This God Obsession--Sylvia Browne Post

[NotARepublican]

Hi, everyone. :)

I'm just posting to let you know there is a post about Sylvia Browne on "This God Obsession" blog. You can find it at godobsession.blogspot.com.

Sorry I can't post the link, but I don't have the minimum 15 posts yet, as I'm new to the forum.

I started the blog to foster an intelligent discussion (not unlike the forum here) about religion, politics, and the like.

Enjoy! :)

[grayman]

Welcome to the forum.

[RSLancastr]

Here's a link:

No More S.B. BS (http://godobsession.blogspot.com/2007/03/no-more-sb-bs_31.html)

[Reno]

good to see anti-sylvia sites popping up.

[Reno]

I am the one R. Thanks for the April fool!

[NotARepublican]

Here's a link:

No More S.B. BS (http://godobsession.blogspot.com/2007/03/no-more-sb-bs_31.html)
Thanks for posting the link! I really appreciate it. And, of course, SSB is looking very good--I can't wait to see what unfolds with the "transcript to nowhere."

[NotARepublican]

Welcome to the forum.
Thanks for welcoming me--seems like a nice place to be.

[articulett]

Welcome to the forum.

It's probably not the place...and it may be an April Fool's joke (though the statue itself is real)--but this article reminded of you...and I'm sure others could enjoy the sentiment as well--

http://hellboundalleee.blogspot.com/

[fuelair]

Thanks for welcoming me--seems like a nice place to be.If you are reasonably intelligent, rational and functional it mostly is (disagreements can get a tad heated). Heck, we have a number of people who are religious - and reasonably intelligent, rational and functional we get along fine with!! Enjoy yourself, and welcome!:) :) Watch out for trolls (DJJ. Scooby TS1234 and such). Please do not feed the trolls.:) :) :)

[NotARepublican]

If you are reasonably intelligent, rational and functional it mostly is (disagreements can get a tad heated). Heck, we have a number of people who are religious - and reasonably intelligent, rational and functional we get along fine with!! Enjoy yourself, and welcome!:) :) Watch out for trolls (DJJ. Scooby TS1234 and such). Please do not feed the trolls.:) :) :)

Thanks for the advice! I will look for the trolls....any from the SB camp?

[fuelair]

Thanks for the advice! I will look for the trolls....any from the SB camp?Have not seen any myself - but it is possible. I don't spend as much time on her stuff, so.... Easiest way to find out would be to use the search function for posts (though you will get a lot to go through!!!).

[Elizabeth I]

I am the one R. Thanks for the April fool!

!sknahT

.ekoj s'looF lirpA looc yreV

[SeekingTruth]

Hi, everyone. :)

I'm just posting to let you know there is a post about Sylvia Browne on "This God Obsession" blog. You can find it at godobsession.blogspot.com.

Sorry I can't post the link, but I don't have the minimum 15 posts yet, as I'm new to the forum.

I started the blog to foster an intelligent discussion (not unlike the forum here) about religion, politics, and the like.

Enjoy! :)

Just tried to read the blog. Apparently it's not an open blog - it says:
This blog is open to invited readers only.

Too bad - I'm sure there are many former NS people who would like to read your blog but do not wish to reveal his/her identity.
Any reason it's not open?

ST

[PastBrowneFan]

Yes, I noticed that yesterday, and must wonder if this is a person connected with the office to try to get information, such as who we are, who is on this site, etc.

[PastBrowneFan]

Well, it was log-in protected, but now it seems available, amazingly at the same time that the Support Syliva blog became open again.

Could this be that both blogs are run by the same person? Or would that be a conspiracy theory?:confused: :rolleyes:

[SeekingTruth]

Does anyone else get "Stack overflow at line:54 when they try to click on anything on that blog?
I've been trying for several days and can't access anything on there.

ST

[Pythra]

Does anyone else get "Stack overflow at line:54 when they try to click on anything on that blog?
I've been trying for several days and can't access anything on there.

ST

I get the same error.

In my opinion the writing style of this blog and the now-deleted DefendingSylvia blog are very similar.

NotARepublican, did you create either or both of these blogs?

[angrybeliever]

{Stop SB BS}

Building a Case.

What better way to kick off this blog than to spend a little time exposing the common fraudulence toted in by new-age gurus like Sylvia Browne—the world famous “psychic” and spiritual teacher?

For those who don’t know of this con artist, I refer you to the site that keeps track of all her misdeeds, www.stopsylviabrowne.com, a link to which also resides on the left side of this page.

Ah, Sylvia Browne—where do I begin? This is certainly no ordinary psychic: she has no “office” at the top of some staircase in a run down building; she operates no 900 lines; she has no infomercials; and she doesn’t light nag champa while freeing clients from curses and “dark auras,” whatever the hell that is.

No, this “psychic” operates with a veil of prestige and professionalism. She counsels (her word, not mine) clients on an hourly basis—half-hourly, really—so as to take on the façade of a therapy practice. She employs a full-time staff to run her corporation. And—get this—she charges $750 per 20-30 minutes of counseling, which she calls a reading.

Many believers in her ability argue that it falls to the responsibility of the consumer, who is purchasing Sylvia’s services (you know, spitting out blabber), to understand that she may or may not be accurate in her predictions. And many, probably including Sylvia herself, would argue that the “for entertainment purposes only” disclaimer, probably hidden in 5-point font on the bottom of the reading purchase slip, releases Sylvia and Sylvia Browne Corporation from all liability after the reading has ceased.

But here is the problem with that argument: (1) Sylvia Browne has made a career by attempting to build credibility for herself and her services. For example, in several of her books, and on numerous television appearances, she claims to have a prediction accuracy rate within the range of 80% to as high as 97%. She does not follow that statement with a disclaimer such as, “Hey kids, I’m just farting out of my mouth here; I really don’t know how accurate I am. I’m just entertaining you, even though it appears I’m trying to convince you of my accuracy—so don’t pay any attention to my gaseous, verbal dejections.”

(2) In lecture after lecture, TV appearance after TV appearance, and book after book, Sylvia claims to be so accurate that she’s actually helped solve “hundreds” of crimes by working with her clientele, the FBI, and local police forces. Once more—she does not claim to be kidding or entertaining her constituency during this process. Again, she attempts to build credibility for her practice.

(3) The result of such nonsensical rambling—because some always believe this rambling—is that she offers her purportedly accurate practices as a service, in the form of psychic readings, for which she charges a handsome, ridiculous fee; and those who sign up for these services expect the accuracy she promises—because, after all, that’s how they came to know Sylvia Browne in the first place and why they believe in her enough to shell out $750. Sylvia does not say, while advertising her abilities in the form of personal consultations, that she’s serious about her abilities when working with law enforcement and when on shows like Montel, but that when she gives private readings she’s just babbling on about nothing, so don’t expect a reading to be accurate—because the content of a reading is derived only from the motivation of entertainment and humor.

In fact, the case is just the opposite. Sylvia has built up to a three-year waiting list for appointments, according to her staff. And she has not built that list by claiming to be inaccurate during readings, or by claiming that her abilities only work for criminal investigations and network television programs. Her clients are intentionally manipulated into believing that Sylvia Browne is a legitimate psychic and that she can provide a high accuracy during her readings.

What does this mean? Well, for starters, that maybe Sylvia Browne, and Sylvia Browne Corp., cannot escape the legal and fiduciary responsibilities to their clients by invoking a “for entertainment purposes” disclaimer at the bottom of a purchase slip—unless her intention all along—throughout her entire career—can be proven to have been only for the express purpose of the value of entertainment, something I cannot imagine can be proved when Sylvia attempts to diagnose illnesses and advise customers to take certain medications for certain ailments, which she does with disturbingly regular zeal.

And even if the private reading itself were protected by the ludicrous disclaimer, Sylvia’s television appearances and law enforcement counseling are not. There is no disclaimer given to the police—who may spend tax dollars on psychic investigations; nor is there one given to members of studio audiences who receive advice—many times medical—from this charlatan.

I cannot believe the woman has swept herself under the responsibility rug by resorting to a silly statement of repudiation, while making an entire career of promoting the “legitimacy” of psychic practices.

One may ask why this topic should be brought up on a god-obsessed blog; well, because Sylvia claims God as the sole source of her abilities, which either means we have, if God exists, a complete pansy as a God, or Sylvia is lying—what do you think?

For a recent enumeration of her bunglings, take a cyber stroll over to the Stop Sylvia site. I think it will be clear that not a divine god, but a very human, very felonious (yes, you can read all about her securities fraud conviction there, too) moron is at the wheel—steering straight towards, perhaps, the deepest depths of idiocy man has known and believed in.

Labels: Roman Corridor



Hi, I was able to get in and have pasted the entire post here.

[SeekingTruth]

Thank you AB. Tried again this morning and still get the "stack overflow" message.
ST

[my_wan]

Does anyone else get "Stack overflow at line:54 when they try to click on anything on that blog?
I've been trying for several days and can't access anything on there.

ST

Yes I got the same thing thing and tracked it down. It appears the site has a back link tracker. In "backlink_control.js" they use an 'typeof' operator.


var BL_oldonmousedown = document.onmousedown;
document.onmousedown = function(e) {

// --- other stuff removed

if (typeof window.BL_oldonmousedown == 'function') {
return window.BL_oldonmousedown(e);
}
return shouldPropagate;
}


It tries to trap you mouse click for tracking then return control back to the default event so you don't notice. This is actually recalling this same function without ever finishing the last call to that function, i.e. infinity of infinite loops. This is nasty but harmless code. Javascript is forgiving LOL.

Refresh the page after it loads and it should work as expected.
Back to the subject.

ETA: You can disable scripts temporarily to get it to work to.

[SeekingTruth]

Yes I got the same thing thing and tracked it down. It appears the site has a back link tracker. In "backlink_control.js" they use an 'typeof' operator.


var BL_oldonmousedown = document.onmousedown;
document.onmousedown = function(e) {

// --- other stuff removed

if (typeof window.BL_oldonmousedown == 'function') {
return window.BL_oldonmousedown(e);
}
return shouldPropagate;
}


It tries to trap you mouse click for tracking then return control back to the default event so you don't notice. This is actually recalling this same function without ever finishing the last call to that function, i.e. infinity of infinite loops. This is nasty but harmless code. Javascript is forgiving LOL.

Refresh the page after it loads and it should work as expected.
Back to the subject.

ETA: You can disable scripts temporarily to get it to work to.

Nope - at least not for me it doesn't. Still get the same error.
ST

[PastBrowneFan]

Uhmmmm, has NotARepublican just disappeared?

[NotARepublican]

Uhmmmm (was that four "m"s?), no.

Wow--what a response you guys have had to the defending Sylvia blog. I haven't been to the forum in a few days, so my apologies. Yes, I authored that blog--as a joke. If I'd told you that, well, it would not have been as effective a parody because, well, you'd a figured it out before you read it.

Turns out--and much to my surprise--nobody figured it out anyway. So, RSL has cleared that up, and the blog is down.

Okay, so that's understood now.

I still think a satire site could be very funny if done with obvious burlesque, which would be recognized as such immediately upon examination.

[angrybeliever]

the only way that site could be a satire is if you were reaching an audience that understood what you were saying. The regular 'fans' of Sylvia who have no clue about the church side would probably agree wholeheartedly about what you were saying, and condemned us (frockless fickle ones, hehehe) even more.

Now, those of us who understood the church innards, and the hypocrisy of it all,,would get it. Right idea, wrong audience, I think.

Thanks for the effort.

[TruthBeTold]

Having an odd sense of humor myself (that rarely takes a break), I am commonly mis-taken.

NAR, you could have said April Fools earlier though!! It's June already! ;)