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Why are we not surprised? Brian Josephson, the Cambridge University professor who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1973, has supported claims by Russian "psychic prodigy" Natasha Demkina that she can see inside people's bodies. We handled Miss Demkina at www.randi.org/jr/020604monk.html#12 and Josephson several places, such as www.randi.org/jr/01-26-2001.html
Josephson, a noted credophile (see http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29051) naturally believes the Russian schoolgirl, who says she uses X-ray vision to diagnose medical problems. He's now claiming that an experiment for a forthcoming TV documentary that disproves Demkina's claims was "fixed" to ensure she failed. Those tests were partially designed by science journalist Andrew Skolnick, by Ray Hyman, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of Oregon in Eugene, and by Dr. Richard Wiseman, a professor of psychology at Hertfordshire University. Wiseman has said that the attack from Professor Josephson, who is a physicist with no known record of publishing on parapsychology, "does not carry much weight," as it was posted on his personal website without any refereeing process.
In the test, Ms. Demkina correctly identified the medical conditions of four out of seven patients, and misdiagnosed three. She was informed in advance of the seven possible conditions, and was required to assign them correctly — a "forced-choice" test. She had claimed in advance that she would be 100% correct, but agreed with the researchers that she would have to get at least five successes to pass the test. Professor Josephson seems unaware that proper scientific tests require that the protocol be agreed upon in advance and then adhered to — as this one was; he prefers to re-structure the rules when the test fails to prove the point he prefers.
One of the test subjects had as her "secret" the fact that she had a hip replacement, and her somewhat awkward gait might have hinted at that. Also, Demkina's people were in conversation with some of the subjects before the test. These were both factors that should have been eliminated, I would say. One cannot make excuses after the test is agreed to and carried out, however. Those factors have to be eliminated in advance by the experimenters. To offer such facts as excuses would be to follow Josephson's methods, and I find that not acceptable.
Said Skolnick:
Ms. Demkina's claims are much more astounding and revolutionary than were [the discoverer of X-rays] Roentgen's. If true, their impact on science and medicine would be far greater. Unfortunately, the results of the test provide little justification for further study. We found no evidence that Ms. Demkina can see inside of people's bodies on a cellular or any other level.
Gee, we offered to test this girl, but she had no interest. Success with us would have meant advancing on the million-dollar prize, which I naively believe is even better than an endorsement from a naïve Nobel laureate.
A REVIEW OF "PSYCHIC DETECTIVE"
Reader Mike Lilley gives us an excellent run-down and analysis of a popular TV show:
In this week's show, (which I humored my wife by watching at her insistence), the psychic talents of Laurie McQuary were showcased in the murder investigation of the deceased victim, LA photo model Linda Sobek. The only problem is that the psychic was absolutely no help whatsoever in finding the body, no help in finding the murder site, didn't work with the cops, and was of zero value in the investigation. Instead, the murderer himself led police to the body, after being caught by the cops using standard investigation processes unrelated to any "psychic."
So. How on earth does the show spin this total failure, so as to give psychic McQuary credit for "helping" find the body and solving the crime? Simple. In the nearby Angeles National park, (where many LA murder victims who have disappeared are routinely dumped), the psychic had the "sensation of death" at a convenient gully by a remote road turn out. It wasn't the murder site, which was in the desert. It wasn't even close to where the body was found. It had no connection to this crime. But, some other body had been dumped in the area years ago! The psychic later explained it was "old death" vibes rather than "recent" death vibes she was feeling. As we all know, "old death" vibes and "recent death" vibes can be pretty hard to distinguish between, sometimes. I'm sure years of stories about missing bodies being found in the mountainous region along these roads would have had nothing to do with any psychic death speculations that McQuary "felt."
In spite of psychic McQuary providing zero value to this murder investigation the show lauded her amazing contributions in this case! Pretty amazing stuff, all right, but not for the reasons the producers intended.
Incidentally, when this crime occurred it had been made fully public in newspaper articles and TV accounts that the photo model victim disappeared during the exact time her calendar stated she was going to be on an extended afternoon desert photo shoot with a specific new photographer who was already under investigation. Then this McQuary psychic amazingly predicted that the murderer of this model "has something to do with photography"! Yet another amazing and impressive hit. This kind of stuff is par for the course week after week on this show. Even the producer's best efforts at "amazing impressive powers" spin editing still renders the "psychics" efforts as hopelessly pathetic.
Here's the show description from the Court TV website, under the title, "Hollywood Mystery":Your recent discussion on TV show psychics prompted me to comment on this week's Court TV episode of "Psychic Detective."
When Los Angeles model Linda Sobek vanishes, the only lead is her abandoned car found in a nearby suburb. Police begin scouring the local area, but Sobek's friends think they're on the wrong track and take matters into their own hands. They bring in psychic Laurie McQuary. Agreeing that the search is focusing on the wrong area, she looks toward the Angeles National Park. Without any official resources to work with, how will McQuary find the woman in a park the size of Rhode Island?
By the way, the show's final answer to that last question is not:
a) "She didn't" or
b) "She couldn't," or
c) "Turns out she didn't have a clue!" or even,
d) "She was no help whatsoever. The murderer himself led investigators to the body."
Instead, the answer we get from the show's conclusions, implies that the amazing psychic McQuary was instrumental in helping find the body and solving the crime! Amazing powers are at work here all right — on the part of the show's producers. They have used their best psychic powers to deduce that their TV audience is as dumb as a heap of rocks in the nearby Angeles National Park!
Mike, as you well know, such an abysmal failure won't affect this "psychic's" career one bit. McQuary will continue to be consulted by the naïve, will be paid for her guesses, and will be just as accurate and useful as she was in this case. Her website says she's been voted "Portland's Best," and she's been at this for some twenty years now. Impressive....
THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS OFFERS QI GONG
I've lectured at this center of learning in the past, but a student seems to think that some folks weren't listening. He writes:
My name is Michael Jaramillo, a college student and just recently a proud, card-carrying member of the JREF. Now, imagine my shock to see that my university is offering a kinesiology class in something called Qi Gong. This is the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, a highly respected institution. Recently I received an email with this message:
Qi Gong for Stress Management CRN 42977 Class will meet March 29 — May 4, 6-8 pm, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Room 310 Freer Hall. Instructor: Dr. Weimo Zhu.
Course Description:
The ancients in China concluded thousands of years ago that Qi (Life Force, or Vital Energy) is the essence of all things on earth, including health. "Gong," in Chinese, means practice or training. The gentle movements, easy postures, and simple meditation techniques of this powerful healing method bring about a balanced energy flow, the result being optimum health of the body and mind. Qi-gong has been shown to be one effective way of reducing stress. Unlike some other forms of exercise, Qi Gong does not need any special equipment, clothing, or space so it is an exercise that can be done virtually anywhere at anytime. A Qi-gong master from China will guess [sic] lecture at the class.
SPRING 2005
Hold on! Mr. Jaramillo was right to have his alarm bells shaken by this announcement, but let's look into it further. He writes that this is a "kinesiology" class. I believe that he was — in error — connecting this very legitimate discipline with "applied kinesiology," a genuinely quack procedure used for diagnosis by the ignorant. Kinesiology itself is a valuable tool used for medical purposes and applied to dance, as well. It's "the study of the anatomy and physiology of body movement, especially in relation to physical education or therapy," according to Webster. Dr. Weimo Zhu is a tenured Associate Professor at Urbana-Champaign, a recognized expert in the field. But let's hear from Mr. Jaramillo on why he's specifically alarmed:
Now, I understand stress reduction just like all the other calm aesthetic techniques anyone can do to feel better. But why is a university offering a course in it and why if wanting to have someone teach stress reduction would they take a program that promotes the obvious bunk listed above, like "life force." Just because the Chinese concluded something thousands of years before the rapid advancements in science, that makes it true? I don't think so. I also looked up Qi Gong on Aetna online and they said that little scientific study on effectiveness and safety have been done on Qi Gong, so it seems irresponsible for a research college to have a course in it. I want to voice this opinion to the university, but I am interested in what the JREF has to say on the matter first.
Ah, there we have it! This man was right to be upset by the references in the course description to "Life Force," "Vital Energy," and "balanced energy flow," all New Age expressions that do not relate to reality in any sense. But we cannot assume that Professor Zhu wrote or was even aware of the text used, and we don't know that he is the "Qi-Gong master" referred to, either. The very concept of Qi-Gong is a fuzzy old idea that generally covers the puzzles and problems of explaining life-processes, and of course allows for generous interpretations of just about everything from the weather to indigestion. I suggest that we need to ask a few more questions about all this before getting too worked up....!
In fact, it sounds to me — seeing the references to "reduce[ing] stress" and "exercise," — as if this offered course might have been somewhat poorly described, and could be more about Tai Chi (more correctly, Tai Chi Chuan), an ancient form of gentle, graceful, exercise that is extensively entered into by the Chinese populace at all age levels; every morning during my last stay in China, I saw a park full of blissful citizens swooping and gliding their way to health and suppleness by this interesting discipline. Certainly nothing wrong there, I'm confident.
Our student continued on another matter, this one perfectly designed to raise hackles in any thinking person:
I would like to thank the JREF for providing useful information and fighting pseudoscience at every turn. I would like to thank Mr. James Randi for his tireless efforts. It is great to know the battle for truth is being fought.I was also forwarded an email from somewhere outside the university. It is about mystic talismans, although this place wants to give me one free (though I doubt that would be the end of it). Nevertheless I saved the two dollars shipping. Again they bring up the Chinese. I guess that makes more people buy talismans. Is it me or is there some flow of Asian superstition into America there days? I still don't understand how a talisman is supposed to work, though I know that they don't. Just because some symbol is on it, you're going to receive it? And of course anyone that doesn't receive just didn't want it enough, or didn't focus enough energy on it.
Thank you, Michael, but please continue to look deeply into matters that seem to be either too good to be true, or perhaps not genuine because they use jargon or appeal to superstition. Consider: the whole world owes a debt to the discoveries of the Chinese, in philosophy, science, and culture. The fact that they erred along the way in regard to such matters as "qi" and "meridians," only reflects the parallel blunders such as various "biles," blood-letting, and alchemy that medieval Western sages embraced and taught. I'm very pleased that you consulted with us before bombing on Professor Zhu and the University! Let's see what is actually being offered here; Qi-Gong may only be a label that was used to make the course more attractive!
Luciano Testa, a reader from Argentina now located in Galway, Ireland, sends me a welcome note, the kind of comment that makes the work of the JREF worthwhile and spurs us on to further battle with twaddle:
Sure, I have made some enemies also! But is good to at least show people another point of view.I would like to thank you for your work, it helped me to skip a lot of nonsense and avoid falling into the claws of homeopathy. Also I became a skeptic since my first contact with your work and, although it has created me some problems it has transformed me into a more critical and rational person. I feel better, I work better and I decide better what is good for me.
Luciano then comments on the news that the city council of Carlisle, a city in the north of England, has decided to reject a motion that a 16-ton boulder inscribed with a 1,069-word curse, and kept on display in one of the city's museums, should be destroyed. The "cursing stone" had been blamed for Carlisle's recent "bad luck," in the form of floods, foot-and-mouth disease, humiliating sport losses, and unemployment. "Psychic" Uri Geller even nobly offered to "save" Carlisle by exorcising the curse from the stone, removing it, and sequestering it in his "healing garden." Sure.
City council leader Mike Mitchelson, after turning down Geller's generous offer to adopt the stone, exhibited a continuing sensible and rational attitude about the matter, saying that there was no logical reason why the stone could be blamed for the unfortunate events. I agree: floods are the result of meteorological phenomena, diseases of cattle are biologically explained, some athletes perform better than others on any given occasion, and unemployment has no relationship to huge rocks — except during construction projects. Said Mitchelson, "We live in a modern era. People in Carlisle are sound, rational people and don't continue to live in medieval times." He pointed out that many other areas of Britain have experienced both foot and mouth disease and flooding.
Re-elect Mike Mitchelson, people of Carlisle!
Comments Luciano on this development:
It looks like finally someone has answered with the right words to such an amount of nonsense. It is also amazing how this guy, the Spoon Bender, insists on the same things over and over again and puts himself in a ridiculous position, although it seems this is not a problem for him.
Reader Karen Davis, along with a several dozen others, corrected me about my statement on red cats. I'd written that all red cats (in the UK they're called "ginger" cats) were male. She wrote, in part:
More red cats are male than female; more black cats are male than female, too. But all calico cats are female — barring the odd male who is XXY, a somewhat more common occurrence in cats, I believe, than in people).
I stand corrected, and I must add that I had a beautiful all-black cat, Alice, who was female — except for a tiny white spot. I'm happy to note, though, that I've been right when I've stated that all calicos are female. Well, almost all....
I was also informed by a few dozen more readers that the Lost Cubit measurement I arrived at last week was off by one order of magnitude! Mea culpa. My figure of .374 should have been 3.74 — but who counts? And, it appears that the Lost Cubit is 3.74 Hertz — a frequency rather than a length. How confusing pseudoscience can be! .... Ah, but you should have seen the joy with which a herd of very obscure detractors out there seized upon this grievous mathematical error I'd committed! It appears that when I make such a goof, it invalidates my every opinion and decision; now, God exists, Geller is the real thing, and Sylvia Browne is vindicated.... All because I dropped a decimal. Sigh.
Announcing LABRats!
If you've got teens or pre-teens in your life who enjoy science, you've got to check out LABRats, a new FREE on-line science club created by my friend and fellow MacArthur Fellow, Dr. Shawn Carlson. Shawn founded the Society for Amateur Scientists in 1994 and wrote for Scientific American for six years. LABRats is his most recent attempt to bring the light of empiricism to a science-illiterate world.
Dr. Carlson is seen here with two of his students.
Members of LABRats get a weekly hands-on science lesson full of "the coolest science tricks, tips, quips, quotes I know," says Shawn, "plus contests and prizes and discounts on wonderful science stuff, not to mention lots of nifty principles that real scientists use every day to make the discoveries that change our world." Rest assured, skepticism and rational thought are central to his course. Indeed, LABRats could very well introduce skeptical thinking to thousands of kids who certainly wouldn't have learned it elsewhere. Hundreds of families have already enrolled. You can sign up your kids at www.scifair.org.
LABRats is only the first step towards an exciting new vision to remake science education in America. If you'd like to learn more about that, go to the Society for Amateur Scientists' home page (www.sas.org) and click on "LABRats."
Reader Sheldon W. Helms refers us to www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,66770,00.html?tw=wn_story_mailer for an interesting article on synesthesia, the misinterpretation of sensory input in which, for example, one might "smell" colors and "taste" temperatures through involuntary switching of channels — so to speak. He gives us this pertinent extract:
Many self-proclaimed psychics say they can detect a person's aura, often described as a colorful energy field given off by certain people. But Jamie Ward, head of the Synesthesia Research Group at University College London, said some people can experience colors in response to people they know — a condition called emotion-color synesthesia.
"The ability of some people to see the colored auras of others has held an important place in folklore and mysticism throughout the ages," said Ward. "Rather than assuming that people give off auras or energy fields that can only be detected by rigged cameras or trained seers, we need only assume that the phenomenon of synesthesia is taking place." Synesthesia research offers an explanation for a phenomenon that has been described by psychics.
Reader Brian Miller finds a conflict here, about a quotation from Pope John Paul II's account of that attempted assassination in 1981:
It was all a testimony to divine grace. Mehmet Ali Agca [the gunman] knew how to shoot, and he certainly shot to kill. Yet it was as if someone was guiding and deflecting that bullet... — John Paul II
Notes Brian:
So, that certain SOMEONE deflected the bullet away from a clear or near miss and directly into the pontiff's stomach and upper intestine. Imagine how He'd intervene for someone He didn't like. The logic is infallible. And certainly works in mysterious ways.
This next item also questions the quality of evidence offered for holy matters....
As we all well know, the best-selling novel "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown has turned into the Bible of a new cult; people are not only deciding to believe that it's actually factual — as others did not too long ago with James Redfield's "The Celestine Prophecy" — but they are also swarming to join tours of the sites mentioned in the book, reverently standing where the book tells them Mary Magdalene and Jesus Christ lived together as man and wife. Well, the Roman Catholic Church has now spoken out against what it claims are "shameful and unfounded lies" in the book. Who knew?
Tarcisio Bertone, Archbishop of Genoa, now says:
It astonishes and worries me that so many people believe these lies. The book is everywhere. There is a very real risk that many people who read it will believe that the fables it contains are true.
The cardinal, a deputy to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Ratzinger, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the man known as the "Pope's Enforcer," seems to have missed a point here, in my opinion — and in the opinions of several readers who contacted me about it. He sees no conflict in the fact that a very much more popular book — also written with a background of actual historical characters and places — has similarly attracted a huge number of persons who have chosen to accept and embrace the conviction that its contents are not fables, but factual. They are called Christians, and the book is the Bible.
Cardinal, is this some sort of special pleading, or will you allow equal opportunity for us to examine your claims, too....?
Reader Mark LaBash, Pharm.D. of Scottsdale, Arizona, writes:
Lately many terrible things have been happening to reason and science. The way I see it is that there is now an ongoing battle between two world views; one is scientific and judges things based on merits and is willing to change. The other world view is based on a belief system unable to change no matter how much evidence is presented.
Science is the process of finding the truth through evidence collection, analysis, and most importantly, the willingness to change the hypothesis to fit the evidence. Belief systems use the process of accepting something as the truth with little or no evidence and the willingness to change the evidence or bias the data to fit the hypothesis. Belief systems are never allowed to change the hypothesis no matter how much evidence is presented.
I fear our nation will again ignore the scientific evidence and continue down the path of least resistance. Evidence is hard to analyze and takes much education and work. It is far easier to just believe. The willingness to admit you've made a mistake in the hypothesis is one of the most important features of science and something belief systems do not have. At one time many years ago you and the likes of Carl Sagan indirectly convinced me to take a quest to prove my "belief system" scientifically. I admired you all for your scientific knowledge. Now, after receiving my Doctorate in a very rigorous field of evidence-based medicine, I understand that you just wanted me to "understand" and not have to "believe."
Here is the email I sent to her show. It was titled "Helping the disappearance of reason." 
Today I was appalled to hear on National Public Radio that Diane Rehm was interviewing a psychic. This was giving validity to a horrible trend in our society today.
I am a long time fan and I am very disappointed that you would lower yourself to the level of "Fox sell-your-soul info-tainment." This is not news, science, or art. It is a pathetic attempt to legitimize a belief system that has the same world view and philosophy as suicide bombers. All these belief systems have absolutely no empirical evidence! All unbiased scientific experiments to verify the validity of any of their statements has resulted in proof that they are suffering from self delusions. Voltaire was famous for saying "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."
Now I say to NPR, to base your life on a delusional belief system is outrageous but to spread it is an atrocity. To absolve you of this, in my view, would be to have a follow-up show with someone who is aligned with the philosophy of Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, Philip Klass, Paul Kurtz, Ray Hyman, James Randi, Martin Gardner, or Sidney Hook. Or please contact the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal at www.csicop.org/about/contact.htmlIn regards to today's show with Terry Iacuzzo, self-proclaimed psychic.
Thank you, James Randi! I am now an activist with many groups helping to keep the candle of reason burning.
Mark, I'm also very much surprised at this action by Diane Rehm, who I much admire for her perception and her handling of such a wide variety of subjects and personalities on her excellent NPR show. It seems that this uncritical acceptance of the paranormal is a step beyond Ms. Rehm's expertise and rational judgment. A pity, because she is so respected by her vast audience. This "psychic's" business will blossom and much money will be spent by the naïve, thanks to recognition by NPR.
Reader Marquis Dufek has a legitimate complaint about PBS advertising for funds:
At any rate, I felt this represented a bit of a "two-steps forward, one step back" maneuver on the part of PBS. Providing interesting and educational information on one hand and then spreading ideas more at home in the Dark Ages than in 2005, on the other.
Whether or not it pays the bills, I really don't like the idea of PBS spreading disinformation. Couldn't these quacks just broadcast that crap on whatever mysterious frequency they all claim to be tuned into, anyway?I find PBS to be, generally, one of the finest outlets for programs about science and politics. Until pledge week comes around, that is. The last round of fund-raising here in New Mexico featured Deepak Chopra canvassing the state with his swill via the mysterious "universal energies of the electromagnetic spectrum." It's unnerving to me in many ways but principally in the way it assumes that, in order to get funding, PBS must lower its standards for a week or so. Perhaps not enough people pledge during programs such as Nova, which, during this pledge drive, replayed "The Elegant Universe", one of my favorite Nova productions ever. But then came Deepak with the usual "energy" nonsense. I couldn't even watch more than fifteen minutes of it before becoming desperately depressed. To make it worse, it was a rerun. I suppose that, since it's not science, the information never changes so there's no reason to update the quackery.
Marquis, my local PBS outlet has stepped up its usual quackery standard from Deepak Chopra by featuring a Dr. Christiane Northrup to plug up their current fund drive. It took me less than 30 seconds to discover the sham nature of their offering. Northrup touts her book "Mother-Daughter Wisdom" and a "Legacy Kit" as bonuses to those who join PBS at the rate of $275 a year. In her appearance on screen for PBS, Dr. Northrup told of a bereaved daughter who found pennies in various places around the house after her mother died, and considered those to be "messages" from the deceased; Dr. Northrup agreed that this was so! She said that since "mitchondrial DNA" "goes back to the ancient ancestor of all female" humans, "our mothers are always, always, with us." Would-be subscribers were assured that at present "there's room for everyone" to contribute — as if this opportunity to donate money was going to close down. I can only think of "But wait, there's more!" and "If you order within the next five minutes..." as parallels for such blatant hucksterism. Video was shown in which women listening to Northrup were weeping uncontrollably at her comments on "the process of moving into non-physical life" — in other words, dying — and "emotion," pronounced as "e-motion" and defined by this sage as "energy-in-motion." Speaking with the equally charmed and gushing hostess of the show, who spoke of her own mother's passing, Dr. Northrup assured her that her mother still "wants [her] to feel happy."
Northrup is the author of "Getting Started with Medical Astrology" an excerpt from her "Health Wisdom for Women" Newsletter, in which she unconditionally supports the use of astrology for diagnosing and treating women's diseases! Just glance at this chart to see how ludicrous it is! It's incredible that the PBS television network could allow this quack to infect their viewers — who trust what appears on this respected outlet.
What we got here on the current pseudoscience serving on PBS was a pandering to fear-of-death, to loss of a mother, problems of birth labor and menopause, and "empowerment" issues. It was medieval in its content, mythological in flavor, and demeaning in approach — in my opinion. PBS has surpassed its former standards in pandering shamelessly to its audience to extract donations.
More distressing still, PBS — local or national — simply will not respond to criticisms of this process. Their Ivory Towers are crowded, tightly locked, and quite silent. We should expect more responsibility from them.
Reader Ted Canova of Tallahassee, Florida, sums up this situation rather well:
I sent this letter last night to WFSU after viewing a few minutes (all I could take without raising my blood pressure dangerously high) of a fundraising program with Gary Null [see www.randi.org/jr/070204another.html] on PBS. I don't expect a response, since I didn't get one when I wrote after the last such presentation. It really upsets me that PBS, originally meant to benefit the public, may now actually be contributing to some of them coming to harm, financially or physically. How long before they start selling pieces of red string? Here's my letter:
Are the ones in charge at the network stupid, irresponsible, or just seeing dollar signs from contributions dancing before their eyes. I suspect the last. I was around when PBS first came on the air, and for many years found it to be a wonderful network. Not anymore. There is still quality programming, but I remember when it was all good. I suspect there are individuals involved in the operation of PBS, and other's who are retired, who are horrified at this promotion, and implicit endorsement, of such drivel. It is a sad situation for everyone involved, except, of course, for the scammers, who will add to their bank accounts. They have now been endorsed by PBS.
I still can't believe it, PBS promoting pseudoscience. Somebody pinch me. PBS and WFSU have a responsibility to their viewers and their community. Many people will accept something which they otherwise might be skeptical about if they see it on PBS. For several years now, the network has been using a variety of individuals promoting pseudoscience and other ludicrous ideas, such as guardian angels, for fundraising. Some of them are scammers and some are deluded, and actually believe the nonsense they are touting. Gary Null is one, I won't guess which kind. There are people who are desperate out there, who may avoid getting the real help they need because they were persuaded by one of these Quacks. I thought I would never see the day when PBS would stoop this low. It has gone from promoting knowledge and education, to possibly contributing to some of their viewers wasting their money, and in some cases even coming to harm by waiting too long to get real help, or avoiding it completely.
Glen Meloy, of Palm Desert, California, was a global coordinator in the effort to expose "guru" Sathya Sai Baba and his worldwide cult. Glen died of cancer on January 1, 2005. He was born May 3, 1930 in Des Moines, Iowa. Since early 2000, he was a major leader of a coalition of former Sai Baba devotees and others, known as The Exposé, which calls for formal investigation of alleged crimes by this guru and the cover-up perpetrated by his organization. See www.randi.org/jr/12-08-2000.html.
My friend, India's famous "guru buster" B. Premanand, wrote:
Glen's death was a great shock. I wanted him to live till Sai Baba was arrested ... I am missing a great loving friend whom I came to know from the BBC film production.
Premanand refers here to the BBC television documentary "The Secret Swami," screened in June 2004 in England and in other countries since. It is a strong exposé of Sathya Sai Baba, his tricks, and his misrepresentations. Glen Meloy had been a dedicated devotee and active social service volunteer within the Sathya Sai Organization for 26 years. He was a first-hand witness to the workings of this wealthy organization. Media — including the BBC, The Times of London, The Daily Telegraph, India Today, The Age, The West Australian, Vancouver Sun, The Ottawa Citizen, Toronto Star and many others — have found Sai Baba's organization impervious to investigation. This fact was brilliantly captured by the BBC's hidden cameras in its 2004 documentary.
Aside from the trickery and deceit, it was Glen's profound sense of moral outrage at the continuing sexual abuse of children by the Sai Baba organization that most fuelled his fight. He spent seven months' intense effort as an unpaid researcher and coordinated much testimony, as well as assisting the BBC in its research and filming.
Sathya Sai Baba continues to run his organization, he gets richer by the hour, and he is still immune to intervention from the government of India. He's too rich, too dangerous, and too influential to be touched.
We thank Barry Pittard, in Australia, for this item.
WHAT — IF ANYTHING — IS WASHINGTON THINKING
Bob Park brings to our attention that seven active — and successful — NASA science missions are being turned off to free up money for the President's "Vision for Space Exploration," which Bob refers to as simply, "goofy." Managers of the missions that are "past their prime" have been told there is no money for them to keep operating past next October. That includes two Voyager probes looking for the heliopause, where true interstellar space begins. Pioneer 10 started the search, but it was passed by the younger, faster, Voyagers 8 years ago. And, as we all know, the Hubble Space Telescope — which brought us previously unimagined, exciting, and very important new data about our universe — is being abandoned to an early end by the President so he can pursue this "faith-based" chimera.
What a shame, to throw money away on projects that are presently far from feasible, and to abandon the working, valuable, informative projects that already exist and have proven their value.
Reader Susan Cox sent: Kablahblah : CafePress.com Go there and have a laugh....
At www.afterlifetelegrams.com/AFTERLIFE/ you'll find something even sillier. This service says they'll pay terminally ill patients to memorize messages to deliver to your already-dead relatives in Heaven. Note: if they go to Hell — either the still-here or the not-here-anymore folks — there are no guarantees. Boiling brimstone has a way of getting your constant attention, I guess. And there's no guarantee of message delivery, either, though you pay $5 per word. Also, no recently bereaved, no under-18's, no mental incompetents, can subscribe (seems to me that the last restriction there would mean no customers!) and no telegrams are sent to anyone who's died less than one month ago. After all, these service-givers aren't crazy!
Anyway, reader Mark Duwe has sent them an email, seen below, and if he ever receives a reply, he'll let us know.
Dear Sirs
I came across your service after reading about it in my local newspaper. Since you seem to be claiming it is possible to send messages to the afterlife, then contact with the dead is possible. In that case, may I suggest that you apply for the JREF $1 million challenge at www.randi.org/research/index.html? If it is possible to send a message to the dead, then it should be possible to get the dead person to reiterate it to a medium and you would then have proved beyond doubt that heaven (and therefore god) exists! If you have any qualms about accepting the challenge as you are running a non-profit organization, then perhaps the money could be donated to charity? I'm sure any charity would be more than happy to receive $1 million.VisitorComments@AfterlifeTelegrams.com
Reader Simon from Slovenia informs us that besides removing curses from stones (see "Geller Offers to Uncurse," above) the widely-read Croatian newspaper "Globus" says they have contracted "psychic" Uri Geller to tell them where a certain General Ante Gotovina might be hiding. Gotovina is a famous war criminal on the run who has eluded capture. He's being sought by Interpol, but since they've had no success in four years of searching, Globus has called in the prodigious talents of Geller. Obviously, with such a heavy force now working to reveal his whereabouts, the General's freedom will soon be at an end! Geller quickly and accurately zeroed in on the fugitive, saying:
I believe that General Ante Gotovina is still in Central Europe and that he is moving around the region, but not too much. A part of the time he is hiding in Croatia, and the other part he is traveling abroad with the help of a few people who are helping him. There is no doubt that he is connected to Bosnia and Herzegovina. . . . I believe he is in touch with a very small group of people who are devoted to his cause. . . . I think he lives in a small village, on some sort of a farm. I see life, a railway track, two or three houses and a little stream. I also see some hills, perhaps a mountain in the background.
True to form, Geller provided "either/or" generalities, alternate choices, lots of modifiers such as "I believe," "I think," "I see" and "perhaps," along with obvious banalities. And he was able to super-sense that there are hills and maybe a mountain, in this famously rugged area! A railway line? And a stream? Astounding! Precise and informative, Uri! In the face of this evidence, how can I continue to doubt your powers?
Next week, a pill that won't cure poison ivy, and some heavy delusions are made clear....
