Publetariat Destroyed by a Hacker.”

Publetariat Hacked!

 Joel Friedlander stated on his blog--was shocked to receive this note from my colleague April Hamilton:

“Last week, Publetariat was named one of Writer’s Digest’s 101 Best Sites For Writers for the fourth year in a row, and this year it was also singled out as one of the “Best of the Best”.

Yesterday, Publetariat was destroyed by a hacker.”

My heart sank. As a website owner who relies on this site and other web assets for my livelihood, I was completely aghast.

Sure enough, heading over to Publetariat, April had left a “note on the door” that reads, in part:

“As a totally non-profit, volunteer-staffed site, Publetariat lacks the resources and staffing to keep recovering from these malicious attacks.

The site is currently not accessible or properly functional, though its content is still contained in the site’s database.”

April has helped thousands of indie authors get started in publishing, and was an early pioneer online. She has also reprinted and publicized my articles as well as those of numerous other bloggers in the indie field, and also provides our content to Kindle Nation Daily.

Cult preparing for the second harvest ..

Former members of the Heaven’s Gate Cult have been posting conversations about the expected second harvest of souls…. Heaven’s Gate is the cult who committed the largest mass suicide on US soil, in Rancho Santa Fe, Ca March 26, 1997, when 38 followers and their leader, DO (Marshall Applewhite) exited their vehicles (took their own lives) following what they believed to be a UFO hidden behind the Hale-Bopp Comet. 

Some may think that the group ended with the mass suicide, but this is not the case.  The cult is believed to have had more than 90 members in its 20+year existence, and several former members are leading the way for new converts, using modern day social media to spread the word.    

Former members and new recruits believe another harvest is coming—a second chance to follow their beloved elders (leaders) to the Next Level, a place above human.  There has –as yet-been no discussion about another mass suicide, only about a second chance to follow them. 

The cult’s website is still active and contains the cult’s beliefs and philosophies, along with printed materials and training videos used in the cult “classroom”.  The website is maintained by former members Dave and Sarah King.  Other former members including Stephen Sawyer openly talk about their beliefs on Blog Radio, You tube, and Facebook.

Second harvest or second suicide?  Remains to be seen. 

A biogrpahy of one former member's suicide