Affinity
The Advertiser newspaper from Australia reported on December 10th that a Scientology-affiliated dating agency is accused of defrauding clients by charging high fees without providing dating opportunities. "A West Coast farmer has spent almost $320,000 with a dating agency - without meeting one woman. The man from Cleve on the Eyre Peninsula, who does not wish to be identified, is taking legal action against Affinity Consulting International based in Queensland. It has led to the Commissioner for Consumer Affairs, Mark Bodycoat, to issue a warning when using such agencies. "The man first contacted Affinity, which has links to the Church of Scientology, in March last year. An agency employee is alleged to have told the farmer if he spent $5000 he would receive a 'basic introduction service', the court papers say. During the next three days, he paid a further $65,000 after the employee, Shannon Courtney Grant, promised him 'extra services' including that she would be his personal consultant and fly from Queensland to his home to help him produce an introduction video. "Ms Grant told the man she wanted to quit her job and move in with him but she could not cease her employment until he paid Affinity more than $250,000. He claims to have paid the company $319,890 between March 13 and June 6, of last year. He is suing the dating agency and Ms Grant in the District Court for breach of contract as well as breaching the Trade Practices Act and Fair Trading Act and is seeking unspecified damages, interest and costs. "The Office of Consumer and Business Affairs received 23 complaints last financial year concerning introduction agencies. The majority of the complaints related to the failure of agencies to provide introductions as represented in the advertisements or in the contract." Message-ID: uqsbtvgbu0k4t0ahbq03le6kr2o9l65rte@4ax.com
Unauthorized Pageant
The Village Voice on December 3rd reviewed an off-off-Broadway New York production based on the life of L. Ron Hubbard "Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant does to L. Ron Hubbard what The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui did to Adolf Hitler: It reduces him to ridiculous, contemptible proportions. By casting actors aged between eight and 12, writer Kyle Jarrow and director Alex Timbers accentuate the puerile absurdity of Scientology's tenets as well as the childlike naivete of those who believe such nonsense. Learning of Hubbard's theory about Thetan spirits banished to earth by galactic ruler Xenu, we become ever more convinced that the subject matter is perfectly suited to the realms of pre-pubescent rationality. "The use of a young cast doesn't make Scientology Pageant a one-gag play. The script punches its points home quickly. Timbers has wisely counseled the kids to avoid too much irony, aware that the material generates its own comic absurdity without nudges or winks. The children, garbed in the outer-space-alien equivalent of togas, generate a respectable ensemble chemistry. They even manage to hint at the reservoir of misery that leads people to seek solace in Scientology or other sects. Standing under umbrellas outside the theater on 42nd Street, the boys and girls, still in their togas, stare dead-eyed through a window at the audience as we hear a recording of them singing - 'Just don't ask questions, and everything is clear.'" From New York Press on December 2nd: "I was anticipating a lot of really low blows and recycled hyper-paranoid, anti-cult nonsense. I was pleasantly surprised by this show, at first. The kids are terrific and the music is good. Little Alison Stacy Klein was wonderful, with a poise and radiant talent that brilliantly illuminated her depiction of the Angelic Girl. The kid playing young Hubbard is energetic and upbeat, really fun to watch. The twins Emma and Sophie Whitfield do a very funny number as the analytical and reactive minds. They do some very funny bits centered around Ron's preference for using the initial 'L' instead of the given name Lafayette, and there's a good recurring riff on his wide variety of endeavors - 'teacher, author, explorer, atomic physicist, nautical engineer, choreographer, and horticulturalist.' "Things take a turn for the worse about midway through the production, however, when the children start reciting the same tired old anti-Scientology propaganda that's been circulating since the 1960s. There's an incredibly clumsy sequence in which the production attempts to 'reveal' the 'inner doctrine' of Scientology via a barely coherent science-fiction sketch that falls flat. So much has been written with regard to the OT III documents by people who have no understanding of them whatsoever that I am not going to add to the din by recapping any of it here. "The show stumbles badly in its presentation of Clear as a state of flattened affect. I know plenty of Clear Scientologists, and they're as capable of emotional response as anyone else. Their responses tend to be more rational than most people's, but they do indeed respond. I don't know where people get this idea that Scientology consists of some kind of loss of personhood, but it is a very traditional way of demonizing a religion. "What's most troubling about this show is the use of children in what amounts to a propaganda exercise directed against the proponents of a perfectly valid religious belief. I get the impression that Les Freres Corbusier, the creators of this extended skit, are trying to be shocking and provocative while at the same time avoiding any truly dangerous targets. Bashing Scientology is a mediocre pursuit." Message-ID: bqiq6s$22bbuv$2@ID-197010.news.uni-berlin.de Message-ID: r1ppsv40dt8aui4nu1g65aks31bfb79jt7@4ax.com
CCHR
The Chicago Tribune reported in articles on December 3rd and 9th that Scientology's Citizen's Commission on Human Rights was first denied permission to exhibit anti-Psychiatry materials in a state office building. That ruling was overturned, and the group will conduct the exhibit next month. "The Blagojevich administration Tuesday ordered the removal from the Thompson Center of a controversial exhibit ridiculing psychiatry as a wicked profession with ties to Nazi Germany after officials learned that the group that erected the display was an offshoot of the Church of Scientology. The group, which calls itself the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, agreed to dismantle the exhibit under protest only one day after it had been set up in the main atrium of the state office building in the Loop. "Officials of the agency that runs the Thompson Center said the group applied months ago to showcase the exhibit for a week in early December in connection with the anniversary of the 1948 UN Declaration of Human Rights. Michael Rumman, director of the Department of Central Management Services, said the group did not at the time reveal its links to Scientology and only declared that its exhibit would deal with the history of psychiatry 'It appears they did not adequately represent themselves when they applied,' said Rumman, who acknowledged that his agency made no effort to vet the group. 'The Illinois administrative code says that exhibits may not promote religious philosophies and this clearly does.' "Lynn Ward, local chapter leader of the Citizens Commission, acknowledged that it was founded by Scientology but was not run by the organization. 'There's nothing religious about this display,' said Ward before packing up the items. 'But because we have not disavowed any link to the Church of Scientology, they are asking us to leave. I think that's wrong.' "The display in the Thompson Center made only scant reference to the group's ties to Scientology. Its main focus was to challenge psychiatry, with materials charging that psychiatrists are 'hooking our children on drugs.' Such views are aspects of Scientology's belief structure. 'It is a cold, hard fact that psychiatry spawned the ideology which fired Hitler's mania, turned the Nazis into mass murderers and created the Holocaust,' read one panel of the museumlike display. Pamphlets making similar arguments were distributed by members of the group to passersby. "Central Management Services officials said the display was ordered removed after they received several complaints that it was spreading misinformation and violated the separation of church and state. Darrel Regier, director of research for the American Psychiatric Association, said the group's charges have no scientific basis. 'They are taking a theological position that mental disorders do not exist,' Regier said. 'I think it's not an evidence-based position, it's a faith-based position.'" "After conferring with state lawyers, the Blagojevich administration reversed itself Monday and said it no longer thought a controversial Scientology-linked exhibit blasting psychiatry promoted a religious philosophy and would therefore allow the exhibit to be displayed next month in the Thompson Center. Officials with the Department of Central Management Services said the exhibit promoted the Church of Scientology, which in 1969 founded the organization that set up the display, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights. "After reviewing the display Central Management attorneys determined the exhibit did not promote Scientology. Marla Filidei, international vice president of the Citizens Commission, said the state's flip-flop was a victory for 1st Amendment rights. 'We were prepared to go as far as need be to ensure that justice was done in this case,' she said. 'The state was very misguided in its initial decision. The exhibit is what it portrays itself to be and nothing more than that.' "The exhibit is expected to return to the Thompson Center for a week, beginning Jan. 5, Central Management spokeswoman Pam Davies said. Despite the about-face, Davies said she did not think the state's decision last week was hurried. 'We really don't think it was hasty, particularly because within hours after the exhibit went up we had an incident in which security had to be called,' Davies said. "Davies said the state plans to change procedures for future applicants who wish to rent space in state buildings by asking them to disclose any connections to religious organizations. Had that requirement been in place, she said, the Citizens Commission exhibit would have been allowed but the state would have known about the group's ties to Scientology and been able to study the display before it was erected. "Although the state will allow the group to bring the exhibit back, it is requiring the organization to pay $1,650, in addition to rental space expenses, to cover the cost of having a security guard. The state also maintains that when the Citizens Commission first sought to rent the atrium space, it did not fully disclose its affiliation to Scientology or fully describe the nature of the display. The state contends that the group described the exhibition as a 'history of psychiatry' in its application." Message-ID: s5qrsvg09mgs4hpfi4q2febqvugv66asd1@4ax.com Message-ID: 9u7dtvg8cgussi2ehd3an478f61nort4sr@4ax.com
Former Members
Gil Spencer, a columnist for the Delaware County Times reported contact from former Scientologists and others following a previous column critical of Scientology. "Astra Woodcraft grew up in the Church of Scientology and doesn't have much nice to say about it. She wrote me after reading Sunday's column about celebrity Scientologist Tom Cruise and his interview on 'Larry King Live.' 'I was raised in Scientology my entire life and was able to get out almost six years ago when I was 19,' she wrote. Both her father and mother were Scientologists. So were her grandmother, brother and sister. Today, she, her father and sister are out. The rest of the family is still in. 'They obviously are allowed no contact with us,' she says. "'I was forced to work there full-time from the age of 14 until I was 19 when I escaped. I was married off two months after my fifteenth birthday. I even attended school and used to work 80-plus hour weeks.' The same year she signed a contract promising loyalty to the Sea Org, a subgroup within the church that practices a more intense version of Scientology. 'They say you join the Sea Org for a billion years, and every time you die you get a 21-year leave of absence between lifetimes,' she told the San Francisco Chronicle in 2001. 'It's ridiculous.' "I also heard from a guy named Ken Dandar. He's the attorney from Florida who has been suing the church for more than seven years over its role in the death of Lisa McPherson. She was the church member who died while in the care of fellow Scientologists in 1996. 'I have been litigating against this UFO cult for seven years over the homicidal death of Lisa McPherson,' Dandar wrote me. 'They stop at nothing.' "But I can't believe that about Bruce Thompson. He's the spokesman for the Philadelphia branch of the church. I called him yesterday. He told me about all the great things the church does to help people - the drug counseling, the criminal counseling, the life-improvement techniques, etc. I asked him why he thought so many people had so many negative things to say about his religion. 'I would disagree that there is a lot,' he replied. 'It's really a small handful of people.' "Not so small if you check the Net. 'Anybody can put anything on the Internet,' he pointed out. But so much of this stuff first appeared in magazines like Time and Newsweek and newspapers like the New York Times. Bruce doesn't know much about the Lisa McPherson case ('I wasn't there,' he says). But he can't believe she 'wasn't treated properly' because 'it's not consistent with the way the church acts. We very much value and respect human life.' "I asked him about the billion-year contract church members sign to become Sea Orgs. He said that it shouldn't be taken literally. I asked him if he was a Sea Org. He said no. Sea Orgs have to devote themselves to the church completely. Doesn't he do that? Yes, he said, but he has a job and a life outside the church. What kind of job? I asked. 'I'm a flight attendant.' Of course he is. And in more ways than one." Message-ID: 3FCDE245.5070600@rochester.rr.com
Silent Birth
CHILD (Children's Healthcare Is a Legal Duty, Inc.) reported that Scientology has introduced a bill in the Nebraska legislature exempting Scientologists from medical screening of newborns. "Member of the Church of Scientology have gotten a bill introduced in Nebraska to allow a religious exemption from metabolic screening of newborns. It was tabled, but will probably be brought up again next year. Scientologists Ray and Louise Spiering of Wahoo, Nebraska, testified before the Unicameral's Health and Human Services Committee explaining their church's belief in 'Silent Birth,' which prohibits speaking any words to the new born or inflicting any pain before the infant is a week old. The church therefore opposes drawing the few drops of blood needed for metabolic testing during that period. "Ray Spiering testified that the brain has a primitive part called the reactive mind that is 'survival-oriented' and cannot reason. Pain activates the reactive mind to record the details of the current situation, such as smells and sounds 'and especially words themselves,' he said. Later, when an individual encounters the same sensory data or words, his primitive mind turns on its old recording and tells him to fight or flee and can make him relive the pain of an earlier experience, Spiering said. He also described how Scientology's 'dianetics' helped a person troubled by replays of early trauma. Because a newborn has been through so much pain during the birth process, Scientology believes she should not be subjected to any pain or hear any words until she is several days old. "The committee amended the bill, changing it from a carte blanche religious exemption to the following: 'A parent or guardian acting on the basis of sincerely held religious beliefs may delay the specimen collection past the period prescribed by the department. Such parent or guardian shall sign a waiver prescribed by the department and shall ensure that the specimen is collected no later than ninety-six hours from the time of birth at a birthing facility or laboratory otherwise competent to collect the specimen.' "Several psychiatrists and psychologists we contacted said they know of no scientific evidence to suggest that birth trauma or having a few drops of blood drawn has any after-effects on mental health. One pointed out that babies can hear words for many weeks before they are born. Others pointed out that scientific research indicates that talking to newborns is therapeutic. "According to R.D. Adams in Principles of Neurology, 6th ed. 93l, 'The importance of these (metabolic) diseases relates not to their frequency but to the fact that they must be recognized promptly if the infant is to be prevented from dying or from suffering a worse fate, that of lifelong severe mental deficiency. This inherent threat introduces an element of urgency into neonatal neurology.'" Message-ID: 20031207224038.12223.00000498@mb-m05.aol.com
Netherlands
Het Parool newspaper reported on December 11th that Scientology will no longer be considered as tax exempt in the Netherlands. "The Scientology Church Amsterdam can not be considered to be 'an institute for the common good' as intended in the income tax law merely because the church claims to be such an institute. Therefore, the revenue service does not have to consider payments to the sect to be tax deductible, the more because Scientology uses 'more or less commercial tariffs.' "Inspectors of the revenue service in Amsterdam refused to accept gifts as deductible, after the revenue service had researched the 'factual activities of the Scientology Church.' Even the height of the rates for courses demonstrates a commercial intent, the tax office said to Scientology: 'The rates vary from 125 guilders for a course for beginners, via rates of 6,500 guilders for advanced and finally to 9,800 guilders for courses for more advanced students. In addition, the way in which Scientology recruits students can also be considered as commercial.' "Of main importance, however was the fact that the 'intent and content' of the courses is aimed mainly at taking away 'personal problems,' and therefore 'individual' and for 'personal benefit.' 'From factual research it therefore follows that Scientology is an institute not for the common good, but serving personal benefit.' "The Scientologist involved and the Scientology church now have four weeks time to proof to the court in The Hague that the sect indeed serves the common good. Considering the reputation of the 'church' in this area, this will no doubt lead to truckloads of notarized and other official statements from Scientologists which should serve to proof that Scientology certainly is not interested in the money, but rather in the common good of all mankind. "At the moment, Scientology Netherlands has problems on many fronts. In recent months, sixty of the estimated 150 active members of the sect, with offices at Amsterdam's Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal, have turned their backs on the 'church.' They consider the sect to be too strict and far too expensive." Het Parool also reported on December 9th that Scientology in the Netherlands has been placed under control of the international organization following a large number of members leaving recently. "The international leadership of Scientology, based in Los Angeles and Copenhagen, has placed the Scientology Church Netherlands under guardianship. First victim of the intervention is the highest boss of 'the church' in the Netherlands, executive directory Maria Beekmans-Koster. She has been relieved of her position, effective immediately. The reason is the serious crisis in which the Dutch branch of Scientology has - through mismanagement - found itself. The 'believers' are leaving in droves, the church suffers big losses, and loses important legal procedures. "The new director of Scientology Nederland for now is Italian Massimo Pozzi. He comes from the sect's notorious Sea Organization. In Scientology's jargon, Koster's replacement is called a bypass. Insiders say it is 'highly unusual' that director Maria Koster has been shoved aside and has been replaced by an bunch of elites from abroad. 'It has never happened before that Sea Orgs have been ordered to Amsterdam. That can mean only one thing: that Los Angeles and Copenhagen seriously consider the possibility that they, if things continue like this, can shut down the tent in the Netherlands. "That under leadership of the Sea Orgs, a new broom is sweeping through Scientology Netherlands is immediately noticeable, sources within the church report: even on St. Nicholas-evening [Dec. 5] work had to be done in 'the Org,' the head office at the Nieuwezijds, and new members had to be recruited on the streets. 'In other words, from now on work will be done seven days a week.'" Message-ID: 0spjtvcsk3acrudgpt7e07gb6to1frtsju@4ax.com Message-ID: cbdbtvgr7m8kuukpchavsd5v9pcus2j46q@4ax.com
Keith Henson
Dave Touretzky reported this week that efforts by Scientology to foreclose on the house of Scientology critic Keith Henson in bankruptcy appear to have failed. "Henson is in bankruptcy, and Judge Whyte granted RTC an emergency extension to block the sale of Henson's and Lucas's home. This extension request was filed literally at the last minute, leaving no time for Lucas' attorney or the bankruptcy trustee to file an objection. The cult's objective was to get the house foreclosed. That way it would be sold for a pittance and there would be no money left for Henson or Lucas. But Helena Kobrin neglected to properly serve the bankruptcy trustee or Lucas' attorney. So the house got sold to a willing buyer." Message-ID: 3fc4366a$1@news2.lightlink.com
Celebrities
An article in LA Weekly on December 5th described a recruitment center in Los Angeles aimed at musicians and other performers. "I'm walking down Melrose Avenue minding my own business when a couple of well-groomed 20-somethings stop me. 'What is your goal in life?' one asks. 'Nothing,' I reply, not wanting to share my innermost desires with total strangers. The pair seem confused, as if they'd never heard this before. Even so, they must have been obligated to ask the follow-up question: 'Do you find it difficult to achieve your goal?' 'No, not really,' I answer. It dawns on me that these are not your average pollsters, but rather members of the often-maligned Church of Scientology. "I have a morbid fascination with all things Dianetic. I've seen the orientation film three times, and had them arrange a special screening for me of the rare Scientology flick, Man the Unfathomable. I've even mastered the personality tests, so much so that the person administering the exam accused me of being an undercover Scientologist sent to study her techniques. So, I don't need to be asked twice to follow them to an ultramodern, immaculate Starbucks-esque environment above Golden Apple Comics. Bookshelves carrying the numerous tomes of the mighty L. Ron line the walls. But what makes this Scientology recruitment center different from all other Scientology recruitment centers are the bongos and guitars that sit at one end of the main room. "My guide informs me that Scientology is trying to reach out to artists and musicians. Part of the strategy involves hosting open-mike nights once a week at 9 p.m. at this location. A youthful Jewel wannabe wails away on an acoustic guitar, while a ponytailed young man plays lead on an electric ax. After her number, the brunette singer-songwriter goes into VH1's Storyteller mode and introduces a tune that she has yet to name. Crispin, an extremely supportive poet with an English accent, says we will all try to think of a title while we listen to her composition. "Next, Crispin struts to the microphone with an enormous notebook full of poems. In a voice made for commercial voice-over work, he explains that his first offering was written moments after he and a female poet spent the entire evening reading their works to each other. Crispin's next poem is based on one by William Blake. He reads the Blake poem first for 'reference,' then his. "Finally, it's my turn. I play lead guitar while a man with his baby in tow works some bluesy riffs. Then, a Rasta-phony-an dude wearing a camouflage jacket with the letters H*A*S*H on it enters and says he just wants to sing some things that come off the top of his head. Marcus plays guitar, another gentleman plays a drum and I man the bongos. "As I leave, a young Scientology gal asks me if I've filled out the personality test. I tell her, 'No, I lost mine.' They want me to fill out something called the 'Public Consultation Form,' which asks such personal questions as, 'Are you currently receiving any sort of psychiatric, psychological, or mental treatment? (If Yes please specify.)' I make a hasty getaway, but plan on returning as many times as I can without filling out any surveys. What can I say? I'm addicted to Beatnik Dianetics." Message-ID: 3FD6CCD7.3F1@freeatlast.com
Protest Summary
Phil Scott reported a protest at the opening of the new Scientology org in San Francisco on November 29th. "The security was extreme, at least 20 probably more like 30 or more police and 4 or 5 cruisers parked around the event. I had called the police Friday evening informing that I would be picketing alone and was worried about assault or attempts to frame me with a weapon or some such. They told me to check in with an officer when I got there to be safe, which I did, 4 or 5 different cops and showed them that I was just carrying fliers and the sign that was it. I got a card from the Sergeant in charge. The card reads Carl T. no last name or badge number. "I handed fliers to two lady officers sitting in a squad car. Only one officer seemed to be a stick in the mud and on the Scientology side. I was not able to get close enough to hear the speakers but could see them. "The new org is in one of SF's historical buildings, white stone of some type, nice architecture 3 stories, wedge shaped. The event was on Columbus St. with a big tent on one end of Columbus and the podium near the pointy end on Columbus was blocked to all but invited guests. The police said I couldn't hand out fliers there as the entire sidewalk was rented by Scientology, but they said reluctantly that I could walk on it to get to the other end so I did that. "Total crowd was under 300 but all mostly very well dressed and professional looking. The Steven's Creek Org staff (15 or 20) arrived in a stretch limo in time to look my picket sign over from about 10' away as they each stepped out of side door. It read: 'xenu.net A Margaret Singer Memorial Picket.' The other side read: 'It's a CULT Xenu.net. I gave the sign to an OSA lady when the picket was over as a trophy. They took me to dinner. We talked for an hour about reverse processing. They declined to give me their names as we rode in their car to the restaurant me sandwiched between an OSA lady and OSA guy in the back seat. "The only lapse in generally fun and decent behavior was when KTVU FOX 2 rolled up with a camera and John Sasaki to interview me. They interviewed me on camera for about 5 minutes. One of the questions was how do I define a cult as different from a church or some such. I said a cult is after power and money and a church with some exceptions is a civic service organization. The cults handers were tying to block his filming of me with their umbrellas. He laid right into them." Jeff Jacobsen reported a brief candlelight vigil at the Mesa, Arizona org on December 5th. "I did a little 10 minute or so candlelight vigil in memory of Lisa McPherson at the local org. I held my sign with Lisa's photo, lit my candle, and thought about Lisa McPherson, her family, what happened exactly 8 years ago, and about previous candlelight vigils. The thing that most came to mind was that Scientologists blew out our candles as we held a vigil across the street from the Ft. Harrison Hotel where Lisa was held. It just made me think, what kind of people would hold a psychotic woman until she died? What kind of people would blow out candles at a vigil in memory of someone? I read that Lisa was pronounced dead at 9:51pm on December 5, 1995. So at 9:51pm Florida time, I blew out my candle and went home." John Ritson reported a protest at the London Scientology org on December 6th. "Eight suppressives assembled in front of the Tottenham Court Road 'org', which seems to be undergoing some kind of repair as it had scaffolding all the way up the front. We had our boom-box and plenty of leaflets, while after the usual frenzied phone calls to their controllers, the Scientologists eventually managed to get a maximum of three people out counter-leafletting, with one of them even being optimistic enough to call out 'Free Personality Test?' to anyone who took his leaflet. Eventually the DSA of the 'London Celebrity Centre' turned up and took a few photos. "Two Scientologists tried to drown out the sound of the boom-box (fat chance!) by using a power saw to cut out a Scientology cross symbol out of a large wooden rectangle. Evidently they had not yet done the relevant Scientology carpentry course, as it was all rather painful to watch. Very positive response from passers-by, including some from France and the US." John Ritson also reported a protest at a fundraiser for the London Celebrity Center. "Scientology had organised a 150 pound a head dinner at the Institute of Directors premises in Pall Mall to raise funds for a new 'Celebrity Centre.' Since they have an adequate building under that name in West London already, it was clearly just another attempt to gouge money out of their victims. Three suppressives turned up outside the august portals of the IOD and leafleted the incoming trickle. The invitations stated 7:30 for 8, so we were there from 7 to 8. "It was hard to estimate how many people were there for the Scientology bash, and how many for other functions. My guess would be somewhere between 50-100. But absolutely no celebrities. A few of the people going in took our leaflets, two made rude gestures. Some were hustled in and told not to have anything to do with us, and I had a long chat with a man who had done Scientology courses and said that he thought they might be doing some good, though he left the building before 8. "Another visitor to the IOD was a bank official who was very insistent that Scientology were crooks and told us about the time they had tried to open an account with a pile of gold bars. We had a good time, the Scientology officials (judging by their scowls) didn't." Message-ID: bqbun4$g84$1@news.tdl.com Message-ID: 939a02d1.0312051909.72700993@posting.google.com Message-ID: C35cpixPoi0$EwGU@jritson.demon.co.uk Message-ID: n3RzYTwbIk2$Ewzv@jritson.demon.co.uk
Purification Rundown
The New York Daily News reported on December 13th on New York firefighters participating in Scientology's Purification Rundown. "Not many medical clinics frame and display a filthy gym towel. But then, not many medical clinics are bankrolled by Tom Cruise, target ailing firefighters who worked at Ground Zero and follow the teachings of the Church of Scientology. 'We're helping people,' Jim Woodworth, director of Downtown Medical, said the other day as several firefighters sat in the clinic's 168-degree sauna. As for that soiled towel in the frame above his desk, Woodworth said its purple stains prove toxins still lurk inside rescue workers who toiled at Ground Zero. 'This is what our first patient was sweating out for 13 days,' Woodworth said. 'We took that to the lab. We found magnesium, mercury, aluminum.' "But the Fire Department has no use for Downtown Medical and its disputed detoxification program. FDNY officials are concerned that many of the 120 firefighters who sought help at the clinic stopped using inhalers and medications prescribed by department doctors. Fire officials also say the department has no proof that the clinic's regimen of moderate exercise, vitamins and saunas removes toxins from the body. 'Our doctors went down there and checked it out,' said Deputy Commissioner Frank Gribbon. 'Their opinion was this was not a detoxification program. We don't endorse it.' "This month, the city's largest firefighters union yanked its support of Downtown Medical. The Uniformed Firefighters Association initially praised the clinic for its 'unique' work. But sources said the union reconsidered after some firefighters questioned the clinic's methods and connections to Scientology - a movement described as both a persecuted religion and a dangerous cult. "A union spokesman, Tom Butler, told the Daily News that Downtown Medical 'made claims that have yet to be backed up by scientific data. The clinic's ability to prove its case to the department's top doctors is absolutely critical in gaining the union's confidence,' Butler said. "Bob Barrett, a 62-year-old retired firefighter, who worked at Ground Zero for several weeks, said the clinic's care improved his breathing and cured nagging muscle aches. 'I felt like I owed it to my family to take advantage of this detox,' he said. The detox program follows the teachings of the late L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction writer who founded the Church of Scientology. The regimen includes doses of the vitamin niacin, exercise, saunas, repeated showers and the digestion of a small amount of polyunsaturated oils. The goal of the rundown is to remove toxic chemicals stored in the body. 'We've had firemen sweat out black, yellow, gray, purple,' Woodworth said. 'We've had patients with yellow bowel movements, green bowel movements, purple bowel movements.' Patients undergo three-hour treatments seven days a week, from 21 to 40 days. The regimen costs $5,200. But rescue workers pay nothing. "In many cases, Tom Cruise, perhaps Scientology's best-known adherent, picks up the tab. Woodworth said other donors also provide support. The clinic's medical director, Dr. Kawabena Nyamekye, said the clinic does not tell rescue workers to stop taking prescription drugs but helps them get off their medicines if they insist. 'We make sure they do it safely,' he said. "Dr. Kerry Kelly, the chief medical officer for the Fire Department, said she has seen no 'objective evidence' to support Downtown Medical's claims. 'The essence of their program is you stay in it until you suddenly wake up and say, 'I feel great,'' she said. 'It's hard to have faith in a program like that.' She added, 'I have trouble believing in these purple-stained towels.'" Message-ID: 14f61$3fdc5f2b$d14730fa$26633@allthenewsgroups.com
Karelia
Regions.Ru reported on November 26th that a Scientologist has lost custody of her two daughters in the Russian state of Karelia. "As a result of a Karelian OMON operation in one of the districts of Petrozavodsk, two sisters, ages 9 and 11, were freed. They were held for two years in one of the rooms in the apartment by their own mother, a member of the Scientology cult. The girls did not go to school for two years and were fed waste from the nearest market. The girl's mother did not work anywhere. When they were found, the girls asked for their father, who has permanent residence in Finland. It was there that his former wife joined the cult. After the divorce she first went to Saint Petersburg, then she returned to Petrozavodsk, where they settled and made arrangements with the welfare agencies. Now the girls are in the hospital in poor condition. The Petrozavodsk court deprived the mother of parental rights." Message-ID: Pine.LNX.3.96.1031203174519.114A-100000@darkstar.zippy
Dr. Margaret Singer
The San Francisco Chronicle on November 25th reported the death of psychologist and cult expert Margaret Singer in Berkeley, California. "Margaret Singer, the soft-spoken but hard-edged Berkeley psychologist and expert on brainwashing who studied and helped authorities and victims better understand the Peoples Temple, Branch Davidian, Unification Church and Symbionese Liberation Army cults, has died. Professor Singer, 82, died Sunday after a long illness at Alta Bates Medical Center in Berkeley. "'She's one of a kind, the foremost authority on brainwashing in the entire world,' said lawyer Paul Morantz in an interview last year. Morantz led the effort against the Synanon cult in the 1970s. 'She is a national treasure.' She testified in the 1976 bank robbery trial of newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst, who was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, and at the 1977 hearing for five young members of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church whose parents sought to have them 'deprogrammed.' "She interviewed more than 3,000 cult members, assisted in more than 200 court cases and also was a leading authority on schizophrenia and family therapy. 'I might look like a little old grandma, but I'm no pushover,' she told a reporter last year, just before tossing back another shot of Bushmills Irish whiskey, her libation of choice. "She was occasionally threatened by cult leaders and their followers, and she never backed down. Professor Singer liked to tell how, at the age of 80, she frightened off a stalker who had been leaving menacing notes in her mailbox. 'I've got a 12-gauge shotgun up here, sonny, and you'd better get off my porch, or you'll be sorry!' she hollered out the window. 'And tell your handlers not to send you back!' "She was the author of 'Cults in Our Midst,' the authoritative 1995 study on cults that she revised earlier this year with analysis of the connection between cults and terrorism. She was the winner of the Hofheimer Prize and the Dean Award from the American College of Psychiatrists and of achievement awards from the Mental Health Association of the United States and the American Family Therapy Association. She was a past president of the American Psychosomatic Society and a board member of the Kaiser Foundation Research Institute Review Board and the American Family Foundation." From the New York Times on December 7th: "Several members of the People's Temple, with Dr. Singer's help, left that group before 900 people committed mass suicide in Guyana in 1978. Dr. Singer would often help win lawsuits against groups that former members claimed had lured them into dark, insular worlds that left them psychologically traumatized. 'Her testimony would help people understand the clinical impact of a cult's manipulation and exploitation,' said Dr. Richard Ofshe, a sociology professor at the University of California at Berkeley who worked with Dr. Singer for 20 years. 'There was a constant stream of people who would go into these organizations and end up in psychiatric emergency rooms.' "Dr. Singer's battles made her a target for harassment and death threats. At times, she found dead animals on her doorstep. Margaret Thaler Singer was born in Denver and earned her bachelor's degree, master's degree and Ph.D. from the University of Denver. She became an adjunct professor at Berkeley in the 1950's. Dr. Singer conducted several widely known studies on schizophrenia and was a renowned family therapist. She spent much of her career at Berkeley, but also taught at the University of Rochester and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, among others." Message-ID: fkn6svkga2t39t6j3u8sgfqqncibu73045@4ax.com Message-ID: 3fd36a10@news2.lightlink.com
Reed Slatkin
The Los Angeles Times reported on December 9th that victims of Scientology minister Reed Slatkin's fraudulent investment scheme may recover more money than expected from the case. "The trustee in the Reed Slatkin bankruptcy doubled his estimate Monday of what victims of Slatkin's Ponzi scheme might recover, saying it could reach 40 cents for every dollar lost - and more if investors who came out ahead in the scam would 'find it in their hearts' to return some of their profits. Hundreds of people were cheated by Slatkin, a former investment advisor from Santa Barbara who constructed an illusory empire using $593 million collected from Hollywood celebrities, Internet moguls and fellow Scientologists. He pleaded guilty to operating a financial fraud that continued for 15 years before dissolving into bankruptcy proceedings in May 2001. He is serving a federal prison term of 14 years. "Some of Slatkin's clients were paid back more than they invested - a common occurrence in such so-called Ponzi schemes, which use funds from later investors to pay phony profits or dividends to the earliest participants. Neilson sued 430 of these so-called 'net debtors,' seeking the return of anything they received in excess of the amount they put in. So far, 144 of those suits have been settled - typically at about 80 cents on the dollar - for a total of $31.8 million, most of it to be collected in payments over the next two or three years. For example, tobacco litigator John Coale and his wife, legal commentator Greta Van Susteren, agreed to return about $700,000 of the $939,000 they netted. Suits seeking an additional $138 million are pending against other defendants, including actor Peter Coyote, who made $943,000. "If those defendants 'were to simply find it within their hearts and wallets to pay the $138 million without any further litigation,' Neilson wrote, it would yield a return to the creditors of 84% of their losses. A 'more realistic approach,' according to his memo, would be to assume that 35% of the $138 million can be collected by spending an additional $7 million on litigation - a formula that would bring the recovery to about 40% of the losses." Message-ID: 3fda5fc6@news2.lightlink.com
A.r.s. Week in Review is put together by Rod Keller ©
This collection is organised for WWW by Andreas Heldal-Lund.
Only edits done by me is replacing word encapsuled in * or _ with bold and underscore, and made links into HTML.
