These people are hostile to environmentalism, preventive health, and
general good sense all in the name of a kind of Ayn Rand libertarianism.
Before they surfaced as Spiked-Online, they were involved with the magazine
LM, which was unjustly put out of business after it lost a libel case over
articles refuting claims of "genocide" in Bosnia. Before it was LM, it was
Living Marxism where many of the odd notions about the benefits of genetic
modification, atomic energy, etc. first surfaced.

>As you may be aware, in May 2003 spiked held a conference at London's Royal
>Institution entitled PANIC ATTACK: INTERROGATING OUR OBSESSION WITH RISK.
>The conference brought together an international audience to assess the
>spread of risk aversion into ever-more spheres of life.
>
>I thought you might be interested in the proceedings and related material
>from the conference that have been published to date.
>
>  - CHALLENGING THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE
>    by Helene Guldberg
>
>    How has society come to be governed by the maxim 'better safe than
>sorry'?
>    http://www.spiked-online.com/articles/00000006DE2F.htm
>
>  - WHO WANTS TO LIVE UNDER A SYSTEM OF ORGANISED PARANOIA?
>    by Mick Hume
>
>    The principle of safety first has become the major barrier to social
>advance.
>    http://www.spiked-online.com/articles/00000006DDA5.htm
>
>  - PANIC ATTACK
>    by Helene Guldberg
>
>    spiked's London conference debated the dangers of risk-aversion.
>    http://www.spiked-online.com/articles/00000006DD9B.htm
>
>  - SCIENCE, RISK AND THE PRICE OF PRECAUTION
>    by Sandy Starr
>
>    The scientific community imagines what society would have lost, had the
>'precautionary principle' governed science in the past.
>    http://www.spiked-online.com/articles/00000006DD7A.htm
>
>  - RISKY LIVING
>    by Professor Sir Colin Berry
>
>    Why do we fear things that are as rare as getting struck by lightning?
>    http://www.spiked-online.com/articles/00000006DDFE.htm
>
>  - DOWN WITH THE 'SLIPPERY SLOPE' ARGUMENT
>    by Mick Hume
>
>    The prevalence of this nonsense speaks volumes about society's loss of
>faith in the human subject.
>    http://www.spiked-online.com/articles/00000006DE27.htm
>
>  - SCARING INTO SPACE
>    by Helene Guldberg
>
>    A new book by Martin Rees, the Astronomer Royal, gives humanity a 50/50
>chance of survival.
>    http://www.spiked-online.com/articles/00000006DDB4.htm
>
>  - APOCALYPSE FROM NOW ON
>    by Dr Michael Fitzpatrick
>
>    SARS has become a blank screen on to which the world can project its
>fears.
>    http://www.spiked-online.com/articles/00000006DD71.htm
>
>Sandy Starr
>spiked Ltd
>http://www.spiked-online.com
>
>Email: [log in to unmask]
>Tel: +44 (0)20 7269 9234
>Fax: +44 (0)20 7269 9235

Louis Proyect, Marxism mailing list: http://www.marxmail.org