A better place to start an exploration of New Age is the chapter on occultism in my recently published treatise on utopianism and the Eden motif.

The two founding luminaries of New Age are a couple fruitcake women, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (particularly, with her Secret Doctrine), and Alice Bailey (often writing as "Djwahl Kuhl", claiming to be channeling a demon spirit by that name - her collected works are here). Bailey's most widely noted tract is The Externalization of the Hierarchy. Hannah Newman, in an essay included below ("Masters of the Blinding Light: What Jewish People Should Know About the New Age"), reminds us that ``Hitler kept a copy of Blavatsky's 'The Secret Doctrine' by his bedside, ever since being introduced to its teachings by Dietrich Eckart and Karl Haushofer.''

Luciferianism, in various incarnations, is a religious foil of Freemasonry and Illuminism (where it lacked the neo-Buddhism and neo-Cabalism), and the New World Order and the United Nations (as New Age, featuring neo-Buddhism and neo-Cabalism). In all forms, it hybridizes the union collective and the hierarchical collective, in a structure of absolute authority. This is the central organizational principle, developed centuries ago within Freemasonry and the Illuminist movement. Obedience is demanded, but conscious articulation or acknowledgement of the obedience or the command hierarchy as such is taboo, and disobedience is considered a mental illness, a failing showing one to be subhuman and suited to euthanasia. Society becomes completely regimented, and the compliance of all is compulsory, but one is expected to refrain from conscious contemplation or explanation of the regimentation, even to one's self. Its promulgators envision the power structure of society as a secret everybody knows, and a circumstance insusceptible to amendment. This rubbish doesn't work, of course, but this is their vision.

For an extant example of this authority structure, observe the topology of modern committees (Bilderberg and Bohemian Grove at the apex (though even they are just vehicles for the agenda of the nuclear establishment), and immediately below them the TLC, CFR, RIIA, COA, etc.) and the modern banking and boardroom topologies. These are in fact hierarchies of consensus-driven unions cryptically commanded from above - precisely the sort of hybridization described above. Note that committees are never actually blob-like, but in fact all have internal power structure in detail, so that in fact the command hierarchy still has an individual granularity, which is simply camouflaged by the committee organization.

Maitreyanism is the preeminent flavor of New Age, the modern form of Luciferianism. The explicit self-abnegation objective of the ``eastern'' religious tradition (in this case, Tibetan Buddhism) is hybridized with the unionism and hierarchicalism of Masonic/Illuminist Luciferianism, to produce a religion of uncanny evil. When organs and associates of the United Nations explicitly promulgate Luciferianism, it is usually of the Maitreyan variety.

Maitreyanism is theosophic authoritarian communism. Naziism is a historical example of Maitreyanism, except that the Nazis crushed unionism. Göbbels, the propaganda minister of the Nazi regime, observed that Nazi indoctrination produced militants who "obey a law they are not even consciously aware of but which they could recite in their dreams." (Q.V. Virilio, 1996, p.11). The current crop of Maitreyans (New Agers) are also Nazis, though with a fully unionized program.

from Scientific American, 2005-Jan, by Michael Shermer:

Quantum Quackery
A surprise-hit film has renewed interest in applying quantum mechanics to consciousness, spirituality and human potential

In spring 2004 I appeared on KATU TV's AM Northwest in Portland, Ore., with the producers of an improbably named film, What the #$*! Do We Know?! Artfully edited and featuring actress Marlee Matlin as a dreamy-eyed photographer trying to make sense of an apparently senseless universe, the film's central tenet is that we create our own reality through consciousness and quantum mechanics. I never imagined that such a film would succeed, but it has grossed millions.

The film's avatars are New Age scientists whose jargon-laden sound bites amount to little more than what California Institute of Technology physicist and Nobel laureate Murray Gell-Mann once described as "quantum flapdoodle." University of Oregon quantum physicist Amit Goswami, for example, says in the film: "The material world around us is nothing but possible movements of consciousness. I am choosing moment by moment my experience. Heisenberg said atoms are not things, only tendencies." Okay, Amit, I challenge you to leap out of a 20-story building and consciously choose the experience of passing safely through the ground's tendencies.

The work of Japanese researcher Masaru Emoto, author of The Hidden Messages in Water, is featured to show how thoughts change the structure of ice crystals--beautiful crystals form in a glass of water with the word "love" taped to it, whereas playing Elvis's "Heartbreak Hotel" causes other crystals to split in two. Would his "Burnin' Love" boil water?

The film's nadir is an interview with "Ramtha," a 35,000-year-old spirit channeled by a woman named JZ Knight. I wondered where humans spoke English with an Indian accent 35,000 years ago. Many of the films' participants are members of Ramtha's "School of Enlightenment," where New Age pabulum is dispensed in costly weekend retreats.

The attempt to link the weirdness of the quantum world to mysteries of the macro world (such as consciousness) is not new. The best candidate to connect the two comes from University of Oxford physicist Roger Penrose and physician Stuart Hameroff of the Arizona Health Sciences Center, whose theory of quantum consciousness has generated much heat but little light. Inside our neurons are tiny hollow microtubules that act like structural scaffolding. Their conjecture (and that's all it is) is that something inside the microtubules may initiate a wave-function collapse that results in the quantum coherence of atoms. The quantum coherence causes neurotransmitters to be released into the synapses between neurons, thus triggering them to fire in a uniform pattern that creates thought and consciousness. Because a wave-function collapse can come about only when an atom is "observed" (that is, affected in any way by something else), the late neuroscientist Sir John Eccles, another proponent of the idea, even suggested that "mind" may be the observer in a recursive loop from atoms to molecules to neurons to thought to consciousness to mind to atoms....

In reality, the gap between subatomic quantum effects and large-scale macro systems is too large to bridge. In his book The Unconscious Quantum (Prometheus Books, 1995), University of Colorado physicist Victor Stenger demonstrates that for a system to be described quantum-mechanically, its typical mass (m), speed (v) and distance (d) must be on the order of Planck's constant (h). "If mvd is much greater than h, then the system probably can be treated classically." Stenger computes that the mass of neural transmitter molecules and their speed across the distance of the synapse are about two orders of magnitude too large for quantum effects to be influential. There is no micro-macro connection. Then what the #$*! is going on here?

Physics envy. The lure of reducing complex problems to basic physical principles has dominated the philosophy of science since Descartes's failed attempt some four centuries ago to explain cognition by the actions of swirling vortices of atoms dancing their way to consciousness. Such Cartesian dreams provide a sense of certainty, but they quickly fade in the face of the complexities of biology. We should be exploring consciousness at the neural level and higher, where the arrow of causal analysis points up toward such principles as emergence and self-organization. Biology envy.

Michael Shermer is publisher of Skeptic (www.skeptic.com) and author of The Science of Good and Evil.

from Salon, 2007-Mar-5, by Peter Birkenhead:

Oprah's ugly secret

By continuing to hawk "The Secret," a mishmash of offensive self-help cliches, Oprah Winfrey is squandering her goodwill and influence, and preaching to the world that mammon is queen.

Steve Martin used to do a routine that went like this: "You too can be a millionaire! It's easy: First, get a million dollars. Now..."

If you put that routine between hard covers, you'd have "The Secret," the self-help manifesto and bottle of minty-fresh snake oil currently topping the bestseller lists. "The Secret" espouses a "philosophy" patched together by an Australian talk-show producer named Rhonda Byrne. Though "The Secret" unabashedly appropriates and mishmashes familiar self-help clichés, it was still the subject of two recent episodes of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" featuring a dream team of self-help gurus, all of whom contributed to the project.

The main idea of "The Secret" is that people need only visualize what they want in order to get it -- and the book certainly has created instant wealth, at least for Rhonda Byrne and her partners-in-con. And the marketing idea behind it -- the enlisting of that dream team, in what is essentially a massive, cross-promotional pyramid scheme -- is brilliant. But what really makes "The Secret" more than a variation on an old theme is the involvement of Oprah Winfrey, who lends the whole enterprise more prestige, and, because of that prestige, more venality, than any previous self-help scam. Oprah hasn't just endorsed "The Secret"; she's championed it, put herself at the apex of its pyramid, and helped create a symbiotic economy of New Age quacks that almost puts OPEC to shame.

Why "venality"? Because, with survivors of Auschwitz still alive, Oprah writes this about "The Secret" on her Web site, "the energy you put into the world -- both good and bad -- is exactly what comes back to you. This means you create the circumstances of your life with the choices you make every day." "Venality," because Oprah, in the age of AIDS, is advertising a book that says, "You cannot 'catch' anything unless you think you can, and thinking you can is inviting it to you with your thought." "Venality," because Oprah, from a studio within walking distance of Chicago's notorious Cabrini Green Projects, pitches a book that says, "The only reason any person does not have enough money is because they are blocking money from coming to them with their thoughts."

Worse than "The Secret's" blame-the-victim idiocy is its baldfaced bullshitting. The titular "secret" of the book is something the authors call the Law of Attraction. They maintain that the universe is governed by the principle that "like attracts like" and that our thoughts are like magnets: Positive thoughts attract positive events and negative thoughts attract negative events. Of course, magnets do exactly the opposite -- positively charged magnets attract negatively charged particles -- and the rest of "The Secret" has a similar relationship to the truth. Here it is on biblical history: "Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and Jesus were not only prosperity teachers, but also millionaires themselves, with more affluent lifestyles than many present-day millionaires could conceive of." And worse than the idiocy and the bullshitting is its anti-intellectualism, because that's at the root of the other two. Here's "The Secret" on reading and, um, electricity: "When I discovered 'The Secret' I made a decision that I would not watch the news or read newspapers anymore, because it did not make me feel good," and, "How does it work? Nobody knows. Just like nobody knows how electricity works. I don't, do you?" And worst of all is the craven consumerist worldview at the heart of "The Secret," because it's why the book exists: "[The Secret] is like having the Universe as your catalogue. You flip through it and say, 'I'd like to have this experience and I'd like to have that product and I'd like to have a person like that.' It is you placing your order with the Universe. It's really that easy." That's from Dr. Joe Vitale, former Amway executive and contributor to "The Secret," on Oprah.com.

Oprah Winfrey is one of the richest women in the world, and one of the most influential. Her imprimatur has helped the authors of "The Secret" sell 2 million books (and 1 million DVDs), putting it ahead of the new Harry Potter book on the Amazon bestseller list. In the time Oprah spent advertising the lies in "The Secret," she could have been exposing them to an audience that otherwise might have believed them. So why didn't she? If James Frey deserved to be raked over the coals for lying about how drunk he was, doesn't Oprah deserve some scrutiny for pitching the meretricious nonsense in "The Secret"?

Oprah has a reputation for doing good -- she probably has more perceived moral authority than anyone in this country -- and she has done a lot of good. But in light of her zealous support of a book that says, in this time of entrenched, systemic, institutionalized poverty, this time of no-bid contracts for war profiteers and heckuva-job governance, that "you can have, be, or do anything," isn't it reasonable to ask about why she does what she does, and the way she does it?

Oprah recently opened, with much fanfare, the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy in South Africa, and as I watched the network news stories about it, I couldn't get "The Secret" out of my mind. I kept wondering what would happen if professor Sam Mhlongo, South Africa's chief family practitioner who famously said that HIV doesn't cause AIDS, read about Oprah's connection to "The Secret" and found support there for his claim. I wondered if the students of the academy would read "The Secret" and start to believe that their parents deserved to be poor, or that the people of Darfur summoned the Janjaweed with "bad thoughts." Will the heavier girls be told, as readers of "The Secret" are, that food doesn't cause weight gain -- thinking about weight gain does? Will they be told to not even look at fat people, as "The Secret" advises? Oprah is already promoting these ideas to her television audience. Why wouldn't she espouse them to her students?

In many ways the Leadership Academy is a wonderful project, a school that will provide impoverished girls an education they otherwise might not have gotten. But it also seems to be the product, unavoidably, of the faux-spiritual, anti-intellectual, hyper-materialistic worldview expressed in "The Secret," the book that the school's founder has called "life changing."

The academy is a controversial enough project in South Africa that the government withdrew its support, because of the amount of money that's been spent on its well-reported, lavish design -- money that could have gone instead to creating perfectly fine schools that served many, many more students than the 350 who will be making use of spa facilities at the academy. But, when I watched Oprah's prime-time special about interviewing candidates for the school, it seemed to me that she wasn't nearly as excited about providing an education to the girls as she was about providing a "Secret"-like "transformative experience." (And not just for the girls, for herself; the first thing she said to the family members at the opening ceremony wasn't, "Welcome to a great moment in your daughters' lives," it was, "Welcome to the proudest moment of my life.")

On the special, Oprah talked far more about what the school would do for the girls' self-esteem and material lives than what it would do for their intellects -- sometimes sounding as if she was reading directly from "The Secret." And in discussing what she was looking for in prospective students, she didn't talk about finding the next Eleanor Roosevelt or Sally Ride or Jane Smiley. Instead she used "Entertainment Tonight" language like "It Girl" to describe her ideal candidate. She praised the girls for their spirit, for how much they "shined" and "glowed," but never for their ideas or insights. Oprah puts a lot of energy and money into aesthetics -- on her show, in her magazine, at her school. The publishers of "The Secret" have learned well from their sponsor and are just as visually savvy. They have created a look for their books, DVDs, CDs and marketing materials that conjures a "Da Vinci Code" aesthetic, full of pretty faux parchment, quill-and-ink fonts and wax seals.

Oprah's TV special about the Leadership Academy, essentially an hourlong infomercial, was just as well-coiffed and "visuals"-heavy. In fact, when Oprah was choosing her students, her important criteria must have included their television interview skills. On-camera interviews with the girls were the centerpiece of the special, but as one spunky, telegenic candidate after another beamed her smile at the camera, I couldn't help wondering how Joyce Carol Oates or Gertrude Stein or Madame Curie would have fared -- would they have "shined" and "glowed," or more likely talked in non-sound-bite-friendly paragraphs and maybe even, God forbid, the sometimes "dark" tones of authentic people, and been rejected. Sadly, the girls themselves (and who can blame them, desperate 12-year-olds trying to flatter their potential benefactor) parroted banal Oprah-isms, like "I want to be the best me I can be," and "Be a leader not a follower" and "Don't blend in, blend out," with smiley gusto.

When the special was over, I found myself equally impressed and queasy, one part hopeful, one part worried. I was happy the school was there, but disturbed by the way it created an instant upper class out of the students, in a country that doesn't exactly need any more segregation into haves and have-nots. I was hopeful for the students but nervous about what, exactly, they will be taught in a place called the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy. Will it be more "best me I can be" bromides? Will "The Secret" be on the syllabus? Oprah herself is going to teach "leadership classes" at the school, after all.

Has Oprah ever done anything that didn't leave people with mixed feelings?

And at what point do we stop feeling like we have to take the good with the craven when it comes to Oprah, and the culture she's helped to create? I get nauseated when I think of people in South Africa being taught they don't have enough money because they're "blocking it with their thoughts." I'm already sickened by an American culture that teaches people, as "The Secret" does, that they "create the circumstances of their lives with the choices they make every day," a culture that elected a president who cried tears of self-congratulation at his inauguration, rejects intellectualism, and believes he can intuit the trustworthiness of world leaders by looking into their eyes. I'm sickened by a culture in which the tenets of the Oprah philosophy have become conventional wisdom, in which genuine self-actualization has been confused with self-aggrandizement, reality is whatever you want it to be, and mammon is queen.

One of Oprah's signature gimmicks has been giving stuff away to her audience ("giving" here means announcing the passing of stuff from corporate sponsors to audience members), most notably in a popular segment called "My Favorite Things." These bits have revealed an Oprah who truly revels in consumer culture, and who can seem astonishingly oblivious to the way most people live and what they can afford. She seems to celebrate every event and milestone with extravagant stuff, indeed to not know how to celebrate without it. Oprah has explained the expensive appointments of her Leadership Academy by saying, "Beauty inspires." True enough. But hasn't the lack of beauty inspired some pretty great work? And aren't there are all kinds of beauty?

You might expect a powerful person who thinks of herself as "deeply spiritual" to have a less worldly conception of it, and you might hope that she would encourage her followers to do the same, instead of urging them to buy books that call Jesus a "prosperity teacher."

But, far more than "spiritual growth" or "empowerment," Oprah and the authors of "The Secret" focus on imparting the message of getting rich. Even the biographies of the authors of "The Secret" on Oprah's Web site are revealingly fixated on their rags-to-riches stories. James Arthur Ray is described as someone who was "almost going bankrupt, [which] forced him to focus on the life he truly wanted. Now he runs a multimillion-dollar corporation dedicated to teaching people how to create wealth in all areas of their lives." The bio for Lisa Nichols says, "After hitting rock bottom at age 19, Lisa prayed for a better life. Now, she has made her fortune by motivating more than 60,000 teenagers to make better choices in their own lives." And the one for "Chicken Soup for the Soul" creator Jack Canfield reads, he "was deep in debt before he made it big. Now his best-selling books have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide, and Jack travels the country teaching 'The Secret' of his success."

There's no doubt that Oprah's doing a lot of good with her South African project, and with many other charitable works. And yeah, I know, her book club "gets people to read," and yadda yadda yadda. But there's also no doubt that a lot of us have been making forgiving disclaimers like that about Oprah for years. And that maybe they amount to trains-running-on-time arguments. Maybe it's time to stop. After reading "The Secret," it seemed to me that there were basically three possibilities: 1) Oprah really believes this stuff, and we should be very worried about her opening a school for anyone. 2) Oprah doesn't believe this stuff and we should be very, very worried about her opening a school for anyone. 3) Oprah doesn't know that any of this stuff is in the book or on her Web site and in a perfect world she wouldn't be allowed to open a school for anyone.

The things that Oprah does, like promoting "The Secret," can seem deceptively trivial, but it's precisely because they're silly that we should be concerned about their promotion by someone who is deadly earnest and deeply trusted by millions of people. It's important to start taking a look at Oprah because her philosophy has in many ways become the dominant one in our culture, even for people who would never consider themselves disciples. Somebody is buying enough copies of "The Secret" to make it No. 1 on the Amazon bestseller list. Those somebodies may be religious zealots or atheists, Republicans or Democrats, but they are all believers, to one degree or another, and, perhaps unwittingly, in aspects of the Oprah/"Secret" culture. And yes, sure, a lot of the believing they do is harmless fun -- everybody's got some kind of rabbit's foot in his pocket -- but we're not talking about rabbits' feet here, we're talking about whole, live rabbits pulled out of hats, and an audience that doesn't think it's being tricked.

"Secret"-style belief is a perfect product. Like Coca-Cola, it goes down easy and makes the consumer thirsty for more. It's unthreateningly simple, and a lot more facile, sentimental and, perhaps paradoxically, intractable than the old-fashioned kind of belief. Like Amway, it enlists its consumers as unofficial salespeople, and the people who constitute its market feel like they're part of a fold. It's indistinguishable from, and inextricably bound up in, the Oprah idea of self-esteem, the kind of confidence you get not from testing yourself, but from "believing" in yourself. This modern idea of faith isn't arrived at the old-fashioned way, by asking questions, but by getting answers. Instead of inquiry we have born-again epiphanies and cheesy self-help books -- we have excuses for not engaging in inquiry at all. Let other people schlep down the road to Damascus; we'll have Amazon send Damascus to us.

That "Secret"-style faith, whether it's in God, or in one's own preordained destiny to be an "American Idol," which takes all of a moment to achieve, is perhaps its most important selling point. Here's "The Secret" on arriving at faith: "Ask once, believe you have received, and all you have to do to receive is feel good." The kind of faith that couldn't be reached by shortcut, the confidence of the great doubters and worriers, of Moses and Abraham Lincoln and Jesus Christ, has been replaced by the insta-certainty and inflated "self-esteem" of "The Secret's" believers.

Books like "The Secret" have created, and are feeding, an enormously diverse market of disciples, and they're thriving in every corner of the culture, in megachurches and movies, politics and pop music, in sports arenas and state boards of education. Oprah has far more in common with George Bush than either would like to admit, and so do the psychics of Marin County, Calif., and the creationists of Kansas. The believers come from all walks of life, but they work the same way -- mostly by bastardizing and warping source materials, from the Bible to the Bhagavad Gita, to make them fit their worldview. On Page 23 of "The Secret" you'll find this revealing doozy: "Meditation quiets the mind, helps you control your thoughts." Of course, the goal of meditation is precisely the opposite -- it is to be conscious, to observe your thoughts honestly and clearly. But that's the last thing the believers want to encourage. The authors of "The Secret" sell "control" in the form of "empowerment" and "quiet" in the form of belief, not consciousness.

The promises of Oprah culture can seem irresistible, and its hallmarks are becoming ubiquitous. Believers may be separated into tribes according to what they believe, but they do it in pretty much the same way, relying on a "Secret"-style conception of "intuition" --- which seems to amount to the sneaking suspicion that they're always right -- to arrive at their tenets. Instead of the world as it is, constantly changing and full of contradiction, they see a fixed and fantastical place, where good things come to those who believe, whether it's belief in a diet, a God, or a Habit of Successful People. These believers may believe in the healing power of homeopathy, or Scripture or organizational skills -- in intelligent design, astrology or privatization. They all trust that their devotion will be rewarded with money and boyfriends and job promotions, with hockey championships and apartments. And most of all they believe -- they really, really believe -- in themselves.

For these believers, self-knowledge is much less important than self-"love." But the question they never seem to ask themselves is: If you wouldn't tell another person you loved her before you got to know her, why would you do that to yourself? Skipping the getting-to-know-you part has given us what we deserve: the Oprah culture. It's a culture where superstition is "spirituality," illiteracy is "authenticity," and schoolmarm moralism is "character." It's a culture where people apologize by saying, "I'm sorry you took offense at what I said," and forgive by saying, "I'm not angry at you anymore, I'm grateful to you for teaching me not to trust shitheads like you." And that's the part that should bother us most: the diminishing, even implicit mocking, of genuine goodness, and of authentic spiritual concerns and practices. Engagement, curiosity and active awe are in short supply these days, and it's sickening to see them devalued and misrepresented.

Not that any of this is new. Aimee Semple McPherson, "The Power of Positive Thinking," Father Coughlin, est, James Van Praagh -- pick your influential snake-oil salesman or snake oil. They were all cut from the same cloth as Oprah and "The Secret." The big, big difference is, well, the bigness. The infinitely bigger reach of the Oprah empire and its emissaries. They make their predecessors look like kids with lemonade stands. It would be stupidly dangerous to dismiss Oprah and "The Secret" as silly, or ultimately meaningless. They're reaching more people than Harry Potter, for God-force's sake. That's why what Oprah does matters, and stinks. If you reach more people than Bill O'Reilly, if you have better name recognition than Nelson Mandela, if the books you endorse sell more than Stephen King's, you should take some responsibility for your effect on the culture. The most powerful woman in the world is taking advantage of people who are desperate for meaning, by passionately championing a product that mocks the very idea of a meaningful life.

That means something.

from the Toronto Globe and Mail, 2008-Feb-1, by Marsha Lederman:

When Oprah came calling, the universe answered

VANCOUVER — If there's anyone who can be named to Oprah Winfrey's much-coveted book club and not have it go to his head, it's Eckhart Tolle.

Twenty-four hours after being called "one of the world's leading spiritual teachers" by the world's leading talk-show host, the author of the ego-rejecting manifesto A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose is sitting in his Vancouver living room, calmly explaining that he believes the universe has conspired to bring him and Winfrey together.

"I feel I'm being used by consciousness and she's being used by consciousness," he says. "I'm just open for what wants to happen, and I believe Oprah is the same."

Not a fan of television (A New Earth suggests TV is partially responsible for causing attention-deficit disorder), Tolle says Winfrey is the exception. "She's done a lot for the transformation of consciousness."

Tolle has not yet met Winfrey in person, but he took a call from her in mid-December asking if he'd be interested in the collaboration. "She said she loved the book, she'd been reading it, and she wants the message to get out into the world," says Tolle.

On Wednesday, Winfrey revealed that A New Earth would be her 61st book-club selection and, in an Oprah first, the basis of a 10-week course Tolle and Winfrey will teach at Oprah.com. "This is my boldest choice yet," Winfrey told her audience. "I'm just over-the-moon excited about it."

Tolle watched the show in his little downtown Vancouver office. He couldn't tune in at home — the cable isn't connected at the moment. In his quiet German/Spanish/English accent, Tolle says he was "quite amazed" by what he saw. "It's hard to connect when she holds up the book and says 'Eckhart Tolle' and to [realize] 'Oh, that's me.' "

Afterward, there was no splashy celebration, not even a dinner out. His partner, Kim, is on an all-raw-food diet right now.

Despite the announcement, Tolle is trying to keep things as they always have been in his life. He's refusing most interview requests, not answering the phone, and continuing with grocery shopping and his daily walks. "Sometimes, it feels a little bit overwhelming, but I continue to lead a very normal life"

It's no secret that in publishing, Winfrey's word is gold. Being named to her book club means instant fame and an enormous spike in book sales. Marion Garner, Publisher at Vintage Canada, says that after Ann-Marie McDonald's Fall on Your Knees was made an Oprah pick in 2002, "sales went through the roof." (The first Canadian Oprah pick, in 2001, was Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance.) Sure enough, on Thursday morning, when Tolle checked Amazon.com, A New Earth was the site's top seller.

But Tolle says he is much more interested in the spiritual impact on Winfrey's viewers and, ultimately, the human race. "What I enjoy is to be used by the evolving consciousness. I don't feel so much that I am doing what I do. I feel that I'm being used by something that is evolving here on this planet through humanity."

A New Earth explores Tolle's theory that human beings have not yet fully evolved. The race can only reach the next stage of evolution, he argues, if people turn away from their negative, cluttered, ego-driven lives. Tolle says the future of the race depends on reaching a new state of consciousness; that human dysfunction's creation of weapons and warfare, coupled with technology, could spell the end of the planet.

"We've arrived at a crisis point where the collective dysfunction of humanity has become a threat to humanity's very survival," he said on Thursday, before taking his current read, Niall Ferguson's War of the World, down from one of his many bookshelves. "Before, the dysfunction manifested itself with people killing each other with swords or clubs. And then it became rifles and cannons. And now it's atom bombs."

Tolle, 59, was born in postwar Germany, hated school, and dropped out at 13. He spent some time in Spain, then returned to his studies in his 20s, in London. After graduating from university, he left academia to become a spiritual teacher. Then, in the early 1990s, he had a revelation. "One morning I woke up and I realized, 'I have to move. I have to move to the west coast of North America.' "

He left England for Vancouver, then California, ultimately settling in British Columbia. "Vancouver, I find, has a particularly gentle energy field."

During that time, Tolle began writing his first book, The Power of Now. He asked a friend, Constance Kellough, to publish it. The first print run, only 3,000 copies, still proved challenging to unload.

Then Meg Ryan, introduced to the book by her yoga instructor in Los Angeles, told Winfrey about it. Winfrey wrote about it in her magazine O, and then mentioned it on one of her episodes devoted to her favourite things.

That day, Kellough watched The Power of Now inch its way up Amazon's bestseller list, as the show was broadcast in different time zones across the continent. "By the time it hit California, [the book] was No. 1," she says.

It has now sold some four million copies, according to Kellough, and has been translated into more than 30 languages. Winfrey keeps a copy by her bedside (according to her website).

It's all made Tolle and Kellough very wealthy, and Kellough's tiny Vancouver publishing company, Namaste, very solvent. "The monetary rewards that we receive are not to be downplayed. They're substantial," says Kellough. "But they are not the motivation for our work."

Despite what some might expect of a spiritual teacher, Tolle enjoys his creature comforts. He has a spacious condominium on the edge of the UBC campus overlooking the forest, almost at treetop level. He has another suite on the same floor, where Kim lives with her dog. He has a place on Saltspring Island. He enjoys the odd glass of wine with dinner. He drinks coffee — usually lattes — at Starbucks.

He gets recognized fairly often. Like many of his celebrity devotees, he's taken to wearing ball caps when he goes out. On the main floor of his building, someone posted a note on Thursday about the Oprah developments; neighbours smiled and nodded in quiet congratulations as they passed Tolle in the hall.

Tolle describes himself as a private person, a hermit even, and all of this public exposure, and being recognized on the street, is not really his cup of tea. "I'd rather sit alone or watch the trees or read a book," he says. "And yet I do this because I know that's what's needed. The universe is telling me that's what I need to do."

an entertaining reader comment arising from the above, from the Toronto Globe and Mail website, 2008-Feb-2, by John Williams of Ajax, Ontario, Canada:

I had the good fortune of having some of Eckhart Tolle's books and recordings lent to me by a friend. See how Karma works? Well, actually, she shoved them on me like a Scientologist pushing Dianetics, and I like analyzing pop-culture trash for fun, so I checked it out. The most boring, pretentious tripe I have heard in a very long time. It sounds like a parody of a Wilhelm Reich Ogone Energy film from the 70's, minus the moaning. But comedy aside, its actually psychologically dangerous for vulnerable people. He preaches the old 'Ego-Death' gag. That is a form of cognitive suicide, and its the first step used in 'softening up' the head, as they say. Its the antithesis of Critical Intelligence. a few Tolle quotes: _____ 'until my 30th year, I lived in a state of almost continuous anxiety interspersed with periods of suicidal depression'...one day his... 'mind stopped', and 'there were no more thoughts', 'for the next 5 months, I lived in a state of uninterrupted deep peace and bliss', 'the suffering self collapsed'. 'I had no relationships, no job, no home, no identity. I spent almost 2 years sitting on park benches in a state of the most intense joy'. _____ Now, they have locked Britney Spears up for far less than this. But this guy writes it in a book, and walks around faking he is 'deep' and makes a fortune in cashmoney! Yippee! Here is more irony. He preaches Ego-Death, and No-Self yet all he does is promote his SELF, his IMAGE, his NAME over and over and over. The guy is an Ego-maniac! So Oprah has dumped more New Age junk into the massmind of America. Could you imagine if Oprah for once promoted some Critical Thinking for the masses? As in some basic Epistemology? Naw, its better to soften up the heads of the stupid masses, this way when you tell them your fabric softener works best, they all run out and buy it! Its all about softening up the heads of the public for the TV advertisers, and it works great for voting too.

from the Denver Post, 2006-Nov-21, by Carlos Illescas:

City goes light on invocations

Aurora - Jesus and Muhammad are out. But God, in a general sense, is OK.

New guidelines on what can be said during invocations at the beginning of City Council meetings have led to a ban on specific references to religious figures.

Many clergy members have objected to the restrictions. They say if they can't pray the way they want to, then they don't want to pray at the meetings at all.

"I really am disappointed," said the Rev. Jay Yousling of Prairie Ridge Community Church, who has given the invocation several times but won't likely do so again under the current guidelines. "I was proud of Aurora (leaders) that they were not extreme in their thinking.

"Tolerance doesn't mean only one way. Tolerance allows for differences."

Now the city is struggling to book anyone to give the invocations. For the past half-dozen or so meetings, Mayor Ed Tauer has given ecumenically ambiguous invocations. At Monday's council meeting, instead of an invocation, he asked for a moment of silence.

City governments throughout the country have wrestled with the issue of invocations at meetings, many doing away with the practice entirely or limiting the reference to religious figures.

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a ruling that barred the town of Great Falls, S.C., from using Jesus' name in prayer prior to meetings because it favored one religion.

That and other rulings led Aurora City Attorney Charlie Richardson to propose changing the guidelines for invocations. Some residents who watch the meetings on cable access complained that the invocations tilted too far toward the Christian faith, Richardson said. There was also concern about those who do not believe in a higher being.

The city's guidelines request "that invocations given at Council meetings be non-sectarian."

"References to Jesus Christ, Muhammad, or other religious figures in government invocations have been held by the Courts to be an impermissible preference for one religion over other religions," they continue.

A handful of cities throughout Colorado still do invocations, including Colorado Springs and Grand Junction, while others, such as Denver and Arvada, do not. Others just say the Pledge of Allegiance. At a recent council meeting in Aurora, Tauer gave the invocation.

"Heavenly God, we have assembled before you this evening and ask for your blessing," he said. "We ask you to bless this City Council and grant us wisdom as we deliberate. Bless the people who work in our city, those that teach and care for our children and those many groups that do charitable work in our community. Amen."

35-plus-year tradition

Aurora city officials say it's important to maintain the tradition of invocations at council meetings, which goes back more than 35 years. Tauer also says it promotes a sense of unity.

"The purpose of having an invocation is to be inspirational for the community and the council and to be inclusive and bring people together," Tauer said. "Unfortunately, we live in a time we can be sued no matter what you do. But our preference is to find something everyone can agree on."

John Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit conservative legal organization in Charlottesville, Va., sent a letter to the city this month, urging officials to do away with the new regulations.

"Government should not be telling people how to pray," Whitehead said. "Once you do that, you violate the First Amendment, separation-of- church-and-state clause."

Cities would be better off not saying a prayer at all, he said.

For years, Colorado Springs had allowed invocations before council meetings, but like Aurora, the prayers were mainly Christian-oriented, and some complained. So in 2001, the city went to more nonsectarian prayers. Then, the ministers complained.

"I had ministers come in and say, 'If I have to watch every word I say, then I can't pray,"' said Dean Beukema, who schedules the invocations for Colorado Springs.

For a year, Beukema couldn't get anyone to lead the invocations, so the city lifted the restrictions but included a wide range of people to do them.

She booked rabbis, Buddhists, clergy from the Church of Nazarene, Baptists, Unitarians and the Unity Church, among others. She brought in Native Americans who played flute and performed hand signs to lead the prayers, and once had people of Hawaiian heritage say the the Lord's Prayer while hula dancers performed.

"I really try to mix it up," Beukema said. "To me, that's what diversity is, to experience the different ones."

Carefully chosen words

The Rev. Edwin Simon of Aurora Hills Baptist Church said he has been doing invocations at the council meetings for the past six years.

He said he purposely left out any reference to Jesus Christ or anything else that could make a person of another faith uncomfortable.

And while he's sensitive to the city's position, he has an issue with being told how he can pray.

"Telling us we cannot name Jesus, that's a problem for us," Simon said. "For those of us who are Christians, that's been a bother. It's the government telling me what I can and cannot say."

Air Force Chaplain Weston Walker said he and other chaplains in the military also intentionally leave out any references to religious figures when they give invocations during military events.

When there's an awards or promotion ceremony in which people from different backgrounds attend, he uses more "generic" words during prayer, he said. But when he's giving a Protestant service, which is his religion, then he feels free to use words such as "Jesus."

"In public gatherings, we, as chaplains, try our best to be as inclusive as possible. I don't want to turn people off," said Walker, who is based out of Buckley Air Force Base. "I carefully choose my words."

Tauer hopes to meet with the Aurora Ministerial Alliance next month to see if the two sides can come to an agreement.

If not, as City Councilwoman Molly Markert said, the city might have to have a moment of silence instead.

"Prayer is supposed to draw you together, and invocation is supposed to give you a chance to stop and think," said Markert, who supported the change in the guidelines. "It can't be distracting or divisive. By its very nature, if someone is complaining, it loses its purpose."

Denver Post researcher Barbara Hudson contributed to this report.

Staff writer Carlos Illescas can be reached at 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com.

What other cities do

Commerce City has a moment of silence

Cortez says the Pledge of Allegiance

Durango has no prayers, invocations or Pledge

Englewood has a nonsectarian prayer

Grand Junction has a prayer, invocation and Pledge

Gunnison council has no prayers, invocations or Pledge, but planning commission says Pledge

LaJunta has no prayers or invocations

Limon says the Pledge

Montrose says the Pledge at council meetings

Pueblo has an invocation, then the Pledge

Sterling has an invocation

Westminster says the Pledge

Boulder, Broomfield, Greeley, Lakewood and Parker say no prayers are said at their meetings

Compiled by Denver Post staff researcher Barb Hudson

from the New York Times, 2005-Oct-19, by Benedict Carey:

Scientists Bridle at Lecture Plan for Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama, the exiled leader of Tibet who is revered as a spiritual teacher, is at the center of a scientific controversy.

He has been an enthusiastic collaborator in research on whether the intense meditation practiced by Buddhist monks can train the brain to generate compassion and positive thoughts. Next month in Washington, the Dalai Lama is scheduled to speak about the research at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.

But 544 brain researchers have signed a petition urging the society to cancel the lecture, because, according to the petition, "it will highlight a subject with largely unsubstantiated claims and compromised scientific rigor and objectivity."

Defenders of the Dalai Lama's appearance say that the motivation of many protesters is political, because many are Chinese or of Chinese descent. The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 after the Chinese crushed a Tibetan bid for independence.

But many scientists who signed the petition say they did so because they believe that the field of neuroscience risks losing credibility if it ventures too recklessly into spiritual matters.

"As the public face of neuroscience, we have a responsibility to at least see that research is replicated before it is promoted and highlighted," said Dr. Nancy Hayes, a neurobiologist at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey who objects to the Dalai Lama's speaking. "If we don't do that, we may as well be the Flat Earth Society."

In the past decade, scientists and journalists have increasingly taken interest in meditation and "mindfulness," a related state of focused inner awareness, topics once left to weekend mystics and religious retreats. The Dalai Lama has been working with a small number of researchers to study how the practice of Buddhist contemplation affects moods and promotes a sense of peace and compassion.

In one widely reported 2003 study, Dr. Richard Davidson of the University of Wisconsin-Madison led a team of researchers that found that 25 employees of a biotechnology company showed increased levels of neural activity in the left anterior temporal region of their brains after taking a course in meditation. The region is active during sensations of happiness and positive emotion, the researchers reported.

In a 2004 experiment supported by the Mind and Life Institute, a nonprofit organization that the Dalai Lama helped establish, and also involving Dr. Davidson, investigators tracked brain waves in eight Tibetan monks as they meditated in a state of "unconditional loving-kindness and compassion."

Using an electronic scanner, the researchers found that the monks were producing a very strong pattern of gamma waves, a synchronized oscillation of brain cells that is associated with concentration and emotional control. A group of 10 college students who were learning to meditate produced a much weaker gamma signal.

Taken together, the studies suggest that "human qualities like compassion and altruism may in some sense be regarded as skills which can be improved through mental training," said Dr. Davidson, who is director of the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin.

Yet the neuroscientists who have signed the petition say that there are several problems with this research. First, they say, Dr. Davidson and some of his colleagues meditate themselves, and they have collaborated with the Dalai Lama for years. Dr. Davidson said he had helped persuade the spiritual leader to accept the society's invitation to speak, and was with him when he received the request.

The critics also point out that there are flaws in the 2004 experiment that the researchers have acknowledged: The monks being studied were 12 to 45 years older than the students, and age could have accounted for some of the differences. The students, as beginners, may have been anxious or simply not skilled enough to find a meditative state in the time allotted, which would alter their brain wave patterns. And there was no way to know if the monks were adept at generating high gamma wave activity before they ever started meditating.

"This paper has not tested the idea whether meditation promotes compassion or any kind of positive emotion," Dr. Yi Rao, a neuroscientist at Northwestern University who helped draft the petition and was one of the sharpest critics, said in an e-mail message.

"Nonetheless, advocates of Buddhism and meditation have confused the public with the claim that this idea has received scientific proof," Dr. Rao said. "If one reads the published scientific literature, it is not difficult to see that this claim is far from being proven. It will not hurt if the public also realizes that some researchers are declared believers playing dual roles as advocates and researchers."

In a telephone interview, Dr. Davidson said that the critics' assertions were overblown, given that the field of study was in its infancy and the studies so far had been exploratory.

"I wouldn't consider myself a Buddhist or a card-carrying zealot at all," Dr. Davidson said. "My first commitment is as a scientist to uncover the truth about all this."

He said it was "ridiculous" to suggest that neuroscientists should shy away from topics just because they were difficult to study.

Many of his colleagues agree.

"This research is a first pass on a new topic, and you just can't do perfect science the first time through," said Dr. Robert Wyman, a neurobiologist at Yale. "You get curious about something and you mess around. That's what science is in the beginning, you mess around."

Fair enough, say some scientists who have signed the petition, but neuroscientists must be extra careful with such subjects. The field is already trying to manage a deeply mystifying presence: the brain, which in some ways is still as dark as deepest space.

The scientists point out that scans showing areas of the brain that light up during emotions like jealousy or guilt are fascinating but that their significance is still unclear. And in their laboratories, some investigators who plan to attend the neuroscience meetings are trying to find the neural traces of consciousness itself, a notoriously disorienting quest that has led more than one enterprising scientist into a philosophical fog.

"Neuroscience more than other disciplines is the science at the interface between modern philosophy and science," wrote one neuroscientist on the petition, Dr. Zvani Rossetti of the University of Cagliari in Italy. He added, "No opportunity should be given to anybody to use neuroscience for supporting transcendent views of the world."

One thing certain about the Dalai Lama's scheduled talk is that he will not lack for an audience. Neuroscientists around the world have been intensely debating the event, and Dr. Carol Barnes, president of the neuroscience society, says she will not cancel the talk or change the schedule.

"The practice of meditation is a human behavior, and the Dalai Lama is extraordinarily skilled at it and at promoting qualities of peace and compassion that I thought could bring us together," said Dr. Barnes, a professor of psychology and neurology at the University of Arizona who invited the Dalai Lama to speak last February. "That's not the way it's gone so far."

from the Times of London, 2005-Oct-20, by David Charter:

Positive thinking, negative reaction
Brain specialists object to Dalai Lama's lecture on fostering compassion by means of meditation

HE HAS devoted his life to promoting happiness and harmony. But the Dalai Lama's forthcoming lecture to a gathering of American brain specialists on “fostering compassionate behaviour” has provoked a bitter dispute.

More than 900 researchers have signed a petition calling for the Tibetan spiritual leader's talk to be scrapped because it will “highlight a subject with largely unsubstantiated claims and compromised scientific rigour and objectivity”.

The Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, is due to share his views on the power of meditation to alter the brain and generate positive thoughts at the annual Society for Neuroscience meeting in Washington next month.

Some of his supporters believe his critics may be motivated more by political objections than scientific doubts, pointing to a number of petition signatories of Chinese origin. The Dalai Lama has been in exile since 1959, after China annexed his homeland.

Yi Rao, a neurology professor at Northwestern University, and one of the first to sign the petition, said that the Tibetan monk's beliefs contradicted the fundamental basis of neuroscience.

“This merger of serious neuroscience with a particular religion is a practical joke because the very recognition of the Dalai Lama relies on the belief in reincarnation,” he said. “That means that the mind and the body have to be separate for the mind to pass from one generation to another.”

The petition says: “The presentation of a religious symbol with a controversial political agenda may cause unnecessary controversies, unwanted press, and significant divisions among SfN members . . . with conflicting religious beliefs and political leanings.

“Inviting the Dalai Lama to lecture on the neuroscience of meditation is of poor scientific taste because it will highlight a subject with largely unsubstantiated claims at a prestigious meeting attended by more than 20,000 neuroscientists.”

Supporters of the Dalai Lama, who will mark his 70th birthday in Washington on a ten-day visit, say that he has collaborated with scientists for 15 years. He has worked with Richard Davidson, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, whose researchers reported that biotechnology workers showed increased levels of neural activity after taking a course in meditation.

But Dr Nancy Hayes, a neurobiologist at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey, said: “As the public face of neuroscience, we have a responsibility to see that research is replicated before it is promoted and highlighted. If we do not do that we may as well be the Flat Earth Society.”

The society yesterday defended the lecture. It said: that the Dalai Lama's talk “is expected to bridge the cultural gap between neuroscientists and Buddhist practitioners by pointing to the methods of observation and verification that lie at the heart of both science and Buddhism”.

from the Washington Post, 2005-Nov-13, p.C1, by Marc Kaufman:

Dalai Lama Gives Talk On Science
Monk's D.C. Lecture Links Mind, Matter

In an unusual marrying of science and spirituality, the Dalai Lama addressed thousands of the world's top neuroscientists yesterday, telling them that society is falling behind in its efforts to make sense of their groundbreaking research.

Speaking sometimes in Tibetan and sometimes in halting English to a receptive audience at the 35th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, the Tibetan spiritual and political leader said scientists and moral leaders need each other.

"It is all too evident that our moral thinking simply has not been able to keep pace with such rapid progress in our acquisition of knowledge and power," he said in a prepared text.

The speech at the Washington Convention Center had been opposed by some members of the society who objected to a religious leader addressing neuroscientists, who research the brain, emotions and human behavior. Nearly 800 people had signed an online petition demanding that the Dalai Lama's invitation be withdrawn.

Many of the petition signers were Chinese Americans, leading to countercharges that they opposed him on political grounds. Relations between China and once-independent Tibet have been badly strained for a half-century, and the Dalai Lama is at the center of the dispute.

But except for minor protests yesterday -- one woman held a sign that read "Dalai Lama not qualified to speak here" -- that conflict was barely visible at the conference. Some attendees stayed away from his talk, and others left early in what a few described as a protest of sorts.

For most of the 14,000 conference participants who watched in the lecture hall or from overflow rooms, the Dalai Lama's enthusiastic embrace of science and promotion of meditation were warmly received. His 10-day visit to Washington, which included a meeting with President Bush last week, will continue today at MCI Center, where he is scheduled to give a public talk on "Global Peace Through Compassion."

The author of a new book on the convergence of Buddhism and science, the Dalai Lama has met with prominent scientists around the world for almost 20 years and has encouraged an increasingly fruitful collaboration between brain researchers and Tibetan monks.

Because of the controversy over his speech to the neuroscientists in Washington, his aides said he would keep to a prepared text, something quite unusual for him. But he often diverged from the text, despite saying with a smile that he was feeling unusual "stress."

His talk focused on how he developed his interest in science as a boy in Tibet, within a closed and isolated society, and on his view that morality and compassion are central to science. He pointed out in his prepared text, for instance, that although the atom bomb was great science, it created great moral problems.

"It is no longer adequate to adopt the view that our responsibility as a society is to simply further scientific knowledge and enhance technological power and that the choice of what to do with this knowledge and power should be left in the hands of the individual," he said.

"By invoking fundamental ethical principles, I am not advocating a fusion of religious ethics and scientific inquiry. Rather, I am speaking of what I call 'secular ethics' that embrace the key ethical principles, such as compassion, tolerance, a sense of caring, consideration of others, and the responsible use of knowledge and power -- principles that transcend the barriers between religious believers and nonbelievers, and followers of this religion or that religion," he said.

He acknowledged that some might wonder why a Buddhist monk is taking such an interest in science.

"What relation could there be between Buddhism, an ancient Indian philosophical and spiritual tradition, and modern science?" he said. His answer was that the scientific empirical approach and the Buddhist exploration of the mind and world have many similarities.

In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, however, the Dalai Lama is known as the reincarnation of a major force for compassion, and his strongest words yesterday were directed at religious people who might lack that trait.

"People who call themselves religious without basic human values like compassion, they are not really religious people," he told the audience, offering no names. "They are hypocrites." The words were unusually critical for a speaker who likes to emphasize the positive and productive.

The single protester outside his follow-up news conference at the convention center was Pei Wang, a neuroscience graduate student at the State University of New York at Buffalo. "This is supposed to be a scientific talk," she said. "If he is not presenting data, he should not speak. This should be about research, not about some politician giving a speech."

The Society for Neuroscience annual meeting, which will continue through Thursday and has attracted 31,000 people, features scores of papers on research into human behavior.

In keeping with the Dalai Lama's involvement with meditation and the physical and mental implications of the contemplative life, one of the higher-profile papers reports on how regular meditation appears to produce structural changes in areas of the brain associated with attention and sensory processing. An imaging study led by Massachusetts General Hospital researchers showed that particular areas of the cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the brain, were thicker in participants who were experienced practitioners of a type of meditation commonly practiced in the United States.

"Our results suggest that meditation can produce experience-based structural alterations in the brain," said Sara Lazar of the hospital's Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program and lead author of the study, which will appear in the journal NeuroReport. "We also found evidence that mediation may slow down the aging-related atrophy of certain areas of the brain."

from Agence France-Presse, 2008-Nov-28:

Sex invariably spells trouble, says Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual and temporal leader, on Friday said sex spelt fleeting satisfaction and trouble later, while chastity offered a better life and "more freedom."

"Sexual pressure, sexual desire, actually I think is short period satisfaction and often, that leads to more complication," the Dalai Lama told reporters in a Lagos hotel, speaking in English without a translator.

He said conjugal life caused "too much ups and downs.

"Naturally as a human being ... some kind of desire for sex comes, but then you use human intelligence to make comprehension that those couples always full of trouble. And in some cases there is suicide, murder cases," the Dalai Lama said.

He said the "consolation" in celibacy is that although "we miss something, but at the same time, compare whole life, it's better, more independence, more freedom."

Considered a Buddhist Master exempt from the religion's wheel of death and reincarnation, the Dalai Lama waxed eloquent on the Buddhist credo of non-attachment.

"Too much attachment towards your children, towards your partner," was "one of the obstacle or hindrance of peace of mind," he said.

Revered by his followers as a god-king, the Dalai Lama arrived in Lagos on Friday on a three-day visit following an invitation from a foundation to attend a conference. He has made no political speeches in the west African country.

He leaves Friday night for the Czech Republic and then on to Brussels to address the European Parliament before heading to Poland, where he is due to meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The 73-year-old Nobel Peace laureate has been a mainstay on the diplomatic stage ever since he fled his native land for neighbouring India in 1959.

Still based in northern India, the Dalai Lama has increasingly been in the spotlight since protests in Tibet turned violent in March this year, just months before the Chinese capital Beijing hosted the Summer Olympic Games.

Regarded by his many supporters outside China as a visionary in the vein of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his accent on non-violence to achieve change.

However, he is reviled by the Chinese government, which has branded him a "monster" and accused him of trying to split the nation.

from the Telegraph of London, 2008-Dec-27, by Andrew Alderson and Simon Trump:

Alternative health capital turns its 'negative energy' on pioneering wi-fi system
It is regarded as an oasis of calm and tranquility, and the nation's capital for alternative health therapies and spiritual healing remedies.

But now the residents of Glastonbury, which has long been a favoured destination for pilgrims, are at the centre of a bitter row in which many blame the town's new wireless computer network - known as wi-fi - for a spate of health problems.

Some healers even hold that electro-magnetic fields (EMFs) generated by the wi-fi system are responsible for upsetting positive energy fields of the body, which are known as chakras, and positive energy fields of the earth, which are known as ley lines.

There are now calls for the project, the first of its kind in Britain, to be "unplugged" and for wi-fi masts in the centre of the Somerset market town to be removed just seven months into its experimental run.

Meanwhile soothsayers, astrologers and other opponents of the wi-fi system have resorted to an alternative technology - known as "orgone" - to combat the alleged negative effects of the high-tech system.

In May, Glastonbury - which has a population of 9,000 and which lends its name to the country's largest rock festival, staged on a farm six miles outside the town - became the first place in the country to have a free wi-fi network installed in its town centre. The £34,000 project is financed by county council and regional development agency funding,

At a public meeting to discuss alleged health problems in the Somerset town, residents complained of numerous symptoms including headaches, dizziness, rashes and even pneumonia.

Protesters claim that radiation associated with the wi-fi network suppresses the production of melatonin, a hormone which helps to control sleep patterns, regulates the body's metabolic rate and boosts the immune system.

One of those who claims to have been affected is Natalie Fee, a former yoga teacher, who has now moved home - from inside to outside the wi-fi zone - so that she can protect her son Elliot, five, from what she sees as the harmful effects of wi-fi.

"I would like to see the masts removed," she said. "Perhaps one day that will happen and hopefully it won't be too late.

"I had a radiation expert come round to take measurements at our old home which was within sight of one of the masts. The highest reading was in Elliot's room.

"I thought Glastonbury was a rural town. I don't want my son exposed to risk 24 hours a day, including at his primary school which is within the wi-fi zone. I would be failing in my duty as a parent if I did."

Matt Todd, who campaigns against EMFs, said that residents had complained that chakras and ley lines are being disrupted. "They believe positive energy flows are being disturbed," he said.

Mr Todd has started building small generators which he believes can neutralise the allegedly-harmful radiation using the principles of orgone science. The pyramid-like machines use quartz crystals, selenite (a clear form of the mineral gypsum), semi-precious lapis lazuli stones, gold leaf and copper coil to absorb and recycle the supposedly-negative energy.

"I have given a number of generators to shops in the High Street and hidden others in bushes in the immediate vicinity of the antennae. That way you can bring back the balance," said Mr Todd.

Orgone science was developed by the Austro-Hungarian psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich, who claimed all living matter contains a biological energy. Mr Todd added: "The science hasn't really got into the mainstream because the Government won't make decisions which will affect big business, even if it concerns everyone's health.

"I think wi-fi has tipped things over the edge because a lot of people can feel it. It seems to have introduced this large blast of energy into the environment and that's what people are picking up on."

Jane Saunders, who runs the Glastonbury natural health clinic, felt so strongly she founded the Why Wi-Fi? protest campaign. "I am not a Luddite and I recognise there are benefits to new technology," she said.

"Initially wi-fi was a development I welcomed with open arms, especially with teenage children who need to be on-line almost all the time.

"But I had to take it out and go back to a conventional broadband cable network because it was affecting my health. I show symptoms when it's switched on that I don't when the network is off."

David Heathcoat Amory, the local Conservative MP, said: "I have detected no public support for this project and I have received many letters and emails from concerned residents who believe the siting of the emitting masts are causing health problems."

A spokesman for Powerwatch, an independent EMF pressure group, said: "Someone using a wi-fi laptop will be exposed to approximately twice the level of radiation as someone living 70 yards from a mobile phone mast. Unlike the food and drink industry whose products have to go through extensive pre-market trials and testing, there is no safety net for wireless devices."

However, Dr Eric de Silva, a physicist at Imperial College, London, disagreed. He said: "All the studies which have so far concluded show there is no evidence of a connection between exposure to wi-fi and ill health."

A Somerset County Council spokesman said: "The project was established to support the local economy and encourage tourist and business visitors to stay longer and use local services.

"It has the potential to be a real asset. It conforms to all UK and EU telecommunications health and safety standards, but we do take public concerns very seriously and a review of the system is due to be completed in the New Year."

The following three quotes from the Buddha underscore the unreality that is at the center of Buddhism in general, and Maitreyanism in particular:

"It is mind which gives things their quality, their foundation and their being."

"Mind precedes reality, mind governs reality, mind creates reality."

"there is consciousness in all matter."

Taking them in order: (1) things are what they are regardless of what a person thinks. The sunlight one person sees comes from the exact same sun as the sunlight that another sees, and if one argues to the contrary, he is a nut. (2) Minds are parts of a single reality. This means that they cannot precede reality and cannot create reality. Minds can and do, of course, govern and manipulate other parts of reality. (3) Consciousness is a specific and systematic phenomenon. It is flat-out bonkers to maintain that electrons and stones and rain drops have any consciousness intrinsic to them at all. To do so is not only loony, it tears consciousness down to the level of a stone.

The point of the Buddha's bizarre statements is to erode the follower's connection to reality, so that he can be controlled more easily. All religion is sociocognitive warfare (though most are also other things, some good some bad). All religion exists solely to influence and control the actions of people, by controlling the thoughts of people (though religions do distinguish themselves by their aims - some aims, and hence some forms of social influence and control, are plainly good).

Establishment intellectual hero Albert Einstein offers his own contribution of garbage:

``the illusion that we are separate from each other is an optical delusion of our consciousness''

Einstein was wrong about nearly everything. He was a proponent of pacifism and world government. His theory of General Relativity is on the threshold of being debunked by mainstream science. He neglected his family and was psychologically abusive. He spent the last decades of his life frantically and vainly searching for a non-probabilistic theory of everything, because he found the uncertainty of quantum theory insupportably horrible. It was Einstein who was insupportably horrible.

Addressing the above quote directly: our separateness is no illusion. Our consciousnesses are quite distinct, as are our whole minds and bodies. To believe otherwise is mystical hokum.

New Ager quotes (one from the utterly dreadful Book of Matthew), from http://www.inetport.com/~one:

"The aim should be the development of the habit of meditation all the day long, and the living in the higher consciousness till that consciousness is so stable that the lower mind, desire, and the physical elementals, become so atrophied and starved through lack of nourishment, that the threefold lower nature becomes simply the means whereby the Ego (soul) contacts the world for purposes of helping the race." (The Tibetan)

"Feed your brothers. Remember that mankind is One, children of the One Father. Make over in trust, the goods of the Earth to all who are in need. Do this now & save the world." (The Teacher)

"I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me... Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me." (Matt. 25:36,40)

"There is nothing in your world, either alive or dead, that is worth being agitated about, except the alleviation of suffering." (From: "The Boy & the Brothers")

"The cause of all sorrow and woes is desire -- desire for that which is material. ... 'No man liveth unto himself", and no nation either, and ...the goal of all human effort is loving understanding, prompted by a love for the whole." (Djwhal Khul)

"I have said Ye are Gods, and all of you are children of the Most High." (Psalms 82 verse 6)

from Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity, 2000-Jun, by Lee Penn, from http://www.touchstonemag.com/docs/issues/13.5docs/13-5pg44.html:

Midwives of a Common God:
The Myriad Friends of the United Religions Initiative

San Francisco's Episcopal Bishop William E. Swing expects "tens of thousands of leaders of the world's religions, spiritualities, and indigenous traditions"1 to attend the signing of the United Religions Initiative (URI) Charter in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on June 26, 2000. The URI also expects United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Dalai Lama to attend.2 Bishop Swing founded the United Religions Initiative in 1995. The URI intends to become "a permanent assembly, with the stature and visibility of the United Nations"3 encompassing "all religions, spiritual expressions, and indigenous traditions."4 While the URI actually may not see its "tens of thousands" show up in Pittsburgh in June, it has been highly successful in extending its reach in only five years and is growing steadily. So far, URI activities have occurred in 58 countries on all continents, and in 33 states in the United States.5 The URI claims that one million people participated in its three-day global "religious cease-fire" from December 31, 1999, to January 2, 20006—a millennial bash dedicated to the propositions that good intentions are the road to peace, and that all religions really intend the same thing. Birthing & Funding the "New Hope" The leaders of the URI hope to assist in creating an earthly utopia. The proposed URI charter says that the organization's purpose is "to promote enduring, daily interfaith cooperation" and to "end religiously motivated violence." The URI also plans to "create cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings."7 Bishop Swing told the 1997 URI summit conference: "If you have come here because a spirit of colossal energy is being born in the loins of earth, then come here and be a midwife. Assist, in awe, at the birth of new hope."8 This "new hope" will have the Earth, not the Church or the Virgin Mary, as its mother. In a sermon given during the 1999 Parliament of World Religions, Bishop Swing said, "What a time to wait on God. . . . for the coming new light among religions, spiritual expressions, and indigenous traditions."9 This "new light" will not be the light of Christ. As a parallel effort with the URI, Bishop Swing has formed the Inter-Religious Friendship Group (IRFG). Other leaders of the IRFG are the Dalai Lama and Richard Blum, a wealthy San Francisco investment banker—and the husband of United States Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).10 The founders of the IRFG say that their goal is to "create a confidential and relatively unstructured forum where the leaders of the world's religions can have regular conversations with one another."11 The IRFG has met three times, most recently in November 1999 at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The Reverend Dr. Gary Gunderson, director of the Carter Center's Interfaith Health Program,12 says that the URI "is one of the most promising global initiatives," a "long term alignment that will bear fruit for decades."13 He said, "While not a formal member of the URI, President Carter stressed how much the Center valued the role of religious leaders in conflict situations. . . . He asked the group to request his involvement in the future as specific interventions or projects crystallize."14 Thus, President Carter may become an open ally of the URI. The URI has recently acquired substantial funding. In October 1999, Bishop Swing announced that the URI had received a $1.7 million grant from a Pittsburgh-area foundation, and that the URI will move its headquarters there from San Francisco.15 Swing noted that many people have not wanted to cooperate with the URI because the current San Francisco location carries "negative connotations."16 A source in close contact with the ECUSA hierarchy indicates that "the move is being sponsored by some foundations with deep pockets and a strong liberal agenda that includes putting pressure on the Episcopal diocesan structure"; one of these foundations is the Hillman Foundation, associated with a wealthy, nationally prominent liberal Republican family and with Calvary Church, "one of the few remaining liberal parishes in Pittsburgh."17 The Pittsburgh URI coordinator is a UN employee, Karen Plavan; she is also associated with the Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation.18 The URI has applied for UN recognition as a nongovernmental organization,19 showing that it seeks a UN seal of approval. The URI has received grants from the Soros Foundation and the Copen Family Foundation,20 the Christopher Columbus Foundation,21 the Surdna Fund,22 the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund,23 the Community Foundation of Monterey County,24 the San Francisco Foundation,25 the International Education and Resource Network,26 the Worldwide Education and Research Institute,27 and the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation.28 Foundation money has been essential to the URI from the start. In 1998, Bishop Swing said that "ninety-nine percent" of URI funding "is raised from private, nonreligious sources."29 Gathering Religious Partners Numerous leaders of Asian religions—most notably, the Dalai Lama30—support the URI. Muslim URI supporters include URI board member Iftekhar Hai, of the United Muslims of America;31 Javid Iqbal, a former Pakistani supreme court justice;32 and W. D. Mohammed.33 URI outreach now also includes Iranian Shiites. The URI in Zimbabwe "has formed a unique and innovative Partnership with the Iranian Embassy in Harare. The URI convened a meeting to be funded by the Iranian Embassy at which the URI Preamble, Purpose & Principles was discussed, and more members were received into the URI community."34 Meanwhile, URI Vice President William Rankin has provided an excuse for the crimes of the Islamic regime in Sudan: "In North Sudan the government, in some measure, is forced into strong Muslim identity by the history of overthrows when a more tolerant attitude was promulgated."35 The URI has the tacit support or active cooperation of most of the other active interfaith organizations—including the Millennium Forum,36 the International Interfaith Centre,37 the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions,38 the Global Education Associates,39 the Interfaith Center of New York,40 the Interfaith Youth Corps,41 the Temple of Understanding,42 the North American Interfaith Network, the International Association for Religious Freedom, the World Congress of Faiths, the Peace Council, and the World Conference on Religion and Peace.43 The URI has support among liberal Protestants and Jews, dissident Catholics, a few bishops of non-Chalcedonian East Syriac and Coptic Churches, and the leaders of the China Christian Council, the state-approved Protestant church in China.44 In November 1999, URI Vice President William Rankin spoke to an interfaith forum at Foundry Methodist Church—the church usually attended by the First Family.45 Catholic supporters of the URI include Cardinal Paul Evaristo Arns, the retired Archbishop of São Paulo, Brazil;46 Archbishop Anthony Pantin, from Trinidad;47 and the auxiliary Bishop of Detroit, Thomas Gumbleton.48 Other Catholic URI activists include two URI board members—Fr. John LoSchiavo, S.J. (former president of the University of San Francisco), and Fr. Gerard O'Rourke, director of ecumenical affairs for the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco—URI treasurer Rick Murray, and Latin American URI Coordinator Fr. Luis Dolan.49 Sister Joan Kirby, of the Temple of Understanding, also supports the URI.50 Theologians supporting the URI include Paul Knitter, senior editor at Orbis Books and professor of theology at Xavier University;51 Leonard Swidler, professor at Temple University;52 and Hans Küng;53 all are dissenters from Church teachings. These Catholic religious groups supported the URI's global "religious cease-fire": the Leadership Conference of Women Religious,54 Monastic Inter-Religious Dialogue,55 the Pakistani Catholic Bishops National Commission for Christian Muslim Relations,56 the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Saco, Maine,57 the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor in New York and New Jersey,58 the Sisters of St. Joseph in Wheeling, West Virginia59 and in Philadelphia,60 the Sisters of St. Francis in Philadelphia,61 the Medical Mission Sisters in Philadelphia,62 the Sisters of the Humility of Mary in Villa Maria, Pennsylvania,63 40,000 Benedictine and Cistercian monks worldwide,64 Pax Christi of Cleveland, Ohio,65 the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine in Richfield, Ohio,66 the Notre Dame Sisters in Omaha, Nebraska,67 Pax Christi USA and the Los Angeles Catholic Worker,68 the Holy Redeemer Retreat Center in Oakland, California,69 the Justice and Peace Committee of the California province of the Sisters of the Holy Name,70 the Sisters of Providence in St. Mary-in-the-Woods in Indiana and the Religious Orders Partnership71 (associated with Global Education Associates and more than 165 religious orders worldwide),72 the Maryknoll religious,73 and the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary in the Philippines.74 In addition to Bishop Swing, the Anglican bishops who publicly support the URI include Frank Griswold, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States (ECUSA);75 Bishop James Ottley,76 formerly the Anglican Observer at the UN; Samir Kafity, formerly the Bishop of Jerusalem;77 Bishop Michael Ingham,78 of the Diocese of New Westminster in Canada; and the Nobel laureate Archbishop from South Africa, Desmond Tutu.79 Bishop Clark Grew of Ohio, who is one of 11 members of Griswold's "Council of Advice,"80 asked his diocese to participate in the URI's three-day global "religious cease-fire."81 The annual convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles has likewise endorsed the "cease-fire";82 Bishop Talton, suffragan Bishop for this diocese, is also a member of Griswold's "Council of Advice." 83 Not Everyone Is Friendly The Archbishop of Canterbury has not spoken publicly about the URI, although the Church of England newspaper offered gentle criticism in an October 1999 editorial.84 One active Anglican bishop—Archbishop Harry Goodhew, of Australia—has publicly criticized the URI.85 Bishop Charles Murphy, recently consecrated in Singapore by two conservative Anglican Archbishops, has denounced the URI as part of the "crisis of faith"86 in ECUSA—but the Archbishop of Canterbury will not recognize Murphy as an Anglican Bishop because of his belief that the Singapore consecrations were "irresponsible and irregular."87 No Eastern Orthodox bishops support the URI. Evangelical Protestants and the Vatican oppose the URI. In 1996, Cardinal Arinze declined Bishop Swing's invitation to participate in the URI.88 In mid-1999, a representative of the Vatican department responsible for interfaith work stated: "Religious syncretism is a theological error. That is why the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue does not approve of the United Religions Initiative and does not work with it."89 In a January 28, 2000 message to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the pope said, "It is erroneous to consider the Church as a way of salvation equal to those of other religions, which would be complementary to the Church."90 No Fundamentalists, No Martyrs Faithful Christians have good reason to shun the URI. Bishop Swing condemns Christian evangelism, which he calls "proselytizing."91 Swing says that "proselytizing, condemning, murdering, or dominating" will "not be tolerated in the United Religions zone"92—the whole world. URI leaders say "proselytizing" is the work of "fundamentalists," and URI board member Paul Chafee said in 1997 that "We can't afford fundamentalists in a world this small."93 ECUSA Presiding Bishop Griswold shares the URI's loathing of "fundamentalism." When denouncing the Singapore consecrations of two evangelical bishops to serve in the United States, Griswold condemned "the dangerous fundamentalism—both within Islam and our own Christian community—which threatens to turn our God of compassion into a [sic] idol of wrath."94 Bishop Swing has said, "The United Religions will not be a rejection of ancient religion but will be found buried in the depths of these religions."95 If United Religions were "buried in the depths" of Christianity, countless martyrs could have avoided death by burning incense before the statue of the Roman emperor, and today's martyrs in Sudan and China could apostatize with a clear conscience. Maybe martyrs are passé; URI Vice President William Rankin says, "The United Religions Initiative exists to bring people together from all the religions of the world, to create a world where no one has to die because of God, or for God, any more."96 Rankin, formerly the president of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, joined the URI staff in 1998. Regarding the ecclesiastical trial of Episcopal Bishop Walter Righter for ordaining an openly homosexual deacon, Rankin said in 1995, "Heresy implies orthodoxy, and we have no such thing in the Episcopal Church."97 Despite the URI's insistent denial that it intends to mix the world's religions or start a new religion, URI ceremonies point in that direction. Lex orandi, lex credendi—the law of praying is the law of believing. At the 1995 interfaith service that launched the URI, "holy water from the Ganges, the Amazon, the Red Sea, the River Jordan, and other sacred streams" was mixed in a single "bowl of unity" on the altar of Grace Cathedral.98 Bishop Swing made the meaning of the ritual clear: "As these sacred waters find confluence here . . . may the city that chartered the nations of the world bring together the religions of the world."99 Anglican Bishop Michael Ingham said in support of the URI that "I can imagine a time when the founders and saints of all the traditions—Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, Guru Nanak, and so on—are honoured and cherished in all of them." 100 In —The Coming United Religions, Bishop Swing says, "The time comes, though, when common language and a common purpose for all religions and spiritual movements must be discerned and agreed upon. Merely respecting and understanding other religions is not enough."101 Since the purpose of religion is the service and worship of God, Bishop Swing's call for "all religions and spiritual movements" to have "common language and a common purpose" is, in effect, a call for all to worship a common god. No Closed Doors Organizations should be known by the company they keep. Enthusiastic URI supporters include New Age authors Robert Muller102 (former Assistant Secretary-General of the UN), Neale Donald Walsch103 (author of the best-selling —Conversations With God books), and Barbara Marx Hubbard.104 Ms. Hubbard introduced Dee Hock, the founder of VISA, to the URI and to Bishop Swing;105 he is now an active supporter of the URI.106 Ms. Hubbard was also active in the early 1998 preparation of the draft URI Charter.107 The Rudolf Steiner Foundation, which promotes theosophical schools, has recently made a grant to the URI.108 The New York-based Lucis Trust, which spreads the teachings of American theosophist Alice Bailey, praised the URI in two 1999 issues of its newsletter World Goodwill, citing it as part of a "global shift in consciousness" that will usher in "an era in which the glory of the One will be free to shine forth in all human actions."109 The URI proclaims its openness to all "spiritual expressions," and its logo—15 miniature religious symbols in a circle around the letters "URI"—includes a Wiccan pentagram, as well as an empty circle to represent "the people of all beliefs yet to come."110 A motley crew has responded to the invitation. Participants in URI events have included the Association for Global New Thought,111 Unity Church,112 the founder of "The Order of Divinity,"113 the "New Cult Awareness Network"114—dominated by Scientologists since they sued the former Cult Awareness Network out of existence in 1996—Reiki circles,115 the World Federalist Association,116 followers of "Supreme Master Ching Hai,"117 the Pagan Sanctuary Network,118 Druids,119 the Temple of Isis,120 the "Goddess Holding the World Mural Project,"121 the Covenant of the Goddess,122 the Coven of the Stone and the Mirror,123 the Wittenberg Center for Alternative Resources124 (an interfaith seminary whose core courses include such topics as "crystal & etheric healing"125), and the Western Federation Church and Tribe.126 The Tribe has adopted the URI as part of its "by-laws and tenets," and declares that Mars and "the Earth's Moon" are "entirely owned by the Western Federation Church and Tribe."127 It does seem that maybe the sky is the limit. Bishop Swing has vowed that the URI will remain all-inclusive, saying, "Once you open the door, you have to keep it open."128 Perhaps the Episcopalian prelate now wishes he had kept the key to the front door.

NOTES 1 E-mail messages dated 10/29/99 and 10/30/99 by a person who attended and reported upon Bishop Swing's 10/28/99 URI presentation in Pittsburgh. 2 Kathy Blair, "United Religions Gets Canadian start in B.C.," Anglican Journal, April 2000, http://www.anglicanjournal.com/126/04/canada11.html. 3 United Religions Initiative, "Questions: What Is the URI," http://www.united-religions.org/questions/question_1.shtml. 4 United Religions Initiative, "72 Hours," http://www.united-religions.org/newsite/index.htm, p. 1. 5 United Religions Initiative, "72 Hours: An Interfaith Peace-Building Project of the United Religions InitiativeSM," p. 1; analysis and country count by author, http://www.united-religions.org/newsite/72hours/index.htm. 6 United Religions Initiative, "URI Update," No. 7, Spring 2000, p. 1. 7 United Religions Initiative, "The United Religions Initiative Charter," November 18, 1999, http://www.united-religions.org/newsite/charter/Charter111899.htm, Preamble, p. 2. 8 Bishop William Swing, "Opening Address" to the 1997 URI summit conference, http://www.united-religions.org/youth/welcome/swingspeech.htm, p. 2. 9 Dennis Delman, "Bishop Swing Preaches at Cape Town Cathedral: Urges 'New Day and New Way of Peacemaking'," Pacific Church News, February/March 2000, p. 25. 10 Elaine Ruth Fletcher, "S.F. Group's Interfaith Meeting Draws Dalai Lama to Jerusalem," San Francisco Examiner, June 11, 1999, page A-2; Internet version, downloaded from http://www.sfgate.com, p. 1; Bill Wallace, "Lotus Fund's Ex-Leader Gets Prison," San Francisco Chronicle, June 5, 1999, page A-15; Internet version, downloaded from http://www.sfgate.com-for the relationship between Feinstein and Blum. 11 Elaine Ruth Fletcher, "S.F. Group's Interfaith Meeting Draws Dalai Lama to Jerusalem," San Francisco Examiner, June 11, 1999, page A-2; Internet version, downloaded from http://www.sfgate.com, p. 2. 12 The Carter Center, Gary Gunderson, M. Div., "Biography," http://www.cartercenter.org/gunderson.html. 13 12/2/99 e-mail message to the author from Gary Gunderson, of the Carter Center. 14 12/2/99 e-mail message to the author from Gary Gunderson, of the Carter Center. 15 E-mail messages dated 10/29/99 and 10/30/99, from a person who attended and reported upon Bishop Swing's 10/28/99 URI presentation in Pittsburgh. 16 E-mail messages dated 10/29/99 and 10/30/99, from a person who attended and reported upon Bishop Swing's 10/28/99 URI presentation in Pittsburgh. 17 E-mail message dated 11/29/99, from a source associated with Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry, an Evangelical ECUSA seminary in Pittsburgh. 18 E-mail dated 12/2/99 from a person who attended the 10/28/99 URI gathering in Pittsburgh, and who contacted the URI headquarters to confirm the information. 19 Conversation by the author with a UN staff member in the Department of Public Information, 4/18/2000. 20 "Youth Task Group," URI News Update, March 1997, no. 2, p. 1. 21 List provided on November 20, 1997 by Paul Andrews, a URI staff member. 22 List provided on November 20, 1997 by Paul Andrews, a URI staff member 23 List provided on November 20, 1997 by Paul Andrews, a URI staff member; http://www.goldmanfund.org/other.html-$50,000 per year for 1997-2001. 24 List provided on November 20, 1997 by Paul Andrews, a URI staff member. 25 List provided on November 20, 1997 by Paul Andrews, a URI staff member. 26 "Youth Task Group," URI News Update, March 1997, no. 2, p. 1. 27 Worldwide Education and Research Institute, "Philanthropic and Emergency Projects," http://weri.org/projects/philanth.htm, p. 2. 28 Arthur Vining Davis Foundation, "1999 Grants," http://jvm.com/davis/RECENT.HTM, p. 7, and "About The Foundation," http://jvm.com/davis/FND.HTM, p. 1; http://jvm.com/davis/1998GRANTS.HTM, p. 7. 29 Carol Barnwell, "'United Religions' Is Bishop Swing's Goal," The Lambeth Daily, Issue 4, 22 July 1998, http://anglican.org/online/Lambeth-Daily/22/UR.html, p. 2. 30 Bishop William Swing, "Reactions from Religious Leaders," document released in the summer of 1996 by the URI. 31 Don Lattin, "Religious Violence Decried at Gathering," San Francisco Chronicle, June 26, 1997, p. A-19. 32 Paul Chaffee, "URI Global Conference Begins Work Toward June 2000 Charter Ceremony," Pacific Church News, October/November 1997, p. 32. 33 Paul Chaffee, "URI Global Conference Begins Work Toward June 2000 Charter Ceremony," Pacific Church News, October/November 1997, p. 32. 34 United Religions Initiative, "Africa," http://www.united-religions.org/newsite/regions/africa/index.htm. 35 The Center for Progressive Christianity, "President's Report, February 1999, part 3, 'The United Religions Initiative'," by William Rankin, http://www.tcpc.org/URI.htm, p. 2. 36 Millennium Forum, "We The Peoples-Schedule," http://www.millenniumforum.org/html/Misked.html, p. 4. 37 International Interfaith Centre, "Interfaith Action in a Global Context," http://www.interfaith-center.org/oxford/cooperation/symposium.html. 38 Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions, press release, Nov. 9, 1999. 39 Global Education Associates, "Religious Orders Partnership," http://www.globaleduc.org/rop.htm; "United Religions Initiative," http://www.globaleduc.org/uri.htm. 40 Interfaith Center of New York, "Links," http://www.interfaithcenter.org/links.html. 41 Interfaith Youth Corps, Newsletter, February 2000, p. 2. 42 URI pamphlet, "Dear Brothers and Sisters . . ." first page signed by Bishop William Swing, Juliet Hollister, and Robert Muller, dated Fall 1996, front page; Temple of Understanding, "Media," http://www.templeofunderstanding.org/currentmedia.htm. 43 Bishop William Swing, The Coming United Religions, United Religions Initiative and CoNexus Press, 1998, ISBN 0-9637897-5-9; pp. 24-25. 44 Bishop William Swing, "Reactions from Religious Leaders," document released in the summer of 1996 by the URI, p. 4. 45 "Invitation to Conference," at Foundry Methodist Church, November 13, 1999-reprinted at http://server.soros.org/tajik/cenasia/1012.html, message 3. 46 Information received by Lee Penn during a telephone conversation with Barbara Hartford, May 11, 1998; confirmed by Paul Andrews, May 14, 1998. 47 "News Updates from Around the World," URI News Update, Spring 1998, No. 4, p. 5. 48 United Religions Initiative, "What People Will Be Doing . . ." Internet document, http://www.united-religions.org/72hours/doing.htm; United Religions Initiative, "Some Early Supporters . . ." Internet document, http://www.united-religions.org/72hours/supporters.htm. 49 United Religions Initiative, "United Religions Initiative: Building Spiritual Partnerships for a Just, Sustainable and Peaceable World," leaflet issued May 15, 1999, "Board of Directors" and "Staff & Leadership" sections. 50 Charles Gibbs, "Report from the Executive Director," Journal of the United Religions Initiative, issue 3, Summer 1997, p. 2. 51 Paul Chaffee, "Ring of Breath Around the World: A Report on the United Religions Initiative Global Conference," document issued in the summer of 1997 by the United Religions Initiative, p. 3. 52 Bruce Schuman, "Letter to Drs. Leonard Swidler and Ingrid Shafer," Internet document, http://web-wiz.com/origin/uri/uri007.htm, p. 1; see also, curriculum vitae of Leonard Swidler, Internet document, http://blue.temple.edu/~dialogue/swidvit.html, p. 1. Swidler attended the 1997 URI summit meeting. 53 Bishop William Swing, "The United Religions Initiative," document issued in April 1996, p. 6. 54 Leadership Conference of Western Religious, Update, http://www.paulist.org/lcwr/Newsltr.html. 55 United Religions Initiative, "Some Early Supporters," http://www.united-religions.org/72hours/supporters.html. 56 United Religions Initiative, "72 Hours-Geographical Listing of Projects Underway," March for Peace in Pakistan, http://www.united-religions.org/newsite/72hours/projects.htm, p. 8. 57 United Religions Initiative, "72 Hours-Geographical Listing of Projects Underway," project in Saco, Maine, http://www.united-religions.org/newsite/72hours/projects.htm, p. 19. 58 United Religions Initiative, "72 Hours-Geographical Listing of Projects Underway," projects in New York and New Jersey, http://www.united-religions.org/newsite/72hours/projects.htm, p. 22. 59 United Religions Initiative, "72 Hours-Geographical Listing of Projects Underway," project in Wheeling, West Virginia, http://www.united-religions.org/newsite/72hours/projects.htm, p. 23. 60 United Religions Initiative, "72 Hours-Geographical Listing of Projects Underway," project in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, http://www.united-religions.org/newsite/72hours/projects.htm, pp. 25-26. 61 United Religions Initiative, "72 Hours-Geographical Listing of Projects Underway," project in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, http://www.united-religions.org/newsite/72hours/projects.htm, p. 25. 62 United Religions Initiative, "72 Hours-Geographical Listing of Projects Underway," project in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, http://www.united-religions.org/newsite/72hours/projects.htm, p. 26. 63 United Religions Initiative, "72 Hours-Geographical Listing of Projects Underway," project in Villa Maria, Pennsylvania, http://www.united-religions.org/newsite/72hours/projects.htm, p. 27. 64 United Religions Initiative, "72 Hours-Geographical Listing of Projects Underway," project in Lisle, Illinois, http://www.united-religions.org/newsite/72hours/projects.htm, p. 29. 65 United Religions Initiative, "72 Hours-Geographical Listing of Projects Underway," project in Cleveland, Ohio, http://www.united-religions.org/newsite/72hours/projects.htm, p. 31. 66 United Religions Initiative, "72 Hours-Geographical Listing of Projects Underway," project in Richfield, Ohio, http://www.united-religions.org/newsite/72hours/projects.htm, p. 33. 67 United Religions Initiative, "72 Hours-Geographical Listing of Projects Underway," project in Omaha, Nebraska, http://www.united-religions.org/newsite/72hours/projects.htm, p. 36. 68 United Religions Initiative, "72 Hours-Geographical Listing of Projects Underway," project at the Nevada Test Site, http://www.united-religions.org/newsite/72hours/projects.htm, pp. 40-41. 69 United Religions Initiative, "72 Hours-Geographical Listing of Projects Underway," project in Oakland, California, http://www.united-religions.org/newsite/72hours/projects.htm, p. 44. 70 United Religions Initiative, "72 Hours-Geographical Listing of Projects Underway," project in San Jose, California, http://www.united-religions.org/newsite/72hours/projects.htm, p. 54. 71 Sisters of Providence, "General Officer Sister Joan Slobig Elected to Lead Branch of International Organization," http://www.spsmw.org/news/releases/joan.htm, p. 2. 72 Global Education Associates, "Religious Orders Partnership," http://www.globaleduc.org/rop.htm 73 Maryknoll Magazine, "World Watch," http://www.maryknoll.org/MEDIA/xMAGAZINE/xmag02/m1s13.htm . 74 United Religions Initiative, "72 Hours-Geographical Listing of Projects Underway," worldwide project, http://www.united-religions.org/newsite/72hours/projects.htm, pp. 63-64. 75 Diocese of California, "July 17, 1999-We Shined," http://diocal.org/pcn/5pcn99/index2.html-Griswold's statement was, "determined farsightedness is a characteristic I particularly associate with this diocese . . . as well as your present bishop's vision of the potential of the world's religions to bind up and bring together, rather than divide and turn the people of the earth against each other." 76 Telephone interview by Lee Penn of Bishop James Ottley, April 24, 1998; also, Anglican Communion Office at the United Nations, "Ministry Update-June 1997," http://www.aco.org/united-nations/upjune.htm, p. 1. 77 Bishop William Swing, "The United Religions Initiative," document issued in April 1996, pp. 5-6. 78 Bishop Michael Ingham, "Christmas Message," as quoted in The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Canada, December 1, 1999, p. A-17, http://www.prayerbook.ca/pblam885.htm. 79 Bishop William Swing, The Coming United Religions, United Religions Initiative and CoNexus Press, 1998, ISBN 0-9637897-5-9; foreword, p. 6. 80 List of members of Council of Advice provided by Jim Solheim, press officer for ECUSA, 4/17/2000. 81 Bishop Clark Grew, "Episcopal Address to the 1999 Diocesan Convention," http://dohio.org/convention/episcaddress.html, pp. 2-3. 82 Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, "Resolutions Adopted from Diocesan Convention," http://www.ladiocese.org/resolutions.html. 83 List of members of Council of Advice provided by Jim Solheim, press officer for ECUSA, 4/17/2000. 84 The Church of England Newspaper, "Editorial," October 21, 1999, http://www.churchnewspaper.com/edit.html. 85 Archbishop Harry Goodhew, "The Cross of Christ in a Pluralistic World," Southern Cross Online, April 2000, http://www.anglicanmediasydney.asn.au/scn/abwrites.html. 86 Bishop Charles Murphy, statement to The Living Church, February 13-20, 2000, interviewed by Patricia Nakamura, circulated as e-mail on 3/18/00. 87 "Press Statement from the Archbishop of Canterbury," 31 January 2000, http://fifamerica.faithweb.com/ARTICLES/2000January/newpages47.htm. 88 Bishop William Swing, "The United Religions Initiative," document issued in April 1996, p. 7. 89 Fr. Chidi Denis Isizoh, letter to the editor, Homiletic & Pastoral Review, Vol. XCIX, June 1999, p. 60. 90 John Paul II, message to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on Occasion of Plenary Assembly, January 28, 2000, version from http://www.geocities.com/romcath1/genarticle8.html. 91 Bishop William Swing, The Coming United Religions, United Religions Initiative and CoNexus Press, 1998, ISBN 0-9637897-5-9; p. 33. 92 Bishop William Swing, The Coming United Religions, United Religions Initiative and CoNexus Press, 1998, ISBN 0-9637897-5-9; p. 31. 93 Transcribed by Lee Penn from URI-provided tape of URI forum at Grace Cathedral, held on 2/2/97. 94 Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, statement of January 31, 2000, "For the Primates of the Anglican Communion," in response to the consecration in Singapore of Bishop Rodgers and Bishop Murphy, http://fifamerica.faithweb.com/ARTICLES2000January/newpage49.htm, p. 1. 95 Bishop William Swing, The Coming United Religions, United Religions Initiative and CoNexus Press, 1998, ISBN 0-9637897-5-9; p. 64. 96 The Center for Progressive Christianity, "President's Report, February 1999, part 3, 'The United Religions Initiative'," by William Rankin, http://www.tcpc.org/URI.htm, p. 4. 97 As quoted by Witness magazine (a liberal Episcopal magazine), December 1995, p. 36. 98 Richard Scheinin, "Interfaith Ceremony Promotes World Peace," San Jose Mercury News, June 26, 1995. 99 Don Lattin, "Religions of World Celebrated With Prayers to Dozen Deities," San Francisco Chronicle, June 26, 1995, pp. A1 and A11, front page section. 100 Bishop Michael Ingham, "Christmas Message," as quoted in The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Canada, December 1, 1999, p. A-17, http://www.prayerbook.ca/pblam885.htm. 101 Bishop William Swing, The Coming United Religions, United Religions Initiative and CoNexus Press, 1998, ISBN 0-9637897-5-9; p. 63. 102 Don Lattin, "Religions of World Celebrated With Prayers to Dozen Deities," San Francisco Chronicle, June 26, 1995, p. A11, front page section. 103 Neale Donald Walsch, "Ending Religious Conflict," Magical Blend, Issue 58, December 1997, p. 40. 104 Barbara Marx Hubbard, Conscious Evolution: Awakening the Power of Our Social Potential, New World Library, Novato, California, 1998, ISBN 1-57731-016-0, pp. 193, 194. 105 URI on-line archive, e-mail from Sally Ackerly to URI leadership, February 27, 1998, Internet document, http://origin.org/uri/txt/Org2Design.txt, p. 2. 106 The Chaordic Alliance, "United Religions Initiative," http://www.chaordic.org/chaordic/par_uri.html. 107 URI on-line archive, e-mail from Sally Ackerly to URI leadership, February 27, 1998, Internet document, http://origin.org/uri/txt/Org2Design.txt, p. 2. 108 Rudolf Steiner Foundation, "Client Profiles," http://www.rsfoundation.org/clientprofiles/projectdescriptions.html, p. 1. 109 Lucis Trust, "Transition Activities: The United Religions Initiative," World Goodwill, vol. 1, 1999, http://www.lucistrust.org/goodwill/wgnl991.shtml, pp. 21-22; Lucis Trust, "Invoking the Spirit of Peace," World Goodwill, vol. 3, 1999, http://www.lucistrust.org/goodwill/wgnl993.shtml, pp. 2, 3. 110 Rowan Fairgrove, "Holy Brighid Holding the World in Her Hands," http://www.conjure.com/inspired.html. 111 Association for Global New Thought, "AGNT Panel Presentation-Parliament of the World's Religions-Cape Town, South Africa December 1-8, 1999," Internet document, http://www.agnt.org/parliament~1.htm. 112 Unity School of Christianity, "Sowing the Seeds of Hope," http://www.unityworldhq.org/seeds_of_hope.htm. 113 Carolyn Amrit Knaus, O.D., M.S., "New Spiritual Order for the Next Millennium: Order of Divinity," http://www.myfreeoffice.com/spiritualorder/millennium, p. 3. 114 Cult Awareness Network, "CAN Update Archive," Vol. II, Issue I, http://cultawarenessnetwork.org/Can_Update/0201.html, p. 6; Pastor George Robertson, Chairman of the Board, New Cult Awareness Network, letter of 9/9/99 to a newspaper that criticized the New CAN, as posted at http://www.cultawarenessnetwork.org/CAN-it.html, p. 3; "CAN Update Archive," Vol. II, Issue III, http://www.cultawarenessnetwork.org/Can_Update/0203.htm, p. 2. 115 United Religions Initiative, "72 Hours-Geographical Listing of Projects Underway," projects in Long Island and Hampton Bays, NY, http://www.united-religions.org/newsite/72hours/projects.htm, p. 21. 116 United Religions Initiative, "72 Hours-Geographical Listing of Projects Underway," project in Washington DC, http://www.united-religions.org/newsite/72hours/projects.htm, p. 24. 117 Thomas One Wolf and others; "Sharing Master's Love at the World Vision Conference," http://www.chinghai.com/WORLDsharing.html, p. 1; the home page for Supreme Master Ching Hai is http://www.chinghai.com. 118 "Pagan Sanctuary Network"-a member of the URI Web ring, http://pagansanctuary.ulink.net. 119 United Religions Initiative, "72 Hours-Geographical Listing of Projects Underway," project in Mobile, Alabama, http://www.united-religions.org/newsite/72hours/projects.htm, p. 34. 120 United Religions Initiative, "72 Hours-Geographical Listing of Projects Underway," project in Isis Oasis, CA, http://www.united-religions.org/newsite/72hours/projects.htm, p. 42. 121 United Religions Initiative, "72 Hours-Geographical Listing of Projects Underway," project in San Francisco, CA, http://www.united-religions.org/newsite/72hours/projects.htm, p. 44. 122 United Religions Initiative, "June 1999 Global Summit Conference," http://www.united-religions.org/events/jun2.shtml, p. 2. 123 "About Coven of the Stone and the Mirror," http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/2416/cosminfo.html 124 Wittenberg Center for Alternative Resources, "Internship Programs: The Wittenberg Center 1998," Internet document, http://www.balpoint.com/wicar/intern.htm, p. 1. 125 Wittenberg Center for Alternative Resources, "The Course: Survival & Empowerment for the Twenty-First Century," Internet document, http://www.balpoint.com/wicar/survival.htm, p. 1. 126 Western Federation Church and Tribe, "Home Page," http://www.accrediting.com/tribe.htm,pp. 5-6; also, http://www.accrediting.com/marsconvention.htm. 127 Western Federation Church and Tribe, "Home Page," http://www.accrediting.com/tribe.htm,pp. 5-6; also, http://www.accrediting.com/marsconvention.htm. 128 Dennis Delman, "For the Sake of the Children, We've Got to Talk," Bishop Swing Tells Commonwealth Club Gathering," Pacific Church News, August/September 1999, p. 25. 7/16/00 1

Lee Penn is a health care information systems consultant who is also active as a researcher and writer on Church affairs, covering the United Religions Initiative and the New Age movement. His work has appeared in the New Oxford Review, the Journal of the Spiritual Counterfeits Project, and the Christian Challenge. Episcopalian by background, Penn was received into the Russian Catholic Church, an Eastern Rite Church in communion with Rome, in 1995.

This report is a revised and updated portion of the author's feature article, ?The United Religions Initiative: Foundations for a World Religion? (part 3 of a series), Journal of the Spiritual Counterfeits Project (Spring 2000). For more information on the series or the URI, visit the website http://www.scp-inc.org/ or call 510-540-0300.

from http://inetport.com/~one/mscoop.html:

Co-operation
by the Master --

Humanity today stands poised for a great leap into the future, a future in which man's essentially divine nature will demonstrate. Little though he may know this, man has passed and is passing the tests which will allow him, in full adulthood, to become the recipient of knowledge and powers with which to fashion the future.

At present, only to the inner vision of the Guides of the Race may this reality be clear, but such it is, and portends well for the coming time. Wherever men may gather today, can be seen and felt a new urgency, a new sense of commitment to the well-being of the planet and its kingdoms.

Only now, after aeons spent in the struggle for existence and progress, can man be said to have reached maturity, a maturity discernible to Us, albeit well hidden from man himself.

The opportunity arises now for a major advance in human progress, outstripped by fear, in speed and accomplishment, all previous advances. Whereas, until now, a slow and steady progress was desirable, and even preferable, a new dynamic rhythm is being created whose momentum will sweep humanity into the future on a wave of global change. So great are the tensions in today's divided world that only a rapid change of direction will prevent catastrophe. This rapid change, there is no doubt, will present problems of adjustment to many, but many more, by far, will welcome these changes as the opportunity for new life.

We, the Toilers behind the scenes, have every confidence that humanity will set in motion this radical transformation of its structures. They no longer serve man's needs and block the emergence of the new. We watch and guide, overseeing all.

Little by little, a new consciousness is awakening humanity to its inner needs. The old, competitive spirit dies hard, but nevertheless a new spirit of co-operation is likewise to be seen. This augurs well for the future, for it is by co-operation alone that mankind will survive; by co-operation alone that the new civilization will be built; by co-operation only that men can know and demonstrate the inner truth of their divinity.

Co-operation is the natural result of right relationship. Right relationship likewise follows wise co-operation. Co-operation holds the key to all successful group effort and is a manifestation of divine goodwill. Without co-operation nothing lasting can be achieved, for co-operation brings into synthesis many diverse points of view.

Co-operation is another word for Unity. Unity and co-operation are the springboards to the future and the guarantee of achievement for all men. Great reservoirs of power lie untapped within humanity, waiting for the magic of co-operation to unleash.

Competition strains the natural order; co-operation liberates the goodwill in men. Competition cares only for the self, whereas co-operation seeks to blend and fuse the many-coloured strands of the one divine life.

Competition has led man to the precipice; co-operation alone will help him find the path.

The old and backward-looking love competition; the new embrace with joy divine co-operation.

The people of the world can be divided into two kinds; those who compete, and those who co-operate.

Cleanse the heart of the stain of competition; open the heart to joyful co-operation.

---

The Master -- is a senior member of the Hierarchy of the Masters of Wisdom. His name, well-known in esoteric circles, has not yet been revealed for various reasons. Benjamin Creme is in telepathic contact with this Master who dictated this article to him. From the files of Share International.

``The Master'' is the recurrent title of the Maitreyan spiritual leader. The term ``master'' denotes not only skillfulness, but dominance over subordinates, as in, master-slave relationships.

A general phenomenon that is a crucial component of the cultural substrate of Maitreyanism is specialism. Here is an excerpt from a presentation by Robert David Steele, President of Open Source Solutions, from God, Man, & Information: Comments to Interval In-House, 1998-Mar-9:

[...]

The reality is that wealth can be translated into information power, and that the apathy of the people is allowing private wealth to control public information. We are very, very close to private tyranny.

There are a few fundamental concepts in public administration, including the concepts of accountability, administrative ecology and power, incremental public choice, information networks and systems of cooperative effort, budgeting as a political manifestation of organized trade-offs, and the moral ambiguities of public choice.

Accountability depends on openness. As John Ralston Saul argues so well in Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West, secrecy and the cult of expertise have in fact undermined humanism and created a pathological civilization, a civilization of decline. Consider:

``The invention of the secret is perhaps the most damaging outgrowth of the power produced when control over knowledge was combined with the protective armor of civilization. Until recently very little was considered improper to know. Today the restricted lists are endless.

These restrictions have been counterbalanced over the last thirty years by an apparent explosion in individual freedoms. This breakdown of social order--rules of dress, sexual controls, speech patterns, family structures--have been seen as a great victory for the individual. On the other hand, it may simply be a reflection of the individual's frustration at being locked up inside a specialization. These acts of personal freedom are irrelevant to the exercise of power. So in lieu of taking a real part in the evolution of society, the individual struggles to appear as if no one has power over his personal evolution. Thus victories won for these individual liberties may actually be an acceptance of defeat by the individual.

Not since the etiquette-ridden courts of the eighteenth century has public debate been so locked into fixed positions, fixed formulas and fixed elites expert in rhetoric.

In fact, the question which arises is whether the rational approach has not removed from democracy its greatest single strength--the ability to act in an unconventional manner.''

The ability to act in an unconventional manner. Let us hold that thought as we look at other fundamentals. Administrative ecology, administrative power, incremental public choice. Who is really in charge of our civilization and our commonweal? The Office of Technology Assessment not-withstanding, the reality is that our civilization and our government in particular, but all governments in general, are out of control. Each area of specialization, from defense to energy to agriculture, is the captive of mindless and amoral specialists who have no interest in holistic policy or the public good. In the absence of kinship, of family, of religion, or even of ideas, man has been domesticated in the worst sense of the word.

[...]

The terms Maitreya and Führer are interchangeable (have the same etymological and practical meaning). Devout Maitreyans intend to commit an eternal worldwide genocide of individualists and heretics - of those who are incompatible with the ideology, and of those who are insufficiently pliable. They plan profuse apologies and tears of sorrow, but they believe devoutly that they must kill, often describing it as a relieving of suffering and/or a deliverance to a better place.

There is more, much more to the connection between the Nazis and New Age. This is all rather roundabout, and the story would be laughable and silly were it not for all the corpses.

The Rothschilds, that great Jewish lion of European banking, were instrumental in bringing the Nazis to power. At the time of Hitler's election, the Farben trust (interest group, I G Farben) was a Rothschild-dominated concern. Nobel laureate Paul Ehrlich, also a Jew, discovered antibodies and invented chemotherapy and the first cure for syphilis while at Farben years earlier. In fact the Farben trust was veritably awash in Jewish scientists. Nonetheless, Farben, with the other major industrial trusts of Germany, threw its support behind Hitler's candidacy, precipitating his election. Years later, Zyklon B - the nerve gas used in concentration camps to murder enemies of the Nazi state - was invented by scientists at Farben.

The Rothschild agenda was, at least in part, public and transparent, dating to the nineteenth century. They were and are committed and leading Zionists (a street is named in their honor in Jerusalem), and they (and other allied Zionists) sought to shoo Jews out of Europe and into Israel by making life for Jews in Europe miserable.

Seemingly, they overshot their mark. Or did they? Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a prominent religious leader in Israel, recently repeated an explanation I've heard with some skepticism before, regarding the Holocaust: ``These are incarnations of those who have sinned and made others sin... They were reincarnated to make amends.''

That is, he maintains that the Holocaust was a collosal burnt offering to appease an unnamed god. This constitutes a mystical, fringy sort of Jewish cult ritual run amok. In fact, it is none other than cabalism. The Star of David the Zionists adopted as their symbol and put on their flag is actually an expressly cabalistic symbol. Cabalism is the direct ancestor of modern theosophy as institutionalized in the Third Reich in particular and in New Age in general.

In its modernized form as New Age, the ideology centrally features both reincarnation (in the form of Hindu karma, samsara, and nirvana) and intense anti-Semitism: the premise is that Jews are peculiarly obstinate varmints, having missed two quantum leaps of consciousness (constituting disobedience to Maitreya or ``natural law'' or some other such hogwash), and so must be exterminated to make way for a harmonious global unified consciousness/awakening.

The swastika (the word is Sanskrit for ``well being prevails'') was borrowed from Buddhism, in which it is an ancient traditional symbol of Buddha's heart, often appearing emblazened on his chest in religious artwork. The Nazis are considered to use only the clockwise form of the swastika, while traditionally the chiral variants are both used, related to each other dialectically, associated with male and female. Since the Nazis often emblazened flags with the swastika, the chiral variants were both routinely displayed.

The Nazis embarked on treks to Tibet, mythical homeland of Maitreya and seat of mystical wisdom. The United Nations, built on Rockefeller-donated land, is closely associated with Share International, which distributes explicitly Maitreyan Buddhist propaganda. J D Rockefeller the first got his start, and made his race to monopoly, with Rothschild money and favors. Rockefeller was a key supporter of the eugenics movement (coercive eugenics is a core doctrine of New Age), and the organization he funded became the Racial Hygiene Society when the Nazis built their apparatus. For more on this, see Anton Chaitkin's discussion on the Rockefeller roots of Nazi eugenics.

I suspect that some mischievous wankers in the intelligence community - critical ground pounders of the nuclear establishment - are using state of the art technology and tactics to create Maitreyan apparitions, as discussed in An Appraisal of Technologies of Political Control, published by the Directorate General for Research of the European Parliament and written by Steve Wright.

"We are no longer at a theoretical stage with these weapons. US companies are already piloting new systems, lobbying hard and where possible, laying down potentially lucrative patents. For example, last year New Scientist reported that the American Technology Corporation (ATC) of Poway California has used what it calls acoustical heterodyning technology to target individuals in a crowd with infra-sound to pinpoint an individual 200-300 metres away. The system can also project sonic holograms which can conjure audio messages out of thin air so just one person hears."

and from http://www.techmgmt.com/restore/orange.htm:

AEN News
Carol Valentine (Skywriter@public-action.com)

Pentagon's New Offensive Info. War

The March 31, 1997 Defense Week ran a story "Air Force Organizes For Offensive Info War." According to the article, the US Air Force has created the position of deputy director for information operations. An "offensive information warfare" division will be created under the new deputy director. The division will have the organizational code AF/XOIOW and will be headed by Lt. Col. Jimmy Miyamoto.

Offensive information warfare, which implies attacks on both military and civilian targets, is among the least discussed aspect of the Air Force's moves to organize, train, and equip the service for information dominance, the article admits.

The new Information Operations office will coordinate with the Pentagon's Joint Chiefs of Staff, National Security Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, National Reconnaissance Office, Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office and the National Imagery and Mapping Agency.

New research efforts are underway to support this new program, including:

• Lethal HPM munitions. The USAF Office of Scientific Research is working on developing a small affordable laser and high powered microwave for unmanned aerial vehicles to perform a wide variety of missions, including enemy communications and computer systems.
  
  
• Software viruses to be placed or injected into enemy weapons and information links. These viruses would remain dormant until activated by satellite, aircraft radar, or jamming equipment, etc. When activated, the virus would render the equipment useless, or "better yet, there could be a very subtle change for a finite period of time."
  
  
• Holographic projection. The article describes a quasi-information warfare/psychological operations program that was first discussed in the Air Force after Desert Storm. Holographic projection involves projection of a three-dimensional holographic image in project decoys, or even an "angry god" above the battlefield.
  
  

The Pentagon had listed holographic projections openly as part of its "nonlethal" weapons program. But since 1994, the program has disappeared from view, evidently now a "black" effort, says Defense Week.

In conclusion, the Defense Week article states that the Army's JFK Special Warfare Center and School in late 1991 disclosed that it was looking to develop a PSYOPS Hologram System with a capability "to project persuasive messages and three-dimensional pictures of cloud, smoke, rain droplets, buildings . . . The use of holograms as a persuasive message will have worldwide application."

Carol A. Valentine
President
Public Action, Inc.

from http://www.shareintl.org/maitreya.html:

WHO IS MAITREYA?

He has been expected for generations by all of the major religions. Christians know Him as the Christ, and expect His imminent return. Jews await Him as the Messiah; Hindus look for the coming of Krishna; Buddhists expect Him as Maitreya Buddha; and Muslims anticipate the Imam Mahdi or Messiah.

Although the names are different, many believe that they all refer to the same individual: the World Teacher, whose personal name is Maitreya (My-'tray-ah).

Preferring to be known simply as the Teacher, Maitreya has not come as a religious leader, or to found a new religion, but as a teacher and guide for people of every religion and those of no religion.

At this time of great political, economic and social crisis Maitreya will inspire humanity to see itself as one family, and create a civilization based on sharing, economic and social justice, and global cooperation.

He will launch a call to action to save the millions of people who starve to death every year in a world of plenty. Among Maitreya's recommendations will be a shift in social priorities so that adequate food, housing, clothing, education, and medical care become universal rights.

Under Maitreya's inspiration, humanity itself will make the required changes and create a saner and more just world for all.

---

The process of the Emergence

In recent years, Maitreya has been appearing to individuals ----- important world leaders as well as ordinary people ---- and to groups of people, large and small, all over the world. In this way, He is gradually affecting world events, and making His presence known.

He appears to individuals in one of three ways: most commonly in people's dreams; secondly, as a vision ---- not in a dream but not totally solid; and, thirdly, as a solid, physical person who suddenly appears before them and then disappears.

On 11 June 1988 He appeared miraculously from out of no-where before 6,000 people at a prayer meeting in Nairobi, Kenya. The people instantly recognized Him as the Christ. He spoke to them for some minutes in perfect Swahili, the local language, and then disappeared as amazingly as He had come, leaving behind some 30 or 40 people completely healed of their illnesses.

Since then, Maitreya has appeared miraculously before large groups of people in Mexico, Russia, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Czecho-slovakia, Romania, Scotland, Norway, the Middle East, North Africa, India and Pakistan. Near the majority of these appearances miraculous healing water will be found. This has already happened in Tlacote, near Mexico City, Düsseldorf in Germany and New Delhi in India. He will continue to do this until people begin to talk, the media take notice, and He becomes universally known. Maitreya will then be invited by the international media to speak directly to the entire world through the television networks linked together by satellites.

On this Day of Declaration, we will see His face on the television screen wherever we have access. The Bible statement, ``All eyes will see Him,'' will be fulfilled, in the only way in which it can be fulfilled. We will see His face, but He will not speak. His thoughts, His ideas, His call to humanity for justice, sharing, right relationships and peace, will take place silently, telepathically. Each of us will hear Him inwardly in our own language. In this way, He will re-enact on a world-wide scale the true happenings of Pentecost 2,000 years ago.

At the same time, the energy which He embodies ---- the Christ principle, the energy of love ---- will flow out in tremendous potency through the hearts of all humanity. He has said, ``It will be as if I embrace the world. People will feel it even physically.'' This will evoke an intuitive, heartfelt response to His message. Simultaneously, on the outer, physical plane, there will be hundreds of thousands of miracle healings throughout the planet. In these three ways we will know that Maitreya is the Christ, the World Teacher, come for all groups, religious and non-religious alike, an educator in the broadest sense, here to help us fulfill our destiny as Gods in incarnation.

Maitreya and His group of Masters have come to show us the way, to inspire and guide us to create the conditions in which that divinity can correctly manifest. They have come to teach us to know who we are. Maitreya has said, ``I have come to teach the art of Self or God realization. That is the destiny of all people in the world.''

Those of us now in incarnation have an extraordinary responsibility. That is why we are in the world at this time. Every generation brings into incarnation those who are equipped with the knowledge to solve the problems of their time. We have to solve the problems of today and the immediate future, to decide for all time whether or not the human race will continue ---- to make the choice for justice, sharing, right relationships, and peace, or to destroy all life. Maitreya is in no doubt that we will make the right choice.

Barbara Marx Hubbard is a leading proponent of the ideology. Her name, quite appropriately, combines Karl Marx and L. Ron Hubbard under one roof. From her book The Revelation, comments (authored by her) she attributes to the book's Christ character:

"A Quantum Transformation is the time of selection of what evolves from what devolves. The species known as self-centered humanity will become extinct. The species known as whole-centered humanity will evolve" (comments on Rev. 3:4-5, p. 101).

What did Hubbard just espouse? Nothing less than the subjection of the individual to the collective as a mystical gateway to future humanity (not to mention, genocide of the unshakeably self-centered). This is, not to put too fine a point on it, moose droppings. Later this becomes more obvious:

"All the people on Earth will be reduced to the same status. Rich and poor, powerful and powerless, black, white, red, yellow and brown. When all are in total awe of the creative force, the destruction will cease for a time" (comments on Rev. 7:1-4, p. 138)

"Those who have the seal of the living God will be able to take the next step of evolution. They shall hunger no more." (comments on Rev. 7:9-17, p. 140)

"Evangelists are proclaiming that the Kingdom of God is at hand. They are urging repentance and acceptance of Jesus as your personal savior. But they are not laying forth the image of the collective future of the human race as a generation of the saved. They have not yet envisioned what it will be like when everything works" (comments on 1 Cor. 15:45, p. 162).

Hubbard, echoing the Christian bible, dangles the same bait that the communists dangle. The mystical power she drones on about endlessly does not exist.

This idea of a time when ``everything works'' is ridiculous. Such a circumstance is physically impossible, because of thermal and quantum noise. Its hypothetical attainment would, however, constitute the total termination of evolution. This is the real purpose of the program - to arrest evolution, destroying the world (though New Agers do not consciously recognize the latter).

Later in the book Hubbard makes clear that, in her accounting, one is either insane (though she does not put it that way) or evil (though she does not logically exclude the possibility of being both insane and evil, which is consistent with the reality that Hubbard is herself both insane and evil):

"They that dwell on the Earth, whose names are not written in the Book of Life, are they who gave primary reality to 'the beast,' to the things seen and felt with the senses alone; it is they who had no faith in things unseen and unknown, who did not believe in God above all else and love their neighbors as themselves" (The Revelation, The Christs' comments on Rev. 17:7-8, p. 203-204).

If one abandons the most basic of logical premises - that things which exist can be sensed possibly with the assistance of machinery though eventually through human senses, and that the absence of sensation is strongly correlated with non-existence and with sufficiently thorough examination is in and of itself compelling evidence of non-existence - then reasoning about the nature of the universe, and hence about the nature of the self and the true relationship of the self to the universe, is made impossible. An empirical foundation is indispensable. To dispense with it is nothing less than to embrace madness. Her madness continues, and 30 pages later she rants:

The consciousness defect of the illusion of separation will be corrected once and for all. You will never go back again. This is the key to the positive scenario. The cancer of self-centeredness will be consumed by the experience of wholeness.

The plan for your regeneration will begin. Millions will instantly feel a subtle change of electricity in their bodies. . . .

And I will be enabled to contact all of you at once. This is my dream, this is my passion, this is my desire - to have all of you paying attention to me at once through the activation of your inner experience of your potential to be me, rather than relying on priests, mystics, or saints, beloved though they are. Their work is done. Yours has begun" (The Revelation, The Christs' comments on Rev. 20:1-3, p. 235-236).

But, of course, the separation between bodies is not an illusion at all. This separation is critical. A critical characteristic of any lifeform is the manner in which it divides the universe into that portion of the universe which is it, and that portion which is not. To break this down is to exterminate life. Boundaries are prerequisite. Hubbard describes self-centeredness as a "cancer," but it is instinctive or intrinsic self-centeredness which produced the rich speciation of the planet, and conscious, deliberate self-centeredness which produced and produces the overwhelming bulk of scientific, technological, artistic, and cultural innovation. Self-centeredness is not a cancer, it is the natural way of things. Christianity, and Hubbard's ideology, are cancers.

Notice three things about the final paragraph in the above quoted passage. First, the Christ's desire to have everyone paying attention to him is pathetic - it manifests the same self-perception of inadequacy, and the same bogus remedy, as those Ayn Rand's antagonist and antihero characters exhibit (notwithstanding the great address in Atlas Shrugged, which ain't half bad). Second. this system (of sorts) in which the Christ has everyone paying attention to him at once is the ultimate isotropic engine, eradicating chaos with optimal efficiency. This is morbid. Read J. Orlin Grabbe's essay on chaos for a wonderful treatment of the topic.

Third, we (human inhabitants of planet earth) already have the ability to have everyone pay attention to one person at once. It is called radio, and it can relay representations of sounds and moving pictures through the atmosphere, through satellites, around the world, instantly, recreating the sound and image anywhere. And we didn't embrace total madness to make it so - these systems are the product of science and technology, discovered, invented, and built, by the rational effort of self-centered men.

What does "self-centered" really mean? Webster's dictionary offers the following definition for "self": "the union of elements (as body, emotions, thoughts, sensations) that constitute the individuality and identity of a person." "Center" is defined "to place or fix at or around a center or central area or position." For "self-centered," Webster offers the definition "independent of outside force or influence." "Independent" is defined as "self-governing" or "not requiring or relying on something else." In short, a self-centered individual is an individual who recognizes that his own body, emotions, thoughts, and sensations, are his own, and that he is self-governing and self-supporting - that is, responsible for himself. Self-centeredness is not simply compatible with social and environmental responsibility, responsibility demands it. Self-centeredness is cohesive and allows for the construction of robust communities. All of this is manifestly good. However, it is all manifestly contrary to the desires of those who lust after control over other people. Thus, self-centeredness has been demonized for millennia by morbid second handers, and the ideological systems they have contrived and promulgated to that end (Judaism, Christianity, communism, and the other religions) corrode humanity like so many cancerous tumors.

Finally, Hubbard bends the Masonic mottos of the Great Seal to her own purposes - which, to be sure, requires little interpretive amendment.

"It is the purpose of the people who came to the United States of America to be free, to be fully human. It embodies the symbols of the nation which are: E Pluribus Unum; out of many, one; Novus Ordo Seclorum; a new order of the ages; Annuit Coeptis; God favors this enterprise" (The Revelation, The Christs' comments on Rev. 21:2, p. 249)

from Slate.com, 2004-Sep-23, by Ron Rosenbaum:

Dead Like Her
How Elisabeth Kübler-Ross went around the bend.

First off—for those speak-no-ill-about-the-dead types—let's get this straight: She's not dead. Yes, sure, the obituaries say Elisabeth Kübler-Ross died, on Aug. 24, but I have it on record that she is not dead.

Back in the '80s, I was writing a critical examination (for Harper's) of Kübler-Ross' "Five Stages of Dying"—the ones she made famous in her 1969 book On Death and Dying and some 15 follow-up tomes (including Death: The Final Stage of Growth). The Stages (Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance) became the foundation for an entire "Death 'n' Dying" Movement, as I dubbed it. And while there is no doubt Kübler-Ross made an important contribution to the treatment of dying patients (hospice care, etc.) in an age of increasingly mechanized medicine (and medical doctors), she also contributed to a kind of cultlike reverence for the allegedly superior truth-telling wisdom of the dying (and later the dead as well).

It's a sentimentalizing of mortality that's become incorporated into popular culture and can be seen as the source of such death-obsessed dramas as Touched by an Angel and Dead Like Me—and series like Six Feet Under and the proliferations of CSIs, in which the dead body is fetishized as a catalyst for truth telling. (Perhaps the funniest embodiment and satire upon the trend is Curb Your Enthusiasm's famous "aunt" obituary episode.)

In any case, I'll never forget one conversation I had with Kübler-Ross' official spokeswoman. I was asking her whether Kübler-Ross' "heavenly car mechanic" vision (more details anon) was a Near Death Experience, and the spokeswoman corrected me: "Elisabeth doesn't like the term 'Near Death Experience' because she doesn't believe that death exists. No such thing."

The path to the moment in the early '80s when Kübler-Ross declared there is "no such thing as death" (and got into trouble fooling around with some "afterlife entities") can be traced to the landscape of postwar Europe. She was a Swiss resident (born in 1926) who volunteered to help care for Holocaust survivors and came to America after getting a medical degree. There in the early '60s she began specializing in the care of patients deemed to be dying and the neglect of their needs, chief among them, she believed, honesty on the part of doctors and a willingness to listen.

All of this was quite noble, but there came a point when caring became codifying as well. She began identifying herself as a "scientist" and took her accumulated anecdotal experience and declared that the dying process (and then the grieving process, too) had those famous five stages. Staging death had a remarkable appeal and gave an illusion of control over the uncontrollable. She became a saintly icon, the Queen of Death.

But then, quietly, in the late '70s, the Queen began to go around the bend, began declaring there was no death, there were only "transitions" from one permeable boundary to another. And often back. So, if one takes her belief seriously, not only have the reports of her death been exaggerated but reports of death itself have been exaggerated. Death for Kübler-Ross became just a kind of bonus "Sixth Stage," a kind of heavenly spa where one could freshen up before cruising around among the living again. That might be her, looking over your shoulder as you're reading this.

Whether or not Kübler-Ross is dead, her alleged "science" of Death 'n' Dying lives on in all its meretriciousness, rarely challenged any more. According to Kübler-Ross, there's a right way and a wrong way to die, a sober responsible Five Stage Way. Forget "Do not go gentle into that good night" by that alcoholic Welshman Dylan Thomas. You better go gentle, buster, you better die the New Age Way or you'll never appreciate how beautiful death can be. It's the only way to go, you might say.

The famous five stages of dying, of grieving, has gone beyond being a mere meme. It has become a deeply embedded unexamined ideology of death, something that doesn't merely describe the dying process that people go through but shapes—virtually prescribes—the process. It sets up the Five Stages as a kind of Moral Progress, and brands you as inauthentic if you don't grimly trudge through each. Sort of like a Twelve Step Program for Death.

Until I looked into it, I admit that I was one of the ones content to accept on faith that Kübler-Ross' Five Stages of "Death 'n' Dying" was founded on something more solid than Kübler-Ross' anecdotes. She claimed to have investigated the process like a scientist; she claimed her stages were based on her observations as a doctor and on her encounters with the dying (this was before she claimed she was interacting with actual dead people). She'd become a revered mainstream American icon—and was even named a Ladies' Home Journal "Woman of the Decade" at the end of the 70s, when she was jetting around the country holding "Death 'n' Dying" workshops to promote her Five Stages and her many books. (The Five Stages were the Mars and Venus of death.) By the '80s she'd helped make death the hot commodity it is now.

What prompted my examination was a small—but stunning—news clipping I came across in the early '80s describing the completely bizarre sexual scandal at Kübler-Ross' retreat in Escondido, Calif., the mountaintop center she called Shanti Nilaya. The scandal concerned the involvement of Kübler-Ross—and some of the grieving widows visiting her retreat—with a self-proclaimed spirit medium who conned them all into believing he had the ability to channel "afterlife entities." Not only channel them but facilitate their having sex with the grieving widows.

It was, if you ask me, not an aberration but a culmination of Kübler-Ross' love affair with death; love affairs with the dead. But by then her growing belief that "death does not exist" had made her fall prey to a host of spirit mediums and charlatans who claimed they could make contact with the beautiful beings on the Other side.

She herself first encountered the "afterlife entities" during an "out of body" experience after one of her "workshops." She wrote that "I saw myself lifted out of my physical body. ... [I]t was as if a whole lot of loving beings were taking all the tired parts out of me, similar to car mechanics in a car repair shop. ... I had an incredible sense that once all the parts were replaced I would be a young and fresh and energetic as I had been prior to the rather exhausting, draining workshop."

After several trips to the auto repair shop and a lot of heart to hearts with the heavenly mechanics, she began to speak about death as the fountain of youth: "People after death become complete again. The blind can see, the deaf can hear, cripples are no longer crippled after all their vital signs have ceased to exist." The emphasis had shifted from a spiritual renewal while still alive, albeit dying, to the physical renewal awaiting one after death. It made death seem all too sweetly attractive (especially at a time when there were deep-rooted problems in the medical establishment's handling of dying patients). Some might say it made suicide seductive to the physically and mentally troubled. Death, in her new view, was a kind of Lourdes-cum-plastic-surgery spa.

But few challenged the escalating nonsense because—after all—she had "discovered" the five stages of death and grieving. She got to people when they were most wounded, scared, and vulnerable, and gave them a secular religion of death.

Enter the spirit medium of Escondido—a guy she had invited to her workshops, who somehow facilitated intercourse between the grieving widows and the "afterlife entities." The scandal erupted when several of the widows came down with similar vaginal infections, and one turned on the light during a session with an "afterlife entity" and discovered the opportunistic spirit medium himself, naked except for a turban. (He offered the completely plausible explanation that the afterlife entities had "cloned" him—and the turban, too, I guess—to help enable the afterlife entities to engage in the pleasures of the flesh.)

I'm not making this up. It's just sort of conveniently been forgotten that the founder of the so called "scientific" "five stages" encouraged and at first defended these practices. "There are those who might say this has damaged my credibility," Kübler-Ross said, when she finally conceded that the spirit medium's behavior "did not meet the standards" of her retreat. But it's not important "whether people believe what I say ... I'm a doctor and a scientist, who simply reports what she sees, hears, and experiences."

Right. Science. It's probably too late to disengage our culture from the unexamined assumptions in the Kübler-Ross death and dying ideology/movement, but we can at least examine them now from a distance. When I first wrote about it I saw it as a kind of confidence trick: In the guise of telling people that they were fearlessly investigating the realm of death, staring death in the face, etc., etc., it was offering people a way of distancing themselves from dread. Turning something scary like death into a "process" with nothing unpredictable to fear. Disguising it with a familiarizing scaffolding of "stages," swathing it in a gauzy romanticism of self-examination, self-expression. Death: the highest point of life, the "final stage of growth."

I also suggested that its popular success was due in large part to the behavior control function of the five stages and its appeal to hospital and hospice caregivers, who all took D 'n' D workshops. It made the five stages into a kind of moral progress: Potentially disruptive and annoying anger would give way to the more quiet stages of "depression" and "acceptance." Easier on the night nurses.

But now, looking back I think it can be seen as part of the Me-Decade ideology that denial is always bad. We must constantly be staring death in the face and rubbing everybody's nose in it, or we're really not living life. (Although if we spend all our time staring death in the face we have little time left to live life.)

Part of this ideology was rooted in the overheated overrated polemic by the Freudian Ernest Becker, The Denial of Death, in which he blamed all of civilization's problems on its unwillingness to stare death in the face. (One could argue that all civilization's achievements were accomplished by those who didn't have time to dwell on the obvious fact that they were going to die.)

But is denial always a bad thing? Must death be regimented so it loses its mystery? These questions have some contemporary resonances: Are we in denial if we don't watch every terrorist beheading video or gaze repeatedly at the descent of those who jumped from the World Trade Center towers? Come to think of it, aren't Kübler-Ross' five stages arbitrary in their order? Wouldn't it be more fun to go out angry or better, bargaining, than depressed and accepting? Or maybe with a different "stage" of our own devising. Laughter in the dark?

I'm sure Kübler-Ross was well intentioned and serious-minded before she commodified and quantified her caring into a D 'n' D industry. And I understand why people will turn to her books in time of grief when consolation of any sort is the first priority. Millions of the dead and dying have reason to be grateful to her for raising their standard of care. I just feel we who are about to die (well, sooner or later) deserve better than this treacly simulacrum of pseudo-science to guide us. Her Five Stages of dying is the Emperor's New Shroud.

from the Ludwig von Mises Institute, by Murray N. Rothbard:

The Sociology of the Ayn Rand Cult

Written in 1972, this was the first piece of Rand revisionism from the libertarian standpoint.

In the America of the 1970s we are all too familiar with the religious cult, which has been proliferating in the last decade. Characteristic of the cult (from Hare Krishna to the "Moonies" to EST to Scientology to the Manson Family) is the dominance of the guru, or Maximum Leader, who is also the creator and ultimate interpreter of a given creed to which the acolyte must be unswervingly loyal. The major if not the only qualification for membership and advancement in the cult is absolute loyalty to and adoration of the guru, and absolute and unquestioning obedience to his commands. The lives of the members are dominated by the guru's influence and presence. If the cult grows beyond a few members, it naturally becomes hierarchically structured, if only because the guru cannot spend his time indoctrinating and watching over every disciple. Top positions in the hierarchy are generally filled by the original handful of disciples, who come to assume these positions by virtue of their longer stint of loyal and devoted service. Sometimes the top leadership may be related to each other, a useful occurrence which can strengthen intra-cult loyalty through the familial bond.

The goals of the cult leadership are money and power. Power is achieved over the minds of the disciples through inducing them to accept without question the guru and his creed. This devotion is enforced through psychological sanctions. For once the acolyte is imbued with the view that approval of, and communication with, the guru are essential to his life, then the implicit and explicit threat of excommunication – of removal from the direct or indirect presence of the guru – creates a powerful psychological sanction for the "enforcement" of loyalty and obedience. Money flows upward from the members through the hierarchy, either in the form of volunteer labor service contributed by the members, or through cash payments.

It should be clear at this point in history that an ideological cult can adopt the same features as the more overtly religious cult, even when the ideology is explicitly atheistic and anti-religious. That the cults of Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Trotsky, and Mao are religious in nature, despite the explicit atheism of the latter, is by now common knowledge. The adoration of the cult founder and leader, the hierarchical structure, the unswerving loyalty, the psychological (and when in command of State power, the physical) sanctions are all too evident.

The Exoteric and the Esoteric

Every religious cult has two sets of differing and distinctive creeds: the exoteric and the esoteric. The exoteric creed is the official, public doctrine, the creed which attracts the acolyte in the first place and brings him into the movement as a rank-and-file member. The quite different creed is the unknown, hidden agenda, a creed which is only known to its full extent by the top leadership, the "high priests" of the cult. The latter are the keepers of the Mysteries of the cult.

But cults become particularly fascinating when the esoteric and exoteric creeds are not only different, but totally and glaringly in mutual contradiction. The havoc that this fundamental contradiction plays in the minds and lives of the disciples may readily be imagined. Thus, the various Marxist-Leninists cults officially and publicly extol Reason and Science, and denounce all religion, and yet the members are mystically attracted to the cult and its alleged infallibility.

Thus, Alfred G. Meyer writes of Leninist views on party infallibility:

Lenin seems to have believed that the party, as organized consciousness, consciousness as a decision-making machinery, had superior reasoning power. Indeed, in time this collective body took on an aura of infallibility, which was later elevated to a dogma, and a member's loyalty was tested, in part, by his acceptance of it. It became part of the communist confession of faith to proclaim that the party was never wrong.... The party itself never makes mistakes.¹

If the glaring inner contradictions of the Leninist cults make them intriguing objects of study, still more so is the Ayn Rand cult, which, while in some sense is still faintly alive, flourished for just ten years in the 1960s; more specifically, from the founding of the Nathaniel Branden lecture series in early 1958 to the Rand-Branden split ten years later. For not only was the Rand cult explicitly atheist, anti-religious, and an extoller of Reason; it also promoted slavish dependence on the guru in the name of independence; adoration and obedience to the leader in the name of every person's individuality; and blind emotion and faith in the guru in the name of Reason.

Virtually every one of its members entered the cult through reading Rand's lengthy novel Atlas Shrugged, which appeared in late 1957, a few months before the organized cult came into being. Entering the movement through a novel meant that despite repeated obeisances to Reason, febrile emotion was the driving force behind the acolyte's conversion. Soon, he found that the Randian ideology sketched out in Atlas was supplemented by a few non-fiction essays, and, in particular, by a regular monthly magazine, The Objectivist Newsletter (later, The Objectivist).

The Index of Permitted Books

Since every cult is grounded on a faith in the infallibility of the guru, it becomes necessary to keep its disciples in ignorance of contradictory infidel writings which may wean cult members away from the fold. The Catholic Church maintained an Index of Prohibited Books; more sweeping was the ancient Muslim cry: "Burn all books, for all truth is in the Koran!" But cults, which attempt to mold every member into a rigidly integrated world view, must go further. Just as Communists are often instructed not to read anti-Communist literature, the Rand cult went further to disseminate what was virtually an Index of Permitted Books. Since most neophyte Randians were both young and relatively ignorant, a careful channeling of their reading insured that they would remain ignorant of non- or anti-Randian ideas or arguments permanently (except as they were taken up briefly, brusquely, and in a highly distorted and hectoring fashion in Randian publications).

The philosophical rationale for keeping Rand cultists in blissful ignorance was the Randian theory of "not giving your sanction to the Enemy." Reading the Enemy (which, with a few carefully selected exceptions, meant all non- or anti-Randians) meant "giving him your moral sanction," which was strictly forbidden as irrational. In a few selected cases, limited exceptions were made for leading cult members who could prove that they had to read certain Enemy works in order to refute them. This book-banning reached its apogee after the titanic Rand-Branden split in late 1968, a split which was the moral equivalent in miniature of, say, a split between Marx and Lenin, or between Jesus and St. Paul. In a development eerily reminiscent of the organized hatred directed against the arch-heretic Emanuel Goldstein in Orwell's 1984, Rand cultists were required to sign a loyalty oath to Rand; essential to the loyalty oath was a declaration that the signer would henceforth never read any future works of the apostate and arch-heretic Branden. After the split, any Rand cultist seen carrying a book or writing by Branden was promptly excommunicated. Close relatives of Branden were expected to – and did – break with him completely.

Interestingly enough for a movement which proclaimed its devotion to the individual exertion of reason, to curiosity, and to the question "Why?" cultists were required to swear their unquestioning belief that Rand was right and Branden wrong, even though they were not permitted to learn the facts behind the split. In fact, the mere failure to take a stand, the mere attempt to find the facts, or the statement that one could not take a stand on such a grave matter without knowledge of the facts was sufficient for instant expulsion. For such an attitude was conclusive proof of the defective "loyalty" of the disciple to his guru, Ayn Rand.

Steel-Hardened Cadre Man

Frank Meyer writes, in his The Moulding of Communists,² of the series of crises that Communists repeatedly go through in their career in the Party. From his account, it is clear that the rank-and-file member joins the party from being attracted to the official or exoteric creed; but, as he continues in the Party and rises through its hierarchical structures, he is confronted with a series of crises that test his mettle, that either drive him out of the party or convert him increasingly into a steel-hardened cadre man. The crises might be ideological, say, justifying slave labor camps or the Stalin-Hitler pact, or it might be personal, to demonstrate that one's loyalty to the party is higher than to friends, family, or loved ones. The continuing pressure of such crises leads, unsurprisingly, to a very high turnover in Communist ranks, creating a sea of ex-Communists far larger than the party itself at any given time.

A similar but far more intensive process remained at work throughout the years of the Randian movement The Randian neophyte typically joined the movement emotionally caught by Atlas and impressed by the concepts of reason, liberty, individuality, and independence. A series of crises and growing inner contradictions was then necessary to gain power over the minds and lives of the membership, and to inculcate absolute loyalty to Rand, both in ideological matters and in personal lives. But what mechanisms did the cult leaders use to develop such blind loyalty?

One method, as we have seen, was to keep the members in ignorance. Another was to insure that every spoken and written word of the Randian member was not only correct in content but also in form, for any slight nuance or difference in wording could and would be attacked for deviating from the Randian position. Thus, just as the Marxist movements developed jargon and slogans which were clung to for fear of uttering incorrect deviations, the same was true in the Randian movement. In the name of "precision of language," in short, nuance and even synonyms were in effect prohibited.

Another method was to keep the members, as far as possible, in a state of fevered emotion through continual re-readings of Atlas. Shortly after Atlas was published, one high-ranking cult leader chided me for only having read Atlas once. "It's about time for you to start reading it again," he admonished. "I have already read Atlas thirty-five times."

The rereading of Atlas was also important to the cult because the wooden, posturing, and one-dimensional heroes and heroines were explicitly supposed to serve as role models for every Randian. Just as every Christian is supposed to aim at the imitation of Christ in his own daily life, so every Randian was supposed to aim at the imitation of John Galt (Rand's hero of heroes in Atlas.) He was always supposed to ask himself in every situation "What would John Galt have done?" When we remind ourselves that Jesus, after all, was an actual historical figure whereas Galt was not, the bizarrerie of this injunction can be readily grasped. (Although from the awed way Randians spoke of John Galt, one often got the impression that, for them, the line between fiction and reality was very thin indeed.)

Her Bible

The Biblical nature of Atlas for many Randians is illustrated by the wedding of a Randian couple that took place in New York. At the ceremony, the couple pledged their joint devotion and fealty to Ayn Rand, and then supplemented it by opening Atlas – perhaps at random – to read aloud a passage from the sacred text.

Wit and humor, as might be gathered from this incident, were verboten in the Randian movement. The philosophical rationale was that humor demonstrates that one "is not serious about one's values." The actual reason, of course, is that no cult can withstand the piercing and sobering effect, the sane perspective, provided by humor. One was permitted to sneer at one's enemies, but that was the only humor allowed, if humor that be.

Personal enjoyment, indeed, was also frowned upon in the movement and denounced as hedonistic "whim-worship." In particular, nothing could be enjoyed for its own sake – every activity had to serve some indirect, "rational" function. Thus, food was not to be savored, but only eaten joylessly as a necessary means of one's survival; sex was not to be enjoyed for its own sake, but only to be engaged in grimly as a reflection and reaffirmation of one's "highest values"; painting or movies only to be enjoyed if one could find "rational values" in doing so. All of these values were not simply to be discovered quietly by each person – the heresy of "subjectivism" – but had to be proven to the rest of the cult. In practice, as will be seen further below, the only safe aesthetic or romantic "values" or objects for the member were those explicitly sanctioned by Ayn Rand or other top disciples.

As in the case of all cults and sects, a particularly vital method for moulding the members and keeping them in line was maintaining their constant and unrelenting activity within the movement. Frank Meyer relates that Communists preserve their members from the dangerous practice of thinking on their own by keeping them in constant activity together with other Communists. He notes that, of the major Communist defectors in the United States, almost all defected only after a period of enforced isolation. In short, they had room to think for themselves (e.g. ,being in the army, going underground, etc.). In the case of Randians – particularly in New York City, where the movement was largest and Rand and the top hierarchy all lived – activity was continuous. Every night one of the top Randians lectured to different members expounding various aspects of the "party line": on basics, on psychology, fiction, sex, thinking, art, economics, or philosophy. (This structure reflected the vision of Utopia outlined in Atlas Shrugged itself, where every evening was spent with the heroes and heroines lecturing to each other.)

Failure to attend these lectures was a matter of serious concern in the movement. The philosophical rationale for the pressure to attend these meetings went as follows:

1. Randians are the most rational people one could possibly meet (a conclusion derived from the thesis that Randianism was rationality in theory and in practice);
2. You, of course, want to be rational (and if you didn't, you were in grave trouble in the movement);
3. Ergo, you should be eager to spend all your time with fellow Randians and a fortiori with Rand and her top disciples if possible.

The logic seemed impeccable, but what if, as so often happens, one didn't like, even couldn't stand, these people? Under Randian theory, emotions are always the consequence of ideas, and incorrect emotions the consequence of wrong ideas, so that therefore, personal dislike of other (and especially of leading) Randians must be due to a grave canker of irrationality which either had to be kept concealed or else confessed to the leaders. Any such confession meant a harrowing process of ideological and psychological purification, supposedly ending in one's success at achieving rationality, independence, and self-esteem and therefore an unquestioning and blind devotion to Ayn Rand.

One incident of suppressed doubt of Randian tenets is revealing of the psychology of even the leading cult members. One top young Randian, a veteran of the movement in New York City, admitted privately one day that he had grave doubts on a key Randian philosophic tenet: I believe it was the fact of his own existence. He was deathly afraid to ask the question, it being so basic that he knew he would be excommunicated on the spot for simply raising the point; but he had complete faith that if Rand should be asked the question, she would answer it satisfactorily and resolve his doubts. And so he waited, year after year, hoping against hope that someone would ask the question, be expelled, but that his own doubts would then be resolved in the process.

In the manner of many cults, loyalty to the guru had to supersede loyalty to family and friends – typically the first personal crises for the fledgling Randian. If non-Randian family and friends persisted in their heresies even after being hectored at some length by the young neophyte, they were then considered to be irrational and part of the Enemy and had to be abandoned. The same was true of spouses; many marriages were broken up by the cult leadership who sternly informed either the wife or the husband that their spouses were not sufficiently Randworthy. Indeed, since emotions resulted only from premises, and since the leaders' premises were by definition supremely rational, that top leadership presumed to try to match and unmatch couples. As one of them asserted one day: "I know all the rational young men and women in New York and I can match them up." But suppose that Mr. A was matched with Miss B and one of them didn't like the other? Well, once again, "reason" prevailed: the dislike was irrational, requiring intensive psychotherapeutic investigation to purge oneself of the erroneous ideas.

Psychological Hold

The psychological hold that the cult held on the members may be illustrated by the case of one girl, a certified top Randian, who experienced the misfortune of falling in love with an unworthy non-Randian. The leadership told the girl that if she persisted in her desire to marry the man, she would be instantly excommunicated. She did so nevertheless, and was promptly expelled. And yet, a year or so later, she told a friend that the Randians had been right, that she had indeed sinned and that they should have expelled her as unworthy of being a rational Randian.

But the most important sanction for the enforcement of loyalty and obedience, the most important instrument for psychological control of the members, was the development and practice of Objectivist Psychotherapy. In effect, this psychological theory held that since emotion always stems from incorrect ideas, that therefore all neurosis did so as well; and hence, the cure for that neurosis is to discover and purge oneself of those incorrect ideas and values. And since Randian ideas were all correct and all deviation therefore incorrect, Objectivist Psychotherapy consisted of (a) inculcating everyone with Randian theory – except now in a supposedly psycho-therapeutic setting; and (b) searching for the hidden deviation from Randian theory responsible for the neurosis and purging it by correcting the deviation.

It is clear that, considering the emotional and psychological power of the psychotherapeutic experience, the Rand cult had in its hands a powerful weapon for reinforcing and sanctioning the moulding of the New Randian Man. Philosophy and psychology, explicit doctrine, social pressure, and therapeutic pressure, all reinforced each other to generate obedient and loyal acolytes of Ayn Rand.

It is no wonder that the enormous psychological pressure of cult membership led to an extremely high turnover in the Randian movement, relatively far more so than among the Communists. But so long as he was in the movement, a new Randian Man emerged, a grim and joyless figure indeed. For a while the Randians would discourse at length on "happiness," and on the alleged fact of their perpetual state of being happy, it became clear on closer examination that they were happy only by definition. That in short, in Randian theory, happiness refers not at all to the ordinary language meaning of subjective states of contentment or joy, but to the alleged fact of using one's mind to the fullest (i.e., in agreement with Randian precepts).

In practice, however, the dominant subjective emotions of the Randian cultist were fear and even terror: fear of displeasing Rand or her leading disciples; fear of using an incorrect word or nuance that would get the member into trouble; fear of being found out in the "irrationality" of some ideological or personal deviation; fear, even, of smiling at an unworthy (i.e., non-Randian) person. Such fear was greater than that of a Communist member, because the Randian had far less leeway for ideological or personal deviation. Furthermore, since Rand had an absolute and total line on every conceivable question of ideology and daily life, all aspects of such life had to be searched – by oneself and by others – for suspicious heresies and deviations. Everything was the object of fear and suspicion. There was the fear of making an independent judgment, for suppose that the member was to make a statement on some subject on which he did not know Rand's position, and then were to find out that Rand disagreed. The Randian would then be in grave trouble, even if the only problem were that his language was a bit differently nuanced. So it was far more prudent to keep silent and then check with headquarters for the precisely correct line.

Check With Headquarters

Thus, one time a leading Randian attorney was giving a speech on Randian political theory. During the question period, he was caught short by being asked how he could reconcile Rand's support for the compulsory subpoena power with the Randian political axiom of non-initiation of force. He hemmed and hawed, and then said that he had to think about this – a code phrase for hurriedly checking with Rand and the other leaders on the proper answer.

Part of the continuing need to check with headquarters came from the fact that Rand, though considered infallible by her disciples, changed her mind a great deal, particularly on concrete personalities or institutions. The fundamental line change on Branden is a glaring example, as well as the line change on other formerly high-ranking Randians who were expelled from the movement. But far more frequent if less important were changes of position on show business folk whom Rand might have met. Thus, the "line" on such people as Johnny Carson or Mike Wallace (prominent TV personalities) changed rapidly – largely because of Rand's discovering various heresies and alleged betrayals on their part. If the Randian member was not attuned to these changes, and happened to aver that Carson was "rational" or had a benevolent "sense of life" when he had already been designated as irrational or malevolent, he was in for serious trouble and inquiry into the rationality of his own premises.

Driven by their conception of rational duty, every Randian lived in – and indeed was himself – a community of spies and informers, ready to ferret out and denounce any deviations from Randian doctrine. Thus, one time a Randian, walking with a girl friend, told her that he had attended a party at which several Randians had made an impromptu tape imitating the voices of the top Randian leaders. Stricken by this dire information and after spending a sleepless night, the girl rushed to inform the top leadership of this terrible transgression. Promptly, the leading participants were called on the carpet by their Objectivist Psychotherapist and bitterly denounced in their "therapy" sessions: "After all," said the therapist, "you wouldn't mock God." When the owner of the tape refused the therapist's demand to relinquish it so that it could be inspected in detail, his doom as a member of the movement was effectively sealed.

No Randian, even the top leadership, was exempt from the all-pervasive fear and repression. Every one of the original cadre, for example, was placed on probation at least once, and was forced to demonstrate his loyalty to Rand at length and in numerous ways. How such an atmosphere of fear and censorship crippled the productivity of Randian members may be seen by the fact that not one of the top Randians published any books while in the movement (all of Branden's books, for example, were published after his expulsion). The only exception that proves the rule was the authorized exercise in uncritical adulation, Who Is Ayn Rand? by Barbara Branden.

But if the Randian lived in a state of fear and awe of Rand and her leading disciples, there were psychological compensations; for he could also live in the exciting and comforting knowledge that he was one of a small number of the elect, that only the members of this small band were in tune with reason and reality. The rest of the world, even those who were seemingly intelligent, happy, and successful, were really living in limbo, cut off from reason and from understanding the nature of reality. They could not be happy because cult theory decreed that happiness can only be achieved by being a committed Randian; they couldn't even be intelligent, since how could seemingly intelligent people not be Randians, especially if they commit the gravest sin – failing to become Randians once they were exposed to this new gospel.

Excommunications and Purges

We have already mentioned the excommunications and "purges" in the Randian movement. Often, the excommunications – especially of important Randians – proceeded in a ritual manner. The errant member was peremptorily ordered to appear at a "trial" to hear charges against him. If he refused to appear – as he would if he had any shred of self-respect left – then the trial would continue in absentia, with all the members present taking turns in denouncing the expelled member, reading charges against him (again in a manner eerily reminiscent of 1984). When his inevitable conviction was sealed, someone – generally his closest friend – wrote the excommunicate, a bitter, febrile, and portentous letter, damning the apostate forevermore and excluding him forever from the Elysian fields of reason and reality. Having his closest friend take the leading part in the heresy proceeding was of course important as a way of forcing the friend to demonstrate his own loyalty to Rand, thereby clearing himself of any lingering taint by association. It is reported that when Branden was expelled, one of his closest former friends in New York sent him a letter proclaiming that the only moral thing he could do at that point was to commit suicide – a strange position for an allegedly pro-life, pro-individual-purpose philosophy to take.

The break with the apostate – even if once closest friends – had to be uncompromising, permanent, and total. Thus, a woman, very high in the Randian hierarchy, once hired a Randian girl to be her assistant in editing a magazine. When the woman was summarily expelled from the movement, her assistant refused to talk to her at all, except strictly in the line of business – a position steadfastly maintained despite the obvious tensions at the office that had to result.

As is true of all witch-hunting groups, the greatest sin was not so much the specific transgressions of the member, but any refusal to sanction the heresy-hunting procedure itself. Thus, Barbara Branden reported that her greatest sin was held to be her refusal to attend, and therefore to sanction the legitimacy of, her own trial, and other purgees have had similar tales to tell.

It should come as no surprise to learn that, in contrast to most other psychotherapies, the Objectivist Psychotherapists served as stern moral guardians for the troops. "Immoral" patients were expelled from therapy, a practice that reached its apogee when patients of Objectivist Psychotherapists were expelled for simply asking their therapists the reasons for the Rand-Branden split.

Thus, kept in ignorance of the world, of facts, ideas, or people who might deviate from the full Randian line, held in check by adoration and terror of Rand and her anointed hierarchy, the grim, robotic, joyless Randian Man emerged.

For the moulding processes of the cult did succeed in creating a New Randian Man – for so long as the man or woman remained in the movement. People were invariably transformed by the moulding process from diverse, often likeable men and women to grim, tense, hostile poseurs – whose personalities could best be summed up by the word "robotic." Robotically, the Randians intoned their slogans, generally imitating the poses and manner of Nathaniel and Barbara Branden, and further, imitating their common cult vision of heroes and heroines of the Randian fictional canon. If any criticism of Rand or her disciples were made, or any arguments were pressed that they could not answer, the Randians would adopt a tone of high offense: "How dare you say such a thing about her?," turn on their heels and stomp off. No smile, nor many other human qualities, managed to shine through their ritualized facade. Many of the young men managed to look like carbon copies of Branden, while the young women tried to look like Barbara Branden, replete with the cigarette-holder held aloft, derived from Ayn Rand herself, that was supposed to symbolize the high moral standards and the mocking contempt wielded by Randian heroines.

Son of Rand

Some Randians emulated their leader by changing their names from Russian or Jewish to a presumably harder, tougher, more heroic Anglo-Saxon. Branden himself changed his name from Blumenthal; it is perhaps not a coincidence, as Nora Ephron has pointed out, that if the letters of the new name are rearranged, they spell, B-E-N-R-A-N-D, Hebrew for "son of Rand." A Randian girl, with a Polish name beginning with "G-r," announced one day that she was changing her name the following week. When asked deadpan, by a humorous observer whether she was changing her name to "Grand," she replied, in all seriousness, that no she was changing it to "Grant" – presumably, as the observer later remarked, the "t" was her one gesture of independence.

If looking and talking and even being named like the top Randians was the most "rational" way to act, and seeing them as much as possible was the most rational form of activity, then surely residing as close as possible to the leaders was the rational place to live. Thus, the typical New York Randian, upon his or her conversion, would leave his parents and find an apartment as close to Rand's as possible. As a result, virtually the entire New York movement lived with a few square blocks of each other in Manhattan's East 30's, many of the leaders in the same apartment house as Rand's.

If continuing an intense psychological pressure was in part responsible for the extremely high turnover among Randian disciples, another reason for this turnover was the very fact that the movement had a rigid line on literally every subject, from aesthetics to history to epistemology. In the first place it meant that deviation from the correct line was all too easy: Preferring Bach, for example, to Rachmaninoff, subjected one to charges of believing in a "malevolent universe." lf not corrected by self-criticism and psychotherapeutic brainwashing, such deviation could well lead to ejection from the movement. Secondly, it is difficult to impose a rigid line on every area of life and thought when, as was the case with Rand and her top disciples, they were largely ignorant of these various disciplines. Rand admitted that reading was not her strong suit, and the disciples, of course, were not allowed to read the real world of heresies even if they had been inclined to do so. And so the young convert – and they were almost all young – began to buckle when he learned more about his own chosen subject. Thus, the historian, upon learning more his subject, could scarcely rest content with long outdated Burkhardtian clichés about the Renaissance, or the pap about the Founding Fathers. And if the disciple began to realize that Rand was wrong and oversimplified in his own field, it was easy for him to entertain fundamental doubts about her infallibility elsewhere.

Rational Tobacco

The all-encompassing nature of the Randian line may be illustrated by an incident that occurred to a friend of mine who once asked a leading Randian if he disagreed with the movement's position on any conceivable subject. After several minutes of hard thought, the Randian replied: "Well, I can't quite understand their position on smoking." Astonished that the Rand cult had any position on smoking, my friend pressed on: "They have a position on smoking? What is it?" The Randian replied that smoking, according to the cult, was a moral obligation. In my own experience, a top Randian once asked me rather sharply, "How is it that you don't smoke?" When I replied that I had discovered early that I was allergic to smoke, the Randian was mollified: "Oh, that's OK, then." The official justification for making smoking a moral obligation was a sentence in Atlas where the heroine refers to a lit cigarette as symbolizing a fire in the mind, the fire of creative ideas. (One would think that simply holding up a lit match could do just as readily for this symbolic function.) One suspects that the actual reason, as in so many other parts of Randian theory, from Rachmaninoff to Victor Hugo to tap dancing, was that Rand simply liked smoking and had the need to cast about for a philosophical system that would make her personal whims not only moral but also a moral obligation incumbent upon everyone who desires to be rational.

If the Rand line was totalitarian, encompassing all of one's life, then, even when all the general premises were agreed upon and Randians checked with headquarters to see who was In or Out, there was still need to have some "judicial" mechanism to resolve concrete issues and to make sure that every member toed the line on that question. No one was ever allowed to be neutral on any issue. The judicial mechanism to resolve such concrete disputes was, as usual in cults, the rank one enjoyed in the Randian hierarchy. By definition, so to speak, the higher-ranking Randian was right, the lower one wrong, and everyone accepted this Argument from Authority that might have seemed not exactly consonant with the explicit Randian devotion to Reason.

One amusing incident illustrates this decision-by-hierarchy. One day a dispute over concretes occurred between two certified and high-ranking Randians, both of whom had been dubbed as rational by their Objectivist Psychotherapist. Specifically, one was a secretary to the other. The secretary went to her boss and demanded a raise, which she rationally intuited was her just dessert. The boss, however, checking his own reason, decided that she was incompetent and fired her. Now here was a dispute, a conflict of interest, between two certified Randians. How were all the other members to decide who was right, and therefore rational, and who was wrong, irrational, and therefore subject to expulsion? In any truly rational group of people, of course, it would not be incumbent upon anyone but these – the only ones familiar with the facts of the case – to take any position at all. But that sort of benign neutrality is not permitted in any cult, including the Randian one. Given the need to impose a uniform line on everyone, the dispute was resolved in the only way possible: through rank in the hierarchy. The boss happened to be in the top rank of disciples; and since the secretary was on a lower rank, she not only suffered discharge from her job, but expulsion from the Randian movement as well.

The Pyramid

And the Randian movement was strictly hierarchical. At the top of the pyramid, of course, was Rand herself, the Ultimate Decider of all questions. Branden, her designated "intellectual heir," and the St. Paul of the movement, was Number 2. Third in rank was the top circle, the original disciples, those who had been converted before the publication of Atlas. Since they were converted by reading her previous novel, The Fountainhead, which had been published 1943, the top circle was designated in the movement as "the class of '43." But there was an unofficial designation that was far more revealing: "the senior collective." On the surface, this phrase was supposed to "underscore" the high individuality of each of the Randian members; in reality, however, there was an irony within the irony, since the Randian movement was indeed a "collective" in any genuine meaning of the term. Strengthening the ties within the senior collective was the fact that each and every one of them was related to each other, all being part of one Canadian Jewish family, relatives of either Nathan or Barbara Branden. There was, for example, Nathan's sister Elaine Kalberman; his brother-in-law, Harry Kalberman; his first cousin, Dr. Allan Blumenthal, who assumed the mantle of leading Objectivist Psychotherapist after Branden's expulsion; Barbara's first cousin, Leonard Piekoff; and Joan Mitchell, wife of Allan Blumenthal. Alan Greenspan's familial relation was more tenuous, being the former husband of Joan Mitchell. The only non-relative in the class of '43 was Mary Ann Rukovina, who made the top rank after being the college roommate of Joan Mitchell.

These were the disciples before the publication of Atlas. After that, Branden began his basic lecture series, which soon evolved into the Nathaniel Branden Institute, the organizational arm of the movement. Eventually, NBI was established in Rand's symbolically heroic Empire State Building, although it resided unheroically in the basement. In New York City, the various lectures and lecture series were put on in person; outside New York, each city or region had a designated NBI representative, who was in charge of putting on performances of the lectures on tape. The NBI rep was generally the most robotic and faithful Randian in his particular area, and so attempts were made, largely though not always totally successfully, to duplicate the atmosphere of awe and obedience pervading the mother section in New York. Determined efforts were made to translate Rand's mass readership of her best-selling works into faithful disciples who would first subscribe to The Objectivist, and then keep attending NBI taped lectures in their area, thus being inducted into the movement. If a flow of magazines, tapes, and recommended books went out from NBI to the rank-and-file members of the movement, a flow of money and volunteer labor inevitably traveled the reverse path, not excluding payments for psychotherapeutic services.

It has been evident throughout this paper that the structure and implicit creed, the actual functioning, of the Randian movement, was in striking and diametric opposition to the official, exoteric creed of individuality, independence, and everyone's acknowledging no authority but his own mind and reason. But we have not yet precisely focused upon the central axiom of the esoteric creed of the Randian movement, the implicit premise, the hidden agenda that insured and enforced the unquestioning loyalty of the disciples. That central axiom was the assertion the "Ayn Rand is the greatest person that has ever lived or ever shall live." If Ayn Rand is the greatest person of all time, it follows that she is right on every question, or at the very least, will far more likely be correct at any time than the mere disciple, who grants himself no such all-encompassing greatness.

Typical of this attitude was a meeting of leading young Randians attended by a friend of mine. The meeting turned into a series of testimonials, in which each person in turn testified to the overriding influence that Ayn Rand had been in his own life. As one of them explained: "Ayn Rand has brought to the world the knowledge that A is A, and that 2 and 2 equal 4." When a top Randian, on hearing that a notoriously refractory member who was in the process of leaving the movement had written a parody in the Randian philosophical manner, a "proof" that Ayn Rand was God, the Randian, in genuine puzzlement, asked: "He's kidding, isn't he?"

There was a generally consuming concern with greatness and rank among the Randians. It was universally agreed that Rand was the greatest person of all time. There was then a friendly dispute about the precise ranking of Branden among the all-time all-stars. Some maintained that Branden was the second greatest of all time; others that Branden tied for second in a dead heat with Aristotle. Such was the range of permitted disagreement within the Randian movement.

The adoption of the central axiom of Rand's greatness was made possible by Rand's undoubted personal charisma, a charisma buttressed by her air of unshakeable arrogance and self-assurance. It was a charisma and an arrogance that was partially emulated by her leading disciples. Since the rank-and-file disciple knew in his heart that he was not all-wise or totally self-assured, it became all too easy to subordinate his own will and intellect to that of Rand. Rand became the living embodiment of Reason and Reality and by some quality of personality Rand was able to bring about the mind-set in her disciples that their highest value was to earn her approval while the gravest sin was to incur her displeasure. The ardent belief in Rand's supreme originality was of course reinforced by the disciples' not having read (or been able to read) anyone whom they might have discovered had said the same things long before.

Ejection From Paradise

The Rand cult grew and flourished until the irrevocable split between the Greatest and the Second Greatest, until Satan was ejected from Paradise in the fall of 1968. The Rand-Branden split destroyed NBI, and with it the organized Randian movement. Rand has not displayed the ability or the desire to pick up the pieces and reconstitute an equivalent organization. The Objectivist fell back to The Ayn Rand Letter, and now that too has gone.

With the death of NBI, the Randian cultists were cast adrift, for the first time in a decade, to think for themselves. Generally, their personalities rebounded to their non-robotic, pre-Randian selves. But there were some unfortunate legacies of the cult. In the first place, there is the problem of what the Thomists call invincible ignorance. For many ex-cultists remain imbued with the Randian belief that every individual is armed with the means of spinning out all truths a priori from his own head – hence there is felt to be no need to learn the concrete facts about the real world, either about contemporary history or the laws of the social sciences. Armed with axiomatic first principles, many ex-Randians see no need of learning very much else. Furthermore, lingering Randian hubris imbues many ex-members with the idea that each one is able and qualified to spin out an entire philosophy of life and of the world a priori. Such aberrations as the "Students of Objectivism for Rational Bestiality" are not far from the bizarreries of many neo-Randian philosophies, preaching to a handful of zealous partisans. On the other hand, there is another understandable but unfortunate reaction. After many years of subjection to Randian dictates in the name of "reason," there is a tendency among some ex-cultists to bend the stick the other way, to reject reason or thinking altogether in the name of hedonistic sensation and caprice.

We conclude our analysis of the Rand cult with the observation that here was an extreme example of contradiction between the exoteric and the esoteric creed. That in the name of individuality, reason, and liberty, the Rand cult in effect preached something totally different. The Rand cult was concerned not with every man's individuality, but only with Rand's individuality, not with everyone's right reason but only with Rand's reason. The only individuality that flowered to the extent of blotting out all others, was Ayn Rand's herself; everyone else was to become a cipher subject to Rand's mind and will.

Nikolai Bukharin's famous denuciation of the Stalin cult, masked during the Russia of the 1930's as a critique of the Jesuit order, does not seem very overdrawn as a portrayal of the Randian reality:

It has been correctly said that there isn't a meanness in the world which would not find for itself and ideological justification. The king of the Jesuits, Loyola, developed a theory of subordination, of "cadaver discipline," every member of the order was supposed to obey his superior "like a corpse which could be turned in all directions, like a stick which follows every movement, like a ball of wax which could be changed and extended in all directions"... This corpse is characterized by three degrees of perfection: subordination by action, subordination of the will, subordination of the intellect. When the last degree is reached, when the man substitutes naked subordination for intellect, renouncing all his convictions, then you have a hundred percent Jesuit.³

It has been remarked that a curious contradiction existed with the strategic perspective of the Randian movement. For, on the one hand, disciples were not allowed to read or talk to other persons who might be quite close to them as libertarians or Objectivists. Within the broad rationalist or libertarian movement, the Randians took a 100% pure, ultra-sectarian stance. And yet, in the larger political world, the Randian strategy shifted drastically, and Rand and her disciples were willing to endorse and work with politicians who might only be one millimeter more conservative than their opponents. In the larger world, concern with purity or principles seemed to be totally abandoned. Hence, Rand's whole-hearted endorsement of Goldwater, Nixon, and Ford, and even of Senators Henry Jackson and Daniel P. Moynihan.

Neither Liberty Nor Reason

There seems to be only one way to resolve the contradiction in the Randian strategic outlook of extreme sectarianism within the libertarian movement, coupled with extreme opportunism, and willingness to coalesce with slightly more conservative heads of State, in the outside world. That resolution, confirmed by the remainder of our analysis of the cult, holds that the guiding spirit of the Randian movement was not individual liberty – as it seemed to many young members – but rather personal power for Ayn Rand and her leading disciples. For power within the movement could be secured by totalitarian isolation and control of the minds and lives of every member; but such tactics could scarcely work outside the movement, where power could only hopefully be achieved by cozying up the President and his inner circles of dominion.

Thus, power not liberty or reason, was the central thrust of the Randian movement. The major lesson of the history of the movement to libertarians is that It Can Happen Here, that libertarians, despite explicit devotion to reason and individuality, are not exempt from the mystical and totalitarian cultism that pervades other ideological as well as religious movements. Hopefully, libertarians, once bitten by the virus, may now prove immune.

Bibliographical Note

Of the several works on Randianism, only one has concentrated on the cult itself: Leslie Hanscom, "Born Eccentric," Newsweek (March 27, 1961), pp. 104–05. Hanscom brilliantly and wittily captured the spirit of the Rand cult from attending and reporting on one of the Branden lectures. Thus, Hanscom wrote:

After three hours of heroically rapt attention to Branden's droning delivery, the fans were rewarded by the personal apparition of Miss Rand herself – a lady with drilling black eyes and Russian accent who often wears a brooch in the shape of a dollar sign as her private icon....

"Her books," said one member of the congregation, "are so good that most people should not be allowed to read them. I used to want to lock up nine-tenths of the world in a cage, and after reading her books, I want to lock them all up." Later on, this same chap – a self-employed "investment counselor" of 22 – got a lash of his idol's logic full in the face. Submitting a question from the floor – a privilege open to paying students only – the budding Baruch revealed himself as a mere visitor. Miss Rand – a lady whose glare would wilt a cactus – bawled him out from the platform as a "cheap fraud." Other seekers of wisdom came off better. One worried disciple was told that it was permissible to celebrate Christmas and Easter so long as one rejected the religious significance (the topic of the night's lecture was the folly of faith). A housewife was assured that she needn't feel guilty about being a housewife so long as she chose the job for non-emotional reasons....

Although mysticism is one of the nastiest words in her political arsenal, there hasn't been a she-messiah since Aimee McPherson who can so hypnotize a live audience."⁴

At least as revelatory as Hanscom's article were the predictable howls of overkill outrage by the cult members. Thus, two weeks later, under the caption "Thugs and Hoodlums?", Newsweek printed excerpts from Randian letters sent in reaction to the article. One letter stated: "Your vicious, vile, and obscene tirade against Ayn Rand is a new low, even for you. To have sanctioned such a stream of abusive invective...is an act of unprecedented moral depravity. A magazine staffed with irresponsible hoodlums has no place in my home." Another man wrote that "one who has read the works of Miss Rand and proceeds to write an article of this caliber can only be motivated by villainy. It is the work of a literary thug." Another warned, "Since you propose to behave like cockroaches, be prepared to be treated as such." And finally, one Bonnie Benov revealed the inner axiom: "Ayn Rand is...the greatest individual that has ever lived." Having fun with the cult, Newsweek printed a particularly unprepossessing picture of Rand underneath the Benov letter, and captioned it: "Greatest Ever?"⁵

Notes

1. Alfred G. Meyer, Leninism (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1962), pp. 97–98. A particularly vivid expression of this communist faith was put forward by Trotsky, in a speech at the 1924 Congress of the Soviet Communist Party:

Comrades, none of us wishes to be or can be right against the party. In the last instance the party is always right, because it is the only historic instrument which the working class possesses, for the solution of its fundamental tasks.... One can be right only with the party and through the party because history has not created any other way for realization of one's rightness.

In Isaac Duetscher, The Prophet Unarmed. (New York: Random House, 1965), p. 139.

On all this, see in particular Williamson M. Evers, "Lenin and His Critics on the Organizational Question," (unpublished MS.) pp. 15ff.

2. Frank S. Meyer, The Moulding of Communists: The Training of the Communist Cadre (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1961).

3. Nikolai Bukharin, Finance Capital in Papal Robes: A Challenge (New York: Friends of the Soviet Union, n.d.), pp. 10–11. Also see Evers, "Lenin and his Critics," p. 15.

4. Newsweek (March 27, 1961), p. 105.

5. Newsweek (April 10, 1961), pp. 9, 14.

Snapping

1995
Flo Conway and Joe Siegelman

IN ALL THE WORLD, there is nothing quite so impenetrable as a human mind snapped shut with bliss. No call to reason, no emotional appeal can get through its armor of self-proclaimed joy.

We talked with dozens of individuals in this state of mind: cult members, group therapy graduates, born-again Christians, some Transcendental Meditators. After a while, it seemed very much like dancing to a broken record. We would ask a question, and the individual would spin round and round in a circle of dogma. If we tried to interrupt, he or she would simply pick right up again or go back to the beginning and start over.

Soon we began to realize that what we were watching went much deeper. These people were not simply incapable of carrying on a genuine conversation, they were completely mired in their unthinking, unfeeling, uncomprehending states. Whether cloistered in cults or passing blindly through the world, they were impervious to the pain of parents, spouses, friends and lovers. How do you reach such people? Can they be made to think and feel again? Is there any way to reunite them with their former personalities and the world around them?

A man named Ted Patrick developed the first remedy. A controversial figure dubbed by the cult world Black Lightning, Patrick was the first to point out publicly what the cults were doing to America's youth. He investigated the ploys by which many converts were ensnared and delved into the methods many cults used to manipulate the mind.

He was also the first to take action. In the early seventies, Patrick began a one-man campaign against the cults. His fight started in Southern California, on the Pacific beaches where, in the beginning, organizations such as the Hare Krishna and the Children of God recruited among the vacationing students and carefree dropouts who covered the sands in summer and roamed the bustling beach communities year round. The Children of God approached Patrick's son there one day and nearly made off with him. Patrick investigated, was horrified at what he found, and immediately set out on a course of direct action. His first-hand experiences with cult techniques and their effects led him to develop an antidote he named "deprogramming," a remarkably simple and-when properly used-nearly foolproof process for helping cult members regain their freedom of thought.

Before long, Ted Patrick was in action all over the country on behalf of desperate parents. Through the seventies, he made front page headlines in the east for his daring daylight kidnappings of Ivy League cult members. He made network news for his interstate car chases in the Pacific Northwest to elude both cult leaders and state troopers. And eventually he made American legal history. In his ultimate defense of the U.S. Constitution, Patrick challenged the confusion of First Amendment rights surrounding the cult controversy and drew an important distinction between Americans' guaranteed national freedoms of speech and religion and their more fundamental human right to freedom of thought. In precedent-setting cases, U.S. courts confirmed Patrick's argument that, by "artful and deceiving" means, the new cults were in fact robbing people of their natural capacity to think and choose. To that time, it was never considered possible that a human being could be stripped of this basic endowment.

In many courtrooms, however, Ted Patrick lost his case for freedom of thought, gathering a stack of convictions for kidnapping and unlawful detention. In unsuccessful attempts to free cult members from their invisible prisons, Patrick was repeatedly thrown into real ones, in New York, California and Colorado. In July 1976, during a time when Americans were celebrating their two hundredth year of freedom, Patrick was sentenced to serve a year in prison for a cult kidnapping he did not in fact perform.

Patrick confirmed our own perspective when he described the method of control used by many cults, beginning with the moment the recruiter hooks his listener.

"They have the ability to come up to you and talk about anything they feel you're interested in, anything," he said. "Their technique is to get your attention, then your trust. The minute they get your trust, just like that they can put you in the cult."

It was in 1971 that Patrick infiltrated the Children of God, the cult that had tried to recruit his son, Michael, one Fourth of July on Mission Beach in San Diego. His initial concern over the cults was personal but it also had a public side. Worried parents had already appealed to him for help in his official capacity as head community relations for California's San Diego and Imperial counties. Patrick had moved to the area years earlier and became active in local politics working against discrimination in employment. During the Watts riots is Los Angeles in 1965, he helped calm racial unrest in San Diego. His public service caught the attention of then California's Republican governor, Ronald Reagan, who appointed Patrick, an active Democrat, to the community relations post.

"Thinking to a cult member is like being stabbed in the heart with a dagger," said Patrick. "It's very painful because they've been told that the mind is Satan and thinking is the machinery of the Devil."

Having gained personal insight into the manner in which that machinery may be brought to a halt, Patrick developed his controversial deprogramming procedure, the essence of which, he explained, was simply to get the individual thinking again.

"When you deprogram people," he emphasized, "you force them to think. The only thing I do is shoot them challenging questions. I hit them with things that they haven't been programmed to respond to. I know what the cults do and how they do it, so I shoot them the right questions; and they get frustrated when they can't answer. They think they have the answer, they've been given answers to everything. But I keep them off balance and this forces them to begin questioning, to open their minds. When the mind gets to a certain point, they can see through all the lies that they've been programmed to believe. They realize that they've been duped and they come out of it. Their minds start working again."

That, according to Patrick, was all there was to deprogramming. Yet since Patrick began deprogramming cult members, both the man and his procedure had taken on monstrous proportions in the public eye. Patrick's legendary kidnappings, a tactic he employed only as a last resort, often brought him into physical confrontation with cult members who had been warned that Black Lightning was an agent of Satan who would subject them to unimaginable tortures to get them to renounce their beliefs. Cult members who managed to escape their parents and Patrick before being deprogrammed frequently ran to the media with horror stories about the procedure. One young woman charged on national television that Patrick had ripped her clothes off and chased her nude body across the neighbors' lawns. Other active cult members claimed to have been brutally beaten by Patrick, yet no parent, ex-cult member or other reliable witness we talked to ever substantiated any of those charges. In truth, Patrick told us, and others later confirmed, many of the distortions that had been disseminated about deprogramming were part of a coordinated campaign by several cults to discredit his methods. In the end, he said, the propaganda only worked to his advantage.

"The cults tell them that I rape the women and beat them. They say I lock them in closets and stuff bones done their throats." Patrick laughed. "What they don't know is that they're making my job easier. They come in here frightened to death of me, and then because of all the stuff they've been told, I can just sit there and look at them and I'll deprogram them just like that. They'll be thinking, What the hell is he going to do now? They're waiting for me to slap them or beat them and already their minds are working."

In the beginning, Patrick admitted, he developed his method by trial and error, attempting to reason with cult members and learning each cult's rituals and beliefs until he cracked the code. Refining his procedure with each case, he came to understand exactly what was needed to pierce the cult's mental shield. Like a diamond cutter, he probed with his questions the rough surface of speech and behavior until he found the key point of contention at the center of each cult member's encapsulated beliefs. Once he found that point, Patrick hit it head on, until the entire programmed state of mind gave way, revealing the cult member's original identity and true personality that had become trapped inside.

We asked him to describe a typical deprogramming from the beginning and, then, how he knew when a person had been deprogrammed, that is when he could say for sure that he had done his job.

"The first time I lay eyes on a person," he said, staring at us intently, "I can tell if his mind is working or not. Then, as I begin to question him, I can determine exactly how he has been programmed. From then on, it's all a matter of language. It's talking and knowing what to talk about. I start moving his mind, slowly, pushing it with questions, and I watch every move that mind makes. I know everything it is going to do, and when I hit on that one certain point that strikes home, I push it. I stay with that questionwhether it's about God, the Devil or that person's having rejected his parents. I keep pushing and pushing. I don't let him get around it with the lies he's been told. Then there'll be a minute, a second, when the mind snaps, when the person realizes he's been lied to by the cult and he just snaps out of it. It's like turning on the light in a dark room. They're in an almost unconscious state of mind, and then I switch the mind from unconsciousness to consciousness and it snaps, just like that."

It was Patrick's term this time - we hadn't said the word for what happens in deprogramming. And in almost every case, according to Patrick, it came about just that suddenly. When deprogramming has been accomplished, the cult member's appearance undergoes a sharp, drastic change. He comes out of his trancelike state and his ability to think for himself is restored.

"It's like seeing a person change from a werewolf into a man," said Patrick. "It's a beautiful thing. The whole personality changes, the eyes, the voice. Where they had hate and a blank expression, you can see feeling again."

Snapping, a word Ted Patrick used often, is a phenomenon that appears to have extreme moments at both ends. A moment of sudden, intense change may occur when a person enters a cult, during lectures, rituals and physical ordeals. Another change may take place with equal, or even greater, abruptness when the subject is deprogrammed and made to think again. Once this breakthrough is achieved, however, the person is not just "snapped out" and home free. Deprogramming always requires a period of rehabilitation to counteract an interim condition Patrick called "floating". Patrick told us, he recommended that his subjects return to everyday life and normal social relationships as quickly as possible. In that environment, the individual, must then actively work to rebuild the fundamental capacities of thought and feeling that have been systematically destroyed.

"Deprogramming is like taking a car out of the garage that hasn't been driven for a year," he said. "The battery has gone down, and in order to start it up you've got to put jumper cables on it. It will go dead again. So you keep the motor running until it builds up its own power. This is what rehabilitation is. Once we get the mind working, we keep it working long enough so that the person gets in the habit of thinking and making decisions again."

Deprogramming added a whole new dimension to the already complex mystery of snapping. In one sense, deprogramming confirms that some drastic change takes place in the workings of the mind in the course of a cult member's experience, for only through deprogramming does it become apparent to everyone, including the cult member, that his actions, expressions and even his physical appearance have not been under his own control. In another sense, deprogramming is itself a form of sudden personality change. Because it appears to be a genuinely broadening, expanding personal change, it would seem to bear closer resemblance to a true moment of enlightenment, to the natural process of personal growth and newfound awareness and understanding, than to the narrowing changes brought about by cult rituals and artificially induced group ordeals.

What is it like to experience the sudden snap of a deprogramming? As a result of Ted Patrick's efforts, and others, there are now thousands of answers to the question. Patrick claims to have personally deprogrammed more than two thousand cult members; thousands more have been deprogrammed by other deprogrammers and professional "exit counselors" who have since entered this fledgling field. In our first round of cross-country travels, we spoke with dozens of ex-cult members, many of whom had been deprogrammed by Patrick. As far as we could see, his clients showed no scars, either physical of mental, from their deprogramming experience. Most seemed to be healthy, happy, fully rehabilitated and completely free of the effects of cult life.

In contrast to the many tales of cult conversion that we heard, which after a while began to sound virtually identical, each story of a Patrick deprogramming was its own spellbinding adventure, rich with intrigue and planned in minute detail. The first step in the process was almost always to remove the member from the cult, which might be accomplished by abduction, legal custodianship or, as Patrick seemed to prefer, simply a clever subterfuge.

One puzzle of snapping that the deprogramming process illuminates is the enormous amount of mental activity that takes place in the unthinking, unfeeling state many cult members are drawn into. Ironically, most people we spoke with fought desperately to preserve their blissed-out states, although they often were saturated with fear, guilt, hatred and exhaustion. In the beginning this seemed to present a disturbing contradiction: How could an individual whose mind has apparently been shut off, who has been robbed of his freedom of thought, display such cunning and initiative? What the deprogramming process demonstrated is that cult members do not simply snap from a normal conscious state into one of complete unconsciousness (and vice versa during deprogramming). Rather, most pass from one frame of waking awareness into a second, entirely separate, frame of awareness in which they may be equally active and perceptive.

We talked with an ex-member of the Church of Scientology, one of the oldest and cagiest of America's cults, who took steps to preserve his cult frame of mind during his deprogramming, until Patrick's adept conversational skills caught his attention and he snapped out.

"I tried to pretend that I was listening," this former Scientologist told us, "but I also tried to stay spaced out and not really pay attention. Occasionally, something would go pop and I would suddenly be listening to him. From his continuously talking like that, he just snapped me out of the spaced-out state I was in. All of a sudden I felt a little flushed. I could feel the blood rushing through my face."

Through two decades of legal battles and repeated periods of imprisonment and probation, few people spoke up in defense of Ted Patrick or the pioneering work he was doing, ultimately, at his own great personal and financial expense. No mainstream mental health organization or established social institution has yet taken a stand on behalf of his concept of freedom of thought. Part of the problem, especially in those years, was attributed to Patrick's manner of action. In his single-minded focus on rescuing cult members, he minced no words and wasted little time on social niceties. As a result, he often irked and alienated those parents, clinicians and law enforcement officials who might otherwise be his natural allies.

Yet, regardless of his style, the grave questions Patrick first flamboyantly brought to public attention are not the ones we can choose to like or dislike - nor will they simply go away if we ignore them. Is an individual free to give up his freedom of thought? May a religion, popular therapy, political movement or any other enterprise systematically attack human thought and feeling in the name of God, the pursuit of happiness, personal growth or spiritual fulfillment? These are questions that Americans, perhaps more than others, are not prepared to deal with, because they challenge long-standing constitutional principles and cultural assumptions about the nature of the mind, personality and human freedom itself.

In the months after our trip to the Orange county Jail we spoke with many people about Ted Patrick: parents, ex-cult members, attorneys, mental health professionals and others who, at the time, were only dimly aware of the building controversy over some alleged forms of religion in America. Some denounced him as a villain and a fascist, others hailed him as a folk hero and dark prophet of what lay ahead for America. Yet Patrick himself showed little concern for titles or media images.

Through the eighties, Black Lightning remained a lightning rod, a target for aggressive counterattacks and disinformation campaigns waged against deprogramming by major cults and more mainstream fundamentalist Christian sects. By the mid-nineties, he was widely presumed to be out of commission, but Patrick was still active, working mostly on voluntary deprogrammings and rehabilitation counseling. In the interim, swayed by a changing religious, political and social climate, courts across the country grew cold to deprogramming. Another pioneering deprogrammer, New York cult counselor and private detective Galen Kelly, was prosecuted on criminal charges in two separate cases but was convicted and spent more than a year in prison on the second before an appeals court overturned his conviction.

Those cases and others brought a global chill. In the new climate, judges were deaf to the pleas of the parents and families of cult members, and the precarious deprogramming profession was largely eclipsed by the efforts of the new generation of cult "exit counselors." Exit counselors we talked with, many of them one-time sect members themselves who had gone on to acquire clinical training and credentials, were testing a wide range of eclectic approaches, some more successful, some less so. Many were generalists, counseling cultists and families across America and, increasingly, in other countries. Some specialized in counseling ex-Moonies, members of Eastern cults, of controlling charismatic groups and extreme fundamentalist sects.

Most confirmed a pattern we, too, had noted: the new methods of voluntary deprogramming and exit counseling, while far less controversial and much safer from a legal standpoint, prompted fewer cult members to experience a sudden "snapping out" of their controlled states of mind. Instead, most experienced a slower process of emergence, or as Rick Ross, an exit counselor from Arizona, called it, a gradual "unfolding" from the cults' ingrained altered states. Afterwards, many required additional counseling, specialized rehabilitation and, for some, ongoing psychotherapy to recover their personalities and regain full control over their impaired powers of mind.

But, two decades later, public understanding and professional support were still in short supply.

from http://www.crl.com/~thelema/crowley.html:

Aleister Crowley (1875-1947)

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

Edward Alexander (Aleister) Crowley [rhymes with "holy"] was born October 12, 1875 in Leamington Spa, England. His parents were members of the Plymouth Brethren, a strict fundamentalist Christian sect. As a result, Aleister grew up with a thorough biblical education and an equally thorough disdain of Christianity.

He attended Trinity College at Cambridge University, leaving just before completing his degree. Shortly thereafter he was introduced to George Cecil Jones, who was a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The Golden Dawn was an occult society led by S.L. MacGregor Mathers which taught magick, qabalah, alchemy, tarot, astrology, and other hermetic subjects. It had many notable members (including A. E. Waite, Dion Fortune, and W. B. Yeats), and its influence on the development of modern western occultism was profound.

Crowley was initiated into the Golden Dawn in 1898, and proceeded to climb up rapidly through the grades. But in 1900 the order was shattered by schism, and Crowley left England to travel extensively throughout the East. There he learned and practiced the mental and physical disciplines of yoga, supplementing his knowledge of western-style ritual magick with the methods of Oriental mysticism.

In 1903, Crowley married Rose Kelly, and they went to Egypt on their honeymoon. After returning to Cairo in early 1904, Rose (who until this point had shown no interest or familiarity with the occult) began entering trance states and insisting to her husband that the god Horus was trying to contact him. As a test, Crowley took Rose to the Boulak Museum and asked her to point out Horus to him. She passed several well-known images of the god and led Aleister straight to a painted wooden funerary stele from the 26th dynasty, depicting Horus receiving a sacrifice from the deceased, a priest named Ankh-f-n-khonsu. Crowley was especially impressed by the fact that this piece was numbered 666 by the museum, a number with which he had identified since childhood.

The upshot was that he began to listen to Rose, and at her direction, on three successive days beginning April 8, 1904, he entered his chamber at noon and wrote down what he heard dictated from a shadowy presence behind him. The result was the three chapters of verse known as Liber AL vel Legis, or The Book of the Law. This book heralded the dawning of the new aeon of Horus, which would be governed by the Law of Thelema. "Thelema" is a Greek word meaning "will", and the Law of Thelema is often stated as: "Do what thou wilt". As the prophet of this new aeon, Crowley spent the rest of his life working to develop and establish Thelemic philosophy.

In 1906 Crowley rejoined George Cecil Jones in England, where they set about the task of creating a magical order to continue where the Golden Dawn had left off. They called this order the A.'. A.'. (Astrum Argentium or Silver Star), and it became the primary vehicle for the transmission of Crowley's mystical and magical training system based on the principles of Thelema.

Then in 1910 Crowley was contacted by Theodore Reuss, the head of an organization based in Germany called the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.). This group of high-ranking Freemasons claimed to have discovered the supreme secret of practical magick, which was taught in its highest degrees. Apparently Crowley agreed, becoming a member of O.T.O. and eventually taking over as head of the order when Reuss suffered a stroke in 1921. Crowley reformulated the rites of the O.T.O. to conform them to the Law of Thelema, and vested the organization with its main purpose of establishing Thelema in the world. The order also became independent of Freemasonry (although still based on the same patterns) and opened its membership to women and men who were not masons.

Aleister Crowley died in Hastings, England on December 1, 1947. However, his legacy lives on in the Law of Thelema which he brought to mankind (along with dozens of books and writings on magick and other mystical subjects), and in the orders A.'. A.'. and O.T.O. which continue to advance the principles of Thelema to this day.

Love is the law, love under will.

excerpt from the web site of the Ordo Templi Orientis, from http://www.otohq.org/history.html:

[...]

In Ascona, Reuss held an "Anational Congress for Organising the Reconstruction of Society on Practical Cooperative [emphasis mine -AMPP Ed.] Lines" at Monte Verità from August 15-25, 1917. This Congress included readings of Crowley's poetry (on August 22) and a recitation of Crowley's Gnostic Mass (on August 24 -- for O.T.O. members only). The announcement for this congress stated: "There are two centres of the O.T.O., both in neutral countries, where enquiries can be lodged by those interested in the aim of this congress. One is at New York (U.S. of America), the other at Ascona (Italian Switzerland)." Crowley was living in New York at the time; so, evidently, he and Reuss were the only active National Heads of O.T.O. in 1917.

[...]

Also see the Manifesto of the O.T.O. by Aleister Crowley.

from The Walt Disney Company, from http://asp.disney.go.com/disneyworld/db/seetheworld/themeparks/facilities/attraction.asp?id=79&landid=8:

The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter

Brace yourself for a sensory thrill hatched from the imaginations of Disney and the one and only George Lucas. An experiment goes dangerously awry when an Alien is accidentally teleported into the room, in the dark. So if you feel its hot breath on your neck, try not to make any sudden moves.

from the fan website of Londoner Chris Gibson, from http://www.mickey-mouse.com/wdwtomorrowland.htm:

[...]

The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter - After you've seen the pre-show, you be led away to witness an amazing experiment. However, the experiment goes frighteningly wrong - it's something you'll never forget. Probably not suitable for real young children, or those who are lily-livered scaredy-cats. Be brave, get in line for Alien Encounter, you'll be talking about it for days!

[...]

from the Skeptics Society's Skeptic magazine hotline, 2000-Mar-15, via Ian Pitchford's Evolutionary Psychology Forum, 2000-Mar-16, by James Oberg, 2000-Mar-10:

Disney's Legendary 'Alien Encounters' Sneak TV Documentary Quotes

Several years ago, the Disney company aired a major one-hour television Special, with no advance notice, on stations in only 5 US cities. Thanks to a few viewers who were able to roll their vcrs and capture it, we have a record of the startling quotes and statements it contained.

In light of the current, purported 'rift' between Disney and NASA over the content of Disney's new film, "Mission To Mars", I thought it pertinent to revisit those quotes.

My thanks to my colleague Michael Lindemann of CNI News for his file containing the many arresting and downright shocking statements in that Disney special...which appears now, as it did then, to have been a definite probe to measure public reaction to news of the reality of visitation and interaction with various forms of non-human intelligent life.

Remember, the quotes you are about to read were delivered by Disney CEO Michael Eisner and program narrator Robert Urich with straight, matter-of-fact, totally serious cadence and inflection.

Script excerpts from "Alien Encounters From New Tomorrowland" All quotes were spoken by host/narrator Robert Urich unless otherwise noted.

INTRO sequence, over various UFO photos and film: "This is not swamp gas. It is not a flock of birds. This is an actual spacecraft from another world, piloted by alien intelligence, one sighting from tens of thousands made over the last fifty years on virtually every continent on the globe. Intelligent life from distant galaxies is now attempting to make open contact with the human race. And tonight, we'll show you the evidence."

Michael Eisner [standing in front of what looks like a military hangar, guarded by about a dozen heavily armed troops]: "Tonight we celebrate the New Tomorrowland at Walt Disney World in Florida with a television special that's out of this world. Hello, I'm Michael Eisner, head of the Walt Disney Company. At a top secret military installation somewhere in the United States, there are those who believe that the government is hiding the remains of an alien spacecraft that mysteriously crashed to earth. With more and more scientific evidence of alien encounters and UFO sightings, the idea of creatures from another planet might not be as far-fetched as we once thought. In fact, one of you out there could have the next alien encounter. Enjoy tonight's special. I'm going to walk over and see if I can sneak a peak. (soldiers raise weapons) Maybe not!"

Urich: "Scientific verification of extraterrestrial life forms routinel arriving on earth -- top secret reports from ongoing military investigations -- compelling home videos of alien craft captured within the last few months -- world figures who have gone public with their own extraterrestrial experiences -- the shocking history of government misinformation programs designed to prevent widespread panic -- and personal accounts of those who have been abducted and studied against their will...

"From beyond the boundaries of our perceptions, intelligent beings are beckoning mankind to join the galactic community. It's an invitation which is both wondrous and terrifying. This is the nature of alien encounters.

"Now as we approach the new millennium, mankind is in the midst of the most profound event in history -- actual contact with intelligent life from other planets. For nearly [fifty? -AMPP Ed.] years, officials have been documenting routine alien encounters here on earth, and thousands of people have seen or experienced this alien presence. Yet many others still refuse to acknowledge the obvious evidence all around them. What is it like to be confronted by a creature whose intelligence and skill is far beyond the comprehension of mankind? Would it be enlightening? Would it be an exercise in terror? Or perhaps both?

"At the Walt Disney World resort near Orlando, Florida, these concepts are brought to life as guests experience their own alien encounter, a sensory thriller from Disney and George Lukas. We'll give you a sneak preview later in the show. But first, we must prepare you for the future with some shocking insights from the recent past.

"Alien ships seem to arrive in waves, and if the last few years are any indication, planet Earth is experiencing a tsunami of sightings... In the last few months of 1994 and lately in 1995, Gulf Breeze, Florida has been ground zero for alien encounters. Especially during the day, extraterrestrial craft have become common ornaments in the uneasy skies....You would think these alien sightings would be front-page news. So why have they received almost no national attention? The answer is simple. For governments determined to maintain their authority, extraterrestrial contact is pure dynamite.

Kevin Randle: "There's beings from another planet. We don't know where they come from, we don't know what they're doing here. There's nothing we can do about it...Any time a technologically superior civilization comes in contact with a technologically inferior civilization, the technologically inferior civilization ceases to exist. Not necessarily through conquest, not necessarily through invasion, but because the technology changes the underlying social structures of that civilization, and it disintegrates."

Urich: "Those fears are reflected in a 1960 federally funded study by the Brookings Institution, which warned that public knowledge of alien life could cause civilization to collapse."

"Why have aliens chosen to visit our small blue planet, hidden on the distant fringes of an insignificant star cluster? Well, we invited them here.

"When we return: What is attracting alien visitors to planet earth -- Extraterrestrials take aim on America's military -- a crashed saucer becomes a top-secret bombshell -- the nation's capital becomes a cosmic cross-roads -- and later, how Disney imagineers have disigned a way to prepare humans for their inevitable alien encounter."

"There have been reports of alien encounters throughout recorded history, often buried in the obscure poetry of mystics. But since the end of World War II, alien encounters have adopted a darker, more menacing demeanor. No longer just spirited lights dancing in the sky, UFOs turned more brazen, announcing themselves with surprising ferocity."

"Most alien activity on earth in this century seems to have been sparked by the single most profound technological achievement in human history. The atomic bomb did more than blow away every conventional notion of combat. It also saddled mankind with the awesome responsibility of life and death for the entire planet. But what the world didn't know in 1945 was that the atomic bomb's brilliant burst of energy would also be mankind's cosmic calling card, announcing to the universe that a technological society had evolved on a small blue planet in the backwaters of the stars...So as the world celebrated the war's end in 1945, aliens who heard man's atomic trumpet were already charting their course toward earth, responding to our open invitation.

"As early as 1947, the large alien ships began to arrive, navigated by living creatures. Their advanced physics allowed them to traverse the galaxy and pierce earth's atmosphere with amazing speed. The U.S. military immediately went on the alert against the unknown menace. Sightings were perceived as threats to the security still reeling from the edgy consciousness of war. And the sightings were taking place all across the country...

"Occasionally the tables were turned. More than one alien craft crashed and was recovered for secret U.S. military research. The most famous case took place in July of 1947 just outside the community of Roswell, New Mexico -- famous, because local officials openly admitted they had retrieved an alien ship before their commanders instructed them to keep the story confidential. What you can't explain, they reasoned, you must deny.

"This is the actual site where the Roswell saucer was discovered, along with the bodies of three extraterrestrial missionaries who didn't servive the collision. The debris and the dead were impounded and taken away for top secret study, while a classified investigative committee called the Majestic Twelve was organized by President Truman, and a government cover-up was initiated with a calculated disinformation campaign....

"But while the Pentagon refused to publicly admit aliens had arrived on earth, their top secret internal memos told a different story, even detailing the various ships and the creatures they had autopsied...

"By the early 1960s, UFOs were having a chilling effect on our defense operations. Their tremendous speed often caused them to be misidentified as incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles, putting American air bases on red alert. There needed to be some way for the U.S. and the Soviets to distinguish between nuclear attack and alien visitors.

[Newsreel footage about installation of Hot Line]

Clifford Stone: "The Hot Line between Moscow and Washington was set up so that they could go ahead and make last-minute pleas, that 'We're not attacking you, and you're not attacking us.' The purpose of this was to insure that a nuclear war would not be touched off by a UFO appearing on the scopes and being mistaken for enemy aircraft."

Urich: "The Hot Line eased some international tensions, but it didn't halt the intereaction between the military and the aliens, which continues to this day."

Stone: "November of 1975, essentially every SAC base in the United States was visited by UFOs. We have reason to believe that the UFOs went ahead and had some effect on changing the codes within the missiles, within the launch control facility, to change where the missiles would hit. 1976, September, Iran, two F-4s try to intercept a UFO and shoot at one of the UFOs. The weapons systems of the planes go dead, the communications systems go dead. These are just two examples of cases that cound like they came out of science fiction, but in reality, they're from government documentation, documents released by the State Department."

Urich: "Indications are that government, military and scientific leaders will soon release nearly a half-century of official documentation of ongoing alien encounters on earth. Perhaps they feel it would be too embarrassing NOT to reveal the truth, before the truth reveals itself. But these FBI files acquired through the Freedom of Information Act outline nearly fifty years of UFO reports investigated by federal agents all across America, overwhelming evidence that something sinister is at work."

"The fact is, everyone encounters alien lifeforms each day. We've just become accustomed to ignoring the evidence. We expect the first visitors from outer space to arrive in flying saucers. But there are new scientific suggetions that the microbiotic organisms which routinely invade human bodies in the form of viral disease may have extraterrestrial connections. These minute alien life forms may very well be the advance invasion force, leading the way to test earth's environment for more complex and determined creatures....

"Life is plentiful in the universe, and eerily tenacious. Lately, scientists have found extraordinary numbers of unknown organisms which have gained a biological foothold where we once thought survival would be impossible. They grow in deadly ammonia gas. They are resistant to ultraviolet radiation. They thrive inside the radioactive cooling systems of nuclear power plants. And they can even survive the vacuum of space, re-animating themselves when air and water become available. Riding inside the stone cacoon of a meteor, life can travel virtually anywhere, and a good deal of it lands on planet earth.

"But just as we explore the genetic package of alien life, visitors from space are routinely examining human specimens, abducting men, women and children in order to conduct disturbing biological experiments...

[long sequence on abduction, clips of Budd Hopkins and numerous abductees.]

"This particular report from October of 1969 was filled out by Jimmy Carter. He was still Governor of Georgia at the time he witnessed a luminous object suspended in the twilight sky. Later, when he assumed the office of President of the United States, his staff atempted to explore the availability of official investigations into alien contact. As this internal government memo illustrates, there are some security secrets outside the jurisdiction of the White House."

[picture focuses on a few words of a document suggesting info not available to certain officials, but not enough words are visible to determine exactly what is said.]

"Every year, NASA routinely propels about two dozen astronauts into a low earth orbit aboard the space shuttle, a loud, lumbering, somewhat primitive rocket ship. But most Americans will likely explore outer space aboard crafts of alien origin. Statistics indicate a greater probability that you will experience extraterrestrial contact in the next five years than the chances that you will win a state lottery. But how do you prepare for such an extraordinary event?

"Here in the New Tomorrowland at Disney World, scientists and Disney engineers have brought to life a possible scenario that helps acclimate the public to their inevitable alien encounter.

"Welcome to the new Tomorrowland Convention Center in the Magic Kingdom, where humans can enjoy their first taste of the future, as well as advanced extraterrestrial technology, and begin to understand the disturbing facets of alien intelligence...

[scenes of new ride emphasize the "extra-terror-estrial" quality of the event, as both technology and alien life forms run amok.]

[conclusion] "Planet earth has always been a laboratory for alien life forms which can drop in from space or slowly mutate into bizarre fleshy organisms at our feet. [holding a large mushroom] Understanding the nature of these strange creatures from above, and below, is the greatest challenge of our age. We now know that our future, indeed the future of earth itself, rests in the balance of the solid and the ethereal, of common sense and the irrational, in our relationship with alien life as grotesque as a fungus, or as glorious as the heavens."

Read A Die-Hard Issue: CIA's Role in the Study of UFOs, 1947-90, by Gerald K. Haines, National Reconnaissance Office historian, from Studies In Intelligence Vol. 01 No. 1, 1997 (a classified publication of the Central Intelligence Agency, partially declassified after initial publication).

from WorldNetDaily 1999-Feb-12, by S.L.Goldman:

© 1999 S.L. Goldman

My goodness Toto. I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."
-- Dorothy

LOS ANGELES -- It's 11:00 a.m. and a small group of people gather outside the door of a small pink and green stucco house in West Hollywood. There is something curious about the people. Somehow, all their faces seem expressionless, gray.

On the lawn a sign is posted. THE ATHEERIUS SOCIETY. DIVINE SUNDAY SERVICE BY METROPOLITAN ARCHBISHOP, HIS EMINENCE, SIR GEORGE KING. 11:00 A.M. SPECIAL COMMEMORATION FOR THE EVICTION OF THE ALIEN. FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 467-HEAL.

Inside the house more of the gray-faced people are seated in folding chairs. Nobody talks. Many of the people wear robes, and most have a large Earth-medallion affixed around their necks. Eerie music drones in the background.

After a bit, a man bespectacled, dour-faced man takes the pulpit and leads the people in a "prayer." In unison, the group chants, "Om, shanti, shanti. OM, SHANT SHANTI ... OMMMMMMMMMMM." Following the prayer, the man announces, "His eminence, Sir George King!"

A man attired in regal gold papal robes and helmet and brandishing an Egyptian ankh cross takes the lectern. People bow as he passes. Rather than a pope, the man somehow recalls Emperor Ming of Flash Gordon fame.

For the next half hour, King delivers his sermon. It's a bit difficult to follow, but primarily, it revolves around bits of wisdom channeled through him through him by a group from other planets called the Elevated Masters of the Solar System. These elevated Masters include Jesus, Master Atherius, Saint Goo-Ling and a fellow calling himself Mars Sector 6. Later -- via tape -- the Master Jesus (who sounds uncannily like Vincent Price) issues a warning the churchgoers of the dark times ahead. After the sermon is over, the gray faced people gather and talk.

Many of them have an odd, glazed look in their eyes. The people talk in hushed tones, about the work they are doing to save the planet. Some buy books which are sold at a small table in the foyer of the house The group gathered are all members of the Atherius Society, which, according to the L.A. Times is "the most structured and perhaps the most strictly rigid of all the UFO cults."

UFO cults are relatively new. But belief in UFO's and their occupants are not. They have been with us forever. They have been called the Elders, the Gods, the Watchers, Sky People, angels, faeries -- and most recently, aliens, or Visitors. Whatever they are, they have been around since the beginning of time.

The flying saucer craze hit America in 1947. Today, in addition to the Atherius Society -- cults abound which worship assorted hodgepodge of otherworldly beings, including the MarkAge Metacenter, the Solar Light Center, the Urantia Group, the Solar Cross Foundation and the School Of Thought.

Not all UFO believers are cultists. In fact, they're a reputable lot, including such luminaries as General Douglas MacArthur, Jimmy Carter, Jackie Gleason -- who had his house built like a UFO -- Shirley McLaine actors Robert Davi, Tom Cruise and John Travolta.

But today, one thing is for sure. UFO's and their occupants have hit the bigtime. According to a Gallop poll 25 million Americans say they've seen a UFO, and 68% of those surveyed saying that they believe they are real.

There are more than 50,000 silent contactees -- people who've had up close and personal contact with aliens -- in the U.S. alone. TV has jumped on the bandwagon. Last Wednesday night, NBC devoted two hours of prime time to a UFO special (hosted by actor Robert Davi, who walks through the woods in a black trench coat while reading his cue card throughout the entirety of the show). "Confirmation: One of the reasons UFO's are so hot is that they've become a staple of one of the most solid markets on the planet (forgive the terminology), the New Age Movement. Shirley MacLaine -- former Big Mamma of the NAM gave UFO's a big push in her first book, "Out On A Limb," and -- along with a contingent of other Hollywood "biggies" has continued to claim the reality of our alien "brethren."

If one doubts the connection between the UFO and the New Age Movement, all one need do is to check the ads in any of the UFO magazines. The top sellers, UFO and UFO Universe are chock full of ads hawking everything from Reich Orgone Accumulator Blanket, Light Wands, courses for coming into contact with aliens, healing crystals. There are weekend "consciousness raising" retreats. One group called Extraterrestrial Explorations offers such a weekend, complete with "guided meditations and visualizations, information on ET civilizations, abductions and missing time" for just $275 per person.

Indeed, many of the "beings" (always anxious to keep up with the times) are space entities. Robert Shapiro, a channel working out of Arizona channels such beings as Zoosh -- a "being of Light from Alpha Centaur," Joopah -- "a spiritually evolved being fro Zeta Reticuli," Then there is Zeohmah, "a kind and compassionate feminine energy," who channels through Hollwood's Douglas Benton.

These days no one particular channel seems to have a contract on who he channels; therefore Shapiro warns his people that other people channel these as well. Shapiro charges $55 per hour for "bringing through" his beings.

Other people, however don't need a channel. These people -- who call themselves Walk-Ins -- claim that they are the original owners of bodies have left this plane and that the bodies are now inhabited by aliens from any one of a number of spheres. Alpha Centauri seems to be the most popular.

---

"The night skies are filled more often with thousands of cosmic eyes. More and more people are stopped on lonely roads by strange forces which reprogram their minds as easily as we alter and reprogram computer tapes.," These ominous words are from John Keel author o numerous books, including "Disneyland Of The Gods.

"This may sound like the stuff of horror films, but that's what's happening. Today, people are being kidnapped right out of their bedrooms, cars, what have you and being whisked off to spaceships where they have operations performed on them," Keel says.

"We're not talking about crazies or whackos--you know--the people walking around with tinfoil on their heads to keep themselves from getting zapped by Martian rays. No, we're talking about ordinary folks, just like you and me," he continues.

The typical abduction experience has a definite form to it. With slight alterations it goes as follows: The abduction generally takes place at night. It can happen in a car, or the person may wake up in bed. Initially, the person is hit by a blinding white light. He then finds himself paralyzed, unable to move. The person then sees a being -- who come in various shapes and sizes. Most of them are of the small, friendly looking "ET" variety. Big heads, large eyes. We're all familiar with this little guy by now.

The person may then find himself in a room, aboard a spacecraft undergoing an operation. Abductees report having needles inserted into their brains or in the abdomen. Men report having their sexual organs examined and sperm samples taken. Women find themselves impregnated, and the fetuses later removed. One fellow on the NBC special on Wednesday claimed, tears flowing from his eyes, to have fathered nine alien children.

Following the abduction, several different scenarios may occur. The first is that the abductee may entirely forget the experience. He may remember it at a later date or not at all. Often, a series of false memories, called "screen memories" or "confabulations" are implanted in the contactees mind, which may, or may not be removed at a later time. In the case the contactee develops further contact with his captor, he is told that he has been "chosen," or that he is part of an elite group to help humanity save itself. Some abductees are loyal to their captors. Others feel controlled by them.

Many abductees develop increased IQ's, acquire heretofore unknown knowledge, including the ability to speak foreign languages.The abductee often gains psychic powers. He may develop the talent for OBE(out of body experience) astral projection, levitation, and a host of other disciplines of the New Age.

Less happily (and more often) abductees seem to go into psychological tailspins after their encounters. Many wind up in psychiatrists offices, lose their marriages, go bankrupt. Some commit suicide Given that the abduction experience is, more often than not, a highly unpleasant one, it's curious to find so many people reading about it, even seeking it. But these days, with the New Age Movement popular like never before, it seems that anything that guarantees a raising of the consciousness will sell. So be it.

Basically, the UFO movement is divided in two camps. Believers and skeptics. Of course, most of the Believers say they're skeptical, but it's quickly obvious that they are anything but.

Two of the Believers who've gotten much noteriety are authors Budd Hopkins and Whitley Strieber (both whom were featured on the NBC special). Hopkins is, what in UFO terminology, is referred to as a "nuts and bolts" man. This means simply that he believes wholeheartedly in the extraterrestrial theory, which maintains that the UFO beings come from other planets in space rafts. Much of Hopkins' recent work revolves around the sexual relations between the aliens and humans. Hopkins espouses the theory that an extraterrestrials are impregnating humans, whose fetuses are being removed and then transplanted into the wombs of extraterrestrial females. Hopkins says that an extraterrestrial breeding experiment is underway, and that perhaps a hybrid race is being formed.

Whitley Strieber, author of the best-selling books "Communion," and several follow-up books, is the much more esoteric (and therefore popular amongst the Believers) of the two. Strieber believes that the Visitors -- as he calls them -- are here to raise our consciousness, and that they are not necessarily from another planet, but perhaps inter- dimensional rather than extraterrestrial. Despite his many painful, often terrifying experiences, Strieber believes that contact with the Visitors may be the only way for man to escape his limited consciousness. "Fifteen minutes with them," according to Strieber, "can equal fifteen years of meditation." (Of course, if one thinks that meditation is a total waste of time, this isn't saying much).

The skeptics, of course, don't buy any of it. The leader of this side of the movement is Phillip J. Klass, a rather jovial fellow who seems to relish his role as the enfant terrible of the UFO movement. Klass states that after more than 21 years of investigation, he has not encountered one single case that did not have a prosaic explanation. Klass' position is that it's all hokum. In order to prove his point, he issued a $10,000 offer to any UFO abductee who can prove his case- provided that FBI substantiates the kidnapping.

Klass is a member of the Skeptics Society, or the (CSICOP), and has been gleefully debunking UFO believers since 1966. Unfortunately, the bulk of the members of CSIOCP are -- unlike Klass -- a rather humorless lot. Headed up by humanist Paul Kurtz, their position is that the supernatural does not exist, that everything under the sun has a rational or prosaic explanation. This puts the skeptics in the uncomfortable position of coming up with explanations for things which in fact have no rational explanation, and of looking, on many occasions goofier, more obsessive and certainly more tight-assed than the UFO buffs themselves.

Two of the better known UFOlogists, John Keel and Dr. Jacques Vallee, fall somewhere in the middle of all this. Though they both believe that something is happening, they have both rejected the exterrestrial theory. Rather, each has come to see it as a historo-religious phenomenon, and more importantly, to note its links with the world of the occult. Says Vallee, in Dimensions, "To put it bluntly the UFO phenomenon does not give evidence of being extraterrestrial at all. Instead it appears to be inter-dimensional and to manipulate realities outside of our own space time continuum."

Keel, the author of the cult classic, "The Mothman Prophecies," and "Operation Trojan Horse, likewise gives short shrift the notion of space creatures here to save us. "The modern UFO scene is a sociological minefield because it has produced a worldwide propaganda movement of willing evangelists advocating the existence of people from another planet who altruistically intend to save us from ourselves. Yet there is no more hard evidence for the reality of UFOs than there was back in 1947," Keel writes in "Disneyland Of The Gods."

Moreover, both Keel and Vallee contend that the UFO phenomenon is nothing new. It has, in fact, always been with us. States Keel. "This phenomenon has always existed and lies at the root of all our religious beliefs, our myths and superstitions, the ancient arts of witchcraft and black magic, and the fundamental fictions that have given us most of our social and political ideas."

But what is "it"?

"I don't know," said Keel from his home in New York, "but whatever it is, it's been around since the beginning of time. The Bible is full of this stuff. The bible is full of missing time cases. Go back and read it...it's all there. Forget about the theology, just go back and read it. It's all there."

Whether or not they know what it is, both Valle and Keel agree as to the results of the contact experience on the contactee. Says Vallee, "They come out of it with a religious perspective. But all the details are contradictory and confusing. The outstanding characteristic of the contactee is incoherence. They are like people after an auto accident. All they know is that something very serious has happened to them."

from Agence France-Press, 1999-Feb-20:

Istanbul UFO conference hears "evidence" of extraterrestrial life

ISTANBUL, Feb 20 (AFP) - Thousands of UFO aficionados flocked to a conference center here Saturday to hear international experts present "evidence" of the existence of extraterrestrial life.

At the two-day First International UFO Symposium of Turkey, the panel Erich von Daniken, who has written several bestsellers on the issue, and Travis Walton, a woodcutter who said he was abducted by aliens for five days in 1975.

According to the organizers, the Istanbul-based Sirius UFO Space Sciences Research Centre, it was the first such meeting in eastern Europe or the Middle East.

"Evidence shall be presented proving that we are not the only intelligent beings in the universe and that our planet is being visited by extraterrestrial beings," a statement by the organizers said.

The conference's theme -- "We are not alone in space" -- was illustrated by an exhibition of reproductions of ancient statues from around the world that, in the view of "UFO-logists", depict visitors from outer space.

More than 2,000 people were counted on the first day of the conference, with an equal number expected on the final day on Sunday.

On the morning of Sunday 1999-Feb-21, while station surfing, I came across a segment running on the local Catholic station, on the subject of extraterrestrial life. A scientist was interviewed, and the message was clear: it's not crazy to think that intelligent extraterrestrials are visiting earth, and the probable existence of intelligent extraterrestrials prompts a fundamental rethinking of theology. My interest piqued, I waited a few minutes for the show to end, at which time it was mentioned that the show was produced in affiliation with Radio Vatican. What to make of this? It appears (as evidenced from this item, and from statements by the Pope in his 1994 Jubilee address) that the Vatican is edging Catholics toward Maitreyanism.

"Today Americans would be outraged if U.N. troops entered Los Angeles to restore order; tomorrow they will be grateful! This is especially true if they were told there was an outside threat from beyond, whether real or promulgated, that threatened our very existence. It is then that all peoples of the world will pledge with world leaders to deliver them from this evil. The one thing every man fears is the unknown. When presented with this scenario, individual rights will be willingly relinquished for the guarantee of their well being granted to them by their world government."

-Henry Kissinger in an address to the Bilderberg organization meeting at Evian, France, May 21, 1992. Transcribed from a tape recording made by one of the Swiss delegates.

In the opening paragraphs of the introductory essay of this compilation, I described Chris Carter's "X Files" and "Millennium" as chaffe and flares. In "X Files," a UFO believer group called "MUFON" crops up periodically. This is actually a real group. "The Smoking Man" has initials C.B.G., making it obvious that he's a fictionalized C.B.Jones. The "X Files" is not a benign weaving of tales at all. It's a deliberate set-up intended to program the public. Remember the stories of the Queen of England being an avid viewer of "X Files?" What alternative is there to the conclusion that X Files is a PsyOp?

Here is a tidbit to drive home the point, an excerpt from an interview with silent film restoration expert and score director Gillian Anderson, from http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=2987:

[...]

G: I hope there's more to come. Anyway, I have to ask -- are the "X-Files" fans getting annoying?

GA: Yes. In fact, in just the past month or so I've been interviewed about that. A couple of years ago a fan magazine listed my phone number as hers. I still get calls, and sometimes faxes in the middle of the night. I live in Washington, D.C., which is apparently where her character works, and some of the fans -- I don't want to insult them, but some of them seem to have a problem separating fantasy from reality.

[...]

from the New York Daily News 1995-Aug-24, from http://www.v-j-enterprises.com/dvettrk.html:

Billionaire Urges Clinton: Probe UFO Mystery

President Clinton is being pressured to reopen supersecret government files on the world's most baffling UFO incident. The man who wants the secrecy ended is billionaire philanthropist Laurance S. Rockefeller, a personal friend of the president. UFO experts believe the government covered up a UFO crash in 1947 near Roswell, N.M., from which alien bodies were recovered. This mystery was the basis of a highly-rated show on the Fox television network which was repeated Sept. 5. "Many are convinced that Roswell marks the beginning of government secret about UFO's" says Rockefeller in a letter to the White House obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. "Whatever the truth of Roswell, a definitive statement about it from the government would be very important." the letter continues.

Rockefeller hosted President Clinton at his western ranch during the chief executive's recent vacation in Jackson Hole, Wyoming - and insiders believe he bent Clinton's ear about the UFO issue. He also wrote to President Clinton's science advisor, John Gibbons, to urge that all UFO-related information be released. UFO enthusiasts have long cited the Roswell incident as the most blatant example of government cover-up. They claim that after an alien space craft crashed, the bodies of the ET visitors were autopsied and then secretly flown to an Air Force base in Ohio. In his letter to the White House, Rockefeller suggests that a cover-up may very well have been imposed by jittery bureaucrats. "While much in the public sector has been written about it, the govt. has had nothing to say about it .." says Rockefeller. He called on the President to promise there would be no persecution for those coming forward and revealing their eyewitness accounts of the New Mexico incident. "In addition to lifting classification about Roswell, consideration should be given to granting amnesty on an individual basis to allow those with knowledge about the incident to speak without fear of prosecution: There is a reason to believe that there are individuals who would provide information about the incident under that circumstance."

The Roswell Incident has been repeatedly dismissed by the Defense Dept.

from NASA, from http://science.msfc.nasa.gov/current/event/ufo.html :

Scientific Panel Concludes Some UFO Evidence Worthy Of Study

A press release from Stanford University In the first independent review of UFO phenomena since 1970, a panel of scientists has concluded that some sightings are accompanied by physical evidence that deserves scientific study. But the panel was not convinced that any of this evidence points to a violation of known natural laws or the involvement of an extraterrestrial intelligence. The review was organized and directed by Peter Sturrock, professor of applied physics at Stanford University, and supported administratively by the Society for Scientific Exploration, which provides a forum for research into unexplained phenomena. The international review panel of nine physical scientists responded to presentations by eight investigators of UFO reports, who were asked to present their strongest data. Von R. Eshleman, professor emeritus of electrical engineering at Stanford, co-chaired the panel. Although UFO reports date back 50 years, the information gathered does not prove that either unknown physical processes or alien technologies are implicated. But it does include a sufficient number of intriguing and inexplicable observations, the panel concluded. "It may be valuable to carefully evaluate UFO reports to extract information about unusual phenomena currently unknown to science." To be credible to the scientific community "such evaluations must take place with a spirit of objectivity and a willingness to evaluate rival hypotheses" that has so far been lacking, it added. This conclusion differs from that reached by Dr. Edward U. Condon, director of the Colorado Project, in his 1968 UFO report. He concluded that "further extensive study of UFOs probably cannot be justified in the expectation that science will be advanced thereby." It is very similar, however, to the conclusion reached by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics' Kuettner Report issued two years later, which advocated "a continuing, moderate-level [research] effort with emphasis on improved data collection by objective means and on high-quality scientific analysis." In the current study, the scientific panel focused on incidents involving some form of physical evidence, including photographic evidence, radar evidence, vehicle interference, interference with aircraft equipment, apparent gravitational or inertial effects, ground traces, injuries to vegetation, physiological effects on witnesses, and debris. Of particular concern are reports that UFO encounters may be hazardous to people's health. Some witnesses have reportedly suffered radiation-type injuries. These reports led the panel to draw the attention of the medical community to the possible health risks involved. The scientists found that some of the reported incidents may have been caused by rare natural phenomena, such as electrical activity high above thunderstorms or radar ducting (the trapping and conducting of radar waves by atmospheric channels). However, the panel found that some of the phenomena related to UFOs are not easy to explain in this fashion. Further analysis of the evidence presented to the panel is unlikely to shed added light on the causes underlying the reports, the scientists said. Most current UFO investigations lack the level of rigor required by the scientific community, despite the initiative and dedication of the investigators involved. But new data, scientifically acquired and analyzed, could yield useful information and advance our understanding of the UFO problem, the panel said. The reviewers also made the following observations:

• The UFO problem is not a simple one, and it is unlikely that there is any simple, universal answer.
• Whenever there are unexplained observations, there is the possibility that scientists will learn something new by studying them.
• Studies should concentrate on cases that include as much independent physical evidence as possible.
• Continuing contact between the UFO community and physical scientists could be productive.
• Institutional support for research in this area is desirable.

The review panel consisted of Von Eshleman; Thomas Holzer, High Altitude Observatory in Boulder, Colo.; Randy Jokipii, professor of planetary science, University of Arizona, Tucson; Francois Louange, managing director of Fleximage, Paris, France; H. J. Melosh, professor of planetary science, University of Arizona, Tucson; James J. Papike, professor of earth and planetary sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque; Guenther Reitz, German Aerospace Center, Institute for Aerospace Medicine, Cologne, Germany; Charles Tolbert, professor of astronomy, University of Virginia, Charlottesville; and Bernard Veyret, Bioelectromagnetics Laboratory, University of Bordeaux, France. Eshleman and Holzer served as co-chairs of the panel. The UFO investigators who presented evidence were Richard Haines, Los Altos, Calif.; Illobrand von Ludwiger, Germany; Mark Rodeghier, Center for UFO Studies, Chicago; John Schuessler, Houston; Erling Strand, Ostfold College, Skjeberg, Norway; Michael Swords, professor of natural science, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo; Jacques Vallee, San Francisco; and Jean-Jacques Velasco, CNES, Toulouse, France. The study was initiated by Laurance S. Rockefeller and supported financially by the LSR Fund. Contact: David F. Salisbury salisbury@stanford.edu 650-725-1944 Stanford University

more info on above press release, from http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Corridor/1341/Sturrock.html :

Embargoed until June 29, 1998

STANFORD CONTACT:

David Salisbury, Science Writer, Stanford University News Service, phone: 650-725-1944

SOCIETY FOR SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION CONTACT:

Marsha Sims, Executive Editor, Journal of Scientific Exploration, phone: 650-593-8581, fax: 650-595-4466

FOR COMMENT CONTACT:

Prof. Peter Sturrock, workshop director, phone: 650-723-1438

Prof. Von R. Eshleman, panel co-chair, phone: 650-723-3531

Dr. Thomas Holzer, panel co-chair, phone: 303-397-1567

Stanford, CA, June 29, 1998 --- In the first independent review of UFO phenomena since 1970, a panel of scientists has concluded that some sightings are accompanied by physical evidence that deserves scientific study. But the panel was not convinced that any of this evidence points to a violation of known natural laws or the involvement of an extraterrestrial intelligence.

[etc. press release text is identical to NASA version]

from http://www.mcs.com/~kvg/smear/v43/ss960401.htm:

[...]

We have two companion volumes here, the first entitled "Unidentified Flying Objects Briefing Document - The Best Available Evidence" (169 pages) and the second much shorter volume entitled "Executive Summary" of same. Both are written by FUFOR's Don Berliner, with Marie Galbraith and Antonio Huneeus. Both are presented as a joint venture of "The UFO Research Coalition", consisting of CUFOS, FUFOR and MUFON, and both are financed by multimillionaire Laurence Rockefeller. We obtained these books mysteriously, and have learned that they are not available for sale. The present limited edition of 1,000 copies will be sent free to "decision makers" and other supposedly important people thought to be sympathetic to the UFO Cause. (We are somewhat reminded of the old days of NICAP's "UFO Investigator", which went free to supporters, but suspected enemies could not buy it!)...

[...]

from http://www.v-j-enterprises.com/rockrept.html:

Date: Tue, 02 Apr 1996 18:58:49 +0200
To: "David T. Vetterick" {veterick@ix.netcom.com}
From: John Joseph Mercieca {mufor@maltanet.omnes.net}
Subject: Rockefeller Report

Hi Dave,

You probably have already seen this. If you haven't, here it is!

---

UFO BRIEFING DOCUMENT SHOWS "BEST AVAILABLE EVIDENCE"
Rockefeller-Financed Report To Be Sent To World Leaders

by Michael Lindemann

In recent years, 85-year-old philanthropist Laurance Rockefeller has given financial support to a number of prominent researchers of UFO and alien phenomena, including Dr. John Mack and Dr. Steven Greer. He has also urged President Clinton to acknowledge the reality of UFOs, both indirectly, through Clinton's science advisor John Gibbons, and directly -- if well-placed rumors are true -- last fall when Rockefeller hosted the president at his ranch in Wyoming.

Now Mr. Rockefeller has financed the creation of a 169-page document intended to present "the best available evidence" on UFOs to a very select audience: heads of state and other key world figures, who may be almost entirely ignorant of the evidence but who could, if sufficiently moved, very quickly undo the atmosphere of secrecy that has surrounded this subject for decades.

Reportedly, only 1,000 copies of the special briefing have been printed, and it will not be offered for sale. Distribution of the briefing has only begun, and so far no feedback from high-ranking recipients has been reported. However, ISCNI has received a copy of the briefing, along with permission to describe its contents to the readers of this newsletter.

Titled "Unidentified Flying Objects Briefing Document" and subtitled "The Best Available Evidence," the report is conservatively packaged, with a plain blue softcover binding and black-and-white illustrations throughout. It was written mainly by Don Berliner, a long-time respected UFO researcher, author and senior associate of the Fund for UFO Research. Co-authors were Antonio Huneeus and Marie Galbraith. Chairman of the Fund for UFO Research Richard Hall also wrote a separate executive summary. Joint credit for the material in the report is given to the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), the Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS) and the Fund for UFO Research. A letter of endorsement signed by the heads of these organizations appears at the front of the report.

The report is in three parts. First is a brief Overview, discussing the general case for UFO reality and the problem of government secrecy. Part two, the most lengthy, presents nineteen case discussions deemed "the best evidence" now available. Various experts will no doubt quibble over the inclusion or exclusion of some cases, but in general the selection is well thought out and impressive. Part three is comprised mainly of quotes from various world figures on the reality or possibility of UFOs and alien contact.

Notably absent from the report are any cases involving alleged abduction of humans by UFO occupants. In fact, the report includes only one case of the "third kind" (CE3) involving direct observation of apparent alien beings. Over half of the cases are of the "first kind" (CE1), that is, observation of unusual craft or airborn objects. The rest are of the "second kind" (CE2) in which the object or encounter left clear physical evidence behind.

According to this report, the "best evidence" includes:

- "Foo fighters" sighted by WWII fliers during 1944-45, notably on August 10, 1944 over the Indian Ocean, and December 22, 1944 over Hagenau, Germany;

- Kenneth Arnold's famous sighting of nine aerial objects over the Cascade Mountains in Washington State on June 24, 1947;

- bold incursions of unidentified craft over several Strategic Air Command bases during late October and November, 1975, including Loring AFB in Maine, Wurtsmith AFB in Michigan, Malmstrom AFB in Montana; Minot AFB in North Dakota and Falconbridge in Ontario, Canada;

- a "dogfight" between a UFO and two F-4 jets over Tehran, Iran in 1976;

- the strange sightings in the Rendlesham Forest between Bentwaters and Woodbridge RAF bases in England in late December, 1980; and

- visual and radar sighting of an aerial object "two times bigger than an aircraft carrier" by the flight crew of a Japan Airlines 747 freighter over Alaska on November 17, 1986.

Another of the "best cases" involved photos of a Saturn-shaped UFO over Trindade Island in the South Atlantic, taken from the deck of a Brazilian Navy ship on February 21, 1958. Brazilian president Kubitschek later gave the photos to the press. Reportedly, extensive testing showed no signs of hoax and the numerous eyewitnesses included credible military personnel. However, the U.S. military labeled the case a fake.

On July 28, 1989, a UFO was clearly observed for a period of two hours over a Russian army missile base at Kapustin Yar, Astrakhan region. The KGB file on this case detailed the testimony of seven military witnesses, with drawings. According to the report, "Observed characteristics are: disc is 4-5 meters (13-17) feet in diameter, with half-sphere on top which is brightly lit. It moved sometimes abruptly, but noiselessly, at times coming down and hovering over the ground at an altitude of 20-60 meters... while over a rocket weapons depot, a bright beam appeared from the bottom of the disc, lighting the corner of one of the buildings, lasting for several seconds."

Also highlighted in the briefing document is the extensive series of sightings and aerial encounters over Belgium in 1989 and 1990. Numerous drawings and photos by witnesses show a huge triangular shaped craft with bright lights at each corner. In several instances, the UFOs showed on multiple military radars simulatneously, including both airborn and ground-based installations. F-16 jets were sent aloft to engage the UFOs but found that the strange objects could perform maneuvers that would probably kill a human pilot. Belgian military spokesman, Major General (then Colonel) Wilfred De Brouwer, stated on television that the observed behavior of the objects was "outside the performance envelope" of any known aircraft and could not be explained.

One of the most unusual reported encounters of the "second kind" took place at mid-day on May 20, 1967, near Falcon Lake, Manitoba, Canada. Amateur prospector Steven Michalak reported seeing two glowing red objects hovering in the air. One flew away while the other landed nearby. Michalak said it appeared oval and disk-shaped and was about 35 feet in diameter and twelve feet high.

While he was observing the craft, a door opened and he heard voices coming from inside. He tried communicating in several languages, but got no reply and saw no one. He approached the craft and saw intensely brilliant light coming from within. Moments later, the door suddenly closed. Then a blast of hot air hit Michalak in the chest, emitting from an "exhaust vent." His shirt caught fire. As he ripped off his burning clothes and stumbled back, the craft took off. Within moments, Michalak had a pounding headache and nausea. He staggered back to his nearby motel, vomiting along the way.

In the following weeks, Michalak developed numerous symptoms of radiation sickness. He was eventually examined by 27 different doctors, none of whom could fully account for his condition. Of particular interest was a geometric pattern of burn marks on Michalak's chest which, he says, corresponded to the "exhaust grill" of the UFO. This case was extensively investigated by Canadian government authorities. The complete official report has not been released.

As previously noted, the "best available evidence" makes reference to only one case involving the sighting of unusual beings, that of police officer Lonnie Zamora near Socorro, New Mexico, on April 24, 1964. Zamora said he witnessed an egg-shaped craft on four thin legs, along with two small beings in white coverall-type outfits, when he went to investigate an apparent explosion in a rural area outside of Socorro. Zamora said he saw the craft take off and fly away moments before the arrival of his backup, Sgt. Sam Chavez. Then, he and Chavez went down to the landing site and found abundant physical evidence that something had been there. This case is undoubtedly one of the best-documented, best-attested CE3 cases on record. Even a classified memo to the CIA, recently declassified, mentioned this case as the "best" of its kind that Air Force Project Blue Book ever found.

ISCNI thinks it odd, however, that this important report on "best available evidence" does not list any other cases involving the claim of "aliens." Apparently, the authors and sponsors of this project intend to maximize their credibility by minimizing any sensational aspects of the subject. ISCNI hopes this approach proves successful where other approaches have so far failed.

We will continue to report on this story as new information becomes available.

---

From: ISCNIFlash@aol.com
Date: Tue, 16 Apr 1996 20:01:59 -0400
Subject: ISCNI*Flash -- Vol. 2, No. 3, Part 1 -- April 16, 1996

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ISCNI*Flash -- Vol. 2, No. 3, Part 1 -- April 16, 1996
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ISCNI*Flash is the twice-monthly electronic newsletter of ISCNI, The Institute for the Study of Contact with Non-human Intelligence.
ROCKEFELLER NOT BELIEVER, BUT WANTS END TO UFO SECRETS
Marie Galbraith Explains Rationale For New UFO Report

[The following text is excerpted from a story that appeared in the New York Observer on April 8 under the title, "Rockefeller Greets Aliens! A Rich Guy's UFO Dream." For a detailed discussion of the contents of the Rockefeller-funded "Unidentified Flying Objects Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence," see ISCNI*Flash 2.2, April 1, 1996.]

"You know, there are 200 billion star systems in the galaxy, and there are 200 billion galaxies in the universe," said Marie [Bootsie] Galbraith, a trim blonde woman in her 50's, as she reclined in her sun-dappled, sparsely furnished office on Madison Avenue, her diamond bagatelle rings flashing. She lifted her blue eyes heavenward. "We're just a little zilch."

But some zilches have deeper pockets than others. Last year, Mrs. Galbraith, who is married to Evan Galbraith, the investment banker and former Ambassador to France, went to Laurance Rockefeller, the 85-year-old environmental activist and venture capitalist, and got him to fund a 169-page document titled "Unidentified Flying Objects Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence." The report was co-authored by Mrs. Galbraith and Virginia-based aviation writer Don Berliner, who is affiliated with the Fund for UFO Research. [UFO researcher Antonio Huneeus is also listed as a co-author. - ed.]

In an interview in her office, [Mrs.] Galbraith discussed Nikola Tesla and Albert Einstein, Westinghouse and General Electric, secret weather balloons and photographs of alien autopsies on the Internet. "We have to challenge basic assumptions," she said.

She is distributing her report to "leaders of the world."

"We're only giving it to really top people," said Mr. Berliner. "Not ordinary people like you and me. I guess the only reason I have a copy is I wrote the thing."

In the acknowledgments page, Laurance Rockefeller is listed first, "for his vision and support, financial and otherwise."

Fraser Seitel, Mr. Rockefeller's spokesman, confirmed that Mr. Rockefeller funded the report at a cost of around $30,000. But he said that Mr. Rockefeller did not endorse the findings. "He is interested in Government disclosure of reported activities in this area," said Mr. Seitel. "Laurance's feeling is that he is not convinced one way or the other. But he is interested in learning what the Government has on file... He's really quite an eclectic person."

Mr. Seitel said Mr. Rockefeller would not comment on the report.

In recent years, Mr. Rockefeller has become known as a supporter of eclectic ventures. He funded embattled Harvard psychiatrist John E. Mack, whose work with alleged alien abductees was loudly criticized last May by his colleagues at Harvard. In fact, from 1993 to 1995, Dr. Mack's Cambridge-based, nonprofit research institute, the Center for Psychology and Social Change, received about $250,000 a year from Mr. Rockefeller.

According to Michael Luckman, director of the New York Center for UFO Research, Mr. Rockefeller has financed at least two recent meetings of a group called the Starlight Coalition, which Mr. Luckman said is "composed of former intelligence officers and military officials from the Pentagon who are prepared to talk about extraterrestrial contact."

Mr. Luckman said Mr. Rockefeller has also held a UFO conference on his JY Ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

"He's primarily interested in conservation and the environment, and venture capital," said Mr. Seitel. "He's also interested in the whole area of spirituality." Mr. Rockefeller majored in philosophy at Princeton, Mr. Seitel pointed out.

As the sons of John D. Rockefeller Jr., the brothers -- Laurance, John D. III, Nelson, Winthrop and David -- strode the earth as business and political titans. Nelson served as Republican governor of New York; David ran the Chase Manhattan Bank. Now, only two brothers remain; David, who is in the process of buying back Rockefeller Center from Mitsubishi, and Laurance.

Born in 1910, Laurance was a pioneer of venture capital in the 1940's. In the 1950's and 1960's, he was a champion of environmental causes, serving as the director of the Outdoor Recreation Resources and Review Commission under President Kennedy. In 1965, Mr. Rockefeller traveled the country with Lady Bird Johnson on her "beautification bus" as part of the Task Force on Natural Beauty. But he began to draw criticism from environmentalists in the late 1960's for developing resorts in the Virgin Islands, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Vermont and Yellowstone National Park, under the cloak of conservation.

Mrs. Galbraith said she approached Mr. Rockefeller last year to provide the backing for her report. As an early supporter of the Office of Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health, Mrs. Galbraith saw her role in the UFO debate as a promoter of "frontier science," which she described as "science that is on the cutting edge, like cold-fusion study, unified field theory, anything that has to do with people working on integrative devices." She paused. "It is a science which is heavily challenged, so it has to prove itself more dramatically."

The report is indeed a dramatic document. "Secrecy, like power, lends itself to abuse," reads the opening chapter, titled "Government Secrecy." "Behind the shield of secrecy, it is possible for an agency or service to avoid scrutiny and essentially to operate outside the law. Accountability to the taxpayers and to the Congress can be conveniently avoided."

The second part of the report consists of case histories of UFO sightings around the world: "'Foo Fighters' Over Europe and Asia" in the 1940's; "U.F.O. Dogfight Over Tehran"; the "U.F.O. Sighting Wave in Belgium" in 1989-90; "Multiple Witness Case at Russian Missile Base" in 1989.

In the third part of the report, government spokesmen and politicians are quoted on the subject of UFOs. "I can assure you that flying saucers, given that they exist, are not constructed by any power on earth," Harry S. Truman is quoted as saying on April 4, 1950, at a White House press conference.

The report concludes:

"When studied as a group, these case histories exhibit clear patterns which strongly suggest that they belong to a distinct new class of phenomena, rather than being a formless collection of disparate observational errors... It is this large quantity of evidence of the existence of something completely baffling which motivates many of us to urge the governments of the world to release all they know about UFOs so that the people of the world, and especially scientists, can begin to come to grips with a mystery that has far too long been subjected to secrecy and ridicule."

"Our goal is to have elected officials decide what is secret and what is not," said Mrs. Galbraith. "Because now the bureaucrats keep all the secrets. They don't even keep the Congress and the President informed."

However, Mrs. Galbraith added:

"I think to be skeptical is extremely healthy because I was, when I started out. Only because I've just been with the head of the Belgian Air Force and the head of French intelligence do I take it seriously now."

from http://www.io.com/~hambone/web/rockefeller.html:

Laurance Rockefeller

Provided original funding to the Human Potential Foundation, and funnels hundreds of thousands of dollars through them to John Mack and his research.

---

Supporter of the Green Earth Foundation, headed up by Terrance "DMT Elves" McKenna.
(Chevalier, Remy, "When Cosmic Cultures Meet", Paranoia, Issue 10, pg 11)

---

Reportedly, Rockefeller has stopped funding Mack. He continues to fund PEAR (Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research), and is a Funding Advisor to the Joseph Campbell Foundation. He also funds the Starlight Coalition, which claims membership of several former government and military personnel who want to end government secrecy on UFOs.

---

See Rockefeller's funding of the Heffter Institute, which is exploring and promoting the use of hallucinogens in ``therapy''.

from http://www.io.com/~hambone/arch/rock.html:

Who is Laurance Rockefeller?

by Alex Constantine

Laurance, vetted by the U.S. Naval Reserve, rose to the rank of lieutenant commander during the war, assigned to the Bureau of Aeronautics as liaison between the Navy and aircraft production plants - despite huge financial investments in Hitler's Holocaust machine by family-owned businesses, as documented by George Seldes and Charles Higham - who dreamed of transforming the postwar world with advancements in communications, nuclear power, aviation and computers. The defense industry fostered experimentation with new technologies and they intrigued Laurance Rockefeller, especially those with the potential to significantly transform everyday life.

When Hitler's Germany rolled out the armaments to flatten Europe, young Rockefeller launched into an intense study of military aviation. He joined the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences, was a director of Eastern Airlines and a trustee of Air Affairs, a quarterly international journal. Laurance and his brother Winthrop mustered the Air Youth of America, an aviation training program.

Laurance may have been less visible than his brothers, but he was equally steeped in the sordid world of covert intelligence and disinformation. In the 1950s, he served on a panel that released a report penned by Henry Kissinger, International Security - The Military Aspect, calling for successive escalations in defense spending of $3 billion per year to 1965. In 1973 he was named a director of Reader's Digest, a fount of CIA cold war black propaganda. (To indulge in a bit of necessary guilt by association, Melvin Laird, a Digest officer, is also a director of SAIC, the "remote viewing" sponsor.) Rockefeller is a trustee of M.I.T., a director of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Olin Mathieson, etc., etc.

Renato Vesco traced immediate postwar development of the Nazi saucers to the UK. Vesco, the Italian Werner von Braun, plodded through a detailed investigation of the technology transfer in Intercept, but Don't Shoot, published in 1967. British defense officials, he discovered, hoped to barter advancements in saucer propulsion and design to the United States in exchange for classified nuclear research data. A priority was placed on making the saucers faster, leading to experimentation with a number of rocket propulsion systems. Wind tunnel tests demonstrated the disks could easily slip through the sound barrier when the friction layer was drawn through a multitude of pinholes punched in the hull. Normally, the layer of air that builds along an aircraft's surface slows it down. The air pulling on the craft, otherwise known as the buoyant layer, was eliminated in the saucer design with suction along the entire surface of the vehicle, in place of the conventional jet design. The pinholes sucked away the buoyant layer and pumped the air through a thruster, like an ordinary jet.

When the war ended Laurance was off to Europe, according to Alvin Moscow's sanitized Rockefeller biography, "to examine the latest British experiments with jet propulsion for military aircraft. He looked into the technology of the German Rockets used in the blitz of London." The author doesn't mention a visit to the British Air Force saucer section, but if developments were shared with anyone, it was Laurance Rockefeller, the most influential military aerospace scion in the country.

Laurance and his namesake progeny have been lavish godfathers to UFOlogy organizations that attribute saucer overflights and abductions to the "alien" invasion. A panoply of aircraft defense firms swelled with an infusion of funds from Laurance Rockefeller. The most imposing is McDonnell-Douglas, founded in 1930 by a prodigy of aircraft design, James S. McDonnell of St. Louis. McDonnell shares with Laurance Rockefeller the taint of war profiteering. Periodic postwar investigations of his aircraft company by the General Accounting Office have exposed a deep, chronically overfunded well of fraud. In 1967 the company merged with Douglas Aircraft, the primary subcontractor of Western Electric, a subsidiary of AT&T.

Howver cerebral, James McDonnell had one foot firmly planted in the occult. He was a principal donor to the famed J.B. Rhine psychic research center at Duke University, a forerunner of Psi-Tech, and supported psychic experimentation at Washington University in St. Louis. Professor Rhine and his wife Louisa joined the faculty of Duke University in 1927 to explore the paranormal with Dr. William McDougall, chairman of the psychology department. In a few years, according to Parapsychological Institute literature, "Dr. Rhine was conducting the groundbreaking research that demonstrated under rigorous, scientific conditions that certain persons could acquire information without the use of the known senses. He introduced the term extrasensory perception (ESP) to describe this ability and adopted the word parapsychology to distinguish his experimental approach from other methods of psychical research."

Among the key early supporters of the Rhine ESP center was Medtronics, a medical technology firm in Minneapolis. The connection is chilling in the context of forced human experimentation. Bear in mind the horrors of the surgical table described by abductees, circled by "alien" doctors, when paging through the Medtronics catalog: "The company's neurological business produces implantable systems for spinal cord stimulation and drug delivery.... The Itrel II spinal cord stimulation system is the most advanced and flexible implantable neurostimulation device on the market today."

Another financial supporter of the Rhine center was insurance magnate W. Clement Stone, whose name was the very first on Richard Nixon's list of presidential campaign contributors.

[ ... ]

Escerpt from "Virtual Government" by Alex Constantine

from BBC News, 1999-May-19:

US billionaire funds crop circle research

US billionaire Laurance Rockefeller is to fund the UK's biggest survey of crop circles.

Scientists will be carrying out aerial research over Wiltshire next month in the hope of finding out once and for all whether the mysterious patterns are genuine or the work of hoaxers.

Some believe they are created by UFOs during nocturnal visits. Others say they are connected to ancient "ley lines", or put it down to natural phenomena such as unusual forms of lightning.

The first few crop circles of the season have already appeared in several West Country fields. The area has long been the focal point of those in Britain who believe that the circles are the work of extra terrestrial forces.

Last year a US Website advertised week-long tours of UK crop circles priced at $2,199 per person.

Until now research has been carried out by amateurs and enthusiasts, known as croppies. But there is a growing scientific discipline based around the study, known as cereology.

Mr Rockefeller has given his financial backing to the UK's largest and most scientific study.

One of Mr Rockefeller's areas for charitable giving is what he calls "spirituality", which includes research into UFOs and other unexplained phenomena.

Work funded by the billionaire has already built up the biggest crop circle database.

Many farmers believe crop circles are the work of hoaxers, and say they cause thousands of pounds of damage every year. Several people have come forward to claim responsibility.

In 1991 two landscape painters, David Chorley and Douglas Bower, claimed they started the hoax in 1978, after drinking in a pub.

They said for the past 13 years they had been sneaking around southern England at night, fashioning as many as 25 to 30 new circles each growing season.

In a BBC CountryFile special in January, Mr Bower, 74, showed how his patterns were made with planks of wood, lengths of rope and a ball of string. He said he was amazed that many followers of crop circles still refused to believe they were a hoax.

But it seems there remain unexplained factors, such as the lack or tracks or footsteps.

An earlier version of this story included a picture of Larry Rockefeller, Laurance Rockefeller's son. Larry Rockefeller has no involvement in funding the crop circle research and BBC News Online regrets any confusion.

from http://www.wufoc.com/ufofiles/english/issue_2/ukrocke3.html:

Subject: UFOSearch: Big Money and UFOs - (5/8)
Date: 7 May 1996 17:05:30 -0600
Organization: A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. Enterprises
By: Val Germann, Columbia, Missouri

This message will concern the Laurance Rockefeller who is/was a brother to Nelson, Winthrop, David and JDR3. The Laurance Rockefeller who is helping bankroll John Mack could well be the same person you will read about below.

Laurance Rockefeller (b. 1910) became interested in high tech firms in 1938 with the foundation of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. During World War II Laurance was in the Navy overseeing the production of patrol bombers before being shifted to the fighter desk by his good friend James V. Forrestal. At this time Laurance owned 20 per cent of McDonnell aircraft which had been founded by Laurance's college friend James S. McDonnell, with some help from Laurance. It seems that both were at Princeton.

In 1947 there was talk of a Congressional investigation of Navy contracts vis-a-vis McDonnell during the period that Laurance was in the Navy. But, that investigation never seemed to get off the ground, no pun intended. Thus Laurance sailed on, later forming a consortium with family friends C. Douglas Dillon and Felix DuPont to make a fortune out of helicopter production during the Korean War. This consortium also owned Nuclear Development Associates, the original power behind civilian nuclear reactors, and a little company called ITEK, which would make the spy cameras for the U-2 and America's spy satellites. The capital for these ventures would come from brother David's Chase Bank, the very center of Rockefeller power and the prime force behind the great war scare of 1948, which I have documented earlier.

In 1950 Laurance hired Lewis Strauss, former Kuhn, Loeb banker who had been an assistant to Herbert Hoover in World War I, an offical in the 1930s of the company that later became UniRoyal, and the lawyer/banker who had helped Kodak market Kodachrome and later aided Dr. Land and his Polaroid. Strauss spent World War Two in the Navy and had been made an Admiral by his good friend James V. Forrestal. Funny how things like this worked out.

In any event, in 1950 Strauss was overseeing the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and was heavily connected into the high-tech yscience world. He left Rockefeller employ to become the chairman of the AEC under Eisenhower, just as Laurance put together a company called United Nuclear which had the inside track on the development of civilian atomic power. Also at this time ITEK was created, begun when a Boston University scientist advised his good friend Laurance Rockefeller that Ike's Administration was going to liquidate Boston University's Physics Research Lab.

I wonder how they knew of this in advance? Probably just luck. Anyway, Laurance bought the thing and put his good scientific friend in charge of it. It made millions out of the U-2 and the Discovery satellites, both of which were promoted relentlessly by Rockefeller operatives, including Nelson (!), inside the former Council On Foreign Relations member's (Ike) administration.

Later on, Laurance would be a power behind LBJ's administration and his wife would give Lady Bird the idea for her beautification of America scheme. In 1969 Laurance would use his connections into the world of "conservation" to help push through SLAC, the Stanford Linear Acclerator, over the objections of the people who actually lived there. By that time he would have been president of the Jackson Hole (WY) Preserve society for decades and his family would own large tracts in the West.

Also by the middle 1970s Laurance and his brother Nelson would have created several "conservation" societies revolving around the family's Pocantico estate (47,000-plus acres) on the Hudson River. How many folks investigating UFOs know that the so-called Hudson Valley Object has been flying for years over an area that is more or less a Rockefeller private preserve? Do you think the family might be interested in that, or MORE than interested?

So, to recap: there aren't any ET-built UFO's shuttling around planet earth, and there haven't been any this century. This is an extremely elaborate hoax, of utility to the elite, as detailed by Kissinger in his address to the 1992 Bilderberg attendees. Laurance's job is to keep the UFO/paranormal pot bubbling. The fables promoted by Laurance-funded "researchers" are the subject of Chris Carter's TV shows, where they are dramatized with almost no changes.

The following is a compilation of wordbites on the topic, with substantial overlap with mind control and cult activities detailed elsewhere in this chapter and in the chapter on manufacturing madness. Though I was tempted to place it in a separate file, the relevance and signal to noise ratio are so high that I've put it right here.

To skip to the next item ("Altered States: The Light Show Within") follow this link.

collected by Richard Shand, created 1996-Nov-8, from http://home.fireplug.net/~rshand/streams/ufos/abductees.html:

Implanting Memories

The Abductees

(1) The Oz Factor

"A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder."
     - Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces

"I've now worked with over a hundred experiencers intensively. Which involves an initial two-hour or so screening interview before I do anything else. And in case after case after case, I've been impressed with the consistency of the story, the sincerity with which people tell their stories, the power of feelings connected with this, the self-doubt -- all the appropriate responses that these people have to their experiences."
"There are aspects of this which I believe we are justified in taking quite literally. That is, UFOs are in fact observed, filmed on camera at the same time that people are having their abduction experiences.
"People, in fact, have been observed to be missing at the time that they are reporting their abduction experiences. They return from their experiences with cuts, ulcers on their bodies, triangular lesions, which follow the distribution of the experiences that they recover, of what was done to them in the craft by the surgical-like activity of these beings. All of that has a literal physical aspect and is experienced and reported with appropriate feeling, by the abductees, with or without hypnosis or a relaxation exercise."
     - John Mack, Nova On-line

David Webb did "a study of 300 abduction reports from HUMCAT, a database of UFO encounters involving humanoids....In 39% of the cases, no on-board abduction information was obtained using hypnosis." Yet reports in which on-board abduction information was obtained mainly with hypnosis "were remarkably similar in content."
"According to "a study of 200 abduction cases by a student of folklore named Thomas E. Bullard....Although American cases show markedly fewer instances of the tall beings than non-American cases, abduction cases from different parts of the world nonetheless tend to be highly uniform. Well-publicized cases seem to have no detectable impact on abduction reports. Also, abduction stories are highly stereotyped, and they show a much smaller range of variation than is found, for example, in science fiction. It seems that abduction stories don't follow the patterns expected of folklore."
     - Richard L. Thompson, Alien Identities

"First is the most familiar aspect or fit, which is a traumatic event in which a blue light or some kind of energy paralyzes the person, whether they're in their home or they're driving a car. They can't move.
"They feel themselves being removed from wherever they were. They floated through a wall or out a car, carried up on this beam of light into a craft and there subjected to a number of now familiar procedures which involve the beings staring at them; involves probing of their body, their body orifices; and a complex process whereby they sense in the case of men, sperm removed; in the women, eggs removed; some sort of hybrid offspring created which they're brought back to see in later abductions."
     - John Mack, Nova On-line

British ufologist Jenny Randles "says her studies who that many UFO witnesses experience what she calls the Oz factor, 'a sense of timelessness and sensory isolation' in which 'the witness feels the UFO has temporarily sucked him into a kind of void where only he and the phenomenon coexist.' This might occur, she speculates, when a person who is in a state of consciousness below normal waking reality interprets some natural condition, object, or event - a bright planet, for instance - as being preternatural in origin.
"Randles further theorizes that in some rare cases the witness's subjective impression is strong enough to manipulate objective reality. In other words, a person who is caught in the grip of the Oz factor may actually be able to photograph something that he or she see, even though it does not, in a completely objective sense, exist...It may be, she says, that outworlders are contacting humans through consciousness alone rather than with sophisticated technology."
     - The UFO Phenomenon

It is revealing to note that the preponderance of UFO abductees report that their experience occurred when they were coming out of deep sleep. The feelings of immobility, weightlessness and helplessness can all be explained by the "sleep paralysis"which accompanies the REM state.
     - Barry L. Beyerstein, Lecture before the BC Skeptics Society (22 April 1994)

"Blackmore [University of the West of England in Bristol] suggests some normal features of sleep conspire with particular properties of certain brains to represent alien abductions. For example, limb muscles are largely paralyzed during dreams, presumably to keep people from acting out whatever they're dreaming. There are cases where people awaken while this 'sleep paralysis' persists, producing a sensation of being constrained by some evil force.
"'Alien abductions may just be a modern equivalent of a sleep paralysis myth,' says Blackmore."
     - "Do Magnetic Fields Play Role in Alien-abduction Memories", Buffalo News, 02/05/95

"Sleep paralysis provides a fertile setting for hypnopompic hallucinations. In the hypnopompic state, the brain cannot instantaneously switch from dreaming to a waking state, and the dream extends into the waking period. The brain circuits activated during dreams then send signals - such as the image of a succubus - to the cerebral cortex, where they are processed as if they came from the outside world. Thus, dream images extend into waking and the sleeper sees visual images (or has sensations in other modalities) within the context of the real bedroom."
     - Ronald K.Siegel, Fire in the Brain

Siegel has also detailed how the visual components of UFO abduction experiences resemble form constants [see below] produced by hallucinogens acting on the brain.

"The ancients knew the importance of maintaining an intimate conversation with one's double or daemon, called ' genius' in Latin, ' guardian angels' by Christianity, ' reflex man' by Scots, ' vardogr' by Norwegians, ' doppelganger' by Germans. The idea was that by taking care to develop one's ' genius,' this spiritual being would provide help throughout the mortal human's life and into the next. Humans who did not attend to their personal Other became an evil and menacing entity called a ' larva,' given to hovering over terrified sleepers in their beds at night and driving people to madness."
     - Keith Thompson, Aliens and Angels

"In a great majority of the 95 [abduction] cases, the subjects indicated that their own residence (generally the bedroom) was the abduction point. However, 15 subjects have also (or instead) reported some other location. Ten of those were taken from their automobiles and six from a cabin or campsite.
"Whether purposeful or inadvertent, over a fourth (28%) of the subjects in the study have sensed an alien presence other than visually. This often occurred in the hours, minutes or seconds before visual confirmation. In other cases, an unseen presence was felt in the midst of a cluster of episodes but with no known CE-4 on that night.
"The recognition was sometimes obvious - an electrical tingling, a buzzing or beeping in the person's mind, rappings and other 'poltergeist' activity. In a few cases, the subject 'just knew' that the intruders were present."
     - Dan Wright, "The Entities - Initial Findings of the Abduction Transcription Project" (A MUFON Special Report)

"...18% of our respondents say they have wakened up paralyzed with a sense of a strange person or presence or something else in the room."
     - Budd Hopkins. David Michael Jacobs Ph.D, Ron Westrum, Ph.D., "A Report on Unusual Experiences Associated with UFO abductions, based upon the Roper Organization's Survey of 5,947 Adult Americans"

Such hallucinatory experiences are called night terrors. Once before awakening, Ronald Siegel experienced the sensation of being held down and raped by a succubus [a female demon] . He felt as though he were being crushed by the weight of the entity on top of him and could hardly breathe. The ordeal was terrifying but Siegel recognized the phenomenon for what it was - a night terror. Later that morning he was able to objectively recount the event to his college class.
Amongst his many encounters with aliens, which usually occurred while in the twilight state between sleep and wakening, Whitley Strieber reported the following:

"'Whitley' ceased to exist. What was left was a body in a state of fear so great that it swept about me like a thick, suffocating curtain, turning paralysis into a condition that seemed close to death. I do not think that my ordinary humanity survived the transition..."
     - Whitley Strieber, Communion

---

(2) Psychic Projections?

"I have come to have an operating hypothesis... that this phenomenon, whatever it is, has a direct link with human consciousness. It is indeed tricksterlike, here one moment, gone the next, dazzling us with amazing shows and feats of derring-do."
     - Whitley Strieber

"Almost all the data associated with UFOs have their analogies in spontaneous psychic phenomena, or have been noted to occur in the seance room."
     - Berthold Schwarz, UFO Dynamics: Psychiatric and Psychic Aspects of the UFO Syndrome

"There is a small solid core of parapsychological data indicating that both animate and inanimate entities can be created (presumably under mental auspices) not only piecemeal, as a sort of intrusion into a more ordinary reality, but as a completely coexisting reality."
     - Jule Eisenbud, Parapsychology and the unconscious

"The abduction is a real physical event, but it reflects concerns or traumas buried within the subject's unconscious. It might be called an 'objectified' dream - i.e., a system of symbolic imagery which suddenly erupts into the three-dimensional world."
     - D. Scott Rogo

"Humanity, correctly seen in the context of the last five hundred years, is an extruder of technological material. We take in matter that has a low degree of organization; we put it through mental filters, and we extrude jewelry, gospels, space shuttles. This is what we do. We are like coral animals embedded in a technological reef of extruded psychic objects. All our tool making implies our belief in an ultimate tool. That tool is the flying saucer, or the soul, exteriorized in three-dimensional space. The body can become an internalized holographic object embedded in a solid-state, hyperdimensional matrix that is eternal, so that we each wander through a true Elysium."
     - Terence McKenna, The Archaic Revival

"So far as I know it remains an established fact, supported by numerous observations, that UFOs have not only been seen visually but have also been picked up on the radar screen and have left traces on the photographic plate....It boils down to nothing less than this: that either psychic projections throw back a radar echo, or else the appearance of real objects affords an opportunity for mythological projections."
     - Carl Jung, Flying Saucers, a Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Skies

"More and more psychologists, sociolgists and folklore researchers are treating these phenomena not as mere illusions but as alternative potential realities."
     - Jenny Randles, Alien Contact : Window on Another World

"Phenomena such as UFOs, appearances of the Virgin Mary, fairies, and so forth, as 'protean-psychoid'. They are 'protean' because they are all part of the same chameleon-like phenomenon that changes to reflect the belief structures of the time. They are 'psychoid' in that they are a paraphysical phenomenon and are related to the psychological state of the observer.
     1) The "perpetrators"of protean-psychoid phenomena reveal many mythological characteristics.
     2) Protean-psychoid phenomena reveal no over-all malevolence or benevolence. They follow the rational of an entity in a dream, and at any moment their nature can fluctuate.
"The myth that UFOs are generating us is just as valid as the myth that we are generating them. Every UFO sighting/observer functions as a self-excited system. Like the entities in a dream, one is not more real that the other. In an omnijective universe, real and unreal have no meaning."
     - Michael Talbot

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(3) The Abductee Personality

"Typically the patient might enter therapy with complains about anxiety, depression, phobias or a pattern of frightening dreams. The patient might also be bothered about an incident involving an unexplained time gap in memory. In many respects the patient might present symptoms typical of post-traumatic stress disorder. However, patients will often withhold memories of the more bizarre UFO-related events, either out of fear that they will be rejected or because the patients do not connect them with the symptoms. One woman known to Hopkins stated that she had been in therapy for seven years and yet said nothing to her therapist about her consciously remembered UFO experiences. This reticence is not unusual. These patients might also have dreams or vague remembrances of such images as hospital operating rooms, bright lights, huge-eyed alien beings, or even 'impossible' animals such as very large owls or spiders. Careful questioning -- especially under hypnosis -- may reveal that these patients have specific memories of having been immobilized by impassive alien beings who remove them, typically from a car or home, and then transport them into a UFO. There, various physical procedures are performed upon the abductees while they lie upon examination tables, naked, frightened and paralyzed. There may be a substantial number of such recollections associated with either childhood or adult experiences, or both. The patient may also have one or two unexplained scars on the legs -- or occasionally the upper body -- which he or she feels are the result of these quasi-medical examinations."
     - Budd Hopkins. David Michael Jacobs Ph.D, Ron Westrum, Ph.D., "A Report on Unusual Experiences Associated with UFO abductions, based upon the Roper Organization's Survey of 5,947 Adult Americans"

"When we compared our experiential respondents to our controls on such factors as (1) allergies, (2) sensitivity to light, (3) hearing acuity, (4) mood fluctuations, (5) psychic abilities, and (6) healing gifts, we found that our extraordinary experiencers were anywhere from twice to four times as likely to assert that they are now characterized by such qualities.
"In a phrase, there appears to be something about these encounters that ends to move our experiencers in the direction of becoming an electrical sensitive."
     - Kenneth Ring, Ph.D., The Omega Project

"...People who were high on temporal lobe sensitivity scores also showed increased suggestibility, that is, hypnotizability."
     - Michael Persinger

See Altered States [see below] to learn more about the relationship between temporal lobe sensitivity and mystical experiences.

Edith Fiore's "Encounters chronicles 14 different accounts of people who, under hypnosis,reveal widely divergent experiences with extraterrestrial beings. We have the predictable 'Gray' abduction scenario most of us have come to expect, complete with physical exams and egg/sperm extraction. Much more riveting are some of the accounts with other beings, such as the tall benevolent ones with high-back collars who are doing healing work on thousands around the planet. 'Dan' remembers, under hypnosis, being a commander in a human Star Fleet and has now chosen to take over the body of a five-year old child on earth as part of his 'earned retirement' program. 'Diane', a psychic, began having telepathic contacts with extraterrestrials at 13, accurately predicting so many things that her school and her family ordered her to stop, for fear of witch recrimination. 'James', a doctor in his midthirties, is developing healing technologies shown to him on-board a spacecraft."
     - John Winston, "Women of UFOLOGY"

Hypnosis, used to recover the "repressed memory" of the alleged abduction, is actually a form of guided fantasy.
     - Barry L. Beyerstein, Lecture before the BC Skeptics Society (22 April 1994)

"In hypnosis, the client is highly motivated to respond with historical reconstructions at the request of the therapist, even if they do not have sufficient details to reconstruct past events accurately. This is related to what is called the 'response criterion problem' in experimental hypnosis research. (Klatzky and Erdely, 1985).
"Hypnosis also has some notoriety in this regard because of the clinical phenomenon for which Milton Erickson coined the term 'vivification', where vividly imagined events are difficult or impossible to distinguish from ongoing sensory perceptions or from recollections, and the possibility that such a vivid imagining could be remembered as a veridical life event."
"There is no known reliable way at this time to verify whether a particular recollection was actually introduced as a so-called 'false memory'. The most promising research in this area seems to point to the possibility that we may someday be able to more reliably pick out the 'fantasy prone', at least as a relative number on a scale, but this still leaves the question open as to cause and effect. Did a severe early trauma provoke the need for escape into a rich inner fantasy world, or was the remembrance of a traumatic past solely the result of a therapist taking advantage of 'fantasy proneness''?"
     - Michael Corbin (Paranet)

"'Abduction accounts may be similar, not because the aliens are all similar, but because our brains are,' Blackmore writes in the journal Nature....Blackmore writes in another article in New Scientist 'Studies of abductees have shown that they are of at least average intelligence, from a wide range of social classes and show no particular signs of mental disturbance or pathology,' writes Blackmore."
"Other critics suggest that abduction reports may stem from 'false memories' induced under hypnosis. But Blackmore notes that some abductees have not been hypnotized and false memories can be implanted without hypnosis. 'The key thing here is that 'false memories' are not so different from "true memories",' she writes. 'In a sense, all memories are false.' Memories represent a lot of complicated neurochemistry and electrical activity, so memory of an 'abduction' may really be the brain's way of representing something else."
     - "Do Magnetic Fields Play Role in Alien-abduction Memories", Buffalo News, 02/05/95

"In a blind study carried out for Hopkins by psychologist Elizabeth Slater, nine ostensible abductees were given a standard battery of personality tests. They proved to be non-psychotic, but tended to suffer form anxiety and hypervigilance. The self-concept appeared to be damaged in some of the cases, particularly in relation to sex. The protocols and Dr. Slater's interpretation were checked by a second psychologist who agreed with the initial assessment. When the subjects' abduction claims were made known to Dr. Slater, she considered that their symptomatology was consistent with what might be expected if indeed such events had taken place."
     - Budd Hopkins, David Jacobs and Ron Westrum

"...While this is a heterogeneous group in terms of overt personality style, it can be said that most of its members share being rather unusual and very interesting. They also share brighter than average intelligence and a certain richness of inner life that can operate favorably in terms of creativity or disadvantageously to the extent that it can be overwhelming. Shared underlying emotional factors include a degree of identity disturbance, some deficits in the interpersonal sphere, and generally mild paranoia phenomena (hypersensitivity, wariness, etc.)"
     - Slater, E., Ph.D. "Conclusions on Nine Psychologicals"

"...Persons who as adults report UFOEs or NDEs [near death experiences] are not as children especially inclined toward a world of fantasy, but they are apparently already sensitive to nonordinary realities."
"There is a consistent tendency for both UFOErs and NDErs to report a greater incidence of childhood abuse and trauma....Overall, individuals who report UFO encounters and NDErs appear to have a greater likelihood of showing dissociative tendencies in their psychological functioning."
Psychological absorption "is the ability to concentrate and focus one's attention on the figures and features of one's inner reality to the exclusion of events taking place in the external environment...This quality seems to be the hallmark of what we might call 'the encounter-prone personality'."
     - Kenneth Ring, Ph.D., The Omega Project

"Robert E. Bartholemew, Kieth Basterfield, and George S. Howard...analyzed 152 subjects based on biographical notes for characteristics of fantasy-prone personality [FPP]. They did not do an analysis for mental illness. The only statement they make about mental illness is in the abstract, where they say 'these subjects are remarkably devoid of a history of mental illness. However, in 132 cases, one or more major characteristics were found of what Wilson and Barber(1981) identified as the 'fantasy-prone personality'. They only go into details about their analysis for FPP traits in their test group.

1.) "132 out of 152 have one or more FPP traits (87%)!

2.) "In Wilson and Barber's work, 58% of their FPP subjects spent a large part of their childhood interacting with fantasized people or animals, reporting to have 'clearly seen, heard, and felt them in the same way that they perceived living people and animals'. Also a high proportion of FPP subjects reported physiological effects in conjunction with fantasies."
     - Robert Huss, (rhuss+@EDRC.CMU.EDU)

"Most said they had experienced quite frequently throughout their lives something such as the following: becoming physically ill when they thought (incorrectly) that they had eaten spoiled food or developing an uncomfortable and continous itch when they (incorrectly) believed that they had been contaminated with lice..."
     - Bartholemew, Basterfield & Howard, "UFO Abductees and Contactees: Psychopathology or Fantasy "Proneness?", Professional Psychology Research and Practice; 1991 Jun V22 pp 215-222

3.) "The major FPP traits that they checked for were psychic abilities, out of body experiences, automatic writing, healing, apparitions, religious visions, physiological effects, and spirtual themes.

4.) "Aside from their analysis of the data, they discuss the possible interpretations of a therapist when encountering a client who reports abduction or alien contact. They advocate considering the client fantasy prone, rather than psychopathological. They admit that the labels are arbitrary, and that either case can still be considered abnormal."
     - Robert Huss, (rhuss+@EDRC.CMU.EDU

"One thing we have learned when we have gone into the background of persons who claim to have been abducted by UFOs, to have had contacts with the UFOs, or to have received messages from space people is that for the most part they have a history of being battered children or to have had sad histories in other ways."
     - Jim Lorenzen

"Each time an abduction experience is uncovered, a psychological inquiry into the life of the witness would indicate that he or she was undergoing a life-crisis at the time or was recovering from a psychological trauma."
     - D. Scott Rogo

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Behind the Machinery

(1) The Collective Species Unconscious

"Highly dissimilar people produce strikingly similar accounts of abductions by UFO occupants. The basic scenarios are highly concordant in detail and events. This is surprising in light of the widely divergent cultural, socio-economic, educational, occupational, intellectual and emotional status of abductees. Further, the scenarios themselves do not seem to show the same layering of affect and symbolic richness present in other fantasy endowed material. Instead, symbolic and conceptual complexity centers around the meaning of the experience for the individual, not around the shape, form, activity, intent, etc., of the aliens and their environment. This is in stark contrast to the expected complexity and diversity of thematic and symbolic elaboration found in our fantasy material."
     - Rima E. Laibow, M.D.

"It seams to us that rather than being 'extraterrestrial' in any simple sense, UFOs could well be part of the same larger intelligence which has shaped the tapestry of religion and mythology since the dawn of human consciousness."
     - Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience

"Perhaps there are fundamental mechanisms which involve the total number of human beings immersed within a single pattern of connection.... Space would be irrelevant as a source of distribution since the primary factor would be the means by which they are functionally connected. This functional connection would be formed from time to time during transient disturbances of the earth's environment. During this connection, the external representations of the problems, expectancies, and biological properties of the total individual units would transiently occur."
     - Persinger, Lafreniere, Space-Time Transients

"The collective species unconsciousness is vastly more powerful than a personal unconsciousness, and under appropriate conditions it can directly materialize a thought form, which may be of an object or even of a living being. The emerging thought form (tulpa) starts as an archetype in the collective...unconscious and is progressively altered, shaped and formed by the shallower layers of unconsciousness which it must traverse on its way to materialization. UFOs, fairies, angels, sasquatches, Lock Ness monster, etc., are thus tulpa materialization from the unconscious - i.e., they are 'dreams' of the race."
"The more intense interest there is, the more photos that are taken, and the more investigation that is done, the easier it is to find evidence...because the additional infiltration of the material and the thought form into more and more unconsciousness provide more and more tuning stages."
     - Thomas Bearden, "Species Metapyschology, UFO Waves and Cattle Mutilations"

"The extraterrestrial is the human oversoul in its general and particular expression on the planet...It is actually the most intelligent organism on the planet, regulating human culture through the release of ideas out of eternity and into the continuum of history. The UFO is an idea whose purpose is to confound science, because science has begun to threaten the existence of the human species and the entire ecosystem of the planet. And at this point a shock is necessary for the culture - a shock equivalent to the shock of the Resurrection on Roman imperialism."
     - Terence McKenna

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(2) UFO's as a Reality Transformer

"At close range, the UFO phenomenon acts as a reality transformer, triggering for the witness a series of symbolic displays that are indistinguishable from reality. These displays, which frequently begin with a bewildering series of blinking colored lights of extraordinary intensity, induce a state of intense confusion for the subjects who are vulnerable to the insertion of new thoughts and new visual experiences."
     - Jacques Valleé, Messengers of Deception

"My contention is that these different forms of contact are related and that in all likelihood a single source of intelligence is using whatever openings it can find to penetrate our collective mind and modify our basic ideas of how reality works."
     - Michael Grosso, Mind at Large

"Our interest in [UFOs] should center of how the spreading and deepening convictions about them subtly, yet irreversibly, remold not just peripheral religious or metaphysical ideas, but entire constellations of culture and social knowledge. In this connection, UFOs can be depicted as what I would can ultraterrestrial agents of cultural deconstruction."
     - Carl Raschke

Longtime UFO observer Jacques Valleé focuses "not on stages leading to eventual 'contact' but rather on what he calls the 'recursive unsolvability' of the overall phenomenon. In mathematics a recursive function is one in which a solution can be reached not by predictable linear operations, but rather through continuous, partial tallies, each of which gradually redefines the problem itself. Valleé notes that the UFO phenomenon began with the expectation of an imminent, concise, and straightforward solution, but through successive, partial tallies has revealed an increasingly murky horizon."
     - Keith Thompson, Aliens and Angels

"What we see emerging in the UFO phenomenon is not gradual contact but rather gradual control - of our beliefs, expectations, fears, hopes and dreams...We know from behavioral psychology that the best schedule of reinforcement is one that combines periodicity with unpredictability [citing the ongoing pattern of intense UFO activity followed by quiet periods when it seems to have gone away entirely]. Learning is then slow but continuous. It leads to the highest level of adaptation. And it is irreversible. It is interesting to observe that the pattern of UFO waves has the same structure as a schedule of reinforcement."
     - Jacques Valleé

Through use of hypnotic induction creating confusion, "setting the stage for reframing thus becomes an important step in the process of affecting second order change and of 'showing the fly the way out of the fly-bottle'."
     - Watelaurck, Weakland and Rush

"...I cannot help thinking it is we who are in need of dire examination; it is we who have to place ourselves on an 'operating table.' It looks to me as if something- some intelligence- is 'examining' and 'operating on' us. Medical operation implies a need for healing. The latest development in UFO symbolism contains a message about healing ourselves.
"...If we interpret the symbolism of the abduction experience as a strange kind of species dream, the message is that our world, symbolized by the otherworld, is a dying wasteland and that we have to evolve into a higher (and hence much more adaptable) species."
     - Michael Grosso, Mind at Large

"I believe there is a machinery of mass manipulation behind the UFO phenomenon...UFO contactees are the tools of a global plan. These silent agents are walking among us unseen, placing social time bombs at strategic spiritual locations. Some fine morning we may wake up from our 'scientific' complacency to find stranger walking through the ruins of our establishments."
     - Jacques Valleé, Messengers of Deception

"One can argue that one of the primary effects of the UFO phenomenon, for those who take it seriously, is to fracture their Western, scientific view of reality. In addition, reported UFO communications containing theological material often promote an impersonal or pantheistic conception of God, and some specifically attack the foundations of particular devotional faiths - notably Christianity.
"One hypothesis to explain all this is that there exist beings endowed with mystic powers who are trying to indoctrinate human society with a spiritual philosophy based on cosmic evolution of consciousness and an impersonal conception of the absolute. Some of these beings are humanoids that visit people in UFOs, and others may be humans like ourselves who have acquired mystic powers through the practice of yoga. For the latter, their impersonal philosophy may have its roots in historical traditions such as Buddhism and the Indian philosophy of Advaita Vedanta. The purpose of the indoctrination program may be to save humanity and the earth from the perils caused by modern materialism.
     - Richard L. Thompson, Alien Identities

"There are UFOs or there have been contacts - if only signals - from outer space, but the evidence reveals the aliens are interested only in observing us...But public knowledge of these facts could become a threat. If the existence of UFOs were to be officially confirmed, a chain reaction could be initiated that would result in the collapse of the Earth's present power structure. Thus, a secret international understanding - a conspiracy - has been agreed to by the world powers to keep the public ignorant of and confused about contacts or visitations from beyond the Earth."
     - Victor Marchett (once executive assistant to the Deputy Director of the CIA), Second Look, May 1979

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(3) Intracerebral Implants

"Creatures from outer space invaded this planet, captured human beings, and took them to their space ship. When they had the earth people bound and anesthetized, they planted little electrical receivers in the back of their heads. The invaders held the controlling transmitters and returned the earthlings to their jobs and society. Some of the people on remote control [...] committed despicable crimes, and changed their life styles into parodies of their former selves because their thoughts and actions were being controlled by these extraterrestrial invaders.".
     - Hal Lindsey, Satan is Alive and Well on Planet Earth, p.98, 1972

"Perhaps the most interesting pieces of evidence surrounding the abduction phenomenon are the intracerebral implants allegedly visible in the X-rays and MRI scans of many abductees. Indeed, abductees often describe operations in which needles are inserted into the brain; more frequently still, they report implantation of foreign objects through the sinus cavities. Many abduction specialists assume that these intracranial incursions must be the handiwork of scientists from the stars.."
"The abductees' implants strongly suggest a technological lineage which can be traced to a device known as a "stimoceiver", invented in the late '50s-early '60s by a neuroscientist named Jose Delgado. The stimoceiver is a miniature depth electrode which can receive and transmit electronic signals over FM radio waves. By stimulating a correctly-positioned stimoceiver, an outside operator can wield a surprising degree of control over the subject's responses.
     - Martin Cannon, The Controllers: A New Hypothesis of Alien Abduction

"Radio stimulation of different points in the amygdala and hippocampus in the four patients produced a variety of effects, including pleasant sensations, elation, deep, thoughtful concentration, odd feelings, super relaxation, colored visions, and other responses.".
     - Jose Delgado, Physical Control of the Mind: Towards a Psychocilvilised Society

Of one experimental subject, Delgado notes that 'the patient expressed the successive sensations of fainting, fright and floating around. These 'floating' feelings were repeatedly evoked on different days by stimulation of the same point..." Ufologists may recognize the similarity of this sequence of events to abductee reports of the opening minutes of their experiences."

"In a fascinating series of experiments, Delgado attached the stimoceiver to the tympanic membrane, thereby transforming the ear into a sort of micro-phone. An assistant would whisper "How are you?"into the ear of a suitably 'fixed' cat, and Delgado could hear the words over a loudspeaker in the next room. The application of this technology to the spy trade should be readily apparent. According to Victor Marchetti, The Agency once attempted a highly-sophisticated extension of this basic idea, in which radio implants were attached to a cat's cochlea, to facilitate the pinpointing of specific conversations, freed from extraneous surrounding noises. Such 'advances' exacerbate the already-imposing level of Twentieth-Century paranoia: Not only can our phones be tapped and mail checked, but even TABBY may be spying on us!"

"Robert G. Heath, of Tulane University, who has implanted as many as 125 electrodes in his subjects, achieved his greatest notoriety by attempting to 'cure' homosexuality through ESB. In his experiments, he discovered that he could control his patients' memory; he could also induce sexual arousal, fear, pleasure, and hallucinations. Heath and another researcher, James Olds, have independently illustrated that areas of the brain in and near the hypothalamus have, when electronically stimulated, what has been described as 'rewarding' and 'aversive' effects.
"Both animals and men, when given the means to induce their own ESB of the brain's pleasure centers, will stimulate themselves at a tremendous rate, ignoring such basic drives as hunger and thirst. (Using fixed electrodes of his own invention, John C. Lilly had accomplished similar effects in the early 1950s.)" "Bryan Robinson, of the Yerkes primate laboratory has conducted fascinating simian research on the use of remote ESB in a social context. He could cause mothers to ignore their offspring, despite the babies' cries. He could turn submission into dominance, and vice-versa."

"In his autobiography The Scientist John C. Lilly (who would later achieve a cultish reknown for his work with dolphins, drugs and sensory deprivation) records a conversation he had with the director of the National Institute Mental Health in 1953. The director asked Lilly to brief the CIA, FBI, NSA and the various military intelligence services on his work using electrodes to stimulate directly the pleasure and pain centers of the brain. Lilly refused..."
     - Martin Cannon, The Controllers: A New Hypothesis of Alien Abduction

"Dr. Antoine Remond, using our techniques in Paris, has demonstrated that this method of stimulation of the brain can be applied to the human without the help of the neuro-surgeon; he is doing it in his office in Paris without neuro-surgical supervision. This means that anybody with the proper apparatus can carry this out on a person covertly, with no external signs that electrodes have been used on that person. I feel that if this technique got into the hands of a secret agency, they would have total control over a human being and be able to change his beliefs extremely quickly, leaving little evidence of what they had done."
     - John C. Lilly, The Scientist

"Despite his avowed phobia against secrecy, a careful reading of The Scientist reveals that he continued to do work useful to this country's national security apparatus. His sensory deprivation experiments expanded upon the work of ARTICHOKE's Maitland Baldwin, and even his dolphin research has - perhaps inadvertently - proved useful in naval warfare. One should note that Lilly's work on monkeys carried a "secret"classification, and that NIMH was a common CIA funding conduit."

"Only recently has the barrier cannon been rolled out of the Pentagon's burgeoning vault of black projects. One NASA report written in 1970 by Thomas Fryer of Ames Research Labs concerned 'Implantable Biotelemetry Systems' (the gadgets that turn up with unnerving regularity in the bodies of UFO abductees)."
     Alex Constantine, Psychic Dictatorship in the U.S.A., p.34, 1995)

"Over the years, certain journalists have asserted that the CIA has mastered a technology call RHIC-EDOM. RHIC means 'Radio Hypnotic Intracerebral Control'. EDOM stands for 'Electronic Dissolution of Memory.' Together, these techniques can - allegedly - remotely induce hypnotic trance, deliver suggestions to the subject, and erase all memory for both the instruction period and the act which the subject is asked to perform.
"RHIC uses the stimoceiver, or a microminiaturized offspring of that technology to induce a hypnotic state. Interestingly, this technique is also reputed to involve the use of INTRAMUSCULAR implants, a detail strikingly reminiscent of the 'scars' mentioned in Budd Hopkins Missing Time. Apparently, these implants are stimulated to induce a post-hypnotic suggestion.
"EDOM is nothing more than missing time itself - the erasure of memory from consciousness through the blockage of synaptic transmission in certain areas of the brain. By jamming the brain's synapses through a surfeit of acetocholine, neural transmission along selected pathways can be effectively stilled. According to the proponents of RHIC-EDOM, acetocholine production can be affected by electromagnetic means. (Modern research in the psycho-physiological effects of microwaves confirm this proposition.)"
     - Martin Cannon, The Controllers: A New Hypothesis of Alien Abduction

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Contactees and Cults

(1) The Glow of the Super-religious

In a "so-called contactee case...a person known as a contactee meets with beings from other worlds on a friendly basis. Contactees may claim to have been selected by these beings to carry their message to humankind, and sometimes they claim to have been taken on visits to other planets in spaceships."
"Channeled communications have frequently taken place in contactee cases..."
     - Richard L. Thompson, Alien Identities

"We have previously told you, our brothers, our sisters of the earth planet, there will be an attempt to lift off certain of the children of Light, or what you have termed the children of God or the innocent from the surface of your planet before an axial flip takes place."
     - Sut-ko, allegedly channeled by Aleuti Francesca

This message clearly plays upon traditional Christian expectations.

"Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air."
     - Paul, I Thessalonians

"Many of the contactees have what we psychiatrists call dissociative personalities, in some cases even multiple personalities. They are susceptible to trance states, which makes them, by the way, unusually good hypnotic subjects."
     - Berhold Eric Schwarz

"Many UFO contactees also develop the glow of the super-religious who have 'seen the light'."
     - J. Mishlove

"A great many of the contactees purvey philosophies which are tinged, if not tainted, with totalitarian overtones."
     - Paris Flammonde

"A catalogue of contactee themes includes the following: intellectual abdication, racist philosophy, technical impotence and social utopia. Beyond the attention of academic science, below the dignity of official history, there are groups, cults, and sects that serve as "leading indicators"of mass movements."
"The symbols attached to the UFO phenomenon are the primary images of life: blood, death, sex, time, space, and sky."
     - Jacques Valleé, Messengers of Deception

"...One familiar leader of the UFO fringe -- a man well-known for his espousal of the doctrine of 'love and light' -- is Virgil Armstrong, a close personal friend of General John Singlaub, the notorious Iran-Contra player, who recently headed the neo-fascist World Anti-Communist League. Armstrong, who also happens to be an ex-Green Beret and former CIA operative, figured into my inquiry in an interesting fashion: An abductee of my acquaintance was told -- by her 'entities', naturally -- to seek out this UFO spokesman and join his 'sky-watch' activities, which, my source alleges, included a mass channelling session intended to send debilitating 'negative' vibrations to Constantine Chernenko, then the leader of the Soviet Union. Of course, intracerebral voices may have a purely psychological origin, so Armstrong can hardly be held to task for the abductee's original 'directive'. Still, his past associations with military intelligence inevitably bring disturbing possibilities to mind."
     - Martin Cannon, The Controllers: A New Hypothesis of Alien Abduction

There are also suggestive indications of links between Werner Erhard, the CIA, the former Soviet KGB and UFOs at Esalen near Big Sur, California.

"Even more ominous than possible ties between UFO cults and the intelligence community are the cults' links with the shadowy I AM group, founded by Guy Ballard in the 1930s. According to researcher David Stupple, 'If you look at the contactee groups today, you'll see that most of the stable, larger ones are actually neo-I AM groups, with some sort of tie to Ballard's organization'. This cult, therefore, bears investigation. Guy Ballard's 'Mighty I AM Religious Activity', grew, in large part, out of William Dudley Pelly's Silver Shirts, an American NAZI organization. Although Ballard himself never openly proclaimed NAZI affiliation, his movement was tinged with an extremely right-wing political philosophy, and in secret meetings he 'decreed' the death of President Franklin Roosevelt. The I AM philosophy derived from Theosophy, and in this author's estimation bears a more-than-cursory resemblance to the Theosophically-based teachings that informed the proto-NAZI German occult lodges.
"After the war, Pelley (who had been imprisoned for sedition during the hostilities) headed an occult-oriented organization call Soulcraft, based in Noblesville, Indiana. Another Soulcraft employee was the controversial contactee George Hunt Williamson (real name: Michel d'Obrenovic), who co-authored UFOs Confidential with John McCoy, a proponent of the theory that a Jewish banking conspiracy was preventing disclosure of the solution to the UFO mystery [How remarkable that such idiots figure out such fundamental halt-truths. -AMPP Ed.]. Later, Williamson founded the I AM-oriented Brotherhood of the Seven Rays in Peru. Another famed contactee, George Van Tassel, was associated with Pelley and with the notoriously anti-Semitic Reverend Wesley Swift (founder of the group which metamorphosed into the Aryan nations).

"The most visible offspring of I AM is Elizabeth Clare Prophet's Church Universal and Triumphant, a group best-known for its massive arms caches in underground bunkers. CUT was recently exposed in Covert Action Information Bulletin as a conduit of CIA funds, and according to researcher John Judge, has ties to organizations allied to the World Anti-Communist League. Prophet is becoming involved in abduction research and has sponsored presentations by Budd Hopkins and other prominent investigators. In his book The Armstrong Report:: ETs AND UFOs: They Need Us, We Don't Need Them [sic], Virgil Armstrong directs troubled abductees toward Prophet's group. (Perhaps not insignificantly, he also suggests that abductees plagued by implants alleviate their problem by turning to 'the I AM force' within'.)"
     - Martin Cannon, The Controllers: A New Hypothesis of Alien Abduction

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(2) New Age Themes

1.) Earth as a prison planet
"Human beings appear to be a slave race languishing on an isolated planet in a small galaxy. As such, the human race was once a source of labor for an extraterrestrial civilization and still remains a possession today. To keep control over its possession and to maintain Earth as something of a prison, that other civilizations has bred never-ending conflict between human beings, has promoted human spiritual decay, and has erected on Earth conditions of unremitting physical hardship. This situation has existed for thousands of years and it continues today."
     - William Bramley, The Gods of Eden

[Perhaps not coincidentally, Bramley has precisely described the tactics of the establishment. -AMPP Ed.]

2.) A species awakening
"...I take the flying saucer to be an image of the future state of humanity. It is a kind of millenarian transformation of the human where the soul is exteriorized as the apotheosis of technology. It is that eschatological event that is casting enormous shadows backward through time over the historical landscape. That is the siren singing at the end of time, calling all humanity across the last hundred millennia toward it. Calling us out of the trees and into history, and through this series of multileveled cultural transitions to the point where the thing within the monkeys - the creature of pure language and pure imagination whose aspirations are entirely titanic in terms of self-transformation - that thing is now emerging, and it will emerge as humanity leaves the planet."
     - Terence McKenna, The Archaic Revival

"Are these 'somethings' aspects of a greater existence, distorted perhaps by the subject's perceptual filters? Are they first glimpses of a 'larger earth'? To a frog with its simple eye, the world is a dim array of grays and blacks. Are we like frogs in our limited sensorium, apprehending just part of the universe we inhabit? Are we as a species now awakening to the reality of multidimensional worlds in which matter undergoes subtle reorganizations in some sort of hyperspace? Is visionary experience analogous to the first breathings of early amphibians? Are we ourselves coming ashore to a 'larger earth'?"
     - Michael Murphy, The Future of the Body

3.) Feminine mythology
"My own experience, as I have mentioned in both Communion and Transformation, seems to involve an immensely powerful female figure. Certainly it is full of symbolic imagery that relates to ancient feminine deities and feminine mythology."
     - Whitley Stieber in The Watchers

"Children of the northern peoples, you wander in impenetrable darkness. Your mother mourns."
     - Betty Andreasson (UFO abductee under hypnosis)

"I believe the strong tendency of the unconscious to produce stories is connected with a desire of the unconscious - the 'female principle' - to divert and entertain."
     - Stan Gooch, The Paranormal

from http://home.fireplug.net/~rshand/streams/ufos/states.html:

Altered States

The Light Show Within

(1) Sensory Deprivation

"Normal memories, the 'perceptual release' theory [formulated by Hughlings Jackson in 1931] assumes, are suppressed by the flow of sense information from the outside world. New information inhibits the emergence and awareness of previously processed information. If the new input is decreased or impaired while awareness remains, stored images may be released and experienced as hallucinations or dreams."
     - Louis Jolyon West

"The daylight (sensory input) is reduced while the interior illumination (the general level of arousal of the central nervous system) remains bright, so that images originating within the rooms of the brain may be perceived as though they came from outside the windows of the senses."
     - Ronald K. Siegel

"Numerous studies in sensory deprivation show that once a well-reinforced thinking process which dominates in everyday life stops, the mind is overwhelmed by a flood of non-ordinary imagery. In one study conducted at McGill University in Montreal by psychologist Donald Hebb, student volunteers experienced what we call childish emotional responses and hallucinations after twenty-four hours."
     - Regush

"From real studies on suggestibility in sensory deprivation conditions, Vernon found that suggestibility in all ways could be increased after two to three days and become four times greater than before. But he also found that it was lost no longer than two days after the experimental conditions were terminated, if gains were not consolidated thereafter.
"Why should one become suggestible in such conditions? Vernon explains that the brainstem reticular formation acts as a way station for all messages coming in and going out of the brain. Normally it inhibits some messages and enhances others, thus dictating which ones get paid conscious attention. Conditions of sensory deprivation probably reduce the amount of information passing through the reticular formation..."
     - Denise Winn, The Manipulated Mind

"If this is the case, then the 'importance' of any given sets of neural events may be greatly enhanced. Said more simply, under the conditions of sensory deprivation, the human may be able to content himself with ideas or cognitions that he would otherwise simply dismiss."
     - Prof. Jack Vernon, Inside the Black Room

---

(2) Hallucinogens

Analogous to the perceptual-release theory of hallucinations, "the daylight (sensory input) is reduced while the interior illumination (the general level of arousal of the central nervous system) remains bright, so that images orginating within the rooms of the brain may be perceived as though they came from outside the windows of the senses."
     - Ronald K. Siegel

"Hallucinogens produced vivid descriptions. First, organized geometric patterns appeared. Slowly they took on blue tints and began pulsating. Thirty minutes into the voyage, lattice and tunnel forms increased significantly, along with some kaleidoscopes. When nearly two hours had passed, colors shifted to red, orange and yellow. Explosive, rotating lattice tunnels predominated, overlaid by complex images drawn from the subject's life. The scenes and forms all danced together around a bright light in the center of the image."
     - Brian Van der Horst

Form Constants (produced by hallucinogens)
     1) Bright pulsating light
     2) Images of tunnels and/or tubes
     3) Varied but intense colors
     4) Rotating or spiraling images
     5) Geometric patterns
     6) Erratic moment of imagery
     7) Subject becoming part of imagery or participating in the experience
     8) Multiple "tv screens" often displaying autobiographical data
     9) Integration of memories into the experience
     10) Various "complex imagery" (i.e., recognizable (often cartoonlike) human, animal and other forms)
     Large, domed rooms are common
- Categorized by Ronald K. Siegal

"The shapes formed by the spirit-fire are only empty colors and forms. The light of human nature [hsing] shines back on the primordial, the true."
     - The Hui Ming Ching

---

(3) NDE's (Near Death Experiences)

"Although 'death' narratives do not always follow an identical sequence of events, many of the described phenomena are consistent with details from abductions. Similarities include: (1) a bright light; (2) a humming (musical or annoying); (3) a sense of 'floating' out of body; (4) moving through a 'tunnel' or 'tube'; (5) approaching a 'door' or border of some sort; (6) encounter a 'being of light'; (7) telepathic communication with the 'being'; (8) a rapid review 'as on a TV screen' of events in the witnesses life; (9) a kind of 'moral examination' (roughly akin to the abductee's physical exam) which involves past deeds; (10) a moral 'message' of some kind; (11) a 'return'; (12) an aftermath in which the witness experiences varying degrees of personality change."
     - Alven H. Lawson

NDE's may also involve bodily dismemberment such as that experienced in shamanistic trances.

"The bright light is characteristic of many types of metal imagery; it is due to stimulation of the central nervous system that mimics the effects of light on the retina. It can also occur when the electrical activity in the brain is altered in such a way that the threshold for perception of phosphenes (electrical activity in the visual system) is lowered and bright lights are seen in otherwise dark surroundings. This point of light creates a tunnel perspective and individuals will report viewing much of their imagery in this regard."
     - Ronald K. Siegel in Science and the Paranormal

---

Temporal Lobe Transients

"...The brain can discriminate and respond to different kinds of very subtle, external magnetic fields, without the individual necessarily being aware of it, except through their imagery."
"We attempted to determine if the light flashing frequency in conjunction with, that is, synergistically, a magnetic field being applied to the brain would enhance suggestibility and imagery. What we found was there was indeed a change in imagery, and that the imagery was specific to those kinds of properties that are unique to temporal lobe activity; feelings of floating, movement, certain complex visual sensations."
     - Michael Persinger

"There is little doubt that the class of experiences that comprise mystical experiences in general, and NDE's in particular, is strongly correlated with temporal lobe activity....Kate Makarec and I have found that all of the major components of the NDE [near death experience], including out-of-body experiences, floating, being pulled towards a light, hearing strange music, and profound meaningful experiences can occur in experimental settings during minimal electrical current induction to the temporal region due to exogenous spike-and-wave magnetic field sources."
"The hypothesis that temporal lobe excitability is tied to these kinds of experiences goes back to the clinical literature, in which we know that there are ceratin personality and subjective experience features that are associated with electrical foci in the temporal lobe, specifically epileptic foci....We found that the normal population shows these symptoms, too, and that they appear to lie along a continuum."

"The personalities of normal people who display enhanced temporal lobe activity... usually display enhanced creativity, suggestibility, memory capactity and intuitive processing. Most of them experience a rich fantasy or subjective world that fosters their adaptability. These people have more frequent experiences of a sense of presence during which time 'an entity is felt and sometimes seen;' exotic beliefs rather than traditional religious concepts are endorsed."
     - Michael Persinger in Report on Communion by Ed Conroy

Arnold Mandell at UC San Diego has identified the septo-hippocampal-amygdaloid circuit of the limbic system which can be sent into oscillation by feedback from drumming, sensory deprivation and drugs. The result is a state of temporal lobe epilepsy in which the individual experiences transcendent states (auras) and often feelings of possession or terror. Smells, such a brimstone or heavenly fragrances, are often involved indicating the involvement of the limbic system which is also known as the rhinocephalon or "smell brain". These events are often accompanied by feelings of intense meaningfulness or great portentousness.
     - Barry L. Beyerstein, Notes from a lecture before the BC Skeptics Society (22 April 1994)

"...Movement, odd visual experiences, the profoundness, the fact that it's true reality, the intense meaningfulness, the cosmic significance of it all, the desire to proselytize, to spread the word, the sense of the personal, as if one is particularly chosen- these are all classic temporal lobe signs."
"...The whole context of feeling that there's another self giving you information, whether it's identified as the Great Spirit, an extraterrestrial, or just another personality, that whole operation is extraordinarily similar to temporal lobe phenomena."
     - Michael Persinger

The effect of electromagnetic fields on the temporal lobe have been used to explain some of the phenomena associated with close encounters with "UFOs".

According to Peter Fenwick, sensitives selected by the London Society for Psychical Research showed a high incidence of head traumas at some point in their lives. Michael Persinger has noted that the soft neural signs associated with mystical experience correlates with temporal lobe transients which "color" attitudes, beliefs and behaviors. Four percent of the population is "fantasy prone" according to Banber(?) and Wilson's scale. A study of a science fiction group showed a correlation between fantasy imagery, temporal lobe transients. and esoteric beliefs.
     - Barry L. Beyerstein, Notes from a lecture before the BC Skeptics Society (22 April 1994)

"The cerebellum is the source of sexual excitement and of orgasm. If man's evolution is the result of a conflict between the old and new brain, resulting in a degree of reconciliation, then is it not conceivable that glimpses of higher consciousness are the result of a momentary integration of the old and new brains?
"Elmer and Alyce Green of the Menniger Foundation discovered that hypnogogic images are accompanied by strong theta rhythms, which suggests that the cerebellum is the source of theta rhythms. Their research into biofeedback also showed that, while relaxation states are accompanied by alpha rhythms, deeper states of reverie produced long trains of theta rhythms. This led them to speculate that states of creativity might be accompanied by theta rhythms, since so many poets and scientists have received sudden bursts of inspiration when they were in states between sleeping and waking."
     - Colin Wilson, Mysteries : An Investigation into the Occult, the Paranormal, and the Supernatural

"The transcendent state is characterized by 'resting-state alpha' and relatively high-amplitude, synchronous slow-wave activity in the median of the central cortex accompanied by regional (commonly temporal) gamma (30-hertz-plus) brain-wave activity."
     - Murray Cox in Omni, October '93

(The following is coverage of a pseudoscientific establishment campaign to demarginalize a bevy of New Age and common religious tenets, including non-local/non-physical consciousness and life after death. Notice toward the end the mention of patients becoming more "compassionate, altruistic and loving" - the central emotional ideals of New Age. And just to be perfectly clear: human consciousness is a process wholly contained within and dependent on the human brain.)

from the Washington Post, 2001-Dec-17, p.A11, by Shankar Vedantam:

Near Proof for Near-Death?

The 44-year-old man who had collapsed in a meadow was brought to a hospital, unconscious and with no pulse or brain activity. Doctors began artificial respiration, heart massage and defibrillation.

A nurse trying to feed a tube down the man's throat saw that he was wearing dentures. The nurse removed them and placed them on a stand called a "crash car." The patient was moved to the intensive care unit.

A week later, after the patient had recovered, the nurse saw the man again. The man immediately recognized the nurse as the person who had removed his dentures and also remembered other details of what had happened while he was in a deep coma. He said he had perceived the events from above the hospital bed and watched doctors' efforts to save his life.

This account would be standard fare in a supermarket tabloid, but last week it was published in the Lancet, a British medical journal. It is the latest in a long series of efforts to either document or debunk the existence of "near-death" experiences, something that for the most part has remained in the realm of the paranormal.

The new study, conducted in the Netherlands, is one of the first so-called prospective scientific studies. Instead of interviewing people who reported near-death experiences after the fact, the researchers simply followed hundreds of patients who were resuscitated after suffering clinical death as their hearts stopped. The idea was that this approach might provide more accurate accounts by documenting the experiences as they happened, rather than basing them on recollections of the distant past.

About 18 percent of the patients in the study reported some recollection of the period when they were clinically dead, and 8 percent to 12 percent reported going through "near-death" experiences, such as seeing lights at the end of tunnels or "crossing over" and speaking with dead relatives and friends.

The researchers say the evidence supports the validity of "near-death" experiences and suggests that scientists should rethink theories on one of the ultimate medical mysteries: the nature of human consciousness.

Skeptics, however, maintain that the Dutch researchers had not provided evidence to buttress any extraordinary claims; certainly nothing as dramatic as proof that there is an afterlife.

Most neuroscientists believe that consciousness is a byproduct of the physical brain, that mind arises from matter. But if near-death experiences are really what those who experience them say they are, does that mean that people can be conscious of events around them even when they are physically unconscious, when their brains do not show signs of electrical activity?

How can consciousness be independent of brain function?

"Compare it with a TV" program, said Pim van Lommel, a cardiologist at the Hospital Rijnstate in the Netherlands and the lead investigator of the research. "If you open the TV set you will not find the program. The TV set is a receiver. When you turn off your TV set, the program is still there but you can't see it. When you put off your brain, your consciousness is there but you can't feel it in your body."

The study, he said in a telephone interview, suggested that researchers investigating consciousness "should not look in the cells and molecules alone."

Although the Dutch scientist said the research did not address whether there was such a thing as the soul or God or the afterlife, many remained skeptical. In an accompanying article, Christopher French, director of the Anomalistic Psychology Research unit at Britain's Goldsmiths College, said that multiple questions persisted.

"We have understandable and natural urges to believe we will survive bodily death and we will be reunited with our departed loved ones," he said. "So anything that would support that idea -- reincarnation, mediums, ghosts -- present evidence of the survival of the soul. It's something that we would all desperately like to believe is true."

French pointed out that some of those in the study who reported they had near-death experiences said in follow-up interviews that they had not had them, while a few who had said they had experienced nothing later said they now remembered them. He said that this could suggest that false memories were at play.

"I don't think the study suggests anything beyond the dying process," agreed Paul Kurtz, a former professor of philosophy at the State University of New York in Buffalo and the chairman for the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal.

"The out-of-body experience and light and traveling down a tunnel and meeting people on the other side -- in my view these are the psychological states that people go through as they are dying," he said.

Both pointed out that hearing is the last sense to shut down in the dying brain and that victims such as the 44-year-old man may have heard some of the events around them and subconsciously reconstructed the events as visual.

The Dutch researchers tracked 344 patients who had been resuscitated. They ranged in age from 26 to 92. Three-quarters were men. Most were interviewed within five days of being resuscitated, and the researchers followed up with interviews two and eight years later to test the reliability of the patients' memories.

Patients' demographics, religious beliefs, psychological makeup and medical treatment were also documented to see who was more likely to report such experiences.

The researchers found that the experiences did not correlate with any of the measured psychological, physiological or medical parameters, which Lommel said meant the experiences were unrelated to processes in the dying brain. Most patients had excellent recall of the events, he added, which undermined the theory that the memories were false.

Finally, the people who had such experiences reported marked changes in their personalities, compared with those who had come near death but not had the experiences. They seemed to lose fear of death, and they became more compassionate, altruistic and loving.

Bruce Greyson, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville who has also done research in the area, said that science had neither good explanations nor good rebuttals of the conclusions of the Dutch researchers.

In experiments underway, he said, tiny signs were placed on the ceilings of hospital rooms, so that if people were genuinely having out-of-body experiences and hovering over their beds, they would be able to see the signs and provide "proof" of the phenomenon.

While it may take a long time for such experiments to uncover a case, he and others said, because not all patients will be resuscitated in that room and not all cardiac arrest cases result in near-death experiences, it could provide evidence to buttress patients' reports.

"Brain chemistry does not explain these phenomena," Greyson said. "I don't know what the explanation is, but our current understanding of brain chemistry falls short."

by Dick Farley (cloudrider@aol.com), from http://home.navisoft.com/wes/aliens/false.htm:

FALSE MEMORY SPINDROME

Here's the list forwarded to me the other day of the FMSF's advisory board, from their most recent online version of their False Memory Syndrome Foundation newsletter. I've simply been "watching" these folks for a while. Some of these names are VERY interesting given their research histories. Well known, many are. So...here's what's happening:

UCLA identifications: Louis Jolyon West; John Hochman; Rochel Gelman.

Others at Berkeley (Singer; Crews; Ofshe). Stanford & Harvard, of course. (Odd, yes, that being John Mack's baliwick, too? "Aliens?" Bah, humbug! "Alien-Nation?")

The "Amazing" James Randi (of CSICOP and allegedly "CIA" consultant on magic and debunk/disinform fame). His presence sort of gives away who and what this FMSF scam is about. Odd also, yes, that Randi got into a "pi**ing" contest with former Navy signals scientist Eldon Byrd recently (1992-1993) and the two fought it out in a slander suit Byrd filed against Randi? Something to do with Byrd's alleged plea bargain to some kind of mail-porn charge, which Randi allegedly had hyped up publicly to be more than that. Byrd won, but Randi pleaded "destitution" and Eldon got an award of $1.00. (It was tried in Baltimore, back in 1993. Baltimore Sun reported it, and Byrd told me about it over dinner at C. B. "Scott" Jones home one evening of several we spent together back in '92 and '93 there.)

Byrd said that Uri Geller put up $10,000 for his legal costs. Byrd and Geller are good friends, from back in the '70s, and Geller and Randi's bitter adversarial relationship is well known and goes way back, too. (You might want to read Andrijah Puharich's "URI" if you've not yet.)

Byrd says he had been "set-up" by postal inspectors, part of some initiative to discredit him because he was too public with his personal interests in "psi," etc. He'd allegedly had some Navy security clearance issues dog him, which contributed to his early retirement as one of their senior most civilian scientists. Of course, he could have been "living his cover," much as Jones allegedly was doing when he retired from active Navy Intelligence duty in the mid-1970s to create his "new" identity as fatherly "Professor Jones," of the Psi-Institute for Hot Oil Massages.

Even more bizarre: When he was still with the Navy, Dr. Byrd was the contract manager for some of the research Michael Persinger did (see FMSF list below), on "neuro-impacts" of various EMFs and ELFs. Something about wave-propagation and influences on submariners if somebody "beeped" them with mind-influencing EMF signals, etc., that kind of thing. Pretty small club, these folks. "Mind-benders" all.

The Orne's are now at Penn, of course. Most government "mind-influencers" we (the taxpayers) funded have now turned their misshapen medical ethics to work for the Dark Side. You've seen them in your Psych-Lit data base searches I suggested? Their work is funded by the big foundations (Hughes, etc.) and is buried so arcanely in technomedbabble as to be difficult...but not impossible...to excavate.

Not to omit the aforementioned Michael Persinger, up at Laurentian University, in Canada, where MUCH of this kind of work has been undertaken...(no pun intended) ...because of Canada absence of a Bill of Rights and First Amendment, not to mention a more restrictive National Security apparatus regarding disclosures. He was previously funded by Navy, and is/was a big buddy of C. B. Jones (Jones says) and other gov't signal propagation experts...for whom Persinger does/did work on "receptivity" and neuro-effects of external signals. See Psych-Lit and other refs.

The "web" of slime balls who have diddled with the knobs on the planetary consciousness is laid out here. But: Sunlight is the best disinfectant! There it is.

Best,

Dick (cloudrider@aol.com)

P.S. - Did you see the tantalizing "blurb" on Rather Dan's CBS News last night? It was a "read only" story with a graphic, about "researchers have mapped auditory hallucinations in the brain." Dan showed a computerized brain-scan "of a normal person," and then one of the distributed activity of "a schizophrenic while hearing voices." That was it. Hmmm. Do you have a citation for what that may have been drawn from?

Due to the Powell Colin-ectomy from the Newt-onian Presidential Campaign, Rather Dan apparently truncated the brain piece. My guess is it came from a journal "press release," but he didn't say which one. No other info given.

Interestingly, immediately following that little tid-byte, Rather had a story about "subliminals" in computer games (and other "retail" places). A new CD-game entitled "EdorFUN" was featured, and a benign history of the field was presented.

("Oh, 'Brave New World' that has such people in it.")

The "Eye on America" segment reported in some depth about (it said) "alleged" subliminals. I was amused to see a couple of identifiable "experts," saying the stuff doesn't work, etc., etc. We were left by CBS "not to worry" about yet one more scientific uncertainty with "unlimited market potential."

No surprises there.

But lingering out in the "aethers," there WAS that BBC news report back in April 1993, which was shot when we (Human Potential Foundation...the Pell/Jones thing fueled by Larry Rockeybucks) had a couple of visiting Russians over to demo their "Psychocorrection" software for a bunch of intell types. Included at that private but unclassified symposium we threw (in Tyson's Corners, at offices of Systems Integration Research, who were competing to get the Russians' "brokers" to set up a U.S. defense-intell deal to exploit this technology), were guys like Dr. Richard Nakamura (sp?), the head neuro-guy (there's another pun) from the NIH/NIMH. Also some CIA guys (Pandolfi & Green, who's ex-agency); some "Star Wars" office types; and of course your usual smattering of blue-suiters from USAF & DOD.

(Both Newt and Al Gore, not to mention the White House, are very aware of all of this. Given that it was a Rockey and Pell-Winkle Adventure, what might that tell you? Right! Especially given the Rockey-funded "UFO" Initiative trying to set up the Clintonistas, and Larry's funding and advocacy for "alien abductions" guru John E. Mack up at Hahvahd Yahd. Not to worry. It's still America because WE say it's still America. By the way, anybody SEEN Alien Ambassador Steve Greer lately?)

The BBC came and shot a separate segment of the Russians' "subliminal attitude adjuster" for their 12-minute segment on "Non-Lethal Weapons" and doctrine, (a la John Alexander, Janet & Chris Morris, etc.) which was all the rage during the earlier Clintonista period as "dueling defense budgets" evolved. Les Aspin died for our sins, so that debate is VERY black now, with Deutch of MIT and Sheila Widnall, also of MIT, carrying CIA and USAF. (Funny, that Bosnian-Serb party going on over at Wright-Patterson AFB, in Dayton. Maybe old "Hangar 18" is going to be the new Geneva, and the "Gray/EBEs" invited the Serbs in for some strawberry ice cream?)

The Russians said "it works." And "our side" was quietly amazed that the Russky doctors had apparently "figured out the algorithm" we've spent gazillions working on. And these ex-Soviet scientists had it working on an IBM-386 platform (at least the version they showed us). The later stuff was "at home" on another board.

Of course, the Russians said THEY had refused KGB funding, and their work was aimed at helping bend the minds of alcoholics and drug addicts back to the sanity of service to the state. But OTHER scientists, former colleagues of these guys, had NOT been so "ethical," the Russkies said, and had indeed gone ahead and helped the KGB guys with their nefarious experiments. Right.

That's why Rockefeller was funding Cdr. C. B. Jones to showcase this little bit of what they called "subliminal negotiation" technology to the intell community. Just think...millions and millions of little school kids, watching "Channel One" and having their plastic mind "Newt-ralized." Voila! No more pesky consumers with consciousness, let alone citizens with conscience. A marketer's (and corporate labor negotiator's) dream? Truth is what is believed, right? And people will fight and die...and even kill...for what they can be made to believe. Just ask the Rabins.

Did you ever see that BBC segment? It ran all around the world but here in the US of A. That's a tad odd, isn't it? That the whole world was watching us think about "non-lethal" doctrine except ourselves? Ah, yes. The most effective kind of "mind control" is simply to control the flow of information. Then, while the people believe they are making "choices," it is the "gatekeepers" who are setting the agenda and presenting the alternatives, guided by their "enlightened self interest."

I am reminded of Dan Rather's "mugging" some years ago, when the fellow ran up to him outside "Black Rock" (CBS News HQ), shouting..."Kenneth...what's the frequency?...Kenneth...what's the frequency?" (My guess: probably a little "demo" for Rather Dan about what COULD happen if instead of asking about a frequency, the "wild and crazy guy" might be delivering some OTHER kind of message. Some of these guys on the FMSF "advisory board" list could tell you all about those things.)

---

[brace yourself for FM-SPINdrome Foundation spammage -d4]

(From the FMSF newsletter...last few pages...as forwarded to me. Can't vouch authenticity.)

The False Memory Syndrome Foundation is a qualified 501(c)3 corporation with its principal offices in Philadelphia and governed by its Board of Directors. While it encourages participation by its members in its activities, it must be understood that the Foundation has no affiliates and that no other organization or person is authorized to speak for the Foundation without the prior written approval of the Executive Director. All membership dues and contributions to the Foundation must be forwarded to the Foundation for its disposition.

WHAT IF?

WHAT IF, parents who are facing lawsuits and want legal information about FMS cases, had to be told, "I'm sorry, there isn't any such thing available?"

WHAT IF, your son or daughter began to doubt his or her memories and called FMSF only to get a recording, "This number is no longer in operation?"

WHAT IF, a journalist asks you where to get information about the FMS phenomenon, and you had to answer, "Sorry, I don't know?"

WHAT IF, you want to ask a question that only an expert, familiar with FMS can answer, and find out that FMSF can no longer provide that information? Where would you turn?

WHAT IF the False Memory Syndrome Foundation did not exist?

A frightening thought, isn't it?

Please support our Foundation. We cannot survive without your support!

Reprinted from the August 1994 PFA (MI) Newsletter

YEARLY FMSF MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION 

Professional - Includes Newsletter $125______ 

Family - Includes Newsletter $100______ 

Additional Contribution: _____________ 

Visa: Card # & expiration date: ____________________ 
Mastercard:: Card # & expiration date: ______________ 

Check or Money Order: Payable to FMS Foundation in U.S. dollars 

Please include: Name, address, state, country, phone, fax 

3401 Market Street suite 130, Philadelphia, PA 19104, 
(215-387-1865) 

Pamela Freyd, Ph.D., Executive Director 

---

[and of course, the cocktail-party list]

FMSF Scientific and Professional Advisory Board, November 1, 1995:

• AARON T. BECK, M.D., D.M.S., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
• TERENCE W. CAMPBELL, Ph.D., Clinical and Forensic Psychology, Sterling Heights, MI
• ROSALIND CARTWRIGHT, Rush Presbyterian St. Lukes Medical Center, Chicago, IL
• JEAN CHAPMAN, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
• LOREN CHAPMAN, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
• FREDERICK C. CREWS, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, CA
• ROBYN M. DAWES, Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
• DAVID F. DINGES, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, The Institute of Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, PA
• HENRY C. ELLIS, Ph.D., University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
• FRED FRANKEL, M.B.Ch.B., D.P.M., Beth Israel Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
• GEORGE K. GANAWAY, M.D., Emory University of Medicine, Atlanta, GA
• MARTIN GARDNER, Author, Hendersonville, NC
• ROCHEL GELMAN, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles, CA
• HENRY GLEITMAN, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
• LILA GLEITMAN, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
• RICHARD GREEN, M.D., J.D., Charing Cross Hospital, London
• DAVID A. HALPERIN, M.D., Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY
• ERNEST HILGARD, Ph.D., Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
• JOHN HOCHMAN, M.D., UCLA Medical School, Los Angeles, CA
• DAVID S. HOLMES, Ph.D., University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
• PHILIP S. HOLZMAN, Ph.D., Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
• JOHN KIHLSTROM, Ph.D., Yale University, New Haven, CT
• HAROLD LIEF, M.D., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
• ELIZABETH LOFTUS, Ph.D., University of Washington, Seattle, WA
• PAUL McHUGH, M.D., Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
• HAROLD MERSKEY, D.M., University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
• ULRIC NEISSER, Ph.D., Emory University, Atlanta, GA
• RICHARD OFSHE, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, CA
• EMILY K ORNE, B.A., University of Pennsyllvania, The Institute of Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, PA
• MARTIN ORNE, M.D., Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, The Institute of Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, PA
• LOREN PANKRATZ, Ph.D., Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, OR
• CAMPBELL PERRY, Ph.D., Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
• MICHAEL A. PERSINGER, Ph.D., Laurentian University, Ontario, Canada
• AUGUST T. PIPER, Jr., M.D., Seattle, WA
• HARRISON POPE, Jr., M.D., Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA
• JAMES RANDI, Author and Magician, Plantation, FL
• HENRY L. ROEDIGER, III, Ph.D., Rice University, Houston, TX
• CAROLYN SAARI, Ph.D., Loyola University, Chicago, IL
• THEODORE SARBIN, Ph.D., University of California, Santa Cruz, CA
• THOMAS A. SEBEOK, Ph.D., Indiana Univeristy, Bloomington, IN
• LOUISE SHOEMAKER, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
• MARGARET SINGER, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, CA
• RALPH SLOVENKO, J.D., Ph.D., Wayne State University Law School, Detroit, MI
• DONALD SPENCE, Ph.D., Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center, Piscataway, NJ
• JEFFREY VICTOR, Ph.D., Jamestown Community College, Jamestown, NY
• HOLLIDA WAKEFIELD, M.A., Institute of Psychological Therapies, Northfield, MN
• LOUIS JOLYON WEST, M.D., UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA.

---

Date: October 24, 1995
To: Frontline (frontline@wgbh.org)
From: Dick Farley (cloudrider@aol.com)
Re: "In Search of Satan" / Satanic Ritualistic Abuse, etc.

Air Date: Tuesday, October 24, 1995, at 9 p.m. EDT.

As a journalist who has spent several years examining the various threads which make up the very bizarre tapestry of "SRA" and "alien abuctions," as well as alleged MPD and "induced multiples/alters-as-secret agents for _____", I was saddened that you folks apparently were so easily led astray. Unless, of course, Washington "intelligence personality" Dan Smith is correct and some of your contractual producers and on-board staffers are what he has called "company men," i.e., having CIA or other intelligence community connections. I'll leave all that for Dan and his Capitol Hill friends to sort out.

By way of brief background in this field, I am a journalist and public policy professional, having a varied background in non-profits doing environmental and science policy work. I won the Associated Press "Mark Twain" Award for Investigative Reporting in our Mid-Atlantic region, in 1990.

I worked for several years with an organization called the "Human Potential Foundation," chartered in Washington, DC and based in Falls Church, Virginia. It was founded by U. S. Senator Claiborne Pell and funded primarily by Laurance S. Rockefeller as one of his several current philanthropic initiatives seeming to promote alternative religious and psychiatric/psychological paradigms, including so-called "UFOs" and "abductions," having "Global Mind Change" potentials. Rockefeller put more than $700,000 through the "HPF" from 1991 to 1994, as Common Cause Magazine recently reported (Fall, 1995. Page 7). The network of allied scientists and medical experimenters runs throughout academic, military/intell and government-related specialists in mind-influencing, psychobiology, "political psychiatry" and "exceptional human performance," and makes efforts at reaching into the highest echelons of our elected government...with dubious intentions and reprehensible ethics.

You will see my name (listed as C. Richard Farley, Jr.) in the "Acknowledgments" of the 1993 book about purported "alien abductions" by John E. Mack, M.D., of Harvard. Although I have been portrayed variously by some of the principals of the "HPF" and Rockefeller minions as a "disgruntled ex-employee," that is not the case. I was working for the organization, after being recruited, as Director of Project Development, addressing the various scientific and educational paradigm-shifting foci the organization's principals espoused in their IRS filing and their brochure and internal documentation. I took myself "off" the so-called Rockefeller "UFO Initiative" to the White Houes (on which I worked from Oct. 1992 through April, 1994). Later, the HPF reduced its staff and laid all paid employees off, moving operations to the Falls Church basement in the home of Jones.

Incidental to your program of tonight, and my purpose for writing this, is that I worked from August, 1991 through at May, 1994, the HPF and its President, who is retired naval intelligence officer Cdr. C.B. "Scott" Jones, Ph.D. Jones also was a contractual consultant (KamanTEMPO, Inc.) to the Defense Nuclear Agency (1981-1985) before next working for Senator Pell as Special Assistant (1985-1991), ostensibly looking after Pell's "paranormal" interests. (Jones is also listed in Mack's book, as is L.S. Rockefeller.)

During part of that period and after I'd left the organization (Oct. 1992 through May, 1995), Cdr. Jones and what was left of the HPF (after he got rid of his only two full-time staffers, and with Pell eventually resigning as we have "closed in" on these guys), focused almost all of his public energy on Mr. Rockefeller's purported fascination with so-called "UFOs" and purported "alien abductions." Rockefeller is alleged, based on credible online data and published information, to have made a contribution of prestige and perhaps money to help Harvard's Dr. Mack resist efforts there to censure him for his "alien abduction" beliefs, as he claims is his "diagnosis" of the experiences of his "exceptional experiencers." But that's not all of it, and this certainly isn't about a doddering billionaire with a fascination for the bizarre. It's about power and abuse.

Basically, what tickled me about your program this evening was your reference to Ms. Gloria Steinem, whose magazine published an early and influential report about purported SRA, as your film revealed. What was fascinating is that you did not pursue this high-profile person's involvements further, back to her funding sources and political linkages, which lead to the same sources that have funded "alien abduction research, and the promotion of such scenarios by what "UFO" critic (and top space and reconnaissance technical writer) Philip Klass has repeatedly said is a "highly placed UFO cult."

What you also missed, and what I do know from my personal contacts with some of your "consultants" like Mr. Gus Rousseau in the Washington area, and others, is that Frontline has a deep understanding and much primary information about the range of phenomena and cross-linkages often termed "UFOs," as well as "recalled memories," etc. Your recent repeat of your earlier "debunking" of recalled memories and MPD, in which you had featured a well-known CIA-related psychiatrist purporting to "plant" MPD identities in the Hillside Strangler, I believe, was fairly transparent, especially if one knows the actual history of that psychiatrist. One would almost be led to conclude that your intention was "creative deflection" of mainstream public scrutiny of these phenomena...not as "metaphysicalities," but rather as techniques and applications of technologies in human hands. Hopefully you have thought all of these choices through? Gloria Steinem's "friendship" with the afore-mentioned Cdr. C.B. Jones, who demonstrably is and has been one of the higher placed "connections" among so-called paranormal researchers and "street-level" uses of what is termed in tradecraft as "applied anomalous phenomena," would have borne examination, especially given the reported "timing" of the appearance of SRA on the psychiatric scene. Whether "agents" or "assets," all of these folks are very closely connected and "inter-locking."

Funding for the work of Dr. Braun at Rush-Presbyterian also would have been of more than passing interest to Frontline's viewers, as would have been a more circumspect examination of the so-called "Greenbaum" lectures and Cory Hayward's allegations. There is independent corroboration of some of what he asserts, some of it from government publications or "gray literature" that is low-profile, but certainly not secret.

Although I'm certain you have known of it and have decided to pursue "other threads," I must also call your attention to the reports of legal cases emanating from CIA's admitted abuses of psychiatric patients at Allen Memorial Institute, in Canada, by CIA-sponsored (and Rockefeller-funded) practitioner, the late Dr. Ewen Cameron...who once was president of the World Psychiatric Association. Who funds Dr. Braun? Let me guess.

See: Thomas, Gordon. "Journey Into Madness." Bantam. 1989 (hardback) and 1990 (paper). Page 200-201 in the latter, will get you started just fine. Basically, other literature alleges that some of the "cult-like" contexts of so-called memory induction (allegedly to stimulate MPD's and "coded access" to these so-called personality fragments by hypnotic suggestion) has been routinely used to protect couriers and operatives who are destined for insertion behind enemy lines, or who have had exposures to highly (dangerously) classified information which is so sensitive that extreme psychological protection measure such as that alleged is, at least theoretically, justifiable. Also, the film's dismissive references to pre-WWII funding of "Nazi" (more accurately, Nazi-influencing) psychiatry and mental-health related "eugenics" practices, in Germany and in the U. S. before and after the war, can readily be traced to the Rockefeller funding. This is consistent with that family's long-standing interest in "selective breeding" of the human race, supposedly to eliminate the "useless eaters" and other rif-raff among us, who apparently don't measure up to their econometric standards of "citizenry." Often, according to some published accounts, justifications for these kinds of beliefs have come from one or another of "occult doctrines" or trendy belief-systems frequently dabbled in by self-styled "elites."

Suffice it to say that some of us who have been analyzing the apparent Frontline strategies of related topics getting your "treatment" were not disappointed, at least insofar as our analyses are concerned. Journalistically, that's another story. But "if you bring the football, you can make the rules," and your wealthy patrons, who funded the films you have packaged on these topics to the exclusion of a serious and balanced inquiry into human victimizations, and the intentions of whoever it is allegedly victimizing these folks, do get what they've paid for.

That you seemed to paint the alleged SRA excesses reported on tonight's program as motivated by financial greed was also a most clever disinformational strategy. To those of us who have seen the primary documentation, and interviewed many of these victims of some of these alleged mind-influencing experimental programs...and who also have documentation that links prominent people and their minions to such abuses, your reluctance to probe more deeply remains sadly frustrating.

It's understandable, considering your money sources and your vulnerabilities to political manipulation, particularly there in Boston where Harvard has been so desperate to keep its sordid complicities under wraps. But it's disappointing, nonetheless. While I wish that the phenomena you "exposed" in tonight's program were indeed as ephemeral as you (and the False Memory Syndrome Foundation, "CIA" and various psychiatric perpetrators) wish it might be, the actuality is even more sad.

Various techniques of hypnosis, personality reformulation and technological / pharmacological enhancements, which are not supposed to exist, have been used...and abused...in the name of science and "national security." That our enemies certainly did the same...and prompted at least some of our national response... is also clear. But for Frontline to maintain the "cover-up," in the disguise of an "expose'," is a very slippery slope for us all.

We'll hope that more information and additional courage will come your way. Until then, some of us just wanted you to know we're "out here" as X-Files alludes, wrestling with "the truth." For you, it appears that, "Truth is what is believed." That is an unfortunate and cynical world-view. May it not come to haunt.

Best regards,

Dick Farley
P.O. Box 106
Frostburg, MD 21532

cloudrider@aol.com

FACTnet background on cults, your choice of poisons:

3HO    Amway    Ananda Marga    Anatmananda    Aum Shin Rikyo    Avatar    Boston Church of Christ (BCC)    Boston Church of Christ (International Church of Christ)    Boston Movement    Brethren, The    Brothers and Sisters, The    Bruderhof, The    Bruderhof Communities    Children of God    Concerned Christians    Cooneyites    Earth Liberation Front    Eckankar    est    Family, The    Frederick Lenz, III    Formation, The    Forum, The    Garbage Eaters    Hare Krishna    Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization    Heavens Gate    Hoffman, Terri    Hutterian Brethren East    Indian Gurus    Insight Seminars    International Churches of Christ (ICC)    Jehovah's Witnesses    Landmark Forum    Larouche    Lenz, Frederick, III    Local Church of Witness Lee    Mahikari    Millenium Cults    Mother of God    Multi-Level Marketing    National Labor Federation (NATLFED)    National Law Party    Neo-Tech    No-Name Church    Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO)    Provisional Communist Party, The    Rajneesh    Roberts Group, The    Satanism    Scientology    Siddha Yoga    Society of Brothers, The    Soka Gakkai    Transcendental Meditation    Truth, The    Two by Twos    UFO Cults    Unification Church, The    Way International, The    Witness Lee's Local Church    Yogi Bhajan    Zen Master Rama    Zonpower

FACTNet International (Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network, Inc.) maintains a web site that vigilantly monitors cult activity in all its forms: Scientology, Moonies, Aum Shin Rikyo, etc. They even have some coverage of militia terrorism and eco-terrorism.

from the New York Times, 2009-Mar-15, by Patricia Leigh Brown and Carol Pogash:

The Pleasure Principle

SAN FRANCISCO

EVEN in a culture in which sex toys are a booming business and Oprah Winfrey discusses living your best life in the bedroom, a coed live-in commune dedicated to the female orgasm hovers at the extremes.

The founder of the One Taste Urban Retreat Center, Nicole Daedone, sees herself as leading “the slow-sex movement,” one that places a near-exclusive emphasis on women's pleasure — in which love, romance and even flirtation are not required.

“In our culture, admitting our bodies matter is almost an admission of failure,” said Ms. Daedone, 41, who can quote the poet Mary Oliver and speak wryly on the intricacies of women's anatomy with equal aplomb. “I don't think women will really experience freedom until they own their sexuality.”

A core of 38 men and women — their average age the late 20s — live full time in the retreat center, a shabby-chic loft building in the South of Market district. They prepare meals together, practice yoga and mindfulness meditation and lead workshops in communication for outside groups as large as 60.

But the heart of the group's activity, listed cryptically on its Web site's calendar as “morning practice,” is closed to all but the residents.

At 7 a.m. each day, as the rest of America is eating Cheerios or trying to face gridlock without hyperventilating, about a dozen women, naked from the waist down, lie with eyes closed in a velvet-curtained room, while clothed men huddle over them, stroking them in a ritual known as orgasmic meditation — “OMing,” for short. The couples, who may or may not be romantically involved, call one another “research partners.”

A commune dedicated to men and women publicly creating “the orgasm that exists between them,” in the words of one resident, may sound like the ultimate California satire. But the Bay Area has a lively and venerable history of seekers constructing lives around sexual adventure.

San Francisco is proud of its libertine heritage, as Sean Penn recently demonstrated in “Milk.” The search for personal transformation, including through sex, led to the oceanside hot tubs at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, cradle of the human potential movement, and in the 1960s, communes flourished in the city, many espousing free love.

One Taste is but the latest stop on this sexual underground, weaving together strands of radical individual freedom, Eastern spirituality and feminism.

“The notion of a San Francisco sex commune focused on female orgasm is part of a long and rich history of women being public and empowered about their sexuality,” said Elizabeth A. Armstrong, an associate professor of sociology at Indiana University, who has studied San Francisco's sexual subcultures.

As with many a commune before it, the leader of One Taste, Ms. Daedone, is a polarizing personality, whom admirers venerate as a sex diva, although some former members say she has cultlike powers over her followers. They say she sometimes strongly suggested who should pair off with whom romantically.

“There was always a pushing of peoples' boundaries,” said Judy Silver, who lived at One Taste for three and a half years and left last fall. “We all knew it was a hardcore place, and we came to play hard.”

The group has drawn scant attention during its four and a half years — perhaps because it is just the sort of community San Franciscans expect in their backyard — although there was a brief sensation when The San Francisco Chronicle wrote about the group's naked (nonsexual) yoga classes. Many voyeuristic non-yogis showed up. Now the yoga is fully clothed.

Those drawn to One Taste are an eclectic lot. Some are in life transitions, among them a baby-faced 50-year-old Silicon Valley engineer, a recently divorced man, who said that the practice of manually fixing his attention on a tiny spot of a woman's body improves his concentration at work.

Most residents are young questers, seeking to fill an inner void and become empowered through Ms. Daedone's blend of female-centric spirituality and sexuality. One, Beth Crittenden, 33, grew up in conservative Virginia tobacco country, a place, she said, where the fundamentals of the female anatomy were never discussed and masturbation was unmentionable. “I'd never done anything even in the dead of night,” she said.

She stumbled onto the center's Folsom Street building, with its comfy overstuffed sofas, and enrolled in a women's self-pleasure course because her relationships with men, as she put it, “kept running into a cement wall.”

She resisted offers to pursue further courses (for a fee), deleting the center's incessant e-mail messages. But on the cusp of her 29th birthday, she tentatively returned. “I was scared to open up my life that much, but I was more scared not to,” she said.

Now an instructor herself, Ms. Crittenden talks about “the lingering velocity of my desire and my hesitation to give into it.”

Another member, Racheli Cherwitz, 28, had spent years grappling with anorexia and alcoholism, she said. In search of identity, she moved to Israel and became an Orthodox Jew.

Discovering One Taste, she said, has improved her self-image and given her “deep physical access to the woman I am and the woman I want to be.”

Ms. Cherwitz commutes to New York and offers private sensuality coaching at a satellite outpost operated by One Taste on Grand Street. Many of her clients, she said, are married Orthodox Jewish couples from Brooklyn.

In the One Taste world, a weirdly clinical pact is made between the women and men. There is no eye contact during orgasmic meditation. The idea, similar to Buddhist Tantric sex, is to extend the sensory peak — and publicly share it — before “going over,” as residents, who tend toward group-speak, call climaxing.

Although men are not touched by the women and do not climax, they say they experience a sense of energy and satiation. Both the strokers and strokees insist that all this OMing is really about the “hydration” of the self, the human connection, not sex.

Reese Jones, a venture capitalist-slash-geek-slash Ms. Daedone's boyfriend, likens orgasmic meditation to massage.

“It's a procedure to nourish the limbic system, like yoga or Pilates, with no other strings attached,” he said. “When you go to a massage therapist,” he added, “you don't take the masseuse to dinner afterward.”

MS. DAEDONE'S inspiration and mentor as a sex guru was Ray Vetterlein, who achieved fame of sorts in sex circles by claiming to lengthen the average female orgasm to 20 minutes.

Mr. Vetterlein, now in his 80s, was inspired by Lafayette Morehouse, a controversial 40-year-old community still in existence in suburban Lafayette, Calif., that has been conducting public demonstrations of a woman in orgasm since 1976.

Morehouse's founder, Victor Baranco, was a former appliance salesman who called his philosophy “responsible hedonism.” By some accounts, Mr. Baranco, who died in 2002, used coercive techniques of mind control.

“It was a huge ego-crushing machine, as any valid monastic tradition is,” said a man who lived at Morehouse for 20 years and did not want to be identified.

Ms. Daedone's early career was hardly alternative: she studied semantics at San Francisco State University and then donned her pearls to help found an art gallery. But at 27, her world came crashing down when she learned that her father, from whom she was largely estranged, was dying of cancer in prison, after being convicted of molesting two young girls.

“Everything in my reality just collapsed,” she said. “My body turned to stone and crumbled.”

Her father had not behaved inappropriately toward her, Ms. Daedone said; on the contrary, he was a distant figure.

“There had been a way I felt close to him in this felt way, and then all of the sudden he would shut down,” she said. “I later came to understand that he was trying to protect me from himself, from his pathology.”

Her pathway back to life was initially Buddhism, which she pursued with a vengeance, intending to live in a Zen community. But at a party in 1998, she met a Buddhist who had a practice in what he called “contemplative sexuality.”

He invited her to lie down unclothed, set a timer and, while stroking her, proceeded to narrate in tender detail the beauty he saw, the colors that went from coral, to deep rose, to pearlescent pink. “I just broke open, and the feeling was pure and clean,” Ms. Daedone said. “In a strange way, I think at that moment I decided to live.”

Since opening One Taste, she has allowed it to go through numerous permutations; to her chagrin, it initially attracted misfits who “liked to get sloppy and grope each other,” she said.

She concedes that she has made mistakes — among them the naked yoga class — but she has been savvy about packaging her product. She changed the term “deliberate orgasm,” as it is called by other practitioners, to the more marketable “orgasmic meditation.”

Much of the community's tone revolves around Ms. Daedone, a woman of considerable charm, although detractors regard her as a master manipulator.

“Nicole groks people,” said Marci Boyd, 57, the group's oldest resident, borrowing a phrase from Robert A. Heinlein's “Stranger in a Strange Land” that connotes understanding someone so totally that the observer becomes one with the observed.

Elana Auerbach, an original resident, who left the group with Bill Press, who is now her husband, said the upshot of Ms. Daedone's ability to become exactly the person an individual yearns for is that “they take on Nicole, exude Nicoleness.”

“You stop trusting yourself and start trusting Nicole,” she said.

Until recently, residents lived in tight quarters, sacrificing privacy for the group, two to a bed, 12 beds to a room, each bed separated by a curtain. Now they have private rooms in a building adjacent to the meditation center (both are somewhat providentially on Folsom Street, home of the world's largest annual leather, bondage and fetish fair).

Ms. Auerbach said that she and Mr. Press eventually decided they wanted a life that was “heart-focused rather than genital-focused.” Now parents of a baby boy, they view their experience as a cautionary tale.

“Nicole promulgates a message and everyone else reflects that,” Mr. Press said.

Ms. Daedone insists she does not invite or like the all-powerful image. “There's a high potential for this to be a cult,” she said.

She recently moved out of the communal living quarters, in part to fight this tendency. “Whenever I was in the space, everybody treated me like a guru,” she said. “I'd wake up and people would come sit on my bed.”

Now she lives with Mr. Jones, her boyfriend, a braniac who sold a computer software company he founded, Netopia, to Motorola for $208 million, and makes financial resources available to One Taste, including helping to buy a retreat in Stinson Beach, Calif.

Ms. Daedone wants One Taste to be mainstream, and to that end the center presents lectures by rabbis and Tibetan monks, along with public classes and workshops in “mindful sexuality.”

But a One Taste Peoria seems hard to imagine. At a weekend workshop at the center recently, attended by scores of men and women interested in learning orgasmic meditation, Ms. Daedone outlined her philosophy.

“In our culture,” she said, while beatifically seated on a cushion, “women have been conditioned to have closed sexuality and open feelings, and men to have open sexuality and closed feelings. There's this whole area of resistance and shame.”

Soon the aspiring OM-ers, including a couple from Marin County hoping to rekindle their marriage, gathered on the floor kindergarten-style around a massage table. Justine Dawson, a wholesome-looking 34-year-old community resident, took off her robe and hopped up. Another resident, Andy Roy, 28, began his task, his concentration so exquisite that he broke into a sweat.

Attendees were instructed to call out their feelings, and many did, describing the turn-on they, too, were feeling.

When it was over, Ms. Dawson emanated radiance worthy of a Caravaggio, a youthful innocence. In another context, it might have been a profound and romantic moment between two lovers. Instead, a different image came to mind: the post-coital interview by Howard Cosell, holding a microphone, in Woody Allen's “Bananas.”

from CNN 1997-Mar-27, from http://cnn.com/US/9703/27/suicide.interview/index.html:

Associate of group member says deaths linked to UFO, Hale-Bopp

RANCHO SANTA FE, California (CNN) -- The quasi-religious group whose members died in an apparent mass suicide in California left videotapes announcing their intentions to join a UFO, an associate of a former member said Thursday.

In an interview with CNN's "Morning News," Nick Matzorkis of Interact Entertainment of Beverly Hills said he and one of his employees, known as Rio, went to the group's mansion, found the 39 bodies and notified authorities in San Diego and Beverly Hills.

"When he first came out of the house, he was as white as a sheep," Matzorkis said of Rio. "He said, 'They did it. ... They left their containers. They committed suicide.'"

Matzorkis said Rio, who left the group recently, received a package Tuesday containing two videotapes and a letter that described the group's intentions.

In the videotapes, members said their farewells and were "quite joyous" about "leaving this planet," Matzorkis said. The letter said that by the time it was read members would have "already shed their containers," he added.

According to Matzorkis, the group believed their souls transcend this life.

"They believed they were going to be taken away, as odd as this sounds, ... by a UFO -- that a UFO would come by and pick them up," Matzorkis said.

He added that seven months ago the leader of group, whom Matzorkis said was among the dead, told him the UFO was hiding behind Comet Hale-Bopp.

Investigators interviewed Matzorkis overnight, and the videotapes have been turned over to authorities. Matzorkis said investigators interviewed and released Rio.

from CNN 1997-Mar-27, from http://cnn.com/US/9703/27/suicide.web/index.html:

Group designed Web sites, worked as contract programmers

RANCHO SANTA FE, California (CNN) -- The group linked to Wednesday's apparent mass suicide in California operated a business-oriented Web site that made no mention of religious issues.

By Internet standards, the Higher Source's Web site was a well-maintained site that featured backgrounds of stars and links to other Web sites. It also offered programming, systems analysis and computer security services.

San Diego Polo Club General Manager Tom Goodspeed told CNN members of the group provided his club with a Web site that has been posted since last spring.

"They really knew their business as far as computers," Goodspeed said.

He said he met 10 Higher Source members over the course of eight months.

"There were men and women, ages late 20s to mid 40s -- very genuine, nice people, but what was odd is they all had buzz cuts and dressed similar," Goodspeed said. "No-collar shirts, darker clothing and basically gave the appearance they were all cut out of the same mold."

He said they told him they were members of a monastery, and that he once suggested the group hire other salespeople to help boost their business.

"Their presentation wasn't really that strong, but their talent was," Goodspeed said. "They told me they all belonged to a monastery and that's why they had that look, but they never ever pushed their religious beliefs on myself or anyone I'm aware of."

The group's Web site describes "The Difference" of its members:

"The individuals at the core of our group have worked closely together for over 20 years. During those years, each of us has developed a high degree of skill and know-how through personal discipline and concerted effort. We try to stay positive in every circumstance and put the good of a project above any personal concerns or artistic egos. By sustaining this attitude and conduct, we have achieved a high level of efficiency and quality in our work. This crew-minded effort, combined with ingenuity and creativity, have helped us provide advanced solutions at highly competitive rates."

from http://cnn.com/US/9703/27/suicide.list/index.html:

(CNN) -- Notable mass suicides or cult-related deaths within the past 20 years:

March 23, 1997 -- The charred bodies of three women and two men were found inside a house in Saint Casimir, Quebec. All were members of the Solar Temple, an international sect that believes ritualized suicide leads to rebirth on a planet called Sirius.

December 1995 -- Sixteen Solar Temple members were found dead in a burned house outside Grenoble, in the French Alps.

October 1994 -- The burned bodies of 48 Solar Temple members were discovered in a farmhouse and three chalets in Switzerland. At the same time, five bodies, including that of an infant, were found in a chalet north of Montreal.

April 19, 1993 -- At least 70 Branch Davidian cult members died after fire and a shootout with police and federal agents ended a 51-day siege of the compound near Waco, Texas. The sect's leader, David Koresh, who had preached a messianic gospel of sex, freedom and revolution and told followers he was Jesus Christ, died of a gunshot wound to the head sometime during the blaze.

October 1993 -- Fifty-three hill Vietnamese tribe villagers committed mass suicide with flintlock guns and other primitive weapons in the belief they would go straight to heaven. Officials said they were the victims of a scam by a man who received cash donations for promising a speedy road to paradise.

December 1991 -- Mexican minister Ramon Morales Almazan and 29 followers suffocated after he told them to keep praying and ignore toxic fumes filling their church.

December 13, 1990 -- Twelve people died in a religious ritual in Tijuana, Mexico, apparently after drinking fruit punch tainted by industrial alcohol.

November 18, 1978 -- The Rev. Jim Jones led more than 900 followers to their deaths at Jonestown, Guyana, by drinking a cyanide-laced grape punch. Cult members who refused to swallow the liquid were shot.

from CNN, 2003-Nov-17, by Anderson Cooper:

Jonestown survivor: 'Wrong from every point of view'

SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- A memorial service Tuesday at a mass grave will mark the 25th anniversary of the Jonestown massacre, in which 913 men, women and children died in the worst mass murder-suicide in recent history.

They had followed their charismatic leader Jim Jones from San Francisco to a jungle settlement in the South American nation of Guyana, believing he was leading them to a utopia of racial harmony and social justice.

Former Jones follower, Laura Johnston Kohl, who had the good fortune to be elsewhere in Guyana November 18, 1978, joined anchor Anderson Cooper from CNN's San Francisco bureau.

COOPER: What drew you to Reverend Jim Jones in the first place?

KOHL: I was an activist in the '60s. I was against the war. I really wanted to have a better world. And I kept seeing things, things that I wanted to see in the world around me demolished. I saw the Kennedys shot down and Malcolm X, Martin Luther King.

COOPER: But what about Jim Jones spoke to you?

KOHL: Well, when I went into the first service with Jim Jones, he had pulled together people from every walk of life, of every color. And we had progressive people who were involved and we supported progressive causes. I thought that it was really a way to speak out as a group and try and make the world a better place.

COOPER: So you move down to Jonestown in Guyana. Things begin to change. How strict were people controlled there? Were people able to leave if they wanted to?

KOHL: One of the things that we didn't know is how many people wanted to leave, because no one talked about it publicly. Jim was not interested in having people leave and so people did not talk about it.

And so, when everything went down at the airstrip and people were anxious to leave Jonestown, many of us had no idea that there were people who were discontent there.

COOPER: But there were. There were mass suicide drills that you even took part in. What were you thinking at that time?

KOHL: All along -- I was in the temple for nine years. And one of the things that I learned early on was that Jim was very much involved in theatrics and drama.

And people talk about suicide drills. No one who participated in the drills ever thought that Jim was seriously doing that. We participated in a drama that Jim would set up or a theater to make a point. It would never have occurred to us to participate, to stay in a group, to follow along, if we seriously thought that could ever happen.

COOPER: You were away from Jonestown the day this tragedy happened. You were buying supplies for the camp. If you had been there, do you think you would have drunk the cyanide?

KOHL: I really can't tell at this point. I do know that, if I had seen, really, my adoptive family of 913 people all dying around me, it would have been a very tough decision not to.

COOPER: Really? You think you might have actually done it?

KOHL: Well, looking back 25 years, it seems really like a faraway decision. So -- but I think it would be really difficult not to in that setting.

COOPER: What's the No. 1 thing people still do not understand about what happened there, about that time, that place?

KOHL: Well, the thing that I think is the most understated was that we really did have a community that, had Jim Jones been forced aside or had he left willingly and let the triumvirate set up, we really had a structure in place that would make a successful community living there with people of all different races and backgrounds, which really would have been a promised land or heaven on Earth.

And except that Jim was getting sicker, going crazier and crazier, and all of us isolated, all the people who lived in Guyana only heard what was going on in the world through Jim. And the result was, not only were we isolated, but Jim was isolated, too. And there was no one who could talk sense into him either. He had isolated himself, as well as us. And so, as he got crazier, there was no one who could set him straight, no one who could take him to task for what he was saying either. So it was wrong from every point of view.

from FACTnet, 1998-Nov-18, from http://www.factnet.org/headlines/jonestown.html:

20 Years Later: Jonestown Memorial

November 18, 1998 marks the 20-year anniversary of the mass tragedy at Jonestown, Guyana, in which 912 members of the People's Temple died after suicide orders were issued by leader Jim Jones, who they called "Dad." Those who refused to drink the cyanide-laced punch were forced to drink at gunpoint or shot. Mothers administered the poison to their babies using eye-droppers. Of the 912 dead, 276 were children.

Jones ordered the deaths after People's Temple members killed Congressman Leo Ryan, who had gone to Jonestown on a fact-finding mission. After only a day at the Jonestown compound, a member tried to stab Ryan. The injury was minor, but Ryan decided to leave and a couple dozen People's Temple members decided to leave with him. Other members followed the group to the airstrip and opened fire, killing Ryan, three journalists, and one of the departing members.

Within a few months of the mass deaths, other People's Temple members who had survived also committed suicide, with one mother slitting the throats of her three children.

A year later, ex-People's Temple members Jeanne and Al Mills, who had been speaking out about their cult experience, were shot to death along with their daughter in their Berkeley, CA home. They had become among the most vocal People's Temple critics and feared for their safety.

Each year, a memorial is held at Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland, CA where 260 People's Temple children are buried. Due to the lack of dental records, the children were never able to be identified and thus were buried together there.

In memory of the tragedies at and surrounding Jonestown, especially for the children who suffered, FACTNet presents the following informational web sites with the heartfelt hope that public awareness of the severe dangers of cults may help avert similar future devastation.

FACTNet links

Death at Jonestown http://www.irish-times.com/irish-times/paper/1998/1114/fea6.html

Jonestown: The day I should have died http://www.smh.com.au:80/news/9811/17/text/features2.html

An extensive collection of U.S. State Departmentrecords on Jonestown and the Peoples Temple www.icehouse.net/zodiac/

Jonestown: A Tragedy Made in San Francisco www.e-media.com/jonestown/

A collection of writings on Jonestown, compiled by researchers in Rice University's Religious Studies Department: www.owlnet.rice.edu/~reli291/Jonestown/Jonestown.html

Making Sense of the Nonsensical: An Analysis of Jonestown http://jmcneil.sba.muohio.edu/Private/Jones_Private.html

from Knight-Ridder/Newshound, 1998-Aug-26, from http://www.factnet.org/cults/aum_shin_rikyo/aum.htm:

AUM cult reviving, survey finds

TOKYO, Aug. 26 (Kyodo) -- The AUM Shinrikyo religious cult has been rebuilding its organizational setup and collecting money from affiliates since it escaped being outlawed in January this year, according to results of a survey by the Public Security Investigation Agency, unveiled Tuesday.

After the Public Security Commission, an independent body, announced in late January that it had decided not to outlaw AUM, the cult resumed activity, including the collecting of money from affiliated personal computer sales companies, the results said.

AUM is accused of carrying out the Tokyo subway sarin nerve gas attack in March 1995 which left 12 people dead and thousands injured, as well as an earlier sarin gas attack in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, in June 1994, which killed seven people, and other crimes.

AUM founder Shoko Asahara, whose real name is Chizuo Asahara, is currently on trial on charges involving 17 criminal cases, including responsibility for the two gas attacks.

Of 427 AUM officials and followers arrested in connection with a series of AUM-related crimes, 138 have already returned to the cult, the survey results said. As of the end of July, the number of AUM ''priests'' stood at more than 500, they said.

The cult has been pressing former followers, in particular those with special knowledge about science, to return to AUM, saying that they would otherwise go to hell, they said.

When the Public Security Commission made its decision against banning AUM on Jan. 31, the Public Security Investigation Agency was able to confirm continuing activities of only four departments of the cult, including its supreme decision-making and judicial affairs bodies, according to the survey results.

But AUM has since established 10 new departments and sections, including an accounting department and a business department overseeing personal computer shops, they said.

''The cult has been restoring its organization to rival that in 1995, when the Tokyo subway gas attack took place,'' an official of the agency said in commenting on the survey results.

AUM's local organizations had been closed due partly to the authorities' investigations, but the cult has succeeded in reorganizing its branches in Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, Mito in Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, Takasaki in Gunma Prefecture, eastern Japan, Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast, and Matsumoto, they said.

The cult has also set up a new training hall in Tokyo, which can accommodate more than 100 people, they said.

The survey report said that the cult now has 15 branches and one training hall in Japan and that there are AUM followers living in about 110 places across the nation.

At cult seminars, AUM followers still look up to Asahara as the absolute being and are again being taught a dogma that justifies even murder on behalf of the cult, they said.

In Tokyo and elsewhere, the cult owns 12 companies and five shops, among which are personal computer sales companies dealing in products on the Internet, assembling personal computer parts imported from Taiwan for sale in Japan and handing their income over to the cult, the report said.

The Public Security Commission rejected a request that the 1952 Antisubversive Activities Law be used to outlaw AUM, filed in July last year by the Public Security Investigation Agency, saying, ''The cult can no longer pose a threat to Japanese society.''

Akio Kanazawa, head of the agency's No. 1 research department, said that the department continues to check up on the cult even after rejection of the banning request and is compiling survey results every three months.

''At present, there are no signs the cult is engaged in acts of destructive violence. If dangerous signs emerge again in the future, our agency might have to ask (the commission) to reconsider outlawing the cult,'' he said.

from the Associated Press, 2001-Apr-13:

TOKYO (April 13, 2001 11:02 a.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - The doomsday cult behind the deadly gas attack on a Tokyo subway in 1995 is growing steadily and reasserting influence through the Internet, the government said Friday.

Aum Shinri Kyo membership has grown by about 150, or 10 percent, with at least 1,650 followers by the end of last year, the Justice Ministry said in a report submitted to the Cabinet. About 650 of them are carrying out cult activities at group homes and facilities, it said.

The group was responsible for the sarin gas attack on March 20, 1995 that killed 12 people and sickened thousands. The incident has shaken people's sense of security in Japan, which has enjoyed a relatively low crime rate.

The report said that on the surface the group has changed its name, acknowledged its responsibility for the subway gassing and apologized. But fundamentally, it remains the same.

"The group's dangerous nature has not changed even though no poisonous substances or ingredients have been found at their facilities," the report said. "Its deceptive nature is unchanged."

Investigators at the Public Safety Agency have found 29 Aum facilities and 200 apartment houses in 10 onsite inspections.

The cult, which now calls itself Aleph, is expanding its computer-related business and raking in profits from its 13 companies. Under influential leader Fumihiro Joyu's "cyber cult" plan, the group continues spreading its "dangerous" teachings on the Net, the report said.

Joyu, jailed guru Shoko Asahara's most-trusted aide, was released from prison in December 1999 and is considered the cult's de facto leader.

The cult also earns funds by charging expensive fees through the sale of books and compact discs containing Asahara's teachings and seminars.

The group is moving to expand overseas as well, said the report, which did not specify where.

The cult is by law under Public Safety Agency surveillance. The Justice Ministry is responsible for publishing the cult's activities in an annual report. The latest update is for the period between May 16 and December 31, 2000.

Judges have handed down death sentences to several former leaders in the gas attack and other killings. Guru Shoko Asahara is still on trial for masterminding the 1995 gassing and 16 other charges.

from the New York Times, 2001-Jan-4, by Craig S. Smith:

Banned Chinese Sect Is Spurred On by Exiled Leader

SHANGHAI, Jan. 4 - Civil disobedience by the Chinese spiritual movement Falun Gong shows no sign of slowing in the New Year and may be ratcheting up to a new level.

In a New Year's Day message to followers, posted on the group's official Web site (http://www.clearwisdom.net/), the movement's exiled founder, Li Hongzhi, warned that Falun Gong followers facing persecution could rightfully "go beyond the limits of forbearance." Forbearance is one of the principal virtues promoted by his discipline.

"If the evil has already reached the point where it is unsavable and unkeepable, various measures at different levels can be used to stop it and eradicate it," he said, writing from the United States, where he now lives.

That suggests that 2001 will be a year of increased activity among the core of true believers in China who are not in detention or under strict police supervision. The number of those followers is impossible to estimate.

Chinese authorities say it is under two million - far fewer than the 20 million estimated by one government agency to be practicing the discipline at the height of its popularity in the late 1990's. Mr. Li, meanwhile, continues to claim 100 million adherents worldwide, most of them in China.

China's efforts to crush the movement have reduced its numbers, but have also hardened the resolve of those who remain loyal to Mr. Li.

Hundreds of Falun Gong followers staged scattered protests in Tiananmen Square this week, their brief attempts to unfurl banners quickly overwhelmed by the huge plainclothes police force that China fields on the square during holidays and significant anniversaries of the 18- month campaign to suppress the group.

Witnesses reported that one man was beaten on Monday until his head and the surrounding ground were splattered with blood. And a Hong Kong-based human rights group reported that in December four adherents had died in confrontations with the police or while in custody.

Mr. Li, a former government grain clerk from northeastern China, founded Falun Gong in the early 1990's as one of many exercise regimes that developed at the time based on the traditional Chinese practice of qigong, exercises intended to channel the body's vital energy, or qi, to various ends. Mr. Li went further than other self-styled qigong masters by marrying his exercises to an encompassing cosmology loosely based on Buddhist and Taoist tenets.

His promise of salvation from a morally degenerating world struck a chord with many Chinese, particularly those who felt spiritually bereft as China effectively abandoned Marxism and Maoism as moral guides amid the growing materialism of the 1990's.

But Mr. Li's growing popularity, as well as the mystical mix of his belief system - he teaches that Falun Gong is the original law of the universe and that faithful followers attain supernatural powers - drew increasing criticism from the Communist Party. He left China for the United States in 1998 under pressure from the government.

Whether Mr. Li's New Year message advocates more militant action than the group's remarkably passive behavior to date is not clear. While his calls to "defend the Fa," or Great Law of Falun Gong, have kept adherents streaming into Tiananmen Square, his doctrine of forbearance has prevented most from resisting the beatings and detention that they invariably receive there.

But his followers' activism has risen over the past six months as Mr. Li's appeals have grown increasingly urgent, even politicized. In September, Falun Gong's official Web site began attacking President Jiang Zemin as the man personally responsible for Falun Gong's persecution, calling him "the highest representative of the evil force in the human world."

In the past few weeks, students at Beijing University, traditionally the wellhead of political activism in China, have found Falun Gong fliers left on their dormitory doors or bicycles.

And Falun Gong followers outside China have grown increasingly sophisticated in getting Mr. Li's messages to followers inside, frequently changing the address of its official Web site to circumvent China's Internet censors.

Despite efforts to block Falun Gong Web sites in China, the English-language version of the group's official site - carrying Mr. Li's New Year's message - can currently be seen by Internet subscribers in China.

And the Hong Kong government has granted permission to group members there to hold a regional convention on Jan. 14 - something that is certain to provoke Beijing.

The group has even sponsored a letter-writing campaign to nominate Mr. Li for the Nobel Peace Prize. John F. Kutolowski, an associate professor of history at the State University College at Brockport, N.Y., and the father of a Falun Gong follower in the United States, has written to academics at many American universities asking them to join him in nominating Mr. Li for the prize.

Mr. Kutolowski declined to comment on the letter-writing campaign, saying only that it was a private initiative and that he was not among those people asked by the Nobel Committee to nominate candidates for the prize.

Mr. Li, meanwhile, has begun speaking in increasingly apocalyptic terms. He has said the current struggles in China are leading to an apparently transcendent event that he calls the Consummation, in which his disciples will "leave" and "all bad people will be destroyed by gods." Those who are left will pay for their past sins with "horrible suffering," he has said.

China has responded to Mr. Li's shift in tone by declaring late last year that Falun Gong had become a reactionary political force bent on subverting China's socialist system. Known dissidents in Shanghai have been warned to steer clear of any contact with Falun Gong followers or face immediate detention.

And last week the standing committee of China's Parliament approved new rules defining illegal uses of the Internet that singled out its use "to organize evil religious cults" or "for communications between cult members" as among the most egregious offenses. The Chinese government has officially defined Falun Gong as an evil cult.

The implication is that Beijing is worried that as Falun Gong metamorphoses into a more political movement it could knit together an alliance of dissident networks around the country.

The government has tried to discredit Mr. Li by using his words against him. A New China News Agency report last week said that a dozen followers in China had committed mass suicide to attain Consummation and that dozens more had been prevented from doing so by the police.

The report could not immediately be verified, but Mr. Li has in the past spoken out against suicide as a means of reaching salvation.

Mr. Li, though, does express growing impatience with the suppression of his movement in China and has suggested that followers confronting China's police are among the closest to reaching the group's ultimate spiritual goal.

"The present performance of the evil shows that they are already utterly inhuman and completely without righteous thoughts," Mr. Li said in his message posted on the Internet on Monday. "So such evil's persecution of the Fa can no longer be tolerated."

from Salon, 1999-Sep-8, by Mark Wallace:

Falun Gong

Everybody's doing it, from Beijing to Brooklyn and beyond. It has more adherents -- 100 million, if its founder is to be believed -- than the Chinese Communist Party. And though it promises happiness and fulfillment, its popularity has led to its condemnation as a doomsday cult and made it the target of a massive government crackdown.

Falun Gong is a quasi-religious "cultivation system" introduced seven and a half years ago by Li Hongzhi, the 47-year-old son of two doctors from a remote city in northeastern China. Since making his teachings public, Master Li, as he bills himself, has seen his following grow into what could now be the fifth-largest organized religion in the world. Even if the Chinese government estimate of a mere 2 million "practitioners" is more accurate, Falun Gong, in less than a decade, has managed to outstrip rival start-up Scientology by more than two to one.

What accounts for such widespread appeal? Most of Li's followers come to his teachings through two books, "Zhuan Falun" ("Rotating the Law Wheel"), and "China Falun Gong" -- tracts that set established religious tradition on its ear by dispensing with concerns of reincarnation and the afterlife and promising salvation to individuals while they're still walking this earth (a journey, by the way, that Li promises to prolong).

Loosely based on an ancient Eastern school of breath control and Tai-Chi-like exercise known as qigong, Falun Gong combines elements of Buddhism, Taoism and other Eastern philosophies with a strikingly Western sensibility that requires believers to do little more than simply lead conscientious lives and turn the other cheek. By "cultivating" truth, compassion and forbearance, practitioners are told, they may increase their "cultivation energy" (a measure of enlightenment), reap physical benefits like long life and a reversal of the aging process and begin to open their Celestial Eye, through which they will be able to see into other planes of being.

Though "China Falun Gong" describes a set of exercises associated with the faith, Li makes clear that there are few requirements as to how often these must be performed, if at all. "We do not pay attention to the time necessary for practice," he writes. Instead, Li seems to require only an attitude adjustment from his flock. "True cultivation entails the cultivation of your heart, which is called the cultivation of Xinxing," he tells us. And while there is a system of "energy mechanisms" and other trappings that help define Falun Gong, all of that takes a back seat to the cultivation of one's Xinxing, without which none of the faith's benefits can be derived.

The well-developed Xinxing requires a willingness to endure suffering (common to faiths of both East and West), the embracing of humility and virtue and the surrender of all but the most modest earthly ambitions. The faithful need not don sackcloth and ashes, though, as Li makes clear ("All of our practitioners should always remember never to behave abnormally among ordinary people"), the desire for worldly gain must be left behind. "In human society," Li says, "one vies with the other, tries to cheat or outwit the other, and hurts the other for a bit of personal interests. All these attachments must be done away with."

In other words, all you have to do is lead a good life, be willing to endure the tribulations that will pay off your karmic debt and keep yourself free of most material ambitions, and peace and increased "cultivation energy" are granted you.

This peace is bestowed upon your "Main Consciousness," keep in mind, not the "Paraconsciousness" that enjoys the benefits of Buddhism (and that can't really take advantage of them in this world). And that's peace right now, let's be clear -- not in the next life or the one after. The method for achieving all this has been kept secret for thousands of years, Li writes. ("It took us a lot of trouble to have the permission to tell you about this issue.") Here lies the kernel of Falun Gong's appeal. I'd take cultivation energy in this life over enlightenment in the next one any day, wouldn't you? Especially if I didn't have to alter my lifestyle much in order to get it.

"I am the only person genuinely teaching the gong in high dimensions," Li tells us in the series of lectures that make up "Zhaun Falun." Of course, it is not uncommon for ambitious men and women of whatever stripe to claim possession of the one true line on happiness -- whether they're trying to sell enlightenment or eyeliner. And as religions go, Falun Gong has all the hallmarks of a faith designed to sell, sell, sell. "We are offering salvation to all sentient beings," Li says. (Bad credit? No credit? No problem.)

Falun Gong also hews closely enough to religious schools of both East and West to make it attractive on any continent. Besides the yoga-like movements, the Celestial Eye and an "energy yardstick" that grows atop followers' heads, Li speaks of humanity's fall from grace and briefly mentions "the last days of Last Havoc," elements that have their analog in traditional Western religions. Li's teachings also offer a simple morality, with Zhen Shan Ren (truth, compassion and forbearance) as "the sole criterion used to judge a good person from a bad one."

Though Falun Gong, like most Eastern teachings, includes no mention of an omnipotent god, Li's messianic requirement that his followers put their faith in him and only in him harks back to Christianity's early days. Also reminiscent of Western religion are Li's accounts of his own miracles -- though much of "Zhuan Falun" is devoted to why such things cannot be displayed to the faithful, and why the "supernatural powers" that can be achieved through high-level cultivation are never to be used.

"Zhuan Falun" opens with an endearing disclaimer as to its style, which remains plain and largely comprehensible throughout, if a bit idiosyncratic. (The lectures were composed originally in Chinese.) "Zhuan Falun is not flowery in its language and even does not conform to modern grammar," Li writes. "If I try to use modern grammar to polish this book of the Great Law, there would arise a serious problem: the language and grammatical structure of the writing might be standard and beautiful, but they will not be able to impart deeper and higher implications, because it is completely beyond the capability of contemporary standard vocabulary to express the Great Law."

"Zhuan Falun" is also filled with quirky -- if not always decipherable, even in context -- turns of phrase ("the gigantic dye vat of ordinary human society," for instance). And some of the concepts with which Li illustrates Falun Gong may sound at bit outlandish to Western readers (well, and to Eastern ones, too, probably). One of the first steps required of the faithful is that their bodies be "purified" by Li so they may receive Falun, a Buddhist swastika of energy transformation that rotates constantly within a disciple's abdomen. We are told of Yinghai, or "subtle babies," that appear all over the bodies of high-level Falun Gong practitioners; of ancient cities on ocean floors; of a 2-billion-year-old nuclear reactor in Gabon, Africa; and of the fact that civilization has been left "in complete destruction" 81 times in its history -- a fact Li discovered only after "a meticulous check which I once did."

But despite Li's own bold claims, he is not one to tolerate any rival theories that might come down the pike. "Do not read those heterodox qigong books," he warns. "Do not even open them at all." And despite the role the Internet has played in spreading Falun Gong, he isn't likely to argue that information wants to be free. "Zhuan Falun" is filled with demur explanations of why acolytes may not be told of this or that aspect of what lies behind his teachings.

Concerned with the sect's growing popularity, the Chinese government recently revoked Li's status as a qigong master, inspiring thousands of Falun Gong practitioners to show up in Beijing toting copies of "Zhuan Falun" in protest. The protests led to the largest government crackdown in China since Tiananmen Square, and resulted in the detention of more than 10,000 people across the country.

Why are the leaders of China -- some of whom, at the lower levels of government, are also Falun Gong practitioners -- so concerned? Other quasi-religious movements in China have nearly toppled governments in the past. But a closer reading of "Zhuan Falun" and "China Falun Gong" reveals that there is little in Li's teaching that seems likely to encourage his followers to threaten established political leadership. In fact, quite the opposite is true.

"Anything that seriously disturbs human society is absolutely not allowed to exist," Li says. Beijing, in fact, might be better served by embracing the young faith than by excoriating Li in its official press, where daily denunciations describe him as "virtually a Living King of Hell" and accuse him of harboring "wicked political ambitions;" they even dug up a former teacher of Li's to discuss his lackluster early academic career: "We had never found that he was a person of extraordinary caliber."

Judging by "Zhuan Falun," Li is no political firebrand. By combining a noble complacency with a practice that seeks to maintain the societal status quo, Falun Gong is all set to serve up a following that is almost Orwellian in its malleability. It is hard to know, of course, whether this is what Master Li had in mind. The Chinese government alternately accuses him of being a CIA agent and of having only his personal gain at heart. More likely, it is an overweening desire for adulation that drives him.

from Knight Ridder via the Portsmouth Herald, 2004-Jul-17, by Helen T. Gray:

Popular version of Kabbalah is more New Age than genuine

Madonna is doing it. Britney is doing it. And a host of other celebrities are doing it.

They're studying Kabbalah.

Delving into the topic of Jewish mysticism brought warnings from scholars: Kabbalah is complex and only for the spiritually mature. But with celebrities like Demi Moore and Gwyneth Paltrow flocking to Kabbalah centers and sporting red-string bracelets as a sign of their newfound interest, the question is a natural: What is Kabbalah?

Traditionally the study of Kabbalah has been reserved for the most learned and pious, not the masses. Jews could not even begin studying it until they were 40 years old.

"There is no simple definition of Kabbalah," said Elliot Wolfson, professor of Hebrew and Judaic studies at New York University and a leading scholar of Kabbalah. "The word means `tradition,' and from some time in the Middle Ages, the term began to be used to refer to secrets about the divine nature, the cosmos and the human soul or, principally, the soul of the Jew.

"Kabbalah relates both to esoteric wisdom and contemplative practices that facilitate communion and sometimes even union of the individual and God."

Kabbalah literally means "reception," which is synonymous with the word "tradition" in Hebrew, said professor Hava Tirosh-Samuelson of Arizona State University, who studies the relationship between philosophy and Kabbalah. It refers to receiving the inner, hidden or esoteric meaning of divine revelation, she said.

It is closely aligned with the traditional, Orthodox form of Judaism, said Pinchas Giller, professor of Jewish thought at the University of Judaism in Bel-Air, Calif., and an expert in Kabbalah.

"There are meditative and magical practices, but the main application is to provide a layer of deeper meaning for observing the traditional Jewish commandments," he said.

Practices also include special focus when reciting prayers on colors that correspond to specific potencies of the divine, Wolfson said.

The ideas and teachings of Kabbalah go back 2,000 years and were orally transmitted, Giller said.

"It became a written tradition in the late 12th century and flourished in the 13th century in Spain," Tirosh-Samuelson said. "Several Kabbalistic schools developed concurrently, but the most influential one was the school that produced the magnum opus of Kabbalah, Sefer ha-Zohar (The Book of Enlightenment)."

The Zohar can be described as a mystical commentary on many sections of the Torah, or the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. It deals with five theological issues, said Jim Wallis in "The Religion Book:" the nature of God, the creation of the universe, the destiny of humanity, the nature of evil and the meaning of the Bible.

To study Kabbalah involves primarily to study the Zohar, Tirosh-Samuelson said.

"Torah deals with the physical and with this world," said Rabbi Mendy Wineberg of Chabad House Center. "It does not generally discuss things that don't apply to our daily service of God in the here and now. Kabbalah, on the other hand, looks at the spiritual reasons and outcomes of our actions.

"Torah is called the `body,' and Kabbalah is called the `soul.' Kabbalah also teaches us about God and creation as well as our souls and our connection to God. By learning about our spiritual side we can affect our physical side."

The flourishing of Kabbalah today has little to do with the tradition, but rather reflects the needs of spiritual seekers today, both Jews and non-Jews, Tirosh-Samuelson said. She sees three reasons for Kabbalah's present popularity:

1. It consists of a strong psychological emphasis since it concerns the pursuit of perfection and with the spiritual transformation of the individual.

2. It is highly visual and employs the power of the imaginative. Kabbalah is highly artistic, and its teachings can be viewed as a kind of Jewish art, which takes place not in space, as Christian art, but in the privacy of the person's mind who practices Kabbalah.

3. It has much to say about sexuality, both human and divine.

"The combination of the emotional, the imaginative and the sexual makes Kabbalah extremely attractive to artists who are seeking new imagery or who are displeased with the shallowness and emptiness of American consumerist culture," she said.

Tirosh-Samuelson said she believes its popularity is based on reinterpretation of Jewish mysticism for today but also on misinterpretation of the tradition.

"The main danger in the popularization of Kabbalah is the belief that it has nothing to do with traditional Judaism or that one does not need to live as a Jew in order to engage in Kabbalah," she said. "Kabbalah is an integral part of Judaism and cannot and should not be wrested from its Jewish moorings."

Wolfson thinks Madonna and other celebrities have been misled. "I suspect the celebrities are attracted because of the emptiness of American materialism," he said. A repackaged Kabbalah is treated "as if it is a spiritual quick-fix. It is demeaning and does not honor the complexity of the tradition. It is like a sixth-grade teacher trying to make Einstein's theory of general relativity understandable to his or her students."

Rabbi David Fine of Congregation Beth Israel Abraham & Voliner, an Orthodox synagogue, said the popular version "has nothing to do with genuine Kabbalah." Jumping right into a study of Kabbalah "would be like trying to study advanced calculus without knowing basic arithmetic," he said. "Kabbalah is part of a very traditional and conservative system.

"... There are very strict guidelines to practicing Kabbalah, and very few people in the world today actually practice Kabbalah as it was traditionally practiced, although many study it. It is very demanding, and it requires a purity of soul and personality that Madonna just doesn't have."

This interest in "pseudo-Kabbalah" "dumbs down" Kabbalah until it is no longer recognizable, Fine said. But he concedes it has raised awareness, both among Jews and non-Jews, of traditional Judaism and certain Jewish practices.

Giller also doesn't see the attention as all bad.

"Every time in Jewish history that outbreaks of `Judeaophilia' have occurred, the Jews have gratefully accepted a few crumbs of positive attention," he said.

But he sees what is happening as indicative of what has gone on within Judaism since the end of World War II. He said Jews have been preoccupied with their role in history and with Israel and the Holocaust, and they have neglected "the traditional emphasis of Judaism, which includes an interest in God, the soul and spiritual practice."

"So in many ways," Giller said, "there is an irruption of interest in overtly spiritual things, to which the synagogue world and mainstream Jewish institutions are not always prepared to respond."

Kabbalah has always been a crossover phenomenon, with kabbalists teaching gentiles in the third, 12th, 16th and 18th centuries, he said.

"So scholars shouldn't be surprised when it happens again," he said. "People can't choose their relatives, and scholars can't dictate the history of their chosen fields. However, being nearby during this present-day irruption of interest is good for me. I prefer living traditions."

But to Wolfson, what is being offered today is not the tradition but a distorted "pop version that is far more a form of New Age occult astrology and magic than a genuine expression of Kabbalah.

from the Barnet and Potters Bar Times, 2003-Sep-17, by Lawrence Marzouk:

'Stick to singing'

A rabbi has poured scorn on Madonna's newly-released children's book, which she says was inspired by a mystical branch of Judaism.

Rabbi Yitchak Schochet, of Mill Hill United Synagogue, spoke out after Monday's release of The English Roses, Madonna's first foray in the literary world.

The ``not-so material girl'' has drawn on the Jewish Kabbala to provide a new burst of morality into a children's literary world she believes is devoid of guidance for her own offspring.

The first of five tales to be released before the end of 2004, The English Roses deals with ``envy, jealously and being covetous of what other people have''.

Kabbala is a philosophical system which draws parallels between the creation of the universe and the Hebraic alphabet, and uses science and mathematics to explain the nature of God, angels, souls and the universe.

Madonna's mystical dabbling has led her to donate a reported £3.5 million to the Kabbala Centre in Mayfair which she attends regularly, but among Orthodox Jews, the study of Kabbala is often frowned upon unless the student is over 40 and well versed in the Torah.

"She will be insulting herself and all of the Jewish community," said Rabbi Schochet.

"She should stick with singing -- what she is good at. I certainly wouldn't take to the stage with a microphone. You can only understand Kabbala if you are Jewish. If she thinks she can talk about Kabbala then she is making a fool out of herself."

Kabbala operates within a system were science and philosophy intertwine, but Rabbi Schochet believes the pop star, and many of her Hollywood buddies, have transformed faith into a fashion fad.

"If she purports to be explaining Kabbala then she has obviously lost the plot.

"Kabbala is an integral part of the Jewish faith which is esoteric and theocratic. You need years of study to understand it," he said.

The publisher, Puffin, refused to comment on Mr Schochet's remarks.

from MSNBC, 2003-Sep-18:

Madonna is coming under attack for preaching her new religion to children. The singer has penned a much-hyped kiddie's book ``The English Roses,'' a tale about the hazards of jealousy.

Madonna has said the book was inspired by her studies of Kabbalah, an esoteric form of Judaism, but some critics are charging that she's using her fame to proselytize her beliefs to impressionable youngsters.

``Star Launches Kids' Book Based on the Kabbalah Cult,'' read one UK headline.

``As Madonna Pens Children's book on Kabbalah, Is the Sect Exploiting Her Devotion to It?'' asks another headline, which goes on to discuss the ``Cult Guru and his `Rich Puppets'.''

Fodder for the critics is that the book's main character is Binah, which is Hebrew for wisdom.

Madonna's spokeswoman couldn't be reached for comment.

from the New York Daily News, 2004-Sep-19, by Michele Green:

Madonna's no big hit in Tel Aviv
Her embrace of kabbalah draws jeers

TEL AVIV - Madonna's tour of Israel has gotten decidedly mixed reviews - with the harshest words from some religious Jews unhappy with her embrace of kabbalah.

The Catholic-born pop star has been at pains to stress that her belief in kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism, is no celebrity fad.

Dressed in a long skirt with a cap on her head and a prayer book on her lap, Madonna was one of about 2,000 followers taking part in prayers and meditation last week at a Tel Aviv hotel synagogue to mark Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

Some can't accept Madonna joining in.

"They turn it into a joke," complained a follower of kabbalah named Mazal, who sells charms at Jerusalem's Western Wall.

"To follow kabbalah you must first be Jewish and, secondly, you must dress modestly. She exposes her body," he said.

Celebrity watchers note, however, that the Material Girl wears a lot more clothes than in the past, and typically restricts her raciest outfits for concerts.

Two decades after Madonna angered the Catholic Church by kissing "Jesus" in a church in her "Like a Prayer" video, the singer has turned to rabbis.

In her "Die Another Day" video, Madonna wraps tefillin on her arm, a ritual usually reserved for men.

Then she miraculously escapes from an electric chair on which Hebrew letters lamed, alef, vav appear. The letters can be read to spell out love, and are also one of the 72 ancient, sacred names of God that, according to Jewish law, should not be used in vain.

"This is a disgrace. It is absolutely forbidden to do this," said kabbalist Rabbi Yitzhak Bazri of Jerusalem. "Kabbalah is something very deep, and not everyone can study it."

As part of her commitment to kabbalah, Madonna has adopted the traditional Hebrew name Esther, after a legendary Jewish queen, and wears a red string around her wrist as a kabbalist good luck symbol.

Britney Spears also has taken to wearing the red string.

The study of kabbalah, a Jewish spiritualism that adherents call the oldest and most powerful wisdom ever, was traditionally forbidden to everyone except married Jewish men older than 40 who had already mastered mainstream religious texts.

It was whispered that anyone else would go insane if they took on the esoteric texts. But the Los Angeles-based Kabbalah Center has brought the study to the mainstream, which has given it a New Age feel for some followers - Jews and non-Jews alike.

"They emphasize New Age themes, such as putting the individual at the center, spiritual quests, working on the self. ... They use themes that are not too far from Buddhism - mediation, nature - and they use Jewish texts," said Judaism expert Dr. Yehuda Goodman of Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

While some were appalled that the long successful pop singer has taken on kabbalah, others viewed it more optimistically.

"If it brings people to the truth and to greater spirituality, then that's good," said Rivka, an ultraOrthodox visitor from New York praying at the Western Wall.

But Madonna - who's written a book on sex and has been photographed nude - "has to practice modesty," Rivka said. Followers "can't think they can have the truth without changing their behavior."

from http://www.charismamag.com/stories/cn196105.htm:

Hooked on Hollywood Religion

Visit a theater near you and you'll discover that the New Age movement is alive and well. Some of the nation's most popular celebrities are out to win souls for the occult.

By: Paul McGuire

Several years ago actress Shirley MacLaine cried out, "I am God!" on a TV special based on her best-selling book, Out on a Limb. Almost overnight, it seemed, "New Age" became a household term in America.

Today the New Age movement represents what I believe is the greatest counterfeit spiritual revival the world has ever known. [...] A sort of satanic "Pentecost" of New Age, occultic, cultic and Eastern mystical ideas is sweeping the globe.

[...]

Because I've written several books on the subject, I am often asked, "How will I know if the New Age and the occult are in my town?" Unfortunately, that kind of question reflects a common lack of understanding about the pervasiveness of the New Age, cults and the occult in America.

The fact is that Eastern mysticism, the occult and counterfeit religions [all religions are counterfeits -AMPP Ed.] have infiltrated every single sector of our society. It is now ingrained in our culture, and interest in psychic power and false spirituality is at an all-time high.

Fueling this rise is the involvement of many of our national icons--movie stars, sports figures and political leaders who captivate our national attention and, by their high-profile participation, give the New Age a semblance of respectability. Basketball great Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls, for example, is involved in Zen meditation. Singer Dionne Warwick promotes psychic readings on TV infomercials.

Ex-Beatle George Harrison, fashion designer Calvin Klein, and actresses Elizabeth Taylor and Laura Dern have studied under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Even President and Mrs. Clinton have consulted New Age teachers Tony Robbins and Marianne Williamson.

The Hollywood Connection

When it comes to New Age promotion, Hollywood and the entertainment industry lead the pack. Even a casual moviegoer or TV-viewer probably notices the dramatic increase in programs and films that deal with psychic and supernatural themes, such as the popular X-Files, numerous "psychic hotline" commercials on television and the feel-good film Phenomenon.

Shirley MacLaine is, of course, the grande dame of Hollywood New Age spokespersons. But a newer crop has come of age. For example, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Kirstie Alley and John Travolta all subscribe publicly to Scientology [about which much more in a separate section below -AMPP Ed.], a combination of high-tech Buddhism and New Age ideas that has taken Hollywood by storm.

Travolta's recent success in Phenomenon (in which his character displays supernatural powers) has given him a platform to testify how Scientology has changed his life for the better and how principles taught by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard have enabled some followers to physically heal people by laying hands on them.

Talk-show star Oprah Winfrey has embraced "A Course in Miracles," an occultic teaching promoted by Marianne Williamson. This "course" presents a counterfeit gospel that was "channeled" to its author and frequently uses the terms "miracles," "Son of God," "Jesus Christ," and others, although the Jesus it talks about is clearly not the one in the Bible.

Two years ago Winfrey also promoted the beliefs of Betty Eadie, author of the best-selling book Embraced by the Light. Eadie, a Mormon, told Winfrey's talk show audience that Jesus showed her during a near-death experience that all religions lead to God. Then Winfrey chimed in and said, "That's what I believe."

"All religions lead to God" is a key tenet of New Age philosophy. It's an idea that appeals to sinful human nature because it denies the reality of a holy and righteous God who judges evil. And it is a philosophy that even seduces naive Christians.

Many occultic and New Age ideas are packaged quite neatly and deceptively as motivational seminars, relationship strategies, inner wisdom, sports performance techniques and alternative medicine.

But certain key terms can be indicators of a New Age influence: metaphysical, karma, soul mate, past life regression, channeling, holistic, higher consciousness, Christ consciousness, intuitive, aura, rebirthing, transformative, spiritual psychotherapy and self-realization, among many others.

Lining the Bookstores

To see how significantly New Age philosophy and practice has permeated our society, one need look no further than the local secular bookstore. Most New Age sections are large and crowded with people browsing through volumes on meditation, astrology, witchcraft or channeling.

One of the most popular New Age authors is physician Deepak Chopra, who wrote the best-selling Ageless Body, Timeless Mind. Although many people have naively assumed that Chopra is only a medical doctor who focuses on nutrition and psychology, nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, Chopra is heavily involved in Hinduism and Eastern mysticism. He was at one time slotted to replace his mentor, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the guru who founded Transcendental Meditation (TM).

Chopra appears regularly on public television lecturing on meditation and other Eastern mystical topics. Actress Demi Moore is a devoted follower of Chopra, and many other Hollywood stars credit him with changing their lives.

Many other popular authors are involved in the New Age. Pop secular psychologist Wayne Dyer, author of the best-sellers Your Erroneous Zones and Real Magic, has talked about "higher consciousness" and "spiritual power" during TV interviews. John Gray, whose book Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus has been translated into 19 languages, has been involved in transcendental meditation. Until recently Gray was married to Barbara De Angelis, a former TM teacher and the developer of the Making Love Work seminars that are heavily promoted on TV infomercials.

Author M. Scott Peck, who wrote The Road Less Traveled, has publicly endorsed the book The Coming of the Cosmic Christ, in which author Matthew Fox promotes a counterfeit gospel called "creation spirituality." Futurist Barbara Marx Hubbard put a New Age twist on the book of Revelation in her own book, The Revelation: Our Crisis Is a Birth, which she wrote after talking to the "voice of her higher self" and the "Christ voice." The diabolical nature of New Age teaching comes out in Hubbard's suggestion that Bible-believing Christians are "negative" people who stand in the way of evolution and are unfit to enter the "New Age."

Infiltrating the Boardroom

Most people are unaware that New Age and higher consciousness teachings--packaged as sales and motivational seminars--are rampant in corporate America. Such major companies as Ford, Chrysler, General Motors, Westinghouse, IBM, RCA, TRW, Procter & Gamble and Polaroid, as well as many smaller businesses, regularly offer employee seminars that contain some degree of New Age practices such as mind control, visualization, self-hypnosis, channeling, biofeedback, Eastern mysticism or psychic activity.

One international electronics corporation has funded an Extra Sensory Perception (ESP) laboratory with which they hope to spark a new technological revolution using psychic research. According to a research director for the company, their goal is "to discover the consciousness of all humanity."

New Age organizations such as Scientology, Lifespring and Werner Erhard's Est (renamed The Forum) have been only too happy to meet the "spiritual needs" of the business world. Seminars for business and sales professionals that are filled with New Age concepts are available from teachers such as Jack Canfield, developer of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. Ironically, the Chicken Soup books--full of seemingly harmless advice about the power of human potential--are now sold in many Christian bookstores.

In the Halls of Government

The New Age movement also has been successful in influencing government at the highest levels. It is well-known that although former president Ronald Reagan believed in the Bible and biblical prophecy, Nancy Reagan consulted astrologers, such as Joan Quigley. More recently, Hillary Rodham Clinton sought the counsel of New Age teacher Jean Houston, who encouraged the first lady to imagine entire conversations with dead leaders such as Eleanor Roosevelt.

Reports recently have revealed the Pentagon--center of American military intelligence--spent millions of dollars in a failed experiment to use psychics for military intelligence work. In an effort to keep up with Soviet psychic warfare research, the U.S. Defense Department invested more than $20 million over 20 years to employ psychics to use occult powers against foreign nations. Psychics were used in 1993, for example, to try to determine if North Korea possessed the plutonium necessary to make nuclear weapons.

The United Nations has played a significant role in the international promotion of New Age, Eastern mystic and occultic belief systems. One U.N. department, for example, has been printing and distributing literature about Lord Maitreya, a self-proclaimed messiah. The U.N. has also promoted the worship of "Mother Earth" with its emphasis on "Gaia," the belief that the planet is itself a living being.

Another international New Age force is the Unification Church, founded by Sun Myung Moon. The church currently owns one of the most influential conservative newspapers in the world, the Washington Times. Moon's empire has also spent tens of millions of dollars in international investments. In Uruguay, for example, it purchased the nation's third largest bank. And Moon continues to sponsor large international gatherings of political and religious leaders in South Korea.

[...]

About the Author: Paul McGuire is an author, Bible teacher and speaker. His latest book is From Earthquakes to Global Unity (Huntington House), which deals with the New Age movement and Bible prophecy.

from MarketWatch.com, 2006-Nov-2, by Russ Britt:

Cruise, Wagner to take over MGM's United Artists
Film star, partner forge deal in wake of falling out with Paramount Pictures

LOS ANGELES -- In the wake of his highly publicized falling out with Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone, actor Tom Cruise and his producing partner, Paula Wagner, will form a partnership with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and seek to revive the United Artists studio, the parties said Thursday.

The deal provides a home base for the producers of the "Mission: Impossible" film series, as well as features including "War of the Worlds," "The Last Samurai" and "Vanilla Sky" after Redstone declined to renew a contract with Cruise/Wagner Productions in August. It calls for the duo to operate the famed movie property with Wagner as chief executive.

Cruise and Wagner have been tapped to revitalize United Artists after Sony Corp. and a group of partners took control of MGM two years ago. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

MGM Chief Operating Officer Rick Sands said in an interview that the studio is trying to return United Artists to its roots, when it was considered a talent-friendly operation that attracted big stars. He would not give a time frame or dollar amount, but said that it was a "long-term" deal.

"We're trying to be long-term thinkers in this business," Sands said. Cruise/Wagner officials did not comment.

Redstone sparked a controversy when he questioned Cruise's recent public behavior in announcing that Viacom was terminating the business relationship. Cruise/Wagner Productions had been on Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures lot for 14 years prior to the deal's expiration.

The deal's end came in the wake of disappointing results for the production company's last effort, "Mission: Impossible 3." The movie made $395 million worldwide but only $133 million domestically -- far below what the first two installments brought in.

An otherwise reliable box-office star, Cruise has taken a number of publicity hits over the last two years -- including the reaction after he jumped on a sofa on Oprah Winfrey's talk show and relating to his Church of Scientology proselytization.

Also, it has been suggested that Cruise turned off some female viewers by making statements criticizing the use of medication for postpartum depression. Taking such medication is a violation of Scientology tenets.

There is concern that Cruise will repel, not attract, talent due to such baggage, some analysts said. But MGM's Sands disputed that. "We certainly believe [Cruise/Wagner] will be able to attract talent," he commented.

Analysts were concerned "A-list" stars might not agree. "Everyone's crazy in Hollywood. We know that," said Robert Routh of Jefferies & Co. "But that doesn't mean they want to work for a Scientologist."

"How many Hollywood stars take antidepressants? I would think a lot," he added.

Laura Martin at Soleil Media Metrics echoed that sentiment, and wondered about Cruise's ability to select films, which would be part of his new duties.

"There's no reason to believe Tom Cruise will be any better at making choices than studio executives who have been doing it their entire lives," she said.

Cruise and Wagner had said when the Paramount deal expired that they were lining up equity partners to continue producing films. They did enlist the aid of a group of investors led by Six Flags Inc. Chairman Daniel Snyder, along with the company's chief executive, Mark Shapiro, and one of its directors, Dwight Schar.

That agreement remains in place, Six Flags spokeswoman Wendy Goldberg said Thursday.

There was some confusion, though, over how that would be structured. MGM's Sands said that he was unsure what would become of Cruise/Wagner and the deal with Snyder's group, known as First and Goal.

A spokeswoman for Cruise/Wagner said that the production company may operate separately from United Artists with the backing of First and Goal.

As part of the newly unveiled agreement, Cruise and Wagner will own a piece of United Artists and control its production slate, which is expected to be about four films a year. MGM is to handle marketing and distribution.

United Artists was founded in the 1920s by silent-film stars Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin and D.W. Griffith. It was one of the first examples of an independent, talent-driven studio. It eventually was acquired by MGM, which changed hands several times and ultimately was purchased by a consortium led by Sony in 2004.

United Artists produced the James Bond franchise, for which MGM controlled distribution rights but later turned that over to Sony as part of its deal. United Artists, however, is still listed as a production company on Bond films and had a hand in the upcoming "Casino Royale" remake.

In recent times, activity has been relatively dormant, limited to partnerships in a handful of films a year. Some of its efforts, though, have captured industry honors, such as last year's "Capote" and 2004's "Hotel Rwanda."

Russ Britt is the Los Angeles bureau chief for MarketWatch.

from OpinionJournal.com, 2004-Jul-9, by Dale Buss:

Christian Teens? Not Very.
Many hold mushy beliefs antithetical to the creed.

When I'm teaching Sunday school, I'm encouraged by what I hear from the teenagers at my evangelical Christian church in suburban Detroit. They seem to understand--and, more important, to believe--the bedrock tenets that will help them hew to orthodoxy throughout their lives and make them salt and light in the world.

But the hard numbers say otherwise. It turns out that, while they may profess the faith and indeed love Jesus, the vast majority of Christian teenagers in this country actually hold beliefs fundamentally antithetical to the creed. The forces of moral relativism and "tolerance" have gotten to them in a big way. In fact, some leaders believe that mushy doctrine among the younger generation ranks as the No. 1 crisis facing American Christendom today.

About one-third of American teenagers claim they're "born again" believers, according to data gathered over the past few years by Barna Research Group, the gold standard in data about the U.S. Protestant church, and 88% of teens say they are Christians. About 60% believe that "the Bible is totally accurate in all of its teachings." And 56% feel that their religious faith is very important in their life.

Yet, Barna says, slightly more than half of all U.S. teens also believe that Jesus committed sins while he was on earth. About 60% agree that enough good works will earn them a place in heaven, in part reflecting a Catholic view, but also flouting Protestantism's central theme of salvation only by grace. About two-thirds say that Satan is just a symbol of evil, not really a living being. Only 6% of all teens believe that there are moral absolutes--and, most troubling to evangelical leaders, only 9% of self-described born-again teens believe that moral truth is absolute.

"When you ask even Christian kids, 'How can you say A is true as well as B, which is the antithesis of A?,' their typical response is, 'I'm not sure how it works, but it works for me,'" says George Barna, president of the Ventura, Calif.-based research company. "It's personal, pragmatic and fairly superficial."

---

Some commentators produce even more startling statistics on the doctrinal drift of America's youth. Ninety-one percent of born-again teenagers surveyed a few years ago proclaimed that there is no such thing as absolute truth, says the Rev. Josh McDowell, a Dallas-based evangelist and author. More alarmingly, that number had risen quickly and steadily from just 52% of committed Christian kids in 1992 who denied the existence of absolute truth. A slight majority of professing Christian kids, Mr. McDowell says, also now say that the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ never occurred.

"There's a greater disconnect now than ever in the history of the church in America between what a Christian young person says they are and what they actually believe," says Mr. McDowell, who has ministered mainly to youth for more than 30 years. "Christianity is based on truth; Jesus said, 'I am the truth.' But you have an overwhelming majority even of Christian kids saying there is no absolute truth."

Catholics have noticed the trend as well. A few weeks ago, in fact, Pope John Paul II specifically warned several U.S. bishops about the "soulless vision of life" that seemed to be overtaking America, urging them to "confront directly the widespread spirit of agnosticism and relativism which has cast doubt on reason's ability to know the truth," especially among youth.

Indeed, the consequences of this theological implosion now pervade the thoughts and actions of believing teenagers, following the moral breakdown of the broader American culture. Here's one practical example: Only 10% of Christian teens believe that music piracy is morally wrong, according to a recent Barna survey, not all that different from the 6% of their non-Christian peers who feel the same way. [Sharing published information - e.g., music or movies - is not, in fact, morally wrong, by the way. -AMPP Ed.]

Then extrapolate the situation to other possible big-picture results. Nearly 60% of evangelical Christian teenagers now say that all religious faiths teach equally valid truths, according to Mr. McDowell. It's bad enough that they seem to have been co-opted by relativism from within our culture and even from within the church and family. But it's even more disconcerting to realize that we're relying on this generation for the future defense of Judeo-Christian civilization against the highly motivated forces of militant Islam.

Perhaps it's counterintuitive to believe this problem is as severe as that outlined by Messrs. Barna and McDowell. After all, we're told that spirituality is de rigueur among youths these days and that Christianity is right up there. But this zeitgeist largely reflects a pseudo-faith that is fed by a steady diet of pop-culture feints, from the allegorical "Lord of the Rings" movies to the T-shirt that recently adorned Pamela Anderson saying, "Jesus is my homeboy."

The kids in my Sunday School class really do understand that. It's their peers I'm worried about.

Mr. Buss is a journalist and author in Rochester Hills, Mich.

Recent history has seen the growth of Christian cults such as Kip McKean's International Churches of Christ. ICC works as follows. Chapters are established which recruit from college campuses. Raw recruits are instructed to enumerate all the "sins" they remember committing (akin to the Catholic confessional), and the administering operative works to draw details out of the recruit. The information provided by the recruit is then circulated among Church operatives, as the primary weapon in a campaign to crush the recruit with guilt. The recruit is then assigned as the "disciple" of a "discipler," and obedience to the discipler's instructions is the basis of approval. The recruit is instructed to sever relationships with those outside the group - particularly, girlfriends and boyfriends - and to place the Church ahead of family. The recruit is saddled with onerous study and service responsibilities. He is instructed to recruit prospective members. He is instructed to pay onerous dues, selling most of his property to raise the funds. And from start to finish, he is warned that failure to follow these instructions leads inevitably to eternal damnation to hell, which is graphically described as a place of endless burning pain. The recruit is also warned that reparation for the "sins" he admitted to is prerequisite to salvation, and that obedience, recruiting, and donations, are the methods of making reparations. The institution of "discipling" constitutes a command hierarchy. This architecture in toto is an engine that amasses power and money for the organization's élite, using the ugliest of psychomanipulative tactics.

an excerpt from comments by "Sidney," an ex-ICC'er, from http://home.inreach.com/lesid/icc/matt28.htm:

If you are a member of the International Church of Christ, you'll be asked to perform an x amount of hours of work for them in the form of pulling people over and telling them how awesome the ICC. First, they invite them to a Bible Talk. If the person likes it, then they schedule Bible studies. Basically, they sell the ICC to the potential convert and since the potential convert believes that there is some kind of God and Jesus, they figured that they can control them by using Bible scriptures. Thus, the potential convert usually has no choice but to follow it since the Bible obviously says it. Normally, every Christian has to follow what the Bible quotes because God says so. In fact, this business of following scriptures is continuing to be practiced for the last 1,962 years. What I put here is based on my own analysis and comparing different versions of the Holy Bible, specifically the King James Version and the New International Version (which the ICC uses). Some came from my own observation since I started living around thiis group. This is specifically observed on Matthew 28:18. Therefore, you have to be careful with what you do when you associate with these people because this is how they will sell you their church and they're basically out there for one purpose - that is numbers (the more numbers, the more tithes) and money (since they use Malachi 3 on the imposition of guilt of robbing God).

an exerpt from "DISCIPLES OF ABUSE?: A LOOK AT THE INTERNATIONAL CHURCHES OF CHRIST (BOSTON MOVEMENT)" by John W. Morehead (a fundamentalist Christian adherent), modtime 1998-Apr-13, from http://members.aol.com/SRauch4321/disabuse.html:

The International Churches of Christ (ICC, also known as the Boston Movement)¹ is one of the fastest growing religious groups in North America. It includes 312 churches in 124 countries, with 155,000 attending services worldwide on any given Sunday.² Yet, they are also one of the most controversial groups as well. Colleges and universities that have banned the ICC's recruiting efforts on campus, or have denied it registration as a campus organization, include American University, University of Lowell (MA), Birmingham University (United Kingdom), University of Manchester (United Kingdom), Boston College, Marquette University, Boston University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Harvard University, University of London, Vanderbilt University, University of Miami, Northeastern University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Smith College, United States Military Academy, University of Southern California and York University (Canada).³

from the Common Conservative, 1999-Mar-1, by Michael E. Kreca:

Clinton A Cult Leader?

``For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.'' Matthew 24:24

Bill Clinton is a cult leader. Like The Unification Church's Rev. Moon or the People's Temple head guru Jim Jones.

What else can accurately explain to the adoration so many have for a leader who is so obviously and appallingly criminal, abusive, vengeful, depraved and power-hungry?

Cult leaders very easily deceive many folks who lack a clear sense of self. The USA's socioeconomic and legislative history in the last few decades seems to have as its key principle that individuals can do nothing for themselves and need a huge, expensive government program, law or entitlement to help them get by from day to day. Hence, a significant number of people brought up in the past 35 to 40 years have been indoctrinated, overtly or subconsciously, with this sense of "dependency."

When Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin died in March 1953, many had thought the Soviet people breathed a massive sigh of relief. Not so. Even after years of Stalin's ruthless purges, savage political oppression, endless state terror, total war and horrible privation, many people were saddened their "Great Father Stalin" was finally gone. A number of attendees at his funeral were actually trampled to death.

Thousands of mourners present wept aloud saying, "Our great father is dead, what do we do now?"

The king is dead. Long live the king. So to speak.

Clinton's biggest defenders, like those Soviet mourners and Uncle Joe's international sympathizers, are those who are of a generally leftist orientation. Leftists' habitual fixation on centralized collectivist government and obsessive focus on if not intense identification with the problems and presumed needs of those deemed "disadvantaged" in some way reflect their own deeply rooted beliefs in their own inadequacy and inferiority. And they believe the same of those ``disadvantaged'' persons for whom they reflexively claim to have so much ``compassion.''

They want government to lead them and everyone else because they believe they cannot live their own lives, or be truly self-reliant or personally accountable for anything in any way.

Presto! Perfect suckers for a Slick Willie, a Great Father Clinton.

And, to the Great Fathers satisfaction, one is born every minute.

Leftists and their sympathizers cannot or will not separate the President as the person from the Office of the Presidency. To them, they are one and the same.

Dictatorships are like that too. They are also called ``personality cults.''

That is exactly why Clinton gets so much shameless, fawning adoration although he has repeatedly shown nothing but colossal contempt for the intelligence and decency of the American people whose "work" he obsessively claims to be "doing." The most recent was his snotty Buffalo speech last month in which he arrogantly intoned that average Americans are too stupid to spend or invest their money "right" and must have government do so instead. Bill Clinton's chameleon-like performances appeal most to those with low self-esteem, unresolved dependency needs, nagging personal insecurities, high levels of ignorance or just monumental stupidity. Thus, his populist, class-warfare rhetoric, despite the absence of meaningful content or little connection with daily reality, usually does also.

Witness the reactions of seemingly thoughtful, intelligent people who support Clinton. They suddenly suspend their reasoning faculties when Clinton's name is spoken. They use words like "love," "caring," and "so what" and "he has done so many good things," almost like children fascinated with a flashy but rigged carnival game they cannot win no matter how often they play. Ironically, these people are the very same ones who can't understand why so many Germans blindly followed a former German Army lance corporal of Austrian extraction surnamed Schicklgruber.

A further irony is that Clinton probably needs his followers even more than his followers need him, emotionally that is. They have the ideal codependent relationship--he gets the adoration and power he needs to survive, they get the appearance of security, "belonging," and comfort they need to function.

I just hope that the congregation of the Church of Clintonology isn't too shocked or outraged if and when it comes time to ``prove its undying love and loyalty'' via pistol, poison or spiked grape Kool-Aid.

Michael E. Kreca lives in San Diego and has written for Business Week, the Financial Times of London and Knight-Ridder Financial News.

from America's Survival, 2002-Aug-17, by Cliff Kincaid:

Washington Times Used by Sun Moon
A Message From Cliff Kincaid, President, America's Survival, Inc.

"Some people may oppose me, but they will go down the drain after a while and end up in hell.... I came with the teaching that the world and religions should become one... Soon, the American president will have to visit me to seek advice."
-Sun Myung Moon, December 10, 2000, East Garden, New York source: http://www.unification.net/news/2000/news20001210.html

I have conservative friends who won't read the "Moonie" Washington Times. I tell them that that's nonsense, that Sun Myung Moon doesn't control the news and editorial coverage of the Times. I tell them that several top editors and reporters are NOT members of Moon's Unification Church. The paper runs many good stories and editorials. But recent developments have now convinced me that Moon's ideology/theology is being propagated through the pages of "America's newspaper."

Frankly, there used to be a time when I overlooked the more questionable aspects of the Moon church. Many thought his anti-Communism made him a convenient ally, especially during the Reagan years when the Cold War was underway. Moon was very critical of the Soviet empire. I even participated in a "World Media Association" journalistic fact-finding trip abroad, organized by groups associated with Moon. It enabled me to gather information about the pro-Soviet "peace movement" in Europe. I wrote several stories about this for Human Events. I wrote for the New York City Tribune, a new-defunct paper that was associated with the Washington Times, and the Washington Times and Insight magazine. There are many good reporters associated with these publications. They run excellent stories. I enjoy writing for them.

But since the end of the Cold War, I have seen an ominous turn in Moon's activities, away from a pro-American orientation to a pro-United Nations view of the world. I have seen this show up in the Washington Times. As you know, Moon has even been embracing the notorious Louis Farrakhan.

Moon received a "Universal Peace Award" at the U.N., has called for a U.N.-based religious body, and has declared, "As long as America sticks with its nationalistic pride it will never be able to embrace the world." Moon even conducted one of his notorious "mass weddings" at the United Nations itself on January 27, 2001. The event was covered by Larry Witham, religion correspondent of the Times and identified member of the Unification Church, in a story the next day. This is when Moon called the U.N. a "temple of peace."

Moon's turn toward the U.N. could reflect a belief that the U.N. could help protect his global business dealings. He has been reported to be doing business in China, North Korea and Vietnam. The Moon connection to North Korea is most striking. Moon met with and was extremely close to North Korean dictator Kim Il-Sung, whose successor and son, Kim Jong-Il, gave Moon a birthday gift.

Veteran reporter Robert Parry noted:

"The Rev. Sun Myung Moon's business empire, which includes the conservative Washington Times, paid millions of dollars to North Korea's communist leaders in the early 1990s when the hard-line government needed foreign currency to finance its weapons programs, according to U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency documents. The payments included a $3 million 'birthday present' to current communist leader Kim Jong Il and offshore payments amounting to 'several tens of million dollars' to the previous communist dictator, Kim Il Sung, the partially declassified documents said. Moon apparently was seeking a business foothold in North Korea. "

This is a very significant story. But Bill Gertz, the paper's excellent national security reporter who covers suspicious U.S. dealings with Communist China and whose access to classified information has been a subject of controversy, has stayed away from it. Why?

The answer may lie in Moon's own words during a speech in New York:

"America is the most powerful country in the world. But its powerful leaders listen to the Washington Times. A statement from the Times can affect them dramatically. The government of other nations also listen to the Washington Times. Who at the Washington Times is having the biggest impact? [Bill Gertz.] Bill Gertz. How old is he? He is young. He only graduated from high school, joined the Washington Times and became famous."

A speech by a Unification Church pastor, posted on the Unification Church Web site, says the following about Gertz:

"The magazine Weekly Standard, published by Rupert Murdoch, edited by Bill Kristol, a very influential conservative publication. They did a full-page story on Bill Gertz, an exciting story for me because the first paragraph called him a fascinating phenomenon because of the stories he broke. It said that he was one of the early guys at the Washington Times, he is a member of Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church, he never graduated from college, and he is 'now known as the most significant national security reporter in America.'

"Furthermore, when Bill wrote the book I saw an early copy. He's bold. He dedicated the book to 'the founders of the Washington Times, Rev. and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon, without which I would never have written this.'"

The speech goes on to say that Gertz and the pastor had been in Alaska studying with "Father and Mother" - Moon and his wife -- for a week.

Let me tell you how this shift has affected the coverage of international affairs in the Washington Times.

A November 4 op-ed in the Times on how we can win the war on terrorism through an alliance with Islam proclaimed:

"The new, interreligious America presents a more attractive partner for engagement with Islam than a 'Christian' America, being less encumbered with the historical baggage of a religion that Islam has seen as an adversary for more than 1,000 years."

The author was identified as follows:

"Andrew Wilson is professor of biblical studies at Unification Theological Seminary in New York."

Well, you guessed it - the Unification Theological Seminary is a front of Sun Myung Moon. Its Web site discloses that:

"The Unification Theological Seminary is a graduate school founded by Reverend and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon and sponsored by the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. Reverend and Mrs. Moon established the Family Federation in 1994. It succeeds, inherits and expands the work of the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, the Unification Church. Thus the mission and goals of the Seminary also are expanding through fellowship with all churches and through the ministry of marriage blessing and true family formation."

Cheryl Wetzstein's January 24, 2002, Washington Times article, "U.S.-U.N. relations discussed at parley," is another case study of how Moon and/or his agents are pulling the strings at this newspaper. Wetzstein, an identified member of the Unification Church, never mentioned the Moon connection to this event. We were told in the story, however, that one of the speakers was Mokhtar Lamani of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Readers weren't told that it includes Iraq, Libya and Iran and is committed to the "liberation" of Palestine.

The reason for this and other omissions was to spare some of the other speakers, such as Senator Richard Lugar, Rep. Ben Gilman, Patrick Fagan of the Heritage Foundation, and a Bush State Department official, any embarrassment over possible controversy caused by the Moon connection. Moon denies the divinity of Christ and claims to be the true Messiah.

AP religion writer Richard N. Ostling, in an August 27, 2001, story, noted the following:

"New religions such as Moon's often cite the Bible, but give it a radically different interpretation from that taught by mainstream Judaism or Christianity - faiths toward which Moon is sharply critical. Moon's doctrines are laid out in his 1957 scripture, titled 'Exposition of the Divine Principle' in the 1996 English translation.

"Moon's followers regard him as the new messiah or 'Lord of the Second Advent' who is providing the 'physical salvation' that Jesus was unable to accomplish because he was executed and didn't marry. Jesus gave only 'spiritual salvation.'

"By contrast, Christianity has always taught that Jesus' death on the cross gives complete salvation for all who believe in him."

You are undoubtedly familiar with how Moon selected one of his Korean disciples, Maria Sung, as a bride for Vatican-based Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo and conducted the nuptials days later. This has created a major conflict with the Roman Catholic Church. In fact, Moon is waging war with the Catholic Church, challenging its teaching on celibacy for priests.

Moon's statements and beliefs, as documented by the Web site, www.xmoonies.com, are frightening and anti-Christian. They include that:

• Jesus was a failure.
• Jesus was born of adultery.
• Moon's church will replace Christianity.

Some established "religious right" leaders have made common cause with Moon and have accepted his largesse. Smaller groups are very critical. One of them, known as the Watchman, is alarmed that Moon, born in North Korea,

"claims...to have seen a vision of Jesus in 1936 on Easter morning. In this vision Jesus told Moon either 'to restore God's perfect kingdom' or that Moon would be 'the completer of man's salvation by being the Second Coming of Christ.'"

Moon, who claims to be the true Christ, has said:

"Am I foolish and insignificant or am I great? I gave all the individuals in the world cause to kneel down in front of me."

He has some rather peculiar views about sex, and stories circulate about his personal and family life. He has preached about the "Love organ" and how man fell from God's grace because of "the misuse of the love organ." In one address, Moon said, "Our enemy is our love organ and lineage."

The January 24 Wetzstein story demonstrates how conservative or other political figures can be roped into a Moon activity without understanding Moon's involvement. A call to Lugar's office revealed that his staff had not been informed about Moon's backing of some of the various sponsoring groups.

First, the story said that one of the sponsors of the event is the "Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace." But it is NOT mentioned that Moon was its founder.

Second, the story said that the "University of Bridgeport" was a sponsor. This sounds like a respectable academic institution. But it neglected to mention that it is run by Moon through one of his organizations. It is known by residents of the area as "Moon University." It was purchased through the Moon front known as the Professors World Peace Academy (PWPA), which

"organized a panel on 'International Organizations and the United Nations' at Assembly 2000, a major international conference on 'Renewal of the United Nations and Building a Culture of Peace.' The conference was held in response to Secretary General Kofi Annan's call for renewal of the United Nations as a theme for its Millennium Assembly. It was sponsored by the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace and the UN Missions from Indonesia, Uganda and Mongolia."

Third, the story said that the Washington Times Foundation was a sponsor. Of course, the Washington Times Foundation, like the paper, is backed by Moon as well. But readers weren't reminded of that fact.

Finally, the story said that Noel Brown of the "Friends of the United Nations" was a sponsor. This is a group that acts as an official consultant to the U.N. Department of Public Information. Brown, former director of the U.N. Environmental Program, used to sign his letters, "In the service of the earth." He was also associated with the Climate Institute, a group that gave Enron CEO Ken Lay and Ted Turner awards for their sensitivity to environmental concerns. He has affirmed the "rights of the earth" and has called for an "Environmental Security Council" at the U.N. to manage the affairs of the planet.

The article talked about a conference theme - strong families - when Moon has divided and hurt families by conducting impersonal mass weddings of followers who are ordered to get married and don't have anything - nationality, culture or language - in common.

The article also claimed that the U.N. has a "largely successful record in providing humanitarian aid..." Tell that to the people of Cambodia, thousands of whom got AIDS because AIDS-infected U.N. personnel raped or had sex with local women and fathered and left behind untold numbers of children, who are bullied and ostracized for being of mixed race before some of them die of a deadly disease.

Strong families indeed.

One of the Moon front groups, the IIFWP, distributed a story about the event, noting that:

"'Exploring the Future of U.S.-U.N. Relations'" was sponsored by the IIFWP, The Washington Times Foundation and the University of Bridgeport. Supporting institutions included the World Association of NGOs (WANGO), the American Family Coalition, the American Leadership Conference and the Summit Council for World Peace."

All of these organizations - every single one -- are fronts of Moon. That is, Moon either founded or is funding them.

The American Family Coalition is an interesting case. Its Web site proclaims that it is:

"a national non-profit grassroots leadership alliance promoting family and community renewal through educational and faith-based initiatives."

There is nothing apparent that would indicate it is a Moon front. However, if you type in Moon's name in the search engine, you will get three documents, including a sample invitation to another organization, the American Leadership Conference, which is acknowledged to have been founded by Moon. The invitation highlights a common Moon theme - strengthening families. One of the topics is:

"Marriage. What is the role of healthy marriages and family-friendly policies in shaping American society?"

Yet those mass weddings of Moon followers contradict the pro-family rhetoric. As you know, Moon has married hundreds of couples at a time in huge ceremonies. Many of the couples have only met each other recently after being paired together by Moon, who uses their photographs to match them. The AP quoted a church spokesman as saying that Moon is good at reading a person's character from the shape of their face.

Even WANGO - the World Association of NGOs - is a Moon front. Let me quote from the WANGO Web site (WANGO was once known by the acronym WAUNNGO):

"Rev. Moon not only became an active and early supporter of WAUNNGO, but a visionary who felt that the goals and vision of the organization should be grander, and should embrace the more dedicated and principled actors in the entire NGO community. From this foundation and inspiration, the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (WANGO) came into being. With the generous initial support and guidance of Rev. Moon, WANGO has enjoyed an active agenda of programs."

The Web site also discloses:

"On August 18, 2000, at the Convocation of World Leaders in the United Nations, WAUNNGO presented the first Universal Peace Award to the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, for his distinguished and extensive international and inter-religious work for world peace. Rev. Moon is the founder of numerous organizations devoted to such activities, including the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace, the International Security Council, the Assembly of the World's Religions, and the Women's Federation for World Peace, and he is a visionary who proposed such innovated proposals as the International Peace Highway Project, the creation of Peace Zones between nations in conflict, and the addition of a "religious general assembly" to the structure of the United Nations. Many other organizations that he founded also seek to enhance unity among individuals and institutions, such as the World Media Association, the International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences, and the Association for the Unity of Latin America. Dr Nicholas Kittrie, chair of WAUNNGO and President of Eleanor Roosevelt Institute for Peace and Justice, presented the Universal Peace Award."

The WANGO secretary-general is Wally N'Dow, who ran the U.N. conference known as Habitat II and served as the convening chair of Mikhail Gorbachev's State of the World Forum.

Moon Fronts "Throughout his entire life, with a ministry spanning more than fifty years, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon has devoted himself to the pursuit of peace, and he has established numerous organizations and foundations whose main focus has been peace. These include the Professors World Peace Academy, the Women's Federation for World Peace, the Youth Federation for World Peace, the Inter-Religious Federation for World Peace, the World Media Association, the International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences, the Federation for World Peace, the Summit Council for World Peace, and the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace." In his own description of the vision of the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace, Reverend Moon has proposed the development of a council of religious leaders that would work within the structure of the United Nations?" source: http://www.iifwp.org/About/Founders.shtml

Let me give you another example of how Moon operates through his front groups. On October 20, 2001, Louis Farrakhan spoke at a Moon event in New York. Here's how the sponsors and participants were identified in a press advisory:

"Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace (IIFWP) convenes more than 20 former heads of state including Abdurrahman Wahid (Indonesia), Edward Schreyer (Canada), Rodrigo Carazo (Costa Rica); 40 UN Ambassadors including representatives from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Arab League, Uzbekistan, Colombia, Hungary, Kenya, Ukraine, Nicaragua, etc.; current and former legislators and governmental leaders including Dan Quayle, Richard Holbrooke, Richard Thornburg, Danny K. Davis; together with religious leaders including Rev. Sun Myung Moon (IIFWP founder), Minister Louis Farrakhan, Pakistan's Minister of Religious Affairs, and representatives of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikkhism, and other major faiths..."

The Washington Times U.N. reporter Betsy Pisik covered it this way in an October 21, 2001, story:

"Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan yesterday condemned the U.S.-led bombing of Afghanistan, saying Washington had not proven its case against terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden.

"Speaking to a gathering of religious leaders, Mr. Farrakhan said the U.S. government hadn't revealed the evidence to the Taliban, sharing it only with allies...

"Mr. Farrakhan keynoted a conference organized by the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace, a group organized by Rev. Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church [and founder of the Washington Times]. The conference included a hundred ministers from several religious denominations, and political figures, including former Vice President Dan Quayle, former Indonesian President Abudurrahman Wahid and the former presidents and prime ministers of Guyana, Guatemala, Barbados, Seychelles, Nepal and St. Kitts and Nevis.

"Most of them applauded often during Mr. Farrakhan's 100-minute speech and gave him a standing ovation afterward. The theme of the conference was an examination of the roots of global violence and how to deal with it.

"Mr. Quayle, who had left the gathering by the time Mr. Farrakhan spoke, had earlier angrily rejected suggestions that U.S. foreign policy in Iraq and the Middle East had provoked terrorist attacks..."

Pisik did note the role of Moon in this event. This was more than Wetzstein did in her January 24 article.

In an October 23 editorial based on the news story, the Times said:

"We have never seen anything from Louis Farrakhan but hatred for most of his fellow Americans, the Jews whom he famously said were followers of a 'gutter religion' and for other whites whom he has described as sub-human."

This was a welcome condemnation of a vicious hate-monger. But the editorial neglected to mention that its financial sponsor made the appearance possible.

In a November 13, 2000, commentary, Reed Irvine of Accuracy in Media and I commented on how the Times covered the "Million Family March" featuring Farrakhan and underwritten by Moon. Writing in the Times, columnist Adrienne T. Washington said, "Never mind the rambling, sometimes ranting political speeches..." and that, "...it was not the organizers but the purpose that mattered most." That purpose, she said, was family. She had to say this because the march, organized by a church group that pays her salary, featured extremist rhetoric and calls for racial struggle in the U.S. It was something that no decent family, black or white, should have participated in.

Farrakhan got the most attention for his role in sponsoring the Million Family March. He spoke, along with another figure from his organization who claimed that the AIDS and Ebola viruses were genetically engineered and part of a "biological holocaust" against black people. Another speaker was Communist Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua. Still another was Ron Daniels of the Center for Constitutional Rights, who said he remembered Ortega presenting a Soviet assault rifle, an AK-47, to Maurice Bishop of Grenada. Bishop was another Marxist, overthrown when President Ronald Reagan ordered U.S. troops to invade the island to rescue endangered American students. Daniels concluded his speech with the words, "The struggle continues." In the context of his reference to an AK-47 and Daniel Ortega, it had an ominous sound to it.

If this sounds like a radical gathering, rather than a family affair, you would not know it from reading some of the stories about this event. Unfortunately, the Washington Times turned in a dismal performance. The Times had a conflict of interest, since it is funded by businesses associated with Moon which organized the march together with the Nation of Islam.

A Times story by Clarence Williams, John Drake and Larry Witham ran under a headline claiming that the event was a day to honor family and that Farrakhan had toned down his rhetoric in his remarks. But by their own account, he called for reparations payments to black Americans, on the ground that their ancestors had been held as slaves. This proposal could cost trillions and inflame racial tension. The story mentioned some of the extreme rhetoric, but it failed to note that a convicted cop-killer, Mumia Abu-Jamal delivered a taped message to the gathering.

The story mentioned the involvement of the Unification Church but didn't ask any of its representatives to comment on the radical and racist rhetoric. The story also failed to mention that march organizers produced a political manifesto which claimed to offer solutions to various social problems. On the issue of drugs, the document cited The Final Call, Louis Farrakhan's newspaper, as a credible source for the bogus charge that the CIA introduced crack cocaine into black and Latino communities.

A section on "political prisoners" claimed that the cop-killer, Abu-Jamal, was "unjustly" on death row. This was echoed by another rally speaker, Al Sharpton, who said "many" of the two million people in jail or prison in the U.S. were political prisoners. This rally should have been exposed by the Washington Times as the fraud it really was. The Times' owners, editors and reporters should have been ashamed.

I am frequently told that the Washington Times has been very critical of the United Nations. Another recent example was the January 26 front page story by Betsy Pisik which began:

"The United Nations disclosed yesterday that U.N. workers in Nairobi, Kenya, had been shaking down refugees desperate for asylum or resettlement in other countries. The scheme was so lucrative the extortionists threatened to kill the U.S. ambassador to Kenya to stall an investigation..."

But the keywords were "the United Nations disclosed..." This became a story only when the U.N. released some information. This story was broken - before the U.N. officially released anything - by Steven Edwards of Canada's National Post last year. He had an initial story last February, then a huge piece with all the details of the scam (all now confirmed) on March 24 on the front page.

Editorially, the Times supported Kofi Annan for another term as U.N. Secretary-General. Its March 31, 2001, editorial was titled, "Keep Annan On, for now." It should have been dated April 1 because I thought it was an April Fool's Joke. For a "conservative" newspaper to run an editorial so flawed and inaccurate was a supreme embarrassment. Its claim that Annan's positions "have generally been supportive of many U.S. interests" was just plain wrong, if not dishonest. In a letter to the Times, I noted that that the facts showed that Annan:

• Made a deal with dictator Saddam Hussein, leading to the expulsion of weapons inspectors and Iraq's re-emergence as an international security threat.
• Made a deal with Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, giving him immunity from prosecution in the Pan Am 103 terrorism case.
• Supports the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which was voted down by the U.S. Senate.
• Supports the global warming treaty, which would raise U.S. energy prices while benefiting Communist China and the Third World.
• Supports an International Criminal Court to arrest and imprison Americans.
• Supports the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, even though it was signed with a country that no longer exists and has been violated by the old Soviet Union and Russia.
• Supports the Biological Weapons Convention, even though China and Russia have violated it.
• Opposes a national missile defense system for the U.S.
• Collaborated with Hillary Clinton and Bella Abzug to promote abortion as an "international right."
• Smeared the U.S. as a greedy nation in a Notre Dame speech claiming Americans don't spend enough on foreign aid.
• Supports all "necessary revenues" for the U.N. (i.e. global taxes).
• Lent his support to the international campaign to abolish the death penalty in the U.S. and other nations.
• Berated the U.S. for not paying U.S. "dues" to the U.N. when America had contributed billions of dollars to peacekeeping operations that had not been reimbursed or credited to the U.S.
• Promotes "global debt relief," a cover for transfers of more U.S. wealth to deadbeat Socialist Third World dictatorships.
• Refused requests to authorize U.N. peacekeepers in Rwanda to seize weapons and prevent a genocide.
• Proceeded with an independence vote in East Timor that led to a bloodbath.
• Covered-up the fact that U.N. soldiers were spreading AIDS around the world.

The Times' claim that Annan "has championed some reforms that have helped make the United Nations more cost effective and transparent" was also false. U.N. whistleblower Linda Shenwick, a former budget analyst at the U.S. mission to the U.N., says no significant reforms have been carried out. No one has lost a job at the U.N. because of Annan's reforms. On the other hand, the U.N. pension fund has grown to $25 billion.

The Times is, of course, entitled to be pro-U.N. and pro-Annan, even though this stance is inconsistent with being "America's Newspaper," but conservatives should not be under the impression that it is something other than that. It is noteworthy that World Federalist Association (WFA) director of communications Tony Fleming wrote a letter to the Washington Times thanking the paper for endorsing Annan for another term.

You may be aware of the fact that UPI has been taken over by Moon. UPI claims that it will continue "the wire service tradition of strong unbiased coverage of major breaking news, along with depth coverage, analysis and commentary to provide insight into the world's most pressing issues." But UPI on October 21 carried a story about Farrakhan's speech at the Moon event that was remarkably similar to Betsy Pisik's article. However, it did not have Pisik's by-line on it. The UPI story carried the notation on the bottom:

"United Press International is owned by News World Communications Inc., a media company founded by Moon."

If this trend continues, noted one critic, UPI could become known as "Unification Press International."

The Washington Times continues to run some very good stories, and employs some excellent reporters. But its reputation as "America's newspaper" is in jeopardy. With stories like the Wetzstein offering on January 24, it may become known as another U.N. house organ, laying the groundwork for a "New World Order" with Moon and his radical Islamic allies in charge of global theology. America will have lost its Judeo-Christian heritage.

Kincaid includes the following article to expose the Washington Times's deliberate omission of Moonie links. The "international conference" covered in the article was a Moonie event.

from the Washington Times, 2002-Jan-24, by Cheryl Wetzstein:

U.S.-U.N. relations discussed at parley

The September 11 terrorist attacks have led to a new beginning in the often-rocky relationship between the United States and the United Nations, speakers told an international conference yesterday.

Now the question is how can the new partnership be strengthened and expanded, they said, offering answers such as learning from mistakes in past treaties, maintaining dialogue and recognizing the family as the most fundamental social institution.

"In many ways, we're enjoying a thaw in the icy relationships," said Thomas Walsh, secretary-general of the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace (IIFWP), one of the sponsors of the International Symposium on the United States and the United Nations, held yesterday at the Hyatt Regency Washington Hotel on Capitol Hill.

"There are few events in the world where one strike would affect 86 nationalities at the same time. That's what September 11th revealed - that our fate and fortunes are bound up with each other," said Noel Brown, president of Friends of the United Nations and co-chairman of the one-day conference, which was attended by more than 40 ambassadors and representatives of 107 nations.

"Round one" of the conversation about the new U.S.-U.N. relationship has begun and must be continued, Mr. Brown said.

But what is needed soon is a conference on the "middle-size and small world powers" because they will play a pivotal role in fighting - or aiding - terrorism, he said.

Sen. Richard G. Lugar, Indiana Republican, said that the estimated losses from the September 11 attacks include more than 3,000 lives, 1.4 million jobs and $60 billion in economic costs.

There is now renewed public interest in U.S. goals to identify persons who "for whatever reasons" want to kill others indiscriminately and prevent them from acquiring weapons of mass destruction, Mr. Lugar said.

Still, this "very important international agenda will not be achieved by the United States alone, nor by the NATO alliance," Mr. Lugar said. Instead, it will require an outreach to all who believe in the United Nations' agenda of peace and cooperation.

Speakers at the conference reviewed the troubled U.S.-U.N. history, its largely successful record in providing humanitarian aid and the successes and failures of recent peacekeeping efforts.

Patrick F. Fagan of the Heritage Foundation faulted the United Nations for following "disastrous" family and social policies from the United States and Europe. Yet Mr. Fagan stressed that with more dialogue "U.N. member states can take corrective action."

Strong families, living for the sake of others and surpassing the barriers that divide people are the ingredients for peace, said the Rev. Chung Hwan Kwak, chairman of the IIFWP, in closing the conference, which was co-sponsored by the University of Bridgeport and The Washington Times Foundation.

Among the speakers were Republican Rep. Benjamin A. Gilman of New York; Murari Raj Sharma, ambassador of Nepal and vice president of the U.N. General Assembly; Alan Kreczko, acting assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Populations, Refugees and Migrations; Mokhtar Lamani, ambassador and permanent observer of the Organization of the Islamic Conference to the United Nations; and Edward Luck, director of the Center on International Organization at Columbia University. (30)

from Agence France-Press, 1999-Feb-7, by Marc Lavine:

SEOUL, Feb 7 (AFP) - Several hundred old women, their bridal veils framing their wrinkled faces, silently clutched portraits of their dead husbands as they gathered for the religious extravaganza -- a mass Moonie wedding.

Around them, thousands of young brides in a flurry of white rushed across the stadium's running tracks to find virtual strangers they were about to marry in a vast ceremony heralded by blaring pop music and prize raffles.

Presently, Unification Church founder Reverend Sun Myung Moon and his wife appeared on the podium, clad in white robes and golden crowns, to dramatically sprinkle holy water on the happy couples.

"I wanted my marriage to be blessed again even though my beloved husband has passed on," an ethic-Korean woman from Japan said as she sat stony-faced in Seoul's jam-packed Olympic stadium.

Most of the old women were Japanese. Some were not even there in person, represented by daughters or younger relatives, also wearing wedding whites and propping up portraits of old couples on specially saved seats.

Moon, perhaps South Korea's best-known export, married off 40,000 couples from 193 countries in a lavish ceremony here Sunday, although 28,000 of them were Asian couples renewing their vows -- some posthumously.

Tier after tier of brides and grooms rose up from the centre of the stadium where more than 120,000 "Moonies" waited to receive the ultimate blessing of compatibilty from the controversial cult head.

Around the world, millions were following the proceedings on satellite links or on the Internet, many after being "matched" to their future spouse by Moon.

The process of uniting more than 4,000 Filipinos who sent in late requests to take part in Blessing '99 went on until just hours ahead of the mass event.

Many of those present were matched just days earlier and had immediately flown to Seoul to meet their new life partners, picked out on the basis of mutual compatibility.

Church officials say Moon's match "suggestions" are made on the basis of height, education and age, as well as a character analysis based on the shape of the applicants' ears.

The beaming couples questioned were intent on respecting his advice. "This is the right match," said Japanese bride Yuko Ito, 23, of her South Korean fiance.

"It did feel a little strange at first to meet somebody you know you are about to marry, but we knew right away the Reverend Moon had picked wisely."

Slovak Jan Forgac, 20, and his 19-year-old bride Neya Chrastova said they were confident Moon had matched them perfectly, despite the fact the pair had first met six years ago but never struck up a friendship.

"We were too young, but he saw the potential for the match, which is the most important thing to make this a success," telecommunications student Jan said. "We can understand and help each other."

Around the couples, seated in the stands or lined up on plastic shares on the stadium track, Korean pop blared as a ticket draw to win one of 10 Daewoo cars or a range of other household electronics.

Soon screams and cheers echoed through the mainly elderly crowd in the complex as Moon, viewed by his followers as a Messianic figure, appeared on the giant rostrum in his trademark white topped with his neptune-like crown.

At least one overwhelmed bride collapsed in the excitement and had to be rushed to a first aid post as the church's First Couple showered blessings from the foot of a red-carpeted staircase on the podium.

In just a few minutes, 40,000 marriages were sealed or re-sealed.

All of the 12,000 newlyweds will later this week return to their separate homes across the globe, respecting the church's requirement that their marriages not be consummated for at least 40 days.

from the Wall Street Journal, 2004-Jul-2, p.W11, by K.E. Grubbs Jr.:

Moon Over Washington

The Korean evangelist Sun Myung Moon first walked into the consciousness of most Americans three decades ago as a champion of the beleaguered President Richard Nixon. Since then, he has been known mostly as the head of the Unification Church and as a newspaper proprietor. Most people who work for a living will have had, at one point or another, a boss who ruled as if by divine right. Those of us who once worked at the Washington Times had a boss who actually believed he was the messiah.

So it did not come as a surprise to me to read, in the past couple of weeks -- first in Salon and then in the Washington Post -- of an event at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in March in which Mr. Moon declared that he was "sent to Earth ...to save the world's six billion people," adding that he himself was "none other than humanity's Savior, Messiah, Returning Lord and True Parent."

He has long expressed similar sentiments. Mr. Moon formulated the "Divine Principle" when he first heard, he says, from the Almighty. That was in Korea in 1954, a time of devastation. Raised Presbyterian, Mr. Moon claims that he learned from on high that Adam, Eve and Jesus all failed to produce the perfect, sinless race. God, goes the theology, had to wait two millennia for Sun Myung Moon to finish the work. Since he founded the Unification Church it has grown and grown, now claiming more than two million members in nearly 200 countries, with extensive holdings in real estate, commercial enterprises and even a recording studio.

The Washington event put on display a less-known aspect of Mr. Moon's belief -- his time-leaping claim that "the founders of five great religions and many other leaders in the spirit world, including even Communist leaders such as Marx and Lenin...and dictators such as Hitler and Stalin, have found strength in my teachings, mended their ways and been reborn as new persons."

Even that claim might not have stirred so much controversy had not at least a couple of hundred lawmakers and staffers, both Democrats and Republicans, been present at the event. A few later claimed to have left when they realized that the Ambassadors for Peace ceremony was sponsored by an affiliate of the Unification Church and included a Crown of Peace Award -- "for leadership in reconciliation and peacemaking" -- to Mr. Moon and his wife.

Chris Lisi, spokeswoman for Sen. Mark Dayton (D., Minn.), in attendance at the event, told the Washington Post: "We fell victim to it; we were duped." Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett (R., Md.) explained that he and his GOP colleagues attended out of respect for the Washington Times, the Post's competitor. The Washington Times Foundation was listed as a co-sponsor of the event.

Only yesterday the Times ran a story, titled "Clerics Defend Moon Event," in which the Rev. George A. Stallings, the archbishop of the Imani Temple African-American Catholic Congregation in Washington, was quoted saying that "the term 'Messiah' is relative. It depends on your particular religious persuasion. Ultimately, we must judge Reverend Moon not by what he says but by what he does." Clergymen affiliated with the Unification Church made similar statements of support.

It should be said that such a blatantly pro-Unification Church article is the exception. The Washington Times has never been a mere lapdog to the church. Today -- as in the 1980s, when I worked there -- the newspaper's editors produce an indispensable second newspaper in the nation's capital. Times journalists have operated since the paper's 1982 founding under assurances that the church would not interfere with editorial policy. Only occasionally have such breaches occurred, allegedly. (They are always disputed.)

In the early days, Times staffers felt justified in their arrangement with the "Moonies" because the church leader's pronounced anticommunism grew out of his own experience. It didn't hurt, either, that he had served time for violating U.S. tax laws, thereby qualifying as a true IRS "victim." But this recent outburst of profane self-exaltation -- including chats with Hitler and Stalin -- has got to be freshly embarrassing to the many fine journalists who work at the Times.

Before I accepted a position there, I was worried about the owner's cultish tendencies. (In those days he was best known for performing mass marriages, each pair of mates matched just before the ceremonies.) I actually consulted a Christian clergyman, who gave me a tentative green light. I don't think he would do so today.

Mr. Grubbs is director of the National Journalism Center in Herndon, Va.

from the Washington Post, 2004-Jun-23, p.A1, by Charles Babington and Alan Cooperman:

The Rev. Moon Honored at Hill Reception
Lawmakers Say They Were Misled

More than a dozen lawmakers attended a congressional reception this year honoring the Rev. Sun Myung Moon in which Moon declared himself the Messiah and said his teachings have helped Hitler and Stalin be "reborn as new persons."

At the March 23 ceremony in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.) wore white gloves and carried a pillow holding an ornate crown that was placed on Moon's head. The Korean-born businessman and religious leader then delivered a long speech saying he was "sent to Earth . . . to save the world's six billion people. . . . Emperors, kings and presidents . . . have declared to all Heaven and Earth that Reverend Sun Myung Moon is none other than humanity's Savior, Messiah, Returning Lord and True Parent."

Details of the ceremony -- first reported by Salon.com writer John Gorenfeld -- have prompted several lawmakers to say they were misled or duped by organizers. Their complaints prompted a Moon-affiliated Web site to remove a video of the "Crown of Peace" ceremony two days ago, but other Web sites have preserved details and photos.

Moon, 85, has been controversial for years. Renowned for officiating at mass weddings, he received an 18-month prison sentence in 1982 for tax fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice. In a 1997 sermon, he likened homosexuals to "dirty dung-eating dogs."

Among the more than 300 people who attended all or part of the March ceremony was Sen. Mark Dayton (D-Minn.), who now says he simply was honoring a constituent receiving a peace award and did not know Moon would be there. "We fell victim to it; we were duped," Dayton spokeswoman Chris Lisi said yesterday.

Other lawmakers who attended or were listed as hosts felt the same, she said. "Everyone I talked to was furious," she said. With Minnesotans demanding to know whether Dayton is a follower of Moon, Lisi said, the senator persuaded the St. Paul Pioneer Press to write an article allowing him to reply.

The event's organizers flew in nearly 100 honorees from all 50 states to receive state and national peace awards. The only "international crown of peace awards" went to Moon and his wife.

Some Republicans who attended the event, including Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett (Md.), said they did so mainly to salute the Washington Times, a conservative-leaning newspaper owned by Moon's organization. "I had no idea what would happen" regarding Moon's coronation and speech, Bartlett said yesterday.

But a key organizer -- Archbishop George A. Stallings Jr., pastor of the Imani Temple, an independent African American Catholic congregation in Northeast Washington -- said Moon's prominent role should have surprised no one. He said a March 8 invitation faxed to all lawmakers stated that the "primary program sponsor" would be the "Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace (IIFWP), founded by Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon, who will also be recognized that evening for their lifelong work to promote interfaith cooperation and reconciliation." The invitation was signed by Davis and the Rev. Michael Jenkins, as co-chairmen of the IIFWP (USA).

The event's co-sponsors were the Washington Times Foundation, the United Press International Foundation, the American Family Coalition, the American Clergy Leadership Conference and the Women's Federation for World Peace, according to the invitation. Stallings, a former Roman Catholic priest who was married in Moon's church, said Moon's association with those organizations is well known.

"You'd have to be deaf, dumb and blind to not know that any event that is sponsored by the Washington Times . . . could involve the influence, or the potential presence, of the Reverend Moon," he said.

Use of the Dirksen building requires a senator's approval. Dayton said he gave no such permission, and Stallings said the question of who did so is "shrouded in mystery."

Moon has claimed to have spoken in "the spirit world" with all deceased U.S. presidents, Jesus, Moses, Mohammed and others. At the March 23 event, he said: "The founders of five great religions and many other leaders in the spirit world, including even Communist leaders such as Marx and Lenin . . . and dictators such as Hitler and Stalin, have found strength in my teachings, mended their ways and been reborn as new persons."

Several Web sites quoted Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) as praising Moon at the event for "always standing up for what is right." In an interview yesterday, Cummings said, "I don't recall saying that. That may have been confused with what I was saying" about Bishop Joseph Showell, a constituent being honored.

The Rev. Walter Fauntroy, a Democrat who was the District's congressional delegate for 10 years, was the event's master of ceremonies and recipient of a "National Crown of Peace" award. Also speaking at the event was Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.).

Davis said in an interview that he is a lifelong Methodist who does not agree with many of Moon's religious teachings. But he praised Moon's efforts to promote world peace. Davis said that some Moon associates have donated money to his congressional campaigns, but that that has nothing to do with his support for Moon's organization.

The prominent role played by Davis, Fauntroy and Stallings, among others, reflects Moon's efforts to reach out to the black community. Jenkins said many African American clergy members "have become strong allies" of Moon because they sympathize with the "mistreatment and labeling" he has faced.

excerpt from The Truth About Sun Myung Moon:

[...]

When I was recruited into a front organization of the Moon group (The International One World Crusade) in 1974, and was told to drop out of college, quit my job, donate my bank account, and follow, I was anidealistic, nineteen year old who wanted to make the world a better place. I was almost immediately selected by Takeru Kamiyama, then one of the top Japanese Moonie leaders in America, to be one of his top twelve American disciples.

At that time, Mr. Kamiyama was in charge of all New York members, all U.S. fundraising operations, all real estate purchases, all special projects (such as Moon's speech at Madison Square Garden, and Yankee Stadium). I was told that "Father" (Sun Myung Moon) was displeased with all of the American leaders and ordered the retraining (120 days) of all the U.S. leadership. I was personally indoctrinated by Kamiyama, and received a personal exemption for the training by Moon himself. I was told that "I was too important tolose". Kamiyama knew that if I went to Barrytown for retraining he might lose control of me to Mr. Ken Sudo, then director of the training program.

I adopted a bizarre and twisted set of beliefs that turned me against my own mind. I was taught that if I have a doubt about Moon or the group, that it was a result of evil spirits which were having give and take with my mind. The solution was to cut off "give and take" with negativity and pray or chant or read the Divine Principle (his new bible) to recenter myself on God. What I didn't understand at that time was this was a powerful behavior modification technique called "thought-stopping". By doing this technique on myself, I unwittingly short-circuited my critical, independent thinking process. When a person automatically shuts down any "negative" thoughts, and is only "allowed" to have positive thoughts, no independent thinking or reality testing can take place. I allowed myself to be controlled by fear and an unhealthy dependency on "central figures", the term used for leaders within the group.

[...]

from Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting's EXTRA, 1987-Aug/Sep, by Fred Clarkson, from http://www.fair.org/extra/best-of-extra/washington-times.html:

Behind the Times: Who Pulls The Strings at Washington's No. 2 Daily?

The Washington Times, the right-wing daily that bills itself as an alternative to the Washington Post, is owned and influenced by Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church. But most journalists seem unable or unwilling to consider the political implications of this fact -- despite the role of Washington Times executives in the Koreagate scandal of the 1970s and the Iran-contra scandal today.

Since its inception in 1982, the Washington Times has gained a circulation of about 100,000 and the endorsement of President Ronald Reagan, who reads it every day. Founding editor and publisher James Whelan resigned in July 1984, charging that top Unification Church (UC) officials had taken over the paper in violation of UC guarantees of independence. In 1987, Times editorial page editor William Cheshire and several staff members also resigned over UC interference.

The Washington Times public relations line -- printed as fact in a Time magazine profile (6/15/87) -- maintains that the newspaper is "owned by a group of Korean investors affiliated with the Unification Church." These "investors" -- the Korean-based Tong-II Industries -- do not seem to view the Times as a profit-making venture. Current Times editor-in-chief Arnaud de Borchgrave told the Washington Post (5/6/87) that a Tong-II executive described one of the company's factories as "the logistical tail of the Washington Times." "They are very conscious of the fact that a certain portion of their profit comes to us to meet the subsidy," de Borchgrave said.

A 1978 congressional committee disclosed that 53 percent of Tong-II was owned by the Unification Church. But there is no proof that Tong-II is the sole, or even the principal, funder of the Times. New World Communications (NWC), the privately held parent company of the Washington Times and other Moon media outlets, is neither obligated under the law nor willing to disclose its financing.

Three NWC executives are not only top Unification Church officials, but have also had high-ranking posts in the Korean CIA (KCIA). Sang Kook Han, a "personal assistant" to the KCIA director in the early 1960s, later served as South Korea's ambassador to Norway and Panama. In 1984, Han was installed at the Washington Times, precipitating the resignation of editor James Whelan. Currently senior vice president of New World Communications, Han is described by Whelan as the "de facto publisher" and "inspector general" of the Times.

Kim Sang In, another NWC executive, was KCIA station chief in Mexico in the '70s. There, according to U.S. congressional investigators, he functioned as the "control agent" for Tungsun Park, who bribed U.S. officials to gain favors for the South Korean government in what became known as "Koreagate." Congressional probers disclosed that illegal espionage operations linked to Koreagate were carried out by the Unification Church at the behest of the KCIA.

Bo Hi Pak, the president of NWC, served as liaison to the U.S. intelligence community while posted in Washington as South Korean military attache in the 1960s and early '70s, according to the Koreagate inquiry. Pak is also president of CAUSA (Confederation of the Associations for Unity of the Societies of the Americas), the political arm of the Unification Church. CAUSA was instrumental in providing aid to the Nicaraguan contras.

What are the intentions of those who own and control the Washington Times? The Koreagate probe revealed that the Moon organization functions as a highly integrated unit; each component may maintain the appearance of independence as a means towards larger ends. James Whelan believes he was forced out of the paper because he was too independent.

Opposition to constitutional democracy is a theological premise of The Divine Principle, the basic text of Unificationism. Moon's speeches are riddled with contempt for "American-style democracy," which he denigrates as "a good nursery for the growth of Communism." "We must have an automatic theocracy to rule the world," Moon has declared.

Former top UC official Steve Hassan believes that the Washington Times is a "Trojan horse" within the conservative movement. Hassan told EXTRA!, "Conservative politics is glad to have a voice through the Times, but ultimately it has nothing to do with conservatism. It has to do with fascism."

Here is a catalog of Moonie tentacles.

For more on Mormonism, I suggest starting with the Wikipedia entry. Also Michael Lorenzen's investigation of Mormonism in Glen Larson's Battlestar Galactica. The new series on the Sci Fi channel continues at least one of the motifs, that of a lost thirteenth tribe of humanity that is on a long-lost Earth.

The two largest religious slaughters in the United States both occured on September 11th, and they had nothing else in common but death, religion, and the United States. It's an odd coincidence, no doubt about it.

from Christianity Today, 2003-Sep-11, by Chris Armstrong:

Learning From the Other 9/11
Words kill. So teachers, watch what you say.

"It's getting uncommonly easy to kill people in large numbers," wrote the Christian scholar, novelist, and lay theologian Dorothy L. Sayers in her novel Gaudy Night. "And the first thing a principle does—if it really is a principle—is to kill somebody."

I write this as midnight approaches and the calendar flips to the new Day of Infamy. I am thinking, as are many others, of where I was and what I felt on September 11, 2001, when I first heard that airplanes had struck the World Trade Center's towers.

I was in the basement of the Duke Divinity School's library, attending to my duties as copy editor of Church History, the journal of the American Society for Church History. Adam Zele, the book review editor, hung up the telephone, his face pale. Someone had just called to tell him: Two planes had hit the towers. Another was headed for the Pentagon.

At first I did not believe Adam's news. Surely his informant was wrong—or pulling a sick prank.

But soon I was sitting wordlessly in a darkened film theater at Duke's Bryan student center, with hundreds of other stunned students. In a matter of minutes, we found ourselves bonded into a single disbelieving community of horror.

We watched the footage replayed again and again. We heard the confused reports. Gradually these moved to a consensus: This was the work of terrorists. And terrorists who were not political radicals only, but Holy Warriors. These were men whose hatred of America had boiled up into a blind conviction that God willed their heinous acts.

In those first hours of shock, when all of my insides felt like they had sunk irretrievably to the bottom of my gut, the event seemed a freak—a deed with no parallel.

In the weeks and months after, journalists, professors, and other would-be authorities poured out a flood of words—trying to understand what had happened, grappling with motives, searching for logic, peering into the mind of Islamic fundamentalism's lunatic fringe.

Even in all of that flood, and even in the two years of analysis that ensued, it was not until this week that I heard of another event on American soil, nearly a century and half old, that shared not only the date of this tragedy, but its potent mix of political and religious motivation.

On September 11, 1857, 120 "gentiles" were slaughtered by Mormon malcontents in an impoverished, remote section of Utah. The Mountain Meadows massacre has been called "one of the worst mass murders in American history."

Though details of the event are vague and no eyewitness wholly trustworthy, the consensus of recent historical study and dramatic treatment supports the outline of the story as Mark Twain told it in his Roughing It:

A large party of Mormons, painted and tricked out as Indians, overtook the train of emigrant wagons some three hundred miles south of Salt Lake City, and made an attack. But the emigrants threw up earthworks, made fortresses of their wagons, and defended themselves gallantly and successfully for five days! … At the end of the five days the Mormons tried military strategy. They retired to the upper end of the "Meadows," resumed civilized apparel, washed off their paint, and then, heavily armed, drove down in wagons to the beleaguered emigrants, bearing a flag of truce! When the emigrants saw white men coming they threw down their guns and welcomed them with cheer after cheer. …

… and were promptly slaughtered en masse, excepting only a few of the many children—those under the age of seven—deemed too young to "tell tales."

Although the establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints still wishes to deny the complicity of Brigham Young and other key Mormon leaders in the events of that day, there seems no doubt that rank-and-file Mormons had every reason to despise such settlers as the Mountain Meadows party. Latter-day Saints had been mistreated—and some killed—by the "gentiles" from the surrounding area for years before the massacre. It seems clear that this had created a thirst for vengeance.

But according to the ex-Mormon Will Bagley, author of the 2002 book Blood of the Prophets: Brigham Young and the Massacre at Mountain Meadows, the massacre was not just about vengeance. It was about doctrine—the very will of God.

On October 5, 2002, Bagley spoke to an audience at the 8th Annual Ex-Mormon Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. Echoing Sayers's sentiment quoted at the head of this article, Bagley said,

I'm astonished that I still have people who I would consider friends who argue that this was done because these people basically behaved badly, and made people in southern Utah mad at them, so they just went out and killed them all.

Never in the entire fury and blood of the Civil War did members of one side or another kill children of seven years old. It never happened. These were not crimes of anger. These were crimes of ideology.

But was Brigham Young himself responsible for the Mountain Meadow massacre? Bagley reveals chilling details, including quotations from Young, of the "blood atonement revivals of 1856," during which Mormon leaders taught the doctrine "that the Saints had a right to kill a sinner to save him, when he commits those crimes that can only be atoned for by the shedding of blood."

Of course, this still does not mean that Young directly ordered the murders. In February 2002, a lead sheet was discovered, inscribed with what appeared to be a confession from John D. Lee, the one Mormon executed for leading the killers. In the confession, Lee writes that he acted on Brigham Young's explicit orders. Since that time, however, forensic experts have formally declared the scroll a fake, suggesting that it was the work of notorious anti-Mormon forger and convicted murderer Mark Hofmann.

Does that exonerate Young? Hardly.

When religious groups—even those connecting themselves to the name of Jesus—find themselves beleaguered, words can become heated and ideas violent—even on the lips of those who have no intention of shedding blood. So it was with the radical theological idea of "blood atonement" that apparently helped motivate the Mountain Meadows massacre. And so it is today with other radical teachings of fundamentalist groups.

It is the responsibility of those doing the teaching—whether in Iraq or in America, whether Muslim or Christian—to understand that there will always be the John D. Lees and the Paul Hills who will put action to words in the most horrific ways.

In such cases—and we have not seen the last of them in our country—God's verdict is clear: "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea" (Matthew 18:6, NKJV).

Chris Armstrong is managing editor of Christian History magazine.

from chochi@moon.act.uji.es (http://moon.act.uji.es/~chochi/cos.html):

Are You full of Dead Space-Aliens?

The "Church" of Scientology* says you are. That is after you have handed over about $50,000 to them to reach this privileged secret level. They reveal to you that you are full of the souls of dead space aliens who were brought to Earth, 75 million years ago, by an evil galactic ruler named Xenu in an attempt to solve galactic overpopulation . Trillions of aliens were supposedly frozen in a mixture of alcohol and glycol and flown across space, from neighboring solar systems, in DC-8 identical space-planes. They were then stacked around volcanoes on Earth and nuked with H-bombs, after which their souls clustered together and now infest our bodies as "body thetans"

$440 per hour to exorcise your dead space-aliens

The cost for ridding yourself of these "body thetans" is $440 per hour, according to a recent price-list. And since you are supposed to have about 2,500 of them then this could take a hundred hours or more. Another $50,000 or so to this insane cult that calls itself a "Church". After ridding themselves of these imaginary space-aliens, the deluded and out-of-pocket practitioners hope to gain supernatural powers. If not, they can always pay $1100 per hour for what is called the "L Rundowns". Another $100,000 or so to the cult, and still no supernatural powers, of course.

Who started this madness?

Scientology was the invention of L. Ron Hubbard, a pulp science-fiction writer who told his fellow authors that if a person wanted to get rich they should start their own religion. He did just that. He turned his puerile science-fiction fantasies into a religion and at last made the money he couldn't make from writing. A great deal of money, in fact. When he died, his fortune was estimated at around 400 million dollars. Scientology did not die with Hubbard, though. Others were quick to take over the leadership of this "Church" and its vast income.

Why do people get involved in it?

Almost nobody would get involved with Scientology if they knew what awaited them with regards to these dead space-alien "body thetans". People are sucked in through lies and deceit. Normally, it all starts with a 200 question personality test. This is then used to indicate flaws and failings in their character and they are pressured into doing a Dianetics* course to cure these failings. In this way, "Churches" of Scientology masquerade as a non-denominational group improving peoples Scientology masquerade as a non-denominational group improving peoples minds and abilities in order to help create a better world. When the person attends their first course, however, they undergo a form of semi-hypnotic regression therapy called "auditing". This causes a temporary feeling of elation that seems to be addictive, since after that, some people will spend all the money they have or can borrow to buy more and increasingly expensive "auditing".

$360,000 for spiritual freedom

To do all the courses in Scientology and to receive all the auditing needed to reach a supposed higher spiritual level costs about $360,000. Some people have actually paid this amount, spending all their money, selling their cars and their homes, borrowing to the maximum extent possible, raiding their business finances and even cashing in trust funds left to their children to feed their addiction to this "auditing". They believe they will reach an exalted spiritual state where they can leave their bodies at will and create events just by intending them. By then, their minds are so deranged they will not think to check on the claims made by Hubbard himself about this state.

Hubbard goes to Venus

Hubbard once boasted that he had transported himself to the planet Venus -- where he was nearly run over by a freight locomotive. A made-up claim by critics, perhaps? No, you can actually hear him say it if you have a connection to the Internet and a soundcard. There is a soundfile of this at http://www.xs4all.nl/~xemu/rams/Venusloc.ram . That Scientologists believe this, as well as other absurd claims of Hubbard's, must prove beyond doubt that they have been mentally damaged through their involvement with this cult.

If you can't afford Scientology?

If people don't have the $360,000 to spare to feed their addiction to Scientology "auditing" then they can always join staff. There they will be bullied by the cult and forced to work ever harder for an insulting $30 per week. While they are doing this they are pressured into doing courses costing tens of thousands of dollars. If they try to leave then they are expected to pay for these courses. They are financial prisoners -- slaves to the cult. They won't be given much in the way of the "auditing" they craved, though. But then there is always the elite corps of Scientology called the Sea Org where they sign a billion year contract and work for one hundred hours a week, again for $30 per week. Many young and idealistic people join this group because they are tricked into thinking that Scientology is helping to create a better world and that their help is needed. Again, they won't get much in the way of the "auditing" they crave. Children born into this organization (if they escape the cult's strict policy on aborting pregnancies) will be housed in appalling conditions, improperly cared for and fed until they are old enough to work for the cult for the same slave-like conditions.

Is your family safe?

If you think your family and loved ones are safe from this cult, then think again. The cult has front groups that conceal their connection to Scientology. They will enroll a person and only when they feel the person is hooked will they reveal the connection. This "Church" and its front groups have left a trail of lost fortunes and broken families in their wake. The trick they use when their spouse, partner or relations raise concern about their involvement in the cult is to convince the person that those trying to get them out of the cult are concealing crimes against them. They tell them that Scientology can make them more able and can find things out about other peoples crimes. So if their spouse or partner is critical of Scientology then they must be covering up their cheating on them or suchlike and don't want them to find out. This has caused many once happy families or relationships to break up. What you think is your happy relationship or stable marriage could one day be torn apart by this cult in a matter of minutes.

from MTV News, 2008-Jan-18, by Jennifer Vineyard:

Tom Cruise Scientology-Video Glossary: What Is He Talking About?

The actor talks for nine minutes in his instantly famous Scientology video. Can you figure out what he's actually saying? Here's a guide.

Tom Cruise talks for nine minutes in his instantly famous Scientology video — now, can anyone figure out what he's actually saying?

Apparently, non-Scientologists are just "spectators." It's a far nicer thing to call us — kind of like "Muggles in "Harry Potter" — than the term they usually use, "wog," which is more equivalent to the derogatory "Mudbloods" in the "Potter" books. Here's a breakdown of some of the other Scientologese words, acronyms and turns of phrase — culled from a variety of sources, including books, Web sites, and current and former church members — that might get lost in translation:

LRH: L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology and author of sci-fi books such as "Battlefield Earth" and "Mission Earth."

"I take this as a half-ack": What was that sound? A furball? Actually, a "half-ack" — a half-acknowledgement — means you were encouraged. In LRH's communication theory, you have to give signals to pre-clears (people who have not yet "cleared" themselves of unwanted emotions) — like "good," "OK," "I got that." Get that?

KSW: Keeping Scientology Working. Refers to a policy LRH published in 1965 that requires all Scientologists to follow his words and rules exactly.

"It is something that you have to earn": Cruise is referring to taking Scientology courses. According to the church, to get to the higher levels of Scientology — he's an OT VII, the highest level is OT VIII — you must complete a number of courses and auditing sessions, a sort of Scientological take on the Catholic confession. And it all costs; depending on your level, the tab for wisdom can be hundreds if not thousands of dollars. To finally learn what the basis of Scientology's precepts are (about how we got remnants of space aliens known as thetans trapped in our system), you must attain the level of OT III. The secrets of Xenu aren't free!

"Am I going to look at that guy or am I too afraid?": Cruise's relentless stare is actually a technique from "Success Through Communication" training routine (TR) drills. According to former and current members, pre-clears have to learn to look someone straight in the eye for hours. It's supposed to generate self-confidence and intimidate the other party. No blinking!

"... Because I have my own out-ethics": The church says ethics are moral choices but belong to a distinct moral system, based on LRH's book "Introduction to Scientology Ethics." If you misbehave, you have "out-ethics." If you're behaving, you have your ethics "in." To put your ethics "in" someone else, as Cruise later says, is to make someone else conform.

"The ability to create new and better realities and improve conditions": "Conditions" refer to LRH principles, which are charted on a scale. It's a Scientologist's goal to "improve conditions," which means improving your relationship with yourself and to those within your group. The "conditions" (in order) are: confusion, treason, enemy, doubt, liability, nonexistence, danger, emergency, normal, affluence, power change and power, according to numerous accounts of church practices. These are the practical applications of "ethics."

Tech: Otherwise known as "ethics tech." The methods and principles learned in Scientology courses.

"Orgs are there to help": Not Orcs from "Lord of the Rings" — orgs, as in Scientology churches and other organizations, such as Narconon, Criminon and Second Chance, all of which can be found online.

Criminon: Scientology group that recruits through prisons, promising alcohol and drug rehabilitation.

SP: "Suppressive Person." An SP is someone who commits suppressive acts, like murder, criticizing Scientology or altering LRH's teachings, according to former and current members. Journalists are automatically considered SPs because they traffic in bad news and so are barred from entering Scientology. Psychiatrists would also be SPs, so Cruise says, "Crush these guys! I've had it! No mercy! None! Go to guns!" as a call to arms. Since all's fair in war, LRH once issued a policy called "Fair Game" that decreed that anyone who opposed Scientology could be "tricked, sued or lied to and destroyed." The church says it no longer officially practices this, however, it is still a fairly contentious organization.

PTS: "Potential Trouble Sources," as in Scientologists who are losing the faith or are being influenced by an SP.

PTS/SP: A course in how to "handle" and/or "disconnect" PTS and SPs, which usually costs about $1,600, according to estimates from church members.

"Ways to Happiness": Actually, "A Way to Happiness," a booklet of the Scientology version of the 10 Commandments, except theirs has 21 Commandments. The number-one precept is "Take Care of Yourself." Also on the list: "Don't Be Promiscuous," "Set a Good Example," "Do Not Murder," "Do Not Harm a Person of Good Will" and "Flourish and Prosper."

Perhaps "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry said it more succinctly: "Live long and prosper."

opening passage to, and important subsequent excerpts from, The Total Freedom Trap: Scientology, Dianetics And L. Ron Hubbard, by Jon Atack:

The work of L. Ron Hubbard has been surrounded by controversy since he first announced his "modern science of mental health" in 1950. His followers assert that he is not only the reincarnation of Buddha but also Maitreya, who according to Buddhist legend will lead the world to enlightenment.

To Scientologists, L. Ron Hubbard is quite simply the wisest, the most compassionate and the most perceptive human being ever to draw breath.

Yet, Hubbard was dubbed "schizophrenic and paranoid" by a California Superior Court judge, and Scientology dismissed as "immoral and socially obnoxious" by a High Court judge in London. Scientologists have been convicted of criminal offences in Canada, the USA, Denmark and Italy.

An enormous amount of documented evidence demonstrates that Hubbard was not what he claimed to be, and that his subject does not confer the benefits claimed for it.

The Church of Scientology is an enormously wealthy, global organization, with over 270 churches and missions. Using profoundly invasive hypnotic techniques, Scientology has managed to inspire the at times fanatical devotion of tens of thousands of previously normal and intelligent people.

[...]

The Scientologists have boasted that Hubbard "rose to command a squadron". Factually, he oversaw the refitting of two small vessels in U.S. harbours. His second such command was withdrawn after a cruise down the west coast. During the course of this journey, Hubbard managed to involve a number of craft in a 55-hour battle against what he believed to be two Japanese submarines. The incident was reviewed by Admiral Fletcher who pronounced "an analysis of all reports convinces me that there was no submarine in the area ...The Commanding Officers of all ships except the PC-815 (commanded by Hubbard) state they had no evidence of a submarine and do not think a submarine was in the area."

Hubbard completed this "shakedown cruise" by firing on a fortunately uninhabited Mexican island. He was removed from command, and Rear Admiral Braisted wrote in a fitness report, "Consider this officer lacking in the essential qualities of judgment, leadership and cooperation. He acts without forethought as to probable results ... Not considered qualified for command or promotion at this time. Recommend duty on a large vessel where he can be properly supervised."

[...]

With his separation from the Navy, Hubbard abandoned his first wife and their two young children to take up the practice of "Magick". Hubbard had experienced a peculiar hallucination in 1938, while under nitrous oxide during a dental operation. He believed that he had died during the operation and while dead been shown a great wealth of knowledge. Upon his recovery, he wrote a book called Excalibur, but was unable to find a publisher.

Hubbard's interest in the occult also led to a brief membership in a Rosicrucian group. He told a friend that he believed himself protected by a guardian spirit whom he called "the Empress"; and he was to repeat this claim to one of his followers many years later. In 1945, Hubbard took up with Jack Parsons, head of the Pasadena lodge of Aleister Crowley's Ordo Templi Orientis.

Crowley styled himself "the Beast 666", servant of the Antichrist, and advocated the use of addictive drugs and bizarre sexual practices. Jack Parsons was a chemist and an early member of Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, but his passion was Magick (as Crowley respelled the word). Hubbard and Parsons performed sexual ceremonies to summon a woman willing to become the mother of "Babalon", the incarnation of evil.

The affair ended with Hubbard running off not only with Parsons' girl Sara, but also with his money. Hubbard married Sara Northrup bigamously, and started to write pathetic letters applying for a war pension. In October 1947, when according to later accounts he had "cured" himself through Dianetics, Hubbard admitted to suicidal tendencies and begged for psychiatric help in a letter to the Veterans Administration.

[...]

"We've got some new ways to make slaves here."
-L. Ron Hubbard, Philadelphia Doctorate Course lecture 20, 1952.

from the Boston Herald, 1998-Mar-5, by Joseph Mallia, from http://www.bostonherald.com/scientology/sci35a98.html:

Church wields celebrity clout

It is the year 3000 and the earth is enslaved by invading aliens, evil 9-foot-tall "Psychlos" with glowing amber eyes.

Now mankind's only hope is the heroic Johnny Goodboy Tyler - in an MGM film to be produced by actor John Travolta, based on a Church of Scientology novel titled "Battlefield Earth."

Thanks to Travolta's Hollywood clout, audiences worldwide may soon see this film, and get a dose of the philosophy of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.

"Mankind ... is imprisoned not so much by aliens who dominate the planet, but by superstition, until the hero Johnny Goodboy Tyler...(becomes) the first to break free," Hubbard wrote.

Critics say this film, along with other Scientology media efforts, is a veiled attempt to gain converts and influence.

With books, sophisticated TV and print advertising campaigns, a 30,000-page Internet site, and its celebrity members' clout on TV sitcoms and major films, Scientology uses a range of modern media to gain influence, church critics say.

How much clout does the church have?

Apparently a great deal.

President Clinton may have sided with Scientology against the German government in hopes of having Travolta soften his portrayal of a Clinton lookalike during filming of the movie "Primary Colors," a recent report in George magazine said.

Since the church was founded in 1954, Hubbard encouraged his followers to enlist celebrities.

The policy, observers say, has paid off.

Since Travolta became a Scientologist in 1975, he has been joined by other acting heavyweights, including Tom Cruise, Cruise's wife Nicole Kidman, Travolta's wife Kelly Preston, and TV sitcom stars Kirstie Alley ("Cheers" and "Veronica's Closet") and Jenna Elfman ("Dharma & Greg"). All are outspoken church members.

"It was everything I had been looking for, answers to questions I had been asking forever. They finally got answered for me," Elfman said in an interview published in a January Sunday newspaper supplement that reached millions of readers.

And last week, Elfman, Preston and other Scientology celebrities were scheduled to appear in Boston and other cities to promote Hubbard's book "The Fundamentals of Thought."

Jazzman Chick Corea - a Chelsea native who reportedly hopes to open a nightclub in Massachusetts - leads the church's publicity battle against the German government, which is investigating Scientology for alleged fraud and anti-democratic acts.

And locally, musician Isaac Hayes hosted a reception at Roxbury Community College in Boston three years ago that helped local Scientologists bring their World Literacy Crusade learn-to-read program into the Randolph Public Schools and various inner city Boston youth agencies.

Other Scientology celebrities include actresses Nancy Cartwright (the voice of Bart on "The Simpsons"), Juliette Lewis ("Natural Born Killers"), Anne Archer ("Fatal Attraction)," and Elvis Presley's widow and daughter Priscilla and Lisa Marie.

The musician and congressman, Sonny Bono, who died in January, was a longtime Scientologist.

Others who took Scientology courses, or who were members - some briefly - according to published reports, include football legend John Brodie, dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, author William Burroughs; singers Van Morrison, Al Jarreau and Leonard Cohen; actors Emilio Estevez, Rock Hudson, Demi Moore, Candice Bergen, Brad Pitt, Christopher Reeve, Jerry Seinfeld and Patrick Swayze; and O.J. Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clark.

Also, the Observer newspaper of London recently linked actress Sharon Stone to Scientology.

Ex-Scientologists the church would like to forget include members of the suicidal Heaven's Gate cult, who were church members in the 1970s; and mass killer Charles Manson, who took church classes during a prison term that ended in 1967, before he and his cult followers massacred Sharon Tate and others.

Meanwhile, the church is conducting an 18-month advertising and publicity blitz, with 38 different TV ads aired to reach 70 percent of North American households. This campaign is intended to counteract negative publicity from Germany and from the death of Scientologist Lisa McPherson, a Dallas native who died during a church retreat in Florida, according to an August report in the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times.

Scientology-linked groups including Narconon also advertise on local cable channels in the Boston area, said anti-cult activist Steve Hassan of Cambridge.

Critics say, however, that the church's celebrities never have to face the hardships faced by ordinary Scientologists, who often can't afford to pay the required tens of thousands of dollars for courses and instead must trade their full-time labor.

excerpt from The poor and famous Hollywood Scientologists, from Premiere magzine, by John H. Richardson, 1993-Sep:

[...]

SCIENTOLOGY'S MEAN STREAK is deeply rooted in church doctrine. Founded by pulp novelist Hubbard in the 1950s, Scientology promises to heal the psychic scars caused by traumas in present or past lives through auditing, a therapy aided by a simplified lie detector called an E-meter. Excited by the rapid progress stimulated by the E-meter, many students eagerly begin the climb "up the bridge," course by course (costs range from $30 for introductory audio tapes to more than $14,000 for the Hubbard Key to Life/Life Orientation Course special package). According to former members and press reports, the few who attain the highest level of instruction learn the following secret theology: 75 million years ago a tyrant named Xenu imprisoned other aliens near volcanoes on Earth and then nuked them, leaving their spirits, or "thetans," to wander the planet and attach themselves to humans--to be purged through further courses. While Scientology officials dispute this account of their beliefs--spokesman Rinder calls it "garbage, completely untrue"--they refuse to provide a more accurate version, saying upper-level church beliefs are for insiders only.

What distinguishes Scientology is Hubbard's bile and paranoia, which is clearly demonstrated in much of his writing. Representative is this "policy letter" written in 1969: "We must ourselves fight on a basis of total attrition of the enemy. So never get reasonable about him. Just go all the way in and obliterate him." There are many other examples.

Furthermore, one of the central tenets of Scientology philosophy is that 20 percent of mankind is "suppressive," a Scientology term that seems to mean "evil" and "meanspirited." Of that 20 percent, Hubbard wrote, 2.5 percent are "truly dangerous." Such people, Hubbard wrote, "should not have, in any thinking society, any civil rights of any kind...."

As a consequence, Scientologists are always on the lookout for suppressives. "When we trace the cause of a failing business, we will inevitably discover somewhere in its ranks the antisocial personality hard at work," Hubbard wrote--and to Scientologists Hubbard's writings are considered scripture. "Where life has become rough and is failing, a careful review of the area by a trained observer will detect one or more such personalities at work."

As Cruise has told Entertainment Weekly, "I look at certain people that aren't doing well and say, 'Well, who's around him? Do they want to see this person do well?' And often I might find one person that really doesn't want to see this guy succeed."

Hubbard left little doubt about how suppressives were to be treated. Consider rule number twelve in Scientology's official code of honor: "Never fear to hurt another in a just cause."

And Scientologists take their code of honor very seriously. "I remember having a choking anger against anyone who ever said anything against Scientology," says actress Diana Canova (Soap), a former member. "I would get crazy, I was just so angry. I would have done anything for them."

[...]

from FACTnet, 1998-Oct-12, from http://www.factnet.org/Scientology/irs_infiltrated.html:

IRS again infiltrated by Scientology cult

In yet another bizarre twist in the Scientology-IRS war, it has just been revealed that Scientology's tax exempt status and billion dollars in tax forgiveness was aided by the efforts of an IRS official secretly working for the cult.

This information was revealed to FACTNet by Scientology defector Jesse Prince in interviews concerning Scientology's criminal activities and near unlimited spending on covert operations. Jesse Prince was second in command of all of Scientology under David Miscavige, the cult's current leader. Jesse disclosed that while a Scientology executive, he overheard conversations between David Miscavige and other top level Scientology executives regarding Scientology's efforts to obtain tax-exempt status in the US. The conversations of Scientology's leaders revealed that Scientology had recruited an IRS official to secretly assist Scientology in obtaining the long-sought-after religious tax-exempt status. The conversations also uncovered that the employee was retained through one of Scientology's law firms. The law firm had contacted a former IRS executive, who used his contacts at the IRS to recruit Scientology's new IRS insider.

Meanwhile, several months ago, FACTNet received a call from a Washington ally warning that FACTNet and its directors would likely be audited. The ally said a source at a federal government office had informed the ally that the IRS was planning retaliatory audits of FACTNet and its directors, because FACTNet had criticized the IRS's handling of Scientology. FACTNet has written a number of articles on the IRS's secret tax deal with Scientology, which in 1993 was the ultimate result of Scientology's great efforts to gain tax-exempt status. The secret agreement, just made public last year by the Wall Street Journal, not only reversed the IRS's 30-year stance on Scientology by granting it tax-exempt status but also reportedly forgave almost a billion dollars in taxed owed.

The first of the IRS audits on FACTNet and its directors has already occurred, with FACTNet's audit last month. According to FACTNet's CPA, audits of a small non-profit like FACTNet are most unusual. One is compelled to ask whether Scientology's IRS insider is active again, perhaps trying to protect oneself from detection by attacking the messenger.

The following is one of our earlier editorials on Scientology and the IRS, "Did the cult Scientology bludgeon the IRS into a billion dollar tax revenue give-away?" This early editorial does not include this newest information that Scientology had an IRS insider working for it, but does provide a comprehensive background on the IRS and Scientology. See http://www.factnet.org/headlines/give-away.htm.

from FACTnet, 1998-Sep-30, from http://www.factnet.org/Scientology/judge_tampering.html:

Scientology's foolproof method of judge tampering

I recently spent about 20 hours interviewing a Scientology defector named Jesse Prince about his experiences in the leadership of Scientology. He was second in command of all Scientology's operations worldwide. In these conversations we talked about many of Scientology's covert criminal activities decreed by Scientology's top executives and law firms. One area of particular interest was how Scientology secretly tampers with judges and doesn't get caught.

I have already submitted to the FBI the names of certain judges who were tampered with, along with other information from my interviews with Jesse Prince, but I am somewhat conflicted about making this information public. On one hand, Scientology's judge-tampering tactics are so effective and ingenious that once they are public I believe other ruthless organizations will soon begin using them. On the other hand, to conceal these tactics would corrupt critical ongoing litigation involving Scientology around the world. Notwithstanding this conflict, I will continue.

To understand Scientology's methods of judge tampering, one must be aware of the `sacred scripture' behind Scientology's notorious intimidation tactics. It is called The Art of War by Sun Tzu. This text, written in China more than 2,400 years ago regarding the planning of military operations, has been adopted by Scientology as a training manual for its staff. Scientology requires its intelligence division to know the text inside and out.

The Art of War describes tactics of knowing one's adversary, especially knowing his or her connections and vulnerabilities. According to my conversations with Jesse Prince along with knowledge I have acquired elsewhere, here is how Scientology uses Art of War tactics to tamper with judges and get away with it.

Step 1: Collect information necessary to blackmail the judge

According to Jesse, EVERY judge that sits on a Scientology case is the target of two types of data collection by Scientology's private investigators and attorneys. One is `overt data collection,' or `ODC'; the other is `covert data collection,' or `CDC'.

In overt data collection, every source of legally-obtainable information on the judge is tapped, and a complete profile on the judge is assembled including legal rulings, legal documents, personal and professional connections, and life history. With little concern of the cost, the judge is researched in utmost detail: what the judge likes and dislikes, where the judge eats, drinks, and plays. The judge's past and present friends, acquaintances, and colleagues are interviewed for `friendly' or "near invisible" information gathering.

While or after over data collection is being done, covert data collection is done as well. This process involves the illegal acquisition of documentation on the judge, including tax returns, phone records, bank records, medical records, credit card records, and any other private records. Again, cost seems to be no concern. These records are minutely reviewed for anything that could be as a source of leverage over or embarrassment for the judge. They are looking for information to signal the judge that someone knows enough about his or her life to cause ruin.

In addition to compiling the above records, covert data collection can also include confrontational interviews (as opposed to the `friendly' interviews during overt data collection) with the judge's past and present connections. Investigators now delve much more deeply into the judge's personal habits, indiscretions, embarrassments, and/or family problems. Anyone holding a grudge against the judge is particularly courted for damaging information as well as referrals to others with ill will for the judge.

The type of information investigators seek includes anything and everything that could prove damaging or embarrassing for the judge, such as: credit charges for pornography or sex services, illegal money handling or financial problems, conflicts of interest within judicial duties, connections to unsavory characters, and family, marital, mental, or medical problems.

Step 2: Reveal damaging information to the judge without putting Scientology at risk for tampering

This step is the real genius of Scientology's foolproof method of judge tampering. Here, they hire new people to go to the judge's personal and professional connections. Through seemingly innocuous conversations, in seemingly safe settings, Scientology's messengers speak to the judge's former law partners, former clerks, friends, ex-wives, girlfriends, golf buddies, bartenders, etc.

In these meetings, two important messages are to be conveyed by Scientology's hired messengers to the person affiliated with the judge. One, the judge's connection is given some subtle but disturbing piece of secret information regarding the judge's private life. And two, during another part of the conversation, Scientology is mentioned. The Scientology messenger either makes favorable comments about Scientology, or mentions "by the way" that they heard the judge was handling a Scientology case and the judge should go easy on Scientology because Scientology is such a good religious group.

The reaction on the part of the judge's connection to the disturbing revelation and subtle promotion of Scientology is predictable. The connection gets in touch with the judge and inquires about the rumor. The judge likely wants to know who delivered the information and may or may not discover that Scientology came up in the discussion.

What makes this a truly powerful tactic for leveraging the judge is that rather than coming in one sudden single impact, it comes through a number of impacts, accumulating and compounding the distress caused to the judge. The judge will not hear potentially damaging information from only one acquaintance, but rather from many, interspersed over time, each relaying a different alarming personal secret. After a number of these calls, the judge begins to confirm fears that someone can expose vulnerable spots. Sooner or later the judge also discovers that a favorable discussion of Scientology is always associated with each of the disclosures to the judge's connections.

A clever aspect of this subtle leveraging tactic is that Scientology cannot be connected to it. No one from Scientology is delivering the messages to the judge. It is the judge's own connections who are duped into delivering Scientology's messages, via their personal and legitimate concern for the judge's well-being.

The judge is stymied too. Obviously, there is no basis for turning in the friends and former associates to the authorities. Although as a group they in effect have delivered a veiled threat to the judge, they acted of their own volition and out of friendship or professional concern for the judge, they had no idea they were working on behalf of Scientology, and no single person delivered a message of intimidation complete enough to be a clear and obvious effort to tamper with the judge. The individual messages have presented a threat so subtle, the judge can't bring it to the attention of the authorities without seeming foolish or paranoid.

Therein lies the brilliance of Scientology's judge-tampering procedures. Only through the accumulation of partial messages do all pieces of the puzzle spell the clear threat: `Go easy on Scientology or every secret of your life will be exposed.' The threat looms, and yet it isn't connected to Scientology. The judge can't do anything about it.

Part 3: Entrapment

If the above tactics do not seem to alter the judge's rulings so that they are more favorable to Scientology's interests, the next step to take is covert entrapment operations. By this point, Scientology has accumulated all the information needed to set up the judge in a `sting' operation. One of their favorites is the sex sting. Scientology once spent over $260,000 to set up a judge on a yacht in Florida with two prostitutes. For more information on Scientology entrapping judges, go to www.factnet.org/Scientology/adversa.htm (Scroll down to sections on judges).

Recently there have been some rulings so bizarre by judges in Scientology cases that even the Wall Street Journal wrote an editorial on how odd they seem (see http://www.marcab.com/whyte.txt). Maybe there is more going on behind the scenes than we know. Hopefully judges currently sitting on Scientology cases around the world will read this, notify their clerks, and find some way not to let their judicial integrity be compromised by this ruthless cult.

based on story from the Providence Journal, 1999-Feb-1, from http://www.factnet.org/Scientology/business_morgan.htm:

Scientologist acquitted for firing employee

"The fact is, she didn't want to believe in Scientology," said defending attorney Renee Bushey of her client Susan E. Morgan. "Susan Morgan didn't want Scientology crammed down her throat," she said, according to the Providence Journal.

Nevertheless, on January 28, 1999, a Superior Court jury ruled that dentist Roger N. Carlsten did not discriminate against Morgan, his former receptionist, based on her religious beliefs when he fired her in January 1992.

The civil suit, brought by Morgan, who sought $12,063 in lost wages, medical benefits and costs, alleged that Carlsten fired her on the grounds that she refused to take a Hubbard Administrative Technology course that Morgan asserted was "thinly veiled Scientology."

Carlsten and another key witness, Randy Baxter -- a Scientologist who said Carlsten hired him to boost his dental practice -- testified that Morgan was "unsuited" to her job, that she was "insubordinate" regarding a computer, failed to maintain patient recalls, kept "horrible" accounts receivable, and dressed unprofessionally.

Bushey, however, suggested Carlstens' insistence that Morgan take the Scientology-based course was clearly "a little suspect from the start," that the only people licensed to teach the Hubbard Administrative Technology courses "are from the World Institute of Scientology Enterprises," one reason her client was fearful that the courses might be used as recruitment device into Scientology.

"Let's see," recapped Bushey. "The courses are promoted by a Scientologist, written by L. Ron Hubbard (the founder of Scientology), and employed terms and principles it shared with Scientology such as 'the God dynamic,' 'dev-T,' and 'MEST' (matter, energy, space and time). Does this sound like a standard business course to you?"

In her closing argument, Bushey reiterated to jurors that Morgan was a competent employee, who "has a right to be free from her employer's religion in the workplace." She went on to add that "this country was founded on religious freedom," and that "the government can't make you follow any gods. I implore you. Don't let employers."

excerpts from the Italian Government Report on Scientology of 1998-Apr-29:

[...]

Nowadays the sect is present in 107 countries and claims to have 8 million followers.

Its permanent staff should include 13,000 people, of whom a part, having taken vows to serve the cause for eternity, make up the Sea Org, a community with both monastic and military characteristics (the name comes from the fact that between '66 and '75 its members adopted navy uniforms and used a number of ships as religious cult locations).

[...]

In particular, the scientologists' recruiting technique consists in submitting anyone who would like to "understand their real problems" to a test, free of charge, as a "personality measurement", in the form of a questionnaire of about two hundred "revealing" questions (actually aimed at obtaining a better knowledge of the subject's character). Afterwards, having singled out those subjects which are easiest to influence, scientologists offer to "cure" them by means of "auditing sessions".

In this phase, through the recollection of traumatic experiences corresponding to the various "engrams", the "patients" end up confessing intimate particulars of their private life, which afterwards the organization will later be able to use as a means of blackmail.

Those who decide to continue the therapy are persuaded to attend more and more expensive dianetics courses, during which they are subjected to physical strains (overwhelming work, hypervitaminic and hyperproteic diets) as well as psychological strains (forced reading, pressures and intimidations) in order to reduce them to a state of total subjection, putting into practice the system of "mental conditioning" already described (see note 13 p. 11).

[...]

from the Mirror of Los Angeles, 1951-Apr-23, from http://www.rickross.com/reference/Scien61.html:

Dianetics Author Crazy, Wife Charges

Torture, kidnapping and bigamy charges today were made by his wife against L. Ron Hubbard, 35, fabulous leader of Los Angeles' "Dianetics" cult.

Mrs. Sara Northrup Hubbard, 25, daughter of a wealthy Pasadena family, charged in suing Hubbard for divorce that "he is hopelessly insane and crazy."

She expressed fear for the life of their daughter, aged 131/2 months, victim of an alleged kidnapping by Hubbard and Richard B. DeMille, son of Producer Cecil B. DeMille.

Torture Charged

She also charged Hubbard, head of the $1,000,000 Hubbard Dianetics Research Foundation, 2300 S Hoover St., "repeatedly subjected her to systematic torture."

It included "loss of sleep, beatings, strangulation and scientific torture experiments," the young wife declared in action filed in Superior Court by Atty. Caryl Warner.

Following one ordeal of torture, the suit charged, Mrs. Hubbard was hospitalized for five days and kept under guard by her husband, who, she said, had been diagnosed as insane by competent psychiatrists.

Mrs. Hubbard also accused her husband of marrying her bigamously Aug. 10,1946, and asked $500,000 damages if the court proves her bigamy charges true.

Hubbard, head of a new psychology whose followers practice self-analysis, "dominated her physically, mentally and emotionally," her suit alleges. It quoted Hubbard as telling her once:

"I do not want to be an American husband. I can buy my friends whenever I want them.''

He "further said that he did not want to be married, yet divorce was impossible for a divorce would hurt his reputation," the suit charges, "and that she should kill herself if she really loved him."

Mrs. Hubbard declared her 131/2 -month-old daughter, Alexis Valery, was "abducted from her crib" last Feb. 23 by Hubbard and Frank B Dressier, a "Dianetics" associate, and hidden from her by them and DeMille.

Nightmare Told

Her suit detailed a nightmare incident at 1 a.m. the following day in which Mrs. Hubbard allegedly was "dragged out of bed attired in a nightgown" by Hubbard, DeMille and Dressler.

"By use of threats, strangulation, torture and false promises to return her child," the suit said "they carried and kidnapped her to Yuma, Arizona."

Hubbard is still in Yuma and the child-"if alive"-is in hiding under an assumed name in West Los Angeles, Mrs. Hubbard charged.

"Even now she would not bare the truth to the world," the suit declared, "except for the compelling advice of [her] attorney that she tell the truth, for the truth will bring back her baby, if alive."

In torturing her, Mrs. Hubbard said, her husband once kept her awake in their Hollywood apartment for 96 hours, then gave her an overdose of sedatives which resulted in her hospitalization for five days.

On another occasion, she declared, Hubbard caused her "serious personal injury" by starting up the car "intentionally" as she alighted from it.

"By reason of the foregoing crazy misconduct of Hubbard," the suit said, "she is in hourly fear for both the lives of herself and her infant daughter."

Seeking divorce, annulment or separate maintenance, the suit also asked the court to compel Hubbard to submit to psychiatric examination. Competent psychiatrists, the suit declared, already have recommended that he be confined "for treatment of a mental ailment known as paranoid schizophrenia."

The suit charged Hubbard "frequently" strangled his wife and that shortly after last Christmas "he violently strangled her and sadistically ruptured the Eustachian tube in her left ear, resulting in an impairment of hearing."

Hubbard kidnapped the child and abducted his wife to Yuma, she said, when he learned that she had informed his superiors in the "Dianetics" cult of his mental condition.

Mrs. Hubbard's 12-page complaint identified Hubbard's previous wife as Margaret Grubb Hubbard, of Bremerton, Washington, whom he divorced December 24, 1947, in Port Orchard, Washington, over a year after his present marriage began.

from the Phoenix New Times, 1999-Feb-21, by Tony Ortega, from http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/issues/1999-01-21/feature2.html:

Picket Fencing
Scientology critic Jeff Jacobsen helped get the Church in hot water over a Florida death. Now, Church members have figured out where he lives.

Residents of a quiet south Scottsdale neighborhood received an unusual present the day after Christmas. In their mailboxes, homeowners found a flier with a picture of one of their neighbors.

THE FACE OF RELIGIOUS BIGOTRY

"Your neighbor Jeff Jacobsen is not all that he seems. When he's not stirring up hatred on the streets, Jacobsen is poisoning the Internet by filling it full of religious bigotry and intolerance! Jacobsen's hatred puts families at risk. Next time you see this man, recognize the face of religious bigotry."

Sherry Kinner found the leaflet in her mailbox and walked out to confront one of the men who was distributing it.

It wasn't the first time Kinner had caught people targeting Jacobsen, who lives two doors down from her. She'd spotted private investigators staking out Jacobsen's house. Her son had been questioned by a private eye, and her husband had tried, to no avail, to get the detective to say why he was keeping an eye on their neighbor.

One night when Jacobsen was out, Kinner saw two women picket his house, carrying signs denouncing Jacobsen as a bigot. They scurried away when Kinner's husband threatened to call the cops while citing, correctly, an Arizona law that prohibits picketing a private residence.

Now one of Jacobsen's enemies was leafleting her street.

"Don't ever put that trash on my mailbox again," she told the man. She says he warned her that she didn't know the entire truth about her neighbor. She replied that she knew full well why Jacobsen has been targeted.

Kinner then collected the leaflets from neighboring houses and delivered them to Jacobsen.

Jacobsen says he was grateful. He had been labeled a bigot before, but never had his detractors distributed fliers in his neighborhood.

Normally, he's picketed at his job.

Lisa McPherson, "to us, represents all of the other people who have been hurt by Scientology." -- Jeff Jacobsen

If the Church of Scientology believed in a Devil, he might look a lot like Jeff Jacobsen.

His name produces a virulent reaction from the local church's leader, Reverend Leslie Durhman. "Jacobsen is in league with the worst kind of bigots -- kidnapers, forcible deprogrammers, Internet terrorists who promote killing Scientologists and blowing up our churches," she tells New Times.

Scientologists have denounced Jacobsen as a bigot in picket lines at his home, at his work, and even thousands of miles away when he was visiting in Florida. A church member's Web site, meanwhile, includes Jacobsen on a list of nine of Scientology's all-time worst enemies.

The mild-mannered, single man of 43 seems hardly satanic in appearance. Tall and reserved, Jacobsen seems about as dangerous as a church mouse; it's hard to believe he's the archnemesis Scientologists make him out to be.

Jacobsen is one of the most dedicated of the church's many critics. Never a member of the religion, Jacobsen participates with other critics in an Internet debate about Scientology. And like several other hard-core local critics, he occasionally pickets the Valley's lone Church of Scientology on University Drive in Mesa as well as churches in California and Florida.

Unlike most of his cohorts, however, Jacobsen has been singled out for retaliation. And that's probably because of his role in what has become the most embarrassing debacle in the church's 45-year history.

The 1995 death of Scientologist Lisa McPherson at a church-owned hotel in Clearwater, Florida, has brought the controversial religion negative publicity like nothing before. It's also brought the church two criminal indictments.

Jacobsen's role in Scientology's disaster has never been publicized. But the church itself seems well aware of his contribution.

For his part, Jacobsen clearly enjoys being a thorn in the church's side. Despite the retaliation he's suffered, Jacobsen spends vast amounts of time researching and criticizing Scientology because, well, it's fun, he says.

"It's nonviolent. It's effective. It shows the church that it has critics and that we're not afraid. If you go to Disneyland, what happens? You take a ride and you know it's going to be safe. But if you go to Los Angeles and picket the Church of Scientology, you don't know what's going to happen. You might be followed by a private investigator. When you picket, will the Scientologists harass you, will they run away? You have to be careful. You have to plan. But it's still pretty neat," he says.

Besides organizing road trips for his fellow debunkers, Jacobsen maintains several Web sites containing hundreds of pages of information about the church and its founder, L. Ron Hubbard. To counter Scientology claims that Hubbard had a stellar college career resulting in two doctorates, Jacobsen found Hubbard's actual college records in a court file and posted them for the benefit of Internet users. The records show Hubbard actually earned a D average in two years of work at George Washington University, took a single course in nuclear physics (Hubbard later claimed to be a "nuclear physicist") and earned no degree.

What motivates Jacobsen to search through arcane records for such gems, he says, is that he objects to Scientology practices he says are harmful to its adherents. He also dislikes church policies that encourage lawsuits to harass critics, as well as efforts by the church to shut down its Internet detractors.

Scientologist attacks on Jacobsen, however, are more muddled. Signs carried by church members denouncing Jacobsen display odd messages that only make sense if you know something about Jacobsen's family and background. The church obviously knows something about that background, which explains the private investigators who showed up in Jacobsen's neighborhood and at his family's businesses in South Dakota.

As a result, Scientologists in both Phoenix and Florida blame Jacobsen for strange things. A recent issue of the National Enquirer contains a story about Scientology and two of its most famous believers, John Travolta and Kirstie Alley. An inside photo portrays a demonstration in Florida attended by Jacobsen. If you look carefully, you can see part of a sign held by a Florida picketer with a slogan Scientologists have frequently aimed at Jacobsen: "Jeff Is a Porno King."

Jacobsen says the sign refers to two things. He works for his father at Single Scene, a tame weekly for lonely Phoenicians looking for love. Jacobsen's father also owns a chain of video stores in South Dakota that stocks adult videos along with the latest releases. Scientologists have labeled Jacobsen a pornographer for those connections.

Jacobsen's "religious bigotry" is never spelled out in leaflets or picket signs; nowhere do Scientologists identify themselves on their protest materials. On a church member's Web site, meanwhile, Jacobsen's character and family business are maligned: "Like a housewife who constantly harps about her neighbors, when you open Jeff's closet, all the dirty diapers and dishpans fall out."

Ironically, Jacobsen is one of the least vitriolic of Scientology's critics. Some of the church's detractors, particularly former Scientologists, push at the limits of free speech and good taste in their attacks on the church. It's obvious some of them enjoy provoking Scientologists, who have long endured reputations for being litigious and retaliatory.

"You have to ask yourself what would motivate someone to spend their time at such a vicious activity. We want him to go away and stop harming people of goodwill." -- Reverend Leslie Durhman

But Jacobsen is nearly as reserved in his Internet joustings with the church as he is in real life. Something of a computer nerd, Jacobsen thinks of himself as a sort of cyberspace Gandhi, preferring conscientious debate to angry name-calling.

He says he's careful not to do anything on the Internet that would get him sued, and he doesn't support other critics who violate Scientology copyrights by posting secret church materials illegally.

Despite those precautions, Jacobsen has still attained Luciferlike stature in the minds of Scientologists.

But that all started when Jacobsen, computer geek, Internet hound, noticed a police department's electronic cry for help in solving the mysterious death of a Clearwater, Florida, woman.

Scientology describes itself as the "only major new religion to emerge in the 20th century."

Founded by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, the church's seminal text is Hubbard's 1950 book Dianetics. The self-help book was described at the time of its publication as a sort of poor-man's psychoanalysis and was promoted by Hubbard as an alternative to traditional mental-health care. Through a process somewhat analogous to psychotherapy that he called auditing, Hubbard claimed that the unhappy could improve their lives by erasing the effects of traumatic memories. Hubbard called these memories engrams and said they acted like scars on the mind; only after extensive auditing and the removal of all engrams, including those left over from past lives, could a person achieve a new state of inner freedom. Hubbard said such an engram-free human being, which had never appeared on Earth before, would be known as a clear.

Hubbard's clears would be capable of amazing feats. Impervious to sickness, clears would have clairvoyant powers, perfect recall, and would be able to leave their bodies. In the summer of 1950, Hubbard announced that he had produced the world's first clear, a young woman named Sonya Bianca. But at a demonstration in Los Angeles, Bianca's supposedly perfect recall was embarrassingly underwhelming. She couldn't, for example, remember the color of Hubbard's tie after Hubbard was asked by a spectator to turn around.

Nonetheless, by 1954, Hubbard had convinced enough readers of the power of Dianetics that he organized his followers in a formal religion he called Scientology. Today, 13 years after Hubbard's death, the church claims a worldwide membership of eight million. Critics say the real extent of the church is far smaller. The Mesa church claims a statewide membership of 1,000, and Reverend Durhman says that about 200 members attend church events.

New church members work toward becoming clears by attending increasingly expensive classes and auditing sessions. A church magazine encourages members to make pilgrimages to a church center in Los Angeles to complete their journey across "the Bridge" to become clears. Critics estimate the total cost of that journey to be about $100,000 to $200,000. Once a clear, a Scientologist is also known as an operating thetan, or OT, referring to the ability to communicate with his or her inner thetan, an entity somewhat analogous to a soul. Members then continue their spiritual journey, moving to levels such as OT II and OT III and up to OT VIII, the highest current level attainable. John Travolta is reportedly an OT V.

It's only at OT III -- a step that alone costs more than $8,000, according to a recent church price list -- that a believer is told the true nature of the thetan inside him or her.

According to materials made public in a lawsuit brought by a former believer, Scientologists who reach OT III are told that thetans are space aliens exiled to Earth 75 million years ago by Xenu, an evil galactic overlord.

Numerous ex-members have confirmed the authenticity of the OT III materials from the lawsuit, but the church has never officially acknowledged that Xenu is, in fact, a key figure in its theology.

Hubbard himself wrote that the OT III materials sometimes proved too much of a shock for his believers, and he emphasized that they not be revealed to a pilgrim too soon.

Critics point to such writings and charge that Scientology is more a money-making scheme than a religion. What other church asks its believers to pay such huge sums to find out what the church is about? they ask.

Increasingly, outside observers have asked the same question. In 1991, Time deemed Scientology a "ruthless global scam" -- on its cover. The church responded with a $415 million lawsuit against the magazine. Eventually, a federal judge dismissed all but one of Scientology's claims of libelous statements.

Two years after the Time story, a new forum for discussions about the church emerged: a newsgroup on the burgeoning Internet. Called alt.religion.scientology, or a.r.s for short, the newsgroup rapidly became one of the busiest in cyberspace. If Scientology operated by holding back information from its members, the Internet provided a way for the church's critics to make those secret teachings available instantaneously and all over the world. Pro-Scientology retaliations to postings on a.r.s -- in the form of illegal message cancellations -- eventually brought the newsgroup to the attention of computer geeks with no interest in the Scientology debate. Someone was canceling a.r.s postings critical of the church, a violation of federal law, and Internet sleuths tried, with little luck, to identify who was pushing the delete button. When a Scientology lawyer tried to have the entire newsgroup removed, the battle over a.r.s became for many computer enthusiasts a struggle for free speech in general.

The church sought help from the federal government to combat the posting of its secret, copyrighted teachings -- teachings that critics argued had been made part of the public domain through numerous court filings. Armed with federal warrants, church officials raided the homes of several computer critics they believed were behind publication of OT materials. Computer enthusiasts, meanwhile, howled in protest.

And some of them, including an Arizona contributor to a.r.s named Jeff Jacobsen, began to picket churches of Scientology.

For Jacobsen, the Internet gave him an outlet for his most abiding passion: his interest in cultish new religions.

Since 1984, Jacobsen has helped his father and sister publish Single Scene. He also runs Friday-night dances sponsored by the paper at several Valley resorts.

But Jacobsen's real interests lie in what he believes are churches that wield undue influence over their members.

He says he belonged to such a church as a young man, a strict Christian sect in South Dakota. Jacobsen now calls that particular United Pentecostal Church a cult, and says that for six years he lived like a slave for the demanding religion.

Today, he says he belongs to a more open Christian church, but his experience left him with a curiosity about other cultish organizations.

For years, nearly all of his attention has been devoted to a single church -- Hubbard's Church of Scientology.

"The more contact I had with Scientology, the more I could see it was much more dangerous than the group I was involved in," he says. Jacobsen began a methodical study of the religion in 1987, and has collected hundreds of volumes of the writings of L. Ron Hubbard. He also regularly participates in the debate on a.r.s, and has helped coordinate national pickets of Scientology churches with other members of the newsgroup.

In March 1996, Jacobsen and 17 other critics traveled to Clearwater, Florida, the church's spiritual headquarters. Jacobsen and the others spent a day of uneventful picketing outside a church-owned bank and then returned home.

Six months later, Jacobsen says, he started thinking about rallying the troops for another trip to Clearwater, but this time he decided they should target one of Scientology's holiest sites, the Fort Harrison Hotel. According to a church brochure, the hotel is a religious retreat where Scientologists come "from around the world to participate in advanced auditing and training."

Before organizing the trip, Jacobsen surfed the Internet for information on Clearwater, and landed on the city's home page. Clicking his way to the police department's site, Jacobsen noticed that homicide detectives were asking for the public's help in solving the "suspicious death" of a woman named Lisa McPherson. The notice asked anyone who had information about McPherson to contact the police. It also included McPherson's last known address.

Jacobsen realized, to his surprise, that he recognized that address. It was the same street number as the Fort Harrison Hotel, the Scientology mecca Jacobsen had planned on picketing. Although the police notice made no mention of either the hotel or Scientology, Jacobsen suspected that McPherson's "suspicious death" might involve the church itself. He typed up a brief mention of McPherson in a newsletter he sends to other church critics, and mailed a copy to Tampa Tribune reporter Cheryl Waldrip.

Jacobsen says Waldrip did nothing with his tip until she realized that no obituary or any other information about McPherson's death had appeared in print. That made her suspicious, Jacobsen says, and led her to look into the police investigation.

Articles in the Tribune and other papers, and the church's changing story about what happened in McPherson's death, soon led to national coverage. Newspapers questioned Scientology practices and printed accusations that adherents, like McPherson, are held against their will. The attention turned an obscure death investigation into a highly publicized battle between police and Scientology. Eventually, the church was indicted for abuse of a disabled adult and unauthorized practice of medicine, both felonies. McPherson's family, meanwhile, has filed a civil lawsuit against the church.

The death of Lisa McPherson has become the most publicized controversy in the church's 45-year history. Stories about McPherson have appeared in nearly every major American newspaper as well as foreign publications and on numerous television programs.

Jacobsen, meanwhile, maintains an extensive archive of information about the case on several Web sites and, through the help of other a.r.s members, in four foreign languages.

McPherson was a 36-year-old member of the church who had belonged to the religion for 13 years. In November 1995, McPherson had finally crossed the Bridge to become a clear. But she told friends and family that she was unhappy at her job at a Scientology-owned publisher and that she planned to leave it and return home to Dallas.

On November 18, McPherson was involved in a minor auto accident. When paramedics arrived, they found that McPherson, who appeared unhurt, had disrobed. "I need help. I need to talk to someone," she told them. Paramedics noted McPherson said she had been doing "wrong things she didn't know were wrong."

McPherson was taken to a hospital, where a doctor recommended that she go through a psychiatric evaluation. Scientologist friends of McPherson arrived, however, and objected, saying that psychiatric evaluations are forbidden in their religion.

With Scientologists at her bedside, McPherson told hospital workers that she wanted to go home with her friends. A doctor advised against it, but ultimately released McPherson, noting that the Scientologists promised they would provide 24-hour care for the troubled woman.

McPherson checked into the Fort Harrison Hotel for, the church said, rest and relaxation. Seventeen days later, she was rushed in a Scientology van to a hospital 24 miles away, bypassing four closer hospitals in order to get to a Scientologist doctor. McPherson was dead by the time she got there.

An autopsy performed by the county medical examiner found that McPherson had died from a blood clot brought on by "bed rest and severe dehydration," according to the examiner's report. McPherson hadn't had anything to drink for five to 10 days and was unconscious for one or two days before her death, said the medical examiner, who added that McPherson's arms were covered with what appeared to be cockroach bites. The autopsy also found evidence of a staph infection, and the church argues that it was the infection, which came on suddenly, that caused the clot and killed McPherson. Church officials insisted that McPherson's time at the hotel had been pleasant and that she had exhibited no medical problems until her final day.

But the church's own records, released on a judge's orders, show that McPherson's mental and physical condition plummeted during her stay. Notes kept by the hotel's health-care staff show that she was violent, incoherent, and seemed unable to care for herself. Other notes indicate that McPherson had tried to leave the hotel, and that she had hallucinated that she was L. Ron Hubbard.

As details of the McPherson case gradually emerged, Jacobsen and other Scientology critics began telling reporters that McPherson had been subject to a Hubbard technique called the "introspection rundown."

In a 1974 technical manual, Hubbard wrote that a person "in a psychotic break" should be isolated. "No one speaks to the person or in his hearing," Hubbard instructed. The subject under introspection rundown could not be released until he could provide, in writing, persuasive evidence that he had reformed. If not, he should be told: "Dear Joe. I'm sorry but no go on coming out of isolation yet."

Jacobsen says the introspection rundown is simply a Scientology policy of holding people against their will. Although the church insists that McPherson was cared for in a posh hotel environment, Jacobsen points to the insect bites on her arms and suggests that McPherson was held, forcibly, in a hotel basement. Several former church members have claimed that the same thing happened to them. One former member, Stacy Young, told the St. Petersburg Times she had been ordered to guard a woman who was kept for two months in isolation during introspection rundown in a dirt-floor shack east of Los Angeles. Scientology officials say Young and the others are lying.

Each new development in the case is watched carefully by Jacobsen and other critics. Scientologists, meanwhile, complain that Jacobsen has no real interest in McPherson and instead cruelly exploits her death for his own purposes of criticizing their religion.

When Jacobsen pickets Scientology churches, he carries a sign with a photograph of McPherson and the years of her birth and death.

"She, to us, represents all of the other people who have been hurt by Scientology," Jacobsen says. "Why did people wear bracelets for soldiers lost in Vietnam? They didn't know those soldiers. How could you care about somebody you don't know? You do. You just do."

We are not the first church he's attacked, and doubt we'll be the last one," says Reverend Durhman, who leads the Mesa congregation. "In fact, he has made attacking churches a lifelong career.

"You have to ask yourself what would motivate someone to spend their time at such a vicious activity. We want him to go away and stop harming people of goodwill."

Durhman blames Jacobsen and other demonstrators for an environment that encourages vandalism of their church. "There was some graffiti, and some property was damaged. Some benches in the back were thrown into the canal," she says.

She acknowledges that church members have been picketing and leafleting Jacobsen's work and home. "It's the parishioners that are concerned about this and want to get out the truth about him," she says.

She dismisses Jacobsen's complaints about retaliation against Internet critics and about Scientology's withholding of information from adherents.

"It isn't that this stuff is weird or sinister or hidden or whatever. It's just that it's understood that when you have a good body of theology, you don't just dump the whole thing on somebody at the beginning," Durhman says.

She herself has not attained the level of OT III, and so she could not comment on the revelations about Xenu the galactic overlord. Durhman did object to the dissemination of such materials over computer networks.

"Well, of course we don't want it for free on the Internet. Don't you understand that? It's copyrighted material. It belongs to parishioners when they are at that level of spiritual attainment. We have the right to receive donations for all of our services. So it's not right for people to criticize us for how we operate," Durhman says.

One of Durhman's parishioners who has picketed Jacobsen is also a familiar local personality. Realtor Russell Shaw, whose advertisements frequently run on radio and television, maintains a Web site denouncing Jacobsen as an "A.R.S. Bigot."

Shaw couldn't be reached for comment on his Web site. His wife, Wendy, says that he is in Los Angeles and could not be contacted.

But Shaw's Web site makes clear his feelings about Jacobsen. Comparing Jacobsen and eight other critics to Adolf Hitler and Ku Klux Klan members, Shaw writes that Jacobsen's "always disparaging comments have the effect of creating violence, discrimination and hatred. . . . When you open Jeff's closet, all the dirty diapers and dishpans fall out."

Shaw criticizes Jacobsen for "aligning himself" with other critics who have criminal records. (One, for example, local deprogrammer and Scientology critic Rick Ross, pulled off a 1971 jewelry heist in his early 20s and was put on probation, a decade before he began counseling members of authoritarian religions.)

Shaw also castigates Jacobsen because his father was convicted of tax evasion in South Dakota. "Jeff works for his father and surely must be aware of the tax avoidance schemes going on in the business."

Jacobsen explains that South Dakota recently passed a new law that taxes newspaper distribution. His father objected to it as an unconstitutional infringement of free speech, and refused to pay it. "He lost in court, paid a $1,000 fine, and spent a day in jail," Jacobsen says.

Shaw also criticizes Jacobsen because his father's South Dakota video chain rents adult films, and Shaw takes a swipe at the family business: "They make a living providing advice to 'singles' on how to make relationships work. Surprisingly, Jeff and his sister have not been able to make relationships work for themselves and are both approaching middle age single."

Jacobsen says he considers the site "goofy," and only objects to Shaw's statements about his father. "My father's not involved. And he's distorting the facts about my dad. To get at me, Shaw attacks my family," Jacobsen says. "That's Shaw's only Web page. It doesn't promote his business. It's for nothing but to denigrate critics of his church with smear campaigns," he says.

Besides his Web barrage, Shaw has also targeted Jacobsen by picketing one of his Friday-night dances.

Jacobsen plays music at the weekly events, held at resorts such as Mountain Shadows in Paradise Valley, where readers of Single Scene gather. Four times, Scientologist picketers have demonstrated outside, carrying signs with slogans like "Jeff Is a Bigot," "Jeff Is a Porno King," and "Say No to Religious Hatred."

On two of those occasions, Jacobsen says, the picketing occurred on a darkened sidewalk where no hotel workers or guests could see what was going on. He says he wouldn't even have known he was being picketed if a friend hadn't come in and told him.

Jacobsen's protesting of the Mesa church is far more visible.

On a recent afternoon, Jacobsen and four other church critics carry signs outside the church. Rush-hour traffic whizzes by in a loud roar punctuated by frequent honks.

Kristi Wachter walks with a sign hanging around her neck. It reads: "UFO Cult."

Wachter is an a.r.s devotee from San Francisco who dropped by to picket while traveling through Phoenix. She says since she began protesting against the church, Scientologists have frequently retaliated by showing up outside her California home, where private residences can legally be picketed.

Bruce Pettycrew, meanwhile, hefts a sign that reads "Scientology Kills." It refers to Lisa McPherson, he says, but Jacobsen adds that the slogan is also meant to counter a sign Scientologists frequently carry that reads "Psychiatry Kills."

Pettycrew is a Phoenix software engineer who began picketing the church after Internet users were raided by church officials. He estimates that he demonstrates more than once a week, and last year he was sued by the local church for his frequent protests. The lawsuits have been dropped, but Pettycrew says he's still under a court order not to cause noise that can be heard in the church.

Pettycrew says he's motivated to expose Scientology because of its secretive nature. "The world has a problem with pseudoscience. I feel Scientology's one of the grossest examples of that, and I think it's a good place to press the attack," he says.

Pettycrew says out-of-town a.r.s devotees set up pickets about twice a month. Jacobsen, meanwhile, tries to go to Los Angeles and Clearwater for road-pickets several times a year. On December 5, the anniversary of Lisa McPherson's death, Jacobsen helped organize a vigil in Clearwater that drew 100 people.

Inside the Mesa church, Reverend Durhman and others keep an eye on the demonstration. Durhman comes outside to greet a visitor and to allow her picture to be taken.

Later, in a telephone interview, she says, "Jacobsen and his picketer pals are the ones harassing our church and spreading lies about us. What he does to our religion is no different than someone painting a swastika on a synagogue or burning a cross in a black family's yard -- no different whatsoever."

Contact Tony Ortega at his online address: tortega@newtimes.com

from http://www.rickross.com/reference/Scien46.html:

Another View of Scientology's "ScienoSitter"

July 15, 1998

By Rick Ross

Scientology now seems to have offered objective proof (i.e. the "ScienoSitter") that it is engaged in the use of thought reform. They have distributed software, the so-called "ScienoSitter", for Scientologists to filter their Internet access. This software blocks Web sites, names or other information they find objectionable (e.g. critics or criticism of Scientology). That is--any outside frame of reference that might discuss or otherwise offer another opinion about Scientology, its founder, leaders or practices that they did not originate and/or approve.

Information control is a well-recognized facet of thought reform--often called "brainwashing". Totalistic organizations are largely dependent upon controlling information to maintain a mindset (e.g. Nazi Germany, Communist Russia or Mao's China). This is called "milieu control" --or control of the environment. Such control is much like George Orwell's vision of "1984". Simply summed up--totalists seemingly cannot tolerate an outside frame of reference, alternate views or objective feedback. This is especially true concerning the claims of what can be seen as their "sacred science".

Noted psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton explored the area of thought reform and published his observations through his seminal book "Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism" (see Reading to order this book). Within Chapter 22 of his book Lifton lists eight criteria necessary to establish a thought reform program. Two listed are "Milieu Control" and "Sacred Science".

Scientology's animosity regarding the mental health profession is long established. This too--can simply be seen as yet another example of their intolerance of any outside feedback that might permeate their "milieu control". Moreover, mental health professionals have offered insightful analysis concerning the techniques and results of Scientology--that the organization finds objectionable.

In plain language--Scientology and its leaders seem to like what they control and not like what they don't control.

The net result for Scientologists on the Internet is now the so-called "ScienoSitter", which enables the organization to filter information and block out any feedback they don't control--regarding their organization, its beliefs, practices and problems. This appears to provide objective proof, from Scientology itself--that the organization is actively involved in "Thought Reform".

Here is the basis for one of Robert Jay Lifton's (eight) criteria:

Milieu Control

"The most basic feature of the thought reform environment, the psychological current upon which all else depends, is the control of human communication [e.g. information]. Through this milieu control the totalist environment seeks to establish domain over not only the individual's communication with the outside (all that he sees and hears, reads or writes, experiences, and expresses). It creates an atmosphere uncomfortably reminiscent of George Orwell's 1984.

They [e.g. Scientology?] look upon milieu control as a just and necessary policy, one which need not be kept secret. At the center of this self-justification is their assumption of omniscience, their conviction that reality is their exclusive possession. Having experienced the impact of what they consider to be an ultimate truth (and having the need to dispel any possible inner doubts of their own), they consider it their duty to create an environment containing no more and no less than this "truth." In order to be the engineers of the human soul, they must first bring it under full observational control".

"If it quacks like a duck and it walks like a duck--it just might be a duck."

For further information about Scientology's "ScienoSitter" visit the following Web sites:

"A Web of Their Own--Salon Magazine"

"Scientology Censors WWW for Members"

"Church of Scientology Censors Net Access for Members"

"The Scientology Net Censor"

An Index for downloading regarding the "ScienoSitter"

More Information on Scientology

from the Associated Press, February 3, 1999, by Jan M. Olsen, from http://www.rickross.com/reference/Scien88.html:

Scientology Boss Expects Acceptance

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) -- The Church of Scientology's struggle to gain recognition from European governments should pay off in the next decade, the head of its international branch said Wednesday.

The Los Angeles-based church created by late science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard has been persistent in attempts to become recognized as a legitimate religion, said the Rev. Heber Jentzsch, president of Church of Scientology International.

``There is a shift,'' he said. ``Scientology has become visible. It will happen in the next five years, maybe 10 years.''

For now, the church is considered an economic enterprise in Germany and its 30,000 adherents are banned from public jobs and closely watched.

France registers the church on a list of 173 groups that should be tracked to prevent cult activities. A Greek court closed operations in that country in 1997. Most other European countries also don't accept it as a religious community.

``It's not been easy. But we never thought of withdrawing,'' Jentzsch said from the church's European headquarters in Copenhagen. ``Any new religion, any new ideas will be fought. There is an old guard that is threatened by anything that is new.''

Jentzsch said much of the problem stems from misinformation that remains from U.S. investigations into the church in the 1960s and 1970s. He also rejected reports that people who want to leave the church are harassed.

The church didn't win tax-free status as a religion in the United States until 1993, he noted.

Hubbard founded the church in 1954 to teach that technology can expand the mind and help solve problems. Five years later, he opened a first European office in Britain.

The church heads into its 40th anniversary in Europe with 53 offices and about 3 million members, Jentzsch said. Worldwide, it is represented in 129 countries and has almost 9 million members worldwide, including movie actors John Travolta and Tom Cruise.