X-Message-Number: 17704
From: "John de Rivaz" <>
References: <>
Subject: Re: CryoNet #17696 - #17703
Date: Sat, 6 Oct 2001 10:59:39 +0100

>...  European membership growth for Alcor was hopeless and
> the pre-existing community of cryonicists decided to
> establish a support network through a different
> organization.

For the sake of completeness, that organisation is CI whose web site is
http://www.cryonics.org
and the support group's web site is
http://www.cryonics-europe.org
The European Cryonics Support Group is for all cryonicists and if Alcor ever
were to offer a European service again, Alcor members would be welcome.

Personally I can fully understand Alcor's reasoning for ceasing its overseas
operations and indeed it would equally make sense if it were to limit them
further to within a radius of its facilities. But I am saddened by the way
it was handled by Alcor's previous management team and the amount of
acrimony it caused within the cryonics community and amongst those involved.

Death and disease are the enemies, not other human individuals.

I see unpleasant parallels between disputes amongst cryonicists and the way
religious people behave. They all worship the same God, but are willing to
kill or main each other over the way in which they do it. If you think the
WTC atrocity is an example of a recent behavioural phenomenum, think again.
In "The Bible"  - Samson sacrificed his life in order to kill a large number
of Philistinians and destroy a prestigious building. He didn't hijack a
plane to be sure, but he had phenomenal strength and presumably had, or
specifically obtained, some knowledge of architecture.  I gather that "The
Koran" has a lot of similar passages to "The Bible" and the story may appear
in the other book as well.

In a recent post, Douglas Skrecky quoted some psychological literature in
support of a suggestion that some cryonicists are mentally ill - this must
equally apply to religious people who fight each other over their beliefs
and pray to their god for help in these endeavours.

--
Sincerely, John de Rivaz:      http://www.deRivaz.com
my homepage links to Longevity Report, Fractal Report, music, Inventors'
report, an autobio and various other projects:
http://www.geocities.com/longevityrpt
http://www.autopsychoice.com - http://www.cryonics-europe.org -
http://www.porthtowan.com
> Message #17699
> From: Alcor <>
> Subject: This Week at Alcor
> Date: Fri, 05 Oct 2001 15:03:10 -0700 (PST)
>  During the Board Meeting of November 5,
> 2000, The Board of Directors resolved that all
> clients funding with life insurance were required to
> use an American insurance policy.  In early 2001,
> several European representatives and prospective
> clients convened to discuss the membership
> restrictions that had been accruing for several
> years.  Unfortunately, it was decided that pursuing
> European membership growth for Alcor was hopeless and
> the pre-existing community of cryonicists decided to
> establish a support network through a different
> organization.

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