10-7 Woodhall Spa
Toen ik de campingbaas van het Lindsay Trail Touring Park om tips vroeg voor het avondeten, zei die: Reken er maar niet op dat je iets te eten kunt krijgen, er zijn duizenden mensen en alles is volgeboekt. The horse-races, you know.
En om die mededeling nog eens kracht bij te zetten, trok de ene na de andere onweersbui over. Geen weer om van deur tot deur te gaan in de hoop op een maaltijd. Tussen de buien door maakte ik snel een zak noodvoer klaar, kerrierijst met vruchten heet het. Het gaat om de calorieën hield ik mezelf voor, kom op, een hapje voor pappa, een hapje voor mama, even doorzetten. Na het eten probeerde ik nog een stukje podcast te luisteren, maar het vallen van de regen op de tent overstemde alles.
Om half zes ben ik wakker, de lucht is helder en het is ijskoud. Als ik opsta, blijk ik niet de enige die wakker is. De eerste honden worden al uitgelaten. Het is een echte camping voor wandelaars, in de toiletten kun je allerlei wandelroutes vinden. Die wandelaars verblijven overigens in comfortabele caravans en niet in tenten.
Alles is nog kletsnat natuurlijk, de zon schijnt nu wel weer, maar drogen gaat nog wel even duren in deze kou. Dus ik pak alles in en neem me voor om op tijd te stoppen. De weersverwachting voor vandaag is zon in de ochtend en regen in de middag. Nou, dan maar hopen dat die regen een beetje laat komt
In Lincoln wil ik de kathedraal wel zien. Daarna nog een paar uurtjes fietsen en dan ergens een camping.
In Nettleham, vlak voor Lincoln is een communitybuilding met daarin een goede koffiebar, een bibliotheek en wifi uiteraard. Cappuccino met verse gembercake doet wonderen voor de vermoeide fietser.
In Lincoln fiets je zo naar de kathedraal toe, alle wegen leiden naar het hart van de stad. Het is een enorm gebouw, ik loop er eerst eens omheen en kom in een militaire uitvaart terecht. Allemaal kerels in donkerblauwe uniformen met tritsen gepoetste medailles op de borst.
Nadat ik het hoofdportaal bekeken heb, ga ik naar het visitor’s centre. Daar parkeer ik mijn fiets, maar waar is mijn stuurtas? Ik race terug naar het hoofdportaal en daar staat hij nog. In die stuurtas zit alles, paspoort, portemonnee, telefoon etc.
Het interieur is prachtig, maar niet te fotograferen, veel te groot. Ik richt me maar op de details, overal waar twee bogen samenkomen bijvoorbeeld, is een klein mannenhoofd uitgehakt. En nooit zijn er twee dezelfde. Er is een aparte legerkapel, vol met vaandels, sommige half vergaan en langs de wanden borden met de namen van gesneuvelde soldaten in al lang vergeten campagnes in Azië en Afrika.
Het is bewolkt en de kuur is over, gisterenochtend de laatste pil geslikt. Dus ik denk dat ik niet meer hoef te smeren. Rond de middag heb ik alweer een gloeiende kop. Ik voer wat geïrriteerd een gesprek met de camping, ik wil alleen maar weten of er plek is, maar er is pas plek als je boekt. En om te boeken willen ze al je gegevens hebben, sorry what was the name of the street again? Bravo, Romeo , Echo, Delta, Echo, November, Hotel, October, Foxtrot, Delta, Whisky, Alfa, Romea, Sierra en dan street erachter. Maar goed, die juffrouw kan er natuurlijk ook niks aan doen, dat haar baas dit programma heeft aangeschaft.
Dus ik had nog een bevestiging via de email moeten krijgen, maar volgens mij is dat xs4all.nl niet helemaal goed overgekomen. Want hoe spel je xs4all begrijpelijk voor een engelsman?
Enfin, ik heb hoge verwachtingen van de camping, ze hebben duidelijk een kantoor en ze zijn niet goedkoop. Gelukkig is de rit ernaartoe heerlijk vlak, ik fiets twee uur lang over oude dijkjes langs het water.
Eenmaal aangekomen maak ik mijn excuses voor mijn irritatie aan de telefoon. Nou dat hoeft toch helemaal niet, zeggen de dames glunderend. En ik krijg een mooi veldje tussen de bomen voor mij alleen. Wat nou, we weten niet of er plek is?
Als ik de tent heb opgezet en gedoucht, komen de eerste straaljagers over. Er zit hier ergens een luchtmachtbasis. Nou ja, er moet toch geoefend worden door de Oekraïners, denk ik maar.
Afstand: ca 60 kilometer (de afstanden later nog op te zoeken)
Tijd: 4,5 uur
1 note
·
View note
Jeffrey Hadden's Memo on neutralizing anti-cult organizations (on behalf of Eileen Barker and David Bromley)
▲ Pictured: Eileen Barker, sociologist whose work has been used to defend the Unification Church against its victims in court
Dr. Janja Lilich and Alexandra Stein recently highlighted this 1989 memo from Jeffrey Hadden, explicitly on behalf of David Bromley and Eileen Barker, which reveals cult apologists' plans to attack and demonize those critical of cults. ICSA and Eileen Barker have never commented on this.
Memo was pulled from: https://www.apologeticsindex.org/h14a01.html
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Subject: Memorandum from Jeffrey K. Hadden on neutralizing AFF
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[Editorial notes in brackets. Bracketed numbers indicate page breaks,
whether present in the original or not. This document came to me in
.tiff format, and appears to be a second or third generation copy.
It appears to have been typewritten. Two staple-shaped marks are in
the upper left-hand corner of the first page, and handwritten across
the top is CONFIDENTIAL, underlined twice, probably with a ballpoint
pen. Wherever possible, line-breaks, punctuation and spacing conform
to the original. Where clearness demands, I have altered the format,
but all text occurs in the original except where noted. If you
received this document with the original .tiff file, please continue
to distribute it bundled with the .tiff if reasonable, for purposes
of establishing authenticity. For purposes of display on the
Internet, I use a 25-character tab as an approximation of centering.
_Underscores_ preceding and following a word or phrase indicate
underlining, whether it existed in the original copy or was introduced
in a subsequent copy. I ignore highlighting in this transcription.
Where irregularities in format occur, they occur in the original.
If typographical errors occur unmarked by [sic] they do not occur
in the original. Enclosures referenced do not accompany the copy
used for this transcription. The material I have includes two
documents, each six pages in length.]
MEMORANDUM
December 20, 1989
To: Social scientists concerned about forensic and related issues
dealing with New Religious Movements.
From: Jeffrey K. Hadden (on behalf of Eileen Barker and David
Bromley)
Re: Developments since our informal meeting in Salt Lake City on
October 27, 1989
INTRODUCTION
Eileen Barker, David Bromley and I met in New York on
December 10-12 to consider further the issues we discussed at
our October meeting in Salt Lake City.
While in New York we met with the following individuals:
Perry London (Dean of the Graduate School of Applied and
Professional Psychology at Rutgers University); Mark [sic--Marc]
Galanter
(Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Division of
Alcoholism and Drug Abuse at the NYU School of Medicine); Eric
Lieberman (attorney who has been involved in a number of NRM
cases); Dean Kelley (National Council of Churches) and John
Biermans, David Hager, and Hugh Spurgen (Unification Church).
Our agenda for each meeting varied, but basically we were
interested in exploring the issues discussed in Salt Lake
with individuals who do not normally operate in our orbit and
who, thus, may have different perspectives on these issues.
This report will not attempt to summarize each meeting
but, rather, will highlight the general conclusions we
reached, although in some instances, specific points will be
attributed to individuals. In the interest of communicating
with you before others gather in California in January, I am
sending this report without the benefit of first circulating
it to Eileen and David for corrections and additions. We did
have a wrap up session in which we attempted to identify the
salient issues and summarize what we thought we had learned.
This report is based on notes that I made during that session.
In general, I believe this report communicates the general
sentiment of the three of us. If I stray too far from our
collective conclusions or omit some important point, I hope
they will follow-up with an addendum to this report. The
report is concluded with a suggested agenda for the California
meeting.
[1]
I am also enclosing three documents which I think will
also be of interest in preparation for the California
meeting. The first is a declaration of Perry London's on the
_Fishman_ case. All of us felt this statement was [sic] succinct and
helpful summary of the current situation. The second
enclosure is a communication from Herbert Rosedale of the
American Family Foundation. Note that AFF has launched a
"multi-year program of research and education" called Project
Recovery. The communication indicates that study group
reports are scheduled to be released to the public in a "major
conference" scheduled for the summer of 1991. This
development will no doubt have relevance for some of you as
individuals and it may possibly have implications for tasks
that our ad hoc group may wish to pursue. Third, I am
enclosing a statement about INFORM which appears in an
appendix to a new book that Eileen has just published.
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
1. There is a substantial body of literature on "social
influence" that has generally not been cited by sociologists
of religion. Studies of intentional communities (see: for
example, Benjamin Zablocki's _The Joyful Community_ and
_Alienation and Charisma_), therapeutic groups (e.g. _AA Groups
investigated by Galanter_ and others); and social psychological
studies of group pressure (e.g., Ashe, Heider, Milgram,
Zimbardo, etc) are all examples of such literatures.
These literatures are not normally identified as part of
the general corpus of literature on "brainwashing," "thought
control," "coercive persuasion," etc. (see London's
Declaration, paragraphs 35-38).
2. The conclusion of our informants is that the
literatures they read do not produce findings or theory which
constitute a foundation for strengthening the Margaret Singer
theory of "Systematic Manipulation of Social and Psychological
Influence" (SMSPI). To the contrary, our social science
informants tended to dismiss Singer a [sic] "fringe" figure who is
not taken seriously by creditable scientists in their
disciplines.
3. Benjamin Zablocki's letter to the ASA Council (8/2/89)
would seem to dispute this conclusion. It is possible that
the AFF's Project Recovery will seek to cull this literature
to bolster the Singer/Ofshe claims. It may be of strategic
importance to develope [sic] a strategy for the systematic review of
literatures that are not explicitly identified as party of the
"brainwashing," etc. corpus. It seems quite likely to me that
the AFF's project Recovery will seek to cull this literature
to bolster their claims.
[2]
4. To the extent that it is appropriate to say that there
exists a group of social scientists who are "moderately"
positioned in the "brainwashing" controversy, it would appear,
as a working hypothesis, that they are not particularly well
informed about the social and legal issues that have been of
concern to our group.
5. In this respect, our conversations highlighted the
fact that the controversy is inappropriately defined as one
between sociologists, on the one hand, and psychologists and
psychiatrists on the other.
It is probably more appropriate to conclude that most
sociologists, psychologists and psychiatrists are not very
well informed about the issues. Sociologists of religion who
study NRMs are fairly informally skeptical of the conclusions
of psychologists, psychiatrists, and the few sociologists who
are aligned with the anti-cultists. But the large majority of
all scholars in all three disciplines are largely uninformed
regarding the empirical literature or the controversy. As the
controversy heats up, this reality may point to the need to
target education to our colleagues in each of these
disciplines.
6. Both of our social scientist informants (London and
Galanter) were quick to make a _sharp_ distinction between
social influence and "brainwashing." Both see social
influence to exist in all groups and, in some groups that
influence may be "massive." But both see this a [sic] something
very different from the kind of "robot-like" behavior that is
implicit in "brainwashing" theory.
At the same time, we found both informants had difficulty
in making clear, crisp distinctions between "normal" social
influence and the more severe form of influence the anti-
cultists call "brainwashing."
Eileen noted that Singer's position is typically couched
in the notion that brainwashing is "irresistible,
irreversible, and that it takes place subtly without the
'victim' really being aware of what is happening." It seems
to us fairly clear that this does not happen. BUT, Singer's
testimony weaves back and forth between this proposition and
"normal" social influence theory.
If she, and/or others, were to back away from the
"_irresistible_, _irreversible_ and _subtle_" definition, how does
this change the battleground? Would our task be easier or
more difficult? Among other things, this suggests the need
to pay much more attention to the broader process of social
influence. How does it happen? Are there contexts in which
[3]
social influence may be so massive as to suggest that the
state has a role (interest, obligation) to protect the
individual? If so, how are the boundaries to be drawn? Who
decides? And how would this development square with 1st
Amendment free exercise concerns?
7. Our meetings with the members of the Unification
Church confirmed our earlier impressions that while they may
assent to the value of a long range strategy for dealing with
the anti-cultist [sic] and their forensic consulants, their
response is very substantially confined to ad hoc responses to
crises.
I pressed them on the question of whether it might be
possible for the UC in collaboration with several other NRMs
to raise a significant amount of money that could go--no
strings attached--to an independent group, which in turn,
would entertain proposals and fund research on NRMs.
While the three of us were not of one mind regarding the
desirability to such a development, we agree that this is
unlikely to materialize for several reasons. First, the NRMs
are primarily interested in projects that will be of
immediate benefit to them. Second, it seems unlikely that
persons such as John Biermans, who clearly are interested in
and appreciate social science research, are prepared to deal
with the intra-organizational politics of supporting research
that they can't control. Third, we conclude from these
conversations, as well as others, that there is not a high
level of communication and cooperation among NRMs. While the
legal staffs of NRMs share information, cooperation for the
sake of their common interests is not a high priority. The
Movements would appear to be about as far as they are
prepared to go at this time.
8. Dean Kelley reports that religious liberty is not a
very high priority issue among NCC officials or constituent
bodies. This is especially true with respect to NRMs.
9. Kelley and our legal consultant (Lieberman) questioned
whether the brainwashing testimony has been as dangerous in
the courts has [sic] we have feared. They note that it has had
little precedent setting impact as most court decisions have
resisted the validity of the brainwashing thesis. If the
expert testimony of Singer and Ofshe should be denied in the
Fishman case, the "brainwashers" may be on the run and this
problem could be self-corrective. I think it was Lieberman
who suggested that as Singer extends her brainwashing thesis
to more and more bizarre cases, the argument must eventually
self-destruct.
[4]
10. Kelly [sic] feels that public perceptions about NRMs
constitutes a very serious problem. (This concern should not
imply that he is not concerned about the forensic testimony of
the brainwashers).
He made a very significant distinction between
identifying and responding to needs and engaging in campaigns
to inform people who have little interest in being informed--
or, who don't know that they need to be informed. The former
can be highly successful; the latter seldom are.
[I believe Hadden has here confused "former" with "latter."]
11. Consistent with this observation, we spent a good bit
of time considering whether the time might be right to import
Eileen's INFORM or create a US organization that would
perform a similar function. I think it is fair to say that we
concluded our meetings with a good deal of enthusiasm for
further exploring this possibility.
I know you all are aware that Eileen organized INFORM
(Information Network Focus on Religious Movements) last year,
but many of you may not have much information about what she
has done. Also enclosed with this report is a statement
about INFORM which is taken from the Appendix of her new book,
_New Religious Movements: A Practical Introduction_. Just
released this month, this book is published by Her Majesty's
Stationery Office.
In spite of having some bad experiences with the media,
Eileen has taken a very significant step in neutralizing anti-
cult movements in the UK. I don't think that any of us feel
that creating a similar organization in the US would be a
substitute for continuing research. But I [sic] we all came away
with the feeling that such an organization fits Kelley's
criterion of responding to a need. Response to a need is, in
fact, the reason that CAN and AFF have been successful.
12. It is by no means clear how we would go about
creating such an organization. We discussed a variety of
possibilities.
We recognize that Gordon Melton's Institute is
singularly the most important information resource in the US,
and we feel that any new organization would need to work
closely with him. At the same time, I think we all feel that
it is inappropriate to deal with the challenge by dumping it
in Gordon's lap. His years of hard work with research and
writing is beginning to get the national attention that is
deserved. We don't want to deflect that effort.
We discussed whether this project might constitute a
natural or logical sequence to the Williamsburg Charter
Project. (For those who may have missed this, the
[5]
Williamsburg Charter was [sic] project designed to commemorate and
reaffirm the First Amendment religious clauses on the
occasion of the bicentennial of the Bill of Rights. A small
brochure is enclosed). In the spirit of the Charter, if the
religious liberties of some are endangered, then religious
liberty itself is endangered.
It was suggested that Os Guinness, who conceived and
executed the Williamsburg Charter Project, might find this
project of sufficient interest that he could lend assistance
in putting INFORM, USA (or INFORM International) together. I
had a brief telephone conversation with Os after our New York
meeting. He expressed interest in learning more. I am going
to try to get together with him before the California
gathering next month.
13. We agree that there is value in putting together a
small monograph (or possibly lengthily [sic] paper) that would
explicitly, and in detail, identify a research agenda on NRMs
for the next decade. We spent some time brainstorming about
how this might be done as well as identifying some specific
research projects. We feel that this is a task which should
be an important agenda item for the California gathering. I
will prepare some notes on this for that occasion.
14. On the issue of the value of research and litigation,
our legal consultant (Lieberman) was not particularly sanguine
about the prospects of social scentists coming up with
findings that would be of great value. In so many words, he
told us that the most important think [sic] we could do is prepare a
statement that refutes the claim that social science can be
helpful. I interpreted this as the agnostic statement we
discussed in Salt Lake. Which brings us back to the question
of a resolution for ASA Council consideration.
15. A draft resolution, as promised in Salt Lake, has not
been forthcoming for two reasons. First, when I sat down to
dash one off, I found I was not as prepared to do this as I
had assumed. Second, I misunderstood a communication from
Bill D'Antonio wherein I thought he was advising me that the
resolution idea had [sic] superceded by another development. This
task still needs to be done. It would be very nice if someone
would call me and advise me that they have (or will) prepared
a draft for our agenda in California.
16. We discussed the question of how we, as social
scientists might do a better job of communicating our point of
view to the press and to the public in general.
Substantially we reaffirmed the discussion in Salt Lake. More
effective communication is a desirable objective, but we
didn't get as far as designing a blueprint for accomplishing
this.
[6]
AGENDA ITEM # 1 - _Development of a research agenda for the
1990s, including a strategy for production
and dissemination of same._
We agree that the development and publication of a
research agenda for the 1990s could be an important step
toward encouraging research and checking the growing influence
of CAN, AFF, and the forensic hustlers. The following are seen
as specific benefits of such a publication:
(1) sharpen our own awareness of the theoretical and
methodological strengths and weaknesses of
contemporary NRM research;
(2) pinpoint critical gaps in knowledge and point to the
kinds of research required to fill those gaps and
thereby;
(3) help sustain the interests and motivation of those
who have been active researchers to continue to do
research on NRMs;
(4) provide an inventory of worthwhile projects and
thereby;
(5) encourage students and professional scholars with a
wide range of backgrounds, interests, training and
skills to pursue research on NRMs; and
(6) communicate the tenuous and incomplete nature of
knowledge about NRMs and thereby help neutralize the
unsubstantiated claims of anti-cult groups and
individuals.
We see this last point as an important way in which we
can collectively address the American Family Foundation's
Project Recovery. We have no further information regarding
their plans for this project than the letter from Herbert
Rosedale which was enclosed with the December memorandum on
the New York meeting. It seems a reasonable guess that it
will involve a significant elaboration and expansion of the
content of the 1985 Wingspread conference.
[Text in curly brackets {} in the following paragraph is
smeared or blurry, and represents the efforts of an intermediate
transcriber to interpret the obliterated text. From the images
I believe the interpolations to be accurate.]
Whatever the content, the Rosedale communication suggests
that the project will involve a major effort {to gain media}
attention. We believe the publication of a {research agenda}
which makes clear the unfinished research task, and which
avoids the polemics and presuppositions that are {ever-present}
in the anti-cult literature could be a {very effective way for}
[1]
blunting their media effort. This assumes (1) that our effort
is a quality product, and (2) that we put forth our best
effort to attract media attention to our project.
We agree that the development of this research agenda
should be a substantial project, as opposed to an article-
length inventory that could only highlight a few issues.
Without excluding the possibility of exploring other
options, we would propose that this inventory be published as
a special issue of the JOURNAL FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF
RELIGION and, simultaneously, as a SSSR monograph. The former
will reach the largest single group of social science
scholars of religion and the latter will assure the on going [sic]
availability of the inventory [sic] students and scholars who are
not members of JSSR.
We propose further that this project be presented to the
Council of SSSR with the request for (a) allocation of funds
for the publication of this special issue and monograph
(scheduled for publication in 1991 between the March and June
issues of JSSR) and (b) the imprimatur of the Society. The
Society has, on at least two previous occasions, granted its
imprimatur for scholarly publications (Glock and Hammond,
eds., _Beyond the Classics_, 1973; and Hammond, ed., _The Sacred
in a Secular Age_, 1985).
Accomplishing this task would require a general editor
and the cooperation of a number of scholars who would be
willing to block out several days of their time to inventory
subtopics and identify research needs and ideas. We would
need to work out a common presentational format for perhaps
15-25 issues. For opening discussion, this format might
include:
(1) a short essay overviewing the salient theoretical,
methodological and substantive issues for each
subtopic;
(2) identification of gaping holes in our knowledge
base;
(3) identification of studies, books, articles that are
seminal with ideas for new research;
(4) recommendations for replications or reformulations
of existing studies;
(5) statements of general propositions and the
formulation of specific hypotheses; and
[2]
(6) exploration of how each of the issues of concern in
the study of NRMs has underlying theoretical
parallels in other fields of inquiry, and
suggestions as to how NRM research might benefit
from exploring these related areas of research.
Under normal circumstances, this would be a task of
herculean proportions, especially with a tight time frame.
There are two factors which make it an accomplishable task.
First, there are several new reference resources that
will be invaluable in the completion of the task. The most
important is John Saliba's monumental two volume annotated
bibliography of cult research. I done [sic] a bit of scanning--
almost at random--and have found hypotheses and ideas for
research on virtually every page.
Second, there should be a fairly high level of motivation
to do this task. The project addresses an important means for
stimulating and enriching the quality of research on this
topic of common concern _and_ it represents a strategy for
combatting something which we all agree is a pernicious
process that is shaping public opinion.
If the community of scholars who have been actively
researching NRMs will collectively agree to undertake this
task, it should not be a great burden for anybody.
AGENDA ITEM #2 - _Discussion of the value and need for an
American version of INFORM and
consideration of how we might be of
assistance_.
We were in general agreement about the value and need for
an organization which would accomplish the objectives of
INFORM. Our discussion focused on how such an operation might
be accomplished.
An American equivalent of INFORM could not be
accomplished by merely expanding the scope of ISAR operations.
Gordon has personally been involved in providing information
to concerned parents, bringing together of parents and NRM
members, and making referrals for counseling. However, this
was never the primary function of ISAR. To actively invite
people [sic] come to ISAR for these types of services would
significantly refocus the ISAR focus.
Gordon pledged his support and indicated that ISAR
resources would be made available if an INFORM-like group is
established. ISAR does not have physical space to host a new
organization, but it was suggested that it might be located in
[3]
Santa Barbara in order to facilitate easy access to ISAR
resources.
We discussed the considerable differences between the
U.S. and the U.K. and the implications of these differences
for the creation of an INFORM, USA. Of considerable
importance is that fact that the U.S. is too large and complex
to ever expect the development of the kind of cooperation that
Eileen achieved with the government. And, similarly, there
is no equivalent of patronage or sponsorship, although it
might be possible to enlist the support of a roster of
American celebrities (religious and secular).
It is immediately apparent that financial support is
imperative if an organization of this type is to be created.
None of us have any ready ideas as to where to turn for
funding, but we are willing to invest some effort in
exploring this.
It is our recommendation that Eileen draft a proposal to
first be circulated among her sociology colleagues and other
U.S. friends. Hopefully this will produce some valuable
insights regarding the American scene which can be
incorporated before it is circulated to prospective funding
agencies or persons that could be of help in approaching a
funding source.
I did not have the opportunity to get into Washington to
see Os Guinness prior to meeting, but I hope to do so in the
near future. Eileen may wish to contact Os directly.
AGENDA ITEM # 3 - _Preparation of the "agnostic" resolution
and development of a strategy for
encouraging the governing bodies of ASA,
APA (or perhaps Sect 38), SSSR, ASR, RRR
and CISR to adopt same_.
At our Salt Lake City meeting there was broad support
for the proposal that we prepare an "agnostic" resolution
which could be presented to and, hopefully adopted by ASA, APA
and all of the social science organizations specializing in
the study of religion.
The purpose of said resolution was seen as (1) negating
the misstatements that have been (and continue to be) made
regarding the reasons for the withdrawal of the APA and ASA
support of the Molko brief and, (2) placing on record a
statement that would stand against the claim that there exists
a consensus regarding the state of the literature. (On this
second points, Ofshe's latest declaration in the _USA v. Fishman_
case states that "there is no dispute of substance _within the
[4]
relevant scientific community_ as to the acceptance of the
concept of thought reform...(emphasis added))."
It was recommended in Salt Lake City that the resolution
be circulated as broadly as possible. My notes from that
meeting state that "the more people who look at it, the more
likely we are to spot trigger words that might give cause for
opposition."
The enclosed draft resolution represents the best effort
of the five of us who met in Pasadena to state an agnostic
position that is free of words that might set off other
people's hot buttons. We encourage you all to go over it with
care and with an eye toward even further tightening of the
agnostic and value-neutral posture. Please send your comments
to me by the end of the month.
The question of a strategy for taking the resolution to
the various organization [sic] remains. I think each organization
may require somewhat different strategies. For the sake of
opening discussion I propose the following:
(1) SSSR, ASR and RRR -- ask the past-presidents of each
of these respective organizations to be sponsors of the
resolution;
(2) ASA -- submit the resolution with sponsorship of as
many names as possible among those who are ASA members
and who (a) have published research on NRMs and/or (b)
are recognized "leaders" in the sociology of religion;
(3) CISR -- defer to Eileen Barker and Jim Richardson
for recommendations;
(4) APA -- defer to Newt Maloney and his psychology
colleagues for recommendations.
However we do this, it is important that we succeed as
there may not be a second opportunity. As Meredith McGuire
noted in Salt Lake City, many of our own sociology of religion
colleagues do not give this issue great priority. We could
lose their support if we keep coming back every year with yet
another proposal. So offer your thoughts and volunteer your
support to help do it right.
AGENDA ITEM # 4 - _Consider whether other collective action
is appropriate at this time for dealing
with the ongoing forensic battles_.
While it is evident that the legal staffs of several NRMs
engage in information exchange, and the same is true for those
[5]
who are most actively involved as expert witnesses, there
exists no depository for legal documents. An archive of
legal documents from NRM litigation could be of considerable
valuable [sic] for both social science research and legal research
in conjunction with the preparation for legal cases.
The assembly of legal documents for such an archive is
not seen as a terribly difficult task because a few
individuals privately hold a fairly large proportion of these
documents. The immediate start up costs would involve (1)
reproduction and shipping, (2) cataloging and (3) the
printing of an index.
We are proposing the establishment of a Legal Resource
Center on New Religions and that same be housed with the
American Religion Collection at the University of California
at Santa Barbara. Given that the holdings at USCB [sic] are more
extensive than any other collection, locating the resource
center in Santa Barbara seems like the most logical spot.
A draft proposal for the achievement of this objective is
attached to this report. Your comments including support or
reservations should be addressed to Gordon.
AGENDA ITEM # 5 - _Consider what collective action, if any,
needs to be developed as an alternative
to AFF's Project Recovery_.
As noted above (Agenda Item # 1) the development and
publication of a research agenda for the 1990s, if accompanied
with proper PR work, could constitute an appropriate and
effective measure to neutralize Project Recovery. This is our
primary recommendation. In addition, we encourage our
colleagues to develop other ideas, to communicate with others
and, when appropriate, to enlist collective support.
[6]
0 notes
Pluralistic: 16 Mar 2020 (Trump wants a US-only vaccine, Covid at Home, tips for laid-off techies, Tiktok's secret moderation guidelines, Corona Bar Mitzvah, Shmoocon 2020 videos)
Today's links
Covid At Home: A guide for isolation, illness and recovery
Trump wants a US-only vaccine: Reality has a well-known globalist/collectivist bias.
Folding@Home to beat covid: 23 distcomp projects to give your CPU to.
Italian hospitals fix their ventilators with 3D printed parts: Fablabs to the rescue.
How to prepare for coming layoffs: A guide for techies junior, senior and prickly.
Leaked Tiktok moderation guidelines are a censoring mess: No poors or ugly people welcome.
Canceled Bar Mitzvah is still a mitzvah: Today I am a mensch.
Shmoocon 2020 videos online: Hours of entertainment and infosec funnies.
This day in history:
Colophon: Recent publications, current writing projects, upcoming appearances, current reading
Covid At Home (permalink)
Dutch hacker and XS4ALL cofounder Rop Gonggrijp and artist Vera Wilde have produced Covid At Home, an open-access guide to staying healthy, treating illness, and general pandemic preparedness.
https://covid-at-home.info/
It's an excellent, sober, accessible guide, produced with help from medical professionals.
They're seeking help to translate it into other languages as well. German edition coming next.
Trump wants a US-only vaccine (permalink)
The Trump administration has offered "large sums" to a German manufacturer for US-only access to a potential covid-19 vaccine
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/15/trump-offers-large-sums-for-exclusive-access-to-coronavirus-vaccine
According to Die Welt, Curevac has made progress on the vaccine, and the Trump admin is seeking access "but for the US only."
The company's recently departed CEO, Daniel Menichella, is a US citizen who recently visited the White House.
The Trump administration's failure to understand our shared collective microbial destiny is emblematic. Trump epitomizes the neoliberal sociopathy of "enlightened self-interest" and "meritocracy" and the belief that "there is no such thing as society." It's a pathology as dangerous as any virus, and could yet kill us all. Immunizing America against coronavirus only works if
The vaccine is perfect (they never are) and
The US blocks all entry into the country by unvaccinated people (which it cannot do).
Instead of figuring out how to orient 100% of US capacity to producing enough vaccine to eliminate the virus worldwide, Trump is engaged in isolationist, superstitious fantasies.
https://twitter.com/doctorow/status/1238180609899429889
Within hours, Curvac had told Trump to go fuck himself and announced that any vaccine they produce will be available worldwide.
https://twitter.com/SWRAktuellBW/status/1239225432739844097
Folding@Home to beat covid (permalink)
Since the year 2000 (!), Folding@Home has been harnessing the power of idle personal computers to do scientific work on protein folding, using donated cycles to improve science. Now they're running 23 (!!) projects to help improve our scientific understanding of covid-19.
"We're simulating the dynamics of COVID-19 proteins to hunt for new therapeutic opportunities."
They've already used this to locate sites in the Ebola protein that can be targeted by therapeutics.
https://foldingathome.org/2020/03/15/coronavirus-what-were-doing-and-how-you-can-help-in-simple-terms/
Download your Folding@Home client here (Mac/Win/Lin)
https://foldingathome.org/start-folding/
Then choose your simulation from here. Be prepared to wait for your computer to be given work – they're overwhelmed with cycles at the moment.
https://apps.foldingathome.org/psummary
Italian hospitals fix their ventilators with 3D printed parts (permalink)
A Brescia hospital urgenty needed valves for their ventilators. A journalist contacted the local Fablab, who contacted a local 3D printing expert who came to the hospital, redesigned the part, and printed a replacement on the spot.
https://www.3dprintingmedia.network/covid-19-3d-printed-valve-for-reanimation-device/
Within a day, 10 patients were breathing with respirators incorporating 3D printed parts.
How to prepare for coming layoffs (permalink)
It's not outlandish to prepare for a recession (and hence layoffs) as a result of Covid-19. And while techies have a robust labor-market relative to other sectors, tech-workers are not immune from mass layoffs when their employers contract sharply or shut down altogether.
Jacob Kaplan-Moss has been here before and has some tips for techies to prepare for unemployment. He points out that the highest layoff risk comes to juniors (unprotected and easy to jettison), seniors (highest paid), and prickly people (politically easier to lay off) and underperformers (obvs).
https://jacobian.org/2020/mar/13/layoffs-are-coming/
How do you prep for layoffs? First, try to have 1 year's savings in the bank (advice from the 2000 dotcom crash). You probably can't do this, but start saving now. Cancel all nonessential expenses.
Next, update your resume. When layoffs start cascading, being ready to start applying for jobs can give you a head-start over your competition.
Kaplan-Moss suggests setting aside an hour every quarter to update your CV – this is good advice generally, as you never know when someone will ask for your resume (periodically I have to produce one for a visa or a grant, for example).
Practice interviews, using online resources, like this one:
https://eng-hiring.18f.gov/
In addition, contact your "professional network" and start feeling them out;Tb and brush up on your tech skills.
Leaked Tiktok moderation guidelines are a censoring mess (permalink)
There's a lot going on in The Intercept's deep dive into two leaked set of moderation guidelines from Bytedance, parent company of Tiktok, ably reported (as ever) by Sam Biddle.
https://theintercept.com/2020/03/16/tiktok-app-moderators-users-discrimination/
First is a confirmaton of Tiktok's policy of telling moderators to downrank videos from unattractive, fat, old or poor people, and signs of poverty. Homes need to have "no obvious slummy charactor" (sic), without a "crack on the wall" or "old and disreputable decorations."
The reasoning is clear "This kind of environment is not that suitable for new users for being less fancy and appealing" (overweight, poor, old or unattractive users lower the tone). Tiktok spox Josh Gartner said these were to prevent bullying, (but they don't mention bullying).
The leaks are pretty frank about their ableism and lookism, banning "low quality" traits including "abnormal body shape," "ugly facial looks," dwarfism, "obvious beer belly," "too many wrinkles," and "eye disorders."
They also ban "slums, rural fields" and "dilapidated housing."
The flipside of this is that Tiktok mods secretly contacting influencers to clue them in on secret moderation criteria that might get them downranked or banned, creating a group of insiders who are protected from the arbitrary, shadow regulation regime other Tiktokers never see.
That shadow regime is documented in a second set of leaks, which details the subjects and views that can get you kicked, suspended or downranked from the platform. Anything that embarrasses or upsets China is obviously out, like Falun Gong or Tiananmen.
Beyond that, livestreams of encounters with cops, videos that criticize the military, or criticism Tiktok itself are all lifetime bannable offenses – while racism and hate speech get you a one-month suspension.
Also revealed: Tiktok has a bunch of fake accounts maintained by its own staff, who gank influencer videos from Instagram that look classy and fun, as a way of shifting the content mix on the platform.
But even as these accounts were focusing on tags like "#BeachGirl," actual Tiktok users who posted pictures of themselves in swimwear faced temporary or permanent bans.
(You can get a permanent ban for wearing a garment that reveals "outline of female nipples").
There's also a "voice vulgarity" category of guidelines, including bans for "Singing or playing music pornography contents, sexual cues, etc," or "discussing the topic of sexual reproduction." You can also get banned for flipping the bird – but only if you do it more than twice.
Tiktok's appeal is that they use secret sauce to elevate accounts with few followers and share them with millions of viewers. The legend is that this is a way to rocket the humble but meretricious to fame, but the leaks reveal that no olds, fats, or poors need apply.
Canceled Bar Mitzvah is still a mitzvah (permalink)
A heartwarming story of "Covered Dish" behavior in the time of coronavirus! "Friends canceled their son's Bar Mitzvah this weekend but decided to keep the contract with their caterer, a tiny Hmong-owned business. They delivered the food to friends in quarantine & sent pans home with others."
https://twitter.com/mrotzie/status/1239249970458484736
(Image: Eli, CC BY)
Shmoocon 2020 videos online (permalink)
It's been years since I last attended a Shmoocon, but holy moly, is it ever a great annual infosec con. They've just put the 2020 videos online, which affords you plenty of viewing for your lockdown pleasure.
You might have already heard about Samantha Mosely's presentation about how she and her teen friends defeat Instagram's privacy invasions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTCBEimhXMM
Here's some gnarly stuff: securing satellites and space-base comms, presented by three researchers styling themselves Yakko, Wakko and Dot (swoon!).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR_H9_pnyDc
Feed your inner technothriller writer with this one, on "anti-forensics" ("the practice of modifying or removing data so that others cannot find it later during an investigation").
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSmsiSvvAQs
How NGOs – and you at home – can use "open source intelligence" to help support human rights and survivors of human rights abuses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRzGiR4DS7w
A Choose-Your-Own-Adventure guide to surviving ransomware attacks, using data gleaned from real attacks and recoveries.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkNFUQrg_GA
Analyzing the effects of 200 data-breaches on public companies' share prices (shareholder capitalism won't save us from overcollection, overretention and bad security).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdxiwpACwYc
This day in history (permalink)
#15yrsago Apple steals iTunes customers' paid-for rights to stream https://web.archive.org/web/20050405225837/http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=21866
#15yrago My talk from ETECH: All Complex Ecosystems Have Parasites https://craphound.com/complexecosystems.txt
#15yrsago ETECH Notes: Folksonomy, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Mess (Schachter, Wales, Shirky and Butterfield) https://craphound.com/etech2005-folksonomy.txt
#15yrsago ETECH Notes: Feral Robotics and Some Other Quacking, Shaking, Bubbling Robots (Natalie Jeremijenko) https://craphound.com/etech05-feral.txt
#10yrsago Downloadable 3D cover for MAKERS is now also an article of commerce https://www.shapeways.com/product/Z55YYHW5P/cory-doctorow-makers-cover-3d-print
Colophon (permalink)
Today's top sources: Geoff MacDougall (https://twitter.com/taliesan), Bleeping Computer (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com), Javier Candiera (https://twitter.com/candeira), Four Short Links (https://www.oreilly.com/feed/four-short-links), Naked Capitalism (https://nakedcapitalism.com/).
Currently writing: I've just finished rewrites on a short story, "The Canadian Miracle," for MIT Tech Review. It's a story set in the world of my next novel, "The Lost Cause," a post-GND novel about truth and reconciliation. I've also just completed "Baby Twitter," a piece of design fiction also set in The Lost Cause's prehistory, for a British think-tank. I'm getting geared up to start work on the novel next.
Currently reading: Just started Lauren Beukes's forthcoming Afterland: it's Y the Last Man plus plus, and two chapters in, it's amazeballs. Last month, I finished Andrea Bernstein's "American Oligarchs"; it's a magnificent history of the Kushner and Trump families, showing how they cheated, stole and lied their way into power. I'm getting really into Anna Weiner's memoir about tech, "Uncanny Valley." I just loaded Matt Stoller's "Goliath" onto my underwater MP3 player and I'm listening to it as I swim laps.
Latest podcast: When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth https://craphound.com/podcast/2020/03/13/when-sysadmins-ruled-the-earth-2/
Upcoming books: "Poesy the Monster Slayer" (Jul 2020), a picture book about monsters, bedtime, gender, and kicking ass. Pre-order here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781626723627?utm_source=socialmedia&utm_medium=socialpost&utm_term=na-poesycorypreorder&utm_content=na-preorder-buynow&utm_campaign=9781626723627
(we're having a launch for it in Burbank on July 11 at Dark Delicacies and you can get me AND Poesy to sign it and Dark Del will ship it to the monster kids in your life in time for the release date).
"Attack Surface": The third Little Brother book, Oct 20, 2020. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250757531
"Little Brother/Homeland": A reissue omnibus edition with a new introduction by Edward Snowden: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250774583
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