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On Wednesday (September 21st), we discovered a new local event that sounded pretty cool. Dale was told about this event through her department head at the college she works for. The event was a Science Café hosted by Granite Geek. This event is very similar to what most of us know as Skeptics in the Pub or Drinking Skeptically. Being organizers of skeptics in the pub for our area, we were very interested in checking it out. We are always looking for new possibilities that promote science and are related to the get-together format.  

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LapreA master of the TV Infomercial, Don Lapre, has taken his life. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Lapre committed suicide yesterday while in jail waiting for his trial to begin. The trial was scheduled to start tomorrow.

He was famous for pitching "The Greatest Vitamins in the World," which he claimed could treat or cure cancer, blood sugar diabetes, stroke, heart disease cholesterol, sleep problems, depression, and other ailments. According to his company's promotional videos, the vitamins "should cost over $200" because they contain the "most expensive ingredients known to man." In fact, they appear to be similar to the vitamins you'd find at your local pharmacy chain. Our friends at Quackwatch.org have been warning of Lapre's huckstering for a while now.

He was arrested a few months ago and charged with 41 counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. He was accused of defrauding 220,000 people out of a staggering $52 million. They were told that by selling his vitamins, they'd earn more money than they actually could. So Lapre scammed his customers twice: first, by falsely claiming his vitamins were all but miracle cures, and then by falsely claiming that if people beneath him on his pyramid scheme sold them, they'd get rich.

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Randi receives standing ovation at the University of AlbertaAfter eleven days and stops in nine cities, including a CTV Atlantic television interview, James Randi's lecture tour across Canada has come to a close.  I was fortunate enough to accompany Randi on this journey, and I can't express strongly enough how rich the entire experience has been.  In a previous post, I thanked some of those who helped us with the first half of the tour, and now I would like to mention the ones who saw us through to the end.

Special thanks to Kendra Getty and Mark Hryniuk in Saskatoon, Seanna Watson in Ottawa, Brahim Abdenbi in Montreal, Jesse Brydle and Shawn Wilson in Halifax, and all the other CFI Canada volunteers who worked so hard to make this tour possible.  In particular, I would like to thank Derek Pert in Toronto for coordinating with CFI Canada's local branches.

Randi spoke to sold out crowds throughout the country, and I have been told that this tour raised enough money and generated enough new memberships for CFI Canada that they will remain a vibrant force for skepticism for a long time to come.  Thanks again to everyone involved.  We hope to see you all soon.

More photos after the jump.

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It is an oft-repeated complaint that our schools tell kids what to think, not teach them how to think. Questioning of the material presented is not encouraged (presumably to maintain order in the room). Since my children began school, I noticed certain “facts” that arose from classroom information that I’ve had to address. Mostly, I do this directly with my child, not to the teacher. I provide the framework to be thoughtfully critical of what they have been told. I’ve not hesitated to tell my kids that the teacher is NOT always right. There is more to the story that is not given. The world is a complicated place and one should not simply accept whatever is being presented as truth, without thinking about it first.

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[Editor’s Note: “Your Skeptic Stories” is an ongoing series written by readers like you, people who have, through one means or another, discovered skepticism and critical thinking. These stories remind us that we all started somewhere and some of us are still finding our way as skeptics. If you are interested in contributing your own story, please submit your piece of around 1000 words to maria (at) randi.org along with a short 2-3 line bio.


Today’s story comes from Jason]

 

  1. Weekly Media Roundup, September 30, 2011
  2. Randi's Tour of Canada Stops In Saskatoon, Toronto, and Ottawa
  3. Should skepticism be divorced from values?
  4. The JREF brings Dowsing Workshop to Capital