The Association for Skeptical Enquiry in the UK now offers an award of 10,000 pounds to anyone who is able to pass a scientific test demonstrating that they have a ‘paranormal ability’. For details visit the ASKE website (see link).
Language: English
State-funded homeopathy declines in Scotland
The decline of state-funded homeopathic treatment within the National Health Service in England and Wales has been well documented for some time now. Now the Nightingale Collaboration has reported figures showing the same trend since 2005 for NHS Scotland.
Empty legal threats from Italian pseudoscientist to Dutch skeptic

Once again, American-Italian fringe scientist Ruggero Santilli, notorious for his rejection of the theories of Einstein, the Big Bang, redshift and his antisemitic conspiracy theories about everyone who disagrees with him, has sent empty threats to Dutch skeptical activist Pepijn van Erp, board member of Stichting Skepsis. Recently, Santillo claimed to have detected Invisible Terrestrial Entitites with his ‘antimatter-light‘ telescope (an idea that became quite popular on UFO/paranormal websites), but, to his chagrin, Van Erp challenged his findings.
According to Santilli, his attorney wrote a letter (which, curiously, contains the same kind of grammar and spelling errors Santilli himself regularly makes) to Van Erp telling him to rectify three kinds of statements that supposedly harm his reputation:
- Van Erp calls Santilli a “fringe scientist”, “a mad professor” and “a cunning scam artist”;
- Van Erp states that “the whole concept of antimatter is bullshit”;
- and Van Erp ‘defined’ Magnegas Corporation a “pyramid scheme”.
However, Van Erp corrects him that he said ‘antimatter-light’, not ‘antimatter’, explains that under Dutch law, his accusations against Santilli are not defamatory or libelous and thus not illegal, repeating what these claims are based on, and then goes on to defend his criticism of Magnegas. If this comes to a lawsuit, Santilli will have no leg to stand on.
Skeptica
Countries of operation: Denmark
Web page: link |
more info...
Sense and Nonsense about the Sign of the Cross
While spending his summer in Poland, someone brought an interesting article to Dutch physicist and skeptic Martin Bier’s attention. It has now been scientifically proven that making the sign of the cross over an amount of water significantly diminishes the amount of bacterial pathogens in that water. Is the making of the sign of the cross a matter of antibacterial hygiene just as much as it is a matter of piety? Bier decided to inquire…