NEAT BLOG PUBLISHER'S NOTE: This is the first post I am publishing under the rubric of 'really neat blog' discoveries' which, if they interest me will likely bring pleasure to my readers. So, dear reader, if any interesting blog of a forensic nature that should be of interest to our readers comes to your attention, please drop me a note at:
hlevy15@gmail.com.
Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
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NAME OF BLOG: 'AntiPolygraph.org.'
ADDRESS:
https://antipolygraph.org
NATURE OF BLOG: To provide news and analysis of polygraphs, voice stress analyzers, and other purported "lie detectors." As co-founder George Maschke wrote me recently: "Thank you for writing. AntiPolygraph.org is a non-profit, public interest website. Our goal is to expose and end polygraph-related waste fraud and abuse. My co-founder, Gino Scalabrini (who is less public than I am) and I have been primarily concerned about employment-related polygraph screening, but we are also concerned about any official reliance on this pseudoscience, including criminal interrogations. (I am a former U.S. army interrogator, myself.")
HOW I DISCOVERED IT: Thanks to a contributor who provides a much appreciated endless flow of interesting stories and issues relevant to this Blog. (He prefers to remain anonymous):
MY INTEREST: From my criminal defence lawyer, criminal justice, teaching and journalism pasts - and my experience that the polygraph has become a tool used by the police to extort confessions.
BEHIND THE BLOG: Co-founders: Gino Scalabrini and George Maschke.
BIG BONUS: Their book 'The Lie Behind The Lie Detector' (Now in Fifth Edition) is - FREE - available in several formats at the link below:
AMAZON DESCRIPTION: "An annotated exposé of the pseudoscience of polygraphy, with chapters on its validity (or lack thereof), federal polygraph policy, polygraph procedure, and countermeasures (techniques for passing or beating a polygraph "test"). We did not write this book to make money. We are making it available via Amazon for the lowest price that authors may choose. You can download it for free in PDF, EPUB, and MOBI (Amazon Kindle) formats directly from AntiPolygraph.org. Polygraph "testing" has no scientific basis. It is a pseudoscience devised by interrogators, not scientists. In this book, we explain the scientific shortcomings of polygraphy and review the harm that the United States government's misplaced reliance on it, especially for applicant and employee security screening, has caused (and continues to cause on a daily basis). We also reveal the polygraph community's "trade secrets" that the public is not supposed to know about, with citations to the U.S. government's own documentation that it uses to train its own polygraph operators. We reveal the trickery (not science) on which polygraph "testing" relies. We also explain in detail how anyone—truthful or not—can pass or beat a polygraph "test." Our purpose is not to help liars evade justice or obtain employment for which they are not qualified, but rather to afford those who find themselves compelled to submit to polygraph screening with a means of protecting themselves against the random (and frequent) error associated with this invalid procedure that is wrongly called a "test.""
FASCINATING STORY: "I was utterly intrigued by George Maschke's account of the experience that led him to co-found AntiPolygraph.org. Here is how it starts: " On Monday, 15 May 1995, FBI polygrapher Jack Trimarco met me for the first time in his life and within three hours concluded that I am a spy, drug dealer, and drug abuser. The FBI rejected my application to become an FBI special agent and entered my polygraph examiner's false accusations of deception into my permanent FBI Headquarters file. The FBI's accusations have had life-changing consequences for me, and I am telling my story to help hasten the day that our government ends its misplaced reliance on the pseudoscience of polygraphy, a practice it has with good reason prohibited the private sector from employing."
Read George Maschke's entire account at:
https://antipolygraph.org/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
