Daily or not-so-daily journal of my thoughts. The squirrel barks at midnight!
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Thursday, November 06, 2008
The Train Wreck that is Sylvia Browne
You just can't stop reading about Sylvia Browne -- it's unbelievable, like trying to look away from a train wreck, isn't it?
Ye Gods, I am So Sick of Sylvia Browne!
Are you sure you want to keep reading about Sylvia Browne?
Can't Stop Posting these Great Articles by Robert
If you aren't sick of Sylvia Browne by now, here's some more reading material to turn your stomach:
Part Three in the List of Great Articles by Robert Lancaster
But wait! There's more to read about Sylvia Browne!
More Good Stuff from StopSylvia.com
More articles from the most excellent Robert concerning Sylvia Browne":
More Good Stuff from StopSylvia.com
Okay, thanks to krelnik (keeper of the terrific anti-pseudoscience/pseudomedicine site "What's the Harm.net"), check out this following list of great articles that Robert has written about Sylvia Browne:
Monday, November 03, 2008
Favorite Articles about Sylvia Browne by Robert
Some of my favorite articles that Robert Lancaster has written about Sylvia Browne; this is an excerpt from a thread I started on the topic of favorite www.stopsylvia.com articles over at the James Randi Educational Forum:
I Speak With Sylvia Browne - Robert actually attended one of Sylvia Browne's lecture-shows, and ended up speaking with her. This article just really highlights what a class act Robert is. With all of the hoopla about the takeover of the old domain name, it's a real struggle for me to remember to try to keep calm -- to describe, for example, Kreiman's actions as those of a scumbag, without saying "Boris Kreiman, you scumbag". It doesn't seem that Robert would have this problem; it seems like Robert just comes naturally to fairness, or that he doesn't have to work as hard at it as I do. He's just amazing, and Sylvia Browne is -- oops, almost lost myself. She behaves despicably.
AC360: Sylvia Browne's Best Evidence? - Saw the show. It's just so telling. Robert takes a look at the individual claims made by Linda Rossi on behalf of Browne. It's not a complete transcript, though. I think my favorite part of the interview was when Randi leveled some criticism against Browne and Rossi's response was that Randi's an atheist. Kudos to Anderson for pointing out this very basic (and invalid) debate tactic.
Montel: Shawn Hornbeck Reading - If you know nothing about this, you really just need to read it.
I Speak With Sylvia Browne - Robert actually attended one of Sylvia Browne's lecture-shows, and ended up speaking with her. This article just really highlights what a class act Robert is. With all of the hoopla about the takeover of the old domain name, it's a real struggle for me to remember to try to keep calm -- to describe, for example, Kreiman's actions as those of a scumbag, without saying "Boris Kreiman, you scumbag". It doesn't seem that Robert would have this problem; it seems like Robert just comes naturally to fairness, or that he doesn't have to work as hard at it as I do. He's just amazing, and Sylvia Browne is -- oops, almost lost myself. She behaves despicably.
AC360: Sylvia Browne's Best Evidence? - Saw the show. It's just so telling. Robert takes a look at the individual claims made by Linda Rossi on behalf of Browne. It's not a complete transcript, though. I think my favorite part of the interview was when Randi leveled some criticism against Browne and Rossi's response was that Randi's an atheist. Kudos to Anderson for pointing out this very basic (and invalid) debate tactic.
Montel: Shawn Hornbeck Reading - If you know nothing about this, you really just need to read it.
Stop Sylvia Browne - The Story of a Domain Move
I know it's been a dog's age since I've posted last. My Jackalgirl website is also woefully out-of-date.
But I have to tell a story here.
I have posted before about Robert Lancaster, who runs a site called Stop Kaz. It's a site he researched and designed to post about the claims of one "Dr. Kaz deMille-Jacobsen", who claims to have been at Ground Zero during the 9/11 attacks and who claims that God saved her (for, of course, a very special mission to spread the word and love of God in exchange for handfuls of money).
Anyway, he turned his sites to another psychic con-artist (though I use the word "artist" lightly), Sylvia Browne. He has been researching her claims, following up to look for consistency and evidence that the various claims actually are factual. So far, she's failed on all counts.
He has done a great job, and is an extremely thorough and fair researcher. I say "and fair" because he's better than most people with serious beefs about other people (in this case, completely justified, IMO) would probably be -- he is always very willing to post the opposing side's view, and has an open offer to post any evidence that proves any of her claims (that he has not been able to find himself). So far, no evidence has been forthcoming.
This summer, though, he had a serious stroke. As of this writing, he has been moved to a physical therapy-intensive facility and is learning how to operate his body again.
While he was recovering from his stroke, the domain name for his site critical of Browne lapsed. A person by the name of "Boris Kreiman" snapped it up and replaced the content with a website of his own creation which, on its face, almost looks like it might be critical of Sylvia Browne, but then in its articles comes to the conclusion that she's the real deal. He appears to be attempting to use this site to increase the traffic on his own psychic-crap website, "LifePsychic.com".
In the meantime, this "Boris Kreiman" has offered to sell the domain name back to supporters of Robert -- for a mere $20,000 -- and has complained, apparently, that people should not speak out in an uncomplimentary fashion about him because he is, as he puts it, "one of the best chess players in USA".
As if being good at anything shields you from being lambasted when you are behaving in a thoroughly scummy fashion.
While all this was going on (that is, while he was offering the domain for private sale), "Boris" put the site up for sale on eBay, Marketplace, and SitePoint. If I am not mistaken, these listings have been removed by the associated administrators -- it's a serious breach of the rules to offer something up for auction in multiple places (and then to offer it for sale privately). One could easily accuse him of wanting to rip off the winners of the multiple auctions (and the private buyer), but it's just as equally likely that he's simply ignorant of how online auctions work. Chess skill does not translate into auction site saavy.
As mentioned above, he's commented in links that he didn't know that Robert had had a stroke. Okay, so here's his chance to prove he's not the scumwad everyone's accusing him of being: sell the domain back to the Lancasters for the price he paid for it (probably in the neighborhood of $19.95) -- that would be the right thing to do.
But it doesn't look like he's interested in doing the right thing; he posted a comment to one of the Randi.org articles about the domain takeover":
My response:
I'm not holding my breath. Especially since he's called JREF and threatened to sue (see Randi's comment, which is the one immediately preceding Kreiman's in the Randi.org article). Check it out.
Updated at 0915 Local: Kreiman snapped up "www.stopsylvia.net" and "www.stopsylvia.org". Yup, all the hallmarks of a scumbag, all right.
But I have to tell a story here.
I have posted before about Robert Lancaster, who runs a site called Stop Kaz. It's a site he researched and designed to post about the claims of one "Dr. Kaz deMille-Jacobsen", who claims to have been at Ground Zero during the 9/11 attacks and who claims that God saved her (for, of course, a very special mission to spread the word and love of God in exchange for handfuls of money).
Anyway, he turned his sites to another psychic con-artist (though I use the word "artist" lightly), Sylvia Browne. He has been researching her claims, following up to look for consistency and evidence that the various claims actually are factual. So far, she's failed on all counts.
He has done a great job, and is an extremely thorough and fair researcher. I say "and fair" because he's better than most people with serious beefs about other people (in this case, completely justified, IMO) would probably be -- he is always very willing to post the opposing side's view, and has an open offer to post any evidence that proves any of her claims (that he has not been able to find himself). So far, no evidence has been forthcoming.
This summer, though, he had a serious stroke. As of this writing, he has been moved to a physical therapy-intensive facility and is learning how to operate his body again.
While he was recovering from his stroke, the domain name for his site critical of Browne lapsed. A person by the name of "Boris Kreiman" snapped it up and replaced the content with a website of his own creation which, on its face, almost looks like it might be critical of Sylvia Browne, but then in its articles comes to the conclusion that she's the real deal. He appears to be attempting to use this site to increase the traffic on his own psychic-crap website, "LifePsychic.com".
In the meantime, this "Boris Kreiman" has offered to sell the domain name back to supporters of Robert -- for a mere $20,000 -- and has complained, apparently, that people should not speak out in an uncomplimentary fashion about him because he is, as he puts it, "one of the best chess players in USA".
As if being good at anything shields you from being lambasted when you are behaving in a thoroughly scummy fashion.
While all this was going on (that is, while he was offering the domain for private sale), "Boris" put the site up for sale on eBay, Marketplace, and SitePoint. If I am not mistaken, these listings have been removed by the associated administrators -- it's a serious breach of the rules to offer something up for auction in multiple places (and then to offer it for sale privately). One could easily accuse him of wanting to rip off the winners of the multiple auctions (and the private buyer), but it's just as equally likely that he's simply ignorant of how online auctions work. Chess skill does not translate into auction site saavy.
As mentioned above, he's commented in links that he didn't know that Robert had had a stroke. Okay, so here's his chance to prove he's not the scumwad everyone's accusing him of being: sell the domain back to the Lancasters for the price he paid for it (probably in the neighborhood of $19.95) -- that would be the right thing to do.
But it doesn't look like he's interested in doing the right thing; he posted a comment to one of the Randi.org articles about the domain takeover":
Hi My name is GM Boris Kreiman and I did buy domain Stopsylviabrowne.com. I dont know why you people writing this bs. I offered to sell it to the owner and his friends. There is NOTHING WRONG with buying GOOD DOMAINS. I am not pro or against Sylvia Browne. I tried to put up objective content but got many insults in the email. Please stop this harassment because I dont want to file any law suits. I hope we can call it as misunderstand and you guys put your money where your mouth is and BUY STOPSYLVIABROWNE.com
My response:
Boris --
The decent thing to do would be to offer the domain back to the Lancasters at the cost you paid for it. Were you to still insist on $20,000 -- after having found out about Robert's stroke, about which you claimed you knew nothing -- you would be acting like a scumbag. So are you a decent man or are you a scumbag? I'm waiting for your actions to show me which.
I'm not holding my breath. Especially since he's called JREF and threatened to sue (see Randi's comment, which is the one immediately preceding Kreiman's in the Randi.org article). Check it out.
Updated at 0915 Local: Kreiman snapped up "www.stopsylvia.net" and "www.stopsylvia.org". Yup, all the hallmarks of a scumbag, all right.
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