Sceptics get the wooden spoon...hilarious stuff

[Mike Williams]

The Diary, Sydney Morning Herald
Date: June 30 2009
by Sean Nicholls and Emily Dunn

Sceptics fight defies belief

Bent spoons have been flying in the offices of the Australian Skeptics after the
editor of its national magazine The Skeptic, Karen Stollznow, left Australia to
return to the US, leaving accusations of sexism in her wake and declaring the
organisation "a gentleman's club for curmudgeons".
Inspired by the American debunker of the paranormal, James Randi, the group is
best known for its annual Bent Spoon Award, bestowed for the worst "paranormal
or pseudoscientific piffle". But the group is being forced to defend itself
against Stollznow's charge that "scepticism in Australia is still for
cantankerous bearded bespectacled old men".
Stollznow, an Australian who is a research associate at the University of
California, Berkeley, was appointed executive officer, which encompasses the
editor's job, in the middle of last year. But after arriving in Sydney in
January, she resigned in April. Stollznow told the Diary she was unhappy at not
being given a contract or an office and that "meetings and correspondence were
rife with inappropriate and sexist comments about women".
She also says the group has withheld pay. The president of Australian Skeptics,
Eran Segev, denied the organisation was sexist and said the dispute was the
result of "a gap of expectations". This included the start date, which he said
had led to the pay dispute. "We think she did a wonderful job with the
magazine," he said. Stollznow says she "will do whatever I have to do" to
recover the money she believes is owed.

[lil foot]

wow i cant believe there is a skeptics magazine, let alone groups that meet together to talk about things they dont believe in. im the first to put my hand up for not believing in men from mars and santa claus but im not going to waste what precious little time i have on this planet in discussing and debating about why i dont believe them.
fair enough to those who chase a mystery, why not? isnt it a bit of excitement in the not knowing. but to chase after and put effort into the chase for nothing...............some people need to take a good look at themselves

[Mike Williams]

but to chase after and put effort into the chase for nothing......

Thats the bizarre bit...some of them spend amazing amounts of time fighting things they believe cannot exist..for many it makes them feel like they are part of a group fighting the good fight for science and society against us heathens..
A few have been floating round here..and some of the pm`s+emails they have sent...look like the were posted by kids with a few mental problems...
The really scary bit is..the Australian sceptics are loaded with $$$...they even received about one million$$$ a few years ago from a deceased estate donation..

[Tracey]

I feel sceptical about her recouping her money......................

[Fred Tobin]

Hey Mike.
Whats with all the "stupid" stuff and the adios amigos?
Have you quit the forums?
(pauses as realizes how pointless that question was)