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Doubtful News Roundup for 21 November 2014

11/21/2014

 
Here are the prime cuts from Doubtful News for the past week.

Is a tiger on the loose near Paris or is it another big cat false alarm?   Neighborhoods around the Paris DisneyLand were on alert as the police and military searched for a tiger reported to have been seen in roaming around. Prints were found that looked very dog-like. No animal was found. Backtracking ensued.

Aboriginal rights trump necessary treatment for child with leukemia in Canada  A controversial legal decision was reached in Canada as a Native child, ill with leukemia, was given special status and did not have to undergo life-saving chemotherapy. The judge ruled she had a protected right to pursue the First Nation traditional medicine. When aboriginal medicine was deemed to include a naturopathic clinic in the southern US remains unanswered.

Juiced frog fad may be the death of this strange species   A horrible story from Peru: a freshly killed specimen of a critically endangered frog has become a fad treatment for several unrelated conditions. 150 animals a day are needed for a nonsense brew. 

Psychic mail fraud scheme busted by U.S. feds  The US Justice Department cracks down on exploitative mailings that promise wealth if you purchase good luck baubles. The deceptive mailing targeted elderly and vulnerable citizens who thought they were headed for a change in fortune.

New Zealand monster eel video hoaxes   This film finagling was deemed too hoax by the artists. HOwever, that didn’t stop the internet from thinking there were human-sized eels eating from your hands in New Zealand. Our comments suggest that giant eels are not that far fetched.

Alternative advice leads to death in Norway  A “healer” advises a cancer patient to give up chemotherapy for alternative treatments. You can surmise what the outcome was. The 70 year old gave misleading and illegal health advice to the woman who was fully aware of her choice. He goes to jail for illegal treatment.

Magneto Boy? Try some powder or a shower  Oh, we’ve seen this one so often. A plump male with no hair claims to be “magnetic” and sticks cutlery to his chest. It’s a neat trick but so very lame; we wonder if journalist know how to Google.

Visit DoubtfulNews.com for more stories everyday. Then respond when friends and family pass on these false stories and misinformation. Do your part. Spread the word. Share.
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    SWIFT is named after Jonathan Swift, the author of Gulliver's Travels. In the book, Gulliver encounters among other things a floating island inhabited by spaced-out scientists and philosophers who hardly deal with reality. Swift was among the first to launch well-designed critiques against the flummery - political, philosophical, and scientific - of his time, a tradition that we hope to maintain at The James Randi Foundation.

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