X-Message-Number: 22372
Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 17:31:59 -0700
From: James Swayze <>
Subject: More LJ lies and libelous journalism
References: <>
Results of an AP wire affiliates search by regional specifics.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/0817sun2-17.html
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/0816satlet5-161.html
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/columns/articles/0815gambo-notes15-ON.html
This URL is an index of many stories from around the news world.
http://www.azcentral.com/specials/tedwilliams/
http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/0815tedwilliams15-CP.html
In this one, immediately above, LJ says the following:
Johnson said he has changed his will and no longer wants to be
cryonically preserved.
"I don't want to be Ted Williams' roommate," he said. "I want the good,
old traditional 'put me in the ground.' "
Ah, come on! It's obvious he lied about wanting to be a cryonicist from
the start. He's got to be a rabid fan of baseball and TW and so on a
terribly misguided mission. He found a way into the heart of Alcor by
their need for professional paramedic people and exploited it and them
to wheedle his way in as a mole. I am certain never intended to be a
true cryonicist, that much is obvious to anyone with gray matter between
their ears.
My subject line for this post mentions the word libelous. Some may
think, "What about free speech?" immediately upon discerning my use of
the word libelous as regards this case. Free speech does not allow what
is truly deemed libelous.
Merriam-Websters says:
One entry found for libelous.
Main Entry: li bel ous
<javascript:popWin('/cgi-bin/audio.pl?libelo01.wav=libelous')>
Variant(s): or li bel lous
<javascript:popWin('/cgi-bin/audio.pl?libelo01.wav=libellous')>
/'lI-b(&-)l&s/
Function: adjective
Date: 1619
: constituting or including a libel
<http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=libel> :
DEFAMATORY
<http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=defamatory> <a
libelous statement> [end quoted excerpt]
Continuing with the word Defamatory, since it best describes the, wild
west-sling all the mud you want-never bother with the facts, style of
journalism we see surrounding any mention of Ted Williams and Cryonics
and its adherents, we have the following:
One entry found for defamation.
Main Entry: def a ma tion
<javascript:popWin('/cgi-bin/audio.pl?defama08.wav=defamation')>
Pronunciation: "de-f&-'mA-sh&n
Function: noun
Date: 14th century
: the act of defaming
<http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=defaming>
another : CALUMNY
<http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=calumny>
- de fam a to ry
<javascript:popWin('/cgi-bin/audio.pl?defalc05.wav=defamatory')>
/di-'fa-m&-tOr-E, dE-, -tor-/ adjective [end quoted excerpt]
Continuing with Defaming:
One entry found for defame.
Main Entry: de fame
<javascript:popWin('/cgi-bin/audio.pl?defame01.wav=defame')>
Pronunciation: di-'fAm, dE-
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): de famed; de fam ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French & Medieval Latin; Middle
French defamer, from Medieval Latin defamare, alteration of Latin
diffamare, from dis- + fama reputation, fame
Date: 14th century
1 archaic : DISGRACE
<http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=disgrace>
2 : to harm the reputation of by libel or slander
3 archaic : ACCUSE
<http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=accuse>
synonym see MALIGN
<http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=malign>
- de fam er noun [end quoted excerpt]
They are defaming me and all of you when they continue to augment the
story with supposition, false facts, even invented facts and ad hoc and
ad hominem opinions or remarks from the journalists regarding how they
feel about cryonicists or simply to spice up their less than artful
trash. Here is an example:
"It is difficult to assess from the SI story just who appears creepiest."
"Is it Williams' own children? The story provides what appears to be
good evidence that two of Williams' children may have altered the
baseball great's wishes to have his ashes buried at sea. Alleged
statements by his son about selling his famous father's DNA - "There are
lots of people who would pay big bucks to have little Ted Williamses
running around" - just makes the hair curl.
Then there are the officers of Alcor Life Extension Foundation of
Scottsdale, where Williams' body now resides in who-knows-how-many
iceboxes. Alcor, a "non-profit" cryonics firm that operates apart from
laws governing the funeral industry, refers to the dead people it houses
as "patients."
From the Sports Illustrated story, one gets a vision of these people as
cackling, greedy vultures anxiously awaiting the arrival of their
"patient": Williams. The SI reporter's primary source, Alcor's former
chief operating officer, is himself a strange one: He set up a Web site
that, for a time, offered photos of Williams' "neuroseparation." That
is, pictures snapped while Williams' head was being separated from his
body at Alcor. Ugh." [end quoted excerpt]
Let's break this down a little.
"Alleged statements by his son about selling his famous father's DNA"
[end quoted excerpt]
What alleged statements? Ferrell's? These are unsubstantiated and most
likely lies by Ferell to gather yuk factor sympathy to her cause. These
are not cold hard reportable facts.
"Alcor, a "non-profit" cryonics firm that operates apart from laws
governing the funeral industry, refers to the dead people it houses as
"patients." [end quoted excerpt]
'This is a blatant mischaracterization of the facts. It is meant to
portray Alcor as some wild west outlaw thumbing its nose at decent
society. It could not be further from the truth.
"The SI reporter's primary source, Alcor's former chief operating
officer, is himself a strange one: He set up a Web site that" [end
quoted excerpt]
Excuse me! How can they with a straight face now try to link Larry
Johnson back to Alcor as if his type were the norm at Alcor when in fact
he is an adversary of Alcor? This is a lie any way you dice it.
From another article we find this:
"Ted Williams' head in a can sort of reminds me of the story of the
legendary desperados of the California west, Joaquin Murietta and Three
Fingered Jake." "I can actually see a similar fate coming for poor Ted.
In this day of mass marketing and morbid curiosities, not unlike the
Wild West, I can see Ted staring out from above a Scottsdale Bar, gazing
at the patrons and wishing he might be somewhere else entirely." [end
quoted excerpt]
This reporters fantasy has no bearing on reality. He needs a real live
libel judgment to slim his pockets enough to remind him not to steer so
far away from the truth on hid excursions into fantasy land.
In yet another article more bad facts and absolute lack of critical
thinking:
"So Ted Williams is hanging around some cryonics lab in Arizona like the
headless horseman. I'm sure they never guaranteed to keep him in one
piece, anyway. I just want to know how some of the Splendid Splinters
DNA is missing. What, did it get up and walk away? Is there a black
market for Hall of Fame Baseball players' DNA like there is for
surface-to-air missiles?" [end quoted excerpt]
Anyone wishing to sell DNA need only hair samples, they need to watch
TW's barber!
He loses more points on the headless horsemen crack, more
sensationalism, not necessarily libel but surely bad journalism and bad
taste. He should himself take the advice of his peers and "honor Ted
Williams' legacy" by refraining from such poor taste.
From yet another article we have more oh so enlightened prose:
http://www.azcentral.com/specials/special48/articles/0712-02roberts.html
This one deserves special attention. This journalist has lumped us with
an indefinite number of people and their beliefs she deems as "Wacko".
There is simply too much in this article to cover each offending piece
so I'll just post the one quote I find rather disagreeable.
"Since then, however, things have been rather quiet on the woo-woo
front. Until now.
Now, the marketing director for Alcor Life Extension Foundation,
Scottsdale's own deep freeze, says phone lines have been melting down
since the Williams story broke.
"We're getting many requests for membership," she said.
Just what we need, more loonies headed our way.
Of course, there is a bright side. Maybe it'll boost tourism. Think of
the marketing opportunities. Scottsdale: Come for a sunburn, stay for a
freezer burn." [end quoted excerpt]
How long do we sit idly by and do nothing?
I know there is wisdom in letting the tempest-in-a-teapot die down and
go away, if it ever will, but are we letting people form irreparable
negative opinions of us by not standing up for what we believe and why
and correcting, faulty facts, blatant abuses and mis-portrayals?
Well one thing is for sure I haven't the means to find a lawyer and sue
any off these miscreants or the stamina to endure an actual court
battle. Therefore I'll leave it at what I've said above except that I'll
add that... I find it most irritating to be called wacko when the
opposition wishes to "burn" and therefore _destroy_ Ted Williams in
order to "save him". What more even need be said?
James
--
Cryonics Institute of Michigan Member!
The Immortalist Society Member!
The Society for Venturism Member!
MY WEBSITE: http://www.geocities.com/~davidpascal/swayze/
Signature Memetic Virus--The worst enemy of those who now or will need medical
care is the uninformed politician or moral fanatic who proscribe what doctors
are allowed to prescribe and research, with the consent of their patients. Those
who understand this are strongly encouraged to modify this to fit their
personality, and add this to their signature file, and organize to recover our
freedom from Big Brother. For those who wait until they are sick, it will be too
late. Those who suffer from diseases which might have been cured by advanced
medical research or schedule 1 drugs banned by Big Brother, have the right to
hold accountable those who sat on their hands or worse, deferred their
responsibility for personal and humanity's survival to unseen agents, while they
remained ill and dying.
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