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 My blog was available to the public, until recently, and I'm sure most of what I wrote there has been archived, or copied, on other public sites.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 Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=33363