Cult News

Conservatives are supposedly rallying “to gin up a new threat to the family. They’ve found it in Big Love,” the TV show about polygamy reports Slate.

Meanwhile those who really know about polygamist groups, Mormons and their practices wonder about the inaccuracies contained within the controversial HBO show.

The New York Times gathered together both current and former polygamist wives to weigh in with their comments about “Big Love.”

While active polygamists sought to support the series portrayal of seemingly middle-class polygamy in suburbia others that oppose the practice dismissed the show as a “Hollywood fantasy for men.”

“‘Big Love’ skims the surface of the intense dynamics in plural families. Their isolation, secrecy, and complicated logistics make them breeding grounds for forced marriage, underage brides,” said Vicky Prunty.

Prunty is the co-director of Tapestry Against Polygamy, a non-profit organization dedicated to the purpose of exposing polygamy and helping people to leave polygamist groups.

The Mormon Church no long practices polygamy and has denounced the HBO series.

An interesting detail probably purposely left out of Big Love’s bedroom scenes is the “holy underwear” worn by both Mormons and polygamists. Though the series shows plenty of skin viewers never get a glimpse of these garments.

“Mormons have one style, polygamists have another, but neither would be caught dead – literally – without some form of the knee length, short-sleeved white garments worn to remind them of the sacred’ covenants they’ve made,” says a reader at filmstew.com, who later adds “Perhaps their omission in the series is due to the intense sacredness most Mormons attribute to these garments. Many would be mortified, and expect me to burn in hell for even mentioning them.”

The same reader had some much more serious first-hand experience with polygamists that reflected the dilemma often posed by the practice to child protection authorities.

“I also volunteered at the local juvenile detention center, where underage girls from polygamist families frequently stayed. It seems many of these girls would rather run away from home than marry their elderly uncle or other family member, and, not having anywhere else to go, the authorities would find the girls wandering Salt Lake City. You can’t just leave a 14-year-old out on the streets, so they would be sent to the detention center where they waited for their legal guardians, their polygamist mothers, to come claim them. For legal reasons, the authorities had no choice but to send them right back to the same communities they were fleeing” she said.

There are about 50,000 polygamists in North America. Most are located within the states of Utah, Arizona and Monatana. A large contingent also exists in Canadian British Columbia.

But the largest segment of polygamists worldwide is amongst Arab, Muslim and African countries where the practice is relatively commonplace.

For example, In Uganda authorities are concerned about proposed paternity leave because “it would be abused and would lead to loss of work hours especially in the case of polygamous men” reports New Vision.

Ironically, pro-polygamists and anti-polygamists frequently quote the bible to support their positions.

Pro-polygamist correctly state that many of the great men lionized within the bible had more than one wife.

“Abraham, David, Jacob and Solomon were all favored by God and were all polygamists,” law professor Jonathan Turley told Slate.

“Favored? Look what polygamy did for them. Sarah told Abraham to sleep with her servant. When the servant got pregnant and came to despise Sarah, Sarah kicked her out. Rachel and Leah fought over Jacob, who ended up stripping his eldest son of his birthright for sleeping with Jacob’s concubine. David got rid of Bathsheba’s husband by ordering troops to betray him in battle. Promiscuity had the first word, but jealousy always had the last,” observes William Saletan writing for Slate.

It seems that “Big Love” didn’t do the men of the bible much good. And according to its critics it isn’t doing that well for the women caught within its web today.

Seminal soul singer James Brown once sang “It’s a man’s world,” well it certainly is within polygamist groups. Men made and continue to make the rules so it’s no big surprise that “Big Love” seems to favor them.

Most Americans continue to believe in the supernatural such as ghosts and spirits, now a BBC show makes fun of this preoccupation and the gullibility of “true believers.”

The BBC series called “High Spirits” brings a new “spirit medium” to the medium of television just for laughs.

“‘Shirley Ghostman’ is a blast of fresh air and hilarity in an arena that is ripe for satire,” says the Hollywood Reporter.

For example, in one segment of “High Spirits” Ghostman played in drag by Marc Woottonn sends her “special paranormal investigator,” to check out claims made by an apparent competitor that by looking at someone’s ass the future can be predicted.

The British are far more likely to make such paranormal claims the butt of jokes than Americans.

A Harris Poll found that half of all adults in the United States believe in ghosts.

Witness John Edward and James Van Praagh, two “mediums” who have made big bucks supposedly talking to the dead and popular TV shows like “Medium” and “Ghost Whisperer,” spook shows that have successfully sold their sponsors commercial slots.

Critics of the spirit medium business say that all this supposed paranormal communication most often boils down to what is commonly called the “cold reading.” This is a technique through which the alleged psychic or medium may depend more upon the response given to probing questions by believers rather than any messages from “beyond.”

James Randi, a long-time debunker of supernatural claims has offered $1 million dollars for years as a reward “to anyone who can show, under proper observing conditions, evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power.”

But Americans apparently want to believe despite the lack of evidence and the ghost business has become big business in the US.

No doubt that as preposterous as Wootton’s character might seem, Shirley Ghostman could earn quite a good living doling out her insights for a fee in America.

Scientology may have won a battle with South Park co-creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, but they appear likely to loose the war.

The episode “Trapped in the Closet,” which ridiculed Scientology and Tom Cruise, apparently was pulled Wednesday on orders from Viacom executives. Rumor has it that Tom Cruise exercised his star power to kill the re-run.

Scientology’s “Top Gun” may have scored a hit, but it looks like Cruise and his church have picked up two diehard enemies with a “cult following” of their own.

Even though Parker and Stone were apparently told to keep quiet the two have broken their silence to send a message to Scientology.

“So, Scientology, you may have won THIS battle, but the million-year war for earth has just begun!…Temporarily anozinizing our episode will NOT stop us from keeping Thetans forever trapped in your pitiful man-bodies,” reports the BBC.

This is a rather rude “South Park style” allusion to the preposterous story concocted by L. Ron Hubbard the founder of Scientology, that claims humanity’s problems are largely linked to an event that occurred 75 million years ago involving space aliens.

So where does this past week of harsh exchanges before the press, squeeze plays and spin leave South Park, Tom Cruise, Viacom, Scientology and Isaac Hayes?

Well, Matt Stone and Trey Parker come off pretty good. They did their best, but in the end apparently had no choice, other than to go along with the media bosses over at Viacom who control Comedy Central. 

Viacom comes across as rather gutless and willing to do almost anything to please one of its stars.

Tom Cruise has further hurt his already suffering public image and arguably alienated the younger audience he hopes to sell Mission Impossible III tickets to that watch South Park.

Scientology comes off somewhat nasty and possibly punitive without any sense of humor.

Scientology also unintentionally makes Mormons look good. After all, they didn’t go after South Park like it was some “War of the Worlds” when it was their church getting lampooned.

So it seems “Latter Day Saints” can take a joke better than Scientologists.

Isaac Hayes is unemployed.

Those expecting to see the South Park episode “Trapped in the Closet” that ridiculed Scientology and Tom Cruise Wednesday night were disappointed.Scientology’s “Top Gun” Tom Cruise succeeded after his fellow Hubbardite Isaac Hayes had failed to persuade anyone, especially South Park co-creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, to pull the show.

Unlike Hayes Cruise went to the top at Viacom, which owns Comedy Central the cable network that carries South Park, warning that if he didn’t get his way he would reportedly “boycott the promotion for Mission Impossible III.

Viacom it seems caved to Cruise and the star got his way.

Interestingly, Sources at Wenner Media, which publishes Rolling Stone, may also have been pressured by Mr. Cruise over their “Inside Scientology” feature article. He was to appear on the cover of Men’s Journal another Wenner Media publication. According to insiders Cruise wanted the Rolling Stone story killed and when the publisher said no, “Cruise bailed on Men’s Journal’s May cover” reports New York Magazine. 

Meanwhile Matt Stone and Trey Parker may wish they were owned by Wenner instead of Viacom. They have reportedly been told not to discuss the matter reports the New York Post. It seems this is not the first time a Scientologist celebrity has gone to Viacom with threats over a “cult” show.

Dahn Hak, once a relatively obscure but growing presence in the United States is garnering increased attention. The most recent news reports were published by the Albuquerque Tribune one is titled “Dahn Yoga stretches into controversy.”

Another article published yesterday by the same newspaper offers the history of the company and its founder Seung Heun Lee, who claims that enlightenment he received on a mountain led him to establish his global “yoga empire.”

Dahn has steadily expanded in the United States and now has 147 centers across the country and claims 50,000 American members. An official spokesperson also said the business has about 400 branches and 150,000 more members in other nations.

The Dahn organization, which is set up through various corporations began in South Korea and has been called a “cult.” And various aspects of its structure, dynamics and practices seem to reflect a religious/philosophical movement rather than a for-profit company.

The Ross Institute (sponsor of CultNews) first began to archive information about Seung Heun Lee and his Dahn Hak studios during 1998 after a man in Mesa, Arizona complained about how the group had recruited his wife to become one of its “little masters.” These devotees are often celibate and serve as a low-cost labor force for Lee, whose followers frequently call “Grand Master Lee.”

Many complaints have come to the attention of the Ross Institute regarding Dahn Hak from across the United States and internationally; these complaints can essentially be broken down into two categories.

First, paying clients complaining that Dahn Hak has charged excessive fees for classes, uniforms and retreats and uses high pressure tactics to persuade people to sign long term contracts for its services.

Second, even more serious complaints about the methods used by Dahn Hak to influence and recruit new full time workers or “little masters” to serve the “Grand Master Lee.” And closely related family complaints about how those workers often become increasingly isolated and difficult to contact.

Personal stories, such as the one featured within Now Magazine of Toronto about Dahn’s so-called “brain respiration,” make the group’s practices sound more like “brainwashing” than physical exercise.

The Journal News of Westchester, New York also reported about interventions or “deprogrmming” undertaken by families to get people out of Dahn Hak.

All of this conjures up images of another South Korean led group the Unification Church, commonly called the “Moonies,” which has also been criticized for the tactics it used to recruit and retain members. A man who also claimed to have received “enlightenment” from a higher power, Rev. Sun Myung Moon, led that organization.

The media has been taking a harder look lately at Dahn Hak since the tragic and untimely death of 41-year-old Dr. Julia M. Siverls. Dr. Siverls was a respected professor within the Department of Social Sciences at Queens Community College of the City University of New York. She died under strange circumstances while attending a Dahn Hak retreat in Sedona, Arizona.

CultNews first reported about Dr. Siverls death during August of 2003 and since then her family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Dahn Hak and Seung Heun Lee.

The recent report from New Mexico and an earlier articles published by the Journal News of Westchester and the New York Post further detailed about this tragedy.

CBS News affiliates in several cities including both Boston and Phoenix also have recently run investigative reports about Dahn Hak.

More legal woes have entangled Lee, who is also facing court action for patent infringement concerning “colour breathing,” a technique apparently first developed by Allison Bourne of Energy Press in England and allegedly later copied by Lee.

Was that somehow part of the “enlightenment” the “Grand Master” downloaded from a higher power on a mountaintop?

What is Dahn Hak?

Is it a chain of exercise studios featuring “yoga,” “martial arts” and other forms of eastern exercise?

Or is it a new religious movement with a latter-day messiah following in the footsteps of Rev. Moon?

Perhaps the grieving family of Julia Siverls will find out through the discovery process in their ongoing lawsuit.

Meanwhile the mainstream press and media seem to be increasingly interested in Seung Heun Lee and his “yoga empire”

It’s very likely that whatever wedding and baby plans Tom Cruise is making he is thinking Scientology venues with minimum exposure and maximum control.

This is likely to mean either “Gold Base,” a tightly controlled 500-acre Scientology compound near the town of Hemet, California or the “Freewinds,” Scientology’s 440-foot cruise ship based in Curacao in the Caribbean.

Cruise has already taken Holmes to the ship once to celebrate his 43rd birthday, where it is rumored he may have actually married her there already reports the New York Daily News.

Having a baby at sea might seem odd, but Scientology’s “Top Gun” known for his “Cruise control” could keep an airtight grip on the expectant mother’s environment, shutting out the media and paparazzi. And an intrusive fly-over by prying eyes would be quite difficult.

Gold Base is a former resort bought by Scientology when Hubbard was alive. It includes a mansion known as “The Castle” with a carriage house for VIPs. It is relatively isolated, heavily secured with surveillance cameras and regular patrols.

Both Gold and the Freewinds are virtually totally inhabited by loyal Sea Org members, described in a 1998 Italian government report as “a community with both monastic and military characteristics,” which makes up Scientology’s permanent, full-time hardcore staff.

Whether at sea or embedded within the church’s compound out in the California desert, Katie may have her baby not only silently, but insulated and isolated from her family, old friends and anyone else outside of Scientology.

Scientologist Isaac Hayes has quit the Comedy Central show South Park where he did voiceover for the character of “Chef” for a decade. Hayes claims it’s because of “intolerance and bigotry toward religious beliefs” reports the New York Daily News.

The creators of South Park are not strangers to such controversy and were quick to dispute Hayes’s claims.

“This has nothing to do with intolerance and bigotry and everything to do with the fact that Isaac Hayes is a Scientologist and that we recently featured Scientology in an episode of ‘South Park,’ In 10 years and over 150 episodes…Isaac never had a problem with the show making fun of Christians, Muslims, Mormons and Jews. He got a sudden case of religious sensitivity when it was his religion featured on the show,” South Park co-creator Matt Stone said in a prepared statement.

However the timing of Hayes announcement seems just a little too convenient.

He chose to come out against “intolerance and bigotry” just before the episode “Trapped in the Closet,” which blasts Scientology and ridicules its leading celebrities Tom Cruise and John Travolta is scheduled to repeat tomorrow night.

It seems that Scientology and/or Tom Cruise have apparently managed to keep the show from airing in some venues internationally through threats of litigation.

Were there talks to keep it from repeating in the United States this week?

Is Scientology and Hayes now striking back preemptively through the press because they failed to get the show pulled?

South Park made its reputation from the start featuring parody of religious icons, such as its send-up of Jesus and Santa locked in a Christmas “death match.”

Stone says that Hayes had “no problem ” and he’s cashed plenty of checks ” with our show making fun of Christians” reported Fox News.

The irreverent hit show has lampooned virtually anyone and everyone, but Isaac Hayes suddenly had enough when it gored his “sacred cow.”

South Park co-creator Trey Parker said “never heard a peep out of Isaac in any way until we did Scientology. He wants a different standard for religions other than his own, and to me, that is where intolerance and bigotry begin” reported Associated Press.

Scientology has a history of seemingly using its stars in such situations like pawns in press games when it feels attacked. And it appears that Scientology feels attacked by almost anything less than an infomercial.

South Park joked about Scientology beliefs within its top rated episode, including an article of faith about aliens from outer space, which is supposedly one cause of humanity’s problems according to its founder L. Ron Hubbard.

The church has no sense of humor when it comes to Hubbard and its members are expected to pay for such revelations that are offered at a price through its “religious services.” Scientology probably didn’t like South Park giving away its sacred secrets for free.

Isaac Hayes was bankrupted and his glory days as a star in Hollywood were well behind him when he became a believer in Scientology. An Oscar-winner for the musical theme of “Shaft” in the 1970s he took up residence for a time within Scientology’s Celebrity Center in Los Angeles. Since then Hayes experienced something of a career resurrection and South Park played a pivotal role in his comeback. 

Apparently now it’s payback time and Hayes seems more concerned about his perceived debt to Scientology than whatever career success he owes to Parker, Stone and Comedy Central, who provided him with paychecks for so many years. 

Maybe the 63-year-old voice of “Chef” thinks he has gotten enough out of South Park, after all he probably still has residuals for his retirement.

But it seems very unlikely that Isaac Hayes will ever get another gig that good again.

“Of course, we will release Isaac from his contract and we wish him well,” said Matt Stone.

CultNews reported last month how a former truck driver in California that calls himself “Buddha Maitreya” got mad when some monks he hosted from Tibet wouldn’t recognize that preposterous title.

Ronald Lloyd Spencer’s “Church of Shambala,” which has been called a “cult,” sponsored seven monks to make the journey to America. However, it seems when the monks refused to recognize Spencer as the reincarnation of “Buddha” the church “abruptly withdrew its support, their religious visas were revoked and a dozen immigration officers in riot gear showed up to arrest them…”

After the negative fallout from this it seems a legal settlement was struck between the would-be “Buddha” and the mistreated monks.

According to a document dated March 9th and recently forwarded to CultNews that settlement not surprisingly includes what is commonly called a “gag order.”

It states, “In the interest of settlement of all differences, legal disputes, claims and causes of action, the parties, including their legal representatives, agree not to have any further contact with the media, which includes newspaper, television, radio and internet websites, or any other media form for the purpose of discussing any issue of the Monks and the Church of Shambala and the dispute regarding the visa revocation…”

It concludes, “The Church of Shambala and the Monks recognize that there are differing accounts of the events leading up to the arrest of the Monks and thereafter but wish no further reporting on this matter…”

Well, it looks like the monks got a good lawyer and Ron Spencer wants everyone kept quiet. 

Daniel Honeywell, Spencer’s disciple and representative, said that the document he forwarded via email to CultNews was supposedly “self-explanatory” and “flows from” an article previously published by the New York Times.

Hopefully, what “flows from” all this is that the monks were well provided for and traveled back to their native land peacefully and in comfort. Though the matter might have been concluded better if Spencer and his church offered them a public apology.

But despite the settlement, which essentially silences the monks on the matter, this self-proclaimed “Buddha” has been busted as an egotist and certainly less than hospitable host to say the least. 

CultNews thinks it will require virtually endless reincarnations according to Buddhism before someone like Ron Spencer ever reaches spiritual maturity. 

Madonna may be willing to wait for the “messiah” in an Israeli “shack,” but her spiritual mentors at the “Kabbalah Centre” have other ideas.

Philip and Karen Berg, founders of the “Kabbalah Centre,” and the families of their two sons have moved into luxurious multi-million dollar mini-mansions, often called “McMansions” in California.

The last branch of the family to take up residence was none other than Mama and Papa Berg themselves, in a house between their two baby Bergs.

The three mansions are situated side-by-side on South Almont Drive in Beverly Hills and each is conservatively worth more than $2 million dollars. 

The opulent centerpiece of this trio of real estate treasures is the lavishly appointed new home of Philip and Karen Berg. One son resides on other side of this mini-manse with their respective families. On one side is Michael Berg and on the other his brother Yehuda.

Snug isn’t it?

All three of these McMansions were reportedly paid for and are titled to the Kabbalah Centre, a supposedly “nonprofit charity.”

Madonna has given millions to the Berg organization through charitable gifts and is apparently the group’s biggest giver.

Maybe this is why the Bergs don’t need to wait in Israel for their “messiah”? After all hasn’t their “messiah” already arrived, in the form of the former “Material Girl” herself.

The pop diva has certainly made the Berg’s lifestyle quite heavenly hasn’t she?

A source has told CultNews that grand gilded furniture, very pricey accessories and impressive objects of art have been seen being carried into Mommy and Daddy Berg’s little domed mini-palace. And also, that shiny new Mercedes are darting in and out the three little manses with assorted Bergs behind the wheel.

Sadly though, it appears that Philip Berg has not sufficiently recovered from a recent stroke to walk into his new home unassisted and he doesn’t speak that well either.

Amazingly, the miraculous “Kabbalah Water” and equally blessed “Kabbalah Energy Drink” seemingly haven’t worked any wonders for the man known to his followers as “The Rav.”

Some might say Madonna needs a proverbial “love shack” to rekindle the flame of her failing marriage, but instead the 47-year-old pop diva is scouring a certain area in Israel looking for any “old shack” for religious purposes instead.

Like so many things the former “Material Girl” does these days her latest foray into the Israeli real estate market is motivated by her obsessive devotion to the Kabbalah Centre, run by Philip Berg and his family.

This piece of property must be a “house overlooking the Sea of Galilee at the place where followers of her Kabbalist faith expect the Messiah to reappear” reports the Sunday Times.

It seems that someone representing the star phoned quite a few homeowners in the area making hefty offers.

One woman who owns an old stone cottage in this designated space for future miracles says she will happily sell her home to Madonna for double the going price, a cool $1 million dollars.

The pop star supposedly wants to renovate whatever property she picks up into a reading room for her Kabbalah cronies.

Meanwhile Abba star Bjorn Ulavaeus, the man that sold Madonna the hook for her latest hit, blasted celebrity-driven religious trends.

“The Waterloo hit maker believes musicians exploit fashionable belief systems such as Scientology and Kabbalah, because they want to impress their fans” reports Web India.com

“Many artists are trend-sensitive. They travel a path that they believe can benefit their career,” he said.

Snuggled down in sensible Stockholm perhaps Ulavaeus doesn’t realize that artists are just as vulnerable to cult “brainwashing” as anyone else.

And it appears that Madonna, under the influence of the trendy Kabbalah Centre, has made it the center of her life.