Dubious Claims

I Don’t Think Alternative Energy Means What You Think It Means: Fred Pearce to BP — photo: Julian Last month British newspaper The Guardian started a greenwashing column to turn the spotlight on the dubious claims of environmental benefits that some companies put forth. In the latest of these columns, Fred Pearce takes on BP, showing how that company hasn’t really gotten ‘beyond petroleum’ at all. Check it out, as similar claims can be made about pretty much every fossil fuel company: Despite any efforts they’ve made in ...... [Tags: alternative energy, bp, dubious claims, environmental benefits, fossil fuel]

An Evolution of Pabst Advertising — From Serious Eats This one's making the rounds on Digg today: An evolution of Pabst advertising. From the days when dubious claims of healthfulness were used, through unfortunate racial stereotyping, through some surprisingly diverse ads, and finally—though not a true advertisement—the beer's infamous appearance in David Lynch's Blue Velvet.... [Tags: advertisement, appearance, blue velvet, david lynch, dubious claims]

Jeff Schweitzer: Transition Topic I: Education and Scientific Illiteracy — To compete in a technology-driven world, the United States must dramatically improve public education. Our children today test behind many Third World countries. Losing our technological lead threatens our national security, undermines our economy and prevents us from solving our most pressing environmental problems. We must teach critical thinking from the beginning, and reconfigure our curricula to incorporate science and technology as fundamental rather than elective. Ignorance of scientific principles prevents the public from distinguishing the dangerous from the harmless and from preventing the abuse of science for malevolent purposes. On the basis of bad science, governments support costly efforts... [Tags: absurd idea, alar, bad science, children today, classic case]

Early on, in the RIAA's legal campaign against file sharers, it appeared that judges were mostly siding with the RIAA, and taking the RIAA's claims at face value. However, due to widespread backlash, and an improved understanding of how the RIAA's tactics are legally questionable, it appears that opposing lawyers have become much better at pushing back on some of the dubious claims by the RIAA, including the basis for the whole campaign. It's nice to see judges are beginning to recognize this as well. While we've seen it in judges rejecting RIAA arguments in court, in one case, it... [Tags: backlash, blitz, dubious claims, ethical obligation, face value]

NYT: Obama Ads Make Dubious Claims, Mislead — Two weeks ago, Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign gleefully publicized a spate of news reports about misleading and untruthful statements in the advertisements of his rival, Senator John McCain. Asked by a voter in New Hampshire if he would respond in kind, Mr. Obama said, "I just have a different philosophy, I'm going to respond with the truth," adding, "I'm not going to start making up lies about John McCain." Two weeks ago, Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign gleefully publicized a spate of news reports about misleading and untruthful statements in the advertisements of his rival, Senator John McCain. Asked... [Tags: advertisements, barack obama, dubious claims, john mccain, new hampshire]

Palin Brings Back Debunked Bridge, Ebay Lines She Dropped In Alaska — The New York Times reported last week that when Sarah Palin went back to Alaska, she dropped some dubious claims from her oft-repeated stump speech. Those lines are back, Fox News reports: In her first campaign event since she left her native state of Alaska, Sarah Palin brought back some lines to her stump speech that she took out for the hometown crowds in Fairbanks and Anchorage. She told the cheering crowd of a few thousand here that she and her running mate are reformers. To prove her maverick past she repeated an anecdote wildly told on the trail, but... [Tags: alaska governor, anecdote, bridge to nowhere, campaign event, cheering crowd]

MSNBC: Today's Campaign News... McCain's Slash And Burn Campaign Backfiring — If there's a common theme today, it's the press taking McCain's campaign to task for running a series of ads distorting Obama's record and positions. AP's Babington writes, "Even in a political culture accustomed to truth-stretching, McCain's skirting of facts has stood out this week. It has infuriated and flustered Obama's campaign, and campaign pros are watching to see how much voters disregard news reports noting factual holes in the claims. McCain's persistence in pushing dubious claims is all the more notable because many political insiders consider him one of the greatest living victims of underhanded campaigning. Locked in a... [Tags: babington, backlash, barack obama, campaign news, campaigning]

Analysis: McCain's claims skirt facts, test voters — WASHINGTON — The "Straight Talk Express" has detoured into doublespeak. Republican presidential nominee John McCain, a self-proclaimed tell-it-like-it-is maverick, keeps saying his running mate, Sarah Palin, killed the federally funded Bridge to Nowhere when, in fact, she pulled her support only after the project became a political embarrassment. He accuses Democrat Barack Obama of calling Palin a pig, which did not happen. He says Obama would raise nearly everyone's taxes, when independent groups say 80 percent of families would get tax cuts instead. Even in a political culture accustomed to truth-stretching, McCain's skirting of facts has stood out this week.... [Tags: barack obama, close ties, dubious claims, george w bush, independent groups]

Glenn Sacks: Protect Gay & Lesbian Custody Rights in Divorce — In a recent interview with People magazine, newly-married Hollywood power couple Ellen DeGeneres & Portia de Rossi discussed their future, and DeGeneres said, "We love our life, but we know how much [having children] adds to it." But what happens to their ties to their kids if they split up? Are the loving bonds gay and lesbian couples share with their children legally protected? There is an increasing body of litigated lesbian custody cases, and from the early returns it appears that these custody disputes will be just as ugly as heterosexual ones. Lesbian biological moms often seek to exclude... [Tags: biological mother, custody battle, custody cases, custody disputes, custody rights]

Retail Chains May Get Congress To Regulate Auction Sites Using Bogus Claims — Back in June, we noted that the Retail Industry Leaders Association, a lobbying group representing big store retailers was pushing Congress to start regulating online auction sites, claiming that they were experiencing a huge crimewave from thieves who would resell the goods on sites like eBay. Reader crystalattice points out that some Congressional Reps have put forth just such a piece of legislation, and now the press is parroting the claims that this huge crimewave exists, when the evidence suggests exactly the opposite. Shoplifting is actually decreasing, while insiders (employees) stealing goods is on the rise. The problem is often... [Tags: bogus claims, congress, congressional reps, crimewave, dubious claims]