Skeptical reporter @ 2013-07-12

Skeptical Reporter for July 12th, 2013 Hollywood actor Charlie Sheen is planning a trip to Scotland, to hunt for the Loch Ness monster. The Anger Management star, 47, is convinced he can solve the mystery of what lurks in the loch. He revealed his plan on Twitter, posing for a snap in what he called his “hunting gear”, a bronze battle helmet, along with friend Brian Peck. Sheen was soon flooded with encouraging messages from fans all over the world wishing him the best of luck with the mission. Many expeditions have been launched in an effort to solve the mystery of Loch Ness, with some hunters speculating that a colony of plesiosaurs has somehow survived and flourished. But just this week geologist Luigi Piccardi said Nessie sightings were caused by bubbles from a “large and very active” fault line under the lake. Sheen, who has battled crack and cocaine addiction, is no stranger to off-the-wall ideas. He has previously claimed to be a “warlock” and a “rock star from Mars” who can cure diseases with his mind. He was sacked from sitcom Two And A Half Men after a meltdown in 2011. In Australia, hundreds lined up for hours to hear the Californian-based teacher, author and healing evangelist Bill Johnson speak at a Brisbane church. Many in the 1750-strong crowd were young people attracted to the fifth generation pastor's teachings about 'encountering God' for themselves - and having the faith to pray for healing others. An inherent part of Johnson's teaching is 'treasure hunting' where people go through a town or shopping centre and ask God to show them people who may need encouragement or healing. The practice has already made headlines in Brisbane and drew following on YouTube with postings of people speaking of 'liquid love', a warm sensation, and healing experience. After the service, dozens of people claimed they had been healed after being prayed for. Others were not healed but Johnson said some did not receive their healing straight away but days later. A Chinese magician has conjured up a personal fortune after setting up an online "spell" emporium that is reportedly earning him more than one million yuan ($180,000) each month. Luo Shun from Hunan province, started his internet business last October and has since been swamped with customers seeking paranormal solutions to their distinctly terrestrial problems. Luo is now reportedly making one million yuan each month from clients who hoped to find love, atone for sins or improve relations with their mothers-in-law. "Writing spells is a sacred thing. [You must] calm your heart, shower and change clothes [and] be guided by the Holy Spirit", he said. Last month the online shop sold 2,825 spells, the most popular a $53 love charm. The Daily Mail reporters demonstrated once more that they don’t hold particularly good relations with science. They picked up a satirical blog post by doctor Dean Burnett and turned it into serious news. Burnett wrote the blog post on The Guardian website in order to ridicule those who lack an understanding of science and how evolution works. In the post he talks about the possible evolution of human beings in the modern environment and “predicts” that Homo Sapiens could grow flexible skeletons, tentacles, selective hearing, wings and even colour-changing skin. The Daily Mail reporters considered this to be serious news coming from a respectable scientist and wrote about it in very serious terms. They failed to read the last part of the entry which said: “I once spoke with someone who said he didn’t believe in evolution. When asked why, his main argument was that people don’t have wings. While this is definitely the case, I asked how this relates to evolution. His response was that “evolution is survival of the fittest, and wings are the best”. So there’s that. I don’t know how much research this person had done to arrive at this conclusion, so I’m putting it here just in case. Even if it is based on some half-baked observa...