Cult News

“Cult” leader Dwight “Malachi” York charged with sexually molesting 13 children within his group called the Nuwaubians says his name is now under “copyright,” reports The Macon Telegraph.

York’s still devoted followers passed out “copyright notice” advising the media that his name and aliases cannot be used “unauthorized.”

How will York enforce such a dubious claim? Why through his court of course.

The handouts were stamped: “Received, Jan. 08, 2003” by the “Clerk of Federal Moorish Cherokee Consular Court, USA.”

Does all this sound crazy?

Well from a man whose aliases include “Imperial Grand Potentate” and “Grand Al Mufti Divan” maybe this type of behavior shouldn’t seem too strange.

In court York threatened that any copyright violations, as he defines them, could potentially “cost $500,000.00.”

But even this sum wouldn’t buy freedom for the “Imperial Grand Potentate,” since no bail has been set for him.

York’s indictment now lists 197 counts and thus far things don’t look good for the “Mufti.”

It is said that pedophiles are more about power and control than sex. And destructive cult leaders are certainly known for that same obsession.

Apparently York is struggling for some semblance of power in a situation where he has lost control.

Rev. Ronald Oree Nation once watched over Sunday school programs for the United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI) across the country, but now the man with twenty years of service to that denomination won’t even see a paycheck, reports The St. Louis Post Dispatch.

Nation almost 70 was busted in a public park for allegedly having sex with another man. He apparently was literally caught with his pants down.

The UPCI is not waiting to see if Nation is found “guilty.” They seem to have already decided that and has been “retired.”

The UPCI is known for its “holiness standards,” which include strict rules about personal grooming and dress. It comes as no great surprise then that the fringe Pentecostal denomination would effectively toss out someone publicly exposed for sexual misconduct.

No doubt Nation kept his homosexuality a secret, the UPCI has a history of denouncing that sexual preference.

Likewise the UPCI denounces other Christians who do not abjure the trinity as “pagans” in need of salvation. They also believe that baptism is necessary for salvation. This means that Christians not baptized according to the doctrine are going to hell.

Nation may be out of job, but he can still go to heaven. That is, if he continues in his commitment to the UPCI and its doctrines.

The Japanese cult Aum will continue to be watched closely by Japan’s Public Security Examination Commission for at least another three years, reports The Japan Times.

The religious cult attacked Tokyo subways in 1995 with poison gas, killing 12 and sending thousands to hospitals.

Some of those Aum members responsible for the attack have been sentenced to death.

Aum’s once supreme leader Chizuo Matsumoto, known as Shoko Asahara, remains in custody and on trial.

Aum is now called “Aleph” and supposedly has a new leader, but the group has not totally and definitively denounced Asahara. He apparently is still revered to some extent.

88 Aum facilities are in operation now in Japan.

Modern Japan known as a homogenous and peaceful society was shocked by Aum’s violence. Since 1995 cult awareness and education have become an important focus for the island nation.

“I will kill you like an American Imperialist,” is a popular curse in North Korea. The people there are subjected to a barrage of constant anti-US propaganda in an effort to unify the country, often through hate of the outside world, reports Associated Press.

A South Korean fisherman who was kidnapped and spent 20 years in North Korea said, “It’s a daily fodder in North Korea. The first thing you hear when you wake up for the day is some form of diatribe against the Americans.”

A North Korean who defected in 1994 says, “If you rule a destitute country with a personality cult, you must present the people with something to hate. It’s brainwashing.”

Not unlike totalitarian dictators of the past who promoted cults of personality North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Il, known as “Dear One,” reinforces his control through fear and hate.

Like Hitler, Tojo and Mussolini, the original “Axis of Evil,” Kim Jung Il uses the requisite scapegoats, mythology, alleged conspiracies, grandiose pretension and xenophobia, to reinforce his rule.

North Korea, frequently described as a “Stalinist state,” follows that sorry chapter in Russian history closely too. Stalin was responsible for the deaths of millions of his countrymen and created an aura of almost supernatural power and mystique about him.

“Stalinism” was by definition personality-driven.

And just like Stalin the “Dear One” largely possesses the minds of his people by controlling all information within his country and virtually any contact with the outside world. Kim Jong Il has carefully crafted a worldview for North Koreans, which effectively excludes any objective accounts of history.

Hopefully, one day North Korea will follow Russian history one more step and eventually pull down the statues of the Stalinist demigods, who have brought that nation decades of needless misery.

But the pressing question now is what has the rest of the world learned from history about dealing with such tyrants?

In Portland, Oregon a coalition of “mainstream religious organizations” has joined the protest against war with Iraq. And that coalition “also includes such fringe religious organizations as the Church of Scientology,” reports The Portland Tribune.

Why is Scientology suddenly so interested in preventing a US war with Iraq?

This looks like a cynical effort by the controversial church to network contacts and curry favor amongst mainstream religious leaders.

Scientology, which only a few years ago acheived religious tax-exempt status and has a history of bad press, is always looking for credibility and some way to burnish its image.

Interestingly, the controversial church plays both sides of the political spectrum. Scientology had close ties to the former Clinton White House ,but now seems friendly with the Bush family and Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Does this all sound a bit two-faced?

Never mind, politics Scientology style is apparently a buffet best served cold, devoid of cumbersome commitments based upon a single set of consistent and sincerely held ideals.

Psychologists that specialize in group dynamics said that “a charismatic leader” is the key to understanding the mindset of many terrorist groups, reports Channel News Asia.

Asian experts cited the ability of such leaders “to manipulate a group, and change their attitudes and beliefs.”

And instead of the purported profile of suicide bombers as poor, ignorant and disenfranchised, psychologists were not surprised to learn that many were sophisticated, educated and quite intelligent.

Experts paralleled identified Indonesian terrorists to cult members within Aum, the group that gassed Tokyo subways and also to the followers of Osama bin-Laden.

Elizabeth Nair, Psychologist, National University of Singapore said, “The charismatic leader is effectively able to say, ‘We who are in this group are right and moral, anyone who’s not in this group is not a good person'”

This is what Robert Jay Lifton identified in his breakthrough book Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism (first published in 1961) as “The Dispensing of Existence.”

That is, members of the group and its leader are always moral, right and those who disagree are immoral, evil and therefore subseqently dispensable.

Nair added, “A skilful gifted charismatic leader with an agenda of aggression and hostility can successfully lead members to all sorts of action, suicide, homicide and unsociable behavior.”

Again, this was reminiscent of Shoko Asahara of Aum and Charles Manson.

And oaths and pledges are used to bind terrorist groups together, not unlike recognized destructive cult groups.

Once invested in the group and its ideology members seemed to possess a sense of equity and felt they were already in “too deep,” to refuse their leaders when asked to commit crimes of violence.

American psychologist Robert Cialdini has described this sense of investment in some detail in his seminal book Influence.

Cialdini defines what he calls “Commitment and Consistency.” He writes this is “a desire to look consistent through…words, beliefs, attitudes and deeds.” And that “…after making a commitment…people are more willing to agree to requests that are consistent with their prior commitment.”

As we confront the worldwide threat of growing terrorism common sense dictates drawing upon the existing and well-established body of knowledge regarding destructive cults and their patterns of indoctrination and influence.

By understanding destructive cult thought reform programswe can better understand the behavior of many existing terrorist organizations.

A multi-state sex ring based within Chicago has been busted and the leader allegedly ran his outfit like a “cult,” reports The Detroit News.

Wayne County Prosecutor Michael Duggan said, “It appears to have operated much like a cult.”

Minors were abducted and coerced to become prostitutes for their 32-year-old leader Henry “Chicago” Davis.

The coercive persuasion used was often physically brutal, but a subtler means of obtaining control through influence was also used. Evidence of this was the relative freedom of movement women in the group at times experienced, which might enable them to escape.

Davis, apparently a master manipulator said after his arrest, “Nothing is being discussed about the good I did for these women.”

So-called “cultic relationships” can include as few as only two people, when one dominates and controls another. This type of relationship has often been compared to the “battered woman syndrome.”

The wrongful death suit filed against the Church of Scientology by the family of Lisa McPhearson has once again been postponed, reports the St. Petersburg Times.

McPhearson died while under the care of Scientologists within one of their facilities in Clearwater, Florida.

Scientology’s lawyers have filed an appeal regarding a decision made by the presiding judge, who rejected their bid to remove the plaintiff’s attorney Ken Dandar for misconduct. This was an apparent strategy to reduce the plaintiff’s ability to prosecute the case and/or a simple delaying tactic.

One lawyer familiar with Scientology litigation observed, “I thought the church would either get it knocked out, or they would wear Dandar out, or at the very end they’d settle. I don’t think the church wants what Dandar is going to do in that courtroom.”

While Scientology continues their appeal the judge decided to postpone the trial, which was scheduled to begin in a matter of days. Now it looks like months will pass before another court date is set.

Such stalling and maneuvering is common for Scientology. It is not unusual for a court case to be held up for years through such legal wrangling, or even longer to collect a subsequent judgement.

In one notable case it took a plaintiff 22 years to conclude his case and collect a judgement rendered against Scientology. The controversial church, which has been called a “cult,” ultimately paid that former member $8 million dollars regarding his personal injury claim.

It seems a settlement was in the works, but Dandar said “demands made by the church” kept it from concluding. This probably means Scientology is demanding some kind of “gag order” to keep everyone silent after making a big pay off.

One attorney said the lawsuit should pull in a settlement of about $5 million, but Dandar stated nothing less than $15 million dollars was being considered.

If Scientology was willing to pay $8 million to a former member injured by the church, how much more should they pay the family of a Scientologist who is dead due to their alleged wrongdoing?

It seems that $16 million would be cheap at twice the price they paid through the previous settlement.

The Kenyan government demonstrates its continuing resolve to crush the destructive “cult” movement known as the Mungiki.

News articles published by The Nation in Nairobi report more arrests as the government crackdown goes on with no letup in sight.

The relatives of one regional leader were arrested in a raid and bail was denied for many Mungiki already in custody.

68 alleged Mungiki will soon be in court facing criminal charges. It appears the men were preparing for yet another reign of terror and had gathered weapons.

It is clear that Kenya intends to put down the “sect,” which threatens the stability of the African nation.

The Mungiki are a prime example of the extreme violence and unrest created by religious cults in Africa that has rocked the continent through waves of violence in recent years.

Claude Vorihon, now known as “Rael,” achieved religious tax-exempt status in Canada and has done well there. But some Canadians are now apparently questioning that status and his comfy situation near Quebec, reports The National Post.

After all Vorilhon left France with an unpaid tax bill of about $500,000 and was never recognized as a religion there. The only thing the French recognized was that his “cult” was one of the most “dangerous in the world.” Rael was also implicated in “various sex-related charges.”

A French documentary reported the rape of an 11-year-old child within the group.

After leaving France under a cloud Vorihon winged his way to Canada where he soon settled with a core group of followers near Quebec.

Now the Canadian press is questioning how this man was allowed to immigrate and then given religious tax-exempt status, considering his well-documented and troubled history.

Who allowed this and why?

Here are some of the questions now being raised about the man who claims he is the son of an alien being from another planet and his followers, the so-called “Raelians.”

“Does this cult, which requires people to participate in orgies and women to have sex with Vorilhon on demand, break any laws or transgress the rights of individuals or minors?”

“Does the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency know how much money is coming into this charity, how it is obtained and from whom?”

“Do Canadian tax officials audit this organization to assess whether it deserves tax-free status? How was this status obtained? Where does the money go?”

“Is the money used strictly for charitable purposes or is it used to keep the founder in the lifestyle to which he’s become accustomed?”

“Does the group’s propaganda contain disclaimers or is the cult allowed to make wild promises about cloning, living forever and extraterrestrials granting eternal life with impunity?”

“Are the children of members of this cult being properly supervised and protected?”

“Are the children of Raelians being properly educated under the law?”

“Isn’t cloning against the law, and if it was undertaken by the cult anywhere, would that constitute grounds to remove its tax-free status in Canada?”

Vorilhon also essentially sponsors himself through “UFO Land” in auto races and drives a costly car. Where does the money to pay for that come from?

Maybe it’s time for another press conference so Rael can answer more questions. But this time he might not like the limelight.

A French official dryly observed, “We’re not very proud of the fact that [Rael] is French.” And some Canadians now fear they are “stuck with him.”