(Ed) Psychics go to Portugal in search of missing child - Page 3

FarSideOfTheMoon · 2nd June 2007, 09:08 AM

Oh my god, I feel distinctly unwell now. I've just read the page on Brians Prediction.com listing his dreams about Madeleine.

Here is a link to a story in the Belfast Telegraph from a relative of the family who is disturbed at the psychic influence:

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/ne...cle2607184.ece

And here is the BS in full:

http://www.briansprediction.com/dd/5441.htm

This has to be read to be believed.

I think I will email to ask how come he has had so many dreams and 'RVs' and yet she is still missing.

Big Les · 2nd June 2007, 01:03 PM

I can't make head or tail of that gibberish. Anyone else? The McCann relative said it best:

Quote:

"Those drawings have been checked out,"..."It's nonsense, there's nothing in it. We must have had hundreds of things like that sent to us. We have been contacted by thousands of mediums from all over the world who claim to know something. There's nothing in it."

Kelly · 2nd June 2007, 01:11 PM

Originally Posted by FarSideOfTheMoon

And here is the BS in full:

http://www.briansprediction.com/dd/5441.htm

This has to be read to be believed.

I think I will email to ask how come he has had so many dreams and 'RVs' and yet she is still missing.

I really wish someone had the time to save some of the stuff he posts and compare it to what ends up happening and also check it to see if it's been altered.

Our families of the missing and other concerned persons are flocking to his site by the hundreds. Who knows how many have given him money. His claims of success are outrageous. I wish I had time to do it, but I don't.

Big Les · 2nd June 2007, 01:29 PM

Originally Posted by Kelly

I really wish someone had the time to save some of the stuff he posts and compare it to what ends up happening and also check it to see if it's been altered.

Our families of the missing and other concerned persons are flocking to his site by the hundreds. Who knows how many have given him money. His claims of success are outrageous. I wish I had time to do it, but I don't.

Consider it done.

Check out this email he posts up, apparently as a licence to spew nonsense. Have any other UK posters heard of this woman? I certainly haven't (here's her site). On what authority does she "beg" for this loser's "help"?

Kelly · 2nd June 2007, 01:37 PM

Originally Posted by Big Les

Consider it done.

Check out this email he posts up, apparently as a licence to spew nonsense. Have any other UK posters heard of this woman? I certainly haven't (here's her site). On what authority does she "beg" for this loser's "help"?

Thanks, Big Les. That's good news.

With so many people in the circle of the missing going to him, he needs some factual opposition before it gets even more out of hand.

Someone asked him to do a reading on my son. I was most displeased about it, and was going to ask him to take it down, but then I decided to leave it up so that someday we could prove him so wrong on that.

I would have found his reading quite hilarious if it didn't hit so close to the heart. His portrait of the "bad guy" is so stereo-typical in appearance. His thought process that we should look for everything hotel in the L.A. area with a star on it at Christmastime is just downright ridiculous. His guess that my son fell into drug use with meth is just him tapping into the story of the hour with meth use in the media so often. My son had no history of drug use, and I am quite sure never even got drunk. Me thinks Brian watches too much TV.

He needs to be stopped.

Thank you.

John Jackson · 2nd June 2007, 01:43 PM

http://www.ukskeptics.com/prediction.htm

I've done this in the hope it gets some exposure. It reveals how Brian does his 'predictions'.

There are other ways to do it which are more sophisticated but I don't think Brian uses then (yet).

John

Big Les · 2nd June 2007, 01:45 PM

Good work John, as ever. The chances of Brian being one of the self-deluding well-meaning types are drastically reduced for me, having read that. The guy is an outright con artist.

And no problem Kelly - I just used WinHTTrack, a programme to capture whole webpages in just a couple of clicks. Useful!

Kelly · 2nd June 2007, 01:56 PM

I love that link, John! I am going to save that and use it when I see someone posting that rubish. (which is often, sadly)

I also was not aware he had these "memberships" set up. I knew he asked for donations to help pay for the site, but not this.

Thank you both.

This man has really been bothering me for quite some time. He seems like a runaway mine train on his one way fraudulent track.

John Jackson · 2nd June 2007, 02:02 PM

We're getting a lot of calls for Brian to be 'called in' on forums here in the UK so I'm hoping that the page I made will act as a more visual way of showing up that what he does is based on trickery.

A quick link to it will (hopefully) do the trick.

I know what you mean Kelly - it's so frustrating to see something like Brian's Predictions getting so much attention (free advertising) by his latching on to a family's tragedy.

So many people are falling for it.

Kelly · 2nd June 2007, 02:12 PM

Let me know if there are other links showing the error of Brian's ways.

You can also always email me via the Contacts page on our main website.

Thank you both so much!

TX50 · 2nd June 2007, 03:25 PM

Originally Posted by Kelly

I also was not aware he had these "memberships" set up. I knew he asked for donations to help pay for the site, but not this.

Not only that. He charges swingeing rates for his "services";
nearly 2,000 US dollars for an "Emergency Reading"!

http://store.kagi.com/cgi-bin/store....=&currency=USD

FarSideOfTheMoon · 2nd June 2007, 03:33 PM

Originally Posted by Big Les

Good work John, as ever. The chances of Brian being one of the self-deluding well-meaning types are drastically reduced for me, having read that. The guy is an outright con artist.

I came to same conclusion when I read the 'Sylvia' type behaviour on his website about how he doesn't charge, then provides links to his membership options. Plus the amount of time he must spend on his site means he isn't doing it out of the goodness of his heart.

My sympathy for people who believe this crud decreases by the day.

Kelly · 2nd June 2007, 03:44 PM

Originally Posted by TX50

Not only that. He charges swingeing rates for his "services";
nearly 2,000 US dollars for an "Emergency Reading"!

http://store.kagi.com/cgi-bin/store....=&currency=USD

I am sickened. Thanks for another good link, though.

Yes, dear sweet Brian is doing this out of the kindness of his heart.

John Jackson · 2nd June 2007, 04:23 PM

Originally Posted by Kelly

I really wish someone had the time to save some of the stuff he posts and compare it to what ends up happening and also check it to see if it's been altered.

I'm doing that.

I've been saving his daily updates and keeping track of when he's re-uploaded his images. The first of his original 'predictions' which was supposedly the night after the 'dream' was last uploaded on 24th May for example. Unfortunately, I didn't see the page when it was originally created (as it only came to light after the event) but I did check the images on his page early on and none of the prediction images dated to before 5th May 2007 - Madeleine went missing on 3rd May 2007.

I'm also keeping track of psychics in the UK where I can.

Of course, going through all this accurately will depend on the case being solved - and I hope it is whatever the outcome.

Kelly · 2nd June 2007, 04:26 PM

These questions are for Loss Leader or anyone with the expertise to answer them.

BL lives in WV, USA. Is there anything illegal about his request for donations? He's not a NPO, obviously.

Can he be reported to the IRS for them to keep an eye on him and make sure he is reporting these donations as income, or will they ignore a request like that?

Thank you.

John Jackson · 2nd June 2007, 04:27 PM

Originally Posted by TX50

Not only that. He charges swingeing rates for his "services";
nearly 2,000 US dollars for an "Emergency Reading"!

http://store.kagi.com/cgi-bin/store....=&currency=USD

Excellent. I hadn't seen that page before.

I guess a $1,900 emergency reading would be the sort of thing someone whose child had gone missing would be interested in.

Bloody vulture.

Kelly · 2nd June 2007, 04:30 PM

Originally Posted by John Jackson

I'm doing that. http://www.internationalskeptics.com...c98391229d.gif

I've been saving his daily updates and keeping track of when he's re-uploaded his images. The first of his original 'predictions' which was supposedly the night after the 'dream' was last uploaded on 24th May for example. Unfortunately, I didn't see the page when it was originally created (as it only came to light after the event) but I did check the images on his page early on and none of the prediction images dated to before 5th May 2007 - Madeleine went missing on 3rd May 2007.

I'm also keeping track of psychics in the UK where I can.

Of course, going through all this accurately will depend on the case being solved - and I hope it is whatever the outcome.

Thanks, John.

John or Big Les: Have any of his other case predictions been saved to check for alterations after the fact or just Madeleine's?

It would be nice to grab a few newer cases to see what happens. Sadly, as you know, some cases go unsolved for years and some are never solved.

John Jackson · 2nd June 2007, 04:50 PM

I haven't followed him before as he's not really known in the UK.

I did look at following his daily dream predictions but it seems that you have to be a paying member to view them.

Big Les · 2nd June 2007, 06:01 PM

Nothing missing persons related just yet, but here are some examples from the archives of his creative antics outside the clever trick exposed by John (likely kept in reserve for really good publicity). Have a look at this claim to have predicted the recent dog food poisoning scare. Then have a look at any of the pages from around that date (June 06). The dog food prediction does not appear anywhere. If he made it, therefore, he did not post it, and we have to take his word that he did indeed predict it.

Something a little more important perhaps? The 7/7/ London bombings. Here's his claim to have predicted it both on March 23rd 2005, and May 22nd of that year:
http://briansprediction.com/uksubway.htm

And here are the pages covering March and May 2005 respectively: Precisely naff all about London bombings on either of those, but note that he doesn't actually claim that these images were ever posted up on his site - just that he made the prediction. We have only his word for that - so far 100% retrospective prediction. Now notice that there's a spookily accurate "prediction" that he DID post up, but on July 20th 2005 - 13 days AFTER the bombings. Wow, that's spooky alright!

Like a good cold reader, he also throws out some left-field predictions that, if they were to coincide, would look amazing, but if they fail, will be forgotten or explained away. Like this prediction of the death of John Travolta from June 4 2005.

Again, like cold reading, he uses a mixture of techniques. His regular posting is a useful scattergun approach allowing him to make some of his pre-posted drawings fit. But he also posts up a new drawings after the fact that are masquerading as originals, and uses the image switcheroo trick John's explained, and no doubt other methods I haven't yet picked up on.

If anyone else fancies doing more match-up detective work on some of his pre-membership-locked day-by-day predictions, go for it.

Kelly · 2nd June 2007, 06:03 PM

Originally Posted by John Jackson

I haven't followed him before as he's not really known in the UK.

But, John, according to his website, he has "been referred to "the most accurate psychic on earth"..."

Somehow I feel quite certain that if there were a category on the gameshow Jeopardy called World Famous Psychics, he would not be included.

Kelly · 2nd June 2007, 06:19 PM

That is excellent, excellent work, Big Les. Thank you!

Azrael 5 · 3rd June 2007, 04:40 AM

Diane Lazarus's fat face is grinning from the pages of Daily Star Sundayagain this week.I haven't bought it so can't transcribe this week.But it's usual vague rubbish and an artists impression of,wait for it........an olive skinned man!!

Big Les · 3rd June 2007, 05:46 AM

No problem at all Kelly - it required no special talent or knowledge on my part.

Which is something I have in common with Brian here. He apparently thinks alzheimer's disease is a "mild form of mad-cow disease"!

I was using an archive with no link to Brian whatever, but he also has his own stuff archived by a mailing list archive site; in theory that should be just as safe from his after-the-fact tinkering. And guess what? That doesn't back up his claims either. Take this missing girl's case (found alive). He has an image of his "prediction", including a car with a licence plate 1522. There is also a fairly accurate (though not dead on) sketch and description of the abductor.

A quick check of his archive for 27 April (i.e. 26 April's dreams) shows that no such prediction was sent out to his mailing list.

Can anyone find a "confirmed" prediction that actually appears in any of the third-party archives? I doubt it.

Loss Leader · 3rd June 2007, 06:12 AM

Originally Posted by Kelly

BL lives in WV, USA. Is there anything illegal about his request for donations? He's not a NPO, obviously.

There's nothing illegal about his request for "donations" per se, but he's got to follow some rules or it will become illegal.

First, it's obviously income. Gifts aren't taxable but he's not getting gifts. He's clearly offering a service for money (I think Browne called them "donations" as well). That makes it ordinary income which he must report quarterly and pay taxes on.

He says that a portion goes to some Global Children's Fund or something. If it's a real charity and if he itemizes his deductions, he can deduct anything he gives. If it's not a real charity and he deducts, he can get in trouble.

And then there's the great American fiction writing contest that's called the Schedule C. Writing up one's business expenses is an art of deception and obfuscation. If he isnt honest on his Schedule C, that's a problem.

Now, can a regular person call the IRS and report that there's a guy who may be underreporting income? Um, I guess. I guess that the IRS will be shocked to learn that a taxpayer getting income from multiple streams may be hiding some income. Frankly, they already know people in business for themselves are lying on their tax forms.

They'll take your tip but unless you have specific information, which you don't, they'll ignore you.

And if you have no information and he is scrupulous about his taxes but the IRS still audits him, he could come after you for defamation and/or abuse of process. And he'd win.

As to whether psychic businesses are illegal as fraudulent (when not "for entertainment only"), this varies from state-to-state. Unless it's the "give me $10,000 to remove this death spell that someone put on you" or "give me all your money in cash so I can bless it" variety, the states probably aren't going to care.

Kelly · 3rd June 2007, 10:14 AM

Thanks for the answer, Loss Leader. I figured it would go something like that. Someone is going to have to have proof of something clearly fraudulent and/or perhaps the state of WV must have an anti-psychic law.

Of course, we view it as clearly fraudulent, but unfortunately law and logic is not always behind us.

John Jackson · 6th June 2007, 03:03 AM

From Brian's Predictions today:

Quote:

brian could u do another rv on madeleine as things seem to b dryin up on the news i know ur v busy with other poor wee kids missing but just see if u get anything at all blessings jen

reply

Hello, I'm sorry as per request of the family, I will no longer be working on this case.

Brian

So he's no longer working on the case. He says it's at the request of the family.

Whatever the reason, I hope my revealing his trickery resulted in a lot of negative feedback for him and even helped in him stopping.

Judging by the reaction on many forums, a lot of people gave up believing in Brian after seeing my 'lottery prediction'.

It even had an effect on the Daily Mail forum!!

So, not a definitive result, but it may have helped.

Big Les · 6th June 2007, 03:38 AM

Bloody well done John - your page would have swayed all but the died-in-the-wool woos, and with people actively searching the web for all relevant info, no doubt it turned up quite regularly and got passed on via email.

Now, will we be able to nail him on the predictions he did make, I wonder.

Azrael 5 · 6th June 2007, 04:18 AM

No word from Diane Lazarus yet?
I assume her psychic powers are still just as prevelant as they were on the Channel 5 show then.

FarSideOfTheMoon · 6th June 2007, 05:06 AM

Yes, excellent result. I seen a forum at Sky News the other day and there were pages and pages of people discussing his site, not one negative remark. It did make me want to cry.

He has been milking the situation loads, but he may be astute enough to know when to back off a story. There is a fine line for these charlatans between seeking the exposure they need to increase their profile and future earning potential against exposing themselves as the fakes they are.

Ms Lazarus has been quite quiet recently, she too must be rethinking the level of exposure she is seeking. She can't have done herself any favours so far with her laughable attempts at regurgitating what is already in the public doman. But then again, she probably gets away with that most of the time because not every case is like this one, where the level of evidence is so widely publicised yet so incomplete.

Kelly · 6th June 2007, 06:32 AM

That is excellent news, John! Thank you.

bonavada · 6th June 2007, 01:10 PM

sorry if this doesn't expand on anything already written here about this woman but below is a report from my local rag HERE about lazarus' "involvement" in the madeline mccann case. this fraud lives only a few miles up the road from me and i feel quite shamed to share the same nationality:-

Quote:

PSYCHIC CALLED IN TO HELP FIND MADDIE

10:30 - 05 June 2007
Psychic Diane Lazarus is in Portugal trying to track down missing girl Madeleine McCann.The mother-of-two from Cross Hands hopes her expertise can help uncover the mystery surrounding the abduction of the four-year girl a month ago.

Mrs Lazarus, who also helped police with high- profile murder cases has come up with a number of theories.

She thinks Madeleine was targeted after being secretly watched by her abductors, including a woman.

And she feels the youngster is in Spain and is being well looked after.

"I don't think Madeleine is in Portugal and they have kept moving her around," she told a national newspaper. "I feel she could be in Spain."

"I have also picked up that they cut Maddie's hair and made her look like a boy."

Mrs Lazarus has visited Praia da Luz's Mark Warner holiday complex from where she was abducted.

"Quite honestly I don't think Madeleine has come to any harm," said Mrs Lazarus.

"She will be returned to her mummy and daddy.

"They went out of their way to get a girl of a certain age. They felt as the McCanns have two other children, taking Maddie wouldn't be quite so bad."

Mrs Lazarus was invited to the Algarve by a close friend of Madeleine's parents Gerry and Kate McCann.

BV

Azrael 5 · 6th June 2007, 01:36 PM

More or less same story that every other paper and psychic has come up with.
Basic assumptions.Notice she doesn't say when she would be returned to "her mummy and daddy" or in what status.

Disgusting woman.

bonavada · 6th June 2007, 01:58 PM

Originally Posted by Azrael 5

More or less same story that every other paper and psychic has come up with.
Basic assumptions.Notice she doesn't say when she would be returned to "her mummy and daddy" or in what status.
Disgusting woman.

yep and all the standard vagueness eg "I don't think" "I picked up" "Could be" etc etc yadda yadda.
and if it wasn't for the absolute horror of the case, the statement "Madeleine was targeted after being secretly watched by her abductors" could be quite laughable. i mean yeah, come on, no s**t sherlock.......

BV

Big Les · 6th June 2007, 04:35 PM

It'll be no consolation (clearly) but if (when?) the girl is found dead, Lazarus is going to look pretty foolish.

Evil cow.

FarSideOfTheMoon · 6th June 2007, 11:38 PM

I haven't seen a single psychic imply she might be dead. It would be interesting to see the reaction on all the brain-dead forums to any psychic who dared to add that to their predictions.

Unfortunately I don't think there is much chance of her being found alive, but basing your opinions in realism rather than fantasy doesn't seem politcally correct at the moment.

FarSideOfTheMoon · 7th June 2007, 03:14 PM

Carla Baron getting in on the act now, using a missing child to publicise your up and coming tv show - nice behaviour.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/6/prweb530621.htm

Quote:

Carla Baron and the Return for "Haunting Evidence"

Carla Baron is gearing up for the premiere of her runaway hit Court TV series, "Haunting Evidence," launching it's 2nd season on June 20th with a one-hour special on the Natalee Holloway investigation in Aruba.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) June 4, 2007 -- Carla Baron is gearing up for the premiere of her runaway hit Court TV series, "Haunting Evidence," launching it's 2nd season on June 20th with a one-hour special on the Natalee Holloway investigation in Aruba.

Television audiences know Carla Baron, internationally renowned psychic, from her work on Court TV's "Psychic Detectives," ABC's "Primetime," MTV's "Fear," and the British hit program, "Dead Famous," which has broadcast in the United States on the Biography Channel. Her series, "Haunting Evidence," also appears in regular syndication on the UK's LIVINGtv network, and Australia's FOXTEL.

Carla is most famous for her role as a psychic profiler, in which she assists police departments in identifying perpetrators in long standing unsolved crimes, homicides and abductions, in particular. In fact, Ms. Baron recently received what are now many hundreds of heartfelt requests worldwide - begging for her assistance in the kidnapping of little Madeleine McCann from her holiday apartment in Portugal on the night of May 3rd.

"I am so excited for this 2nd season of Haunting Evidence to begin," Carla remarks. "There is a surprise reveal right before the special on Natalee that is not to be missed!"

Ms. Baron states that her current contract with Court TV is up for renewal, and she is in negotiations for a possible Season 3, should one be ordered by the network in the next few months. On the horizon - Carla is also considering several other pilots for series in development, all of which possess diverse and fascinating premises within the realm of the paranormal.

One thing's for certain, though - we will be seeing much more of Carla Baron. (And we didn't need to consult our "crystal ball" for that one!)

Producers, press and media agencies, network representatives, and others wishing to contact Ms. Baron directly should do so by visiting her official website: www.carlabaron.net.

Trawling through the idiocy that is the Sky News message boards I found this measured response to someone who suggested that psychics may not be aiding in the search:

Quote:

Posted by TruthsofLife 07 June 07 12:00 Quote: I don't rate her after reading quite a bit about her. But then I don't rate any psychic, medium etc who do nothing more than grab attention for themselves and waste police time!

Doing NOTHING MORE? How dare you judge Carla Baron in that sumation? I ask you, what have you done to help bring home a case or find a cold killer? I bet you have joined search parties, hung posters, made ribbons....I know...you held the hand of a family member like Carla has. My sarcasm is my contempt for people like you.

Law enforcement seeks out people like Carla because they have no more avenues to explore. How dare you say she wastes their time when as a mother I would rather have her input regarding a missing child than your useless judgments. But that is right, I forgot, you have experienced first hand how a psychic profiler works with a detective and you know first hand the very intricate relationship.

I do not care to rate your post as it is careless, inconsiderate and useless to those of us that have had missing children! I rate Carla Baron as the future of psychic profilers.

Hapexamendios · 9th June 2007, 03:48 AM

Originally Posted by FarSideOfTheMoon

Yes, excellent result. I seen a forum at Sky News the other day and there were pages and pages of people discussing his site, not one negative remark. It did make me want to cry.

He has been milking the situation loads, but he may be astute enough to know when to back off a story. There is a fine line for these charlatans between seeking the exposure they need to increase their profile and future earning potential against exposing themselves as the fakes they are.

Ms Lazarus has been quite quiet recently, she too must be rethinking the level of exposure she is seeking. She can't have done herself any favours so far with her laughable attempts at regurgitating what is already in the public doman. But then again, she probably gets away with that most of the time because not every case is like this one, where the level of evidence is so widely publicised yet so incomplete.

I don't know if this video has already been posted here, but here's Ms Lazarus regurgitating what is already in the public domain (nice turn of phrase there FSOTM) about the Muriel Drinkwater case. I also live quite near Ms Lazarus and know a few people who've had readings with her.

Part 1

Part 2

Reno · 9th June 2007, 04:36 AM

Strange dream I had last night. The authorities found Maddy alive and well in an apartment, behind the couch. There was a rolled up carpet and scrunched-up newspapers in my dream too.

I also dreamt I was James Bond fighting a baddie on top of a fast-moving train.

FarSideOfTheMoon · 9th June 2007, 10:27 AM

Originally Posted by Hapexamendios

I don't know if this video has already been posted here, but here's Ms Lazarus regurgitating what is already in the public domain (nice turn of phrase there FSOTM) about the Muriel Drinkwater case. I also live quite near Ms Lazarus and know a few people who've had readings with her.

Part 1

Part 2

Sorry, I could only watch the first one before my brain liquidised itself. That reminded me of the episode of the BS Detective on BBC3 recently when they set three psychics up with a false story and two of the three recited it almost word for word. I'd love to see Lazarus' face in a similar situation, although she is past the point where she needs to take such unnecessary risks to publicise herself.

jezzedout · 9th June 2007, 09:19 PM

Interesting thread. I've never heard of this Brian guy before, but I live in the US so doesn't mean anything really. As I read some of the messages on his website, I couldn't help thinking they could easily have been written by Brian himself, as there's no header info. That said, he does seem to include a few negative ones, so it's hard to say one way or the other. The thing I found most curious was when I looked at his lotto picks section. Based on the responses from people who seem to have bought his lotto picks packages, people are reporting lots of 2 and 3 number hits, for wins in the ballpark of $5 to $20 on average. I'd be curious to know... 1) how these wins compare to the amount of money spent on the lotto; 2) whether he's ever gotten more than 3 numbers correct (fyi... I get 3 numbers quite often, doesn't make me psychic), and 3) how much these people spent to receive Brian's picks versus how much they won? The whole thing just reeks of a scam to me.

2nd June 2007, 01:43 PM	#86
John Jackson Muse Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 664	Skeptic predicts lottery numbers http://www.ukskeptics.com/prediction.htm I've done this in the hope it gets some exposure. It reveals how Brian does his 'predictions'. There are other ways to do it which are more sophisticated but I don't think Brian uses then (yet). John
John Jackson Muse Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 664	__________________

2nd June 2007, 01:45 PM	#87
Big Les Philosopher Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: UK Posts: 5,056	Good work John, as ever. The chances of Brian being one of the self-deluding well-meaning types are drastically reduced for me, having read that. The guy is an outright con artist. And no problem Kelly - I just used WinHTTrack, a programme to capture whole webpages in just a couple of clicks. Useful!
	Last edited by Big Les; 2nd June 2007 at 01:51 PM.

2nd June 2007, 02:02 PM	#89
John Jackson Muse Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 664	We're getting a lot of calls for Brian to be 'called in' on forums here in the UK so I'm hoping that the page I made will act as a more visual way of showing up that what he does is based on trickery. A quick link to it will (hopefully) do the trick. I know what you mean Kelly - it's so frustrating to see something like Brian's Predictions getting so much attention (free advertising) by his latching on to a family's tragedy. So many people are falling for it.
John Jackson Muse Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 664	__________________

2nd June 2007, 03:25 PM	#91
TX50 Graduate Poster Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 1,951	Originally Posted by Kelly I also was not aware he had these "memberships" set up. I knew he asked for donations to help pay for the site, but not this. Not only that. He charges swingeing rates for his "services"; nearly 2,000 US dollars for an "Emergency Reading"! http://store.kagi.com/cgi-bin/store....=&currency=USD
TX50 Graduate Poster Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 1,951

2nd June 2007, 04:23 PM	#94
John Jackson Muse Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 664	Originally Posted by Kelly I really wish someone had the time to save some of the stuff he posts and compare it to what ends up happening and also check it to see if it's been altered. I'm doing that. I've been saving his daily updates and keeping track of when he's re-uploaded his images. The first of his original 'predictions' which was supposedly the night after the 'dream' was last uploaded on 24th May for example. Unfortunately, I didn't see the page when it was originally created (as it only came to light after the event) but I did check the images on his page early on and none of the prediction images dated to before 5th May 2007 - Madeleine went missing on 3rd May 2007. I'm also keeping track of psychics in the UK where I can. Of course, going through all this accurately will depend on the case being solved - and I hope it is whatever the outcome.
John Jackson Muse Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 664	__________________

2nd June 2007, 09:08 AM	#81
FarSideOfTheMoon Critical Thinker Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 291	Oh my god, I feel distinctly unwell now. I've just read the page on Brians Prediction.com listing his dreams about Madeleine. Here is a link to a story in the Belfast Telegraph from a relative of the family who is disturbed at the psychic influence: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/ne...cle2607184.ece And here is the BS in full: http://www.briansprediction.com/dd/5441.htm This has to be read to be believed. I think I will email to ask how come he has had so many dreams and 'RVs' and yet she is still missing.

2nd June 2007, 01:03 PM	#82
Big Les Philosopher Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: UK Posts: 5,056	I can't make head or tail of that gibberish. Anyone else? The McCann relative said it best: Quote: "Those drawings have been checked out,"..."It's nonsense, there's nothing in it. We must have had hundreds of things like that sent to us. We have been contacted by thousands of mediums from all over the world who claim to know something. There's nothing in it."

2nd June 2007, 01:11 PM	#83
Kelly Philosopher Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Renton, WA Posts: 6,277	Originally Posted by FarSideOfTheMoon And here is the BS in full: http://www.briansprediction.com/dd/5441.htm This has to be read to be believed. I think I will email to ask how come he has had so many dreams and 'RVs' and yet she is still missing. I really wish someone had the time to save some of the stuff he posts and compare it to what ends up happening and also check it to see if it's been altered. Our families of the missing and other concerned persons are flocking to his site by the hundreds. Who knows how many have given him money. His claims of success are outrageous. I wish I had time to do it, but I don't.

2nd June 2007, 01:29 PM	#84
Big Les Philosopher Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: UK Posts: 5,056	Originally Posted by Kelly I really wish someone had the time to save some of the stuff he posts and compare it to what ends up happening and also check it to see if it's been altered. Our families of the missing and other concerned persons are flocking to his site by the hundreds. Who knows how many have given him money. His claims of success are outrageous. I wish I had time to do it, but I don't. Consider it done. Check out this email he posts up, apparently as a licence to spew nonsense. Have any other UK posters heard of this woman? I certainly haven't (here's her site). On what authority does she "beg" for this loser's "help"?

2nd June 2007, 01:37 PM	#85
Kelly Philosopher Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Renton, WA Posts: 6,277	Originally Posted by Big Les Consider it done. Check out this email he posts up, apparently as a licence to spew nonsense. Have any other UK posters heard of this woman? I certainly haven't (here's her site). On what authority does she "beg" for this loser's "help"? Thanks, Big Les. That's good news. With so many people in the circle of the missing going to him, he needs some factual opposition before it gets even more out of hand. Someone asked him to do a reading on my son. I was most displeased about it, and was going to ask him to take it down, but then I decided to leave it up so that someday we could prove him so wrong on that. I would have found his reading quite hilarious if it didn't hit so close to the heart. His portrait of the "bad guy" is so stereo-typical in appearance. His thought process that we should look for everything hotel in the L.A. area with a star on it at Christmastime is just downright ridiculous. His guess that my son fell into drug use with meth is just him tapping into the story of the hour with meth use in the media so often. My son had no history of drug use, and I am quite sure never even got drunk. Me thinks Brian watches too much TV. He needs to be stopped. Thank you.

2nd June 2007, 01:56 PM	#88
Kelly Philosopher Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Renton, WA Posts: 6,277	I love that link, John! I am going to save that and use it when I see someone posting that rubish. (which is often, sadly) I also was not aware he had these "memberships" set up. I knew he asked for donations to help pay for the site, but not this. Thank you both. This man has really been bothering me for quite some time. He seems like a runaway mine train on his one way fraudulent track.

2nd June 2007, 02:12 PM	#90
Kelly Philosopher Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Renton, WA Posts: 6,277	Let me know if there are other links showing the error of Brian's ways. You can also always email me via the Contacts page on our main website. Thank you both so much!

2nd June 2007, 03:33 PM	#92
FarSideOfTheMoon Critical Thinker Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 291	Originally Posted by Big Les Good work John, as ever. The chances of Brian being one of the self-deluding well-meaning types are drastically reduced for me, having read that. The guy is an outright con artist. I came to same conclusion when I read the 'Sylvia' type behaviour on his website about how he doesn't charge, then provides links to his membership options. Plus the amount of time he must spend on his site means he isn't doing it out of the goodness of his heart. My sympathy for people who believe this crud decreases by the day.

2nd June 2007, 03:44 PM	#93
Kelly Philosopher Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Renton, WA Posts: 6,277	Originally Posted by TX50 Not only that. He charges swingeing rates for his "services"; nearly 2,000 US dollars for an "Emergency Reading"! http://store.kagi.com/cgi-bin/store....=&currency=USD I am sickened. Thanks for another good link, though. Yes, dear sweet Brian is doing this out of the kindness of his heart.

2nd June 2007, 04:26 PM	#95
Kelly Philosopher Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Renton, WA Posts: 6,277	These questions are for Loss Leader or anyone with the expertise to answer them. BL lives in WV, USA. Is there anything illegal about his request for donations? He's not a NPO, obviously. Can he be reported to the IRS for them to keep an eye on him and make sure he is reporting these donations as income, or will they ignore a request like that? Thank you.

2nd June 2007, 04:27 PM	#96
John Jackson Muse Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 664	Originally Posted by TX50 Not only that. He charges swingeing rates for his "services"; nearly 2,000 US dollars for an "Emergency Reading"! http://store.kagi.com/cgi-bin/store....=&currency=USD Excellent. I hadn't seen that page before. I guess a $1,900 emergency reading would be the sort of thing someone whose child had gone missing would be interested in. Bloody vulture.
John Jackson Muse Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 664	__________________

2nd June 2007, 04:30 PM	#97
Kelly Philosopher Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Renton, WA Posts: 6,277	Originally Posted by John Jackson I'm doing that. http://www.internationalskeptics.com...c98391229d.gif I've been saving his daily updates and keeping track of when he's re-uploaded his images. The first of his original 'predictions' which was supposedly the night after the 'dream' was last uploaded on 24th May for example. Unfortunately, I didn't see the page when it was originally created (as it only came to light after the event) but I did check the images on his page early on and none of the prediction images dated to before 5th May 2007 - Madeleine went missing on 3rd May 2007. I'm also keeping track of psychics in the UK where I can. Of course, going through all this accurately will depend on the case being solved - and I hope it is whatever the outcome. Thanks, John. John or Big Les: Have any of his other case predictions been saved to check for alterations after the fact or just Madeleine's? It would be nice to grab a few newer cases to see what happens. Sadly, as you know, some cases go unsolved for years and some are never solved.

2nd June 2007, 04:50 PM	#98
John Jackson Muse Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 664	I haven't followed him before as he's not really known in the UK. I did look at following his daily dream predictions but it seems that you have to be a paying member to view them.
John Jackson Muse Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 664	__________________

2nd June 2007, 06:01 PM	#99
Big Les Philosopher Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: UK Posts: 5,056	Nothing missing persons related just yet, but here are some examples from the archives of his creative antics outside the clever trick exposed by John (likely kept in reserve for really good publicity). Have a look at this claim to have predicted the recent dog food poisoning scare. Then have a look at any of the pages from around that date (June 06). The dog food prediction does not appear anywhere. If he made it, therefore, he did not post it, and we have to take his word that he did indeed predict it. Something a little more important perhaps? The 7/7/ London bombings. Here's his claim to have predicted it both on March 23rd 2005, and May 22nd of that year: http://briansprediction.com/uksubway.htm And here are the pages covering March and May 2005 respectively: Precisely naff all about London bombings on either of those, but note that he doesn't actually claim that these images were ever posted up on his site - just that he made the prediction. We have only his word for that - so far 100% retrospective prediction. Now notice that there's a spookily accurate "prediction" that he DID post up, but on July 20th 2005 - 13 days AFTER the bombings. Wow, that's spooky alright! Like a good cold reader, he also throws out some left-field predictions that, if they were to coincide, would look amazing, but if they fail, will be forgotten or explained away. Like this prediction of the death of John Travolta from June 4 2005. Again, like cold reading, he uses a mixture of techniques. His regular posting is a useful scattergun approach allowing him to make some of his pre-posted drawings fit. But he also posts up a new drawings after the fact that are masquerading as originals, and uses the image switcheroo trick John's explained, and no doubt other methods I haven't yet picked up on. If anyone else fancies doing more match-up detective work on some of his pre-membership-locked day-by-day predictions, go for it.

2nd June 2007, 06:03 PM	#100
Kelly Philosopher Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Renton, WA Posts: 6,277	Originally Posted by John Jackson I haven't followed him before as he's not really known in the UK. But, John, according to his website, he has "been referred to "the most accurate psychic on earth"..." Somehow I feel quite certain that if there were a category on the gameshow Jeopardy called World Famous Psychics, he would not be included.

2nd June 2007, 06:19 PM	#101
Kelly Philosopher Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Renton, WA Posts: 6,277	That is excellent, excellent work, Big Les. Thank you!

3rd June 2007, 04:40 AM	#102
Azrael 5 Philosopher Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 6,106	Diane Lazarus's fat face is grinning from the pages of Daily Star Sundayagain this week.I haven't bought it so can't transcribe this week.But it's usual vague rubbish and an artists impression of,wait for it........an olive skinned man!!
Azrael 5 Philosopher Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 6,106	__________________ "I achieve these results through a mixture of magic,misdirection,suggestion and showmanship"-Derren Brown

3rd June 2007, 05:46 AM	#103
Big Les Philosopher Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: UK Posts: 5,056	No problem at all Kelly - it required no special talent or knowledge on my part. Which is something I have in common with Brian here. He apparently thinks alzheimer's disease is a "mild form of mad-cow disease"! I was using an archive with no link to Brian whatever, but he also has his own stuff archived by a mailing list archive site; in theory that should be just as safe from his after-the-fact tinkering. And guess what? That doesn't back up his claims either. Take this missing girl's case (found alive). He has an image of his "prediction", including a car with a licence plate 1522. There is also a fairly accurate (though not dead on) sketch and description of the abductor. A quick check of his archive for 27 April (i.e. 26 April's dreams) shows that no such prediction was sent out to his mailing list. Can anyone find a "confirmed" prediction that actually appears in any of the third-party archives? I doubt it.

3rd June 2007, 06:12 AM	#104
Loss Leader I would save the receptionist. Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Florida Posts: 28,342	Originally Posted by Kelly BL lives in WV, USA. Is there anything illegal about his request for donations? He's not a NPO, obviously. There's nothing illegal about his request for "donations" per se, but he's got to follow some rules or it will become illegal. First, it's obviously income. Gifts aren't taxable but he's not getting gifts. He's clearly offering a service for money (I think Browne called them "donations" as well). That makes it ordinary income which he must report quarterly and pay taxes on. He says that a portion goes to some Global Children's Fund or something. If it's a real charity and if he itemizes his deductions, he can deduct anything he gives. If it's not a real charity and he deducts, he can get in trouble. And then there's the great American fiction writing contest that's called the Schedule C. Writing up one's business expenses is an art of deception and obfuscation. If he isnt honest on his Schedule C, that's a problem. Now, can a regular person call the IRS and report that there's a guy who may be underreporting income? Um, I guess. I guess that the IRS will be shocked to learn that a taxpayer getting income from multiple streams may be hiding some income. Frankly, they already know people in business for themselves are lying on their tax forms. They'll take your tip but unless you have specific information, which you don't, they'll ignore you. And if you have no information and he is scrupulous about his taxes but the IRS still audits him, he could come after you for defamation and/or abuse of process. And he'd win. As to whether psychic businesses are illegal as fraudulent (when not "for entertainment only"), this varies from state-to-state. Unless it's the "give me $10,000 to remove this death spell that someone put on you" or "give me all your money in cash so I can bless it" variety, the states probably aren't going to care.
	__________________ I have the honor to be Your Obdt. S^t L. Leader

3rd June 2007, 10:14 AM	#105
Kelly Philosopher Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Renton, WA Posts: 6,277	Thanks for the answer, Loss Leader. I figured it would go something like that. Someone is going to have to have proof of something clearly fraudulent and/or perhaps the state of WV must have an anti-psychic law. Of course, we view it as clearly fraudulent, but unfortunately law and logic is not always behind us.

6th June 2007, 03:03 AM	#106
John Jackson Muse Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 664	From Brian's Predictions today: Quote: brian could u do another rv on madeleine as things seem to b dryin up on the news i know ur v busy with other poor wee kids missing but just see if u get anything at all blessings jen reply Hello, I'm sorry as per request of the family, I will no longer be working on this case. Brian So he's no longer working on the case. He says it's at the request of the family. Whatever the reason, I hope my revealing his trickery resulted in a lot of negative feedback for him and even helped in him stopping. Judging by the reaction on many forums, a lot of people gave up believing in Brian after seeing my 'lottery prediction'. It even had an effect on the Daily Mail forum!! So, not a definitive result, but it may have helped.
John Jackson Muse Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 664	__________________

6th June 2007, 03:38 AM	#107
Big Les Philosopher Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: UK Posts: 5,056	Bloody well done John - your page would have swayed all but the died-in-the-wool woos, and with people actively searching the web for all relevant info, no doubt it turned up quite regularly and got passed on via email. Now, will we be able to nail him on the predictions he did make, I wonder.

6th June 2007, 04:18 AM	#108
Azrael 5 Philosopher Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 6,106	No word from Diane Lazarus yet? I assume her psychic powers are still just as prevelant as they were on the Channel 5 show then.
Azrael 5 Philosopher Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 6,106	__________________ "I achieve these results through a mixture of magic,misdirection,suggestion and showmanship"-Derren Brown

6th June 2007, 05:06 AM	#109
FarSideOfTheMoon Critical Thinker Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 291	Yes, excellent result. I seen a forum at Sky News the other day and there were pages and pages of people discussing his site, not one negative remark. It did make me want to cry. He has been milking the situation loads, but he may be astute enough to know when to back off a story. There is a fine line for these charlatans between seeking the exposure they need to increase their profile and future earning potential against exposing themselves as the fakes they are. Ms Lazarus has been quite quiet recently, she too must be rethinking the level of exposure she is seeking. She can't have done herself any favours so far with her laughable attempts at regurgitating what is already in the public doman. But then again, she probably gets away with that most of the time because not every case is like this one, where the level of evidence is so widely publicised yet so incomplete.

6th June 2007, 06:32 AM	#110
Kelly Philosopher Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Renton, WA Posts: 6,277	That is excellent news, John! Thank you.

6th June 2007, 01:10 PM	#111
bonavada Guest Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 1,073	sorry if this doesn't expand on anything already written here about this woman but below is a report from my local rag HERE about lazarus' "involvement" in the madeline mccann case. this fraud lives only a few miles up the road from me and i feel quite shamed to share the same nationality:- Quote: PSYCHIC CALLED IN TO HELP FIND MADDIE 10:30 - 05 June 2007 Psychic Diane Lazarus is in Portugal trying to track down missing girl Madeleine McCann.The mother-of-two from Cross Hands hopes her expertise can help uncover the mystery surrounding the abduction of the four-year girl a month ago. Mrs Lazarus, who also helped police with high- profile murder cases has come up with a number of theories. She thinks Madeleine was targeted after being secretly watched by her abductors, including a woman. And she feels the youngster is in Spain and is being well looked after. "I don't think Madeleine is in Portugal and they have kept moving her around," she told a national newspaper. "I feel she could be in Spain." "I have also picked up that they cut Maddie's hair and made her look like a boy." Mrs Lazarus has visited Praia da Luz's Mark Warner holiday complex from where she was abducted. "Quite honestly I don't think Madeleine has come to any harm," said Mrs Lazarus. "She will be returned to her mummy and daddy. "They went out of their way to get a girl of a certain age. They felt as the McCanns have two other children, taking Maddie wouldn't be quite so bad." Mrs Lazarus was invited to the Algarve by a close friend of Madeleine's parents Gerry and Kate McCann. BV
bonavada Guest Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 1,073

6th June 2007, 01:36 PM	#112
Azrael 5 Philosopher Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 6,106	More or less same story that every other paper and psychic has come up with. Basic assumptions.Notice she doesn't say when she would be returned to "her mummy and daddy" or in what status. Disgusting woman.
Azrael 5 Philosopher Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 6,106	__________________ "I achieve these results through a mixture of magic,misdirection,suggestion and showmanship"-Derren Brown

6th June 2007, 01:58 PM	#113
bonavada Guest Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 1,073	Originally Posted by Azrael 5 More or less same story that every other paper and psychic has come up with. Basic assumptions.Notice she doesn't say when she would be returned to "her mummy and daddy" or in what status. Disgusting woman. yep and all the standard vagueness eg "I don't think" "I picked up" "Could be" etc etc yadda yadda. and if it wasn't for the absolute horror of the case, the statement "Madeleine was targeted after being secretly watched by her abductors" could be quite laughable. i mean yeah, come on, no s**t sherlock....... BV
bonavada Guest Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 1,073

6th June 2007, 04:35 PM	#114
Big Les Philosopher Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: UK Posts: 5,056	It'll be no consolation (clearly) but if (when?) the girl is found dead, Lazarus is going to look pretty foolish. Evil cow.

6th June 2007, 11:38 PM	#115
FarSideOfTheMoon Critical Thinker Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 291	I haven't seen a single psychic imply she might be dead. It would be interesting to see the reaction on all the brain-dead forums to any psychic who dared to add that to their predictions. Unfortunately I don't think there is much chance of her being found alive, but basing your opinions in realism rather than fantasy doesn't seem politcally correct at the moment.