The Simpsons Scientology squabble
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SZ2obYFIvg
http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/urban41/
Excerpt:
College of Humanities People
Hugh Urban, Professor
Department of Comparative Studies: http://comparativestudies.osu.edu/
Center for the Study of Religion: http://religion.osu.edu/
Sexuality Studies: http://sexualitystudies.osu.edu
Center for the Study of Religion: http://religion.osu.edu/
Sexuality Studies: http://sexualitystudies.osu.edu
Office Information
431 Hagerty Hall, 1775 College Road, Columbus, OH, 43210
Email: urban.41@osu.edu
Phone: 614-292-9855
Fax: 614-292-6707
Office Hours:
By appointment winter and spring 2011; please email to set up a time
431 Hagerty Hall, 1775 College Road, Columbus, OH, 43210
Email: urban.41@osu.edu
Phone: 614-292-9855
Fax: 614-292-6707
Office Hours:
By appointment winter and spring 2011; please email to set up a time
Education:
Ph.D., History of Religions, University of Chicago M.A., Religious Studies, University of Chicago B.A., Religion, Philosophy and Art, George Washington University
General Background:
Teaching and Research
Comparative Religions, Religions of South Asia, New Religious Movements, Colonial and Post-Colonial Studies, Secrecy, Sexuality, Religion and Politics.
Hugh B. Urban is interested in the study of secrecy in religion, particularly in relation to questions of knowledge and power. Focusing primarily on the traditions of South Asia, he is author of Tantra: Sex, Secrecy, Politics and Power in the Study of Religion (2003) and Magia Sexualis: Sex, Magic, and Liberation in Modern Western Esotericism (2006), among other books. He has a strong secondary interest in contemporary new religious movements, and has published articles on Heaven's Gate, Scientology and modern Western magic.
PUBLICATIONS
Books
Excerpt:
Amtorg
The Amtorg Trading Corporation is an American company based in New York that was founded in 1924 by the Soviet Union to serve as its buying and selling organization in trade between the USSR and the USA. It handled the bulk of Soviet-American trade until 1935, and continues to exist today. Working as an Amtorg employee served as a convenient cover for Soviet spies, such as Morris Cohen. L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, was once offered a research job by Amtorg.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amtorg_Trading_Corporation
Excerpt:
Amtorg Trading Corporation, also known simply as Amtorg, was the first Soviet trade representation in the United States when Armand Hammer established it in New York in 1924 through the amalgamation of the American firms Products Exchange Corporation (1919) and Arcos-America Inc (1923). The latter was the US office of All Russian Co-operative Society (ARCOS). Amtorg served Soviet import and export firms seeking to conduct foreign trade in the US throughout the Communist era. It also served as a front for GRU and OGPU (Soviet intelligence) operations in the US.[1][2] This was especially important in the early years, before Franklin D. Roosevelt recognized the Soviets in 1933, allowing them a permanent embassy in Washington, D.C.[3] [4] It continued to handle most Soviet-America trade until 1935. As of 1999[update] it still exists.[5]
As an arm of the Soviet state, Amtorg was targeted by civil rights activists.[6]
http://www.pbs.org/redfiles/kgb/deep/interv/k_int_david_major.htm
Excerpt:
Interviewer: But you are running ahead of us. So after the Spanish Civil War Morris Cohen comes back to New York area, and what's he doing now? When he's working for Amtorg?
Major: Oh, that's right. Let's make a comment about Amtorg. The Soviets were always looking for a base of operation in the United States. Before they had diplomatic relations that were established in 1933, by FDR, they had Amtorg in the United States, and that was a platform for running intelligence operations. The Russians during that period, had no diplomatic protection for the individuals working for Amtorg. So what we find in the 1930s is this effort to recruit members from the Communist Party to not just give information, but act as couriers for Russian intelligence. They looked at people that they had contact with as potential individuals that they could recruit, and then become source handlers for them. When Cohen goes to work for Amtorg he gives them an opportunity to do that.
Interviewer: Now can you describe in your own words what exactly Lona Cohen did as part of the operation that penetrates the atomic, the Manhattan project?
Major: The Manhattan Project?
Interviewer: What was her job?
Major: Lona Cohen came into stealing the atomic bomb material from the Manhattan Project, espionage, late into the operation. To really understand her role, you need to understand what the KGB was doing in trying to steal the Manhattan Project. Or the Enormous Project -- that was their code-name for it. Clearly they knew that from the time the project got started, that the United States was involved with it through Fuchs. There was a secret pact between England and the United States to build the bomb together. England had the uranium that had come out of Belgium. They figured that there was no sanctuary to build an atomic bomb in England because of the war. So they jointly agreed to build it in the United States, but with full participation from England. Even to the point that there was an unvalidated treaty that they would not use the atomic bomb without both countries agreeing to it. Most people don't know that part of history, that it wasn't just Truman who made the decision, that they did it along with the British, who had agree to this part of the treaty. So the Russians knew that they had an atomic bomb program going. When Fuchs came over to the United States in 1953, he was actually operating in England as early as 1942. They sent over an intelligence officer, one of his jobs, was specifically to target the atomic bomb program. Now Feklisov was not involved with targeting the atomic bomb program; he was an NKVD officer in New York, whose job was to steal high technology. So you had these delivered to Feklisov. They had a pretty good sense of the development of the atomic bomb.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Morrison
Excerpt:
Much of the music Morrison released throughout the 1980s continued to focus on the themes of spirituality and faith. His 1983 album, Inarticulate Speech of the Heart was "a move towards creating music for meditation" with synthesisers, uilleann pipes and flute sounds and four of the tracks were instrumentals.[137] The titling of the album and the presence of the instrumentals were noted to be indicative of Morrison's long-held belief that "it's not the words one uses but the force of conviction behind those words that matters."[135] During this period of time, Morrison had studied Scientology and gave "Special Thanks" to L. Ron Hubbard on the album's credits.[138]
Blue Money Van Morrison (this song plays in John Travolta's movie 'Michael') ...cal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4EWtcwaVdQ
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/28/nancy-cartwright-scientol_n_161934.html
Excerpt:
Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson and a devoted scientologist, is using her trademark cartoon voice as part of a robocall encouraging people to attend a Scientology event in Los Angeles. Best of all, she speaks like Bart in the call, and begins by saying "Hey what's happening man, this is Bart Simpson." (She also promises the event will "be a blast, man!").
Cartwright joined the Church of Scientology in 1989, according to Wikipedia. Over the years she has given millions to the church.
As TMZ notes, the call was meant for members only: "We called the phone number for the event that Nancy gives out, and the person who answered was surprised a non-Scientologist got the message."
Listen to the recording:
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2009/01/voice_of_bart_s.php
Excerpt:
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/09/hugh_urban_an_i.php
Excerpt:
"The first real thing I did on Scientolody was the 'Fair Game' article, which eventually became the core of Chapter 3 in the book," he says, referring to his 2006 article in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, "Fair Game: Secrecy, Security, and the Church of Scientology in Cold War America."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312277,00.html
Excerpt:
Will Smith conquered space aliens in "Independence Day," and now he apparently believes they are real.
Smith admits in the issue of Men’s Vogue on sale Tuesday that he has studied Scientology with Tom Cruise and doesn’t disagree with its basic tenets.
In doing so, he finally "comes out," joining Cruise, John Travolta, Kirstie Alley and a handful of other Hollywood types in their devotion to this controversial religion.
For a long time, Smith has denied joining the Church of Scientology with his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, explaining that it would go against the beliefs of his late grandmother. But for some time, insiders in Hollywood have insisted the Smiths were, indeed, brought in by Cruise.
Smith concedes that his kids are being home-schooled, just as are those of Cruise, Travolta and other Scientologists.
In the article, Smith refers to "Thetans," who are space aliens in the vernacular of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.
"... in all of the experiences I’ve had with Tom and Scientology, like 98 percent of the principles are identical to the principles of the Bible," Smith tells Men’s Vogue writer Hudson Morgan.
"The Bible says, 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.' And you know, there’s a Scientology principle: 'Do not create experiences for others that they cannot comfortably perceive.'"
He continues: "The Bible talks about your spirit being immortal, that you were created for existence beyond your physical body. Well, that’s no different from Scientology. I don’t think that because the word someone uses for 'spirit' is 'thetan' that the definition becomes any different."
I have a feeling that clergy and practitioners of both the New and Old Testament might take umbrage with that idea. Scientology is considered a dangerous cult in some countries, including Germany
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