed out that we need to support the ongoing campaign for Libel Reform in Britain. This is of central importance for the work of science journalists and popularizers of science from all over the world if we want to be able to speak openly and criticize dubious claims. ECSO has this added the Libel Reform Button to its web sites to underline our support for the campaign, which we call on all to support. With the elections coming up in the UK, now is the right time.
Our two used-to-be-tomcats – Prankster Hrasko and Bubble Hrasko – had already surprised us several times with their health problems, so we were not very much afraid when we noticed on the younger that he had a pink eye. The nice veterinarian – who had already helped us several times – explained what the cause was, but the prescription and the treatment was a bit peculiar this time.
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