I should point out a couple of things here before getting on my way:

Very few people really are sceptics and from what I have seen, James Randi isn’t any different. He is a believer too. The object of belief may be different, just like a Christian and an atheist arguing over whether God does or doesn’t exist, but the subject, i.e. BELIEF itself is really what is important and it reveals a lot about the mindset of the believer. From my observations, Mr Randi does not approach any claimant of paranormal abilities openly, but rather, he has a pre-set motive to disprove under all circumstances, so there is a mental bias and blockage there from the very beginning. The conclusion is reached from the outset in his mind, in much the same way that the UFO fanatic believes every flicker of light in the sky is proof of aliens and when you start with a conclusion it is impossible to actually freely enquire, as every tenuous thread will be tainted with your own opinion. If he were truly sceptical then he would be sceptical of his own so called scepticism! Do not misconstrue this as me being a closet ‘believer’, for I assure you I am not and I have enjoyed seeing Mr Randi taking apart the frauds I’ve seen in documentaries as much as the next person. All I AM saying is that he is an extremist and like all extremists, should not be taken too seriously.

Remember that every one of us approaches life from our own limited standpoint. We have our unique experiences, intelligence, educational aptitude (as well as privilege!), and we are restricted by that very same experience. A peasant farmer in the Middle East is not going to have the same life, outlook and understanding of a Norwegian fisherman, who in turn will differ from the businessman in London. Each has his own limiting conditioning and from that conditioning, we deal with the world around us. Basically, we’re animals tethered to a post in the ground and from that tethering, we are able to move within the circumference of the rope. Some have a wide degree of movement, while others can barely move, but we are ALL limited. It doesn’t matter if you are retarded or a genius, we’re limited. Period. Yet, laughably, each one of us thinks we have all the answers all the time! What egotism! (And before any creepy, snidey person comes back at me, I do realise this applies to me to!! Ha ha!!!!)

Whether Randi is right or Perron, it doesn’t really matter, for ultimately, as Shakespeare said so eloquently and insightfully, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”.

Oh yeah, one final addendum, Mr Perron could NOT be accused of slander here, as slander is oral. He could be accused of LIBEL, however. Of course, Mr Randi would then have to prove it. Be sure to give me a ringside seat should that ever happen!

“Back pedal”? Try reading again what I wrote. I even quoted it for you in my comment above. I said what you wrote can be considered slander. I never said it was slander. I said it could be considered as such.

I will ask you again to take your comments elsewhere.

I have seen many tales of Randi being called deceitful and a liar, and they always turn out to be from some antiscientist whoihas an axe to grind because either Randi showed them to be a charlatan, or they are trying to back down on some claim they made, or back out of an agreement with Randi.

Calling him a liar here can be considered slander. Wanna back that claim up?

First off, Uri and Sylvia are fakes,,,

Second, how come a “professional” magician like yourself gives ANY credence to them?

You should be more like Randi!!!

Gary 7

“Unmanly”?

Well, if someone like Phillip Johnson says again that scientists are “hysterical,” I’d point them to that Ham guy with his creationist/no dinosaur pep-rallies. The fact is, a majority of the public already is ignorant of basic science principles.

On the Alexa traffic ranking search, someone pretty much sums up the economic worldview of the TDI in this short blurb:

“* Wish I could give it less than zero stars…,
These people pretend[s] to be thoughtful formulators of public policies regarding culture, technology and other issues. In fact, they are part of a reactionary far-right group that advocates creationism and corporate dominance. Read the works of Gilder, Pearcey, Johnson, Behe, etc. and you’ll see what I mean. It’s incredible that creationist apologists for Reaganist voodoo economics have so little shame.”

TDI’s site mentions Gates as a donor:
http://www.discovery.org/cascadia/about.php

I can’t say “arming” these folks with more investments puts a smile on my face. Look what lots of money did for Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell.

It reminds me of that song by The Who (Won’t Get Fooled Again, I think) that contains the line “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss”. In the UK, the conservatives lost in 1997 to “New Labour”. Seems that the labour party has shed its socialist roots to become just like the old boss…

And we joined in that war, too. Why? “We have evidence that Saddam is stockpiling WMDs”. Yeah, his stockpiles were so large that they didn’t find a single weapon.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/08/26/gatesfoundation/index.html

It actually seems fairly innocent. Even if it’s not- it’s one thing when a private individual donates money to a dodgy institution and another thing when the US government funds ‘faith-based initiatives’.

In any case, Bill’s donated a lot of money to excellent causes. I use a Mac, but I do admire his philanthropy.

clip from news release:
“Discovery Institute to expand efforts to create regional transportation solutions through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
More than $9 million pledged over 10 years to Cascadia Project”

At first I thought that this must be a different “Discovery Institute” since the grant dealt with public transportation which is decidedly not a religious or biblical issue. But, it is THE Discovery Institute. So… I’m not sure what to think.

Alas, as I mentioned on another entry, in my (admitedly anecdotal) experience, this simply isn’t so. Even most of the academics I know seem to be completely unaware of the Deutsch affair. It appears that the discovery of the false statement on his resumé and his subsequent resignation was the worst possible thing that could have happened; it shut down the story as “hot news”. It may be well known among astronomers and in the other NASA-related sciences, and it may be well known among the community of organized skeptics (is that an oxymoron?), but out in the world at large, it might as well be a story about a fireman rescuing a kitten stuck up a tree in East Armpit, Idaho, for all the attention it gets.

(By the way — why has the scientific community been so stunningly silent about the revelation in the New York Times that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been subsidizing the “Discovery Institute” to the tune of $1,000,000 a year?)

They’re also using torture against captives who are being denied the most basic human rights.

I wonder how many have died of AIDS because of this administrations ‘abstinance first’ policy?

How many lives could have been saved if they had followed scientific advice on New Orleans?

How many are going to have their lives ruined because of their refusal to confront global warming?

Like I said, it’s hard to remain non-partisan in this debate.