Table of Contents:
Last week's special web page update has had strong reactions, some of which I'll relate to you on another occasion. The flood of mail from readers was so heavy that I could not handle sending out more than a few thank-you notes, so consider yourselves all thanked. I'll place here just two pertinent messages, the first one from another victim of John of God:
While in the casa, my father and sister were separated from me. They were instructed to enter a room where their invisible surgery was to take place. I was directed to a line where I could present photos of ill people to John and he would subsequently write an herbal prescription for them. This line led into a room where John sat. As I approached him, I could see how he scribbled on pieces of paper and handed them back to people ahead of me. Finally I came to face him. I handed him the photos. He proceeded to scribble out the prescriptions and then it happened. He grabbed my arm and looked at me. I became paralyzed. I could not move, speak or open my eyes. I could only hear.
As I stood there, I felt my pants being pulled down from my waist to my hip. I heard John directing his attendants and then I felt the sting of the scalpel. I was screaming in my head. I could not believe what was happening to me. He continued to make an incision on my abdomen. He passed the scalpel 2 or 3 times on my abdomen. I felt his fingers probing in the incision. I then felt the pricks of a needle. He was stitching the incision. I heard him say he was finished.
Then I was able to open my eyes and I looked down on my abdomen where he had made the incision. Before I could protest, his attendants sat me down on a chair and I was whisked away to the recovery room. There the nurse attendants washed my incision with the so called holy water. I was very angry at what had occurred. John had assaulted me. I voiced my complaints in the recovery room. The attendants just directed me to a taxi cab and told me to go back to my hotel and rest. Let it be understood I DID NOT VOLUNTEER OR GIVE ANY PERMISSION FOR ANY KIND OF SURGERY. This was an ASSAULT.
Approx. 3-4 days later, I got an infection at the incision site. It started to spread. I required medical attention fast. My sister kept insisting I be taken to a hospital. John's followers were reluctant to let us go, they kept insisting John could heal me. John saw the infection and removed the stitches. John and his acolytes were more concerned about the negative publicity this would cause than my life. Finally, my sister demanded the owner of the hotel to call us a cab. She created a commotion. Finally, around midnight we got our cab. I was taken to Brasilia and was hospitalized for approximately a week. The infection had turned gangrenous. Massive dosages of varying antibiotics were given intravenously and sections of tissue were removed from my abdomen. By the grace of GOD, not John, I recovered.
As stated in Primetime, John is a very, very wealthy man. The Primetime program also stated he does not charge. That is very misleading. In Oct. 2001, the herbal prescriptions which are scribbled by John cost US$20 for a small bottle. The holy water charge is 1-2 dollars a bottle, the crystal baths they provide are $10, and you are told to drink a lot of holy water from the casa, which will help in the healing process. About 200-300 people visit the casa per day and from what I observed 90% are given prescriptions. All these charges might not seem a lot to a foreigner who is desperate for a cure and has traveled far to get to Abadiania , but in Brazil it is a tremendous amount of money.
I spoke to some locals in Abadania, and what I was told did not leave me with a Godly impression of John and his followers. In the program it stated that in 30 years no infection has been reported. John and his followers know better, they know. It's just not in their best interest to acknowledge the truth. People like John and his acolytes will continue to deceive. I can only warn people of him and state that there are GODLY powers then there are UNGODLY. You be the judge.From first hand experience, I can tell you that John of ? is an opportunist and a deceiver. I traveled to Abadiania in Oct. of 2001 to accompany my ill father and sister. I was in good health. On October 4th, 2001, I had unexpected physical surgery [at the healing center].
Briefly: we now find that all those hastily-scribbled "prescriptions" and instructions to drink "holy water" bring money into the pockets of this "healer," and I would bet that he gets a cut from the hotel and other "services," as well. Bear in mind that he also tells the victims how long they'll stay at that hotel. And, we learn here, he actually stitches up the incisions he makes. Also, infections do occur — serious ones, to judge from this account. The locals apparently know a lot about the farce. This information was available to the ABC-TV News investigating team. Why is it that they didn't learn this and reveal it?
Because that's not what they wanted to know.
And just one more comment on the matter, this one from Jeanne Hand-Boniakowski, who reminds us that:
After their credulous promo [for their upcoming show], ABC had a few web addresses "to learn more about" Joao de Deus. All these links are strong advocates of the guy, and most are selling João (videos, books and full tours in Brazil).
Jeanne suggests that there are other sites that ABC-TV could have sent viewers to, such as: www.metaphoria.org/ac4t0403.html, www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/cam.html, www.quackwatch.org, and www.ratbags.com/rsoles/comment/faithhealer.htm. She continues:
James Randi, an expert on "faith healers," may or may not call himself a progressive, but he is one of the most consistent activists for what I think of as progressive values that I have ever known. When I was in junior high school, he took on the local police harassment of young drivers like my brother. He has exposed frauds worldwide, and these frauds make their millions preying on those who have already been impoverished, and those who have no health care rights. His untiring work for rational culture in this, the only world and life we have, is the essence of old-fashioned liberalism.
Guilty as charged. This writer refers to my investigation of the police in Middletown, New Jersey, who The New York Times referred to as, "Keystone Kops," and who were illegally harassing "hippies" who who passed through their town. I was resident in a nearby town.
I'll say it again: there is no problem that can't be solved, nor fact that can't be found, if it appears here on this web page. Texas reader Larry Parker provides us with this photo of Melvin Burkhart, the man who in 1926 introduced the Western world to the carnival trick known as "Blockhead," described here last week as one of the stunts that impressed ABC-TV sufficiently that they rejected the explanation in order not to make their show an exposé. Here's Melvin in all his glory.
(What follows now is the pre-empted material I'd originally planned to publish last week. It's catch-up time!)
THE BRITISH COLUMBIA "PSYCHIC"
Reader Richard Smith of Ottawa, Canada, offers us a very perceptive and well thought-out analysis of a news item that he found in The Ottawa Citizen, January 27th, 2005, edition, and thought he'd pass along to us. This was picked up by the media all over the world, and thus brought great joy to the woo-woo community, as we'd expect. I received a lot of inquiries about this, but I decided to leave the examination and explanation here to Mr. Smith, since he covers it perfectly. Richard's own inserted comments will be double-indented from the newspaper copy:
VANCOUVER — Police in Nelson, B.C., credit a psychic for leading them to the body of a young woman missing since March. Exhaustive searches using dogs, helicopters and heat-sensing devices had failed to turn up any sign of Kimberly Sarjeant, 23, whose car was found parked by a popular hiking and walking area above the town in B.C.'s interior.
"This investigation was on-going for eight or nine months, and there were dozens of searches," said Sgt. Steve Bank of Nelson police. "In the forest, it's very much a needle in a haystack, especially in the area where she was eventually located. It's very, very dense." Last week, DNA analysis from the University of B.C. confirmed that bones found last November with the help of psychic Norm Pratt were Ms. Sarjeant's. Mr. Pratt lives in a rural area south of Nelson and said he has worked on a number of missing person and homicide cases in B.C.Psychic leads police to body of missing B.C. woman. "I had a vision of the woods, where to look...the landmarks"
Note: no mention of how successfully he'd "worked" on those cases, or if the police even knew he was working on them.
"Sometimes I see an entire murder play out in my mind's eye," said Mr. Pratt, 45, who took a meditative walk in the woods when he heard of Ms. Sarjeant's disappearance.
Sounds a bit like a fantasy-prone personality there. Not that I'm suggesting anything, mind you.
"Several details did emerge that I felt really drawn to go to the police with," said Mr. Pratt, who first went to the police about a week after the woman went missing.
So... He first provides information about a week after she goes missing, but doesn't completely narrow it down for about nine months? Pretty powerful stuff there.
Over time, more information came to Mr. Pratt. "I had visions of the woods, where to look, what to look for, what some of the landmarks were," he said. "But it wasn't enough to know exactly where to go. Over time, and through trial and error and kind of developing myself in my abilities, I was able to get to a place where I could pretty much pin-point the location.""Once we did the little dance about how I got my information, (Sgt. Bank) was very open."
Umm, let me guess, he saw her around trees, there were some rocks somewhere nearby, and he got an impression of water in the vicinity... After a few months, I'll bet he could determine that she wasn't to be found near any of the trails, nor anywhere else that had already been thoroughly searched.
Early in November, Mr. Pratt scrambled through the rough terrain up the mountainside behind Nelson in an area where there are no hiking or hunting trails. He found items of Ms. Sarjeant's clothing. On Nov. 7, police found some of her bones near where Mr. Pratt found the clothes.
So, the police didn't find her remains based on Mr. Pratt's psychic divinations, they found her remains based on his physical discovery of her clothing. Of course, it can never be absolutely disproved that he wasn't led to his discovery by any supernatural ability, but considering he was looking somewhere that hadn't been searched yet, and nobody mentions whether he'd gone out on previous, albeit unsuccessful, searches, I still feel extremely comfortable assuming that it was chance rather than fate that led him there.
Sgt. Bank said police would not have found Ms. Sarjeant without Mr. Pratt. "I really believe I'd still be investigating a missing person if not for him," Sgt. Bank said.
Of course, if an anonymous off-trail hiker had made the discovery, Sgt. Bank would be saying exactly the same thing about them.
"He identified an area where she would be located. When she was eventually found, she was right where he said she would be."
Okay, he wouldn't likely say that about the hiker. Still, considering it took about nine months for Mr. Pratt to locate her, I'd like to know just how many "areas" he identified before picking the right one. I'm also curious to know if, by "an area," Sgt. Bank might possibly be implying that, at the time of the discovery, the uncanny Mr. Pratt had actually provided not a single area but a checklist of possibilities, one of which just happened to match closely with Ms. Sarjeant's final resting place.
Added Sgt. Bank: "These sorts of investigations attract all kinds of, uh, help. Lots of it is psychic help. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't."
And again, there's no mention as to how much, uh, help Mr. Pratt has actually provided in the past. While he did discover her clothes (after nine months of "there, or, uh, there, or, uh, maybe somewhere over there"), it's not at all clear how much his, uh, psychic help has been.
Police don't suspect foul play was involved in Ms. Sarjeant's death.
And I'm willing to give Mr. Pratt the benefit of the doubt and not suspect any foul play involved in his psychic claims. Most likely, he might be just very good at putting two and two together, as well as deduction, and might well have made a very good police detective, had he decided to pursue such a career. Instead, he's come to view his occasional insights as psychic impressions. Then again, by a very literal definition of the phrase, I guess that's what they could be considered. Just not supernatural.
Mr. Smith has a complaint that he directs at me personally, however:
There. I hope you're happy. It's largely your fault that I can't read an innocent little article like this without picking it apart and waxing cynical (well, okay, "critical") when things don't add up properly. I hope you're happy, because I am. I'll stop now, because I'm starting to wax maudlin...
Thanks, Richard. The bottom line here is that this "psychic" searched for eight or nine months, much more than the police spent doing so, and eventually he came upon some clothing which he turned over to the police. The police found the body, not he. If, as Richard points out, someone else — another hiker, a hunter — had found the clothing and/or the body, would this have still been a "psychic" discovery? No, of course not.
Reader Renate Heap writes from Australia:
My brother and sister-in-law were a bit dubious regarding this exercise, but said, "Well, if it works..." I tried to get into the conversation by telling them what I have read on your web page regarding dowsing, but I'm not very good at remembering vital information that would convince them it was all a lot of codswallop. I knew I would make a hash of it, so I didn't say anything.
I am sometimes really concerned that people who are experiencing these things don't do enough research themselves to find out if this "works" or not, I'm even more frightened by believers, especially those who believe in Sylvia Browne! But that's another subject.
Many years ago, I myself was selling real estate, in Queensland, Australia, and when I showed this couple the property — vacant land — the woman picked up a fork-like branch, and started dowsing. At the time I was still naïve about this kind of thing, but I'd heard of it on television in days gone by. I watched with skeptical feelings what she was doing but when her "forked branch" started to vibrate at an enormous rate, I went to her and held it myself. It seemed as if it did have a mind of its own. I could not believe that she was doing this. I didn't see her hands move, but the stick was definitely moving up and down, vibrating so fiercely.
It has always bothered me, that experience, because I was convinced that it wasn't her. She could not have had such strength in her fingers, at the end of this forked branch, and moved it at such a rate. What is that?I have read most of your books and written to you on and off through the years for small bits of information. Now I am once again somewhat puzzled. My own family, a brother whom I thought was "realistic" in many ways, recently told me that he had people to their property, to find out if they could dig for a bore. My sister-in-law tells me that they came with their wires and so forth, and found water, subsequently advising them to dig there and so on. I don't think they expected to get dowsers, as they were just seeking information as to whether or not their property was on a "bore line," so to speak.
Renate, this is the "ideomotor reaction" discussed at www.randi.org/library/dowsing/ in detail. Take a look....
Mr. Randi, when are you going to make another trip to Australia and educate some of us again Down Under? We need you down here badly. If we have anyone equivalent to your web site down under, I would like to know who it is and where. I would love to attend some of your lectures, just to be able to be with people of like mind, so that I don't feel so isolated and can have some positive feed back on "life as it is." There are not too many people I know personally who think and feel like me. "Normal, I think"... but then, others may not agree.At the same time, I cannot for the life of me even begin to imagine that a stick or branch would react to water that was way down, maybe 100 feet below the ground. It just doesn't make any common and logical sense to me. My 57-year-old brain with little education scientific or otherwise cannot fathom this phenomenon. I am from the old "school of life" more than anything else, and cannot comprehend that this would ever work, or that there would be any kind of scientific phenomena that connected the stick with water, honestly. It's like the gimmick of magnetic therapy. That doesn't make sense to me either, and I'm not even a scientist.
The skeptical community is very strongly represented in Australia, Renate! Since you gave no indication where on that great continent you're located, this should put you in contact: Our good friend Barry Williams holds forth at skeptics@kasm.com.au or www.skeptics.com.au. The Canberra Skeptics are at PO Box 555, Civic Square ACT 2608. In the Hunter Region they're at bolide@hunterlink.net.au, in the Northern Territory, dwnskeptic@ais.net.au. The Gold Coast Skeptics, Queensland, are at lmderrick@telstra.easymail.com.au, the Queensland Skeptics can be reached at qskeptic@uq.net.au, the South Australia Skeptics at allang@txc.net.au. In Tasmania, it's fredthornett@hotmail.com, in Victoria, contact@skeptics.com.au, in Melbourne www.skeptics.com.au, and in Western Australia go to wa.skeptics@australiamail.com.
Renate continues:
I am not religious either, and often wonder where you stand on religion, as I have not found any articles, or not many on that subject, except when you expose those so called, "bleeding statues" and so on.
At great cost and effort, we maintain the JREF web page, which contains such information well-archived and in abundance. As I tell people just about every day, please go there before asking us for information that will probably be there.... In passing, I'm a confirmed atheist, totally free of all superstitions such as religion.
I am concerned that so many of our politicians are using their religion as well as Mr. Blair, (Bush/Regan in the past). If it's not the stars and mediums they follow it's this "God is with us" policy. All the crusaders in the past cried, "God is on our side." He was always on everyone's side, in my books.
I share that concern....
Reader Adrian Box at the University of Calgary, Alberta, alerts us:
I am writing to draw your attention to the recent introduction of Noni juice at the 7-11 convenience store chain. There was a huge banner on the front of the store claiming that Noni juice is being studied as an anti-cancer drink. Wow, here I am working on my research Ph.D. degree in cancer biology and I'm being outshined by 7-11, and they get to make a profit at it, as well. Maybe we should entrust our future medical research to all the fast-food stores and markets. What's next, the McDonald's Happy Meal with free chemotherapeutic fries? Potato chips with mood-stabilizing qualities? I just thought it was simultaneously very amusing and disturbing.I am a long time fan of the JRE Foundation and I really enjoy your commentaries on the various pseudoscientific "discoveries" circulating around.
Adrian, just looking up the claims made for noni juice, I found that they claim it relieves respiratory problems, ADD and ADHD, headaches, asthma, chronic fatigue, depression, cold & flu, burns, back and joint pains, tendonitis, and arthritis, treats "low energy" and cancer, aids in healing following surgery, lowers cholesterol and blood pressure, and improves eyesight. I gotta get some of that juice! Or do I....?
This "noni" juice is taken from the fruit morinda citrifolia, also known as Indian Mulberry, grown in India, Malaysia, and Southeast Asia. At www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/News/noni.html we find that in 1998, it was found by the attorneys general of several states that the purveyors of this magic juice had made unsubstantiated claims in consumer testimonials and other promotional material that it could treat, cure or prevent numerous diseases, including diabetes, depression, hemorrhoids and arthritis. The distributors were ordered to no longer make drug claims, or claims that the product could cure, treat, or prevent any disease, to not make any other claims, whether health claims or others, regarding the benefits of the juice, to not use testimonials which imply that the advertised claimed results are the typical or ordinary experience of consumers in actual conditions of use, and that they had to refund to any consumer who requested a refund in writing, the full purchase price paid for the product. They also ordered that the company pay $100,000 for investigative costs.
Also in 1998, the US National Food Administration banned the importation, exportation, trade stocking, offering and all other supplying, of the fruit juice marketed under the name of "noni."
In Finland, this fruit juice was sold on the basis of claims that examiners there found to be spurious, claims in regard to the prevention of illnesses, their treatment and cure, among those listed being HIV, cancer, diabetes, rheumatism, blood pressure, cholesterol, psoriasis, allergies, heart rhythm abnormality, chronic inflammation, and aching joints. The advertising even urged people to reduce their dosage of prescription medicines. The information given was found to be misleading, and the sale, marketing and importation of the product was banned.
The Noni Juice Plus company (see www.noni-juice-plus.com/noni-juice-interview.html) reports that in 2002, after ABC-TV News interviewed them, they had to double their staff to handle the resulting increased business! And as we know, ABC-TV News deals only with the facts....
Reader David Crawford, also of Calgary, points out an interesting parallel:
There is no budging them. THEY are not wrong — it's the judges who don't understand. They KNOW they have the talent — the judges just don't hear it. The energy fields aren't correct. There are negative thoughts in the room. Their chakras didn't work out. Their qi is unbalanced — otherwise they'd be winners for sure! Wait till next time!!
Sound familiar?
The show may be about singers, but it gives a marvelous insight into what you and the staff at the JREF must experience on a daily basis. You have my sympathies.Each week I get some insight into how deluded people can be by watching "American Idol" and/or its Canadian equivalent. Not only do most of the "singers" have delusions of talent but so do their entourages. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary (not to mention direct criticism from experts) these people continue to believe in the impossible — that they will eventually win the competition and go on to great riches as singers.
A new book has been issued by the Prince of Wales' "Foundation for Integrated Health," intended to promote alternative health therapies. It's titled, "Complementary Health Care: A Guide for Patients," and offers advice on how to find the twelve most popular non-standard therapies, including reflexology, herbal medicine and yoga therapy and it has been distributed to surgeries all over the country.
The book has been condemned as "hair-raisingly flimsy," "unscientific and potentially dangerous," "frankly inaccurate" and "over-optimistically misleading" by the UK's leading authority on complementary medicine, Professor Edzard Ernst. Though Ernst says he repeatedly offered to correct the text free of charge, his overtures were rejected. The book encourages the public to resort to unproven treatments, and the costs of production were partly funded by the UK government. One in five Britons now say that they have used herbal or homeopathic medicines, and more are signing up for physical forms of treatment including acupuncture, head massage and aromatherapy.
Noblesse oblige.....
A GOOD EXPLANATION FOR A SPOOKY EVENT
Reader Kenneth Kourt had a strange experience, and has managed to find a rational reason for what might otherwise have been an item for Larry King....
I don't tend to sleep well with my light on, but sometimes I don't bother to turn it off if I'm napping, as I usually wake up at 20 minute intervals or so and can refresh myself without an alarm. However, this night I was napping and woke up — and was unable to move!
"How delightful!" I thought. "Sleep paralysis! I've read about that! I wonder what I'll dream about?"
Eventually, I drifted off to sleep to find myself dreaming about being sleep paralyzed. It was long and drawn out, but eventually my friend in the dream "woke" me, and I found myself in the same position. Nothin' movin'. Nothin' doin'. So I thought about how this was often related to abduction stories (sorry again, I mean REPORTS). And then, I drifted off and had an amazing dream of being abducted, which seemed to stem from an episode from the Twilight Zone about a fabulous liar who got abducted because his lies were seen as truth by the aliens, whom he kills with his harmonica. It was even in black and white, and I dream in color.
I awoke again to find myself in the now aggravating position of being paralyzed again. It had worn out its welcome at this point, as my arm was starting to hurt from the strain. I was able, after two minutes or so (maybe, but who really knows) to move my head back and forth until I knocked it against my alarm clock — yes, I keep it on my bed — and I awoke entirely out of the whole ordeal. My arm hurt for a half hour or so, which, I suspect is where the aliens stuck me with a needle, or some sort of probe...!
My real question is, do you know of a link between napping and especially artificial lights being on, with sleep paralysis? If not, is that potentially something that should be looked into? I would appreciate your opinion. I hope this e-mail was helpful, or at least amusing.Just a little something I noticed.... I have been scouring various web boards on alien abduction, www.iwasabducted.com for example, and I have found many of the dreams (excuse me, ABDUCTIONS) seem to take place during naps, or involve previous napping. I am not a scientist, nor do I have any hard data to back that up, as I am too lazy and do not get paid for such research, however, a few weeks ago, I had the same thing happen to me! I was "abducted"!
Kenneth, I'll ask my readers to respond to that question, since I'm sure we'll have someone out there who has some expertise in that direction....
Speaking of which, do you know of any schools or courses I can take that specifically involve perception? It's of particular interest to me. I constantly marvel at people's ability to buy more lottery tickets because they "need to win their money back" or the fact that I can't explain to a guy at work that a royal flush is four times more likely than a hand of seemingly random (yet specific) cards. Any resources you can give me would be appreciated.I would really like to hear back from you folks. I love your work, keep it up. As soon as I can have another few good sales months, I hope to get back to taking classes on psychology — my passion — and perhaps join your ranks.
Another reader-solvable question, I'm sure. But please don't bug me on the probability scenario above; I checked with Chip Denman, our JREF statistician, and he explained to me that it's quite correct, since four royal flushes are possible, while any specific random hand has only one possibility of coming up.... See?
Anyway, I am in your debt, as well as to Penn & Teller and the Bad Astronomer. Sorry this is so long winded. Thank you again.
We're in your debt, Ken, for this excellent handling of your abduction — oops, I mean, weird dream state. Thank you!
OFFICIAL NAVY ENDORSEMENT OF QUACKERY
Reader Al Campagna, of Candia, New Hampshire, takes us back to last November:
From the Naval Hospital's own brochure:I refer to your JREF Newsletter of Nov, 26 2004, and in particular an article entitled "Quackery Marine Style." In that article, Master Sergeant Scott H. Miller alerted JREF members to the fact that our government (through the auspices of the Department of the Navy, Naval Hospital, Camp Pendleton, California) is presently supporting, endorsing, and promulgating the practice of "holistic" medicine, specifically, "Healing Touch Therapy."
Healing Touch is an energy (biofield) therapy that encompasses a group of non-invasive techniques that utilize the hands to clear, energize, and balance the human and environmental energy fields. Healing Touch interventions may be used to restore, energize, and balance an energy field disturbance. Allowing the body to heal and promoting health and wellness.
I contacted Lieutenant Commander Cindy Baggott, and presented the following comments (excerpted) for her consideration:
Dear LCDR Baggott,
"Biofields?" Human and environmental "energy" fields? Restore, energize, and balance an "energy field disturbance?"
These are the hallmark buzzwords used for centuries to lend credence to every bogus theory that fails legitimate scientific evaluation. Crystal Power, homeopathy, blood-letting, I Ching, Fung Shui, dowsing, spoon-bending, clairvoyance, Facilitated Communication, etc. etc. ad infinitum.
Remember "Kirlian photography?" Debunked some 40 years ago, it also used terms like "energy fields," "distorted energy fields," and "biofields" in an attempt make the transition from a simple darkroom amusement to a legitimate medical diagnostic tool. Total humbug!
Simply put, Healing Touch derives its "apparent" efficacy from the placebo effect, with stress reduction and relaxation techniques substituted in HT for the perennial sugar pill. The placebo effect is a legitimate, measurable, and well-understood phenomenon, and properly used, it does have a place in the broad spectrum of medical treatment. So, too, are stress reduction and relaxation techniques. They have a place in the panoply of treatment, but not "energy manipulation," "energy restoration," or "energy balance," or whatever terminology the practitioners of Healing Touch use to perpetuate their existence.
That's what I really find offensive about Healing Touch! LCDR Cindy M. Baggott NC USN
Director, Command Relations and Information
Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
Naval Hospital, Camp Pendleton
Office: (760) 725-1436
E-mail: cmbaggott@cpen.med.navy.mil
The CPNH reply came, not from LCDR Baggott, but by her superior, in this "official" reply:
Dear Mr. Campagna,
Thank you for taking the time to bring your concerns to my attention. We take these concerns very seriously.
Our mission is to support the Navy and Marine Corps with safe, quality, customer-focused health care. We have set very high patient satisfaction and quality care standards as our goals.
Since its beginning in the early 1980s, Healing Touch (HT) has developed into a recognized, endorsed complementary therapy. Other forms of complementary therapy include acupuncture and chiropractic care. Both civilian and military health care organizations offer HT in addition to, not in replacement of, traditional medical evaluation and treatment. Naval Hospital, Camp Pendleton continuously seeks opportunities to optimize health care delivery for our beneficiaries and has incorporated HT therapy as one patient option to augment other services. Practitioners are trained and certified through the American Holistic Nurses Association (AHNA).
The Journal of Nursing Scholarship, published quarterly by the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, contained an excellent review of HT studies in Volume 36, Number 2 (Second Quarter 2004). The article authors, Diane Wind Wardell and Kathryn F. Weymouth, concluded that HT research studies have demonstrated multiple positive benefits including quality of life improvement.
If you need additional information or assistance, please contact the Director, Command Relations and Information, Lieutenant Commander Cindy Baggott, NC, USN, at (760) 725-1436.
(signed) C. A. WILSON Captain, Nurse Corps United States Navy Commanding Officer ActingDEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
NAVAL HOSPITAL
CAMP PENDLETON, CALIFORNIA 92055-5191
I think Captain Wilson has completely missed the point!
I have no doubt that massage therapy, music, stress reduction and relaxation techniques may very well provide additional comfort and positive benefits to patients who have already received proper medical care. But it is the HT proponents' and enablers' claims that they clear, energize, and balance "energy fields" that I find dishonest at least, and totally unsubstantiated at best. So, there you have it. The arguments put forward to legitimize Healing Touch Therapy is that it is "recognized" by the people who practice it, it is as legitimate as acupuncture and chiropractic care, and provides "quality of life" benefits (whatever that is).
Well, Al, Dr. Diane Wind Wardell and Dr. Kathryn F. Weymouth, the co-authors of the cited paper, are both PhDs with extensive publications to their credits — all on Therapeutic Touch, and one on the medicinal use of grapeseed oil. All this, despite the fact that HTT has no value whatsoever. Remember that any HTT practitioner can win the JREF million-dollar prize just for demonstrating that the Human Energy Field (HEF) even exists, but none will apply. Why? A test would take only 30 minutes, and that's a very substantial return, I'd say! Note, too, that Captain Wilson refers the complaint right back to LC Baggott — and the matter could bounce around, back and forth, forever...! Clever!
No, the Navy will apparently support flummery if it's already accepted it, and it seems that evidence means nothing. Stonewalling is a technique well-practiced and perfected by these people, as you see, and Captain C. A. Wilson is quite wrong in accepting one selected paper as proof that HTT is valid. It was written by two persons who have very strong reasons for endorsing it; that should ring an alarm bell, right there. HTT is not, as Captain Wilson claims, a "recognized, endorsed complementary therapy," at all, and acupuncture is only a popular form of mystical quackery. I respectfully suggest that Captain Wilson go to www.phact.org/e/tt/, www.csicop.org/articles/therapeutic-touch/, www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/tt2.html, and www.canoe.ca/HealthAlternativeColumns/010316.html before continuing to endorse this subject.
Reader Kasper Juelsgaard in Denmark asks:
People often talk about the "special" bond between a mother and her child, where she can feel that something has happened to her child and so on. Also some claim that some others as well have that bond. Do you disregard that as a myth or is there something to it, and if so can it be explained scientifically?
Yes, Kasper, it can be explained. You'd do better by consulting a psychologist, but my price is much better, so consider that fact when you read what follows.
As I understand it, there are two major ways — among many — we're prepared to handle the world. One is by acquired learning, the other is by what's already "hard-wired" into our brains when we first emerge to face our existence. Examples of hard-wired information are such things as fear of falling, alarm at loud noises, and recognition of angry human facial expressions. Mothers, the biologically-destined care-givers to the young, are especially sensitive to changes in breathing patterns, voice sounds, and other subtle changes in their infants.
However, I suspect that you are asking more about mothers who report that they "sensed" their child was in danger, seemingly by some paranormal means. Let me relate briefly an event that occurred some years ago when I lived in New Jersey. A young mime/magician was in residence for a year at my home, with the approval of his mother, attending the local high school. One night at 3 a.m., I was awakened by the phone. It was his mother, calling from some thirty miles away, very alarmed that she "just knew" somehow that her son Sammy was ill, and asking me to check him out. I confirmed that she was indeed correct, and that Sammy was at home for a day or two until he recovered from a 24-hour 'flu bug that was going around.
"Aha!" said the jubilant mother, "You see, I know when something's wrong with him!" I couldn't resist asking her when she'd last called with that same sort of premonition. She thought a moment, and admitted that she'd called just two weeks earlier with that same notion — which on that occasion was incorrect. I reminded her that she had called several times before that, too, and had been equally wrong — and that there had been recent media reports that this 'flu bug was present in the local school system. Nonetheless, she averred, this time she'd been much more certain about her alarm, than previously.
It boils down to this: we tend to notice and remember when a theory is fulfilled, and to forget when it isn't; we're selective that way. Race-track addicts recall every win, but can't give you any details of heavy hunches that failed. Viewers watching Sylvia Browne on Montel exult over every "hit" she makes, but don't count the much more numerous misses. We note with dismay when the price of gasoline goes up two cents, but not when it goes down.
It is a mistake to ascribe supernatural causes to events unless we've taken into account the probabilities involved, have thought about other evidence that we've not recorded, or considered the possibility that our account or memory of the matter might be faulty.
(This next item was prepared and intended for publication in last week's page, which would have been before the dire events predicted herein. In the spirit of always calling our shots, it would have appeared in time for us to maybe look foolish for not having taken note of the warning....)
A nut named Daniel Adam Millar of Vancouver, Canada, sees The End this year. And just when I'd planned a trip to Disney World.... On February 10th, he declared (grammar and spelling corrected for clarity):
These events are:
1. Al Qaeda will again attack America, most likely New York City, by detonating a nuclear bomb, probably in or near Manhattan. Almost simultaneously, a second similar bomb will be detonated in Israel, most likely Tel Aviv, and slightly possibly Jerusalem. George Bush may immediately decide to launch a retaliatory nuclear strike on Iran and Syria, while knowing the true culprits were Al Qaeda operatives.
2. The above events will not take place until the world gets to see for itself the world's first human clone baby or child. This IS the "abomination that causes desolation," for I am the Daniel being spoken of by Jesus in Matthew 24. The clone itself is the abomination. The temple represents the human body, and the desolation occurs with a clone, because it does not have a God-given soul, the very essence of God himself he first gave to Adam and Eve.
3. Israel and the Palestinians will sign a new peace accord, probably in Washington DC. This is the "Covenant with Death" as spoken by the prophet Isaiah (28:15).
4. There will be a new Pope in Rome, to replace John Paul II who will die probably within the next week or so. The new pope will be an English-speaking 42-year old Canadian man from the Vancouver area, he will be small and slight, will have a beard, and will walk with a very noticeable limp, due to the Lord's touching the sinew of his left hip after anointing him. This man will be the RC Church's last true Pope, and will be known as the Pope of Peace. He will have only 45 days, until April 8, 2005, when he either voluntarily leaves, or will be thrown out of office due to various scandals. His successor will be Pope Peter II, and is the Antichrist. The good Pope will call himself Pope Benedict XVI, and will endeavor to emulate his namesake, Saint Benedict. Pope Benedict XVI will be personally chosen, anointed and chosen by the Lord Jesus Christ to lead His Church until he is martyred on September 5, 2005. On February 22, 2005, there will be four major events occurring in the world. All four are to be regarded as signs from God that the end of the Age is now at hand, and the world is about to be judged by Him. By October 4, 2005, it will be all over with, and a new era of peace will begin. In the meantime, things will get much much worse with every day that passes.
There! Got that? This is yet another service by your JREF to keep you aware of upcoming events. Act accordingly!
Well, no nuclear bombs went boom — in New York City or Israel or elsewhere — no human clones are evident, no peace agreement has been signed between Israel and Palestine, and the Pope struggles on.... Could it be that Daniel Adam Millar is wrong on four out of four prophesies — the average score for these attempts?
But wait a second, Daniel! Didn't you tell also us that September 13, 1993 was "the beginning of the 7-year tribulation" and that on September 6, 2000, the Antichrist would proclaim himself God, and begin the battle of Armageddon? Gee, Dan, though we probably don't get all the important news here in South Florida, we must have altogether missed those big events! Howcum....?
Mr. Millar responded to the above inquiry, which I had emailed to him last week — similarly corrected, as best I can, for clarity:
The second "seven" began with the Al Qaeda attacks on NYC and Washington on September 11, 2001, precisely 2,920 days, or 8 years after September 13, 1993. The number 8 in Hebrew symbolism represents "a new beginning", "one octave higher", "resurrection", and "a bridge between two 'sevens', or weeks". Thus 9/11 became "Day One" of the new "seven", and February 22, 2005 is the 1,260th day. Now, whereas in the first "seven", they were warnings only, and nobody got hurt killed by the signs given.
However, like 9/11, the second "seven" will be filled with devastion, and horrible judgments. And it all ends on October 4, 2005.
Dan MillarWhat I didn't realize at the time was that there were two "sevens" or weeks involved. The first seven, between September 13, and September 21, 2000, was the warning seven only, with mere "shadows" of things to come on the key dates within that "seven", such as the announcement of Dolly the lamb in Scotland on February 24, 1997, precisely 1,260 days, a "time, times and half a time", or 42 months — they're all equivalent, after September 13, 1993.
I responded, "Oh. Now I understand."
(This is another item that was prepared to go up last week. The program will already have taken place by the time you read this. The item is being submitted to our webmaster on the 23rd....)
Reader Mark Dotson makes a prediction and observes a fundamental biological fact and common misapprehension:
If the title of the upcoming ABC Primetime Live program "The UFO Phenomenon — Seeing is Believing" is an indication of what the content will be, I fear that the viewing public is in for another tabloid-like journalistic hack job. The physical truth is that our eyes, through evolution, have evolved to see just a tiny fraction of the electromagnetic spectrum. I'm not a physicist nor do I have any formal scientific training, yet I know enough about the spectrum to know that it is the universal information carrier through which we perceive our world, indeed our entire universe. Visible light, comprising only a small fraction of this universal carrier, is by definition totally unreliable in telling the truth or revealing the whole story behind any "phenomenon." So, as I watch this program with a skeptical eye, I'm looking forward to seeing another intellectually lazy piece of ratings-driven drivel. Thanks for all of your good work in trying to educate, you must at times feel as if you are "tilting at windmills." Rest assured that there are some of us nameless out here for whom your efforts do not go unnoticed.
Our friend James McGaha, MS, FRAS, director of the Grasslands Observatory in Arizona, has written us in this regard:
I will be on this show on Thursday night on ABC. It was supposed to be a show on "Life in the Universe." It now appears to be PRO UFO. So much for the truth.
My personal prediction is that this UFO program will be relatively sober, since Peter Jennings is a reputable and relatively independent show host. I'll review the show here next week. I write this on Sunday, February 20th....
