AndreaLMT
:)
Member since 5/05 6856 total posts
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Re: Sylvia Browne on Montel
I believe she's a total fraud.
From Wikipedia:
Sylvia Browne has been involved in numerous controversies regarding her claims and predictions. Her critics say that she is a cold reader. She has had a long running feud with skeptic James Randi who has said that her readings are indistinguishable from those achieved by mentalists using cold reading and hot reading techniques.
Browne has made many false public predictions, such as that Bill Clinton was falsely accused in the Lewinsky scandal (proved incorrect), that George H. W. Bush would defeat Bill Clinton in the 1992 U.S. presidential election (Bush lost), and that Shawn Hornbeck was dead, when he was found alive. According to James Randi her accuracy rate has been no better than educated guessing.[21]
Gary Dufresne, Browne's first husband said in a February 10, 2007 interview that he does not think Sylvia has any paranormal abilities, and that she admitted it, saying that the gullible deserve to be taken advantage of.[22]
Browne has often spoken of working with the police and FBI as a psychic detective, but according to The Skeptics Dictionary, in 21 of Browne's 35 cases, the details she gave were too vague to be verified, and in the remaining 14 Browne played no useful role.[23]
Legal issues and criminal conviction:
In 1992, Browne and her estranged husband were indicted on several charges of investment fraud and grand theft.[24] The Superior Court of Santa Clara County, California, found that Browne and her husband sold securities in a gold-mining venture under false pretenses.[24] In at least one instance, they told a couple their US $20,000 investment was to be used for immediate operating costs.[25] Instead, the money was transferred to an account for their Nirvana Foundation for Psychic Research.[24] Browne pled no contest to securities fraud and was indicted on grand larceny in Santa Clara County, California on May 26, 1992.[26]
Sylvia and her estranged husband Kenzil Dalzell Brown pleaded no contest to a felony charge of "sale of security without permit," made restitution, and received one year probation each.[24] Dalzell's disposition included "County Jail 4 months with credit for time served of 21 days," while Sylvia's included 200 hours of community service.[24]
Sago Mine controversy:
In January 3, 2006, Browne stated on the radio program Coast to Coast AM that the miners in the 2006 Sago Mine disaster would be found. At the time it was believed, due to erroneous news reports, that 12 of the 13 trapped miners had been found alive, but when it became known that these reports were incorrect, Browne said "I don't really think there's anybody alive".[27] Browne said later that she never specifically stated that the miners would be found alive, only that they would be found.
The $1,000,000 challenge:
On Larry King Live March 6, 2001, Browne agreed to take James Randi's challenge in which he offers $1,000,000 for proof of psychic phenomena.[28] On September 3, Randi appeared with Browne on Larry King Live, and she again accepted the challenge.[29] As of August 2007, she had not been tested and James Randi keeps a clock on his website recording the number of weeks that have passed since Browne accepted the challenge.
Missing persons:
Browne has made false predictions in several missing persons cases, including those of Holly Krewson,[30][31] Opal Jo Jennings,[32] Lynda McClelland,[33] Ryan Katcher,[34] and Shawn Hornbeck.[35]
Message edited 8/30/2007 7:11:25 PM.
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but she did pick plenty of people who asked the most general questions and got general answers.
