Mark Edward's Blog

  Out of exasperation back in 2009, I coined the term “Guerrilla Skepticism.” GS was an attempt to get armchair skeptics and those of us who really wanted to get out and do something organized and to stop singing and start swinging. Enough talk! Thanks to the tireless work of my girl Susan Gerbic, GS […]

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c5McM... Poor taste you say? Making fun of the dead?Well maybe, but bad taste never stopped Sylvia Browne in her tireless exploitation of the spiritually needy people who flocked to her. Yes indeed. In the case of Sylvia Browne I will make an exception and bare my fangs. When I think of all the harm […]

The days of the two-headed chicken and Lola the Dog-Faced Girl have been for the most part cleaned -up in our world of political correctness and ADA accessability. Freaks of nature are not what they used to be. Conjoined twins and those unfortunate people who have birth decfects or stand out in society are now […]

  If you find yourself in L.A. over the next few weeks and a partial to things haunted, please make it over to Griffith Park for the annual “L.A. Haunted Hayride.” This will be my sixth year of involvement in what has become known as the most terrifying haunted experience in L.A.  It’s also an […]

What a utterly amazing weekend in Las Vegas!

TAM 2013 once again proved that critical thinking can be a non-stop roller-coaster ride that always far exceeds everyone’s wildest expectations. This one certainly exceeded anything I was expecting. Thanks to those who offered endless hugs, support and smiles. Special thanks and akknowledgement must go to my gal Susan Gerbic who won a special JREF award for her un-tiring efforts to get people activated with her Wikipedia projects: She’s a skeptic with a capital “S.”

Susan Gerbic gets her award and a hug backstage with Randi

Videos will soon be up at her site and we again thank everybody who made this TAM one of the most memorable both of us will always look back on. I had to stop and pause for a moment:  I was sharing the TAM stage with the greatest thinkers in mind reading and mentalism currently on the planet. Heady stuff that.

And thank you Randi for the brief but cherished private minutes we managed to once again share and that devious card trick you taught me. Sweet.

Ray Hyman and I talking The Real Work.

 

Jake The Numbers Guy

About three weeks ago I was contacted by “The Numbers Game,” a program sponsored by the National Geographic Channel. As in the usual cases these days, I was called upon by the show’s producers to speak on psychic readings and how they work.  At first I was delighted to be asked, but as you will see, what came out of this situation speaks volumes for where we are in the continuing battle to get critical thinking backed by scientific facts on television.

The show is described on National Geographic’s website as:

“Money. Sex. Marriage. Mortality. In each episode, data scientist Jake Porway tackles one of life’s most daunting topics revealing the surprising science behind them. From mind-bending stats, hilarious man on the street experiments, and interactive game play, this show delivers the answers to life’s mysteries and gives you the tools to help take charge of your destiny and change your life forever.”

After a very brief discussion by phone with their Associate Producer, (I assume this means he associates with the Producer)  I offered what I could and suggested several ways to show exactly what happens, how psychic readings work and more importantly, my experience in finding about why they are so inherently dishonest and manipulative. I wanted to make it clear that I did not think any sort of “reading” was beneficial, and that in fact in many instances, they can cause real harm. I mentioned my book “Psychic Blues” and suggested that the crew working on the show might give it a casual skimming before proceeding.

Soon it was determined that I would “teach” their nerdy host “data scientist” Jake Porway  “how to be a psychic” in the fashion that I had already demonstrated successfully on “The Jeff Probst Show” last Halloween. They thought it would be fun to use the earpiece information angle with their host getting pre-show from me off-camera. At this point I balked, telling them this technique is grossly manipulative and not how general psychic readings are conducted. I made it clear that using this sort of “hot read” wasn’t a fair “numbers game” and would skew any numbers by being too accurate and not in the realm of what a cold reading is at all. They insisted that was what they wanted to do. It made no sense to me. They also asked me to state that a psychic reading can actually help people. I reluctantly admitted to them that in some very rare situations, as when someone really has no family to talk to and little or no financial resources to obtain professional help, it is possible that a one-on-one reading might be marginally helpful, but stressed that the odds or “numbers” tell science the vast majority of clients who go to psychics get their pockets cleaned and can lose everything by trusting a psychic for any degree of happiness or friendship. I told them I did not want to be seen as soft on psychics and that was my stand after nearly 35 years of serious investigation.

“Numbers” replied with this email:

“_________, _________ and I have been talking about your request to appear tough on psychics. Without a doubt people who charge money to talk to passed spirits are predatory. Everyone on this side of the camera is in complete agreement and we would never want you to say otherwise. We never claim that psychics are real and go so far as to call them con artist. We are crystal clear on this point. Psychics are fake. However, science clearly shows that people who visit “psychics” feel better. I think its fair to say that some healers, even if may be the minority, are honest, have good intentions and actually help people. As a science show it is our job to acknowledge this.  _____________, ______and I talked about it and it makes perfect sense for Jake to say the line “AND ACCORDING TO ONE STUDY, 61% OF VISITORS TO PARANORMAL HEALERS REPORT IMPROVEMENT.” However, we feel for story and authenticity reasons we need our expert to acknowledge the positives as well. We need our expert to say something along the lines of “IT’S ALL ABOUT GIVING PEOPLE ENTERTAINMENT, ADVICE, AND MAKING THEM FEEL BETTER ABOUT THEIR TROUBLES. THAT’S RIGHT – IT CAN ACTUALLY HELP PEOPLE.” The line doesn’t need to be exactly that, but the spirit of the line is important to us.  It is of the utmost importance to us that our experts express themselves honestly and knowledgeably. We don’t want you to lie. But we need to shoot the segment with the truth as we see it. Thanks for your time. Please let me know how you feel about this area of concern.”

The “spirit of the line” bugged me. And that “truth as we see it” bit really irked me. I let them know in this response:

“I’m a little concerned that (so far) I’m coming off as sympathetic to psychics. Not true at all. They are by and large predatory creatures.  I work hard to make it clear that in some rare cases as when people just need someone to talk to or bounce ideas off of, a reading may be helpful. The harsh truth in my experience (read my book “Psychic Blues”) is the vast majority of readings and psychic baloney causes untold heartbreak and victimization. It’s a huge business full of greed and fake spirituality. I have built my reputation on this rational principle and would not want to deflect from my skeptical leanings. As long as we make that clear, I’m okay with the rest.

And please do remember: the whole time when I worked as a “professional psychic” I was never a believer and was scamming the scammers to see how far I could get. That’s what “Blues” is all about. The bottom line is that any psychic act is something that can be taught and therefore nothing supernatural.”

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From Nat Geo’s “What Drives You Crazy: Facts”

“Numbers Game” soon after emailed a very concise ”script” for me to okay. I read it over and found a few things that bothered me. I was being reffered to as a “former psychic,” and while this tag may in some sense unfortunately remain true, I had made it clear I would not be happy with that title and made mention of the term “reformed con artist” that was unfairly coined by Penn Jillette on the Bullshit epsiode I appeared in. This is not a true statement. I have always been and remain a skeptic. Any underground work I did to discover the hows and whys of what was going on in the psychic market was used to observe and evaluate psychics in order to spill the beans on the whole mess. Under the present circumstances, “psychic investigator” was more where I was headed. I sent this email in response:

“Again, please don’t refer to me as a “Former Psychic” better a “Psychic Investigator” who went undercover to learn how the psychic market operates.

“IT’S ALL ABOUT GIVING PEOPLE ENTERTAINMENT, ADVICE, AND MAKING THEM FEEL BETTER ABOUT THEIR TROUBLES.  THAT’S RIGHT – IT CAN ACTUALLY HELP PEOPLE.”
Totally understand. A psychic reading may indeed provide a level of “feel better.” On a first time basis, then perhaps yes. The harm done usually comes along after the psychic or medium initially “gets the hook in” and after finding a “soft spot” in their sitter, continues to provide this “feel better” fix. Then it becomes manipulative and an abusive practice that can literally take over a person’s life. As with any addiction, like heroin; it may make you feel better the first time, repeated use quickly becomes a destructive pattern that can end killing you.


“However, science clearly shows that people who visit “psychics” feel better. I think its fair to say that some healers, even if may be the minority, are honest, have good intentions and actually help people.”
Really? What science are you quoting from exactly? The science I’m aware of does no such thing. Science does tell us that the power of suggestion and the “placebo effect” can ultimately influence people, but there is no evidence that I’m aware of in the scientific literature to substantiate your claim. In fact, many people leave psychic readings totally shattered and without hope. It totally depends on the psychic. Case in point: The recent Amanda Berry Case: Amanda Berry’s mother consulted psychic Sylvia Browne on the Montel Williams program after her daughter went missing ten years ago. She was told by Browne that her daughter was dead and to give up hope. The mother passed away soon after this reading – some say she was never the same and died from heartbreak and depression. Later her daughter escaped her captors in Cleveland and was declared quite alive. This is neither “feel good” nor “entertainment.”

“…the minority, are honest, have good intentions and actually help people.”
Love to see the stats on that one.
Mentioning the “placebo effect” in any “feel better” situation are both huge parts of the total equation that makes “psychic” or cold readings sometimes so compelling. Defined as “an inactive substance or other sham form of therapy administered to a patient usually to compare its effects with those of a real drug or treatment, but sometimes for the psychological benefit to the patient through his believing he is receiving treatment.” So unless you can prove that “healing” is an active substance backed by clinical peer reviewed scientific studies, self-styled “healers” are administering a placebo. Granted it may be a very convincing performance, but so is Al Pacino as Scarface. You know what the strongest drug available is right? Placebo. Science and recognized medicine both know suggestion is a key factor in any “healing,”" whether such “treatment” is administered by a legit doctor or a psychic fraud.

“As a science show it is our job to acknowledge this.”
Okay, please do. Let’s acknowledge science and work together on that.

Hope I’m being too much of a pain in the ass…
I’m playing Devil’s Advocate to try and make your show rise above the usual “sciency” programming that can send false or incomplete messages to millions of people all over the world. That’s my job.”
I received this email in response:

“Thanks for getting back to me. This dialog is important and I appreciate you taking the time to make the segment better. Of course, “psychic investigator.” That works for us. Here is the study we are referencing where 61% of people reported improvement. Higher than the probable placebo effect.

http://www.scientificexploration.org/journal/jse_07_4_schouten.pdf
 But here’s the thing, nothing can replace your personal and professional experience. That’s why you are the Expert and we are not. Your email is well thought out and accurate and tells a whole story. And that’s all we are looking for. Someone to come in and literally show that cold reading is a learned skill NOT and supernatural gift. There can be no misunderstanding the point of this segment. However, we need that same expert to acknowledge our finding that psychics can be entertaining, give people good advice and make them feel better. Actually help people. Based on your email I think we agree that psychics can be helpful, even if only for a short time. I just need to confirm that you feel this way and are comfortable conveying this to the audience. Do you think you would be able to suggest language you would be comfortable with? Is this sentence okay “IT’S ALL ABOUT GIVING PEOPLE ENTERTAINMENT, ADVICE, AND MAKING THEM FEEL BETTER ABOUT THEIR TROUBLES. THAT’S RIGHT – IT CAN ACTUALLY HELP PEOPLE.” Perhaps it needs another sentence to qualify? Please let me know. Thanks!”

It was the ”however” parts that were really starting to worry me. I know too well how Hollywood editors work and have learned the hard way verbal agreements are not worth the paper they are written on in this town. An “expert” on these sorts of “newsy” programs never gets editorial privilege and the rewards of appearing as someone who goes against the grain never ends well. Besides all that, I don’t think it’s fair and balanced to suggest going to a psychic can be helpful for anyone involved. I was beginning to see this was going to be an up-hill battle. Knowing I was now skirting possible banishment from the Nat Geo camp, I still felt I had to send the following:

In reply:
“Perhaps it needs another sentence to qualify?”


Yep. I think so. How about these:

“…AS LONG AS READINGS ARE CLEARLY FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES, STATED AS SUCH OUT FRONT AND NO PRESSURE FROM THE PERFORMER ON THE SITTER FOR FOLLOW UP MANIPULATION IS GIVEN, SUCH AS PRAYER FEES, TAKING OFF CURSES, TALKING TO DEAD RELATIVES OR ANY OTHER OCCULT PRESSURE TACTICS; ADVICE FROM A STRANGER CAN SOMETIMES BE HELPFUL.”
I would also add:
“I CALL IT THE POOR MAN’S THERAPY. MANY PEOPLE HAVE NO FAMILY, NO RESOURCES OR FINANACIAL ABILITY TO AFFORD REAL PSYCHIATRIC HELP AND JUST NEED SOMEONE TO TALK TO. THE MAIN JOB OF A COLD READR OR “PSYCHIC” IS LISTENING TO PEOPLE’S PROBLEMS. THE ISSUE I HAVE LIES IN THE LAYING ON OF THE “SUPERNATURAL” ASPECT AND THE VULNERABILITY OF UN-EDUCATED PEOPLE IN THESE SITUATIONS. THERE IS NOTHING “SUPER” NATURAL ABOUT IT.”
I think this makes my position clear.
Mark

After doing research on their claim, I found their source, “The Journal of Scientific Exploration” not quite a mainstream peer reviewed publication. Far from it. Read the doc they attached if you have the time.  JSE is neither “Scientific American” nor “Psychology Today.” In his paper, “Applied Parapsychology Studies of Psychics and Healers,” someone I never heard of, Sybol A. Schouten, makes reference to all manner of outlandish pseudo-scientific paradigms while being very careful not to sound too wooish. This is more of the kind of no-evidence “sciency” babble we already hear bandied about on television. It’s just slightly above Ghost Hunters bumping around dark rooms with the lights off. The ”Editors-in-Chief” (all unknown to me) of JSE may well have designed their journal specifically for the “scholarly study of anomalies,” but as anecdotes are never evidence, they seem to be ”Exploring” half-truths and fringe science. JSE isn’t far off from the more widely quoted “Society of Psychical Research,” whose members are almost exclusively believers. I know. I was once a subscriber. Their motto is “I shall not commit the fashionable stupidity of regarding everything I cannot explain as a fraud.” – C.G. Jung. Okay Carl… I read SPR magazine for several years in the hope of finding some substantial knowledge and after amassing a bookshelf full, tossed the lot into the rubbish.


Wiki says of JSE:
“Critics of the journal regard it as a forum for promoting, not investigating, fringe science.”
And further down the page: Kendrick Frazier, editor of Skeptical Inquirer and Committee for Skeptical Inquiry fellow has suggested that:

“The JSE, while presented as neutral and objective, appears to hold a hidden agenda. They seem to be interested in promoting fringe topics as real mysteries and they tend to ignore most evidence to the contrary. They publish ‘scholarly’ articles promoting the reality of dowsing, neo-astrology, ESP, and psychokinesis. Most of the prominent and active members are strong believers in the reality of such phenomena.”

A little more reading up on Sybol Schouten left me with even less encouragement and I was beginning to get that creepy feeling I was once again about to become the two second sound bite of reason on yet another shout out for the paranormal. But remembering the Associate Producer’s words; …As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns…”

Okay, so I sent the following:

You might want to look into the opinions of the mainstream scientific community about JSE : the source material for Schouten’s “Applied Parapsychology Studies of Psychics and Healers.”
(in the interests of science of course…)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journal_of_Scientific_Exploration
In a matter of hours, I received the coup de grace. Not unexpectedly, an early morning phone call from my contact person telling me they had decided to “go in another direction.” I told him I wasn’t surprised. He was cordial in that unctuous Hollywood way people who don’t want to burn bridges talk and he told me he appreciated my sticking to the truth. I told him I hoped some day National Geographic would do the same.
I found this email when I went to my computer:


Hey Mark,
Unfortunately we need to take the segment in another direction.
I hope you understand that you are an outstanding expert and we valued your input. This decision is based on many other contributing factors.
Thanks for your time and energy, but we won’t be needing your expertise for this segment.
Best,
___________



I burned that one. “Going in another direction” is Hollywoodspeak for, “…Sorry, we found someone easier to work with.” Contributing factors? I think they meant facts. Nat Geo will probably opt for Gary Schwartz or some other nincompoop psychic sycophant to go along with their “science.” So be it.

There you have it: Another television show touting scientific credentials that does exactly what psychics do:

Tell people what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear.

It truly is a numbers game folks: ratings numbers.

 

 

 

 

 

I just finished reading an excellent blog by way of the BS Historian from Spooky Paradigm on current challenges to museums and other cultural institutions who fall prey to using pseudoscience, ghost hunts and other paranormal nonsense to get the public in their doors. They need financial support and social notoriety, but the perceived dry-as-bones reality of pure science apparently isn’t enough to hold the interest of their woo-hyped patrons.

With the spread of things like the fashionable “psychic detective” genre, mediums, ghost hunting and the rest of the woo garbage in both Fox newsy fact and prime-time network fiction, the tendency to view testing protocol and skeptics as just one more group of seekers of the occult is getting to be a public relations problem many of us didn’t see coming. At the IIG here in Hollywood, we get weekly pleas for help from confused individuals who mistake our mission of seriously testing paranormal claims with advising them as to the why and what to do with their bizarre experiences.

With whole franchises of films like “Night at the Museum” (1,2,& 3) which included, “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian,” and all manner of ”fact based” paranormal scripts in production, skeptics and scientists are finding themselves increasingly saddled with a sort of Indiana Jones image. Personally, I don’t mind this kind of hilarious attention as it often comes from naive media sources, news groups or people who one would think should know better.  Usually they don’t do any homework before consulting me and don’t have a clue. The mind boggles. Yes, it can be perversely gratifying on some levels to be asked to speak with authority and entertain the masses by fiddling with the role of “psychic expert” occasionally. But is it okay to consistently promote paranormal theories merely to draw in the crowd who want to believe things like natural history and serious archeology are fantasy filled worlds of monsters and ghosts? I’m not sure where to draw the line here, but Spooky has written a compelling essay on what is happening and shares a few really good points about how far we might go to turn a fairytale into a solid lesson in critical thinking.

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Andrew Keir as Bernard Quatermass in “Quatermass and the Pit” (1967)

I cut my skeptical teeth on fictional champions of science and reason like Sherlock Holmes, Bernard Quatermass, Indiana Jones and Dr. Who. These are fictional characters who choose to take a dim view of superstition and hokum even if their tales and concepts frequently veer off into the craziest fantasies imaginable. Dr. Who is supposed to be a scientist right? Indiana Jones is the epitome of the cynical adventurer. The effect these unique persona’s might have on maturing minds growing up in the rarefied atmosphere of super-heros easily conflates science fact with science fiction. With the rise of “sciency” ghost buster “reality” programming, the line between fact and fiction is now blurred to the point of utter ridiculousness. We have grown a new generation of young adults who don’t know the difference between Dr. Who and Dr. Phil.

It may only be wishful thinking that drives this annoying situation. In some cases this yearning for something “farther out”  drives the curious straight to the door of the skeptical movement. We should be taking full advantage of this trend. Be kind, listen and offer alternatives gently. Imaginative fiction in the days of Verne and Wells spawned some pretty big innovations in science, so the trope of scientist as explorer of unknown worlds can’t be discounted completely.

At the last Dragoncon, organizers told me the Paranormal Track, which in the past hosted dozens of glib and self confident “ghost hunter” celebrities, has seen a recent falling off of interest. During the same time the Skeptic Track across the street is now experiencing an all-time high in attendance, attracting the same seekers who years ago would line up for the vampire panels and “Most Haunted Buildings” sessions. The consensus is this is happening in large part because after seven of eight seasons of un-proven bullcrap, (and much to the chagrin of their loyal fans) paranormal programming has completely failed to deliver one tiny shred of actual evidence to back up their “reality” claims. The fans are beginning to smell a rat, …and rightly so. They are disappointed, lost and searching for something that might address the deeper issues that underlie “Buffy” and “The Long Island Medium.”

It was the IIG’s experience at a recent “Paracon” convention we attended that nearly all of the people drawn to our table alongside the ghost and woo vendors had no idea there was any other way to think. Shocking, but true. As a consequence of this dire circumstance, quite a few adepts of the paranormal are now sheepishly wandering over to the ”other other side” in the off chance that we skeptics just might have something to offer after all.

John Pertwee, the third Dr. Who seriously asking the big science questions?

Please read the Spooky Paradigm post and comment:

http://spookyparadigm.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/ghosts-in-museum-archaeologys.html

BTW: Thanks to You Are Here television for this trailer for the IIG:

www.youareheretv.tv

Nice!

 

Amanda Berry

Grief Vampire Sylvia Browne has once again proven herself to be the worst possible psychic medium in known history. Skeptics should be happy she is back in the news this time for her ”incorrectly predicting”(?) the outcome of the Amanda Berry disappearance. Chalk up another totally reprehensible miss to her worthless career.

Words cannot be used here at Skepticblog that could express my utter contempt for this bottom-feeding woman and her supporters. This time out she not only caused untold grief to family and community members, but also may have contributed to Amanda’s mother Louwana’s untimely death:

From:  http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2013/05/amanda_berrys_mother_louwana_m.html

“The case was featured on “American’s Most Wanted.” Louwana Miller appeared on Montel Williams’ nationally-syndicated talk show in November 2004. On the show, a psychic (read as Sylvia Browne)  told Miller that Amanda was probably dead.

“I still don’t want to believe it,” Louwana Miller said in an interview after the show. “I want to have hope but . . . what else is there?”

Louwana Miller: Amanda’s Mother: Dead of a Broken Heart?

Activist Art McKoy befriended Louwana Miller during her ordeal. He said he could tell that the stress and heartache were wearing her down. The visit with the psychic was the breaking point, he said.“From that point, Ms. Miller was never the same,” McKoy said. “I think she had given up.”

For those who say psychics like Browne, Edward et. al. somehow help or comfort those in need and repeat the phrase “What’s the harm?” there should be a real answer in what has taken place here. How much more can we stand without getting The Law involved in these sorts of horrible mind games? This is not comforting or entertainment – this is blatant criminality of the worst kind. Sylvia and her ilk make a very good living doing this day in and day out. How many other people have had their lives, hopes and dreams shattered by these predatory harpies?

The Hornbeck Family

In a related development: French television news program “Enquete exclusive – Voyants, mediums, mentalistes revelations sur leurs mysterieux pouvoirs’” which featured myself and CFI/IIG’s Jim Underdown, showcased through amazing interview footage the entire Shawn Hornbeck drama. If you are not already familiar with Browne’s mis-deeds in this matter – it’s too much to go into here. Let’s just say once again, Sylvia told Shawn’s parents on nationwide television he was dead when he was later found quite well and alive.

French program here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34Iji3aMAa0

Not only do the Hornbeck parents come forward and speak out about the emotional damage that ravenous bad-tempered shrew Browne inflicted on their lives, they also give a very negative shout out to that other slimeball James VanPraagh for doing the same sort of “comforting.”

Maureen Hancock

In the “Enquete” program, “The Medium Next Door,” everybody’s darling Maureen Hancock also gets her fair share of explicit exposing when Jim and I reveal the latest trend in mediumship: using “hot reads” taken from credit card information to later reveal dramatic “hits” in a live audience performance. This isn’t a magic or mentalism show folks, this is a con pure and simple.

Later in another segment of the program, Hancock is also shown in her opulent home psychically picking out suspects and leading police (and another mother of a missing woman) on wild goose chases that lead everybody off the track. It is obvious Maureen is bluffing her way through the whole segment. Hancock has absolutely no track record anywhere for her claims as a successful “psychic detective” – other than her known background an “associate member” of the Licensed Private Detective Association of Massachusetts. What might that tell us about her ability to suss out information on people? So why isn’t this mis-use of private information a crime? Isn’t this tantamount to filing a false police report? Having the French television crew capturing her deceptions on camera in the presence of their own law enforcement officers should be extra embarrassing for the police involved. How do you feel about being seen internationally as dupes for this woman?

It is heartening to see Hornbeck’s parents speaking out so freely on the “Enquete’” special that has been seen by millions of French and European audiences, but where are the American counterparts in all this? There must be hundreds of stories and victim files on this sort of fraud. Why are we not seeing people stepping up who have been so abused by these media vultures?

As I have asked here at Skepticblog over and over: Isn’t this kind of money making enterprise. i.e. selling a product; (life and death information) under false pretenses (unproven psychic skills) against the law? Shouldn’t such conscious manipulators have to show in a court of law they can come up with the verified proof before they are allowed to waste time, money and manpower by continuing such outright deception?

I don’t understand how this goes on day after day without people so horribly burned by these cons seeking legal intervention or speaking up to the media. If they are so dispirited or too depressed to deal with coming forward themselves, well okay we have seen enough. Isn’t the justice system set up to protect those who cannot protect themselves? Are our law makers and police personnel really that inept and plain stupid? Sadly, (at least here in America) I think we all know the answer to that question.

I realise it may be way to soon to expect anyone to step forward an speak up against psychic mediums in the Amanda Berry case, and with Mom dead, …well who is to do the speaking up? It’s a double tragedy this time.

Give up Sylvia.

For whatever it’s worth: I’m calling out the family of Amanda Berry and Amanda Berry herself, along with her community, local media and law enforcement to DO SOMETHING about the rising tide of scum-bags like Sylvia Browne and the damage they inflict on everybody concerned in these fiascoes. Pretending to receive messages from beyond or deferring to any form of “psychic powers” concerning missing persons has to stop or at the very least be exposed as the terrible scam it is.  

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This is Susan Gerbic’s amazing new project that everyone can get involved in.  Please follow @SkepticAction on Twitter and follow the instructions on the one tweet you get each day.  Most are WoT rates but in time will expand to Rbutr, GSoW and The Odds Must be Crazy.

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The quest for the ultimate in hydration has now reached a high-water mark in surrealchemy. After the hype of fog-drip, coconut water, charcoal water, smoked water, vitamin water, gogi water and even “black water,” America continues getting hosed with a steady stream of scientific claims and the height of medicine show quackery. Can you say “snake oil?” One of my favorite episodes of Penn & Teller’s “Bullshit”  is “The Truth About Bottled Water.”  That classic featured a  ”Water Sommelier” at a high-end restaurant.: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfPAjUvvnIc. The national obsession with water was beautifully skewered. That should have been the end of the story. Not by a long shot apparently. The purveyors of woo knew that few of the people searching for the Fountain of Youth would pay much attention to to scallywags like Penn & Teller, and so the river flows on. Take the claims of “Isklar,” Norwegian glacier water:

“The people behind Isklar claim that while most of our planet’s water evaporates into the atmosphere and is recycled in a seven-year period – picking up pollutants on the way – the water frozen inside  glaciers was formed thousands of years ago when the air was far cleaner. But some reviewers on Amazon say Isklar water (£8.44 for 24 500ml bottles) never tastes better than when mixed with whisky. ”

I suppose the “frozen inside” theory makes sense of a sort and the taste test from Amazon would depend largely on the whisky and amount you drink. We all have blind spots. Back in my single malt drinking days, I had to have that special bottle of Scottish “Highland Spring Water” to truly complete my solemn drinking ritual. I bought into the hype. What garden hose it came from didn’t matter to me as I fancied myself a connoisseur of fine regional “waters of life” and wouldn’t think of sullying my fine dram with mere tap water. 

Today you can even get genuine “Loch Ness Water.”  Never mind what the locals say when you read about the loch. They warn visitors boiling for 5 minutes before drinking any loch water owing to the algae and other pollutants present in the murky depths. Visitors are further advised to take any water from the center of the loch rather than the surrounding edges for that reason. I’m not sure how far out in the loch or what part of  the purveyors of “Genuine Loch Ness Water” syphon their bounty from, but I’m guessing it’s close to the shore.

Mayor Villaraigosa Hydrtaes

But now we are assured have the ultimate:

Starfire Water!

Yes, it’s here – and no less a personage than Mayor Villaragosa himself heartily endorses it! 

If you aren’t sitting down while you read the next paragraph, I would advise it. I haven’t seen such a load of non-stop woo bullshit since the power bracelet hit the streets. Here’s the label in it’s entirety:

THIRST THE FIRE

“Legend has it that the mystical “Starfire”was the liquid manna of the divine, used by the ancients for ultra-focus, extreme performance, and even enlightenment. In that vein, we introduce STARFIRE WATER, a propiratary alkaline performance, bio-holographic “living” water produced using breakthrough 21st century, quantum water technology. STARFIRE WATER is treated with ultraviolet, ozonation,infra-red stimulation and electromagnetism for a negative (-) ion charged water, as in nature, allowing deep cellular intake through your aquaporins, the floodgates to hydration.Vortex induced, using a solar -helix and pyramid-grid system. to give it a hexagonal structure, and infused with monatomic elements, we are able to achieve a water with cosmic healing energy. This water is amplified with psionic wave oscillation tuned to the Universe’s frequency, helping to synchronize you with the heartbeat of our Earth. STARFIRE WATER is treated with Sacred Sound Resonance Transmission to vibrationally transform you on the deepest molecular level. Altogether we’ve created the world’s first premium alkaline . performance, “living,”" hexagonal super-structured water.”

It isn’t just water – it’s structured water. It’s also infused and energized.

I noticed at their site www.starfire.com that they are offering 25% discounts. Perhaps their over-the-top labeling may have strangled sales with too much of their own woo? Personally I’m almost afraid to drink the stuff.

Their website continues the farce:

“The problem with most water is that the body can’t actually absorb it, as the water’s composition can’t properly seep into the cells. You see water isn’t just water. If you’ve ever gone for a run and then stopped at a drinking fountain to drink some water, you may have experienced the feeling of the water not really quenching your thirst, besides tasting terrible. The problem is that the tap water is essentially sewer water with all the gunk inside of it and even with basic filtration on a basic level it is still sewer water.”

You see, water isn’t just water. Right? 

“Starfire Water is different. Our water is spinned for several hours in a vortex to change the [hydrogen] composition of the water at a molecular level. Your cells suck up this water like a sponge. Plus, it tastes better than anything else”

The medicine show wagon has once again pulled into the center of town –  only this time it’s in Beverly Hills and not some obscure outpost in the Oklahoma Territiry. The barker and his wares are the same quackery dressed up with the latest buzz words. Thanks to companies like STARFIRE, we can now look forward to more “quantums,” “bio-holographics” and ”vortex induced” products raining down on us like the divine manna that legends of ancient  mystical yore told us about.  There oughta’ be a law.

Is this false advertising?

I’m guessing all the fancy scientific sounding double-talk processes listed on the label come down to a couple of guys in a warehouse stiring tap water into an inverted funnel (the pyramid grid syatem) under a bright UV bulb, while someone passes a horseshoe magnet under the tap while banging on a gong (or maybe there’s Grateful Dead music in the background) for that all-important “Sacred Sound Resonance.”

More likely still: Nothing at all happens except the tap water is syphoned into bottles to the sacred sound of money being counted into the tills.

A visit to the STARFIRE exclusive proprietary location would provide the only true enlightenment..

Challenge:

If the producers of STARFIRE WATER would like to invite me personally to their “laboratory,” I would truly appreciate the chance to view their processes and if necessary;  review and amend the statements I have made here.  If after a guided tour, I find I have witnessed one single “breakthrough technology, ” or “psionic wave oscillation,” I will provide the readers of Skepticblog with a complete retraction.  Until then, I remain skeptical.

Cheers.