Randi Backs Out of Challenge with Homeopath George Vithoulkas

Apparently, when someone might win the Randi Challenge, Randi makes excuses and cancels it.

www.naturalnews.com...

Also see this revealing article:

The Myth of the Randi Challenge

www.dailygrail.com...

reply to post by WWu777


I gave a look around on-line , and found James Randi`addressing the matter .
James Randi Educational Foundation

I wouldn`t be too enamored of Randi`s style . Then again,i suppose he is a magician .

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Randi was involved with a BBC Documentary programme in testing the claims of Homeopathy .
A little background information about that test. Does Homeopathy Work ? BBC News



The dilutions get a little bit "out there" . With 12C the equivalent of one drop in the Atlantic ocean , the typical dilution is 30C .........!



[edit on 20-5-2009 by UmbraSumus]

The Amazing Randi has always been more of an Amazing Windbag anyway.

I've seen him do things like this before, I know how he is. He is truly the model for any and all "debunkers," anyone who feels threatened by any sort of knowledge whatsoever that they must become defensive about it to feel secure in themselves.

All seemed to be going well when in August 2006, Vithoulkas received a signed agreement from Randi in which he stated that he was satisfied with the suggested protocol. He also waived the need for a preliminary test - the part of the process that had foiled every applicant up to that point. However Randi then delayed the start of the experiment owing to health problems and lack of sufficient funding. Apparently Randi was asked by Vithoulkas to assign a representative in his absence while funding was being sought but Randi refused to do so. He also told the homeopaths that he needed 6 months to recuperate from his unspecified health problems.

This 6 month period, according to Vithoulkas, was critical. It coincided with the appointment of a new Mayor of Athens who installed a new chairman of the scientific committee and a new president of the hospital that was to be used for the experiment. Vithoulkas claims that Randi knew of theses impending changes and was looking for a way of getting out of the challenge. It certainly was the most rigorous and well organized attempt to win the one million dollars that had ever been attempted. The Homeopaths believe that Randi got cold feet for this reason.

After a further 2 years of negotiating with the new authorities, the Homeopaths finally got the go ahead in Athens and started putting the final touches to the arrangements. In September 2008, a two day meeting was held in Greece between two of Randi`s representatives, plus Dr. Menachem Oberbaum, principal investigator of the experiment, and George Vithoulkas.

After this meeting the homeopaths thought everything was ready to go ahead but they were in for a rude surprise. In October 2008, one month after the meeting, they received the following communication from Randi:

"Forget all previous correspondence exchanged on the subject. What appears here is the current status. First, we require that George Vithoulkas submit a regular, properly-filled-out application and submit it just as we require everyone to do. After that has been received, we`ll go ahead as with any regular applicant - with the arrangements, including the requirement for the preliminary stage".

This new turn of events understandably infuriated Vithoulkas after his 5 years of toil. To make matters worse, Randi, according to Vithoulkas, claimed on his website (www.randi.org) that the homeopaths had withdrawn from the experiment. This accusation is strenuously denied by Vithoulkas.

www.naturalnews.com...


So now we know Randi is also a crook and a liar.

What a shocker.

I seem to recall reading the challenge guidelines once and if the person wasn't someone the press had focused on in the past, they weren't elegible to take the challenge. I also think that that it was written in such a way that Randi had final say whether or not the power was proven, in which case, I felt he was never going to award the prize, so I'm not surprised.