The cult investigated various methods of implementing death and destruction on a massive scale. They tried every possibility, ranging from military weapons, to biological and chemical warfare. They settled on the nerve gas sarin, and ran several real-world tests, resulting in deaths. Life within the cult was no picnic either: Stay and obey, or leave and die.
The preamble to the devastating raid on the compound at Mount Carmel. How did the preparations go? What were the reasons for the raid? Why the show of force? Why did it go so wrong?
There is no question that the history of mediumship is a deeply tarnished one. We would be hard pressed to find a field where so much deceit, trickery and chicanery have been found.
It is therefore no wonder that few people in academia have been interested in testing mediums. Not only is there precious little to work from, the mediums themselves are not helpful either.
However, a professor at the University of Arizona, Gary Schwartz, not only succeeded in persuading a handful of mediums to undergo scientific testing in 2001, he also found what he presented as compelling evidence of an afterlife: At least some psychics have actually been able to communicate with the dead.
This is a critique of that experiment.
This is the second of two commentaries on papers published by T.J. Robertson (TJR) and Archie E. Roy (AER) in the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research.
Part 1: How the Tokyo subway became a death trap, and hundreds of people got caught in a Millennial cult of mind-control and New Age rubbish.
Part 1: A botched ATF raid on a religious compound resulted in a 51-day siege and the deaths of almost a hundred people, many of them children.
Why are cults so popular? Why do they sometimes lead to death and destruction? A closer look at four cults that gripped the world in tales of mayhem.
Uri Geller has since late March 2007 been on a quest to have all videos that expose him on YouTube removed. However, you can still download a video clip of how he bends a spoon without using paranormal powers. Also, read an analysis of how he does it.
The winner of “Britain”s Psychic Challenge”, psychic Diane Lazarus claimed to have solved the murder cases of Mark Green and Muriel Drinkwater. This article delves into what turns out to be completely false claims and numerous fabrications.
