Recently, I noticed that some within the Vort Collective have puzzled over the relationship that seems to exist between New Energy Times (NET) and Mr. Krivit. They wondered what NET's agenda might be since it would seem as if Mr. Krivit is doing NET's bidding. It would seem that these individuals have misunderstood a fundamental fact that Mr. Krivit and NET are essentially the same entity. There is no mysterious anonymous group of individuals running NET other than Krivit himself - plus a few helpers or volunteers under Krivit's directorship.
I believe NET is a legitimate Tax Exempt entity. To exist as a legal entity, insofar as the IRS is concerned, it must maintain an active Board of Directors (BoD) that regularly meets. They are required to correspond at least by conference calls several times a year. The BoD must also meet in person at least once a year. As a former BoD member I participated in several of these conference calls. I also participated in an in-person meeting held in Milwaukee. Regardless of the alleged functions a BoD is supposed to perform it became clear to me that Mr. Krivit would will not allow himself to be "directed" by anyone. "Advised" perhaps, but never "directed." More on that later. As best as I can tell the only power anyone might possibly hold over Mr. Krivit's journalistic approach (on behalf of NET) would be his financial backers, or sponsors. While I was still a BoD member the sponsor appeared to be a single business operating in the food industry. It was a company owned and operated by a single owner. Maybe Krivit has managed to find additional sponsors since my departure. For NET's sake, I hope so. * * * Before I begin expressing some of my personal observations in some depth, I need to state that IMHO private correspondence should remain private. To publicly reveal "private" correspondence would be a breach of a sacred trust one tries to forge with another person. In that capacity I shall not reveal the actual contents of personal correspondence. However, since it is known that Krivit has violated what was presumed to have been private correspondence, such as publicly posting the private comments of a former NET BoD to the Vortex-l group; since Krivit cc'd my own private correspondence to the rest of the NET BoD, correspondence that was specifically meant for his eyes alone because I did not want to publicly criticize him in front of his peers, I now find myself inclined to stretch the meaning of my own rules - just a little. I will stretch those rules by expressing a few personal observations I acquired of Mr. Krivit while on NET's BoD. For the record, I became a NET BoD membership in the fall of 2009. I resigned from the membership on May 5 2010. I recall Krivit's NET sponsor, and by that I mean the owner of that business, got very angry at Mr. Krivit. But I'm getting ahead of my personal recollections. First, a little history. It might have all started when Krivit published (blogged) an unexpected confession of sorts, where he publicly admitted in front of everyone that he no longer believed that "cold fusion" was occurring. Mr. Krivit's confession was subsequently picked up by a couple of mainstream publications. It was as if a former Cold Fusion enthusiast had finally seen the light of day. It was as if Krivit was now embracing the traditional scientific POV concerning "cold fusion", as if the science was actually pseudo science. I don't believe that was what Krivit was actually trying to say, but I wonder how many authors after having read Krivit's confession had really picked up on what had led up to his transformation. What was considered news to many of these popular publications was the fact that Krivit, a former Cold Fusion believer was no longer a Cold Fusion believer. The fact the Krivit went on to state that in his opinion another kind of "nuclear reaction" was actually occurring in place of "cold fusion" was, for the most part, glossed over. After all, what did a "nuclear reaction" mean to most of these authors, particularly if Krivit had openly confessed a belief that "cold fusion" was not occurring. "cold fusion" . "nuclear reaction" ... what's the difference! Needless to say, Krivit's capitulation upset many within the Cold Fusion community. Some feared (in fact, I myself feared) Krivit's confession would only confuse the issue in the eye of the general public. Soon afterwards, Krivit published NET #34, where he dropped another bombshell by openly questioning the validity of certain CF research results published by prominent CF researchers. As a BoD member I felt deeply concerned. I also felt obligated to spend a great deal of time trying to comprehend why Mr. Krivit's had come to such a conclusion. I was aware of the fact that Krivit, earlier in his NET career, had encountered what I would describe as an unexpected confrontation with a prominent CF researcher. I began to wonder if that initial confrontation had sowed the initial seeds of what appeared to me to be a growing cynicism of the entire cold fusion community. According to Krivit, the researcher had demanded that he NOT report on some interesting neutron findings pertaining to a recent research paper that was beginning to get a lot of discussion out in the CF community. Krivit wondered why a prominent CF researcher was now demanding that he not publish reports on neutron emissions apparently collected under his own directorship. Needless to say, Krivit, trying to be an independent reporter did not take such suggestions (such "direction") very well, and I can't say I blame him. It was clear to me that some of these early confrontations must have deeply affected Krivit's perception of these CF researchers. Krivit must have initially admired many of these individuals, maybe even perceiving their work as almost unapproachable. To be honest, If I had been in Krivit's shoes I probably would have felt the same way. In any case the unexpected interaction, I'm sure, must have deeply influenced Krivit, causing him to question the rest of their motivations AND their scientific findings as well. And Krivit, being IMHO a natural-born cynic at heart, I guess I would say - the rest was history. Meanwhile, I was in the midst of trying to comprehend the contents of Krivit's publication #34. I was also wondering what the contents could possibly mean to me personally insofar as my involvement as a NET BoD member. In the midst of this personal conundrum I became aware of the fact that NET was suddenly very close to folding. Krivit's sponsor was seriously considering withdrawing financial support. I believe the sponsor was angry at Krivit for implying that the professional reputation of certain prominent CF researchers was now being called into question. Krivit and I talked about NET's financial crisis. I advised Krivit that under the circumstances he might want to lay it all on the line, so to speak. Simply tell the sponsor how it appeared from Krivit's POV that certain CF researchers had at one time appeared to want to direct his reporting efforts. Tell the sponsor it seemed as if they wanted to influence what Krivit should and shouldn't report on. Regardless of whether my suggestions had anything to do with the final outcome or not, Krivit's trip was successful. He was able to convince his sponsor to continue supporting his investigations. --- Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
