"King of the Ocean"
April 12, 2006 10:24 AM   Subscribe

Moonie Sushi? The Chicago Tribune reports on the Unification Church's control of True World Foods, a distributor that supplies the majority of sushi restaurants in the U.S. Also on their project list: The Washington Times, UPI, George W. Bush.
posted by Dukebloo (26 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Additionally, Moon, Enterprises owns many jewlerly stores and zillions of nail places. The nail places open up and with low prices close down competition. A percentage goes to Moon, Inc, I believe. Also own The University of Bridgeport, though they claim they only have a minor concern with it (lies: they send money, bring students, and the school run by church members)...aloso Ballet company in DC and on and on
posted by Postroad at 10:33 AM on April 12, 2006


I hear they are trying to corner the tin foil market, but they've got competition from the Scientologists.
posted by Pollomacho at 10:37 AM on April 12, 2006


If you run a newspaper that is taken seriously by other national press outlets, you really aren't that tinfoil any longer.

And the only thing that allows me to stomach TV interviews with Tony Blankley is just imagining him depositing a paycheck underwritten by a friggin cult.

But growing up and living in DC, you realize that the Moonies are not nearly as batshitinsane as they used to be. I mean, what happened to the rallies and the mass weddings and extorting Korean immigrants for half of their wages? Cults going mainstream is no fun.
posted by bardic at 10:43 AM on April 12, 2006


Moonies are Wal-Mart level Thetans.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:43 AM on April 12, 2006


Alls I can say is Holy Handkerchief!
posted by isopraxis at 10:44 AM on April 12, 2006


Has it really been 26 years since they tried to take over Gloucester, Mass.? Hmmm, they don't work all that fast, but at least they work at it.

This message brought to you by Twizzlers, the Moonie Licorice.

I am the King of Licorice!!! Obey me!!!
posted by jsavimbi at 10:51 AM on April 12, 2006


No reg. req'd version of the Trib article available here
posted by Jos Bleau at 11:01 AM on April 12, 2006


Mooney Suzuki?
posted by poppo at 11:15 AM on April 12, 2006


Incidentally(?), "King of the Ocean" is one (rough, conjectural) translation for "Genghis Khan."
posted by grobstein at 11:26 AM on April 12, 2006




[What happened to the] rallies and the mass weddings and extorting Korean immigrants for half of their wages?

The insanity has largely been moved offshore for P.R. reasons. They still hold massive rallies in various countries and Moon raves about taking over the world. But they realized it was hard on their image to recruit members in the same country where they're purchasing members of Congress.
posted by johngoren at 12:12 PM on April 12, 2006


P.S. Oh, and there is also their War On Easter.
posted by johngoren at 12:13 PM on April 12, 2006


you realize that the Moonies are not nearly as batshitinsane as they used to be

I would submit that they are every bit as batshit insane as they used to be, they've just realized that the public displays weren't achieving anything, whereas giving money to politicians is very effective.

I hear Tony Blankley every week on "Left Right & Center" (KCRW). He's very much a typical Republican party whore, who'll defend his party regardless of their actions. That he's being run by a moonie front isn't really surprising in someone so completely amoral. Money's money, it doesn't matter where it comes from.
posted by doctor_negative at 12:15 PM on April 12, 2006


For the record, most of the sushi joints in my area are owned by Koreans, even though they employ Japanese. The Koreans also own a number of Chinese restaurants.

I haven't noticed any Moonie connections.
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 12:15 PM on April 12, 2006


This is an absolutely astounding list of thousands of Moon front companies and organizations.
posted by johngoren at 12:30 PM on April 12, 2006 [1 favorite]


Interesting find johngoren - certainly a lot of companies in Uruguay - I wonder why.
posted by adamvasco at 12:57 PM on April 12, 2006


That list is making my eyes hurt, johngoren. Interesting how they appear to be focusing a lot of recruiting on African Americans lately.
And check out johngoren's awesome Moon website, Where in Washington, D.C. is Sun Myung Moon? Those coronation photos are amazing, and amazingly troubling, given the participants and location.
posted by maryh at 1:49 PM on April 12, 2006


Of course the northwest suburb Bush-endorsing trib doesnt like to rock to boat too much.

Huh? Which burbs are you talking about?
posted by Pollomacho at 2:13 PM on April 12, 2006


Did someone mention shark poaching yet? Not just high-end sushi fish they're catching in those nets.
posted by salvia at 2:17 PM on April 12, 2006


For contrast, here's a similar list of Scientology related/run businesses. They're more into health services and management groups.
posted by doctor_negative at 2:20 PM on April 12, 2006 [1 favorite]


Thanks for the link. Well, what's so amazing about the crowning event was that it managed to distract from Moon's massive funding of Christian Right causes by landing a Democrat dupe in the starring role of something that was put on largely by Republicans.

...the [Unification] church has established a network of affiliated organizations and connections in almost every conservative organization in Washington, including the Heritage Foundation, the largest of the conservative think tanks and an important source of government personnel during the Reagan administration......

The Unification Church's newfound influence has occasioned intense debate among conservatives. One group of worried young conservatives meets regularly in private to compare notes about the problem. But little of the debate has surfaced in public forums. "Most people are afraid to address the issue because they don't want to publicize the extent of the church's involvement," says Amy Moritz of the Conservative National Center for Public Policy Research.

Because almost all conservative organizations in Washington have some ties to the church, conservatives also fear repercussions if they expose the church's role.

-- John Judis, "Rev. Moon's Rising Political Influence," U.S. News & World Report, March 27, 1989

posted by johngoren at 3:08 PM on April 12, 2006 [1 favorite]


Did anyone notice this? According to johngoren's link, Wacom, manufacturer of computer pen tablets, is indirectly owned by Japanese company "Happy World, Inc.", who have (unspecified) ties to the church...
posted by xil at 4:21 PM on April 12, 2006


I heard, about a year ago, that Happy World no longer owns Wacom. It was an unsubstantiated blog post, though.
posted by zsazsa at 8:49 PM on April 12, 2006


"Tax the churches!

Tax the businesses OWNED by the churches!"

posted by darukaru at 1:02 PM on April 13, 2006


Until my dad bought one despite bitching about who owned the company I had no idea they had their hands in so much stuff.
posted by rhythim at 4:06 PM on April 13, 2006


The True Parents love Jerry Falwell.
Nuts from the same tree?
posted by nofundy at 7:35 AM on April 14, 2006


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