Jan 072012
 

Corruption and credulity are enemies of reason and lead to violence, misery and slavery of the mind. Whoa! Where did that come from?

I’d previously written on the scam of fake bomb-detectors being used in Iraq after my trip there:

That article has a number of links to websites that provide information on these fake bomb-detectors and their ilk. It’s been a while since my article and, unfortunately, I had not kept myself up-to-date. Peter at http://ade651gt200scamfraud.blogspot.com/ reported in December 2011 that Major General Jihad al Jabiri, who signed the order(s) for the ADE651, had been released from prison earlier in the year due to what I call a pro-corruption bill…! The full story is here:

The buyers of these types of devices are one thing. The peddlers are another; people like Gary Bolton and Charles L. Christensen. They’re not in jail either. Why? Corruption isn’t just in Iraq. Full stories and updates at these sites:

_DSC7787b

Article by Kulvinder Singh Matharu – 2012

Dec 282011
 

Some people will sell anything, and some people will buy anything. Sellers can be rip-off merchants, and buyers can be morons. And there appears to be an unhealthily high proportion of both  in the Hi-Fi and home-cinema market. You may remember the Pear Cables story from 2008. Here’s a more recent story with an AudioQuest HDMI cable being sold for over $1,000.

audioquest-hdmi

Almost makes Monster cables look reasonably priced!

Article by Kulvinder Singh Matharu – 2011

Apr 212011
 

Following the hard work of JREF et al over several years, there has been much media publicity over the last year or two over the sales of useless (fake) bomb detectors :

Also see the petition

It is a pity that JREF does not get more recognition for their hard work from the mainstream media (eg BBC).

I’ve just returned this month from Iraq and those fake bomb detectors are still being used extensively at nearly all the myriad of security checkpoints in that country. The picture below shows one of these devices being operated in April 2011 around Baghdad.

fake bomb detector in Iraq

It was laughable in a macabre sort of way, but I also felt angry. The Iraqi government are aware that these devices are fakes but have not done anything. The whole setup is immoral and criminal; all those who’ve promoted, bought and allow continued use of these devices are despicable and need to be prosecuted. Lives are at stake.

Article by Kulvinder Singh Matharu – 2011

Randi on Geller

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Dec 192010
 

James Randi on Uri Geller’s reversal:

James Randi on Uri Geller’s Reversal

Although I’ve heard it said that you shouldn’t kick a person who’s trying to apologies, it’s clear that Geller’s actions over the years have contributed in a big way to society’s muddled thinking and resulted in the encouragement of other crazies to exploit and scam. I actually have very little sympathy for those scientists who endorsed Geller’s physic claims; fool on you. But it is Geller’s other victim that I have sympathy for i.e. society’s capacity to reason.

If Geller wants to right wrongs then he needs to embark on an aggressive and earnest campaign to apologise, and perhaps contribute some of his earnings to real education. How about appearing on well-known talk shows to renounce and apologies? From what I’ve seen of him over the years, Geller will likely try to make himself look good and claim that it was all part of “his show”, his act to “entertain”. Just remember all those legal actions he took against anyone who even dared to cast doubt on Geller’s so-called psychic ability.

Having had a quick look around, I cannot find an unequivocal statement from Geller where he renounces his claims for having psychic or supernatural powers. The closest I can find is this from Wikipedia:

In 2007, skeptics observed that Geller appeared to have dropped his claims that he does not perform magic tricks. Randi highlighted a quotation from the November 2007 issue of the magazine Magische Welt (Magic World) in which Geller said: "I’ll no longer say that I have supernatural powers. I am an entertainer. I want to do a good show. My entire character has changed."

In a later interview, Geller told Telepolis, "I said to this German magazine, so what I did say, that I changed my character, to the best of my recollection, and I no longer say that I do supernatural things. It doesn’t mean that I don’t have powers. It means that I don’t say ‘it’s supernatural’, I say ‘I’m a mystifier!’ That’s what I said. And the sceptics turned it around and said, ‘Uri Geller said he’s a magician!’ I never said that."[41] In that interview, Geller further explained that when he is asked how he does his stunts, he tells children to "Forget the paranormal. Forget spoon bending! Instead of that, focus on school! Become a positive thinker! Believe in yourself and create a target! Go to university! Never smoke! And never touch drugs! And think of success!"

In February 2008, Geller stated in the TV show The Next Uri Geller (a German version of The Successor) that he did not have any supernatural powers, before winking to the camera.

I think that last lines tells it all.

Note: Randi’s video seems to have been uploaded in December 2009 although it appeared on my RSS feed today for some reason. What has happened with Geller over the last 12 months or so?

I rather like these older videos from Randi:

James Randi exposes Uri Geller – part 1 of 4

Bends keys? Or bends truth?

James Randi exposes Uri Geller – part 2 of 4

Cracking!

James Randi exposes Uri Geller – part 3 of 4

Blinding!

James Randi exposes Uri Geller – part 4 of 4

Bend it like Geller!

Article by Kulvinder Singh Matharu – 2010

Oct 262010
 

The sad thing is that people buy into this crystal/energy/frequency nonsense:

Here’s an earlier related article:

Quackery? Scam? You decide.

Article by Kulvinder Singh Matharu – 2010

Jul 212010
 

Thanks to Randi’s article, I came across this video. This is great stuff debunking all those scams out there. Brilliant!

Now, look at this video below for a product called “iRenew”. These “iRenew” folks must be having a joke, right? Wait, I can see that this product actually appears to be on sale…

Article by Kulvinder Singh Matharu – 2010

Apr 222009
 

Nonsense from Uri Geller apologist Peter Fotis Kapnistos gets a beating from Randi’s incisive article. And Randi floors an idiot. Nice one.

Randi’s article is at http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/525-a-champion-grubbie-speaks-out.html

As Randi says, so much nonsense, lies, misinformation and misunderstandings. Go get them Randi. There’s too much Stupid out there.

Article by Kulvinder Singh Matharu – 2009

Mar 312009
 

Pharyngula reports at http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/03/youtube_has_banned_the_james_r.php that YouTube has suspended the account of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JERF). I can confirm that the YouTube JREF videos embedded in my blog no longer work and instead display the message "This video has been removed due to terms of use violation.".

The problem with YouTube is that they will suspend accounts at the merest hint of a complaint…justified or not. And there isn’t anything in JREF videos that should be banned. Some people my opt to feel "offended" but that’s just too bad. JREF is one of those candles in the dark, a shining beacon in a world where superstition, uncritical thinking and charlatans are allowed to flourish. We need the JREF and all its resources to fight all this nonsense. Of course I could join the chorus and shout "YouTube sucks!"…but that would be too obvious ;)

Follow this link…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7Cn_gjevik&feature=channel_page

…and take action!

Article by Kulvinder Singh Matharu – 2009

Mar 262009
 

Good. James Randi’s article http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/487-a-u-n-victory-for-reason.html states that the silly proposal brought to the United Nations to "…forbid critical, insulting or defamatory statements about religion…" has been rejected. Excellent news.

I will criticise religion. I will make fun of it. Because clear and critical thinking demands it. Religions have, for far too long, abused their powers and used their influences and dogma to persecute people, and lead others into a world where "the word" is absolute and people are not allowed to think for themselves. So I absolutely will be critical of religion where warranted.

Article by Kulvinder Singh Matharu – 2009

Mar 022009
 

This James Randi lecture at NASA took place quite a while ago, but I was going through the randi.org video archives and reacquainted myself with its content. The full lecture, in 12 parts, is available at http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=07A38150C7FC8CCB and is very entertaining and full of golden nuggets.

However, for the purposes of this article, part 4 and part 5 has Randi talking about homeopathy. Hilarious!

James Randi Lecture at NASA 4/12

 

James Randi Lecture at NASA 5/12

    

 

Article by Kulvinder Singh Matharu – 2009