Scottish child abuse inquiry, Leah Remini on Scientology's Abuse, Understanding the lure and persuasiveness of cults

- First hearings in child abuse inquiry to get under way
- SCOTS ABUSE PROBE What is the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry?
- Leah Remini on Scientology's Abuse: 'It Should Be Everyone's Fight'
- Understanding the lure and persuasiveness of cults

First hearings in child abuse inquiry to get under way
Scotland
The first hearings in the Scottish child abuse inquiry are set to get under way in Edinburgh later.

More than 60 institutions, including several top private schools and church bodies, are being investigated.

The inquiry, which is being chaired by Lady Smith, will look in detail at historical abuse of children in residential care.

It is expected to report in late 2019 - more than four years after it was set up.

The inquiry states its purpose as being "to investigate the nature and extent of abuse of children whilst in care in Scotland", while considering "the extent to which institutions and bodies with legal responsibility for the care of children failed in their duty", in particular seeking any "systemic failures"....
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-40093270   


SCOTS ABUSE PROBE What is the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry? What is its aim and what organisations are being investigated?
The inquiry will raise public awareness of institutionalised abuse and reveal the reality of the suffering of child victims
By Matt Coyle 30th May 2017

....More than 100 locations identified as places children are believed to have been assaulted.

Prestigious private schools including Fettes College and Loretto are among the sites being investigated.

Eight institutions run by Christian religious orders are also named as part of the investigation.

Under historic care arrangements, Scottish children were sent to countries including Canada, Australia and New Zealand and organisations in these countries will also be probed.....

The overall aim and purpose of the Inquiry is to raise public awareness of the abuse of children in care, particularly in the past

It will allow the public to acknowledge the suffering of those children and a forum for validation of their experience and testimony.....
https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/1080683/what-is-the-scottish-child-abuse-inquiry/ 

Leah Remini on Scientology's Abuse: 'It Should Be Everyone's Fight'
Jim Halterman May 28, 2017

Nobody is as surprised as actress Leah Remini that her A&E series, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, was such a hit during its first season last year. Sure, she’s already written an autobiography (Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology) about her experiences in the organization and appeared on countless talk shows....

Now it's time for the government agencies whose job it is to protect people from dangerous cults like this to do something about it.

And the IRS not to allow an organization such as this to stand behind the First Amendment and give them free reign to abuse people. That's not why this amendment is there. It's there to protect people, to protect real religions and beliefs. This is not that. These are not that. This and other cults like it should not be recognized under this amendment. I obviously need to do more. The headlines should be about the abuses and the people writing these stories should be just as shocked and not use my name. I've learned a little bit in that way to be a little bit more selective and demand that people do their job and not put it on me and [former Scientology executive] Mike Rinder as our fight. We’re not anti-Scientologist, we're anti-bully and we're anti-abuse....
https://www.tvinsider.com/194985/leah-remini-interview-scientology-and-the-aftermath-season-2/ 

Understanding the lure and persuasiveness of cults
Cults are groups that hold persuasive power over their members and demand extreme dedication and subservience. How do cults lure people in and what happens on the inside? Why do people join controlling groups and how difficult is it for them to leave?

There are many stories about cults that have been involved with fraud, embezzlement and abuse. One such story is that of Australia's most notorious cult, The Family.
http://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/nightlife/understanding-the-lure-and-persuasiveness-of-cults/8560064 

Cyberbullying, revenge porn and sextortion on the rise, Sick Internet Trolls, Harassment and Manchester Pranks

- Cyberbullying, revenge porn and sextortion on the rise in Australia, as new laws promise jail time
- Aussie mum Rachel Devine one of many caught up in sick Manchester pranks as trolls share fake news

Cyberbullying, revenge porn and sextortion on the rise in Australia, as new laws promise jail time
SEXTORTION, revenge porn, and cyberbullying are on the rise, Australia’s online safety agency says, and social networks and parents need to act now. Jennifer Dudley-NicholsonNews Corp Australia Network May 25, 2017

CYBERBULLYING, revenge porn, and sextortion are on the rise and the government agency tasked with fighting the scourge said social networks, parents, and teachers need to do more to stop their spread. The Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner today told a Senate Estimates Committee cyberbullying cases soared by 60 per cent over the past year, and warned Australia was “about 10 years behind in terms of education”.
Image-based abuse, including revenge porn and sextortion cases, had also risen so rapidly in Australia that the agency planned to drop the word “children” from its title and would invest $4.8 million in an “image-based” reporting tool due to launch later this year....

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the Office received more than 400 cyberbullying complaints from children and their parents who had reported inappropriate material to social media sites but received no action.  “We’ve seen a 60 per cent increase in cyberbullying cases over the past year,” Ms Grant Inman said.  “Our own research shows us one in five young Australians have been cyberbullied over time.”
http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/social/cyberbullying-revenge-porn-and-sextortion-on-the-rise-in-australia-as-new-laws-promise-jail-time/news-story/ec02183a861b5ca0f4df4b29cefbaf2c

Aussie mum Rachel Devine one of many caught up in sick Manchester pranks as trolls share fake news
May 24, 2017

AUSTRALIAN photographer Rachel Devine has been forced to speak out after her daughter’s image was falsely circulated as a victim of the Manchester bombing.
The local mum is just one of many people around the world caught up in the heartless actions of sick internet trolls, in the wake of the devastating attack.
Rachel took to Facebook yesterday to confirm her daughter was not a victim.
“I’ll never understand the bizarre thing of pretending to be someone else online,” she said debunked the rumours.....

Not only are the internet trolls who are issuing fake pleas for help taking advantage of the tragedy that has seen 22 people die in a terror attack, but they are sometimes causing further unnecessary grief by circulating images of people long deceased....

In some cases, internet trolls target particular people because of their social or political views.
Mexican journalist Andrea Noel says she has been targeted in the past with thousands of rape and death threats for speaking out against sexual harassment.
In a tweet yesterday, Noel pointed out that “anti-feminani” trolls had reported her as one of the missing in Manchester while she was also being harassed live on Mexican radio....
http://www.news.com.au/world/aussie-mum-rachel-devine-one-of-many-caught-up-in-sick-manchester-pranks-as-trolls-share-fake-news/news-story/d15412372ffab4f07b82634e2bab42e0 


Special low income prices and reduced rates available before June 10, 2017.
The 2017 Annual Ritual Abuse, Secretive Organizations and Mind Control Conference
August 11 – 13, 2017 at the DoubleTree near Bradley International Airport Windsor Locks, CT

Freedom from Mind Control – Neil Brick
How to Decrease Internal System In-Fighting and Increase Respect for The Gifts of All Internal Parts – Eileen Aveni
Visual Art and Writing Workshops – Cynthia Mochowski and Pia Moorland
Mindfulness: Strive to Be in the Present – Manjot Singh Khalsa
Be Here Now – Manjot Singh Khalsa

https://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/ 
E-mail smartnews@aol.com if you have any questions

East Coast Child and Ritual Abuse Conference in Connecticut - August 2017

           

The 2017 Annual Ritual Abuse, Secretive Organizations and Mind Control Conference  August 11 – 13, 2017

Special low income prices and reduced rates available before June 10, 2017
At the DoubleTree Hotel near Bradley International Airport Windsor Locks, CT

Internet conference information: https://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/
Please write smartnews@aol.com  for more information. 

For  those looking for more information about the strong accuracy and validity of ritual abuse research: http://childabusewiki.org/index.php?title=Ritual_Abuse 

Ritual abuse exists all over the world. There have been reports, journal articles, web pages and criminal convictions of crimes against children and adults. https://ritualabuse.us/ritualabuse/  
Has additional articles and research about child and ritual abuse.


Freedom from Mind Control – Neil Brick
Subliminal methods and mind control influence our lives in all areas. Social and cultural forms of mind control keep us from growing as human beings.  These forms of control make it difficult for us to grow and learn as survivors. They make it more difficult to work through  cult control programming to free our minds and our lives. Recovery techniques will be discussed that can help survivors and others break through their mind control programs and influences.

Neil Brick is a survivor of ritual abuse and mind control. His work continues to educate the public about child abuse, trauma and ritual abuse crimes. His child abuse and ritual abuse newsletter S.M.A.R.T. has been published for over 20 years. http://neilbrick.com

How to Decrease Internal System In-Fighting and Increase Respect for The Gifts of All Internal Parts – Eileen Aveni
This presentation will focus on understanding the internal systems that may be present in a survivor, and how to work with them to gradually enable them to work together for true safety and healing.  Often internal parts are at odds with each other (such as higher level alters, reporter alters, persecutor/protector alters, and other internal alters) because they are used to ‘doing their jobs” and following orders.  But they are really allies in the system and can be helped to learn better and more effective ways to keep everyone in the system safe and help heal the system.  The focus will be on how to communicate with parts who might seem particularly difficult to work with, learn to recognize their true gifts to the internal system, and how to develop a community of mutual respect.

Eileen Aveni, LMSW, LCSW, ACSW, BCD is a psychotherapist with 30+ years in medical and psychiatric settings working alongside other DID, Ritual Abuse, & Mind Control treatment specialists and law enforcement involved in these cases.  

Visual Art and Writing Workshops – Cynthia Mochowski and Pia Moorland
Cynthia and Pia have used various art forms as part of their healing and prioritize safety and supportive environments. This weekend, they will offer two workshops – one visual art and one writing – so you may see the value in the different forms.

Mindfulness: Strive to Be in the Present – Manjot Singh Khalsa
Mindfulness is the ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what is going on around us and inside of us and not being overly reactive or overwhelmed by it.  Mindfulness is more readily available to us when we practice it regularly.  This workshop will provide participants with the opportunity to practice mindfulness by engaging in  activities/mindful exercises and the chance to reflect on and understand what mindfulness is all about.

Be Here Now – Manjot Singh Khalsa
Manjot Singh Khalsa is the creator of a Kundalini Yoga and Meditation curriculum, “Be Here Now:  Yoga, Meditation & Mantra for Trauma Survivors”.  In today’s experiential workshop, participants will have the opportunity to stretch, breathe, strengthen and rest in a safe space. No previous yoga experience necessary. Participants will choose to sit in a chair or on the floor during this workshop.

Manjot Singh Khalsa is a Masters Level, Licensed Clinical Independent Social Worker. He has been in private practice since 1997. https://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/

College Hazing Gang Rape Rituals, US Customs Officers 'Rape Table' Ritual, Secret Facebook rules on what violence, self-harm and child abuse can be posted

- New Lawsuit Alleges Baylor Players Gang-Raped Women As 'Bonding Experience'
- U.S. Customs Officers Allegedly Assaulted Coworkers In ‘Rape Table’ Ritual
- Leak: Secret Facebook rules on what violence, self-harm and child abuse can be posted


Describes violence




New Lawsuit Alleges Baylor Players Gang-Raped Women As 'Bonding Experience'
May 17, 2017  Camila Domonoske
A new federal lawsuit against Baylor University accuses football players of drugging and gang-raping young women as part of a hazing or bonding ritual — and the university of failing to investigate the pervasive sexual assault.

The players often took photographs and videos as they carried out the gang rapes, the suit alleges. It was filed by "Jane Doe," who says she was raped by four to eight Baylor players in February 2012. Her Title IX suit says the school's "deliberately indifferent response" effectively denied her educational opportunities.

The suit also describes dogfighting at football parties and burglaries carried out by football players, without consequence.

The alleged assaults and other criminal activities took place during former head football coach Art Briles' tenure at the school in Waco, Texas.

Briles and former university President Ken Starr were both removed from their posts last year after a wave of sexual assault allegations against Baylor players.

The school's regents said last May they were "horrified," "shocked" and "outraged" to learn about the sexual violence that was happening on campus — and the "mishandling of reports" by the university.....

The suit also describes a culture of sexual assault woven into hazing rituals:

    "Upon information and belief, prior to Plaintiff's arrival at Baylor, members of the Baylor football team had already developed a system of hazing their freshman recruits by having them bring or invite freshman females to house parties hosted by members of the football team. At these parties, the girls would be drugged and gang raped, or in the words of the football players, 'trains' would be run on the girls.

    "The gang rapes were considered a 'bonding' experience for the football players.

    "Photographs and videotapes of the semi-conscious girls would be taken during the gang rapes and circulated amongst the football players. Based upon investigation, Plaintiff has confirmed that at least one, 21-second videotape of two female Baylor students being gang raped by several Baylor football players was circulated amongst football players.....
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/05/17/528804172/new-lawsuit-alleges-baylor-players-gang-raped-women-as-bonding-experience



U.S. Customs Officers Allegedly Assaulted Coworkers In ‘Rape Table’ Ritual
One victim says it’s too extreme to be called “hazing.”
By Hilary Hanson   May 13, 2017

Several officers of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency have come forward with bombshell allegations against their colleagues at Newark Airport in New Jersey.

Three officers told NBC New York they were sexually assaulted as part of disturbing rituals that involved being duct-taped to a table other officers called the “rape table.” The victims said that while no one ever removed their clothes, other officers would forcibly rub their genital areas on the victims strapped to the table, as well as grab them. This practice has been happening for years, according to the officers.

One victim said that “hazing” is an understatement of what happened to them.

“Hazing wouldn’t do this justice,” CBP officer Vito Degironimo told NBC. “This is complete assault. They take you in a room and your fellow officers are all watching as officers grab you.”....

Charlie Smith, who was identified by the Daily Beast as a CBP agent,  corroborated the trio’s allegations in an interview with the news outlet, saying he’s heard stories of 17 similar assaults.

“Everybody has the same story,” he told The Daily Beast. “Their MO is always the same. There’s a supervisor who turned the lights off in the room. They’d call [the victim] into the room, so it was pitch-black when he came in. They threw him down on the table and did what they did.”....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/customs-officers-newark-hazing-rape-table_us_5915d7bce4b0031e737d4297 


Revealed: Facebook's internal rulebook on sex, terrorism and violence
Leaked policies guiding moderators on what content to allow are likely to fuel debate about social media giant’s ethics
Nick Hopkins Sunday 21 May 2017

Facebook’s secret rules and guidelines for deciding what its 2 billion users can post on the site are revealed for the first time in a Guardian investigation that will fuel the global debate about the role and ethics of the social media giant.

The Guardian has seen more than 100 internal training manuals, spreadsheets and flowcharts that give unprecedented insight into the blueprints Facebook has used to moderate issues such as violence, hate speech, terrorism, pornography, racism and self-harm.
Facebook will let users livestream self-harm, leaked documents show
Internal manual shows how site tries to strike balance between allowing cries for help and discouraging copycat behaviour
Read more

There are even guidelines on match-fixing and cannibalism.

The Facebook Files give the first view of the codes and rules formulated by the site, which is under huge political pressure in Europe and the US.

They illustrate difficulties faced by executives scrabbling to react to new challenges such as “revenge porn” – and the challenges for moderators, who say they are overwhelmed by the volume of work, which means they often have “just 10 seconds” to make a decision.

“Facebook cannot keep control of its content,” said one source. “It has grown too big, too quickly.”

Many moderators are said to have concerns about the inconsistency and peculiar nature of some of the policies. Those on sexual content, for example, are said to be the most complex and confusing.....

The Guardian has seen documents supplied to Facebook moderators within the last year. The files tell them:
 
    Remarks such as “Someone shoot Trump” should be deleted, because as a head of state he is in a protected category. But it can be permissible to say: “To snap a bitch’s neck, make sure to apply all your pressure to the middle of her throat”, or “fuck off and die” because they are not regarded as credible threats.
    Videos of violent deaths, while marked as disturbing, do not always have to be deleted because they can help create awareness of issues such as mental illness.
    Some photos of non-sexual physical abuse and bullying of children do not have to be deleted or “actioned” unless there is a sadistic or celebratory element.
    Photos of animal abuse can be shared, with only extremely upsetting imagery to be marked as “disturbing”.....
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/may/21/revealed-facebook-internal-rulebook-sex-terrorism-violence


Leak: Secret Facebook rules on what violence, self-harm and child abuse can be posted
Internal Facebook documents advising moderators on what content is to be censored or allowed has leaked.
By Darlene Storm, Computerworld  May 22, 2017

Facebook allows users to livestream self-harm, post videos of violent deaths and photos of non-sexual child abuse, but comments which threaten to harm President Donald Trump are to be deleted, according to Facebook’s secret rule books for monitoring what its 2 billion users can post.

The Guardian got hold of leaked copies of over 100 internal Facebook manuals and documents that tell moderators how to handle content which includes violence, sex, hate speech, terrorism, nudity, self-harm, revenge porn and more controversial content – even cannibalism.

The giant social network has increasingly come under fire for how it handles disturbing content and for depending too heavily on users to report such content. At the beginning of May, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the company would hire 3,000 more people – on top of the 4,500 moderators it had – “to review the millions of reports we get every week.”

The leaked internal guidelines were given to Facebook moderators “within the last year,” the Guardian said. The documents show the fine line Facebook teeters on when deciding what content to censor without being accused of squashing free speech.....
http://www.computerworld.com/article/3197551/internet/leak-secret-facebook-rules-on-what-violence-self-harm-and-child-abuse-can-be-posted.html

Ellen Lacter has just posted three new pages to her website http://endritualabuse.org

Ellen Lacter has just posted three new pages to her website http://endritualabuse.org   

1. "Empirical and Forensic Evidence of Ritual Abuse," by Randy and Pam Noblitt (2014): http://endritualabuse.org/evidence/evidence-of-ritual-abuse/


This is a chapter from the Noblitts' book: "Cult and Ritual Abuse: Narratives, Evidence, and Healing Approaches, 3rd Edition."

This scholarly work is, to Dr. Lacter's knowledge, the most thorough and recent review of the empirical and forensic evidence of ritual abuse. It is published here by permission of the Noblitts and the publisher.

2. Legal and Ethical Dilemmas for Psychotherapists in Making Reports to Child Protection and Law Enforcement of Suspected Ritual Abuse of Children or Dependent Adults, by Ellen Lacter: 

http://endritualabuse.org/activism/legal-and-ethical-dilemmas-for-psychotherapists-in-making-reports-to-child-protection-and-law-enforcement-of-suspected-ritual-abuse-of-children-or-dependent-adults/

This is a lengthy paper on the many legal and ethical dilemmas facing psychotherapists in relation to making reports to child protective services and law enforcement of suspected ritual abuse or against ritually abusive groups. The conclusion appeals to society's institutions, especially the psychotherapy community and its professional organizations, to advocate more publicly for ritual abuse victims and survivors.

3. "Hypnotism in Warfare," by G.H. Estabrooks (1943): http://endritualabuse.org/about/hypnotism-estabrooks/

This chapter from Estabrooks' book, "Hypnotism," which has not otherwise been published on the internet, offers evidence of what is often referred to as "government mind control," specifically the use of hypnotism and manipulation of individuals' dissociated self-states by intelligence and/or military organizations for the purpose of psychological control of operatives and soldiers to serve intelligence or military purposes. Dr. Lacter will soon add an introduction about the significance of this chapter. For now, it is provided for purposes of research, etc. It is reproduced on this website by permission of the publisher, Dutton.  

Survivorship Conference - $50 Weekend Special - May 19 - 21, 2017

Survivorship Conference - $50 Weekend Special - May 19 - 21, 2017 The Survivorship Ritual Abuse and Mind Control Conference - May 19 - 21 Dear Friends,   Our annual conference on May 19 - 21, 2017 will be at the Executive Inn & Suite - Oakland, CA. Information about the conference is at:  https://survivorship.org/the-survivorship-ritual-abuse-and-child-abuse-2017-conference/ For a limited time only, we are offering a $50 Weekend Low Income Special for Saturday and Sunday - May 20 - 21, 2017  Please write conference2017@survivorship.org  as soon as possible to register.   Speakers at our May 20 - 21 weekend conference will include:  Wendy Hoffman, Dr. Alison Miller, Neil Brick and Kimber Olson  Topics include:  Confronting the Spiritual Issues in Ritual Abuse, Dirty Therapy, Freedom from Mind Control and Navigating the Complex Therapeutic Relationship There will be a clinician's conference on Friday, May 19, 2017 for licensed clinicians and students in the field. Alison Miller will be presenting a full day presentation at this conference. Her topic is: Working with Deliberately Structured Personality Systems. CEUs will be available at this presentation.   Hotel reservations include complementary parking, complementary deluxe continental breakfast and free shuttles to and from the Oakland airport. We will be offering free lunches to all attendees.  We expect this year to be another excellent conference.  More information is at the conference website:  https://survivorship.org/the-survivorship-ritual-abuse-and-child-abuse-2017-conference/ Questions about the conference can be sent to: conference2017@survivorship.org