Simon Kidd (a Senior Research Officer in Education Policy at the University of Western Australia) is an internet propagandist for Kevin R.D. Shepherd (a vanity self-publisher, Anti-Findhorn fanatic, pseudo-intellectual and Sathya Sai Baba critic).
User:Simon_Kidd uses his real name on Wikipedia and edited under the sockpuppet of User:The_Communicator. As “The_Communicator” (and under his real name), Simon Kidd pervasively and obsessively published links, content and text on numerous Wikipedia articles that exclusively promotes the name, websites and self-published books of Kevin R. D. Shepherd.
Undoubtedly, “The Communicator” (aka “Simon Kidd”) has very close ties to Kevin Shepherd. This opinion is supported by the fact that “The Communicator” mostly edited articles (view contributions) that Kevin Shepherd is deeply involved with (i.e., Stanislav Grof, Holotropic Breathwork and the Findhorn Foundation). “The Communicator” added links to Kevin Shepherd’s Citizen Initiative website (Refs: 01 -
02 - 03 - 04 - 05) and continually cited Kevin Shepherd, Stephen Castro and Kate Thomas aka Jean Shepherd (all affiliated with each other and the Citizen Initiative website) as sources on articles and on talk pages (Refs: 01 - 02 - 03 - 04 - 05 - 06 - 07 - 08 - 09 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21). Kevin Shepherd is also intimately aware of “The Communicator’s” activity on Wikipedia and even discussed him on his Citizen Initiative website (Ref). Kevin Shepherd’s references to “The Communicator” (and vice-versa) indicate some sort of collaborated scheming on Wikipedia against Stanislav Grof, Holotropic Breathwork and the Findhorn Foundation. Therefore, The Communicator’s (aka “Simon Kidd”) comments about Kevin Shepherd are inherently slanted, subjective and defensive and cannot be considered neutral or unbiased.
Simon Kidd shamelessly attempted to advance the status of the Kevin Shepherd Wikipedia article with a proposed review (Ref) and was promptly stopped by Wikipedia Admin who rightly raised valid suspicions about Simon Kidd’s conflict of interest and possible sockpuppetry in relation to the Kevin Shepherd article. See: Good Article Reassessment - Kevin Shepherd.
One day after Wikipedia admin raised valid suspicions about Simon Kidd’s conflict of interest, Simon Kidd began editing other Wikipedia articles (attempting to make it appear as if he is not a one topic editor). Nevertheless, Simon Kidd’s edit history prior to November 11th 2009 reveals his true agenda and intent. Simon Kidd (acting very much like a “devotee”) fanatically and obsessively promoted and endorsed Kevin R. D. Shepherd on Amazon (Ref) and even contributed to an Amazon forum dedicated to Kevin R. D. Shepherd. Simon Kidd is closely associated with the dubious character “Alex Jamieson” (who originally created the Kevin Shepherd Wikipedia article). “Alex Jamieson” appears to be a sockpuppet, pseudonym and/or anonymous identity.
Simon Kidd also wrote a book review for Kate Thomas’s book “The Kundalini Phenomenon” on scimednet.org (Ref). The concluding statement reads:
“Simon Kidd is working in publishing in Cambridge. He is interested in cross-cultural and interdisciplinary research, particularly in the areas of philosophy, psychology, religion and sociology.”
Kate Thomas (real name “Jean Shepherd”) is Kevin R. D. Shepherd’s mother.
Simon Kidd was apparently involved with Kevin Shepherd’s campaigns against Stanislav Grof and Holotropic Breathing (HB) as evidenced by the following quote published on Shepherd’s official citizen initiative website:
Kevin R. D. Shepherd: “The real communicator (Simon Kidd) was a researcher in Australia who possessed a master’s degree in philosophy, and who furthermore had a valid link with the HB issue due to his correspondence in 1994–5 with medical authorities (including Regius Prof. Busuttil) and the Scottish Charities Office.”
Public Domain Bebo Pictures Of Simon Kidd (aka “SimanPieman”)
About himself, Simon Kidd said on Wikipedia under his real name:
Simon Kidd: ”I studied philosophy, psychology and logic at University College Dublin, and subsequently undertook postgraduate research in philosophy, being awarded a Master degree in 1994. My postgraduate dissertation was titled 'Language and Ideology: The Significance of Hermeneutics and Semiotics for the Theory of Ideology', and it involved an analysis of major figures such as Hegel, Marx, Heidegger, Gadamer, Ricoeur, Habermas and Eco.
During my student years, I acquired a personal interest in Asian and Middle Eastern philosophies and, in 1995, I moved to Cambridge where I was accepted as an MPhil student (preparatory to PhD research) at King's College. The late John Cooper, a Persianist at the University's Centre of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, with a strong interest in Sufism, provisionally offered to supervise my research. Perceiving my interests, he recommended that I produce a survey of the secondary literature on a mid-17th century Persian text called the Dabestan. I spent the summer of 1995 in the University Library, completing this task. My application for funding from the British Council was unsuccessful, however, and I was unable to pursue my formal studies. Notwithstanding this setback, I continued privately with my reading, acquiring many books over the years.
Much as I recognise the strengths of the academic system, I have come to appreciate the benefits of private study, most notably the freedom to pursue my own interests. I retain links with the academy, and have tutored philosophy students, as well as working in the Vice-Chancellery of a major university (where I reported directly to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Education, and was the Executive Officer for several committees and working parties). Most recently I have returned to a long-held desire to teach at the upper-primary level, and to bring philosophy into the primary classroom (see Philosophy for Children). I have a particular interest in the education of the 'gifted and talented'.”
About himself, Simon Kidd said on Wikipedia under his sockpuppet “The Communicator”:
Simon Kidd (aka “The Communicator”): “I am an independent researcher with a Masters degree in philosophy. I have a strong interest in comparative and interdisciplinary approaches to the philosophy of mind, psychology, mysticism, and the sociology of religious movements. I have worked in academic bookselling and publishing, and philosophy teaching. I have worked in bookselling (for a large academic bookseller), publishing (for two companies whose clients included major commercial and university publishers), and philosophy teaching. I have neither written nor published any books of my own. Although I have been a member of the Scientific and Medical Network, and of MENSA, I no longer have any professional or religious affiliations. I live in Australia with my wife and two children. I have chosen my sobriquet because I wish to communicate information relevant to various topics, especially where that information has been neglected for one reason or another.”
About himself, Simon Kidd said on Bebo:
Simon Kidd (aka “SimanPieman”): “Me, Myself, and I
Raised on songs and stories ... Ah yes, Dublin made me. Dublin, Dublin, Dublin - the smog, the DART, the Angelus, the Late Late Show, shivering at a bus stop on a frosty morning, standing out in Irish class (Redser, for those who know), sitting in Theatre L at UCD ... Now it's all nostalgia, a memory of things past. I'm no longer there, but it's still there in me.”
Simon Kidd is so desperate to promote Kevin R. D. Shepherd as a bona-fide scholar, he relies on spam-like solicitations and spam-like propaganda to deceive others about Kevin R. D. Shepherd’s credentials. Needless to say, Simon Kidd has a difficult task considering:
- Kevin R. D. Shepherd Emphatically Stated He Is NOT An Academic
- Kevin R. D. Shepherd Dropped Out Of School When He Was 15
Too bad the truth is now out and there is no stopping it.
