Global Warming: Was it Ever Really a Crisis?

Climate Change Reconsidered from Diane Bast on Vimeo.

"Professionally produced for The Heartland Institute, this 20-minute video features interviews with leading climate scientists who spoke at the Third International Conference on Climate Change in Washington, DC."

www.GlobalWarmingHeartland.org

Extracts from this page :- www.heartland.org/books/LegislatorsGuide.html
The Heartland Institute, has been studying and commenting on climate change since 1995, making contact with hundreds of scientists, economists, and policy experts whose views on climate change certainly dispute the notion that 'global warming is a crisis.'

These individuals are not on the 'fringe' of the scientific community. Lawrence Solomon, a Canadian journalist and environmentalist, wrote, “What I found when I started digging first surprised and then shocked me. I found dozens of truly eminent and world-renowned scientists who reject the conventional 'wisdom' on global warming. I also found that, in case after case, the scientists putting forward the contrary argument were far more accomplished than those who originated the U.N.’s doomsayer view."

“In short,” wrote Solomon, “the scientists I found and profiled are too eminent and their research too devastating to allow narrow and simplistic views of global warming to survive.”

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See also :-
Science and Public Policy Institute
(Lord Monckton's website.)

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"In a speech delivered before the Australian Senate on November 25, Australian Senator Steve Fielding warns against rushing to judgment on proposed carbon cap-and-trade legislation."
http://www.globalwarmingheartland.org/index.html

The graph compares the steadily rising CO2 levels with the global temperature average.
There hasn't been any significant warming since 1998.
The models used by the United Nations panel on climate change did not 'project' the lack of warming, and cannot account for the anomaly.
(Apparently the UN panel doesn't make 'predictions' - it makes 'projections'.)

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This is a static image!
Please go here for more info. :-
http://wattsupwiththat.com/widget/

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NewstalkZB (New Zealand radio station)
www.newstalkzb.co.nz
This recording was re-broadcast on December 12, 2009.

Host - Leighton Smith
Guest - Prof. Bob Carter (Marine Geo-Physical Laboratory, James Cook University, Australia.)
Caller - David

LS -- For Professor Bob Carter - David - morning.
D -- Morning.
LS -- Your question.
D -- I’d like to ask Professor Bob Carter, why is it that just a quick scan of the Internet shows that all the people that basically work at the coalface, who work in the area of climate research, ie. all the weather forecasting bureau of the UK, America, Australia, India, I think Scandinavia ones - all attribute the recent warming to man.
BC -- Well the answer is your word: “quick-scan” of the Internet. You obviously haven’t looked carefully enough --
D -- I’ve looked very carefully actually.
BC -- Well science matters are not determined by majority vote, that’s the second point.
D -- These are people working at the coalface.
BC -- I’m working at the coalface, and so are thousands of other scientists, and --
D -- Have you ever had a paper published, explaining the warming in terms of other effects apart from CO2?
BC -- Indeed, and that you can ask that question shows that your scan of the Internet was very superficial indeed. There are thousands of qualified scientists out there - they have signed public statements to the effect that not that climate change is not a problem. Climate change is a problem, but human-caused climate change from carbon dioxide emissions - if you want to take a head count - there are between thirty and forty thousand qualified scientists that have said that they do not believe that’s a problem. And the IPCC claims it has two thousand scientists - it actually has probably three or four hundred - you can’t actually get hold of the list. And that’s something else that should ring a bell of big alarm in the public’s mind.
D -- These are policy statements by organizations that represent people working at the coalface.
BC -- Well you’re putting your finger right on the button. They’re policy statements indeed - that’s politics, that’s not science, and that’s the problem with the IPCC. It is a political body. It is giving the government political advice, despite the fact that it is advised by scientists.
D -- Well can you explain why other journals, eg. New Scientist, The American Advancement For Science, all again believe the recent warming is due to man.
BC -- Well if they believe it, they are being non-scientific.
D -- Why?
BC -- Because science is not about belief, science is about testing hypotheses. The hypothesis of the day is that dangerous global warming is caused by human carbon dioxide emissions. That’s what the press reporter that asks me - sloppily - do I believe in global warming actually means. He or she means - do I believe that dangerous global warming will be caused by human carbon dioxide emissions? That’s a simple hypothesis. It has been tested repeatably - and it fails. Let me give you one test. Since 1998 - the last 10 years - global average temperature has declined.
D -- But there’s still a rising trend.
BC -- Well of course if you plot it as a ten to fifteen year moving average.
D -- Quite surely it is taken over a longer period, not a short period. Not a year or six months.
BC -- I’ll come back and address that, but just let me finish my point please, which is for the last ten years global average temperatures declined. Over those same ten years carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by five percent. The hypothesis is, more carbon dioxide - not just warming, but dangerous global warming. The fact is more carbon dioxide - cooling, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about three years, five years, or a hundred years, that’s a test of that hypothesis, and the hypothesis fails.
D -- Those ten years may have been cooler that 1998, but it’s still amongst the most fifteen warmest years since 1850.
BC -- Yes for the same reason that the days after mid-summer day are the warmest in the annual cycle. That’s a complete piece of scientific trivia which is run endlessly by the media and by the bodies that have an alarmist intention in this area.
D -- And by the climate research unit in East Anglia, who I believe you are quite happy to quote.
BC -- Well they publish statistics which are used by the United Nations, and used by me. Indeed I use their statistics. I wouldn’t dream of using their opinions.
D -- That’s quite interesting. So what do you put the warming down to - sun flare activity, sunspot activity?
BC -- There’s about a hundred sub-disciplines of scientific research that are relevant to global warming. I am a personal expert in one or two of them. There is no such thing on this planet as a scientist that understands climate change. Anyone that sits in the table opposite you and says, “I’m a scientist, I understand climate change, and the warming’s due to x, y, or z”, is an idiot, and you stop listening to them straight away. It is an extremely complex natural system, and perhaps the most important thing about it is that it is non-linear or chaotic. What that means is you cannot predict it. The IPCC themselves have a very good statement to that effect. That means that our government has plans to introduce taxes which are based on computer models that are trying to predict a system that all science in the world know is un-predictable. You as a citizen should be worried about that.

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Indonesian Clerics Call For Ban on '2012'

by Hans David Tampubolon, The Jakarta Post, - Wed, Nov 18, 2009.
(extracts)

Several regional branches of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the country's highest self-proclaimed Islamic authority, say the doomsday-themed Hollywood movie 2012 must be banned because it runs counter to their beliefs.

MUI South Kalimantan chairman Asywadie Syukur said Tuesday the government had to pay serious attention to matters that could mislead or confuse Muslims, particularly a movie like 2012, which is now playing at theaters nationwide.
- - - - - - - - - - - -

Members of the MUI's Situbondo, East Java, branch raided several Internet cafes in the area to confiscate pirated DVDs of the movie and prevent Internet users from downloading it.

"We condemn the 2012 doomsday movie because it has caused a lot of unrest in the Situbondo community," said MUI Situbondo MUI head K.H. Abdullah Faqih Gufron, ignorant of the fact that the raids carried out by his people counted as unrest.

He also called on Information and Communications Minister Tifatul Sembiring to issue a ruling banning the movie from spreading through the Internet. He had nothing to say about the DVD piracy.

On Monday, MUI Malang head Mahmud Zubaidi called the movie inappropriate, particularly for Muslims, because "no one but Allah knows when doomsday will come".

He added the movie was misleading and called on Muslims not to watch it.

Renowned cleric Yusuf Mansyur, while stressing he respected other clerics' opinions of the movie, said Muslims who chose to watch 2012 should consider it a work of fiction.
_more here_
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Que's Blog Reaches 10,000 Visits !!

Sure, that 10,000 total is nothing compared to similar blogs, but it is significant for me! When I started the blog on August 2, 2008 I had no idea how successful it would be - or if it would get any visitors at all! I remember being pleased when it attracted 250 visits! I even posted a list of the countries of those visitors on August 9, 2008; and then again for 500 visits on August 29. (Back then it was a total of 23 countries -- now there is a grand total of 101 countries!)

These were the first six posts :-
Space Exploration by NASA
"End of the World" in the Year 2012 ??
"The Firmament" Video
Survivors of Destructive Cults
Mind Control by Cults
and, Have They Been Recruited by a Cult?
They were a combination of posts I had made on a forum called Ironwolf, and a few articles on religious cults I had found on a website that belongs to the Spotlight Ministries in the United Kingdom. I was pleased to get permission from Spotlight to use their articles.

I was also pleased that other similar blogs created links to this one. It certainly helped to get the blog established. The [now deleted] Ambassador Watch blog even posted an article about this one! It was rather 'tongue-in-cheek', and humorous, and showed a little North Island bias -- a good natured banter between the two main islands in New Zealand.

This year the blog started to explore subjects that aren't directly related to Armstrongism, Church of God, or religious cults. But I think the new subjects still came under the broad heading of debunking -- or attempting to prove that the idea, theory, or prediction doesn't have a basis in fact, and can often be described as being pseudo-science. (Pseudoscience does not adhere to the scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, and often lacks scientific status. In other words, it is wild speculation.)

The name of the blog - Foresight of Hindsight means you can predict that if you take part in a risky project, gathering, team, movement, abusive religious group, or cult, you will eventually regret your actions, and you will wish that you hadn't been so foolish. In other words, based on your experiences, maturity and intelligence, you are able to have fore-knowledge, or insight into the likely adverse effects of taking part in those risky activities. The blog attempts to help people with their foresight of hindsight. (If you have foreknowledge you are forewarned.)

Some visitors might be puzzled or confused by the photographs at the top of the blog pages. They are supposed to be a visual representation of the name of the blog. The main photo is actually two photos that were carefully 'stitched' together. The right hand side was originally a copy of the left hand side. It has had the image of the man digitally removed. The small photo is intended to be very similar to the photo that the man is in the process of taking. I imagine that he is using some foresight (based on his knowledge of photography) of what the photo will look like - in addition to what he sees through the viewfinder. (He isn't a part of the scene -- hence the right hand side shows the scene without his image.) Looking at a photo is a form of hindsight -- you aren't looking at the scene as it appears right now in real life. You are looking at a facsimile of the scene as it appeared in one instant in time -- you are looking back in time.

I have identified which visitor made visit number 10,000.
These are the details of the visit as recorded by the Sitemeter program :-


























(You can click on it for a larger image.)
Notice the search words were: "scientisi 2012". Google suggested that "scientist 2012" were the intended search words. The first result in the search, out of about 3,150,000 possibilities, was the page in this blog with the title: 'Scientist Responds to 2012 End-of-World Hype'.
...And yes, it is the most popular page in the blog. Further, any Google search that includes the words 'scientist(s)' and '2012' will usually hit that page as the first result in the search.
Note. The visit length could not be recorded because the visitor didn't click on anything while he/she was viewing the page.

This is the City of Montreal in Quebec, Canada -- where the 10,000 visitor's Internet Service Provider is based :-



















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Anybody willing to predict that the blog will reach 20,000 visits before December 21, 2012 ??
Which city will visitor number 20,000 come from? As you are reading this, 66% of the visits have been from North America, 56% have been from the United States, and the most popular states within that country have been California and Texas. So I would guess Los Angeles or Houston. Is that logical ??
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Asteroid Apophis - reduced risk in 2036

NASA news release: 2009-151
Oct. 7, 2009

NASA Refines Asteroid Apophis' Path Toward Earth

PASADENA, Calif. -- Using updated information, NASA scientists have recalculated the path of a large asteroid. The refined path indicates a significantly reduced likelihood of a hazardous encounter with Earth in 2036.

The Apophis asteroid is approximately the size of two-and-a-half football fields. The new data were documented by near-Earth object scientists Steve Chesley and Paul Chodas at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. They will present their updated findings at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences in Puerto Rico on Oct. 8.

"Apophis has been one of those celestial bodies that has captured the public's interest since it was discovered in 2004," said Chesley. "Updated computational techniques and newly available data indicate the probability of an Earth encounter in 2036, for Apophis has dropped from one-in-45,000 to about four-in-a million."

A majority of the data that enabled the updated orbit of Apophis came from observations Dave Tholen and collaborators at the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy in Manoa made. Tholen pored over hundreds of previously unreleased images of the night sky made with the University of Hawaii's 2.2-meter (88-inch) telescope, located near the summit of Mauna Kea.

Tholen made improved measurements of the asteroid's position in the images, enabling him to provide Chesley and Chodas with new data sets more precise than previous measures for Apophis. Measurements from the Steward Observatory's 2.3 meter (90-inch) Bok telescope on Kitt Peak in Arizona and the Arecibo Observatory on the island of Puerto Rico also were used in Chesley's calculations.

The information provided a more accurate glimpse of Apophis' orbit well into the latter part of this century. Among the findings is another close encounter by the asteroid with Earth in 2068 with chance of impact currently at approximately three-in-a-million. As with earlier orbital estimates where Earth impacts in 2029 and 2036 could not initially be ruled out due to the need for additional data, it is expected that the 2068 encounter will diminish in probability as more information about Apophis is acquired.

Initially, Apophis was thought to have a 2.7 percent chance of impacting Earth in 2029. Additional observations of the asteroid ruled out any possibility of an impact in 2029. However, the asteroid is expected to make a record-setting -- but harmless -- close approach to Earth on Friday, April 13, 2029, when it comes no closer than 38,300 kilometers (23,746 miles) above Earth's surface. [distance increased 29 Nov 2013]

"The refined orbital determination further reinforces that Apophis is an asteroid we can look to as an opportunity for exciting science and not something that should be feared," said Don Yeomans, manager of the Near-Earth Object Program Office at JPL. "The public can follow along as we continue to study Apophis and other near-Earth objects by visiting us on our AsteroidWatch Web site and by following us on the @AsteroidWatch Twitter feed."

The science of predicting asteroid orbits is based on a physical model of the solar system which includes the gravitational influence of the sun, moon, other planets and the three largest asteroids.

NASA detects and tracks asteroids and comets passing close to Earth using both ground and space-based telescopes. The Near-Earth Object Observations Program, commonly called "Spaceguard," discovers these objects, characterizes a subset of them and plots their orbits to determine if any could be potentially hazardous to our planet.

JPL manages the Near-Earth Object Program Office for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., operates the Arecibo Observatory under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Va.

For more information about asteroids and near-Earth objects, visit:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroidwatch/
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Also, more info here :-
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/
An article on Apophis is here :-
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/apophis/
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New Prediction For 2012 !

[extract]
"Infamous futurist Alexander Grant has recently unveiled his latest prediction for the year 2012, posting on his blog his belief that early in that year there is a 99.9 percent chance that millions of people will still believe in hokey, simple-minded [rubbish] like the world ending with the Mayan calendar or the writings of Nostradamus."
"He also prophesied that many people are likely to continue believing in similar pseudo-scientific garbage in 2013, 2014 and forever onward until they realize that just because some guy with a beard on the History Channel sounds like he knows what he is talking about doesn’t mean that he does."
" 'I see a future where people read and watch things that are presented as though they’re proven fact and then accept and regurgitate this trash as truth - without bothering to even Google, much less research, the contrary viewpoint,' Grant wrote."
[extract ends]

by High Plains Reader, Fargo, North Dakota, USA.
[As at Dec. 4, 2011, this article has been deleted from the 'High Plains Reader' website.]
http://hpr1.com/
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Time for a little English 'humour'

Just to show that it isn't all doom, gloom, and debunking, here is a little English humour. ('humor' for North Americans!)

The first clip is from a very popular motoring program called 'Top Gear'.
Please click here :-
www.topgear.com/au/....
(Note that the website's player might take quite some time to load.)

The next one is a little known clip by the famous Monty Python :-



YouTube page :- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qvk2wNWmB20

Ron jumps the English Channel.
Ron eats Chichester Cathedral.
Ron digs a tunnel to Java.
Ron splits a railway carriage with his nose.
Ron runs to Mercury.
Ron breaks the world record for remaining underground.

What next?
Perhaps Ron will magically arise from his underground world record and become one of the Two Witnesses... ?
Oh, I forgot, somebody else called Ron has already claimed that one ...
(Ronald Weinland info _here_ )

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...or, perhaps some European humour :-

Berlin TV tower - lift off from Fabian Tischer on Vimeo.

Insider footage showing NASA's strange theft of famous Berlin landmark.

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Categories of Destructive Cults

by James Randall Noblitt and Pamela Sue Perskin.
extracts (page 215) :-
---------------------------------------------------
1 -- Destructive Religious Cults are associated with a particular religious practice, belief or system of rituals and may be further subdivided as follows :-

1A -- Destructive Apocalyptic Cults promote fear and paranoia along with unfounded predictions that the world is about to end. They may be distinguished from apocalyptic religions in that the former utilizes abuse, exploitation and mind control methods. Examples would include the Branch Davidians, Order of the Solar Temple, and Aum Supreme Truth. [A more recent example would be: 'Church of God - Preparing for the Kingdom of God'.]

1B -- Destructive Pre-Industrial Cults meet the criteria for destructive cults and also embody the traditions of pre-industrial cultures (eg. African and New World Vodoun and Santeria sects) ...

1C -- Destructive Demonic Cults meet the criteria for religious cults and also promote the worship or reverence toward a malevolent deity, spirit or principle (eg. Satanism, Luciferianism) or those cults that use others' fears of demons to manipulate or control them.

2 -- Fraternal Organizations. These groups are often secret and may also espouse particular philosophic, religious, or sociopolitical ideals (eg. the Bizango of Haiti, the Egbo, or Leopard Society of West Africa, and various subgroups within Masonry, and other quasi-Masonic groups...)

3 -- Destructive Sociopolitical Cults would include the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Brotherhood, and Neo-Nazi groups. We would include the Christian Identity movement here even though it is technically a religion...

4 -- Organized crime groups that function as destructive cults exist for the primary purpose of supporting criminal activities where there is a [perceived] need for using mind control methods because of the nature of the crime (eg. child prostitution and pornography ... ).

5 -- Government and intelligence related destructive cults refer to the alleged organized use of mind control methods conducted by individuals within government agencies (eg. CIA) for intelligence gathering and other secret operations.
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from a book called: 'Cult and Ritual Abuse: Its History, Anthropology, and Recent Discovery in Contemporary America' by James Randall Noblitt and Pamela Sue Perskin.
(Edition 1 - 1995, Edition 2 - 2000.)
The Google Books article is _here_
The Amazon.com page is _here_
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The Two Witnesses of Revelation - by Dennis Diehl

[extracts]
"In my 26-year experience as a Pastor, I had managed to meet 23 of the Two Witnesses of Revelation. I am tempted to say 11 pairs and one who thought he was both, but that’s not how it really was. Every one of these was a lone male, sometimes a pastor, sometimes a member, often times a lone religious renegade that no church would claim. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of the Two Witnesses, these are the two final humans ..... who will tell all of us on the earth why the end has come. ..... The description is found here in Revelation 11 ....."

"While I personally feel that the chance of any two human beings being taken seriously in this role is about nil, it is none-the-less a very big part of the prophetic hopes of many literalists, especially those in what have become the remaining splinters of the now defunct Worldwide Church of God. ..... The Two Witnesses would never come from the Worldwide Church of God ....."
[extracts end]
_lots more here_
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Que's comments :-
So this is justification for thinking that Ronald Weinland - pastor of the Church of God - Preparing for the Kingdom of God - is very unlikely to be who he says he is. If there have already been over 20 people in the various Churches of God claiming to be one of the Two Witnesses the chances of another claimant being authentic are very slim indeed!

Further, if none of the prophecies come true, and the claimant doesn't have any of the Witnesses' powers, he or she is most likely suffering from delusions of grandeur, and is guilty of religious fraud and extortion. There should be a law against it.

Note. Fraud is described as being deliberate deception, trickery or cheating by a person who acts in a false or deceitful way. One meaning of extortion is to secure money or favors etc. by the misuse of authority. -- The pastor of a church that displays the characteristics of a destructive cult is most definitely "misusing authority".
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Believe it or not! - Lose Weight Permanently Without Dieting

by 'pgrundy' (a writer from http://hubpages.com)

extracts :-

"Diets don't work !!

"More to the point, any diet will work for awhile. The problem is, at some point, after losing a few pounds (or a lot of pounds) the feeling of deprivation that a diet induces in the dieter causes that person to compensate by overeating. This phenomenon is partly psychological and partly physiological, but it is absolutely real."

"Nine out of ten people who lose weight on any given diet will gain it all back, and then some, within the first year after the diet ends. That's why every single diet commercial you've ever seen has the words 'results not typical' as a disclaimer at the bottom of each and every testimonial."

"In other words, for every single dieting success there are nine failures. And yet, each and every day, thousands of hopeful chubby people start a new diet convinced that this time they will be one of the lucky 10% to be transformed forever...."

..............

[summary of points made in the article]
-- The American way of life is deadly.
-- Just develop one new habit a week...
-- Eat a high fiber, high calcium breakfast.
-- Cut out processed foods six days a week.
-- Five servings of fresh fruit and vegetables each day.
-- Divide up your plate.
-- Take a daily walk.
-- Go to bed earlier.
-- Meditate.
-- Take emotional eating seriously.
-- Learn to appreciate whole foods.
-- Buy locally.
-- Love the body you have.

Please go here for explanations and more information :-
http://hubpages.com/hub/Lose-Weight-Permanently-Without-Dieting
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What the Ancient Maya Tell Us About 2012

by Mark van Stone, FAMSI (Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies Inc.)
This is the most definitive article on the subject I have seen.

"Maya Scholars, in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador and North America, have been watching with amusement and dismay as self-styled experts proclaim that ancient Maya prophets foretold an earth-shattering happening to occur December 21, 2012. This predicted phenomenon gets described in contradictory but often cataclysmic fashion -- as an ecological collapse, a sunspot storm, a rare cosmic conjunction of the earth, sun, and the galactic center, a new and awesome stage of our evolution, and even a sudden reversal of the Earth's magnetic field which will erase all our computer drives. One even predicts the earth's initiation into a Galactic Federation, whose elders have been accelerating our evolution with a 'galactic beam' for the last 5000 years. In sum, the world as we know it will suddenly come to a screeching halt."

"These predictions are alleged to be prophecies by so-called 'Ancient Mayans' whose 'astronomically precise' calendar supposedly terminates on that date. According to such accounts, these mysterious Maya geniuses appeared suddenly, built an extraordinary civilization, designed in it clues for us, and then suddenly, inexplicably, vanished, as if they had completed their terrestrial mission. These same experts claim special credibility for the Maya prophecies by asserting that these historic sages, with their possible extraterrestrial origins, had tapped into an astonishing esoteric wisdom."

"Could Any of This Be True?"
"The credibility of those claims deserves rational attention - which is what I intend to provide. Neither mystic nor prophet, I am a Mayanist. More specifically, I am a professional art historian and an epigrapher (less formally, a glypher), one who can read and write Maya hieroglyphs. For over a decade, I have focused my scholarly research specifically on Maya culture and writing, making some surprising discoveries that can present a more definitive perspective on the prophecies of the ancient Maya seers. As we approach the critical year, it is time to offer a more viable account of the Maya prophecy and expose both the fallacies and ethnocentricism tainting the current sensational accounts."

Lots more here :-
http://www.famsi.org/research/vanstone/2012/index.html
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Scientology Ads Take Over the Web

Scientology Ads Take Over the Web
by Jordon Golson, GigaOM, July 7, 2009.

"Google AdSense is serving up ads from the Church of Scientology, the cult/religion founded by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard — and Seth Weintraub, for one, can’t seem to ban them from his site. Weintraub’s Macintosh rumors page, 9to5Mac, might seem an odd place for Scientology to advertise, but the Church is in the midst of a multimillion-dollar ad blitz to promote the organization."
"Weintraub noted that he didn’t have a problem with any advertiser in particular, until his readers started complaining about the adverts, especially since he hadn’t noticed any rise in ad revenue. However, when he attempted to rid his site of the ads with competitive URL filtering — one of the tools Google gives its AdSense users, they had no effect. Weintraub writes in Computerworld, “I’ve…put every Scientology URL in the filter. To no avail. The Scientology ads keep coming.” It seems this isn’t a new problem, either; other users have been having similar problems dating back to February."
more...
http://gigaom.com/2009/07/07/scientology-ads-take-over-the-web/

"Google didn’t respond to requests for comment."
Why aren't we surprised !!

Comments - at GigaOM

"And if it’s not Scientology itself, it’s a Scientology front group like Narconon. Those Narconon ads are everywhere, usually deceptively hiding behind another name.
What’s really annoying is how Google News indexes all the
Scientology public relations releases, as if they were actually news. Scientology starts churning those out whenever some negative story appears, to bury it.
Anyways, the Scientology Office of Special Affairs internet
patrollers will show up soon to comment here and explain this."
Bob Dobbs

"As much as people are getting frustrated about this topic which is starting to appear in a large number of articles now… I am a very positive person and you must look for the positive in every situation.
For people like me who focus on making money from their websites, this is an area that we can get some money out of Scientology group… haha! (Jokes).
Happy making money online!"
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Making money from visitors to websites is surely not a responsible thing to do when users clicking on the ads could easily be seduced by Scientology.
It seems obvious that Scientology is a destructive cult. No doubt (most) ex-Church Of God people wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole!
Of course, it would help a lot if the websites could filter the Scientology ads effectively ....
and perhaps the mighty Google should ignore its huge profits for once, and ban ads from organizations that are widely regarded to be run by con men and women - who use powerful mind control techniques, and ruin peoples' lives and bank balances.
(Sure! ... I'll be amazed if that happens!)

http://hubpages.com/hub/Sorry--I-Dont-Want-A-Scientology-Ad-On-My-Hubs-Get-It-Off
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Scientology - Newspaper Alleges 'Physical Violence' by Leaders

A three part report by the St. Petersburg Times (Florida, USA.)

Part One is _here_

Part Two is _here_

Part Three is _here_

also: Leaving the Church of Scientology: a huge step.
and: [The] Investigation Gets A Worldwide Response.
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Scientology News You Might Have Missed - #1

Katie Holmes Performs Memorial Day Play in DC
GlossLip.com - May 25, 2009
"Is it me, or does anyone find [Katie Holmes'] involvement with this ceremony upsetting?, Considering Scientology beliefs on anything to do with brain injuries, their stance on psychiatry, and especially the false war records of their founder L. Ron Hubbard."
"Hubbard’s 'war hero' claims, have mostly been totally debunked. He greatly exaggerated his worth and rank in the military, and I am sure that any veteran would find these lies to be beyond despicable. And please feel free to go check out scans of his actual Naval records, it will make you cringe."
_more_

Are religious sects/cults invading the United Nations?
by Bill Berkowitz - The Buzzflash Blog - May 27, 2009
"A French government agency called Miviludes (Mission interministérielle de vigilance et de lutte contre les dérives sectaries -- Interministerial Mission for Monitoring and Combating Cultic Deviancy) recently issued a 199-page report charging religious cults with having a growing influence in international bodies such as the United Nations."
....
"Since its inception, Miviludes has apparently been the subject of intense scrutiny and broad criticism. Many of the groups listed in earlier reports expressed outrage at their inclusion claiming it would lead to them being stigmatized. According to Digital Journal, "NGOs said to be active in trying to destabilize the Miviludes' work include Human Rights Without Frontiers, the Institute on Religion and Public Policy, the Beckett Fund for Religious Liberty, and the Information and Advice Center for New Spiritualities."
"These and other organizations are said to be acting as front organizations for various religions who do not have UN accredited presence. Most notable amongst them is the Church of Scientology, which has launched several attacks on the Miviludes, notably by using the US State Department's clout at the UN. The Scientology Internet site logo looks very much like the UN logo and the Church presents itself as being 'Associated with the UN Department of Public Information."
_more_

What Does Greta van Susteren's Psychiatrist Sister Think of Scientology?
by John Cook - Gawker.com - May 28, 2009
"A tipster passed along something we didn't know: Noted Scientologist Greta van Susteren's sister is a psychiatrist. Or, as Greta's religion would have it, a practitioner of the 'industry of death,' a 'fraud,' a drug-peddler, and a 'rapist.' We asked her what she thought of her sister's curious views."
....
"We called Lise to ask her about Greta's views. 'These are private matters,' she said. 'I don't ever discuss them. The reality is, I don't know anything about Scientology's current campaigns. I know that in the past there were a few people who were very vocal about psychiatry, but I don't know enough to reasonably comment.' "
_more_

Wikipedia Bans Church of Scientology From Site
by Ian Rakowski - News.com.au - May 29, 2009
"Wikipedia has banned members of the Church of Scientology from contributing to articles in a bid to stamp out biased information."
"The site's administrators allegedly decided to impose the ban after finding members of the church were changing articles related to Scientology to promote their interests."
_more_

Is Scientology a Religious Cult or a Commercial Enterprise?
by Iman Kurdi - Khaleej Times - May 31, 2009
"A fascinating court case has opened in Paris this week. The accused is the Church of Scientology, recognized as a religion in the US but not in France where it is assigned the status of a [sect or] cult."
....
"Scientology lies in a gray area for me. I strive to respect all religions and beliefs, but scientology tests my limits. Quite frankly, I find it hard to think of it as a religion. So this trial is doubly interesting because at its center is the following critical question: Is scientology an organization whose aim is spiritual enlightenment as it proclaims or is it a commercial entity driven by the desire for financial gain?"
....
"There are several aspects of scientology which immediately raise alarm bells in my mind. The first is that it is proactively proselytizing and it does so in a manner which is clearly manipulative. When I was a university student, I accidentally stumbled upon them. There was nothing that suggested a church organization or an attempt at religious conversion in their approach, what I was offered was a free personality test."
....
"Once I had completed the rather lengthy test, I was given my results. I don’t remember much about them, but clearly there were areas in my life where I showed some dissatisfaction and this is when they attempted to sell me something more than a personality test, and selling is the right word. The personality test is free but after that things get expensive, very expensive. In my case, I did not go further than the free personality test, but the two plaintiffs in the trial, as well as other former adepts, tell of parting with vast amounts of cash. In the case of the two witnesses, they paid 20,000 Euros for ‘treatment’. That’s the thing about scientology. It doesn’t read like a religion as we know it. Its literature uses scientific terminology and promises physical cures to emotional ills."
_more_

Norwegian Government considers Prosecuting Scientology
en.WikiNews.org - May 31, 2009
"The Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services is considering prosecuting and banning some Scientology practices, in particular the use of the Scientology personality test to sell courses. State Secretary Rigmor Aasrud said that the activities in question might be prosecuted as fraud or as violations of existing healthcare regulations. A Norwegian Member of Parliament whose daughter killed herself after taking such a test, supports the idea of prosecuting illegal practices rather than trying to ban the movement as a whole."
"The statement was made after three journalists from the online edition of the newspaper Verdens Gang (VG) took the test. The journalists wore hidden recording devices, and did not disclose that they were journalists; VG put the recordings on its website. Scientology staff members told all three that they should buy a course to handle psychological issues."
_more_

Did Scientology Enlist Congressional Stooges to 'Attack' France?
by John Cook - Gawker.com - June 1, 2009
"Six members of Congress wrote a letter of protest to the French ambassador last month, taking the country to task for a new report from a French government agency that attacks some self-professed religions as 'cults.' Was Scientology behind it?"
"The letter said that the report—which was written by Miviludes, a French government agency that tracks cults and sectarian religions—'raises serious concerns regarding protection for an individual's right to freedom of religion in France.' The members of Congress didn't mention Scientology by name, but the Miviludes paper is reportedly highly critical of Scientology's efforts to influence the United Nations through 'front organizations.' "
_more_

Swiss More Fearful of Islam than Scientology
Turkish Weekly - June 7, 2009
"While the Church of Scientology could be dissolved in France if its members are convicted at trial in Paris, the religious movement raises few eyebrows in Switzerland. Unlike other religions, like Islam, which is facing a rightwing-backed popular initiative to ban minarets, Scientology and its one thousand Swiss followers hardly cause a stir."
"Popular fears are focused elsewhere, René Pahud de Mortanges, director of the Institute of Religious Law at Fribourg University, told swissinfo. 'After the September 11 [2001] attacks in New York the discussions and fears raised by sects in Switzerland were replaced by those about the Muslim faith,' he explained."
"Things were looking rather different for the Church of Scientology at the end of the 1990s, however...."
_more_
.

Scientology - News From French Trial

Digital Journal article by Michael Cosgrove.
[extracts]
"The Church of Scientology is on trial in Paris for organized fraud. Six individuals and two organizations have been charged and if they are found guilty the Church may well have to wind up some or all of its activities in France."
....
"Three Scientology services in particular are being analysed by the court and sworn-in experts. The French online paper Rue 89 gives a short description of them."

"The first is called Communication Lessons..."

"Another service involves Purification Rundown sessions..."

"But the service that is being most talked about right now is the Scientology Electrometer, pictured above..."
[picture from Wikipedia Commons - click on it for a larger image.]
.

Interviews With Cult Survivors

YouTube page :- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6w0ZdujeoU


YouTube page :- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMx4xG4_YWU&feature=channel


YouTube page :- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CppijrqHSMU&feature=related


YouTube page :- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj7iLNoXvu4&feature=channel


YouTube page :- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkCS1lIcobY&feature=channel


YouTube page :- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3_mDtyUGSA&feature=channel

====================================================================

See also :-

http://foresight-of-hindsight.blogspot.com/2008/12/how-people-get-sucked-in-to-cults.html

http://foresight-of-hindsight.blogspot.com/2009/02/join-us-film-about-cult-by-ondi-timoner.html
.

Scientology Church Accused of Organized Fraud

The Church of Scientology and seven of its French leaders went on trial yesterday on charges of organized fraud that could lead to a ban on the organization in France. They are accused of praying on vulnerable people "with the goal of seizing their fortune by exerting a psychological hold."
A report by Reuters is _here_.
(Writing by Crispian Balmer; editing by Elizabeth Piper.)
"Judge Jean-Christophe Hullin ruled that the Scientologists' Celebrity Center, bookstore and seven Church leaders should be tried for fraud and 'illegally practicing as pharmacists'."
"The Church of Scientology is registered as a religion in the United States but has struggled to be accepted in Europe, with French authorities seeing it as a sect masquerading as a church to make money."
Apparently it is known as a sect in France because the French do not have a equivalent word in their language for the English word 'cult'.

"It has faced numerous setbacks in France, with members convicted of fraud in Lyon in 1997 and Marseille in 1999. In 2002, a court fined it for violating privacy laws and said it could be dissolved if involved in similar cases." (Reuters)

There is a video by Emily Reuben (Channel 4 News) _here_.
Selected quotes from the video :-
"The only purpose of Scientology is to take money from people." (French barrister/lawyer.)
"France respects freedom. But even with religious freedom France can't ignore people breaking the law." (Spokesman from a government agency setup to monitor the activities of sects.)
"They get you into a state of complete dependence. When you are in that state leaving the church is like dying." (Paraphrasing a former Scientologist.)

More news reports can be found _here_.

Legal History of the Church of Scientology
-- "In 2002, a Spanish court dismissed a 14-year-old case against Scientology's international president on charges of illicit association."
-- "In Germany, federal and state interior ministers declared the Church of Scientology unconstitutional in 2007, opening the way for a possible ban on the organization. But experts at Germany's domestic intelligence agencies believe there is not enough evidence to justify a ban, according to German media reports."

08/08/2007 - "Senior politicians from Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition have rejected calls for a ban on the Scientology cult. A legal bid to outlaw it would fail because authorities haven't had time to build a proper case against the organization, they say."
"A bid to outlaw Scientology may fail because Germany's domestic intelligence service is unlikely to have gathered enough evidence against it to back court action against the sect."
"The interior minister in the city-state of Hamburg, Udo Nagel, had called for a ban on Scientology, echoing demands by the head of the city's Scientology monitoring group, Ursula Caberta, and church experts on sects."
"In Germany, the government views Scientology as a money-making cult rather than a legitimate church." (Spiegel On-line International, 2007 edition _here_ )

-- "Scientology says it has gone to court in many countries to uphold the right to freedom of religion."
(Legal history quotes from Television New Zealand website _here_ )

===============================================================

North America
Some readers from North America may be wondering if similar legal charges can be brought against extreme religious sects and cults in USA and Canada. I accept that I am an outsider looking in to those countries, but as far as I can tell, the United States First Amendment seems to be a problem (in USA) because it guarantees that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...".

On September 1st, 2008, I wrote :-
"Also, there must be a stage where the leader(s) will be guilty of fraud. It is true that: "People who behave unethically can be found in any part of life", but that isn’t a reason to protect religious leaders from prosecution. I suspect that the First Amendment wouldn’t apply in cases of criminal fraud."
http://foresight-of-hindsight.blogspot.com/2008/08/survivors-of-destructive-cults.html

In an open letter to the 'prophets' of doom on December 25, 2008, I wrote :-
"Hiding shamelessly behind your nation’s First Amendment is also regarded as being contemptuous and despicable. ( …) Maybe your founding fathers didn’t predict that their country would produce con men and women who would be guilty of religious fraud and extortion. (Yes, I believe those words are correct. Fraud is described as being deliberate deception, trickery or cheating by a person who acts in a false or deceitful way. One meaning of extortion is to secure money or favors etc. by the misuse of authority.) You need to be exposed as a fraud, with your Emperor’s New Clothes, for all the world to see and scorn."
http://foresight-of-hindsight.blogspot.com/2008/12/open-letter-to-prophets-of-doom.html

Further information about the Amendment is in this post (March 28, 2009) :-
http://foresight-of-hindsight.blogspot.com/2009/03/court-says-church-can-brew.html


So, for a legal bid to succeed it seems that a case of criminal fraud or extortion would need to be established that is serious enough to nullify the First Amendment (or render it legally void for that particular case).

===============================================================

Another possibility for legal bids or charges is explored in two posts on the Ironwolf forum.
http://ironwolf.dangerousgames.com/forum/index.php/topic,404.msg5250.html#msg5250
In the end, I came to this conclusion :-
"So it is possible to sue religious cults, but getting the cult to "come up with the money" looks to be a lot harder..."
"With regard to CoG-PKG, it is thought that most of their money isn't even in the USA! --- Switzerland was mentioned not so long ago as a location for their 'secret' bank accounts."

===============================================================

Apologies
Apologies to regular visitors. You would have noticed that there haven't been any new posts for about three weeks. All I can say is that sometimes blog posts have a low priority! Thank you for visiting the blog and reading my sometimes convoluted and verbose posts!
.

Articles For The Emotionally and Spiritually Abused

The Exit & Support Network has a large number of articles for the emotionally and spiritually abused ex members of religious high-demand groups. I have arranged the links below into logical alphabetical sections.

Leaving a religious high-demand group
An End to Guilt
Are Exiters "Out of Fellowship With God"...
Comforting Words About the True God
How Do People Get Out of Religious Cults?
Loving What's Right Means Hating What's Wrong
Prayers For Freedom From Spiritual Strongholds
What Were The Lies and What is the Truth?

After leaving a religious high-demand group
Common Emotional Difficulties
Common Spiritual Difficulties
From Victim to Survivor
Getting the Group Out of Us
Handling Depression, Anxiety, Fear and Guilt
How Did Herbert Armstrong Recruit People?
How to Recover After Exiting a Deceptive, Abusive Group
How to Walk Yourself Through a Panic Attack
Indications of Recovery For an Abuse Survivor
It's Hard to Get Close to God after leaving PCG
Questioning Herbert W. Armstrong
Recovery Issues and What to Expect
Surviving the Emergency Stage
The Healing Process After Exiting a Deceptive Group
What Not to Say to Someone Who Has Left an Abusive Group
Where Do the Feelings Go?
Why Do Many Exiters Turn to Agnosticism or Atheism?

Testimonies by people who have left high-demand groups
"Could No Longer Ignore We Were Victimized"
"Good to Be Free From the Worldwide CoG"
"Looking Back on My Experiences"
Personal Writings about Worldwide CoG
"Predators -- How Dare They!!!"
Stories and Testimonies by Exiters
Struggles With Attending Other Churches
Trauma With Another Church
Understanding How People Are Controlled in PCG

Also :-
Articles For Child Survivors
Cautions if Somebody From The Media Wants to Interview You
Understanding Mind Control Groups
.

Top 10 videos of all time at Tangle.com

'Tangle' is a family friendly social networking site...
These are the titles of the top 10 Most Popular Videos Of All Time as shown on the site _here_
It isn't too surprising that they all have a religious theme - if you include #8 which features a radical Islamic professor.
(Note to atheists and agnostics:- sorry, there isn't much for you in this post - unless you want to see if anything much has changed in the 'churches'.)

#1 - 'My Redeemer Lives' - Team Hoyt
"Incredible video about the relationship between a father and son.... and God's relationship with us."
11,574,625 plays, favorited 11,764 times, 2,587 comments

#2 - Lifehouse Everything Drama
"Band: Lifehouse Song: Everything How to get vid: http://www.extremegen.org/store/index.cfm or email me... God is ALL POWERFUL!"
8,430,484 plays, favorited 31,335 times, 8,355 comments

#3 - Little Girl and Psalm 23 - Bluefish TV
"Psalm 23 as only a child can tell it...this adorable video illustration is a must see."
6,242,574 plays, favorited 8,754 times, 2,169 comments

#4 - Baby Preacher
[Que: They start very early at this church & the baby has a future in impersonation!]
1,574,121 plays, favorited 3,806 times, 1,641 comments

#5 - 'Does Anybody Hear Her?' - Casting Crowns
"Watch the music video from one of the hottest Christian bands of today!"
1,407,813 plays, favorited 4,967 times, 555 Comments

#6 - 'Baby Got Book' - rap by Dan Smith
"It was created by Dan Smith while he was working at New Life Christian Church (Centreville, VA) for a Sunday morning sermon."
1,265,024 plays, favorited 6,707 times, 1,444 comments

#7 - Fantasia - Done Enough (gospel music)
"Bobby Jones Gospel Performance and she ripped it like no-bodies business."
938,166 plays, favorited 275 times, 114 comments

#8 - An Alarming Video Every Westerner Should See
"Anyone (like Barack Obama) entertaining ideas of western democracies establishing friendly relations with the radicals of the Islamic world should watch this video. While watching the inflammatory rhetoric of the speaker, remember that this is not a Jihadists from Iran but a professor from Kuwait - a country with every reason to be grateful to the USA for liberating it from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein's invasion."
929,977 plays, favorited 202 times, 187 comments

#9 - Louie Giglio - Laminin molecule
"This blew me away! A snippet from a great message entitled How great is our God! by Louie Giglio, this section talks about Laminin, an amazing molecule in the human body."
920,163 plays, favorited 2,990 times, 340 comments

#10 - Rapture - End Times
"The rapture is coming soon, are you ready?"
Caution: 1 - This is a scary video. 2 - Do not play with a high volume setting!
904,673 plays, favorited 7,115 times, 1,670 comments


The next 10 top videos are shown on this page
About half of them have a religious theme.
.

The Language of Abusive Churches - Part 2

This list was originally posted in the ‘Ex Pentecostal Forum’ in July 2007. _here_
(I have included some additions that were in the comments section of the post.)

It was also posted in the ‘Post WCG Life and Theology’ blog in January 2008. _here_

I do not wish to offend any members of Pentecostal Churches. It is the pastors and the leaders who use well-known mind control methods that we need to be concerned about.
Ex COG people may also recognize some of the phrases.

Part one is _here_


[extract starts]
“Pentecostal Christianese Translator”

1 - After “Joe” leaves the church it is said of him: “Oh, Joe wouldn’t let us pastor him”.
Means: Joe wouldn’t submit enough and let us control/manipulate him.

2 - “Baptized in the Holy Spirit.”
Means: They spoke in tongues at least once, so now they have our stamp of approval. We expect you to believe that this altered state of consciousness is totally controlled by God, and that it only happens in a Christian culture.

3 - “Bitterness.”
Means: The state of mind of anyone who would dare question the pastor’s supreme authority.

4 - “Blaming Christianity.”
Means: This is a common accusation that spiritual abusers make against their victims who try to hold them accountable for their actions.

5 - “Contagious.”
Means: A phrase used by my former spiritually abusive pastor to label anyone who might encourage followers to think for themselves.

6 - “Dance in the Spirit.”
Means: It’s Ok to dance a jig in church, so long as we believe that God gives the moves. Just move your feet, silly. We’ll supply the music. Better not have a human partner!

7 - "Dismiss us from this service, but not from your presence" at the end of prayer.
Means: Yeah I maybe letting you out of the building, but you still belong to us and don't you forget it!

8 - "Don't you want what God has for you?"
I usually got that one when I didn't go down front to pray with everyone else or if I didn't do something the way they wanted me to. Finally, I told one of them, "I want what God has for me, I just don't want what you have for me." Of course, they looked at me confused. I mean how could ‘what they wanted’ not be what God wanted?

9 - "Evangelising."
Means: bothering poor innocent people who really aren't interested to give them the "good news" that they have a choice between hell and slavery to our church.

10 - “Filled with the Holy Spirit.”
See: “Baptized in the Holy Spirit”

11 - “Gifts of the Spirit.”
Means: Well Ok, there are more than one, but WE only want you to speak in tongues. It keeps the service more lively and impresses others, especially visitors.

12 - “Give as giving unto the Lord.”
Means: We need the money more than you do.

13 - "God has a wonderful plan for YOUR life."
Means: Just make sure it fits with OUR plan otherwise it's not from God.

14 - "God has put you on my heart."
Means: I heard some gossip about the problems in your personal life and I want to get the full story from you first-hand.

15 - “God put it on my heart.”
Means: I really want to tell you this (or really want to do this) and if I just say I WANT to, you’ll be able to tell me why I shouldn’t, but if I tell you GOD SAID then you can’t argue with it, can you?

16 - "I have a burden to see you saved."
Means: I am going to harass you non-stop until you get saved.

17 - “I love you in the Lord.”
Means: I CAN’T STAND you in the natural (secular)!

18 - “I wonder if some of you are even saved!”
Means: Your assurance of salvation should not be based in your acceptance of the sacrifice that Jesus made at Calvary, but rather in adhering to my every demand - and that has been brought into question!

19 - “I’ll pray for you.”
Means: Too bad about your situation - glad it’s not me. Glad I don’t REALLY have to do anything to help - see ya!

20 - “I’m blessed.”
Means: Life sucks, but I have my head buried in the sand and am avoiding all issues in my life in favor of seeking after religious experiences.

21 - “I’m discerning an attitude!”
Means: I am about to [abuse you] in public to make you an example of what happens to anyone who crosses me.

22 - “I’m getting ready to read somebody’s mail.”
Means: I want you to think I have psychic powers and can read your mind.

23 - “Jesus came to bring a sword.”
Means: I want you to cut off your family and friends and become co-dependent on me.

24 - “Nominal Christian.”
Means: Normal Christian, not one with super-gifts. Those in other churches. Not one of us because we know we are more holy and could teach them some things!

25 - “OF God.”
Means: What we perceive as good… looks holy.

26 - “OF Satan.”
Means: What we perceive as bad… looks evil.

27 - “OF the flesh.”
Means: Anything people do that we just don’t think is right. (Oh, Grey area!, but more black than white.) Watch out! Satan is lurking…

28 - “Praise and Worship.”
What’s the difference? ….oh yeah…. we had some teaching about the difference from time to time so you could tell when you were praising and when you were worshiping!

29 - “Pray through.”
Means: Pray till you start shaking and acting crazy.

30 - “Sanctify your emotions.”
Means: Turn off your brain and let me do the thinking for you.

31 - “Slain in the Spirit.”
Means: We knock them down & expect you to believe God did it. Side note: Someone stands behind them to help them fall easy. This is our insurance policy, so there’s no personal injuries, hence no lawsuits.

32 - “The Bible doesn’t have anything to say about votes, ballets, etc.”
Means: I am in total control & you will have no say-so.

33 - “This is not a democracy - it’s a theocracy.”
Means: I am in total control here. Whatever I say goes.

34 - “Touch not mine anointed.”
Means: Do what I say without questioning.

35 - “Truth is not always the truth if it is not spoken in love.”
Means: You are in sin if you say anything bad about us!

36 - "We missed you."
Means: "We want to make you feel guilty for missing the prayer meeting."

37 - "We must have regular fellowship."
Means: You better come to every meeting so we can keep an eye on you and continue to “brainwash” you.

38 - "We need to pray for....."
Means: This is my holy and pious excuse for telling you personal things about them so we can slander them.

39 - “We should all speak the same thing.” (based on 1 Cor 1:10)
Means: Always agree with the leadership, anything else is strife or rebellion.

40 - “Yeah, and the Lord would say to thee…”
Means: I’m getting ready to give you your marching orders.

41 - "Yield to the leading of the Lord."
Means: I want to see plenty of people talking in gibberish.

42 - “You are ‘out of your place’ in the spirit.”
Means: You are not complying 200% to my every command.

43 - “You have an independent spirit.”
Means: You have begun to think for yourself again - now stop it, or else!
[extract ends]
.

Court Says Church Can Brew Hallucinogenic Tea

by USA Today, Mar 24, 2009.
[extract]

"PORTLAND, Oregon. — A church in Ashland can import and brew a hallucinogenic tea for its religious services, under a federal court ruling issued March 19.

"Judge Owen M. Panner issued a permanent injunction that bars the federal government from penalizing or prohibiting the 'Church of the Holy Light of the Queen' from sacramental use of 'Daime' tea."
_more_


The suit was filed under the 'Religious Freedom Restoration Act'.

It is a 1993 United States federal law aimed at preventing laws which substantially burden a person's free exercise of their religion. The bill was introduced by Howard McKeon of California and Dean Gallo of New Jersey on March 11, 1993.

The law reinstated the Sherbert Test, mandating that strict scrutiny be used when determining if the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, guaranteeing religious freedom, has been violated. In this, the court must first determine whether the person has a claim involving a sincere religious belief, and whether the government action is a substantial burden on the person’s ability to act on that belief...

=========================================

Selected reader comments from the USA Today report :-

"Me thinks perchance the judge is overstepping his authority just a wee bit. Perhaps a little to much tea sampled as part of the research for the case."

"Yeah every day I see evidence of that. (Especially when I read these boards and I'm assuming the folks posting don't have any experience with hallucinogens.) If you haven't tried it don't knock it. But you will only experience 'god' while under the influence if you are expecting it.
Otherwise just like with LSD, peyote, mescaline, etc, you will have an experience that is reflective of your subconscious. No training is required. However having someone with you as a 'babysitter' is recommended."

" 'What happens to some people's minds when they go to law school?' I believe that if there are enough wrong interpretations of the Constitution, the U.S. will self destruct."

"How long do the effects last? Is it safe for them to drive motor vehicles after the services? If they are arrested for DUI will their 'puke' lawyer file another law suit?"

"The Brazilian 'Church of the Holy Light of the Queen' bible translators use a centuries old tradition of passing down Bible verses orally. Sadly, the 'telegraph principle' once again took hold, thereby explaining their scripture's entry for John 14:6 'no one comes to the Father except through tea'.
.

'Bad Moon Rising' by C.C.R.

This is a brief departure from Que's usual material.
Normal service will be restored as soon as possible.





CAUTION: If you wish to continue to enjoy the song without knowing exactly what it is about, it might not be a good idea to read the lyrics below!



===================================

YouTube page :- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BmEGm-mraE


Released in 1969 by Creedence Clearwater Revival, written by John Fogerty. It was the lead single from their album Green River, and the group’s breakthrough hit.
(It was released in the same year as the Woodstock Festival and the first steps on the Moon by Neil Armstrong.)



BAD MOON RISING

I see the bad moon rising
I see trouble on the way
I see earthquakes and lightnin'
I see bad times today

CHORUS:
Don't go 'round tonight
Well, it's bound to take your life
There's a bad moon on the rise

I hear hurricanes ablowing
I know the end is coming soon
I fear rivers over flowing
I hear the voice of wreckers and ruin

CHORUS

All right!

Hope you got your things together
Hope you are quite prepared to die
Looks like we're in for nasty weather
One eye is taken for an eye

CHORUS

CHORUS

===================================

When you see the lyrics you probably get a different impression of the song.
Obviously it is about death and destruction due to earthquakes, lightning, hurricanes, and flooding.
Note the line in the second verse, "I know the end is coming soon".
(I don't think it means the end of the song...)
Also the last line, "One eye is taken for an eye." Perhaps that is a religious reference to some people having to suffer in the same way that they offended.
Are your impressions the same as mine, or are they entirely different?

A few comments from the YouTube page :-

"I remember hearing this song, I always liked it. But damn, I never realized the lyrics were so dark, or deep. I like it even more now I think, lol."

"Such an upbeat music for a song about bad omens."

"Maybe murders, robberies, explosions, and bad weather have happened all throughout history. You never know. Maybe the end of the world was 100 years ago..."

"Incredible song... - when music was still true and could touch your soul."

.

James Lovelock -- Apocalyptic Doomsayer

[ see Updates below ]

"Gaia" Scientist Says Life Doomed by Climate Woes
by Peter Griffiths, Reuters, February 25, 2009.

Climate scientist Lovelock sees death "on grand scale".
Vast areas will become deserts, or [will be] flooded.

[extracts in italics]
"Climate change will wipe out most life on Earth by the end of this century and mankind is too late to avert catastrophe, a leading British climate scientist said.
"James Lovelock, 89 ... said higher temperatures will turn parts of the world into desert and raise sea levels, flooding other regions.
"His apocalyptic theory foresees crop failures, drought and death on an unprecedented scale. The population of this hot, barren world could shrink from about seven billion to one billion by 2100 as people compete for ever-scarcer resources.
" 'It will be death on a grand scale from famine and lack of water,' Lovelock said."

Note that the writer calls it an apocalyptic theory, and Mr Lovelock says that most life on Earth will be wiped out. He seems absolutely sure that it will happen, without a doubt.

Theories are never considered right or wrong. Instead, they are supported or challenged by observations in the world. They are proposed as true but are expected to satisfy careful examination to account for the possibility of faulty or incorrect observation. ( Wikipedia )

"Attempts to cut emissions of planet-warming gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) in an attempt to reduce the risks are probably doomed to failure, he added.
"Even if the world found a way of cutting emissions to zero, it is now too late to cool the Earth.
" 'It is a bit like a supertanker. You can't make it stop by just turning the engines off,' he said before the release of a new book on climate change."

So is this news media article designed to help drive sales of his new book? A skeptic would probably say yes!
(Actually a supertanker will stop - eventually! - if you turn the engines off, due to water and air resistance.)

" 'I don't see the efforts of governments around the world succeeding in doing anything significant to cut back the emissions of carbon dioxide,' he said.
"Efforts should instead be focused on creating safe havens in areas which will escape the worst effects of climate change."

This seems very much like the "places of safety" (eg. Petra) specified by some 'Church of God' splinters. -- They are places where the dedicated followers have been told they will find refuge during the Apocalypse.

" 'Don't blame me for the terrible predictions,' said Lovelock..."

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*UPDATE*
29 May 2010
... James Lovelock speaking at the Hay festival :-
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/may/31/hay-festival-climate-change-debates

"Who knows? Everybody might be wrong," he says. "I may be wrong. Climate change may not happen as fast as we thought, and we may have 1,000 years to sort it out."

Extract from the Comments section of the article :-
"This is what Lovelock said about global warming ..."

.. on CRU scientists ..

I was utterly disgusted. My second thought was that it was inevitable. It was bound to happen. Science, not so very long ago, pre-1960s, was largely vocational. Back when I was young, I didn't want to do anything else other than be a scientist. They're not like that nowadays. They don't give a damn. They go to these massive, mass-produced universities and churn them out. They say: "Science is a good career. You can get a job for life doing government work." That's no way to do science.

I have seen this happen before, of course. We should have been warned by the CFC/ozone affair because the corruption of science in that was so bad that something like 80% of the measurements being made during that time were either faked, or incompetently done on computer models. I remember when the Americans sent up a satellite to measure ozone and it started saying that a hole was developing over the South Pole. But the damn fool scientists were so mad on the models that they said the satellite must have a fault. We tend to now get carried away by our giant computer models. But they're not complete models. They're based more or less entirely on geophysics. They don't take into account the climate of the oceans to any great extent, or the responses of the living stuff on the planet. So I don't see how they can accurately predict the climate.

.. on predicting temperatures ..

If you look back on climate history it sometimes took anything up to 1,000 years before a change in one of the variables kicked in and had an effect. And during those 1,000 years the temperature could have gone in the other direction to what you thought it should have done. What right have the scientists with their models to say that in 2100 the temperature will have risen by 5 deg. Celsius?

The great climate science centres around the world are more than well aware how weak their science is. If you talk to them privately they're scared stiff of the fact that they don't really know what the clouds and the aerosols are doing. They could be absolutely running the show. We haven't got the physics worked out yet. One of the chiefs once said to me that he agreed that they should include the biology in their models, but he said they hadn't got the physics right yet and it would be five years before they do. So why on earth are the politicians spending a fortune of our money when we can least afford it on doing things to prevent events 50 years from now? They've employed scientists to tell them what they want to hear.

.. on scientists ..

Sometimes their view might be quite right, but it might also be pure propaganda. This is wrong. They should ask the scientists, but the problem is scientists won't speak. If we had some really good scientists it wouldn't be a problem, but we've got so many dumbos who just can't say anything, or who are afraid to say anything. They're not free agents.
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*UPDATE*
30 March 2014
Father of the ‘Gaia hypothesis’ James Lovelock: environmentalism has become a religion  
[extract:]
"Environmentalism has “become a religion” and does not pay enough attention to facts, according to James Lovelock.
The 94 year-old scientist, famous for his Gaia hypothesis that Earth is a self-regulating, single organism, also said that he had been too certain about the rate of global warming in his past book, that “it’s just as silly to be a [climate] denier as it is to be a believer” and that fracking and nuclear power should power the UK, not renewable sources such as windfarms."

2 April 2014
Climate Change Believers And Deniers Equally Silly Says Environmental Guru
[extract:]
" 'It’s just as silly to be a denier as it is to be a believer. You can’t be certain.' "
.