Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Free Expression Cartoon Winners or The Wonderful Catholic Church

The Council for Secular Humanism has announced their cartoon contest winners and the winner couldn't be more fitting for these times.


My wife and I were just discussing the recent (and continued) revelations about the seemingly ritual sexual abuse by priests and the subsequent cover-ups in the Catholic Church.  It is quite frustrating when you consider what has happened and what is happening - if this were your local non-profit organization (or Via Rail?), people would have been fired, charges would have been laid and the organization would drastically change. 

Why does that not happen in this case?  Not only have there been substantial amounts of horrid and disgusting acts towards countless numbers of children (and adults) but, when the church was informed about it, they put most of their efforts into keeping it from getting public.  The priests were shuffled, the victims were silenced and pope continued on as if nothing had happened - because your dollar was more important than the rights and lives of the victims.  Even now that that has been uncovered, millions and millions of people still hold firm to the Catholic Church with few obviously willing to speak out against the builders of their favourite house of cards.

I recall a TV show covering the sexual abuse a few years ago - I think the show was "This Hour Has 22 Minutes" - and I paraphrase one of their "news" segments here: "Catholics are calling for an end to their doctrine of abstinence in light of recent revelations about systemic sexual abuse within the church…. I think, given what is happening in the church, they don’t need to end their doctrine of abstinence, they need to enforce it."

Better yet, Sell the Vatican, Feed the World.



(You can see the cartoon winners here: http://www.centerforinquiry.net/news/free_expression_cartoon_contest_winners_announced/)

Monday, March 29, 2010

Would the real Thom Klaasen please stand up?

Thanks to a blog comment, we (myself and the 1 person who reads my blog) were pointed to a website that claims Robbie was threatened with bodily harm by someone.  Following is the main part of the "article" - I've included a link at the bottom in case you want read the whole thing.

John Ramses of Ghost Radio Australia who represents the Ontario psychic said in a press release that following Thomas’ first interview with a local newspaper, “a hate group led by a certain individual named Thom Klaasen began posting defaming statements and threats to Robbie Thomas.”

And the threats are serious ones.

“The threats were to inflict bodily harm and to ensure his premier event was disrupped to the point of failure.”

The same intimidating messages were emailed directly to Thomas and there have also been a number of phone calls to his home.

“Robbie has been quite upset and frightened. I ordered him not to engage them in any form. But the silence from Robbie seemed to aggravate them only more…” Ramses called the purpetrators “mischievous, stupid, violent skeptics” as well as an“illiterate and inarticulate bunch of thugs and cowards.”

The emails that I received (thanks to that link) were astounding - from claims that I was the person threatening physical violence to people suggesting they are going to "out" me by revealing my real name.  Since there are a number of people who know who I actually am, it was surprising that none of the people sending the emails gave anything but the wrong name (Thom Klaasen).

Of all the people who have contacted me, that I've met and that are participants in any of my* related hate groups, Thom Klaasen is not one of them - his name hasn't ever been mentioned, until now.

I did some searching on "Thom Klaasen" and, it appears, that this person may not even exist (like psychic abilities, ghosts, alien abductions, and chiropractic subluxations, it's probably just made up).  Other than the reference in the "Hamilton Paranormal Examiner", Thom Klaasen's name doesn't appear (never in relation to "Robbie Thomas").  I have also found no "defaming" statements about Robbie Thomas.  (If you find some, email me at sarniaskeptic@gmail.com)

Whether or not the "Thom Klaasen" person exists, I have never threatened physical violence to anyone other than my brother (something along the lines of "paybacks are a bitch, I'm going to beat your ass when I grow up" - unfortunately he never really stopped growing and he's still twice my size.).  I'm also doubtful that anyone else ever threatened Robbie with violence as well. 

Any emails that I have sent Robbie Thomas have been friendly and cordial - though sometimes people mistake polite tone for something else when their core beliefs are questioned.  At no point (in an email or otherwise) have I threatened Robbie with anything resembling violence (I did threaten to talk to a ghost and have the ghost pee in Robbie's cornflakes but it turns out that Robbie doesn't eat cornflakes - oh, and that ghosts don't exist.)

John Ramses and Robbie Thomas were likely trying to put out "seeds" to explain the poor attendance of his initial and future shows.  As it turns out, fewer than 40 people attended the first show (held in Robbie's home town) and, following the performance, the Robbie Thomas crew explained the poor attendance on a potential threat of an anthrax attack (seriously).  The reality is that prior to the performance, Robbie simply had sold fewer than 40 tickets.  It was a commercial failure. 

In the past week or so, Robbie Thomas' Psychic Justice Tour has been dropped by his (at one time?) friend and "talent manager" John Ramses.  Word in the paranormal community has spread fairly quickly and Robbie is clearly pointing fingers.  I hope that what he is saying about John Ramses is not true (I doubt it is) because, outside of his tour with Robbie Thomas, it appears that he has been fairly successful at promoting his other ventures.  As Robbie's "talent manager", I suspect he spent much of his time trying to protect Robbie from the truth and, in turn, try to salvage whatever he could from the remaining tour (which, I suspect, was a financial burden to John Ramses).

http://www.examiner.com/x-35811-Hamilton-Paranormal-Examiner~y2010m3d14-Psychic-detective-threatened-with-Bodily-Harm

*I do not have a hate group and am hardly a leader of any organized skeptics but since Robbie is in the "pretend" game, I figured I could stretch it a little bit and pretend that I had a group too. 


*********************

As you probably suspected, the reference to a Tom Klaasen "threatening bodily harm" was simply made up by the Robbie Thomas crew.  Robbie has consistently lied so why should we have expected anything different in this case?  (I sure didn't.)

For those that have emailed me, I'm NOT Tom Klaasen but, if I were Tom Klaasen, I'd probably want to kick Robbie's ass for defaming me as Robbie/John did.  Tom, however, did NOT threaten to harm Robbie Thomas in ANY WAY - it was a COMPLETE FABRICATION.  (And, I have no desire to inflict any physical harm on anyone.)

Note: If you have attended any of the Robbie Thomas events (last year's convention or any of his recent shows), I'd love to hear from you.  I can be reached at sarniaskeptic@gmail.com.

UPDATE: As I was typing this update, I received an email regarding Robbie's show in Sarnia.  One of the people at the show said that there were, in fact, 31 people who attended his Sarnia show (including staff).  The staff also, apparently, always lock the door when the show starts - it was not done because of any supposed threat from the two people who were handing "anti-Robbie" stuff out.  I'm not suggesting that Robbie is lying - okay maybe I am - but this completely contradicts what he has claimed about the Sarnia show.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Woohoo Robbie Thomas - All New and Upbeat!!!

Robbie Thomas' Psychic Justice fan page on facebook has been updated - apparently he wants us to continue our efforts 'cause he ain't givin' up yet!

"GET READY INDIANA, KENTUCKY, ST. LOUIS, MINNESOTA, IOWA AND MICHIGAN...This is the New Psychic Justice Tour, Just got off the phone with all different police departments in each city, the tour is gonna ROCK YA! Tickets go on sale real soon, limited seating everything all new and upbeat...ready to ROCK...DON'T MISS THIS......!!!! LIVE COLD CASE READINGS AND MINI AUDIENCE READINGS...YA BABY!!!!!! www.robbiethomas.net"

I do appreciate Robbie's honesty in this one.  He, in all caps, lets us know that few people will be attending his shows ("MINI AUDIENCE").  Starting out his statement with a little game of "Which of these does not belong?" was cool too.  Kind of like how Delta's new e-ticket comes with a soduku puzzle on the page.  In case you didn't catch it, it's "St. Louis".  (Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Iowa and Michigan are all states.  I called St. Louis and "What the heck are you talking about? We don't work with psychics.  I think someone is lying to you." is all the officer really had to say about Robbie Thomas.  Maybe Robbie called to see if they had any unsolved cases - so he could lie about his involvement in them (which has always puzzled me) - why does he claim to be involved in unsolved cases?  Doesn't that, alone, prove that he's a lying liar and that he doesn't have psychic abilities?  Robbie Thomas Solved Cases Counter: 0.)

"New Psychic Justice Tour" suggests that Robbie's show wasn't "postponed" because of a "sudden life-threatening illness of an immediate family member".  Having fewer than 40 people buy tickets in your hometown would probably be a pretty good indication that what Robbie is selling, people aren't buying. 

I also find it odd that the show is no longer "presented" by "Labyrinth Entertainment" - remember them? Their great leader was the one who claimed that people feared for an anthrax attack.  (As difficult as it might be to believe, Robbie is still a bigger slimeball and I applaud John for dumping that scumbag.)

Robbie - since your old show wasn't "upbeat" and "all new", maybe you could retry it in Sarnia?  I'd love to attend the show. ;-)  Luckily, I'm willing to travel.  ("Hate Group" members, contact me if you want to carpool. sarniaskeptic@gmail.com)

Sorry for the rambling post - I'm like a kid in a candy store.  I'm so excited that Robbie is hitting the road again.

(Note: You might want to check out his promo video for this whole new tour!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cHiwFp5jds or something like that.)

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Thank You Michael J. Fox (Deluded Fool from Sarnia)

With Robbie Thomas (who is not psychic, by the way) having "postponed" his whole tour, I'm sure many were wondering what it was that I'd have to write about.  Thankfully for you, a letter to the editor appeared in our local paper today from an old friend (and by friend I mean "tool that I've pointed out before"), Michael J. Fox (Sarnia).

Before I get into Michael J. Fox (Sarnia)'s most recent letter to the editor, let me explain something about him.  Okay, skip that, his complete failure to grasp the bible as a bunch of made-up crap is clearly shown in his post.  I need not say more.

The title of the letter to the editor is: "FREEDOMS CAN BE LOST QUICKLY"

Oddly, the majority of the letter refers to many nations becoming "less free" in 2009.  He goes on to say that our freedoms in Canada are being dismantled too but makes no reference of any.  The final "paragraph" of his letter, however, tells it all.  He says (and I paraphrase) "The world will never know true freedom because some dead palestinian is never coming back (he may not have ever lived) if you believe my man-made book that I claim was inspired by my non-existent god.  RAmen."  or something like that.

Sorry Michael, your article is incoherent at best.  Your final paragraph assures us that you haven't shed any of your delusions, too.

Here's the letter to the editor:  http://theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2507147

FREEDOMS CAN BE LOST QUICKLY
Sir:The world became less free in 2009, according to Freedom House, an independent watchdog organization that monitors the status of human freedom around the world.


"For the fourth consecutive year, global declines in freedom outweighed gains in 2009, as measured by Freedom House's annual survey of political rights and civil liberties. This represents the longest continuous period of decline for global freedom in the nearly 40-year history of the report." (Freedom in the World 2010: Global Erosion of Freedom -Jan. 12, 2010).

They found declines in freedom in 40 countries, including authoritarian states that became more repressive, and setbacks in countries that had been trending more positively in recent years. the Middle East remains the most repressive region overall and Africa showed the greatest declines in freedom.

The worst of the worst, ranked "not free," include nine countries and one territory -Burma (Myanmar), Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Tibet (ruled by China), turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Freedom is a precious commodity. Currently only 46% of the world's population live in countries ranked as "free."

I ask, what is the definition of freedom, but I say to Canadians, watch your back. Our freedoms are being dismantled every year. We may wake up one day with all of our freedoms eroded.

What the Bible prizes is true freedom. When Jesus Christ returns to the earth, all humans at last will know and bask in true freedom. But for now, in a world devoid of true freedom, watch your back.-- Michael J. Fox Sarnia

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

When you think something is silly.. look in the mirror

When I see a headline on a "news" site that says "Self-described Jedi alleges discrimination", I can't help but follow the link.

What followed was hardly surprising and, most would say, rather silly.  Someone who "subscribes" to the "Jedi Faith" feels that it is his right to wear his hood at a Southend (England) "Jobcentre" as it is part of his "religion".

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/03/17/13260876-qmi.html

Yes, I know, that's stupid to believe in a faith created on a made up story (Star Wars).  It is almost as wacky as following Scientology (after all, that was made up by a science fiction writer too).  It isn't near as wacky as believing in Christianity, however; that was made up by people who couldn't even write a coherent story. 

It is true that other people have crazy beliefs but if you follow any of the sky-fairy believing religions, they think the same about your beliefs.

After all, "We are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further" - Richard Dawkins.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Robbie Thomas is not a psychic and not a very good liar (Or: Anthrax Attacks & Hate Groups)

Robbie Thomas' clan is claiming that two respectable businessmen who handed out information regarding Robbie Thomas' failures and lies are part of a hate group.  (Damn it, why can't I be part of a hate group?  It sounds much more fun than doing good things for the sake of doing good things.) 

Let me make this clear (especially if I'm part of this hate group and haven't received my membership card):  I am not connected with the Caughlin family and, as far as I know, nobody else who contributes to this blog (or is actively trying to expose Robbie) is connected with them.  The Caughlin family provided information to myself and others in an attempt to have Robbie stop using their family in his promotions and to help put a "face" on his disgusting acts.  I support, fully, the Caughlin family in their attempts to bring a close to their unsolved case and the focus of my blog will remain on skepticism of all sorts.  The fact that Robbie Thomas is a liar and a fraud is independent of (though additionally proven by) the Caughlin case.

Below is an excerpt from the Press Release that Robbie Thomas' friend/promoter/'talent manager', John Ramses, sent out:  (Note: I removed the bullshit about Robbie and the Caughlin case as much as I could - the first part is left in as I countered the claim in the statement above).  My comments are in blue.

Mr Thomas has been recently attacked by a local sarnia-based hate group who has connections in the Caughlin issue (Wrong.).  Their web site attempts to defame and slander Mr Thomas (attempts? heck, we must try harder. Oh wait, telling the truth isn't slander - I guess we're not attempting anything of the sort.) in hope to discredit Mr Thomas in the public eye should he talk of his knowledge and participation in the Caughlin case (wrong again, we're hoping to discredit "Mr." Thomas whenever he claims to have psychic abilities.  His claim to be involved in the Caughlin case, however, makes him a lying scumbag.).


The same hate-group recently disrupted a performance at the Imperial Theater in Sarnia (sorry, you are not permitted to redefine the word "disrupted", you idiot.), where Mr Thomas was performing a show, by harassing patrons (they handed out flyers to patrons, held the doors for patrons and even loaned one of the 'attendees' a lighter so she could light her cigarette - that's not harassment, that's courtesy - something that Robbie doesn't give.) and handing out white (they weren't white, I have one) sealed envelopes with orders (yeah, orders - the label says "Thank You & Enjoy The Show" and has a note to open when they get to their seats) not to open the envelopes until they were inside and seated.

Many patrons left the venue (none left, so the next part of the line is bullshit) fearing a possible anthrax attack (really? Robbie Thomas & John Ramses are such f__king scumbags that they'd suggest that people who are against psychic frauds would try to kill innocent and trusting people who happen to believe that Robbie Thomas isn't lying?). Of those who remained to see the show, only 40 made it inside (this doesn't make any sense - either they made it inside and then left the show or they didn't make it inside the show - the answer is far less crazy than John and Robbie will have you think.  Robbie sold fewer than 40 tickets prior to the doors opening - that means that there would be fewer than 40 people attending the show, which, from what I'm told, was the case.) before the theatre manager shut and locked the doors fearing for the safety of his crew and patrons. (I'd suggest that if the manager shut and locked the doors for any fear it was because John Ramses or Robbie Thomas LIED to the theatre manager about what might happen.  I doubt that I'd be the first to suggest that Robbie Thomas would go so far as to lie.  I've met everyone who was involved in the 'information session' and I can, confidently, say that they posed no threat and the people working the theatre had no reason for worry UNLESS they were lied to about the situation.)

Police were called to the scene but according to Mr Thomas' manager, John Ramses, who spoke to the Sarnia police of the incident, no one was arrested (because no crime was committed) and the contents of the envelope were not investigated (Somebody is lying - if a videotape shows the police officer opening the envelope and apparently reading the information inside would Robbie Thomas' crew be lying?  Just curious.).

Mr Ramses, who is an Australian resident and both promoter and talent manager for Robbie Thomas, is currently seeking legal action against the Sarnia based hate group on several accounts. (Are you serious?  If I couldn't verify the press release to be authentic, I'd be calling "bullshit" on this one.  If this is supposed to be serious, let me apologize now for this:  ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.  Robbie and John should be a comedy duo.  That's frickin' funny - I don't care who you are.)

Here it is again, without my in-line comments:
Mr Thomas has been recently attacked by a local sarnia-based hate group who has connections in the Caughlin issue. Their web site attempts to defame and slander Mr Thomas in hope to discredit Mr Thomas in the public eye should he talk of his knowledge and participation in the Caughlin case.


The same hate-group recently disrupted a performance at the Imperial Theater in Sarnia, where Mr Thomas was performing a show, by harassing patrons and handing out white sealed envelopes with orders not to open the envelopes until they were inside and seated.

Many patrons left the venue fearing a possible anthrax attack. Of those who remained to see the show, only 40 made it inside before the theatre manager shut and locked the doors fearing for the safety of his crew and patrons.

Police were called to the scene but according to Mr Thomas' manager, John Ramses, who spoke to the Sarnia police of the incident, no one was arrested and the contents of the envelope were not investigated.

Mr Ramses, who is an Australian resident and both promoter and talent manager for Robbie Thomas, is currently seeking legal action against the Sarnia based hate group on several accounts.

(Sent March 11, 2010 by John Ramses jvramses@hotmail.com)

If you want the original press release, email me at sarniaskeptic@gmail.com.  It is a mish-mash of hardly cohesive statements filled with falsities and lies (as you can see above).  It misrepresents the truth and furthers Robbie Thomas' attempt to suggest involvement in the resolution of a crime that (to this day) remains unsolved.  Robbie truly is that big of a slimeball.  Oh.. and he's not psychic either.  His solved cases counter remains at 0 (zero, zilch).

Not a Real Doctor Peter Miller (Chiropractor) pushes some scary stuff!

My wife and I were enjoying a leisurely morning, reading the morning paper and catching up on the week's activities when she said "There's an article in here that you have to read..." which, almost assuredly means "prepare your woo-woo detector for 'extreme'".  In this instance, she wasn't kidding.

In the Wednesday, March 10, 2010 edition of "Sarnia and Lambton County This Week", is an "advertisement/editorial" (advertorial) by Not a Real Dr. Peter Miller (he's a chiropractor) on "Study on Heart Rate Variability".  (His regular "advertorial" is called "On Health and Wellness" in case you want to look him up.)

The article is as follows (with my thoughts inserted - refer to the end of the article for links):

The Story of David...
I would like to tell you about a young man named David who suffered from severe headaches since the age of 9.  David was 14 years of age when he first came to see me.  He had been through a number of several test including MRIs, CTs, and blood test.  Everything turned up negative.  His mother was very concerned because David was falling behind in school; he missed about a total of 2 years of school over the last 5 years.  She was also concerned about how his personality was changing (He's 14 for god's sake (non-existent god, that is) - hello hormones, girls and high school.).
David use to play hockey and soccer prior to obtaining headaches.  His mother also explained how his birthing process was very difficult (14 years later, do you think the mother really remembered and thought about the birthing process being difficult? Or do you think the doctor suggested it in questioning? Reference to the birthing process is a definite sign of woo-woo when it comes to chiropractic. Many chiropractors (of the woo-woo kind) suggest that children should be brought to chiropractors as soon as possible (within days of birth!)).  What happened to David?  Why did David start to get headaches?
David had a condition in his neck where his first two bones beneath the skull were not aligned properly.  This most likely occurred due to fall, a hit or from his difficult birthing process.  After I did a complete evaluation it was determined that David's slight neck misalignment was causing a tremendous amount of pressure on the nervous system in that area (Fake Dr. Peter Miller is referring to an indemonstrable claim - chiropractors often call these "subluxations" - but studies have been done that show chiropractors can't even reliably detect them. The same patient examined by multiple chiropractors will receive a variety of different diagnoses. See Chirobase.org for more information on subluxations.).  This misalignment was only off by several millimetres but is [sic] was enough to cause a change in the never function (It is not physiologically possible for 'subluxations' or 'misalignments' to cause what Fake Dr. Miller is trying to suggest. There is no scientific evidence to support such claims.).  This change can be compared to like having a poor radio connection, where the connections are working but not enough to get a clear message across.
David was treated in my office for a period of time and was re-evaluated on several occasions.  David is now 20 years of age; he is in his second year of University and has not suffered from a single headache in 6 years (Wholly batshit. No headaches in 6 years? I call bullshit on this one but that'd probably be the smallest lie that Not a Real Dr. spews in this article. Oddly, I also had migraines and serious headaches growing up - for about 6 or 7 years of my life - until I was about 14 or 15. What did I do to get rid of them? I grew up. (And yes, I had a number of tests done) (I feel like I need to explain things like "self-limiting", "natural history of a disease", "causation/correlation fallacies" and much more.)).
Over the years, I have personally take care of hundreds of children with similar situations as David (That's scary. Why the heck are parents taking their kids to chiropractors? The science behind what chiropractors do slightly support benefits relating to musculoskeletal problems - and nothing more. Children, almost without exception, should not be seeing chiropractors for anything but that (if even that). See Canadian Pediatric Society for more.).  I have seen unbelievable changes happen to children who were once labelled as "sick".  I have seen children who once suffered from chronic episodes of colds, ear infections, headaches and tonsillitis year after year to it becoming nonexistent (This is pure bullshit. Chiropractors can not cure or prevent colds, ear infections or tonsillitis. Any claims to the contrary are bogus (Cheers to Simon Singh for using the word "bogus" and almost, nearly single-handedly, completely discrediting the British Chiropractic Association. See this, this and this.) Also see... Would Adults Be Healthier with Chiropractic Adjustments from Birth Onward?).
The question I must ask the parents, who checks your child's spine?  I am not talking about broken bones, cancers, or any type of pathology of the spine etc... I am talking about the alignment and its proper function (Fake Dr. Miller, you do not know what you're talking about.).  Just like a Dentist is trained to check for cavities, only a chiropractor is trained to detect spinal problems like David's, and this is the reason why it gets missed in so many people.
Unfortunately, spinal misalignments like David can go undetected for years and maybe even a lifetime for many.  Recently published on WebMD, you can read about how the same type of misalignment that David had is causing High Blood Pressure in adults (The study that Not A Real Dr. Peter Miller is referring to is a (very) SMALL study - 25 patients in each group (chiropractic and sham chiropractic - but isn't most chiropractic sham?). The study was published 3 years ago and there has been no replication of the study. Such promising capabilities for chiropractic would change the opinion of many if it were true but since the paper is hardly cited (1 time, woohoo!), hasn't been replicated (negative studies often don't get published) and was too small to be convincing, it is not likely the case. Science Based Medicine's Resident Chiropractor talks about this study and the potential for benefit.).  If problems like these are corrected, it can drastically improve a person's health and life forever.
Questions or Comments?
Not a Real Dr. Miller B.Kin B.Sc D.C is a local chiropractor that can be contacted at 519-542-9244
www.(not_a_real)drpetermiller.com

Links in this posting:

Subluxation: Chiropractic's Elusive Buzzword 
Canadian Pediatric Society - Chiropractic care for children: Controversies and issues
A Carnival of Bogus* Chiropractic
The End of Chiropractic
McTimoney Chiropractors told to take down their web sites
Would Adults Be Healthier with Chiropractic Adjustments from Birth Onward?
Science Based Medicine's Resident Chiropractor talks about this study and the potential for benefit.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Quebec Gets it Right!

In recent news, the Quebec Government has been getting things right.

First they require that a student remove her headpiece for her government funded language course (or be kicked out of the class) - when she failed to do so, they kicked her out (and not only on one occasion, twice!)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/niqab-wearing-woman-kicked-out-of-quebec-class-again/article1495112/

And now, Quebec has banned religious instruction in publically funded daycares! 
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2010/03/10/13180056-cp.html

(Sorry for the quick posting - I won't have time to post until after this weekend.)

Friday, March 5, 2010

I don't want Robbie to fail, I want Robbie to fail miserably

This may come as a complete surprise, but I would be really happy if Robbie Thomas sold more tickets for his upcoming "Psychic Justice Tour".  I really don't want that to be a failure.  (Good news, too, he sold 2 more tickets!  That's 38 booked so far.  That's almost a sell-out (of the first two rows..))

As the title states, I don't want Robbie to fail, I want him to fail miserably.  From the videos that people are sending me and the information people so willingly provide about Robbie Thomas - I think the best way for Robbie to really fail - is for people to go and see him for themselves.

Selling too few tickets will likely discourage Robbie and it might end his tour - however, I think that the greater value would be for people to go see him, learn about him, his failures, his lies and his activities - and judge for themselves.  I'm certain that such a failure would be much greater than having him cancel his tour.

The other benefit is that it brings in to question the abilities and claims of other "psychics" and the like - an obvious goal of this blog.

It is unfortunate (seriously!) that I will not be able to attend Robbie's show on Sunday - my wife and I will be out of town this weekend on a much needed vacation.  (Work can be tiring when you can't just make shit up and get paid for it!)  Have a great weekend!

PS. Good luck Robbie!  (Robbie, because I'll be away, I'm going to forward my email to my blackberry - could you, pretty please, send me an email at sarniaskeptic@gmail.com if you finally solve a case.  I want to keep the counter up to date.)

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Why Doesn't OHIP Cover Chiropractic? (And an update on Jeffrey Needham)

(I decided to write this blog a while ago but I never got to publishing it - since I recently posted about Jeffrey Needham's woo-woo seminar this weekend, I thought it an appropriate time to publish this - though it is not near the whole story that I wanted to tell.

As an update to Jeffrey Needham's claims - he has been in trouble before.  The main page at Chirowatch.com has him listed for his anti-vax views and his views on pediatric chiropractic.  You might be interested in reading this.  Jeffrey Needham is heavy into woo-woo and is, definitely, anti-science.  If you're in Sarnia, you'll probably want to avoid him but if you do see him, tell him that I said 'Hi!')

For those of you who live, as I do, in the wonderful Province of Ontario, you're probably familiar with Chiropractic's status as it comes to funding from the province (0%). (Note: Some other provinces in Canada have either delisted Chiropractic or never covered it in the first place.)

As of December 1, 2004, the Ontario Health Insurance Plan pulled ALL funding for Chiropractic services. (I must address the argument that Chiropractors will often put forth - "Eye exams and physiotherapy were also delisted" but rather than ruin my point, it is at the end of this.*)

The reality is that leading up to 2004, a number of Neurologists warned about neck manipulations (by Chiropractors) causing strokes (in 2002). Shortly after, a study was published in the May 13, 2003 issue of Neurology that spoke to similar concerns.  One of the leading causes of Stroke in people under the age of 45 is neck manipulations by Chiropractors.

The efficacy of Chiropractic has been tested and remains to be seen.  Chiropractic's efficacy, if any exists, is related to musculoskeletal issues ONLY and likely only lower back pain - adjusting your spine will not (and does not) cure asthma, common colds, the flu, ear infections nor does it increase weight loss, reduce cholesterol or stop bed wetting (yes, some Chiropractors actually claim that "subluxations" (which have never been proven to exist) are the cause of these illnesses and conditions.)

To put it plainly, any Chiropractor who believes that "innate intelligence" and "subluxations" exist is not following science - and you should be wary of them. (Note: I find it amusing when a Chiropractor who has found the one true cure of most (all?) disease also practices acupuncture and the like. Isn't acupuncture also the one true cure?)
It is important to note that a "D.C." (Doctor of Chiropractic) is not an "M.D." (Medical Doctor) and that many DCs have no formal medical training. They should NEVER be your primary care provider.  
For more information about Chiropractic, check out Stephen Barrett, M.D.'s "Chiropractic's Dirty Secret"
Also see http://www.chirowatch.com/.

*It is true that funding for eye exams and Physiotherapy also changed (for eye exams in November of 2004 and for Physiotherapy in April of 2005) but not as they did for Chiropractic.

Eye Exams
As of December 1, 2004, OHIP does not pay for Chiropractor (not a percentage, nothing) under any circumstance. Eye exams are covered for patients under 20 and over 65 and for anyone with conditions that affect the eyes - basically they simply stopped covering unnecessary annual/semi-annual examinations. Referrals from real Doctors (MD) result in OHIP covering eye exams (more info).

Physiotherapy
Similar changes were made to Physiotherapy coverage - it is covered for people 19 or under and for those 65 and older as well as anyone in a long-term care facility (of any age) and those who need in-home services or after having been hospitalized. (In other words, if you need it, OHIP will pay for it.) (more info)

Chiropractic
0% coverage 100% of the time, period. OHIP does not pay Chiropractic fees.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Robbie's Latest Marketing Materials - And you thought he couldn't be a bigger slimeball?

As Robbie, personally, had sent this poster to a number of people, I thought it only appropriate that I send a friendly email to the list.  Here is what I sent:

Good afternoon to you!
I thought I'd send a follow-up to Robbie's email about the upcoming Psychic Justice Tour. I know it is less than one week away and that tickets aren't selling well (about 31 so far) so we need to rally the troops to get more people to attend.

In case you're not familiar with who I am, I'm a staunch follower of Robbie Thomas and I've worked, tirelessly, to get Robbie's name out there - until people really get to experience Robbie Thomas, they don't know what they're missing.

I've put together some great links for you and your friends to view - I encourage you to pass them along and, hopefully, we can get more people out to the Psychic Justice Tour events.

We all know that Robbie has been involved in a great number of murder and missing person investigations but unfortunately most families won't come forward to even admit that Robbie was involved in their case - here's a letter, directly from the family of a young girl who was found murdered - http://bit.ly/aShBSF

For those who aren't aware, Robbie Thomas' most famous case is possibly the Cezar/Caesar Cano case (Robbie was even featured on TV!). Since the case involved the abduction and murder of a young boy, it is a touching story. Luckily Robbie's work hasn't gone unrecognized - a local investigator has pulled together the truth about the case - Robbie should be proud! http://bit.ly/axgKN9

Robbie has been involved in Psychic Investigations for over 18 years - and, being a rather humble person, tries his best to simply provide assistance and move on. Luckily, for Robbie, other psychics are willing to help promote him and offer him their unfailing support. World renowned psychic Mark Edward shows Robbie substantial respect and, finally, reveals Robbie and his wonderful contributions - http://bit.ly/cY7lWE

I realize that some of what I have passed along might not be in line with your opinion of the wonderful Robbie Thomas and I apologize for that. I apologize, however, with a level of sincerity that Robbie Thomas has failed to show the countless victims of his actions. Robbie Thomas is a psychic predator. You have received this email because Robbie continues to cross the line and the poster that Robbie sent in his last email to all of us was beyond reproach. We can, no longer, sit idly by - Robbie Thomas must be stopped.

Your friend always,
Sarnia Skeptic

Surprisingly (or maybe not?), not everyone on the email list was sympathetic to Robbie.  I received a number of responses from people - many thanking me for the information and some who wished me luck in my mission! 

One response, however, by an unnamed person, was not so nice.  Apparently it doesn't matter how true something is, if I'm not willing to put my picture and name up on my blog, I'm "just a scared wimp who is probably forging blogs and e mails from (my) grandmothers basement".  Unfortunately, both of my grandmothers are dead - I guess the levels of sympathy and intelligence in Robbie's "circle" aren't very high.

I like unnamed person, though.  Not only because she was willing to respond with such kind words but because she is a paranormal investigator herself, who runs a $2.99/minute "paranormal investigator/reader" phone service.  Thankfully unnamed person didn't recently write on another discussion forum anything like "making any kind of income in Canada .... as a non resident visitor which i am .... is a FELONY according to immigration. Do you really think I'm going to do something that STUPID to jeopardize being kicked out of Canada and being homeless?" (http://tspforum.tickie.net/index.php?topic=873.msg7600#msg7600) (Note: unnamed person claims to be on a disability pension from the USAF and now lives in Canada.)

As unnamed person suggested, I am going to "Go back to playing World of Warcraft where (my) screen name may mean something..." mind you, the other option was "or grow a set of balls and we can talk."  For $2.99/minute, I bet she'd love to talk.

(Note: unnamed person threatened to call the police if I didn't remove her name from my blog.  Since I think her and her psychic friends (pronounced "frauds") have wasted enough police time, I decided to remove her name.  And since all the quotes are now "anonymous", you can just assume it is all made up (it isn't).)

Monday, March 1, 2010

Psychic Robbie Thomas – Murder Victims are not Commodities

Unsolved Homicide of Karen Caughlin

I thought it time we spoke publicly regarding the topic of psychic Robbie Thomas. Many concerned friends have contacted me regarding the publicity forum Mr. Thomas is using to promote his upcoming Psychic Justice Tour, which contains information relating to his phantom involvement with Karen’s homicide investigation. I think Psychic Predator best describes how my family feels about Robbie Thomas. For the record, my sisters and I met with Robbie Thomas ONCE five years ago. It was after this one time visit that we decided, in the best interest of Karen, we would never again have anything to do with this man. Mr. Thomas asked if we would sign forms, so he could USE Karen in one of his books as he carefully outlined the matter of book proceeds. My sisters and I immediately made the watchful decision, that no one would ever use Karen to make money. As a result of this meeting, we have had nothing to do with Mr. Thomas, except when he took it upon himself to phone and harass a member of our family because of our decision. We want this man to stop exploiting our dead sister and the horrific manner in which her life was ended.

We know it is hard for people to understand why a family like ours would even consider going to a psychic. I can tell you, the degree of pain and suffering a family endures over an unsolved homicide has everything to do with why families seek this kind of unrealistic help. A family’s life-long torment can be blinding. We have learned there will always be psychic predators waiting in the wings ready to use our desperate situation for their own self-interests. My family takes full responsibility for seeking out Robbie Thomas but we had no idea at the time this would be Robbie Thomas’s ticket to maintain control over this aspect of our lives, as he continues to manipulate our situation to gain credibility with the public. He chooses not to question why our family has had no contact with him since 2005, as he continues to cling to a one-time meeting to justify his right to continue to use our sister’s murder for self-promotion. From our position, there is nothing lower in life than what this man is doing. We have proceeded in contacting the people who are sponsoring his tour and informed them that our family is disgusted, appalled and very distraught over the statements being made by Robbie Thomas regarding Karen’s murder, which he is using as advertisement on his various different websites, in attempts to draw in ticket buyers. I was advised that Robbie Thomas assured his sponsors, all families were notified and he gained permission from the relatives of the numerous victims, which Robbie Thomas is targeting and exploiting. My family never received a phone call from Mr. Thomas, so we can only assume Mr. Thomas lied to his sponsors. The only psychic ability Robbie Thomas obtains stems from his real abilities to manipulate the truth, to be able to attract society’s natural morbid curiosity while preying on the dark desperation of homicide families and families of missing children. He claims his psychic justice tour will donate $5.00 of every ticket sold to organizations like Missing and Exploited Children but where does Robbie Thomas get off thinking he has the right to exploit murdered children in order to achieve this? Robbie Thomas also wastes the very valuable time of police investigators. Their time should be spent seeking answers for homicide victims not being harassed by him, so he in-turn can cease the opportunity to manipulate their words to gain false credibility with the public.

He covers his legal ass by adding in small print that his services are for entertainment purposes only…yet there is nothing entertaining about using unsolved child murders and missing children. We as Karen’s family have been relentless in seeking the predators that murdered our sister and today we are forced to deal with a different kind of predator, the kind that hopes to make money off her murder, the kind that lurks in the shadows hoping to one-day benefit off the resolve of her murder through his self-proclaimed false predictions? There should be laws enforced in Canada, to protect victims and their families from people like Robbie Thomas. This fellow human being doesn’t seem to comprehend missing and murdered children are not commodities; they are not up for his taking for the purpose of improving ticket sales or to enhance one’s annual income. He did not have enough respect for the very grave conditions we continue to live under, to seek our permission first, before we distraughtly began reading his fraudulent statements pertaining to Karen’s unsolved murder on his numerous promotional websites. Mr. Thomas also has a Crime Stoppers poster of Karen hanging in his home, which he continues to use as he is advising people he is working with the police on Karen’s unsolved murder. This would certainly instill credibility with people who are not aware of the TRUTH. We would like Mr. Thomas to put the poster back on whichever telephone pole he removed it from. My family hung the posters for the purpose of generating public TIP information, not for Mr. Thomas to USE to mislead people while promoting himself as a psychic. He has done nothing for my family but contribute to the turmoil we continue to live with over Karen’s unsolved murder. I’m certain of one thing regarding Mr. Thomas; if the day should arrive when Karen’s killers are arrested, he will be skulking in the wings attempting to make such a glorious day about him…because this is what Robbie Thomas is really all about.

The Caughlin Family/Karen’s Voice

Note: This letter was provided to me by the Caughlin family with permission to post it.  I have expressed concern about the actions of Robbie Thomas (and others) and it is hard, after reading a posting as above, to feel anything but the utmost contempt for anyone trying to further abuse a family as Robbie has done.

Note: March 3, 2010 - Since people are ignorant to some of the facts, I feel I need to add the following screen captures.  Robbie Thomas WAS actively advertising "involvement" in the Karen Caughlin case.  I have newspaper articles and countless websites.  Here are two screen captures of sites that were (are?) promoting his most recent "tour" - one has been updated to remove Karen's name but the other has not (as of 10:30 AM, EST, March 3, 2010).  The updated one can still be viewed in Google cache.  (Click on the images for larger views)
The following was sent to me be a visitor to this blog.  Robbie is still using the Caughlin case for promotion.  (Click for a larger image)
Since people asked nicely, here are the links for the three above files:
(Still live) Advertisement including Karen's name: http://www.danielleegnew-advisor.com/
YouTube video of fat guy getting out of car: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANNifsO--Mw
(I promised the person who sent me the screen capture that I would introduce it with "fat guy getting out of car" - as per his request)