Posts Tagged ‘scientology’

Twitter shuts down string of accounts containing child abuse images after hackers expose indecent content, Piero Corsi, Italian Priest, Says ‘Provocative’ Women To Blame For Spate Of Domestic Violence (VIDEO), Belgium To Prosecute Scientology As Criminal Organization; Church Faces Charges Of Extortion, Fraud

Twitter shuts down string of accounts containing child abuse images after hackers expose indecent content

NSPCC says hacking groups exposed the files last night
The charity says it has received a ‘flurry’ of reports
Unclear whether images came from British users or those abroad
Cases will now be investigated in the US where the site is based
Another child protection group received 30 reports of such images

By James Black
24 December 2012

A string of Twitter accounts have been closed after they were revealed to contain disturbing images of child abuse.

The graphic pictures were apparently made public late last night after hacking groups claimed to have broken into the private accounts to expose their indecent content, the NSPCC said.

The charity said it received a ‘flurry’ of reports overnight relating to at least half a dozen Twitter accounts which were later disabled.

They will now be investigated in the US, where the micro-blogging site is based.

An NSPCC spokesman said: ‘Apparently these were pretty disturbing images of child abuse.

“We understand the authorities in the US are now looking at the accounts.’

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) said it had also received around 30 reports, relating to at least four accounts.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2252951/Twitter-shuts-string-accounts-containing-child-abuse-images-hackers-expose-indecent-content.html

Piero Corsi, Italian Priest, Says ‘Provocative’ Women To Blame For Spate Of Domestic Violence (VIDEO)

The Huffington Post  |  By Meredith Bennett-Smith 12/28/2012

An Italian priest found himself embroiled in a national controversy this week after a Christmas bulletin he posted in his church went viral.

Perio Corsi’s flier, entitled “Women and femicide – healthy self-criticism. How often do they provoke?” claimed that women in Italy may be to blame for a spate of domestic violence attacks, Raw Story notes. Members of the priest’s congregation then posted the text on the Internet:

How often do we see girls and mature women going around scantily dressed and in provocative clothes?

They provoke the worst instincts, which end in violence or sexual abuse. They should search their consciences and ask: did we bring this on ourselves?

The flier went on to decry “increasingly provocative,” “arrogant” and “self-sufficient” women who abandon their children, don’t clean their houses and serve cold meals.

Corsi is the leader of a church in the small parish of San Terenzo in northwest Italy, according to The Journal.

The Daily Beast’s Barbie Latza Nadeau notes that this year 120 women have been killed in domestic disputes in the European nation, “a third more than last year.” In fact, the problem has even caught the attention of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which urged the country to take action last June.

As calls for the priest to resign intensified, Euronews reported that Corsi issued an apology, only to quickly take it back. He also used an anti-gay slur when debating a reporter from Rai Radio, L’Huffington Post reports.

Meanwhile, local officials have been quick to distance themselves from the church leader’s comments….
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/28/piero-corsi-italian-priest-provocative-women-to-blame-domestic-violence_n_2376702.html

Belgium To Prosecute Scientology As Criminal Organization; Church Faces Charges Of Extortion, Fraud

The Huffington Post  |  By Andres Jauregui 12/28/2012

Federal public prosecutors in Belgium will institute legal proceedings against the church of Scientology in that country and seek to recognize it as a criminal organization.

The church of Scientology — which is not recognized as a faith in Belgium — and several of its top-ranking members face charges including extortion, fraud, illegal practice of medicine and violation of privacy laws, according to Flanders News.

The complaint stems from an investigation of fraudulent labor contracts issued by the church of Scientology in an effort to recruit new volunteers and members. A judge ordered raids on Scientology offices in 2008 that allegedly uncovered a “wealth of evidence” that the organization had spied on and extorted money from its members, according to De Standaard.

An estimated 500 people belong to the church of Scientology in Belgium. The organization’s European headquarters are located in Brussels.

Belgium is not the only European country in which Scientology has faced criticism and legal action.

Scientology came under fire in France in 2009 when it was convicted of fraud for “[pressuring] members into paying large sums for questionable remedies,” according to the Associated Press. That conviction was upheld in a French appeals court in February 2012.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/28/belgium-prosecutes-scientology-extortion-fraud_n_2375823.html

Jerry Sandusky, Msrg. William Lynn and the Horace Mann School, Jury affirms recovered memory, rejects FMS defense, Pinching, purification and finding The Bridge to Total Freedom: Induction at the Scientology HQ

“When the Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony from victims of sexual abuse in 1994, there was one witness who testified in opposition: Pamela Freyd, Executive Director of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation.  Mrs. Freyd expressed the concern that extending the statute of limitations “may create more tarnished reputations” (Testimony of Pamela Freyd, Senate Judiciary Committee, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; May 24, 1994, p. 5).”

Jerry Sandusky, Msrg. William Lynn and the Horace Mann School

July 7th, 2012

Child sexual abuse has recently been the focus of three high-profile stories. Most prominently, former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky was convicted of 45 counts of sexually assaulting 10 different boys since 1998. Most dramatically, Msrg. William Lynn became the highest ranking official in the Catholic Church to be convicted of a crime connected to covering-up the sexual abuse of children by priests. Most controversially, the New York Times published a long story about sexual abuse by teachers, none of whom had been charged in court, at the Horace Mann School….

The New York legislature needs to do what the Pennsylvania legislature did years ago: extend the statute of limitations well into adulthood. Had that not occurred in Pennsylvania, the Sandusky case would not have gone forward. Neither would the case against Mrsg. Lynn. The state would have been as powerless to act as prosecutors in New York are now that a former Horace Mann teacher has admitted to sexually abusing students, adding weight to a story that some criticized for focusing only on teachers who are deceased.

We would all do well to remember who lobbied against extending the statute of limitations in Pennsylvania.

When the Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony from victims of sexual abuse in 1994, there was one witness who testified in opposition: Pamela Freyd, Executive Director of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation.

Mrs. Freyd expressed the concern that extending the statute of limitations “may create more tarnished reputations” (Testimony of Pamela Freyd, Senate Judiciary Committee, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; May 24, 1994, p. 5). She urged the committee to amend the bill to “encourage and emphasize alternative means of resolving these matters other than courts” (Id., p. 7)…. http://blogs.brown.edu/recoveredmemory/2012/07/07/sandusky-horace-mann-and-msrg-william-lynn/

Jury affirms recovered memory, rejects FMS defense April 19th, 2012

A jury in Stockton, California unanimously found that Rev. Michael Kelly should be held liable for damages related to three counts of child molestation. The plaintiff, a former U.S. Air force major currently on medical leave from his job as a commercial pilot, testified that he was molested by Rev. Kelly in the 1980s and only recently recalled the abuse. The abuse was apparently corroborated by a second victim whose testimony was kept from the jury. The defense relied on Dr. J. Alexander Bodkin, an associate professor of psychology at Harvard, who argued, in a rather circular fashion, that the plaintiff’s recollections must be false because the recovered memory has not been broadly accepted in the field. The jury rejected this defense and the church, which defended Kelly, has since allowed that there were no grounds for appeal. The Church settled the case for $3.75 million. Kelly, as reported in the LA Times, fled the country, while the  investigation of other claims is still pending. http://blogs.brown.edu/recoveredmemory/2012/04/19/jury-affirms-recovered-memory-rejects-fms-defense/

Pinching, purification and finding The Bridge to Total Freedom: Inside a very sinister induction at the Scientology HQ

Members are checked if they are ‘Clear’ – which costs £82,000 to achieve
Cameras and audio monitor Clearwater site to keep a check on followers
Newcomers must undergo ‘purification of toxins’ which involves sweating out in a sauna

By Kerry Hiatt 7 July 2012

I’d been pinched – hard – in some kind of strange lie-detector test and seen rooms where people went to be ‘purified’.  I’d spent an hour subjected to a gruelling and invasive ‘personality’ test and revealed my deepest inner thoughts as if hypnotised. I’d also been invited to cross the Bridge To Total Freedom – but, in a panic, instead I found myself running away from Scientology as fast as I could – after just a day as a guest of the controversial religion.

I look back on my visit last week to Scientology’s Florida headquarters  to celebrate July 4 as one of the most unsettling experiences of my life, and yet it all started so innocently…

The invitation from the Scientologists had suggested we celebrate Independence Day at ‘the Friendliest Place in the Whole World’. Why should I refuse? The event sounded fun. There would be a barbecue, pool games, live music, a petting zoo and fireworks – just like other celebrations across America.

However, there was a hint that this party would be different. The invitation also said: ‘Get briefed on Scientology’s exponential expansion across the globe, our penetrating 4th Dynamic Dissemination Campaigns and a full view to our future.’

It had been sent to a close relative of mine who had briefly worked for Scientology almost a decade ago, inviting him to the Florida town of Clearwater, Scientology’s spiritual headquarters – where Scientologists own more than 200 shops, restaurants, hotels, banks and small businesses….

Scientology symbols are everywhere in Clearwater; on plaques, in paving stones, and engraved into the architecture. Security cameras are on all Scientology properties and even hidden in the shrubbery. Every move and, no doubt conversation, can be monitored. It feels incredibly sinister.

The town is dominated by the Church’s £57 million Super Power Building which will, eventually, be a centre for learning. Construction paper covers doors and windows so I couldn’t see what was inside and no one could tell me when it would open….http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2170232/Scientology-Pinching-purification-finding-The-Bridge-Total-Freedom-My-sinister-induction-Scientology-HQ–just-days-ago-July-4.html

Scientologist charged for ‘intimidating’ alleged sex abuse victim

Scientologist charged for ‘intimidating’ alleged sex abuse victim  – Leo Shanahan    From: The Australian     May 31, 2011

A SENIOR member of the Church of Scientology has been charged by police for intimidating a young girl who wanted to report sexual abuse allegations within the church.

Jan Eastgate, the head of the church’s “International Commission on Human Rights” which attacks psychology, has been charged by NSW Police with perverting the course of justice.

According the ABC TV’s Lateline, police have alleged Eastgate intimidated a then 11-year-old Carmen Rainer to provide false statements about sexual abuse by her stepfather.

Ms Rainer has alleged that Ms Eastgate, who was then head of the church’s citizens’ commission on human rights in Australia, told her she should deny any charges of the sexual abuse or she and her brother would be taken away by social services.

Ms Rainer’s mother Phoebe has also admitted Ms Eastgate told both of them what to say and to lie to police and in an interview with the Department of Community Services. Ms Eastgate previously called the allegations “egregiously false”.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/scientologist-charged-for-intimidating-alleged-sex-abuse-victim/story-e6frg6nf-1226066045613

Senior Scientologist Jan Eastgate arrested, charged in Sydney
From: news.com.au     May 31, 2011

A LEADING Church of Scientology figure allegedly coached an 11-year-old girl to lie about sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her stepfather.

Jan Eastgate, who is the international president of the Citizen’s Commission on Human Rights, has been charged in relation to allegations she coached Carmen Raine into lying about the claims, the ABC reported.

The girl’s stepfather was a member of the Church of Scientology.

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/senior-scientologist-jan-eastgate-arrested-charged-in-sydney/story-e6frg12c-1226066180641

Number of Jesuit abuse victims, ritual abuse newsletter and conference

The latest ritual abuse newsletter is now available online at http://ritualabuse.us/2010/04/issue-92-may-2010/

This issue contains information on clergy abuse around the world, including alleged cover ups by the Vatican and Pope, Boy Scouts, Franklin Scandal/Gosch, Ritual abuse, mind control, mk-ultra, CIA experiments, West Memphis 3, Afghanistan, MPD/DID. Child sexual abuse and its traumatic effects, Scientology and a similar Milgram experiment on French TV.

New Information on this summer’s ritual abuse conference with updated speaker information and reduced early registration fees is at : http://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/

Number of Jesuit abuse victims continues to climb 10 Apr 10 Some 10 weeks after the first abuse cases at Jesuit education institutions came to light, the number of victims continues to climb. Around 170 people are now believed to have been abused in Germany.  Lawyer Ursula Raue, who has been commissioned to investigate the abuse cases, told the DPA news agency in an interview that abuse by members of the clergy took place in Jesuit educational establishments as early as the 1950s. She did not name the exact number of known abusers. Berlin’s prestigious Canisius secondary school made headlines when it was revealed at the end of January that at least two priests had repeatedly abused students in the 1970s and 1980s. It is now thought that at least 59 former students were victims of the abuse. http://www.thelocal.de/society/20100410-26465.html

Scientology insider’s nightmare childhood

Scientology insider’s nightmare childhood By Sarah Collerton  3/12/10 A former Scientologist who says she was a “child slave” and alleges she saw a six-year-old boy chained up in a ship’s hold is disappointed the Senate has blocked a full inquiry into the religious organisation.

Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has been calling for a full inquiry into the church since revealing claims of forced abortions and other abuses in Parliament last year. Keryn, 54, grew up in the church and has asked the ABC to identify her only by her first name. She says she was a victim of “hard labour, mental brutality and separation” on Scientology ships, which were used for the Church’s elite band of followers in the 1960s to 1970s. She is angry the motion for a Scientology probe has been blocked in Parliament….

Keryn’s decision to speak openly about her experiences comes after ABC1′s Four Corners program, The Ex-Files, in which former members told of forced abortions, pressure to work extreme hours and being forced to hand over large sums of money. Members of Scientology’s elite unit of full-time staffers the Sea Organisation – or Sea Org – detailed allegations of a strict regime of discipline and punishment in place during the 1960s. Scientology has denied the claims, but Keryn says she can back up the allegations. She says she signed a billion-year contract as a 12-year-old, lived on the Scientology vessels The Royal Scotman and The Athena, and was in effect a “child slave”. “When we were on the ship, we had people working 20 hours a day, seven days a week,” she said.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/12/2844150.htm

Scientology: The Ex-Files Reporter: Quentin McDermott Broadcast: 08/03/2010 Reporter Quentin McDermott talks to men and women who were members of an elite unit inside the Church in Australia and the United States. They explain why they joined, how they worked tirelessly for Scientology, and how, in some cases, they were pressured, and pressured others, to hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Church. http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2010/s2837513.htm

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