Committee for Skeptical Inquiry

[Barry Karr <SkeptInq@AOL.COM>]

Penn and Teller go after Aliens and Creationists on TV...

PRNewswire reported on Dec. 16th that "On January 24 at 11:00 PM 
ET/PT SHOWTIME will present the controversial new series PENN & 
TELLER: BULLSHIT!  Master showmen Penn & Teller promise an 
aggressive, irreverent expose of taboo topics using the duo's 
trademark humor, knowledge of carnival tricks and con-artistry, as 
well as hidden cameras and blatant confrontation.  ... Using 
undercover operatives, scrupulous research and a healthy dose of 
skepticism, the Vegas headliners and world-famous magicians blow the 
lid off popular notions about alien abductions, Ouija boards and end 
of the world predictions.  They expose the bogus science behind such 
widely accepted canards as creationism, the purity of bottled 
water,global warming, miracle-workers and religious cults...."

Check out the Preview at:  http://www.sho.com/screeningroom/play_window.cfm?include=ptbs&filename=/ptbs/ptbs_trailer&archive=no
 


Alien-ated Youth
BY DYLAN OTTO KRIDER
Houston Press
http://www.houstonpress.com/issues/2002-12-19/feature.html/1/index.html

"At first glance, they look like perfectly ordinary first-graders 
scribbling feverishly on the blackboard, but there is something striking 
about the boy's deep blue eyes that suggests a maturity well beyond his 
years. Jake's in advanced classes and already reading at a third-grade 
level. Jan is the quiet one, but has a presence that immediately draws 
attention. Her predilection is toward art, though at the moment she is 
choosing to write math equations on the board, erasing them as soon as 
she's completed each of her computations."


Sect says first cloned baby due soon
Reuters
http://www.msnbc.com/news/849802.asp?cp1=1

"A Canadian cult that believes in free love and that life on earth was 
created by extra terrestrials said it could deliver the world’s first 
cloned baby on Christmas day. But the announcement by the Quebec-based 
Raelians sect was greeted Thursday with anger and skepticism from experts 
in the field."



FDA Warns Dietary Supplement Industry
By LAURAN NEERGAARD
Associated Press
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20021219/ap_on_he_me/health_claims_3

"The Food and Drug Administration warned the $17 billion dietary supplement 
industry Wednesday that it is now cracking down on companies that make 
fraudulent health claims about their pills, powders and poultices."



The mummy's curse: historical cohort study
by Mark R Nelson
British Medical Journal
http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/325/7378/1482

""Can you see anything?" It was all I could do to get out the words, "Yes, 
wonderful things.""


Psychic says Girly buried in mine shaft
By Joline Gutierrez Krueger
Albuquerque Tribune
http://www.abqtrib.com/archives/news02/121902_news_psychic.shtml

"In the death of Girly Chew Hossencofft, one question remains after two 
murder convictions and three years of investigation:"


Anatomy of a hoax
By Stephen St. Amand
Molalla Pioneer
http://www.molallapioneer.com/MOPNews0.html

"The recent death of a man some credit with creating the worldwide Bigfoot 
phenomenon is spurring further debate about whether sasquatch is real or 
just an elaborate hoax."




Many claim divine image on street sign
by Claudia Leos
Alpine Observer
http://www.alpineobserver.com/topnews/stories/121202_jesus.html

"A “No Parking” sign posted to keep the street in front of a South Alpine 
home clear of unwelcome vehicles has done just the opposite, with many 
local residents claiming to see the face of Jesus Christ in dark patterning 
on the sign."


The Bunk Stops Here
by David Emery
San Francisco Gate
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2002/12/19/aboese.DTL

"As a historian of science, Alex Boese is well schooled in the art of 
deception -- which is not as self-contradictory as it may seem, given that 
his academic specialty is the relationship between science and popular 
culture, a pairing that has begotten its fair share of humbuggery in modern 
times."



S.F. may soon see psychics regulated
by Steve Rubenstein
San Francisco Chronicle
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/12/20/BA83837.DTL

"The future looked cloudy for dozens of fortune-tellers and psychics in San 
Francisco on Thursday after legislation was proposed to require them to 
obtain permits, post their rates and stop tricking their clients."



Harvard Advertises for People Abducted by Aliens
By DIANA JEAN SCHEMO
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/18/education/18ALIE.html

"When Susan Clancy, a psychologist at Harvard University, wanted to study 
people with memories of events that had never happened, she cast her net 
wide. So wide it reached galaxies far, far away."



Case of the Bigfoot sighting solved
By Brian Hartz
Bloomington Herald-Times
http://www.hoosiertimes.com/stories/2002/12/19/news.021219_HT_C1_PM033317.sto

"It was a story tailor-made for an episode of "Unsolved Mysteries," perhaps 
even "The X-Files.""


We'll be seeing more of Bigfoot
By LAURA SCOTT
Kansas City Star
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascitystar/news/opinion/4769101.htm

"I suppose it's natural for most people to believe that Bigfoot is just an 
elaborate hoax by a human in an ape-man suit."



Hoaxers vs. Rocket Scientists: Even NASA unsure how to counter claims of 
faked moon landings
By MARCIA DUNN
Associated Press
http://www.space.com/news/oberg_hoaxes_021221.html 


"Is that the moon or a studio in the Nevada desert? How can the flag 
flutter when there's no wind on the moon? Why can't we see stars in the 
moon-landing pictures?"


Full Moon Effect on Behavior Minimal, Studies Say
by John Roach
National Geographic News
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/12/1218_021218_moon.html


"Beware: The moon is full tonight. People will party. Dogs will bite. 
Robbers will steal. Murderers will kill."


Advisors Put Under a Microscope
By Aaron Zitner
Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-advise23dec23.story

"When psychologist William R. Miller was asked to join a panel that advises 
the National Institute on Drug Abuse, he thought he had been selected for 
his expertise in addiction. Then a Bush administration staff member called 
with some unexpected questions."



'Vampires' strike Malawi villages
By Raphael Tenthani
BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2602461.stm

"Rumours of people being attacked for their blood have swept southern areas 
of Malawi."



What, exactly, did the Magi see?
By Katy Human
Boulder Daily Camera
http://www.bouldernews.com/bdc/city_news/article/0,1713,BDC_2422_1626395,00.html

""Oh yes, the Christmas Star question. I love that one," said John Mosley, 
program supervisor at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles."



Astronomer takes dim view of star-naming business
By HOLLY EDWARDS
The Tennessean
http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/02/12/26824631.shtml

"As holiday shoppers search frantically for that perfect gift, many are 
turning to the heavens for a solution."


Speical Thanks to Joe Littrell, Greg Martinez, Jim Oberg, Dave Thomas.