Re: Hubbard's Gulags: RPF's RPF (RVY)
[28 Sep 1997]

Further below, Joe Harrington comments that the opening of mail was a common practice at Flag in 1989/90. Actually, it is wider than that.

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From: writer@eskimo.com (Robert Vaughn Young)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: Re: Hubbard's Gulags: RPF's RPF (RVY)
Date: 28 Sep 1997 16:17:10 GMT
Organization: Eskimo North (206) For-Ever
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Further below, Joe Harrington comments that the opening of mail was a
common practice at Flag in 1989/90. Actually, it is wider than that.
Roger's remark reminded me that there is a Hubbard policy letter that ALL
mail into the organization is to be opened and the reason he gives for
this is to ensure that there are no bills coming into the organization
that will be missed.

But what it allows (and did allow) was the monitoring of mail to staff. If
a staff member is under suspicion and the RTC/OSA/Dept20 personnel want to
monitor him/her by reading their mail, they simply ask HCO (where the mail
comes in) to route that person's mail to them. They can read it, photocopy
it for the Intell files and send it back to HCO so it can go on the
person. If the person complains or asks why his/her mail is opened, the
policy on opening mail to find bills is cited by HCO, which is a party to
this. The role of Dept20 is kept out of it. Meanwhile Dept20 has the names
of family, addresses, phone numbers, intimate information, all in the
files that they can pass over to their agents/private investigators or
use any time they want.

Incoming mail of staff was a key source of information for the
Intelligence Bureau, using that policy as a ruse.

Two policies I could quickly find:

HCOPL 7 Oct 70 Mail Line "The mail opener opens all mail,
whether personal or otherwise and no matter how marked on
the cover..."

HCOPL 31 Aug 65 Mail Opening "...done in Dept of Communications
- HCO Division 1"

Robert Vaughn Young
writer@eskimo.com


Joe Harrington (joeharr@worldnet.att.net) wrote:
: roger gonnet wrote:
: >
: > Robert Vaughn Young wrote:
: > >
: > >
: > > Gerry Armstrong made some excellent points in response to my post
: > > about
: > > the RPF's RPF.
: > > Re: Hubbard's Gulags: RPF's RPF (RVY)
: > >
: > > On Thu, 25 Sep 1997, Gerry Armstrong wrote:
: > >
: > > snipped
: > > > I have seen people picked up bodily by four big men and taken to the
: > > > RPF kicking, struggling and screaming in protest. That is not
: > > > "voluntary" as Scientology's spokespeople claim. I have seen many
: > > > people held and guarded. All mail out of the RPF was read by the
: > > MAA,
: > > > and any mail in could be. Telephone calls to family were by
: > > permission
: > > > and were monitored.
: > >
: > > I had forgotten about the mail monitoring. Mail in to me arrived
: > > opened.
: > > All mail out from me had to be sent in an UNSEALED envelope.
: >
: > This is in the RPF, where people are "disciplined" for any real or faked
: > cause, Robert; but i am speaking in my book (in french) of the methods
: > used by Paris Org for common mail adressed to people into (or supposed
: > to be into) the org.
: >
: > The mails were put in a kraft basket attached to a wall, opened or not
: > (readable if it was postcard or else), but they were never sent back
: > neither to their sender, when possible, neither to their recipient if
: > he/she was no longer in Paris org.
: >
: > Due to the very high number of people blowing from the cult, and those
: > sent away to DK or UK or USA to undefinite courses and cycles, some of
: > that mail was never distributed to anybody.
: >
: > I've seen the same happening in Saint Hill (and perhaps in DK): during
: > the few weeks I was ther in 76, some letters remained there weeks along,
: > nobody caring to make them follow to their recipients.
: >
: > This despising handling of mail is from elhublard, and can be found even
: > in the Admin Dictionary, where it is said that no mail should be
: > encouraged to people in orgs. (I've not the exact quote here).
: >
: > Roger

: Opening of incoming personal mail was a very common practice at Flag in
: 1989/1990.

: Joe
--
Robert Vaughn Young
writer@eskimo.com