Stranger Things

Sept. 7, 1982: 'INCHON,' AT LAST (The New York Times)

Oct. 2, 1982: Scott's World: 'Inchon,' Moonies and Spectres (UPI)

QuoteRarely has a relatively obscure movie been so costly or created as much controversy as 'Inchon,' a Korean War drama. In the past three years 'Inchon' has survived these controversies:

Its cost, $48 million.
The death of one of its stars, David Janssen, in 1980.
Its financing, partly by loans from the Unification Church.
The film's special advisor, Sun Myung Moon, the Korean savant of the moonies who is much embattled with the Internal Revenue Service and the target of parents claiming his church brainwashes their kids.
Picketing at its first showing in Washington, D.C., by anti-Moonie groups. ...

'Inchon' currently is in release more than two years after its completion. Its producer, Japanese-born Mitsuharu Ishii, is confident the picture will more than surpass its staggering cost. One reason for Ishii's confidence is the spectre of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, his boyhood hero and with whom Ishii says he remains in spiritual contact. To quote Ishii, 'He is behind me all the way.' ...

Ishii has personally pledged 50 percent of his producer's profits to veterans organizations in the 21 nations that came to the aid of South Korea under the United Nations resolution during the war. The profits may be a long time coming. Today a film must earn double its cost to break even. That means 'Inchon' must earn some $100 million at the box office, a feat accomplished by only a handful of films. ... To promote his film, Ishii has come up with the brilliant idea of a $1 million sweepstakes. To enter patrons need only pick up contest blanks at theaters playing 'Inchon.' First prize is a Rolls Royce with $100,000 in cash in the glove compartment. Other prizes include video recorders, TV sets and cameras. The drawing is scheduled for Dec. 31 in New York City.

Still, 'Inchon' opened weakly with $2.3 million in 1,291 theaters in Canada and the United States last weekend, doing almost as poorly as the infamous 'Heaven's Gate.' P.S. 'E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial,' now in its third month, pulled in $3.2 million in fewer theaters -- without a door prize.

Sept. 2, 2012: Film Legacy Of Unification Church's Moon: One Of 1980s Worst Movie Bombs

QuoteThe 1982 critically panned fiasco was mostly financed by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon — though he denied it at the time but received screen credit as the "Special Advisor on Korean Matters". It did so poorly at the box office that it posted the largest financial loss of that year and was one of the biggest bombs of the 1980s. Robert Standard, associate producer of Inchon, was a member of the Unification Church of the United States. Moon had considered making films about the lives of Jesus or Elvis Presley. But in 1978, so the story goes, psychic Jeanne Dixon communicated with MacArthur's spirit who endorsed Inchon as the film subject. She also reportedly chose James Bond film director Terence Young (Dr. No, Thunderball, From Russia with Love) as Inchon's helmer. Not the best way to put together a winning formula for a film.

Feb. 7, 2017: Inchon: How Psychics, the Moonies, & A Latex-Covered Laurence Oliver Made The Worst War Movie In History (The Telegragh/The Internet Archive)

Feb. 8, 2022: Raspberry Picking, Inchon (Alternate Ending)

QuoteIt's a simple story, really: God, like he does, told Ishii and Moon to make a movie. They considered making a biopic of Jesus, or a biopic of Elvis, before God specified that he wanted a movie about General Douglas MacArthur, hero of World War II and the early part of the Korean War. Just to confirm that they were on the right path, Ishii and Moon consulted psychic Jeanne Dixon, who secured them MacArthur's endorsement from the spirit realm. 

Ishii and Moon then set about assembling an all-star team to help them bring God's plan to fruition. Dixon helped them choose Terence Young, acclaimed director of early Bond films and Audrey Hepburn vehicles, to direct the film. Robin Moore, hyperpatriotic author of The Green Berets and The French Connection, was commissioned to write the screenplay. Ten-time Best Original Score Oscar nominee Jerry Goldsmith was brought onboard for music.  Richard "Shaft" Roundtree and Jacqueline "Murder on the Orient Express" Bisset signed on in supporting roles. And finally, as the biggest plume in a very feathery cap, they coaxed Sir Laurence Olivier Himself into the lead role of General MacArthur with the promise of, to borrow Olivier's own famous words, "money, dear boy."

So, an overlong rah-rah-America war epic, directed by Very Prestigious Director, starring Extremely Prestigious Actor, playing Much Admired Historical Figure, with music by World Renowned Film Composer to the tune of A Whole Heckuva Lot of Dollars. It won forty-seven Oscars, right?

Wrong. Ishii and Moon went to extraordinary lengths to hide Moon's involvement in the film, including paying people in literal briefcases full of cash. But one can only hide the source of millions of dollars for so long, especially when that source insists on leading the promotional campaign for the film, and when said promotional campaign hinges on the ghostly endorsement from Douglas MacArthur. Yes, they actually promoted the movie by telling people that Douglas MacArthur had given it his blessing from beyond the grave. ...

2024: Inchon: The Notorious Flop Funded by a Cult & Endorsed By The Spirit Realm (Far Out Magazine)

QuoteMoon funnelled $30million of his own—or the Unification Church's—money into the film, with additional funding coming from the associate producer, wealthy benefactor, and church member Robert Standard. That being said, one major stumbling block in retelling the story of how Douglas MacArthur and the United States armed forces staged their assault during the titular battle hinged on the approval of its subject.

The downside was that MacArthur had passed away in 1964, but Moon would not be deterred. To get the OK from those on the other side of the mortal plane, famed psychic and astrologer Jeane Dixon was asked to communicate with the netherworld to make sure the former general was fine with a pivotal moment in his life and career being turned into a major motion picture.

Fortunately, not only did MacArthur endorse Inchon from the spirit world, but he also personally recommended Dr. No, Thunderball, and From Russia with Love director Terence Young as the ideal person to wield the megaphone, a decision both of them presumably ended up regretting.

Oct. 19, 2025: Revisiting 'Inchon,' Hollywood's Korean War Gamble (Matt VanVolkenburg for The Korea Times)

QuoteIn mid-1979, Paul Courtright and Ben Bryan were Peace Corps volunteers working on tuberculosis and leprosy, respectively, who had arrived in Korea six months earlier. As Bryan told The Korea Times, "Our group was gathered in Seoul for training. I think it was Paul who mentioned to us that there was a movie being filmed somewhere in the area and extras were needed." ...

As Courtright remembered, "No one gave us any information about how the clothes should look or how we should carry the rifle, let alone shoot it. We stood around not knowing what to do, without any direction." This was because "no one seemed to be in charge. Different people were giving different instructions — people were being told to go here, do this, go there, do that." ...

Bryan remembered a rather conspicuous omission from those in charge: "We weren't told that there would be huge explosions taking place near and around us. I recall initially freaking out as several explosions went off around me, but kept running likely out of pure panic as I was firing my rifle. After about two shots, my rifle jammed, so I pretended to be shooting."...

Though production staff denied it during filming, the film had been conceived of and financed by Rev. Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church. It went wildly over budget and the full, 140-minute version of the film was only shown once, at a special screening in Washington, D.C. Though then-President Ronald Reagan enjoyed the film, when it was released in September 1982, with 35 minutes cut, it was a critical and box office failure. As a result, it lost over $44 million, making it one of the biggest flops in film history.

Nov. 13: Yamagami Mother keeps Faith in UC, Apologizes For Son (The Chosun Daily)

Nov. 14: Mother of Abe Shooter Apologizes, Still Follows Unification Church; Accused Avoids Eye Contact (The Japan News)

QuoteAccording to the mother's testimony, her husband committed suicide in 1984. In August 1991, she joined the organization. At that time, her eldest son — the defendant's older brother — had lost sight in one eye, and the defendant was in elementary school.

The mother said she joined the religion after a young woman visited her home and asked, "Is your family doing well?" The mother told the woman about her eldest son and received an invitation to a Unification Church facility.

The mother said she donated ¥20 million to the group immediately after joining. "[I was] deeply troubled by my husband's suicide and my eldest son's surgery," she explained. About six months later, she donated another ¥30 million. "My sick eldest son was a major factor," she said, adding that she believed the donations would save him.

According to her testimony, the source of the total ¥50 million was a life insurance payout after her husband's death. She also said that she sold property and other items following the death of the defendant's grandfather in 1998 and donated about another ¥40 million. She is said to have donated ¥100 million in total.

She told the court that she bought paintings from the group for about ¥700,000 to ¥1 million each and a pot for about ¥700,000. She also took a trip to South Korea, where the Church's headquarters are located, leaving the defendant, who was a minor back then, and his older brother at home.

When the defense attorney pointed out that the timing of the defendant's enrollment in school coincided with the donations, the mother said, "I thought that donating was more important than [education]."

Nov. 14: Biggest Crisis Yet For Head of Former Unification Church (NHK Japan/ Video)

Nov. 15: Unification Church in Japan to Pay 19.7 Billion Won to Victims of Large Donations"Includes South Korean Residents (Asia Business Daily)

QuoteThe "Family Federation Victims' Legal Team," which has been supporting individuals harmed by large donations and other practices of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church, hereinafter referred to as the "Family Federation") in Japan, announced on November 14 that, as a result of civil mediation, the organization has agreed to pay approximately 2.1 billion yen (about 19.7 billion won) in damages to 132 claimants. Among the victims are residents of South Korea....

Attorney Susumu Murakoshi, a member of the legal team, commented on the organization's change in attitude-having previously refused civil mediation-by saying, "Now that the dissolution order feels more realistic, they may be seeking a way to prolong their existence," and added, "The number of victims who have actually resolved their issues remains extremely small."

Nov. 19: Even after Abe's death, suspect's mother stays faithful to Unification Church (Japan Times)

QuoteThe mother of Tetsuya Yamagami, who is standing trial in connection with the 2022 killing of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, told a court she feels guilty for her son's actions, saying that she herself "is the perpetrator," media outlets have reported.
Despite this, the mother, who appeared at the Nara District Court as a defense witness on Tuesday, said she wants to keep her faith in the Unification Church, a controversial religious group.

The church's influence on her family has become a focal point of the murder trial, as the defense hopes to portray Yamagami as a victim of child abuse as part of efforts to seek leniency....

The mother, who joined the group in 1991, made donations of over ¥100 million, including money the family received as insurance payouts after her husband's suicide, and was eventually declared bankrupt. Yamagami has told investigators he long held a grudge against the church and targeted Abe after learning that the politician contributed a video message to a church-affiliated group.

The mother has also admitted that, when the defendant attempted suicide in 2005 while serving with the Maritime Self-Defense Force, she was in South Korea, where the religious group is based. She did not head back to Japan immediately upon learning about the attempted suicide, however, because she "heard a voice from God not to go back," according to her reported testimony.

After that incident, Yamagami's uncle protested the church and had ¥50 million of the donated money returned, the mother said. While part of that money was paid to Yamagami, the largest portion was spent on the elder brother of the defendant, who had a severe illness and later died by suicide.

Jan. 4, 2010: Washington Times Lashes Back at Former Editor (Washington City Paper)

QuoteLast week, the Washington Times laid off a large chunk of its newsroom, essentially junking its sports and Metro sections in favor of a more focused product. The new direction that the paper is unfurling—-whatever it is—-focuses on throwing less content on the street in hopes of reviving its business model.

The Washington Times, in other words, could be nearing its end. That's a bad thing not only for Washington Times employees and conservative journalism, but also for those who write about the paper. Every effort must be made to preserve what has become one of America's greatest hatcheries of workplace weirdness. When it comes to internal strife, no one does it like the Washington Times.

Washington Times weirdness takes on a starring role in the lawsuit filed in December by former Washington Times Editorial Page Editor Richard Miniter. In his complaint, Miniter made a number of damning claims against the paper, including the charge that he was essentially required to trek to Manhattan for a "peace festival" and a religious service of the Washington Times-connected Unification Church.

That's good and weird, for sure. But if you dig into the Miniter complaint, and the response that the Washington Times filed on Dec. 30, there's plenty more. ...

Jan. 29, 2010: The Washington Times Has a Long Record of Hyped Stories, Shoddy Reporting & Failure to Correct Errors (SPLC)

April 26, 2010: Washington Times Publisher Ousted After Clashing With Editor (The Washington Post)

QuoteThe president of the Washington Times said Sunday that he had been fired by a board of directors that "has no experience in the newspaper business" after clashing with an editor whose behavior has "had a detrimental effect on the company."

Jonathan Slevin said in a letter to the staff that it was "particularly upsetting" that the paper's new editor, Sam Dealey, had leaked information about his ouster, "since I had hired this young man with the intention of grooming him in his first opportunity to be an editor."

Dealey said in an interview that "it's no secret in the newsroom that Jonathan had an expansive view of his role as publisher and his view didn't sit well with the editor." He declined to respond to specific allegations, saying he wished Slevin well and would concentrate on putting out the newspaper.

The acrimonious departure of Slevin, who also held the title of publisher, is the latest problem at a paper that in recent months has fired three top executives, accepted the resignation of its top two editors, been sued by its former editorial page editor and laid off half its staff. Politico reported on Slevin's departure Friday, and Times spokesman Don Meyer denied the story. Meyer said Sunday that he had been given inaccurate information.

Quote"It's the Fox News of the print world," says Gene Grabowski, who in 1988 became one of a number of Times reporters to resign in protest of the paper's flouting of journalistic ethics.

May 1, 2010: Unification Church Will Put Washington Times Up For Sale (The Washington Post)

QuoteThe finances are so tight that the newspaper hasn't paid some of its bills or tended to basic maintenance issues -- such as hiring an exterminator to deal with mice and snakes sneaking into the building on New York Avenue in Northeast.

"The feeling everyone feels is that it's a totally rudderless ship," said Julia Duin, the paper's longtime religion reporter. "Nobody knows who's running it. Is it the board of directors? We don't know. There was a three-foot-long black snake in the main conference room the other day. We have snakes in the newsroom -- the real live variety, at least. One of the security people gallantly removed it."

June 3, 2010: Washington Times Reporter Who Spoke Out About The Paper Is Dismissed (The Washington Post)

QuoteA month ago, Julia Duin, for 14 years a reporter at the Unification Church-backed Washington Times, did something journalists might admire, but their bosses often abhor. She spoke out about her employer, in print, on the record. In a Washington Post article on the potential sale of the Times, Duin said the paper felt like a "rudderless ship" and reported that a black snake -- "the real live variety" -- had turned up in the newsroom.

Duin, 54, said she was dismissed Tuesday, a decision she believes came in retaliation for her published comments. To make matters more painful, Duin was given the news while her 5-year-old daughter Olivia was visiting the newsroom. On top of that, Duin had to pack up and remove her belongings while on crutches, the result of a recent foot injury. Don Meyer, a spokesman for the Times, did not return a call seeking comment.

June 8, 2010: Helen Thomas: Bitter Dnd For 'Dean' of Press Corps (BBC News)

QuoteThomas was a trailblazer: the first female president of the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA), the first female officer of the National Press Club and the only female print journalist to travel with President Richard Nixon on his first trip to China.

The unofficial dean of the White House press corps, Thomas worked for United Press International (UPI) for 57 years.

She left UPI after it was bought out by a company owned by Reverend Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church, whose adherents are known colloquially as Moonies. She described the acquisition as a "bridge too far" and soon took up her most recent position as a columnist for Hearst Newspapers.

Aug. 24, 2010: New Life for Washington Times (Politico)

QuoteAccording to a leaked memo from the Unification Church treasurer, the subsidy that supported The Washington Times stopped "abruptly and completely" in July of 2009. Since 2002, the paper has shrunk from 225 to about 70 people, cut its sports and metro sections, and reduced its circulation. The paper stopped reporting its circulation to the Audit Bureau of Circulation in 2008, and earlier this month, was moved back a row in the White House briefing room.

Last autumn, the Rev. Moon transferred control of day-to-day operations among some of his sons, including Preston, the eldest, who received The Washington Times, and Sean, the youngest, who was put in charge of the religious mission. The succession plan sparked a feud between Preston and what several sources said was much of the rest of the family.

In November, three longtime executives at the paper — Washington Times publisher Thomas McDevitt, chief financial officer Keith Cooperrider, and chairman Doug Moon Joo — were fired, TPM reported.

Aug. 25, 2010: Rev. Sun Myung Moon Said To Be Considering Buying Back Washington Times (The Washington Times)

QuoteJust four years after giving the Washington Times to his eldest son, the Unification Church's leader, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, is considering paying millions of dollars to buy back the conservative newspaper he founded in 1982, according to former Times staffers with knowledge of the negotiations.

Moon wants to buy the Times back from his son Preston Moon, who has threatened to shut down the foundering broadsheet altogether, said Charles Sutherland, the Times's former director of development and promotions, who was laid off in May.

Times sources said Moon, who is 90, has tapped Dong Moon Joo, the former Times chairman who was ousted last year by Preston Moon, to purchase and run the paper. Messages left at Joo's home and with his attorney were not returned Tuesday. ...

The newspaper's editor, Sam Dealey, declined to comment. Church spokesman Joshua Cotter did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Some current and former Times staffers hope Moon and Joo can save the paper, but they also worry that Preston Moon will be reluctant to sell to Joo, whom he pushed out in late 2009.

Other sources said Joo may end up teaming up with at least two other former Times executives forced out by Preston Moon -- ex-publisher and president Thomas McDevitt and former finance chief Keith Cooperrider.

Sutherland said that Preston and Joo "don't like each other at all. It's a question of ego. If Joo ends up with the paper, it's a slap in the face to Preston."

Dec. 27, 2006: The GOP's $3 Billion Propaganda Organ: Sun Myung-moon's Washington Times (Robert Parry - The World Traveller/Consortium News)
Note to Self: Very long and very detailed - explore further and add quotes to related threads - especially regarding early sex rituals and Sam Park, Moon's son from an affair (not the right word given the power differential between God and believer), but anyway, Han Hak-ja is not his mother.

Quotehe American Right achieved its political dominance in Washington over the past quarter century with the help of more than $3 billion spent by Korean cult leader Sun Myung Moon on a daily propaganda organ, the Washington Times, according to a 21-year veteran of the newspaper.

George Archibald, who describes himself "as the first reporter hired at the Washington Times outside the founding group" and author of a commemorative book on the Times' first two decades, has now joined a long line of disillusioned conservative writers who departed and warned the public about extremism within the newspaper.

In an Internet essay on recent turmoil inside the Times, Archibald also confirmed claims by some former Moon insiders that the cult leader has continued to pour in $100 million a year or more to keep the newspaper afloat. Archibald put the price tag for the newspaper's first 24 years at "more than $3 billion of cash."

At the newspaper's tenth anniversary, Moon announced that he had spent $1 billion on the Times - or $100 million a year - but newspaper officials and some Moon followers have since tried to low-ball Moon's subsidies in public comments by claiming they had declined to about $35 million a year.

The figure from Archibald and other defectors from Moon's operation is about three times higher than the $35 million annual figure.

The apparent goal of downplaying Moon's subsidy has been to quiet concerns that Moon was funneling vast sums of illicit money into the United States to influence the American political process in ways favorable to right-wing leaders - and possibly criminal cartels - around the world.

Though best known as the founder of the Unification Church, Moon, now 86, has long worked with right-wing political forces linked to organized crime and international drug smuggling, including the Japanese yakuza gangs and South American cocaine traffickers.

Moon insiders, including his former daughter-in-law Nansook Hong, also have described Moon's system for laundering cash into the United States and then funneling much of it into his businesses and influence-buying apparatus, led by the Washington Times.
The Times, in turn, has targeted American politicians of the center and left with journalistic attacks - sometimes questioning their sanity, as happened with Democratic presidential nominees Michael Dukakis and Al Gore. ...

March 1, 2008: Washington Times Cleans Out Extremists (SPL Center)

QuoteSolomon's appointment may mark the end of a tumultuous period for the hard-right Times, which included a spate of extremely bad press such as "Hell of a Times," a devastating exposé of racism and sexism at the paper that was published in The Nation in October 2006. The negative coverage apparently took its toll on newsroom morale. Several prominent staffers — including Washington insider Tony Blankley, the newspaper's editorial page editor and former press secretary for then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), and FOX News contributor Bill Sammon — have left the organization in the past year. ...

But Coombs, whose bigotry has been detailed in the Intelligence Report and who has been accused of racism by former Times employees, also announced his retirement in January.

Coombs' wife, Marian, has written extremist material for white supremacist publications, and Coombs has actually published several of her stories in the Times. As revealed by the Report in 2005, some of those stories relied on explicitly racist sources.

One of Coombs' favorite editors, Robert Stacy McCain, is a foe of interracial marriage and a former member of the white supremacist League of the South. (McCain resigned from the Times a few days after Solomon's hire was announced.) Coombs' personal website was created and registered by George McDaniel, who has worked for and been published by the racist American Renaissance journal. Possibly even more damaging were March 2007 allegations that Marian Coombs had associated with neo-Nazi leader Bill White, whose website is filled with attacks on Jews and blacks.

During Pruden and Coombs' tenure, the Times had on its staff other extremists besides McCain. Sam Francis, who would serve as editor in the late 1990s and early 2000s for the white supremacist Council of Conservative Citizens, was the paper's deputy editorial page editor from 1987 to 1991 and then a columnist until 1995. Francis was fired that year after conservative author Dinesh D'Souza wrote about racist remarks Francis had made at a 1994 American Renaissance conference.

Even so, when Francis died in 2005, the Times wrote a glowing obituary. The article completely omitted Francis' 1995 firing from the Times and his prolific writings for white supremacist publications, describing him instead as "a leading voice of traditional conservatism."

Nov. 18, 2009: Washington Times Editor Richard Miniter Files Discrimination Claim (The Washington Post)

QuoteThe former editorial page editor of the Washington Times has filed a discrimination complaint against the paper, saying he was "coerced" into attending a Unification Church religious ceremony that culminated in a mass wedding conducted by the church's leader, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon.

Richard Miniter, who was also vice president of opinion, made the claim in a filing Tuesday with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that also disclosed he was fired last month. He said in an interview that he "was made to feel there was no choice" but to attend the ceremony if he wanted to keep his job, and that executives "gave me examples of people whose careers at the Times had grown after they converted" to the Unification Church. A Times spokesman said the paper would not comment. ...

In May, the complaint says, Miniter refused to sign a "fraudulent statement" at the request of a Times vice president. As a result, the Times launched a "background investigation" and "questioned everyone who worked for me" but turned up nothing negative, the filing says. Miniter elaborated in an interview that the statement involved certifying his Arlington County address for a child of the vice president, who had moved to Maryland, so the child would be eligible to remain at an Arlington school.

The next month, Miniter alleges, the Times conducted a second investigation after he joked to his deputy about Moon's long, flowing garb in a church brochure. That probe was never concluded, Miniter said, and in July the company asked him to work from home. He said he was never given a reason for his termination.

Nov. 20, 2009 Complaint Adds To Tumult At Washington Times (NPR)

QuoteTensions between the owners of newspapers and the journalists who run their newsrooms are nothing new. At the Washington Times, though, tension has become tumult this month. Top executives have been fired, the executive editor resigned, and here's a twist: The Washington Times is owned by senior officials of the Unification Church, and a former editor is alleging that he was forced out because he mocked the church. ...

Mr. Richard Miniter (Former Editorial Page Writer, Washington Times): "I really didn't want to attend a religious service for a religion I wasn't participating in, and I wasn't covering it as a journalist." ...

Miniter says he was badgers by Times executives when he ducked out for longer than 10 minutes to get a cup of coffee. ...

Miniter soon after became editorial page editor and a corporate vice president but says in June, he made the mistake of joking about the Unification Church to a co-worker. He says he was investigated, forced to work from home and ultimately fired. This week, Miniter filed a religious discrimination complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, though he cites other grounds, as well.

Dec. 3, 2009: The Washington Times Is Laying Off 40 Percent Of Its Staff (The Washington Post)

QuoteThe Washington Times, which gained a strong foothold in a politically obsessed city as a conservative alternative to much of the mainstream media, is about to become a drastically smaller newspaper. Nearly three decades after its founding by officials of the Unification Church, the Times said Wednesday it is laying off at least 40 percent of its staff and shifting mainly to free distribution. ...

Many on the 370-person staff had braced for bad news after the company dismissed three top executives and Solomon resigned last month, but were nonetheless stunned by the depth of the reductions. Slevin, who was named acting president and publisher in the shakeup, said he did not know why Solomon had quit, calling it a "surprise" that came before the current cutbacks were decided. Slevin also said there is no search for a Solomon successor and that his job may not be filled under a reorganization.

The Unification Church, which is suffering its own financial strains, had served notice that its subsidy to the Times would have to be curtailed. In a recent affidavit, Miniter said the church provides $40 million of the paper's annual $70 million budget.

Dec. 8, 2009: Ex-Washington Times Editor Sues Paper (Courthouse News Service)

QuoteThe former opinion editor at The Washington Times says executives pressured him to attend religious services, then fired him for refusing to sign bogus paperwork. Richard Miniter says he was persuaded to attend a mass wedding in New York City in January hosted by the Unification Church. The church is led by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, who founded the paper in 1982 and who claims to be the Messiah.

Miniter, who was working with the paper as a consultant, says he was told by then-publisher Thomas McDevitt that "it would be 'good'" for him to make the trip to New York to attend the religious services. "Miniter took this to mean that if he didn't go, it would count negatively against his prospects at The Washington Times and of being offered permanent executive employment there," according to the lawsuit filed in District Court in Washington, D.C.

Miniter says he felt "extremely uncomfortable" while attending the event, but says he "was made to feel as if he had no choice." He says he was hired as editorial page editor the next month. Soon after starting, however, Miniter had heart-related problems, and indicated he'd need time off for doctor's appointments.

He says that's when Sonya Jenkins, the paper's vice president of human resources, began pressuring him to sign a document claiming that her son lived at his house so that the boy could continue going to school in Arlington, Va., after his family moved to Maryland. Minister says he refused, and that Jenkins retaliated by investigating him.

Miniter says the paper then tried to get him to sign a new contract that required him to find advertisers for the paper. He says he was ultimately fired for refusing to sign the new contract.

Dec. 31, 2009: A Newspaper's Surreal Dismantling (Politico)

QuoteCalled together in a staff meeting, every employee was given an envelope whether the employee was staying or going, along with a second paper that ironically listed some job openings for the relaunched paper.

By the time all the envelopes were opened, the newspaper no longer had any senior editors. "Monday begins a new chapter in the history of The Washington Times as a 21st-century multimedia enterprise," a press release had trumpeted.

Now that enterprise won't even have anyone in charge.

John Solomon, the editor brought in from the Post with what he thought was a mandate to make the Times more respectable, disappeared without comment weeks ago, leaving senior editors — many of whom he had hired — largely in the dark, amid a complete overhaul of management and far-reaching staff cuts. By the end of Wednesday, managing editors David Jones (print) and Jeffrey Birnbaum (digital), along with assistant managing editor Barbara Slavin, no longer had their jobs.

Slavin, hired in 2008 from USA Today to be in charge of foreign news, told POLITICO that she was proud of the work they'd done in a short period, and lamented the loss of "many good people who have put in a lot of hard work over the years."

And Slavin echoed a view of many of those departing, as well as those staying: "None of us understand what the strategy is."

Sept. 27, 2006: Times Employee Arrested in Sting (The Washington Times/Internet Archive)

QuoteMetropolitan Police today charged the director of human resources at The Washington Times with one count of attempting to entice a minor on the Internet. Randall Casseday, 53, was arrested at 9:45 p.m. yesterday in the 1300 block of Brentwood Road NE, where police said he had arranged to meet who he thought was a 13-year-old girl. He had actually exchanged Internet messages and photographs with a male police officer posing as a girl.

Sept. 28, 2006: How an Accused Child Sex Predator Covered Up Racism, Sexual Harassment at the Washington Times (The Huffington Post)

QuoteThe revelation of Casseday's alleged solicitation of sex with a child is emblematic of the culture of lawlessness and arrogance fostered at the Washington Times by its president, Douglas Joo, editor-in-chief Wes Pruden and managing editor Fran Coombs, which I detailed in my recent article for The Nation, "Hell of a Times." According to two sources who have dealt directly with Casseday, the accused sex criminal has played a central role in stonewalling internal investigations into the racist and sexually predatory behavior of Times managing editor Fran Coombs, and did so on orders from Joo and Pruden.

"Whatever Joo, Pruden and Coombs wanted, Casseday did," a senior staffer in the Times newsroom told me today. "Casseday literally was their hatchet man, the hit man for Pruden, Coombs and Joo. Now the whole story is exploding that they had a ticking time bomb all these years and they did nothing. There was no background check or anything."

Times former media relations staffer Melissa Hopkins complained to Casseday in 2004 that Coombs had sexually harassed her then attempted to undermine her career. Hopkins said Casseday accused her of lying, then sabotaged a subsequent investigation into her charges. Today, Hopkins expressed outrage at the news of Cassadey's secret life. "Randall Casseday, the Washington Times' director of Human Resources who was arrested Tuesday for attempting to entice a minor on the internet with sexually explicit communications, is the same man who said to me that my claims of sexual harassment and hostile environment against Fran Coombs at The Times were baseless," Hopkins told me.

(Nevermind that the incident between Hopkins and Coombs occured in a taxi cab with no witnesses present. At Douglas Joo's Washington Times, a paper that publicly supports conservative "victims' rights" crusades, the victim is always wrong.) ...

Former veteran Times correspondent George Archibald told me that when he showed Coombs a photo of his nephew's African-American girlfriend, Coombs "went off like a rocket about interracial marriage and how terrible it was. He actually used the phrase 'the niggerfication of America.' He said, 'Not in my lifetime. If my daughter went out with a black, I would cut her throat.'"

Nov. 21, 2006: Randall Casseday Pleads Guilty (Ad Week)

QuoteA former human resources director for The Washington Times pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court to possession of child pornography and online child exploitation.

In accord with a plea agreement, Randall Casseday, 53, could be sentenced to 7? years in prison and supervised release of no less than 10 years and up to life. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly must approve the plea agreement before imposing a sentence on Feb. 15. The Times terminated Casseday's two-year employment a week after his arrest at 9:40 p.m. on Sept. 26.

Yesterday, Casseday said in court that pictures of his and a young girl's private parts were sent and received on his laptop computer. Officials for The Times cooperated with police by securing the laptop and other possible evidence in Casseday's office.

And sometime in 2003, the piece de resistance:

May 21, 2018: Locked and Loaded for the Lord (The Washington Post)

QuoteUnification Church membership figures have always been elastic, ranging from tens of thousands to several million. In 2009, the Washington Times cited 110,000 "adherents." Whatever the correct number, it had peaked by the late 1990s. Yet the Rev. Moon pressed on. In 2003, a double-page ad in the Washington Times trumpeted this news: All 36 deceased American presidents acknowledged Sun Myung Moon's greatness. What's more, each one had written an endorsement letter from the Great Beyond. "People of America, rise again. Return to the nation's founding spirit," said Thomas Jefferson, once characterized as a "howling atheist" by political opponents. "Follow the teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the Messiah to all people."

And here they are. And I'll post part of George's message, he seems a little sad. Luckily, he provides us with a remedy for his meloncholly. But I thought heaven was supposed to be a happy place. As Trump would say, "It's full of Moonies!"

QuoteI, George Washington, am deeply moved to learn through Mr. Sang Hun Lee the identity of Rev. Sun Myung Moon, learn about Rev. Moon's accomplishments and philosophy, and come to a realization that he has appeared as the Messiah. I was introduced to poignant content, including the course of Rev. Moon's turbulent life and suffering that led to his ascension to the position of the True Parent of humankind, his bloody battle with Satan to discover the Divine Principle, his providential victories, and the circumstances of God as he oversaw the historical time periods that existed in parallel from ages past. In particular, I came to the realization that the Messiah is giving unlimited love to the people of the United States, and is offering the most profound sincerity and dedication in order to guide humankind to the philosophy of peace. Yet the people of America are greatly lacking in sincerity and dedication in attending the Messiah. I realize that the American people are blessed by the mere fact that the Messiah is present on American soil. Yet, they appear unable to realize this deeply. I am deeply distressed over this. ...

Will God guide you to the path of eternal blessing? Only if the people of America repent and receive guidance in the teachings of the Messiah will America become God's eternal Eden.

George Washington; June 9, 2002

June 19, 2005: Dear Leader's Paper Moon (John Gorenfeld for American Prospect - Internet Archive)

QuoteThe Washington Times has played an essential role in Moon's relations with the Kim dynasty, although the tone of its coverage alternates between promotional and hostile. Ironically, while Times editorial-page editor (and TV personality) Tony Blankley has published recent op-ed columns attacking the Clinton administration's "perverse policy of appeasement" for giving "enticements and sweetheart deals" to North Korea, a secretive organization housed just one floor above the very office where he writes his editorials serves as the headquarters for Moon's emissaries. However harshly The Washington Times may denounce North Korea, those emissaries and Moon himself have been providing attractive "enticements" and "deals" to Pyongyang for almost 15 years.

September 26, 2006: Hell of A Times (Max Blumenthal for The Nation)
Note to Self: Read the whole article, which is quite long. The quotes below are from the first part of the article:

QuoteStill one of the most important right-wing organs in the nation, the paper has a circulation base of around 100,000. According to a source close to senior management, in the past two decades it has burned through far more than the $1.7 billion previously reported. During that time its editorial stance has consistently leaned to the hard right, as its favorite targets have ranged from liberal comsymps to President Bill Clinton to, most recently, "illegal aliens" and their allies in the "open borders lobby." Throughout, the Times has served as a major key on the conservative movement's Mighty Wurlitzer.

A nasty succession battle is now heating up at the paper, punctuated by allegations of racism, sexism and unprofessional conduct, that has implications far beyond its fractious newsroom. According to several reliable inside sources, Preston Moon, the youngest son of Korean Unification Church leader and Times financier Sun Myung Moon, has initiated a search committee to find a replacement for editor in chief Wesley Pruden--a replacement who is not Pruden's handpicked successor, managing editor Francis Coombs. ...

Both Coombs and Pruden, meanwhile, are facing a litany of complaints from former and current colleagues of racism and sexual harassment. More than a dozen well-placed sources spoke to The Nation. Many wished to remain anonymous, for fear of jeopardizing their jobs. Others spoke on the record. But the sources are consistent about the atmosphere Pruden and Coombs have fostered inside the paper, which they describe as profoundly demeaning and abusive to women and minorities. Preston Moon has hired the powerhouse Washington law firm Nixon Peabody to interview Times staffers about the allegations of racism and sexism. ...

Now Coombs is driving the paper to the far shores of the right. Southern Poverty Law Center Intelligence Project executive director Mark Potok credits the Times with helping to fuel the nativism that has taken hold this year in Republican political campaigns. "The Times is a terrible little newspaper that unfortunately has vastly disproportionate influence on the right wing of the Republican Party," Potok said. "The vast majority of people who read it don't realize that this paper is in bed with bigots and white supremacists. The Times is a key part of the radical right's apparatus in the United States."

Pruden and Coombs have stonewalled Preston Moon's investigation and threatened to hold a public news conference, during which they would denounce "the crazy Moonies" and claim that Preston Moon and his father are pressuring them to inject pro-Unification Church propaganda into the paper's coverage, according to a senior newsroom staffer. Times president Douglas D.M. Joo is backing Coombs and Pruden to the bitter end. Joo is a business rival of Preston Moon who, the senior staffer says, would be stripped of his post at the Times and redeployed to Korea if Pruden and Coombs go down. "This is a cancer that goes all the way to the top," the senior staffer said of the paper's tolerance of bigotry. "And if you don't root out the cancer, it will kill you. If this ever got out to the mainstream press, we would be finished as a paper."

May 14, 2000: Moon Landing Looms for UPI: Reverend Sun-myung Moon Set to Buy Wire Service  (New York Post)

QuoteTHE Moonies are very close to landing on Air Force One. Media Ink has learned that the venerable but battered United Press International is on the brink of being sold to News World Communications, the publishing arm of Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church....

One of the perks of UPI ownership is a guaranteed seat in the press cabin of Air Force One as part of the permanent wire-service pool covering the President. The Moonies also land the legendary Helen Thomas as White House bureau chief. She started with UPI in 1943 and broke into the White House press corps bantering with President John F. Kennedy in 1961.

May 17, 2000: Helen Thomas Resigns as Moonies Buy UPI (The Register)

QuoteWhite House press corps Dean and permanent fixture Helen Thomas resigned her post with the United Press International (UPI) wire service, for which she worked for 57 years, on news that a Unification Church affiliate - which also owns the transparently Right-Wing Washington Times newspaper - has bought UPI.

May 17, 2000: Helen Thomas, the Gridiron, & The Moonies (Slate)

May 21, 2000: UPI Star Escapes Moon's Orbit (The Guardian)

QuoteHelen Thomas, who relentlessly pursued Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton around the world and the West Wing with unrivalled persistence, refused to answer reporters' questions about her decision, issuing one brief statement: 'UPI is a great news agency. It has made a remarkable mark in the annals of American journalism and has left a superb legacy for future journalists. I wish the new owners all the best, great stories and happy landings.'

But Lee Michael Katz, who quit the same day as UPI's international editor, said he had no doubt about the reasons for her departure: 'Look at the timing of this, and Helen's devotion.' He said that his own decision was 'a no-brainer' and added: 'I cannot work for the new owners.'

Oct. 28: Trump May Save Dr. Hak Ja Han's Life & Religious Liberty in South Korea (Newt Gingrich for The Washington Times- Owned by Hak Ja-han & Co.)

QuoteThere is a very real possibility that President Trump and his team have saved the life of Dr. Hak Ja Han. As a religious leader known as Mother Moon or as the Mother of Peace, this 82-year-old activist faith leader represents hope for millions of people around the world.

Oct. 29: Gingrich Says Trump May Intervene to Free Han Hak-ja in South Korea (Chosun Biz)

Oct. 30: Special Counsel Probes Unification Church's Party Entry (The Chosun Daily)

QuoteOn the 28th (local time), Newt Gingrich, an elder statesman of the U.S. conservative camp and former speaker of the House, presented this outlook in a column for the Washington Times titled "Trump may save Dr. Hak Ja Han's life and religious liberty in South Korea." Gingrich has previously contributed several columns to the same outlet saying that the "arrogant Lee Jae-myung administration is threatening the U.S.-Korea alliance."

Nov. 3: Trial to Begin for PPP Lawmaker Accused of Taking Illegal Political Funds From UC (Yonhap News)

Nov. 4: Court Suspends Detention for Unification Church Leader Han Hak-ja (The Chosun Daily)

Nov. 5: UC Leader Temporarily Released From Detention for Eye Surgery (Yonhap News)

Nov. 7: Court Rejects Han Hak-ja's Request to Extend Detention Suspension (The Chosun Daily)

Nov. 7: Unification Church Leader Returns to Jail After Eye Surgery (Yonhap News)

Nov. 7: Kim Keon-hee, Han Hak-ja Indicted in Unification Church Party Scheme (The Chosun Daily)

QuoteThe special prosecutor's team, led by Min Joong-ki, investigating various allegations against former first lady Kim Keon-hee, announced on the 7th that it had additionally indicted Kim, Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja, and others in connection with the alleged "collective entry of Unification Church members into the People Power Party."

The special counsel stated, "Kim, Han, Jeon Seong-bae (a shaman also known as Geonjin), Yun Young-ho (former Unification Church global head), and Jeong (a former Unification Church secretary-general), among five individuals, were additionally indicted on charges of violating the Political Parties Act." The law stipulates that no individual shall be coerced into joining or leaving a political party against their free will.

Nov. 11: Seoul Court Assigns Kim Keon-hee UC Mass Enrollment Trial to Criminal Division 27 (Chosun Biz)

Nov. 12: Seoul Court inspects Chanel bags, Shoes & Graff Necklace Linked to Kim Keon-hee Case  (Chosun Biz)

Nov. 14: Prosecutor Links 2,000 Unification Church Members to People Power Party (The Chosun Daily)

Nov. 14: Unification Church Leader Han Hak-ja Seeks Bail in Collusion Case (The Chosun Ilbo)

Nov. 22, 1997: A Low-Profile Aide Plays a Powerful Role (The Washington Post)

QuoteFrom video production to real estate, one man plays an extraordinary role in Moon Inc.'s Washington operations. Dong Moon Joo, a South Korean citizen who is one of Moon's closest aides, heads Crown Communications, Unification Church International and Atlantic Video. He is a director of several other church entities, including Nostalgia and U.S. Property Development, a Delaware corporation that reported assets of $114 million in 1990.

Joo is also president of the Washington Times, a position not included in the list of executives that appears in the paper daily. ...

Joo took over many of the church's Washington enterprises after Pak left the United States. According to former church leaders, Pak was badly beaten in 1987 by a Zimbabwean tribesman whom Moon had recognized as the spiritual reincarnation of his son Heung-Jin, who had been killed in an auto crash.

Concerning the last sentence in the above quote:

March 29, 1998: Theological Uproar In Unification Church: Rev. Moon Recognizes Zimbabwean As His Reincarnated Son (The Washington Post)

QuoteSome senior officials of The Washington Times, which was founded by Moon, have been anguished over the affair, according to sources there. While now publicly dismissing reports about the new Heung Jin Nim as "wild" rumor, Editor in Chief Arnaud de Borchgrave previously worried that the Zimbabwean might be a North Korean plant designed to discredit Moon because of his staunch anticommunism, according to two of de Borchgrave's associates.

"From the bottom of my navel, I don't want to know about this," said Ron Godwin, The Times' senior vice president for business and a former executive of Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority, when asked about the new
Heung Jin Nim. "I know that such a person exists and that he's been preaching in the church. But I will walk a mile not to get involved . .

Stories that Pak had been injured spread rapidly throughout the church, partly because of Pak's position as Moon's most loyal deputy. Questions arose as to whether the Zimbabwean was responsible. Kate Tsubata said she was inclined to be skeptical until she heard the church elder describe a meeting with the Rev. Moon in which Moon was asked about the new Heung Jin Nim's reported violence. The lecturer "then added how 'even Col. Pak had been beaten,' " said Tsubata. "He just let it drop . . . It was quite significant."

Pak is out of the country and unavailable for comment, according to his office. "It's a sensitive matter," said Pak's son, Jonathan Park, yesterday. "It would be totally inappropriate for me to comment one way or another."

Since the incident, Pak has rarely been seen around The Washington Times. He attended the office Christmas party two days after his release from the hospital and had to be led around the building by an aide clutching his elbow. "He literally couldn't walk without assistance," recalled Kirk Oberfeld, managing editor of Insight, a national weekly magazine published by The Times. "He was dizzy; his equilibrium had been affected."

When asked about his health then, Pak was mum. "It was very clear he didn't want to talk about it," Oberfeld said. "He just said, 'I'm not feeling terribly well.' "

Pak returned to Korea, where, according to sources at the newspaper, he was hospitalized once again, undergoing head surgery. He returned to The Times, smiling and ambulatory but somewhat weaker and subdued, on Friday, March 18. Times officials put up a big "Welcome Home, Dr. Pak" banner in their auditorium, and Pak spoke for about 10 minutes, telling the assembled he was making a "rapid recovery.

Much more here. (Tragedy of the Six Maries)

And from the above link, two videos of that Zimbabwean, Cleophas aka "Black Heung-jin Nim", after parting with the Moons. He shares his version of events from 50:00 in the first video and claims it was all Moon's idea and shares knowledge of Moon's many affairs - although given the power differential between a "Messiah" and a young female follower, I don't think "affair" is the right word. And I have no idea if Heung-jin was a violent boy, but there are a lot of accusations that Black Heung-jin was.

Part 1: https://vimeo.com/39941021

Part 2: https://vimeo.com/39949809

Aug. 27, 2025: The Korean Crisis Of Freedom & Democracy (Newt Gingrich For the UC-Owned Washington Times)

Note 1: A subscription is needed to read that, but the the UC-Owned Segye News has it available here.
Note 2: Newt fails to mention the Unification Church is at the center of this "recent all-out assault on religious liberty".

QuoteWhat I did not foresee was how radical the new government would be in going after its political opponents and advocates of religious liberty. The recent all-out assault on political and religious liberty has been breathtaking. Major conservative and religious leaders have had their houses and offices raided on a gigantic scale.

Sept. 5: Pompeo, Gingrich Denounce Korean Special Counsel's Plan to Summon Unification Church Head (Korea JoongAng Daily)

QuoteNewt Gingrich, former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and considered by some to be a "mentor" of Trump, also criticized the Lee Jae Myung administration in an Aug. 27 opinion piece in the Washington Times. He accused the Korean government of an "all-out assault on political and religious liberty" that has been "breathtaking." Both Pompeo and Gingrich have ties to Unification Church–affiliated events.

Note: Link to post. It's interesting he doesn't mention the Unification Church/Moonies/The Family Federation thing - again. I am sure that was not accidental. Who not deeply familiar with the UC would recognize her name?

Reminder: Time Magazine reported in April 2024 that Trump was paid $2.5 million by the UC.

Sept. 10: Trump's Spiritual Advisor, Paula White, Praises Moonies Cult Leader: 'I Believe In Your Calling'(Protesia)

Sept. 10: Far-Right Figures Are Gaining Influence, & Bending Trump's Ear on Korea (Hankyoreh)

Sept. 18: Gingrich Condemns Lee Jae-myung Government's Religious Suppression (The Chosun Daily)

QuoteNewt Gingrich, former U.S. Speaker of the House, criticized, "The new left-wing government in South Korea is attacking various religions, but it seems to have a mad intention to destroy Mother Moon ...

In a Washington Times column on the 27th of last month, Gingrich referenced large-scale raids on conservative and church leaders in South Korea, stating, "The Lee Jae-myung government's recent full-scale suppression of politics and religion is suffocating," and, "I did not expect the new government to be so radical in suppressing political opponents and advocates of religious freedom."

Note: He called her "Mother Moon"? Good god, why? I don't recall anyone who isn't a member refering to her as that. Facebook direct link and screenshot:



Sept. 22: Newt Gingrich: This Country is Sliding into a Pro-Chinese, Communist Dictatorship (Fox News)


Lots to unpack in that. And this time Newt names neither Hak Ja-han or the name of her "church". Perhaps he couldn't call her "Mother" without sounding nuts?

QuoteThe leader of one of the churches is an 83 year old women who they have locked up in a way that resembels North Korea or communist China