CultNEWS101 Articles: 2/25/2022 (Adnan Oktar, Turkey, Tinder Swindler, Waldorf Schools, Anthroposophist)

Adnan Oktar, Turkey, Tinder Swindler, Waldorf Schools, Anthroposophist

NY Post: Inside TV preacher's 'kitten' sex cult as survivor says she was made to have a nose job without anesthetic

"A survivor of a TV preacher's brutal sex cult says she was made to have a nose job operation without an anesthetic.

Turkish televangelist Adnan Oktar, 64, was jailed for 1,075 years for a series of horrific crimes.

He had built up a devoted band of brainwashed followers over decades while living a life of luxury surrounded by glamorous women he called his "kittens" while his young male followers were his "lions".

He was eventually found guilty of ten separate charges including leading a criminal gang, sexual abuse of minors, sexual abuse and engaging in political or military espionage."

The Jerusalem Post: Netflix is creating cult numbers from con artists - opinion

'The Tinder Swindler' is a new Netflix documentary telling the story of an Israeli con man.

"Social media has exploded this month with posts, jokes and memes about Simon Leviev, the Israeli scammer who conned his victims out of an estimated $10 million. Though Leviev's story initially broke a few years ago, he's making international headlines again after his crimes were the focus of a Netflix special. The Tinder Swindler documented his elaborate schemes and featured interviews with many of his victims. It was a big hit for the streaming service, amassing over 45,800,000 hours of watch time around the world in only a week.

Despite the shocking story of widespread theft and lies that devastated the lives of multiple girlfriends he conned, a quick search on Instagram will give you no shortage of fan accounts for Leviev - yes, fan accounts. The sudden fame has worked in his favor, in a way.

Leviev, whose real last name is Hayut and is originally from Bnei Brak, took on the last name of a billionaire and pretended to be his son in order to lure women on Tinder. After his victims were in an established relationship with him, he would spin tales of enemies who were after him, even staging fake photos of being attacked, in order to borrow money and open credit cards in their names – money he would use to finance the luxurious lifestyle he was simultaneously leading with multiple girlfriends.

The Netflix special is part of a recent trend of shocking true stories on con men (and women), including The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman and Inventing Anna. The public can't seem to get enough, but is it a good idea to give narcissistic sociopaths more attention and money?"

Exberliner: How Germany's favourite cult took over everything from schools to supermarkets

"Waldorf schools have a hippy image, but are they in fact Germany's equivalent to Scientology?

There are over 250 Waldorf schools in Germany. The private institutions give off a hippy image: students stage elaborate theatre productions and learn to dance their names in a practice called Eurythmy. In the press, they are described as  "progressive" or "left-leaning." 

But as you look closer, the vibe gets stranger and stranger. It's more than just that the buildings have rounded edges and all the toys are all made of wood. Students are educated according to their "seven-year life cycles" and judged according to their "four temperaments" (do you feel more "phlegmatic" or "sanguine"?).

As one former teacher reported to Süddeutsche Zeitung, when teachers were discussing why a particular student was jumpy, it was decided they must have experienced trauma between their previous life and this one. 

Waldorf Schools are run according to the teachings of Rudolf Steiner. To understand Steiner, imagine a German version of L. Ron Hubbard. Both men spread esoteric ideas at times when science was all the rage, so they claimed they explored the spiritual realm according to scientific principles. Both considered themselves experts on every imaginable topic, from music to botany to how to wash your car.  Their constant lectures — 5,965, in Steiner's case — were preserved as the ultimate wisdom on everything.

Both Steiner and Hubbard have been frequently accused of racism. But while Hubbard embodied an American ideal of the 1950s, with rugged individuals pulling themselves up by their bootstraps and whatnot, Steiner was a product of imperial Germany with its ethno-nationalist pulse. So while Hubbard based his teachings on the Marcab Confederacy in distant galaxies, Steiner was more interested in Atlantis beneath the waves.

Steiner's Anthroposophy is every bit as complex and weird as Hubbard's Scientology — the former calls itself "the science of knowledge," while the latter is "the wisdom of the human being." To any outside observer, both seem like ravings of delusional narcissists. 

Scientology, while it gets lots of coverage in the tabloids, is limited to a few Hollywood actors and the downtown of Clearwater, Florida. Steiner's followers are less well-known, but far more powerful. Supermarkets sell fruit from Demeter, which is presented as organic, but in fact follows the principles of Steiner's "biodynamic agriculture." Besides avoiding pesticides, this calls for a cow horn to be buried in the field to harness astral and ethereal energy. The cosmetics manufacturer Weleda uses water prepared in Steinerian rituals. Retailers like dm-drogerie and Alnatura are run by anthroposophists. Otto Schilly, Germany's Interior Minister from 1998 to 2005, even belongs to the cult."

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How Germany’s favourite cult took over everything from schools to supermarkets

Nathaniel Flakin

Exberliner

February 2, 2022

Waldorf schools have a hippy image, but are they in fact Germany's equivalent to Scientology? 

There are over 250 Waldorf schools in Germany. The private institutions give off a hippy image: students stage elaborate theatre productions and learn to dance their names in a practice called Eurythmy. In the press, they are described as  “progressive” or “left-leaning.”  

But as you look closer, the vibe gets stranger and stranger. It’s more than just that the buildings have rounded edges and all the toys are all made of wood. Students are educated according to their “seven-year life cycles” and judged according to their “four temperaments” (do you feel more “phlegmatic” or “sanguine”?). 

As one former teacher reported to Süddeutsche Zeitung, when teachers were discussing why a particular student was jumpy, it was decided they must have experienced trauma between their previous life and this one.  

Waldorf Schools are run according to the teachings of Rudolf Steiner. To understand Steiner, imagine a German version of L. Ron Hubbard. Both men spread esoteric ideas at times when science was all the rage, so they claimed they explored the spiritual realm according to scientific principles. Both considered themselves experts on every imaginable topic, from music to botany to how to wash your car.  Their constant lectures — 5,965, in Steiner’s case — were preserved as the ultimate wisdom on everything. 

Both Steiner and Hubbard have been frequently accused of racism. But while Hubbard embodied an American ideal of the 1950s, with rugged individuals pulling themselves up by their bootstraps and whatnot, Steiner was a product of imperial Germany with its ethno-nationalist pulse. So while Hubbard based his teachings on the Marcab Confederacy in distant galaxies, Steiner was more interested in Atlantis beneath the waves. 

Steiner’s Anthroposophy is every bit as complex and weird as Hubbard’s Scientology — the former calls itself “the science of knowledge,” while the latter is “the wisdom of the human being.” To any outside observer, both seem like ravings of delusional narcissists.  

Scientology, while it gets lots of coverage in the tabloids, is limited to a few Hollywood actors and the downtown of Clearwater, Florida. Steiner’s followers are less well-known, but far more powerful. Supermarkets sell fruit from Demeter, which is presented as organic, but in fact follows the principles of Steiner’s “biodynamic agriculture.” Besides avoiding pesticides, this calls for a cow horn to be buried in the field to harness astral and ethereal energy. The cosmetics manufacturer Weleda uses water prepared in Steinerian rituals. Retailers like dm-drogerie and Alnatura are run by anthroposophists. Otto Schilly, Germany’s Interior Minister from 1998 to 2005, even belongs to the cult."

To make an analogy with the United States: Can you imagine if Scientologists owned Walgreens, ran hundreds of schools, and even had a seat on the cabinet? 

And as I wrote a few weeks ago, the Covid-19 pandemic is forcing Germany to reckon with a large esoteric minority that prefers hocus pocus to science. The anthroposophists naturally have eccentric views on medicine. Similar to homeopathy, Steiner-inspired alternative healing enjoys a special carve out in German law. They are allowed to sell their “medicines” without any evidence of effectiveness.

It’s no wonder that they are skeptical about vaccines. As a former Waldorf student explains in an autobiographical essay in Der Spiegel, Steiner believed that illness was like karma, punishing people for bad deeds in previous lives. Diseases would thus help children grow (through their “seven-year life cycles,” of course), and vaccines would therefore stunt their development.

Like with any cult leader, of course, Steiner’s messages about vaccination are confusing and contradictory, and his followers draw different conclusions. What is clear, though, are the numbers. Wikipedia describes Waldorf schools as “epidemic hotspots,” with high rates of both measles and Covid-19 due to low vaccination rates (the New York Times called them a “bastion of anti-vaccine fervor.”). State authorities have had to intervene due to the number of students with doctor’s notes for mask exceptions — seven times more than at public schools.

There are even anthroposophist hospitals supported by public money. As The Guardian has reported, some of these are treating Covid-19 with ginger chest compressions and sugar pills infused with meteoric dust. Shockingly, sedated ICU patients have been transferred into these hospitals and treated with snake oil without being able to give consent.

Of course not everything at Waldorf schools is bad. An emphasis on theater and gardening will be great for some kids. But should we let cults run schools? As the former teacher quoted above explained, many parents and even some teachers will have no idea about Steiner. But it’s the most dedicated followers of Steiner who set the tone.

I believe strongly in freedom of religion. And I wouldn’t say that the Steiner Cult can hold a candle to the Catholic Church in terms of destructiveness. But religious freedom means that people should be able to follow their beliefs on their own time and on their own dime. No cult deserves special privileges or public funding. Above all, education and health care need a scientific basis and democratic control. 

No one would want Scientology running schools in Germany. So why give other cults that right?

https://www.exberliner.com/politics/waldorf-school-germany-scientology-anti-vaccine/

CultNEWS101 Articles: 10/1/2019

Film, Former Extremist, Waldorf School, Rudolf Steiner, Anthroposophy

Deadline: Director Zaida Bergroth On Cult Drama 'Maria's Paradise': "The Idea Was To Concentrate On The Love And Power" - Toronto Studio

"There were quite a few films about cults at this year's TIFF, and one of the more provocative meditations on human manipulation came from Finland. Titled Maria's Paradise, Zaida Bergroth's film was inspired by the true story of Maria Åkerblom, who ran a cult in rural Finland that caused a major scandal back in the 1920s.

'I got extremely intrigued by this main character, Maria Åkerblom," Bergroth told us when she came to the Deadline studio with her cast. "She lived in Finland in [the] 1920s, she was a leader of a Christian cult, and she was extremely charismatic, but she had a very dark side to her. After that, we started to write the script and explore her character, and then we came up with a story about Maria and her favorite girl follower, Salome, a young teenager who absolutely adored her, and didn't see anything negative about her actions. It was their relationship that really intrigued me.'"

The Atlantic: The Former Extremists Trying to Fight Extremism

" ... Deradicalization and counter-extremism programs, especially those involving former extremists, are relatively new in the United States, but they have a longer history in Europe, according to Lorenzo Vidino, the director of the Program on Extremism, who helped recruit Morton to work there as a researcher. The U.K.'s Quilliam—which describes itself as "the world's first counter-extremism organization"—was founded as a think tank in 2007 by three British former radical Islamists.

The Obama administration launched its own "countering violent extremism" initiative in 2011, with a variety of programs aimed at helping local law enforcement share information, do community outreach, and try to prevent attacks. The program was always a target for criticism, ranging from complaints about underfunding to accusations that it unfairly focused on and stigmatized Muslim communities. Right-wing extremism, moreover, was not a top priority then, and one organization dedicated to countering it got some funding under Obama but saw it lapse under Trump.

But there wasn't a systematic effort to recruit formers into that project early on. Vidino had observed the European experience and thought such a strategy might be useful in the United States, though he told me he was aware of 'some of the issues.'"

NDR: SWR-Doku: Author's proximity to Waldorf schools

(Google Translation)

Too close to the Waldorf school world?

" ... Because Esther Saoub was the author of a contribution in the Tagesthemen, which dedicated itself to the 100-year existence of the first Waldorf schools in Germany.  She is also the author of the 45-minute SWR documentary "Waldorf global - a school goes around the world", which is still in the ARD-Mediathekto see is . And: Esther Saoub was a Waldorf student herself, her children attend a Waldorf school, she is a board member of the school association of the "Waldorf School Uhlandshöhe", she appears on podiums of the Waldorf school celebrations and she was supposed to moderate the festive event last weekend. In short: Ms. Saoub seems to be closely associated with the Waldorf world. Should someone write reports on the topic for public media?

Is surprised that Esther Saoub has made the documentary about Waldorf schools: Volker Lilienthal, Professor of "Practice of quality journalism" at the University of Hamburg.

"No," says Professor Volker Lilienthal, the chair of the "Practice of Quality Journalism" at the University of Hamburg: "The fact that Esther Saoub herself appears as a writer, I'm very surprised." The author Saoub is indeed socialized in public service broadcasting, she knows the professional standards, she would have had to do without herself. " The contribution in the Tagesthemen was "an advertisement for the Waldorf schools," wrote the Humanistic Press Service (HPD).

Criticism of the Waldorf schools in 45 minutes documentation? None. Of course, there would be a lot of criticism about Rudolf Steiner, the founder of reform education. His statements on racial issues and Judaism have been widely criticized. Sure, such racial stereotypes were prevalent in their day, but they did not show up in 45 minutes of filming. A subordinate sentence in the film touches on this criticism marginally: "The Waldorf schools explicitly distanced themselves from its partly nationalist positions in the Stuttgart Declaration in 2007". More criticism is not found in Saoub's films."

BBC: Why are Steiner schools so controversial?

" ... Rudolf Steiner, the intellectual father of Steiner schools.

The Austrian-born #occultist, who died in 1925, left a vast body of work covering everything from biodynamic farming to alternative medicine.

It is known, collectively, as "anthroposophy".

The SWSF's guidelines from 2011 said that schools using the #Steiner name were obliged to prove "an anthroposophical impulse lies at the heart of planning for the school".

Since 2013, this has been made vaguer: they now need a commitment to "the fundamental principles of Waldorf education".

Those ideas are based in a belief in reincarnation.

Pupils may not have been sold this creed, but Steiner was very strict that teachers were not supposed to pass them on to children - just to act on them.

So, for example, the Steiner curriculum's focus on a late start to learning is driven by the pace at which souls incarnate.

An odd rationale, but not a very worrying result. Other consequences, however, are potentially more troubling.

For example, Steiner himself believed illnesses in our current lives could be explained by problems in the previous ones.

And in overcoming illnesses with a root in a previous life, individuals could gain "reinforced power" and improve their "karma".

Vaccination, in effect, gets in the way.

'Unvaccinated populations'

That may help explain the Steiner school attitude to vaccination.

The schools state that they have no formal policies and parents must choose for themselves.

But children in Steiner schools are less likely to get their jabs.

The Health Protection Agency - before its recent abolition - used to note that Steiner schools ought to be considered "unvaccinated populations" for measles.

Related ideas of the benefits of overcoming adversity emerge elsewhere.

The DfE memos report a complaint that a teacher allowed violence among children for karmic reasons, and cites teacher training resources that are sympathetic to this idea.

This karmic belief set also has a racial element.

As we reported last week, Steiner was, by any modern definition, a racist.

'Hierarchy in races'

He thought black people were distinguished by an "instinctual life", as opposed to Caucasians' "intellectual life".

He believed each race had a geographical location where they should live - black people in Europe were "a nuisance".

There was also a hierarchy in races; a soul with good karma could hope to be reincarnated into a race which is higher up in the hierarchy, Steiner argued.

The SWSF says: "While the superficial reading of a handful of Steiner's voluminous, extensive lectures present statements that appear racist in modern terms, none of these occur in his educational writings."

But some of these ideas have polluted some Steiner schools.

The SWSF was "horrified" by our report on a diversity training day at a private Steiner school, which had been triggered by a real issue around racism.

Four white teachers, asked to tick a box giving their ethnicity, ticked every box.

They believed that they had ascended through all the races.

Some Steiner schools also teach about the lost continent of Atlantis - a myth that, to Steiner, explained the origins of the hierarchy of the races."

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