France
Lyon Capitale, a french news weekly, published an article on Scientology
cases in France, and harassment of critics.
"While 23 of its members were before the criminal courts of Lyon, one for
involuntary homicide, the others for fraud and abuse of trust, the Church
of Scientology was highly visible in the streets of Lyon. Demonstrations,
distribution of leaflets, open houses and public ceremonies: the
scientologists cultivated the appearance of victims through a vast PR
campaign. The scientologists convicted by the court saw their sentences
reduced on appeal. While recalling that there had been fraud, the appeals
court allowed the Church of Scientology to take advantage of being a
'religion', thus giving the cult a new opportunity to improve its public
image.
"Today, the church has, it seems, closed its doors again. Sealed off from
the world, the organization is showing itself to be more allergic than
ever to criticism. When we asked for permission to take a few photos at
the church in Lyon, we were dryly told: 'No. I mean no. Don't insist.'
with no further explanation. Currently under fire in the media, now that
several elements of a case against the cult have disappeared from a court
in Paris, 'la Sciento' has pulled into its shell. And gone onto the
offensive. Lyon professor Paul Aries, a specialist on cult issues, knows
something about it. His latest work, 'Scientology: laboratory of the
future', published by Golias, wasn't yet on sale when he received a letter
from Scientology reminding him that that the texts of the founding guru
were protected by copyright, before threatening him with forgery. But
Christian Terras, founder of the revue 'Golias', replied to the scienos
that he would anyway publish the book. It's a done deal since last week.
"Police, academics, and the investigating magistrate responsible for the
inquiry into the suicide of a member in Lyon have all be subject to
multiple intimidations. Journalistic inquiries such as Serge Flaubert's 'A
Cult at the Heart of the Republic' or Richard Behar's article in Time
magazine were the targets of lawsuits. The threats are sometimes physical.
Since he started researching cults, Aies has been attacked several times,
resulting in a dislocated shoulder. A meeting with senior police
officials was canceled anonymously. His mail has been stolen. He has had
to move house several times. 'I can't accuse anyone in particular', he
says, 'I am filing charges against a John Doe'."
Message-ID: 36593027.70269181@news.eur.sprynet.com
Germany
News from the continuing controversy over Scientology in Germany.
Main-Echo reports that Scientology is fighting back against the government
decision to continue surveillance of Scientology.
"The President of the controversial Scientology organization, Heber
Jentzsch has called upon the German Interior Ministers Conference to not
let itself be led by the 'hate-filled speech' of their Bavarian
representative, Gunter Beckstein (CSU). In a statement released in Los
Angeles, California, Jentzsch called Beckstein a 'blind fanatic' and a
'political desperado' by whom the 'mentally healthy' members of the
Ministries should not be influenced.
"The Interior Ministers deliberated on Thursday and Friday in Bonn on an
agenda which included a continuation of the surveillance of Scientology by
the German intelligence agency of Constitutional Protection. An agreement
on an extension was seen as likely. Beckstein relentlessly appealed to the
Conference, bringing up, among other things, the accusatory testimony of
prominent former Scientologist, Jesse Prince. According to Jentzsch,
Prince is not credible. He is said to have a long history of 'legal
offenses' ranging from drug dealing to theft. Besides that, Jentzsch
described German intelligence information about the operations of a
Scientology secret service in Germany as 'completely false.'"
From Westfalische Nachrichten"
"This is the same tone taken in the infamous campaign in which Scientology
compared itself with the victims of Jewish persecution by the National
Socialists. He who so readily reaches for the polemics chest cannot expect
that he will be taken seriously in religious demands.
"Taken in this light the presentation by the German intelligence agency
becomes realistic. The concentration of Scientology upon commercial and
social positions of power as the way to a new world of 'mental health', a
private intelligence service, influencing of judges, intimidation of
opponents, resorting to methods of 'psychological warfare' - such
activities have nothing to do with the deep human search for a sense and
value of life. The proven and the presumed commercial power of the
organization leads more to the conclusion that Scientology is thinking
along materialistic lines, namely, to rule the world with money."
A Suddeutsche Zeitung editorial criticized the surveillance.
"Conspiracy theories can almost never be disproved. If there is no proof
for a hypothesis, then that is proof positive in the world of conspiracy
that the suspicion has been justified. The Interior Ministers made the
decision to observe sect founder L. Ron Hubbard's group. Scientology was
said to not only exploit the trust of its victims, but also to be
infiltrating politics and the economy. Catastrophes resulted from the
dilettantish investigations into the sect in Berlin and Stuttgart, which
caused plenty of collateral damage. Now the report of a federal-state
group shows that Scientology had been immeasurably over-estimated. The
number of members is not, as prognosticated, thirty thousand, but is more
like six thousand. 'An infiltration of the political parties' can no more
be detected than can a 'systematic infiltration of the economy.' Of 3.2
million employees of the civil service, 48 are in Scientology and three of
the sect members are in a political party. The decision to continue the
investigation into Scientology is a make-work measure for the
Constitutional security agents and evidence of the self-justification of
politicians."
The Associated Press reports that Scientology membership in Hamburg is
falling.
"According to a presentation made by sect commissioner Ursula Caberta, the
Hamburg Scientology Center is suffering under financial problems and
dwindling membership. An increasing number of ex-members are demanding
their money back, and a decision to seize property for payment is in
process, said the expert, who had been specially assigned by the Hamburg
Senate for the observation of Scientology, to journalists on Monday. While
the organization has numbered its members in the north German coastal
states at 5,000, the actual membership has shrunk to 1,000-1,500
adherents. 'Things are no longer going well with Scientology,' said
Caberta. Rich members have left the organization, and even the
Scientology attorneys are showing up less frequently for court dates.
Until 1992, the Hamburg Center was regarded as the most successful in the
world. Now the organization is in arrears with its rent at the Hamburg
Center."
From Taz-Hamburg:
"Less rental income, fewer members and the process server at the door:
influence and power of Scientology has drastically dropped, rejoiced
Ursula Caberta, Director of the Work Group on Scientology for the state
offices, yesterday. 'The organization is no longer doing as well as it was
at the beginning of the 1990's.' In Caberta's opinion, it was mainly the
declining income of the rental and real estate businesses that weakened
the organization. 'It has gotten quiet for Scientology on the homeowners
and renters market,' confirmed Christine Keine from the 'Renters helping
renters' group yesterday. That is due primarily to the wave of conversions
from rental units to condominiums now being a thing of the past. Several
years ago, said Caberta, renters associations were estimating that the
organization still had a third of the market share.
"Apparently the Scientologists in the Hanseatic City will soon be
threatened with a legal entry order. They would not let a bill collector
into the building, so the city court had to make a decision, said Caberta.
She hopes, anyway, that the building on Steindamm will soon no longer be
available to Scientology. The current owner wants to sell the property; an
interested investor has already announced that he intends to have the
building torn down."
The Associated Press reports that Scientology disputes Caberta's findings.
"The number of departees from the Hamburg center, on a percent basis, 'is
far less than that of the church overall,' said Scientology. They further
state that in Hamburg, Scientology members are even offered money by the
Constitutional Security Agency for their departure. The press conference
in the state offices was not able to whitewash the fact that the
Constitutional Security Agency has nothing to show after its one year
surveillance of Scientology, stated the organization."
Berliner Morgenpost reported on a concert performance by Scientologist
Chick Corea.
"We were not able to spot anything funny under the piano, however the
concert by Chick Corea in the 'Tranenpalast' was nothing usual. No
advertisement, only a few tickets for sale. Rather than selling tickets,
numerous highly official invitations on hand-made paper were sent out by
the US State Department. Many journalists asked themselves, upon receipt
of their letter, 'what have I done now?'
"Corea wants to promote his music and dip into the German cornucopia,
because Germany is one of the most important record markets of the world
and has subsidized countless festivals which are able to book top stars.
The losses of the last five years, during which time many promoters have
not wanted to book Corea, may have taken a heavy toll on him. Still Corea
denies having made a mistake. He believes that everything in Scientology
is 'clean', no psychological terrorism, no rip-offs.
"At the concert in the 'Tranenpalast' he presented himself as a victim;
this was not stated explicitly, but was, nonetheless, clearly perceptible.
'A Tribute to Freedom' was the name of the program which the US Embassy
had previously tried to promote at the Berlin Jazz Festival amid much
fanfare, in vain. The Jazz Fest turned them down, but the 'Tranenpalast'
accepted on condition that 'not one word about Scientology' be mentioned.
"The free tickets did not completely make up for the stale aftertaste of
the evening. Perhaps Chick Corea should perform again, but only if half of
the night's take goes to sect victims."
Mindener Tageblatt published an article on an anti-cult lecture by Rev.
Volker Kukenshoner.
"Reverend Volker Kukenshoner pointed out the danger of the well-known
Scientology sect and used this as a role model for other sects. The group
baits people by awakening anxiety about their future and then presenting
themselves as a safe haven. One is led to tell everything about himself.
Human dignity is then totally violated, as the young man in the video
realizes after leaving the sect. It is very simple to rip people off, and
that is exactly what sects are designed to do. The consequences are
mountains of debt which is up to the victims to pay, stated the expert.
"People most at risk are those who are at a turning point in their lives.
Unemployment and spousal problems give rise to the sect promising special
knowledge, success or love. The group appears to offer exactly that which
the person would need in this kind of situation."
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Grady Ward
An update on Grady Ward's copyright infringement case was posted to a.r.s
this week.
"According to an Order issued November 18, 1998 by Judge Jeremy Fogel, the
Judge rejected the cult demand that Grady Ward's appeal be labeled
'frivolous' and so it will go forward without the posting of any bond.
Judge Fogel also agreed with Judge Whyte that Ward's solicitations of
cults secrets did not constitute probable cause for issuing an Order to
Show Cause. In effect, this ruling opens the way for Grady Ward to resume
his regular call for cult secrets to be lawfully sent to him at
grady@gradyward.com. Ward's Appellant brief is due January 19, 1999."
Message-ID: 365e3eb4.5794911@news.newsguy.com
Karsten Lorenzen
Karsten Lorenzen posted a report on his recent anti-Scientology lecture in
Denmark.
"I had a lecture regarding my experiences in Scientology the 10 of
november 1998. Scientologists came, and taped my lecture and tried to
make me look stupid. Now this lecture was held at a danish scout
organization rooms in a small danish city called Horsens. There was a lot
of people attending and Scientology's press chief from scientology church
Jutland replied them with this letter:
"'Hereby I send you as promised a copy of the part we have on tape of
Carsten Lorentzens lecture in your rooms the 10 nov. 98 regarding
Scientology. I will use the opportunity to once again underline the
unlucky part you had in arranging such a public critical lecture as this
against a minority religion. Besides the fact that a one way critical
meeting as yours 10. nov. is illegal and is based on the idea on which
many crimes and religious wars are built upon. It also violates the Idea
in the European Human rights convention, due to the fact that your meeting
does not put forth the Idea that everyone has the right to think freely
and to conciseness - as well as religious freedom.
"'Sincerely yours
Soren Refstrup'
"I guess Scinos are threatening danish scouts."
Message-ID: 365D2CD8.98B3B903@datashopper.dk
Lisa McPherson
The St. Petersburg Times published column by Mary Jo Melone on the Lisa
McPherson charges against Scientology this week.
"The usual rules of the game require that I withhold judgment on the
charges of criminal neglect and practicing medicine without a license that
were filed against the Church of Scientology on Nov. 13 by Pinellas-Pasco
State Attorney Bernie McCabe in connection with McPherson's death in 1995.
But the good guys finally struck back at that collection in Clearwater of
the glassy-eyed, the robotic and the rich. And the just plain sick.
"The Scientologists didn't literally use a turkey baster to force
pseudo-medical cocktails into McPherson, but a device that operates under
the same principle, called an irrigation syringe. Imagine a needleless
syringe bigger than the one used to give you a flu shot. Honest-to-God
medical people use it to flush wounds, said Ken Dandar, the attorney for
McPherson's survivors, who are suing the Scientologists. McPherson was
pumped with concoctions that would have impressed Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde:
magnesium, a sedative called chloral hydrate, aspirin, the antihistamine
Benadryl, and assorted vitamins and herbs. Scientology mumbo-jumbo swears
it was going to save her from her psychosis.
"A hearing will be held on the criminal charges on Nov. 30, and the
Scientologists vow to resolve them quickly. They say nothing like this
will ever happen again. If the church pleads no contest to McCabe's
criminal charges, the criminal case can't even be mentioned in the civil
suit. On the other hand, if the church fights the charges and loses, the
criminal case can be cited in the civil proceedings. This would almost
certainly drive up the cost of a settlement."
The Times also published an article on the decision to bring charges
against Scientology in the case.
"Among McCabe's options: Be aggressive and level a serious charge such as
manslaughter, but risk a bruising legal battle with the Church of
Scientology, which had taken on much bigger fish than McCabe. Only four
years earlier, the well-heeled organization had subdued the IRS after a
40-year legal war, at times spending $1-million a month on lawyers.
Another route would have been to decline to charge or level a minor
charge, which might have exposed McCabe to accusations that he lacked
toughness.
"He eventually chose a third option, say Heyman and other lawyers who know
the state attorney and are familiar with the workings of his office.
McCabe took what they described as an eminently safe and practical middle
course that resulted in two felony charges against the Church of
Scientology's main operating entity in Clearwater. The Church of
Scientology Flag Service Organization Inc. was charged with abuse and/or
neglect of a disabled adult and practicing medicine without a license.
"To prove manslaughter, prosecutors would have had to prove that
Scientology or its members committed culpable negligence. That means
proving they 'must have known or reasonably should have known' their
actions were 'likely to cause death or great bodily injury,' according to
the jury instruction for manslaughter. The prosecutor also would have to
prove that any violations were 'gross and flagrant.' Also, a manslaughter
defense likely would include the argument that Scientologists were simply
practicing their religious beliefs in trying to help McPherson, Heyman
said.
"McCabe's office probably chose the abuse and/or neglect charge because it
fits the facts in the case better than manslaughter. Under state law,
prosecutors must prove that a 'caregiver' who has assumed responsibility
for a disabled adult must take 'reasonable measures' to protect the
person. In using the charge, McCabe will not be required to prove the
church caused McPherson's death -- only that it seriously injured her.
The prosecutor thus avoids what was expected to be a sophisticated and
highly scientific defense in which Scientology would have tried to prove
McPherson's death was a health-related accident that happened to occur
while she was in their company."
The Guardian published an article on the McPherson case this week.
"If Hollywood stars such as John Travolta - JT to the hierarchy - and Tom
Cruise are Scientology's pin-ups, McPherson and her like are the stick-ups
- they put the posters on their walls. But life was still good to
McPherson. An unsigned tax return for 1994 showed her income as almost
$137,000, though she appears to have donated $75,275 of that 'to qualified
religious services'. She kept a diary in which she detailed routine
concerns about relationships, her health, her kitten and her mother. She
loved dancing and would take a twirl with anyone who could keep up with
her at the Old New York New York nightclub in Clearwater, the church's
world headquarters.
"There was no particular reason to predict what would happen when she was
in a minor car crash on November 18 three years ago. There was no evidence
that McPherson was hurt, and she got out of the vehicle and walked down
the road wild-eyed, tearing off her clothes. She was thought to have had a
breakdown and was recommended to a mental institution by the local
hospital. But Scientologists share at least one strongly-held belief with
mainstream skeptics: they will have no truck with psychiatry. So McPherson
was taken instead to the Fort Harrison hotel, owned by the organistion.
Seventeen days later, she was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at
HCA hospital, New Port Richey. Her family blames Scientology for her
death, for her dehydration, the bruises on her arms and legs, the
abrasions and lesions, the apparent bug or animal bites. A medical
examiner said she had died of a blood clot complicated by dehydration. She
also had an infection, which the church blames for all her symptoms.
"McPherson's ashes were scattered over the graves of her brother and
father, who also died by his own hand. Every so often her mother, Fannie,
walks by a Dianetics office in Dallas, Texas. 'When I see those poor
things going into that place I want to go in there and scream: 'Get out.
You don't know what you're getting into'.'"
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Picket / Revenge Picket Summary
Pickets at Scientology orgs this week and revenge pickets at critics'
homes. First, Bob Minton and Stacy Young picketed the Fort Harrison Hotel.
"It was pretty clear from the reaction that the impromptu display had not
been anticipated, and the ensuing activity can best be described as an OT
Fire Drill. About 6:25pm, Bob and Stacy began walking up and down the
sidewalk directly in front of the Ft. Homicide. Both signs said, 'Lisa's
Blood on Scientology Hands' with the red handprints on one side. Bob's
said 'Scientology - Hubbard's Third Reich' on the other side, and Stacy's
had a big picture of Lisa, alive and smiling, surrounded by all the names
from the Strope affidavit, along with a few extras, like DM, LRH, and
Elliot Abelson.
"When we first showed up, the scene was probably pretty typical for a
Sunday evening at Flag. There were lots of Sea Org'ies and a few publics
walking briskly about the surrounding sidewalks, there were people in the
cafe, and the shutters were open to the dining room. A security guard
showed up, and Stacy identified him as Paul Kellerhals. She said that he's
in charge of security at some site in California, and that his presence at
Flag suggested that DM might be in town. By 6:30pm, Ben Shaw was on the
scene.
"By about 6:40pm, a cameraman from a local news station (ABC Ch. 28)
showed up, and began interviewing both Bob and Stacy. A Clearwater PD
officer was also on the scene, and talked to us briefly. Apparently the
$cieno Gestapo had complained that the picketing was interfering with
their drop-off zone right in front of the Ft. Homicide front doors. Of
course, since it was all a public sidewalk there was not much that could
be done, other than to advise us to keep moving, and don't block the
pedestrian traffic - which, of course, we were already following.
"Right at 7:00pm, Rinder showed up. He and Ben Shaw walked up to the guy
from Ch. 28, and looked like they were ready to do their own interview.
When Bob walked up and launched into some more verbal tech beginning with:
'Mike Rinder is one of the people responsible for Lisa's death. He is the
apologist for this cult,' Rinder headed into the Ft. Homicide lobby while
the cameraman filmed. Rinder held his interview inside the lobby."
From Bruce Pettycrew in Mesa, Arizona:
"I stopped by for an hour after work today. There were 5 cars in the lot,
3 arrived and one left during the picket. Rush hour traffic was heavy. As
usual, the positive response to the picket was 10 to 1 over the negative
response."
"Wulfen" and "Android Cat" picketed this week in Toronto.
"The signs were: $cientology: BAIT AND SWITCH 'Church'
http://WWW.XENU.NET. and $cientology: The Gerbil Wheel to Total Freedom
Staff members get a 10% commission on sales: Is this a church?
"We also handed out a few leaflets. We showed up almost on the dot of 6:00
PM, and raised our signs. Mario saw us, and zapped inside the Org, to make
another 'the SP's are here!' phone call or something. There were some
other people on the sidewalk, too. They were apparently Scientologists,
because within 30 or 40 seconds, the previously populated sidewalk was
empty. My sign seems to work, as far as getting peoples' attention. 'BAIT
AND SWITCH' really gets people thinking, it seems."
"A police car did pull up at the side of the Org for five minutes or so,
watched, then left. I hope Mario didn't fib about any sort of riot
breaking out. Not too many flyers handed out--it was windy and cold and
most people didn't want to take their hands out of their pockets. The
Saturday afternoon crowd isn't in as much of a hurry either."
From Kristi Wachter, on a solo picket at the Mountain View org:
"Two pedestrians from nearby businesses came over and took fliers as soon
as I started picketing. Later, an older lady pulled in to the parking lot
to talk to me. She asked what I was picketing, and I said, 'Dianetics and
Scientology.' She said, 'For or against?' I said, 'I'm against some of
their practices, which I consider to be illegal.' She said, 'I believe
that,' and proceeded to tell me about her nephew, who had gotten sucked in
(her phrase) some years ago. She said she paid off an $8,000 loan for him,
and then another $3,000, and they just wouldn't leave him alone. I told
her about Lisa and about the upcoming picket. She thanked me for picketing
and drove off.
"I learned that evening that three revenge-picketers had demonstrated in
front of my apartment building from 4 to 5 pm - a tall black gentleman, a
young lady, and a strident lady. Apparently they got into some pretty loud
arguments with passersby - some of the occupants of my building could hear
them spouting their usual empty and insulting repartee, including
sparklers like 'You don't know what you're talking about!' I hear one of
the passersby took issue with them for their celebrity chasing, too,
prompting the tired 'There are Jesuit celebrities, too!'"
Kristi also reported on a picket in San Francisco:
"Suppressives: Mysterious Dude, phr, and me. Date/Time: 11/21/98, 12:00
to 1:40 pm or so Handouts: fliers (mint/law, 'Why I Picket', criminal
allegations, Lisa, Xenu, mini-fliers), suckers, mints, Attorney General
postcards
"I made my usual phone call to the police station, then assembled my
accouterments and headed for the door. I had a new sign: $CIENTOLOGY
HURTS PEOPLE. $CIENTOLOGY HURT LISA MCPHERSON. $CIENTOLOGY HURT WAYNE
WHITNEY. $CIENTOLOGY HURT DOROTHY GEARY. WHO WILL BE NEXT?
"I also had 150 copies of a new flier announcing the Nov. 13 felony
charges and the Dec. 5 picket (I posted the flier text in another
message). I handed these out all along the way to the org and got lots of
appreciative comments on the way. We finally handed out our last pink
flier, and just as we were wrapping up and preparing to leave, my own
personal revenge picketers came out of the org bearing their 'Kristi
Wachter is a religious bigot' picket signs. The two of them, a tall black
gentleman and a strident blonde lady, were REALLY rude and hostile,
shouting out lovely phrases like 'You can go fuck yourself! Bitch!' The
tall black man said 'The truth about Scientology is that you are a nut!
You have 8 - 10 hours a day to spend on newsgroups. You are a flake. You
can suck my dick. You're an idiot. You're a dumbass.' They shouted a few
more insults and said, in a nasty, threatening way, 'We'll see you at your
home, Kristi,' then they got in their van and drove off."
"I came home where I knew my revenge picketers would be waiting for me.
Sure enough, Ben, Tall Black Guy, and Stridenta were right out front. I
said, cheerily, 'Hi Ben!' and began counter-picketing
(counter-counter-picketing?). To my usual spiel ('I think Scientology's
hurting people - would you like to know more?') I added 'These people are
out here trying to intimidate me out of speaking the truth.'
"TBG tried out the bigotry angle:
TBG: 'You really hate us, don't you?'
Me: 'Actually, I don't.' I tried explaining that, in addition to my
concern for the unsuspecting public, I was concerned about Scientologists
getting locked up or otherwise abused, and that I was concerned that, if
management didn't get its ethics in pretty soon, my Scientology friends
wouldn't have a church at all.
TBG (sarcastically): 'Our well-being is what you're doing this for. We
really appreciate that.'
Me: '... And where is sarcasm on the tone scale?'
TBG & Ben: 'About where you are.' 'About 30 notches above where you are.'"
Jeff Jacobsen was the subject of a revenge picket this week.
"About 6 Scientologists picketed the hotel where I was DJ'ing last night.
They had called the hotel ahead of time. They stayed about 45 minutes. I
went out to take their pictures. I tried to angle the shots so I would get
their faces too, but EVERY ONE of them hid behind their one-sided signs.
One guy talked to me and kept trying to bring up Keith Henson for some
reason, but I kept telling him about the trials coming up in Lisa's case.
I couldn't talk long because I had to get back to work."
Kady O'Malley reported on distribution of leaflets at the Los Angeles
orgs.
"Armed with 100 Lisa McPherson flyers I and my trusty unindicted
co-conspirator Snefru headed to Big Blue. We started at the top of
Fountain (the street immediately perpendicular to LRH Way), and proceeded
to walk casually down the street, handing out flyers to the few people we
met on the way, including several apparently scientologist public
passersby - one armed with a deck of flyers of his own. The bike cops -
usually omnipresent around the complex - were curiously absent until we
rounded LRH Way, when we caught sight of one pedaling in a relaxed fashion
around the corner, apparently blissfully ignorant of our presence. Until
right that moment, when he chanced to turn around, and spotted our happy,
smiling, innocent faces. Instantly, his walkie talkie was pressed close
to his cheek as he alerted his seniors to our presence. We continued up
LRH Way, handing out flyers to the few folks we passed, when, on looking
behind us, we caught sight of the selfsame bike cop taking the flyers out
of the hands of those we had passed them out to. He was stopping behind
us, and gathering up a handful of them.
"We decided to make our way northwesterly, to the LRH Life Exhibit and OSA
Headquarters on Hollywood and Ivar. We parked a few blocks away, and began
handing out flyers as we headed towards the Exhibit itself, with most
people seeming bemused, but interested, and taking copies freely. The vast
majority were happy to take flyers, and we quickly passed out our entire
bundle. During the forty-five minutes or so that we had been engaged in
flyer tech out in front of the Exhibit a veritable pack of steely-eyed Sea
Orgers and assorted security grunts had gathered in front of the Exhibit
itself.
"After finishing up, we decided to head back to the car, a job well done
and flyers well distributed. We looked behind us to see Thug B, walking
briskly half a block behind us. We stopped, and commed with him for
approximately 15 minutes, describing our purpose for being there. After
approximately 15 minutes, two other persons who we initially thought to be
PI's flanked us, and showed up on either side of us. One of them butted
into Snefru's conversation with Thug B, and introduced himself as 'Hello,
my name is Craig Brown, and I just want you to know that all of your homes
will be picketed. There will be flyers everywhere, handed to all of your
neighbors, and everyone will know who you are.' He then mentioned that he
was the founder of the front group known as FRL, or Friends of Religious
Liberty. He claimed to have 500 scientologists around the country
assembled for the purpose of picketing critics houses."
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Message-ID: 365cac28.76115145@news2.lightlink.com
Message-ID: 365cb5d9.0@news2.lightlink.com
Message-ID: humanrights-2511982300310001@racer.vip.best.com
Message-ID: 73pam7$ls5$1@nnrp03.primenet.com
Message-ID: 73qka0$21c_002@envy.sepulchre.org
Sweden
Scientology has complained to the police about the member of the Swedish
Parliament who placed a copy of the NOTS levels in a city library.
"According to Goteborgs-Posten Nov 24, the CoS has decided to file a
complaint against member of parliament Carina Hagg for illegal spreading
of copyrighted material. She requested a copy of NOTs from the parliament
under the 'offentlighetsprincip', and gave it to the City library of
Jonkoping [a medium-sized city in the middle-south of Sweden]. Since last
summer, scientologists have every day arrived at the library at opening
time and stayed with the material all day, to keep others from reading it.
Zenon Panoussis announced a new source for requesting the NOTS from
Sweden.
"It was mailed to professor Berglie at his work, at the university of
Stockholm. What few people know is that the university is a public
institution just as any other, that professors are public servants and
that, according to several recent rulings, e-mail to public servants in
their job is just as much of a public document as any public document. In
other words, the recipient is not allowed to trash it and the public has
the right to view it and/or request a copy of it. In other words: there is
now a digital public copy of the OTs and NOTs available to the public.
Anyone who cares to visit, phone, fax, write or e-mail to
"Stockholms universitet
religionshistoriska institutionen
(Universitetsvagen 10E)
106 91 Stockholm
Sweden
"phone +46-8-162000
+46-8-6747000
fax +46-8-159522
e-mail registrator@su.se"
Message-ID: 73dri1$kds$1@cubacola.tninet.se
Message-ID: 73f582$7h0$1@cubacola.tninet.se
Message-ID: 365AE5FF.11E787FE@xs4all.nl
La Secte
Roger Gonnet announced the publication of his new book "La Secte".
"Shows how Hubbard and scn passed through steps from being essentially a
'technical' organization (when the auditors were almost everything the
'foundations' possessed), through a more organized one with more admin
staffs, then to orgs where there were 2 admin staffs for one tech staff,
to orgs trying to impose 'ethics' instead of tech, to orgs using more and
more OUTSIDE admin techs - 'wog' justice etc, to 'get results'.
"About the french sentence in Lyon - regarding the fact that scienos said
they were an accepted religion in france, but weren't at all. Regarding
purif and legal, purif and overdoses, dangers, medicine death cases."
Message-ID: 36596FF8.FB631352@worldnet.fr
Marilyn Monroe
The New York Post gossip column included a report this week on
Scientology's claims that Marilyn Monroe was driven to suicide by her
psychiatrist.
"An organization called the Citizens Commission on Human Rights
International is circulating a 'Dear Fellow Artist' letter which claims
Marilyn and other performers have been destroyed by their psychoanalysts.
The letter is signed by Jenna Elfman of 'Dharma and Greg,' Anne Archer,
Juliette Lewis, Chick Corea, and Isaac Hayes, among others.
"Regarding Monroe's psychiatrist, 'His tactic was disastrous ... instead
of leading his patient to independence, he did exactly the opposite ... he
was certain he could prevail on her to do anything he wished,' an
accompanying booklet to the letter noted, quoting from Donald Spoto's 1993
biography of the star. The report noted that Monroe made 23 movies in the
seven years before she began psychiatric treatment, but she completed only
six more in the ensuing seven years before her death. She died of an
overdose shortly after spending six hours with her psychiatrist, Dr. Ralph
Greenson."
Message-ID: 19981128111714.07632.00001002@ng-cr1.aol.com
Mary Sue Hubbard
Keith Henson reported that Mary Sue Hubbard has disappeared in the wake of
a court ruling that allowed her to be deposed in Dennis Erlich's case.
"Because of Jesse Prince's affidavits on the possibly illegal (under
duress) transfer of copyrights, Judge Whyte permitted MoFo (Dennis
Erlich's pro bono lawyers) to go forward on a deposition of Mary Sue
Hubbard. No surprise, MSH's house is now locked up and deserted, and she
cannot be found, or served with a request for a deposition. Does her
vanishing have anything to do with Dennis' case?"
Message-ID: hkhensonF30436.2yD@netcom.com
-end-
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.
