CRYONICS-- Cold Filter-- FD/UP-- Alcor situation and Tanya's post

[+] Looks like there is a feedback loop occurring with Tjones and Coldfilter-- just as I had tried to design-- alcor having taken a cue from me I think on setting up a blog that allows comments on things outside of a strict moderator controlled forum environment. I should have done that originally with Cryonics Cafe-- but too late now. Cold Filter is more recognized as a threatded cryonics forum-- despite its takeover by FD-- and despite continued primacy of CryoNet.

I haven't looked at Tanya's content yet, nor have I considered the new problem at Alcor with regard to irregularities on the Patient Care Trust. It would be appropriate to bring people into the forum or blog who are the Patient Care Trustees, like David Brendt Erickson, who lives in Tucson.

UPDATE-- see the latest Cold Filter post-- Merkle's new article.
It's interesting to see who surfaces in these debates. So far, Merkle, Bridge and Jones are the front line defenders of the status quo-- who are inside the situation in some way. In a way, this is a kind of "immunity test" that Dave is performing. I think it's okay to do such a test-- I do not believe that democracy will be instituted at Alcor. I think the "dictatorship" if you want to call it that-- is at the core of the existence of Alcor and that what is needed is really a continuing monitering of Alcor by members using private investigation methods-- not democratic methods. I haven't been thinking about the board problem for years like Dave Pizer has-- so I'm no authority-- but I'm not passionate about the issue. I'm more interested in Alcor's response to the problem of C81 and SA.

And I'm more interested in knowing who the directors are and what they stand for....

Ravin Jain, M.D.-- I've never met him, don't know what he stands for.

Saul Kent-- wealthiest member who started SA Inc and became wildely successful with his arrangement of a Life Extension Foundation funded BY the sale of vitamins-- through Life Extension Buyers Club-- and announced a BIG new facility for 21CM-- which is doing strict cryobiology research-- with a nudge wink given to cryonicists-- since there is little effective difference in organ preservation for transplant and whole brain preservation for reanimation some day.... lots more to be said here-- but the Alcor site does NOT introduce these directors like it does the employees. Saul always wears sunglasses-- and I think it's because his eyes have sunk so far back into the sockets that it looks bad... Not sure what that condition is.

Ralph Merkle, Ph.D.-- Highly acclaimed long time board member-- very big on nanotechnology.

Carlos Mondragon-- Highly skilled negotiator-- helped get Alcor out of a pickle a few years ago with the regulators in Arizona after the funeral industry there became perturbed over the Ted Williams situation... doesn't live anywhere near Alcor anymore-- had a reputation for fairly non-standard appraoch to human sexuality-- somewhat problematic

Michael Riskin, Ph.D., CPA, Chairman-- another guy with an interesting background-- widely varied, including accounting and finances.

Michael Seidl, Ph.D., JD-- don't know him, never met him.

Stephen Van Sickle-- very vocal on Alcor United-- where we try to pretend Alcor members are "all in this together" and we can all bury the hatchet. I've been banned from that forum despite being a long time Alcor member. They didn't appreciate how I was able to use keyword to alphabeticize my posts about Marcie Johnson's plight-- they call my intelligent ordering of frequent and useful posts "spam" which it wasn't. But-- for the purpost of the forum there, I would say Sickle and Wowk ARE united-- AGAINST ME.

Brian Wowk, Ph.D.-- my favorite board member to critisize since he's originally canadian like me. Wowk tries to make the public think that cryonics is like a heart transplant ('don't worry we'll get you through this"). He mistakes the medical ANALOGY for medical REALITY and really hates the idea of cryonics as a religion. If I were to vote for board members, I'd vote Brian out-- since he's better working in the lab-- and put Dave Pizer in.