Don't get too Randi!

[Christopher O'Brien]

[When does a crusade descend into the realm of vendetta? --- chris]

Top Ten Developments in Fringe-ology
by Steve Volk
Article HERE:
JAMES RANDI—SKEPTICISM'S GREAT ACHILLES
I have long felt that the skeptical community has a James Randi Problem.
At one time or another, seemingly every professional skeptic offers thanks and praise to Randi, lauds his Million Dollar Challenge and/or joins his self-named foundation (JREF). They applaud him for forty years spent debunking all things paranormal, line up in droves to attend his annual Amazing Meeting—“a celebration of critical thinking and skepticism sponsored by the James Randi Educational Foundation”—and they rarely, if ever, engage in any critical thinking about Randi himself.

Thus far, they seem unmoved even by the specter of “Jose Luis Alvarez.”
I put the name in quotes because Randi, a Plantation, Florida resident, has lived and worked with “Alvarez” for roughly 20 years, even traveling the world together to debunk psychics and stage mediums. But the feds, this last September, arrested “Alvarez” and charged him with stealing another man’s identity—obtaining passports and getting paid under the name of the real Jose Luis Alvarez, a teacher’s aide in the Bronx.

So, who is the man who has been living in Randi's home and working with him for 20 years? According to the Sun Sentinel, Alvarez is actually Deyvi Pena, who came to the United States from Venezuela in the mid-80s on a student visa to study at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. And now? The questions about Pena extend from his identity to his age to how the feds have come to accuse him of stealing the name, date of birth and social security number of a New York man, back in 1987, in order to travel internationally with Randi. And it is this relationship—the long partnership between Alvarez/Pena and Randi—that should now concern the skeptical community.

In short, what did Randi know and when did he know it?
The answer would seem to matter—a lot.... Rest of the Article HERE:

 

[mike]

It is kind of ironic that

Alvarez is not just an artist, but an ardent backer of Randi's philosophy of using science to debunk the assertions of people who fraudulently claim to possess paranormal abilities

Has been charged with the fraud of indentity theft.

And the question what did Randi know and when did he know it? Is pertinant.
If and i say IF Mr Randi knew his friend was perpertrating a hoax in regards to his identity for the purposes of personal gain........Well, as im fond of saying we are not entitled demand a higher standard of treatment/behaviour than that which we ourselves bring to the table

 

[Angel of Ioren]

This is pretty old news:
Jose Alvarez "Carlos" arrested for Identity Theft - JREF Forum

Good to see that any time there's an opportunity to take a shot at a perceived enemy, some people will take it - it's human nature. Look at any politician.

 

[Goggs Mackay]

Is it known whether Randi is homosexual? Normally this would be irrelevant but often when men have such companions, ones who travel with them, and there is some sort of covering-up of their age/indentity/occupation, often it is because a romantic relationship is being kept secret for a variety of reasons. This is just a thought because it reminded me of similar circumstances of some men in the public eye. I don't care if Randi is gay or not. Any subterfuge or abetting someone committing a crime (certainly one as serious as identity theft) has to raise serious red flags. It's just the dishonesty of it that matters?

@Angelo - I would say Randi brings any such negative publicity on himself as he is a great self-publicist and is always quick to jump on ANYTHING that sheds doubt on the honesty of someone claiming paranormal ability/experiences. If the tables were turned, you can bet Randi would use such a story against some of his opponents in the public eye.

I applaud Randi to a degree when he exposes outright fakery and frauds, especially ones who make money out of peoples pain and doubt.
But at the same time, Randi is an extremist, an extremist of the debunking kind. If Randi was genuinely abducted by aliens, he would put it down to some sort of dream or sleep paralysis experience. If he saw a flying saucer land in front of him, he would assume it was a military craft. People who believe in alien spacecraft can be equally as guilty when jumping to the ETH without actual proof of that being the case.

Like the hosts of the Paracast, past and present, I claim to actually know next to nothing about the reality or not of Aliens visiting earth and I have a problem with anyone who is sure they have the answer, whatever that answer may be.

 

[Gene Steinberg]

Randi is gay, and has admitted it, but that's totally irrelevant to what he has to say. This happens to be something that shouldn't part of the discussion. Let's move past it, OK?

 

[tyder001]

Why do some folks bring up "gay" everytime James Randi is mentioned? Sheesh! I don't like Randi and he attacked somebody some years ago for being gay. "Hypocrite" but it has nothing to do with being honest or dishonest. He's gay. OK, I like blondes and mud wrestling Errr, lets move on and if he's dishonest then he's dishonest. More than likely being human he's both at one time or the other (honest or dishonest that is.)

 

[Angel of Ioren]

Why do some folks bring up "gay" everytime James Randi is mentioned? Sheesh! I don't like Randi and he attacked somebody some years ago for being gay. "Hypocrite" but it has nothing to do with being honest or dishonest. He's gay. OK, I like blondes and mud wrestling Errr, lets move on and if he's dishonest then he's dishonest. More than likely being human he's both at one time or the other (honest or dishonest that is.)

Who did he attack years ago for being gay? I have never heard of him doing that.

 

[tyder001]

Angelo, I'm gonna have to withdraw that last remark. I do remember it and I'm quite a bit older than you so it was some years ago. He was debating some believer in ESP or something and the guy was gay. Mr. Randi made some remark about how gullible the guy was and he was a homosexual on top of that. BUT, I can't find it now (I had googled it recently) so I can't prove it. So, I withdraw it. Also, I really do get tired of "gay" being brought up everytime we talk about Mr. Randi. As I said before 'I don't care." I have been suspected of being gay myself and I can tell you that people can be nasty about it. So, NO I'm not a homophobe. So, back to the subject. Is he honest or not? If he lied about one thing does it taint everything else he has done? Will Lance and the guardians of the "one Truth" investigate? ROFLMAO! But, I should have googeled my source again and if I couldn't find it then I should not have said anything about it. Sorry.

 

[Goggs Mackay]

No, you all misunderstood.
I am not making an attack or claim on Randi being gay. It is solely cause of the apparent cover-up of an identity that I even mentioned it. If it is common knowledge then I was unaware. I just looked it up and see that the man was openly his partner. My mistake thinking it may have been some secret that Randi was covering up due to a relationship.
Happy to drop this particular subject on Randi as I don't want to be involved in ever using sexual orientation in arguments over unrelated subjects, that was never my intention in my post.

It is still just an interesting question over whether Randi knew his partner had stolen an identity of course. Someone so against 'fraud' and very public about it needs to be whiter than white to be able to have credibility in the issue. Stanton Friedman is an example of someone I think is whiter than white. His personal views on UFOs aside, I've never heard of him bringing himself into disrepute or stooping to dirty tactics. He has his facts to back up most stuff and he has his opinions on other matters requiring proof. He is very clear on the differences of the two as well.

 

[tyder001]

No problem goggsmackay. I enjoy the conversation and I understood that you were not making any kind of snide remark at all. I am trying to stay away from the Randi stuff. I (imo) was not very objective in a former post or two about him and I try to just let it go. I don't agree with his worldview or some of his tactics. There was a bible thumping guy back in the day that reminded me of Randi. I'm serious, he had the white beard and the some of the cadence to his words. He was very fundlmentilist and would even quote Randi when it came to "battling" the Charismatics. He hated any kind of "spiritual" movement even in Christianity because he felt the "word" was all you needed. I think his name was or is (I think he's still in his mortal coil) Dave Hunt if memory serves. Anyway, dogmatic folks of all stripes tend to rub me the wrong way.