StopSylviaBrowne - I Speak With Sylvia Browne

[Hindmost]

Another great article.....just think how great the world would be if everyone was as "nasty" as robert.

glenn

 

[Sherlock]

Great stuff. If I ever want to crash a Noreen Renier lecture I'll pass along another set of tickets for you and your wife. -John Merrell

 

[Loss Leader]

Historic silliness.

It's like the end of Roger and Me except that instead of not caring about the people of Flint, Michigan, Sylvia doesn't care about anybody.

 

[EeneyMinnieMoe]

Historic silliness.

It's like the end of Roger and Me except that instead of not caring about the people of Flint, Michigan, Sylvia doesn't care about anybody.

Nobody. Nobody at all.

And she's just a sad, pathetic, two-bit con artist running a sad and pathetic con. Not a worthy adversary.

 

[tiger]

I find that cooperating with a man carrying a badge, firearm and handcuffs is generally the safe course of action--and usually the legal course as well.
And if you think private security cannot legally detain you, try something really stupid, like shoplifting...

Yes store owners have the ability to detain you if your shoplifting but just watch what happens if their wrong. Store managers better be pretty damn sure the crime happened otherwise they have some real problems. No security guards are just that and they are not officers of the law and detaining someone without legal authority is false imprisonment with or without threat. Which means if the law doesn't give you the authority to act in this manner, and if your a security guard your going to have major problems both civil and criminal!

 

[Meridian]

Great article!

And as long as we're copy-editing the article, the line in which Claus "generously offered to pay for tickets for my wife and I to attend with him" should read "...my wife and me..."

There's another one of these: "To my wife and I, it definitely sounded like a threat."

(There's also one more, but there you are reporting your own words, so I imagine it's an accurate report!)

Apologies for the pedanrty!

 

[ravdin]

I find that cooperating with a man carrying a badge, firearm and handcuffs is generally the safe course of action--and usually the legal course as well.
And if you think private security cannot legally detain you, try something really stupid, like shoplifting...

Sure, private security can detain you. But they have to at least accuse you of committing a crime. Plus they'd only be able to hold you until the real cops arrive.

I doubt very much the rent a cops would have prevented Robert from exiting the casino if he refused to show his ID and said he wanted to leave of his own volition. Incidentally, I think he did the right thing (it wouldn't have helped his cause to make a scene). I'm just saying that it would have been a shorter, if much less pleasant, conversation if he had been less cooperative.

 

[shadron]

Larsen, I like the question you had for her.

Yes, t'was good. But I think the best one is the one that ended the conversation with the guard supervisor. I think he'd likely buy Robert a drink just as soon as Sylvia quits the money run to LV. The guards know the score better than others around a place like Excalibur.

 

[steve s]

Kudos, Robert. This is your best article yet. Sylvia's going to be looking over her shoulder from now on. Every time she does one of these shows she'll wonder who is in the audience.

I love the way Sylvia dug her own grave by getting you to come back to the microphone after you were about to leave. And then she dug it deeper by inadvertently plugging your website. I'm sure you'll be getting e-mails from people who were there and had their eyes opened by your site. That will be worth another article in itself.

Steve S.

 

[shadron]

The guys you have to feel sorry for are the one who have to live with her all the way back to where ever she comes from, particularly which ever one she can pin with "letting Lancaster in".

 

[RSL's better half]

Good Work, Robert!

BTW The University of San Francisco appears not to offer a Master's Degree in English. Link.

ETA: Perhaps she said San Francisco University

I am absolutely certain that she said "University of San Francisco." I looked around the website for the school and discovered that they do have an English Lit course of study and they do have a Masters program. Also, I believe that the school she did indeed attend in MO was a Catholic college, so it may be possible that she attended the Catholic University of San Francisco. She also apparently taught for a short while at a Catholic school. Back then, she would not have had to have a Masters to teach in a private school, but it all fits together. She could have just taken courses at University of SF and still gotten a job teaching at a Catholic school.

Personally, I don't believe the claim that she has a Masters Degree because she does not sound or behave like an educated person does. Robert just may find, when he has the time to research this claim, that she did attend some classes there . . . and likely ended up with the same grades and result she had at the school in MO. And, if she did go there, why didn't her "people" provide Robert with a transcript from that school instead of the abismal report card from the one in MO?

To those who say she is just a pitiful scam or con artist I say: She is one freaking wealthy scam/con artist. For being such a heartless, uncaring, mean-spirited bitch, she's done pretty well for herself financially. Yes, at the cost of other people's pain and anguish.

I do believe she will pay a higher price . . . and sooner than 16 years from now as she predicts. She really doesn't look well. And, what about her statements that psychics can't be psychic about themselves? How the heck can she claim she knows when she will die? Why don't her loyal followers question these things?

And finally, I want to thank you all for your praise of me, but I need to clarify. I only went because I was afraid that Robert would not be allowed to ask his question and I just might have the opportunity. The only way I kept from being scared to death was by play-acting - I was pretending to be an SB admirer. Once I knew that Robert was going to be able to ask his question, and knowing that I had none of my own, I began to panic. I ended up continuing my play-acting and asked a question I thought one of her supporters would ask. I'm not very good at thinking on my feet. The brave ones here were Claus (real grace under pressure - and a lot better at the spy game than I - and, Claus, thanks again for making this possible for us) and my husband and hero, Robert S. Lancaster.

 

[pchams]

Very professional job Mr. Lancaster et al.
Thanks for doing this for all of us!

ETA: I have certainly learned something from your cool polite manner.
Thank-you

 

[streamlet]

Great article. Amusing and enlightening. I swear it does my soul good to read about Sylvia getting her just desserts.

When I saw the thread title, this image popped into my head:

 

[imjohn]

Excellent work!

I have to admit that Sylvia's actions do not surprise me. She reacted like any grifter reacts to a challenge. If the grifter thinks he has the upper hand he gets nasty. If he doesn't have the upper hand he slinks away and comes back later to try to hit you with a brick from behind.

Hotel security was Sylvia's brick.

 

[RSLancastr]

That... was.... awesome!

Thanks, John!

Great job Mr. Lancaster.

Thanks, JP!

Nice work. Too bad she called the rent-a-pigs on you.

Thanks, Joe. It would have been interesting to see what wuold have happened had she not called security.

I can't add any words of praise that haven't been said already. I feel privileged to be able to call you friends.

Thanks, Grayman!

Great article. I say we take up a collection and send you back. We'll get you a wig and shave your beard. Then she'll have no way of even knowing it's you (besides, you know, psychic abilities).

Yeah, that's going to happen. I've had this beard so long, I have no idea how many chins are hidden under it...

Wonderful article!

Thanks!

She could have just answered the question, and ended the "show"- by engaging you and going on about your nasty website, she just guaranteed you got more hits and people would go there to see what it's all about.

Yup.

Robert, you are THE MAN!

Thanks, Ed!

This is the best evidence I've seen yet that Robert's site is effective- he must be doing some real damage for her to react that way. Nice work!

Thanks!

My compliments as well. It isn't easy putting oneself in a situation where a confrontation may develop, nor standing up politely under pressure. (That's an advantage of the sort of historical reviews I typically do in Junior Skeptic.)

Thanks. Well, it is certainly easier for me to be polite in my articles, where I can rewrite before publishing!

And, a pleasure to meet you at TAM.

Same here!

Well done, Robert. Very well done.

Thanks, Garrette!

Immediately and permanently eliminate from your vocabulary the phrase She then proceeded. You repeat it several times with little text between repetitions.

Yes, if I had reread it after I wrote it, I would have bluepenciled the heck out of that section. But it took me days of off-again, on-again writing, still trying to catch up on my TAM-induced sleep deprivation. When I finally finished, I ran it by Susan and Claus for factual errors, ran it through a sell check, and put it up. I just couldn't face reading through it! It turned out okay for all of that.

little typo...

I think that should be "ensure."

Fixed, thanks (whether or not is acceptable in US English).

Robert - incredible article! I gobbled it up.

Thanks!

Any responses from rabid followers/from Sylvia's HQ/others in attendance?

Yes, I have heard from two who were in attendance, and hope to put their emails up in the coming days.

I would have been tempted to pump the security guys for the exact "charges" being alleged - but it's always easier in hindsight (and from the sidelines).

I considered this, but thought better of it. If they had been forthcoming with it, fine. But if I had pumped them for it, then put it in this article, it could have gotten them in trouble for having said too much.

Well I finally got to read the article (for some reason I couldn't link it this morning) and I want to congratulate all of you on a great job. Too bad it wasn't taped.

Thanks, Jeff.

And Claus, since when did you pick up an American accent?

Yeah, I think Claus's accent is onsidered American when he is in Denmark! Here, I don't think anyone would call it that. Most Americans would probably think it German.

It appears to me that her raffle system for the normal paying customers to ask questions is a complete scam. Everyone probably gets to ask questions at every show (especially in such a small room), but she wants the moolah from the high value customers, so she sells them a "guarenteed" question ticket.

I think that the raffle was probably put together with the thought that they were going to have full houses. With a full house, she probably would not have had the chance to get to all of the "cheap seats." Also, the woman who had been to her show in February said that the VIP seats all got to ask three questions, while the cheap seats only got to ask one. It probably varies based on how many people are in the audience, and Browne's mood at the time.

I really respect you for doing what you did.

Thanks, cue!

Awesome read!

Thanks, Wolrab!

Kick ass! You're doing a public service here.

Thanks, NT!

Mr. Lancaster, you are awesome.

Thanks, gd!

Please add another "Bravo!" to the batch.

Thanks, Hoke! Sorry we didn't get to spend more time with you and your mom at TAM!

Robert, you are a pillar of restraint and class.

You're very kind, tanstaafl. Thanks.

Great article RSL!

Thanks, Ex-M!

How did you manage to come up with such great answers on the spot?

I think I came up with the answers that I did - good or bad - because I have used similar answers when responding to emails from Browne supporters. I've lost track of the number of times I've said "If you can point out anything inaccurate.."

You know though you gotta wonder just how many of those other people saw what she was doing and have some differing opinions about her now.

I'd love to know!

 

[Niobe]

security guards are just that and they are not officers of the law and detaining someone without legal authority is false imprisonment with or without threat.

I am half sure Vegas has some other laws in this respect, what with the casinos and the crapload of money that goes around. I of course learned this from super realistic shows like Las Vegas and CSI

As for Sylvia, the more I read and especially things in this article jump out at me as her having some Scientology scam going on. What with the books and the courses and the lackeys, underlings, henchmen and the (tax exempt) church. Now that's par for the course for plenty of cults but she seems to have taken serious notes from Hubbard. Let's hope there are no skeletons in the closet like with the COS, but with faulty readings in a police investigation and the dispensing of medical advise, she might have some accountability in bodily harm.

 

[tiger]

I am half sure Vegas has some other laws in this respect, what with the casinos and the crapload of money that goes around. I of course learned this from super realistic shows like Las Vegas and CSI

As for Sylvia, the more I read and especially things in this article jump out at me as her having some Scientology scam going on. What with the books and the courses and the lackeys, underlings, henchmen and the (tax exempt) church. Now that's par for the course for plenty of cults but she seems to have taken serious notes from Hubbard. Let's hope there are no skeletons in the closet like with the COS, but with faulty readings in a police investigation and the dispensing of medical advise, she might have some accountability in bodily harm.

I am sure it's like the shoplifting and they can detain you if your caught cheating in the casino, but has for just detaining someone you better have legal authority to do it! And just like shoplifting you better have proof it really happened because security guards have gone to prison for it. I also believe Robert won the day and her (Sylvia) calling security proves that it was a situation she couldn't control and Robert waa person she couldn't control so she used other means.

 

[Rasmus]

Because she claims that she can tell the difference: If she couldn't, she would cover her ass constantly, by referring to the bad connection, or whatever else excuse she would make up. But she doesn't - she is dead-sure, every time.

Where in this is her claim that she can tell the difference?

She doesn't say "It's a bit unclear, but I think it is Howard - or something like that." She says "Howard", without missing a beat.

Yes. She is more confident than she ought to be. But that doesn't tell us that she should feel any different when making a right or a wrong prediction.

She spouts names, places, events, in one uninterrupted stream. Bam, bam, bam - they just keep coming. "I'm sure, honey".

Yes. And sometimes she's wrong even though she was sure. There is nothing that suggests that she ought to have a different confidence level for different kinds of claim. (Yes, her confidence should be lower because we know she makes mistakes. She admits to making 20% of mistakes!)

Why would paranormal statements be so much unlike more regular predictions? If you have a margin of error, then sometimes you will end up with a wrong result, but that doesn't mean it should have been foreseeable that it would happen *this* time rather than another.

 

[CFLarsen]

Where in this is her claim that she can tell the difference?

Yes. She is more confident than she ought to be. But that doesn't tell us that she should feel any different when making a right or a wrong prediction.

Yes. And sometimes she's wrong even though she was sure. There is nothing that suggests that she ought to have a different confidence level for different kinds of claim. (Yes, her confidence should be lower because we know she makes mistakes. She admits to making 20% of mistakes!)

Why would paranormal statements be so much unlike more regular predictions? If you have a margin of error, then sometimes you will end up with a wrong result, but that doesn't mean it should have been foreseeable that it would happen *this* time rather than another.

Where am I losing you? Seriously.

If you, again and again, categorically state that X is so and so, without expressing any doubts at the time you are stating it, then you are sure that X is so and so. At that time. That means that you think you can tell the difference. At that time.

It is only when you learn the truth later that you admit to not being precise. And therein lies the rub: By admitting later that she cannot in reality distinguish, she also admits that she isn't psychic.

Because, how can you be a psychic, if you cannot distinguish at the time you get the messages? How is that different from cold reading (in the case where you are aware of what you are doing) or insanity (in the case where you aren't aware, but merely listens to/imagines voices in your head)?

The moment Sylvia acknowledges that she is wrong some of the time but doesn't know it at the time, she also acknowledges that she is not psychic.

 

[CFLarsen]

ran it through a sell check

Not this post, though!

Yeah, I think Claus's accent is onsidered American when he is in Denmark! Here, I don't think anyone would call it that. Most Americans would probably think it German.

I heard that.

You have an accent. I don't.