Academic Madness in Maryland, Coroner Cornered, New York Magazine Adds to It All, Another Non-UFO, A Lame Reply, When Will We Grow up?, An Astronomer Comments, Do Take a Look, A Comments Comment, Geller in Turkey, and In Conclusion…

geller

My most excellent friend Bob Park, who grinds out a simply wonderful “What’s New” website from Up North, must have been crushed to discover that Stupidity and Superstition are offered as major subjects on the campus he serves. This is – literally – like discovering that students there are being taught Christopher Columbus was a woman, had two noses, and never left the shores of Europe, while Madame Marie Curie was a Russian ballet star who died at age 22. How could it get any stranger, less logical, or more bizarre than what Bob has as the current lead item in What’s New? I run it here exactly as featured on his page:

Table of Contents
  1. Academic Madness in Maryland

  2. Coroner Cornered

  3. New York Magazine Adds to It All

  4. Another Non-UFO

  5. A Lame Reply

  6. When Will We Grow up?

  7. An Astronomer Comments

  8. Do Take a Look

  9. A Comments Comment

  10. Geller in Turkey

  11. In Conclusion…



ACADEMIC MADNESS IN MARYLAND

geller

My most excellent friend Bob Park, who grinds out a simply wonderful “What’s New” website from Up North, must have been crushed to discover that Stupidity and Superstition are offered as major subjects on the campus he serves. This is – literally – like discovering that students there are being taught Christopher Columbus was a woman, had two noses, and never left the shores of Europe, while Madame Marie Curie was a Russian ballet star who died at age 22. How could it get any stranger, less logical, or more bizarre than what Bob has as the current lead item in What’s New? I run it here exactly as featured on his page:

ACUPUNCTURE: THE NEXT BIG THING WILL BE ASTROLOGY.

Last month, after learning that the University of Maryland Health Center offers acupuncture bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN08/wn040408.html, I wrote to object to this promotion of superstitious medicine by a research University. The university administration responded that this "immensely popular" service has been offered for eleven years. Where have I been? Health centers offer acupuncture at many top universities, including UC Berkeley and Harvard. So what does acupuncture treat? Acupuncture, it seems, can handle anything. After all, the "meridians" run the full length of the body. What! They didn’t teach you about meridians in Physiology 101? Meridians connect the acupuncture points – the places they stick the needles to get the chi flowing. You didn’t learn about chi either? It’s like vital-life stuff, but nobody’s ever seen it. Are there other ancient beliefs that universities should make available to our students? How about astrology? It’s even older than acupuncture, and like acupuncture it only works for true believers. Also, like acupuncture, astrology has no rational explanation. Moreover, few students can construct their horoscope without expert assistance. I recommended that Maryland create a Horoscope Center staffed by licensed astrologers.

I asked Bob, “Will this madness never end?” And I also asked him not to answer that question... Please subscribe to “What’s New” by going to tinyurl.com/48kt9z and signing up, free.




CORONER CORNERED

ufo

While we’re on the subject of medical “science,” reader Ben Bloede – among others – pointed us to this next bizarre item. As I’ve so frequently said here, very few of these news items surprise me, simply because I’ve heard ‘em all; I have to make an exception in the case that follows. It’s really hard to believe that a responsible, highly-placed, public official could behave this way. Ben describes the situation for us:

Here is another example of a highly educated, public official “endorsing” and then defending the use of a psychic, in an investigation. Dr. Richard L. Keller, M.D., Coroner of Lake County Illinois, comissioned a psychic “reading” on the partial skull of a murder victim found in a local forested area. The result was the usual woo-woo.

In response to a comment from a concerned blogger who objected that the good doctor was using public tax money that should not be used for psychics, Dr. Keller defended the “reading” by replying that, "the psychic does not charge for these sorts of services."

Of course, Dr. Keller did not count the cost of following up the false leads that might hinder the investigation. He believes in other woo-woo, too. His personal website – www.drrichardlkeller.com/index.html – shows photos of him meeting with

Lomi lomi, o'oponopono, la'au lapa'au, Hawaiian spiritual and indigenous healers.

His website even “favorite-links” to the dubious Hawaiian healing website healinginparadise.org/index.html Here is what the site says about themselves:

Aina Me Kalani is a non-profit educational foundation created to perpetuate the cultural and healing arts in Hawaii. Our healing workshops, retreats and conferences seek to bridge the healing arts of Hawaii with the alternative and complimentary healing arts of the east and west. The indigenous healing techniques of lomi lomi (massage), la'au lapa'au (using medicinal plants) and ho'oponopono (conflict resolution through self awareness and forgiveness) are taught along with other spiritual forms of healing to find commonalities beyond our differences and to support the spirit of humankind.

I wonder if Dr. Keller's medical degree is from that site, as well... Here is the doctor's response to my note suggesting that he should consult your website, an exchange which can be seen at: tinyurl.com/3vwcxa. He wrote:

It may seem to you a small distinction, but James Randi's (remember he used to be "The Amazing Randi") offer is $1 million

“to anyone that can demonstrate paranormal abilities under laboratory conditions.”

If you have never had a paranormal experience in the real world, you need to get out more.

No, doctor, you need to “get out more”; I did not state that. I wrote that the JREF prize would be awarded:

...to anyone who can show, under proper observing conditions, evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event.

That is a distinctly different statement, and if you can’t tell the difference, perhaps you also can’t differentiate between a death brought about by cremation and one caused by simple old age... I didn’t mention a laboratory, nor a “demonstration,” nor “abilities.” But you went on with your castigation-from-authority:

There has been no money spent, nor time by police investigators, and this information has not hindered solving "the crime" (so no fraud).

“No fraud”? Just where did this learned man get that information? The stupidity of investing money and/or time, and interference with the case, are not elements here, doctor. We’re questioning your blind acceptance – without supporting evidence – of psychic powers as valid tools with which to discover evidence. Methinks you spend too much time tuned in to third-rate TV channels and cheesy “forensic” “crime” shows. Ah, but I see that you offer us evidence, when you write:

There are a growing number of examples of psychics being very useful in a variety of cases. Take a bit and check it out, beyond the Amazing Randi's site. When a case goes "cold" and I am looking for identity and "closure," I will use any method available – anthropology, psychic, whatever.

Oh, excellent! Do you include astrology, Tarot cards, “vibrations,” and Sylvia Browne, in your “whatever” category, sir? But I see that the JREF may now have the opportunity of awarding our million-dollar prize! Please, doctor, forward me these examples of “psychics being very useful,” will you? I can hardly doubt that you will have high-quality data to offer – from reputable sources – bearing in mind your closing sentence offering a quotation from this well-known authority:

ufo

In closing, as Willy Wonka said: "A little nonsense now and then is prized by the wisest men.”

Doctor, in that context, I count you as being among the wisest of men...

Briefly, the story is this: A partial human skull with a single tooth has been in storage at the office of Lake County Coroner Dr. Richard L. Keller's office since its accidental discovery more than sixteen years ago in a suburban ravine. It’s been pored over from time to time by forensic experts, but neither the identity of the former owner, nor the cause of death, have ever been established. Dental exams and missing-person records have yielded no identifying data. The item was found hanging from a tree branch, and an orange raincoat and sleeves from an undershirt, as well as a 27-inch silver sword and some burlap, were discovered in a hollowed out tree nearby. These items hinted that this might have been the scene of some sort of “Satanic” crime, but it was concluded that such a circumstance was unlikely.

ufo

A routine review of “cold cases” was recently launched by Coroner Keller, and it quickly took on a distinctly woo-woo flavor: Dr. Keller has enlisted the help of a local psychic, Mel Doerr, who he considers to be a “specialist.” It so happens that Doerr is also an expert – he says – in “Hawaiian Shamanism.” I guess a little lomi lomi, o'oponopono, and la'au lapa'au, can’t hurt, can it...?

Doerr, after psychically handling the skull, decided that there likely was alcohol or substance abuse in the past by the inhabitant of the skull – an absolutely impossible guess to verify – and he says she was a woman in her 40s, a median age already decided on and publicly announced by real forensic experts, long ago. And, in a surge of paranormal disclosure, Doerr said that he got the letter "J" connected with her name! Wow! With such dependable and specific information pouring in at this rate, we’ll soon have the victim identified, thanks to Dr. Keller’s brilliant move in calling in an initial-guesser!

Myself, I got an “M” or an “R” connected with this skull, and a feeling of tightness right here in the chest area, indicating that she stopped breathing when she died…




NEW YORK MAGAZINE ADDS TO IT ALL

dates

I finally got around to reading the January 21-28, 2008, issue of “New York” magazine, and found yet another example of officially-derived advice, this time originating at Beth Israel Medical Center, NYC. Contributing Editor Sarah Bernard had asked Dr. Woodson Merrell – chairman of the Department of lntegrative Medicine at the Center as well as the Executive Director – to suggest “non-prescription remedies” for various parts of the human body. Titled, “A Head-to-Toe, Pharm-Free Tune-Up,” this is a 14-item full-page run-down on the latest in “integrative therapy.” And, as the American Association of Integrative Medicine [AAIM] defines this, in their own literature:

“Integrative medicine” includes the practice of conventional, natural, alternative, complementary and herbal remedies. It is often referred to simply as “holistic medicine” or “alternative medicine.”

In other words, “integrative medicine” is just “CAM” in another costume, every variety of woo-woo medical nonsense available; it’s still quackery, though on a very high and organized level! Let’s look at an example of what Dr. Merrell offered New York readers for ailments of the elbow:

Homeopathic arnica pellets, when placed under the tongue, can help reduce swelling and bruising for any muscle, ligament, or tendon strain short of a large tear. "Nearly one-third of plastic surgeons recommend arnica as a healing tool," says Merrell. "It's something everyone should have in their kit at home.”

My diagnosis: First, “arnica” – arnica montana – should never be taken by mouth, as prescribed by Dr. Merrell. It can bring about severe gastroenteritis and internal bleeding of the digestive tract, if enough of it is ingested. However, since Merrell calls for “homeopathic” doses of this substance, there’s none of it present anyway, and you can swallow all you want without effect – positive or negative. Applied topically – rubbed into a muscle – arnica works just fine on bruising and swelling, which is why real doctors accept and prescribe it. So, this suggestion is 100% useless, since homeopathy is useless, and has clearly been shown thus.

But here’s another example of Dr. Merrell’s advice to New York Magazine readers. To treat the knee, Ms. Bernard says he prescribes:

Magnet therapy, only a few decades old, isn't nearly as accepted in medical circles as acupuncture. Still, Merrell believes that wearing a brace embedded with magnets can relieve knee pain. “And there's no downside short of spending a few dollars.”

No, Dr. Merrell, there’s a big downside involved. It’s the fact that naïve readers of New York may decide to take your advice as if it were wise, informed, and derived from reality. There is absolutely zero medical support for “magnet therapy,” it’s the epitome of medical quackery, and it’s a long-discredited, medieval, notion. It doesn’t work! And you also have the strange impression that acupuncture is “accepted in medical circles”? It is not!

What else does Dr. Woodson Merrell prescribe to the readers? For an inner ear problem – use hypnosis. Ankle/foot ailment? Try acupuncture. Sinus? For this he prescribes aromatherapy, despite the definitive – medical – finding, that this “art” is useless. To me, the man sounds more like a witch doctor than a physician.

In an interview with the American Pain Foundation, Merrell said:

We use whatever is safest, gentlest, and most effective for the patient regardless of what tradition it came from. As much as possible, we use an evidence-based approach, but certainly would consider an herbal remedy that's been around for twenty-five hundred years – that's a significant enough empirical trial.

Doctor, the idea of a Flat Earth has “been around” far longer than that, and was tested countless times; the Earth always looked flat, everyone knew that! The fact that a really bad idea has been around for centuries, doesn’t make it correct, it only makes it old. Yes, many, many, herbal remedies work very well, and were discovered by experiment, long ago: digitalis, aspirin, so many remedies we still use today. But we don’t use them because they’re old, we use them because they’ve passed the “evidence-based” trials that you mention are advisable when “possible.” For half a century, calomel was raved over as a cure for just about everything, and doctors prescribed it freely – until they noticed that not only the ailment went away, so did the patients. They died from mercury poisoning, because calomel is mercurous chloride…

Really, Dr. Merrell, you’re a board member of the New York State Office of Professional Medical Conduct, a member of the American College of Physicians, American Medical Association, New York State Medical Society, and New York County Medical Society, and an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at your alma mater, the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons… And you believe in such quack medicine ideas…?

Ms. Bernard, in closing her New York Magazine article, gave a list of resources for information on “accredited” alternative-therapy practitioners, and locations where the innocently uninformed can purchase magnets for their knees, and the herbs and oils prescribed by Dr. Merrell…




ANOTHER NON-UFO

Reader George White, in Vermont, comments on Ken Fischer’s item last week about his own – apparent – sighting of a “UFO”:

Reader David Brantley relates:

The story about the crop-dusting UFO in today's Swift reminded me of the time I saw Champ, the famous Lake Champlain monster. I was on a ferry going across the lake from west to east, and I was standing on the starboard side looking south down the lake. A big flock of birds came from the north (from behind me), right over the boat, and then dropped down close to the water after coming over the boat, and that's when I saw them as they flew away from me in a long line oriented from west to east. As they got further away of course it became harder to pick out individual birds, and before long it looked like a thick black undulating line on the surface of the lake in the distance. It occurred to me for a moment that I should shout "Look! There's Champ!" and people who hadn't seen the whole course of the birds' flight would think it was some big serpentlike creature. I didn't, though.

BTW, I thought they were geese but someone I told the story to, said that it sounded more like cormorant behavior.

Yep. Swans, flamingos, bald eagles, whatever, birds will do that. However, strangely, UFOs have never been reported to imitate birds. Makes you wonder…




A LAME REPLY

From reader Michael Barry comes this exchange:

Below is a series of e-mails between myself and the producer of one of the local Boston television stations [WHDH Channel 7] about a therapy called “Tong Ren.” This was pioneered by a Massachusetts acupuncturist. The story was run on the Healthcast segment of the news. The link to the story is: tinyurl.com/5n9hhh. There is a link on this page for the video, which runs 2:30.

One e-mail in the series is not included as I didn't save a copy of it. I basically responded to her first reply that her handling of the story was unethical and she didn't do her journalistic duty by warning the public of this fraud. I pointed out that there has never been a scientific study that shows any inkling of truth to “energy healing” and that the JREF offers a one million dollar prize on this subject. I sent her a link to the JREF and also to www.quackwatch.org.

I asked two simple questions: Do you have a medical or scientific background, or do you have a Medical Doctor advising you on these stories? I've gotten nothing but the cold shoulder, as you can see. I am sending this to you for help. If you could publish a version of this in SWIFT, maybe more people would contact the station with their concerns. I appreciate your help, and always enjoy reading SWIFT.

I am going to contact as many people as I can at this station about this matter and I don't plan on letting it go anytime soon. I never watch the news any more for reasons like this. I watched it this time because the doctor in the story is a friend of mine. He was pretty bent out of shape that they cut out the rest of what he said, as you know how they edit things.

Here is the exchange of e-mails. On May 19th, Mike wrote to Laura Stebbins:

Subject: Tong Ren Quackery

How can you, the Healthcast, give credibility to such a dangerous and obvious fraud as “Tong Ren”? As health journalists, it should be your duty to investigate these claims to the fullest, and present the facts as they are. Promoting this quackery as you do gives it some sense of truthfulness. Giving the medical profession only one line to refute this, is poor journalism. I believe it is your duty, as the medical segment of the news, to investigate this further and warn people of the dangers of this practice and present it in a manner accordingly.

I hope you give my e-mail some serious thought and follow through as a journalist. People WILL die if they follow this man's regimen.

Ms. Stebbins responded, undated:

Thank you for your interest in this story and for your criticism. The goal in doing stories like "Healing Hands" is to make the public aware of a practice that is being done in Massachusetts. After presenting all of the facts we've gathered regarding the story, it is up to the public to form their own opinion on the controversial therapy.

Randi comments: This is a common “out” used by the media, and it has been criticized by schools of journalism. No, it is not “up to the public” to decide – if they are insufficiently informed, and this item was certainly incomplete, in that regard. This WHDH presentation reminded me of a similar one they did praising “Therapeutic Touch” on March 13th: tinyurl.com/63b3je This segment was shameful, completely supportive of this brand of quackery, as well. Ms. Stebbins continued:

The elements in our story were gathered through months of research and interviews. I assure you, we investigated this story to our utmost ability.

If this is true, it is evident that the “utmost ability” of WHDH is picayune indeed. This is Boston, folks, not a backwater town in rural Dogpatch! Take a help-wanted ad for fact-checkers. Hire some real talent that went through at least Middle School!

When I heard yesterday that only 85 percent of the Fort Lauderdale school system’s third-graders had earned passing marks on the reading part of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, while just 86 percent passed the math part, I was floored. When I was a kid, where I was raised, that sort of news item would have been a major nationwide story, the entire political system would have been in an uproar, and heads would have rolled! As I’ve said before, since a large proportion of media persons are humanities-educated, we might expect a certain lack of science orientation among some reporters, but from Channel 7 Boston, NBC, and their Healthcast? Come on!

But Ms. Stebbins thinks she proves – by quoting anecdotal material – that this is a legitimate notion. She writes:

Hundreds of people from all over the world have testified that this therapy has helped them, and we are only presenting that to you.

Oh boy! What a public service from NBC! Just go to www.tomtam.com and do a search on “NBC” – you’ll see how happy these quacks are to have been touted on Healthcast, Ms. Stebbins. Have you any notion how much damage you’ve done…? But why am I asking? Does anyone care…? Channel 7 Boston got its ratings, so everything’s just dandy. See the last note from Ms. Stebbins, up ahead, beginning “If you have any additional concerns…” This is the ultimate brush-off, in which Ms. Stebbins simply refers Mike to a Tong Ren practitioner, and to their web site! Obviously, she’s annoyed at being called on the mess that WHDH created. She continued:

You expressed that this therapy could be a potential fraud. The class is currently free to the public, therefore Tom Tam, the founder, makes little to no profit. He also urges patients to consult with their doctors before starting Tong Ren. Currently, Dana Farber researcher, Amy Sullivan, is conducting a study on the effectiveness of Tong Ren. I invite you to look for those findings, they are expected to be published within the next several months. Thank you again for your input.

Randi comments: There are six sentences here. To number 1, I answer, yes, Michael Barry suggested exactly that. To #2: What a crock! Just how does Ms. Stebbins have any information about Mr. Tam’s income? #3: Yes, any good lawyer would advise a quack to issue a careful disclaimer. #4 & #5: Dr. Sullivan is an Ed.D. – a doctor of education – and her publications deal with end-of-life – palliative care – situations, not with ongoing patient care and treatment. #6: I think this may be forced…

From Mike to Ms. Stebbins, May 21st:

So I do not warrant a reply from my previous e-mail? Do you have the qualifications to be doing health segment news? Do you have a Medical Doctor advising you on the stories? These are important questions I wish to have answered. Please respond to my previous e-mail.

The response from Ms. Stebbins, undated:

If you have any additional concerns over Tong Ren therapy, you can contact a Tong Ren practitioner directly for more information. You can also go to their website to find a list of contact phone numbers and locations. www.tomtam.com

Mike fired back:

Is there anyone else I can contact at WHDH for this matter, as you seem to not want to deal with the issue at hand. The issue isn't Tong Ren itself, it is the station’s handling of the story. Thank you in advance.

And that’s where it stands. Laura Stebbins actually believes that simply tapping on a doll with a small hammer – because that’s what Tong Ren consists of, folks – can cure people! Or, at least, she doesn’t question it, or call in any person who just might do so. Any interested readers can contact the NBC handler at:

Laura Stebbins, Special Projects Producer
WHDH-TV, CW-56
7 Bulfinch Place
Boston, MA 02114

617-725-0769

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

I suggest that a succinct, concise, note asking for further looking into “Tong Ren” – and perhaps into Therapeutic Touch, I’d say! – would be a distinct service to Boston’s NBC TV viewers…




WHEN WILL WE GROW UP?

I was sent this Associated Press release by reader Steven McDonald:

Officials say a mob has burned to death 11 people suspected of being witches and wizards in western Kenya. Deputy police spokesman Charles Owino says the mob hunted down the 8 women and 3 men in two villages in the western Kenya district of Kisii Central. Owino says most of the victims were between 70 years old and 90 years old. Only one of the victims was 40 years old.

Senior administrator Njoroge Ndirangu says the mob used a list to hunt down people they said are suspected witches and wizards. He added: "These people identified who is to be killed by accusing their victims of bewitching their sons and daughters." Ndirangu is the commissioner in charge of Kisii Central district.

I couldn’t help but note that this news item was accompanied by an attached Google ad. Here is the ad, with original faulty grammar, text and punctuation:

dates

How Car Run with Water ?

Convert Your Car To Run On Water. Save Fuel And Double Your Mileage! www.RunYoursCarWithWater.com

Think: In the news release, we have a “deputy police spokesman” and a “senior administrator” of Kenya – a supposedly civilized country – who seem to be unsurprised at the mob action they describe. We’re understandably shocked by these brutal murders brought about by primitive beliefs in magic and superstition, and by ignorance. But click on the url in the paragraph above, and watch a video in which a man who is burning a hydrogen/oxygen mixture produces “a flame that feels only slightly warm to the touch,” yet it can melt metals… And this comes from a firm in the USA – certainly a civilized country. These, too, are primitive beliefs, in a form of technological magic that is simply quackery… And superstition. And ignorance.

Which of the two countries is more civilized…?




AN ASTRONOMER COMMENTS

Dr. Liam McDaid, Astronomy Coordinator & Professor of Astronomy at Sacramento City College, California, refers to last week’s item at randi.org/joom/swift/swift-may-16-2008.html#i2. He writes:

I'd like to point out that some astrologers do account for precession. This gets the cat biting its own tail quickly as such a huge difference in sun signs should make the two groups of astrologers' calculations incompatible. I never hear them thrash this out, though. I wonder why?

Accounting for precession doesn't make astrology any less nonsense than it is, but it's kinda like how astrologers did not predict the positions of the outer three planets (yes, I still count Pluto) yet they had no problem incorporating them into their belief system, showing once again that astrology is a religion, not anything having to do with science.




DO TAKE A LOOK

book

There’s no stopping – or silencing – the UK’s Professor David Colquhoun, FRS. Click in on http://dcscience.net to see what I mean. He was recently an invited speaker at Yale University, and was a sensation. Just look at Integrated baloney @ Yale to see some excellent reaction. I suspect that Professor Colquhoun and I share more than the ordinary number of identical DNA strands, or whatever… When my UK TV series takes off, I think we’ll be sharing more than a few scenes together.




A COMMENTS COMMENT

The invited comments that follow each SWIFT are proving to be an attractive and useful part of this page, and I thank the participants. I often respond privately to a few of those who post, as I did with last week’s entries, but I’ll openly respond here to “cuddy joe” and “Desertphile.”

“Joe” presumed more than was appropriate when he wrote that I’d insinuated “that to be anti-abortion is to be a woo-woo.” No, not at all. My stance is that to be against abortion in all circumstances, is to be a woo-woo. There are activists out there who are adamantly set against any and all abortions, at any stage of pregnancy, for any and all reasons. To me, not taking advantage of this relief when it has been clearly shown that a child brought to term will be a monster, is as close to a “sin” as I can imagine.

Case in point: when I was a teen in Toronto, living apart from my family, I rented a room in a suburban home owned by a young couple who had chosen to give birth to a hydrocephalic baby. An x-ray – ultrasound imaging was still in the future – had shown the head of the fetus to be abnormal, but the couple had strong religious beliefs that made them resist a proffered abortion. The child had been born with very little hope of any improvement beyond its vegetative condition; it was – literally – a monster, screaming continually, showing no signs of interaction with any outside elements, and a huge burden on the desperate parents. I returned to my lodging one night to find police and an ambulance waiting; the child had somehow fallen downstairs and died. Since I knew it was not self-mobile, and could not even crawl, I also knew what had actually happened. I stayed on there for another month so as not to attract any attention to the parents, then quietly moved away.

“Desertphile” commented succinctly and well on a question asked of Uri Geller:

"Do you feel injured if someone calls you a charlatan?" – Interviewer

“Yes...." – Geller

That brings up a good question. Do bank robbers get their feelings hurt if someone calls a bank robber a bank robber?

Probably…




GELLER IN TURKEY

From the Turkish Daily News of May 27th, here are just three small excerpts that will give you the flavor of what Uri Geller features as his current selling points:

Geller explains his own mind-over-matter act with a bit of science. “We are all made from energy. As Einstein proved, energy can't be killed off,” he said. “The mind has a frequency and sometimes even those waves can manipulate molecular structure. Why I can do this and others can't, I don't know.”

This naïve and quite uninformed statement, followed by the same tired old “I just don’t know!” lie, shows that Geller is still in the same mode: he invokes and misattributes Einstein – who we can picture spinning in his grave – he can’t avoid mumbling about “frequency” and “waves,” and then he puts on his well-worn “I’m Astonished!” hat. Nothing has changed.

Remarking that religious people tend to be more open-minded, Geller said of Turkish viewers, “Here people accept what they see as some kind of energy.”

Umm, not all Turks, Mr. Geller. Most are well-educated enough to see through the flummery you bring to their TV screens, and they regard you as the clown you are. You’re a conjuror, nothing more, and your pretenses are getting more transparent every day, especially when you make those ridiculous claims that have been so thoroughly demolished, years ago. Like these:

[Geller] also described decades of his turns spying for the CIA, transforming rock into gold and discovering oil for companies and countries. “These are things I can talk about. Imagine the things I can't,” he said. But money no longer provides any inspiration for him, he said. “I know because I've made enough,” he said.

What a fantasy life this man enjoys!

He seems not to be aware that we’re now in the Age of the Internet, where lies told in one country are known across the world, immediately! Everyone, in every country, knows the Geller history, and laughs when he tries to present them with such nonsense…




IN CONCLUSION….

To leave Geller’s imaginary woo-woo universe behind and get back to the real world, go right to www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuYMOWyawe8 and see Phil Plait’s short video telling of a really startling event he describes. Phil’s enthusiasm comes through clearly, and I’m sure you’ll agree with him…


Signature