http://braddva.fotki.com/katrina_hurricaine/
In response "tikk" commented:
"One thing I notice that's different is the size and construction of the cross on the t-shirts. They've modified and enlarged it, deemphasizing the 45 degree 'X' spires even more, so that it appears even more Christian than their regular flavor cross does.
The cross is a loaded symbol - and while there have been many non-Christian versions, its main association for most everyone is Christian.
Scientology's main symbol is the double triangle. It originally appeared on the back of VM t-shirts, even. The cross has very little relevance to Scientologists and you only really see it with regard to these external PR functions. You never see the Scientology cross in any prominent place at a Scientologist-only event.
Here though, they're using this cross like a back-stage pass at a rock concert. They're certain to get past more disaster region check-points in these shirts than in shirts with the double triangle, which identifies them more explicitly as Scientologists.
[...]
The fact that they have to rely on the confusion created by their appropriation of the Christian cross to even get in the door tells you a lot about their own brand name."
Message-IDs: 43226681$1@news2.lightlink.com, 43221b96$1@news2.lightlink.com
http://Stop-Narconon.org/Newport-Beach
"Summary: the City of Newport Beach intends to violate its own zoning regulations and approve a near doubling of the occupancy permit for Narconon Newport Beach, in the face of ongoing, strenuous objections from nearby homeowners.
The author of this call to action, Professor Linda Orozco, is a neighbor and vocal critic of Narconon, and has received threats from them in the past."
Message-ID: 43231bfe@news2.lightlink.com
http://www.radaronline.com/fresh-intelligence/index.php#report_002807
"[...]
According to a press release from The Church of Scientology, the religion's second-favorite celebrity couple, John Travolta and Kelly Preston, swooped in to Baton Rouge and New Orleans on Travolta's jet Monday to join the approximately 400-member Scientology Disaster Response Team already in place.
[...]
For those unfamiliar with the group's recruiting methods, an 'assist' is a type of massage that Scientology's Volunteer Ministers use to lure people into learning about the religion, which, in case you've been living in a media blackout, preaches that an intergalactic warlord named Xenu came to Earth 75 million years ago and implanted a race of evil ghosts from which only Scientology can protect us. Church members similarly used assists during their relief work in Southeast Asia following the tsunami, drawing intense criticism from the largely Buddhist population.
[...]"
Message-ID: 1126432145.977337.302570@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com
"Each month Sea Org members (lifetime staffers) defect and leave the Sea Org and return to normal life.
[...]
Any OSA Int staffers or ex-RTC staffers who defect and go public and tell of disgraceful covert operations that Scientology still engages in, would be happily received if they defect."
Message-ID: 1126410707.577477.274580@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com
"Debbie Cook CO FSO runs the weekly staff meetings on Thursday nights at 9pm. They tend to be long and boring. There are a few rewards given, baskets of food, to the 'upstats', and also the Flag Registrars. FSO is doing about $2.5 million a week, as of early 2005. There is an 'upstat' club with $50 prize, new uniform, etc. and there's the downstat club, called the 'It's got nothing to do with me club' where you stand up, are frowned at by 700 people(or pitied) and you do 25 hrs amends and some other gruesome stuff. Harvey Jacques runs this.
[...] The Super Power building is empty, with mysterious plans about whatever is supposed to happen to the inside of the building now. The hype goes on year after year.
The Hacienda has an electronic fence that senses when it is touched and gives the location of the touch. There are cameras everywhere. The impression it gives is that it is mostly to keep the staff IN. The staff are NOT encouraged to keep 'up' on daily events in the world. There is now a course new staff do called the 'Exterior Influences Course' or somesuch. The issues on it make it clear you are not to have a cell phone, internet, eat in restaurants, buy drinks during post hours, etc. Your mail is opened and looked over by security.
[...] Nice stuff available in the canteen, like avocados, which lots of women bought for their salads. You would think with 2.5 million in GI they could get some fruit baskets on tables or free avocados, but no, you buy those with your $50 a week.
[...]"
Message-ID: 1126493984.746411.31840@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com
"I just saw 'Answering the Call' and here are my impressions which I just sent to a film site:
This video documentary was written and produced by a devout Scientologist and functions as a promotional film for the Church of Scientology. Supposedly a tribute to the volunteers who helped out in the aftermath of 9/11, it serves to promote the efforts of Scientology's Volunteer Ministers who dominate the second half of the film.
It takes 49 minutes of buildup before the movie introduces a brief segment on the faith based efforts of the Salvation Army then quickly segues to the other 'faith based' group from Scientology.
This juxtaposition is purposeful and gets repeated later in the film when a Christian minister gets intercut with a Scientologist volunteer minister who proclaims 'we all share the same beliefs.' I'm certain the Christian minister doesn't buy into L. Ron Hubbard's belief that Christ was an alien implant.
The film also gives a lengthy plug to Scientology's detoxification program created, as the film explains, by noted author and humanitarian, L. Ron Hubbard. The Detox has never been found medically sound, is widely recognized as quackery and known to use dangerous levels of liver damaging niacin.
In effect, the movie attempts to safe-point Scientology, which in their terms means to make the group acceptable to mainstream society. Not surprisingly, no mention is made of the scandal which erupted after 9/11 when Scientology sent out anonymous press releases offering mental health assistance to victims of the tragedy and routing people straight to Scientology. They were widely condemned for this fraudulent action.
[...]
I give it 1 and 1/2 stars ranking it just above 'The Profit' and 'Battlefield Earth.'"
Another a.r.s. denizen cited a url for an article about the film and the Scientology connections as
http://www.cultnews.com/archives/000822.html and posted:
"Kathleen Turner was center stage for the press conference held yesterday after the preview of "Answering The Call" at the Lutnick Theater inside the USS Intrepid, a floating museum moored at Manhattan's Pier 86."
Bunker later posted
"Here's the film's website:
http://www.answeringthecall911.com/
And the theaters in which it is playing:
http://www.16daysthemovie.com/"
Message-IDs: C0uVe.13981$sx2.3261@fed1read02, 1126601400.794396.22870@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com, gLxVe.13998$sx2.11228@fed1read02
"Wollersheim v. Scientology
(Los Angeles County Superior Court Case # C332027)
The next phase of this 25 year legal battle, is scheduled for a jury trial soon, on the question of how much money Leta Schlosser, the former legal assistant for Wollersheim, will receive from the remaining $2 million or more, (left from the $8.6 million of the 2002 award in the case). This case may be the longest-running still-active civil case now under jurisprudence in Los Angeles County.
It's been stated Wollersheim's counsel estimates that at most Leta Schlosser may be entitled to would be in the range of $120,000 to $160,000, instead of an amount that would effectively take all the remaining funds. It has also been stated, that Leta may have been a Scientology 'plant' in Wollersheim's legal team, and that her claim is a deliberate move to deny Wollersheim from receiving so much as 'one thin dime,' as another of the 'fair game' type 'dirty tricks' practiced by Scientology's legal staff. Relevant evidence will likely include an itemized invoice of some type by Leta Schlosser, to uphold her claims. ..."
The poster also posted "documents that are available in LA County court records, pertaining to Leta Schlosser since she originally made her over $2 million dollar claim at a court hearing on July 15, 2002."
Message-ID: 1126580080.532542.320010@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com
"Borough President Manhattan
Scott M. Stringer [Dem] 37663 25.77% Eva S. Moskowitz [Dem] 24288 16.62% Margarita Lopez [Dem] 19192 13.13% Brian Ellner [Dem] 16973 11.61% Bill Perkins [Dem] 16020 10.96% Adriano Espaillat [Dem] 13355 9.14% Keith L. T. Wright [Dem] 7996 5.47% Stanley Michels [Dem] 5587 3.82% Carlos Manzano [Dem] 5058 3.46% Reporting: 1232 of 1241 precincts - 99.27 percent"
with the comment:
"So the 'big dividends' weren't realized for the out-of-state Scientologists who contributed over $130k to her campaign, unless we consider the detox center the dividend in advance of payment. But at least she's no longer in a position to help Scientology, at least for the moment."
Message-ID: 43279cca@news2.lightlink.com
was posted September 13, 2005 from
http://www.mmegi.bw/2005/September/Tuesday13/876772333344.html.
"Yet again, I was delighted to read a letter from Paul Sondergaard in Mmegi of September 1 in response to my letters regarding the deeply strange so-called Church of Scientology.
One of the observations people have made to me is that in all their responses, the PR people from the Scientologists never actually deny any of the things I report about them. They don't deny that at a certain point in a person's passage through Scientology they are taught that their founder discovered that our brains are haunted by the ghosts of dead aliens, murdered with H-bombs in Hawaii 75 million years ago by Xemu, Head of the Galactic Empire.
They don't deny the research findings I reported that show that their drug treatment programme Narconon has a success rate lower than not doing anything at all. They don't deny the various quotes I've given from their founder, the renowned drug abuser, liar, and convicted criminal L Ron Hubbard. I have copies of the original court documents to prove it - they know it and that's why they don't deny it. They don't deny these things because they are all true!
[...]
Instead, they make extremely vague suggestions that I am 'spreading false information', that I'm libelling them and Hubbard (which I'm not sure is legally possible as he's stone cold dead) and that I have some grudge against the Scientologists. Will you please tell me and everyone else what it is that's false in what I've written? Where is the libel? Where is my grudge?
My biggest complaint, though, is the issue of secret scriptures. In his letter, Sondergaard says, 'Yes, we have confidential scriptures' and later, 'Same with Christianity, Islam, the Jewish faith, Shinto, and so on'.
No, they don't. They don't. They simply do not have confidential scriptures. Yes, as he says, they have esoteric scriptures, yes they have arcane literature, yes they have fringe groups with slightly off-the-wall teachings, but real religions don't have secret scriptures. Real religions don't hide their core beliefs. Real religions don't make their flock pay vast sums of money to read these scriptures. Real religions don't threaten to sue people for breach of copyright when they disclose them to the public. Real religions don't say that those who disclose the contents of these scriptures, having read them in court documents, have lied, libelled them and are spreading false information.
[...]"
Message-ID: 1126676956.745923.187240@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com
A.r.s. Week in Review is put together for your benefit.
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.
