Committee for Skeptical Inquiry

[Barry Karr <SkeptInq@aol.com>]

 Lizard Sewer Invasion Smells Like a Myth
 By DON SINGLETON
 New York Daily News
 http://www.nydailynews.com/2001-07-08/News_and_Views/City_Beat/a-117574.asp

 "New York City's latest urban legend slithered into town last week,
 provoking amusement, curiosity and perhaps a bit of fear."


 Shipping gator aid to the Big Apple
 By DON ADDIS
 St. Petersburg Times
 http://www.sptimes.com/News/070801/Columns/Shipping_gator_aid_to.shtml

 "My old cohort in humor, Paul Dickson, with his pal Joseph C. Goulden, once
 wrote a book called There Are Alligators In Our Sewers & Other American
 Credos -- "a collection of bunk, nonsense and fables we believe.""


 British witches upset by Harry Potter broomstick style
 Reuters
 http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010709/en/film-potter_1.html

 "Hollywood studio Warner Bros. has had a spell cast on it for showing
 apprentice wizard Harry Potter riding his broomstick with the brush part at
 the back."


 Man at heart of 1980s child abuse case may be freed
 by Jan Cienski
 National Post

http://www.nationalpost.com/search/story.html?f=/stories/20010710/614688.html&qs=amirault



 "A figure at the heart of a 1980s child abuse panic may soon be released
 from jail, years after much of the evidence against him was discredited as
 the imaginings of children."


 Gov. Swift in no hurry to let Amirault go free
 by Ellen J. Silberman
 Boston Herald
 http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/swif07102001.htm

 "Acting Gov. Jane M. Swift yesterday said she is in no rush to let
 convicted child sex abuser Gerald ``Tooky'' Amirault out of jail."


 Tracking Myakka’s wily Skunk Ape
 By Mischa Vieira
 East County Observer
 http://www.ecobserver.com/viewarticle.cfm?ID=183

 "It’s been nearly nine months and there’s been no reappearance of the
 Myakka Skunk Ape. At least no official reports."


 Count Dracula Beaten in Wine Ruling
 Reuters
 http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010711/od/dracula_dc_1.html

 "Count Dracula has been thwarted in a bid to stop his name being used to
 sell wine, according to a German court ruling published on Tuesday."


 Herbal Supplements Risky in Surgery
 By John McKenzie
 ABC NEWS
 http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/abc/20010711/ts/herbs_surgery_010710_1.html

 "In a report in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association,
 researchers warn that commonly used herbal medications may cause serious
 problems in patients during surgery and that more doctors need to know what
 herbal medications their patients are taking before the operation."


 Study finds herbs, surgery don't mix
 By Rhonda Rowland
 CNN
 http://www.cnn.com/2001/HEALTH/07/10/surgery.herbs/index.html

 "Physicians should ask all patients preparing to undergo surgery if they
 use herbal remedies, since they may cause complications during the
 operation, according to a study in this week's Journal of the American
 Medical Association. Doctors should also be familiar with the potential
 complications of commonly used herbal medications and know how to handle
 them, the researchers said."
****************************************************************

This is your reminder for the JULY 2001 'Skeptics in the Pub' meeting.

DATE - Wednesday, July 18th, 2001 [Note: this month's it's Wednesday, not
Thursday]
TIME - 19:30
PLACE- Upstairs in the Florence Nightingale pub,
199 Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1, U.K.
Junction with York Road, on the roundabout, near Waterloo station.
Entry fee is £2.

Detailed directions and a map of how to get to the pub can be found at
<http://www.skeptic.org.uk/pub>.

This month's night is a must-see, as we have JON RONSON coming to talk to
us. His highly entertaining show "The Secret Rulers of the World" recently
aired on Channel 4, and his book "Then: Adventures With Extremists" has
recently being released by Picador (copies will be available on the night).

A welcome is extended to anyone interested in, or skeptical about,
conspiracy theories, the paranormal, alternative medicine, psychic powers,
pseudo-science, UFOs, alien abductions, creationism, Fortean phenomena,
cult religions, water-divining, lost civilisations, etc.
The evening will be an informal one, in a relaxed and friendly pub
atmosphere. Real ales and food available. Non-skeptics are welcome and you
can turn up at any time during the night.

Planned meeting dates to September are as follows:

Thursday August 16: Scott Wood.
Topic: Sex and Dogs and UFO's: A Meze of Strange Beliefs and Outsider Ideas.

Thursday September 20: Dr Charles Paxton (Univ of St Andrews).
Topic: Sea Monsters? Science and unknown giant aquatic animals.

Thanks to CSICOP/The Skeptical Inquirer, The Skeptic and ASKE for their
support.

E-mail me for more information, or to recommend a speaker (perhaps
yourself), or to remove yourself from this list.
Scott Campbell <scott.campbell@nottingham.ac.uk>.


__________________________________
Dr Scott Campbell,
Department of Philosophy,
University of Nottingham,
University Park, Nottingham,
NG7 2RD, U.K.