Protest Summary
Mark Plummer reported a protest in Austin, Texas this week. "For approximately one hour and fifteen minutes yesterday I engaged in an information campaign near the University of Texas at Austin. I arrived on Guadalupe Street around 1PM. I had been joined shortly before by 'Icee' and 'Roscoe', who offered to help leaflet as well as document my activities with a Hi-8 video camera and a digital camera. "After a few minutes, a young, pimpled fellow, perhaps around 5'4', with blonde hair and a wrinkled blue shirt approached me asking, 'Why are you doing this?' I inquired whether he was a Scientologist, to which he stated, 'No; I'm just curious.' Sensing that he was lying to me, I handed him a flier with 'www.xenu.net' printed on it, and I told him to read the web site, saying, 'The information is all there.' "A little while later I noticed Cathy Norman, Director of Special Affairs of the Austin Org, standing outside of her cult's building. In the 75 minutes we were there, 'Icee' managed to pass out approximately 125 fliers, all with 'www.xenu.net' on them. I continued walking back and forth on Guadalupe Street with my two signs, occasionally stopping to answer questions from some of the curious wogs. "An Austin policeman approached me asking whether he could speak to me. He was accompanied by another cop who just stood by and listened. Cathy Norman began taking photos of me talking with the police. I asked the first policeman if I had been accused of having committed a crime, to which he responded, 'Yes, she says that around a year and a half ago you put graffiti on their building.' I assured him that I had not, to which his response was, 'Do you know who did?' I told him that I do not know, and in fact that I hadn't even seen the graffiti alleged to have been put on their building. I explained 'FAIR GAME' to the policemen, and told them why the culties were harassing me by making false allegations in an attempt to get me arrested. The first policeman assured me that I was completely within my rights to engage in my information campaign, and I thanked him while handing him a 'www.xenu.net' flier." Message-ID: 9og4ib02hau@drn.newsguy.com
Peace Message
A Scientology press release on September 19th publicized a "declaration of peace" written by L. Ron Hubbard in the novel Battlefield Earth. "HEAR ME! "Out of a hell of shot and shell, Out of this chaos of contention, Let us bring peace to pointless fight. "Why do we court the whore called war? Why make of earth a shattered night? There is no ecstasy in killing. "Love alone can make man willing. So hear me warriors, hear me mothers. There is no pay in slaughtered brothers. "Attention, if your sense is fair, heed that which we now declare. PEACE! You races far and wide. Peace! Abandon your blood-soaked suicide and now abide in peace! Echo me! As in your hearts you yearn for love, not death! PEACE, we have declared it. "Snarls and strife must be at end! In peace alone can this earth mend. And now find ecstasy in love, love for earth, for all. The gods of peace have now spoken. "OBEY!" Message-ID: bp2nqtou0oog24q4thqoo8f6899ndic1uk@4ax.com
Clearwater
Source magazine this month publicized continued fundraising for the Super Power building in Clearwater and other Clearwater events. "In keeping with this growth, Cornerstone Membership has been expanding worldwide. From coast to coast in the US to Europe and Asia, new members are joining the ranks of the Cornerstone Club to support the project that will make planetary clearing a reality, through the release of Super Power. "In the last few months, 50 new Cornerstone Members were added. Their successes reflect what this project means to them, to all Scientologists, and to this planet. "Q. What interested you in taking on the project to Cheer Up Clearwater? "A. Actually, there's more than one answer to this question. First, I LOVE the music! It's joyous, exhilarating and you can't help but tap your foot to it. You might dance in your chair to it. There is every genre of music I enjoy on this CD - pop, jazz, dance, rhythm and blues, country and western, classic - and with great artists performing on it. "Second, I love Clearwater and the people here, what better gift to give them than music that will cheer them up and set their hearts soaring. 'The Joy of Creating' is a powerful message about the very heart and ingenuity of man and the renditions of that message are, in the words of Isaac Hayes 'galvanizing' "Church representatives joined with the YMCA, Chamber of Commerce, Red Cross and Clearwater's Economic Development Team in a recent fundraiser for YMCA's scholarship programs for youth. The purpose of the YMCA is to create a happy and healthy mind, body and spirit for all those who come to them for recreational services - so we were happy to assist in their fundraising efforts." The St. Petersburg Times reported on September 23rd that members of the Lisa McPherson Trust continue to be discriminated against by Scientology. "Last September, Mark Bunker didn't even get beyond the front door of One Stoppe Shoppe on Cleveland Street when the owner told him: 'You're not allowed in here.' Two days later, Bunker and Jeff Jacobsen had just finished lunch at Daniela's Kitchen on N Fort Harrison when they were told never to come back. "The two men, both employed at the Lisa McPherson Trust, a downtown organization dedicated to fighting Scientology, believed their rights had been violated. They filed discrimination complaints with the Pinellas County Office of Human Rights. Last month, their claims were rejected. The Office of Human Rights ruled that church critics do not fall under one of the classes protected against discrimination, said Leon Russell, the county's human rights officer. "The trust also learned recently that it was snubbed by the Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce. The trust's membership application, filed a year ago, was never accepted. Trust members say they heard about it from a Scientology lawyer. Chamber officials say they question how the trust fits in with the chamber's business mission. Trust members say the chamber is filled with Scientologists who don't want church critics among the membership. 'There's nobody in Clearwater who can go against Scientology,' said Stacy Brooks, president of the Lisa McPherson Trust and a former Scientologist. 'It's really scary.' "'They are enemies of mine,' said Paris Morfopoulos, owner of One Stoppe Shoppe. 'I don't want them as customers and I'd certainly never assist them in any way.' Daniela Malka said while Jacobsen and Bunker did not cause any problems in her restaurant when they ate there, she has seen them picketing her church. 'They really, really chose a very bad spot to be located in,' Malka said. 'If they did choose this spot to be close to the church, this is the kind of situation they are going to confront. The church isn't joking around.' "Civil rights expert and historian Ray Arsenault said while the findings of the Office of Human Rights properly applied the law, the Scientology business owners are discriminating against the church critics. 'I don't think it should be legal,' said Arsenault, a University of South Florida professor and acting president of the Pinellas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. 'They're being penalized for their expression of the First Amendment. It really is a way of trying to bring pressure to stop them from exercising their First Amendment rights.' "Scientology attorney Kendrick Moxon described the discrimination complaint as another scheme by the Lisa McPherson Trust to get media attention and cause trouble for the church. 'When you look at how they were hired to come to Clearwater to cause Scientologists to be discriminated against and that they're saying now, 'We're being discriminated against,' they're completely outrageous,' Moxon said. 'It's a created situation. They are trying to create turmoil in the community.' "In defending their right to deny service, the business owners filed with the county hefty packets of documents that included, among other things, a Web site listing the Lisa McPherson Trust as a hate group, photos of trust founder Robert Minton picketing the church, a sworn statement by a church security officer recounting acts of violence against the church, correspondence and news articles about Minton's business dealings and police records of two other church critics not involved in the complaint." Message-ID: 9okho3$g06@netaxs.com Message-ID: tqpj3s5g3i1g71@corp.supernews.com
Germany
The Associated Press reported on September 20th that the employment agent license of a Scientologist has been revoked in Mainz. "Professing the teachings of Scientology founder Ron Hubbard is not compatible with working as an employee agent. That was decided on Thursday by the first Senate of the Rheinland-Pfalz State Welfare Court in Mainz. "The BfA had revoked the work permit it had issued for the 45-year-old complainant after learning of her membership in Scientology from newspaper stories. The former masseuse and bath attendant had acted as agent for au-pair girls mainly from Estonia with German host families. "The presiding judge Ralf Bartz detailed in the basis of the decision that the case went against the complainant mainly because she delivered between six and ten percent of the girls to Scientologists without telling that to the girls. Because she was dealing with minors whose native language was not German, this lack of information was deemed particularly problematic." Message-ID: Pine.LNX.3.96.1010921142124.118A-100000@darkstar.zippy
Jenna Elfman
The New Zealand Herald reported on September 19th on Scientology celebrity Jenna Elfman. "Hit sitcom Dharma & Greg is looking shaky after dwindling fourth season ratings in the United States. Elfman is as kooky as her on-screen counterpart. Introduced to Scientology by her husband, Bodhi Elfman, she says the doctrine helps her to live her life better. In a 1999 interview she described using the E-meter, a device that is said to weigh mental energy. The subject holds two can-like objects hooked up to the E-meter. "'You know how your head feels heavy when you're having a problem?' said Elfman. 'It's actually mass that you can weigh. It's compressed mental energy. And the E-meter sees changes in that.' A counselor asks questions about what might be bothering you, Elfman explained, and if your response jolts the needle on the E-meter, you know you've found the root of your problem." The San Francisco Chronicle reported on September 18th that Jenna became lost recently while helping with a new mission in San Francisco. "Jenna Elfman, lost in San Francisco recently, got a ride from a cop she stopped to ask for directions to the nearest newsstand. She wanted to buy a ballet magazine (and isn't it nice that cops in this fair city are available to help celebrities?) Elfman was in town to help remodel a Mission Street building that will open as the Church of Scientology, Mission of SoMa on Sept. 29." Message-ID: 3baa5e15.1702233@news.xs4all.nl Message-ID: 3bab4b1d.6710811@news.xs4all.nl
Keith Henson
Scientology critic and refugee in Canada, Keith Henson reported receiving a threatening phone call this week. "Gregg was reading mail when the phone rang. It was either the third threat against him or the first one against me, take your choice. "The caller said 'We'll get you, you interfering son of a bitch.' Calling *69 got a most interesting result. It returned (twice) 905-632-4956 which when called says the number is out of service." Yahoo Internet Life published an article on Keith in its October, 2001 issue. "When Keith Henson posted a joke about blowing up Church of Scientology members with a 'Tom Cruise Missile' in the alt.religion.scientology newsgroup, he didn't think it would get him arrested. Henson's posts were admitted as evidence in April when he was brought up on charges of terrorism, attempted terrorism, and interfering with religion to enjoy a constitutional right. Henson was convicted of the interfering charge (a hate crime) in California court and sentenced to up to a year in prison, in addition to a fine of $3,000. Before sentencing, Henson jumped bail and sought political asylum in Canada where, at press time, he remains. "So how did Henson end up on the run in a foreign country? Setting aside Scientology's widely reported suppression and intimidation tactics, the issue becomes one of cultural ignorance. Jokes are inherently unsanitary. They take the stuffing out of our leaders as well as our loved ones, often making the comfortable uncomfortable. And for better or worse, the online 'death threat' has become one of the Net's standard jokes. "If Keith Henson had limited his protests to shouting at the top of his lungs about Tom Cruise Missiles out-side Scientology headquarters, he probably would have been dismissed as a harmless kook. But once his words went on the Net, they were enough to help convince a jury that a penniless 58-year-old man was planning to deploy a piece of military hardware costing $600,000 and accessible only to top levels of the U.S. armed forces." Message-ID: 3ba60ea9.80119095@news2.lightlink.com Message-ID: q2Cp7.2606$oD.2000819@news1.rsm1.occa.home.com
Kirstie Alley
The Sacramento Bee reported on September 22nd that Scientology celebrity Kirstie Alley has opened a tutoring center in Sacramento. "'I have an aversion to the typical, sterile schoolroom setting,' Kirstie Alley says on the phone from Los Angeles. 'I wanted something that doesn't look like a school.' With that in mind, Alley, a TV and movie actress, personally designed the look of Lillie's Learning Place, a tutoring center in Sacramento sponsored by the Church of Scientology. The center, open to the public, is free. "Lillie's Learning Place is a phonics-based reading program that Alley says will help students learn how to study better. The program is based on the work of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. The first Lillie's Place, named after Alley's daughter, opened in the actress's hometown of Wichita, Kan. She will soon be opening four more, including one today in Sacramento. Alley and her daughter will be on hand for ceremonies at 5 p.m. at the Church of Scientology Mission of River Park on Hurley Way. "Last week, the National Mental Health Association issued a press release warning the public 'to beware of representatives of the Church of Scientology claiming to be mental health professionals. The public needs to understand that the Scientologists are using this tragedy to recruit new members.' Alley calls the warning unfair. 'They are counselors. I personally know about 100 of them, and they are working hard to help people,' she says. 'Wouldn't you know that in the heat of all this, some people would use this as an opportunity to attack others? That's just more ignorance.'" Message-ID: dgepqto65lq3akj2lvgforeaf9rbodqfvt@4ax.com
Los Angeles
E-mail sent to Scientologists this week asked for donations so that a new billboard can be erected in Los Angeles to promote Scientology. "We have a golden opportunity to get a billboard up in the heart of Hollywood's hottest new tourist district that says, 'Scientology: 250,000 people salvaged from drugs - visit www.thinkclearly.org.' "$1,000 of the $4,000 needed to finance the billboard has already been raised as a result of a few dozen Scientologists deciding that it is important to express their own goodwill by getting the Church's message out to the world. If you would like to participate in 'project goodwill,' your goodwill contributions to the Church of Scientology need to be sent (or brought) to the Community Affairs Office at 1308 L. Ron Hubbard Way, Los Angeles." Message-ID: tqfd70q0tcsfce@corp.supernews.com
Marathon
E-mail sent to Scientologists this week announced that runners will again be publicizing alleged human rights violations against Scientology in Europe. "On September 25, our 4th annual marathon - the 2001 European Marathon for Human Rights - will begin. More than 30 runners from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Great Britain and France are taking four separate routes to carry the vital message of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to 10 major European cities. There are five starting points: Barcelona, Milano, London, Prague and Budapest. And, once again, a single destination: Paris, France. "The message to the government of France is that people of conscience from across Europe are demanding that France live up to international standards of human rights and religious freedom. On Monday, October 22, 2001, all the runners will converge on Paris on the final leg of their marathon. There they will be welcomed by thousands from all over the world to France to take part in the marathon's climax, a multi-faith rally for peace and human rights." Message-ID: tqfd7864dr9sd6@corp.supernews.com
Missions
"Zorrosblade" reported this week that Scientology has opened a new mission in Santa Monica to replace one that closed in February. "Scientology has opened a new mission franchise in Santa Monica California; located at 1337 Ocean avenue. Their first floor leased facility is very small, with an orange dianetic placard placed on their small front window, as well as scotch taping a WTC 'volunteer ministers' flyer notice of scientology 'on the NY scene.'" Message-ID: Dtdr7.5868$8a.3852874@news1.rsm1.occa.home.com
World Trade Centers
The National Mental Health Association issued a press release on September 17th criticizing the placement of a Scientology phone number on Fox News during coverage of the World Trade Centers disaster. "The National Mental Health Association (NMHA) today is warning the public and media to beware of representatives of the Church of Scientology who are claiming to be mental health professionals assisting individuals in New York City. "'This is a very important and sensitive time,' said Michael M. Faenza, President and CEO of NMHA. 'I urge the Church of Scientology to stay out of mental health. The public needs to understand that the Scientologists are using this tragedy to recruit new members. They are not providing mental health assistance.' Faenza said Fox News had been broadcasting an 800 help line for 'National Mental Health Assistance' and the network was unaware that the number was being answered by the Scientologist's center in Los Angeles." From the Associated Press on September 17th: "Scientology spokeswoman Janet Weiland said church volunteers who offered assistance to people following last week's attacks at the Pentagon and in New York City were upfront about their affiliation. The church added in a statement issued Monday night that all of its volunteers wore bright yellow t-shirts or jackets with 'Scientology Volunteer Minister' printed in 4-inch letters on them. "NMHA spokesman Mark Helmke said at least one television outlet, Fox News, publicized a toll-free number for the church last week as one to call for people seeking mental health counseling. A Fox official in New York confirmed the number was on the screen for about two hours. 'Someone who called that number found out what it was and then they called us immediately and then we took it down immediately,' said the official, who declined to be quoted by name. "'Here they create a National Mental Health Assistance organization, with the same initials as our organization's and convince one major news outlet to post their mental health number, and what does it go to? It goes to a place where they are trying to get people to join Scientology,' said Helmke. 'It's clear they aren't trying to help people with mental health but to get them to join their cult,' he said." From the Battle Creek Inquirer on September 19th: "Shortly after last week's terrorist attacks, a sign went up outside the Church of Scientology's temporary downtown location urging those disturbed by the tragedy to come in for free counseling. 'We had about 25 people in that day,' said Mike Delaware, executive director of the Battle Creek church. 'We put it out to offer free Scientology auditing and counseling.' "Critics are accusing the Church of Scientology of using the counseling and auditing - a type of therapy that uses an Electrophsychometer to measure somebody's mental state - to recruit new members into the church under the guise of providing mental health counseling after last week's attacks. "Erv Brinker, chief executive officer of Summit Pointe, said pastoral counseling can be just as effective as professional counseling. The key, he said, is simply to talk about feelings and avoid isolation. 'If they are out there truly helping people work out these issues and emotional trauma, it's wonderful. If they're out there using this to recruit members, that's not good,' he said." From Tagesspiegel Berlin on September 19th: "The press wire read like a success story: 'Volunteer Ministers give assists to people in need at Ground Zero to get them going again. Then they show them how they can help others with assists. That way the number of qualified assistants continues to grow,' announced Scientology. Following that is a description, straight out of a Hollywood movie, of a religious awakening in which an exhausted fireman, after having received an 'assist' from a member of Scientology, is then able to continue searching for his missing brother. 'Touch Assists,' a type of laying on of hands, is recommended in 'The Way to Happiness' brochure, a non-aggressive, soft-PR piece by the Scientologists. The organization praised itself for gaining permission to enter, along with police, firemen and Red Cross workers, the cordoned-off area around 'the scene of the disaster at the World Trade Center.' "Experts in the field are outraged. This was a case of 'an opportunity being shamelessly exploited,' said Berlin Scientology critic Tilman Hausherr. Shortly after the murderous attacks, the organization was already soliciting for donations from members and non-members via e-mail. The same thing, according to Hausherr, happened back in the Oklahoma City bombing. It is 'unbelievable' that the USA loudly warns people about fraud, then ignores Scientology, Hausherr believes. "Apparently Scientology strategically held up emergency personnel in New York - 'members of the fire department, police, doctors and nurses' - and 'trained them.' Scientology critic Hausherr believes it is simply 'disgusting' that 'they're actually continuing to do it.' As of today, the Scientology 'volunteers' are standing among the Manhattan debris in their bright yellow t-shirts. And boast to each other in e-mail about having impeded other 'real' psychologists in their work." Scientologists were urged in e-mail to contribute to the cost of printing The Way to Happiness for distribution in the New York Post. "This donation will allow distribution of The Way to Happiness to the general populace - but we need to pay for and deliver the booklets to the Post! The cost of The Way to Happiness reprints to go into this special offer is $120,000. We have to supply the booklets for the newspaper and that requires tax deductible donations from you for this effort. "The Way to Happiness strengthens communities by making them safer, more secure and less violent by instilling in our society the values that are in The Way to Happiness booklet." "So far we collected around $1100.00 in Donations but we need around $10,000.00 to cover for around 500 assists booklet to hand out. We need Way to Happiness booklets as well to distribute to the population of New York. We need to get vans rented and Food and supplies for these ministers we are sending to bring with them for the wounded." Scientology responded to leaks from their e-mail lists by asking that no more information about their efforts in New York be sent by e-mail. "Due to security reasons this e-mail is being sent to inform you that all correspondence regarding New York will from now on be over the phone line. This includes all interpersonal comm as well. No further comm is to go out regarding New York via e-mail. Respond and let me know that this is understood. "Yours, Menolly Temple T/CO I HELP CANADA The New York Times published an article on September 20th on Scientology's efforts during the crisis. "At any time, well over 100 volunteer ministers from the Church of Scientology mill around the remains of the World Trade Center. On the day of the attack, they took in food to workers. Since then, they have taken the mind-altering techniques developed by the church's founder, L. Ron Hubbard. When rescue workers stagger from the wreckage, the ministers, identified by their T-shirts, try to focus the workers' minds and revive their bodies. In 'locationals,' workers are told to look at the sky, or at water bottles on a table - anything to ground them in the present, the outside world, rather than the horror within the rubble. "'They bring people back, so to speak, so they are in control of their mind and environment,' said the Rev. John Carmichael, the president of the Church of Scientology of New York. 'You want to help get rid of the fatigue and the fuzziness.' Though many religious organizations are supplying assistance for the disaster, few are as well-organized as the Scientologists, or as evident at the scene. When many volunteers were asked to clear out over the weekend, the Scientologists were allowed to stay, working alongside groups like the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army. "When he drove down to the site on Tuesday, Mr. Carmichael said, a police officer waved him through. 'You're a Scientologist,' he recalled the officer saying. 'You're good.' Scientology is growing rapidly, Mr. Carmichael said, and 'growth bespeaks popularity.' Others worry that disaster assistance could mask proselytizing. Dissidents have accused Scientology of having cultlike overtones, and of preying on members financially. "One woman who on Saturday received a 'nerve assist,' in which fingers are run over the body in a way that Scientologists believe unblocks nerve channels and restores energy flow, said she was asked whether she would like a 'little Dianetics session.' Mr. Carmichael said that when people ask, 'What was that?' after the assists, they are told it is Scientology, and given a 'little piece of something' to answer questions. 'It's not proselytizing,' Mr. Carmichael said. 'It's us trying to help.'" The Los Angeles Times reported on September 19th that Scientologist in Glendale, California contributed to efforts in New York. "The recovery efforts at ground zero, site of the World Trade Center collapse in New York City, are 'surprisingly composed,' said Val Bameira, a Glendale volunteer minister of the Church of Scientology who's supporting rescue and recovery workers. The 28-year-old arrived at the scene on Saturday and will stay for a week before returning to Glendale. He is one of hundreds of Scientologists, Salvation Army, and Red Cross workers from around the country who are supporting rescue and recovery workers at the site. "Bameira offers workers 'assists,' massage-like techniques developed by L. Ron Hubbard that Bameira says relax the nerves and 'restore the communication levels in the body.' '[The workers] are working in front of this huge mass of twisted metal and dirt and it's very hard to face. This helps them so they can concentrate on what they're doing.'" An anonymous critic posted a description of Scientology's efforts to a.r.s. "Any 'volunteer ministers' there are only there because they sneak in and for every one of these creeps offering up their worthless tent show 'faith healing' it seems like there's another practically at his elbow making sure to take a picture; the primary purpose behind their presence is strictly PR. They spend too much time trying to make their presence known and not enough attending to real needs. A friend of his went to the site to volunteer and was cornered and high-pressured by some culties to put on a 'Volunteer Minister' shirt as practically a condition to volunteer. In any case, I now own a copy of 'The Way to Happiness.'" Scientology chief David Miscavige sent a letter to Scientologists about the disaster. "Bluntly, we are the ONLY people of Earth who can reverse the decline, and we do not have an endless amount of time to pull it off. Every sector of Scientology activity plays a vital role that must be fulfilled. Every one of these attacks, and endless world conflicts can be traced to a lack of real technology of the mind and reliance on false mental therapies of psychiatry and psychology. Don't be fooled. It is not normal for people to agree to suicide missions in killing others. Such people are not born, they are made. It is done through drugging, hypnotism and implanting - the stock in trade of the psych. If there is any doubt, consider the fact that the primary suspect - Osama Bin Laden - has a psychiatrist as his right-hand man.' "The public knows other religions have failed. Every one of them had an original goal of peace, love and compassion. And yet, one by one, they became involved in war themselves - all because they lacked the technology to achieve their aims - Christianity, Islam, Judaism - you name it. All except us.' We must have as many Volunteer Ministers as there are police - getting every being back to church, but this time for the real help we can provide, which we must spread far and wide and so unite all religions. And all while we work to reform the field of mental health." Message-ID: tqpqbigk2goja4@corp.supernews.com Message-ID: JTvp7.3509$p77.10838@www.newsranger.com Message-ID: tqdgab73uatb7d@corp.supernews.com Message-ID: 3baddb11.7188014@news.xs4all.nl Message-ID: 8eee0ac81bfc02e2d40d5952e47cd496@xganon.com Message-ID: Pine.LNX.3.96.1010919142556.115A-100000@darkstar.zippy Message-ID: 3baba8a8.3302812@news.xs4all.nl Message-ID: tqlio1hrluhlbb@corp.supernews.com Message-ID: D6FA0AD6433147CA.DDDC96820717407B.9412EC042E370DC0@lp.airnews.net Message-ID: kOMq7.81$ev2.385@www.newsranger.com Message-ID: 2SMq7.85$ev2.537@www.newsranger.com Message-ID: 3bad57f3.1799150@news.xs4all.nl Message-ID: 3bad9a58.14575677@news.xs4all.nl Message-ID: 5021e7caa9665b534c423fbe33fbc153@xganon.com
UK
E-mail from the Mayor of London, Ken Livingston, defending his decision to prohibit a Scientology demonstration in Trafalgar Square was posted to a.r.s on September 21st. "I can reassure you that I canvassed a number of organisations for advice before coming to a decision, none of which are a 'front' for pharmaceutical companies. All these organisations are committed to preventing alcohol and drug problems in London. I took advice from the Department of Health, the National Treatment Agency, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, Drugscope, London Drug Policy Forum, London Drug and Alcohol Network, King's College London, Imperial College, as well as a number of specialist in the drug prevention, education and treatment. " Furthermore, I can reassure you that I am leading a comprehensive programme of action to reduce the harm of alcohol and drugs in London. I will support and promote a range of effective interventions for treating people dependent on drugs and alcohol, including alternative therapies and Alcohol Anonymous. I am well aware of the Narconon programmes running in prisons in Mexico, and the impact of this programme on inmates. However I will not support the promotion of a drug treatment programme or drug education in London that is sponsored by the 'Church' of Scientology. Scientology is a commercial enterprise that harasses its critics, and preys on vulnerable people. Its anti-drugs activity is a means to promote and recruit people in to its organisation, often with devastating consequences." Message-ID: cpfnqt4q5hclf6ha4eafcaeda3druutlj9@4ax.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.
