X-Message-Number: 1352 Date: 24 Nov 92 13:32:47 EST From: Charles Platt <> Subject: CRYONICS Alcor Critical Review Thanks to Ralph Whelan and Steve Bridge for their friendly responses to my suggestion for some sort of critical-review publication. (I suggest it could be called, in fact, The Alcor Critical Review.) Thanks also to a couple of people who wrote to me direct, in favor of the idea. To Steve: Obviously, there are times when people have a need to make strong feelings known fairly quickly, and there are other times when everyone is pretty much content, or at least quiescent. This being so, the schedule of the newsletter should perhaps be intermittent, responding to demand. I don't agree that it would be too slow to satisfy someone with an important complaint. Cryonet gives instant gratification, of course, but if one wants the whole Alcor membership to be aware of something, a newsletter is the only option. To Ralph: I don't blame you for being angry about Mike Darwin's posting. In your position, I would be angry too. Obviously, you cannot discount the slurs and aspersions directed at work that you and Tanya and others at Alcor have done. I have already told Mike that I regret he has not only burned his bridges, but dynamited the foundations, so that rebuilding may not be possible in some cases. At the same time, if you want me to say, "You're right, things that Mike complains about were worse when he was there," I can't do that, because I wasn't around and I don't have the facts. Therefore, even if it irritates you, I have to sit on the sidelines in that respect. What I can say is that as a journalist (as well as a cryonicist) I have witnessed you and Tanya and Keith and Hugh doing your jobs on a daily basis, and also during a suspension. I was reassured by what I saw. Sure, it would be nice if someone had had five years of medical school or a couple of years out on the street as an Emergency Medical Technician. Maybe Alcor will eventually find someone with that kind of background who is willing to work for cryonics. In the meantime, however, I see you following the best available suspension protocol conscientiously and with some dedication, and Alcor looks good compared with other cryonics providers. Thanks for your encouragement for some sort of Critical Review, and I will indeed send you a proposal. Obviously this thing has to be done right; it must tread a path between honesty and name-calling. There must be some sort of editorial presence, but no suspicion of censorship. And so on. I'll send my proposal to you, and I will post it on the net, when I've had more time to think about this. --Charles Platt Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=1352