by bobdobbs » Tue Sep 26, 2006 5:48 pm
Anyone heard of them? I just heard of them for the first time today in a couple of interesting news articles.<br><br><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>PM met with Exclusive Brethren<br><br>Prime Minister John Howard has admitted he met with members of the fundamentalist Christian sect, the Exclusive Brethren.<br><br>The highly secretive group, which boasts 40,000 members worldwide - many based in New Zealand and Australia - has been accused of underhanded campaigning against the Greens at the 2004 federal election and subsequent state polls.<br><br>The group came under the spotlight when NZ Prime Minister Helen Clark accused it of running a smear campaign against her and fuelling rumours her husband was gay.<br><br>The outcry that followed prompted NZ</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> <br><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/PM-met-with-Exclusive-Brethren/2006/09/26/1159036537483.html">www.smh.com.au/news/Natio...37483.html</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br>a quick search on yahoo news got me this:<br><br><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>Ex-members 'expose' Exclusive Brethren<br><br>Former members of the Exclusive Brethren allege that large sums of cash have been transported across international borders and accuse the church of hushing up child abuse.<br><br>The allegations are among several made by former church members that will be aired on ABC TV's Four Corners program on Monday.<br><br>The former Australian leader of the Exclusive Brethren Ron Fawkes alleged that he illegally transported large sums of cash across international borders for the former world leader James Symington.<br><br>"The vast amounts of money handed over are referred to as gifts to, particularly to the leading, leading man," Mr Fawkes told ABC TV.<br><br>"Now that money amounts in the course of the year to millions, all going untaxed," he said.</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Exmembers-expose-Exclusive-Brethren/2006/09/25/1159036421830.html">www.smh.com.au/news/Natio...21830.html</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br>Apparently they've also aligned themselves with the religious right in the US and have contributed large amounts of money to the Bush campaign during the election.<br><br>Does anyone have any thoughts? <p></p><i></i>