Date: May 3rd 2008

Hi All,

Sorry for the slightly late mailing this month. I'm still recovering from the three SitP's last month and the Evening with James Randi & Friends.

And there will be another three this month!!? But not all in London, thank the beegeesus.

There is now a brand-spanking new Skeptics in the Pub, Leicester, so if you have friends in the Midlands who would be interested in a talk by Simon Singh. Now would be a good time to forward this message to them.

Here's the list of events for this month.

Skeptics in the Pub, London
Date: Tuesday 6th May 2008
Time: 7.00pm

Title:
Chiropractic - A 113 year Struggle from Pseudoscience to Legitimacy

Speaker:
Prof Mahlon Wagner

In the US, Chiropractic is the second largest of the health-care professions with close to 50,000 practitioners (Doctors of Chiropractic). Significant numbers of chiropractors also exist in the UK and Europe as well as Australia.
Mahlon will examine the origins of Chiropractic (a healer in 1895), the questionable diagnostic and treatments used, reasons for their success, and public attitudes toward (and satisfaction with) chiropractic as compared to traditional medicine.

Mahlon Wagner (Professor Emeritus of Psychology - State University of New York) taught experimental psychology, statistics, research design, history of psychology and parapsychology for 30 years at Oswego.
He has been a visiting professor at the University of the Saarland in Saarbruecken and the Justus-Liebig University, Giessen in Germany


Date: Tuesday 20th May 2008
Time: 7.00pm

Title:
Holocaust Denial and Freedom of Speech

Speaker:
Prof Richard J. Evans

Conspiracy theories about recent and even more distant historical events have become ever more widespread, especially with the growth of the Internet. One such theory, generally known as "Holocaust denial", claims that professional historians, the mass media, and governments have conspired to suppress the truth about the Nazi extermination of the Jews during the Second World War - which is that it never happened.

How has this theory come about? Who supports it , and why? How do its proponents deal with their critics? What, if anything, could or should be done to combat Holocaust denial? This talk draws on the speaker's experiences as an expert witness in a High Court libel case to suggest some answers.

Richard J. Evans is Professor of Modern History at Cambridge University. His books include "The Coming of the Third Reich" and "The Third Reich in Power", both published by Penguin. He has taught in adult education at Birkbeck, and at Gresham College, and contributes occasionally to radio and television, most recently to Radio 4's "In Our Time" and Channel 5 television's "Hitler Speaks".

Location:
The Penderel's Oak
283-288 High Holborn
London
WC1V 7HP

Web: http://skeptic.org.uk/pub/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2381060970

Skeptics in the Pub, Leicester

Date: Tuesday 20th May 2008
Time: 7.30pm

Title:
Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial

Speaker:
Dr Simon Singh

Prince Charles is a staunch defender and millions of people swear by it; most UK doctors consider it to be little more than superstition and a waste of money.
Welcome to the world of alternative medicine.

Join Simon Singh, as he brings his considerable scientific knowledge and scrupulous impartiality to this most controversial subject and an honest examination of more than thirty of the most popular treatments, such as Acupuncture, Homoeopathy, Aromatherapy, Reflexology, Chiropractic and Herbal medicines.

After completing a PhD in particle physics, Simon Singh joined the BBC and worked as a director and producer on programmes such as Tomorrow's World and Horizon (NOVA in the US). He has also presented programmes on Radio 4, BBC4 and Channel 4. He is best known as the author of Fermat's Last Theorem, The Code Book and Big Bang.

Location:
The Rutland & Derby Arms
23 Millstone Lane
Leicester
LE1 5JN

Pub Tel: 0116 262 3299

Web: http://skeptic.org.uk/leicester/
email: leicesterskeptics@googlemail.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=12736582903


We also have the Skeptics in the Pub, London Outing! - Saturday, May 10th 2008

A day-trip to the Mystic Arts psychic fair at Olympia (http://www.themysticarts.co.uk/).
We haven't done one of these in a while so, email Jon, turn up and buy the t-shirt. It should all be good fun.

There are a limited number of tickets at a discounted price of £5.50 (instead of £7.50) are available, and if you'd like to come, you can secure your ticket by contacting Jon Cohen at jon_cohen@mac.com. We'll also plan a meeting place before hand (possibly a pub), so when we get an idea of numbers, you'll be the first to know where and when.

You can also purchase a souvenir "[James Randi is] our Guru/We value the enlightenment" t-shirt from Jon for the additional, low, low cost price of £4.00 by letting him know your size in the email.

We expect to have a fun afternoon asking psychics questions, having our auras read and having our chakras aligned.

CFI London has a week of evening lectures from the May Day bank holiday onwards (5th - 10th May).
Details here: http://www.centerforinquiry.net/london/events/the_sources_of_the_book/


Please feel free to forward this email on to anyone you think would be interested in coming to any of these events.

See you all soon.

Sid Rodrigues