Ray's X-Blog

Illuminati?  Prove it. I don't buy into the Mega–Conspiracy theory that states one organization at the top controls almost every little detail below; everything is planned, there is no "accidental" history. There is what I call the free marketplace of conspiracies, large and small ones that can overlap, work with or against each other depending upon circumstances. The book, Subversives: The FBI's War on Student Radicals, and Reagan's Rise to Power (2012) , is based upon secret material investigative reporter Seth Rosenfeld pried lose from the FBI through FOIA (Freedom of Information Act).  He documents what was really going on behind the scenes in the 1960s with the Free Speech Movement at the University of California, Berkeley. At that time Governor Ronald Reagan was working with FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to suppress the student protests.  They didn't like university president Clark Kerr who they perceived wasn't standing up to the studen...

Some zine creators who still work mainly with dead trees call their medium the papernet, a response to the popularity of the internet. I have no problem switching between mediums, using either paper or photons. There are those who in paperzinedom who see the internet as a threat.  I don't. And there are a few who see the internet as the only way to communicate.  I don't. But the world of hardcopy isn't as important as it was in the past.  Digital offers benefits that paper can't match. I managed to save up enough money to finally buy a computer tablet (an Android, not Apple; I'm not a yuppie or have yuppie funds).   It's a seven inch tablet, portable and lightweight enough that I can easily take it with me to a wi-fi spot to download articles and posts from the Web.  Later I can lie in bed and read all the stuff as if it was contained in a large but thin paperback book. Now I have less print-outs adding to the mass of material that is taking over ...

"Velcro I grok but zippers?"  December 10, 1965.  Betty and Barney Hill returned home to find a mystery waiting for them: a large oval-shaped chuck of ice on the kitchen table.  They didn't know how it got there or what it signified. The inexplicable object greatly disturbed the couple.  It was another weird event following their abduction by humanoid aliens one night four years ago on a lonely country road.  Betty put the ice chunk in the sink, using hot water to melt it completely away. In her diary Betty noted the unusual properties of the ice.  There was no wetness on the table.  The chunk was light for its size and wasn't completely hard but "flexible."  She also recorded that there was a cut pattern inside it. This and other paranormal happenings are detailed in the book, "Captured!  The Betty and Barney Hill UFO Experience," by Stanton Friedman and Kathleen Marden.  What I find unusual is that the Hills sought out p...

Over at skepchick.org those questionable ads keep popping up. As I mentioned in a previous post - "Skepchick's Incongruous Ads" - sometimes the automatically generated ads at the site are contrary to the organization's goals.  I've been randomly checking; the problem remains. Skeptics are against unproven medical claims and products.   For example, in a recent skepchick.org post entitled "Centrum Silver has Been 'Studied'” the writer, Masala Skeptic, says that the TV commercial for a vitamin supplement was misleading, showing how that while the ad didn't lie, it wasn't exactly being truthful.  She links to online sources to back up her point. OK, that's fine.  But what about the ads that appear with the article for Vitamin Advisor Andrew Weil, MD or Opurity Vitamins?  Have those companies been checked out? Most skeptics are atheists.  So why do I see ads on skepchick.org for a Christian dating service? The problem is worse w...

Once again skeptic-feminist Rebecca Watson has stirred up another controversy, this time with the social news website Reddit. And once again people are viciously attacking her online. On a panel at the recent SXSW conference in Austin, Texas she criticized Reddit for its lack of moderation, allowing the promulgation of bigoted and hateful comments and viewpoints. In her article at skepchick.org – "SXSW and Reddit’s Introspection Problem" - she gives examples of nasty comments made by Reddit fans and defenders. Watson has faced similar attacks before regarding the "Elevatorgate" incident at an atheist conference back in 2011. Talking about the furor in a slate.com article - "It Stands to Reason, Skeptics Can Be Sexist Too" - Watson said she had heard about sexism being experienced by women attending skeptic conferences. While at the atheist conference she decided to address this problem, writing: "I used my time to talk about what it’s ...