Skeptical Inquirer Electronic Digest 7-23-99
SkeptInq@aol.com
Fri, 23 Jul 1999 16:09:13 EDT
Skeptical Inquirer Electronic Digest 7-23-99
Visit the CSICOP and Skeptical Inquirer Magazine website at
http://www.csicop.org. Receiving over 200,000 hits per year, the CSICOP
site
was recently rated one of the top ten science sites by HOMEPC magazine.
In this week's SI DIGEST:
--The Learning Channel and CBS' 48 Hours Visit Center for
Inquiry-International
--A Mathematician Examines the Kennedy Curse!
--Here We Go Again: Fox Television to Air "Signs from God."
--Aliens Demand Better Media Attention
--Wired.com Covers Man on the Moon: Fact or Hoax?
--China Bans Meditation Group Falun Gong
--Tri-Area Skeptics of North Carolina to Host Friday the Thirteenth Bash
THE LEARNING CHANNEL AND CBS' 48 HOURS VISIT CENTER FOR INQUIRY
This past week was very busy at CSICOP's headquarters at the Center for
Inquiry--International in Amherst, New York. On Tuesday, a documentary crew
from The Learning Channel spent the whole day shooting interviews and
demonstrations for a September/October program on paranormal phenomena.
Topics included spontaneous human combustion, psychic surgery, UFOs, alien
abduction, media influence on popular belief, NDEs, miraculous healing,
cryptozoology, and the Shroud of Turin. Certainly a full plate. How they
will fit all of it into one hour is uncertain!
And then on Wednesday a reporter and camera crew from CBS' 48 Hours arrived
to interview Senior Research Fellow Joe Nickell about California psychic
Annette Martin. The segment will appear on Thursday, Aug. 5. Check your
local listings.
The unique facilities and offerings of the Center for Inquiry-International
have proved to be of high interest for television news programs and
documentaries. Film crews have visited from major international networks
including the BBC, the Discovery Channel, and HBO. NBC Dateline and ABC
20/20 have been to the Center several times.
Just minutes from the Buffalo International Airport and adjacent to the
State University of New York at Buffalo, the Center for Inquiry-International
offers the in-house talented expertise of CSICOP chair and philosopher Paul
Kurtz and CSICOP Senior Research Fellow Joe Nickell. Both are veterans of
dozens of major television interviews and programs, and their expert opinion,
media savvy, and ability to accommodate the news media makes balancing any
story with scientific and critical evaluation easy. Several other expert
talents are proximate to the Center. In the past, psychologist James Alcock
and astronomer Michael DeRobertis have traveled down from York University in
Toronto to interview with television crews at the Center. Other sources of
expert opinion are also available through the State University of New York at
Buffalo.
The Center also offers a unique setting to shoot interviews, whether it's
among the stacks of the 50,000 volume science and philosophy library, inside
the CSICOP laboratory of Joe Nickell, or in the open setting of the
state-of-the-art conference center. The Center is a storehouse of paranormal
paraphernalia and memorabilia from alien icons to superstition artifacts to
valuable resources for unique demonstrations like recreating the
double-negative image of the Shroud of Turin.
A MATHEMATICIAN EXAMINES THE KENNEDY CURSE
John Allan Paulos, professor of Mathematics, CSICOP fellow, and
best-selling author _A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper_, _Innumeracy_, and
_Once Upon a Number_, examines the "Kennedy Curse" in his ABCnews.com weekly
column.
Go to:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/science/WhosCounting/paulos990720.html
FOX TELEVISION TO AIR "SIGNS FROM GOD"
Thanks to Gary Posner of the Tampa Bay Skeptics for sending this over.
SCIENCE SEARCHES FOR ANSWERS TO MODERN-DAY PHENOMENA IN 'SIGNS FROM GOD'
JULY 28, LIVE ON FOX
FOX presents the live, two-hour special event SIGNS FROM GOD: SCIENCE TESTS
FAITH Wednesday, July 28 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape), which examines an
unprecedented wave of supernatural occurrences. During the two-hour special,
FOX will search for the truth behind these spiritual phenomena to determine
if they are direct signs from God, or elaborate hoaxes to deceive followers.
Belief in spiritualism, faith healing and reincarnation has more than
tripled since 1976. According to a Gallup poll, 9 in 10 Americans claim to be
religious. Furthermore, Gallup contends that "the picture of religion...is a
complex one, but certain underlying themes emerge such as...a hunger for God
and a belief in prayer and present-day miracles." It is little wonder then
that many people insist Jesus and the Virgin Mary are sending them messages
too important to ignore.
SIGNS FROM GOD: SCIENCE TESTS FAITH will take viewers around the world to
witness these supernatural occurrences live, and discover whether science
holds the answers to them. These extraordinary phenomena will undergo
thorough forensic investigation and the findings will be revealed by
scientific experts.
In Bolivia, a woman bears the suffering and the wounds of Christ on the
Cross -- a phenomenon known as the Stigmata. Her attending physician claims
that the woman is dying as, over the period of several hours, bloody wounds
appear on her hands, feet and forehead. Yet, the next day, she is recovered
fully, and her wounds have inexplicably disappeared. This same woman also
claims to see visions of Jesus as a bright reflection of light becomes
clearly visible in her eyes. SIGNS FROM GOD: SCIENCE TESTS FAITH will go live
to Bolivia and subject the woman to sophisticated neurological testing while
she claims to be receiving messages from Jesus.
A woman in Monterey, Mexico, possesses intricate images of Jesus and Mary
that have appeared in rose petals. In her home, a picture of the Virgin Mary
has wept human tears, and the special's production crew filmed it as it
occurred during a previous interview. SIGNS FROM GOD: SCIENCE TESTS FAITH
will report live from the woman's home and attempt to capture a glimpse of
the phenomenon she claims to have witnessed.
In addition, viewers will be shown the remarkable images of the rose petals
being tested for the first time by chemists, botanists and experts in art
fraud. During their analyses, the experts will be challenged to explain, and
even re-create, the images.
At the Forensic Analytical Labs in San Francisco, a forensic scientist and
DNA expert will perform extensive laboratory analyses of the blood that flows
from a statue of Jesus. The statue will also be subjected to a CAT scan to
test for the possibility of trickery. Viewers will learn firsthand the
results of the blood tests -- whether it is in fact human blood, and if so,
what the DNA profile reveals about its source.
"We have consulted scientists, theologians and forensic pathologists. Now,
we will share their findings live on FOX," commented Michael Willesee, Sr.,
executive producer for Trans Media Group.
SIGNS FROM GOD: SCIENCE TESTS FAITH is produced by Trans Media Group and
Lookalike Productions. Michael Willesee Sr., executive producer and Michael
Willesee Jr., senior producer. Nancy Stern is executive producer and Anne
Powell is coordinating producer.
ALIENS DEMAND BETTER MEDIA ATTENTION
The Onion, a satirical newspaper based in Wisconsin recently ran the
following humorous spoof of scientists' demands for better media attention.
Hmmm...could it be inspired in part by some of CSICOP's past protestations?
Maybe.
"Aliens Demand Better Media Attention"
Go to:
http://www.theonion.com/onion3524/aliens_portrayl_media.html
WIRED.COM COVERS MAN ON THE MOON: FACT OR HOAX
You would figure that the thirty year anniversary of the moon landing would
prompt the promoters of the idea that it was all just a hoax to scramble for
media coverage. Well, here is some of it, courtesy of Wired.com.
Go to:
http://www.wired.com/news/news/email/explode-infobeat/culture/story/20820.html
If anyone is aware of good materials on the Web that critically refute the
hoax claim, please e-mail Matt Nisbet at SINISBET@aol.com.
CHINA BANS MEDITATION SECT FALUN GONG
The Associated Press reported on July 22 that China had banned the popular
meditation sect Falun Gong after three days of massive protests, intensifying
a crackdown on a group Chinese leaders see as a serious threat to their rule.
As the AP reports "The ban, reported by state media, accused Falun Gong of
spreading 'superstitious, evil thinking' to undermine social stability. The
announcement came after three days of protests by as many as 30,000 people in
dozens of Chinese cities over the arrest of about 70 leading sect members.
Falun Gong, or the Wheel of Law, was founded in 1992 by Li Hongzhi, a
former government clerk who now lives in the United States. The Chinese
government estimated at one point that it had up to 70 million followers. By
comparison, the ruling Chinese Communist Party has 60 million members. Falun
Gong doctrines mix martial arts with ideas from Buddhism and Taoism. Its
leaders have argued that the sect, not the Communist Party, has the answers
to make China a more stable, moral society."
For more information, check out the Associated Press website at
http://www.ap.org.
NORTH CAROLINA TRI-AREA SKEPTICS TO HOST FRIDAY THE 13TH BASH
From: ecarlson@wfu.edu (Eric Carlson)
I wanted to comment that there will be at least one more Friday the 13th
Bash next month. The Triad Area Skeptics Club (TASC) will be holding one
at Borders Books in Thruway Shopping Center in Winston-Salem, NC from
12:00-2:00. I will get some details to you ASAP.
_________________
SI Electronic Digest is the biweekly e-mail news update of the Committee
for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP.)
Visit http://www.csicop.org/.
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The Digest is written and edited by Matthew Nisbet and Barry Karr. SI
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