Japan, Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, Documentary, Realm of Satan, Cult Murder, Legal, Children of Thunder, Podcasts
"The government said Friday that it will employ the help of former believers and the children of believers of the Unification Church to enhance consultation for victims of malpractices involving the controversial religious group.
Specifically, former Unification Church believers and children of believers will participate as instructors in the training of consultation staff, to help them understand the feelings of victims.
The government also plans to create a system to allow agencies to share insights gained through consultation services for victims.
For children and young people who often find it difficult to recognize their status as victims or to speak up, the government will use social media to reach out to them.
It will also boost allocations of counselors and social workers at schools, and conduct lessons on human rights by lecturers from the Justice Ministry at junior high and high schools. Such lessons are currently only conducted at elementary schools.
The government plans to provide temporary shelters and employment assistance to children of believers who face difficulties securing incomes and housing. It will also give aid to secure learning opportunities for such people at high schools and universities.
The Unification Church, formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, has been accused of soliciting massive donations from followers by fueling their anxieties."
"Satanists are inherently nonconformist, so it's fitting that Realm of Satan—a documentary that premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 21 —upends expectations. Focusing on a collection of diverse international disciples of Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan, director Scott Cummings' feature debut is a unique non-fiction affair that provides no background information, little context, and scant dialogue. It also boasts zero fly-on-the-wall material, instead presenting a series of carefully staged portraits of its subjects that aim to convey their lifestyles, personalities, and philosophies. Think of it as an 80-minute art installation in which Satanists are rendered—and deliberately render themselves—performative characters in a diabolical play of their own making.
Whereas Satanists sometimes argue that their religion is merely one about freedom—of thought and desire, and from rules and judgement—Realm of Satan contends that they're far closer to the devil worshipers that movies, books, and TV shows have made them out to be for decades. Since everything in Realm of Satan has been self-consciously orchestrated to highlight these individuals' dark and demonic visions of themselves, there's nothing particularly scary about their appearances, attitudes, or practices, most of which come across as over-the-top affectations.
Nonetheless, Cummings' film does occasionally strike upon a legitimately unnerving sight which suggests that these folks aren't just playing around but, in fact, sincerely want to commune with the abyss. Of those, none are better than an early scene in which a woman, clad in a black-and-red hooded robe that obscures her face and flows over the bales of hay upon which she sits, breastfeeds a baby goat that we've just seen emerge from her mother's womb—a jaw-dropper that's all the more malevolent given that, once the animal stops nursing, the woman coaxes it to continue by gently rubbing its throat."
Marin Independent Journal: Ringleader in Marin, East Bay murders loses death-penalty appeal
The California Supreme Court has affirmed the death penalty for a man convicted in a murder spree in Marin and Contra Costa counties.
The case centers on Glenn Taylor Helzer, a self-proclaimed prophet who led a small religious group that called itself "the Children of Thunder." The former Concord resident pleaded guilty in 2005 for his involvement in the 2000 murders of five people, including two victims in Marin County, in order to cover up his extortion plot.
Helzer's brother, Justin, was sentenced to death for participating in the killings after he pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. He hanged himself in his cell at San Quentin State Prison in 2013.
An associate of the Helzers, Dawn Godman, pleaded guilty for joining the plot and received 38 years to life in prison as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.
Godman believed that Glenn Taylor Helzer, who went by the name Taylor, was a prophet of God, the California Supreme Court said in its 85-page ruling, which was issued Monday.
"She gathered with (the) defendant and Justin to declare war on Satan by openly stating their intent to follow through with what they believed was God's Will," Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero wrote.
Taylor Helzer first plotted to steal money from Ivan and Annette Steinman, an elderly Concord couple who used to be his clients when he was a stockbroker. The Helzer brothers went on to murder the Steinmans at their home.
Taylor Helzer later fatally stabbed his 22-year-old girlfriend, Selina Bishop, daughter of blues guitarist Elvin Bishop, at his residence after using her to deposit money as part of his financial scheme, the ruling said.
Because of concerns he could be identified as Bishop's killer, Taylor Helzer and his brother traveled to western Marin and murdered her mother, Jennifer Villarin, and her companion, James Gamble, at Villarin's apartment in Woodacre.
Authorities found the dismembered remains of three victims in duffel bags and that had been dumped in the Mokelumne River in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Taylor Helzer's automatic death penalty appeal began in 2008. His attorney, Jeanne Keevan-Lynch, argued that he did not receive a fair trial because of the conduct of investigators and the trial judge.
Keevan-Lynch claimed that Marin County sheriff's detectives violated Helzer's Fourth Amendment rights by seizing items not listed on their search warrant when they investigated his home.
"We reject defendant's claims and conclude blanket suppression of the evidence is not warranted," Guerrero wrote in the court opinion.
The court was also not persuaded by Keevan-Lynch's argument that her client received an unfair trial because the trial judge excused a potential juror who was unsure if she could put her moral beliefs aside to possibly vote on the death penalty.
The justices also disagreed with the defendant's claims that jurors were unfairly influenced by the prosecution displaying graphic photographs of the murder victims in the trial.
Guerrero noted that the pictures showed evidence that the killers tried to conceal the victims' identities by removing their teeth and tattoos."
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