X-Message-Number: 33363
From: "Melody Maxim" <>
References: <>
Subject: Mike Darwin's Alternate Reality
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2011 10:45:03 -0500

In Cryonet message #33358, Mike Darwin writes that I have made "bizarre and 
ludicrous claims that cryonics has not interacted with perfusion science and 
'Board Certified' perfusionists," and that those claims have "been shown to 
be patently false." I have never made such statements, at all, hence it's 
impossible for anyone to have proven them to be false. I did make repeated 
objections to cryonics organizations sending laymen to perform perfusion on 
their clients, because perfusion is not a task a layman is likely to 
perform, without inflicting significant harm. Suspended Animation contracted 
with qualified perfusionists AFTER I harshly, and repeatedly, criticized 
them for allowing unqualified laymen to perform their perfusion procedures.

It's Mr. Darwin whose comments have, many times, proven to be "patently 
false." For example, Mike Darwin clearly, and falsely, stated on the Cold 
Filter forum, that he had once been a "board-eligible perfusionist." Mr. 
Darwin has never even come close to meeting the requirements of being a 
board-eligible perfusionist, and I called him on it, at which time he 
stopped posting on Cold Filter and began criticizing the moderator of that 
forum. It is Mike Darwin, who never acknowledges his mistakes, (or lies). 
I'm sure he would love the moderator of this discussion group to satisfy his 
request to ban me, because I'm probably the only participant who is likely 
to recognize, and comment on, his many mistakes and deceptions.

Mr. Darwin also claims I have established a "secret forum," where I post my 
"hateful rants and...use fraud and force against cryonics." This is just 
another of Mr. Darwin's many delusions. My blog was available to the public, 
until recently, and I'm sure most of what I wrote there has been archived, 
or copied, on other public sites. Not long ago, (after the Max More 
craziness), I grew tired of the tabloid-like sensationalism, and decided I 
would convert the information on my blog into a more dispassionate plea, for 
some sanity in the conduct of cryonics organizations, to be posted on a new 
website. One would think Mr. Darwin would be happy my blog was closed, but 
no, he wants to use the closing of it as an opportunity to pretend there is 
some sort of secret cryonics-bashing conspiracy. I have not  posted even one 
word on the blog, since locking it. If Mr. Darwin, or anyone else, would 
like to read my old material, all they have to do is ask. It is Mr. Darwin 
who wants to operate under a veil of secrecy, not I. I simply want to carry 
out the discussions in a more civilized manner, but it seems Mr. Darwin 
would like to take the opposite course of action, with his name-calling and 
false accusations.

In addition to falsely claiming to have been a "board-eligible 
perfusionist," Mr. Darwin claims to have performed approximately 1,000 dog 
perfusion experiments. Does anyone really believe that? If so, where is the 
documentation of all those experiments? What valuable conclusions, if any, 
came from those experiments? Does the reporting of any such results come 
from credible sources? How many people outside the cryonics community have 
been impressed with Mr. Darwin's scientific endeavors, over the past 35 
years? Where did all those dogs come from? Where are the authorizations Mr. 
Darwin would have needed, to legally perform all those experiments? Does Mr. 
Darwin care if his outrageous behavior leads to the banning of cryonics? If 
Mr. Darwin is such a cryonics superstar, why is it the cryonics 
organizations, themselves, have so little to do with him? (Rhetorical 
question...I believe many of us know the answer to that question.)

Mr. Darwin wants to maintain that no one has been deceived by the practice 
of referring to laymen as medical professionals. Does he expect people, 
newly interested in cryonics, to visit websites where they might see photos 
of people dressed up in surgical garb, being referred to as "surgeons" and 
"perfusionists," to know those people might really be gas station 
attendants, or store clerks? Does he expect a layperson to read 
SA's/Catherine Baldwin's ridiculous case report and know that one does not 
find the femoral vessels in the femoral capsule, where Ms. Baldwin claimed 
to be looking for those vessels? Does he expect a layperson to be able to 
read between the lines of that report, filled with medical jargon that might 
be impressive to laymen unfamiliar with medical terminology, and recognize 
that Ms. Baldwin, (who referred to herself as a "surgeon"), didn't really 
know what she was doing? Isn't it likely that many people who have signed up 
for these very expensive procedures, some who have left substantial 
insurance policies, trust funds and bequests to cryonics organizations, 
might have been under the wrong impression, in regard to the quality of the 
procedures they were signing up for? How can anyone fail to see the problem 
with falsely referring to laymen with the titles of medical professionals, 
while attempting to sell services with price tags of up to $200,000? 
(Please, don't come back with the "it's all there in the small print" 
defense, as the small print needs to be front-page news, in this situation. 
Otherwise, it looks like a con-game.)

It's my position that cryonics organizations are misrepresenting the quality 
of their services to an unsuspecting public, including members of their own 
community, and I believe Mr. Darwin has played a large role in that 
misrepresentation. It is also my position that cryonics "research" of the 
last 40 years has been largely a waste of time and money, which has 
accomplished little more than padding the pockets (and egos) of a small 
handful of insiders, who have a vested interest in continuing on that 
course. Mr. Darwin can try to discredit me until the end of time, with all 
his name-calling and false information. The truth is, I'm a medical 
professional who has spent many years working with some incredibly talented 
and well-respected members of the medical community, and everyone who has 
ever worked with me in conventional medicine will vouch for my credibility 
and competency. Can Mr. Darwin say the same, or have his past cryonics 
activities made him a pariah amongst even his own peers? Anyone who really 
cares about cryonics activities should demand the cryonics organizations 
live up to a much higher standard of professional ethics than they have in 
the past, and the toxicity of "loose cannons" such as Mr. Darwin should be 
of great concern.

Melody Maxim

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