Apollo Olive Oil sales benefit The Fellowship of Friends

Fellowship of Friends members and Apollo Olive Oil  principals.
Apollo's olive orchards are atop the mountain in the  background,
 on Fellowship of Friends property. Photo from Sierra Culture

[ed. - Robert Burton inculcated in his followers a disregard for "life people" (non-members) whom he regarded as mere "sleeping machines." Burton has often stated that he is above man-made laws and this attitude manifests itself in a disrespect for society's rules, attempts to avoid compliance, misrepresentation, and outright dishonesty in dealings with the world outside Apollo. Burton has in the past instructed members to walk away from debts and commitments, especially in the face of calamities he prophesied (such as a 1984 depression, the 1998 Fall of California and 2006 Armageddon.)

The "errors of omission" in promoting Apollo Olive Oil appear to be an example of this culture of dishonesty.

A brochure from the Fellowship's Renaissance Vineyard and Winery, which also promotes Apollo Olive Oil, states: "Apollo Olive Oil grows their organic olives on the vineyard slopes that are best known for the award-winning Renaissance Wines." 

This January 2004 Appeal-Democrat article  fails to mention that most Apollo "growers and processors" are Fellowship members, and that trees are on both private and Fellowship-owned parcels.

This February 2010 Appeal-Democrat article, authored by Salim Ben-Mami, also a Fellowship member, conveniently avoids mention of Robert Burton and the Fellowship.

April 2014: Filmed on location at The Fellowship of Friends Apollo compound: Apollo Olive Oil, Pt. 1, Apollo Olive Oil, Pt. 2, Apollo Olive Oil, Pt. 3.]


"Tim Campion" posted on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, December 2, 2011:

[Responding to] Page 115, Post 98 – Shirley

Regarding Apollo Olive Oil:

From the Yuba-Sutter Wiki article on Fellowship of Friends [ed. - bolds are mine]:

Apollo Olive Oil, which is also headquartered in Oregon House, states, “While some of the Apollo Olive Oil owners may be members, there is no connection” between Apollo Olive Oil and Fellowship of Friends.

All the Apollo Olive Oil employees mentioned on their website appear to be current [Fellowship of Friends] members. We can assume these members pay a tithe [minimum 10%, but more likely over 20% of gross income] to (or perhaps barter with) the Fellowship of Friends. Aren’t some (or all?) of the olive orchards on “church property”? If the land is leased, doesn’t the Fellowship benefit?

Reportedly, Fellowship labor has been used for Apollo Olive Oil operations. No connection? Wouldn’t that be somewhat untruthful? [ed. - Oh, and by the way, the Fellowship of Friends calls its Oregon House property "Apollo". Merely coincidence?]

For anyone inclined to encourage their local Apollo Olive Oil buyers to question the source of that oil:

Store accounts

Restaurant accounts

"veramente" posted on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, December 22, 2011:

"Tim Campion" commented on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, December 23, 2011:

42. veramente [post number and blogger]

Thanks for posting the Apollo Olive Oil video. Clearly, there’s no connection between A.O.O. and the Fellowship of Friends – even though the olive groves shown are on top of Dixon Hill (Fellowship of Friends property.) And aren’t they processing those olives inside the Fellowship’s winery? Sure looks like it to me!

"Tim Campion" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, December 17, 2011:

Submitted today:

TO: Mr. Tom Mueller, author of Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil

Dear Mr. Mueller,

I have enjoyed hearing your recent interviews on WHYY’s “Fresh Air” and on APM’s “Marketplace”.

I write this with some hesitancy, as I am loathe to condemn a product with a fine reputation. However, you should know that one of the acclaimed olive oils from California is indeed intimately connected with a cult of dubious moral standing.

The Fellowship of Friends, an authoritarian cult, began the undertaking that would become “Apollo Olive Oil”. The Fellowship of Friends headquarters in Oregon House, CA is called Apollo, and all personnel listed on Apollo Olive Oil’s website are (or were until recently) members of the cult. (Stephen [sic] Dambeck has in fact been a Fellowship of Friends officer and minister.)

[ed. - Here Steven Dambeck performs a wedding at Apollo.]

According to accounts (please see the below websites for further discussion), the leader of the Fellowship of Friends, Robert Earl Burton has been charged on a number of occasions with sexual abuse, and at least in one instance, the alleged abuse involved a minor. I can speak with some authority about the nature of the cult and the leader’s abuses, as I was a member for thirteen years.

I was their Purchasing Manager, and went on to become Purchasing Manager for Chateau St. Jean Vineyards and Winery and subsequently Director of Corporate Purchasing for the Robert Mondavi Corporation. (My profile is on LinkedIn.)

As my career in purchasing developed, business ethics became a paramount concern. It was essential that I develop an understanding of those with whom I dealt and hold both myself and them to the highest ethical standards. Only then could I endorse a supplier or product, and encourage others to trust them.

Apollo Olive Oil is using the occasion of your new book release to promote their own products, and at the same time deny any connection with the Fellowship of Friends, which has been recognized as an inconvenient liability in the marketplace.

In the spirit of your investigation into corruption in the olive oil industry, if the occasion should arise for you to endorse, or otherwise speak favorably of Apollo Olive Oil, I hope that you will have first done some research into their story, and have asked the difficult questions about their true affiliations, exact location of their orchards, source of their labor, organizations which they support, etc.

Thank you for your attention.

Tim Campion
Santa Rosa, CA

Further Reading:

Robert Earl Burton: An Unauthorized Blogography

Fellowship of Friends Discussion

"For the record" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, November 8, 2011:

There are hundreds of olive trees on the fof [Fellowship of Friends] estate — assuming they haven’t been cut down for firewood. And presumably Apollo Olive Oil harvests from those trees. And then it makes you wonder if “salaried” labor is doing the picking, and if they are the ones caring for those trees.

So again, just asking: Does the FOF receive money for the harvest? Is free olive oil provided for Burton’s dinners? Does a percentage of proceeds from the sales go to the FOF?

I appreciate the labor of love involved (it’s an excellent product).

But even if the money is relatively small, it’s just something to think about. I sometimes thought my teaching payments were fairly small, too, until I gained a better understanding of what they were paying for…

"For the record" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, November 9, 2011:

63. Tempus Fugit [blog post number and blogger]:

“Of course buying olive oil . . . provides direct support to all of Burton’s activities. Vote with your money.”

There’s plenty of quality olive oil to be found everywhere — I’ve never even considered buying the “Apollo” brand. But while you and I are voting “No” with our wallets, hundreds of people are buying this olive oil from store shelves without realizing that they are voting “Yes.” There’s no transparency about who is running the operation, and where the money is going from revenues. If most people knew, they would vote “No” as well. But they don’t know.

So my questions are: Is the money significant? Or is it providing little or no support to Burton? I haven’t heard any details about this operation regarding how much money it makes and whether it’s funding Burton. If it IS funding Burton’s activities in significant amounts, or if it has that potential, then this is something that we should share with the public more directly. That was the spirit of my questions earlier.

"Ames Gilbert" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, August 27, 2009:

Dr Pangloss (# 80-85) [blogger, blog page and post],

Steven Dambeck helped found Apollo Olive Oil. He and the other owners/managers offer brief biographies under the “Our Story” tab on the main page of their website. The list on that page includes Gianni Stefanini, Diana Stefanini (used to be married to Karl Werner, the FoF/Renaissance Vineyards and Winery winemaster, and herself the successor to Karl as winemaster for a time), Pablo Voitzuk, Andreas Ponoysyan, Juan Jose Domingo, and Steve McCulley. As far as I know, they are all members of the Fellowship of Friends.

They sell their oil at about $20 for 375ml (about 12 ½ oz), and also sell the mozarella cheese from the famous water buffalo herd at a similarly upscale price. They claim the oil is organic and extra-virgin (but I’d bear in mind the idea of “intentional insincerity” as it pertains to ‘life people’). I have no idea if part of his crop comes from trees on the FoF property planted on Burton’s orders, but if it does, that raises the question of inurement.

I remember Steven Dambeck up on the stage leading a meeting a few weeks after Richard Buzbee’s letter was distributed in 1994. That was the letter telling of his sexual encounter with Burton, and detailing how he’d just found out that Burton had been having sex with his son Troy from a young age. Steven Dambeck, Wayne Mott, Gunter Weninger and others on stage all admitted that they had had sex with Burton, and proceeded to tell us that what a great thing it was for them and their ‘evolution’. Maybe it was, how would I know? What I do know is that it was a major distraction from what many in the audience wanted to discuss, which was, how can a relationship between a ‘teacher’ and a ‘student’ possibly be considered consensual when Burton has all the power and his ‘partners’ are relatively powerless? All the questions along these lines were ignored or marked as ‘negative’ in some way, and Dambeck just kept on asking for questions until he found ones that suited his purposes. He was hunting for questions about morality, with special emphasis on the inapplicability of ‘life’ morality to these situations. There were also plenty of appeals for us to respect Burton’s private life, claims that his private life should be of no concern to us, and so on.

Around that time (1994), I also heard that Dambeck had stated that he would be willing to kill for Burton. I thought that unlikely, and also heard that he vehemently denied it, so that’s what I used to say when the subject came up. Since then, however, I have spoken to two people who swear that they heard him say those words, and they seem very sincere. So, without putting everyone concerned through a polygraph, we may never know for sure if he said that, and if so, if he meant it.

"Richard M." wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, July 6, 2008:

32. steve lang [blog post and blogger]

“Speaking of olive oil, I don’t know how it is now, but when Steven first opened his oil business, he was using unpaid help (I was one of them) to pick his harvest from the trees that were located on Fellowship property. How did he manage to use Fellowship property to make a private profit?”

Here is an interesting quote from the Apollo Olive Oil web site (capital letters added by me for emphasis):

Steven planted HIS first 600 olive trees in 1979, on steep slopes adjacent to HIS fruit orchard. And, after traveling extensively through the Mediterranean during the 1980’s, he knew he wanted to make olive oil.

So every FOF member who contributed their personal time laboring in the orchard/olive grove at Apollo since 1979, thinking they were working for THEIR church’s orchard and olive grove, were apparently working free for Mr. Dumb**k and HIS for-profit olive oil company. Guess who paid for his extensive travel through the Mediterranean during the 1980s. This certainly poses legal and, at least, ethical questions about personal inurement from a non-profit organization. By the way, if any olive oilers are reading this, the use of “1980′s” in your text is a grammatical error.

"Associated Press" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, July 7, 2008:

35. steve lang [blog post and blogger] – July 6, 2008:

How did he [Steven D*mb*ck] manage to use Fellowship property to make a private profit?

Answer: Private inurement. According to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service: ‘Churches and religious organizations, like all exempt organizations under IRC [Internal Revenue Code] section 501(c)(3), are prohibited from engaging in activities that result in inurement of the church’s or organization’s income or assets to insiders (i.e., persons having a personal and private interest in the activities of the organization). Insiders could include the minister, church board members, officers, and in certain circumstances, employees. Examples of prohibited inurement include the payment of dividends, the payment of unreasonable compensation to insiders, and transferring property to insiders for less than fair market value. The prohibition against inurement to insiders is absolute; therefore, any amount of inurement is, potentially, grounds for loss of tax-exempt status.’ [Steven D*mb*ck possibly is, or possibly was, a minister of the Fellowship of Friends church. Steven D*mb*ck possibly was the recipient of the gift of real property from the assets of the Fellowship of Friends church. That would be the property where his home now stands. Steven D*mb*ck, according to Elena in her recent account above, possibly claims to own property that belongs to an homeowners' association and is owned as 'community property.' Steven D*mb*ck possibly is, or possibly was, the recipient of favourable, no-bid, business arrangements with the Fellowship of Friends church (likely directed by the head hauncho himself). The Ap*ll* Ol*v* O*l company may be likewise favourably treated. Benefits may extend beyond just the olives - i.e. to other agricultural areas and materials. Steven D*mb*ck possibly is 'person having a personal and private interest in the activities of the organization.' The practices of Steven D*mb*ck and Ap*ll* Ol*v* O*l may be worthy of investigation for exploitation of workers (both legal and illegal workers, as well as possibly using Fellowship of Friends' religious workers for the benefit of these private interests; both in the past and possibly now.] ‘An IRC section 501(c)(3) organization’s activities must be directed exclusively toward charitable, educational, religious, or other exempt purposes. Such an organization’s activities may not serve the private interests of any individual or organization. Rather, beneficiaries of an organization’s activities must be recognized objects of charity (such as the poor or the distressed) or the community at large (for example, through the conduct of religious services or the promotion of religion). Private benefit is different from inurement to insiders. Private benefit may occur even if the persons benefited are not insiders. Also, private benefit must be substantial in order to jeopardize tax-exempt status.’ [Perhaps Steven D*mb*ck is a charity case. But to single one out in that manner may constitute 'private benefit.' And, likely, 'substantial' at that.] - – - – - - To all: The lessons of love taught by the Fellowship of Friends are primarily ‘tough love.’ That is what abusers primarily understand and that is why they deliver it upon others.

"Rear View Mirror" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, March 16, 2008 at 9:10 p.m.:

CVB [blogger]: “Fellowship is unable to pay the insurance on at least some of it’s vehicles. They can no longer be driven off the property.”

LOL. I didn’t realize RVW/FOF [Renaissance Vineyard and Winery/Fellowship of Friends] actually cared about insurance and vehicle safety, etc. Maybe a few bad experiences over the years have changed their thinking.

Thanks for that report. Some of the more devoted followers with larger bank accounts must be keeping the ship afloat?

By the way, for those who don’t know… Apollo Olive Oil is intimately affiliated with the Fellowship of Friends. It’s interesting that the company takes great pains to distance itself from the cult.

Unless I missed an obscure reference buried somewhere within their pages, there’s not one mention of the FOF on their website.

And here’s some irony: At the very top of their home page, they link a New Yorker article about fraud in the olive oil business. I’m not sure what they’re suggesting… that somehow Apollo Olive Oil and the Fellowship of Friends are above fraud?

http://apollooliveoil.com/

"Rear View Mirror" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, March 16, 2008 at 9:15 p.m.:

Here’s the text of the link and the link itself:

“Recent article in the New Yorker exposes fraud in the Italian olive oil business. ‘Fraud is so widespread that few growers can make an honest living,’ one expert says.”

Unbelievable. “Make an honest living,” is not a phrase you’d expect on any website affiliated with the Fellowship of Friends.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/13/070813fa_fact_mueller

"Vena" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, March 17, 2008 at 4:03 a.m.:

Rear View Mirror [responding to blogger above]:

I was told about a food co-op in Oregon that became aware of the connection between Apollo Olive Oil and the Fellowship of Friends. They were disgusted by the story and said they would not be ordering anymore.

"Rear View Mirror" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, March 17, 2008 at 4:18 p.m.:

Vena (509)[blogger and blog post number], That’s good news. I’m glad the Oregon co-op became aware of it.

Just a suggestion for those who happen to notice Apollo Olive Oil on the shelves… Many store owners may appreciate hearing the truth about it. 

==============

Regarding Apollo Olive Oil’s home page announcement that fraud is running rampant in the Italian olive oil business… I have just one word:

hypocrite

Main Entry: hyp·o·crite
Pronunciation: \ˈhi-pə-ˌkrit\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English ypocrite, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin hypocrita, from Greek hypokritēs actor, hypocrite, from hypokrinesthai
Date: 13th century

1 : a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion
2 : a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings

Ok, more than one word. I do have a friendly note to our olive oil enthusiasts, many of whom I know from many years ago, and still love…

I also was a hypocrite. I also was mired in an illusion. I also believed it, and then later saw myself believing a lie.

What will it take for you?

"KA" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, July 6, 2007 at 3:05 a.m.:

 [Quoting a blogger:]

Let Apollo Arts become self sufficient. Let Apollo Olive Oil, the orchard, the reduced vineyard….

Hi Sharon and all,

Actually these are private enterprises. The olive oil and organic cherry orchards are very successful– I would guess because the products are *wonderful* and are smartly marketed. I think a lease is paid to the fof [Fellowship of Friends] for the space to grow/make the products. (Has everyone tasted the olive oil? I am in awe. Finally, a good product from that landscape that has a taste that reflects the good parts.)

Current members are not dummies. Some of us (current and former) have never fit in completely, but that does not mean that we can’t find a niche. That is what California was invented for. (well, maybe the whole west coast…)

"Tim Campion" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, February 19, 2014:

Apollo Olive Oil is prominently featured in this photo from an Associated Press article published nationally yesterday. Unfortunately, organizations such as All Things Olive, the American Olive Oil Producers Association, and the California Olive Oil Council unwittingly serve Robert Burton’s Fellowship of Friends by promoting the cult’s products.

Elena's criticism of this blog

[ed. - On her blog, The Public Square, Elena published the following commentary concerning this blog.]

The new blog and it's shortsightedness

Elena: It's funny or at least ironic how people manipulate history to make it look the way they would have liked it to be!

There are so many important issues missing in this blog, one would have to think of it as shortsighted as the Fellowship cult is about life.

[ed. - While it is difficult to respond to charges of historical manipulation (the very act of selecting material is an unavoidable manipulation), it should be obvious this blog offers a very incomplete sketch of the Fellowship of Friends and Robert Earl Burton. The Fellowship's own promotional material adequately presents the organization and its leader in a beneficent light. This blog's purpose is to help illuminate the darker, suppressed aspects of the cult. To do so, it relies almost entirely on testimonies published in "the public square". But many important issues are not openly discussed, and most individuals with first hand knowledge of these topics (especially former Fellowship officers, ministers, aides to Robert Burton, and Burton's victims) are, for personal reasons, reluctant to speak out. Until they do, this blog will only offer a suggestion of what lies hidden.]

On Robert Burton's grooming of young men

Robert Burton with one of his conquests

[ed. - Robert Burton no doubt considers the biblical Commandments "quaint". According to his rules, coveting another's husband is fair game. Like many Fellowship of Friends wives and girlfriends "sea" got much more than she bargained for when she entered a relationship and marriage with a handsome young man. She would have to compete with Robert's insatiable lust.]

"sea" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, April 29, 2008 at 8:44 p.m.:

Robert Burton uses manipulation. Over time his followers are groomed for this experience: he continually tells them that their lower selves will resist any thing that will bring them closer to awakening, he plies the males with luxury and ‘beauty’ has them floating in an unreal bubble, in which conscience and personal integrity are gradually dissolved and rejected as ‘feminine dominance’.

Women are groomed to allow their husbands to comply.

Eventually Robert pounces. If the follower rejects him he will threaten them with having to work out doors in the serf roles that those he is not having ‘sex’ with generally perform. Or he will tell them that they have to return to their home-lands which are often impoverished. He is prone to extreme jealousy and has been known to banish current ‘sexual’ partners simply for falling in love. He railed at my dear friend his most devoted and loyal follower for half an hour with out stopping and then banished her from his sight at events.

The sexual activity has been very unpleasant for most males that I have spoken with. The ‘loving’ experience is a myth. I did once meet a follower who applauded the experience briefly; but he suffered years of disgust and despair afterwards. The degradation is very difficult to absorb. You make excuses for it: it is so weird and ugly and cold and bewildering, and you are so desperate to believe that Robert holds the key to your higher centres that you re-describe what is happening to you in terms which make it bearable.

I know one follower who has been close to Robert for years, and who says that Robert is very ‘gentle’. But he has to do this… saying anything else would mean facing the full tragedy of his situation, facing himself.

One of the characteristics that enables Robert is that he does not mind if his boys absolutely hate the experience, as long as they comply. They have asked him about this but he somehow shakes their questions off. He sometimes makes their orifices bruised swollen and bleeding and mildly insists that they are being forced to let go of their lower selves. He tells them that it’s only their bodies, their ‘King of Clubses’ that reject it.

In the beginning Robert also manipulated his female followers in to having sex… there is testimony about this on the esoteric archives. It was disturbing reading: he had no interest what so ever in their pleasure. [ed. - see Bonita Hightower's "History of the Fellowship of Friends"]

I do not judge the students who submit to this: I know that they comply because their hope and longing is so desperate. I am so sad though that this ghoul has exploited (and necessarily obstructed) their search.

The sick reality only began to press against the boundaries of my bubble when Robert told a follower that he did not enjoy the teaching events and meetings, the follower had to press him to continue, reminding him of the money they made; so Robert did continue but reluctantly, saying “I only do it for you boys…”

"brucelevy" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, April 29, 2008 at 8:52 p.m.:

295 sea [blog post and blogger]

I didn’t know RB before 1974. He told me he had sex with one woman in his life (and he didn’t like it), so I don’t know about it being more than once (I read the excerpt so I don’t know if that’s the woman).

But yes, he has a whole list of standard arguments that eventually work. Think about this, other than males with ambiguous sexuality (whether they know it or not) do you think RB gets to fuck with straight men because he’s attractive, intelligent, disarming, pitiable? It’s pure psychological and spiritual manipulation of a psychopath.

"brucelevy" added:

296 brucelevy

Have to add a caveat:

The boys are also either naive idiots, or whores for power, greed, attention and the benefits of access. We’ve all been one or the other, sometimes both. That part is our responsibility to a greater or lesser extent. But the crime is still the crime.

"somebody" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, April 29, 2008 at 9:07 p.m.:

296 Can you say more about males with ambiguous sexuality? What do you mean?

Also, how can a person be so stuck in sex? Is it all Robert thinks about – his boys and “techniques” day after day?

"brucelevy" responded:

298 somebody

No it’s not the only thing he thinks about. The other two are money and bright shiny objects.

Ambiguous sexuality…meaning people who don’t know that they are inclined to gay or bisexual sexuality. One joins under the self misguided, or outer misguided (like parent’s wishes) assumption that they’re straight and find a convenient excuse to go the other way. I don’t think that specifically is bad. It’s better for one’s happiness to find out. But to call it something else is being dishonest with one’s self.

"somebody" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, April 29, 2008 at 9:29 p.m.:

295 sea

Thank you!

In the documentary I saw a few days ago “Inside the Cult” one thing made me particularly sensitive. When the secretary of the cult leader told that the “God made this horrible thing – he FORCED Michael to sleep with my wife” It was so touching to see a man refusing to see the truth. One can only imagine that if something would destroy this buffer in him that his wife and his teacher were ‘forced’ against their will into an intercourse – he would probably kill them both!

But with RB’s boys it is not so obvious. So many times I heard “they like it, many of them are bisexual, or have extra sex energy, they would not do it if they did not want to, it improved them as men, nobody forces them!” And of coarse the guys themselves look happy, excited, on the mission and – well dressed… I know a few ‘boys’ who preferred relationship with Robert and left their wives and children to be with the teacher and to travel with him.

And at the end people get tired to worry about those strange guys, and focus on the rose garden. Or the sequence.

"Anna" ("sea") wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, April 29, 2008 at 9:30 p.m.:

M and D get such bad press

In my experience they are very sincere seekers. They are also smart. M was horrified to discover about Robert Burton’s proclivities and he almost left the school. But he also felt that there was something ‘wrong’ with himself; Robert exploited this vulnerability by telling him again and again that his King of Clubs was holding him back, whilst simultaneously wooing him with wealth and compliments. The grooming took two years, and then Robert demurely led his conquest into the bedchamber.

I think that M’s disgust at the sex was part of the key to his compliance. The experience was so bizarre so ‘illogical’ so unknown… that he persuaded himself that it could be the product of something ‘other’. Having submitted he literally prayed that it was consciousness.

It was a relief for him that his equally logical friend D was drawn into the web: it must have bolstered his hope that ‘there was something to it’. He has continued supporting it, I suspect, because the more other people that comply, surely, the more ‘right’ it must be…

M has lied brutally to females in order to satisfy his personal whims; however he is most definitely under the influence of that shimmering and morality-free ‘bubble’ in which the inner circle are enclosed.

And he’s not a sneak; he doesn’t report on Fence-sitters. Nor is he a jelly brain he will give you a rigorous debate about his doubts and yours… he’s discretely and honestly curious.

Like us he is most definitely a product of the Fellowship of Friends: A cult for (relative)intellectuals.

"brucelevy" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, April 29, 2008 at 9:40 p.m.:

301 somebody

“I know a few ‘boys’ who preferred relationship with Robert and left their wives and children to be with the teacher and to travel with him”.

He frequently creates situations where one is forced to decide between their wives and toys, travel and access. Some people willingly or unwillingly succumb to being smacked on the nose with a rolled newspaper while hearing “put out or get out”. Or “Your marriage is interfering with the desire of higher forces to have me work with you more closely goodness”.

"Sea" ("Anna") wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, April 29, 2008 at 9:43 p.m.:

Bruce,

I have heard two other versions of ‘the truth’ from different boys: Robert Burton was married to a student who was actually in the school in the 1990′s; He had a girlfriend, who he left and who then committed suicide. He seems to tell different things to different people.

I suspect that he may actually thrive on the fact that the boys don’t like it. And that his choice is less to do with homo-sexuality and more to do with the depth of his manipulation; seeing how far he can push, and then how much further: in other words with his psychopathy…

"brucelevy" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, April 29, 2008 at 9:45 p.m.:

Conscience does not exist at the top of the FOF hierarchy. There may have been a spark, but it’s put out by one’s weaknesses (greed, power,lust, avarice and vanity). Once it’s gone, there’s no limit to the shit one will do to others, regardless of how altruistic they once were. Reinforcing and promoting the status quo is as criminal as the original crime.

"brucelevy" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, April 29, 2008 at 9:51 p.m.:

304 Sea

You’re right about his ever changing stories, but in my experience the stories you related are pure bull shit, probably to reinforce the idea that he’s not REALLY gay, he’s just an angel or princess trapped in a male body.

As far as him liking it because the boys don’t like it, I think it’s more that he just doesn’t give a shit. He’s a sociopath. This kind of self reflection, even unconsciously, just doesn’t exist in these people. Like him dismissing valid questions…it doesn’t matter, so it won’t be dealt with. I wouldn’t attribute any kind of “external consideration” or normal human elements to this pariah.

"Anna" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, April 29, 2008 at 9:56 p.m.:

301 Somebody

“I know a few ‘boys’ who preferred relationship with Robert and left their wives and children to be with the teacher and to travel with him”.

303 Bruce

Also as wife, you DO become ‘a pain’ you are nervous agitated and afraid. You cannot sooth him when he comes home, there’s no bubble, especially if you have a child.

Actually you are the one who needs the support; his dim conscience may recognise this but in his by now distorted perception he may reconfigure this as a ‘demand’.

Also Robert Burton has informed all followers that Women are a denying force to Men, and that children are a denying force to women…

And that women represent the queen of hearts etc etc.

"brucelevy" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, April 29, 2008 at 10:06 p.m.:

307 Anna

Need one say more?

"somebody" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, April 29, 2008 at 11:37 p.m.:

307 Anna

I appreciate your truthful letter and your postings. Why do you think Robert wanted you to come to Isis? If he is so jealous of his boys – why would he invite such a beautiful woman any near?

"Rear View Mirror" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, April 30, 2008 at 4:01 a.m.:

Another Name: “GRRRRRRRRRRR”

Well, if it makes you feel any better, the women of the fof were by far more interesting to me than anything Robert had to offer. :) And I’m sure I speak for many other men.

Robert didn’t succeed in all of his of his manipulations, and I’m sure he still doesn’t succeed in all of them. And I’m sure this is a constant source of frustration for him. One hundred thousand orgies with 20-year-old men would not soothe his frustrations. This is his curse, and one of the reasons that he doesn’t let up.

"Just Another Voice Out Here" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, April 30, 2008 at 8:25 p.m.:

on [the expression] “Robert has asked”

Do you remember what the Wizard of Oz says when he dismisses Dorothy and the others after their first audience with him? Not “Goodbye,” not “Remember what I’ve told you,” but “The Great Oz has spoken!”

“Does anyone have any suggestions for addressing the question of Robert’s GREED and LUST to current members in a way that it could be heard and acknowledged?”

Kill one man and you are an assassin. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill everyone, and you are a god. ~ Beilby Porteus

People are offended by the small acts of greed and lust they see others commit in their daily lives, and (occasionally) are shamed by those they observe in themselves. But when they see greed and lust on an enormous scale, they view it as something else entirely, and even as its opposite. RB knows this and uses it intentionally.

People join the Fellowship because they want something they imagine they don’t possess–call it consciousness, awakening, salvation, purity, whatever. That creates from the outset a problem that becomes obvious only in retrospect. Then they imbue the Dear Leader with magical powers because they want so badly to believe that he can give them that which they believe they lack–which only a magician could possibly do. From then on, they do not interpret his words and behavior as those of a mere mortal, with the same implications, but as those of a god, with whatever implications he ascribes to them.

In RB’s case, he even said, many, many years ago, that his chief feature was greed, but people choose to see his greed as something other than greed.

How to persuade someone that a person is greedy when they have already seen, over a period of years, that person do everything possible to surround himself with every imaginable form of material object and bauble, stuff his gullet with food and drink like Henry VIII, collect inordinate sums of money for every imaginable service, no matter how trivial, and generally act in a way that would cause any rational person immediately to roll their eyes in disgust at his absurd greed?

How to persuade someone that a person is filled with lust after they already know he cannot stop himself from having his every orifice rubbed every few hours? When they already know he is obsessed with trolling the world for new meat?

RB brags about his lust–that it cannot be satisfied by dozens of boys. He makes his inadequacy into its opposite, calls it “heroic.” And people believe him, because the alternative is too painful for them.

People who will pay large sums of money to dress up in clothes they cannot afford to sit slack-jawed while a simple-minded man mumbles incoherently about the esoteric significance of the number of toes on a puti are really not capable of processing information in a rational manner–they want that Something they believe they lack, and they will believe anything rather than accept that they already have it, or that Big Daddy cannot give them anything of real value.

I know because I was there.

Something I remember was when I looked in RB’s medicine cabinet and noticed that he had new containers of toiletries–deodorant, cologne, toothpaste–stacked one behind the other, three or four deep, so that as soon as one had been used up, there was another right there, ready to be opened, and he wouldn’t have to take the trouble to walk to the store, or even ask someone else to bring him a new tube of toothpaste. It was a small thing, but the impression of greed somehow impressed me more than all of the fancy cars, fancy furniture, wasted food, etc., I already saw everywhere around me.

"Anna" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, April 30, 2008 at 8:40 p.m.:

Somebody (342)

A couple of Robert Burtons’s insightful photographs:

here’s one he gave me, via of course a boy follower, was “Robert sends you his love and wishes you to know that he’s noticed you’ve put on weight”.

The first challenge of course was to turn this in to something ‘esoteric’ I spent about a year on that.

~

Oh yes… he asked my husband to “only wear black underpants from now on.”

~

Of the fifteen thousand students who have left the school quite a number have already described their experience on the blog. Many had been in ‘denial’ about it for years. You would get statistically more accurate descriptions from here. It is terribly difficult to confront the awareness that you have participated in something degrading…

One of my ex-husbands told me that he loathed it. He said it was totally unemotional and unpleasant. That Robert would just wait there for him with the lower half of his face covered with KY. He could not even arouse himself by closing his eyes and imagining women, so Robert insisted that he took Viagra.

Around Robert you enter this strange world in which heartfelt reposes become very confused. Disgust is translated into ‘third state’ It is very difficult to admit that you are disappointed, or repelled especially when you have sacrificed so much, dignity, your family’s happiness, and ultimately perhaps your soul…

How many ‘events’ have you paid dearly for and then nothing really happens; you don’t have the fourth states and verifications you have craved. So what do you say when asked “how was it?” How do you elaborate…

"Bares Reposting" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, August 13, 2011:

Look, my friends, here is the scenario:

REB lives under his own different laws. There is no male child that REB lays eyes on that does not fall under his spell to groom and have sex with as soon as they are capable of ejaculating into REB’s mouth. Does it happen at a very early age? That is anybody’s quess. (Someone care to fess up here?) But this I can tell you: There are many parents that have precautionarily kept their male children at a distance, and out of sight of, REB.

Do you remember that the Lewis Carroll Elementary School used to be on the property of the Fellowship of Friends (Pathway to Presence – Living Presence – Church of Robert Earl Burton) directly across Hans Christian Andersen Way from the residence of REB? Hans Christian Andersen Way was the name of the main entry road to the FoF property at the time, where the residence of REB was #44 – O! so make believe a fairy tale. From REB’s location, with or without binoculars, the children could be watched.

In the early 1990′s, around when AG first arrived to live longterm in Oregon House and to become the Fellowship of Friends main lawyer, there was the T.B. underaged sex abuse lawsuit brought by Ford Greene. AG was to defend REB against this case, in a ‘no holds barred’ (no maneuvers prohibited) sort of fashion.

At about the same time, there was a lawsuit that AG was working, where some fellowship members were denied access to the property where they lived by the Olivehurst Gospel Assembly (OGA), whose property the access road passed first. The direct quote from REB on how to treat this case was: ‘Go for the jugular,’ as in jugular vein, that is, go for the kill. The case was won but not without significant strife for the Fellowship of Friends and REB. OGA became a thorn in the side of FoF for awhile. But that is a side story.

T.B. did not attend that elementary school, that I am aware of; he was too old. But several departments (octaves) of the Fellowship of Friends were the grounds to employ all sorts of ‘darlings’ of REB’s so that the young men were indentured servants (slaves) and were nearby for quick access for sex. T.B. was one of those.

The message from AG to REB after the TB case was: I cannot defend you against this sort of thing. (The case was settled out of court for a reported $5 million.) So, stop doing that – make sure the sex is with adaquate aged persons and consentual. Would this stop REB? Hell no! He must have his cake and eat it, too.

The way to prevent backlashes from sex partners is to compromise their ability to attack in the TB fashion. So, grooming male children of fellowship members from the time of birth, is a way to grow your own. Example: E.T. and C.C. (an REB personal secretary) had 3 children. They were considered the ‘Royal Family’ as REB doted upon them big time. Their first born male child had REB as godfather. Ownership had been established – except for the tattoo of ‘this property belongs to REB’ on the child’s buttocks. C.C. probably, eventually woke up to where this was leading. E.T. and C.C. split from Oregon House and went to live in Europe. They gave up a new home (which was across Rice’s Crossing Road from REB’s residence) that was virtually given to them along with a life where their needs were ever met by REB. E.T., likely, still is wide-eyed and naive about this from what I know – she still loves REB like a father, god, and teacher – still in a fairyland.

So, is it plausible that AG’s son could come under such perdition? What irony would that be? Defend REB under these circumstances and then have your own flesh and blood exposed? REB can plan and conive and wait patiently for years to get what he wants. The longer he waits, the more tantalizing the prey becomes. Meanwhile, what AG wanted for his child, did that matter? REB has the magic wand in one hand and a club in the other – just like REB describes of Influence C.

"Anna" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, February 21, 2009:

Hello Yesri

Actually I don’t find the contradictions in the boys statements surprising. Common sense and a little self reflection were precisely what we were taught to avoid.

Before being drawn into Robert Burton's machinations, Tatiana’s young friend had probably been appalled at what adult life turned out to be like. He was desperate to escape it. When he found out about this phenomenon called ‘awakening’ or ‘enlightenment’ or ‘consciousness’ there was a sparkle of hope at last. If he could awaken he could escape honourably, without becoming lost in life’s corruptions.

Then he discovered the Fellowship of Friends, and he was warned that there was a price to pay for this consciousness. He trusted the Fellowship because he had for as long as he could remember been desperate to trust someone, but everyone and every thing had failed him. But this system and these students seemed so plausible, so sincere; it was easy to pin his dreams on to them. He was told that ‘awakening’ was very difficult and that the more he paid and suffered the more likely he was to achieve it.

He was told from the start that Robert Burton was conscious. He hoped desperately that this was true. He had longed for someone who he could respect and trust enough to lead him in to the light. Burton suggested to him that he was special and that he had rare potential.

Burton pampered him as he began to believe that he deserved. The boy was told that it was his ‘play’ his fate, to be part of the elite. He also learned that if he didn’t want or value the patronage of the earth’s greatest ever conscious being, he could go and work long hours in the vineyard or return penniless to Siberia. These understandings caused twinges of fear which luckily dissolved at the glorious sunny potager lunches, and other events.

Finally Robert Burton asked the boy to do something that for him was unimaginably disgusting and that would accelerate his chances proportionately; he persuaded him to do what ‘Inner circle Facts’ described on this blog [see "Inner circle facts," below].

During these hellish orgies he would sometimes experience what I have now learned is called psychosis. His consciousness would leave his body, or a strange peace would overwhelm him and transport him away from the agony that his body was experiencing. He would tell himself that these experiences were ‘higher states’.

In the wake of these nightmarish orgies, he felt again the twinges of fear and doubt. Sometimes he would even be carried away with paranoia: what if he were expelled? What about the guns people carried around here? How could he go anywhere without money and qualifications or even a visa?

But above all he WANTED to believe, he was desperate to believe that Robert and his promises were genuine. It was a belief that he was already paying for dearly… he couldn’t afford to be wrong.

When his friend Tatiana asked him about the truth of Inner Circle’s expose, he admitted that the post was about him that, that he had been
“… chosen to urinate on RB” that he had been “asked to sh…t on RB” he said “I don’t know how people write and do not afraid that they will be run over buy a bus!”

But in the light of his great hope, and of more sunny potager lunches, and the support of his plausible fellow students, often his instinctive fears and repulsions would dwindle.

I guess instinctive fears and repulsions are what balanced folk call ‘common sense’

"Anna" wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, February 21, 2009:

[Reposting from March 1, 2007, "Inner circle facts" wrote:]

Are you ready for some brutal facts?

Who would like to know how its really happening in his bad room? OK folks,fasten your sit belts,the Kansas going Bye Bye…

Did you know that usual orgies are formed from 4 to 6 student?.Usually two of them are SIMULTANEOUSLY entering Burton’s anus.Third person is laying on his back while Mr.Burton is providing him an oral sex while two from both sides are subject to the masturbation by MR.Burton with his two hands.

Some time there is one more student who’s role is to hold Burton’s testicles in his mouth during the whole time.Prior to all, by Burton’s request Viagra pills are shared and swallowed between all members of the orgy which are constantly provided by Mr.G.

Some time you can hear Burton’s words during the sexual activities “How incredible! We are getting closer,aren’t we?”

Some of them are asked to suck his nipples and his toes.All sperm gets swallowed by Mr.Burton at the end of the act.But that is not all yet.

There are two students who had the most terrifying and most humiliating role to play (in my opinion).They have to enter with their hands by their elbows into the Burton’s anus.(Looking for Consciousness perhaps)..both students are Russians.One of them had left the school and the other has been “shipped” back to Russia for disobedience.

And now get this:

Beside those depraved scenes there is another one which going to shake you all:

There is another act that Burton is preforming with a specific student of his own “inner circle”.This act of Humiliation is performed in his bath room while Burton is laying down and 3 students are urinating right on him!

And on the next morning,like nothing happened Mr.Burton is leading the meeting on Love?

How cynical indeed!