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By Jon-boy Donnis Our good friend Charlie boy is back, and although about 15 years late, he has decided to respond to a video we posted on here a while ago. The video in question was Maureen Flynn On James Randis Psychic Investigator Now lets take a look at Charlie boys response. Again notice how he denies cold reading even exists! Unfortunately Charlie removed his video but luckily forum member Baronvon has transcribed this whole video.
Hello this is Charlie: this is a response to James Randi and the Medium. Why I’m doing this video is to make people understand that there’s no such thing as cold reading, mediums work in the way they work and James Randi thinks that every medium is a fraud and there’s no such thing and there’s no convincing him and there’s probably no convincing a lot of people. What people don’t understand is a medium, there’s so many spirits around a medium and when a medium asks questions “can you take Doris?” or Jim or whatever, they’re just seeing if they’ve got the right thoughts and it’s not theirs…because it’s very hard you know to actually suss out the thoughts of spirits and the thoughts of yourself…and this is where some mediums do get confused, like I said, you’re seeing if you’ve got the right thoughts plus it starts the vibrations on if somebody says yes and then the rest of the information comes through.
I mean, if you look at it logically, if you’ve got a room full of people, you must have been in that situation where you’re trying to tune into three people at the same time and they’re all making conversations with you and you can’t concentrate on one – it’s very hard.
But that’s what…it’s even worse sussing out the thoughts of a spirit and the thoughts of yourself. But erm…anyway I’ll go through this video and I’ll give you an example.
See, Mrs Flynn starts of asking the audience if anyone could take the name Taylor – the lad said yes and after she’d done that she gave facts with that name and he died of a heart condition. She said “does it make sense?” and he said “yeah”. Now there you go but the thing is, at the end when they done the percentages to do with this name called Taylor, there was 30% of people who could have took the name Taylor and there was 55% who could actually relate to the condition of the granddad.. But the thing is, the percentage of Taylors…what James Randi didn’t do is he should have asked err…the names with Taylor is actually linked to do with a heart condition and he didn’t say that. Then there’s 55% of people who actually relate to the heart condition of someone dieing…doesn’t mean it’s the name Taylor so…you can go on forever.
And as it goes on he then…the lad couldn’t take any of the other names…you know erm…Doris and Jim or James…and what was happening there is basically she was picking up other spirits to do with the next erm…person and erm…that’s what was happening and that the spirit was butting in and like I said to you before that’s where some mediums get confused.
And as you can see as she goes onto the woman…she was very shocked. She was a non believer or slight non believer and she was picking up facts to do with that woman. And this is why it’s not cold reading, it’s nothing to do with names or anything, she was given facts to think over (unintelligible). She was actually…was shocked, she was very shocked at what she was getting. She was right again, so…where’s the cold reading? It’s nothing to do with that. But what James Randi didn’t do again…is he done a percentage on that lad, but he didn’t do it on that woman. I wonder why eh? Because…she was very shocked…(unintelligible) even though she had the erm, you know…there was less evidence to do with that lad than there was with that woman. You know…I’d like to hear off that woman err…just put her on the end of the video you could ask her what she thought. She could talk about that she was very shocked.
Like I said there’s no such thing as cold reading, there really isn’t…and James Randi and all…a lot of sceptic people, there’s people that’ll never believe…and like I said, why I’m doing this video is to make people understand, and it’s very sad really because spirits, believe it or not, try very, very hard to work through any human being so they can let their family know that their soul actually lives on. And this is where the sad part is and this is what makes me mad about it, that you can’t make everyone believe – this is why people should be open minded, you know…it is very sad and when there’s likes of James Randi and people like that…just imagine loads of spirits and they want people that’s upset down here at someone dieing…it’s very sad.
If they don’t want to accept it they should be open minded to the possibility…there is life after death, believe me, I know…and thousands of other mediums know…and there’s been surveys all over to world, to do with life after death and they know a lot more than James Randi, badpsychics.com…and loads of other people.
‘Cos people will never believe really…but this reading really is…erm, a very good reading. What another thing people do not understand is when you’re doing a demonstration with an audience it’s a lot harder for a medium, it really is and there’s some that give demonstrations and they get, like that fella said at the end of this video that they can get 80% of whatever you know? I mean she got…I’d give her a rating of something like 80% out of 100 with that woman and that lad. Considering she give only two readings there, if she went on she’d probably give a better demonstration.
I mean if that woman…or even that lad was actually in a private reading on their own, people are better off with a private reading if they’re sceptic. It’s simple as that. (unintelligible) in an audience, it doesn’t mean you get what you want and people do think “well that could be someone else” and this is what James Randi’s working on.
I mean even the system to do with James Randi with ten people…erm, it could work. But you need the types of people who are from all different walks of life, it’s simple as that. I mean I’ve (unintelligible) some good private readings better than demonstrations and most mediums can…and most people who believe in life after death…usually have actually had a private reading, and that should say a lot.
I mean people go on about the James Randi challenge you know? But mediums won’t go in for it for a couple of reasons. And one reason anyone can wave a cheque in the air but even if there was evidence out of these ten people, James Randi’ll say “well you still can’t prove that this comes from dead people” ‘cos James Randi thinks that’s everything’s a trick that can’t be explained. He is an evil man, believe me, and that’s why mediums don’t bother with him. People say “well it doesn’t matter if he’s evil” but he hasn’t got the money anyway. There’s no such thing as cold reading whatsoever.
The only thing that cold reading, James Randi started it off or whoever did, is there is frauds around and you’ve got to suss out the bad from the good…and I’m doing all these videos because the mediums get slagged off, if you wanna put that way, on badpsychic.com and James Randi, he’s picking on the wrong people. You’ve got to suss out the bad from the good and James Randi and badpsychic.com will never do that because they don’t understand how mediumships work. And it’s even like him on badspsychic.com, I mean he said he went through a course and he’s a medium and he does understand it…but he’s lying! Because if he was a medium or he went through a course he wouldn’t be sceptic. You know what I’m saying? Doesn’t make sense does it? I mean James Randi and him are both liars. They really are.
But it is hard for mediums to working out spirit’s thoughts from their thoughts, it’s very hard, it really is. Like I just mentioned before, there’s no way this was a cold reading this video, she done a good demonstration, but all you people should be open minded and a lot of sceptic people say “well we are open minded” but they’re not.
At the end there was erm…a reading which she gave to a gentleman you know? James Randi said there was thirty seven names mentioned and he could only take nine out of that private reading. I agree with her where she said he was satisfied with the reading and a lot of stuff made sense…and it’s nothing to do with all the names she give. There’s reasons for giving all these names, when you pick up names, it doesn’t matter how it is, he could have a family history going back through a few hundred years and all them names could just come through because other people around him know them people. You put facts with them names what that gentleman got and he was satisfied.
Anyway, we’ll leave it at that, god bless.
Baronvon has also written a response to this latest offering by Charlie boy, and I am happy to publish it below. By Baronvon The great man of comedy himself, Charles Sibley, treats us to another delightful ramble about how sceptics are all liars that know nothing about anything and that James Randi is the anti-christ etc. However, whilst listening it did strike me that his “explanations” and “counter-claims” to sceptical criticism where pretty much textbook retorts as far as mediums go. Fair enough, his delivery is about as convincing as the tooth fairy myth and due to this lack of conviction he probably won’t convince anyone, but I saw it as a half decent opportunity to address these archetypal medium comebacks one by one and, as you can see, I’ve done so below.
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“Why I’m doing this video is to make people understand that there’s no such thing as cold reading,”
Ok, lets just stop right there and address this straight away, there is such thing as cold reading, it’s well documented (Ian Rowland has written a comprehensive guide on it) and it’s a technique used by just about every medium as far as I can tell, including Charlieboy.
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“What people don’t understand is a medium, there’s so many spirits around a medium and when a medium asks questions “can you take Doris?” or Jim or whatever, they’re just seeing if they’ve got the right thoughts and it’s not theirs…because it’s very hard you know to actually suss out the thoughts of spirits and the thoughts of yourself…and this is where some mediums do get confused, like I said, you’re seeing if you’ve got the right thoughts plus it starts the vibrations on if somebody says yes and then the rest of the information comes through.”
Mediums often tend to blame the “spirits” for these unclear messages, in fact they blame anyone but themselves. Curiously enough Charlie’s ‘spiritual explanation’ runs directly parallel with a basic cold reading technique whereby you chuck out various (often ludicrously common) names in the hope that the sitter or an audience member will be able to relate to it. If someone can lay claim to the “spirit” you can then proceed with the reading, often by spewing other general information. The confusing “spirits” explanation is pretty poor to say the least although unfortunately, believers in mediums will probably buy it.
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“See, Mrs Flynn starts of asking the audience if anyone could take the name Taylor – the lad said yes and after she’d done that she gave facts with that name and he died of a heart condition. She said “does it make sense?” and he said “yeah”. Now there you go”
And here is an example of a general statement that follows the name fishing. Charlie states that she not only pinpointed the name “Taylor” (which is an extremely common surname, not far behind the likes of “Smith and “Jones”) but also that the person in question died of a heart condition. Now, if you watch the video again you’ll see that not only did the sitter not specifically confirm that the heart condition was the cause of death (he seemed to confirm that the grandfather statement was correct which again, was not a hard guess for Ms Flynn to make) but Maureen also didn’t just state a heat condition, she also stated that the lungs might have had something to do with it. So in reality she said that an elderly man either died from any form of heart condition or something to do with the lungs. As usual with “psychic readings”, extremely general statements and not anywhere near as specific as Charlie makes it sound when he’s giving his analysis…
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“at the end when they done the percentages to do with this name called Taylor, there was 30% of people who could have took the name Taylor and there was 55% who could actually relate to the condition of the granddad.. But the thing is, the percentage of Taylors…what James Randi didn’t do is he should have asked err…the names with Taylor is actually linked to do with a heart condition and he didn’t say that. Then there’s 55% of people who actually relate to the heart condition of someone dieing…doesn’t mean it’s the name Taylor so…you can go on forever.”
He then goes on about percentages but there no real point pointing out the flaws in his logic. They were all very general, could-apply-to-almost-anyone statements and the heart condition was never specifically confirmed by the sitter so Charlie’s argument doesn’t really have any real merit.
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“And as it goes on he then…the lad couldn’t take any of the other names…you know erm…Doris and Jim or James…and what was happening there is basically she was picking up other spirits to do with the next erm…person and erm…that’s what was happening and that the spirit was butting in and like I said to you before that’s where some mediums get confused.”
Yet again, more excuses as to why it’s all the spirit’s fault when they totally flunk elements of their readings. Once again, Charlie doesn’t give a fair picture of what really went on in the video. Maureen threw out a variety of ‘D’ names such as “Doreen” and “Dorothy” to go with her “Doris” statement. You’ll notice that around the same time the woman claims Doris there’s also a bloke at the back of the audience with his hand up trying to claim it. However Maureen had already pinpointed her target so she pressed on with her although it’s a safe bet that she’d have spouted out the same statements regardless of which of the two people she chose. Despite what Charlie or any psychic will try and tell you it all smacks of textbook cold reading.
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“And as you can see as she goes onto the woman…she was very shocked. She was a non believer or slight non believer and she was picking up facts to do with that woman. And this is why it’s not cold reading, it’s nothing to do with names or anything, she was given facts to think over (unintelligible). She was actually…was shocked, she was very shocked at what she was getting. She was right again, so…where’s the cold reading? It’s nothing to do with that. But what James Randi didn’t do again…is he done a percentage on that lad, but he didn’t do it on that woman. I wonder why eh? Because…she was very shocked…(unintelligible) even though she had the erm, you know…there was less evidence to do with that lad than there was with that woman. You know…I’d like to hear off that woman err…just put her on the end of the video you could ask her what she thought. She could talk about that she was very shocked.”
You can’t argue against that she looked a tad surprised but let’s look at things again. For a start the woman claims the name “Doris” only for the medium to then go on a completely different tangent altogether. She then does the typical trick of making veiled statements that are in reality very general but if any correlation can be made by the sitter, they suddenly seem pretty specific She not only didn’t state that it was her husband that died in an accident she also got the name wrong initially only for the sitter to make the correction to James which, although mentioned earlier, is still a very common name.
Also if she really was talking to the dead then surely she wouldn’t have had to do all the “who’s Jimmy?” fishing beforehand and gone straight to the woman instead? But, seeing as to the untrained eye cold reading such as this can seem very impressive Charlie immediately capitalises on it as if it’s real evidence when that’s simply not the case. Remember, just because the woman was a “non believer” that doesn’t mean she clued up about cold reading techniques…
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“Like I said there’s no such thing as cold reading, there really isn’t…and James Randi and all…a lot of sceptic people, there’s people that’ll never believe…and like I said, why I’m doing this video is to make people understand, and it’s very sad really because spirits, believe it or not, try very, very hard to work through any human being so they can let their family know that their soul actually lives on. And this is where the sad part is and this is what makes me mad about it, that you can’t make everyone believe – this is why people should be open minded, you know…it is very sad and when there’s likes of James Randi and people like that…just imagine loads of spirits and they want people that’s upset down here at someone dieing…it’s very sad.”
Once again he makes the daft “no such thing as cold reading” statement but we’ll overlook that for now as he then plays the emotion card. He states how it’s a great shame that some people dismiss life after death when all the spirits are trying to do is tell their loved ones back on earth that they’re safe and happy. Citing the “comfort” argument is a pretty standard thing for mediums to do as they believe that this is something that sceptics can’t argue against. I’ll use personal experience to answer this one.
My Grandma died prematurely when I was very young. Sadly I don’t have many memories of her as I was so young at the time and didn’t understand the magnitude of what had happened. I wish that she was still around, of course I do, and I wish I’d had the chance to get to know her better before she died. But that’s not to say that I’ll settle for some scumbag medium to make up a load of rubbish about her, pissing on what little, precious memories I have in the process.
And what for? Comfort? Not for me thanks, I’d rather settle for real memories, not some fabricated nonsense that someone made up at the drop of the hat, I’d rather that her life was not cheapened. It’s heartless and exploitative of the medium if nothing else.
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“If they don’t want to accept it they should be open minded to the possibility…there is life after death, believe me, I know…and thousands of other mediums know…and there’s been surveys all over to world, to do with life after death and they know a lot more than James Randi, badpsychics.com…and loads of other people.”
Surveys? So what? That doesn’t prove anything, it’s not verifiable and it’s certainly not valid evidence. I’ve noticed that Charlie often says that us sceptics “know nothing” on a very regular basis. He reminds me of an accused defendant, feverishly trying to convince himself that his prosecutors know nothing whist he awaits trial. He sounds pretty worried if you ask me…
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“‘Cos people will never believe really…but this reading really is…erm, a very good reading. What another thing people do not understand is when you’re doing a demonstration with an audience it’s a lot harder for a medium, it really is and there’s some that give demonstrations and they get, like that fella said at the end of this video that they can get 80% of whatever you know? I mean she got…I’d give her a rating of something like 80% out of 100 with that woman and that lad. Considering she give only two readings there, if she went on she’d probably give a better demonstration.”
You think that was a good reading Charlie? I thought it was horrendous.
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“and most people who believe in life after death…usually have actually had a private reading, and that should say a lot.”
Not really, people that have readings usually tend to believe in that sort of stuff to start with so that statement isn’t anything groundbreaking.
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“I mean people go on about the James Randi challenge you know? But mediums won’t go in for it for a couple of reasons. And one reason anyone can wave a cheque in the air but even if there was evidence out of these ten people, James Randi’ll say “well you still can’t prove that this comes from dead people” ‘cos James Randi thinks that’s everything’s a trick that can’t be explained. He is an evil man, believe me, and that’s why mediums don’t bother with him. People say “well it doesn’t matter if he’s evil” but he hasn’t got the money anyway. There’s no such thing as cold reading whatsoever.”
Right, personal attacks on Randi really make me very angry indeed. He’s not an evil man, he comes across as a dedicated and genuinely caring man, just watch the video on youtube where he explains why he examines paranormal claims, that should show anyone that deep down he’s an inherently good man.
Secondly, James Randi would be quite willing to believe in the afterlife and psychic ability providing he’s given solid evidence. I heard somewhere that he once said that it’d be worth paying a million dollars if it led to them finding a true psychic. And yes, he does have the money, he’s proved it so don’t give us that. The above is essentially a stereotypical reason “psychics” give as to why they won’t take the challenge…personally I think it’s because they’re all frauds.
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“on badpsychic.com and James Randi, he’s picking on the wrong people. You’ve got to suss out the bad from the good and James Randi and badpsychic.com will never do that because they don’t understand how mediumships work.”
So you admit there are some bad mediums Charlie? Wouldn’t this disprove your claim that cold reading doesn’t exist? And, unfortunately for you, James Randi and the Badpsychics community know exactly how “mediumship” works.
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“And it’s even like him on badspsychic.com, I mean he said he went through a course and he’s a medium and he does understand it…but he’s lying!”
I’m sure Jon is heartbroken by your accusations.
Reply by Jon: For the record I did indeed complete a mediumship course, so to call me a liar is in fact libellous. I have NEVER claimed to be a medium, so again you are misrepresenting me. It is simple, I completed a mediumship course, top of the class, I NEVER cheated, and I never spoke to spirit. Is this plain enough for you?
I stood on a stage and gave readings, probably to more people than you do. I was SUCCESSFUL, but I never cheated. Yes cold reading can be used, but self delusion and good old fashioned lucky guesses are all you need sometimes.
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“You know what I’m saying? Doesn’t make sense does it?”
No, you’re right. What you are saying doesn’t make any sense at all, mainly because it’s smells like the same as the excuses all mediums seem to make.
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“but all you people should be open minded and a lot of sceptic people say “well we are open minded” but they’re not.”
Oddly enough the general definition of being “open minded” doesn’t mean that you unquestioningly believe any old nonsense that you hear about. It means you’re open to possibilities but, in the case of sceptics anyway, that you require evidence of something first.
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“At the end there was erm…a reading which she gave to a gentleman you know? James Randi said there was thirty seven names mentioned and he could only take nine out of that private reading. I agree with her where she said he was satisfied with the reading and a lot of stuff made sense…and it’s nothing to do with all the names she give. There’s reasons for giving all these names, when you pick up names, it doesn’t matter how it is, he could have a family history going back through a few hundred years and all them names could just come through because other people around him know them people. You put facts with them names what that gentleman got and he was satisfied.”
A lot of stuff will have made sense to him because he wouldn’t have been educated on cold reading techniques. If she was really psychic she wouldn’t have such a poor hit rate. Charlie’s right though, there is a reason for giving all these names, it’s because they’re not really psychic and they need to throw out as many names as possible in the hope that the sitter will relate to one in some way. And the large family history excuse is so laughable it’s not even worth addressing.
So yes, that’s my analysis of a typical “psychic excuse”. Rather longwinded but Charlie seems to excel in long winded droning sessions. Maybe he just bores his subjects into submission they become too apathetic to disagree with what he’s saying. This isn’t a one man crusade against Charlie of course, his “mediumship” has provided us with many a laugh, it just so happens that he’s not exactly the most cunning medium around and therefore his excuses and “evidence” is rather easy to pick to pieces in order to educate to demonstrate how these people work.
So, before you consider going to see a medium…consider this first, and if that’s not good enough look at the other articles on this site.
Originally published 10th August 2007 I received the following email from Karl Mullings The Director of Sales and Marketing for Summer Bacon.
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This Web Site Does not have permission to use any of the copyrighted material of Summer Bacon ie. photos and quotes. Please take our material off your site ASAP.
Therefore I have removed the photo of Summer Bacon, and replaced it with a photo of Dr Peebles. (I have republished a photo of Summer Bacon, a photo that was found on google images, and in the public domain, if you would like me to remove this, please provide proof of copyright, and as soon as all photos of you are removed from google images, I will happily remove it as well. - Jon Donnis 16/08/2017)
As for the youtube video, it has been uploaded freely to youtube and I am allowed to use it under the T&C; of youtube.
As for the quotes, again I am covered by "fair use" Quote:
You can quote excerpts from a piece of original work in certain situations, including educational, research purposes and reviewing purposes.
When a movie or a book reviewer quotes material from the book or movie, they are not violating Copyright under the Fair Use Act. This is because the reviewer is using the material to exemplify the work. They are not reproducing the work in it's entirety, or alluding that the work may be their own. This provision also protects educational institutions. The Fair Use Provision makes it possible for professors to quote excerpts form a book at the beginning of class, or for librarians to photocopy certain sections of material.
Even under the Fair Use provision, however, you should always attribute the creator of the work you are citing. You should also be sure that you are only using as little material as needed to illustrate your point.
Therefore I do not need to remove anything else. Published 9th August 2007 Firstly let me just confirm that her name actually is Summer Bacon, I am left wondering why her mother would give her the name of delicious seasonal snack. (thanks Bob)
Anyway, we all thought that we had found the worlds worst trance medium in Charley boy, but now there is a pretender to his rather de-shevelled crown.
Summer Bacon channels someone called Dr. James Martin Peebles (1822-1922), and no that is nothing to do with Stuart from Most Haunted.
Anyway for some strange reason Dr Peebles seems to talk like Southern US cattle auctioneer, all very weird.
Lets take a look
(Summer Bacon has since deleted all videos from her youtube channel, however I did find this one of her channelling Dr Peeble!) On her site: www.summerbacon.com it says "Summer is considered to be the clearest and most authentic Trance Medium of our time."
Can I ask who by? Who exactly considers Summer to be the most authentic Trance Medium of all time? I know i don't, I know that everyone who has seen the video on our forum doesn't.
So I would suggest that it is Summer herself who declares herself to be the most authentic trance medium of our time.
It should also be noted that Dr Peebles himself while being channelled by another psychic, has claimed that he has 25 "channels" that he comes through in North America alone! Yep there are 25 psychics all claiming to channel the same guy! Suddenly Summer doesn't seem to be so unique after all.
Of course like any psychic of her ilk, it all comes down to money, and Summer has an endless stream of it, selling DVDs, a book, and other merchandise, as well as her open workshops where she charges people to teach them various things.
What is even stranger is that just a couple of days ago Summer wrote a sceptical article regarding an Anti-Aging Remedy.
I would like to quote one small part of her article. A fool and her money are easily parted, and I was just about to be the fool
You see Summer here is being a hypocrit, she is attacking a bogus anti aging cream for being nothing more than propoganda and false hope, when she herself deals in the exact same thing.
Shame on you Summer.
My advice for anyone thinking of wasting your money on a psychic, take that money and spend it on your family, on yourself, buy yourself something nice, it will make you feel much better, and you will have something tangible at the end of it.
The following article was originally published 8th August 2007. Recently on this website we have attacked the psychics who have in a desperate attempt at self publication, travelled to Portugal and tried to get involved in the Madeleine McCann case.
People like Diane Lazurus and Ben Murphy, as well as Amanda Hart who have released press releases telling of their psychic predictions and so on.
To this day NO psychic has been able to find Madeleine, or offer the police any help whatsoever. (10 years later in 2017 as I republish this, the above statement still stands as a statement of fact) Well now we have a PROVEN FRAUD in Goldy, a psychic who was exposed as such on BBC's The Bullshit Detectives cheating, attacking us sceptics for daring to critisise these media whores.
On Goldys latest MySpace Blog she writes:
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The skeptics have yet again criticised the 3 british psychics who at their own expense went to Portugal to see if they could pick up links or clues to finding madeleine. The skeptics once again came to their own conclusion these psychics were going to make a name for themselves and for no other reason.
We came to this conclusion due to the FACT that the psychics named released public press releases to the newspapers, and also due to the fact they have NOT actually found Madeleine or offered any REAL help to the investigation.
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Genuine psychics dont need to make a name for themselves they already are established.
Not a single psychic in history has been able to prove they are genuine, you especially, in fact you are a proven fake. As for the psychics mentioned, the very fact they released press releases should tell you that their only interest was that of publicity.
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Did the thought that people really care about others not cross their mind, did the thought that if any of the psychics were able to find a clue that would lead to whereabouts of maddie that a child just may be reunited with her parents?
There is nothing more I would like than for Madeleine to be found alive, but if it does happen, it will be the hard work of the Portugese police and foresics, as well as the British detectives working hard.
It wont be because of 3 self proclaimed psychics contradicting each other, and releasing PR info to the media.
Ask yourself Goldy why they didn't just find Madeleine, and quietly be happy with their acheivement, instead we had this self promotion off the back of a very sensitive case.
For the record the family did NOT ask for any psychic help, and in fact due to their Catholic backgrounds would be very strict against the use of psychics.
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why do skeptics not give psychics the benefit of the doubt before they jump on the so called band wagon so they could in turn say 'told you so;! did these skeptics put their hands together at any time and pray for this missing child?
We don't give these frauds the benefit of the doubt because they do not deserve it. They are self proclaimed unproven Acorah wannabes, people who go to every Audition for a psychic on TV, trust me I know I have seen them.
As for saying a prayer, well who should I pray to? God? I would be more interested in asking YOUR god why he would allow Madeleine to be taken in the first place.
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doubt it cos whilst they are writing about what they have no knowledge about someone out there really cares enough to pray and get involved in physically doing something genuine to help.
And what exactly have you done Goldy? In the past 40 years of your horrid little life, what have you ever done to actually help solve a crime?
On the BadPsychics team we have real police officers, people who have worked on serious cases, helped solve real crimes with real detective work.
You throw stones, when in fact you should be ashamed of yourself.
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does it matter what type of person visits the scene of the crime if it brings a result?
Yes, it matters if that person is giving false hope, sending police on wild goose chases, upsetting the parents and so on.
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whilst its healthy being a skeptic its sick knocking others for doing something they believe in, at the same time, without skeptics challenging us there would be no science.
What is sick is trying to make your name off of the back of the abduction of a young child, releasing press releases just to get your name in the papers in conjunction with a missing child case. That is sick Goldy, and you are sick for supporting these people.
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I lay my hat off to the 3 british psychics who have laid their name on the line to help find a little girl taken from her parents. I wish you every success and all the love in the world in accomplishing such a difficult psychic and physical task.
You lay your hat off? I am sure that will mean a lot to them.
Personally I feel physically sick that there are evil scum out there who would committ such a heinous crime like abducting a child, I really don't give a shit about the feelings of a couple of frauds trying to make their name off of the back of such a crime.
Originally Published 9th June 2007 Disclaimer: The article below relies heavily on the material supplied by Melissa. Because of this we have to take at face value that what Melissa is describing is indeed true, we advise all readers to take this into account.
By Jon Donnis I was approached recently by an Australian by the name of Melissa, she had read our First Article on Deb Webber, and wanted to tell us of her experiences with Deb Webber.
Melissa used to read Deb Webbers column in "Womans Day" magazine every week, she used to think she was "Absolutely Amazing".
Melissa tells us "When I found her site on the net including her mobile number I called her and asked about a reading. She said she was not taking bookings for 2 years although she could fit me in next week, as well as 7 friends who also rung her."
So here we have one of the most common ploys used by psychics to try and convince potential clients that they are more busy than they actually are. Of course Deb Webber could fit them in, she could fit in almost anyone who rang her, there is no 2 year waiting list.
Melissa Carries on: "One thing though when I rung her to make the booking my 3 kids were playing in the background and she said boy you have a noisy household and I said that's my kids.
She also told me she was one of the top 5 psychics in the world and had even been told she was better than John Edward."
Well that might sound impressive to a believer, but to anyone who has studied John Edward and his methods will realise that being better than him is not really that an impressive a claim.
"Also good psychics don't want any info, its best they do the reading not knowing anything."
Many psychics now use this as part of their spiel, they will tell you not to tell them anything, but the truth is they don't need you to tell them anything. They usually use the old quip of 'Just say yes or no, that way I can't possibly be cold reading you', and this relies heavily on the fact that most of the people that visit these psychics have no idea how cold reading actually works, because if they did, they would realise that cold reading works best when people just say yes or no.
Melissa: "So on the morning of my reading I called with great anticipation and remembered her saying that good psychics need not know anything from you, they will tell you, so that's what I did, she asked me if there was anything specific I wanted to know, and I said no, thinking she will know what I want."
Why do I think that Deb is gonna bomb out now?
Melissa: "Guess what, she couldn't get no info on me and asked me what I wanted to do, so I said try again in a couple of days, she did and once again could not tell me anything really at all."
Melissa shouldn't really have rang back, but for the sake of this article I am glad she did, as it shows that Deb Webber is a useless psychic.
Melissa: "So after the reading I felt ripped off and disappointed, but thought bugger it I'm going to call and tell her, I did and said I was really not happy with the reading and that she told me nothing at all, she said 'was it because you weren't told what you wanted to hear', I said no because you never told me anything. So she agreed to give it one more go, but I was not impressed."
Deb Webber, has used a classic line here, blaming her own failure on that of the client, this is a very common ploy by psychics as a way to deflect the blame away from themselves.
Melissa: "Anyway by attempt no 3 I was really skeptical by now, mind you I had been a believer for 34 years, so when I called she was not there. (what a surprise) So when I finally got her and had the final reading I was so annoyed and wanted to know certain things I just simply asked her the questions. I told her my brothers were like chalk and cheese and one loved being with family and the other did not need anyone and she says 'yes they are showing me one is like a soft fluffy cloud and the other is like a hard board."
And here is where Deb gets to use some classic cold reading, of course this is what she wants, she wants and needs information that she can then repeat back to the client.
Melissa: "When I spoke of my partners dad she asked 'where is his mum', I said she died, and straight away Deb said 'oh yes she's standing here quietly in the background'"
More classic cold reading, all Deb is doing is repeating back what the client has already told her.
Melissa: "Throughout the reading I could hear her opening cupboards and rummaging through things and thought how rude, shouldn't she be in a trance or concentrating on what my guides are telling her?"
Well if she was real then yes she should be in a trance or listening to guides and so on, but the truth is that when doing these phone readings, the psychic will often just be going about their normal daily life. Afterall if they are on the phone, why should they even treat it like real work?
Melissa: "I told her we were building a house and she said there would be delays, in most cases this is correct, with mine it was a miss as our house went up in record time"
As Melissa rightly points out, Deb has used yet more cold reading, stating a very common occurance as something specific, unfortunately for Deb, on this occasion she was wrong.
Melissa: "she got 2 kids and I said no I have 3, but I have 2 girls, and she replied that's what it is, no matter what I said she had a comeback to, and even as a believer I kept thinking I am telling her all the info and she's merely feeding it back to me"
That is what psychics do, luckily Melissa was able to notice this, and therefore was able to educate herself to the methods being used. Being a believer is always gonna make the psychics job easier.
Melissa: "I told her I was going to university next year, and would drive the 40 km to and back each day for 3 years, she asked me what I was studying, I told her and then she said I would be in an accident hurting my neck and it would have to be cracked or put back in and would be very painful, I thought what are the chances of being on the road for 3 years travelling and being in an accident."
By making a future prediction Deb has herself pretty much covered, if an accident did happen, she could claim success, and if it didn't, well she need not worry as she has 3 years, and it is unlikely someone is gonna come back to a psychic after 3 years and ask why they never had the accident, in fact if they did, the psychic will just claim that by telling them, they helped prevent it, so you see it is a no lose situation for the psychic.
Melissa: "I am no longer going to university next year even though she confirmed I would and that I would be successful in getting in, I'm just too busy with the kids and don't have enough time."
Again Deb bombs out, but then we are startingto expect that now aren't we!
Melissa: "I asked her the sex of my brothers finances baby and Deb said they won't tell her because they like it to be a surprise."
Typical excuse from Deb here, in fact any time you ask a psychic a question which would need a specific answer, they will often try and fob you off. Basically when you ask a question to a psychic you are taking control of the reading, and no psychic wants to lose that control. Trust me, next time you go see a psychic try asking a specific question, they will always fail to answer.
Melissa: "When the reading had first started she asked me who I wanted to contact and I said my Nana, and all throughout the reading she would just say 'Melissas Nana' and then ask the question. I was really feeling sorry and embarresed for Deb by the end of the reading."
No need to feel sorry for her, she was earning money by telling you this nonsense. Th fact she could not tell you your grandmothers name, is proof in my eyes that she was no in any kind of true communication with your grandmother.
Melissa: "Deb also told me my father was quite fit looking and I said no he is very overweight, has just had an operation on both knees for bad arthritis and has sleep apnea, but one of my brothers are quited fit, to which she replied yes that's who it is."
Again simple cold reading, when Deb gets one of her guesses wrong, she simply twists it round to make it fit.
Melissa: "She told me my mother makes me feel like I am 12 years old, well sometimes and so do all my friends mothers, she asked me who was the blondie and everyone in my family all have dark hair except my niece who is a sandy blonde so then I figured it must be her, but when I thought about it, it could've been several people and family members."
Yet more cold reading by Deb.
Melissa: "I was so annoyed after the reading and knowing I had just wasted $160 after giving her all the info I really wanted and needed to know the truth, so a couple weeks later so she wouldn't know my voice I called her mobile blocking the number and told her I was pregnant with triplets and very scared, so she said call back that night, I did she was busy and to call in the morning, I did and I woke her."
So already Deb has made $160 without showing an ounce of psychic ability.
Melissa: "I told her my name was Kylie from Mackay and was pregnant with triplets, had a dead hubby, was remarried, had 4 kids, owned my own hairdressing salon and was scared emotionally and financially. Deb told me the triplets would all be fine, one would be smaller than the other 2, this is common with triplets, my dead hubby set me up with hubby no 2 because he wouldn't want me to be alone, she saw me not working for a while, could not tell me the sex of the babies as the spirits like it to be a surprise, I would sell the business and invest the money, one day I would return to work as a mobile hairdresser or for someone else and that I would buy the kids clothes from charity stores. What a joke."
Well this is proof that Deb Webber works purely on the info given to her, Deb has in the past claimed that if people lie to her, then the spirits will lie too, yet Deb seemingly cant tell the difference. Wouldn't a simpler explanation be that Deb is not talking to spirit at all?
Melissa: "When I told a friend of this she called Deb and said she was thinking of starting up a nursery business and Deb saw all the beautiful plants and green. And even told her to send her a business card when she was up and running and successful."
Deb is simply telling the client what they want to hear, it is a good way of keeping the client happy, and increases the rapour between them.
Melissa: "She also told one of my other friends that she saw cancer and operation, and that she had a dark energy on her stomach the size of a football. My friend still has not recovered, she is a total wreck, Deb told her she couldn't tell her if it was cancer because she would carry that energy around all day, so instead gave her a name and number of a friend who reads your energy and who could let her know if it was cancer."
This is where psychics truly cross the line in my opinion, Deb is creating fear, panic and paranoia here in someone.
Melissa: "So my friend rung her and this lady was to read her energy for $60 and call her back. She told my friend it was not cancer but an energy from a bad sexual experience from another life. And that she cleared it for her."
What an awful thing to say, of course it is something that cannot be checked in any way, and leaves the psychic or healer in this case totally free from any blame or discussion.
Melissa: "When we rung Deb about this she told us she did not tell her she had cancer and that nearly everyone she reads for has the cancer energy because someone in their family has it."
Again this is quite sick, Deb is creating fear and panic in people, and of course doesn't have to deal with the consequences.
Melissa: "My friend has had blood tests, ultrasound on her abdomen, ultrasound on her pelvis and even went to hospital and got a tube down her throat to look in her stomach, next the Doctor will want to put her in a psych ward I'm sure."
There is only one person who needs to be put on a psych ward here,and it is not your friend. I am so sorry to hear that this poor girl has had to go through all of this, and all because of Deb Webber telling her things on the phone in an effort to pass off the trade to someone else.
Melissa: "Deb also told one of the girls that she (Deb) had a selfmade millionaire friend, and one day they were talking, he told Deb how he had done everything in his life and had nothing left to do and a week later he died, Deb told my friend if you don't live life to the fullest, your guides will think your not living life right and not learning nothing they will kill you, what sort of sick person says this to anyone?"
This truly is disgusting, to claim that spirits will kill you if you do not live life to the fullest is a disgrace. Yes people should live life to the fullest, but ultimately it is their decision and not that of some invisible being. Again this is purely about creating fear and dependancy in the client.
I will end this article with a final quote from Melissa.
Melissa Finishes by telling us: "One thing is for sure after contacting skeptics and reading up on cold reading on the net, it is my opinion that Deb is doing just that, in fact I am 110% positive of that. I Can't believe I believed in this rubbish for 34 years, just glad now we all know the truth, and I am trying to let as many people know as possible about this bullsh*t artist called Deb Webber."
Originally published 30th May 2007 First we had Amanda Hart & Ben Murphy jumping on the Madeleine McCann case purely for self gain and publicity, and now we have Diane Lazarus.
In a story on Sun Online it is said that she is travelling to Portugal today to join the hunt for Madeleine McCann.
She has made various claims about Madeleine, including the following:
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Maddie was targeted after being secretly watched by her abductors, including one woman
Firstly as a psychic why didn't YOU Diane see this before it happened, and try and stop it?
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She is in Spain after travelling by car on main roads from Portugal and is being well looked after
So why are you travelling to Portugal for? You are only interested in getting publicity for your poor excuse of a career. First you get interviewed in The Sun, maybe you are hoping to get on TV too.
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One of the culprits has olive skin, dark hair and a drawn, skinny face
Wow you have just covered pretty much the majority of the people in Portugal.
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I hope going to Praia da Luz will give me the leads to where exactly she went from there. I feel she could be in Spain.
In other words you are gonna stick you nose in their business, try and see what others are saying and that pretend that you "saw" that before.
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I have also picked up that they cut Maddie’s hair and made her look like a boy.
Strange that at least a couple of members of our forum said the same thing. It is the typical thing a kidnapper would do.
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Quite honestly I don’t think Madeleine has come to any harm. She will be returned to her mummy and daddy.
I pray to god you are right, because if you are wrong, I will come down on you like a ton of bricks, remember Sylvia Brown and the Shawn Hornbeck case, that will be nothing. (As of August 16th 2017, 10 years later, Madeleine has NOT been returned to her parents or been found alive or dead) Quote:
I feel there are a few people, including a woman, involved in the disappearance.
Wy dont you give us names, locations, ANYTHING, instead of this bullshit.
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I don’t think the culprits are British. I thought the prime suspect Robert Murat was innocent from day one.
We will hold you to this Diane, don't you worry.
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Diane will spend four days on the Algarve after being invited by a close friend of Gerry and Kate McCann, both 38.
As devout Catholics I am assuming that the PARENTS of Madeleine know NOTHING of this, and in fact would be disgusted that you would try to raise your profile of the kidnap of their poor child.
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I would never go to Portugal without the consent of the family.
Really? Yet you would happily go to the newspapers and advertise the fact.
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Hundreds of people have contacted me to see if I could help.
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Even Bonnie Tyler, who is one of my best clients, has been in touch.
Then Bonnie Tyler is a fool
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I will have to be careful not to ruffle feathers with the Portugese police because I don’t know how they feel about psychics.
