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?
Sylvia Browne: Sightings - Ghost of Brookdale Lodge (2)Sylvia Browne: Sylvia Browne Transcript
Sylvia Browne: Terrence Farrell ReadingSylvia Browne: Browne’s Trump Taj Mahal Engagements
Sylvia Browne: TVTalkShows.com - A Report on My Session and Dealings with Sylvia BrowneSylvia Browne: TVTalkShows.com - Disappointed in Sylvia Browne “Trance Reading"
Sylvia Browne: Email - My Reading With Sylvia’s Son Chris
But it's over. Until Robert's back at his keyboard!

Ye Gods, I am So Sick of Sylvia Browne!

Are you sure you want to keep reading about Sylvia Browne?
Sylvia Browne: Browne Says She Never Charges for Missing Person and Homicide Cases...Sylvia Browne: Novus Spiritus - A Matter of Control
Sylvia Browne: Novus Spiritus - An Aramaic Prayer?Sylvia Browne: Novus Spiritus - An Aramaic Prayer (2)
Sylvia Browne: Novus Spiritus - An Aramaic Prayer (3)Sylvia Browne: Novus Spiritus - A Prelate Responds
Sylvia Browne: Novus Spiritus - Canada Breaks AwaySylvia Browne: Novus Spiritus - Delaware Breaks Away
Sylvia Browne: Novus Spiritus - Delaware Breaks Away ()Sylvia Browne: Novus Spiritus - Jewelry Quality Issue
Sylvia Browne: Novus Spiritus - Jewelry Quality Issue (2)Sylvia Browne: Novus Spiritus - “These Freaks Only Come Out at Night"
Sylvia Browne: Open Letter to MontelSylvia Browne: Open Letter to Sylvia Browne
Sylvia Browne: People Vs. BrownSylvia Browne: People Vs. Brown - Documents
Sylvia Browne: Annual Predictions - 1996Sylvia Browne: Response to an Attempt to Silence
Sylvia Browne: Richard Kneebone ReadingSylvia Browne: Sightings - Ghost of Brookdale Lodge

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:
Sylvia Browne: Larry BeckSylvia Browne: Louise Hay
Sylvia Browne: Montel Response to Open LetterSylvia Browne: Montel Show Cancelled
Sylvia Browne: Montel - Amanda Berry ReadingSylvia Browne: Montel - Anthony Urciuoli, Jr.
Sylvia Browne: Montel - Christopher ReeveSylvia Browne: Montel - Civil War Energy Implant
Sylvia Browne: Montel - Dana Chyleen Satterfield ReadingSylvia Browne: Montel - Dark/Light Skin
Sylvia Browne: Montel - Eve Brown ReadingSylvia Browne: Montel - Explaining the Levels
Sylvia Browne: Montel - Holly Krewson ReadingSylvia Browne: Montel - Jamie Barker Reading
Sylvia Browne: Montel - Johnia Berry ReadingSylvia Browne: Montel - Lynda McClelland Reading
Sylvia Browne: Montel - Outburst in SavannahSylvia Browne: Will Her Parents Be Around Her?
Sylvia Browne: Psychic Show Participation ReleaseSylvia Browne: Montel - Requin/Nelson/Desvergnes Reading
Sylvia Browne: Montel - Ryan Katcher ReadingSylvia Browne: Montel - Shawn Hornbeck (2)

Part Three in the List of Great Articles by Robert Lancaster

But wait! There's more to read about Sylvia Browne!
Sylvia Browne: Email - Lied To By BrowneSylvia Browne: Email - Linda Rossi
Sylvia Browne: Email - More Ex-Browne-FansSylvia Browne: Email - My Early 70s Experiences With Sylvia Browne
Sylvia Browne: Email - My Sister Margaret and MeSylvia Browne: Email - My Thoughts
Sylvia Browne: Email - Not a Good WomanSylvia Browne: Email - Psychic Baiting Browne
Sylvia Browne: Email - Request for RefundSylvia Browne: Email - Rosanna Montage
Sylvia Browne: Email - Sara’s StorySylvia Browne: Email - Shameless
Sylvia Browne: Email - Sylvia Browne Show - June 22Sylvia Browne: Email - Thank You From a Soccer Mom
Sylvia Browne: Email - Their Blatant Disdain for OthersSylvia Browne: Email - What Sylvia Told My Granma
Sylvia Browne: Go Sylvia BrowneSylvia Browne: UK Guardian - Is He for Real?
Sylvia Browne: Interview - Gary and Ree DuFresnesSylvia Browne: I Speak with Browne (2)
Sylvia Browne: Janet McDonaldSylvia Browne: Larry King - Caller from Japan

More Good Stuff from StopSylvia.com

More articles from the most excellent Robert concerning Sylvia Browne":
Sylvia Browne: Email - Ask MontelSylvia Browne: Email - A Story From 1984
Sylvia Browne: Email - Browne and a 9/11 WidowSylvia Browne: Email - Browne and the Campus Massacre
Sylvia Browne: Email - Clutched by The ClawsSylvia Browne: Email - “Doofrane"
Sylvia Browne: Email - DupedSylvia Browne: Email - East/West
Sylvia Browne: Email - ExMinister’s Reading by ChristopherSylvia Browne: Email - Face-to-Face
Sylvia Browne: Email - former Browne FansSylvia Browne: Email - From a Disgusted Ex-Believer
Sylvia Browne: Email - He Will Live a Long LifeSylvia Browne: Email - Jewelry Question
Sylvia Browne: Email - Jewelry Question2Sylvia Browne: Email - Las Vegas at the Sylvia Browne Show

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:
Sylvia Browne: Affidavit Regarding Sylvia BrowneSylvia Browne: Browne and 9/11
Sylvia Browne: Browne and BorrowingSylvia Browne: Browne and Christianity
Sylvia Browne: Browne and the MentalizerSylvia Browne: Browne and the Pomeroy Bridge
Sylvia Browne: Browne - an Attempt to SilenceSylvia Browne: Coast-to-Coast - Noory on Browne
Sylvia Browne: Coast-to-Coast - SagoSylvia Browne: Chris DuFresne
Sylvia Browne: Contradiction - Jesus’ Age at DeathSylvia Browne: Contradiction - Meeting Francine
Sylvia Browne: Contradiction - Panther TotemSylvia Browne: Did Browne Save Reagan?

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.

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":
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.