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Christopher Hitchens was scheduled to appear at a conference of atheists this weekend, but had to cancel due to his illness. He sent this letter to be read in lieu of his appearance. I cannot add to what Chris has written here. It is beautiful, courageous, succinct, truthful, and so typical of his work. I despair of ever reaching such heights, with my amateur talents, and I once again celebrate the existence of this giant. Please read and distribute these words...  We're proud to have them appear here on SWIFT.

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It all began with a frantic phone call on August 31, 1944. 

With a (then) population of only 16,000 people, Mattoon, Illinois was a fairly quiet town and police were rarely called in for more than routine cases. When Mrs. Bert Keaney reported that she and other members of her family had been attacked in their home, police were quick to respond. In her statement, Mrs. Keaney reported that she had noticed a prowler lurking in the shadows near the house. The intruder then opened a bedroom window and sprayed something that left a "sickening, sweet odor". Although she first thought that the smell was coming from the flowers outside, she noticed that the smell was getting stronger and that then began feeling paralysed in the lower part of her body. Police found no trace of any intruder and Mrs. Kearne experienced no lingering symptoms after becoming aware of the strange gas. When her husband returned home later that evening, he noticed a prowler "dressed in dark clothing and wearing a tight fitting cap" lurking at a window. When the prowler who managed to escape after he tried to chase him, police were called again. No trace of any prowler was found after a careful search of the neighbourhood.

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This week: NECSS reviews, interview with President D.J. Grothe, and a homeopathy exposé courtesy of the Australian Skeptics.

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Every few weeks there is another report of someone being arrested for involvement in the illegal animal trade. For example, in late February, a government official in Indonesia – where around 400 Sumatran tigers live – was busted for possession, among other things. Conservationists were notified that a tiger had been poisoned to death in a wildlife reserve in Riau province, and the suspect’s car was followed back to his house. Chemically preserved parts from various animals were found there, along with the poisoned tiger. Around the same time, Nepal Police arrested two endangered animal traders in the capital, Kathmandu, for possession of 15kg of tiger bones. The criminals were aged 32 and 19. They’re all part of the third most lucrative black market, worth $10-billion a year, behind drugs and weapons.  

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Gee, I sometimes feel sorry for you folks out there who don’t get the sort of exciting mail that I do. I heard from one of the thousands of deluded folks who reach out trying to convince me that they’re in touch with the future, can receive messages from Heaven – or Hell – and by mystical means have knowledge of the unknown. If so, they provide sufficiently fuzzy descriptions that I have to wonder if the have found the focus button on their brains.  Saint Paul – who came to a bad end, we’re told -- referred in one of his letters to the church in Corinth [1 Corinthians 13, 12] to “seeing through a glass darkly,” and I’d no idea that his glass was quite that dark. Someone referring to herself as “Kathleen R” – another suitably vague reference – has sent me this profound communication:

Hello, I am a psychic and am getting messages for Mr. Randi. They are as follows: The country song Golden Rings, country singers George Jones and Tammy Wynette, the colors blue and white, television shows Family Guy and King Of The Hill, a coal miner's hat or helmet of black color, and Elvis Presley. I am passing these to him as they are coming to me as symbols of his life. Please send this to him.  Thank you, Kathleen R.

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