Chaka Khan
The Cincinnati Enquirer published an article on July 28th, in which singer Chaka Khan described her involvement in Scientology's World Literacy Crusade. "I'm starting a foundation, the Chaka Khan Foundation,' she explains. 'We deal with women and children in crisis. I'll be launching that in a couple months time. And I teach art classes twice a week in Compton to kids in the World Literacy Crusade and other kids in the neighborhood there.' "She says that she and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., are scheduled to meet with Hillary Clinton on a project to bring more arts education into public schools, 'and get Ritalin out of our schools. And we want to build a co-op for women and children for medical care and job training and child care facilities and the whole bit,' she gushes, finally stopping for a breath." Message-ID: jp2jos0vc6lovbiho412ul5uj9b5o2u3nm@4ax.com
Operation Clambake
Andreas Heldal-Lund reported that Scientology has again blocked links to pro-Scientology sites from Operation Clambake, at http://www.xenu.net. "I want people to think for themselves not just accept my point of view. I've added several links to your own web pages for people to have easy access to them. In November 1999 you blocked your pages so that anybody who pressed a link on Operation Clambake to your pages would be refused to access your official web pages in the Internet. I responded by setting up pages on other accounts so that the links wouldn't go directly from Operation Clambake. Now it seems you've finally caught up, after 8 months. The links from these pages are dead too now." Message-ID: cfsbos0d3540qd82u7fn4ol1de7abshb4e@4ax.com
Clearwater
In the wake of Ursula Caberta's visit to Clearwater, the St. Petersburg Times printed the letters of several Scientologists and one non-Scientologist on July 31st "With respect to the recent press conference by Ursula Caberta, it would be more responsible and professional for the Times to do some research and discover the truth of the situation. A little investigation would reveal that Ms. Caberta's views are rooted in a centuries-old German tradition of religious oppression. -- Marlin Anderson, Tampa "Unfortunately, you missed the point that Ursula Caberta is bringing intolerance and religious discrimination into this country by continuing her business in Germany on American soil. In the United States, Caberta showed up at a press conference as a German official persecuting my religion, the Church of Scientology, and its parishioners. How could Ursula Caberta be surprised to be called a Nazi by Americans? She denies to my religion the right of existence. Because of people like Caberta, Germany is focused more on the persecution of honest people than on fighting the neo-Nazis who actually harm and even kill people. -- Hans Bschorr, Clearwater "I'm so tired of the criticism letter writers give about the Church of Scientology. The Scientologists have done more to save the downtown area than the city of Clearwater, which wanted to give it away. I live by and drive through downtown almost every day. All I ever see are well-dressed and well-behaved people going about their own business. Maybe you would rather have gangs, prostitutes, derelicts and boarded-up window fronts. Most small downtowns would kill to have an educational facility like the Scientologists have set up. I am not a Scientologist, nor do I belong to any other church group. -- Lee Wilhelm, Clearwater" The St. Petersburg Times reported on August 1st that a proposal by Scientology-affiliated lawyer Tim Johnson to eliminate the position of City Manager was rejected by the City Commission. "Timothy A. Johnson Jr., a prominent and politically active lawyer from a local pioneer family, suggested in a letter last week that now is the time to consider such a change in the city charter -- before commissioners select a replacement for City Manager Mike Roberto, who resigned last month under pressure. "But his suggestion was quickly dismissed at a City Commission workshop after Commissioner Ed Hart asked his four peers what they thought about it. His colleagues said the issue could best be dealt with when the city's Charter Review Committee convenes again in 2003. Hart said later he wasn't pushing the issue but thought it needed to be debated. He said he had problems with the way city government functioned under Roberto but also has misgivings about a 'strong-mayor' system." Message-ID: 8m3oeg$psj@netaxs.com Message-ID: 8m6cq9$2pn@netaxs.com
Anti-Drug Essay
The Mobile Register reported on August 1st that Scientology is sponsoring an anti-drug essay contest. "A regional essay contest on the theme 'Anything is Possible When You are Drug Free,' sponsored by the Church of Scientology, will help mark 'Drug-Free Marshal's Month.' All essays should be in by Aug. 8 and be no longer than one page. The contest is open to youths aged five to 14. Entrants should include their name, age and address with the submission." Message-ID: 8m74bt$764$1@nnrp1.deja.com
Jenna Elfman
The Sunday Times published an interview with Scientology celebrity Jenna Elfman on July 30th. "Her sitcom, Dharma & Greg, now in its third season, stands eyeball to eyeball with Friends and Frasier at the top of ratings. Dharma & Greg is hardly Nobel Prize- winning stuff. It's a corny chalk and cheese set-up concerning Dharma, a hippie chick with a heart of gold, who marries straitlaced lawyer Greg - she the passionate type who's kind to old people and animals; he the voice of respectable reason. Her uncle-in-law, by way of her husband Bodhi, is the composer Danny Elfman (the Simpsons and Batman movie themes are his). And Elfman herself is no mean drummer, her skin-thumping a regular turn on the talk-show circuit; she's jammed with such luminaries as Bob Dylan, a guest on her sitcom. Elfman has been quite open about her debt to that great Hollywood powerbroker, the Church of Scientology, the cult/religion/practice (delete as appropriate) that has never done anyone's career any harm, no matter what they say about Battlefield Earth. Elfman has acted as a veritable one-woman, wisecracking ambassador. As becomes plain. 'I'm making myself more sane, and pulling away the shit so that I can be present and be able and comfortable and willing to be in front of other people, to reach into their lives to help to communicate,' she declares. 'I mean, if you can't even be present, then you can't really help anybody. I mean, you're as valuable as you can serve others. I mean, on the day that we can all trust each other, there will be peace on earth. L. Ron Hubbard says that. Start bringing people together. You know what I mean? If anyone is inspired by that and creates that, f***in' great. What's with sectioning off? Everyone has something in common. That is that they're of mankind. Everyone has the same problems, they just have different content. So everybody needs to, like, you know, work on willing to be there for each other.'" Message-ID: 8m1o03$a65$1@nnrp1.deja.com
Germany
Taz published an article on the Scientology exhibit in Hamburg on July 26th. "The Scientologists chose the location with care: up until last year, the Interior Agency's Work Group on Scientology, which always warns people about the sect, used to meet in the same building. Holding the exhibition in this location was absolutely 'symbolically meant,' said Mydla-Kiessl 'to advance communication.' The exhibition used colorful display boards to present the personality cult: 'Ron' the Boy Scout, who obtained 21 meritorious badges within 75 days of early 1924. Ron the Flyer, the Researcher and the friend of mankind who fought illiteracy, cured drug addicts and re-socialized criminals. Everything strictly scientific, just like his primary work, 'Dianetics, the modern science of mental health,' on which Scientology is based. "Although Scientology is supposed to a religion with practical applications which lead to 'spiritual freedom,' it proved difficult to get information from church members. Most of them pointed to Ute Mydla-Kiessl, who was doing the press work: what is Scientology about? About survival as the smallest common denominator and, apart from that, living as well as possible. Is there a soul? Yes. What happens after death? 'I'll tell you when it happens,' said Mydla-Kiessl." Schwaebische Zeitung published an interview with Scientology critic Renate Hartwig on July 27th. "Mrs. Hartwig, what are the motives for your novel for young people? "After my first book appeared, 'Scientology - ich klage an,' much changed. Counseling people who had suffered loss turned into a primary pastime: bankruptcies, white-collar crime, victimized children, broken youth - all this focused my look on potential danger to society. I saw how psycho-groups expanded. And information about them went only at a snail's pace. "What makes these organizations so dangerous? "There is, in every person, an urge to find themselves. It is usually young people who are lured into psycho-groups under cover of 'help for self-discovery.' Besides young people, these organizations often target commercial enterprises. Finally, world domination is the stated goal. Until it comes to that, political influence is to be obtained in the commercial force. "What kind of effect does this goal have upon the individual member? "First the person withdraws. On the other side he becomes aggressive because he is trained to think stereotypically in his organization. Anybody who does not support the goal himself turns into the enemy, even family members and friends. People are made into tools. Freedom is perverted. "And that is the reason for your new book, 'Gefaehrliche Neugier'? "In this book I describe how psycho-groups obtain influence over young people and exploit them for their goals. I would like to work shoulder to shoulder with German businesses to achieve some sort of preventive program. That is the purpose of 'Aktion Eule.' My slogan has been and will continue to be 'Better to keep people from going it than them not being able to get out.'" Taz reported on July 28th that the Bremen org has moved to a new location. "The former home of the Bremen Scientology Mission, the Nobelvilla on Osterdeich, had nothing to do with membership figures. That is according to Jan Labes, President of Scientology Mission Bremen, Inc. 'Eight years ago, we simply did not find anything else.' The spaces of the magnificent, almost 120 year old structure, protected as a monument, have recently turned out to be extremely oversized. Too few disciples in the Hanseatic City. Scientology Bremen had to move. "'They were no longer using all the rooms,' believes real estate dealer Guenther Diekamp, who currently is offering the property for sale at 3.2 million marks. 'Perhaps the Mission did not develop as much as had been planned,' Financial difficulties, as Scientology Bremen had admitted during a trial before the superior administration court of the Hanseatic City of Bremen on February 25, 1997 probably also played a role. Finally, 15,000 marks a month rent is not a small figure for an association which allegedly makes no profit. "'In those places where Scientology maintains larger buildings, that would be churches, in Germany, like in Hamburg and Munich, there has been talk in the last several years of a massive decrease of adherents. That leads to a general phase of upheaval in which Scientology re-organizes itself and which, certainly, is also taking place in Bremen. Part of that phase could mean disappearing from the city picture,' said the unnamed source. The possibility of the move being a delayed reaction to the court decision of February 25, 1997 which prohibits Scientology from advertising in certain zones downtown is vehemently disputed by association President Labes. 'We are doing exactly the same thing that we were doing previously: We are helping people in the achievement of their spiritual perfection.' He says he has heard nothing about dwindling membership in other cities. In any case he says that in Bremen the number is holding at 'a couple of hundred members.' He doesn't want to get more concrete than that." Message-ID: Pine.LNX.3.96.1000731175038.130E-100000@darkstar.zippy Message-ID: Pine.LNX.3.96.1000731175129.130G-100000@darkstar.zippy Message-ID: Pine.LNX.3.96.1000731175148.130H-100000@darkstar.zippy Message-ID: Pine.LNX.3.96.1000731175214.130I-100000@darkstar.zippy
Ursula Caberta
Hamburger Morgenpost reported on July 29th on the lawsuit Scientology filed against Scientology critic Ursula Caberta during her trip to Clearwater. "A software corporation from the USA, according to the Hamburg Scientology center, is supposed to be suing Hamburg's sect commissioner, Ursula Caberta. The involved woman from Hamburg introduced the 'sect filter' which is used in Germany to the U.S. and with which it is possible for companies to avoid falling into the clutches of the Hubbard disciples. The corporation, so it is said, had a deal slip through its fingers because of that. "At first there was some irritation in the Scientologists' Hamburg center, obviously over the amount of the sum being sued for. First Scientology reported, '5 Million Dollar Suit!' But then a female telephoned, 'Please destroy that press release.' A revision followed: suddenly it was apparently only a matter of 'more than 75,000 dollars.'" From Hamburger Abendblatt on July 29th: "The complainant is the American RTI software corporation from Sacramento. The basis of the suit says that the corporation lost a major contract to a Germany company after a corporate representative was confronted with 'Caberta's sect filter.' The 'sect filter' is a piece of paper on which the applicant specifies whether he operates using the technology of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Many companies which do not wish to have anything to do with Scientology avail themselves of this document, the essentials of which were worked out by the work group on Scientology under Caberta in the Interior Agency. The timing of the lawsuit, not coincidentally, was so that it would fall during Caberta's trip last week to Florida where - to the displeasure of the Scientologists - she presented her work against the organization to the press. The Interior Agency viewed the lawsuit calmly. It was not foreseen that a legal procedure such as this would be conducted before a U.S. court because both Caberta and the corporation which invoked the sect filter upon itself are German. Besides that, reference was made to a (not yet legally enforceable) decision by the Hamburg Administrative Court which upholds the technology declaration as permissible." Message-ID: Pine.LNX.3.96.1000731175100.130F-100000@darkstar.zippy Message-ID: Pine.LNX.3.96.1000731174948.130C-100000@darkstar.zippy
Stacy Meyer
The Riverside Press-Enterprise reported on July 3rd that Scientology's Gold Base was fined for safety violations that were discovered during the investigation into the death of Stacey Meyer by electrocution. "The state fined the Church of Scientology's film studio $370 for safety violations. Investigators were looking into a woman's death, but found no violations related to that accident. Golden Era Productions near San Jacinto was cited by the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health for using an extension cord instead of permanent electrical wiring and for an improper connection of another cord next to the vault where 20-year-old Stacy Grove Meyer died, OSHA spokesman Dean Fryer said. Problems with the cords were not related to Meyer's death, Fryer said. Ken Hoden, general manager of Golden Era, said both problems have been corrected. "Meyer, the daughter of church attorney Kendrick L. Moxon and wife of church member Derek Meyer, died instantly on June 25 when she fell while climbing a ladder leading into a vault. She touched a 7,200-volt wire and suffered severe burns over most of her body, according to Riverside County sheriff's investigators. Sheriff's investigators concluded Meyer's death was an accident. "According to OSHA's investigation report, completed Friday, Meyer looped electrical wire through a slot on a 230-pound steel manhole cover to slide it off the vault on the northeast side of the film studio. People who knew Meyer told investigators she was 'physically fit and had the ability to move' the cover." Message-ID: 8mctt2$i6v@netaxs.com
Movie Stars
The Los Angeles Times published a society article on August 1st on a fund-raiser for a non-profit law center. "Bet Tzedek, the nonprofit law center that provides free legal aid to economically disadvantaged people in Los Angeles, staged its fourth annual blowout fund-raiser, the Justice Ball, at Santa Monica's Museum of Flying on Saturday. The evening raised more than half a million dollars, according to co- chairmen Rafael Fogel and Randall Kaplan. "We hung out for a while with some newfound friends, many of whom were in clear violation of the 'under 35' theme, including Janet Weiland, vice president of the Church of Scientology, and Lon Tinney, a film special-effects expert who worked on the original 'Star Wars.'" Message-ID: 8m8f8i$6hc$1@nnrp1.deja.com
Lisa McPherson
The civil case against Scientology in the death of Lisa McPherson will be moved to Pinellas County and will have a new judge, according to the St. Petersburg Times on August 5th. "After three years of being litigated in Tampa, a wrongful death lawsuit against the Church of Scientology's Clearwater operation has been transferred to Pinellas County. Moody has presided over the case since it was filed in February 1997 by the estate of Lisa McPherson, the 36-year-old Scientologist who died in 1995 after 17 days in the care of Scientology staffers in Clearwater. Moody is leaving the case, having been tapped recently for a federal judgeship. Rather than hand the case to another Hillsborough judge, he sent it to Pinellas. "In a May 3 hearing, Moody questioned why the case against the Pinellas-based church was being litigated in Hillsborough County. His comment prompted attorneys for the church and for three Scientology staffers who are also defendants in the lawsuit to file a motion asking that the case be moved. They argued that the alleged acts against McPherson took place in Pinellas, where the church has its headquarters. "Ken Dandar, the Tampa lawyer representing McPherson's estate, could not be reached Friday. He has said in the past that McPherson's family wanted the case filed in Tampa to lessen the chance that Scientologists would be part of the jury pool. The filing was made possible because the church's Clearwater branch kept a Post Office box in Tampa." Message-ID: 8mh0es$50i@netaxs.com
Lisa McPherson Trust
Plans were announced this week for a benefit concert for the Lisa McPherson Trust, to be held in November in Clearwater. "The first annual benefit concert for the Lisa McPherson Trust. It is scheduled for Saturday, November 11, 2000 at a Clearwater, Florida venue to be announced at a later date. This event will feature area and regional musical acts, as well as appearances and speeches by former Scientologists and cult experts, among others. This event is being organized by area musicians, and all proceeds will be donated to the Lisa McPherson Trust. For more info, if your band would like to appear at this event, or if you would like to speak or make a presentation, email MrScary@tampamail.com," Message-ID: 398C94AE.9B147190@tampamail.com
Tom Padgett
An update on the case of Tom Padgett, fighting Scientology in a Kentucky family court, were posted to a.r.s this week. "Attorney John F. Padgett received in his Massachusetts office on August 4th by fax, an amended motion to have Tom Padgett charged with yet a new criminal action to be heard in court on Monday August 8th. The new accusation in the amended motion reads that Scientologist 'Laura Padgett called the local Victim's Advocate Office in Madisonville, and reported that Tom Padgett was 2 months behind in his child support payments. The defendant should be sentenced up to five years in prison. "The complaining witness Laura Padgett, is an adherent to the Hubbard mental health sect that requires her to 'legally harass' former members and critics. The amended motion is not within the KRS rules of procedure, for timely notice of service and therefore will have to be re-filed. Padgett keeps all his receipts and canceled checks as proof. Padgett also has receipts of US Postal Service Certified Mail 'rejection' where Laura Padgett refuses to receive envelopes from her declared SP enemy ex-husband. While this is standard cult 'Disconnection' policy to sever all forms communication, it also allows her to claim she didn't get a check in the mail. "Padgett filed a counter amended motion to have Massamore removed as prosecutor in Laura Padgett's criminal action and for a change of venue to dismiss the case altogether!" Message-ID: 8948-398C14E0-9@storefull-214.iap.bryant.webtv.net
Protest / Revenge Summary
Keith Henson protested at two locations in the San Jose area this week. "Errands in San Jose and Mt. View took me near the Los Gatos and Mt. View orgs at 1130 and 1245. They each got token 5-10 minute pickets which were acked by the clams coming out and taking pictures of me. Keith also continued his protests at Scientology's Gold Base. "I arrived at 8am and parked just to the east of Ashlee Shaner's memorial. Sure enough, Edwin Richardson and thug 2 came out soon as I started picketing. Their patter was as if no time had elapsed at all since Brent and I left 10 days ago. I put in two end to end passes. They are still clearing the west end plaza when I come by, but they might not be holding people in the underpass now. I had a camcorder with me today and got lots of thug 2 dancing as I moved the camera back and forth like a baton (he was trying to block my shots of the empty plaza)." "Ida and I went out for Chinese food this evening. There is a gigantic brand new RV parked south on Elk across Stetson. The price tag on this beast is at least $100k, and it has a Barwick Buick tag (same as one of the cars last time) in the license plate holder. It is the size of a semi trailer, and has a built in generator which they are running to power the air conditioner. The curtains were pulled except for the one in back toward Ida's place which was open. My spies in Ida's neighborhood report no fewer than 3 other cars being used to watch the place. "Muriel Dufresne has been trying to dead agent me to the people who manage the services for the retirement community where Ida lives. The manager took the DA material from her and read it last night. It seems that long before he reached the end of it he had come to an appropriate conclusion. I think it was the ICBM and cruise missiles claims which brought him to this conclusion." "I was there just in front of the 7 am buses, so they got a good view of my sign about being implanted with dead space aliens. I started east on the north side of the road. Richardson and thug 2 came out and met me at the westernmost gate. They started into the same patter as yesterday, including warnings for me not to make commercial use of any video or audio I was recording. It was nice and cool, and thug 2 was walking at a reasonable pace when abruptly he and Richardson got some message, broke off and walked as fast as they could to the main gate." "Today started with a very short PI chase. Same car as yesterday. I parked in the usual place on the west end and started walking east. Edwin and Frank met me part way to the main gate and were their usual obnoxious sorts, only they diverged from the patter once in a while to plead that I go home. At that point we ran into two young guys who both looked like some kind of heavy agents. We did another full circuit and somewhere on the east bound leg the two thugs dropped off. The three of us continued to the east under pass, crossed and when we started back two guys with lots of tattoos pulled up in a pickup truck. They were fascinated at three people out there protesting scn - about which they also had a very bad opinion. Now it was two thugs and 5 people others. Thug 2 (Frank Petty) came up and scolded the tattooed dudes about stopping. From what LK and friend observed, Frank was visibly shaking." From the same protest by "LK" "They had someone waiting by the entrance to the golf course where we parked a couple of miles down the road. He kept glancing at us and attempted to look inconspicuous. His cheap uniform looking clothing and his suspicious manner and location were all too obvious. We lost the car we suspected of being a PI. They flaunted their knowledge of where we lived of course, so it was a moot point to attempt to lose them, they knew where we were headed. My father just called from work! Scientologists already called him at work to tell him that [Keith is] an evil and twisted person and that they'll sue if I go out there again." Another protest report from Keith: "I got out there by about 7:30. A whole bunch of kids came out of a work gate just to the east of the Ashlee Shaner memorial and with an adult walked off up hill. There was a whole bunch of people in there removing weeds and cleaning up trash. The patter was about the same as recent days. I made only one pass. Just as I was leaving, thug 2 who had been using the standard abuse 'questioning' on me for the previous half hour asked in a plaintive voice when I was going to be back. If they were nice, I would tell them, but since they are not." Keith also posted a revenge report from his wife Arel. "The same a__hole who followed me from work to home a couple of pickets ago was in front of my house this morning. As I usually do with picketers to document their presence I photographed him as I left the house to catch the train to work. I photographed 2 others yesterday. This picketer always natters at me, trying to get a rise out of me. I didn't call 911 until he had followed me for a full block. Then I got out my cell phone and called them, told them 'A man is following me.' He continued to try to get me to turn around and look at his sign, asking, 'You think this is fun?' etc., and didn't the sight of his sign 'bother' me, and on and on, constant annoying patter. "As the police officer started talking with the picketer, I continued on to the mailbox and dumped in my envelope, then turned around again and walked past the police officer. The policeman's first words to the picketer were something like 'Hey, would you give us all a break? There are such things as stalking laws on the books.' As the officer detained the picketer, I said, 'Thank you, officer,' and continued on my way to the train." "One-Eyed Jim" reported a protest in Bournemouth, England this week. "The 'What Is Scientology?' exhibition is currently on tour in Britain, and I was interested to see that it was in Bournemouth for three days. I decided to go and check out what was going on on Saturday 29 July. I arrived at the Pavilion a little before 10am, and the Scientologists were still setting up. It was small with a single entrance up a flight of steps. This means that I could stay in a public space, and observe everyone who went in and came out. "The exhibition itself was just basic-level PR puff. Apparently, auditing also costs as much as you want it to. One of the more senior members wandered over and took over. He was quite short, slightly built, grey, and I'd say about 55. According to grey man, the RPF is a 'voluntary training program', procedure R2-45 is 'a joke, ha, ha, ha,' and that the fair game doctrine 'doesn't really mean anything'. "I showed him one of the Xemu leaflets and he basically wouldn't look at it at all. He said that all of the information I had been given was forged, and that he'd 'met these people and they aren't very nice people'. I settled down on a wall and accosted people on the way out with a leaflet. I found that the phrase 'If you've been to see the exhibition, you'll need one of these. Don't laugh too hard' got the best uptake. "The bus arrived - big blue 20-year old double decker with half-open top and snazzy new paint job. People came out holding clusters of balloons. With the bus came a larger contingent of body routers, so I started seeing a lot more leaflets around and quite a few more people being routed into the exhibition. I had my first direct intervention by a body router. On the way out of the exhibition, I tried to give a leaflet to two girls, and he told them they didn't need it. He then tried to snatch it out of my hand, tearing it in the process. When I tried to ask the girls again whether they wanted to decide if they got a leaflet, he got between me and them and angrily told me that he had been having a conversation, actually. Body router 'C' loudly informs me 'Be assured of this. We will find out what crimes you are guilty of. And you will go to prison for them.' After all the soft handling all day, I was totally flabbergasted. All I could say was the exceedingly lame 'Thank you very much.' Total leaflets disposed of: 28, of which 2 visibly destroyed and some other intercepted." "ACT" protested at the Canberra, Australia org this week. "Armed with my Sony Handycam and an A2 laminated 'Scientology Despises Free Speech' sign, I marched up and down for no more than fifteen minutes before Lara emerged. In an uncharacteristically nonconfront fashion, she told me not to talk to any Scientologists because that would be construed as harassment. I quickly clocked three Scientologists spying on me. The first was a man in black trousers, black jumper, black tie and white shirt, holding a clipboard. The others were young lads in blue jumpers (resembling school uniform) who patrolled around the street, looking at me and talking into concealed walkie-talkies." Kristi Wachter and "Realpch" reported a protest in San Francisco this week. "Seven of us - Murdoch, Adam, Aaron, Ryan, Peaches, Phr, and me - picketed the San Francisco org today, from about noon until 2:15, and then again from 3:20 until 4:30. We handed out LOTS of fliers. Response from the public was very good - even better than usual, probably due to having more than two picketers." "Our new picketers Murdoch and Adam had returned and brought two more with them, Erin and Ryan. This was a most enthusiastic group, with a high energy level, well-equipped with picket signs, and a video camera for those moments when you wish you had one. "There was an amusing incident where one of the Scientologists invited our four new picketers to visit inside the Org. They decided to do so, and those of us who had not been invited or who had no wish to visit, collected their signs to hold for them as it would not be at all seemly to take such items inside the Org. They went in the door and came right back out. It seems that there was some hitch in the proceedings and they were not welcome at that particular time. "Jeff Quiros did come out and take the usual photographs of the usual suspects. I got the customary honks and thumbs-ups from the passersby, and the funniest comment I heard was from a man who received a flyer, indicated that he had some knowledge of Scientology and expressed his opinion in a heavy foreign accent, 'They steal money.' "One of my neighbors informs me that The Loudmouth came by my house and walked up on my porch and left a flyer about me there. I am assuming that it was one of the customary 'Religious Bigot' flyers. I didn't see it. On of my other smaller neighbors saw him put it there and came up and took it away." "Raptavio" reported on a protest in Toronto this week. "Attendees: Kaeli, ZeratulCat, AndroidCat, Mike Argue, and a certain visiting Minnesotan. I talked to a gent across Yonge street from the org handing out personality tests. I asked him about the picketers. He said they were picketing his church, that's why he's here today, and handed me a DA flyer on the picketers which, in the Org's favor, did not name any names. He said he was a lit prof at a local university, and was very polite. "The handler named Paulette came over. She asked if I was with the picketers, I told her the truth - that I was invited by the picketers but I was not there to picket, but just to determine the truth about the conflicting picket reports I'd seen coming from Toronto. She, too, felt the need to tell me that they're all on psych drugs, and that their ringleader is Gregg Hagglund who is engaging in criminal behavior and she went down the usual list of Gregg's alleged crimes. I asked her if she believed in the Scientology doctrine that all critics are criminals, and she said she didn't and that many are just misinformed and at the core of it all was people messed up by psychiatry and segued into saying how sorry she felt for Kaeli who has all these anxiety problems and who is messed up by psychs with all this anxiety. "A couple people did get routed into the org. One told a story about having waited on a pack of Scientologists to the tune of $200 for the meal and getting stiffed on the tip. Kaeli got handled by a chain-smoking older woman who said she didn't like Kaeli handing out her fliers with lies on them. Kaeli asked the lady to point out the lies, and the lady grew silent, turned and walked away. "During the course of the picket there was I was told a bit of shoving at one point (I didn't see it) and the afternoon personality test router snatched a critic flyer from the hand of a passerby (which I didn't see, but my camera saw)." Message-ID: 8mca8h$irs$1@slb7.atl.mindspring.net Message-ID: 8m1ojr$lj9$1@slb7.atl.mindspring.net Message-ID: 8m9vu2$jh0$1@slb1.atl.mindspring.net Message-ID: 8mb2ed$71t$1@nntp9.atl.mindspring.net Message-ID: 4f179ce9be2e48a06a5e220a963ef835@remailer.privacy.at Message-ID: 8mdog9$al9$1@slb7.atl.mindspring.net Message-ID: 7Xti5.24295$c5.68537@newsfeeds.bigpond.com Message-ID: 8mgeac$hge$1@nntp9.atl.mindspring.net Message-ID: 8mj1tn$l7m$1@slb0.atl.mindspring.net Message-ID: Pine.BSF.4.21.0008051650320.30987-100000@web2.sea.nwserv.com Message-ID: 8midko$bpn$1@nnrp1.deja.com Message-ID: 398CD191.2F111246@aol.com
UK
The Birmingham Post reported on August 1st on the Scientology exhibit there. "Devotees of the controversial new religion Scientology will launch a four-day exhibition in Birmingham today in a bid to shake off their 'cult' image. The exhibition, at the Burlington Hotel in New Street, is being held to dispel the wilder rumours surrounding the group, including a worship of beings from outer space and allegations of intimidation and harassment. "Scientology promoters said the exhibition would demonstrate the religion's openness and its work for the public good, which included drug rehabilitation and anti-crime programmes. Spokesman Mr Graeme Wilson said: 'The cult image is a stereotype placed on any new religion. The purpose of this exhibition is for people to find out who we really are. Mr Wilson said the confusion about Scientologists' worship of an alien race called Thetans may have arisen from the science fiction writings of the group's founder, L Ron Hubbard. "Another source of concern for many people was Scientology's method of recruitment. The woman, from Birmingham, said her daughter had been approached by an unidentified person outside New Street Station and asked to complete a detailed questionnaire about every facet of her life, before she was offered expensive courses to correct her 'personality problems'. Mr Wilson said personality tests were an important tool in recruiting, but every representative should announce who they were and why the test was being carried out." Message-ID: fekeosk2ict6kat40ltavm1q0pdej6s3ni@news.xs4all.nl
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.
