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               The REALL News

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The official newsletter of the Rational Examination Association
              of Lincoln Land

Volume 2, Number 2                                    March 1994

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Electronic Version

If you like what you see, please help us continue by sending
in a subscription.  See the end of newsletter for details.
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In This Issue:

From the Editor -- Bob Ladendorf
From the Chairman -- David Bloomberg
On the Till-Hovind Debate -- Prof. Karen E. Bartelt, Ph.D.
Another Psychic Encounter -- Det. Bruce Walstad
REALLity Check -- David Bloomberg
Close Encounters of the FOX Kind -- David Bloomberg

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Purpose:
The Rational Examination Association of Lincoln Land (REALL)
is a non-profit educational and scientific organization.  It is
dedicated to the development of rational thinking and the application
of the scientific method toward claims of the paranormal and fringe-
science phenomena.

REALL shall conduct research, convene meetings, publish a newsletter,
and disseminate information to its members and the general public.
Its primary geographic region of coverage is central Illinois.

REALL subscribes to the premise that the scientific method is the
most reliable and self-correcting system for obtaining knowledge
about the world and universe.  REALL not not reject paranormal claims
on a priori grounds, but rather is committed to objective, though
critical, inquiry.

_The REALL News_ is its official newsletter.

Membership information is provided elsewhere in this newsletter.

Board of Directors:  Chairman, David Bloomberg; Assistant Chairman,
Prof. Ron Larkin; Secretary-Treasurer, Wally Hartshorn; Newsletter
Editor, Bob Ladendorf; At-Large Members, Prof. Steve Egger, Frank
Mazo, and Kevin Brown.

Editorial Board:  Bob Ladendorf (Newsletter Editor), David Bloomberg
(electronic version editor), (one vacancy).

REALL
P.O. Box 20302
Springfield, IL 62708

Unless stated otherwise, permission is granted to other skeptic
organizations to reprint articles from _The REALL News_ as long
as proper credit is given.  REALL also requests that you send
copies of your newsletters that reprint our articles to the
above address.

The views expressed in these articles are the views of the individual
authors and do not necessarily represent the views of REALL.

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              From The Editor
             -- Bob Ladendorf

   As this newsletter was about to go to press, I heard on
National Public Radio and read an article in the _Chicago
Tribune_ about the new information exposing the famous 60-
year-old Loch Ness "monster" photo as a hoax. According to
an investigation by a London newspaper, the photographer has
now admitted it as a hoax. The "monster" turns out to be a
toy submarine.
   Although there may be skepticism about this truth
professed by the photographer, his story certainly seems to
vindicate many scientific investigations of Loch Ness
essentially casting doubt on the lake's ability to hide such
a beheamoth. As we have learned before at REALL,
_extraordinary claims_ deserve _extraordinary proof_ by the
claimant.
   Some may be saddened that another whimsical creature is
only a twisted figment in somebody's imagination. I don't
feel that way; arriving at an answer to a vexing question is
much more illuminating about the human condition. This hoax,
along with the retraction of child abuse in the Bernardin
case (see David's "REALLity Check" on page 4), are two
bright spots in the struggle of reality against tyrannical
scamming.
   Two other articles in this issue concern debates between
skeptics and and paranormal supporters. The lead article by
Dr. Karen Bartelt is a report about the Till-Hovind debate
about the validity of purported ancient events, such as the
rescue of animals in Noah's Ark and the physical cause of
the great worldwide flood. The other one by Inv. Bruce
Walstad details a TV debate between a psychic and him. Both
articles illustrate how important it is to confront the
unscientific presentations of paranormal advocates without
alienating audiences from understanding scientific facts.
   Hope you enjoy this issue.

                    /s/ Bob Ladendorf

           ==============================

             From the Chairman
            -- David Bloomberg

  Wow! We're going to have to have Professor Malcolm Levin
come speak to us again!
   Besides the fact that the presentation was very
interesting and enjoyable, we had one of the best
attendances of the year. Plus we brought in two new members,
two renewals, and a new Patron in the person of REALL's
longtime friend Ranse Traxler.
   Other renewals from our first group of members have also
been rolling in, though it looks like there are a few who
will miss this issue. If your label says this is your last
issue, don't let that happen to you!
   It's been a busy month for me. I was interviewed by Randy
Dean on KROC in Rochester, Minnesota, and one in Texas, and
have been called by a station in San Francisco, California,
though I haven't yet been able to finalize anything with
them as of this writing. Plus it seems that I've been
bombarded with pseudoscience this month, with acquaintances
talking about how great their "psychics" are while ignoring
obvious flaws, a local store selling homeopathic "remedies",
and a greater-than-usual bunch of stories in the media.
Phew.
   But enough of that. It's *PLUG TIME*.
   Go to Barnes & Noble, pick up the most recent issue of
_Skeptic_ magazine, take it home, and read it. This issue
focuses mostly on false memory syndrome, but also has
articles by James Lippard and yours truly on the Sun
Pictures/Noah's Ark hoax. If you can't get to the bookstore,
or if they're out, let me know and I'll make sure you can
buy a copy!
   Creation/Evolution Info: If you hear about anything
related to the teaching of creationism in Illinois public
schools, Ranse Traxler would like to know about it. He will
even keep you anonymous if you so request. Send any info to
him at P.O. Box 462, O'Fallon, IL 62269-0462.

                    /s/ David Bloomberg

                ==============================

          On the Till-Hovind Debate
           by Prof. Karen E. Bartelt, Ph.D.

   On Sept. 11, 1993, Kent Hovind, a "creation-scientist-
evangelist" from Pensacola, Florida, and Farrell Till,
English professor and editor of _The Skeptical Review_, met
in public debate at Faith Baptist Church in Pekin, IL.
Although the topic of the debate was "The Genesis story of
the flood is scientifically accurate in all details," Hovind
distributed to the audience a handout ("Debate #7") that was
a generalized attack on evolution. The paper warned the
audience to watch for "desperate measures" and "illogical
ideas" that the evolutionist could be expected to use during
the debate. Among other things, the paper listed ad hominem
arguments, ridicule and scorn, citation of majority opinion,
and various appeals to scholarship. Additionally, the paper
stated that the evolutionist would "change the subject to
avoid answering the opponent's questions and comments."
   The debate was supposed to be comprised of a 30-minute
opening statement each, 20 minutes of rebuttal each, and a
question-and-answer period (questions sent in by the
audience). Hovind's opening statement was nothing but his
well-traveled slide show. He opened by stating that all
evolutionists believe that anyone who is a Bible-believing
Christian is ignorant. Some other highlights: An 11-foot
skeleton has been found in a coal mine in West
Virginia_proof positive that pre-flood humans were bigger
(so where is this skeleton now, Kent?); the geologic column
doesn't exist anywhere in the world; Noah's ark contained
only babies, and only single "kinds." There was a relatively
new (for me, at least) twist_the 23.5 degree tilt of the
earth happened during the flood. A giant "ice meteor" which,
because of its low temperature was magnetic, banged into the
North Pole, dropped mammoths in their tracks, the vapor
canopy collapsed, and the earth was flooded to a depth of
12,000 ft. As Dave Barry says, "I am not making this up."
The presentation was rapid-fire, leaving no time for the
audience to digest a topic before the next slide was
flashed. Indeed, for someone who told the _Peoria Journal
Star_ that he does the show 700 times a year, the
presentation was unpolished, and the slides were of poor
quality.
   Farrell Till accurately defined science as being outside
the realm of the supernatural. He spoke of the polystrate
Specimen Ridge trees in Yellowstone Park as evidence of
multiple volcanic burials and attacked the seaworthiness of
the ark. The audience was asked to consider how probable it
was for a lone man or small group to build a huge ark
without modern tools. All-wooden ships have a maximum length
far below the purported length of the ark (indeed, this was
one reason that the shipbuilding industry turned to steel),
and the audience was encouraged to search the references
Till provided concerning shipbuilding. Till asked if such a
ship did manage to stay afloat, how did the cargo survive
the rough seas described by other creationists? How did the
crew handle the 40 tons of manure produced by an elephant in
a year? Finally, if, as Hovind asserted, only a few "kinds"
were present on the Ark, then Hovind must also admit that
all forms of bovids, from bison to cattle to deer, evolved
rapidly after the flood_something no "evolutionist" would
ever state.
   Hovind's rebuttal was to place God in the same bracket
as electrons and gravity_ natural particles/forces which
cannot be seen, either! (Never mind that the effects of
electrons and gravity are easily observed). He stated,
without evidence, that humans "back then" were not only
bigger and longer-lived, but had higher IQ's. Thus they
could build the pyramids, a feat we humans of today could
never accomplish. (Two points here. Apparently not very many
skeletons/mummies have been found associated with the great
pyramids_grave robbery took its toll on archaeological
evidence. However, those that have been recovered are normal-
to-small-sized humans. Second, no archaeologist has ever
referred to water damage either inside or on the outside of
the pyramids). Hovind stated that the Specimen Ridge trees
have no roots (flatly false_roots are clearly visible in
photos of the trees). God brought the animals to Noah and
took care of all the little incidentals (like tons of
manure). Hovind encouraged the audience to be polite to Till
because after all, "He is not the enemy, he just works for
him." Hovind admitted he couldn't prove most of his
assertions, but that Till could not, either. Admitting that,
one is forced to wonder why he agreed to debate the
affirmative in the first place!
   Till pressed the issue that since there were seven pairs
of each type of clean animal on the ark, that meant 14
giraffes slopping about the ark on stormy seas, like it or
not. How did they survive? He pointed out that the largest
pyramids are in the Americas, not Egypt, and even according
to Hovind's chronology must, therefore, be "post-flood." He
closed by pointing that Hovind's assumptions_a vapor canopy,
a level antediluvian earth, smarter people, were not
supported by evidence.
   The audience was asked to submit written questions for
the final session.
   Concerning a question on missing links, Hovind stated
that "Lucy" was not a missing link at all but a chimp that
was assembled from bones found at sites miles apart. He
said, "I wish I could have seen the train that hit that
chimp." Of course, it is well known that Lucy was recovered
over about 50 square meters of ground.
   Hovind was asked what the anteaters ate the day the ark
landed. He replied that they were vegetarians_pre-flood and
immediately post flood_and that special diets were not
necessary then or now. Even now "Pandas don't eat just
bamboo. They love meat. Ask any zookeeper." Perhaps that is
why pandas are doing so well in the wild right now! Till
replied that you can't have generalist animals on the one
hand, and then, on the other hand, argue that the yucca
plant and pronuba moth were obviously created for each
other.
   Till pointed out that it was an anachronism that the ark
would have been sealed with pitch, because this is obviously
a coal (post-flood) by-product. Hovind stated the word
"pitch" could have meant any oil_corn oil, for instance. I
will have to pass this new use for corn oil on to the
Illinois Department of Agriculture_let's grease up those
boat bottoms. Till stood by the translation of the Hebrew
word; it had to be a petroleum product.
   Hovind was taken aback by my question on the tremendous
amount of heat that would have been released by 40 days and
40 nights of rain (Soroka and Nelson's J. Geol. Ed.
article). He talked instead about craters being evidence for
an "ice meteor" and said this was all on faith. He changed
the subject! Till, who had the article in hand expanded on
the problem and made the reference available to the
audience.
   As I reread Hovind's handout, it became clear to me that
Hovind is his own best example of "illogical ideas" and
"improper tactics." He certainly resorted to an ad hominem
argument and "ridicule and scorn" when he implied that Till
worked for the devil, or the blanket statement that
evolutionists considered "Bible-believing Christians" to be
ignorant. He changed the subject frequently when backed into
a corner, and had to resort to "It's all on
faith"_essentially falling back on the "majority opinion" in
the church at the time. And although his academic
credentials remain somewhat of a mystery (He claims B.S.,
M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in education but has never said from
where), it was clear that with his breathless presentation,
his intention was to wow the audience with largely
unsubstantiated "facts" so that they would see him as the
authority, and "see his diploma."
   Was anyone swayed? Unlikely. The bulk of the audience
was clearly unable to understand how science differs from
the supernatural. They became defensive and irritated
whenever Till mentioned, "...but it's just not science."
They were for the most part quiet, although a few choruses
of "Amens" resounded when they felt Hovind had made a point.
The moderator/minister is to be complemented. He was polite
to both parties and clearly kept a lid on what could have
been a volatile situation.

[Dr. Bartelt is an assistant professor of chemistry at Eureka
(Illinois) College.  Reprinted from _The Skeptical Review_
(Winter, 1993-94), with revisions by the author in February 1994.]

                ==============================

           Another Psychic Encounter
           by Detective Bruce Walstad

   In October, as the 1993 Professionals Against Confidence
Crime (PACC) Seminar was being held, PACC Board of Director
Dave Binasz received and returned several phone calls to a
talk show producer from CLTV News, a 24-hour news network
here in Chicago. The producer was putting together a show on
fortune telling and was looking for someone to present the
skeptical point of view on a panel, which included three
psychics, an attorney representing a local Gypsy fortune
teller and a lawyer from the ACLU. Dave and I both talked it
over and figured it was not a good plan to get involved. We
begged off and told the producer to look into fortune
telling a little on her own before she did the show.
   A few weeks passed and the producer called Dave and me
again, and it seemed her opinion and beliefs in fortune
telling had changed a bit. She had gone to several fortune
tellers, including a local rock reader, and came away quite
convinced she had been taken. She again asked Dave and I to
participate, which we agreed to.
   The show format was now to be video tape of the
encounters she had, one psychic, Melody Joy, and me.
   As I arrived at the studio, I noticed a woman entering
ahead of me. As I got to the security desk, she was signing
in. I peeked over her shoulder, and saw her signature,
"Melody Joy." I stepped back, and a moment later, she turned
and saw me standing there. I put my hand to my forehead,
squinted a bit, looked in her eye, and said, "Melody Joy,
right?" She was not amused or amazed.
   We were ushered off to the green room where Dave was
already waiting. We were not in the room two minutes, and
Melody, who appeared to be a bit on the nervous side, went
to the washroom. She returned just in time for the producer
to take her and me to the set.
   While we were sitting on the set waiting, Melody asked
me if I had ever done this before. I said, "Done what?" She
replied, "debate a psychic on TV." I told her I had and then
ran off the list of shows I have been on and the names of
the psychics I had debated. She said this was her first time
and seemed a bit nervous.
   The live show began, and the hostess said a few words
and then showed her videotape encounters with the psychics
she had visited. She also showed a few taped interviews with
a lawyer and another police officer.
   The videotapes and the hostess's remarks were not
exactly complimentary to psychics.
   The hostess's first question was to Melody, asking her
about her psychic powers. Well, her response almost caused
me to fall right out of my chair. She said she has no secret
or special power, only a talent she has developed over the
years. Not once did she mention she had any kind of gift,
power or paranormal ability.
   As the show continued, I brought up the tactic of "cold
reading" that most psychics use. She explained she does not
use that method of fishing for information, then did a
complete turnaround and admitted she did. She did come out
with a few off the wall remarks which did not sit well with
me, and the camera caught me rolling my eyes back and
squirming in my seat..
   They then took a few phone calls from viewers, the first
saying that only "gypsy fortune tellers" were crooks, but
the other psychics were real. The second caller wanted to
comment about some psychic horse she knew of. They did not
let her on. Too bad, I thought that would have been
interesting.
   The show concluded, and Melody did not have much to say
to me afterwards. All in all, I felt the show was done very
well. We were both given equal time, and the hostess seemed
pretty skeptical of the whole matter. I think any open-
minded viewer would have walked away from it with a
skeptical point of view regarding psychics.

[Reprinted from the Jan. 1994 PACC Bulletin.  Det. Bruce Walstad
is president of PACC and a frequent writer for _The REALL News_.]

                   ==============================

                         REALLity Check
                       by David Bloomberg

   Man, oh man. I feel like I've been hit by a truck or
something. The media's been overflowing with items of
interest to us this past month! For one of these, see the
"REALLity Check Extra" in a separate article.  Here, we'll
start with some good news.

         Unreliable Memories and Cardinal Bernardin

   As most of you have probably heard by now, the charges
of sexual abuse brought against Chicago's Cardinal Bernardin
have been dropped by his accuser, Steven Cook. In Cook's
motion to dismiss the charges, he said, "The memories of
sexual abuse by Cardinal Bernardin which arose during and
after hypnosis are unreliable." At a news conference, Cook
added that, since filing the suit, he had obtained
information which convinced him that his memories were
unreliable. He further stated, "If I knew at the time I
filed the lawsuit what I know now, I would never have sued
Cardinal Bernardin."
   What does he know now? Well, it might have something to
do with some information mentioned in the _Chicago Tribune_
(March 1) or _Newsweek_ (March 14) articles on the dismissal
. They point out that Cook had been hypnotized in the late
1970s until 1980 by therapist William Wester, Jr., regarded
as an expert on hypnotism who worked for the FBI and other
agencies, and who has written a book on how to properly
hypnotize a patient and make sure the testimony is
untainted. No memory of abuse by Bernardin was recalled
during these sessions, according to Wester.
   However, when Cook went to Michele Moul, a Philadelphia
therapist who is unlicensed and runs a graphic arts
business, he recalled "memories" of sexual abuse during his
second hypnotic session. Moul did not document his memories
before, during, or after the session, and she did not tape
the sessions either. According to the _Tribune_, she "would
testify that she followed none of Wester's safeguards."
Readers may also be interested to note that Moul got her
master's degree in applied psychology from, according to
_Newsweek_, "a school founded by a New Age guru, John-Roger,
who claims to be the embodiment of a divine spirit."
   With all of these problems stacking up, and the fact
that there appear to be no independent confirming witnesses
or other evidence, it seems that Cook had to take a look at
his own memories and decide what to do. I wish that more
apparent sufferers of false memory syndrome (FMS) would do
the same. Perhaps then there wouldn't be as many problems
like the one below.

                   FMS and Family Disaster

   In an unrelated article which appeared in the _Chicago
Tribune Magazine_ on Feb. 28, a man explains in detail what
FMS has done to him and his family. This is a powerful
article to which I cannot do justice here.
   Briefly, the author had a college-age daughter who
started therapy due to a date rape she had suffered. That
therapy brought out "memories" of being abused by his
brother-in-law when she was a child. He found this hard to
believe, but it got worse. As the therapy progressed, she
then accused him of abusing her. His wife, with whom he was
having problems anyway, and his son both believed the
daughter, so he moved out and had little contact with them
for a while. Whenever he denied the abuse, he was told that
he just couldn't face it and that he was repressing the
memories which showed how horrible he is. When he finally
did speak to his wife again, she related that the daughter's
therapy had progressed further, and that his wife was also
now accused of taking part in the abuse, and that abuse had
taken on almost "satanic ritual" qualities. Now she
understood how he had felt when wrongly accused.
   The son still believes the daughter, and neither are
speaking to either parent. Both have unlisted numbers, and
the only communication the author has gotten was a letter
from his daughter telling him how sick he is.
   As I said, I can't capture the feeling of the article
very well at all in this short a space. It is a powerful
statement on just what FMS can and does do to individuals
and families.

                     Recycled Prophecies

   Turning to the lighter side and the world of television,
NBC aired _Ancient Prophecies_ on March 1. Even I only made
it through half of this two-hour broadcast. When it began, I
almost fell out of my chair due to the very long disclaimer.
It appears somebody may have learned something from the Sun
Pictures/Noah's Ark fiasco. The disclaimer essentially said
that it wasn't a news show, that it only showed one side of
a controversial subject, that much of the information was
only anecdotal, that some of the "psychics" featured on the
show had been proven wrong in other of their predictions,
etc.
   At first I thought this was great! Then REALL
Secretary/Treasurer Wally Hartshorn pointed out to me that
this disclaimer essentially gave them free reign to say
anything they wanted to. They didn't have to present any
counter-evidence now. They didn't have to worry about
skeptics writing letters to them complaining about the one-
sided nature of the show_they admitted it was one-sided!
They could basically put any bunk they wanted to into these
two hours (and believe me, they did) and have absolutely no
repercussions whatsoever.
   Maybe I'm dreaming, but wouldn't it be nice to have a
show that didn't need a disclaimer, but actually presented
both sides of a debate like this in the proper format?

              Maharishi, Mozambique, & Medicine

   The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi made it to the pages of the
_Chicago Tribune_ twice in February! First (Feb. 20) is an
article discussing his plans for creating "Heaven on Earth"
in Mozambique, a country which only recently came out of a
16-year civil war and a nasty drought.
   Several high-ranking officials of the country are taking
up meditation with the Maharishi's people, and say they can
"feel the positive effects" on their country. What does the
Maharishi get out of all this? Well, he wants to set up
three tracts, each with 2.5 million acres, and plant cotton,
timber, and fruit. Then his followers would farm and
meditate there while he collects a royalty and 80 percent of
the profits. I certainly have doubts about whether it will
help Mozambique, but it looks like there is at least one
person who will be better off.
   His other appearance in the pages of the _Tribune_ came
within an article about herbal "medicine" (you didn't really
think we could go two full months without "alternative
medicine" being mentioned in this column, did you?). As I
have come to expect in these articles, most of it deals with
the claims made by the practitioner and only gets around to
the "doubting doctors" in the last few paragraphs. And those
darned doctors, they "tend to react with skepticism."  Well,
imagine that!
   According to the article, there are two Illinois
"physicians" (one is an acupuncturist and chiropractor) who
are trained ayurvedic consultants (wouldn't want to go to an
untrained one, would you?). One of these guys is here in
Springfield. I'd love to talk to this person, so if any of
our readers know who it is, please let me know!  Hey, maybe
he'd set me up with some Raja's Cup or nectar and ambrosia.

           ==============================

          Close Encounters of the FOX Kind
               A REALLity Check Extra
                         by David Bloomberg

   The FOX network broadcast _UFO Encounters_ on February
22. This has to be one of the worst UFO shows I've ever
seen, and that is saying something, folks. Three "cases"
were featured on the show.
   One, the Carp (Canada) case was determined by UFO
_believers_ to be a hoax several years ago (heck, it was the
subject I discussed at REALL's very first meeting!). The
"investigator" of this case, Bob Oeschler, had been on
_Sightings_ and _Unsolved Mysteries_ to talk about this
case, and he seems to have left a few details out of his
version this time. As a very brief overview, this case
involves an unknown person (calling himself "Guardian") who
sent out videos of a claimed UFO night landing to several
investigators; he also sent bad photos and supposed Canadian
government documents alleging a conspiracy. What was said in
earlier stories about the supposed Canadian government
documents was that they were almost certainly fakes, and he
wondered why somebody would send them with such a great
video. In this show, however, he makes no mention of the
likely fraudulent nature of the documents, and the story
just mentioned "Canadian government documents" which were
sent along with the video. In other words, far from using
that information to cast doubt on the case, they use it to
_support_ the case!
   The other cases featured were a supposed UFO base in
Puerto Rico and a UFO crash in Long Island. The Long Island
case had been declared a hoax, again, a while back by
notables in the UFO camp and even by UFO cheerleader
extraordinaire Bill Knell (see Volume 1, No. 3 for article
on Knell) in a press release of his. I don't know much about
the Puerto Rico case, but I get the impression, from various
discussions with people in the UFO area, that it has mostly
the same standing as the other two.
   Below are some quotes taken from prominent people in
UFOlogy. These were in their "reviews" of the show and were
in messages written on one of several UFO-related discussion
areas on the computer networks:

Don Ecker, Director of Research ,_UFO Magazine_:

   "Unfortunately for the viewing public, one of the
poorest UFO cases in recent years was presented as fact: the
Guardian case, or as it was known 4 years ago-the Carp
case."
   "_UFO Magazine_ received this case in January of 1990,
and we almost immediately determined it to be a hoax. This
was stated on ParaNet at that time."

Michael Corbin, ParaNet:

   "[This show] featured three of the biggest hoax cases to
come along since Gulf Breeze. . . .
   "Don Ecker received the CARP material several years ago,
uploaded it to ParaNet, and quickly determined that it was
as smelly as a dead carp with no truth to it. . . .
   "All in all, it was a very big waste of airwaves."

Chris Rutkowski, Swamp Gas Journal:

   "I was one of the recipients of the original Guardian
"crash documents" back in the late 1980's, and immediately
recognized it as a silly fabrication. Since then, I received
more "official" documents from "The White Brotherhood" and
the Guardian, which claim that an "Inner Circle" of
military/government officials know "the truth" about alien
contact and crashes in the West Carleton region.
   "The reality is that Clive Nadin, an Ottawa researcher,
went to the alleged site of the crash, interviewed many
witnesses and surveyed the area. There was *absolutely no
evidence* [author's emphasis] of any crash or close
encounters."

           ==============================

              A Nod to Our Patrons

REALL would like to thank our patron members.  Through their extra
generosity, REALL is able to continue to grow as a force for critical
thinking in Central Illinois.  Patron members are those giving $50
or more.  To become a patron of REALL, please see the membership
form below.  Patron members are:

David Bloomberg, Springfield    Bob Ladendorf, Springfield
David Brown, Danville         John Lockard, Jr., Urbana
Alan Burge, D.D.S., Morton    Robert Smet, Ph.D., Springfield
Wally Hartshorn, Springfield    Ranse Traxler, O'Fallon

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         Predictions for Future Issues

** Psychic Detective Survey
** Looking into the _Sun_ -- and other tabloids
** Artificial Alien Insemination
** The Baby Train

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            Skeptics Online

If you have a computer and a modem, you owe it to yourself to
participate in the skeptic message areas on the computer BBS
networks.  Here in Springfield, call The Temples of Syrinx at
[phone].  David Bloomberg operates this BBS, which carries
the FidoNet SKEPTIC, EVOLUTION and UFO conferences, internationally
distributed message areas for discussing topics of interest to
skeptics.  He is also carrying ParaNet conferences, all dedicated
to UFO and paranormal topics.  You can also find a wide variety of
skeptic, scientific, UFO, evolution/creation, and urban legend
text files.

         The Temples of Syrinx -- [phone]
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