Law and Magic Blog

Recent Posts from Law and Magic Blog

• Pennsylvania Fortune Teller Pleads Guilty To Criminal Mischief

  Prosecutors obtained a plea deal with a Chesco, Pennsylvania, woman who was originally charged with violating the state statute against fortune telling, a third degree misdemeanor. Instead, April Seven Uwanawich pled to the lesser charge…

• That's $25 For Your Fortune, $100 For More Info, and $1250 To Remove That Curse

  Suffolk County (New York) police arrested a Florida woman on a number of counts last month after she tried to convince an eighteen year old that the teen was suffering from a curse; for $1250,…

• BBC Rejects Calls To Open Up "Thought For the Day" To Non-Religious Commentators

  The BBC Trust has decided not to open up its six-day-a-week segment Thought for the Day, broadcast on Radio 4, to non-regilious commentators, as requested by humanist, secular and atheist organizations. However, it has agreed…

• Wave Your Hand, Get Your Water

  Priests worried about the spread of swine flu have been shooing their flocks away from fonts normally full of holy water, saying say blessing oneself with H20, like shaking hands and other rituals, might exacerbate…

• RIght In Front of Our Eyes

  From CBS Sunday morning, more on that neuroscience and magic article from last year. Because we sometimes find it difficult to differentiate the evidence of our eyes from what we know scientifically must be true,…

• Ailuromelanotriskaidekaphobia

  Happy Friday the Thirteenth. From I Can Has Cheezburger.com

• "(Don't) Take My Joke--Please!"--Comedians, Copyright, and Technology

  Stand up comics in the UK aren't laughing about the way their best jokes are losing their punch, thanks to the new technology--websites and Twitter. Entertainers like Gary Delaney say good material is being disseminated…

• The Failure of Psychic Detection

  From Benjamin Radford on LiveScience, "Jaycee Dugard Abduction Case Highlights Failure of Psychics."

• Tanzanian Court Sentences Four To Death For Witchcraft Killings

  A Tanzanian court has handed out a death sentence to four persons convicted of murdering albino individuals for their body parts. Some people believe albino body parts can be used in charms by witch doctors…

• Will Health Care Insurance Plans Include Complementary/Alternative Medicine Coverage?

  So, have you thought about whether any of the health care bills would require that insurance plans cover alternative or complementary medical treatments? No? Check out this story from Newsweek magazine, which suggests that the…