AN EXAMPLE

[Guest guest]

BELOW ARE THE DEATAILS OF ONE CAMPAIGN IN WHICH CHRISTIAN

CONSERVATIVE, CHARLTON HESTON, WORKED WITH VEDIC SCHOLARS AND THE

RESPONSE OF THE MAINSTREAM 'PROGRESSIVE' ACADEMIA'S RESPONSE.

ITS OBVIOUS WHO IS REPRESIVE.

SOURCE:http://www.mcremo.com/mysterious.htm

NBC's Mysterious Origins of Man

JUNE 1996 NBC PRESS RELEASE: CONTROVERSY SURROUNDS THE MYSTERIOUS

ORIGINS OF MAN UNIVERSITY PROFS WANT SPECIAL BANNED FROM THE

AIRWAVES

Program that Dares to Challenge Accepted Beliefs About Pre-Historic

Man to be Rebroadcast June 8 on NBC

Copyright 1995 Carol Cote

On February 25, 1996 NBC aired a one-hour prime-time special, The

Mysterious Origins of Man, hosted by Charlton Heston. Controversy

exploded in the academic community following this telecast. Much of

the material for the program was taken from Forbidden

Archeology,featuring interviews with co-authors Michael Cremo and

Richard Thompson on the show.

Watch a video clip of The Mysterious Origins of Man (MOM) in

Realvideo format!

This is in REAL time - no waiting - no uploading of files!

 

To order MOM videos, go to ORDER INFO

The grooved spheres from South Africa, found in strata dating 2.3

billion years old, were featured on NBC's Mysterious Origins of

Man. The Mysterious Origins of Man was produced by the BC VIDEO

team: Bill Cote, Carol Cote and John Cheshire.

 

JUNE 1996 NBC PRESS RELEASE:

Controversy exploded in the academic community with the telecast of

The Mysterious Origins of Man last February. Professors of science

and anthropology from some of the nation's most prestigious colleges

and universities voiced strong opinions about the validity of the

special, which challenged long-accepted beliefs about man's

beginning.

 

The program presents evidence suggesting that man may have made the

climb from Stone Age to civilization more than once; that present-

day man is just the latest in this cycle; and that Darwin's Theory

of Evolution has some serious flaws.

 

"We expected some controversy when we produced this show," says

producer Bill Cote, "but were not prepared for the enormous cry of

outrage from some members of the scientific community."

 

 

Copyright Carol Cote 1995

*********************************************************************

****************

Charlton Heston: "We've seen a broad range of evidence, some of it

highly speculative. But there are enough well documented cases to

call for a closer look at the conventional explanation of man's

origins."

*********************************************************************

***************************

The following are excerpts from more than 250 email messages that

flooded MOM Producer Bill Cote's website (http://www.bcvideo.com) in

response to the show:

 

"I wanted to take this opportunity to commend you on your COURAGE in

producing such a show. I know from personal experience the depth of

passion raised when you question the Theory of Evolution. My

problem with the people with whom I have debated on the subject is

not so much that they believe what it is they do, but that they are

so damn dogmatic about it. In many ways, the scientific

establishment has become the secular analogue to the adherence to

orthodoxy which they so claim to despise in favor of their freedom

to question everything. Apparently, that freedom stops when one

begins to question THEIR most cherished beliefs. I applaud you."

(MB, Winchester, MO)

 

"Shame on you. I watched your show, The Mysterious Origins of Man

on Sunday night. It left me horrified, angry and depressed. I

remember as a child, Sunday night was a family night in front of TV;

NBC's Wild Kingdom and The Wonderful World of Disney....You would be

astounded by how little Americans do know about human evolution and

now we'll have millions of American children believing that man

lived beside dinosaurs when in reality we are separated by 60

MILLION YEARS...." (KC, Northwestern University)

 

"Fantastic show! It is about time alternative interpretations and

hidden evidence is brought out into the open for the public to see

for itself. The response from the scientific type community is

expected because it shows a lack of rigor on their part. The last

thing they want to look like is incompetent or worse, not

objective. Please don't let anything or anyone stop you in the

future from airing shows that present alternative views. Thank

you." (DH)

 

"I missed the first showing of "The Mysterious Origins of Man" and

would like to know when and if there are any plans to rebroadcast.

I was able to read a review in the electronic newsletter

ISCNI*FLASH. I enjoy this type of programming. It is very

refreshing to be informed of alternate points of view. I have a

degree in Geology and found early, when a student, that the

establishment would ignore the evidence if it didn't fit their

preconceived ideas. Keep up the good work." (DE)

 

"I just read your response to the earlier criticism of your show,

and find your track-covering pathetically amusing. Standing on your

hight horse tisk-tasking the establishment, all giddy about the

furer you kicked up, cleverly knocking down all your straw men.

Yes, all we scientists have been misleading ourselves and everyone

else for years! We ruthlessly squash dissent from our all-powerful

theory of evolution! Give it up. You wanted money, and you wanted

ratings, you wanted scientists to respond, and you got it..." (HF,

Scientist and Human Being)

 

"I thought it was an excellent program.....I kept thinking to

myself, 'At last, they are starting to present to the *uninformed*

American public many of the strange, inconsistent, and *unpublished*

conclusions of the evidence found, or known about from scholarly

interpretations of ancient sacred writings." (HW)

 

"I am truly dismayed at this particularly steamy pile of rodent

remains. What your program presented as 'very reliable alternative

theories' are nothing but bizarre speculations by people whose only

gain must be by selling a book..." (CB, Canadian Academic)

 

"Please don't let the scientific community dictate what information

the receptive public receives....The scientific community tends to

reject anything it doesn't understand or can't reconstruct or

objectively prove in the laboratory. There are many more open-

minded professionals and individuals who do not have such biases and

welcome information such as you have apparently presented. Freedom

of information should not be restricted by such prejudice. Thank

you for your initiative. (BS, Attorney at Law)

 

"...Your network has done a great disservice by airing this

pseudoscientific garbage. It is disheartening to think of how many

people watched Mysterious Origins in a prime Sunday evening slot,

while truly high quality programs such as Nova and Nature are

relegated to much smaller audiences on PBS..." (JK, New Mexico State

University)

 

"...I have never seen such unadulterated hogwash in my entire

life....If you present outrageous theories, then you must present

someone with an opposing view to create a balanced presentation.

If you cannot present this type of an investigation, then you should

be forced to have a flashing graphic saying 'Entertainment Value

Only', just like the Psychic Friends network has to do. I will be

writing to my congressional delegation, the FCC, and the President

to argue that legislation should exist to force you to do this....."

(TH, New Mexico State University)

 

"...I will be boycotting all of the sponsors of this program, and I

will be encouraging others to do the same. I *don't* encourage

censorship of this type of thing. In fact, I would encourage

science teachers to show this program in their classrooms, followed

by a thorough debunking...." (TL)

 

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Responses from the Scientific Community:

 

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-----------

 

"Most of the ideas presented...were so ludicrous as to not even

warrant a rebuttal by any honest investigator." (L.W. Mt. Wilson

Observatory)

 

"I think you should apologize publicly for this show. It was

appalling... Frankly, you are either morons or liars." (D.L.

Colorado. Edu)

 

"...the non-scientific public watching this drivel may be inclined

to actually believe it and to vote for politicians who also believe

it." (J.K. New Mexico State University)

 

"It's all a bunch of hooey, and my recommendation is to stay away."

(B.D. Yale University)

 

"I recommend people write NBC and protest the presentation of this

show as a documentary... Thanks largely to the efforts of people

like yourself, the American public is generally not capable of

evaluating the "arguments" and "evidence" you present." (A.D.

University of Texas at Austin)

 

"Any person who would trot out the old canard about "evolution is

still a theory, not a fact" cannot be a serious producer. You people

should be ashamed of yourselves." (R.S. Geology Department,

Gettysburg College)

 

"...the American public will soon be reduced to a gaggle of

conspiracy theorists that will not trust a single thing they are

told." (T.H. Astronomy Dept. New Mexico State University)

 

"You should be banned from the airwaves." (J. J. ALCI)

 

 

 

---

-----------

 

 

Response from a literary review

 

 

---

-----------

 

 

The Mysterious Origins of Man - review

It's Indiana Jones meets The X-Files in this intriguing program that

tackles the age-old question "Where did we come from?" Hosted by

Charlton Heston, this offers a fresh spin on many ancient mysteries

by presenting radical ideas that fly in the face of accepted theory.

The Archaeologists and geologists interviewed contend that there

long has been a massive cover-up -- literally -- in the scientific

arena of any artifacts that contradict accepted theories and that

such notions, including Darwinism, are just "interpretations" of

evidence and not proven truths.

 

In addition to Darwin's missing link, assumptions challenged include

the age of humankind (some evidence suggests we're far older than

believed), whether people existed at the same time as dinosaurs

(maybe yes), and the existence of an advanced race who built the

great wonders of the world and were mysteriously wiped out by a

natural disaster. The program is capped off by the proposal that

Atlantis lies beneath the Antarctic ice. Whether you believe any of

it or not, this video nonetheless makes fascinating viewing. Highly

recommended.

 

-- Michael Rogers, "Library Journal"

http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/mom.html

 

 

What's it all about?

 

On Sunday February 25th 1996, NBC broadcast "The Mysterious Origins

of Man" (hereafter MOM), narrated by Charlton Heston, purporting to

be a documentary about scientific evidence that would overturn

currently accepted views of human history and evolution.

 

In late May 1996, NBC issued a press release announcing that MOM

would be re-broadcast on Saturday, June 8, 1996.

 

The film was produced by B. C. Video Inc. (P.O. Box 97, Shelburne,

VT 05482, Ph: 800-846-9682), which has set up a web site to

publicize it [offsite].

 

Although MOM was anti-evolutionary, it was not advocating scientific

creationism, even though some of the "experts" and arguments are

familiar to readers of scientific creationist literature. Instead,

just as scientific creationism is an attempt to use science to

support fundamentalist Christianity, MOM is apparently an attempt to

use science to support Hinduism. Much of the material in the program

is based on the contents of two books, Forbidden Archeology

[offsite] and The Hidden History of the Human Race [offsite] by

Michael Cremo and Richard Thompson, both of whom appeared on the

show and are members of the Bhaktivedanta Institute, a branch of the

International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Both books are

published by Govardhan Hill Publishing [offsite].

 

Other material for MOM came from Graham Hancock's book Fingerprints

of the Gods [offsite], Rand and Rose Flem-Ath's book When the Sky

Fell [offsite], and Robert Bauval and Adrian Gilbert's book The

Orion Mystery [offsite].

 

Reviews of The Mysterious Origins of Man:

 

 

A Review of NBC's "The Mysterious Origins of Man", by Glen Kuban

NBC Program Mysterious Origins, by Frank Steiger

NBC's Origins Show, by Dave Thomas

Bill Cote, producer of MOM, has written a response to Steiger's

review.

 

A review of Forbidden Archeology:

 

 

Creationism: The Hindu View, by Colin Groves

A review of The Hidden History of the Human Race:

 

 

Hidden History, Hidden Agenda, by Brad Lepper

A review of The Orion Mystery:

 

Book review: "The Orion Mystery", by Mark Hammons [offsite]

Why are people so upset about MOM? Mainly because a pseudo-

scientific mishmash of discredited claims and crackpot ideas was

presented as cutting edge science, with no attempt at balance. Few

of the experts presented are recognized scientists.

 

 

Claims made on "Mysterious Origins of Man"

 

One of the "experts" on the show was "Dr." Carl Baugh, a young-earth

creationist whose claims are so bizarre that even other creationists

find him an embarrassment. At Glen Kuban's Web site about the Texas

dinosaur/"man-tracks" controversy, there are documents about the

Burdick footprint, a supposed human footprint found alongside

dinosaur prints and featured in MOM, the dubious credentials of Carl

Baugh and Don Patton, and other articles about tracks at the Paluxy

River.

 

MOM claimed that some blue spheres, of an apparently artificial

origin, had been found in South Africa in rocks dated to 2.8 billion

years. Paul Heinrich has written a response to this claim.

 

Another claim was that an advanced civilization lived on Antarctica

12,000 years ago, and was destroyed by a massive shifting of the

Earth's crust which also caused many mammoths to be instantly

frozen. This claim has been rebutted by Paul Heinrich. See also the

talk.origins mammoth FAQ for more information on the frozen

mammoths.

 

It was also claimed that the Oronteus Finaeus Map of 1532 supported

the idea that Antarctica had been ice-free in historical times. This

is discussed by Paul Heinrich

 

MOM claimed that a number of artifacts, such as a mortar and pestle,

which have been found in California contradict current scientific

views. Again, here is Paul Heinrich's response. Many people thought

that a skull known as the Calaveras Skull was one of the objects

being referred to above. Michael Cremo has since said that MOM was

not referring to it, but here is some information about the

Calaveras Skull anyway.

 

MOM briefly discussed the evidence for human evolution, claiming

that no evidence for human evolution had been found. Here is a

response to that claim by Jim Foley.

 

Another "expert" featured on MOM was author/researcher David Hatcher

Childress. Here is a list of Childress' books, retrieved from

various sites on the internet. They cover a wide range of topics

such as free-energy devices, anti-gravity devices, artificial

gravity, anti-mass generators, gravitational pulse drive, vortex

propulsion, how to build flying saucers, the flying saucer

technology of Nazi Germany, flying saucer propulsion, government UFO

conspiracies, Roswell, death rays, ozone generators, thought

machines, crystals and their role in levitation, inhabitants and

structures on many of the planets and moons of the solar system,

lost cities in Africa, the Americas, and Asia, living dinosaurs and

pterodactyls, crystal skulls, Irish Incas, Atlantean ruins, King

Solomon's mines, the Ark of the Covenant, Jesus' tomb, Moslem

Illuminati, Noah's Ark, the Hollow Earth, Nazca lines, Yetis,

giants, megaliths, ley lines, acoustic levitation, and more! Judge

for yourself whether these interests are the credentials of a

scientific expert, or a pseudo-scientific expert. Clearly, the

producers of MOM considered Childress a scientific expert.

 

MOM received heavy criticism from the scientific community

[offsite], to which the producers of MOM have written a response

[offsite].

 

 

 

Where to complain

 

Should you wish to complain about the presentation of pseudoscience

as science, you can email NBC at:

 

http://www.nbc.com/mail.html or

entertainment

or contact the following NBC employees:

Mr. Robert Wright (President of NBC)

NBC

30 Rockefeller Plaza

New York, NY 10019

 

Mr. Todd Schwartz (acquired the film for NBC)

3000 W. Alameda,

Burbank, CA 91523

(818)840-3009

 

Dorothy Elery Austin,

Entertainment Press & Publicity,

(818) 840-3647

 

Robert Pientrantion,

Entertainment Electronic Publicity,

(818) 840-3565

or the makers of the film at:

bcvideo

Keep it polite; Usenet-style flames will not have as much effect as

a calm letter explaining why you disliked the film. If you have a

letterhead showing your credentials, or university or museum

affiliation, make use of it.

 

 

Advertisers

 

The following companies advertised on the show, in case you want to

let them know what you thought of it.

 

Coca-Cola

McDonalds

Olive Garden

Toyota

Kelloggs

J. C. Penney

Wendy's

LensCrafters

Folger's Coffee

M&M's Candy

Safeway

Kentucky Fried Chicken

Ford

Chili's

General Motors

Norelco

Red Lobster

(One advertisement was about how kids should better appreciate their

teachers and enjoy learning. It takes a special sort of chutzpah to

place an advertisment extolling the value of education in a show

that makes a mockery of scientific inquiry.)

 

NOTE: We incorrectly placed Chevron on this list of advertisers.

Chevron did not sponsor the MOM program. We apologize for the error.