Dublin Archbishop says Irish church not indoctrinating enough children, secular society advancing

IrishCentral   -  May 18, 2011

Dublin Archbishop - Catholics are not passing religion on to the next generation

Failure to pass on religion will have serious consequences

By ANTOINETTE KELLY, IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

The abuse crisis in the Irish church is not the only grave challenge facing it, Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin told the Catholic News Service this week. [see article below]

The failure to pass on the faith to the younger generation has far reaching consequences for the church too he claimed.

"We have to completely, radically change the way we pass on the faith," Martin told CNS. "Our parishes are not places where evangelization and catechesis are taking place."

Speaking in Washington before he presented a lecture to the Order of Malta Martin, the Primate of Ireland, lamented the declining practice of the faith in Dublin - where just 18 percent of Catholics now regularly attend Sunday Mass.

Controversially, Martin noted that if the Catholic Church runs 90 percent of the elementary schools in Ireland yet only 18 percent of Catholics attend Mass, it made him wonder about the commitment of Catholic teachers.

"If people are being prepared for the sacraments by people who don't frequent the sacraments, there's a real problem there," Martin said.

"Unless we address it, we're not going to have a next generation of young Catholics," he said.

"We're suffering from some of the products of being a mass Catholicism in the past. We're still living, in some ways, as if that were the case today," he said.

Martin said he believed the secularization of Irish society was quite advanced and he spoke of the need for training laypeople to relieve priests of some of their extra tasks so they can focus more on priestly duties.

Young people in particular, Martin said, have a great deal to contribute but they must be treated with respect

"Parishes where young people are present and committed are parishes where they've been given responsibility," he said. "And the parishes which treat young people where they say 'You come on our conditions,' that's just not working."

This article was found at:

http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Dublin-Archbishop---Catholics-are-not-passing-religion-on-to-the-next-generation-122142799.html

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Catholic News Service   -  May 17, 2011

Dublin archbishop says Catholics not passing on faith to young people

By Barb Fraze |  Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Irish society is not just suffering from the sex abuse scandal but from a failure to pass on the faith to the younger generation, said the archbishop of Dublin.

"We have to completely, radically change the way we pass on the faith," Archbishop Diarmuid Martin told Catholic News Service May 16. "Our parishes are not places where evangelization and catechesis are taking place."

The archbishop traveled to Washington to present the Order of Malta Inaugural Lecture, "Faith and Service: the Unbreakable Bond." During his speech and in remarks to CNS beforehand, he spoke of the declining practice of the faith in Dublin -- 18 percent of Catholics regularly attend Sunday Mass -- and of the need to give young people responsibility in the parish to reinvigorate them.

Archbishop Martin has served in Dublin since 2003 and presided over the uncovering of hundreds of past cases of sex abuse and the mishandling of priest abusers, but he says the problem goes deeper than abuse.

The Catholic Church runs 90 percent of the elementary schools in Ireland. Yet if only 18 percent of Catholics attend Mass, he said, he has to wonder about the commitment of Catholic teachers.

"If people are being prepared for the sacraments by people who don't frequent the sacraments, there's a real problem there," Archbishop Martin told CNS.

He reiterated what he has said often in the past, that "young Irish people are among the most catechized and the least evangelized."

"Unless we address it, we're not going to have a next generation of young Catholics," he said.

"We're suffering from some of the products of being a mass Catholicism in the past. We're still living, in some ways, as if that were the case today," he said.

In his speech near the Georgetown University campus, Archbishop Martin said he believed the secularization of Irish society was quite advanced, and he spoke of what it means to live as a Christian citizen.

"If we start out in ... reflection on the place of faith in our culture with the conviction that God's grace is present and can be found even within a world marked by human sinfulness, then our vision of the place of the faith in society changes, and the entire framework for the presence of Christians in society takes on a new shape," he said.

"Christian commitment means getting your hands and your shoes dirty," he said. "The Christian in society is not just another social commentator, but a witness to another way of living."

He said Christian commitment "must not be limited to the occasional outburst of global solidarity" after natural disasters or "the more militant enthusiasm engendered around protest meetings."

"For the Christian, solidarity and sharing should be the stuff of every day, an imperative and not just an option, a daily imperative and not an occasional awakening of conscience," he said.

"Faith and service constitute an unbreakable bond," he said.

"Defense of the faith is about living the faith without being afraid," he said, adding that it means knowing that faith can improve all aspects of life.

In his CNS interview, Archbishop Martin spoke of the need for training volunteer laypeople to start relieving priests of some of their extra tasks so they can focus on priestly duties. Laypeople "bring a richness to ministry," he said, and where he has full-time laypeople working in parishes, they have increased the numbers of volunteer laypeople.

He said Irish young people are "extremely generous, dedicated."

"Parishes where young people are present and committed are parishes where they've been given responsibility," he said. "And the parishes which treat young people where they say 'You come on our conditions,' that's just not working."


This article was found at:

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1101942.htm

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Scientology recruiters manipulate potential members with phony personality tests and high pressure sales tactics

Herald Sun - Australia March 6, 2011

Inside the Church of Scientology

What's the Church of Scientology all about? Sunday Herald Sun reporter Hamish Heard joined to find out.

AFTER barely an hour in the Church of Scientology's new Melbourne headquarters the verdict is in: I am deeply flawed.

It appears I am in denial of a deep-seated depression, I am close to unlikable and a decade and a half of social indulgence has left me borderline dim.

On the plus side, Mark - my new mentor in Scientology - says I have a "can-do" attitude that, with the help of an $1800 "purification" ritual and countless dollars spent on cult literature, is enough to put me back on the path.

As I took my first steps inside the sect's new $21 million Ascot Vale base - a reporter posing as a sausage salesman - I had no idea what to expect.

I knew that Scientologists believed I was an immortal alien trapped inside an Earthling's body.

I had also been told that Scientologists believed in some kind of super alien called Xenu. But all of that was conspicuously absent during my first close encounter with the religion.

It was more like a slickly packaged self-help university.

Paul Schofield, who spent nearly 30 years working for the cult in Melbourne and Sydney before breaking ranks in 2008, said he was not surprised.

"They are very careful to keep it all very normal and believable at the start - that's how they suck you in," he said.

"The whole aliens and volcanoes thing comes much, much later and only after you're willing to spend tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars on Scientology books and courses and treatments etc."

Like Paul and millions of other Scientologists worldwide, my introduction to the sect came in the form of a series of tests.

First was a fairly standard IQ test and then a 200-question personality test, asking questions such as: "Would you smack a 10-year-old child if it disobeyed you?" and "Do you feel the urge to clean other people's houses?".

The purpose of the tests, explained Paul, was to convince potential Scientologists that they were broken and needed fixing.

Sure enough, when Mark finished marking my tests he presented me with a graph showing that I was extremely critical of others, a little unhappy, aggressive and people probably didn't like me.

Mark said there were "things" I could do to overcome these horrible personality traits and that I should start by buying $50 of books and a DVD introducing me to the cult's brand of mental health therapy.

Also important, he said, was that I complete a "purification process", which would cost $1500 for the use of the sect's new treadmills and sauna and a further $300 for special vitamins.

Fifty dollars poorer, I vowed to read the literature, watch the DVD and return next week to discuss purification.

At home that night I immersed myself in Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, an introduction to Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's views.

Central to his argument is that all human faults are caused by "engrams" - subconscious memories of painful happenings earlier in life.

Paul said the book was the first step in opening Scientologists' minds to the belief that they were controlled by reincarnated alien spirits, called Thetans.

"Basically Hubbard decided that the thing that was really wrong with people was that they were infested with the souls of dead aliens which had been sent down to Earth by Xenu and blown up in volcanoes," Paul said.

"These alien spirits end up inside human bodies and implant thoughts and behaviours in them."

He said Scientologists were not told of the strange beliefs until they had reached "Operating Thetan 3", or OT3, level.

"Most people working there don't know about it - they don't trust anyone with this until they are so entrenched in the cult they will believe it," Paul said.

"They're made to believe that even just reading the words without being ready is enough to kill them."

Wandering around the Ascot Vale headquarters, it is hard not to marvel at the number of uniformed cult members.

Mark said there were 200 paid staff working at the church.

A couple of days after my first visit, my phone started ringing daily with calls from Scientology sales staff wanting to know if I had read my books and when I was coming back.

On the seventh day I turned up unannounced and declared I was ready for "auditing".

Auditing, according to Dianetics, allows people to neutralise the engrams that are ruining their lives by mentally revisiting the time the memories were created.

My initial auditing session was free and involved me sitting in a room with my eyes shut while going through painful memories - like the time when, as a toddler, I cried from sunburn.

My "auditor" made me go over the incident, and others, at least 15 times in an unsuccessful attempt to help me get inside the engrams.

It was excruciating and quite possibly the longest hour in my life - even more awkward than when I had to explain to Mark why I was unable to provide sausages for a church barbecue.

After my first auditing session, I was summoned to Mark's office where he prescribed a $200 course of audits.

He also reiterated his belief that I required purification and performed a mini-audit on me, this time with me connected to an "E-meter".

The gadget - essentially two cans hooked up to something resembling an electronic multi-meter - is used in auditing to gauge how intensely people react to certain questions.

Mark's probing questions prompted the E-meter's needle to jump decisively to the right - firm proof that I was what the cult called "preclear", meaning I had a long road of auditing ahead of me.

On my most recent visit I made it my mission to get to the bottom of the church's alien beliefs and, with Mark on his day off, I hit a new contact up for some answers.

At first I was given the sarcastic response: "Does it look like we've got UFO hangars here?"

But after I convinced him that I had already taken plenty of steps down the Scientology path, he opened up on the church's views on immortality.

"We believe you're immortal and you've lived before and you'll live again," he said.

After even more pressing, he said auditing uncovered people's memories from earlier lives, including some from people who had lived in outer space.

In 2008, Paul broke one of Scientology's golden rules and began talking to former cult members and researching what the critics had to say online.

"The more info I found, the more I thought to myself: 'Oh my God, what have I been doing for the past three decades?' and I just walked out," he said.

After two visits, the sect had spouted enough gobbledygook to last me a lifetime and tried to hit my bank account for up to $2000. I walked, too.

This article was found at:

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ipad/inside-the-church-of-scientology/story-fn6bfmgc-1226016528252

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Mosque Child Abuse in America

Front Page Magazine - March 23, 2009

by Jamie Glazovy

Frontpage Interview’s guest today is Dave Gaubatz, the first U.S. civilian (1811) Federal Agent deployed to Iraq in 2003. He is currently the Director of the Mapping Sharia Project and the Owner of DG Counter-terrorism Publishing (dgaubatz.blogspot.com). He can be contacted at davegaubatz@gmail.com.
FP: Dave Gaubatz, welcome to Frontpage Interview.
You have been conducting some Counter-Terrorism (CT) field research during the last month. Tell us the results.
Gaubatz: I want to thank FPM for the opportunity to bring an issue to the attention of the American public.
In early Feb 2009, I went to a prayer and lecture at a Sunni mosque in Richmond, VA. I was informed a group of Muslims originally from Somalia, had relocated to Nashville, TN. This subsequently led me (with support from concerned citizens) to conduct first-hand research in Nashville.
My CT researchers and I conducted ‘first-hand’ research at a predominately Somalia based mosque, Al-Farooq Masjid, 1421 4^th Ave. S. Nashville, TN. Initially I conducted a pre-assessment of the various Islamic Centers within the area. Although there are other mosques in the area advocating the ideology of Sharia law for the U.S. and advocating the same ideology as Islamic terrorists groups, our research uncovered more frightening and disturbing intelligence. Not only does Al-Farooq provide materials by convicted Islamic terrorists to their worshippers, they practice polygamy (per statements made by Al Farooq worshippers) as allowed under Sharia law, which also advocates children to be taken as ‘child brides’ married to older men. One need only research how often this occurs in Somalia.
In Feb 09, I obtained evidence and there were several indicators the children were being physically and emotionally abused. I immediately provided my analysis and concerns to authorities. Almost immediately First Amendment religious freedom rights came up and their fear of being sued by Islamic organizations. I knew from the beginning when I had to explain the basics of Sharia law and who Islamic scholars such as Ahmad Sakr (U.S. based scholar who lectures to children and informs them to not follow the U.S. Constitution, but instead to follow Sharia law) are, it would be useless to rely on them alone to protect the innocent children of al Farooq, which ultimately means our country is not being protected. The objective of my company is to simultaneously provide the research intelligence to the American public and to Law Enforcement (LE). In our current times it is often necessary for news organizations and the public to become involved before issues are taken seriously.
In Mar 2009, I sent two researchers (male and female) to Al Farooq to obtain further information. On 9 Mar 2009, a female child informed one of our female researchers she and other children are ‘hit’ at the ‘Al Farooq School’ by a teacher and ‘her’ legs hurt. Additional lectures by convicted terrorists and their supporters were provided to my team. Again I notified authorities, but received no encouragement the allegations of child abuse or the evidence pertaining to Al Farooq leadership advocating violence would be responded to.
Authorities wanted ‘hard evidence’ children were being abused and Islamic leaders at Al Farooq were educating the worshippers to commit violence against innocent people, America, and Israel. Respectfully I advised authorities Americans rely on them to take the lead and conduct investigations pertaining to allegations. My organization is limited in manpower and funds. Taxpayers pay our LE and elected officials to protect our country. It is beyond my capability to convince authorities that distributing material by Al Qaeda, Mawdudi (JI), and Ali Al Timimi to children can lead to violence and is dangerous for all concerned. One need only look at the Palestinian schools who are educated by Hamas.
FP: Do Islamic leaders of Al Farooq, Nashville, TN, advocate and encourage the worshippers of the mosque to hate America and to follow the teachings of convicted Islamic terrorists such as Ali Al Timimi? Gaubatz: Yes. My team and I were provided several hours of Ali Al Timimi lectures (and others) I had previously never heard, and I have listened to hundreds of hours of lectures by ‘Islamic scholars’.
FP: Do Islamic leaders distribute material in America encouraging Muslim men to violate U.S. laws in regards to ‘polygamy’ and to force children (6 -16 years old) to marry older men?
Gaubatz: Yes. Al Farooq has these materials and polygamy is being practiced. On my blog at www.dgaubatz.blogspot.com, I have attached a one minute clip showing the library of al Farooq. I will update my blog continuously to show exact materials obtained and being distributed at Al Farooq.
FP: Do they (Al Farooq leaders) advocate an Islamic nation in America to be ruled under Sharia law?
Gaubatz: One need only review lectures/materials by Mawdudi, Timimi, Sakr, and Siraj Wahhaj. My team collected evidence supporting the above and can provide sworn affidavits to law enforcement/Department of Justice Officials (DOJ) at any level, but first the American public must convince Nashville authorities that advocating innocent Muslim children to be involved in ‘physical Jihad’ against America is illegal. If we do not have elected officials who can and will do this, then our government should discontinue the double standards of convicting some Islamic scholars (such as Timimi) and ignoring the actions of others.
LE, criminal justice officials, elected officials, and Americans must also understand Islamic Jihadists and their supporters are well educated and understand U.S. law better than most U.S. attorneys do. After 11 Sept. 2001, they will no longer stand at the podium and advise worshippers to commit treason, sedition, and to commit terrorist acts against America. They will provide you lectures advocating the same on professionally manufactured DVD’s and written materials funded by Saudi Arabia. Islamic scholars understand Americans will look at books and DVDs as protected materials under our laws.
FP: Will you continue CT research in other cities across the U.S.?
Gaubatz: Yes. Each week I will conduct first-hand research at a different Islamic Center and will provide the results on my blog. Based on my analysis I will provide a ranking of 1 – 10, pertaining to violence being advocated by the Islamic scholars. LE, elected officials, and Americans can ignore, or they can work together to obtain legal action against the scholars who advocate the destruction of our country and the futures of our children. Again, it is beyond my capability or means to convince authorities that providing material by Islamic terrorists to children can lead to violence.
I would like to again stress my team consists of researchers from various faiths and cultures, to include Muslims. Thank you again Jamie and I have completed reading your book, “United In Hate”. Highly recommended reading for all.
FP: Thank you Dave Gaubatz. We cherish your fight for the security of this country and also your effort to protect abused children.

---

Jamie Glazov is Frontpage Magazine's editor. He holds a Ph.D. in History with a specialty in Russian, U.S. and Canadian foreign policy. He is the author of Canadian Policy Toward Khrushchev’s Soviet Union and is the co-editor (with David Horowitz) of The Hate America Left. He edited and wrote the introduction to David Horowitz’s Left Illusions. His new book is United in Hate: The Left's Romance with Tyranny and Terror. To see his previous symposiums, interviews and articles Click Here. Email him at jglazov@rogers.com.

This article was found at:

http://frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=5D1BEAC8-5543-4113-AFB6-7A0E79972081

Recruiting God's Army

The Stranger - Seattle February 27, 2009

Marysville Church Seeks Converts at Public Schools

by Dominic Holden

A church in Marysville has crossed the line from volunteering at local public schools to recruiting kids into a "cult," says the mother of one of the students. The Turning Point Church sends roughly a dozen adult "youth leaders" to six schools in northwestern Washington once a week, where they hang out during lunch hours, chat with students, and join in sports games.

"We can be someone in their life to say everything is going to be okay and God is still good," says Emily Masten, one of the youth staff leaders and a receptionist for the church.

Doug Honig, a spokesman for the state American Civil Liberties Union, says that although the Washington State constitution "has strong provisions about separation of religion and government, including schools," what's allowed under the constitution has been determined on a case-by-case basis.

In Marysville, problems arose earlier this week when a church delegate attempted to entice a Totem Middle School student into an evening church meeting with promises of rides, games, and espresso. The church maintains a youth group called 180 and another group called 628 (for kids from sixth to eighth grades).

Rianne Olver was alarmed when she saw a MySpace message sent from an adult female youth leader to her 11-year-old daughter, inviting her to the church meeting:

Hey, 628 tonight!
6 o clock, free espresso for visitors. Super rad games and activities.
Hang out with cool people. Plus you are really cool so it would just make it that much cooler.
Are you going to be there? If you need a ride, I can hook it up :)

"She even offered to come to my house and pick up my daughter without me knowing about it," Olver says. "I wonder how many other kids got this message and were so excited that an older person thinks they're cool and wants to buy them espresso."

The nondenominational church is unusual in other ways, too. In one sermon, Pastor Mike Villamor advocates that "Christians should be sex-perts." He goes on: "Ladies, here's the answer to 90 percent of your troubles: sex and sleep."

Several people have posted aggressively on a web page where they allege the Turning Point Church is cultish.

But Masten dismisses the cult claims. "[The church] is just different because people are actually caring," she says. "If people don't understand something, there are two reactions: You make fun of it or you get scared of it."

Masten confirms that youth leaders discuss the church and God with students on school property, but says they do so only when asked. Their purpose is "just to be there and to love them and hang out with them," she says. However, she acknowledges that if students want to provide contact information, youth leaders contact them about the evening services.

"Most youth leaders will do bulk texting to students they have met once or twice," says Masten. "It's just like, 'Hey do you want to come over and hang out at my house?'" says Masten. (Basically, adults directly soliciting social engagements from 11-year-old children.) Youth leaders may neglect to contact parents because it is "something that they are not really mindful of yet," she says.

It's something they will become mindful of soon.

After hearing Olver's complaints yesterday afternoon, the Marysville School District called Turning Point Church to tell them they must cease lunchtime visits to Totem Middle School. The group will continue renting space for sermons at the school on Sundays. Gail Miller, assistant superintendent of the Marysville School District, says, "They can't proselytize and they cannot solicit individual student's contact information."

Other groups, including retirees and Tulalip Tribe members, have been volunteering at the school this year to reverse what Miller describes as chronic "classroom disruptions." Last year, Totem Middle School students walked out to protest discipline problems. The youth leaders from Turning Point Church were allowed on campus to "increase adult presence at lunch time," Miller says.

But, she adds, "We are doing an investigation because, if [Olver] is correct in that this is what is happening, that is inappropriate. If students ask them questions, they can answer matter-of-factly, but they cannot seek them out." Although the church has been barred from lunches at the middle school, youth workers are still allowed at Marysville Pilchuck High School.

News intern Aaron Pickus contributed research to this story.

This article was found at:

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/recruiting-gods-army/Content?oid=1140193

B.C. Education Minister defends a ministry publication that identifies a Scientology website as a potential resource for teachers

The Vancouver Sun - February 11, 2009

Ministry Publication Comes Under Fire

by Janet Steffenhagen |Vancouver Sun


Education Minister Shirley Bond is defending a ministry publication that identifies a Scientology website as a potential resource for teachers to use while preparing lessons about human rights and social justice.

The Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) website is identified as a "supplementary resource" in a teaching guide developed by the ministry as part of an effort to make the K-12 curriculum gay-friendly. It's also mentioned in the guide for a new elective course called Social Justice 12.

In an interview, Bond insisted that mention of the YHRI website does not constitute an endorsement of it or the Church of Scientology. It was included on the advice of teachers who helped develop the guides, but it will be used in the classroom only if approved by teachers and local boards of education.

The website describes Youth for Human Rights International as a non-profit corporation that promotes tolerance and peace. It makes little mention of its affiliation with Scientology, although it identifies the church's founder, L. Ron Hubbard, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King as "great humanitarians of the 20th century."

Patti Bacchus, chairwoman of the Vancouver board of education, said inclusion of the YHRI "is kind of alarming." She suggested the ministry should have applied the same critical-thinking skills that schools are urging students to use.

Bond said the guides list many websites, and others could also be considered controversial. Teachers will use their professional judgment in deciding which ones to use, she said.

Susan Lambert, vice-president of the B.C. Teachers' Federation, suggested the YHRI website and Scientology could be used in discussions about non-mainstream religions.

This article was found at:

http://www2.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=b229d1d5-91bf-4670-ae66-42bcb56c1a8f

B.C. Education Ministry won't delist scientology website

The Vancouver Sun - February 5, 2009

By Janet Steffenhagen


The B.C. Education Ministry says it has no plan to delist a reference to a scientology website from two of its teaching guides.

It seems I was wrong when I suggested in an earlier post that the ministry's inclusion of a scientology website - Youth for Human Rights International - in its teaching guides must have been a mistake and that the electronic link had been terminated. The link remains and the teaching guides -- one for Social Justice 12 and one for K-12 called Making Space - will continue to list YHRI as a supplementary resource, the ministry says.

(Social Justice 12 and the Making Space guide were developed as part of an agreement the government reached with Murray and Peter Corren in 2006 to make classes more gay friendly.)

Although the YHRI website is among several dozen listed as resources for teachers, the ministry told me it is "not a ministry-recommended learning resource". Rather, it is a supplementary resource which offers "potential support" for teachers looking for ideas about teaching social justice. Teachers will decide if they want to use ideas from YHRI, the ministry says.

The fact that YHRI is included in official teaching guides "doesn't constitute ministry endorsement of the website, nor of the organization," the ministry stated.

This article was found at:


http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/reportcard/archive/2009/02/04/ministry-won-t-delist-scientology-website.aspx

B.C. Ministry of Education directs teachers to Scientology website

The Province - British Columbia  January 29, 2009

I'm sure B.C. kids need Scientology's help

by Ethan Baron


Attention students: it's now OK to jump up and down on your desks and rave about your latest crush.

The Ministry of Education is referring teachers to an organization set up by the Church of Scientology, the group made infamous by Tom Cruise, the raving couch-bounder and Scientology adherent. Two ministry teacher-support documents direct teachers to the website of Los Angeles-based Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI).

The Church of Scientology, founded by sci-fi writer L. Ron Hubbard, set up YHRI in 2001. This group holds events and produces materials to advance the teaching of human rights to children and adults around the world.

And get this: the mayor of an Argentina city was so impressed with YHRI that he put its materials into 90 schools. The name of the mayor's city? Moron. To be fair, Argentinians put an accent over the second 'o.'

And since I'm being fair, while I'm noting that Statistics Canada lists Scientology on its "classification for religious denomination" directly below Satanism, I'll point out that StatsCan's list is alphabetical.

The Education Ministry was not exactly jumping up and down to answer questions about the inclusion of this Scientology group in its teaching-aid materials. A spokesman who didn't want to be identified said the ministry doesn't endorse the websites, and that if teachers want to use them in class, they need approval from their school board, or from an "authority" that the spokesman wasn't able to define.

I went down to the B.C. Church of Scientology, a storefront on Hastings Street just west of the Downtown Eastside, to see what they were all about. They offered to give me a free 200-question personality test.

Amazingly, I had the results back in about 10 minutes. Goodness, I had no idea I was so screwed up.

For starters, I am severely depressed. On a scale of minus-100 to plus-100, I was 10 points up from rock bottom. My mind is unstable, and "dispersed." The nice young man named Curtis who interpreted my line-graph score explained that I have a hard time focusing on tasks. As if! Now what was I, uh, oh right, a column.

Curtis said I scored far from the "inactive" level, but that's not so good, because I am, in fact, "manic." Surebuddyanythingyousay.

Also, I lack empathy, and people may consider me "cold."

"Am I cold, Cheryl?" I asked a colleague when I got back to the office.

She hesitated. Then she hedged.

"I wouldn't say 'cold,'" Cheryl told me.

Oh God, it's all true.

But at least I have options.

While Curtis was scoring my test, I watched a short video on Dianetics, the "science" behind Scientology. Apparently, Dianeticiticists, or whatever the brains behind the operation call themselves, have discovered that all the bad stuff that happens to us is stored in a part of our brains called the "reactive mind," and we need to get rid of it and become "clear" so it stops making us unhappy.

Hmmmm. Dead parents. Dead friends. Divorce. Crime scenes. War zones.

It's no wonder I'm so messed up.

To help clear my admittedly overflowing reactive mind, I can buy the 460-page Dianetics book for $25. Or, I can get a shorter version of 150 pages for $18. Then, for $40.95, I can take a course of one to three weeks. Golly, I told Curtis, that's not so expensive. I looked around their space on Hastings, which is assessed at $2.3 million.

"How do you operate?" I asked.

"Well, if you want to be professionally trained, it's more expensive," Curtis told me, "roughly equivalent to a college education."

But what the heck, here in B.C., the ministry has put Scientology resources right in teachers' hands. We can get the students professionally trained even before they get to college. And I'm sure those kids are already way more troubled than me.

This article was found at:


http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=f4fde852-2fde-4fd5-9503-9a945a695308

The End Times Ministries cult and where it all began

First Coast News - Florida

November 3, 2008



SIOUX FALLS, SD -- Beyond the rows of corn fields and rolling hills is the heart of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

A place more than 1,450 miles north of Lake City, Florida.

Two places so far away, yet so connected.

"The interesting tie between Lake City, Florida, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, can't be broken. It's intertwined," says Bob Kiner, a retired high school teacher and college professor.

Kiner has made it his business to know all he can about that bond.

He's heard and seen the secrets that the quaint and quiet streets of Sioux Falls have hidden for a number of years.

"I remember teachers talking about what's happening to these kids, what are they doing. They are whacked out, what is it," says Kiner.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is a place where some churches are landmarks.

It is also a place where a controversial religion called Meade Ministries, or End Times Ministries, which is now based in Lake City, Florida, got its start.

The End Timers got their start in Sioux Falls in 1973 in another church.

First Baptist in Sioux Falls, opened its chapel doors to a group of kids who came to the church each night to sing and read scriptures.

"We were just a bunch of young college, high school aged kids," says Joni Cutler, who is a former member.

Cutler says her high school boyfriend and future husband, Gary Cooke, was the group's leader.

"A lot of us singing a song and listening to this preacher on an audio cassette tape. I remember at first not feeling that comfortable, but wanting to know more."

That preacher was Charles Meade.

Gary Cooke got to know him while going to college at Northwestern.

Cutler says what started out as a small gathering of about ten kids began to grow, and concerns began to grow too.

"I think we started making some people nervous with the type of teaching we were hearing on cassette tapes. It started making people uncomfortable here and the church, and so we felt it was time to go somewhere else."

The End Timers moved around, often meeting at area hotels in Sioux Falls.

Meade preached that no one needed to see a doctor because there was no need to be sick.

Meade also preached they would be the only ones to survive God's wrath in the end times, prophesied in the Bible.

According to those who have left the group, the End Timers targeted those in high school or college.

"They can snare your family away. You don't even know it's happening. They just kind of grab them," says Roger Peterson.

Peterson, and his wife Vonda, lost their three teenage daughters, 20 years ago, to what they call a cult.

They haven't seen them since.

"The question I get asked by most anybody is how could they believe this stuff, and I say well how come so many people followed Hitler."

"There's a reason why they like to get babysitters, college aged kids because they are more impressionable," says Cutler.

In the early 1980s, End Time Ministries bought a building and used it as its church and school.

The group was nestled between two college campuses and just blocks away from Lincoln High School, where students were recruited to become members.

"Gary Cooke was a college freshman and began to recruit a lot of his friends. Those friends were the best, the smartest outstanding kids in high school. They were leaders. They were terrific students and I think they were looking for meaning in life," says Kiner.

Kiner was a social studies teacher at the time and Joni was one of his students.

"As students began to talk about things, get no medical help, started secluding themselves, I needed to know more," said Kiner.

Cutler says she remembers Kiner and other teachers trying to help her.

"Some of the teachers tried to, outside of the classroom, to talk to us and intervene with us and get us to think about what was happening and who we were following," Cutler said.

Kiner says he spent all of his free time trying to find out what End Time Ministries really was.

Today, Kiner says he has no doubt that End Time Ministries is a cult.

Kiner fought back tears as he remembered some of the early days and students who were trapped inside the group.

"These people didn't believe in medical services. One of our very best students ended up dying giving birth to a baby in a bathtub because they didn't medical help. And when you feel that intensely about those kids, as a public school educator, you have a responsibility to do everything you can to help."

Kiner did what he could.

But in 1984, Meade moved more than 100 followers from the midwest to Lake City.

They constructed a large church there.

Meade built and then settled in to a sprawling estate in the Southwood Acres subdivision.

Over time, more End Timers moved to the area.

Today, you will find homes dotted along the path to the church, in numerous subdivisions, which only belong to End Timers.

Each usually has the signature Cadillac in the driveway.

Meade drives the luxury car and so do most of his followers.

"We actually drove out to find the place where they were living, to find some kids. We found the place where they lived because of roofing, but we couldn't get access to them."

Kiner has tried to reach out to those now in Lake City over the years, with no luck.

But he did manage to help one.

"When I first left the group, some of the people I first got in touch with were my teachers who cared so much about me," says Cutler, who never made it to Lake City.

She divorced Gary Cooke and kept her four daughters in Sioux Falls.

"I have been relieved when everyone who left that group left," says Kiner.

These days, there are no more End Timers in Sioux Falls.

There are only families who hold out hope that their loved ones will one day will leave the group and come back home.

This article was found at:

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/mostpopular/news-article.aspx?storyid= 122720&provider=top


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Islamist sect banned as security threat 'is recruiting teenagers'

Evening Standard - UK   September 19, 2008

by Robert Mendick, Chief Reporter


A militant Islamic sect banned by the Government as a threat to national security has launched a campaign to radicalise teenagers in east London, the Evening Standard can reveal.

Al-Muhajiroun, headed by exiled cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed, tonight begins a recruitment drive targeting young Muslims - despite being outlawed under terror laws introduced in the wake of the 7/7 suicide bomb attacks on London.

Several members of the sect have been jailed in recent years for terror-related offences but there are fears the group is thriving again under a new name.

The group has launched a website, Islam4uk.com.

It is advertising its first youth conference, entitled Muslim Youth: The Spark of the Fire, at a community centre in Walthamstow - close to the homes of six men who face a retrial over a plot to blow up transatlantic airliners. Islam4uk.com is a reincarnation of al-Muhajiroun in all but name. It is headed by Bakri Mohammed, now living in Lebanon, and his deputy Anjem Choudary, its official spokesman.

The two have kept a relatively low profile since the 7 July attacks on London in 2005 but have become emboldened in recent weeks.

The youth conference tonight is being addressed by two notorious extremists, Abu Uzair and Abu Waleed.

Uzair, 40, who was a follower of jailed preacher Abu Hamza at Finsbury Park mosque, sprang to prominence when he praised the 9/11 hijackers as " magnificent" and claimed that if he knew terrorists were planning a suicide attack, he would not alert police.

In an interview with the BBC, Uzair declared: "We don't live in peace with you any more. The banner has been risen for jihad inside the UK, which means it's allowed for bombers to attack."

Waleed, another disciple of Hamza's, was caught on video earlier this year making a joke about Muslims taking backpacks on to the London Underground.

Having laid low for the past three years - since Bakri was forced to live in exile in Lebanon - there is concern al-Muhajiroun is growing in strength.

At a meeting last Thursday - as first reported by the Standard - almost 100 Muslims attended to hear a live video link-up with Bakri.

Andrew Dismore, the Labour MP for Hendon, who first called for al-Muhajiroun to be banned 10 years ago, said today: "This new group needs to be banned. Islam4uk is clearly just another side of the same coin.

"This shows the real difficulty with these splinter groups. The fact they are now getting 100 people to their meetings is very alarming."

This article was found at:

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23557570-details/Islamist+sect+banned+as+security+threat+%27is+recruiting+teenagers%27/article.do

Scientology link at Montessori school alarms parents

CBC - Canada, September 18, 2008


Some parents are upset with a study method introduced by a Montessori school in northwest Toronto, which they say has its roots in the Church of Scientology.

Parents said the owner of the Bambolino Montessori Academy, a private school, told parents last week that it was introducing a new learning method called applied scholastics.

Janice Blundon said parents like her weren't given a choice when the dean at her son's school told them they'd be implementing the study technique.

"I let him know I wasn't familiar with that, and [asked] who was teaching that, and what was it based on. He said it was based on L. Ron Hubbard," she said.

When Blundon found out Hubbard was the founder of the Church of Scientology, she pulled her son out of the school.

"If the sign says Montessori, parents [are] expecting Montessori, then they should be provided a Montessori education. And if they're not, that's fine, but they should be made aware of the situation," said Blundon.

"We have nothing to hide," said Julia Simon, the owner and principal of Bambolino. "Come in openly, anytime in the classroom, observe, grab a chair, sit down, watch the method."

Applied scholastics is also known as study technology. According to the theory, when students don't understand a concept, it's because they've misunderstood a particular word in a sentence. They're told to look at pictures or definitions in a dictionary, until the concept becomes clear.

Critics say it suppresses freedom of thought, a charge the head of Applied Scholastics Canada calls ridiculous.

"The whole point of children understanding is so that they can think for themselves," said Liz Zahari, the director of the organization.

The school also follows a curriculum supplied by the province's Ministry of Education.

Both Simon and the new dean are Scientologists, but say the school doesn't teach Scientology and that applied scholastics is secular.

Of her 120 students, she said, only seven in the senior grades will be using applied scholastics, as the rest are all too young.

"If I plan to implement [applied scholastics] in lower elementary, I would talk to parents one on one and get their consent," said Simon.

This article was found at:

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/09/18/bambolino-school.html

Anonymous Announce 'Operation: School's Closed'

DUBLIN, Ireland — On Saturday, September 13, the collective known as Anonymous will stage a global protest against the Church of Scientology management, its attempts to infiltrate schools, and its internal exploitation of children. Since January, Anonymous has staged seven successful, non-violent protests at over 130 Scientology centres around the world, including the Mission of Dublin Ltd on 62/63 Middle Abbey Street.

Each global protest has a theme intended to raise public awareness of specific abuses. In September, Anonymous turns its attention to the harm caused to children. Since 1970, the Church of Scientology has worked to infiltrate public school systems around the globe through "Applied Scholastics" and the "Study Tech" of Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard. Its own management labels Applied Scholastics a "Church program" and "Scientology-related entity." Scientology also infiltrates schools using seemingly innocent groups like the "Drug Free Marshals", "Youth for Human Rights", and "The Way to Happiness Foundation", in an effort to improve the image of Hubbard and to till the land for his pseudo-scientific doctrines and methods. While the Church has been providing Scientology DVDs and literature to schools for years here in Ireland, this will be the first year that the Church will send Scientologists to give talks to our schools, under the guise of a "Say No to Drugs" campaign.

Study Tech corrupts the most basic principles of most educational systems, representing them in a different manner. This is an effective form of social control over the classroom. Disagreement with the material one is studying is evidence of a misunderstood word (M/U), which must be located and cleared before one can progress. Study Tech includes a convenient blame mechanism. In Scientology, if a concept is not understood, it is always the fault of the student, never that of the teacher or source material.

Study Tech complies with Hubbard’s demands that his ideas not be re-interpreted, or even debated. He puts the emphasis on rote learning (or "duplication" in Scientology) rather than critical interpretation: "A misunderstood word keeps a person from duplicating what the written materials actually say" (Hubbard, "Method 9 Word Clearing The Right Way," HCO Bulletin of 30 January 1973, revised 19 December 1979).[1]

Another principle, that of breaking a subject down into pieces and teaching the simple before the advanced, is called a "gradient" in Scientology. Study Tech teaches that viewing advanced material out of turn can lead to discomfort, and this is used to justify the hiding of controversial materials and encourage deceit such as lies (called an "acceptable truth"), half-truths and misdirection to students and the public.

Children involved in Scientology are treated as adults, their childhood years taken from them. They are often made to work on the organisation's staff from a very young age, for long hours, without weekend breaks, instead of getting a much needed education. An Australian television program, "Today Tonight", aired a segment on Scientology's treatment of children that exposes this further.[2]

The website Ex-Scientology Kids collates the stories of many young men and women of the Church of Scientology. Many of these stories cite long work hours as a child, verbal and emotional abuse, and even sexual abuse. Jenna Miscavige Hill (niece of David Miscavige, the current leader of the Church of Scientology) spoke of her life growing up in Scientology in an interview with ABC's Nightline.[3] Her story describes the mistreatment and intimidation she suffered in the Church's "Sea Org" in her younger years.

Church of Scientology Mission of Dublin Ltd
62/63 Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 1
11:00 September 13th 2008

About Scientology
Scientology is a movement created by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard in the mid-20th century. It emphasizes man’s immortal spirit, reincarnation, and an unscientific method of psychotherapy called "Dianetics". On higher course levels, Scientologists learn that Dianetics can't 'cure' lower level Scientologists as their bodies are possessed by the souls of aliens. Scientology blames psychiatry for the Holocaust and the 9/11 attacks, and works for a 'global obliteration' of mental health.[4] Scientology operates a large number of shell companies and front groups. One such group is the "Scientology Volunteer Ministers", which interferes with disaster relief. The New York City Fire Commissioner has called for Scientology operatives to be prosecuted for fraudulently claiming an FDNY Medal of Valor after 9/11.

About Anonymous
Anonymous is a grassroots collective comprised of ordinary people from all walks of life, from former Scientologists and long-time cult activists, to college students and corporate professionals, all united in recognition of the malign nature of the Church of Scientology, the danger it poses to society, and the necessity of action. The Times has said that "Anonymous has made campaigning sexy for the first time since 1968". In recent months, Anonymous protesters have been stalked and, in the US and UK, threatened with legal action in an attempt to dissuade them from protesting, and silence their criticism. Anonymous remain undaunted, and will continue to confront the cult and its numerous front groups wherever they pose a threat.

Project Chanology is an ongoing campaign against the abuses of the Church of Scientology by the collective known as Anonymous. An info package has been created and is available for download at http://img1.anonbw.com/press/GoldInfoPack.pdf; For more information, see http://www.anonireland.org, http://www.whyweprotest.net , http://www.unfairgame.net or http://www.enturbulation.org

For information on September's campaign, visit http://www.schoolsclosed.org and http://www.studytech.org

To learn about the Church of Scientology's mistreatment and exploitation of children please see http://www.ExScientologyKids.com - a website to support young men and women who have left the Church.

References:
[1] http://www.studytech.org/study_tech1.php
[2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSm2hoqVhyE&fmt=18
[3] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnbQKQAbVlg&fmt=18
[4] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfu7Sr50N7U&fmt=18

Faith schools ‘will hinder fight against terrorism’

The Independent - UK   September 10, 2008

by Steve Connor | Science Editor


The expansion of faith schools in Britain will hinder the fight against terrorism by fostering a belief in separate identity, says a psychologist who has studied the causes of violent religious extremism.

Professor David Canter, director of the Centre for Investigative Psychology at Liverpool University, said: "Faith schools are terribly dangerous. Setting up these divisions based on faith is the starting point for people thinking of themselves as separate, and identifying an 'out-group' that you are not part of.

"Identifying yourself as part of a group with power is a well-established notion in social psychology – social identity. Social identity is in part defined by an out-group distinct from yours."

A division of schools based on religion fostered separate identity between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland, and expansion of faith schools in England and Wales is likely to do the same, Professor Canter said. "It will create the possibility of people considering their significance in terms of religion."

Professor Canter has overseen psychological interviews with 49 convicted terrorists in India. "They seem to [have] got really hooked into a very intensive religious framework early on," Professor Canter said at the British Association's science festival in Liverpool. "Schools with a mixture of faiths seems psychologically more healthy."


This article was found at:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/faith-schools-lsquowill-hinder-fight-against-terrorismrsquo-924501.html

Preventing violent extremism. "We must teach young people how to recognize totalitarian groups."

New Statesman - UK
September 8, 2008

There is no single, or simple, demographic or psychological profile of those likely to be recruited to take part in acts of terror argues academic Alexandra Stein

by Alexandra Stein

We now have a new record: last month Britain’s youngest terrorist was convicted. Hammaad Munshi was only 15 when he was recruited by the then 20 year-old Aabid Khan. Khan, according to the Guardian, had “links to proscribed terrorist groups” including al-Qaeda, and is believed to have visited a terrorist training camp in Pakistan.

A recent MI5 report confirmed what many scholars of terrorist and cultic groups have long known: there is no single, or simple, demographic or psychological profile of those likely to be recruited. Social psychologists such as Philip Zimbardo have for years argued that it is the strong situation of increasing isolation within closed, coercive groups that creates these dangerous behaviors. This is what is critical, not the particular psychology or disposition of the individual.

Further, and contrary to Mark Sageman, a former CIA agent, these are not simply “bunches of guys” who organise themselves into suicidal acts of terror. What we are seeing is the deliberate targeting and recruitment of youth by well-organized internationally-linked extremist groups, as, for instance described by Ed Husain in his book The Islamist, or by Masoud Banisadr in his account of the Iranian Mojahedin.

How then do we protect both the potential victims of these acts, and the young people who are recruited into these extremist groups? We know young people are being recruited in further education colleges and now, like Munshi, at even younger ages. How are we preparing these young people for these assaults on their autonomy and, eventually, on their lives?

Social psychologists, such as Zimbardo, who study extremist groups, cults and coercive persuasion understand that the key to prevention is education. This is education about the structures and processes of totalitarian, ideologically extremist groups.

I recently taught a course on Cults and Totalitarianism to two groups of students at the University of Minnesota in the midwestern US. We covered the social psychology, structures and processes of groups as varied as Lyndon LaRouche’s right-wing political cult, the sexually abusive Children of God, and Pol Pot’s totalitarian and murderous regime in 1970s Cambodia. Several students stated that during the term of the course itself they had cause to use this new information to help either themselves or friends and family to stay away from dangerous groups. Other students asked me why this sort of information hadn't been made available at an earlier stage in their education.

We must teach young people how to recognize totalitarian groups. Drawing on work from Hannah Arendt, Robert Jay Lifton and others, we can start with this five point definition:

• The group is led by a charismatic and authoritarian leader


• It is isolating and has a closed, steeply hierarchical inner structure


• The group adheres to an absolute and exclusive belief system (a total ideology)


• Processes of coercive persuasion are used to isolate followers and control them through a combined dynamic of “love” and fear


• Followers are exploited

These groups succeed because they operate based on universal human (and usually adaptive) responses of people seeking comfort and connection when afraid. The process unfolds by isolating recruits from prior sources of comfort, establishing the group as the new safe haven, and then instilling fear to create what is known as a trauma bond. This is now well-understood by social psychologists. It can be taught in interesting and understandable ways to young people.

We must take a strategic view to introduce this into the curriculum. Educators must collaborate with experts in this field to train teachers in both the classic social-psychological studies as well as the most up-to-date research available and work to develop materials and curricula for classrooms at various age levels.

For over 60 years social scientists have been developing a broad knowledge base about these fundamental human vulnerabilities and the groups and situations that exploit them. In her 1987 volume, Prisons we choose to live inside, nobel laureate Doris Lessing argued for disseminating this knowledge to our children in order to challenge our “most primitive and instinctive reactions” -- those reactions which so often have led us to act against our own interests and our own survival. We cannot wait any longer to take this on.

Perhaps then a future 15-year-old – one who has had some basic education in the structures, processes and dangers of totalitarian groups – will be able to recognize and turn away from a recruiter who promises liberation and glory but who will deliver only suicidal sacrifice.

Alexandra Stein is visiting lecturer, Birkbeck, Faculty of Lifelong Learning

This article was found at:

http://newstatesman.com/international-politics/2008/09/groups-recruited-social-young

Satanic cult linked to suicides of two girls

Sowetan - South Africa
August 15, 2008

by Katlego Moeng

Parents of two schoolgirls who committed suicide in Soweto are worried after one of them left a note indicating she was involved with a satanic cult.




“I am tired of this satanism. I can’t leave them, so I am hanging myself,” the note left by Ntombikayise Tshabalala read.
The 17-year-old girl killed herself on Tuesday afternoon.
Yesterday her young neighbour Delisile Mbhadane, 12, also hanged herself.
She had asked her mother whether she had heard of Ntombikayise killing herself and about her note.
Her mother, Busisiwe Mbhadane, told Sowetan that her daughter asked her: “Mother, what would you do if I hanged myself?”
Mbhadane answered that she would give her a hiding.

The girls lived 20metres apart in Zola 2, Soweto.



Tshabalala was a Grade 10 pupil at Lavela Secondary School while Mbhadane was in Grade 5 at Zola Higher Primary School.


Nomakhosi Tshabalala, Ntombikayise’s mother, said: “I cannot explain what I am feeling. I am trying to be strong for my other two kids.


“Ntombikayise has mentioned this satanism church before. We never took her seriously.
“She came home from school as usual on Tuesday and I sent her to the shops.
“When she came back she went straight to her room.”

Tshabalala said 20 minutes later when they checked she was hanging by her shoelaces from an electrical bar on the wall.


Mbhadane’s daughter was found hanging by a tie in a friend’s shack a few streets away from home.

“It baffles me. Delisile was a happy child. She loved playing and dancing,” she said.



The deaths of the two girls have caused a stir in the community and speculation is rife that a ring recruiting the youth to the cult is operating in the area.
Community members and Tshabalala said they know of people in this ring.



Police inspector Kay Makhubela said: “This is a serious concern to us.
“We don’t know why two youngsters would kill themselves within such a short space of time .


“We are investigating and an inquest docket has been opened,” Makhubela said.
This article was found at:
http://www.sowetan.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=822662

German Police Raids Nazi Youth Camp

Deutsche Welle - August 12, 2008

A youth camp run by a neo-Nazi organization is broken up by police near Rostock in northern Germany. Authorities said the children were being instilled with Nazi propaganda under the guise of a sleep-away camp.

Police have returned 39 teenagers and children who were attending a camp run by a neo-Nazi youth organization to their homes. The group that ran the camp, the Heimattreuer Deutsche Jugend (HDJ) had described it as a youth adventure holiday.

The police raid uncovered racist propaganda and Nazi material, including tea towels with swastikas on them and maps showing Europe and Germany with pre-1918 borders.

The camp was in an isolated spot in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pommerania, down a concrete road, surrounded by forest. From the outside it looked just like any other summer camp. Authorities there were tipped off to the camps true intentions by some locals, said Volker Werner, spokesman for the Rostock police, who took charge of the investigation.

After receiving a search warrant, police and youth authorities entered the camp. In addition to the 39 campers, there were also a dozen adults. The camp's alleged leader was a 24-year-old from the town of Rottenberg in the southern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.

The organization Network Against Nazis believes that camp was designed to bring whole families over to the right wing movement. The children, who came from all over Germany, said they had permission from their parents to take part in the camp.

Neo-Nazis turning increasingly violent

The head of Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Joerg Ziercke, told the German daily Tagesspiegel neo-Nazis were adopting increasingly violent tactics. Ziercke said neo-Nazis were attacking left-wingers and police officers with an aggression that can be seen as a change in strategy.

"Before, neo-Nazis largely avoided violence for tactical reasons, but this no longer appears to be the case," he added.

Ziercke said the riots on May 1 in Hamburg were an example of the new strategy. Clashes erupted in Hamburg when 6,000 people took to the streets to protest against a march involving some 1,500 supporters of the far-right NPD party. Twenty police officers were hurt and some 60 people were arrested.

Arson attacks by right-wing groups were also on the rise, according to Ziercke. There were some 15 incidents reported in the first five months of 2008 - five times as many as in the same period last year.

This article was found at:

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3555325,00.html

Scientology Cult Front Group Holds Recruiting Event for NYC Children

San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center
August 6, 2008

by Dr. Lilly von Marcab


A new Scientology cult press release describes its efforts to recruit New York City schoolchildren by means of a seemingly benign front group.

The front group, called "Drug Free Marshals," claims to "mobilize schoolchildren to combat drug abuse." In reality, the program, with seemingly altruistic goals, is one of several dozen used by the cult as a means to make money, obtain a "religious" reputation, and recruit new Scientologists. Children are given copies of Scientology pamphlets such as "The Way to Happiness," and are made familiar with the cult's imagery and elaborate, fascistic pageantry.

The press release, one of dozens released by the cult each month, describes a group of the victimized children being "honored" at a ceremony in Scientology's New York offices. Interestingly, while the press release is predictably filled with glowing words from Scientologists, there are no such quotations from community leaders, or from legitimate anti-drug organizations.

The use of children in this public relations effort is the more ironic in view of Scientology's institutionalized child abuse and neglect.

According to an article in the San Jose Mercury News, the front group solicits endorsements from politicians, police and community leaders. If these people subsequently learn that "Drug Free Marshals" is a Scientology spin-off, they often feel as though they had been tricked. Palo Alto Mayor Dick Rosenbaum felt ambushed: "Four cute little girls came and wanted me to be a `Drug Free Marshal' so I said, `Sure.' . . . It's hard not to be against drugs… I surely do not endorse Scientology and I wouldn't have done it if I thought it would be used for publicity purposes.''

Another interesting aspect of the press release is that it quotes NYC Scientology honcho John Carmichael. In May, 2008, Carmichael verbally threatened a group of peaceful protestors, and then made a bizarre claim as he leaned in for emphasis: "I smell pussy."

Recently another serious scandal has come to light in regard to Scientology's New York City operations. At a ceremony to dedicate the re-opening of the NYC Scientology building, a prominent Scientologist named Stephan Hittman, who had worked briefly at the New York Fire Department in a minor administrative job, declared himself to be an "Honorary Commissioner" of the Fire Department. In that phony role, he made a speech and bestowed upon the cult the New York Fire Department's "Medal of Valor," for the cult's supposed heroic actions at "Ground Zero" after 9/11. Scientology shamelessly trumpets this "award" on many of its web sites, despite the fact that the Medal of Valor is only ever awarded posthumously to firefighters who have perished in the line of duty.

See also:

Scientology cult press release

http://www.pr-inside.com/church-of-scientology-of-new-york-r740379.htm


Scientology cult uses dozens of front groups to make money and recruit followers

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/06/05/18504549.php


San Jose Mercury News: Scientology Funding a Surprise to Many "Drug Free Marshals"

http://www.lermanet.com/scientologynews/sjmercury-1997.htm


Fascist Spectacle: The Aesthetics of Power in Mussolini's Italy

http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=187181053364863


Scientology "Study Tech": Start the brainwashing early

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/07/03/18513230.php


Scientology cult's "Sea Org": Tax-exempt child abuse, coerced abortions, internal prisons

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/05/25/18502098.php


Village Voice: NY Scientology Chief: "I Smell Pussy."

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2008/05/ny_scientology.php


Scientology Cult Fraudulently Claims "Medal of Valor" from New York Fire Department

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/07/19/18517551.php


Scientology Critical Directory

http://www.xenu-directory.net


Stop Scientology Abuses

http://www.youfoundthecard.com


Help us to systematically dismantle the cult and criminal racket of Scientology

http://www.enturbulation.org

http://www.youfoundthecard.com


This article was found at:


http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/08/06/18523347.php

Hillsong accused of closet zealotry

Brisbane Times - July 29, 2008

by Paul Bibby

STUDENTS opting out of scripture classes at a Sydney high school are being invited to attend a personal development program run by the Hillsong Church where they are hearing personal testimonials from church members, a teacher at the school says.
The teacher's federation representative for Cheltenham Girls High, Doug Williamson, said non-scripture students at the school were being invited to join the Shine program, where they were exposed to religious content.
Hillsong Church says Shine is non-religious and the volunteers who conduct the program do not evangelise, but Mr Williamson said children had been told stories about finding religion.
"My understanding is that on a number of occasions the facilitators have spoken about their own lives and how they came to be members of the Hillsong Church," Mr Williamson said. "It is inappropriate for students to be subjected to this kind of closet evangelism."
Speaking through the NSW Department of Education's media unit, the school's principal, Susan Marshall, told Fairfax Media all parents were informed the Shine program was run by Hillsong and had to sign a permission slip.
She said there was no evidence to suggest testimonials were provided during the program and that "if they were, the program would be terminated".
But Mr Williamson said he believed many parents were not fully aware of what the classes involved, and that without constant monitoring, there was "no way to know exactly what's going on".
A parent from another Sydney school said students at her child's school were automatically enrolled in the Shine program if they chose not to attend scripture.
"When you tick the box [for non-scripture] you are automatically told that your child will be enrolled in Shine," the parent said. "It appears that they don't have enough teachers to supervise the kids if they don't do scripture, so they just bung them in Shine. It's an alarming situation because most of the mums and dads don't even know it's happening."
The NSW Greens yesterday called for Shine to be suspended while allegations that it put an unhealthy and inappropriate emphasis on physical appearance were investigated. It joined the NSW Federation of Parents and Citizens in expressing concern that the program could damage the self-esteem of the at-risk girls it purported to help.
Hillsong Citycare said grooming was an aspect of the program but not its main focus.
This article was found at:
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/national/hillsong-accused-of-closet-zealotry/2008/07/28/
1217097182682.html

Hillsong hits schools with beauty gospel

Sydney Morning Herald - July 26, 2008

by Paul Bibby

EVERY Tuesday afternoon during the first term at Matraville Sports High School, a group of young women take part in classes intended to boost their self-esteem. Some have personal problems, others have behavioural issues, while a few simply go because their friends do.
For the next two hours they learn a range of skills including how to put on make-up, do their hair and nails, and walk with books balanced on their heads.
The program, called Shine, was created by the Hillsong Church. It is being run in at least 20 NSW public schools, numerous small community organisations and within the juvenile justice system.
Hillsong describes Shine as a "practical, life-equipping, values-based course" and its website is awash with glowing testimonials from young women whose lives have been improved by learning about "being a good friend" and "learning about myself".
But serious concerns have been raised by teachers, adolescent developmental experts and parents groups. They say the program is inappropriate for troubled young women, that the under-qualified facilitators are reinforcing gender stereotypes. and that some parents have not been properly informed.
Shine was originally developed by the CityCare arm of Hillsong as an explicitly religious program. The church says it is now "community-based, not religious-based" but, as recently as 2005, promotional material referred to young women's "created uniqueness".
"Through skin care, natural make-up, hair care, nail care girls discover their value and created uniqueness," the material says.
The term has been omitted from more recent material but the beauty classes remain, as do etiquette and deportment lessons.
The program has set alarm bells ringing for psychologists such as Dianna Kenny, an adolescent development expert at the University of Sydney. "They are essentially saying you are not appropriate as you are and we're going to show you how to be appropriate," Professor Kenny said.
"We don't have control of our physical characteristics. To emphasise that takes away from the autonomy of people as individual human beings. That runs completely contrary to what we know about adolescent development.
"We do want our young people to feel good about themselves, but what [they] need is help from professional counsellors."
Most of the facilitators who deliver Shine in Sydney classrooms have no university counselling qualifications, although Hillsong says they must have some qualifications or experience.

In some schools, Matraville Sports High included, the program is run by careers or physical education teachers. At other schools, including Alexandria Park, Glenwood and Cheltenham Girls, it is run by young recruits from Hillsong's leadership college.
Schools pay Hillsong to run the program, with parents asked to pay for books and materials such as hair spray and make-up.
"Over the last two or three years teachers have been coming to us with concerns about Shine," said the president of the Hills Teachers Association, Sui-Linn White. "It is the gender stereotypes that they are imposing. The focus on skin care, nail care, hair care - it objectifies women … These are things women fought against for centuries - they've got no place in a public school."
One teacher from a Hills district school, who asked not to be named, said Shine facilitators had run activities that undermined other teachers. "They were asking the kids to talk about which of the teachers they didn't like."
He said parents may not have been properly informed. "I don't know whether the parents, knowing what we know now, would have put their kids in. I don't know whether the school would have hired them in the first place."
Parents groups from Queensland and the Northern Territory have complained that their schools have tried to sneak Shine in almost unnoticed.
"In our view, this is a way of getting religion into schools through subterranean means," said one parent, Hugh Wilson. "The principal or the chaplain decides it's a good idea and, next thing you know, your kids are being taught about make-up by the Hillsong Church."
The church says parents have been overwhelmingly supportive of the program.
This article was found at:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/hillsongs-beauty-gospel/2008/07/25/1216492732905.html?page=
fullpage#contentSwap1