FROM THE EDITORS


When you have a client with five planets in Taurus in his second
house, counselling the guy into gold investments is a no brainer."  So
says a stock broker in Encinitas.

This quotation comes from the lead article of the Business Section of
the San Diego Union-Tribune of August 25, 1996.  The article describes
how this stock broker counsels investors to choose their investments
based on astrological forecasts; of course, for a handsome commission.
Quotations by happy investors praising the broker are included, but
none by unhappy ones.  The astrological advice given is tempered by
normal market research carried out by the broker.  Without it the
broker probably would have been run out of town long ago by unhappy
investors.

If highly risky, speculative, and otherwise questionable stocks are
eliminated from the list of options, a person could probably do just
as well by throwing darts at the list to pick those to buy.  The
result of such random picking is not mentioned in the article.  It
appears that sound investment practices can be used to give
respectability to astrology.

The unreserved praise of the stock broker and the very positive spin
given astrology in the article is disturbing but not surprising
considering the newspaper's reluctance to seek information from the
skeptical community.  The editors of the San Diego Union-Tribune often
present such issues as astrology, psychic ability, faith healing,
dowsing, and other paranormal "phenomena" without including opposing
rational views.  Their articles can be found via the Internet at
"www.uniontrib.com"; choose the Archives section, the proper
subsection, and enter the dates of the articles (if known) or the
relevant search words.

The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the
Paranormal, for example, has asked newspapers to include a disclaimer
with their astrology columns.  Many do, including the Los Angeles
Times; the San Diego Union-Tribune does not.  We are including an
article from CSICOP on astrology in this issue.

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