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Stop Sylvia Browne: Favorite Articles

Jackalgirl

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In the new thread about the new www.stopsylvia.com website, Krelnik suggested that linking to specific articles in the new Stop Sylvia Browne (www.stopsylvia.com) would be helpful in getting Google to recognize the new site as the legit one (especially since the person who took it over has apparently erased his pseudoskeptical site at the old location).

So I thought I would take the time to post about my favorite articles, and why they are so. I invite everyone to link to their favorite articles as well, so as to help with the reindexing.

I Speak With Sylvia Browne - Robert actually attended one of Sylvia Browne's lecture-shows, and ended up speaking with her. This article just really highlights what a class act Robert is. With all of the hoopla about the takeover of the old domain name, it's a real struggle for me to remember to try to keep calm -- to describe, for example, Kreiman's actions as those of a scumbag, without saying "Boris Kreiman, you scumbag". It doesn't seem that Robert would have this problem; it seems like Robert just comes naturally to fairness, or that he doesn't have to work as hard at it as I do. He's just amazing, and Sylvia Browne is -- oops, almost lost myself. She behaves despicably.

AC360: Sylvia Browne's Best Evidence? - Saw the show. It's just so telling. Robert takes a look at the individual claims made by Linda Rossi on behalf of Browne. It's not a complete transcript, though. I think my favorite part of the interview was when Randi leveled some criticism against Browne and Rossi's response was that Randi's an atheist. Kudos to Anderson for pointing out this very basic (and invalid) debate tactic.

Montel: Shawn Hornbeck Reading - If you know nothing about this, you really just need to read it.

-- JG

Edited to add: I also posted the "guts" of this article on my blog - hopefully this will help a little.
 
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One of my favorites has to be "She Was Shot". It shows how Sylvia is so cocky even when playing the odds. She was so certain that this was a missing daughter who ended up murdered, she wouldn't even let the woman tell the story before blurting out, "She was shot."

I also especially liked the one on Browne's income. It's titled Sylvia Browne's Money-Part 1.

And I'm optimistic that Robert will write the sequel(s) to this one at some point!
 
My favorite is Sylvia Browne's Scorecard, because I was responsible for researching every case she ever touched-

missing and murdered

I IDed dozens and dozens of them and researched every case as far as I could. I am sure I have identified or attempted to identify every case available through the Lexis Nexis transcripts- every one.

Even I was surprised by the results. I was sure there would be one or two she got right through chance or educated guessing. Maybe she would confirm to a victim's family and friends that a suspect was the killer and he or she would later be arrested and found guilty or something of the sort. Maybe she would predict that a body would be found in the local river and that's where it would later be found.

Not even close. There was nothing. The closest thing to anything that could even be construed as a correct prediction was when she predicted that the body of a missing teenager would be found by a body of water and it was found under a storm drain culvert by a reservoir.

Oh, I just noticed that Robert forgot to add Johnia Berry to the scorecard!

Also, the "Exploring Psychic Powers Live!" special is devastating to her- it should have stopped her in her tracks in 1989:

http://stopsylvia.com/articles/exploringpsychicpowerslive.shtml
 
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Could one of you guys supply the links for me? I've got a few favorites but don't know how to link to them:

First is the "Opal Jo Jennings" reading because it still horrifies me when I think of what that poor grandmother must have gone through.

Next I'm partial to "Does Sylvia Browne Smoke?" because I was the one who STILL HAD, by amazing coincidence, all these years later, the West magazine that I sent to Robert Lancaster, which provided the wonderful ashtray/Sylvia prior to plastic surgery photos, etc.

And "Contradiction: Do Angels Have Wings?" is close to my heart since I sent that tape to Robert and it was THE contradiction that started me on my long journey into skepticism.

And last, "E-mail: KMOV-TV - Sylvia Browne Real or Fake?" is one I kind of like because... well, I am going to come out and admit that it was MY awesome literary work that RSL was kind enough to deem worthy for his web site. :) (Shh, it's a secret ;) )
 
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Allright, I have to be entirely honest here.

One of my favorites is Email: A Skeptic in the Audience because it was my email. :o

Also, Montel: Weyman Robbins Reading and Montel: John Slayton Reading because I was the one who found them. And Montel: Susan and the MRI because I found the transcript and was the one who brought it to Robert's attention. Allthough I actually first heard about it from Robert after Claus told him about it. And the release because I stole it :).

My favorites from among articles I had nothing to do with are:

AC360: Sylvia Browne's Best Evidence?

Montel: "Your Father is Not Your Father"
 
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Articles, schmarticles.

My favourite page has to be the Articles directory which links to one hundred and eleventy twelve of RSL's finest articles.

The news directory page is also a particular favourite.

Links is pretty cool, in a cool RSL kind of way.

But for sheer faqtual stuff the FAQ will send shivers down your spine.

I've never seen the support page so I won't mention that.


(I don't know if linking to pages which link to others within the site is a valid tactic, but worth a try)

Superb thread JG. Thanks.
 
A big "Thank You!" to all of Robert's resources.

http://www.stopsylvia.com

My favorite article is: All the articles! Including the partially completed articles he has not yet posted to the site.

I hope we get more favorites listed. Great idea.
 
(1) I really must agree with part of this post by Jackalgirl that the "I Speak With Sylvia Browne" article is one of RSL's finest. After all, what could be greater than the proverbial showdown between good (RSL) and pure, filthy evil (Sylvia Browne)?

(2) This post by JoeTheJuggler mentions my next favorite, "She was Shot." I mean, the absurdity of this reading is self-evident, and the whole situation pretty much sums up Browne's career of bold-faced lying to grieving family and friends of the victim(s). Please excuse me while Toxic Shock Syndrome hits me in the chest.

(3) I like the article "Does Sylvia Browne Smoke" mentioned in this post by Hokulele. Not only is it evident from Sylvia's voice that she smokes/d heavily, but it's a silly thing for her to lie about in the first place, especially since it's not like you can hide the fact that you smoke from everyone.

Note: I really haven't a clue as to how the internet actually works, but I am hoping that linking to other people's posts that in turn link to RSL's new site at Stopsylvia.com will help.
 
Let me put it this way:

Those who had the opportunity - but didn't take it - to go see Sylvia in LV...

...next time, take the offer. :D
 
One of the things that always struck me about Sylvia Browne is her total lack of sympathy when she is interacting with people who are looking to her for answers. Whenever I've seen her conversing with someone who is hurt and grieving, Browne's attitude is usually condescending and...well, bored.

That said, the one article that has always stuck with me is the 9-11 Firefighter reading on Montel Williams. It was such a perfect example of her condescension. That woman was grieving so hard-it hurt just to watch her-and Browne knew it, and Browne was wrong, and she knew that, too - and she couldn't have cared less. Plus, she sounded like she was reading off the back of a cereal box, she was so dispassionate. As well, there was Montel, scrambling to cover up Sylvia's error.

I also liked the article of Robert's encounter with Browne.

Really, though, I like them all.
 
Lots of fine articles to read.

I don't know any fancy shmancy computer code but that doesn't mean I can't troll for internet traffic for this very good purpose. Do you know that there are many people on the internet who fritter their time away looking for photos and videos of things that not only don't exist but would also be embarrassing to themselves if they were discovered looking for such things? For instance, I suspect the following lines of text will get "hits" by people who will click the search engine link that found the following text and end up looking at this very post (probably a bit disappointed at first).

Sarah Palin upskirt!
Ann Coulter see-through!
Michelle Obama oops!
Katie Couric woops!
Oprah topless beach!
Sylvia Browne wardrobe malfunction!

You rascals (especially you sick puppies looking for Sylvia's pictures) would make better use of your time clicking the links on this page and reading about how your family members are being manipulated by TV psychics. Yes, you with Jerry Springer on the TV in the next room. Don't make me look up your IP address and tell your mom what you are doing on the internet. Just click a link and read an informative article for a change.

Just doing my part to help increase traffic and inform a hard to reach demographic.
 
This is a great idea, thanks Jackalgirl. I have PM'ed all the participants in the thread with a complete list of the URLs that are yet untouched by Google. If you want a copy of the list, PM me.

A few that I see:

"Affidavit" Regarding Sylvia Browne which shows a form used by Sylvia Browne Corporation when dealing with complaints. Always interesting to get a peek behind the curtain.

Sylvia Browne and 9/11 which talks about how she exploited a national tragedy.

UK Guardian: Is She For Real? was about British writer Jon Ronson going on a cruise with Sylvia. If you haven't read some of Jon Ronson's stuff, seek it out. He's a great skeptical writer.
 
Thanks alot for that list, Krelnik.

I'm just surprised that you didn't post them on this board, where they can do some good.

May I?

http://stopsylvia.com/articles/affid...iabrowne.shtml
http://stopsylvia.com/articles/browneand911.shtml
http://stopsylvia.com/articles/browneandborrowing.shtml
http://stopsylvia.com/articles/brown...stianity.shtml
http://stopsylvia.com/articles/brown...ntalizer.shtml


Edit: I'm also surprised that you haven't re-posted your own instructions for how to best "Googlebomb" the site:

http://skeptools.wordpress.com/2008/11/01/skeptics-load-your-google-bombs/

That's what gave me the idea to amend my signature today :). Thanks!

Edit: Understood! I edited the list down.

One more question. I thought my signature would show up in all Forum posts, past and present.

How do I do that?
 
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Well the problem with posting them en masse like that is that you are likely to convince the Googlebot that you are trying to spam it. (There's no way to know for sure because Google is naturally very reluctant to talk about their anti-spam techniques for fear of helping the spammers).

That's why I didn't post them that way, but instead sent them via PM.
 
Robert sometimes finds good stuff in interesting places. Here's a couple from George Noory's show:

Coast To Coast AM: George Noory Speaks About Sylvia Browne
Coast To Coast AM: Sylvia Browne and The Sago Mining Disaster

...and here's a couple good ones from TVTalkShows.com:

TVTalkShows.com: "A report on my session and dealings with Sylvia Browne"
TVTalkShows.com: Disappointed in Sylvia Browne "Trance Reading"

Don't forget Sylvia's trouble with the law:

The People vs. Sylvia Browne
The People vs. Sylvia Browne: The Documents

Remember when Sylvia tried to shut the site down? That didn't work too well either:

Sylvia Browne Attempts to Silence This Web Site
A Response to Sylvia Browne's Attempt to Silence This Web Site
 
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