Cult News

You would think that Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has enough on his plate prosecuting polygamists, but apparently the AG wants to involve himself with another group frequently called a “cult.”

Shurtleff has seemingly decided to throw in with Scientology, or to be more precise toss his state’s rescue workers into a Scientology-linked program co-founded and promoted by Tom Cruise.

This week Shurtleff invited representatives from the so-called “New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project” to come to Utah and hold forth before a gathering that included police chiefs, narcotics officers and firefighters reported the Desert News.

But neither Tom Cruise nor his controversial church appears willing to cough up the cash to pay for Utah’s rescue workers to receive their “detoxification.”

Instead, it seems the state’s business community is expected to pick up the tab, which reportedly runs about $5,200.00 per person.

Shurtleff says he wants to raise the money through “corporate sponsors” so police and firefighters from Utah can attend Cruise’s beloved program in New York.

“I wouldn’t be involved in any way if I thought it was a Scientology recruitment program,” the AG said.

However, as CultNews has reported before the centerpiece of the controversial program is something called the “purification rundown,” which is a religious ritual amongst Scientologists.

Scientology seems to think its rundown, which includes ingesting cooking oil, taking large does of niacin and going through a regimen of saunas, somehow is a cure for almost anything.

As MSNBC recently reported sitcom star and Scientologist Leah Remini told Jennifer Lopez that this same “cleansing process” would help her to get pregnant. And the same ritual rundown is marketed through various Scientology-linked programs such as Criminon and Narconon, as a means to help stop almost anything from crime to substance abuse.

However, the basis for the rundown is the incredible and unproven claim made by Sci-fi writer turned religious revelator L. Ron Hubbard, that toxins remain in the fatty tissue of the body indefinitely unless you sweat them out through the process he concocted.

But what did Hubbard know about science other than science fiction?

Apparently not much.

Doctors and researchers have dismissed his rundown as little more than quackery based upon pseudo-science.

Attorney General Shurtleff seems ready to submit Utah’s firefighters to Hubbard’s specious cure, despite the fact that the same program was officially dumped by FDNY. The New York Fire Department’s chief medical officer Dr. Kerry Kelly told the New York Times that there is no “objective evidence” to support its bizarre claims that subjects somehow sweat out toxins.

And in Ireland Professor Michael Ryan, head of a university pharmacology department, said the purification rundown is “not supported by scientific facts” and “not medically safe” reported the Irish Times.

Never mind.

It appears that Utah’s Attorney General has been sold on Hubbardism and taken in by Scientology.

Francis Schuckardt, a man that many considered a “cult leader,” died last month. He led a group called the “Tridentine Latin Rite Church (TLRC),” in the Seattle area.

Schuckardt was accused of embezzlement, sexually abusing children and drug addiction. He died from cancer in early November.

A Web site run by a loyal follower reads, “On November 5, 2006, His Excellency, the Most Reverend Bishop Francis K. Maria Schuckardt of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, departed this life and entered into eternity.”

Schuckardt was never recognized as a “bishop” by the Roman Catholic Church and was actually a pre-seminary dropout that was never ordained as a priest.

Schuckardt’s following reached its peak in the late 1970s when the TLRC bought a retreat for $1.5 million dollars. A critic later said that the group had become little more than “a personal cult of Francis Schuckardt and cannot call itself Catholic.”

By the time of his death there were few remaining followers and the group had dwindled to merely a few dozen diehards.

Many left the Schuckardt group citing harsh treatment and punishments imposed upon them by the “bishop.”

Punitive measures used within the group included such things as kneeling during meals or devotees walking on knees in the snow. Members might be forbidden to talk for days at a time. One girl’s head was shaved for simply speaking to a boy. TLRC children were routinely and severely beaten.

In 1984 some of Schuckardt’s followers claimed that he sexually abused them.

It was after these allegations arose that the “bishop” chose to flee rather than face his accusers. Schuckardt left with a core group of loyalists and $250,000 in cash.

The law caught up with him in California in 1987. A swat team raided Schuckardt’s house and found him holed up with several guns, $75,000 in cash, gold coins, silver ingots, German marks, Swiss francs, Canadian dollars, and records were discovered from more than a dozen bank accounts around the world. He also had a batch of prescription painkillers.

In October 1989, Schuckardt agreed to enter drug rehabilitation in exchange for dismissal of the charges.

Eventually the wandering “bishop” led his remaining flock back to Washington, where they settled in the Seattle area.

The TLRC drew attention in 2002 when two of its “nuns” were raped in Southern Oregon while fund-raising for the group.  One was strangled with her rosary beads.

Three years later in 2005 the TLRC was once again in the news when a 78-year-old woman was taken from the group by her family that claimed she had been “brainwashed” by Schuckardt. The woman’s adult children told Denver News 9 that their mother had abandoned home and husband in 1992 to live with the TLRC in Washington state and that they had not seen her for years. The woman later returned to the group.

During 2005 numerous news reports detaled sexual abuse allegations regarding the TLRC. The mother of a 13-year-old boy said her son was repeatedly raped by group members. Later in 2006 another boy made similar charges regarding abuse within the TLRC.

Steven Kyle Kirkland and Donovan Patrick Olsen, both TLRC members, were charged in October.

Kirkland was charged with two counts of first-degree child rape. Olsen with one count of first-degree child molestation and one count of second-degree child molestation.

Upon his death Francis Schuckardt’s followers ceremoniously dressed him in ornate robes and accoutrements befitting of a “bishop” for his final viewing in an open coffin.

However, Schuckardt was a notorious and evil man, known for living a life largely based upon deceit and the shameless exploitation of others. He leaves behind a legacy of infamy, wreaked lives, broken families and raped children. 

Carol Seidman, the self-proclaimed leader of the seminar-selling group known as the “Miracle of Love,” claims she speaks for a “higher power.”

Seidman’s followers call her “Kalindi La Gourasana.”

However, a local newspaper reporting about the group named it simply the “Kalindi Cult.”

Ms. Seidman, once the sidekick of self-styled “channeler” David Swanson, says that she has been channeling his power since her mentor’s death some years ago.

Well, that’s what Kalindi’s followers believe.

And Seidman is good at gathering followers, especially rich ones.

The group largely based in San Diego promotes “The Intensive,” which is an introductory six-day Miracle of Love seminar.

During the days of mass marathon training there is “screaming and crying…dancing and laughter. Seminar participants are hugged, praised, coddled and cradled. Their brains flood with endorphins; they feel purged, released, euphoric. Hearts fill with love for everyone in the room…they are experiencing…God’s energy” reported San Diego City Beat. 

Some say it’s more like “brainwashing.”

Has Kalindi concocted a formula based upon older more established seminars such as the Forum and added a dash of “Ms. Maharishi“?

CultNews recently received YouTube links that show Seidman performing for her faithful.

In one clip the 52-year-old becomes nostalgic, and dances to 1960s pop music after telling followers that her version of enlightenment doesn’t prohibit “sex,” “hamburgers” or “rock-n-roll.”

If you want to see this middle-aged guru shake her tailfeathers click here.

In another clip Seidman is somewhat less of a joke.

She eerily warns seminar attendees that in order to expose the “beautiful gem” inside of them they may have to rub away some “evil.”

To see Seidman holding forth about polishing off the “darkness” click here.

Miracle of Love is registered as a “nonprofit.”

However, whether it’s dancing carelessly festooned in feathers or pontificating comfortably from her overstuffed throne, Seidman seems to be doing well.

Miracle of Love is largely based in San Diego and at least one “Intensive” was held in the La Jolla Marriott Hotel.

Kalindi likes to keep her followers carefully organized within “group houses,” supervised by appointed “spiritual leaders.”

Interestingly, one California man ended up less than enlightened. He was sentenced to a year in jail over a kidnap plot that reportedly centered on recovering $3.8 million lost by members of the group.

It appears dancing Kalindi is swinging pretty big assets.

Note: Don’t be surprised if these clips are quickly removed from YouTube subsequent to this report, point and click soon before they are gone.

Tonight the Los Angeles affiliate of Fox News will broadcast a deeply disturbing report about a “cult” that flogs its own members publicly as penance after a bizarre mock trial.

The Fox News 11 report tonight about the group called “Jesus Christians” will air at 10 PM on the West Coast exclusively in the greater Los Angeles area.

American-born Dave McKay, a self-styled holy man that has been called a “cult leader,” created “Jesus Christians” after leaving the group “Children of God,” a notorious “sex cult” known for sexually abusing children and sending its female members out to raise money as “hookers for Christ.”

The so-called “Jesus Christians” is a much smaller group of less than a hundred, but McKay has managed to grab attention around the world through sensational stunts, such as encouraging his followers to give up a kidney as an organ transplant to total strangers.

The British press accordingly has called “Jesus Christians” the “kidney cult.”

60-year-old McKay seems to have an insatiable desire for attention and will apparently do almost anything to feed his ego.

The Fox News report about “Jesus Christians” tonight includes coverage of its staged mock trial, which culminates in the sentence carried out of public fogging.

The trial features a family that struggled to free a teenage son from McKay’s influence.

“Jesus Christians” has a history of recruiting minor children, a practice that has gotten the group into serious trouble.

McKay appears to be following in the footsteps of Claude Vorilhon known as “Rael,” leader of the “Raelians,” another group with a penchant for staging publicity stunts to garner attention for its leader.

The often-ridiculous Raelians are best known as the “clone cult,” due to the claim that they had somehow cloned the first human. A story that got the group worldwide attention, but turned out to be little more than a joke.

However, former members of the “Jesus Christians” see McKay as anything but amusing and say they were manipulated and exploited within the group some now consider a “cult.”

Some former members have been posting comments about the group on an open forum message board provided by the Ross Institute of New Jersey, which is the sponsor of CultNews.

McKay himself, endlessly concerned about his public image, has at times posted at the board too.

One thread at this forum is titled “Australian Cult” and has been open for more than a year, with posts added as recently as today. 

Other threads discuss the recent public whippings and various other egocentric antics of the man labeled a “sick cult leader” in California. 

McKay apparently planned the beatings for months, which are included in the report tonight on Fox 11.

This drama can be seen as little more than retaliation against the family in Los Angeles that opposed him. Their teenage son, an outstanding student and athlete, deserted his goals and family to follow McKay.

Perhaps the only visibly positive portion of the Fox 11 report tonight, is that Dave McKay is one of those being beaten, a man that many feel deserves some punishment for the many people he has hurt. 

The Fox 11 report is a unique and startling inside look at one of the most bizarre and potentially dangerous “cults” in the world today. A compelling lesson about how controlling such groups can be, which is probably not quite the message McKay imagined or wanted.

CultNews doubts that anyone can beat some sense into Dave McKay, but this news event underscores the damage that can be done to individuals and families at times, “in the name of God.”

Critics have called Chuck Anderson the founder of “Endeavor Academy” a “cult” leader, but his followers prefer the moniker “Master Teacher” (MT).

Now it seems that this strange self-proclaimed Wisconsin “miracle worker,” reportedly a retired real estate broker and rehabilitated alcoholic originally from Chicago, wants to be a regular on the “New Age” lecture circuit.

That is, with a little boost from pop guru Deepak Chopra.

Anderson is featured along with Chopra for the coming “World Wellness Weekend” at the San Jose Civic Center and Convention Center in California next week.

MT is advertised as “a fully illuminated mind” that will “assist and accelerate the experience of resurrection and enlightenment.”

However, in December of 1999 CBS “48 Hours” ran a not so flattering report about Chuck Anderson. “The Academy: Miracle or Cult?” was the blurb that the network used to describe its investigative piece.

“At the Endeavor Academy, almost all decisions are made by Anderson,” one of MT’s students told CBS.

The Endeavor Academy was once known as “God’s Country Place” and according to a 1991 report filed by Kalie Picone MT “promises that he will enlighten everyone that follows him, and he promises that it will happen soon. He says only his followers are on the list to ‘get out of here’ and go home with him. They plan to ‘flash out’ of here together.”

Sounds eerily like the California cult known as “Heaven’s Gate” led by Marshall Applewhite, who offered his students the “Last chance to advance beyond human” and that he would take them to “the true Kingdom of God.” When his followers commited suicide in 1997 the group believed that they would “flash out of here together.”

Endeavor Academy was linked to suicide in Australia.

One former student Ian Hamilton wrote a book about his days with the group titled “Awake among the Sleeping,” which raised serious questions about whether MT is leading his pupils to “enlightenment” or on “a road to nowhere.”

What does it mean to become “enlightened” according to Anderson?

Well, Picone says she found out that “to be enlightened, [students] had to make a commitment to MT and give up everything. And that “they know they are enlightened” when “they recognize who MT really is.”

And who is Chuck Anderson really?

Picone says she was told that MT didn’t like to appear in public, give interviews or talk to anyone on the phone, because “people will try to kill the Christ if they know where He is.”

“The Christ”?

Wasn’t it David Koresh that was supposed to be the “Lamb of God”?

MT teaches from an essentially benign book “A Course in Miracles” (ACIM), but not everyone that believes the book agrees with Anderson.

ACIM is a work supposedly authored by “Christ” as “channeled” by Helen Schucman.

Those that dispute MT’s interpretation of ACIM include Kenneth Wapnick of the Foundation for a Course in Miracles (FACIM), who worked closely with Schucman.

So why would the controversial leader of a group called “an insidious and destructive cult that is responsible for the mental breakdown of some of its members” be featured at a “Wellness Weekend”?

And why would someone as media savvy as Deepak Chopra want to share billing with someone like Anderson?

“Wellness Weekend” star Chopra is being promoted as one of the “top 100 icons of the 20th Century” and he will deliver the keynote address November 3rd at the San Jose Civic Auditorium to launch the event.

Chopra who is both medical doctor and pop culture philosopher has become well known on public television.

Sponsors for the “Wellness Weekend” include KTEH/KCAH Public Broadcasting, KBAY Radio and the San Jose Mercury News.

At the top of the sponsors list is “A Course in Miracles International,” which is an organization controlled by Chuck Anderson and his followers. At its Web site the weekend event is touted as an opportunity to see “Master Teacher and Deepak Chopra.”

“An Invitation to A Great Experiment” features two of Anderson’s devotees explaining how he transmits the truth that there “is no world.” This seems to be accomplished through what the group calls “mind training.”

Apparently Anderson and his followers believe he’s the real star and should get top billing, even though Chopra is the big draw at the coming California event. And they seem to have their own agenda as can be seen through another video “Purpose Of This Gathering.” 

It also appears that MT no longer fears facing the public outside of his academy and will talk to anyone, that is if they pay the price of admission to the “World Wellness Weekend.”

CultNews thinks that Deepak Chopra, M.D. might consider giving MT a checkup.

If there is a movement concerning spending money foolishly on frivolous lawsuits Keith Raniere of Albany, New York may well be its “vanguard.”

Raniere who runs a seminar-selling company called NXIVM (pronounced nexium, like the “purple pill” for acid reflux), insists that his students call him “Vanguard.”

Mr. Raniere is the former head of “Consumer Buyline,” a multi-level marketing scheme that went bust in the 1990s.

But this business failure doesn’t seem to have taught him much.

Consumer Buyline went broke over litigation.

It almost seems that Keith Raniere believes he can sue his way to success.

Maybe that’s what students (called “Espians”) learn through his “Executive Success Programs” (ESP)

Raniere has sued Dr. John Hochman twice, a prominent California cult expert, over his report “A Forensic Psychiatrist Evaluates ESP (Executive Success Programs).”

That report was published by the Ross Institute of New Jersey (RI), the sponsor of CultNews.

First, Raniere through NXIVM sued Hochman in New York, but when that lawsuit was dismissed due to venue (location), the ever vigilant and litigious “Vanguard” waited awhile and then filed again in California.

The preposterous litigation claimed among other things, that the psychiatrist had somehow violated Raniere’s “trade secrets” by quoting his writings in a critique of ESP programs.

The doctor’s conclusions contained in the report were not very flattering.

Hochman wrote, “The ESP Intensive appears to be a gateway that encourages participants to attend further training sessions or seminars, and get friends and family to do the same. In a general sense, the goal is integration of individuals into a subculture – however, a particular kind of subculture. It is a kingdom of sorts, ruled by a Vanguard, who writes his own dictionary of the English language, has his own moral code, and the ability to generate taxes on subjects by having them participate in his seminars. It is a kingdom with no physical borders, but with psychological borders – influencing how his subjects spend their time, socialize, and think. Increasing involvement serves to increasingly distance participants from their relationships in a manner that is slow and subtle, and thus not at all obvious to them.”

It didn’t take long for the hammer to fall yet again in court regarding Raniere’s latest litigation.

CultNews has learned that late last month California federal Judge Manuel L. Real dismissed the lawsuit filed against Dr. Hochman with prejudice, which means it cannot be filed again.

In short order the judge signed an order pulling the plug on Raniere’s legal effort.

So has the self-proclaimed “Vanguard” finally “seen the light” through this recent ruling in sunny California?

No.

Per his persistent pattern of behavior, Mr. Raniere has filed an appeal.

Readers of CultNews may recall that this is exactly what “Vanguard” did when he lost in his effort to purge Dr. Hochman’s and other critical articles from the RI database through a requested injunction.

When Raniere was denied his injunction request, he appealed unsuccessfully all the way to the United States Supreme Court.

Losing apparently means nothing to Keith Raniere.

When it comes to wasting money foolishly on frivolous litigation, “Vanguard” may indeed be a leader.

Raniere’s motto seems to be, “if first you don’t succeed, lose, lose again.”

Some might wonder, how a former failed businessman like Keith Raniere can afford all the legal fees associated with such lengthy litigation?

The answer appears to be by using other people’s money.

That is, cash coughed up by the wealthy members of that “subculture” known as NXIVM.

Scientology, an organization that is well known for its harassment lawsuits, historically set the precedent for such litigation. The strategy seemed to be that it didn’t matter if the controversial church won, just as long as legal expenses bled its perceived enemies.

However, things are not working that way for NXIVM and “Vanguard.”

The University of California is paying John Hochman’s legal bills. And the Ross Institute has received generous pro bono legal help from noted attorneys Douglas Brooks and Thomas Gleason.

And in a recent development one of the most prestigious law firms in New Jersey, Lowenstein Sandler has joined in, also providing help pro bono.

Lowenstein Sandler is the distinguished law firm that defended RI in a harassment lawsuit filed by another seminar-selling company called Landmark Education.

Lowenstein Sandler attorneys Peter Skolnik and Michael Norwick lawyered Landmark into a corner, which led to its General Counsel Art Schreiber ordering a “strategic retreat,” deciding it was better to dismiss the lawsuit than go on.

It is doubtful that the self-proclaimed “Vanguard” will do the same.

Keith Raniere, who says he’s a “genius,” apparently hasn’t quite figured out the futility of his legal spending spree.

By the way, CultNews has also learned that Raniere’s “top dog” at NXIVM Nancy Salzman, a registered nurse who prefers to be called “Prefect,” has opened yet another seminar-selling business called “Jness.”

The company’s Web site says that Jness is based upon “the principle that is not male” and that “if we, the human race, are to come into a new age, it will be necessary for the old balance of principles to change.”

Is nurse Nancy serious, or is this just pretentious rhetoric from “Prefect”?

As reported by the Ellsworth American a purported “cult” called the “Gentle Wind Project” (GWP) has been “blown away” by Maine’s top law enforcer.

Maine’s motto is “Dirigo”, which means “I lead” and its Attorney General (AG) Steven Rowe has led the way for law enforcement, by shutting down GWP in his state.

Former 17-year GWP members and Maine residents Judy Garvey and Jim Bergin first led the way by exposing the organization through their Web site “Wind of Changes,” which shared information about the group founded by John D. Miller and his companion Mary E. “Moe” Miller.

GWP sells so-called “healing instruments” based upon designs that allegedly came from the “Spirit World” via telepathic impressions received by John Miller

GWP has been called a “cult.”

Suggested donations for these “instruments,” which look more like plastic cards and hockey pucks than anything technological, range from $250 to $7,800.

Maine’s AG filed a lawsuit against GWP for both unlawful mismanagement of charitable funds and making deceptive health claims about its paraphernalia.

Rather than go forward and take their chances in court the Millers chose instead to settle, but the terms of that settlement were withering and will likely be devastating to GWP.

According to a published consent decree released this week by the AG, GWP has “agreed to pay civil penalties and costs and to an injunction that prohibits them from making certain health and research claims about the ‘healing instruments’ or from serving as fiduciaries or advisors for any other Maine nonprofit. The parties have also agreed that GWP will be dissolved, and its remaining assets distributed by the Attorney General as restitution to consumers who purchased a ‘healing instrument’ since 2003 and to a Maine charity whose charitable mission is to provide services to those with mental health disabilities.”

Rowe told the press that GWP “damaged the public’s trust and it should not be allowed to continue.”

The Millers must pay civil penalties of $20,000 for violations of the state’s Unfair Trade Practices Act. And GWP’s directors agreed to pay the $30,000 cost of investigating the group and related attorney’s fees.

Included in the agreed upon liquidation of GWP’s assets is a building in Kittery, Maine assessed at $440,500, and another property in Durham, assessed at $879,500.

The Millers attempted to put their own spin on the settlement.

In a public statement Mary Miller claimed, “People around the globe” would continue to benefit from the “healing instruments” GWP sells.

Miller also claimed that GWP directors were “the victims of…classic cyber-smear campaigning.”

The “campaigning” she refers to was essentially the information posted through the Internet by Judy Garvey and Jim Bergin. The couple launched their Web site as an effort to inform the general public and also GWP’s “instrument keepers” about what they knew regarding the practices of the group and its leaders. That effort ultimately paved the way for further investigation, which led to the current shutdown.

Garvey/Bergin were sued by GWP in an apparent attempt to silence them, but the couple stood firm and fought the Millers through the courts in a battle that began in 2004.

Other Internet sites that provided information about “cults” were also either threatened with legal action or sued by GWP for posting information about the group.

Some settled quickly by deleting that information, while others stood firm.

The Ross Institute of New Jersey (RI), sponsor of CultNews, was threatened and then included in the Garvey/Bergin lawsuit after refusing to remove a single link to the Wind of Changes Web site and a brief remark posted at “Flaming Websites” in response to allegations made by the Millers.

RI was dismissed from the GWP litigation last year.

Responding to the settlement announced this week Judy Garvey told the press, “It shows that we were telling the truth,” reported Foster’s Sunday Citizen.

Garvey and Bergin’s lawyer Jerroll Crouter said, “Now we see the Gentle Wind Project has admitted that claims about the healing instruments are false. The damage to their reputation was caused by their own misrepresentations. We believe the defamation claims should be dismissed.”

Mary Miller seemingly is clinging to the idea that GWP will somehow continue its litigation against Garvey/Bergin.

However, the Miller’s lawyer Daniel Rosenthal of Verrill Dana seems to have other ideas. A motion has been filed by the Portland law firm to vacate the case as counsel, and a reliable source has told CultNews this was probably the result of the Millers not paying their legal bills.

Apparently Verrill Dana may become one of those standing in line for money dispersed by the AG through the liquidation of GWP assets.

Mary Miller boasted that GWP would continue, albeit outside the state of Maine, reported the Portland Press Herald.

“We have a very large group of volunteers all around the world,” she said.

Assistant Attorney General Carolyn Silsby lamented, “We would love to see Gentle Wind stop making their claims everywhere, but we can only enforce the laws of the state of Maine.”

Perhaps with Maine leading the way other state attorney generals will follow suit through similar actions across the United States, especially given the admissions the Millers have made in the consent decree, which is now a matter of public record.

According to the AG of Maine GWP distributed “more than $500,000 in so-called medical grants to patients who were asked to use and advocate for the instruments” reported Foster’s Sunday Citizen.

Robert Lang, a doctor in Connecticut and reportedly an associate professor at Yale University’s School of Nursing, touted GWP publicly and says that he hands out the Miller’s plastic paraphernalia to his patients.

“I thought they were doing a very honorable thing,” Lang told the press.

However, the AG’s investigation concluded otherwise and that there is no scientific evidence whatsoever to support GWP claims concerning its “healing instruments.”

GWP declared assets of $1.3 million in August 2004 and John Miller received a salary of $70,270. The supposed nonprofit charity seemed to have become something like a “cash cow” for the Millers, which they milked for their personal benefit.

GWP has become an example of how the “Information Age,” has changed the study of groups called “cults.”

So-called “cults” often rely upon the control of information, but the Internet has increasingly made that impossible.

GWP was once a relatively obscure group, but now information about the Millers and their “healing instruments” has become ubiquitous through the Internet.

Anyone with Internet access can now instantly learn why the Millers were shut down in Maine. And also read their tacit admissions of wrongdoing through the court’s consent decree and order, which they signed as part of their settlement agreement.

CultNews reported previously how the Gentle Wind blew it by suing Judy Garvey and Jim Bergin.

If the Millers had not initiated that litigation GWP might have gotten by unnoticed and not drawn the attention of law enforcement. But by filing a lawsuit against their former followers and others the Millers provided a platform for grievances against them and drew increasing media attention, which ultimately paved the way to GWP’s demise.

Phil Malone, director of the Clinical Program in Cyberlaw at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School, provided help to Garvey and Bergin.

“One of our priorities is to work to protect free speech on the Internet, particularly speech that discusses matters of important public interest or seeks to expose questionable or fraudulent activities. Gentle Wind’s lawsuit was particularly troubling to us because it tried to use the legal system to stifle such speech,” Malone told the press.

In the end what the Miller’s accomplished unwittingly was not only their own undoing, but also an expansion of freedom of expression and information about “cults” tangentially through the Internet.

“I don’t want to lynch any Jews¦I love them. I pray for them,” Mel Gibson once said somewhat cryptically while doing the rounds to promote his film “Passion of the Christ.”

Critics said that Gibson’s “artistic” choices for that film often appeared “anti-Semitic” and at times could not be supported either historically and/or biblically. Nevertheless this blockbuster may have generated more wealth for Mel Gibson than his long film career as an actor, which now seems to be winding down. 

During one screening the director who won an Oscar for “Braveheart” was reportedly overheard describing those Jews who rejected Jesus as “either Satanic or the dupes of Satan.”

Mel Gibson has claimed repeatedly that he is not “anti-Semitic.”

Of course few bigots readily admit to their prejudice, at least not openly.

In his public apology Gibson says, “There is no excuse, nor should there be any tolerance, for anyone who thinks or expresses any kind of anti-Semitic remark. I want to apologize specifically to everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words that I said to a law-enforcement officer the night I was arrested on a DUI charge.” 

However, during his drunken rage the director’s raw uncut persona may have come through as he ranted passionately about how “f—ing Jews” were responsible for everything from wars to his arrest in Malibu.

The California police officer that bore the brunt of Gibson’s insults was in fact Jewish. At least this time the once popular Hollywood star got something right, a Jew was taking him in.

Now comes the spin.

First a “mea culpa” rendered through a carefully scripted public apology.

“I am in the process of understanding where those vicious words came from during that drunken display,” the actor told the press and quickly entered rehab.

But will Gibson get off the hook by blaming booze for his bigotry?

It’s common knowledge a few drinks can cause people to let their real feelings slip out, lubricated loose with a little liquor. And for anyone that has studied the Gibson family history it’s not difficult to understand where “those vicious words came from.”

The former “Mad Max” seems to be a “chip off the old block.”

Hutton Gibson, the 87-year-old father of the famous actor/director, raised his family as so-called “traditional Catholics,” which is something of an oxymoron, given that the Gibsons don’t belong to the traditional Roman Catholic Church.

Instead, Mel built his own chapel in Malibu and bought another one for his dad in West Virginia.

Mel Gibson was raised by an anti-Semitic father that fed his son on a steady diet of conspiracy theories, Holocaust denial and ethnocentric dogma, which not only consigned the Jews to hell, but also the many Protestants that bought tickets to see his film “Passion.”

In an interview with the Herald Sun in Australia when asked specifically if Protestants are denied eternal salvation the star said, “There is no salvation for those outside the Church” (meaning his own version of Catholicism).

Gibson also apparently believes his spouse is damned.

“My wife is a¦Episcopalian¦She prays, she believes in God, she knows Jesus, she believes in that stuff¦she’s better than I am. But that is a pronouncement from the chair” reported MSNBC. 

So much for anyone that thought a belief in Jesus and “that stuff” along with a ticket to “Passion” might purchase redemption.

Meanwhile Gibson has garnered some interesting Hollywood apologists rallying to his support.

“Sometimes when you have a couple too many you’re stupid,” says Patrick Swayze. And the “Dirty Dancing” star should know given his reported battle with the bottle.

Two-time Oscar-winner Jodie Foster, who starred with Mel in “Maverick” during 1994 posed the question, “Is he an anti-Semite?” And then answered quickly, “Absolutely not.”

Ironically, though Gibson may have played a gambler, but he probably wouldn’t bet on his co-star’s likelihood of entering heaven. After all, Foster has repeatedly been rumored to be a lesbian, which would easily put her on Mel’s hot for hell list.

Doe that sound a bit hateful?

What would Mel’s diehard “Passion” fans say if their hero ran his mouth publicly about “f—ing” Protestants?

Perhaps they wouldn’t be willing to hear any excuses.

Not all Christian fundamentalists apparently want to forgive the director, despite his recent religious movie.

“Gibson’s latest rant was not an aberration influenced by booze. Other statements he’s made about other groups and individuals, while presumably sober, indicate a pattern,” says columnist Cal Thomas, once Rev. Jerry Falwell’s right hand man.

Amen?

Thomas stopped short of placing the director’s anti-Semitic slant in “Passion” as part of that perceived “pattern.” 

And isn’t it the height of irony that Jesus the star of Gibson’s film had a Jewish mother?

Wait a minute, wouldn’t that make Mary and her son “f—ing Jews”?

Jesus warned that many would come in his name, but they wouldn’t always be nice.

Might that include Mel Gibson?

Has the Oscar-winning director deceived the faithful while making millions cynically marketing and merchandising Jesus?

It seems that Gibson was often good at keeping up appearances, but failed when it came to performing the precepts of tolerance and kindness he supposedly believed in. 

The Gentle Wind Project (GWP) founded by John and Mary “Moe” Miller sued its critics Judy Garvey and her husband James Bergin apparently hoping to silence the couple, but instead called attention to its practices, finances and leadership.

After two years of litigation it looks like GWP is experiencing something of a meltdown.

The Millers sued former followers Garvey/Bergin because their Web site shared insider information about GWP through the Internet. The Miller’s lawsuit alleged defamation and slander.

When the Ross Institute (RI), which sponsors CultNews, posted a link to the critical Web site GWP began a “war of words” with its perceived enemies through its own Web site.

RI gave GWP a “Flaming Websites” award.

However, John and Mary didn’t think that was funny so they sued RI too. And they also legally threatened and/or sued others including a man in New Zealand for calling GWP a “cult.”

GWP is a controversial “nonprofit” organization that manufactures so-called “healing instruments” in the form of plastic cards and pucks, which they claim, have healing powers.

CultNews reported in 2004 that a Special Investigative Agency in California looked into GWP and announced that its claims were “not supported by any scientific evidence.”

But John and “Moe” say the secret plans for their instruments come from outer space. And how can you disprove that?

Shades of Scientology and its story about Xenu?

Press reports began to pile up about GWP after the lawsuit was filed, which brought growing attention to the group and a continuous stream of interesting court documents. All of this afforded RI enough material to launch a subsection within its database about the group.

This once little known organization had become a news story as more and more interest was garnered through its lawsuit.

Is that the kind of attention what John and “Moe” Miller really wanted?

Probably not.

Instead of silencing their critics the Millers had effectively provided them with a platform to share their story. Meanwhile John and “Moe” were draining their once considerable financial resources on court costs, while simultaneously watching GWP revenues decline due to bad press.

In the new “Information Age” the Internet has seemingly become a nightmare for some groups called “cults” that rely upon the control of information.

Now anyone with Internet access can read what former members have to say about GWP and follow the Miller’s saga in the press through archived articles.

The most recent article about GWP includes information about an apparent liquidation of the group’s assets. Property accumulated by the group in Maine is being sold off to finance its legal fees and court costs.

Meanwhile Garvey/Bergin have received some pro bono help from lawyers interested in defending First Amendment free speech rights.

Again and again withering judicial decisions have come down, which have left the Millers with what appears to be a hopeless legal situation.

RI was dismissed out of the GWP lawsuit some time ago and so was the defendant in New Zealand, various causes of action have also been stripped away and then the whole case was tossed out of federal court.

Did all this discourage or dissuade the Millers?

Apparently not.

John and Mary “Moe” refiled their suit in a Maine State court seemingly oblivious to both their legal situation and worsening circumstances.

This month delivered what may be the final blow to GWP and perhaps last significant twist to the story. The Millers have been sued by the Attorney General of Maine.

That’s right, the plaintiffs have become defendants. But unlike the lawsuits they have filed the Millers face very serious litigation.

The Attorney General of Maine has alleged that GWP engaged in no less than 13 violations of the state’s Unfair Trade Practices Act.

In court documents filed this month GWP is accused of lying about medical studies that supposedly proved their instruments worked.

A spokesman for Maine’s top prosecutor told the press, “We’re trying to put them out of business and we want restitution for the people who have been taken.”

Things are getting scary for John and Mary.

It seems that the Millers would have been better off if they had simply ignored their critics and/or laughed off any criticism rather than drawing so much attention to themselves through lawsuits.

It has been said that “pride comes before a fall.” And perhaps purported “cults” and their leaders have more pride and hubris than almost anyone else does.

The Millers once controlled a spiritual empire, but now they may end up broke.

The growing legal storm swirling around the pair is hardly a “gentle wind” and may just blow GWP to bits.

Perhaps the moral of this story is that controversial groups hoping to sue into silence their perceived enemies should consider the consequences carefully before filing such frivolous litigation.

They should consider if they have anything to hide?

And if they can afford the public scrutiny that often accompanies such litigation?

The Millers apparently never gave such things serious consideration.

It seems that John and “Moe” Miller of Maine must now face the consequences for that blunder.

Note: GWP has a new nonprofit spin-off registered in New Hampshire called “Allies for Trauma Relief.” Despite the new name and no mention of GWP at the organization’s Web site, people are still holding the cards called “healing instruments” made by GWP for “relief.”

Li Hongzhi,” the founder and leader of Falun Gong also known as Falun Dafa, has been repeatedly described as “homophobic” and as a “racist.”

CultNews previously reported about the media meltdown Falun Gong experienced in San Francisco concerning its leaders nasty pronouncements.

During the Bay area controversy a member of the San Francisco gay community said, “I challenge any gay person in this city to get any Falun Gong practitioner to state they do not agree with their master’s belief. I have never heard them refute what he has said. There is deception here.”

What is it that the man called “Master Li” says that causes concern, which his followers never refute?

Interracial marriage is one thing that seems to rile the religious leader, but he saves some of his most harsh words for homosexuals.

Here are some quotes from Hongzhi as provided by the blog “…smell the Kool-Aid…fun with cults”.

Li Hongzhi: “Is homosexuality human behavior? Heaven created man and woman. What was the purpose? To procreate future generations. A man being with a man, or a woman with a woman”it doesn’t take much thought to know whether that’s right or wrong. When minor things are done incorrectly, a person is said to be wrong. When major things are done incorrectly, it’s a case of people no longer having the moral code of human beings, and then they are unworthy of being human…When gods created man they prescribed standards for human behavior and living. When human beings overstep those boundaries, they are no longer called human beings, though they still assume the outer appearance of a human. So gods can’t tolerate their existence and will destroy them.”Leading lights of the “Religious Right” like Jerry Falwell might agree that homosexuality is a sin, but they would say “love the sinner and hate the sin,” allowing that gays are still “human beings.” Hongzhi however seems to question that status and he apparently just hates instead.Li then goes on to tell why his work is so worthy.Li Hongzhi: “Let me tell you why today’s society has become how it is. It results from there not being an upright Fa to keep human beings in check. This Dafa is taught right in the most chaotic environment, at a time when no religion can save people, and where the circumstance is that no god takes interest in people anymore. The Fa is almighty. The best time periods wouldn’t require such a great Fa to be taught. Only in the worst time periods can the power of the Fa manifest. There are other reasons, too.”