Table of Contents:
Reader Nick Brown, of Strasbourg, France, reports a very sensible move in his country:
The Académie's attack is unambiguous (Nick's translation):
Well, that seems congruent with his decisions....
We are saddened by the recent death of parapsychologist Robert Morris, a man who was reasonable and open in his research, and always willing to entertain conflicting views. He occupied the Koestler Chair in Parapsychology at Edinburgh University. We corresponded often during the 1980's. He, as I, was troubled by the reports from Washington University in St. Louis regarding the Alpha kids I'd sent in as ringers to test the parapsychologists there; they failed. Bob once wrote me that he'd "always valued our interactions and considered them fair and productive." One reason for my eager acceptance to attend the October 8-10 World Skeptics Congress was because Bob would be there. He died suddenly just before that time, and we miss him.
Hard on that news came a further shock. Dr. Jacques Benveniste, the scientist I battled on the matter of water having a "memory" that enabled it to produce homeopathic effects, died suddenly at the beginning of this month. Jacques was a colorful showman who spoke of scientific witch-hunts and Galileo-style prosecutions by Nature Magazine and orthodox scientists who opposed his theories. He was a hero to those inclined to regard science as a form of modern-day Inquisition. He looked upon himself as a Newton challenging a petty-minded, mechanistic view of the universe.
I've already reported the tragic accidental death of John Mack, the tenured Harvard professor and author of "abduction" books who once stated that he had seldom met a person who'd not been abducted by aliens.
Now I learn that another important person in my life has left us. Nobel Laureate Dr. Maurice Wilkins, who died recently at age 87, helped Francis Crick, James Watson and Rosalind Franklin unlock the structure of the DNA "life molecule" that sits at the heart of nearly all living cells. He was probably the first to obtain an X-ray image of DNA, he taught Francis Crick about DNA, and that photograph inspired James Watson. There is a possibility, however, that American Linus Pauling (1901-1994) actually made the first X-Ray diffraction shot of DNA, though he was kept incommunicado by the anti-communist drive in the USA and unable to inform his UK colleagues of his discovery.
I knew Wilkins as a perceptive man who I consulted at the UK at King's College in 1975 while looking into the Uri Geller claims. Maurice was quite dismayed with of some of his colleagues who entertained the notion that Geller really had psychic powers. I recall that he was at that time looking into the claims that nautilus shells and pine cones — among other products of nature — exhibit a logarithmic spiral. To assist him, I obtained and sent to him several specimens of huge longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) cones, and he was delighted.
Astrologer Joyce Jillson, the one who was consulted by Ronald and Nancy Regan in what I've called the "Tinkerbell White House" period, also died earlier this month at age 58. Jillson, once an actress in the TV series "Peyton Place," was the official astrologer for 20th Century Fox Studios, and was consulted by them on the best opening days for Fox movies. She picked the opening date for 1977's "Star Wars," the second-highest-grossing movie of all time, though I suspect that the high quality and the hype of the film itself might also have helped its success somewhat.
Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, psychiatrist and author of the ground- breaking book, "On Death and Dying," died August 24, 2004, in Scottsdale, Arizona, aged 78. This was a lady who at first began providing remarkable services for the dying, but then developed a "five-step" method of performing that task, and became much of a mystic. In all, her contribution was positive and productive.
While this seems like an unusual number of deaths in our selected field, it's one end of that old Bell-Shaped Curve...
Reader Larry Barowski is a little annoyed. He reports:
That's disappointing, because I'm a great Google fan and supporter, Larry. But as with all Internet activities, there's trash among the gems....
Many of us feel that we might be looking for an escape following this November election. Reader Steve James of Indianapolis, Indiana, looked in onwww.godsark.org/html/the_construction.html and tells us that there we'll find
Which really annoys those big predators. Lions and tigers and bears, oh my....!
The nut case at the www.geocities.com/ministryofdreams/ site has published more than 40 Earth-shaking visions he says he got straight from some god or other. I had to fill in and correct the almost-unintelligible text, though I left some colorful constructions, so bear with me. Among his inspired predictions are a few that I'd say had better hurry up and be accomplished:
Gee, atomic attacks and gasoline prices in the same vision? How versatile this man is!
Yeah, that can happen. Anointing is just so transitory.
Enough. No, too much. My brain is turning soft.
Edgar Mitchell, Sc.D., has answered Terry Polevoy, MD, of HealthWatcher.net (www.healthwatcher.net/Quackerywatch/Cancer/Adam/index.html). This is the same Mitchell who went to the Moon and apparently found God and Uri Geller as a result. It's a long story, much of it outlined in my books. Dr. Polevoy had written to Mitchell in response to some healing claims:
Mitchell's answer:
Well, Ed, my prize is available to any of these healers. What say? Hello, Edgar? Oh. Visiting with Sylvia, I see....
Reader David Vestal keeps up with the latest Russian discoveries in science:
Russian science marches on.... David observes wryly that
Intrigued by the recent piece here on the magnetic "wine clip" that is said to improve the taste of wine by affecting the size of the wine molecules (?) as the liquid is poured past it, reader J. C. Hrubovcak wrote to Dennis Lynch, the boss at wine clip headquarters:
Dennis Lynch responded:
Randi comments: Note that there's no hint that such tests were done double-blind, of course. Any other sort of test is useless — but maybe Mr. Lynch is well aware of that fact.... He continues:
Hmm. Notice: " . . . as long as people are willing to try our product, we will continue to market it." That's the "out" most of them have. They depend on the fact that most people choose to imagine that a product works, rather than fly in the face of "science." He just doesn't care whether or not it works, but only if someone will buy it. But I really have a hard time believing that Mr. Lynch actually declines to accept a million dollars for a one-hour test. That's a greater mystery than how a magnet can change wine....!
But Dennis Lynch also wrote to Mr. Hrubovcak, following a feisty series of comments by him:
Mr. Lynch, tests can be done without any introductions. I've had rank and fame thrown at me by those who were astonished they could ever be doubted, or challenged to a test. In any case, there a MILLION DOLLARS awaiting you, personally, or ANYONE YOU CARE TO DESIGNATE, if one can pass a proper double-blind test. Just why are you so reluctant to take this test, Mr. Lynch? I think I know, and so do my readers. He continues:
Facetious to the hilt. Here's a man who doesn't want or need a million dollars. That, in itself, is rather unlikely to be true. If it is, then why won't he spend an hour, win the million, and donate it to feed hungry kids, or contribute it to AIDS research?
But wait. To quote from Lynch's own web page atwww.thewineclip.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=tech_pvr "Andy Blue (Famous Wine Critic), Mary Ewing Mulligan (Master of Wine), Leslie Sbracco (Author: "Wine for Women"), and John Sculley (Former CEO of Apple and Pepsi) all agree that The Wine Clip improves the taste of wine." We challenged these people, too, and none of them want or need the million!
There's much more. At Epicurious.com in The World's Greatest Recipe Collection, we find they endorse the product, saying, "Fast and easy to use is The Wine Clip, a magnetic device that clips onto the neck of a bottle to make immature wines (especially reds) seem as if they've aged in a cellar for several years." Beverage Business Industry Magazine writes, "Technical speak aside, there is no doubt that The Wine Clip changes wine when it is used." The President, U-Winer On Premise Wine Making, California, claims that "It's unbelievable!", that is what my customers say about The Wine Clip. At U-Winer, customers make their own wine and I have them use The Wine Clip when tasting it for the first time. The skeptical are the most fun to watch during the taste test, they don't want to believe it, but their senses give them no choice." Wow! That's a million-dollar prize winner, for sure! And Mike Marlow, Wall Street Commodities Trader, is no fool. He says, "I consider myself an avid wine drinker. I didn't believe this product would or could work. I was proven wrong." How can we doubt Mr. Marlow? John Garvey is the Executive Chef Owner/Operator of the Brick Hotel, Pennsylvania. He raves, "Not only have I seen it improve almost any type of wine, it also has the added benefit of increasing interest in wine drinking in general. As the owner of several restaurants, I can certainly appreciate the fact that customers introduced to The Wine Clip drink more wine — if for no other reason then to keep trying it out." And David Hendrickson is the owner of Chef's II Restaurant Huntington, New York, surely not one to fall for a scam. He avers, "We were skeptical until the buzz in our restaurant got so loud that we could hear it in the kitchen. One table started talking to the next table until just about everyone was asking, 'What is that' and 'Can I try it.' We now sell The Wine Clip with our logo printed on the box."
After these glowing validations and testimonials, DO NONE OF THESE PEOPLE FEEL THAT AN HOUR OF THEIR TIME WOULD BE WORTH A MILLION DOLLARS? Or could it be that the tests Lynch got them involved in, were faked? I don't know, of course. But I do know that none of them have written us..... Or are they all simply liars? Again, I don't know. But I have an opinion or two, don't you?
Perhaps reader Paul Armel has a good comment here:
Paul, I was saddened. No amount of education can make some folks smart....
A really good European trip — to five countries in three weeks — has left me tired but very satisfied. There'll be reports coming up. In case you wondered, the million is still in place....
While I was in Europe — five countries in three weeks — I noticed a few very important facts that I feel I should share here with you. Though I switched on CNN-TV every day while I was away, once I'd seen that day's offering, I turned to local newscasts. To my great surprise, the services there were using the U.S. Presidential Debates as either the first or second item of their nightly news coverage, usually with a panel discussing the important points made by the candidates. In countries half-way across the world, those debates were a very important item of news!
Also, each debate was to be seen in real time — with voiceovers in the local language — at three a.m. in the morning, as they occurred, live, back in the United States! When I enquired about why such close attention and priority was being given to the upcoming American election, I was told that these matters were of paramount importance to the security, economy, and future of that country, as well as being critical to folks back home.
That just points up how important the November Presidential elections are, folks —to us and to the rest of the world. Our position as a nation puts us in this strange and significant role when we go to the polling-place — and tells us that we must express our wishes about the leadership of this nation. Our voting record has been an embarrassment to us internationally, and that should end.
Get out there and vote. It's a privilege that so much of the world still does not enjoy, and we should be running to get out and provide our opinion and choices via the ballot-box.
Will you join me on November 2nd? It's critically important, and it's a duty you bear as a citizen. All the JREF staff will be out there making their choices, and we'd like to know that all of our readers and members will do the same.
Please?
