X-Message-Number: 628
Subject: CRYONICS response to Whitaker
From:  (Edgar W. Swank)
Date: Sun, 02 Feb 92 12:18:46 PST

With the departure of Mike Darwin from ALCOR leadership, I and others
in ACS and Trans-Time hoped we might see an improvement in relations
between us and ALCOR.  However, I must respond to the attack,
unprovoked as far as we are aware, of Mr.  Russell E. Whitaker of
Alcor UK in Cryonet Message #618.
 
The initial subject was a report by Hank Lederer in message 616 of
a report that "Muhammad Ali is going to sign up with ACS..". First, I
want to commend the very polite response posted by Thomas Donaldson
in message 617. I find no fault with it at all.
 
But consider Mr. Whitaker's message. He starts out:
 
    This is offensive.  *If* this were true, why would any cryonics
    organization which respected its members - or potential members -
    _ever_ make such a statement?  I would never have involved myself
    in cryonics, had an _Alcor_ officer made such a statement.  Did
    Ben-Abraham have Ali's permission to make this assertion?
 
Well, Mr. Whitaker, Alcor officers *have* made such statements, for
example, from the Extropians mailing list:
 
  From: szebra!cup.portal.com!hkhenson
  To: gnu.ai.mit.edu!extropians
  Subject: Re: Tim Leary
  Date: Wed, 29 Jan 92 22:21:21 PST
 
  Re Tim Leary, extropians might be interested that he is signed up with
  Alcor.  Keith Henson
 
I think in both cases, people were revealing things about personal
friends (Avi Ben-Abraham is a personal friend of Ali, at least). I
think that it should be a matter between them and not a subject of
outside criticism.
 
By the way, Mr. Whitaker, did you have Mr. Price's permission to
publish what I expect was a private remark disparaging ACS/TT:
 
    I agree with Michael Clive Price, who commented to me that
    ACS/Trans Time are publicity-driven, while Alcor is
    technology-driven.
 
I rather doubt it since I have found Mr. Price's many submissions here
and elsewhere to avoid such disparagement.
 
Having vented his spleen about the Ali report, Mr. Whitaker now
drags in unrelated subjects gratuitously:
 
    And even if this were true, and Ali had given his permission, so
    what?  Where are the accounts of ACS research?  Emergency response
    capability?
 
    I have news for those who don't know this:  ACS/Trans Time have
    _no_ emergency response capability, as a matter of policy.  Ask
    them about that, sometime.
 
I posted a recent account about ACS research by Dr. Paul Segall in
this mailing list. I also posted an account (warts and all) of the
latest ACS/TT freezing.
 
After reading your statement, Mr.  Whitaker, I did ask Jim Yount and
Art Quaife about our emergency response capability.  We do have one
and we always have.  I wear a Medic-Alert bracelet just like you do.
Our emergency response capabilites are naturally better in the Bay
Area then elsewhere.  However I'm told that TT has a complete set of
supplies & equipment for a suspension all packed up and ready to fly
to a remote location, including even sterile water.  We continue to
make improvements, adding a perfusion cart with roller pumps, oxygen,
and an improved ice cooling tank.
 
We in ACS and Trans-Time, for the record, are willing to give Alcor
the benefit of the doubt and assume they are fallible but sincere and
well-intentioned.  We would wish you would give us the same
consideration in the future.  It's possible for both of us to tell
what's good about our group without disparaging other groups. If you
will check back in this list's archives, you will see that ACS and TT
have followed that policy for a long time.
 
On the other hand, gratuitous attacks like Mr. Whitaker's do Alcor
less good than they do the Cryonics movmement in general harm, IMHO.
Please, if we can't be friendly, let's at least be civil.

--
 (Edgar W. Swank)
SPECTROX SYSTEMS (408)252-1005
Silicon Valley, Ca

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