Committee for Skeptical Inquiry

[Barry Karr <SkeptInq@aol.com>]

For More Articles Visit:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/skepticsearch/



Gould uses modern science on Darwin's theories
By LINDA SEEBACH
Scripps Howard News Service

http://www.naplesnews.com/02/08/perspective/d801897a.htm

"Stephen Jay Gould's distinguished dual careers as a paleontologist and as
a writer about science both, in their different ways, paid homage to
Charles Darwin and the theory of evolution. Not long before his death in
May, Gould published The Structure of Evolutionary Theory, a massive
reorganization of the subject that incorporates the findings of
20th-century science."


The Sinner Behind the Saint
by Joseph Treviño
LA Weekly

http://www.laweekly.com/ink/02/37/news-trevino.php

"MILLIONS OF LATINOS IN MEXICO and Southern California watched joyfully
this week as Pope John Paul II made Juan Diego the first full-blooded
Mexican Indian to be elevated to sainthood. But this day of pride and
festivity might never have occurred were it not for Bishop Onésimo Cepeda,
who stood just behind the pope at the famed Basilica of Our Lady of
Guadalupe in Mexico City. Bishop Cepeda heads the impoverished diocese
where the Juan Diego miracle took place, and he labored years to overcome
critics who questioned whether Diego ever existed."


Time Travelin' Man
By Alistair Highet
New Mass. Media

http://www.hartfordadvocate.com/articles/timetravel.html

"Boyd Mallett, in the words of his son, "was the best." After a stint in
the Army, Boyd became a television technician at a time when TV was the
technology of the future."



China lays claim to its own Nessie
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

http://abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s636554.htm

"Hundreds of sightseers visiting have reported spotting a black monster
with a horse-like head in a deep volcanic lake near China's border with
North Korea."


Blue flash in sky a mystery
By Craig Garretson
Cincinnati Post

http://www.cincypost.com/2002/jul/31/flash073102.html

"Was it a meteor, a flash of lightning or something not quite of this world
that streaked across the skies of Greater Cincinnati at about 1:30 a.m.
Tuesday?"


Cereal spin doctors
by Rick DelVecchio
San Francisco Chronicle

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/a/2002/08/01/MN42887.DT

L

"On April Fool's Day four years ago, Joe Nickell issued his skeptics' Top
10 list of the world's hardiest paranormal hoaxes. His prime examples
included the Amityville Horror, King Tut's Curse, psychic surgery and the
Roswell saucer crash."


Witchcraft convict had heart wrapped in cloth
Reuters

http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/africa/08/01/zambia.witchcraft.reut/index.html

"A Zambian man has been jailed for witchcraft after a human heart was found
in his possession, and police are investigating a possible murder, state
radio and prosecutors said Thursday."


Letters on the article "Fundamentally Unsound" by Michelle Goldberg
Salon

http://www.salon.com/books/letters/2002/08/02/aug02/index.html


Circular logic
By Vanessa E. Jones
Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/213/living/Circular_logic+.shtml

"They call themselves cereologists, a term that makes them sound as if
they're researching Cap'n Crunch or Froot Loops. But the people in this
group study crop circles, those dazzling geometric designs that have been
carved into barley, wheat, and oat fields throughout England, Germany,
Japan, and the United States."


Skepticism Greets Local Archaelogist's Find
By ROBERT A. FRAHM
Hartford Courant

http://www.ctnow.com/news/local/hc-skeleton0802.artaug02.story

"A colorful University of Hartford archaeologist ignited an international
debate Thursday when he claimed he had discovered a 2,000-year-old skeleton
in Israel, possibly that of John the Baptist."



Song case first in department to use psychic
By Kathy McGinley
Daily Collegian [PSU]

http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2002/08/08-01-02tdc/08-01-02dnews-04.asp

"The Ferguson Township Police investigation into the disappearance of Penn
State student Cindy Song -- now in its tenth month -- is continuing to use
psychic help."


Sea creature spooks swimmers
by GREGG M. MILIOTE
Fall River Herald News

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=4918095&BRD=1710&PAG=461&;
dept_id=99784&rfi=6

"A fun-filled day of swimming and fishing for one local group of friends
and family turned into a nightmare that most only witness in the movies."



Villagers beat five women to death for being 'witches'
Times of India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_Id=17696636

"Five tribal women suspected of being witches were beaten to death by a
village mob in West Bengal, a senior police official said on Thursday."



KC conference explores evolution debate
By KATE BEEM
Kansas City Star

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/3754954.htm

"Until intelligent design is accepted by a majority of scientists, don't
look for it in public school science classes, a panel of evolution
supporters said on Saturday."


It’s harvest time for crop-circle hype
By Alan Boyle
MSNBC

http://msnbc.com/news/787696.asp?cp1=1

"You’d think a professional crop-circle chronicler like Colin Andrews would
be absolutely ecstatic: Three films about crop circles are coming out this
year, including “Signs,” the subject of Hollywood hype and magazine cover
stories. But Andrews is actually worried ... worried that all this hype
will bring less respectful amateurs into the, um, field. On the other hand,
crop-circle makers like John Lundberg are thrilled."


Chiropractors sue UIL over physical exams
Associated Press

http://www.reporternews.com/2002/texas/chi0803.html

"Texas chiropractors are suing the University Interscholastic League to be
allowed to perform physical exams for student athletes."


No Easy Autism Answers
ABC NEWS

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/living/DailyNews/autismWNT020801.html

"Sean Green was a happy, easygoing baby until one morning, when everything
changed."


Skulls Found in Africa and in Europe Challenge Theories of Human Origins
By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD
New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/06/science/06SKUL.html

"Two ancient skulls, one from central Africa and the other from the Black
Sea republic of Georgia, have shaken the human family tree to its roots,
sending scientists scrambling to see if their favorite theories are among
the fallen fruit."


Report casts light on UFO triangles
By Leonard David
SPACE.COM

http://www.msnbc.com/news/790220.asp

"They are big, black, and triangular. In UFO folklore, they are
proof-positive that planet Earth is a rest stop for joyriding, but
road-weary, extraterrestrials. A just-released study by the National
Institute for Discovery Science, based in Las Vegas, sheds new light on the
dark and mysterious craft. They offer a more down-to-earth hypothesis."



How our demons fuel witch-hunts born from demons
by Richard Webster
The Observer [UK]

http://www.observer.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,768963,00.html

"The story of what happened to Dawn Reed and Chris Lillie is so bizarre
that it might seem to be without parallel. It would be reassuring to
dismiss Shieldfield as a terrible aberration. But that would only be to
replace one delusion with another."


Crop circles: A myth takes root
By Robert W. Welkos
LOS ANGELES TIMES

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/3791979.htm

"IN M. NIGHT Shyamalan's new sci-fi thriller, "Signs," a Pennsylvania
farmer played by Mel Gibson awakens one morning to discover a 500-foot
geometric pattern that has mysteriously appeared in his cornfield overnight."


'UFO' in air show crash
The Daily Telegraph [Australia]

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,4845726%255E401,00.html

"A previously unidentified flying object may have caused the deadly crash
of a Ukrainian fighter into an air show crowd a week ago, the Russian NTV
television company reported."



"The Hunt for Zero Point" by Nick Cook
Reviewed by Kurt Kleiner
Salon

http://www.salon.com/books/review/2002/08/05/zero_gravity/index.html

"The U.S. government confiscated secret Nazi anti-gravity technology at the
end of World War II, and later may have tested it in aircraft that account
for the rash of post-War UFO sightings. Some of that technology has
probably made its way into the B2 stealth bomber. Some of it is probably so
dangerous that it's buried away in secret government vaults."