5 ms·

The '80s Public Access Films Produced by a California UFO Cult

65 points by prismatic 10y ago

dcmininni 10y ago
The person interviewed in the article downplays the dangers of cults in general, without really talking about any of there activities aside from the films (which are the focal point of the article). Just saying kids, many cults are dangerous and many do a real good job seeming innocuous . Look up the BITE model, learn it and recognize it. https://www.freedomofmind.com/Info/BITE/bitemodel.php https://www.freedomofmind.com/Info/BITE/bitemodel.php
- LyleCantor 10y ago
  Gwern's Notes on Brainwashing & 'Cults': http://lesswrong.com/lw/imu/notes_on_brainwashing_cults/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/imu/notes_on_brainwashing_cults/
- M_Grey 10y ago
  That article sounds like it was written by a member of that cult... going on about how warm and nurturing 'Ruth' appeared to be.
  - matt_wulfeck 10y ago
    I think part of that is to answer questions like "why would some believe this maniac?"
- Gibbon1 10y ago
  I have a very simple test for 'cults' which is 'What happens if you try to leave'
- vidarh 10y ago
  Indeed, when I saw the title, I first assumed it'd be about the Heaven's Gate cult [1] (which ended up committing collective suicide) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven%27s_Gate_(religious_group) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven%27s_Gate_(religious_gro...
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
justbees 10y ago
I watched a documentary about this group a couple of years ago. I don't remember the film itself very well, but the story is interesting and the videos that the group makes are something else! I'm pretty fascinated by cults in general, probably because I tend to not want to join things. http://www.childrenofthestarsfilm.com/ http://www.childrenofthestarsfilm.com/
Animats 10y ago
Mandatory XKCD: https://xkcd.com/1235/ https://xkcd.com/1235/
Animats 10y ago
The USAF set up a sizable UFO detection network in the 1980s, called GEODSS, the Ground-based_Electro-Optical_Deep_Space_Surveillance System. It's a set of pairs of large (40-inch) computerized telescopes which watch the sky automatically. The system has a star catalog and knows what should normally be visible. This includes noticing dark objects which occlude stars. It was intended to look for USSR satellites and space debris, but it can detect just about anything in near-Earth space. There are three active installations of this system. Most near-earth asteroid detections come from a former GEODSS station now operated by MIT's Lincoln Labs. Unlike most astronomical telescopes, the GEODSS stations have a pair of telescopes some distance apart, under common control. They can range near-earth objects by parallax. One of the less-publicized features of the system is that one of the telescopes has a laser, so dark targets can be illuminated. (In my aerospace days, the specs for this system crossed my desk. Our company had bid on the system, but lost.) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Space_Surveillance_Network#Ground-based_Electro-Optical_Deep_Space_Surveillance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Space_Surveillan...
- ChristianGeek 10y ago
  I'm betting you didn't read the linked article.
  - AtomicFirepig 10y ago
    LOL
- caseymarquis 10y ago
  I'll have to ask about that the next time I'm at Lincoln Labs.
  - Animats 10y ago
    See http://www.ll.mit.edu/mission/space/linear/ http://www.ll.mit.edu/mission/space/linear/
gscott 10y ago
Unarius is located in El Cajon, CA I drive by there business building pretty often. In the yearly local mother goose parade this is the car they drive http://media.lajollalight.com/img/photos/2014/12/11/Christmas_Parade_UFO_r620x419.JPG?d86a08e3d8be7604da3f6269b9cbf74cdc5e085c http://media.lajollalight.com/img/photos/2014/12/11/Christma...
blhack 10y ago
Does anybody see a place to watch these films? I would absolutely love to see these.
- partiallypro 10y ago
  There's only an 11 minute documentary in the article which shows some clips of the films. Unfortunately.
- PKop 10y ago
  Here's something: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TphNS93ebqU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TphNS93ebqU
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
_0ffh 10y ago
I practically can't believe they're not just taking the piss and having a good belly laugh about it in private! =)
anentropic 10y ago
Reminds me of Sun Ra

65 points by prismatic 10y ago

The person interviewed in the article downplays the dangers of cults in general, without really talking about any of there activities aside from the films (which are the focal point of the article). Just saying kids, many cults are dangerous and many do a real good job seeming innocuous . Look up the BITE model, learn it and recognize it. https://www.freedomofmind.com/Info/BITE/bitemodel.php https://www.freedomofmind.com/Info/BITE/bitemodel.php

LyleCantor 10y ago
Gwern's Notes on Brainwashing & 'Cults': http://lesswrong.com/lw/imu/notes_on_brainwashing_cults/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/imu/notes_on_brainwashing_cults/
M_Grey 10y ago
That article sounds like it was written by a member of that cult... going on about how warm and nurturing 'Ruth' appeared to be.
- matt_wulfeck 10y ago
  I think part of that is to answer questions like "why would some believe this maniac?"
Gibbon1 10y ago
I have a very simple test for 'cults' which is 'What happens if you try to leave'
vidarh 10y ago
Indeed, when I saw the title, I first assumed it'd be about the Heaven's Gate cult [1] (which ended up committing collective suicide) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven%27s_Gate_(religious_group) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven%27s_Gate_(religious_gro...
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]

justbees 10y ago

I watched a documentary about this group a couple of years ago. I don't remember the film itself very well, but the story is interesting and the videos that the group makes are something else! I'm pretty fascinated by cults in general, probably because I tend to not want to join things. http://www.childrenofthestarsfilm.com/ http://www.childrenofthestarsfilm.com/

Animats 10y ago

Mandatory XKCD: https://xkcd.com/1235/ https://xkcd.com/1235/

Animats 10y ago

The USAF set up a sizable UFO detection network in the 1980s, called GEODSS, the Ground-based_Electro-Optical_Deep_Space_Surveillance System. It's a set of pairs of large (40-inch) computerized telescopes which watch the sky automatically. The system has a star catalog and knows what should normally be visible. This includes noticing dark objects which occlude stars. It was intended to look for USSR satellites and space debris, but it can detect just about anything in near-Earth space. There are three active installations of this system. Most near-earth asteroid detections come from a former GEODSS station now operated by MIT's Lincoln Labs. Unlike most astronomical telescopes, the GEODSS stations have a pair of telescopes some distance apart, under common control. They can range near-earth objects by parallax. One of the less-publicized features of the system is that one of the telescopes has a laser, so dark targets can be illuminated. (In my aerospace days, the specs for this system crossed my desk. Our company had bid on the system, but lost.) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Space_Surveillance_Network#Ground-based_Electro-Optical_Deep_Space_Surveillance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Space_Surveillan...

ChristianGeek 10y ago
I'm betting you didn't read the linked article.
- AtomicFirepig 10y ago
  LOL
caseymarquis 10y ago
I'll have to ask about that the next time I'm at Lincoln Labs.
- Animats 10y ago
  See http://www.ll.mit.edu/mission/space/linear/ http://www.ll.mit.edu/mission/space/linear/

gscott 10y ago

Unarius is located in El Cajon, CA I drive by there business building pretty often. In the yearly local mother goose parade this is the car they drive http://media.lajollalight.com/img/photos/2014/12/11/Christmas_Parade_UFO_r620x419.JPG?d86a08e3d8be7604da3f6269b9cbf74cdc5e085c http://media.lajollalight.com/img/photos/2014/12/11/Christma...

blhack 10y ago

Does anybody see a place to watch these films? I would absolutely love to see these.

partiallypro 10y ago
There's only an 11 minute documentary in the article which shows some clips of the films. Unfortunately.
PKop 10y ago
Here's something: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TphNS93ebqU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TphNS93ebqU

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

_0ffh 10y ago

I practically can't believe they're not just taking the piss and having a good belly laugh about it in private! =)

anentropic 10y ago

Reminds me of Sun Ra