OPINION
Conservatives 'freaked out' by rabid following
New Republic Aug 27, 08 11:39 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Conservative griping about Barack Obama’s supposed cult of personality is both misplaced and hypocritical, Jonathan Chait writes in the New Republic . Pundits’ case against the Democrat relies on willful misinterpretation of his slogans. “Did you know that McCain’s slogan, ‘Country first,’ could be translated via the Charles Krauthammer method into ‘Country last’? Why does John McCain hate America?” jokes Chait.
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Mom and 4 others charged in boy's death
Baltimore Sun Aug 12, 08 4:15 AM CDT
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A toddler was starved to death in a religious cult for refusing to say "amen" at the end of meals, according to police. The body of the 2-year-old was stuffed in a suitcase when the 1 Mind Ministries cult fled from Baltimore to Philadelphia, authorities said. The toddler's mother and four others have been charged with murder. At one point the group gathered around the boy's body and "prayed for resurrection," authorities said.
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Cult skinned 7-year-old alive
Sun (UK) Jun 20, 08 11:35 AM CDT
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A family of Czech cannibals is on trial for hacking off pieces of a 7-year-old boy who survived the ghoulish abuse, the Sun reports. The horror unraveled last year when a neighbor’s baby monitor picked up images of the chained-up boy meant to be seen by the boy's mother.
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Court rules sign not 'abusive, insulting'
BBC May 23, 08 1:10 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Charges against a 15-year-old who called Scientology as a ‘cult’ were dropped today, the BBC reports. The London police issued a mea culpa after a court ruled that the teen’s holding up a sign reading, "Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult," did not constitute “abusive or insulting” behavior.
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Investigators
pore over cult's
Death Valley ranch
Los Angeles Times May 20, 08 2:06 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Investigators with high-tech equipment and shovels will be spending the next few days combing the Manson Family's desert hide-out for bodies, the Los Angeles Times reports. Rumors that murder victims are buried at the isolated ranch have persisted for decades. Police called in scientists after corpse-sniffing dogs became agitated at ranch locations. Many locals are skeptical about the hunt, and suspect investigators will only find an old Indian burial ground.
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Stench of corpses trumped need
to await apocolypse
BBC May 16, 08 10:15 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The final nine members of a Russian doomsday cult holed up in a cave to await the apocalypse (coming this month) have abandoned ship, unable to stand the stench of two people who had died. Thirty-five followers of a self-declared prophet calling himself Father Pyotr climbed into the cave in November and threatened to blow themselves up if police tried to remove them, the BBC reports.
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'Bishop' of tiny sect
told her to pray to bring dead back to life
The Wisconsin State Journal May 10, 08 10:09 AM CDT
(Newser)
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A woman and her self-proclaimed "bishop" have been arrested after cops found the decomposing corpse of a 90-year-old woman on a toilet in the house she shared with her two kids, the Wisconsin State Journal reports. The woman said the bishop of her tiny religious group told her her God would bring the corpse back to life if she prayed hard enough.
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Claims of abuse by 'messiah'
Associated Press May 1, 08 5:32 AM CDT
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Police in New Mexico have removed three children from the compound of an apocalyptic church, AP reports. The action followed allegations of inappropriate contact by the 66-year-old leader of Lord Our Righteousness church, who believes he's the "messiah," and has admitting having sex with adult church members, including his daughter-in-law. He denied sexual contact with minors and warned that God had been angered.
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Free from polygamous compounds, escaped women often turn to drugs and alcohol
CNN Apr 17, 08 6:00 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Even for those women who escape the forced marriages and controlling patriarchy of polygamous sects like the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints, life isn’t easy. Many turn to drugs and alcohol to escape the mental burden, CNN reports. And some never leave because they’re programmed to think “it's not only physically dangerous … you're also risking your soul.”
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Polygamists, UFOs, and apocalyptic prophesies abound
LiveScience Apr 12, 08 10:04 AM CDT
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Experts are debating whether the polygamist sect raided in Texas last week is a cult. Meanwhile, LiveScience has cooked up a list of bona fide cults—the top 10 craziest of them all: Raëlians: Followers believe that UFOs spawned most religions and cloning can lead to reincarnation.
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Sociologist explores such groups and what keeps people there
LiveScience Apr 10, 08 2:12 PM CDT
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While much of the media is calling the polygamous group raided in Texas a “sect,” some experts say it’s better defined as a cult, LiveScience reports. One scientist points out that the word “cult” is often avoided in academia for its negative connotations. But “if you've got a group that's abusing hundreds and hundreds of women and children,” says a sociologist, “let's call it what it is.”
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Melting snow dooms end-of-the-world cult's hideout
Itar-Tass Mar 29, 08 5:49 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Seven members of a Russian doomsday cult, all women, have emerged from the cave where they have been holed up since November, awaiting the end of the world (note: in May), Itar-Tass reports. Twenty-eight more remain in the cave southeast of Moscow—but they are expected to come out soon, as melting snow has caused part of the cave to collapse.
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Devoted fans hatch odd films, microwave jousting, and diorama contests
Palm Beach Post Mar 23, 08 7:30 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Brightly colored, sticky-sweet marshmallow Peeps have spawned a cult following unparalleled in the candy world. Aficionados of the line of Easter treats—ranging from sun-yellow chicks to bunnies and tulips—have created bizarre videos, Internet fan sites, diorama contests, and a microwave jousting game, the Palm Beach Post reports.
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Amateur sleuths and a corpse-sniffing dog search Manson ranch in the Calif. Desert
Associated Press Mar 16, 08 9:37 AM CDT
(Newser)
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A rag-tag group of forensic investigators, a gold miner, and a corpse-sniffing dog say they have turned up evidence of long suspected killings by the Manson family in the California desert, AP reports. Using the tools and techniques of chemistry and archeology, the group has concluded that there may be bodies in the ground—and suggested that the cops get digging.
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Lawmakers order domestic spies to gather a decade of data on the group
Der Spiegel Dec 7, 07 10:22 PM CST
(Newser)
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German ministers accused Scientology of being unconstitutional today and took steps to ban it from the country, Der Spiegel reports. They ordered spies to assemble a dossier on the group, based on 10 years of surveillance, to support the ban. Scientologists were outraged, and called themselves victims of "on-going and never-ending discrimination," the BBC reports.
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Followers refuse to release children
Associated Press Nov 21, 07 2:40 PM CST
(Newser)
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Self-declared prophet Pyotr Kuznetsov today asked the doomsday cult he started to release four children from their underground cave, the AP reports. Confined to a psychiatric ward and charged with setting up a violent religion, Kuznetsov was brought to the site and spoke through a ventilation hole, telling adults and children they could leave.
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Satellite TV station part of media blitz by outlawed Falun Gong
Wall Street Journal Nov 15, 07 2:20 PM CST
(Newser)
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A US-based satellite TV station staffed mainly by members of spiritual movement Falun Gong is broadcasting a dissident message into China, the Wall Street Journal reports. With Falun Gong called an "evil cult" and outlawed by the Chinese government, its members have started New Tang Dynasty, a radio station, newspaper, and dozens of websites to deliver pro-democracy messages.