SWIFT August 8, 2008
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Announcement, Fearsom Portents, Birds of a Feather, "The One" - One More Time, This Is Getting Boring, Feedback, Update, Correction, Who's Better Off?, The Same Old Argument, Another Non-Homeopathic Swindle, In Closing...
Last week we sent out notices that Bad Astronomer Phil Plait is replacing me as President of the JREF. Just to make sure we’re all on the same frequency, here: Yes, our excellent friend Phil Plait is now the President of JREF. No, I’m not abandoning the JREF; I’m moving up-and-sideways to occupy the position of “Founder & Chairman of the Board.” I have nothing but total confidence in Phil and his ability to fill this position, and I will now have the time and opportunity to finish my next two books: “A Magician in the Laboratory,” and “Wrong!” – at long last...! When those emerge, watch the fur fly...!
New JREF President - Phil Plait
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The JREF Welcomes New Foundation President Dr. Philip Plait
The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) is pleased to announce that Dr. Philip Plait – renowned astronomer, author, and skeptic – will be taking on the role of President of the JREF effective immediately.
The goals of the JREF are to bring critical thinking to the public, expose pseudoscientific frauds, and promote real science and rationality.
“Phil is a skeptic, a scientist, and a colleague, and his ideas and vigor will take the JREF very far indeed. We’re pleased and proud to have him take the reins,” said James Randi, internationally known magician and critical thinker, who is the founder and outgoing president of the JREF. “I will now be dedicating much of my time to completing my next two books, Wrong!, and A Magician in the Laboratory.”
SWIFT July 31, 2008
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Lunar Astronaut Still Deluded and Spaced-Out, The State of Homequackery, Yet More on Homeopathy, What’s Sauce for the Goose..., Help Wanted, Another Superstitious Horror, “The One”: Episode 4, More Sniffex, The USPTO Again, and In Closing...
I first refer you to tinyurl.com/594kgk, where you’ll read Phil Plait’s overly-kind but honest reference to the latest nonsense to come from former astronaut Edgar Mitchell, one of the only twelve persons ever to actually walk on the Moon – that we know of, that is. Mitchell is now insisting that he’s privy to firm evidence that UFO-nauts exist, and that the truth has been – you guessed it! – suppressed by those People in Charge.
The Amaz!ng Adventure 4: Chasing el Chupacabra
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Join us March 8-15, 2009 for our fourth adventure on the deep blue seas, as James Randi and the JREF take you south to sunny Mexico in search of fellowship, fun and a bit of frivolity. With three ports and three days of lectures, you'll experience a one-of-a-kind environment where your intellect is fed as well as your body.
This journey's vessel, the Mariner of the Seas is an oceanic behemoth of 138,000 tons displacement... with the largest passenger-space ratio of any cruise liner afloat. This is double the size of the first ship we cruised on.
SWIFT July 25, 2008
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An Encouraging Development, The Netherlands Scene, Tattoo Time, Tantric Tantrum, Next Episode Down Under, I’m Shaking in My Boots, and In Conclusion…
Our readers will recall a tedious matter that occupied this site for several months. It was yet another “dowsing stick” farce, this one headed up by a Paul B. Johnson, CEO of the “Sniffex” company. Johnson eagerly sued the JREF when we published the facts about the fraudulent toy he was marketing as a bomb detection device, obviously hoping to benefit from the growing public concern with security. In fact, in September of 2006, he actually changed the name of his company to “Homeland Safety International Inc.,” keeping up to date with the latest media headlines, and perhaps hoping to imply connections with federal government agencies. He issued a series of 33 news releases that contained mostly false information about the product and about the company's financial situation. This maneuver drove the share price of the stock from 80 cents to about $6, earning a combined $32 million in illegal profits.
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