Committee for Skeptical Inquiry

[Barry Karr <SkeptInq@aol.com>]

False Claims?
ABCNews.com
http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/community/DailyNews/chat_barrett020125.html


"More than 1 million Americans are diagnosed with cancer every year and
studies suggest that many of them explore alternative therapies. But do the
treatments actually work?"


Boy may have been victim of ritual killing
online.ie
http://www.online.ie/news/latest_world/viewer.adp?article=1644918

"Detectives hunting the killer of a boy whose torso was found in a river
believe he may have been the victim of a ritualistic murder."


Assembly debates life's origins
By Jennine Zeleznik
Dayton Daily
http://www.activedayton.com/ddn/local/0125science1.html

"The "origins of life as we know it" has been a hot topic among educators,
scientists and lawmakers for decades. The issue won’t be cooling in Ohio
any time soon."


Psychic Wants To Go Beyond
Sci-Fi Wire
http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-main.html?2002-01/25/12.00.tv

"Psychic James Van Praagh told SCI FI Wire that his proposed new show,
Beyond, will differ from the SCI FI Channel series Crossing Over With John
Edward. Van Praagh was pitching his series at the 2002 National Association
of Television Program Executives convention."


The truth is out there, but 'Mothman' swerves clear of it
By Mark Rahner
Seattle Times
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/artsentertainment/134395179_mothman25.ht

ml

"When dealing with the paranormal, it's best to start with the things we
know. In this case, it's the trailer for "The Mothman Prophecies," which is
inescapable if you own a TV."


Film triggers interest in Mothman
By Anthony Breznican
Associated Press
http://www.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/24/wkd.mothman.legend.ap/index.html

"No one is quite sure what came to the river town of Point Pleasant, W.Va.,
in the 1960s."


Afrocentric scholar to be honored
By Herb Boyd
The Black World Today
http://www.tbwt.com/views/specialrpt/specialrpt_0193.asp

"When Dr. Ivan Van Sertima published his book, They Came Before Columbus
(Random House, 1976), he introduced a new paradigm, a new way of looking at
the development of Western culture.  At the core of his thesis was the
conclusion that Africans had ventured to the West long before the voyages
of European conquistadores and other plunderers."


Unsafe Supplements?
By Melinda T. Willis
ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/living/DailyNews/kava_liver021801.html

"Canadian health officials are warning consumers to stop using kava, an
herb that has been implicated in approximately 25 cases of liver disease in
Germany and Switzerland."


Pennsylvania Attorney General Fisher Obtains Preliminary Injunction
Against Psychic Reader's Network and Access Resource Services
Press Release
SOURCE: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020125/phf023_1.html

"Pennsylvania Attorney General Mike Fisher today announced that a Cambria
County Court judge has entered a preliminary injunction order against
Psychic Reader's Network and its billing agent, Access Resource Services.
The injunction requires the businesses to cease calling Pennsylvania
consumers who requested no further contact and to halt attempts to collect
outstanding bills that consumers are disputing. The injunction remains in
effect pending the outcome of Fisher's lawsuit against the defendants."


'Mothman Prophecies' is fantastically dull
By JOE BALTAKE
Sacramento Bee
http://www.nandotimes.com/entertainment/story/228761p-2201493c.html

"To their credit, the makers of "The Mothman Prophecies" don't open their
film with the usual disclaimer, "Based on a true story." Instead, they
advise us that this bit of paranormal hokum was "inspired by events that
happened in Point Pleasant, W. Va.""


Irish inventor claims of 'free energy' a hoax?
CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/01/23/ireland.invention.reut/index.html

"It has been a pipe-dream of inventors since Leonardo da Vinci, but has the
secret of free energy now been found in Ireland, or is this just another
misguided attempt to build a perpetual motion machine?"


Does the internet harm health?
Letters
British Medical Journal
http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/324/7331/238/a



Judge rules cult pair faces jail tomorrow for silence on baby
by Dave Wedge
Boston Herald
http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/cult01242002.htm

"An appeals court has cleared the way for an Attleboro cult couple to be
jailed tomorrow for refusing to say where their newborn baby is and child
welfare officials are becoming increasingly concerned about the infant's
safety."


Tune in to 'TNN's Conspiracy Zone With Kevin Nealon' and Get Ready to 'Name
That Conspiracy'
Press Release
TNN
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020123/nyw081_1.html

"Could you be involved in a conspiracy and not even know it! Was that Elvis
you saw last week? Is your neighbor really an alien from another planet?
Now viewers can check their conspiracy-finding skills by tuning into The
New TNN'S CONSPIRACY ZONE WITH KEVIN NEALON on Sundays at 9:00 PM, ET/PT
and then logging onto TNNOnline.com to play the ``Name That Conspiracy''
online game."


Magnets alone unlikely to aid wrist pain: study
Reuters Health
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2002/01/25/eline/links/20020125elin025.ht

ml

"Magnets have been touted as a treatment for many ailments, including
chronic pain and depression. Now, according to the results of a study on
the effectiveness of magnet therapy for people with carpal tunnel syndrome,
some users may find temporary pain relief--but the effect may have nothing
to do with the magnets."



Unidentified flying ice crash-lands into car dealership
Associated Press
http://www.goupstate.com/docs/News/gen/3582.asp

"A chunk of ice crashed through the roof of a car dealership and, while
authorities aren’t exactly sure where it came from, scientists say a plane,
perhaps flying from the north, is a distinct possibility."



Quaking lights
By Alberto Enriquez
Anchorage Daily News
http://www.adn.com/life/story/753386p-803392c.html

"When it comes to earthquakes, the earth doesn't just move. It often roars.
It broadcasts at radio frequencies. And if the conditions are right, it
even produces a visible glow."



Ark of the Covenant features in Ethiopian celebration
By Matthew J. Rosenberg
Associated Press
http://www.jpost.com/Editions/2002/01/20/LatestNews/LatestNews.41986.html

"In Axum, there's no mystery about what's become of the lost biblical Ark
of the Covenant."



'Mothman' sightings will continue
By Stephen Schaefer
USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/life/enter/movies/2002/2002-01-23-mothman.htm

"Until now, the Mothman has been known only to a devoted, cultlike few.
That's certain to change with The Mothman Prophecies, out Friday and
starring Richard Gere. The otherworldly 7-foot, red-eyed, winged apparition
known as Mothman might even become a pop-culture totem, like Big Foot."




Would You Walk Under a Ladder With This Magazine?
By RENEE TAWA
LOS ANGELES TIMES
http://latimes.com/features/lifestyle/la-000005340jan21.story

"So it's payback time, you wily, old Jinx. Finally, you're plastered on the
cover of Sports Illustrated, sprung to life in the form of a lone black
cat. The headline: "The Cover that No One Would Pose for: Is the SI Jinx
for Real?""



Doomsday rumours give quake survivors jitters
by RADHA SHARMA
Times of India
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=1445963135

"Fear is palpable as the earthquake-scarred people of Gujarat ready
themselves to take on the first anniversary of the country’s worst natural
disaster on January 26. But a flurry of absurd astrological predictions and
rumours about an impending earthquake have left many in a bundle of nerves."


Taxpayers Duped By Slavery Scam
By CURT ANDERSON
Associated Press
http://www.chieftain.com/friday/business/index/article/8

"A growing number of black taxpayers are being misled by scams falsely
claiming they can get tax credits or refunds as reparations for slavery."



Look Into Judge's Crystal Ball: Psychic Going To Jail
WEWS-TV
http://www.newsnet5.com/news/1207181/detail.html

"An east side psychic really can tell her future, but so can the people she
cheated out of thousands of dollars, NewsChannel5 reported."