X-Message-Number: 32722 Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2010 01:26:31 -0700 Subject: Errors in Johnson's Book From: Charles in Arizona <> I have seen some discussion about possible errors in Larry Johnson's book. Below I am listing 69 statements in the book which I believe are incorrect. I am ONLY listing statements which relate to me personally. There are many other statements that I queried as probable errors and submitted to the attorney representing Alcor. Some of these issues are important, but since they may yet come up in a defamation suit, it would be inappropriate for me to give them advance exposure here. Many of the items in the list are trivial, but some of them reflect misunderstandings of basic procedures in cryonics, a muddled chronology, and a lack of diligence in checking sources. I tend to doubt that these errors would have appeared in a serious piece of documentary journalism that was properly fact-checked. The reader may decide for himself whether this means that other, more significant claims in the book are trustworthy. Page ix "important cryobiological research I was promised during my initial job interview" There is no way I would have promised a middle-aged paramedic with no science background that he would be expected to do research in cryobiology. The idea is absurd. Page 7 Johnson quotes me as saying, "Alcor is a cold-temperature research facility." I said no such thing. I'm not even sure what this means. Page 8 Johnson claims I summarized work at CCR. His summary is inaccurate. I would not have said any of this. Page 12 Johnson describes me as "sickly looking with sunken eyes and a yellow discoloration of the skin." My liver function is healthy. I have the pink-and-white complexion characteristic of people with a Celtic heritage. I conjecture that the only function of this statement may be to suggest that cryonicists are somehow sick, defective, or macabre. Other descriptions of people in the book seem to serve the same purpose. Page 15 "Charles pointed him out ... Randall Robertson" (in a photo in the Alcor lobby). I've never heard of Randall Robertson. Page 15 Johnson says "I asked Charles what FM stood for" and says I answered "Futureman." I could not have given that answer, since I was unaware of this fact (if, indeed, it is a fact). Page 16 "Charles started rattling off a list of what he claimed were celebrity Alcor members." I may have mentioned one or two people, but not the whole list, which includes people who never joined Alcor, so far as I am aware. Page 16 "Other cryonics organizations were jealous, he said, and would love to get their hands on Alcor's secret formulas." I never said this. Page 16 Johnson has me saying that "the less outsiders knew about what went on inside Alcor, the better." This is nonsense. I have always advocated, and practiced, full disclosure. Page 20/21 Johnson says he saw Vecuronium in a refrigerator when he visited Alcor for his job interview. He implies that I knew it was there. In fact I had no knowledge of the inventory in Alcor's refrigerators, which predated my arrival and were not relevant to my tasks. Page 22 "He was, Charles smilingly said, a genius." I have never referred to Mike Perry as a genius. Page 23 "the CryoStar ... where patients' heads were sometimes stored midway through the freezing process." I never said that, because it's not true, and reflects a surprising ignorance of Alcor procedures. Page 23 "Charles explained ... the CryoStar was malfunctioning" I didn't tell Johnson this during his initial visit to the facility, because I didn't know anything about temperature excursions of the CryoStar till much later. Page 24 Johnson says I told him there were two heads in the CryoStar, "One had been a close personal friend." I did not tell Johnson this, because it was not true. Page 24 "Charles went into great detail about the dewars." I did not. I never knew most of the detail that Johnson supplies in this section. Page 25 "The south wall was two feet thick." I never said that, and I doubt that it's true. Page 25 "he thought there was a monkey brain in there too." I never said that. I never heard of such a thing. Page 26 "They told me they admired the Branch Davidians." I doubt that anyone said this during Johnson's job-interview visit. Page 27/28 Johnson says he was shocked by the plan to issue name tags with "organ recovery team" on them. This conversation did not occur during his job interview. It occurred weeks or months later. Page 29 "the trembling COO" I was not the COO at this time. And I doubt that I was trembling. Page 38 "He still had that cold and clammy handshake" In fact, as a result of a slightly high thyroid, I have a slightly elevated skin temperature. Page 40 "The COO already has dibs on the broom closet" I was not COO at this time. Page 42 Johnson quotes me as saying, re Jerry Lemler, "Off to pick lint from his navel..." I never said that or anything like it, and I did not voice criticisms of Lemler until much later. Page 42 "Charles would have been quick to admit that he was not much good at physical labor." In fact, I used to work for a moving company. Page 43 Johnson quotes me as making a snide comment about Hugh Hixon "punching in" at 10am. There was no time clock at Alcor, and I did not make any such remark. Page 44 Johnson quotes me as saying that "Hugh here has degrees in chemistry and biochemistry." I didn't say that, because I was unaware of it (if it is true). Page 44 Johnson quotes me as giving many more details about Hixon's career. This is impossible, since I was unaware of the information. Page 51 "Charles ... said I should ask Jerry about the time he assisted in an exorcism." I never said that. I never knew that Lemler ever did such a thing--if, indeed, he did. Page 57 Johnson alleges that I was evasive and didn't know why Alcor would stock an anesthetic drug. I am sure I told him why. A search for "propofol" on the Alcor web site returns numerous hits describing use of the drug during cases. There is no mystery or conspiracy. Page 60 "Charles had already told me ... Rick was a musician from Canada." I did not say this, because I was unaware of it. Page 82 Johnson describes me as carrying a "survival bag" in case of "natural disaster or terrorist attack." This is nonsense. It was either a computer bag or my Alcor overnight bag in case I was called to a case. Page 83 Johnson quotes me as saying that I carry a survival bag "in case of earthquake, nuclear attack, chemical spill." The quote is entirely fabricated. Page 83 Johnson portrays me as saying I wanted him to take over from me as COO, during our drive to California. This is impossible. Email records show that Johnson and myself planned to make the visit on February 21st, 2003. But I did not acquire the title of COO until later, as reported in Alcor News, dated March 23, 2003. I could not surrender my title to Johnson, because I did not have it. Page 87 Johnson quotes me as saying that Alcor director Michael Riskin had appeared in "swingers' DVDs." I don't think I ever said that, because I was unaware of this alleged fact. I still don't know if it's true. Page 90 Johnson quotes me as revealing some intimate details about Mike Perry. I believe I have never said anything to anyone about this, and I know relatively little about it--certainly much less than Johnson has suggested. It is extremely offensive to me that he would describe me talking casually about this. Page 94 "Charles told me that her name was Dixie." I believe Johnson is referring to a dog named Franklin. Page 97 "Charles implied that Darwin was responsible" for the death of Dora Kent. This is not correct. The death of Dora Kent preceded my involvement in cryonics. I have no first-hand knowledge and prefer not to discuss the case. Page 97 Johnson quotes me as saying that lethal concentrations of barbiturates were found in Dora Kent's bone marrow. I could not have said this. I have never heard of such a thing, and I lack the medical knowledge to have imagined it. The rest of this alleged conversation appears to be fabricated. NOTE: Johnson apparently had not started taping anyone at this point. He states that he regrets he did not get some of my statements on tape. In fact, at this point in the book, I believe that none of my alleged quotes are derived from any tape, text, or other archival materials. I believe everything that I am quoted as saying was derived from Johnson's memory (at best). Page 100 "a few weeks later ... we drove to ... a party celebrating the first anniversary of an Alcor member's suspension." This is multiply incorrect. The party was held during the same visit that we made to the California lab--not a few weeks later. It was a wake, not a party, and the person had died relatively recently. Page 100 "Charles took me to the touristy Third Street Promenade..." Todd Huffman took Larry Johnson to this event. I was not there. Page 108 Regarding an interview for a TV news show: "I became pretty nervous with Charles staring at me the whole time to enforce the party line." For the media interview which Johnson is referring to, he was given the option to say whatever he liked, or he could opt out completely. He asked me for advice in doing an interview, and I simply told him to take his time and think before answering questions. Page 108 "There were quotes about the cost of suspension being a 'down payment on resurrection'" I have a tape of the interview to which Johnson is referring. There is no such quote. Page 109 "at the time I felt like I had to play my part" Johnson appeared to be an enthusiastic participant in the interview. Page 113 "She was a very pleasant Asian lady about Charles's age." She is actually 13 years younger. Page 113 "He came to Alcor to raid the place for drugs" SARS was in the news at this time, and I was interested in buying antiviral medications as a precautionary measure. Alcor has no such medications that I am aware of. I have no idea what this anecdote is based on--if, indeed, it is based on anything. Page 114 "eager to get home with his new drugs" Johnson doesn't specify what drugs I was taking from the facility. The only related items I ever took from Alcor were vials for practice sessions in drawing meds. Page 114 Johnson quotes me as asking "What do we have at Alcor that could boost my immune system?" So far as I know, nothing at Alcor would fit this criteria. The idea of looking for immune system boosters at a cryonics facility makes no sense to me. Page 114 "I drove up to Charles's home ... with some of Alcor's expired Solu-Medrol." Solu-Medrol is a corticosteroid, which I would never take unless a doctor prescribed it. From RxMed I find that it is given by injection. I am unable to give injections and I know no one else locally who is qualified to do so. Nor would I have asked Johnson to give me any prescription drug. Nor do I have any memory of him driving to my house. Page 115 "locked up tight inside his house and wouldn't even let me in." At no time did I keep myself "locked up tight." I have no memory of Johnson ever coming to my house. Page 115 Johnson suggests I refused to come to work unless he would drive with me to Mexico to buy Ribavirin. This makes no sense. He and I did go to Mexico for this purpose, but we left from the Alcor facility. I was already at work. Page 115 "I scared Charles senseless by taking us off the path to a local bar." It was a joint decision and the bar was not off the beaten path. Page 115 "It was the kind of place tourists don't really go." I recall that it was full of tourists. Page 116 "after stuffing himself full of Ribavirin" I never took a single dose of Ribavirin. It was a precautionary item that remained in my refrigerator for the next two or three years. Page 119 Johnson states that I screamed at him, regarding a cryonics patient, "that man is not dead!" Johnson was well aware of our outlook regarding death. I never needed to remind him about it and never screamed at him. Page 148 Johnson depicts me as discussing the blood-brain barrier with him. I am unqualified to have such a discussion. I don't believe it occurred. I believe Johnson is likely to have had this conversation with Hugh Hixon, since the blood-brain barrier is a favorite topic of Hixon's. I know almost nothing about it. (I am omitting the absurd conspiracy theories about Dave Pizer. Someone else can deal with them.) Page 151 "Cryonicists came from all over the United States ... to attend my seminars." This is misleading. I ran a six-day course for Alcor members and others, on every aspect of cryonics. Johnson gave two instructional briefings during those six days. No one came for "his seminars." They came for the whole course. Page 151 Johnson says he doesn't understand why he was asked to teach intubation. "Charles couldn't figure it out either." Intubation enables the stabilization team to ventilate the patient's lungs during cardiopulmonary support. I find it hard to believe that Johnson never knew this, or had forgotten it. The statement that I "couldn't figure it out" is ridiculous. Page 153 "Charles told me that, sometimes, Pizer sat his followers down ... and read his short stories to them." I never said that. I am unaware that it ever happened. I don't think Dave Pizer has any "followers." He runs a motel. Page 163 "Charles and Joe Hovey told me that ... David sued for wrongful termination." I never said this, because it is incorrect. Page 164 Johnson says that during job interviews, I "asked about people's religion." This is misleading. My standard question was, "Do you have any beliefs which could conflict with cryopreservation?" I believe this is a legitimate and legal question in an interview, since at no time did I ask what someone's beliefs actually were. Page 165 "Charles told me that he had Todd hired so he would one day be able to replace Hugh." I don't believe I ever said that. Page 168 "Charles said he ... was working the case without pay because Leary was so famous...." That is incorrect. At the time, for CryoCare Foundation, during a period of years, ALL of my activities were unpaid. Page 172 "When I asked Charles about Larry Flynt...." I doubt that I ever said anything about Flynt, because I know almost nothing about his signup or subsequent cancellation. Photo caption "Charles Platt told me the terrible truth--they needed it somewhere easily accessible..." I never said this. It makes no sense. (I have many notes regarding inaccuracies in Johnson's description of the Ted Williams case, where I was the staff photographer. It would be inappropriate to list them here. But it's a long list. Johnson himself of course was not present during the Williams case, because he had not yet joined Alcor.) Page 204 "Charles later confided in me that Alcor received the CryoStar as a gift from CCR" I never said this, because it is incorrect. Page 205 "Charles and I took another drive to Los Angeles..." I have no memory of "another" drive to LA, and I doubt that it ever happened. Page 206 Johnson quotes me giving him information about the "Dentinger case." At this time I had never heard of "Dentinger." Page 212 "If what Charles had told me was true, Mike Darwin had killed Dora Kent" I do not believe I ever said this. NOTE: Johnson states that he was not taping this alleged conversation. So, here again, quotes have been assigned to me which do not appear to be supported by any kind of record. Page 223 Johnson quotes me as saying "we want Ted's head in a place where we have easy access to it in case we have to relocate it." Again, Johnson admits that he failed to record me saying that. In fact I never said it. Page 224 "Charles said ... prepared to rush Ted's head out of the building and stash it." Another statement I never made, in support of a theory that makes no sense. --Charles Platt Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=32722