2004-11-04 News
Today one of our members attended an informal trial of the Wine Clip. This magnetic device is sold with the claim that when fitted to a bottle of wine, it will greatly improve the wine’s taste. So far the results are negative.
2005-05-11 News
Babies at risk from worthless homeopathic vaccines
Australian Skeptics media release about Homeopathy – an unproven, nonsensical remedy commonly available in Australia.
http://www.skeptics.com.au/features/press/050510homeopathy.htm
2005-02-10 News
ACCC Consumer Express: February – Scam Awareness Month
This month’s topics include: Spam and scams … The spam and scams rogues gallery … Loathsome lottery scams … Nasty ‘Nigerian‘ scam … Phishing scams … Spoofing … Attack of the Zombies … Mobile scams … Horse betting and share trading software … Where to report scams and spam … Spam in Australia
http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/583631/fromItemId/3737 or email express@accc.gov.au to subscribe.
Murders and Clairvoyants
| (the Skeptic, Autumn 2004) Available in PDF at http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~scarab/skepics/CrimeAndPsychics.pdf | See also Sensing Murder |
Well-meaning or malicious, “clairvoyants” can be cruel to the grieving.
Skeptics sometimes find amusing the bizarre claims of clairvoyants, but there are many instances when their antics add to the trauma and heartache of bereaved people. Human tragedy is a fertile ground for clairvoyants, striking relatives and friends at their most vulnerable. Unthinking clairvoyants who offer unsolicited “visions” that add immeasurably to grief at this time are singularly unfunny.
Family tragedies
Of all human loss, the most difficult for any parent to imagine is the shattering sadness of losing a child. On Australia day 1996, Sarah Spiers, a secretary aged 18, went with friends to a nightclub in the business district of Claremont, a well-to-do suburb halfway between Perth and Fremantle in Western Australia. She knew the area well, having spent her schooldays in an adjoining suburb. Sarah left the club at about 2am and walked to the next street, where phone records show she called a taxi. When the cab arrived she was no sign of her. She has never been seen since.
Initially, police treated her disappearance as a missing person, perhaps a runaway. But her family knew this was not possible. She would never fail to communicate with her loving family, under any circumstances. Sarah had shared a unit with her sister and there was nothing in her background to indicate that she would voluntarily vanish. Her distraught parents searched for Sarah, printing posters and making public pleas for anyone holding her to return her safely.
Just four months later, Jane Rimmer, a 23 year old child care worker who had been to another Claremont nightspot, vanished in the early hours of the morning. Her body was found in bush 40 kilometres south of Perth. Police believed she had been killed within hours of her abduction. Panic set in when 27 year old lawyer Ciara Glennon vanished nine months later from the same strip around midnight. A serial killer was at large, the police said, and would strike again.
All this time Don and Carol Spiers had not View More Murders and Clairvoyants
Chinese Dinosaurs Exhibition
“Dinosaurs from China”
In part sponsored by the Australian Skeptics this impressive exhibition of dinosaurs and their progressive evolution into birds runs from 19 November 2004 to 17 April 2005 in the Melbourne Museum. “After visiting the Chinese Dinosaurs exhibition people will fully appreciate that dinosaurs are not extinct
they’re alive and well, and singing in your back yard.” (Prof Archer, past Director of the Australian Museum)
From China comes an exhibition of massive proportions. One of the largest collections of dinosaur skeletons ever to tour Australia is about to take over Melbourne Museum including giant skeletons, rare fossils and new discoveries such as amazing feathered dinosaurs as well as a fantastic programme of children's activities. Adult $16; Child $6; Concession $8; Family $36 (also includes entry to Melbourne Museum and a free ticket redeemable until 10 July 2005)
This is a singularly appropriate sponsorship for the Skeptics, as one of our principal concerns has always been to counter the influence of religious fundamentalists on our education system and particularly on the teaching of science. These ‘Young Earth Creationists‘, in endeavouring to keep their followers in ignorance of the evidence that really exists to underpin scientific theories of the evolution of species (and much else) have put up perennial strawman arguments along the lines of “There is no example of one species changing into another species” and equally fatuous questions such as, “Of what use is half a wing?“
Such propositions have never been scientifically valid ones, but they have had a superficial plausibility for the unsophisticated followers of this anti-scientific cult. The dinosaur specimens sponsored by the Skeptics in this exhibition, showing different transitional species on the road from reptile to bird, will serve to graphically expose such creationist rhetoric for the specious nonsense it always has been. (See Creationism Articles)
- (Photo1: Model of Sinosauropteryx prima made by Alan Groves working with palaeontologists Drs Walter Boles and Sue Hand.)
- (Photo2: Model of Sinornithosaurus smillenii made by Alan Groves working with palaeontologists Drs Walter Boles and Sue Hand.)
For more details about the Melbourne Museum Event see http://melbourne.museum.vic.gov.au/whatson/show.asp?ID=561503
For more information
- Australian Museum Chinese Dinosaurs Site
- Background story (with photos) – Association of Australasian Palaeontologists
- The Science Show (RN) (2002)
Paranormal Prize Money
The Australian Skeptics offer a Prize of AU $110,000 for proof of paranormal ability or incredible phenomena. This includes AU $20,000 “Finder’s Fee” for a person who finds a psychic who can demonstrate genuine ability. For more information see: http://www.skeptics.com.au/prize/index.html
International Skeptical Prizes
Many other organisations around the world offer similar rewards.
| James Randi (USA) – One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge http://www.randi.org/research/index.html | US $1,000,000 |
| Stuart Landsborough (NZ) – Psychic Challenge http://www.puzzlingworld.co.nz/ | NZ $50,000 |
| Association For Skeptical Enquiry (UK) http://www.aske.org.uk/challenge/ | �12,000 |
| Indian Skeptics – The Paranormal Challenge http://www.indian-skeptic.org/html/index.htm | 100,000 Rupees |
| Tampa Bay Skeptics http://www.tampabayskeptics.org/#Chall | US $1,000 |
| The North Texas Skeptics Paranormal Challenge http://www.ntskeptics.org/challenge/challeng.htm | US $12,000 |
| The Qu�bec Skeptics – D�fi Sceptique http://www.sceptiques.qc.ca/DS/dsmain.html | CAD 10,000 |
- 22 International prizes: http://www.aske.clara.co.uk/AwardList.html
2005-01-31 News
We’ve discovered Victoria University have a degree based on Homeopathy !!! What’s next? A degree in mind reading or tea-leaf fortune telling? There are millions of dollars Paranormal Prize Money world-wide waiting for the proof that homeopathy’s nonsensical theories actually work. In the meantime, the Victorian committee of the Australian Skeptics have nominated Victoria University for the infamous Bent Spoon Award. Victoria University has taken education to a new low. http://www.staff.vu.edu.au/hdadmin/Staff/Courses/HS/UG/Naturopathy&Homeopathy.pdf
2004 events pictures
2004 photos from Peter Hogan, Various events edited by Ken Greatorex
Marc Abrahams’ Visit
Marc presented a talk on The Ig-nobel Prizes at Melbourne Museum
Robyn Abrahams, Marc Abrahams, Rosemary Sceats, Peter Hogan
Marc Abrahams with More of The Usual Suspects
Audience at Marc Abrahams’ talk on “The Ignoble Prizes”
Christopher Short, Charles Tivendale and Rosemary Sceats man the Information Desk at Marc Abrahams’ talk
Lynne Kelly does her thing at The Whitehorse Inn
A spot of Mind Reading
Lynne’s fascinated audience
Scenes from Sydney Convention
Lynne Kelly, Barry Williams Convention 2004 Sydney. Lynne has just been declared Skeptic of the Year
Steve Walker
Sandra and Mark Mayer
Peter Rogers Participants/onlookers include Lynne Kelly Mark Mayer and Sandra Mayer
A Monday Night at The Whitehorse
Mind Reading
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Prize Money
The Australian Skeptics offer a Prize of AU $110,000 for proof of paranormal ability or incredible phenomena. This includes AU $20,000 “Finder’s Fee” for a person who finds a psychic who can demonstrate genuine ability. For more information see: http://www.skeptics.com.au/prize/index.html
International Skeptical Prizes
Many other organisations around the world offer similar rewards.
| James Randi (USA) – One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge http://www.randi.org/research/index.html | US $1,000,000 |
| Association For Skeptical Enquiry (UK) http://www.aske.org.uk/challenge/ | �12,000 |
| Indian Skeptics – The Paranormal Challenge http://www.indian-skeptic.org/html/index.htm | 100,000 Rupees |
| Tampa Bay Skeptics http://www.tampabayskeptics.org/#Chall | US $1,000 |
| The North Texas Skeptics Paranormal Challenge http://www.ntskeptics.org/challenge/challeng.htm | US $12,000 |
| The Qu�bec Skeptics – D�fi Sceptique http://www.sceptiques.qc.ca/DS/dsmain.html | CAD 10,000 |
- 22 International prizes: http://www.aske.clara.co.uk/AwardList.html