Denial , in colloquial English usage, has at least three meanings:
82-424: In psychology, denialism is a person's choice to deny reality as a way to avoid a psychologically uncomfortable truth. In psychoanalytic theory , denial is a defense mechanism in which a person is faced with a fact that is too uncomfortable to accept and rejects it instead, insisting that it is not true despite what may be overwhelming evidence. The concept of denial is important in twelve-step programs , where
164-440: A heart attack is delayed. Because the symptoms are so varied, and often have other potential explanations, the opportunity exists for the patient to deny the reality of the emergency, often with fatal consequences. It is common for patients to delay recommended mammograms or other tests because of a fear of cancer , despite the fact that, on average, this worsens the long-term medical outcome . Initial short-term denial can be
246-443: A sociocultural perspective and argue that the solution to it is fixing a dysfunction in society, not in the person's brain. Some people may also deny that they have a mental illness after being diagnosed, and certain analysts argue this denialism is usually fueled by narcissistic injury . Anti-psychiatry movements such as Scientology promote mental illness denial by having alternative practices to psychiatry . Election denial
328-596: A "hard-hitting" critique of Armscor's conduct, but was quickly eclipsed by myriad other allegations about the South African government's illegal arms trades. Cameron was appointed permanently to the Witwatersrand Local Division in 1995. His best-known judgment in this capacity is Holomisa v Argus Newspapers Ltd , where Bantu Holomisa had brought a defamation suit against The Star for alleging that he had been "directly involved" in
410-467: A High Court judges' report which mentioned the results of the post-mortem of the body found in Bester's cell. This was confirmed by GroundUp editor, Nathan Geffen, in an editorial for News24. GroundUp later obtained post mortem results from public court documents. Cameron was a board member of GroundUp at the time, which is an unpaid position with no role in editorial decisions, and the editor Nathan Geffen
492-421: A barrier to behavior change, it remains a barrier to people accessing treatment." During the same speech, Cameron invited any sex workers present to join him on stage and indicated that sex work is "one of the most dangerous and despised occupations, and one that deserves our support and our respect and our love." He further stated "Sex workers are perhaps the most reviled group in human history - indispensable to
574-408: A case-by-case basis before introduction. Nonetheless, members of the public are much less likely than scientists to perceive GM foods as safe. The legal and regulatory status of GM foods varies by country, with some nations banning or restricting them, and others permitting them with widely differing degrees of regulation. Psychological analyses indicate that over 70% of GM food opponents in
656-613: A clever schoolboy". Thereafter he went to Stellenbosch University , studying Latin and classics . While studying here, he resided at Wilgenhof Mens Residence . After this he attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar . There he switched to law and earned a BA in Jurisprudence and the Bachelor of Civil Law , winning the Vinerian Scholarship . When he returned to South Africa he completed an LLB at
738-515: A co-author (with Tony Honoré , one of his mentors at Oxford) of Honoré's South African Law of Trusts . Cameron took silk in 1994. In October 1994, President Nelson Mandela appointed Cameron as an acting judge of the High Court to chair a commission of inquiry into illegal arms sales by Armscor , operating as the sales arm of the SANDF , to Yemen . Cameron's report was described as
820-436: A common tactic used by denialists is to "make great play of the inescapable indeterminacy of figures and statistics". Historian Taner Akçam states that denialism is commonly believed to be negation of facts, but in fact "it is in that nebulous territory between facts and truth where such denialism germinates. Denialism marshals its own facts and it has its own truth." Focusing on the rhetorical tactics through which denialism
902-580: A good thing, giving time to adjust to a painful or stressful issue. It might also be a precursor to making some sort of change in one's life. But denial can also be harmful; if denial persists and prevents a person from taking appropriate action, it's a harmful response. Some people who have been known to be in denial of historical or scientific facts accepted by the mainstream of society or by experts, for political or economic reasons, have been referred to as denialists or true believers . Examples of denialism in this context include: Denialism In
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#1732786605219984-416: A lecturer in philosophy at Exeter University writes that "An accusation of 'denial' is serious, suggesting either deliberate dishonesty or self-deception. The thing being denied is, by implication, so obviously true that the denier must be driven by perversity, malice or wilful blindness." He suggests that, by the introduction of the word denier into further areas of historical and scientific debate, "One of
1066-564: A mainstream and scientific consensus engage in denialism when they use rhetorical tactics to give the appearance of argument and legitimate debate , when there is none. It is a process that operates by employing one or more of the following five tactics to maintain the appearance of legitimate controversy: Common tactics to different types of denialism include misrepresenting evidence, false equivalence, half-truths, and outright fabrication. South African judge Edwin Cameron notes that
1148-723: A member of the Jury of the Red Ribbon Award, a partnership of the UNAIDS Family. He is the 2009–2010 winner of the Brudner Prize from Yale University , awarded annually to an accomplished scholar or activist whose work has made significant contributions to the understanding of LGBT issues or furthered the tolerance of LGBT people. In 2019, Cameron was awarded the Asijiki Award for Service and Humanity from
1230-435: A more comfortable lie". If one party to a debate accuses the other of denialism they are framing the debate. This is because an accusation of denialism is both prescriptive and polemic : prescriptive because it carries implications that there is truth to the denied claim; polemic since the accuser implies that continued denial in the light of presented evidence raises questions about the other's motives. Edward Skidelsky,
1312-622: A more just society in South Africa is through the Constitution and the rule of law. Justice has been translated into Chinese, and has been published in translation in Korean and Italian . Cameron has been a staunch supporter of the full decriminalization of sex work . His advocacy and activism has sought to link criminalization, discrimination and stigma, and more recently how these link to Sustainable Development Goal 16. In 2008, at
1394-513: A number of articles some of which have strongly and negatively influenced the public opinion on GM crops and even provoked political actions, such as GMO embargo, share common flaws in the statistical evaluation of the data. Having accounted for these flaws, we conclude that the data presented in these articles does not provide any substantial evidence of GMO harm. The presented articles suggesting possible harm of GMOs received high public attention. However, despite their claims, they actually weaken
1476-906: A portion of mostly heterosexual males in society, but despised, marginalized, persecuted, beaten up and imprisoned. Sex workers work. Their work is work with dignity." In July 2019, at a UNAIDS Press Conference, Cameron linked activism against criminalization, discrimination and stigma, to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 16 where he stated "Almost all countries have some form of criminal prohibition on sex work. [...] criminalization has severe consequences taking people outside of areas of protection. It declares [the criminalized group's] actions or identity illegitimate, and increases stigma. It excludes them from protections that our judicial, social and economic systems may provide. UNAIDS data indicates that criminalized groups often experience high rates of violence. If you suffer criminal violence and you yourself are criminalized, in most cases you simply cannot go to
1558-670: A range of solutions, including firmer institutional discipline and, in exceptional cases, the imposition of time limits on the start and finalisation of criminal trials. Cameron's awards include the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights (2000); Stellenbosch University 's Alumnus Award; Transnet's HIV/AIDS Champions Award; and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation Excellence in Leadership Award. In 2008 he served as
1640-452: A real disease, they attribute it to some combination of recreational drug use , malnutrition, poor sanitation, and side effects of antiretroviral medication , rather than infection with HIV. However, the evidence that HIV causes AIDS is scientifically conclusive and the scientific community rejects and ignores AIDS-denialist claims as based on faulty reasoning, cherry picking , and misrepresentation of mainly outdated scientific data. With
1722-555: A scientific controversy where there is none. Climate change denial includes unreasonable doubts about the extent to which climate change is caused by humans , its effects on nature and human society , and the potential of adaptation to global warming by human actions. To a lesser extent, climate change denial can also be implicit when people accept the science but fail to reconcile it with their belief or action . Several studies have analyzed these positions as forms of denialism, pseudoscience , or propaganda . AIDS denialism
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#17327866052191804-491: A spectrum of statin denialism ranging from pseudoscientific claims to the understatement of benefits and overstatement of side effects, all of which is contrary to the scientific evidence. Mental illness denial or mental disorder denial is where a person denies the existence of mental disorders . Serious analysts, as well as pseudoscientific movements, question the existence of certain disorders. A minority of professional researchers see disorders such as depression from
1886-422: A vocal critic of the use of "Stalingrad" tactics in litigation. Stalingrad tactics involve "a well-resourced accused, over a protracted period, postponing or frustrating the trial process... by deploying every possible legal argument and stratagem to thwart the prosecution." Cameron has argued that these tactics harm the administration of justice and exacerbate overcrowding in the prison system. Cameron has proposed
1968-660: Is a form of politically motivated denialism. Nakba denial refers to attempts to downgrade, deny and misdescribe the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians during the Nakba , in which four-fifths of all Palestinians were driven off their lands and into exile. Sonja Biserko , president of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia , and Edina Bečirević, the Faculty of Criminalistics, Criminology and Security Studies of
2050-448: Is a major source of concern among historians and it is frequently used to falsify or distort accepted historical events. In attempting to revise the past, negationists are distinguished by the use of techniques inadmissible in proper historical discourse, such as presenting known forged documents as genuine, inventing ingenious but implausible reasons for distrusting genuine documents, attributing conclusions to books and sources that report
2132-540: Is a retired judge who served as a Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa . He is well known for his HIV/AIDS and gay-rights activism and was hailed by Nelson Mandela as "one of South Africa 's new heroes". President Ramaphosa appointed him as Inspecting Judge of Correctional Services from 1 January 2020 and in October 2019 he was elected Chancellor of Stellenbosch University. Cameron
2214-557: Is achieved in language, in Alex Gillespie (2020) of the London School of Economics has reviewed the linguistic and practical defensive tactics for denying disruptive information. These tactics are conceptualized in terms of three layers of defence: In 2009, author Michael Specter defined group denialism as "when an entire segment of society, often struggling with the trauma of change, turns away from reality in favor of
2296-480: Is allowed to fly over or explore Antarctica , despite contrary evidence. According to them, all photos and videos of ships sinking under the horizon and of the bottoms of city skylines and clouds below the horizon, revealing the curvature of the Earth , have been manipulated , computer-generated , or somehow faked. Therefore, regardless of any scientific or empirical evidence provided, flat-Earthers conclude that it
2378-401: Is called cognitive dissonance in psychology terms. Anthropologist Didier Fassin distinguishes between denial , defined as "the empirical observation that reality and truth are being denied", and denialism , which he defines as "an ideological position whereby one systematically reacts by refusing reality and truth". Persons and social groups who reject propositions on which there exists
2460-539: Is fabricated or altered in some way. When linked to other observed phenomena such as gravity, sunsets, tides, eclipses, distances and other measurements that challenge the flat earth model, claimants replace commonly-accepted explanations with piecemeal models that distort or over-simplify how perspective, mass, buoyancy, light or other physical systems work. These piecemeal replacements rarely conform with each other, finally leaving many flat-Earth claimants to agree that such phenomena remain "mysteries" and more investigation
2542-442: Is false dismissal of the outcome of a fair election. Stacey Abrams denied the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial election was "a free and fair election" and spent $ 22 million in "largely unsuccessful" litigation. Since the 2020 United States presidential election , there has been an ongoing stolen election conspiracy theory about the 2020 presidential election . Historical negationism, the denialism of widely accepted historical facts,
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2624-405: Is similar to Holocaust denial since it is a form of pseudoscience that "contradicts an immense body of research". Climate change denial (also global warming denial) is a form of science denial characterized by rejecting, refusing to acknowledge, disputing, or fighting the scientific consensus on climate change . Those promoting denial commonly use rhetorical tactics to give the appearance of
2706-591: Is taught in Turkish schools; some Turkish citizens who acknowledge the genocide have faced prosecution for " insulting Turkishness ". Turkey's century-long effort to deny the genocide sets it apart from other historical cases of genocide. Holocaust denial refers to the denial of the murder of 5 to 6 million Jews by the Nazis in Europe during World War 2 . In this context, the term is a subset of genocide denial , which
2788-420: Is the denial that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the cause of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). AIDS denialism has been described as being "among the most vocal anti-science denial movements". Some denialists reject the existence of HIV, while others accept that the virus exists but say that it is a harmless passenger virus and not the cause of AIDS. Insofar as denialists acknowledge AIDS as
2870-405: Is to be done. In this conclusion, adherents remain open to all explanations except the commonly accepted globular Earth model, shifting the debate from ignorance to denialism. There is a scientific consensus that currently available food derived from genetically modified crops (GM) poses no greater risk to human health than conventional food, but that each GM food needs to be tested on
2952-509: The 17th International AIDS Conference held in Mexico , Cameron called for a sustained and vocal campaign against HIV criminalization. At the 21st International Aids Conference , held in 2016 in Durban, South Africa, Cameron expanded on the call for decriminalization of HIV, stating "[t]he biggest problem is stigma. Stigma, stigma, stigma, stigma. Stigma remains a barrier to prevention, it remains
3034-621: The Asijiki Coalition , which advocates for the decriminalization of sex work in South Africa. In 2002 the Bar of England and Wales honoured him with a Special Award for his contribution to international jurisprudence and human rights . He is an honorary fellow of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies , London , and Keble College, Oxford ; and was a visiting fellow of All Souls College, Oxford in 2003–04, researching "Aspects of
3116-625: The California genocide . Armenian genocide denial is the negationist claim that the Ottoman Empire and its ruling party, the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), did not commit genocide against its Armenian citizens during World War I —a crime documented in a large body of evidence and affirmed by the vast majority of scholars. The perpetrators denied the genocide as they carried it out, claiming that Armenians in
3198-562: The Chancellor of Stellenbosch University. In 2021 he was awarded the Order of the Baobab (Gold), South Africa's highest civilian honour, for his contribution to the judicial system, as well as his "tireless campaigning against the stigma of HIV and AIDS, and the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA+) communities". Cameron's critical role in
3280-767: The National Union of Mineworkers on HIV/AIDS , and helped draft and negotiate the industry's first comprehensive AIDS agreement with the Chamber of Mines. While at the Centre for Applied Legal Studies, he co-drafted the Charter of Rights on AIDS and HIV, co-founded the AIDS Consortium (a national affiliation of non-governmental organizations working in AIDS), which he chaired for its first three years, and founded and
3362-516: The President of South Africa under section 79 of the Constitution . The Judicial Service Commission had recommended that Cameron be permanently appointed, but Sandile Ngcobo was ultimately preferred due to the late intercession of Thabo Mbeki , then Deputy President , who felt the appointee should be black. Cameron has said there is "no doubt" this was the correct decision. Cameron
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3444-474: The University of South Africa and was its best law graduate. Cameron's early career combined academia and legal practice. In 1982, he famously wrote a scathing critique of the late Chief Justice L. C. Steyn , then a darling of the apartheid establishment. And, in 1987, Cameron argued that three senior South African judges, including its former Chief Justice, Pierre Rabie , ought to resign to preserve
3526-462: The psychology of human behavior , denialism is a person's choice to deny reality as a way to avoid believing in a psychologically uncomfortable truth. Denialism is an essentially irrational action that withholds the validation of a historical experience or event when a person refuses to accept an empirically verifiable reality. In the sciences, denialism is the rejection of basic facts and concepts that are undisputed, well-supported parts of
3608-490: The scientific consensus on a subject, in favor of ideas that are radical, controversial, or fabricated. The terms Holocaust denial and AIDS denialism describe the denial of the facts and the reality of the subject matters, and the term climate change denial describes denial of the scientific consensus that the climate change of planet Earth is a real and occurring event primarily caused in geologically recent times by human activity. The forms of denialism present
3690-572: The 25th anniversary of his appointment to the bench. Cameron has been openly gay since the early 1980s. He addressed the crowd in the first pride parade in South Africa held in Johannesburg on 13 October 1990. Thereafter he oversaw the gay and lesbian movement's submissions to the drafters of the South African Constitution and was instrumental in securing the inclusion of an express prohibition on discrimination on
3772-896: The AIDS Epidemic, examining in particular the denialist stance supported by SA President Mbeki ". In 2009 Cameron was appointed as an Honorary Master of the Bench of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple . Cameron is also an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2016). He has seven honorary doctorates (King's College London (2008), Wits University (2009), University of Oxford (2011), University of St Andrews (2012), Stellenbosch University (2015), University of Sussex (2016) and Stetson University, Florida (2021). Cameron was, until 2015,
3854-580: The Constitutional Court, taking effect from 1 January 2009. He was considered a crucial member of the Court's progressive wing. He has been described as a "jurist of the highest order", "the greatest legal mind of his generation" and "in a league of his own". Cameron's judgment in Glenister v President , co-authored with Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke , struck down amendments to
3936-642: The National Prosecuting Act and South African Police Service Act on the basis that they failed to create an "adequately independent" anti-corruption unit. This was praised as an "imaginative" and "brilliant" judgment by commentators and means South Africa must have an independent corruption-fighting agency notwithstanding the ruling ANC 's controversial disbanding of the Scorpions . Also well-known are Cameron's judgments on defamation law and free speech : Cameron retired on 20 August 2019,
4018-591: The Ottoman Empire were resettled for military reasons, not exterminated. In its aftermath, incriminating documents were systematically destroyed. Denial has been the policy of every government of the Ottoman Empire's successor state , the Republic of Turkey , as of 2024 . Borrowing arguments used by the CUP to justify its actions , Armenian genocide denial rests on the assumption that the deportation of Armenians
4100-534: The Sun is only 3,000 miles (4,800 km) above the Earth and that the Moon and the Sun orbit above the Earth rather than around it. Modern flat-earthers believe that Antarctica is not a continent but a massive ice floe , with a wall 150 feet (46 m) or higher, which circles the perimeter of the Earth and keeps everything (including all the oceans' water) from falling off the edge. Flat-Earthers also assert that no one
4182-495: The US are "absolute" in their opposition, experience disgust at the thought of eating GM foods, and are "evidence insensitive". Statin denialism is a rejection of the medical worth of statins , a class of cholesterol -lowering drugs. Cardiologist Steven Nissen at Cleveland Clinic has commented "We are losing the battle for the hearts and minds of our patients to Web sites..." promoting unproven medical therapies. Harriet Hall sees
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#17327866052194264-720: The University of Sarajevo have pointed to a culture of denial of the Srebrenica massacre in Serbian society, taking many forms and present in particular in political discourse, the media, the law and the educational system. But see also: Domingo, José L.; Bordonaba, Jordi Giné (2011). "A literature review on the safety assessment of genetically modified plants" (PDF) . Environment International . 37 (4): 734–742. Bibcode : 2011EnInt..37..734D . doi : 10.1016/j.envint.2011.01.003 . PMID 21296423 . In spite of this,
4346-428: The abandonment or reversal of denial that substance dependence is problematic forms the basis of the first, fourth, fifth, eighth, and tenth steps. People who are exhibiting symptoms of a serious medical condition sometimes deny or ignore those symptoms because the idea of having a serious health problem is uncomfortable or disturbing. The American Heart Association cites denial as a principal reason that treatment of
4428-474: The banners of creation science and intelligent design . Beliefs that typically coincide with creationism include the belief in the global flood myth , geocentrism , and the belief that the Earth is only 6,000–10,000 years old . These beliefs are viewed as pseudoscience in the scientific community and are widely regarded as erroneous. The superseded belief that the Earth is flat , and denial of all of
4510-696: The basis of sexual orientation . He is one of 29 signatories to the Yogyakarta Principles . He also was a founding member of the Society for Homosexuals on Campus, a student organization at the University of the Witwatersrand, which later became known as Activate Wits. 1995 saw the publication of Defiant Desire: Gay and Lesbian Lives in South Africa , "a celebration of the lives of gay men and lesbians in South Africa" which Cameron co-edited with Mark Gevisser . From 1988 Cameron advised
4592-590: The battle for access to antiretroviral treatment in Africa and other parts of the global south is portrayed in the award-winning documentary Fire in the Blood . Cameron was the subject of a complaint to the Judicial Service Commission, alleging that he had failed to declare a potential conflict of interest in relation to a case before the Constitutional Court. Cameron was approached in 2019 by
4674-402: The common feature of the person rejecting overwhelming evidence and trying to generate political controversy in attempts to deny the existence of consensus. The motivations and causes of denialism include religion, self-interest (economic, political, or financial), and defence mechanisms meant to protect the psyche of the denialist against mentally disturbing facts and ideas; such disturbance
4756-553: The evidence for the harm and lack of substantial equivalency of studied GMOs. We emphasize that with over 1783 published articles on GMOs over the last 10 years it is expected that some of them should have reported undesired differences between GMOs and conventional crops even if no such differences exist in reality. and Edwin Cameron Edwin Cameron SCOB (born 15 February 1953 in Pretoria )
4838-894: The general secretary of the Rhodes Scholarships in Southern Africa and is a patron of the Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal . Between 1998 and 2008, Cameron chaired the Council of the University of the Witwatersrand . He has been an active and involved patron of the Guild Cottage Children's Home since 1997, and is also patron of the Soweto HIV/AIDS Counselors' Association and Community AIDS Response. In January 2020 he became
4920-579: The great achievements of The Enlightenment – the liberation of historical and scientific enquiry from dogma – is quietly being reversed". Some people have suggested that because denial of the Holocaust is well known, advocates who use the term denialist in other areas of debate may intentionally or unintentionally imply that their opponents are little better than Holocaust deniers. However, Robert Gallo et al. defended this latter comparison, stating that AIDS denialism
5002-451: The infiltration into South Africa of an Azanian People's Liberation Army "hit squad" aimed at "killing whites". Cameron's judgment was described as a "most rigorous exposition" of the Constitution 's application to private disputes and a "landmark" defence of free speech . Others, while acknowledging the judgment had departed importantly from apartheid -era law, said it should have gone further in protecting journalists. Cameron's position
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#17327866052195084-559: The legitimacy of the judiciary. Cameron practised at the Johannesburg Bar from 1983 to 1994. From 1986 he was a human rights lawyer at Wits's Centre for Applied Legal Studies , where in 1989 he was awarded a personal professorship in law. Cameron's practice included labour and employment law; defence of African National Congress fighters charged with treason ; conscientious and religious objection; land tenure and forced removals; and gay and lesbian equality. In 1992 he became
5166-576: The main argument as "there was no genocide, and the Armenians were to blame for it". A critical reason for denial is that the genocide enabled the establishment of a Turkish nation-state; recognizing it would contradict Turkey's founding myths . Since the 1920s, Turkey has worked to prevent recognition or even mention of the genocide in other countries. It has spent millions of dollars on lobbying, created research institutes, and used intimidation and threats. Denial affects Turkey's domestic policies and
5248-436: The number of studies specifically focused on safety assessment of GM plants is still limited. However, it is important to remark that for the first time, a certain equilibrium in the number of research groups suggesting, on the basis of their studies, that a number of varieties of GM products (mainly maize and soybeans) are as safe and nutritious as the respective conventional non-GM plant, and those raising still serious concerns,
5330-469: The opposite, manipulating statistical series to support the given point of view, and deliberately mistranslating texts. Some countries, such as Germany, have criminalized the negationist revision of certain historical events, while other countries take a more cautious position for various reasons, such as the protection of free speech . Others mandate negationist views, such as California, where schoolchildren have been explicitly prevented from learning about
5412-464: The overwhelming evidence that supports an approximately spherical Earth that rotates around its axis and orbits the Sun , persists into the 21st century. Modern proponents of flat-Earth cosmology (or flat-Earthers ) refuse to accept any kind of contrary evidence, dismissing all spaceflights and images from space as hoaxes and accusing all organizations and even private citizens of conspiring to "hide
5494-593: The police." After he retired from the Constitutional Court, President Ramaphosa appointed him as Inspecting Judge of Correctional Services. The Judicial Inspectorate of Correctional Services (JICS) is an watchdog body created during the Mandela Presidency to inspect and report on conditions in prisons, with a view to safeguarding inmates' dignity. Cameron has been active in advocating for reform of South Africa's penal and carceral system, as well as for greater independence of JICS. Cameron has been
5576-455: The public of Bester's escape, Cameron revealed that he had provided publicly available information relating to the matter to GroundUp , a public interest, not-for-profit news agency. Cameron indicated that he approached GroundUp after becoming frustrated with the slow pace of the investigations and lack of urgency to apprehend Bester. He provided GroundUp with a High Court interdict launched by Bester's alleged accomplice, Nandipha Magudumana, and
5658-568: The rejection of these arguments by the scientific community, AIDS-denialist material is now spread mainly through the Internet. Thabo Mbeki , former president of South Africa , embraced AIDS denialism, proclaiming that AIDS was primarily caused by poverty. About 365,000 people died from AIDS during his presidency; it is estimated that around 343,000 premature deaths could have been prevented if proper treatment had been available. The term "COVID-19 denialism" or merely "COVID denialism" refers to
5740-626: The testimonials from respected scientists that there is literally no scientific controversy over the health effects of GMOs. My investigation into the scientific literature tells another story. And contrast: Panchin, Alexander Y.; Tuzhikov, Alexander I. (January 14, 2016). "Published GMO studies find no evidence of harm when corrected for multiple comparisons". Critical Reviews in Biotechnology . 37 (2): 213–217. doi : 10.3109/07388551.2015.1130684 . ISSN 0738-8551 . PMID 26767435 . S2CID 11786594 . Here, we show that
5822-650: The thinking of those who deny the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, at least to the extent of denying the scientifically recognized COVID mortality data of the World Health Organization . The claims that the COVID-19 pandemic has been faked, exaggerated, or mischaracterized are pseudoscience . Some famous people who have engaged in COVID-19 denialism include Elon Musk , former U.S. President Donald Trump , and former Brazilian President Bolsonaro. Religious beliefs may prompt an individual to deny
5904-511: The truth". They also claim that no actual satellites are orbiting the Earth, that the International Space Station is fake, and that these are lies from all governments involved in this grand cover-up . Some even believe other planets and stars are hoaxes. Adherents of the modern flat-earth model propose that a dome-shaped firmament encloses a disk-shaped Earth. They may also claim, after Samuel Rowbotham , that
5986-533: The validity of the scientific theory of evolution. Evolution is considered an undisputed fact within the scientific community and in academia , where the level of support for evolution is essentially universal, yet this view is often met with opposition by biblical literalists. The alternative view is often presented as a literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis 's creation myth . Many fundamentalist Christians teach creationism as if it were fact under
6068-427: The vice chancellor of Stellenbosch University to offer him the position of university chancellor while a case was pending before the Court on the university's language policy. Cameron declined the offer and offered the parties full disclosure of all pertinent correspondence and contacts. The offer of disclosure was not taken up by either party until after the ruling on the matter, when the losing party belatedly sought and
6150-447: Was a legitimate state action in response to a real or perceived Armenian uprising that threatened the empire's existence during wartime. Deniers assert the CUP intended to resettle Armenians, not kill them. They claim the death toll is exaggerated or attribute the deaths to other factors, such as a purported civil war , disease, bad weather, rogue local officials, or bands of Kurds and outlaws. The historian Ronald Grigor Suny summarizes
6232-461: Was born in Pretoria . His father was imprisoned for car theft and his mother did not have the means to support him. He therefore spent much of his childhood in an orphanage in Queenstown . His elder sister was killed when Cameron was seven. Cameron won a scholarship to attend Pretoria Boys High School , one of South Africa's best state schools, and reinvented himself, he says, "in the guise of
6314-571: Was granted access. The Court ruled unanimously in favour of Stellenbosch University in a judgment written by Cameron. The Judicial Service Commission dismissed the complaint against Cameron in 2020, finding that the complaint lacked substance. Cameron subsequently accepted and took up the post of Chancellor. In 2023, Cameron appeared before Parliament during enquiries into the May 2022 escape of convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester . When DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach asked Cameron why JICS had not informed
6396-584: Was instead appointed to the Supreme Court of Appeal (at the same time as Mahomed Navsa and Robert Nugent ), where he served for eight years. There he wrote leading judgments on legal causation , hearsay evidence , public contracts and contempt of court . In Minister of Finance v Gore , Cameron co-authored a judgment with Fritz Brand that held the state could be delictually liable for causing pure economic loss by fraud . On 31 December 2008 President Kgalema Motlanthe appointed Cameron to
6478-682: Was observed. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that most of the studies demonstrating that GM foods are as nutritional and safe as those obtained by conventional breeding, have been performed by biotechnology companies or associates, which are also responsible of commercializing these GM plants. Anyhow, this represents a notable advance in comparison with the lack of studies published in recent years in scientific journals by those companies. Krimsky, Sheldon (2015). "An Illusory Consensus behind GMO Health Assessment". Science, Technology, & Human Values . 40 (6): 883–914. doi : 10.1177/0162243915598381 . S2CID 40855100 . I began this article with
6560-543: Was substantially confirmed, in subsequent cases, by the Supreme Court of Appeal . In 1999, Cameron was given an acting stint on the Constitutional Court , during which he partook in its seminal judgments in Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Grootboom and wrote the Liquor Bill judgment on provincial legislative powers — the first, and still the only, case to be referred to the Court by
6642-618: Was the first director of the AIDS Law Project. Cameron had himself contracted HIV in the 1980s and became extremely ill with AIDS when working as a High Court judge. His salary allowed him to afford anti-retroviral treatment, which saved his life. Cameron's realisation that he owed his life to his relative wealth caused him to become a prominent HIV/AIDS activist in post- apartheid South Africa, urging its government to provide treatment to all. He has strongly criticised President Thabo Mbeki 's AIDS-denialist policies. Cameron
6724-554: Was the first, and remains the only, senior South African official to state publicly that he is living with HIV/AIDS . His prize-winning first memoir, Witness to AIDS , is about his struggle with the illness. It has been published in South Africa, the UK, the US and in translation in Germany and in China. His second memoir, Justice: A Personal Account , urges that the best path forward to
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