Good News For Simon Singh?
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- Written by D.J. Grothe
- Category: Swift
- Hits: 12172
Today, Simon Singh got what many skeptics around the world and in the skeptical blogosphere are celebrating as good news: the libel charges against him brought by the British Chiropractic Association have officially been dropped, after he recently won an appeal in the preliminary phase of the case.
And it certainly is good new in many ways. First, Singh won't have to spend another two years of his life defending his right to say that he thinks chiropractic does not result in the positive medical outcomes some chiropractors claim, as he did in the original article in The Guardian that incited the BCA to file the claim of libel against him in the first place. Second, there won’t be the continued exorbitant expense of the libel case itself: over $500,000 has been spent on the case so far by both parties, and it hasn't officially even gone to trial yet (the preliminary proceedings he won at appeal recently were only about the meanings of the words in his original article, and not a winning of the appeal of the libel trial itself). So with all this good news, is there a downside?
TAM 8 Early Registration Deadline Extended!
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- Written by Jeff Wagg
- Category: Newsflash
- Hits: 6952
We've had a great response to TAM 8 so far, but due to some glitches with the new software we're using, some of you have had difficulty registering. Because of this, we want to be sure that everyone has a chance to register before the prices go up to the normal rates. We're going to move the early registration cut off to April 30th. After that date, prices will go up and they'll go up again at the door. If you're coming to TAM, now is the time to get the best possible price.
Thank you for your interest... this is going to be the greatest TAM ever! You can register now at this link.
Great News!
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- Written by James Randi
- Category: Newsflash
- Hits: 6746
I must mention that Simon Singh – in person, folks – will be appearing at TAM8 in Las Vegas, July 8th to 11th. Hats off to Simon and the UK skeptical community who so boldly supported him in his fight! Kudos to all! I may even have a glass of champagne with lunch...! Wheeee!
Randi Speaks! ... on World Homeopathy Awareness Week.
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- Written by Brandon K. Thorp
- Category: Swift
- Hits: 19138
Well, it’s World Homeopathy Awareness Week, and James Randi’s getting into the spirit of the thing with a video, viewable below. Leave a comment here, sure, but also swing by our YouTube page to check out what we’ve got cooking over there.
Click below to see the vid...
Read more: Randi Speaks!... on World Homeopathy Awareness Week.
Fatmir Mediu Goes To Washington
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- Written by Penn Bullock
- Category: Swift
- Hits: 14946
“The Fellowship” is a fraternity of baldly conspiratorial Christian fundamentalists near the center of American power. The group refuses to disclose its finances or membership, self-identifies as “The Family” or the “Christian Mafia,” and extols the subversive and revolutionary skills of Osama bin Laden and Lenin. For more than fifty years, it’s held the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C. — a Jesus-themed gala of networking and schmoozing for the world’s top power brokers and politicians.
This year, President Obama spoke at the Prayer Breakfast. During his address, the famed orator could muster only an oblique remark about reports that the Family helped propose legislation in Uganda that would have gay people imprisoned or executed. Melanie Sloan, director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, lambasted the President for attending. She noted that the Family uses its connections to ingratiate foreign dictators with the American government, and other critics pointed out that defense contractors partly bankroll its gala.
Now the JREF has learned that the 2009 Prayer Breakfast hosted an Albanian member of parliament, Fatmir Mediu, accused of helping scam the U.S. Army on a critical Afghan war contract.
Under cover of the Prayer Breakfast and its pretensions to faith and piety, the suspect Albanian met with Vice-President Joseph Biden, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and a score of senators and congressmen, while subject to an escalating criminal investigation in Albania. Gary Kokalari, an Albanian-American activist in New York City, alerted the JREF to these meetings, which illustrate with uncommon clarity the perverse nature of the Family’s influence on government, and the way the group insinuates shifty characters into the corridors of power.
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