Law and Magic Blog

More On That Hypnotic Robber

MSNBC.com has a segment on that hypnotic Italian thief here. Its expert is dubious that the technique being used is "real" hypnosis....

Deceit By Any Other Name

Brad Balentine compares the study of magic to the deciphering of insurance fraud in a column here.

Young Texas Magician Charged With Aggravated Kidnapping

I have been able to find nothing further on this case dated after mid-January. A theater student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Daniel Reyes, who is also an accomplished magician is out on bail after being charged with aggravated kidnapping. Law enforcement authorities allege that he took a nine year old girl from her school to his parents' home, where, they say, he "asked her personal questions and had her pose in suggestive positions while he videotaped her." From the accounts, it's not clear why school authorities would have allowed him to take her with him, although he seems to have a "note" with him; what the note would have said to persuade them that he had permission to take the child was also unclear. The child's parents are understandably quite upset.

That said, characterizations made on the net in various forums of Mr. Reyes as a convicted criminal are unwarranted. We don't know how far the case has proceeded, and we don't know what evidence is in the hands of the police, the prosecutors, and the defense, nor what weight it is being given. Persons accused of crimes in this country are entitled to a fair and impartial hearing before a jury of their peers. If I learn anything else that's relevant about this case, I'll post it.

Man Believes Himself Under "Black Magic" Spell; Sentenced To Prison For Attacks

Here's another Welsh criminal case from back in January. An illegal immigrant was sentenced to a minimum of four and a half years for stabbing several people. He has been hearing voices and believed he was under a "black magic" spell, put on him by a "Bangladeshi black magician." Mr. Mohamed Ahmad denied attacking the owner of a restaurant, a video store, and an advertising manager, who lost a kidney and spent a week in the hospital, until almost the time for trial, and then pled guilty. Because the judge determined that Mr. Ahmad poses a serious threat to public safety, he sentenced the defendant, who has been diagnosed as a "likely psychotic", to "indeterminate time" in prison; he will then face deportation to his home country of Bangladesh. Read more here.

"Liver! No! Pigs' Ears! I Really, Really Want Pigs' Ears For Lunch!"

Conan the Chihuahua, a Japanese temple dog at Jigenin temple, now joins his human companion, a Buddhist priest, for prayers.  Conan puts his two front paws up to his nose to signify--well, I'm not exactly sure what he's signifying. Thoughts about lunch, maybe. The priest, Joei Yoshikuni, says attendance has gone up some thirty percent. I'm not surprised. 

"Look Into My Eyes...."

Italian police are tracking a man who, they say, hypnotises grocery store and banking staff in numerous locations into handing over their receipts to him. The cops have closed circuit camera tape of the incidents, and they have the testimony of the mesmerized employees. (Incidentally, that's silly. If you're going to hypnotise people anyway, leave a post-hypnotic suggestion to destroy that tape). Now they just have to find this fellow, and avoid looking at him, or listening to him, while they clap the handcuffs on him (and they apparently have to hope he's also not an escapologist). Then we need to hear his side of the story.

Now, what I don't understand is the business hypnotists always tell you that you won't do something under hypnosis that you would not do while not hypnotized--that a hypnotist cannot override your moral values. Maybe someone who practices hypnotism can explain why these folks would have turned over the money. From the photo in the BBC story, it doesn't look as if the suspect has a weapon, and I didn't see anything about a weapon in the story, although the suspect might have mentioned a weapon or other threat. In any case, I don't see how that could diminish the charges against a suspect in such a situation. We certainly need more information to clear up this very weird affair. And I suspect that this tale will be transformed into a Law and Order episode very, very soon, complete with post-hypnotic suggestions, lots of magicians, a lovely assistant, backstage intrigue, and conspiracy. And I won't get a credit.

UK Magician Pleads Guilty To Charges of Selling Illegal Decoder Cards

Mark Elsdon, a North Wales man who works as a professional magician, and has published books of magic,  has pled guilty to charges of selling decoder cards to various Wales pubs so that they could receive satellite transmissions of sports events without paying the subscription fees. The judge has set sentencing for early April. Such charges can carry a sentence of up to ten years in prison. Mr. Elsdon had originally claimed that the European Satellite Television Association told him, and he believed, that the cards were legal for use in the United Kingdom.

"Now Watch Me Pull a Rabbit Out of YOUR Hat!"

Here's an interesting article from the archives of the New York Times concerning a magician who failed to impress his audience--the local cops. It seems that Joseph Kleias of Benzare, California, told the arresting officer that he was, contrary to the officer's impression, only trying to break another man's record for jumping off a bridge, when the officer took him in for public intoxication. As proof, Mr. Kleias proceeded to perform a number of amazing tricks. Well, he thought they were amazing. The duty officer thought they were further evidence of Mr. Kleias's drunkenness. Read more here.

The Symbolism of Arthur C. Clarke's Language

Today's New York Times has an appreciation of Arthur C. Clarke's work by Edward Rothstein. Mr. Rothstein suggests that Sir Arthur's writing carries with it a certain amount of symbolism indistinguishable from what some might associate with religion.

[W]hen it comes to the scriptural texts of modern science fiction, and the astonishing generation of prophetic innovators who were his contemporaries — Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein and Ray Bradbury— Mr. Clarke’s writings were the most biblical, the most prepared to amplify reason with mystical conviction, the most religious in the largest sense of religion: speculating about beginnings and endings, and how we get from one to the other.

...

Even the titles of some of Mr. Clarke’s stories invoke scriptural language. “If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth ...” tells of a boy on a lunar colony who is taken out by his father to see their mother planet rendered uninhabitable by nuclear war, an experience that inspires a dream of future return to be passed from generation to generation. In “The Nine Billion Names of God” monks of a Tibetan-like retreat believe that the very purpose of humanity is to write down the nine billion permutations of letters that spell God’s secret name, a project assisted by representatives of an I.B.M.-style company who indulgently supply the equipment so the project can come to its long-awaited close. As the computer experts fly home, “overhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out.” [Links omitted].

Read more here.

Pause, Reflect, and Mourn, Carbon-Based Bipeds

Arthur C. Clarke, who died yesterday at the age of 90, gave instructions that "[a]bsolutely no religious rites of any kind, relating to any religious faith, should be associated with my funeral." He will be buried in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where he lived for many years. Sir Arthur received the honor of a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in 2000 (it was originally scheduled for 1998). He is the author of many works, including the short story "The Sentinel," which he and Stanley Kubrick adapted in the hit movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. Sir Arthur is also known for two very famous quotations: "When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong," and "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Read more about him and his work here.