Filed under: 9/11, Beslan, Hochwasser, ScientologyJehoVa, Tsunami | Tags: ..., 9/11, Beslan, Hochwasser, ScientologyJehoVa, Tsunami
may be monks?- The Nazi_Lama[Teacher-Himmler]-
www.volunteerministers.org/eng/news/“Here’s the Scientology Tsunami Relier Team in India. It is comprised of Scientologists Volunteer Ministers including a team of Budhhist monks who have learned and use Scientology techniques to help victims.“January 5, 2005: Over 200 Scientology Volunteer Ministers are actively helping in disaster locations and a team, having received permission, is now en route to the ground zero of the disaster at Aceh in Indonesia.”http://www.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=58909&cat=IndiaChurch of Scientology calls for tsunami reliefAmritsar, January 7, 2005The Church of Scientology is calling its thousands of volunteers to help bring aid to the four major disaster areas of Indonesia, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka as part of ongoing relief efforts for victims of the worst Tsunami in recorded history.This information has been received by ANI through an email from Jürg Stettler of the Church in Switzerland on Friday.In this press release Jürg Stettler, who is co-ordinating the actions for his country with other countries, said that hundreds of volunteer ministers have already been dispatched to these Tsunami disaster sites and they are working in close co-ordination with local authorities and other aid-organisations.In disaster situations the main tools of the Volunteers Minister are Scientology Assists and organisational skills. Scientology assists are applied after basic first aid and help a person recover spiritually from shock, trauma and exhaustion and these have also been seen to dramatically benefit physical healing, said Jürg Stettler.He said that they have been receiving reports from our volunteers in these areas is that there is total devastation comparable to a nuclear bombing, with absolutely nothing left.While giving details of the organisation, Stettler said that the church’s program is a year round voluntary activity implemented in 1977 to bring spiritual relief and succour to anyone coping with the struggles of life. He said the Church trains volunteers in a variety of skills, ranging from helping children and resolving conflicts, to dealing with dangerous environments, providing spiritual assistance for illness and injuries, organisational skills and ethics.He informed that volunteer ministers have contributed to relief efforts around the world, including the 1992 civil disorder and 1994 earthquake in Los Angeles, earthquakes in Japan, Indonesia and Russia, fires in California, Arizona and Sydney, Australia, the Oklahoma City bombing; 911 in New York 2001; the 2002 Moscow theater hostage; and recently, the hurricane struck areas of Florida. (ANI) Russland aktuell vom 25.10.04Scientology-Mitarbeiter aus Beslan ausgewiesenMoskau. In Nordossetien haben die Behörden Scientology jegliche Aktivitäten auf dem Territorium der Kaukasus-Teilrepublik verboten. Über 20 Mitarbeiter der Organisation wurden Medienberichten vom Freitag zufolge von der Polizei vorgeladen und aufgefordert, die Republik innerhalb von 24 Stunden zu verlassen. Nach dem Geiseldrama von Beslan hatte die Sekte eine Missionskampagne in der Region gestartet.Nach Angaben des nordossetischen Innenministeriums habe Scientology nicht über die nötigen Lizenzen für ihre Tätigkeit verfügt. Die ossetischen Gesundheitsbehörden hatten vor knapp zwei Wochen ein Ende der Scientology-Aktivitäten gefordert. Die Aktivitäten von Scientology, der “Zeugen Jehovas” und ähnlicher Organisationen stellten unter dem Deckmantel humanitärer Hilfe in Wirklichkeit eine Bedrohung besonders für Kinder und Jugendliche dar, hieß es.Mitarbeiter von Scientology hatten die Einwohner von Beslan in ein Zentrum für psychologische Hilfe eingeladen und Literatur vertrieben. Bei dem Terroristenüberfall auf eine Schule der Stadt waren Anfang September über 300 Menschen umgekommen.russlandonline.RU vom 5.11.04Kinder von Beslan werden vor Sektanten geschütztNordossetien ist zur ersten russischen Region geworden, in der die Aktivitäten von Missionaren nichttraditioneller Religionen unter eine strenge staatliche Kontrolle genommen wird. Wie Stanislaw Kessajew, stellvertretender Parlamentschef Nordossetiens, am Donnerstag gegenüber der “Wremja nowostej” mitteilte, “muss ein jeder Missionar, der seine Aktivitäten auf dem Territorium unserer Republik betreiben will, von jetzt an alle notwendigen Dokumente und Genehmigungen bei sich haben, die seine Vollmachten und Kompetenzen bestätigen würden”. Außerdem seien “die Orte gesetzlich bestimmt, wo die genehmigten Missionarsaktivitäten zugelassen sind”.Alina Lewizkaja, Bildungsministerin Nordossetiens, begründete die Notwendigkeit eines solchen Dokumentes damit, dass die Aktivitäten verschiedener totalitärer Sekten nach der Geiselnahme in Beslan zugenommen hätten. Buchstäblich wenige Tage nach den tragischen Ereignissen erhielten die Rechtsschutzorgane Beschwerden von Psychologen sowie von Mitarbeitern des Gesundheits- und des Bildungsministeriums der Republik sowie von Einwohnern Beslans über Aktivitäten von Sektanten, in erster Linie von Scientologen.“Die Missionare nutzten den äußerst schweren Zustand der Menschen aus und betrieben eine Anwerbung in ihre Reihen, was sie als eine psychologische Hilfeleistung zu tarnen versuchten”, so Lewizkaja. “Dies ist absolut unzulässig, was dadurch den Betroffenen, insbesondere Kindern, ein psychologischer Schaden zugefügt wird. Wir haben alle nur möglichen Maßnahmen getroffen, um die Verwandten und Angehörigen der Toten vor solchen Kontakten zu schützen. In erster Linie forderten wir die Scientologen auf, Beslan zu verlassen.”Der Pressedienst des Innenministeriums Nordossetiens teilte mit, dass es für die Rechtsschutzorgane nach der Annahme des neuen Gesetzes leichter sein wird, die Aktivitäten auch anderer religiöser Sekten zu neutralisieren, die ebenfalls auf dem Territorium der Republik operieren. Es handle sich unter anderem um Jehovas Zeugen und Krishnaiten.Scientologen beim Amoklauf von Erfurt Am 26.4.2002 hat 19-jährige frühere Schüler Robert Steinhäuser im Gutenberg-Gymnasium zwölf Lehrer, zwei Schüler, eine Sekretärin und einenPolizisten erschossen. Danach brachte er sich selbst um. Vgl. auchhttp://www.Ingo-Heinemann.de/Ritalin.htm#AmokScientology und der Amoklauf von ErfurtTages-Anzeiger; 2002-05-13
KehrseiteScientologen als KrisenhelferNach dem Massaker von Erfurt spielen sich Scientologen als Helfer undBerater auf. Eine neue Missionstaktik.Von Hugo Stamm Das Drama am Gutenberg-Gymnasium von Erfurt war der ideale Rahmen für Scientologen, ihre neue Missionsmasche zu erproben. Obwohl die Hubbard-Jünger sonst kaum in Thüringen aktiv sind, tauchten sie plötzlich an der Schule, beim Rathaus und am Domplatz von Erfurt auf, wie die «Thüringer Allgemeine» berichtete. Die Scientologen, die sich Volunteer Ministers nennen, versuchten, mit den trauernden Erfurtern ins Gespräch zu kommen. Ausserdem drückten sie ihnen die Broschüre «Leitfaden zum besseren Leben, der auf gesundem Menschenverstand beruht» in die Hand. Dieser enthält banale Lebensweisheiten des Scientology-Gründers, in denen die Anhänger den Schlüssel zur Bewältigung vieler Probleme sehen. Um den seelsorgerischen Charakter zu unterstreichen, treten die Katastrophenhelfer als «ehrenamtliche Geistliche» auf. Dies ist besonders pikant, weil Scientology sich offiziell nicht mit der Frage nach Gott befasst. Dass es sich bei den «Geistlichen» um Scientologen handelt, ist nur schwer ersichtlich. Einzig im klein Gedruckten erscheint der Name Hubbard. Die Präsenz der Scientologen in Erfurt überrascht Szenekenner nicht. In letzter Zeit tauchendie «ehrenamtlichen Geistlichen» nämlich überall dort auf, wo sich die Aufmerksamkeit der Öffentlichkeit und der Medien konzentriert. So waren sie am «Ground Zero» zur Stelle, beim Massaker in Zug oder beim Crossair-Absturz bei Bassersdorf. Und selbst am 1.-Mai-Umzug in Zürich marschierten Volunteer Ministers in ihren gelben Shirts mit und verteilten die Hubbard-Broschüre «Der Weg zum Glücklichsein» und die Scientology-Zeitung «Freiheit». Bei der Nachdemo machten sich die Scientologen allerdings aus dem Staub. Dabei hätten sich die selbst ernannten Katastrophenhelfer bei der Strassenschlacht nützlich machen können, denn mehrere Polizisten und Demonstranten wurden verletzt und brauchten Hilfe. Die Scientologen propagieren nämlich so genannte Assists oder Beistände. Es handelt sich dabei um eine banale Art des Handauflegens, das wahre Wunder wirken soll.So kursiert in Scientology-Kreisen zurzeit die Geschichte der «ehrenamtlichen Geistlichen» Lorraine Baritz aus Boston. Der 13-jährige Sohn ihrer Freundin sei nach einem Motorradunfall im Koma gelegen. Nachdem Baritz dem Knaben mit einem Assist geholfen habe, sei er aus dem Koma erwacht. Das Gleiche soll wenige Tage später auch bei einem Säugling funktioniert haben. Baritz sagte dazu, sie wisse, dass sie die Fähigkeit habe, «allen zu helfen, egal, wie hoffnungslos die Situation erscheinen mag».Thüringer Allgemeine vom 7.5.02
Die MenschenfängerVon Eberhardt PFEIFFERAuf der Suche nach Trost wurde in der vergangenen Woche vielen Erfurtern eine Broschüre angeboten, die den “Weg zum Glücklichsein” versprach. Für den Laien kaum erkennbar: Hinter dem Büchlein steckt die Scientology-Sekte.Neben dem Blumenmeer am Erfurter Gutenberg-Gymnasium stand in der vergangenen Woche häufig ein netter junger Mann mit Rasta-Locken und einer Tasche. Unaufdringlich bot er Menschen in seiner Umgebung ein Gespräch an über die schwierige Situation. Auf dem Weg in die Zukunft könne vielleicht ein kleines Heftchen helfen, ein “Leitfaden zum besseren Leben, der auf gesundem Menschenverstand beruht”, so der Titel. Verantwortlich für die Publikation zeichnet der Verein “Der Weg zum Glücklichsein”. Angegeben ist eine dänische Adresse.Das Heft war nach der Katastrophe meist dort zu haben, wo sich viele Menschen versammelten. Offenbar schwärmten die Helfer generalstabsmäßig aus. Schule, Rathaus, Domplatz. Im Impressum wird ausdrücklich darauf verwiesen, dass das Vertreiben des Buches “Regierungsbehörden und deren Angestellten gestattet” sei, “da es keine religiöse Aktivität ist.”Über den Weg zum Glücklichsein wurden vor Monaten bereits andere Katastrophenopfer belehrt. Nach dem 11. September in New York, direkt am “Ground Zero”, verteilten “ehrenamtliche Geistliche” das Büchlein an Feuerwehrleute. Die Organisatoren rühmten sich damals der Erlaubnis, neben Polizei, Feuerwehr und Mitarbeitern des Roten Kreuzes in den Bereich rund um das World Trade Center zu dürfen. Absender der Erklärung war die Scientology-Sekte. Für den Verfassungsschutz ist das Auftauchen von Scientologen weder in New York noch in Erfurt eine Überraschung. Ein Stuttgarter Experte kommentierte das New Yorker Engagement so: “Angst und Unsicherheit sind bevorzugte Angriffspunkte.” Wolfgang Herbrand, Sprecher des Thüringer Innenministeriums, spricht von einem “Riesenmarkt”, den sich natürlich auch selbsternannte Heilsbringer nach den Erfurter Ereignissen nicht entgehen lassen konnten.Dabei sind die Aktivitäten von Scientology in Thüringen nach Erkenntnissen des hiesigen Verfassungsschutzes gegenüber den alten Ländern bisher eher zurückhaltend. Sie gehen über den gelegentlichen Versand von Zeitschriften, Magazinen oder Büchern an Privatpersonen, Rathäuser oder Polizeidienststellen kaum hinaus. Niederlassungen soll es im Freistaat noch nicht geben. Ob sich das durch die jüngste Verteil-Aktion ändert, sei noch nicht klar, meint das Innenministerium. Aber auch die deutsche Broschüre lässt sich klar einer der Unterorganisationen von Scientology zuordnen, der “Association for better living and education”. Ziel dieser 1988 gegründeten Vereinigung ist es, in “gesellschaftlichen und sozialen Bereichen Verbesserung der individuellen Lebenssituation herbeizuführen”. Nach Scientology-Verständnis. Dazu zählen sowohl Nachhilfeunterricht als auch Anti-Drogen-Programme. Wer sich darauf einlässt, spürt früher oder später, was nach Aussage von Opfern Scientology wirklich von seinen Jüngern will: viel Geld und Gehorsam.Der Inhalt des kleinen Heftes gibt sich unverfänglich. Lebensregeln, an den zehn Geboten orientiert (”Du sollst nicht töten”), hygienische Fragen (”Sie sollten sich ihre Zähne machen lassen”). Dazu kleine Tipps, wie man Erfolg haben kann, ohne dabei die Menschlichkeit zu vernachlässigen. Nur: Der Text stammt aus der Feder des großen Scientology-Meisters L. Ron Hubbard.Die Publikation ist nicht im üblichen Sekten-Deutsch gehalten. Es handele sich mehr um eine “Einstiegsdroge”, sagen Experten. Der Leser soll mit dem Verein “Der Weg zum Glücklichsein” etwas Positives in Verbindung bringen, damit beim nächsten Mal die Kontaktaufnahme leichter falle.Ob es ein nächstes Mal in Erfurt gibt, bleibt abzuwarten. Mit den Übertragungswagen und Touristenpulks verschwanden offenbar auch viele der so freundlichen Verteiler wieder aus der Landeshauptstadt. Nur eine sehr gut deutsch sprechende ältere Dame soll gestern noch mit ihren kleinen Büchern vor dem Erfurter Rathaus gesehen worden sein.Scientology nutzt Terror-Anschlag in New York vom 11.9.2001 zu Werbezwecken ausBei jeder sich bietenden Gelegenheit weist die Scientology-Organisation darauf hin, dass ihre Helfer in New York aktiv waren. So zum Beispiel in einem Rundbrief an deutsche Pfarrer:
Südkurier 19.09.2001Dubiose Heilsbringer im TrümmerfeldScientology-Anhänger treten in New York als Helfer in der Krise auf – Kritiker empörtNew York/Stuttgart – Die krisenhafte Situation in New York nach dem Attentat bringt auch dubiose Helfer auf den Plan. So vermeldet “Scientology”, vom Roten Kreuz um seelsorgerische Hilfe gebeten worden zu sein. Doch tatsächlich arbeitet die Organisation mit weniger lauteren Mitteln. Wie gestern bekannt wurde, sollen sich rund 450 “Volunteers” (Freiwillige), mit Werbe-Broschüren der Hubbard-Sekte “bewaffnet”, in Manhattans Sperrbezirk aufhalten, um “seelsorgerisch” tätig zu sein. “Schamlos”, kommentieren Kritiker der Sekte, die in Baden-Württemberg vom Verfassungsschutz beobachtet wird. Auf dem Pressefax liest es sich wie eine Erfolgsstory: “Ehrenamtliche Geistliche (…) geben hilfsbedürftigen Personen im Katastrophenzentrum Beistände, bis es ihnen wieder gut geht. Anschließend zeigen sie ihnen, wie auch sie anderen mit Beiständen helfen können. So wird die Zahl von qualifizierten Helfern immer größer”, vermeldet “Scientology”. Es folgt die Schilderung einer hollywoodreifen Erweckungsszene, in der ein kraftloser Feuerwehrmann nach einem “Beistand” durch Scientology-Mitglieder die Suche nach dem vermissten Bruder fortsetzen konnte. Die “touch assists”, eine Art berührungsloses Handauflegen, sind unterfüttert durch das Verteilen der Broschüre “Der Weg zum Glücklichsein”, eine unaggressive PR-Schrift der “Scientologen”. Die Organisation rühmt sich der Erlaubnis, neben Polizei, Feuerwehr und Rotem Kreuz in den abgeschirmten Bereich rund um “das Katastrophenzentrum des World Trade Center” zu dürfen. 450 sollen derzeit dort aktiv sein. Der Verfassungsschutz zeigt sich wenig überrascht darüber, dass die Organisation in dieser “angespannten Situation” tätig wird. Stuttgarts Referatsleiter Klaus-Dieter Schiemann sagt, man dürfe sich wohl die Frage stellen, “ob das die Hilfe ist, die die Helfer brauchen, die permanent Leichenteile aus den Trümmerbergen ziehen”. Ganz typisch ist für Schiemann die Ausgangslage, in der “Scientology” tätig wird: “Eine Situation von Angst und Unsicherheit.” Labile und verunsicherte Menschen brächte das in große Nöte. Denn, dass die Sekte natürlich nur scientologische Erklärungsmuster biete, sei klar. Kenner der Szene sind empört, aber kaum überrascht. Hier werde “schamlos eine Gelegenheit ausgenutzt”, sagt der Berliner Scientology-Kritiker Tilman Hausherr. Schon kurz nach den Attentaten hatte die Organisation per E-Mail Mitglieder, aber auch Nichtmitglieder zu Spenden aufgerufen. Insgesamt eine halbe Million Dollar sollten für den Ankauf der PR-Blättchen “Weg zum Glücklichsein” zusammenkommen. Das Gleiche, so Hausherr, habe sich bereits nach dem Bombenattentat in Oklahoma abgespielt. Dass in den USA laut vor Betrügern gewarnt, aber “Scientology” ignoriert werde, findet Hausherr “unglaublich”. “Scientology” hält sich offenbar strategisch an die Menschen in Not – in New York an “Mitglieder der Feuerwehr, Polizei, Ärzte und Krankenschwestern” und “bildet sie aus”. Stolz vermeldet die Organisation, dass die “Dianetik-Hotline” vom US-Fernsehsender Fox eingeblendet worden sei. Was die Organisation nicht sagt: Sie hatte sich unter falschem Namen als “National Mental Health Assistance” dort per E-Mail gemeldet. “Die Krisen-Hotline ist jetzt geschaltet”, wurde mitgeteilt. Ein Verweis auf Scientology fehlte. Doch wer anrief, landete dort. Am Telefon wurde, berichtet die “St. Petersburg Times”, eine Gratis-Publikation, basierend auf dem Werk L. Ron Hubbards, angeboten.Fox TV, das sich inzwischen für die unzureichende Recherche entschuldigt hat, ließ die “Scientology”-Nummer stundenlang am unteren Bildrand laufen – während die Bilder von Präsident George Bush und Gattin Laura bei einer Trauerfeier gezeigt wurden. Kurt Weiland, SO-Sprecher in Los Angeles, distanzierte sich. Er wies die Verantwortung dem Sender zu. Der Chef der (wirklichen) nationalen Gesundheitsvereinigung, Michael Faenza, warnte in der Tageszeitung, “Scientology” sei die allerletzte Organisation, die emotional angegriffene Menschen anrufen sollten. Das Vorgehen von “Scientology” nannte er “abscheulich” und bat die “Organisation dringend, sich aus der psychologischen Betreuung rauszuhalten”.Scientology-Kritiker Hausherr ist empört, dass “sie es tatsächlich wieder geschafft haben”. Bis heute stehen die Scientology-”Volunteers” in ihren leuchtend gelben T-Shirts in Manhattans Trümmerfeld. Und brüsten sich in anderen “mailings” damit, andere “echte” Psychologen an der Arbeit gehindert zu haben.
© SÜDKURIER GmbH Scientology beim Flugzeug-Absturz 2001Tages-Anzeiger Zürich 29.11.2001Scientologen im GrosseinsatzScientology baut ein Katastrophenkorps mit 400 Helfern auf. Beim Crossair-Absturz kamen sie aber zu spät.Von Hugo Stamm Scientology drängt immer wieder ins Rampenlicht. Die Serie von Katastrophen in den USA und der Schweiz animierte die Sekte, unter dem Namen “Volunteer Ministers” Einsatzkorps aufzubauen. Grosseinsätze hatten die “ehrenamtlichen Geistlichen” – so nennen sich die Helfer – nach dem Einsturz des World Trade Center und beim Flugzeugabsturz in New York. Da kam das Crossair-Unglück vom Samstag für die Schweizer Scientologen wie gerufen, um ihre Katastrophentauglichkeit zu beweisen.Doch sie kamen zu spät. Die Verletzten waren bereits im Spital und das Care-Team des Flughafens längst an der Arbeit. Selbst wenn sie rechtzeitig an der Absturzstelle erschienen wären, hätten sie tatenlos zusehen müssen. “Wir akzeptieren die Scientologen als Helfer nicht”, erklärte Hans Baltensberger, Pressesprecher der Kantonspolizei kategorisch. Die Hubbard-Jünger waren nicht nur in Bassersdorf unerwünscht, sie werden auch in Zukunft weggewiesen. Die Einsatzleitung beim Crossair-Absturz hat das Care-Team sogar vor ungebetenen Helfern gewarnt, sagte Baltensberger. Denn schon beim Attentat von Zug seien unliebsame Erfahrungen mit selbst ernannten Hilfspersonen gemacht worden. Ob es sich dabei um Scientologen handelte, konnte der Polizeisprecher nicht sagen.Auch die Feuerwehr hat keine Freude an den freiwilligen Helfern. “Sie stören mehr, als dass sie helfen”, sagte Willi Ehrbar, stellvertretender Kommandant der Berufsfeuerwehr Zürich. Die Rettungsteams seien aufeinander eingespielt, fremde Personen ohne bestimmte Aufgaben würden den Katastropheneinsatz hingegen behindern. Es sei schon vorgekommen, dass sich Helfer um Patienten gestritten hätten.Propaganda mit InseratenDies sind schlechte Nachrichten für die “ehrenamtlichen Geistlichen”. Sie möchten nämlich bis in einem Monat ein Korps mit 400 “Volunteer Ministers” aufbauen und “Behörden und Institutionen kontaktieren, um zukünftige Aktionen zu koordinieren und die zuständigen Stellen über das geplante Korps zu informieren”. Im Januar will Scientology auch Inserate schalten, um der Öffentlichkeit den neuen Service bekannt zu machen.Scientologen fühlen sich besonders befähigt, Katastrophenopfern zu helfen. Der Sektengründer Hubbard hat nämlich eine simple Hilfsmethode propagiert, den “Berührungsbeistand”. Dabei handelt es sich um eine Art des Handauflegens, die Hubbard als wahres Wundermittel beschreibt. Die Methode soll Schmerzen lindern, die Heilung beschleunigen, Angst abbauen und Trauer überwinden helfen.Hilfe “in dieser schwierigen Zeit” wollen die Scientologen nicht nur den Katastrophenopfern zukommen lassen, sondern auch den Behörden, Wirtschaftsführern und der Bevölkerung. Die Hubbard-Jünger gründeten den Verein “Freunde von Ron” (Vorname des Sektengründers), der sich zum Ziel gesetzt hat, der Öffentlichkeit die “wirkungsvollen Lösungen” von Hubbard bekannt zu machen. Der Sektenführer strebt eine Welt ohne Krieg, Kriminalität und Wahnsinn an. Erreichbar wäre dies aber nur, wenn alle Menschen Scientology-Kurse besuchen würden. Deshalb drängt sich der Verdacht auf, dass auch die Katastrophenhilfe der Scientologen dazu dient, Scientology in die Medien zu bringen und die Opfer und Angehörigen in die Sektenzentren. Ein Mitarbeiter der amerikanischen Gesundheitsbehörden brachte es nach dem Terroranschlag auf das World Trade Center auf den Punkt:”Die Scientologen nutzen die Tragödie, umMitglieder zu werben.”Scientology beim Flugzeug-Absturz 2002 am BodenseeSüdkurier vom 11.7.02 – Lokalteil Überlingen/Owingenhttp://www.skol.de/aktuelles/flugzeug/index.phtml?file=scientology.phtml
KATASTROPHE “Sie sollen abhauen” Scientology geht nach dem Unglück auf MenschenfangÜberlingen/Owingen (car) Ganz schnell waren sie da. Aus Zürich haben sie sich aufgemacht um mit der Not der Menschen, die hautnah den Absturz der beiden Flugzeuge über Owingen und Taisersdorf miterlebt haben, einen Gewinn zu machen. In gelben T-Shirts sind sie in Owingen auf Menschenfang gegangen. Und für alle körperlichen und seelischen Schwierigkeiten zaubern die elf Männer und Frauen aus Zürich die rettende Lösung aus dem Hut. Es ist beinahe unerträglich, das Dauergrinsen in den Gesichtern der elf zu sehen, wenn sie verkünden, dass sie eine Lösung für alle Probleme parat haben. “Unsere Kinder haben die gekrallt”, meldete eine Frau aufgebracht auf dem Owinger Rathaus. Zunächst seien sie “ins Rathaus geschlichen”, erzählt Ferdinand Veit vom Owinger Hauptamt. Ganz deutlich und ohne Missverständnisse habe man den Scientologen von den kirchlichen, polizeilichen und notfalldienstlichen Seelsorgen mitgeteilt, dass ihre Anwesenheit weder erwünscht noch gebraucht wird. Die selbsternannten Heilsbringer ließen sich aber nicht so einfach abschrecken und wollten vor allem jungen Menschen ihre Hilfe aufzwingen.Das Owinger Bürgermeisteramt und der Krisenstab des Bodenseekreises warnt die gesamte Bevölkerung vor den elf Männern und Frauen in gelben Shirts. Nicht ganz klar ist, ob die Männer und Frauen sich inzwischen zurückgezogen haben, oder nur die Aufregung um ihre Personen vorübergehen lassen wollen. In jedem Fall ist Vorsicht geboten, meldet der Krisenstab. Und auch Ferdinand Veit findet deutliche Worte: “Wir haben den Leuten klar gesagt, dass sie abhauen sollen. Ihre Hilfe wird hier nicht gebraucht.” Wer auffällige Beobachtungen in Verbindung mit den Scientologen macht, kann sich bei der Polizei unter 07551/8040 melden.Aus: Süddeutsche Zeitung 4.7.2002
Trauerarbeit auf aufgewühlten Feldern Nach der Flugzeugkollision am Bodensee hat man sich in der Region darauf vorbereitet, den Angehörigen der 71 Absturzopfer zur Seite zu stehen Von Jan Bielicki Owingen/Überlingen – 71 Kerzen haben sie auf dem Acker angezündet. Eine für jedes Opfer. Dann haben sie ein bisschen Erde in ein Gefäß gefüllt, Brocken von diesem aufgewühlten Feld bei Owingen, auf dem ein geborstenes Rumpfteil der russischen Tupolew liegt. Zwei Nächte zuvor war es brennend hier heruntergestürzt. Jetzt trauert ein Mann aus Barcelona um seine Frau und zwei Töchter, fünf und 14 Jahre alt. Auch der zweite Trauernde, ein hoher Beamter aus Moskau, hat seine Tochter verloren, als der russische Jet zwölf Kilometer weiter oben in ein Frachtflugzeug raste. Ein Pilot aus dem russischen Ufa, der die Unglücksmaschine vor wenigen Tagen selber flog, gedenkt seiner toten Kollegen. ………………………….Im Rathaus von Owingen stehen die Telefone nicht still. “Alle wollen helfen”, sagt Ferdinand Veit, der sich sonst ums Grundbuch kümmert. Viele Bürger wollen die Angehörigen der Toten betreuen, wenn sie kommen, andere bringen riesige Torten in die Festhalle, einen Zweckbau aus Glasbausteinen, in den sich Polizisten, Feuerwehrleute und andere Helfer zurückziehen können. “Die Leute sind prima“, sagt Pfarrer Reinhard Schacht. Einige Helfer sind unerwünscht: In grellgelben T-Shirts hat sich ein Trupp der Scientology-Sekte vor dem Feuerwehrhaus aufgebaut und bietet an, was sie Seelsorge nennen. „Das Dreckspack soll sich verziehen“, sagt eine Rathaus-Angestellte. Elbe-Hochwasser Sommer 2002Innenministerium warnt vor unseriösen Betreuern nach der FlutDresden (dpa) – Sachsens Innenministerium hat vor unseriöser “Betreuung” von Opfern und Helfern der Hochwasserkatastrophe gewarnt. Es gibt vereinzelt Personen und Organisationen, die auch andere Zwecke als die Betreuung vom Hochwasser Betroffener verfolgen und etwa Mitglieder werben, teilte das Ministeriummit. Es sei nicht auszuschließen, dass zum Beispiel Sekten versuchten, die Notlage Betroffener zu ihren Gunsten auszunutzen. dpa 6.9.02Quelle: Süddeutsche Zeitung vom 30.8.02http://www.sueddeutsche.de/aktuell/sz/getArticleSZ.php?artikel=artikel7101.phpScientology belästigt Flut-Opfer Von Matthias Drobinski München -Es war, wenn sich der katholische Pfarrer Gerald Kluge recht erinnert, der 24.August: Das Wasser hatte das schlammverkrustete Pirna wieder frei gegeben, die Altenheim-Bewohner befanden sich aber noch in ihrer Notunterkunft – müde und verzweifelt. Da tauchten drei junge Leute auf: Sie würden gerne mit den Leuten reden. Warum nicht? “Erst als die Hallenleitung bemerkte, wie bedrängend diese Gespräche wurden, schaute sie näher hin”, berichtet der Pfarrer – die drei Fröhlichen in ihren gelben Hemden waren Scientologen. Bis die Jünger des Science-Fiction-Autors Ron Hubbard aus der Halle komplimentiert waren, hatten sie einer alten Frau ein Buch verkauft, für zehn Euro-“alle anderen spenden, und die machen Geschäfte”, empört sich Kluge. Pirna war nicht der einzige Ort, wo die “Volunteer Ministers” oder “Ehrenamtlichen Geistlichen” von Scientology ihre Dienste anboten. Am 21. und 22. August konnten sich Katastrophenhelfer auf dem Sportflugplatz Perleberg eine kostenlose Schnelltherapie oder eine Rückenmassage angedeihen lassen. Alles ganz uneigennützig, betont Scientology. Ein ehrenamtlicher Geistlicher wolle “Menschen aus dem Jammertal des Lebens” helfen, das “Verstehen der spirituellen Natur des Menschen ” ermöglichen. Ganz allgemein “verkörpern ehrenamtliche Geistliche die Wahrheit, dass Scientology negative Zustände verbessern oder gar auflösen kann”. Thomas Gandow, Weltanschauungsbeauftragter der Evangelischen Kirche in Berlin und Brandenburg, sieht die Sache nüchterner: “Das ist ein eher verzweifelter Versuch, neue Anhänger zu finden”, sagt er – mittlerweile gingen Hubbards Sinnverkäufer “in Deutschland auf dem Zahnfleisch”. Auch nach der Bluttat an der Schule in Erfurt oder dem Flugzeugabsturz am Bodensee seien die “ehrenamtlichen Geistlichen” aufgetaucht. Vorbild ist offenbar der PR-Erfolg nach dem 11. September 2001. Damals gelang es den Gelbhemden, sich kamerawirksam unter Feuerwehrleute und Sanitäter zu mischen. “Die haben aber mehr die Leute belästigt als geholfen”, sagt Gandow, “da gab es Beschwerden.” Auch an der Elbe kommen die “ehrenamtlichen Geistlichen” schlecht an. Spiegel-online zitiert die 14-jährige Anna, die sich der Massage unterzog: “Ich hatte danach tierische Rückenschmerzen.”PRESSEMITTEILUNG Pfarrer Thomas Gandow================Flutkatastrophe: Sektenbeauftragter warnt vor Scientologen als Krisengewinnlern – Scientologische “Minister” versuchen, Katastrophenhelfer anzuwerben.————————————————————-Nach ihrer störenden Einmischung in die Hilfsmaßnahmen am 11.9.2001 in New York, der Scientology-Werbung nach der Schulbluttat in Erfurt und dem Versuch, Betroffene und Helfer beim Absturz des russischen Flugzeuges am Bodensee anzuwerben, haben die “Volunteer Minister” bzw. “Ehrenamtliche Geistliche” der Scientology-Organisation jetzt versucht, freiwillige Helfer bei der Flutkatastrophe an der Elbe, darunter Schülerinnen und Schüler in Perleberg, anzusprechen.Am 23.Am 21. und 22. August boten die Scientology-Werber den Katastrophenhelfern auf dem Sportflughafen Perleberg eine “Touch-assist” genannte Pseudotherapie sowie “Rückenmassagen” an. Am 23.8. brachen sie von dort auf, neuen Einsatzorten entgegen. Mit weiteren Scientology-Auftritten im Hochwassergebiet entlang der Elbe, der Flutwelle folgend, ist zu rechnen.Der Versuch, Katastrophen für die Scientology-Werbung zu nutzen, steht im Zusammenhang mit der Bemühung der rabiaten Organisation, ihr Image zu ändern, aber auch mit der Bemühung, neue Mitarbeiter zu rekrutieren.Nach erfurt und dem Bodensee hatten die scientologischen Rekrutierer in Berlin ihr Zelt am Alexanderplatz und in der Nähe der Technischjen Universität (TU) aufgeschlagen – mit mäßigem Erfolg. Vgl.: Handauflegen gegen Ohnmacht und Schmerzen – Die Scientologen werben wieder – um Nothelfer. Berliner Zeitung vom 4.7.02 http://www.berlinonline.de/aktuelles/berliner_zeitung/berlin/.html/156787.html )a) Perleberg————Im Bericht eines Nachrichtenmagazins im Internet heißt es im Zusammenhang des Einsatzes einer Schülergruppe aus Kleinmachnow bei Berlin beim Sandsackschippen auf dem Flughafen in Perleberg:“In einer solchen Situation kommt selbst die Scientology-Kirche näher an die Jugendlichen ran, als es sonst möglich wäre. Mitglieder der Sekte bieten den gebeutelten Helfern Massagen an. “Mit Speck fängt eben man Mäuse”, kommentiert Lehrerin Morling mit säuerlicher Miene. Bei den Waldorfschülern hatten die körperknetenden Scientologen ohnehin nur begrenzten Erfolg. “Ich hatte danach tierische Rückenschmerzen”, meckert die 14-jährige Anna. “Die sollen mir ja nicht noch mal mit ihrer Massage kommen.” (Die ganze Geschichte: http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,210617,00.html)b) Angebliche SO-Hilfe in New York – Interne Strategien enthüllt———————————————————Ausschnitt aus einem Leserbrief: “… Nun zur Behauptung, Scientology habe nach den Terrorangriffen in New York irgend etwas zu den Hilfeleistungen beigetragen. Kurz, nein, das taten sie nicht; das ist eine Lüge. Eine ausführliche Untersuchung darüber, was die bösartige Scientology Organisation in New York machte, kommt zum Ergebnis, dass die ungefähr 15 bis 20 Scientologen welche nach den Angriffen nach New York kamen, dort versuchten, die Hilfeleistungen zu behindern indem sie sich durch die Absperrungen der Polizei schlichen um bewusst zu versuchen, Opfer der Terrorangriffe und deren Familienangehörige davon abzuhalten, die Helfer und psychologischen Betreuer am Ground Zero zu erreichen.Die eingeschlichenen Scientologen mussten jeweils aus dem Sperrgebiet geleitet werden, das Amerikanische Rote Kreuz musste eine Stellungnahme veröffentlichen, dass Scientology nicht in seinem Auftrag handelte und sogar FEMA schloss sich dem Roten Kreuz an mit der Herausgabe von Stellungnahmen über kriminelle Organisationen, welche versuchten aus den Terroranschlägen finanziellen Vorteilen zu erlangen.Genaue Einzelheiten darüber, was Scientology mit dem Versuch der Behinderung der Hilfeleistungen erreichen wollte, wurde durch eine Reihe geheimer E-Mails offenbar, welche sich Anhänger der berüchtigten Organisation gegenseitig zuschickten. Diese sind gegenwärtig im Internet verfügbar, insbesonders auf der Webseite <http://www.cosvm.info>. Als dann Scientology realisierte, dass Menschenrechtsaktivisten in ihre Maillist eingedrungen waren, schickte Scientology eine abschliessende E-Mail, welcheerklärte warum sie ihre ‘Updates’ darüber, was sie in New York vorhatten, nicht mehr weiter über die Maillist senden konnten. …From: FRice@SkepticTank.ORG (Rev. Fredric L. Rice) Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology,alt.true-crime,alt.activismSubject: Scientology story lacked information — It sure did!Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 03:11:29 GMT – Übersetzung: Peter Widmer2. Verstärkte SO-Werbung auf leisen SohlenNeu ist das Telefon-Marketing, wie es in der Schweiz und ansatzweise auch in Berlin berichtet wird. Scientologen ackern das Telefonbuch durch und schreiben Leute an oder fragen die Leute telefonisch u.a. “was sie unternehmen würden, um ihre Lebenssituation zu verbessern. Sie versuchen,die kontaktierten Personen in persönliche Gespräche zu verwickeln und ihnen ein Scientology-Buch zu verkaufen.Aus Zürich wird auch berichtet, Scientologen würden wie die Zeugen Jehovas oder Mormonen von Haus zu Haus ziehen um den den Leuten ihre Bücher andrehen. Die Öffentlichkeitsabteilung von Scientology Zürich behauptet sogar, dafür eine staatliche Genehmigung eingeholt zu haben.Mehr über die Vorgänge in Zürich berichtet Hugo Stamm im Zürcher Tages-Anzeiger am 5. August 2002 <http://tagesanzeiger.ch/ta/taOnlineArtikel?ArtId=209231>________________________________________________________________Dies ist eine Presse-Information von Pfarrer Thomas Gandow, Beauftragter für Sekten- und Weltanschauungsfragen der EKiBB http://www.dialogzentrum.de – Anschrift Heimat 27, 14165 Berlin; Fon: 030-8157040, Fax: 030-84509640, email:pfarrer.gandow@berlin.deBei Rückfragen nehmen Sie bitte per e-mail oder telefonischKontakt mit mir auf.Mit freundlichen GrüßenThomas Gandow, Pfarrer————————————————–Unsere Zeitschrift ist der BERLINER DIALOG – Informationen undStandpunkte zur religiösen Begegnung – http://www.berliner-dialog.de -SOURCE
Filed under: Anna Nicole Smith, Anonymous, John Travolta, saved, scientology | Tags: Anna Nicole Smith, Anonymous, John Travolta, saved, scientology
The actor insists the late Playboy Playmate may still be alive if she had checked into the controversial Scientology drug and detox programme Narconon.John, who worked with Anna Nicole on ‘Be Cool’, said: ‘It’s so sad. We could have helped her with Narconon but didn’t get the chance to. I wish we had.’ Narconon has been widely criticised for its unorthodox methods which are inspired by the teachings of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.The treatment includes taking large doses of vitamins, an intensive running programme, and long sauna sessions which ‘run out’ drugs and ‘radiation’ from the body.Scientologists insist Narconon is 85 per cent effective, but it has been alleged the method has been used to convert vulnerable drug addicts to the bizarre sci-fi cult.A toxicology report from Anna Nicole’s autopsy is yet to be released.The model-and-actress died on February 8, after being found unconscious in Hollywood’s Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.Methadone and prescription drugs were found in her hotel room.Filed under: The road to e-democracy | Tags: 2.0, blogging, computer, democracy?, The road to e-democracy, web
have more or less caught up with what in geek-speak is called “web 1.0”, with the online world largely mimicking the offline world. E-mails replace letters; websites make publishing speedier and more effective; data are stored on the user’s computer. A collection of programs, paid-for or pirated, are the essential tools for getting going.But all this has been overtaken by “web 2.0”, shorthand for the interactivity brought by wikis (pages that anyone can edit) and blogs (on which anyone can comment). Data are accessed through the internet; programs are opened in browser windows rather than loaded from the hard disc; instant messages, often attached to social-networking sites such as Facebook, replace e-mail. Web 2.0 also means [not really]free video-sharing on sites such as YouTube and free phone calls between computers. These developments allow information to be shared far more effectively, at almost no cost. That gives great hope to the proponents of e-democracy.
Citizens are not only the state’s customers; they are also its owners. The term often used in the jargon of government technology is citoyen, reflecting the French idea of the politically engaged citizen. Technology can amplify and aggregate voices that used to be faint and muffled. Voters used to write letters to newspaper editors and hope they would be published. Now they can blog. Contacting an elected representative has become a simple matter of sending an e-mail.The story so far is that technology intensifies the democratic process, but does not fundamentally change it. For example, the internet is now a vital way of raising money for political campaigns in America, but it has not supplanted the public meeting. Howard Dean’s campaign for the Democratic party nomination in 2004 was a huge success in the blogosphere, but failed to translate into votes in real life. The internet has provided citizens with vastly more information about their elected representatives: their voting behaviour, their sources of finance, their outside interests, the content of every public speech they ever made. But the effects tend to cancel each other out. When each side has heavier ammunition, the battle rages on.Some e-democracy efforts look like little more than gimmicks. Giving out politicians’ personal e-mail addresses does not make them any more likely to read the result. Gordon.brown@no10.gsi.x.gov.uk, or president@whitehouse.gov make the recipients seem more accessible, but the message will probably be answered by a computer. Politicians and civil servants who have tried blogging have found it remarkably difficult to be both interesting and sensible. The spontaneous (and sometimes half-baked) tone of the blogosphere sits ill with the need to sound measured and definitive. Most politicians’ blogs tend to degenerate into anodyne travelogues. One senior British official, Jeremy Gould, has an excellent blog on e-government. “We think he’s been very brave,” says a colleague, carefully.Where e-democracy may make a difference is in places where the middle class has become largely disengaged from politics. In India, for example, educated people are much less likely to vote than the rest. Opinion polls suggest that they are disgusted with bad government, but this rarely translates into votes against the incumbent parties.Yet a few glimmers of hope are appearing. India is developing a caustic and increasingly effective blogosphere. Melody Laila, for example, electronically lambasts the inadequate public services in her native Mumbai, as well as the kid-glove treatment of corrupt politicians in Delhi. “Blogs give us the freedom to say things that wouldn’t be published in the mainstream media, and the safety of anonymity,” she says. In a country like India, they may also prove more effective than their counterparts in older democracies. It is hard to imagine a blogger who would wish to promote the cause of corruption and bad government.Technology offers an opening, too, to outfits such as Lok Satta, a clean-government campaign run by a formidable, Economist-wielding doctor called J.P. Narayan. It has recently celebrated its first electoral victory, in municipal elections in Mumbai. Its candidate, an energetic entrepreneur and community activist called Adolf D’Souza, campaigns for decentralisation, transparent online budgeting and public accountability. What made the difference, he explains, was that during house-to-house campaigning he collected voters’ mobile phone numbers. That allowed him to send text messages, bypassing the local media which are cosily tied to the established parties.As you might expect, the place that makes the most advanced use of technology in promoting public participation is America, where officials now invite online comments from outsiders when they draw up legislation on subjects like environmental protection. A Department of Agriculture draft on organic-food standards, for example, prompted more than 250,000 comments. Yet the expertise mostly comes from a narrow range of specialists.According to Cary Coglianese, an American e-government expert, imagining that online consultation will breathe new life into democracy “is a bit like imagining that giving automobile owners the ability to download technical manuals and order car parts online would turn a great number of them into do-it-yourself mechanics”. Greater involvement by experts may make for more sensible rules, but it will not turn the system of public administration on its head.
Aux armes, citoyens
The sad truth is that most citizens find government and politics rather boring and think they have better things to do with their time. For outsiders, the online world is obscure and complicated. Similarly, the inherent complexity of government risks blocking the gains that technology can bring. Rupert George, who runs a site called eGov Monitor that enthusiasts find fascinating, explains: “All too often, public-sector investment in technology has been wasted by administrations unable to tackle the cultural change necessary to realise its potential.”In short, badly managed organisations with computers will stay badly managed. That has been the lesson from private business, and it equally applies to the public sector, where e-government has barely begun to scratch the surface of what is possible. That is reason for disappointment, but also for hope.
Filed under: Sound as a weapon | Tags: africa, bush, chief, darfur, economy, hizbullah, killing, olympics, Sound as a weapon
Turn that noise off
Feb 16th 2008
From Economist.com
Care must be taken when sound is deployed offensively
MUSIC has the power to delight the listener, improve well-being and uplift the soul. But sounds have more malign uses too. The beauty of the music produced by the Sirens of ancient Greek legend drew unwary sailors to their doom on the rocks. And in Britain calls have been made this week to ban the use of the Mosquito, a high-pitched-noise generator that is used to disperse groups of unruly teenagers from congregating points such as shopping centres and housing estates. Campaigners say that it is unfair to subject the young to a discomforting sound that only they can detect—older ears are no longer sensitive enough to detect the Mosquito’s din.
The aural assault on Britain’s potentially troublesome youth is not the first. Over ten years ago stations on the Tyne and Wear Metro were equipped with speakers that blasted out classical music. Mozart and Beethoven did the job of dispersing or calming hooligans so successfully that London Underground later adopted the idea too. Australian authorities used a similar technique by playing cheesy music, such as Barry Manilow, deemed so “uncool” by suburban teens that it would drive them away from troublespots.
Few could argue that harnessing classical music to keep the peace is anything but a fine idea. But music (or noise, depending on the age of the definer) has been used for far more sinister purposes too. In the second world war rumours circulated of a giant German sonic device that could be deployed to devastating effect on the battlefield. Fortunately its vast size and almost complete lack of portability reputedly limited its destructive potential. During the cold war similar devices were said to be in development on both sides of the Iron Curtain.
Even in 1999 Human Rights Watch, a pressure group, fearful of the humanitarian threats posed by acoustic weapons, monitored developments. Since then the group has gone quiet but its concern may not be misplaced. America’s military has shown that it is prepared to deploy sound to its tactical advantage. After America’s invasion of Panama in 1989 its intention to seize Manuel Noriega, the head of state it accused of drug running, was thwarted after he took refuge in Panama City’s Vatican embassy. A siege lasting nearly two weeks was broken only after the forces surrounding the embassy played deafening rock music 24 hours a day (including Van Halen and Guns ‘n’ Roses), over loudspeakers that ringed the compound.
America’s armed forces are also accused of using loud rap music and television theme tunes to disorient and disturb prisoners both in Iraq and Gunatanamo Bay. Another technique is to impose absolute silence as part of a sensory-deprivation programme. And both American and Israeli armies and some less scrupulous police forces around the world are said to have used a sonic tool, the “long range acoustic device”. It emits unpleasant high-pitched wails that are intended to disperse crowds. In 2005 a cruise ship even reported its use to repel pirates off the coast of Somalia. But the effectiveness of the device is subject to much dispute.
Nevertheless the aggressive use of music and tailor-made sounds is becoming more commonplace. But these weapons, like any others, risk falling into the wrong hands. The simple technologies that are the bad neighbour’s weapon of choice (big speakers, “bad” music) might be turned against their users. Rap and heavy metal music is freely available though more fiendish musical terroriser might even choose experimental jazz or Maltese folk music. Hefty speakers are bought and sold openly too.
British teenagers have already shown how the table can be turned. Using mobile phones to record the silent-to-many output of the Mosquito machines they have used the sound to disrupt classes by irritating fellow students while teachers remain oblivious. And in schoolrooms, where mobiles are banned, the sound is a useful semi-private ringtone. In an already noisy world an arms race of sound is not to be welcomed.
Filed under: 4814824, 4816906, 4816947, 4817297, 4817756, 4817934, 746, Ackermman, Angela Merkel, Anonymous, Arcandor, Art, Bilderberger, CEO, CFR, CIA, CNN, Car, Cars, Chrysler, Culture, DHL, Daimler, Germany, IRS, Juergen Schrempp, Karstadt, LGT, Linkspartei, Lufthansa, MI%, Mercedes, Minister, Morgan Stanley, Music, Neckermann, News, Now!, OTTO, Oskar Lafontaine, Peer Steinbrück, Politics, Postbank, Quelle, Rothchild, Round table, Telecom, UNICEF, USA, United Nations Children's Fund, VW, Volkswagen, accounts, africa, animals, asia, banking, berlin, black, bnd, breaking, cats, cd, chiefs, corruption, data, deutsche post ag, dollar, election, enron, eu, euro, evasion, exchange, export, fallen, fbi, film, finance, fire, future, garlichs, hedgefods, import, international, interpol, left, liechtenstein, magic, money, mystery, n24, newspapers, rich, rockefeller, rules, scandal, scientology, secret services, skull & bones, stars, stocks, tax, trasparency, un, uno, watchdog, whistleblowers, whole, world leaders, yen, zumwinkel | Tags: accounts, Ackermman, africa, Angela Merkel, animals, Anonymous, Arcandor, Art, asia, banking, berlin, Bilderberger, black, bnd, breaking, Car, Cars, cats, cd, CEO, CFR, chiefs, Chrysler, CIA, CNN, corruption, Culture, Daimler, data, deutsche post ag, DHL, dollar, election, enron, eu, euro, evasion, exchange, export, fallen, fbi, film, finance, fire, future, garlichs, Germany, hedgefods, import, international, interpol, IRS, Juergen Schrempp, Karstadt, left, LGT, liechtenstein, Linkspartei, Lufthansa, magic, Mercedes, MI%, Minister, money, Morgan Stanley, Music, mystery, n24, Neckermann, News, newspapers, Now!, Oskar Lafontaine, OTTO, Peer Steinbrück, Politics, Postbank, Quelle, rich, rockefeller, Rothchild, Round table, rules, scandal, scientology, secret services, skull & bones, stars, stocks, tax, Telecom, trasparency, un, UNICEF, United Nations Children's Fund, uno, USA, Volkswagen, VW, watchdog, whistleblowers, whole, world leaders, yen, zumwinkel
Germany’s corporate chiefs are under fire after a police raid on one of the country’s most respected bosses on Thursday added to the list of scandals that is shaking the public’s faith in its cherished corporate system.
The swoop on the home and offices of Klaus Zumwinkel, chief executive of Deutsche Post (DPWGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) and a pillar of the establishment, in a probe into suspected tax dodging was the latest shock for Germans already seething over fat-cat pay and golden handshakes.
On top of a series of scandals in the last few years which have engulfed Europe’s biggest carmaker Volkswagen (VOWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) and Siemens (SIEGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research), Germany’s biggest corporate employer, commentators warn of political consequences and said the far-left Left party could gain.
Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said the potential damage of the Zumwinkel case, which involves individuals rather than the company as a whole, was “considerable”.
“If the public has something like this as a role model, they’ll start having doubts about the economic and social system,” said Steinbrueck, a Social Democrat (SPD) in conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel’s left-right coalition.
The case took on even bigger proportions on Friday when a newspaper reported the investigation could stretch to hundreds of rich and prominent Germans with offshore bank accounts.
Germany’s post-war identity is founded on its economic and corporate prowess, epitomised by the country’s status as the world’s biggest exporter and by the number of companies which are world leaders in their sector.
Although managers’ salaries are still below U.S. and British levels, discontent is growing among Germans who feel they are not reaping the rewards of growth in Europe’s biggest economy.
Disposable income for lower earners has fallen and the media have launched a campaign over excessive manager pay.
Targets have included Juergen Schrempp, the former chief executive of carmaker Daimler who walked off with millions in a pay off and stock options as his merger with U.S. automaker Chrysler unravelled and shareholders lost out.
“(Zumwinkel’s) case is one which feeds the general suspicion many people have: ‘The top people lie and cheat everyone else’,” wrote the Sueddeutsche Zeitung in an editorial on Friday.
PUSH TO THE LEFT?
Although politicians from across the spectrum, including Merkel, have criticised excessive corporate pay, commentators say public anger over what the media calls morally degenerate bosses could lead to more left-wing policies.
The growing appeal of the Left party, a group of former communists and disaffected former centre-left SPD supporters, has already pulled the main political parties to the left by forcing the ruling coalition to soften its stance on welfare reforms.
“The picture of a number of greedy managers is catastrophic as it spawns a sense of social injustice which can only help the Left party,” Klaus Schneider, head of the SdK shareholders’ association told Reuters.
Former German finance minister Oskar Lafontaine, a co-leader of the Left, wants to increase public spending on pensions, welfare benefits and education.
Corruption watchdog Transparency International says there is no objective data to show corruption is increasing in Germany.
“But you can say that in the last 10 to 15 years the subject has become far more important in peoples’ minds … there has been a change in the climate,” Peter von Blomberg, deputy head of Transparency International Germany, told Reuters.
Von Blomberg said Scandinavian countries were something of a model, thanks to open communication channels between citizens and authorities. German firms need to introduce and enforce compliance guidelines and protect whistleblowers, he said.
“In Germany there is still quite a distaste for denouncing people — there are historical reasons for this but I think we may see a discussion about a possible legal framework to protect whistleblowers here,” he said.
Zumwinkel Was Tipped to Be Unicef German Head, Frankfurter Says Klaus Zumwinkel, who resigned as chief executive officer of Deutsche Post AG yesterday, was a “favorite” to become the German chief of the United Nations Children’s Fund, Frankfurter Rundschau reported, citing unidentified people close to Unicef. The charity will decide at a meeting on April 10 who will succeed Dietrich Garlichs, the German newspaper reported on its Web site. Zumwinkel topped the list of candidates at a Feb. 13 Unicef meeting, Frankfurter Rundschau said.
Zumwinkel quit yesterday after 18 years in charge of Europe’s biggest postal service. German authorities said earlier this week they are probing Zumwinkel for possibly evading 1 million euros ($1.5 million) in taxes by transferring money to Liechtenstein.
Germany’s Merkel criticises Deutsche Post CEO for his silence on tax fraud probe
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has criticised Deutsche Post AG CEO Klaus Zumwinkel’s public silence so far on a tax fraud allegation, saying she would have wanted the executive to issue a public statement regarding the matter, according to a government spokesman. Spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said at a routine government press briefing that Merkel believes cases such as the allegation against Zumwinkel would result in a ‘loss of confidence’ in the captains of German industry, though he noted a vast majority of managers are working seriously and with great commitment.
Wilhelm said the employees of Deutsche Post as well as people outside the company would be interested in what Zumwinkel had to say.
A finance ministry spokesman said Zumwinkel has offered to resign and the government has accepted his resignation. The government through the state-owned bank Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau holds around a 31 pct stake in Deutsche Post.
The resignation comes a day after police raided his home and offices in a 1 mln eur tax fraud investigation.
The government meanwhile announced Merkel is scheduled to meet Liechtenstein Prime Minister Otmar Hassler on Feb 20 in Berlin and will discuss with him issues affecting both countries and Liechtenstein’s relations with the European Union, as well as unspecified ‘international’ issues.
Liechtenstein Ambassador to Germany Prince Stefan von Liechtenstein told Handelsblatt newspaper today the case on Zumwinkel will be one of the topics to be discussed between Hassler and Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck next week.
The German media has reported that the case on Zumwinkel surfaced during an ongoing investigation into several individuals who are evading tax payments by hiding their assets in Liechtenstein banks.
Zumwinkel quits as Deutsche Post head as German tax probe widens
The tax-evasion scandal in Germany claimed its first victim yesterday when Klaus Zumwinkel, a veteran of the nation’s corporate elite, quit as chief executive of Deutsche Post and chairman of Deutsche Telekom.
People close to the investigation said state prosecutors suspected 750 individuals of holding undeclared trusts in Liechtenstein, robbing the German ex-chequer of hundreds of millions of euros.
These people told the Financial Times: “We are sitting on a mountain of names, including several of international prominence akin to Mr Zumwinkel.” Nothing pointed to the involvement of top executives of other blue-chip companies, however.
Details were said to have come from a disc containing account details from LGT, Liechtenstein’s largest bank, controlled by the royal family. But other banks – one is based in Switzerland – were also said to be involved.
The revelations led to blunt reactions from German politicians, who fear the scandal will raise public dissatisfaction with the business establishment in the midst of a banking crisis, job transfers abroad, and long de-bates over executive pay.
Berlin must also move quickly to find new top executives for the former postal and telecoms monopolies, in which it holds just over 30 per cent apiece.
Frank Appel, Deutsche Post logistics director, was seen as the favourite to succeed Mr Zumwinkel. But the top candidate for the Telekom chairman’s job, Wolfgang Reitzle, Linde chief executive, was reluctant, officials said.
Angela Merkel, the chancellor, said the scandal triggered by Mr Zumwinkel was difficult and depressing and his resignation unavoidable. The scale of his alleged tax evasion was “beyond my imagination and beyond that of many people”.
Officials said Ms Merkel was likely to use a meeting next week with Otmar Hasler, Liechtenstein’s prime minister, to call for an easing of its bank secrecy rules.
Peer Steinbrück, finance minister, told N24-TV that Mr Zumwinkel, 64, had admitted tax evasion. Mr Zumwinkel’s legal and media advisers declined to comment. On Thursday prosecutors said he was suspected of failing to pay taxes totalling €1m (£750,000).
Deutsche Post Chief Zumwinkel to Quit After Tax ProbeDeutsche Post AG Chief Executive Officer Klaus Zumwinkel will quit after 18 years in charge of Europe’s biggest postal service as prosecutors investigate him for tax evasion. German authorities said yesterday they are probing Zumwinkel, 64, for possibly evading 1 million euros ($1.5 million) in taxes by transferring money to Liechtenstein. The company, based in Bonn, didn’t name a successor. Zumwinkel’s attorney Hanns Feigen declined to comment.
Zumwinkel’s departure came after an investigation by prosecutors in Cologne, Dusseldorf and Bochum that may spread to “several hundred” people. The case follows the resignation of Klaus Kleinfeld at Siemens AG because of a bribery scandal and the trial of labor leaders at Volkswagen AG over improper use of expenses.
“Apparently foundations in Liechtenstein were established for the sole purpose of evading taxes,” Eduard Gueroff, a spokesman for the Bochum prosecutor’s office, said in a statement today. “The evidence we have so far is very strong.”
“The government today accepted the offer by Mr. Zumwinkel to resign,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters in Berlin. “I believe this step was inevitable, after what happened. This was more than I could have imagined, and more than many people could have imagined.”
Shares Rise
Deutsche Post shares rose as much as 69 cents, or 3.1 percent, to 22.94 euros and closed up at 22.50 euros in Frankfurt electronic trading. The stock has fallen 4.6 percent in 2008, valuing the company at 27 billion euros.
Zumwinkel’s replacement will need to focus on the unprofitable DHL business in the U.S. and decide whether to sell Postbank. The bank today said fourth-quarter profit fell 39 percent to 169 million euros after U.S. subprime-related writedowns and because gains from asset sales weren’t repeated.
“We are bound to see some adjustments to Deutsche Post’s strategy,” said Axel Funhof, head of transport and logistics analysis at ING Groep NV in Brussels. “After years of loss making, the U.S. business finally needs to be taken care of.”
Zumwinkel sits on the board of Morgan Stanley and is chairman of Deutsche Telekom AG, Europe’s biggest telephone company, and Deutsche Postbank AG, Germany’s largest consumer bank by clients, and also holds supervisory board seats at Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Arcandor AG. The government is the largest shareholder in Deutsche Post, with 31 percent.
Fixing U.S. Business
Deutsche Post will hold a supervisory board meeting Feb. 18 to discuss Zumwinkel’s departure and possible replacements. Frank Appel, Deutsche Post’s management board member in charge of the logistics business, will be named as CEO at the meeting, the Financial Times Deutschland reported today, without saying where it got the information. Deutsche Post declined to comment.
Zumwinkel took the helm in 1990, overseeing Deutsche Post’s initial public offering more than seven years ago and the takeover of the DHL express-delivery business in 2002. He’s the longest-serving CEO on Germany’s 30-member benchmark DAX Index.
He studied at the University of Muenster where he earned masters and doctoral degrees. He also attended the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton business school, which was founded in 1881 as the country’s first school of business, receiving a master’s of science in 1971.
Putting up Bail
Prosecutors yesterday raided Zumwinkel’s offices at Deutsche Post’s Bonn headquarters and his home in Cologne as part of the tax investigation. He was questioned on the same day and returned home after putting up bail.
“Mr. Zumwinkel has told the board’s executive committee that in the interest of the company, he plans to resign,” the company said in an e-mailed statement. Zumwinkel’s attorney.
Zumwinkel previously served as the head of Quelle Group, a German mail-order company, and was a senior partner at consulting firm McKinsey & Co. His Deutsche Post contract was due to expire in November and analysts had suggested he probably wouldn’t renew it. Like Zumwinkel, Appel worked at McKinsey before he joined Deutsche Post.
Deutsche Post said that as well as stepping down as CEO, Zumwinkel was also quitting as Postbank chairman.
“We believe Mr. Zumwinkel has the impression” that claims he didn’t pay 1 million euros are correct, Finance Ministry spokesman Torsten Albig said today at a Berlin press conference.
Merkel will discuss the tax scandal with Liechtenstein’s Prime Minister Otmar Hasler at a meeting in Berlin on Feb. 20, government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said.
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Even the greatest souls can become twisted, corrupted by their learning, power or love. Judith Freeman is one such fallen greatness.
Once she was one of the brightest voices of the Celestial Chorus, a beloved visionary and mystic. Throughout her life she devoted herself to the Chorus and its mission, but she had a mystic bent that made her more aware of the higher spheres than the here and now, making her a bit too otherworldly for most sleepers (and quite a few of the more practical brethren). Instead she sought inner wisdom, trying to reach the shard of the One she felt within her. She felt its need of togetherness, the great yearning for unity, for reconciliation, that all of creation felt.
Had she not met with Griscard Rochman her life and work would surely have been different. Griscard was one of the children of Caine, a dark shadow irresistibly drawn towards the light of Judith. He watched her from afar, fascinated by her spiritual beauty, her power, her faith. Finally one night he approached her on the roof of the chantry, desperate to get near her despite the danger to both of them. Judith calmly listened to his black confessions, and forgave him. She became fascinated by the Children of Caine, and during subsequent nights she listened to the lore that spilled from the lips of Griscard.
Finally the temptation became too great, and she let him drink her vitae – and he let her drink his. In their union, Judith felt something she had never experienced before: a soul touching a soul, a shard of the One touching another shard of the One (albeit corrupted by millennia of degradation). Enraptured, they mingled their blood, unifying life and death. In that crucial moment revelation hit Judith, and she began to sing a new song. She realised a way towards the One, a way to bring all the lonely shards of the primal unity back together. Using her magick she drank more of Griscard who lied helpless in her arms. She drank his soul, uniting it with hers.
As the sun rose above the trees around the chantry, Judith watched it filled with joy and fear over what she had done. At her feet a pile of ashes blew in the morning breeze, but her beloved was within her, united in her soul.
Over the next weeks she gradually learned. She felt the hunger of the vampire, and saw it for what it was: a desperate, unarticulated longing for unity. She understood why the children of Caine coveted the blood of each other and the mortals, and forgave them.
When she eventually revealed what she had done to the deacons of her chantry, she was surprised by their reaction. How could they fear and denounce what she had done? Had she not shown them the way towards reconciliation, of the great unity of life and death? When they ordered her to do penance for her crime, she replied that she would do penance, but not for her deed, but to purify her new united soul from the sins of the children of Caine. It was too much, and she was expelled by the council.
For a long time Judith was sad and confused by what had happened. Why could they not accept her vision? How could such bright masters be so blind? But she eventually realised that many people were as fearful of unity as they longed for it, a fear that held the fragments of the One apart and lonely. But their opinions did not matter, only compassion mattered. She set out to unite all lonely souls – by devouring them.
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Why the Ascension War is Still a Cold War
Most everyone knows about how the Cold War ran, between 1945 and the late 1980s. THere were periods of conflict and confrontation, with large amounts of covert operations, psychological warfare, etc. Both sides, while technically “good guys” to their own people, committed atrocities against their own people and those who lived i the embattled, marginal regions where the two superpowers fought their battles.
What kept the Cold War from growing into a Hot War? Simple. The doctrine of Mututally Assured Destruction was in operation the whole time. If one power acted too openly or too hostilely, the other would retalliate with a strike that would assure, not victory, but a counterstrike of proportions that would eventually destroy the entire world in a ball of nuclear flame.
This same principle applies in spades to the Ascension War. The battle is at the core for the minds of the Sleepers, so anything that destroys all the Sleepers is unacceptible. And since most Sleepers are as human as magi, anything that tried to attack magi directly would also hurt the Sleeper population, and make the Ascension War revolve around more prominent, specific targets. Most of whom would die in the conflict for their own minds.
The Powers in the War
There are really three major factions in the Ascension War, each of them splintered into several smaller groups that have their own agendas, and act subtlely against even their “allies”.
The Traditions
The Traditions are what the players of the game are the most familiar with, the “downtrodden magi” of old that have been displaced by an increasingly ordered universe. THey have the power of (sorry for the pun) tradition and history behind them, and many of their oldest magi are the most powerful by far. They can almost be equated to the NATO powers of the Cold War.
The Technocracy
The original” bad guys,” the Technocracy has engineered the current structuring of the Tellurian, and have been ascendant for the last 300 years or so. They are rife with corruption and power-lust, however, the luxuries of the victorious, though they have not yet won. They are analogous (in history as well as current situation) to the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact nations.
The Nephandi
The stereotypical “bad guys”, they run in the shadows, with their own agenda. They are the “alien power” that is feared by all those in the “established order”, and every effort is made to root them out at all levels. They have no real analogue to a power in the Cold War, but could be considerd to be analogous to international crime syndicates, or illuminati-like secret societies.
The Marauders
Every war has those elements which act to do nothing but sow chaos throughout the battlefield. This is the place of the Marauders the ultimate anarchists in the Ascesion War. They have no discernable goal, simply a broad collection of individuals under a convenient handle. If they worked together, given their advantages, they would be a formidable force indeed.
So, what keeps them in check?
Magical Analogues to the Nuclear Bomb
The big thing that kept the Cold War in check was the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction. This doctrine kept the Cold War from erupting into a long-term state of madness and bloodshed. There are several forces that can be brought to bear by each side that would be analogous to the strike and counterstrike of nuclear weapons.
The Traditions’ Bomb: Dynamic Magic
Fallout: Paradox Storm, Sleeper Backlash
The Traditions have the awesome powers of dynamic magic at their disposal. Creating fire-breathing dragons, great firey explosions, and even reversing the flow of time is nothing to the great powers within the Traditions. Were they capable of acting with a united front, however, this would surely be the weapon of choice.
The drawback, of course, is the danger of Paradox. Such incredible displays of dynamicism would at first be met by huge backlashes of Paradox, the sort that has not been seen in ages. These paradox storms would lash out, consuming the ofending mage and everything around them, tearing through the Tellurian and detroying or changing everything in its path.
Also, with the return of true magic, the Sleepers would in general react in fear (the Pogrom has done its job well), afraid of these new super-men. They would rise up, and the Traditions, deprived of many of their most potent members, would be smashed by the wrath of the Sleeping masses.
The Technocracy’s Bomb: The Pogrom
Fallout: Sealing of the Gauntlet, Sleeper Backlash
The power of the Technocracy has lain in its almost iron grip on the modern paradigm. Their control has been slipping slightly, but it is still quite strong. It would take littl efor them to exert their combined force and escalate the Pogrom, consuming all the Tradition mages, and changing the paradigm enough to slam shut the Gauntlet, untethering Gaia from the Tellurian.
The problem with this, however, is that there would be no more Quint. Their own magics would fail, and eventually the world would stagnate, patterns slowly decaying as Quint bleeds off into the environment, through the small magical acts of the near-Awakened. The end of the world in this case would be a series of crystaline crypts containing consciousnesses with no capability for thought.
The Sleepers would see this assault on religious and spiritual laders, and eventually rise up against those that oppress them. The mobs would be like nothing seen before, as there would be an Inquisition launched spontaneously against the creators of technology, the controllers of the masses. And with no supernatural force to guide them, they would run roughshod over the world.
The Nephandi’s Bomb: Physical Manifestation/Summoning
Fallout: Consumption
The dread weaponof the Nephandi is the physical presence of their dark Lords in this Realm. Such creatures of darkness would consume everything in their path, destroying all, leaving nothing, not even entropy, in their wake. Their enemies would be destroyed, yes… But in their wake there would be nothing. Gaia would be cast screaming into the Void.
Any one group has within it the power to end the Ascension War… But they cannot use this power. Only once they can weaken the power of the other two factions enough to assert themselves slowly over the paradigm, they can do nothing but skulk i the shadows, relying on propoganda, surgical strikes, and decade-long actions and campaigns to slowly shift and twist the Sleepers to believe in the way they wish, to begin to favor one faction over the others. Then and only then could one player push an overt bid for power. The problem would be the that the factions within that player would splinter out, and instead of one player, there would be a large number more, who would fight until they too settled into a “cold war” of their own.
The danger, however, comes from the other powers, the Jyhad of the undead, the apparent mad assault by the Garou, the reality-shattering abilities of the Marauders, the almost untouchable influence of the dead, and the capricious, unpredictable nature of the Fae. Actions by those powers will keep the Ascension War on the edge of a thaw, time held constantly at the point two minutes to the archetypical midnight, the last bit of the 11th hour.
Well, that’s long-winded, and I didn’t even get into the interplay between the various factions within, or how the vampires, garou, etc. have been changing the Ascension War and complicating everyone’s lives.And no, running a Chronicle with this kind of assertion is NOT easy…. But when its done. it can be an INCREDIBLE amount of fun, and a very involving storyline… It’s like plucking at a strand of a spider’s web… You never know when you’re going to pull the thread that gets you bit.SOURCE
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Myth tells of lost empires, places that existed once but are now lost to mankind after the drawing closed of the Gauntlet and the mapping of the world by the Technocracy. Some of these places, including El Dorado, have been found, but two great empires have long remained hidden and unexplained by generations of mages. Places about which legends existed long before the coming of the Age of Reason. Places we cannot find even in the Umbra, even though belief in them is strong. We speak of Atlantis and Lemuria.Yes, this may sound somewhat absurd, but these two places began to figure prominently in our prior researches into the history of the Ten Traditions and the origin of the schism between the Technocracy and the Traditions. History tells us of the last 2000 years, mythology of 5000 before that, and magic and the spirits speak of times back a further 13,000 years. But there, they stop. No hints, just refusals to give information. Many claim not to know, others grow hostile as they are pressured for information. Even the magic of the Spheres cannot push back this veil in time, a Gauntlet shielding us from our own past.
There is a reason for this. Approximately 20,000 years ago, there was a great catastrophe, that rent not only the physical Terran realm, but the entirety of the Gaian Tellurian. An event of proportions undreamed of probably even by the Oracles.
But we have succeeded where others have turned away, and have gathered what we feel to be a picture of two great empires of humanity, from the time before time, in the midst of what the Technocracy would term the Ice Age. There is a reason for why they wish this time to be lost, shrouded and hidden in the memory of artic ice over the land. The truth is far more frightening.
But before we tell of the fall of these great empires, let us describe them, their culture, their people, their rise. While we know nothing of the origins of these empires save as an evolution of the multitude of tribes that roamed the Tellurian, back in the times when there was no Gauntlet, and the Realms flowed, melding and mingling freely. The Realm of Mu was known for its Spellweavers, and the lush greenery of the landscape, whereas the Realms of Atlantis was known for its harsh climates, rich mineral resources, and tough, hearty people. Blessed by two different circumstances, the tribes of these two realms were slowly
unified, becoming a force in their region of the Tellurian.
But their ambitions did not end there. As the Atlanteans began to tame their own land, their people acquired and placed value upon categorization, forcing things to pattern. Their scholarship was of science, and ritual, and crystal. Great ships plied the skies between the realms, and formal religion and ritual were the rule.
The Lemurians, however, were a more passive, or rather permissive people. They tended to meld and shape the world around them with a subtle, gentle touch. They shaped trees into housing, the animals into forms they needed, and the very world around them into paths and trails that led from one Realm to the next. Thus did they grow, and prosper.
As both empires grew, within them grew the strength of magic, powers unbeknownst to any who still walk the mortal plane. Death was not yet a fixture, and time flowed in odd ways around their leaders, the most powerful magi of their respective cultures. Eventually, a dynasty formed in each empire, and they began exploring in earnest.
Somewhere, the two empires met, and began to trade, then to compete. As they both grew, the Tellurian seemed not large enough for both of them, and tempers began to flare. Then disaster struck.
The details are sketchy, but it seems as though the Realm of Atlantis had grown unstable from all the crystallization of reality around it, and the pattern spontaneously snapped in several places, releasing incredible amounts of energy, destroying countless lives and property. Accusing the Lemurians of this act, the Atlanteans began an assault on the Realms of the Lemurians, swearing to aveng ethe deaths of their people.
The battles were great, and many died on both sides. Great spirits from the farthest reaches of the Gaian Tellurian and beyond were brought to bear, and the damage was horriffic. But there was no clear winner, and after almost a century of fighting, the two battle-weary sides agreed to a reluctant truce, dividing the Tellurian into two seperate spheres of influence.
Thus began a new age of prosperity, even as distrust brewed between the two empires. They expanded aggressively, opening paths far beyond the reaches of the Gaian Tellurian. They spread out far and deep into the reaches, to realms that are indescribable to the sane. But they came, they conquered, and they continued onward.
Somewhere along the line, somehing was discovered by the Lemurians. Or maybe, something discovered them. Outposts and villages would suddenly disappear, falling off the face of the Tellurian, leaing nothing but idyllic countryside with a strange, ominous feeling to it. Soon, entire Realms were falling victim to this strange plague, which was now leaving twisted ruins, warping the entirety of reality and leaving only deformed, pained things in its wake.
The Lemurians felt this was a new weapon developed by the Atlanteans, and as soon as they shut off the main connections to the border Realms, they began assaulting the Atlanteans, demanding retribution and tribute. THey fought fiercely, and the Atlanteans were humbled, though not defeated, and soon they began to fight back.
Sometime during the war, however, this plague sprung up in Atlantean Realms as well, twisting and deforming their worlds. Suddenlyrealizing that there was a common enemy, they set aside their arms, and worked great magics, eventually forming the Membrane that surrounds the Gaian Tellurian. But this had the effect of limiting their space to grow, eventually forcing them to conflict.
And eventually, that conflit came. The continuing pattern degredation of Poseidia, the core Atlantean Realm, had reached a point that it shattered, leaving a group of nine Realms linked together by tenuous pathways. This was the excuse the Atlanteans needed to finally try and destroy the Lemurians, and they launched a war of total genocide.
It is here that the records begin to break down, and reality itself meant nothing during the war. But there are two facts that stand out strangely: One, that the Lemurians seemed to be much less numerous than reported, and Two, that both empires were suffering a form of madness that drove their actions far, far more extreme than even war would allow for.
The spirits spoke at length about the Garden, at the heart of Lemuria, and the Battle of the Garden, a nearly century-long conflict that left millions of Atlantean soldiers dead, ending in the capture of the Guardian, a spirit of unknown power, though probably of near-Celestine level. It had been harnessed only through the combined magical might of the three living Princes of Atlantis and their mated sorceress-queens.
It is said that rather than simply accepting oblivion, the spirit chose instead to uise a gift that only the most powerful of the royal households possessed, they Dying Curse. In doing so this spirit consigned itself to reincarnating as a human, as that was the form it was slain in, but it slew the entire house of Atlantis, in perpetuity. In a single instant, all the royal blood of Atlantis fell to dust, destroyed utterly.
All, save one. The Atlantean king was too powerful to be slain immediately by the magics of the Guardian, though watching his wife and family crumble to dust before him shattered his already unhinged mind. He stormed to the heart of Poseidia, where there stood a great crystal that powered the greatest machinations of the Atlantean empire. In a fit of rage and madness, the king aimed the Great Crystal through the Tellurian, at the heart of Lemuria. Through the very heart of Gaia.
Gaia awakened, screaming, transfixed by this incredible burst of energy. Wounded and outraged, She smashed the Tellurian, sweeping away the Realms of Mu and Poseidia, casting them away into the Abyss. As Her righteous rage abated, She reshaped the Tellurian, forming the Terran Realm, where she would try and keep the humans in check, as they had proven to be Her most wayward children. This was when She created the Garou, and the idea of the Impergium. And thus was the forming moments of the Gauntlet.
Only three questions remain in the hearts of the researchers at this time, but they cause us to miss sleep at night, when at the odd hours there is walking heard among the Maze of Dreams (detailed in another supplement, which I’d like to track down sometime).
1) What was this great plague, and subsequent madness, thatso infected these empires?
2) What happened to the Lemurians who did not fight? They fled, but no record is made of where, or how. Or if they ever made it.
3) What of the Atlantean king? He is said to have survived Gaia’s rage, yet nothing is recorded of him save his name: Belial.
