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Here is a rundown of the top stories in skeptical and pseudoscience news from the past week courtesy of Doubtful News.

What's wrong with having a little fun hoaxing? Well, it can turn out really tragic as did the case with the prank phone call made to a hospital treating the Duchess of Cambridge made by two Australian DJs.

In an update to the story about magician Wayne Houchin being accused of voodoo and burned in a TV show "blessing", an arrest has been ordered for the host who set him on fire.

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randiindiaToday members of the JREF team left for our sixth Amaz!ng Adventure, along with a full contingent of adventurers and speakers like Ben Radford, Jamy Ian Swiss, D. J. Grothe, Jennifer Michael Hecht, and Toni Van Pelt. And last week, I, along with D. J., and Brian Thompson, were in Australia for a speaking tour, media appearances and the Australian Skeptics National Convention. But more on both of these jaunts later... 

Right now, I want to report briefly on our recent tripto the wonder that is India. A few weeks ago, D. J. and I returned from an 11-day adventure in India, and I’ll just say that it was exciting, invigorating, surprising, and very satisfying. We met a wide spectrum of people who welcomed us warmly, and it appears that our JREF message was well received, as well. 

Personally, I was rather bewildered by problems with electronic communication, but I was sufficiently well rescued from that confusion that I stayed in touch with the USA all along the way. I’ll add that the results of the US Presidential election quite satisfied my needs… Thank you, ubiquitous CNN! And that so many of our friends in India celebrated the election results with us, really says something!

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Here is a recap of the stories that appeared last week at Science-Based Medicine, a multi-author skeptical blog that separates the science from the woo in medicine.  

Now that Burzynski has gotten off in 2012, Burzynski The Movie will spawn a sequel in 2013 (David Gorski) http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/burzynski-movie-spawns-a-sequel/ The Texas Medical Board’s case against Burzynski was dismissed on a technicality. He continues to abuse the clinical trial process and to offer patients “antineoplaston” and “personalized, gene-targeted” treatments. A new movie can be expected to fawningly repeat the typical Burzynski blather. Meanwhile, patients are dying after wasting huge sums of money on useless treatments.  

Fun With Statistics (Harriet Hall) http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/fun-with-statistics/ Statistics is the essential foundation for science-based medicine, but it is confusing and frequently misunderstood. In the book Dicing with Death, Stephen Senn educates us about statistics while entertaining us with anecdotes and laugh-out-loud humor.  

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If you missed The Amaz!ng Meeting 2012, you can still catch great talks, panels, and workshops on science and skepticism given live at TAM 2012 on our YouTube page. Today, we are pleased to share one of those remarkable workshops.

Coalition Building for the Skeptical Activist

Sharon Hill of DoubtfulNews.com moderates this workshop on overcoming differences in politics, social philosophies, and mission statements in order to work together toward a common skeptical cause. Featuring Chris Stedman of the Harvard Humanist Chaplaincy, Kitty Mervine of BadAlien.org, Dave Silverman of American Atheists, and David Niose of the American Humanist Association.

Watch for new talks from The Amaz!ng Meeting every week, right here on randi.org. And enjoy new videos the moment they are posted by subscribing to our YouTube channel.

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 A few weeks ago, Michael Shermer, founder of Skeptic Magazine and the Skeptics Society, posted this photo on his Twitter account:

 

                                                                                                          

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  2. This Week In Doubtful News
  3. Last Week In Science-Based Medicine
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