Cult News

Brigitte Boisselier the CEO of “Clonaid” and a bishop within the “cult” group called the “Raelians” announced this morning at a news conference in Hollywood, Florida that the first human clone has been born. And it was covered live by CNN.

Artist and pop icon Andy Warhol once said a day would come when everyone would have “15 minutes” of fame, but CNN decided to give Boisselier 30 uninterrupted minutes of exclusive coverage.

The Clonaid spokeswoman was often defensive regarding media reports that have frequently questioned her reliability and any claims made by the group about its cloning experiments.

The Roslin Institute who cloned the first mammal reported massive failure rates and unexplained abnormalities. They have said only 1% of their cloned embryos even developed into living offspring and many died late in pregnancy or soon after birth.

Never mind. Boisselier claims a stunning 50% success rate on Clonaid’s first ten implantations. And a successful first time birth for her Christmas clone.

Despite her position as CEO of Clonaid and the media description that she is a “scientist” Boisselier is not a medical doctor or a geneticist and is a “bishop” within the Raelian Church. The cleric did once teach chemistry at Hamilton College in upstate New York.

Boisselier stood at a podium alone. No baby, no parents and not even a single scientist from the supposed Clonaid “team” was there to corroborate any of her claims. She said that Clonaid scientists and the parents were not yet ready to face the public.

It must have been a slow news day for CNN.

The Cloning company CEO also said, “The Parents may have to go to some secret location depending upon how you treat them.”

The alleged clone is a baby girl named “Eve” and supposedly weighs 7 pounds. She is supposedly the clone of her 31-year-old American mother. The baby was born in an as of yet unidentified country, which Boisselier refused to identify.

The Clonaid spokeswoman stated, “There will be proof” and then introduced Michael Guillen. Guillen who is not a medical doctor came forward at the news conference. He identified himself as a “free lance journalist,” Ph.D. physicist and former employee of ABC News. Guillen then advised that it would be his unpaid task to coordinate an independent team of “world class” scientists to verify Clonaid’s claims.

Members of that scientific team were not identified at the news conference.

Guillen said it would take a week to conclude testing, but Boisselier added later that it might require 9 days.

The Raelian bishop and Clonaid CEO thanked her “spiritual leader” Claude Vorilhon known as “Rael.” She said though that he is not involved personally with Clonaid, which was established in 1997. But Boisselier said it was his “leadership” and apparent inspiration that launched the project.

“Rael” and his Raelians believe that the human race is the result of alien science. And Boisselier acknowledged that belief during her press conference.

Vorilhon also claims that he has met alien beings from outer space that transported the future “cult” leader to another planet, where he was formally introduced to both Jesus and Buddha.

Boisselier, who is French, said that a court in France revoked her child custody largely due to her commitment to Rael.

According to the Clonaid spokeswoman four more mothers are now carrying clones. One is in Northern Europe, two are of Asian origin and yet another is North American. None are Raelians, Boisselier said.

The Clonaid CEO says those currently involved in cloning experiments have not paid for their participation, but admitted that they had all invested in Clonaid, which is a private company.

20 more implantations are supposedly scheduled for January, but Boisselier offered no further details. She also said that Clonaid plans to open more “clinics” around the world and that there are thousands waiting to become its customers.

The next cloned baby is allegedly due in a week and the remaining 3 will be delivered by February. Again, an astonishing success rate if it can ever be verified independently.

Is all this real or another Raelian publicity stunt?

Claude Vorilhon or “Rael” seems to have an insatiable desire for ego gratification through media attention.

His first sensational claim was that he was raising money for an “embassy” to greet visitors from out space, which brought him a few interviews. Then it was cloning. More recently his group encouraged cross burning in Canada to protest the Catholic Church.

Given the “race car driver’s” seeming addiction to media coverage the whole cloning process looks like just another publicity ploy to gain attention.

However this story ends up one thing will remain real for Rael. The “cult” leader has succeeded once again in extending his own “15 minutes,” and probably confirming his worldwide importance to faithful Raelians.

It also seems likely that the Raelians will soon come up with any number of excuses, rationalizations and/or fantastic stories to explain the failure of any credible scientists to independently verify their cloning claims.

Perhaps then cloning, like Rael’s outer space travel, will become part of the group’s religious mythology.

Maybe then Boisselier will have another news conference to announce that a “conspiracy” to suppress “science” and discredit her “spiritual leader” has taken place.

However, the “bishop”/CEO might just have a harder time getting CNN live coverage for that pronouncement, unless of course it’s a slow news cycle or a crucial ratings period.

A Sci-fi “cult” named the “Raelians” has ginned up their publicity machine to gain as much attention as possible and some Canadians are joking about it.

The group led by “Rael,” once known as Claude Vorilhon, says it’s going to produce the first cloned human any day now.

And Canadian columnist Mike Argento jokes, “It makes perfect sense that a group that believes aliens created us as an experiment would perfect human cloning.”

However, despite all the hype Vorilhon has not offered one piece of objective evidence to date that substantiate his grandiose cloning claims, reports Associated Press.

When he testified before the Congress of the United States he cited no proof that could be verified, he just talked and talked and talked. Rael likes to talk.

Brigitte Boisselier is shepherding this supposed “scientific breakthrough” for “Clonaid,” the company Rael and his group started. But the good doctor is not a geneticist or even a specialist in reproductive medicine; she is instead a chemist and a “bishop” within the Raelian Church.

Boissselier’s says her next client for a clone may be “Dracula.”

Uh huh.

Clonaid won’t tell where its facilities are, nor will they say where the cloned baby will be born. They allege a documentary is in the works, but won’t share the name of the Production Company.

This unidentified filmmaker will record the DNA testing to prove the Raelians have produced a clone.

Right.

So what’s at the bottom of this seemingly endless plethora of articles published about the Raelians and their coming clone?

Nothing.

It’s all apparently spin and fantasy without any meaningful substance.

So who is the joke really on?

Rael has had some fun, ego fulfillment, garnered much attention and free promotion. He certainly is happy. And when he abandons his latest publicity stunt the “cult leader” will walk away with a substantial stack of clippings, proof to faithful Raelians just how important he really is.

No, the real joke is on the media, and how easy it was for Rael to play them.

Claude Vorilhon who now calls himself “Rael” is the founder of the “Raelians,” a strange group based largely upon the supernatural claims made by its leader.

Rael seems to also have a supernatural appetite for publicity.

Press releases have become something of a religious ritual for the Raelians. They have engaged in often sensational behavior, which apparently is designed to attract attention. This has included and embassy to receive outer space visitors, a cross burning campaign and now it seems cloning claims.

When Rael created “Clonaid,” a company supposedly focused upon producing human clones, it was considered by many to be little more than a mail drop used as a fund-raising ploy.

But now it looks like this strange “cult” is about to produce what it says is the first “human clone,” reports the Canadian Press.

Scientists have dismissed the announced birth date as unlikely.

Certainly, whatever Rael/Vorilhon says must be taken with more than a little skepticism. The “cult” leader claims he once met little green space aliens that took him to another planet where he was introduced personally to Jesus.

Right.

And one Raelian told the Canadian press that “The Virgin Mary was impregnated by extraterrestrials.”

Uh huh.

This much is for sure, Rael’s devoted followers will believe anything he says. However, the rest of the world should objectively test and verify any claim made by this supposed space traveler or the company he funds. Rael has previously refused to provide proofto substantiate his cloning claims.

Despite massive failure rates cited by respected scientists regarding cloning the “Raelians,” cult followers of a former French journalist who now calls himself “Rael,” claim that they have done it. That is, that ten cloned humans are now growing within the wombs of designated surrogates reports CNS News.

Rael and his devotees have turned publicity into a a sacred rite. They seemingly pull one stunt after another to gain attention. One day it’s bashing Catholics and burning crosses, the next day it’s cloning claims.

What will the group based upon outer space myths come up with next?

The Raelians appear to be like the proverbial “boy who cried wolf” and the media is becoming increasingly bored with their histrionics.

The bizarre “cult” called the “Raelians” is at it again. Leader Claude Vorilhon (aka “Rael”) will apparently do anything for attention. First, it was cloning humans and now it’s bashing Catholics, reports the Montreal Gazette.

Vorilhon wants Canadian Catholics to renounce the faith and burn a cross to announce their apostasy. And “Rael’s” loyal minions are passing out flyers with little wooden crosses to create his latest contrived controversy.

Though the “cult leader,” who claims to commiserate with aliens from outer space, is often seen as little more than a joke by the media, Catholics in Canada aren’t laughing.

An obscure former journalist of little note, Vorilhon now 55, found his true calling when he started a “cult.”

There are an estimated 3,000 Raelians, which affords “Rael” a comfortable lifestyle. The media attention not only feeds his ego, but also helps to recruit and retain members, which ultimately means more cash flow for the former working-journalist through his new religion.

A bizarre “cult” called the “Raelians” believes cloning may offer them eternal life. Their leader Claude Vorilhon, now named “Rael,” formed his own company called “Clonaid.” The Times reported that Rael now claims to have successfully cloned the first human. But it’s difficult to believe a man who has also said that he received his “mission” instructions from an extraterrestrial being on top of a volcano.

Not unlike many cult leaders Rael has quite a self-aggrandizing bio. This includes meeting with Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha and Moses when he traveled to another planet. But today he seems to spend most of his time in Canada and Florida. There are thousands of Raelian believers who follow this man.

According to Rael, Jesus was resurrected through some “advanced cloning technique.”

An apparent publicity junkie Rael has frequent press conferences to announce supposed breakthroughs. He says that cloning is only the first step. After that is successfully accomplished he will move on to the transfer of memory and personality from an individual to their clone. All this will eventually enable people to live forever.

Rael’s motto is “rationalize yourself to revolutionize humanity.” I guess that means anything goes. And when it comes to Rael this seems to be true.