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#1
10-01-1999, 01:26 AM
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The "amazing" James Randi has been caught offering "Psychic Detective" Riley G $3,000 in order to drop his claim on Randi's Million Dollar prize...
Randi: "I want to put an end to this "challenge" of ours. On the advice of legal counsel I will pay you three-thousand dollars to drop your claim on the million bucks.." http://www.psicop.com/rg-jr-5.htm LMFAO! Read it and weep Randi disciples! ------------------ Contestant #3 
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#2
10-01-1999, 03:39 AM
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Ok, I read it, heard it, and I'm weeping! I can't stop the tears from flowing... Hahahahahaha!!!!! Man, that was good!
Sorry, I can't stop laughing! This guy Riley is a big time idiot. Have you read all of his "documents", and heard the interview? Randi's prize is to be collected ONLY by proving a "...psychic, supernatural or paranormal ability", not by challenges of MISQUOTED allegations. Riley said: "I just love it when he has radio interviews lined up, and that he agreed to, but hangs up on the hosts after about 30 seconds into the broadcasts." Here Riley implies that Randi does this all the time, and leaves the question of time more or less ambiguous with his saying "about". Then Randi snapped back: "How about the million-dollar prize for proof that this ever happened?" Agreed, he should not have said that, but he was obviously being sarcastic. Besides, it is very clear that the prize is exclusively granted just for claims of psychic, supernatural or paranormal ability of any kind under satisfactory observing conditions, as is clearly stated in the APLICATION FOR STATUS OF CLAIMANT. Then, in said aplication, Riley states: "I, Riley G (Matthews) intend to prove that James Randi, a scheduled guest of a TV or Radio program did in fact hang up on at least one TV or Radio host of a live broadcast within 30 seconds to 1 minute after being introduced by said host or hosts." Well, here's the catch. Besides his not being the kind of challenge required to collect the million bucks, Riley now specifies the time for Randi to hang up on a host as within 30 seconds to 1 minute after being INTRODUCED... You see, I heard the tape, and timed it from the time the host INTRODUCED Randi to the time when Randi hung up, 1 minute and 3 seconds! Randi says that he has been on the phone for SEVERAL minutes already, and his point was very clear: he's not endorsing that kind of program. But what probably really pissed him off was the fact that the host was mocking him by saying to his audience that "...in fact, if you put your hands on the radio, there is a possibility that James Randi could heal all your physical ills...", etc, etc. So I guess that maybe Randi screwed up by saying what he said, but maybe you can see the reasons why he's (if it's true) backing off this. How's this for a little "research", eh? Wheeooo... I'm exhausted! Saludos. ------------------ Men will cease to commit atrocities only when they cease to believe absurdities. -Voltaire
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#6
10-01-1999, 07:32 AM
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What really saddens me, C#3, is that I (and, I suspect, everyone else) know that you are smarter than this, but it appears that there is no level of deception or ommission of information to which you will stoop to attempt to make a point that doesn't even exist.
Say Randi pays this guy the $1 million. Does that mean someone has effectively demonstrated a supernatural/psychic phenomenon, under the conditions laid out in the "Challenge"? No. It means some crank doesn't like the way Randi treats radio hosts in phone interviews. Big deal. If it tickles your funny bone to see Randi lose $1 million, good for you. I don't care--it ain't my million. (It ain't his, either; most of it consists of donations from others.) Doesn't change the fact that everyone who has ever applied to take the challenge and gotten to the testing phase has failed.
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#7
10-01-1999, 08:28 AM
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Not to mention that it's not even Randi himself that's offering the $1 million - it's the James Randi Educational Foundation.
Since Randi isn't the one with his hands on the foundation's checkbook, it's nigh-impossible for him to offer money from its coffers without approval of the members. Also, Randi maintains his own domain - www.randi.org. If it were truly an official mail, why wouldn't he use it? Signing up for a CompuServe account and and showing that the headers say that, yes, the message was sent from CompuServe, doesn't do anything to prove that it was actually sent from James Randi.
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#8
10-01-1999, 08:36 AM
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Of course, if it's true, the guy will accept the 3000 bucks because, well, it's almost as good as a million.
This guy's last post on his web site was in June. If he got the million, it would be all over the news. If he took the 3000 grand, he would have told us about it. He used to be a cop, don't you know. I'm Elizabeth Taylor. ------------------ According to the Pope, a woman can be a saint, but not a priest.
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#11
10-01-1999, 09:21 AM
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Isn't Randi associated with CSICOP (the Committef for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal) rather than "psicop", the domain that Connie's newest irrelevancies come from?
And settling out of court to remove a nuisance is not equivalent in any way to paying off the psychic challange.
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#13
10-01-1999, 11:27 AM
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Thanks Dave. Shows you how long its been since I've bothered to follow the mind readers and spoon benders.
------------------ Dr. Fidelius, Charlatan Associate Curator Anomalous Paleontology, Miskatonic University Cave ab homine unius libri
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#15
10-01-1999, 11:43 AM
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Actually guys, The "Amazing" Randi made a unsolicited offer to Riley G for the million dollars...
To wit: http://www.psicop.com/rg-jr-1.htm BTW, a Randi disciple called the Art Bell Show last night and Art told him that Randi has refused several offers to appear on his show. Remote Viewer Ed Dames has even offered to take the Randi Challenge on the air under Randi's conditions and Randi still refuses to appear. Art as much as called Randi a coward. What is Mr. "Amazing" afraid of? ------------------ Contestant #3
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#16
10-01-1999, 01:29 PM
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Hey Ryan, take a reading comprehension course buddy.
You wrote: "Let' see: you've been told that that Art told someone else that Randi has refused to appear." Noooooooo. I wasn't told...I heard it live with my own two ears. You can hear it too if you choose to by accessing Art's audio-archives. Further, read on dweeb: http://www.psicop.com/rg-jr-2.htm Randi made an unsolicited challenge to Riley G and offered the Million Dollar Prize...Riley formally responded to accept the challenge...Randi, after his lawyers point out that Riley might actually have a valid claim upon the money, recommend that he attempt to settle with Riley by offering $3,000 to forget the whole thing. It happened. Accept it and deal with it. The only thing "Amazing" about James Randi is his enormous ego and his big mouth...and they both got him into a pickle of his own making!!!!!! LMFAO! ------------------ Contestant #3
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#17
10-01-1999, 01:44 PM
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The prize money stands at $1,112,000.
Riley was offered less than one third of one percent to settle? No lawyer would propose such a figure. Litigation avoidance is usually settled at anywhere between ten and fifty percent. Sometimes higher. The whole thing is just plain unbelievable.
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#18
10-01-1999, 01:52 PM
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Explain to me, #3, how the fact that Randi refuses to appear on the Art Bell show (or hangs up on talk show hosts) proves anything about paranormal phenomena. The most it would prove to me is that Randi may personally be a jerk. Are you seriously offering this as proof of psychic phenomena?
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#19
10-01-1999, 02:25 PM
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What you seem to be missing, C#3, is that Randi doesn't have the personal power to dispense with that money. It's being held by a brokerage, and the ONLY way to release it is for someone to meet the qualifications outlined in the formal application and win. Period. Randi can say whatever the hell he wants; that money is not at his disposal anymore.
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#21
10-01-1999, 02:50 PM
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What was the point, anyway? That Randi, in his "pompous blowhard" mode, shot off his mouth and his lawyer advised he settle? If it was to illustrate that Randi in person can be a blustering carnival barker, we all know that already. What bearing does this have on the institution's award for demonstrating a valid psychic power under controlled conditions?
------------------ Dr. Fidelius, Charlatan Associate Curator Anomalous Paleontology, Miskatonic University Cave ab homine unius libri
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#24
10-01-1999, 06:06 PM
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tracer:
I don't think he really is interested in psi. However, the little newsicle he tried to put a spin on ties in with his paranoia and his Bell worship. Art Bell is the only one who tells us the TRUTH (tm).
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#25
10-02-1999, 12:30 AM
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c3:
You are bringing up Ed Dames? C'mon, of all the supposed mind readers, fortune tellers, and psychic wannabes, you bring up Ed Dames. Ugh. This Ed Dames is a fear mongerer. Who makes outlandish predictions, that don't come true. (Hmm, has North Korea destroyed South Korea yet? Oh, you don't know if its a part of our timeline?) When people question why his predictions didn't happen, first he says "Its not a prediction, its a fact" then says since he is remote viewings its hard to place a time on the subject. Ugh. He is the worst, because he bring people up into a frenzy, and allows Art Bell to sell survival gear, and himself to sell tapes on how to remote view. He has said that the mark of the Anti-Christ will come about because everyone will be forced to have an AIDS innoculation. He has also said that homosexuals are a cause of the end of the world. He is a wacko. Nah, he isn't as high on the food chain as a wacko. He is a shyster. Not, that I am a big fan of Randi. I agree with the things he tries to do. Debunking mystics, fakes and all of the rest. But, I also think he has a rather large ego and he is more interested in getting his name out there. That is why I enjoy reading the works of CSICOP a bit more, because its an orginization and not the advancement of one person. Ok. I had my say. pat
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#26
10-02-1999, 12:36 AM
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Maybe he doesn't want to be in anyone else's sideshow? Maybe its because the determination of a "winning" demonstration is not based upon whether Randi can, personally, determine the means of "cheating" at the time of the performance? maybe because he feels that appearing on Art Bell's show would seem to lend credence to a gullible loon?
Just a few ideas off the top of my head. ------------------ Dr. Fidelius, Charlatan Associate Curator Anomalous Paleontology, Miskatonic University Cave ab homine unius libri
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#27
10-02-1999, 12:46 AM
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Contestant #3 posted 10-01-1999 11:43 AM
Quote:
As pointed out earlier, there is hardly a prponderance of evidence that these messages came from Randi. Quote:
Quote:
If you're trying to convince us that you have a valid point that can be rationally defended, you are failing miserably. Both your title ( "Riley G outsmarts the "amazing" Randi for 1 million dollars!") and your OP ("The "amazing" James Randi has been caught offering "Psychic Detective" Riley G $3,000 in order to drop his claim on Randi's Million Dollar prize...") were deceptive; Riley has not received a million dollars from Randi, and he has no claim on Randi's Million Dollar prize. The use of capital letters indicates that the Million Dollar prize is a proper noun, meaning that Riley has made a claim on well known Million Dollar Offer, not just any million dollar offer. Saying that Riley has made an claim on the Million Dollar Prize is like saying that you live in the White House when you in fact live in a white house. ------------------ -Ryan " 'Ideas on Earth were badges of friendship or enmity. Their content did not matter.' " -Kurt Vonnegut, Breakfast of Champions
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#28
10-02-1999, 01:29 AM
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Interesting debate here.
The fact remains that there is precendence to James Randi making like offers to others to prove non-psychic, supernatural events for the 1 million dollars. I am the only one that followed through and accepted his unsolicted offer. The matter is being handled by my attorney and I have started civil actions against Randi, Rick Addams, and the JREF. http://www.psicop.com/rg-jr-3.htm http://www.mindspring.com/~anson/ran...1998/0011.html ------------------ Riley G http://www.psicop.com
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#29
10-02-1999, 03:18 AM
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Quote:
My advice: Take the $3,000, declare victory (if that's how you look at it), and have some fun. Otherwise, what's the point? Just to yank someone else's chain? I'd think you could find more rewarding ways to spend your energy. But it's your life.
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#30
10-02-1999, 04:36 AM
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C#3, you are a chismoso! You couldn't resist the temptation to go tell your buddy Riley about this, right? Or am I wrong? Is it possible that Riley used his "psychic" powers to "see" that we were debating his allegations?
Riley_G, if you are who you imply you are, tell me something, now: Are you going to win this lawsuit against Randi? If yes, when, and exactly how much money are you going to receive? After all you ARE psychic aren't you? Also, could you please tell us who is going to be the second next poster after you post the answer to my question, and the time of his/hers post? Now, be warned, I'm sending a copy of your last post to the JREF, let's see if you can back up your assertion that "...there is precendence (sic) to James Randi making like offers to others to prove non-psychic, supernatural events for the 1 million dollars." ------------------ Men will cease to commit atrocities only when they cease to believe absurdities. -Voltaire
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#33
10-02-1999, 07:09 AM
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Monty said:
Quote:
C3 had earlier said: Quote:
In fact, that's enough of insults from everybody. If you can't discuss this without insulting each other, don't discuss it. Otherwise editing/deletions are going to start. ------------ David B, SDMB Great Debates Moderator
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#35
10-02-1999, 11:18 AM
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C3, your topic title, as stated before, is a lie on at least two different levels.
Riley, you are an annoyance who thinks that filing a lawsuit is proof of anything. Handy, I am offering my house if you can provide proof that the moon is made entirely of green cheese. Gee, there must be something to it if an offer of that sort is made! My ghod! I haven't heard logic like this since the last time a Scientologist stopped me on the street! [Note: This message has been edited by David B]
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#36
10-02-1999, 05:27 PM
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Riley:
You have the power. Help those in need. The poor, the hungry, the sick. Forget about the $3000! Go for the gold! Take the opporunity to overturn our childdish notions of physics! Oh, and lose the-out-of date, cheesy incoherent website.
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#37
10-02-1999, 05:56 PM
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David B wrote:
"So in other words, it doesn't matter at all to you whether or not his claims are true or false, just as long as he annoys people you don't like. Can't say that comes as a surprise..." David, I'm really proud of they way that such a fair and even-handed moderator such as yourself avoids putting words into the mouths of the users of this forum. The way that you refuse to get emotional and resort to insulting those with different viewpoints stands as an example to all that aspire to conduct themselves rationally. Hat's off to you buddy for yet another classy post! ------------------ Contestant #3
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#38
10-02-1999, 06:08 PM
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Now I have to re-read everything.
For some reason, I thought that David's posts were reasonable, intelligent, and civilized. ------------------ According to the Pope, a woman can be a saint, but not a priest.
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#40
10-02-1999, 09:12 PM
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You know what?
It occurs to me that since I didn't make contact with this guy (Riley G)...and IF none of you guys did either...that there's only 3 ways to explain his finding and responding to this thread: 1. Riley G has been a long-time lurker and signed-up as a member to respond when he saw his name mentioned in an OP 2. Some other lurker contacted him to let him know about the OP 3. Coincidence...he just happened to surf into the SDMB... 4. His "pyschic" abilities alerted him...and lead him to this thread... Which of the 4 possibilities do you think explains things? Riley G...If you are reading (or sensing) this, please respond to let us know... ------------------ Contestant #3
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#42
10-03-1999, 12:36 AM
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Handy said:
Quote:
Seriously, how do you figure? Seems to me that anybody who has such powers would want to get their hands on a million bucks (I would), if only to donate it to the poor and homeless (since some claim they can't use their powers to serve themselves). Alas, hasn't happened. Funny, that...
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#43
10-03-1999, 12:45 AM
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Incidentally, C3, I was just wondering -- when you posted the original message, you called him: "'Psychic Detective' Riley G" -- with the quotes around "Psychic Detective." Does this indicate that you don't actually believe he is psychic? Or do you? How about clearing up your position on that?
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#44
10-03-1999, 12:56 AM
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I don't know Riley G and had never even heard of him until Thursday Night when I ran across his website while researching the "Amazing" James Randi.
He refers to himself as a "Psychic Detective" and seems to offer examples of criminal cases in which his help was sought by law enforcement agencies. I have not yet had the time or inclination to check out his results and references in that regard. I don't even know if the person here posting as "Riley G" really is THE Riley G...I've never corresponded with him in my life. I do find it wildly entertaining that he's sticking it to that pompous ass Randi that people like David B worship! ------------------ Contestant #3
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#46
10-03-1999, 07:56 AM
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I find it particularly pathetic, if this is the real Riley G that:
1) He thinks that "police departments seeking his help" means he actually did any solving of cases. (ObIrony: There is a particularly funny example of some schmoe heloing police find three missing bodies in Florida when all the "psychics" failed to help at all in the current SI.) 2) He can't actually demonstrate the existence of his claimed psychic powers under controlled conditions so he resorts to lawsuit filing and petty accusations for his little get-rich-quick scheme. Just like all the other so-called paranormalists who fall under the "con man" category.
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#48
10-03-1999, 09:17 AM
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Just a note here to all participants in this thread: Please be careful what you say and how you say it. We're not trying to prevent the free flow of discussion, but you have to remember that some of these guys are notoriously litigious. For example, Uri Geller has sued Randi and others a number of times based on statements they've made. And, of course, this whole thread is about Riley suing somebody.
Since the Reader operates the board and attempts to moderate it (as opposed to the the free for all on Usenet), their liability is greater, so please try not to get them sued. Thanks. ------- David B, SDMB Great Debates Moderator
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#50
10-03-1999, 10:16 AM
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FWIW, that also means the SD is covered, DB. If C#3 manages to file a suit, you may rest assured that "one poster assured another poster that he had no doubts" will not constitute a basis for successful litigation.
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