Archive for Waco Davidians
02.29.08
Posted in Waco Davidians at 7:09 pm by Rick Ross
Yesterday the Associated Press (AP) reported ridiculous conspiracy theories about the Waco Davidians as if they were credible.
In an article published by the wire service titled “Agents visit Davidian site 15 years after botched raid” an AP reporter wrote, “The government claims the Davidians committed suicide by setting the fire and shooting themselves. But survivors say the blaze was started by tear gas rounds fired into the compound by government tanks, and that agents shot them — even those fleeing the burning building.”
This AP report reflects more than just bias by totally ignoring the facts as repeatedly established through numerous investigations and years of litigation surrounding the Waco Davidian Standoff.
Not even noted by AP are the two congressional investigations that found such survivors claims to be totally false.
Republicans, not particularly friendly with President Clinton or his Attorney General Janet Reno, concluded within their report that such conspiracy theories about Waco were completely false. Here are some excerpts:
- The Davidians started the fire.
“The evidence presented to the Subcommittees conclusively demonstrated that three distinct fires began in three separate parts of the Branch Davidian residence within a two minute period on April 19. In light of these facts, the Subcommittees conclude that the fires were intentionally set by Branch Davidian members in order to destroy the structure. Supporting this conclusion is that fact that the fire review team found that a number of accelerants were present in the structure, including gasoline, kerosene, Coleman fuel, and other accelerants.
Given that these accelerants were used to contribute to the spread of the fire, the Subcommittees conclude that the Davidians used them as part of a plan to destroy their residence.”
- The use of “tear gas” (methylene chloride) specifically did not cause the fire.
“One of the theories forwarded to the Subcommittees comcerning the origin of the fire is that methylene chloride, a chemical used as a dispersant to carry the CS riot control agent injected into the Branch Davidian residence, may have ignited and started the fire. During the hearings Dr. Quintiere testified that it was his opinion that the methylene chloride in the CS agent neither caused nor contributed to the spread of the fire.
In light of this testimony, and the other information reviewed by the Subcommittees concerning the flammability of methylene chloride, the Subcommittees conclude that the presence of methylene chloride in the Branch Davidian residence did not cause the fire nor contribute to its spread.”
- The Davidans could have left the compound freely, but chose to stay and die instead.
“Throughout the morning of April 19, none of the Davidians left their residence. After the fire broke out, however, nine persons left the building. This indicates that at least some opportunity existed for the Davidians to safely leave the structure had they wanted to do so. One of those who escaped the fire left the residence almost 21 minutes after the breakout of the first fire. Clearly, some means of escape from the residence existed for a significant period of time after the fire broke out.
An important question, however, is whether the Davidians might have been overcome by smoke and prevented from leaving the residence. The autopsies of the Davidians indicate that deaths from smoke inhalation or asphyxiation from carbon monoxide poisoning accounted for only half of the Davidians who died in the residence. The other causes of death were gunshot wounds, burns, or other trauma. Thus, even after the fires began to consume the structure, at least half of the Davidians were not so affected by the smoke and fumes from the fire that they were physically unable to leave the structure.
Additionally, the location of the bodies of the Davidians indicates that few of the Davidians actually attempted to escape the building. Many of the bodies were huddled together in locations in the center of the building. Few of the bodies were located at points of exit from the building, and the cause of death of several of the bodies at exit points were self-inflicted gunshot wounds or gunshots from very close range.”
The subsequent independent Danforth Report came to the same conclusions.
Specifically:
- Government agents did not start the fire at Waco;
- Government agents did not shoot at the Branch Davidians on April 19, 1993;
- Government agents did not improperly use the United States military;
- Government agents did not engage in a massive conspiracy and cover-up. There is no evidence of any wrongdoing on the part of Attorney General Reno, the present and former Director of the FBI, other high officials of the United States, or the individual members of the FBI Hostage Rescue Team who fired three pyrotechnic tear gas rounds on April 19, 1993.
- Responsibility for the tragedy at Waco rests with certain of the Branch Davidians and their leader, David Koresh, who shot and killed four ATF agents, wounded twenty others, shot at FBI agents trying to insert tear gas into the complex, burned down the complex, and shot at least twenty of their own people, including five children.
Likewise, the Davidian survivors legal claims for damages were repeatedly rejected.
In 2000 a jury cleared the government of any wrongdoing. Their unanimous answers:
1. Did the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms use excessive force when its agents tried to serve search and arrest warrants on Feb. 28, 1993, at the sect’s compound? In particular, did agents fire at the compound either indiscriminately or without provocation in the gunbattle that broke out?
Jury’s answer: No.
2. Did the FBI act negligently in any of the following ways during its tear-gassing operation on April 19, 1993: By driving tanks into the building in ways that violated the Washington-approved gassing plan? By starting or contributing to the spread of the fire? By deciding not to have any plan to fight any fire that might break out, despite a directive from Attorney General Janet Reno to have “sufficient emergency vehicles”?
Jury’s answer: No.
And subsequent appeals by survivors and their lawyers to retry their claims ended in failure.
It seems strange that an AP reporter prefers to rely upon conspiracy theories rather than the facts as repeatedly established by the courts and Congressional Record.
But for anyone familiar with the sad history of destructive cults, such as Jonestown and Heaven’s Gate, the fiery deaths of the Waco Davidians is not an anomaly, but rather fits well within the historical context of other cult mass suicides.
And any responsible journalist should place the blame where it actually belongs, which is with cult leader and psychopath David Koresh, not the federal government.
This seems to be an uncomfortable truth that many people are unwilling to accept.
That is, the fragility of the human mind, which is far more vulnerable to undue influence than some of us would like to believe.
By allowing this bad reporting to pass through unedited Associated Press not only neglected journalistic integrity, but helped to perpetuate myths about Waco.
Permalink
03.01.05
Posted in World Church of the Creator, National Alliance, Hate Groups, Waco Davidians at 4:15 pm by Rick Ross
Chicago Judge Joan Lefkow returned to her home last night to find both her husband and mother shot dead. The federal judge had previously been targeted in a Neo-Nazi murder plot.
Judge Lifkow was an obsessive fixation for white supremacist Matthew Hale; the self-proclaimed “Pontifex Maximus” head of a hate group once called “World Church of the Creator,” later renamed “The Creativity Movement.”
The name Hale first chose for his group already belonged to a benign church, which didn’t appreciate the confusion he caused, so they sued.
Judge Lefkow eventually ordered Hale not to use that name and to purge it from all his group’s literature and its Web site.
Hale hated her for that and plotted revenge.
But the plan hatched by the former “Pontifex” from East Peoria failed and he was found guilty for “solicitation of murder.” Hale is now locked up in jail within the loop of downtown Chicago pending sentencing.
Ironically though, Judge Lifkow actually had first sided with Hale, supporting his right to use the contested name.
However, a higher court forced the Chicago jurist to amend her ruling and she then meted out the required restrictions.
Nevertheless in the twisted mind of Mattew Hale Judge Lefkow became his hated enemy and the font of perceived “persecution.”
Hale considers himself a “political prisoner” and remains both a hero and martyr to many within the dark subculture often called the hate movement.
One Internet site the “Vanguard News Network” has posts of praise for “Dr. Hale” under the heading “White Revolution.” He is portrayed as the victim of “persecution” perpetrated by the “Devil Jew.”
Reportedly another Internet site described Judge Lifkow as “a white woman married to a Jew with three mixed-race grandchildren,” while yet another Web site made public her home address.
Hale once said, “Some people go out and hunt deer…I think it’s a hell of a lot more sporting to hunt a Jew.”
But Hale’s hunting days are over and it is unlikely that he was able to order the murders from his jail cell, where his contact with the outside world is closely monitored.
Instead, it appears likely that those sympathetic with Hale and inspired by his rhetoric of hate may have finally fulfilled his hope for revenge by murdering the judge’s husband and mother.
If so, this would not be the first time Hale has inspired murder.
Benjamin Smith, a follower inspired by Hale, went on a shooting spree in 1999 killing two and injuring nine before taking his own life. This occurred after an adverse court ruling, which effectively ended his hero’s effort to become a practicing lawyer in Illinois.
“I strongly suspect that the denial of my law license set him off,” Hale told CNN.
Are the Lefkow family murders, yet another example of someone “set…off” by Hales circumstances?
All this can be seen within the context of a purported “Racial Holy War” called “Rahowa” against so-called “ZOG,” which one Web site explains is “an acronym for Zionist Occupation Government.” A term used to describe “the assortment of traitors and Zionist lackeys who control most of the White nations on this planet.”
Just such paranoid delusions may have formed the basis and/or rationalization for the recent murders in Chicago.
The National Alliance sells marching music for “Rahowa” on CD. This was the brainchild of deceased Neo-Nazi leader William Pierce, author of the notorious “Turner Diaries,” which inspired Oklahoma bomber Timothy McVeigh.
McVeigh executed his plan for revenge on the second anniversary of the fiery end of the Waco Davidian compound, April 19, 1995.
Is it only a fluke that the Chicago killings yesterday occurred on February 28th, which is the 12th anniversary of the ill-fated BATF raid on that same cult compound?
Waco has been a battle cry for anti-government extremists for more than a decade.
The FBI is now investigating the Lefkow murders and as they already know it only takes one deranged true believer to create mayhem and commit murder.
Judge Lefkow is under the protection of federal marshals.
Note: Bart Ross, another disgruntled litigant who lost before Judge Lefkow, later confessed to the murders in a suicide note. His DNA matched that found at the crime scene. Ross had no known connection to a hate group or Matthew Hale.
Permalink
05.18.04
Posted in Scientology, Kabbalah Centre, Heaven's Gate, Waco Davidians at 3:39 pm by Rick Ross
Madonna was photographed Saturday, exiting the LA Kabbalah Center wearing a T-shirt with “Cult Member” printed boldly across it reports the New York Post.
Well aware of the paparazzi’s penchant for hanging out at her haunts for photo-ops, this was obviously a well-planned ploy to “send a message” to her fans.
Madonna’s T-shirt logo is an apparent attempt to mock the notion that her cherished “Kabbalah Center” is a “cult” and therefore she is a “cult member.”
Of course a “cult member” rarely thinks he or she is in a “cult,” and such denial can be seen as simply a part of the ongoing process of indoctrination within the group used to dismiss criticism and reinforce its mindset.
The group may even choose to define the word “cult” as anyone deeply devoted to almost anything in an effort to obscure its real significance.
Another apologetic tactic is categorizing the word “cult” itself as a form of “persecution,” put forth by “jealous” detractors engaged in pejorative labeling.
Madonna’s Kabbalah Center has used these strategies.
However, the most obvious question remains, “Has Madonna joined a ‘cult’?”
A red flag for the public is the very fact that the group and its foremost benefactor have a need to dismiss and/or denigrate the term.
Another thing is also becoming increasingly evident, don’t expect Madonna to snap out of it any time soon.
The former “Material Girl” who reportedly now goes by the name of “Esther” has largely cast has her lot with the controversial group.
Madonna’s ego has evidently entwined with her religious mentor Philip Berg the founder of the Kabbalah Center. And it seems the star is so deeply invested she feels her personal equity is at stake.
In this sense Madonna is not unlike a “cult member” in a group like “Heaven’s Gate” or the “Waco Davidians,” trapped in a mindset that doesn’t allow the star to see the extent of the group’s influence and control over her life.
Fortunately the Kabbalah Center appears to be more focused on earthly assets and cash rather than stockpiling weapons or escaping this world in some spaceship.
But from her CD “Ray of Light” to recent children’s books and her decision not to perform on the “Sabbath,” each move in Madonna’s life increasingly seems to reflect “cult member” thinking.
The 1980s pop diva’s new persona can be a lesson though to her fans.
That is, if a strong, independent, “street smart” woman like Madonna can become a “cult member,” perhaps almost anyone potentially could.
And as for the Kabbalah Center, its missionary Madonna has made it the “‘cult’ du jour” for celebrities, arguably eclipsing its predecessor the Church of Scientology.
Scientology stars like Tom Cruise and John Travolta are aging and/or fading, but the Kabbalah Center is increasingly the “new religion” chosen by rising young stars and celebrities that seem to crave achieving “cult member” status just like their childhood icon Madonna.
Permalink
05.12.04
Posted in Hare Krishnas, Raelians, Ramtha School of Enlightenment, Scientology, Kashi Ashram, Jonestown, Cult Apologist?, Waco Davidians, Heaven's Gate, Japanese Sects, Aum Sect at 2:52 pm by Rick Ross
Cult apology is a trade for some, but it may be a “politically correct” calling for others.
This week National Public Radio (NPR) “All Things Considered” apparently was on a mission, the program featured well-known “cult apologists” in a broadcast about “New Religions.”
The two-part series hosted by Barbara Bradley Hagerty discussed the history of so-called “new religious movements (NRMs),” which is a politically correct euphemism for groups commonly called “cults.”
Feigning academic objectivity was J. Gordon Melton and James Lewis.
Both men have long been closely associated with well-known “cults,” such as the notorious “Cult of Greed” (Time Magazine May 1991) Scientology, which has recommended the two as “religious resources.”
Melton frequently hires himself out to “cults.”
Melton, the founder of the “Institute for the Study of American Religion,” has worked for the likes of J.Z. Knight, a woman who claims to channel a 35,000-year-old spirit named “Ramtha.”
“Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati” a former Brooklyn housewife and the leader of the Kashi Ashram in Florida also has retained Melton.
Melton’s professional “research,” which frequently flatters “cult leaders,” seems to provide them with academic cover, but for a price.
The peripatetic apologists Lewis and Melton were once flown to Japan all expenses paid by the notorious cult Aum, just after its leader and many members were arrested for gassing Tokyo’s subways.
Lewis claimed at a press conference after conducting an “investigation” based upon photos and documents provided by the cult, that Aum could not have produced the poison gas used to murder 12 Japanese and send thousands to hospitals.
Not to be left out Melton chimed in that the Japanese authorities “were threatening the group’s religious freedom.”
For those that don’t already know, Aum’s leader Shoko Asahara and his key subordinates were found guilty and sentenced to death through a court process that included overwhelming evidence.
Apparently Lewis and Melton overlooked and/or ignored such factual information.
Another “scholar” featured on the NPR program was Catherine Wessinger.
This academic once described the suicide cult “Heaven’s Gate” led by lunatic Marshall Applewhite as “definitely Gnostic…very similar to Hinduism (and also Buddhism).” She concluded, “The outcome with Heaven’s Gate certainly calls into question traditional Hindu beliefs and practices.”
Huh?
What about the more obvious explanation that Applewhite was crazy? After all, the cult leader did once sign himself into a mental hospital, wasn’t his psychological instability a factor?
Wessinger says, “I’m not trained in psychology so I don’t articulate those opinions…”
Wessinger also engages in something like revisionist history regarding Jonestown led by another madman Jim Jones. This cult tragedy claimed the lives of more than 900 Americans in 1978. According to Wessinger “they would still be here. But due to the attacks and investigations they endured…”
Melton, Lewis and Wessinger might be the cult version of the “Three Stooges,” or maybe more like the proverbial monkeys that “hear no evil, speak no evil and see no evil” when it comes to cults.
Whatever they are NPR appears to be just plain dumb, for either not doing its own research, or simply ignoring the facts in favor of some sort of “political correctness.”
Here are some glaring examples:
NPR discussed Krishna without even mentioning that the “cult” is currently embroiled in a $400 million dollar class action lawsuit filed by its childhood victims.
The Waco Davidians were labeled as a “new religious movement (NRM),” even though they are commonly called a “cult.” No mention was made about David Koresh’s bizarre claim that he was “The Lamb of God” or how the cult leader exploited and abused his followers, including the rape of a 10-year-old.
Another “NRM” mentioned was the Raelians, but again nothing about the sordid history of leader Claude Vorilhon (”Rael”) or the context of the group’s clone claim, within an endless series of self-serving publicity stunts.
Instead, all these groups were essentially whitewashed under the politically correct rubric of “new religious movements.”
And the word “cult” was never even used once throughout the entire program.
After all, according to the NPR “scholars” any meaningful discussion of “cult” bad behavior may be characterized as “persecution” and/or an “attack” upon “religious freedom.”
Note: In its second installment yesterday NPR featured yet another “cult apologist” Lorne L. Dawson. This program discussed the “Toronto Blessing,” an aberration on the fringes of the Charismatic Movement. However, in what can easily be seen as misleading, the report focused on the bizarre aspects of this Canadian group as if it offered listeners a pivotal understanding of Pentecostal Christianity.
Permalink
01.08.04
Posted in Twelve Tribes, Word of Faith Fellowship, Nuwaubians, Waco Davidians, Children of God, Church of God Restoration, Brainwashing at 11:47 am by Rick Ross
Nuwaubian “cult leader” and apparent pedophile predator Dwight “Malachi” York is facing judge and jury in what appears to be the beginning of the final chapter of his sordid life.
York is accused of sexually abusing minor children, through hundreds of criminal counts.
One witness told jurors yesterday how the self-proclaimed “Imperial Grand Potentate,” now known as “Chief Black Thunderbird Eagle,” regularly molested her beginning at the age of 8 reports the Athens Banner-Herald.
The “cult leader” allegedly created a contingent of child sex-slaves, and at least 13 of his purported victims have come forward as potential witnesses reports Associated Press.
These minor children reportedly often went hungry and struggled in substandard living conditions while the “cult leader” led a lifestyle of luxury, as a seemingly absolute ruler.
Hopefully, the York case will focus needed attention on the issue of the plight of children within destructive cults.
Kids in cults are most often brought into such groups like so much baggage when parents join. They have no choice, and are instead dependent upon their family to make choices for them. Subsequently, they may suffer whatever hardships and/or abuse is meted out by a cult, often with no meaningful protection.
The safeguards and advocacy, which are usually readily available to mainstream kids through concerned parents, schools, neighbors or child protection services, are not typically accessible to minors housed within cult compounds.
Cult parents typically rely upon their leader’s value judgements, whatever the leader says is right is right and whatever the leader says is wrong is wrong.
Morality may become situational and essentially subject to the whims of someone like York.
Historically, in many cults parents have actually cooperated in the harm done to their own children, through medical neglect, brutal physical punishment and at times sexual abuse.
Reports of child abuse and/or endangerment has surfaced repeatedly in groups such as the Waco Davidians, Children of God, Word of Faith Fellowship, The Church of God Restoration and the so-called “Twelve Tribes,” just to name a few.
Courts have increasingly ruled that parental prerogatives do not include doing anything in the name of religion.
Most of York’s followers remain faithful despite the horrible crimes he is accused of, even though the “cult leader” confessed in a plea agreement, which was ultimately rejected.
The judge apparently felt 15 years was not enough prison time for the admitted child molester.
York’s devotees prefer to see his criminal prosecution as “persecution,” the end result of a conspiracy concocted by law-enforcement together with disgruntled former members. And some have said York’s confession was the result of “torture.”
Such bizarre claims do seem to indicate that the Nuwaubians, like other “cult” members reported about in the past, are deeply “brainwashed.” Perhaps they are so personally invested in the mythology York created and have sacrificed so much; they are unable to move on.
Sadly, the children of this faithful remnant remain prisoners of the “cult” until their parents break free from the mental and emotional bondage wrought by York.
The Nuwaubian leader will likely end his life in prison. But despite that punishment, nothing can restore the innocence of the children he victimized.
Permalink
11.19.03
Posted in Jonestown, Solar Temple, Symbionese Liberation Army, Ten Commandments, Heaven's Gate, Elizabeth Smart Abduction, Aum Sect, Brainwashing, Charles Manson, Waco Davidians, Amma at 12:32 pm by Rick Ross
Lee Boyd Malvo, the teenager known as the D.C. sniper is now on trial for murder.
At 17 he and his mentor/father figure John Muhammad went on a killing spree that left ten dead in its wake and terrified a nation.
Now 18 Malvo is literally fighting for his own life in a Virginia courtroom. His attorney’s hope that an “insanity” defense based upon a “brainwashing” claim will explain the boy killer’s behavior and somehow ameliorate the outcome of the trial.
John Allen Muhammad the man that allegedly “brainwashed” Malvo has already been convicted and is almost certain to receive the death penalty. If his surrogate son and accomplice is found guilty, it is likely that he will receive the same sentence.
Opinions in the press vary, but some are calling the “insanity defense” in this case “crazy” reports Slate.
And the Washington Post points out those witnesses, who observed Muhammad and Malvo together, differ in their assessment of the relationship.
Some see Muhammad as a controlling and dominant figure that molded the boy into a “killing machine.”
Others say the two appeared more like friends, without readily seen evidence of a dominant/submissive relationship.
Malvo’s taped confession is chilling. The teenager admits, “I intended to kill them all.” And when asked if he personally pulled the trigger in the shootings the boy answers, “In all of them” reports Associated Press.
With such testimony, not to mention the physical evidence piled up by the prosecution, Malvo really has no other meaningful option than to plead insanity.
But was the boy “brainwashed” by John Muhammad or is this some clever lawyer’s contrived defense?
The “brainwashing” defense did not work for Patty Hearst, who was kidnapped by a political cult in the 1970s.
Hearst an heir to a newspaper fortune was coerced into becoming the pawn of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), but was nevertheless ultimately convicted of bank robbery and sentenced to prison.
President Jimmy Carter later commuted her sentence and Bill Clinton pardoned Hearst before leaving the White House.
Public awareness regarding “brainwashing” has evolved considerably since the Manson murders in 1969 and Patty Hearst’s conviction during 1976.
The Jonestown mass suicide/murder of 1978, which claimed the lives of almost 1,000 followers of cult leader Jim Jones in the jungles of South America, shocked the public and created an acute awareness of the power of coercive persuasion.
The image of parents giving their children cyanide was certainly compelling proof of the power of Jim Jones’ brainwashing.
After Jonestown Americans suddenly seemed to see the destructive cults that existed throughout the country and began to more readily recognize their methods of gaining undue influence. In repeated news stories cult “brainwashing” was discussed during the 1980s and 1990s.
Then came Waco in 1993, the second longest standoff in US history, between the cult known as the Branch Davidians and federal law enforcement. The end would once again be tragedy, when David Koresh and his followers chose death for themselves and their children.
In a succession of similar tragedies one cult after another would demonstrate the effectiveness of its own brand of brainwashing.
1994 the Solar Temple suicide in Switzerland.
1995 — the Aum gas attack of Tokyo subways that killed 12.
1997 — 39 members of “Heaven’s Gate” commit suicide near San Diego.
2000 — the horrific mass murder/suicide of the doomsday group known as the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments in Uganda, which may have claimed more lives than Jonestown.
9-11-2001 — the senseless murder of 3,000 people in the World Trade Center attack, once again perpetrated by the seemingly “brainwashed” followers of a madman, Osama bin Laden.
Self-proclaimed “prophet” Brian Mitchell was able to brainwash Elizabeth Smart from a dutiful family member into his seemingly willing follower in approximately 60 days. Smart subsequently denied her identity to police and did not attempt to escape the lunatic that abducted her at knifepoint.
Muhammad apparently controlled Malvo’s associations, environment and dominated his thinking in a nomadic lifestyle similar to the one Mitchell constructed around Elizabeth Smart.
How have madmen from Manson to Mitchell persuaded normal people to act insane?
The process of thought reform, commonly called “brainwashing” has probably been used in various forms throughout human history. Its mechanics have been explained in detail by psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton in his seminal book Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism.
Lifton, who once taught at Harvard Medical School, identified the features of “brainwashing” through eight specific criteria; Milieu Control, Mystical Manipulation, the Demand for Purity, the Cult of Confession, the Sacred Science, Loading the Language, Doctrine over Person and the Dispensing of Existence (see Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism).
Essentially what Lifton observed is that if an environment displays at least six of these characteristics simultaneously, it doesn’t matter what you call it, it is thought reform or “brainwashing.”
But can this work when only two people are involved?
The phenomenon of an abused spouse, often caught within what has been called a “cultic relationship,” also displays many of the same features described by Lifton. Experts have frequently labeled this the “battered woman’s syndrome.”
Was Malvo caught within the web of a “cultic relationship”?
Based upon some of the accounts that have surfaced from his family and witnesses he may have been.
But unlike Patty Hearst, who was eventually pardoned for her brainwashed behavior, Malvo’s deeds under the influence of his leader have included murder.
Perhaps the teenager was a victim of John Muhammad, but what about the victims of their rampage?
Ten people died as a direct result of Malvo’s “insanity,” and even though Muhammad may have been the master-planner of this killing spree, his puppet still pulled the trigger.
Society seems willing to forgive the misdeeds of “brainwashing” victims, but such forgiveness is far less likely if they have committed violent crimes.
The followers of Charles Manson murdered for him. Manson was later convicted like Muhammad, through a prosecution largely based upon undue influence. However, his followers were also convicted and sentenced to death.
Later the death sentences of the Manson Family were changed to life in prison. But despite their impassioned pleas that they were essentially “brainwashed,” Manson’s former followers such as Susan Atkins and Leslie Van Houten have repeatedly been denied parole.
As the Virginia jury weighs its verdict they are more likely to consider those caught within the sniper’s sights than the boy captured within the web of a madman’s undue influence.
Malvo’s only hope may come after his conviction, when his alleged “insanity” might mitigate sentencing.
At that point the claim of “brainwashing” might provide the basis for a sentence of life in prison, rather than the death penalty.
Permalink
09.15.03
Posted in Moonies / Unification Church, Word of Faith Fellowship, Scientology, Jehovah's Witnesses, Cult Apologist?, Waco Davidians, Brainwashing at 12:53 pm by Rick Ross
Psychologist and peripatetic professional “cult apologist” Dick Anthony is on the road again.
This time the man who often defends Scientology and considers Rev. Moon’s Unification Church and the Waco Davidians “non traditional religions” is plying his trade in Dixie.
Anthony charges $3,500 per day for his services and is now working for Jane Whaley, the leader of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) in Spindale, North Carolina.
WOFF has often been called a “cult,” so it seems that would qualify Whaley as a client for Anthony.
Whaley and her followers are warring against a mother for custody of her four minor children. The alleged “cult leader” has apparently decided that some parents can’t leave her church with their family intact.
Former members say Whaley essentially controls her following through “brainwashing.”
However, Anthony is slated to submit an affidavit that will rebut such claims reports the Digital Courier.
Such a job is rather routine for the traveling professional apologist whose trade seems to be getting “cults” off the hook in legal situations.
“Have apologies, will travel,” must be Anthony’s motto in what appears to be a lucrative business.
And he certainly has his work cut out for him in the WOFF case.
The group is known for its bizarre behavior through such practices as “blasting.” This is when members are subjected to so-called “strong prayer” to deliver them from evil influences and/or sinfulness. Blasting basically amounts to surrounding and then screaming at someone designated as a likely “sinner.”
Not a pleasant experience according to some former members.
During recent court proceedings in Spindale Anthony was seen taking copious notes.
But at $3,500 per day is Whaley really getting her money’s worth?
Maybe the alleged “cult leader” should have checked out Anthony’s references first, case by case.
Dick has been on a bit of a losing streak lately.
Jehovah’s Witnesses and Scientology, two of his most recent clients, each paid out substantial settlements despite Dick’s help.
The Witnesses alone opted to pay a plaintiff $1.5 million, the largest settlement in their history, rather than rely on Anthony as an expert in court.
Such settlements don’t really support the effectiveness and/or professional ability of this “cult apologist.”
Never mind. Anthony still seems to be laughing all the way to the bank and it looks like another good payday for him in Spindale.
Permalink
07.16.03
Posted in Waco Davidians at 3:00 pm by Rick Ross
Two sets of Congressional hearings and an independent investigation concluded that David Koresh was responsible for the compound fire that consumed the lives of his followers and their children more than a decade ago in 1993.
However, some surviving Davidians and remaining family members have never accepted such conclusions.
Instead they filed a lawsuit and pursued the federal government for a claim of $675 million dollars.
They lost.
Still not willing to concede, they then filed an appeal.
That appeal has now been denied by a panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and without dissent, reports Associated Press.
“It’s disappointing because…those who wanted to get the truth out are passing on,” said diehard Davidian Clive Doyle.
What “truth” is Doyle talking about?
David Koresh was an apparent psychopath and proven pedophile, hardly the hero or messiah Doyle makes him out to be.
But conspiracy theorists have worked Waco into an anti-government myth. The problem was when it came time to go to trial the facts took precedence over fiction.
Audio recordings of Davidians discussing the fire and physical proof that it was started by those within the compound, demonstrated that David Koresh ordered his kingdom destroyed, effectively murdering the cult members and their children.
But for a devotee such as Doyle, who lost family in the fire and has given most of his life to the Davidians, the issue of personal equity apparently trumps reality.
Therefore denial, for the deeply devoted cult member, becomes the preferred choice that makes sense.
Interestingly, not long after the fire Doyle actually refused to answer, when questioned by a Texas Ranger if he knew who started the fire.
“We conclude that appellants’ allegations do not reflect conduct that would cause a reasonable observer to question Judge Smith’s impartiality,” stated the Chief Judge of the 5th Circuit Court.
Whatever, Doyle is not discouraged, there is still the Supreme Court where he believes his fantasy may finally be confirmed.
Permalink
05.15.03
Posted in Worldwide Church of God, Scientology, Waco Davidians, Cult Apologist? at 10:00 am by Rick Ross
Cult apologist Philip Arnold trotted out for a Davidian pep rally near Waco last month. And wouldn’t you know that Rev. Moon’s Washington Times would pop in a plug.
The Moon-controlled newspaper ran the story “Davidians, friends gather in Waco to praise Koresh,” which read more like a press release from cult members, than objective journalism.
Arnold went so far as to compare David Koresh to “Jesus.”
He claimed, “Like Jesus, Koresh came into conflict with traditional theology and was handed over to authorities, who ultimately killed him.”
But does anyone recall passages in the New Testament about “Jesus” abusing women and children, or stockpiling weapons? In fact, didn’t Jesus urge his following to obey civil authority?
Maybe Arnold should brush up on his bible?
Apparently the apologist largely blames the FBI for the tragedy. He stated, “The FBI delivered the apocalypse of the Book of Revelations to the Davidians,” seemingly placing the responsibility for the tragedy with the government.
Arnold runs something called the “Reunion Institute” in Houston and has been touted by the Church of Scientology as a “religious resource.”
During the Waco standoff in 1993 Arnold and an academic friend James Tabor, another “resource” promoted by Scientology, set up shop in Waco and garnered attention with claims they could somehow work with Koresh to end the standoff.
They obviously failed, but don’t expect them to admit this. Instead, the academics insist more time was needed. It seems 51 days just wasn’t enough.
Both Arnold and Tabor were once associated with the controversial Worldwide Church of God, another group frequently called a “cult.”
Various Davidians and hanger-ons rallied for the 10th anniversary of the ill-fated standoff with Arnold, all holding forth with essentially the same refrain. That is, Koresh and his followers were “persecuted” and victimized by federal law-enforcement.
However, two congressional hearings, an independent investigation and a jury concluded otherwise.
Never mind.
Apologists like Arnold and the remaining Davidians are too deeply and personally invested in their positions to face the facts about the cult murder/suicide.
The Washington Times, which is controlled by a purported “cult leader,” likewise is invested in its own agenda and can be expected to slant news coverage accordingly.
Don’t expect a newspaper controlled by Rev. Moon to be interested in an exploration of how destructive cult leaders exercise undue influence over their followers. That might be bad for business.
Permalink
04.20.03
Posted in Jonestown, House of Prayer, Nuwaubians, Overcomers Ministry, R.G. Stair, Solar Temple, Heaven's Gate, General Assembly Church of the First Born, Aum Sect, Church of God Restoration, Waco Davidians, Freemen, Assembly at 8:53 pm by Rick Ross
The Waco Tribune Herald concluded its nine-part series today with an article entitled, “Prophesying about Waco.”
The newspaper was seemingly taking a swing at foretelling the future, but not in any biblical sense. The article focused on the future of Waco, in an effort to burnish the image of the Texas town.
Baylor University is spending more than a $100 million dollars to expand its presence in Waco and some civic leaders hope that President George W. Bush might decide to build his presidential library there.
The series explored the town and its mood more than it delved into the facts about the Branch Davidians, at times it read like a brochure put out by the Waco Chamber of Commerce.
Ten years ago things were quite different.
Waco Tribune reporters Darlene McCormick and Mark Englund, who are no longer on staff at the newspaper, dug deep to produce an in-depth investigative series titled “The Sinful Messiah.”
If not for politics the two journalists might have picked up a Pulitzer.
That was then, and this is now.
Hard reporting seems to be the last thing anyone wants in Waco these days. What the Texas town is intent upon, is distancing itself from the cult led by David Koresh.
One civic booster even went so far as to point out that the cult standoff “happened outside of Waco.” And then offered these prophetic words, “I think we’ve got about as bright a future as we ever had.”
Amen.
A Baylor professor chimed in, “Time has a wonderful way of curing things…My guess is that as time passes, the name ‘Waco’ - so indelibly marked in the minds of most Americans for a time [regarding the cult standoff] - will begin to fade.”
Well, Baylor certainly hopes so.
But the Waco Davidian tragedy was the second longest standoff in American history. And it is highly unlikely that it will “fade” anytime soon, despite the “prophesying.”
In fact it seems like some folks in Waco would rather ignore history altogether.
The paper appeared anxious not to anger anti-government conspiracy types. In a seeming bow to the fringe it reported a fire of “much-debated origin” ended the lives of the Davidians.
However, this ignores the facts as established by two congressional inquiries, an independent investigation and the verdict of both judge and jury in a civil trial.
The overwhelming evidence has conclusively proven that Koresh ordered the fire set.
In the final paragraphs of the recent Tribune series Baylor sociologist Larry Lyon offered his evaluation of the standoff’s enduring legacy.
He claimed, “It no longer means religious fanaticism. Now it’s a place where the government overreached.”
Perhaps this thinking is popular in Waco, essentially blaming the tragedy on outsiders. But the professor must be in an academic isolation tank.
Maybe he thinks the mass suicide at Jonestown was also the government’s fault, for not requiring that all Kool-Aide packages state, “Do not mix with cyanide.”
Kerri Jewell was only a child a decade ago, but her memory is more deeply etched that the professor’s. This is because she once lived in the cult compound.
Jewell said in a recent interview, “At some point we were going to have to die for him [David Koresh]. I didn’t expect to live past 12.”
Due to a bitter custody fight Kerri Jewell was not in the compound at the time of the standoff. Her mother was and she died in the fire.
ABC reported Davidian kids were taught “there were only two types of people: ‘good’ people who were inside the cult, and ‘bad’ people who were everyone else.”
Some Davidians still around Waco make it clear they feel the same. One told the Tribune there was still hope for the town though.
Clive Doyle said, “I believe God wants to save Waco, and I believe God works every day to change the minds of the people in Waco.”
Hallelujah.
Another Davidian put it less tactfully, “When David [Koresh] comes back, there’s going to be an earthquake so bad that Lake Waco, the shore, is going to drop 15 feet. When it does that, there’s going to be a flood here like you never seen.”
Now there’s some old time “prophesying.”
Waco will continue to be largely remembered as the place where a destructive cult chose to end its days.
And contrary to what Lyon concludes, Waco and other cult tragedies since, have proven the government rather than worrying about “overreaching,” often must take decisive action.
In 1995 Aum gassed Tokyo’s subways, sending thousands to hospitals and killing twelve. Next came the Solar Temple suicide in Switzerland, which initially claimed the lives of 74.
Americans were shocked in 1997 when 39 “Heaven’s Gate” cult members committed mass-suicide near San Diego. And the government had no interest in the group.
Criminal arrests and prosecutions in recent years, reflect law enforcement’s growing reach into the world of groups called “cults.”
A few examples include the Nuwaubians and House of Prayer in Georgia, the Church of God Restoration in Canada and California, the R.G. Stair’s Overcomers Ministry in North Carolina, the General Assembly Church of the First Born in Colorado and Polygamist groups in Utah and Arizona.
Since anti-government extremist Timothy McVeigh bombed the federal building in Oklahoma City murdering 168, with “Remember Waco” as his battle cry, the FBI has busted and put away many so-called “militia” members for weapons violations.
It is doubtful that Koresh would be able to stockpile illegal weapons today as easily as he did in 1992-93.
The FBI has learned to identify and deal with fanatics more effectively. The Freeman standoff in Montana, which ended peacefully, proved this.
But the Freemen were not the Davidians, with a leader comparable to Koresh. It is doubtful that the Waco standoff could have ended any way, other than the one chosen by the cult leader.
In the final analysis this is the greatest lesson of Waco.
Destructive cult leaders are often psychopaths capable of horrific acts. Cult followers frequently abdicate any meaningful autonomy in favor of total dependence upon their leaders. And they then rely upon the judgement of someone else that may be mad.
This can be a formula for disaster. Waco is proof of that.
Permalink
« Previous entries
