Tara has done a comprehensive takedown of Tom Bethell's "No African AIDS Epidemic" conspiracy theory. We must thank her profusely for this, folks, because there's an element of personal sacrifice here in service of the greater good: She actually had to engage seriously with wacky arguments in order to produce the post that she's offered us.Tara has better things to do, of course, but she took one for the team. Let's remember and appreciate that.
- Log in to post comments
Heh. Thanks Chris. Sadly though, I was all too familiar with Bethell's warmed-over arguments already (well, except for his "let's return to African colonialism" ending--that was a new one for me). These people should get some new material to at least make it interesting.
Yeah, Tara could be in for a hard time.
I've had my own share of experience dealing with HIV/AIDS denialists. For example, my commenting extensively on the case of Christine Maggiore and her daughter Eliza Jane Scovill and my debunking (and here) of the "rebuttal" of the coroner's report concluding that EJ died of AIDS drew the attentions of HIV/AIDS denialist wingnut Dean Esmay. (Of course Dean shut up when I--and others--totally slapped him down, and it was quite a while again before he commented.)
Geez, it was almost as bad as the first time I debunked the mercury/autism conspiracy article by RFK Jr--but not quite. (That was the first time I ever drew more than 100 comments on a single post.)
Yeah, Harvey Bialy and David Crowe have already shown up to comment. Pretty civil thus far.
Actually, I'm glad Tara took this on. I can easily debunk the crap they put in the Al-Bayati report because it's medical. My background in epidemiology is much weaker, and I don't always have the knowledge to take down deniers' fallacious crap about HIV in Africa.
I'm not sure when things went horrible, but they almost certainly did.
Oh dear.
So far I see a lot of HIV/AIDS deniers posting away - but apart from pointing out some trivial errors about who was/is on what committee, complaining about the term "AIDS denier", and shouting how Tara is just so very very wrong (but never actually getting to specifics) there's not much of substance. The tactics are very familiar to me being involved for a long time in the creationism game (right down to the list of "scientific dissenters", not to be confused with "dissenting scientists" of course), even if the topic is not.
I see now what Chris means when he talks of personal sacrifice.