X-Message-Number: 7567
Date: Sun, 26 Jan 1997 12:32:11 -0500 (EST)
From: Charles Platt <>
Subject: Visser: secondary damage

It occurs to me that any net-literate journalist following up the
Visser/AIDS story might do a routine search for "Olga Visser" at
DejaNews, where all Usenet posts are archived. This is certainly what I 
would do, as a journalist, if I were working on this story.

The journalist would immediately find Visser's posts relating to cryonics,
plus the announcement from Robert Ettinger and Steve Bridge claiming the
breakthrough in rat heart resuscitation and making it clear that they have
a close relationship with Visser. 

The next obvious step would be for the journalist to call Alcor and CI and
ask (among other questions) how these organizations were funding Visser's
research. The journalist might then wonder if Visser spent some of this
funding on her attempts to cure AIDS by injecting people with her
cryoprotectant. Of course the cryonics organization could claim
(truthfully) to be unaware of any misuse of funds in this way. But
journalists tend to be skeptical of claims from "wacky head freezers." 

I hope the message here is clear, but in case it isn't:

1. Alcor and CI should be prepared to deal with the above scenario.

2. Scandal is contagious, especially in the current media environment, and
especially when journalists start looking for ways to extend a story to
keep it alive. It is a very short leap from medical mistreatment of AIDS
cases by a woman in South Africa to nutty cryonicists who can be made to
seem guilty by association. This of course damages not only Alcor and CI,
but cryonics in general. 

3. Since cryonics organizations routinely accept large sums of money
(often from grieving relatives) in order to perform controversial
procedures, cryonics organizations should be especially careful to
associate only with ethical individuals.

**   Lastly, I have a question: Will Olga Visser still make an appearance
**   at the Alcor Technology Festival next week? 



PS. Last September, right here on CryoNet, I pledged $1,000 donation to
Alcor for their Visser research, on two conditions: a) I should be able to
read her paper on her rat-heart work, and b) I should know who would be
conducting the research. I regret in view of the news from South Africa, I
have to withdraw this pledge. Perhaps Brian Wowk may wish to withdraw the
$1,000 pledge that he made, also. 

--Charles Platt
(speaking for myself, not CryoCare)


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