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Nov, 21, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Money matters?

Caroline B. Glick: Civilization walks the plank

Nov, 20, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: Bronfman's blindness

The Kosher Gourmet By Linda Gassenheimer: Portobellos add a hearty flavor to pasta with pesto

Nov, 19, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Spread the wealth? Jewish tradition and income equality

Elliot B. Gertel: 'Mad Men': Tackling prejudices or reinforcing them?

Nov, 18, 2008

Dr. Debby Schwarz Hirschhorn: The End of the Age of Reason

Jonathan Tobin: Does Barack + Bibi = Disaster?

Nov, 17, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The End of the Age of Reason

Diana West: Gulling Americans into making terror legit?

Nov, 14, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: The Power of Spiritual Inertia

Caroline B. Glick: The perils ahead

Nov, 13, 2008

Stratfor Intelligence Briefing: How Bush and Obama together could change the Middle East dynamic

The Kosher Gourmet by JeanMarie Brownson: Sweet and savory, crispy and meltingly tender bestilla

Nov, 12, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Tyrannical Co-Workers

Michael Doyle: High Court to consider today donated monuments that may have religious messages in public parks

Nov, 11, 2008

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Will Obama stop government officials considering institutionalizing financial jihad?

Jonathan Tobin: They Will Decide Their Own Fate

Nov, 10, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: $8 billion, modern-day Tower of Babel being built?

Barry Rubin: A letter to the president-elect from a Middle East realist

Nov, 7, 2008

Rabbi Francis Nataf: Of Children and Immortality

Caroline B. Glick: Livni's Obama strategy

Nov, 6, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: How I tricked a classroom of apathetic students into grasping the fallacy of moral relativism

The Kosher Gourmet By Gina Kim: Tips for making the perfect soup --- includes recipes

Nov, 5, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Destitute Debtors

Bruce Weinstein: 'Religulos': Bad title,even worse movie

Nov, 4, 2008

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Treasury Dept. submits to Shariah law

Frida Ghitis: A surprise for Obama in the Middle East

Nov, 3, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: Who says Jews are Smart?

Jonathan Tobin: Was He Wrong About Everything?

Oct. 31, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Our Immutable Noble Essence

Caroline B. Glick: Running against Bush

Oct. 30, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: The End of the Special Relationship?

Steve Lipman: 'Kid Kosher' Gets A Title Shot

Oct. 29, 2008

Binyamin L. Jolkovsky: GET US THE TAPE THE L.A. TIMES REFUSES TO RELEASE, AND WE'LL GIVE YOU CASH!

Dr. Ari Korenblit: Making The Write Choice for President

Oct. 28, 2008

Mona Charen: Denial runs through American Jewry

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Sell-off to capitalism or sell-out to Islam?

Oct. 27, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Are tax deductions for charitable donations moral?

Jonathan Mark: The Mystery Of The Arab-American Vote

Oct. 24, 2008

'Why aren't all religious people vegetarians?': Response by Miriam Kosman

Caroline B. Glick: Testing Obama's mettle

Oct. 23, 2008

Daniel Pipes: Obama Would Fail Security Clearance

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A fast chicken dish with an Asian accent

Oct. 20, 2008

Gary Rosenblatt: Still One Torah

Jonathan Tobin: Government 'Gifts' Are Not Free

Oct. 17, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: Sukkos and the Great Meltdown

Caroline B. Glick: The disappearance of law

Oct. 16, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Copying DVDs: RIP OR RIPOFF?

Cal Thomas: Blaming the Jews (again)

March 22, 2007

J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !)

Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review May 25, 2005 / 16 Iyar, 5765

De$peration

By John Stossel


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | "I was a little out of my mind, you know, with desperation, and all I wanted to do was find her."

I understand why Kathy Kupka felt that way: Her younger sister had disappeared, and when police found no sign of her, Kupka suspected her sister had been killed.

She put up a huge billboard offering a $25,000 reward. Soon, psychics began calling her with messages from beyond — beyond the credible, that is. They said things like, "I know where your sister is."

Kupka says she got phone calls urging her to contact Sylvia Browne, one of America's most famous psychics. Browne's Web site says, "Visiting here explains the Meaning of Life." Browne claims that she can talk to the dead and they tell her where they are. So Kupka managed to get on a TV show on a day when Browne was doing her stuff. "I was so super-hopeful," she said. "I was like, oh, that's it, we're definitely going to find her."

On the show, Browne quickly said Kupka's sister was dead in New Mexico — and communicating to Browne.

Back in this world, police investigated Browne's lead. It was a phantom.

"It was so devastating," Kupka told me. "Desperation makes you do things that reasonable people don't do."

ABC News asked Browne to talk to us about this. She agreed but then backed out at the last minute. She had told us she solved thousands of cases. But several years ago, a magazine examined 35 of Brown's "cases." It couldn't find proof she'd solved any of them.

At least Browne didn't ask Kupka for money. Nor did the next psychic Kathy tried, Karl Petry. But he did take her to a hazardous-waste facility and tell her that her sister was inside a manhole.

Kupka says police checked this lead out, too, and found nothing. Petry says the body must have washed away.

ABC News went to another psychic, Kathlyn Rhea, who some police officers say has helped them find bodies.

Michael Shermer, editor of Skeptic magazine, suspects that something a little less magical than psychic powers is producing the officers' enchantment. "They simply are misremembering the hits and the misses," he says. (Browne claims on the Web to have predicted Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston's marriage wouldn't last. Wow. What a gift of prophecy! How could anyone have expected that? And how many things did she — and we — predict that never happened? People tend to forget those.)

"The psychics go to the police department," says Shermer. "They give lots and lots of statements. 'I see the body in a — body of woods, some water, a railroad track, and so on.' When the body is finally found, they retrofit the statement to see how it fits with what actually happened. So, 'Oh, yeah, that psychic said something about a railroad track.' Yeah, but the psychic also said something about 100 other things." Often psychics say, the body is "near water," but water can mean an ocean, stream, puddle, bathroom, underground pipe, or most anyplace. If the body is found by a puddle, someone might say, "Wow, the psychic said 'near water.'"

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Rhea claims she finds missing people all the time — sometimes three or four a week. The FBI maintains psychics have never helped solve a single missing-person case.

Rhea charges a fat fee. ABC News managed to get a special, low price: $1,800. Rhea explained to Kupka and the private investigator Kupka hired that Kristine had been murdered. Rhea was confident that she knew where Kristine's body was. Rhea told us to go 30 miles north of Kristine's old neighborhood, looking for a road that branches off like a Y, something that looks like a country church, and something with the letter S. We tried to follow her instructions, using map companies, contacts with police, and numerous trips, but it turned out there were hundreds of Y's and V's in the road and all kinds of signs with S's. We were stumped. When I complained to Rhea about that, she said, "What do you want me do, the leg work?" Facing yet another useless "psychic vision," Kathy collapsed into tears.

"My heart just fell," said Kupka. "I was like, she doesn't know."

Psychics don't know. But they do break hearts.

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