UK MEDIA 1987: Review of Bare Faced Messiah
Martin Poulter
15 Nov 87
Books: Face to face with fanaticism /
Review of 'Bare-Faced Messiah' by Russell Miller
By BEN HOOBERMAN
BARE-FACED MESSIAH by Russell Miller/Michael Joseph Pounds 12.95 pp390
Ron Hubbard's theory of Dianetics was introduced to the public in the
United States in a magazine called Astounding Science Fiction in May 1950.
The purpose of Dianetics was to gain access to the 'engrams' caused in the
mind by physical or emotional pain. To relieve the patient from the stress
of 'engrams' it was necessary to locate the earliest ones which HUBBARD
claimed were often pre-natal and which sometimes occurred within 24 hours of
conception.
Having cleared the 'engrams' out of the way, the mind would then function
like a computer at full efficiency and the patient's IQ would rise
dramatically. He would then be freed of all psychological and psychosomatic
illnesses and his memory would improve to the point of total recall. The
treatment was given by an 'auditor' who interrogated his patient, whose
responses were recorded on a device called an E-meter. This was a black metal
box with a lighted dial, adjustment knobs and wires connected to tin cans.
In 1952 Dianetics gave way to Scientology which HUBBARD said was a
logical extension of Dianetics. The difference between Dianetics and
Scientology was alleged to be that while Dianetics addressed the body,
Scientology addressed the soul. Both theories were without any scientific
foundation whatsoever but a remarkable number of people were beguiled into
believing in their efficacy.
In 1953 HUBBARD incorporated three Churches in the USA, aware that there
was a need among his followers for some religious belief. He was also
mindful of the tax benefits which would follow the acceptance of the cult as
a religion. In 1959 the cult purchased Saint Hill Manor in East Grinstead
for the purpose of establishing the world-wide headquarters of Scientology.
Hundreds of young Americans came to the headquarters to be audited and
trained in the theory of Scientology and thereafter to proselytize and enrol
other young persons in the extremely expensive training for auditing and
self-improvement.
The member of parliament for East Grinstead was Geoffrey Johnson Smith
who was concerned about the complaints he had received from his constituents
and others. He appeared on television on July 25, 1968, and repeated much of
what was said by the minister of health, Kenneth Robinson, in the House of
Commons on that day and on an earlier occasion: 'He (the minister of health)
says that what they do is direct themselves deliberately towards the weak,
the unbalanced, the immature, the rootless and the mentally or emotionally
unstable; to promise them remoulded mature personalities and set about
fulfilling the promise by means of untrained staff ignorantly practising
quasi-psychological techniques including hypnosis. And he thinks that it can
be, on occasions, harmful to people.'
Geoffrey Johnson Smith was immediately sued for damages for libel by the
cult. He defended the proceedings and pleaded that what he had said was true
and that it was fair comment on a matter of public interest. The hearing
took place in November 1970 and lasted for about two months. A succession of
unhappy witnesses told the court of the alienation of their children by the
cult, of the impoverishment and punishment of the students at Saint Hill
Manor and of the kidnapping of at least one sick student. Mr Johnson Smith
succeeded in his defence to the action and the cult had to pay a substantial
sum for his costs. Not deterred by this setback the cult continued its
policy of harassing its opponents and using litigation to that end.
Another, half-hearted, intervention by the Government in the affairs of
the cult took place in January 1969 when Richard Crossman, the then
secretary of state for Social Services, set up an enquiry into its
activities. The Foster Report was published in December 1971 and one of its
recommendations was that the practice of psychotherapy for a reward should
be restricted to members of a profession properly qualified in its
techniques. I am not aware of any legislation proposing such a sensible
safeguard for patients.
Russell Miller has done a service to his readers by surmounting the legal
obstacles placed in his way by the Scientologists who attempted to discredit
him and to prevent the publication of this book. It is admirably written,
well documented and it must have entailed a great deal of painstaking
research. The evidence Mr Miller adduces to support the facts in his book
has been gathered carefully from witnesses who were once bemused by the cult
and who were fearful of giving him the information he required. Unless one
has come face to face with the fanaticism of the cult's adherents, it is
easy to dismiss the fears of these informants as imaginary. But it must be
borne in mind that although HUBBARD disappeared in 1980 and died in 1986,
the cult still has sufficient power to entrap the young and the lonely.
Ben Hooberman is a solicitor who acted for Geoffrey Johnson Smith in the
libel action brought against him by the Scientologists
--
MARTIN L: Postgrad. studying "Probability and Belief" at Bristol University
POULTER : "I'm looking rather neuter, on my Fisher Price scooter."
WWW Home Page & Scientology Critics' HAIL The Church of Scientology sells
stuff: http://mail.bris.ac.uk/~plmlp XEMU "Spiritual Freedom" for $380,000
Andrew Milne
: Ben Hooberman is a solicitor who acted for Geoffrey Johnson Smith in the
: libel action brought against him by the Scientologists
Certainly no unbiased source. Miller's book was a badly researched
hatchet job, now forgotten among all except a few diehards on ars and at
Cult Awareness Network. Mr. Hubbard works continue to sell millions and
are translated into 31 languages.
Andrew Milne
: Sunday Times
: 15 Nov 87
: Books: Face to face with fanaticism /
: Review of 'Bare-Faced Messiah' by Russell Miller
: By BEN HOOBERMAN
: BARE-FACED MESSIAH by Russell Miller/Michael Joseph Pounds 12.95 pp390
The following is a letter written to Miller's publishers in 1987,
showing the venality and falsity of Miller's book.
4201 Peachtree Place
Alexandria, Virginia 22304
USA October 4, 1987
Alan Brooke, Managing Director,
Michael Joseph Ltd.,
27 Wright's Lane
London W 8,
England
Dear Mr. Brooke,
I am addressing you and your good organization on a matter of
current and signal importance. Quite simply put, it involves the
question of the moral philosophy and responsibility of your
publishing house, and has been instigated as a result of a
reading of the manuscript of a work by Russell Miller on the
life of L. Ronald Hubbard.
The particular reason for this letter stems from reading a copy
of a book to be published under your imprimatur with the title
"Bare Faced Messiah" and written by Russell Miller. This book
purports to be a biography of L. Ron Hubbard. As a work of the
biographer's art, this book takes the low read.
Would the New Testament be read and cherished by anyone today if
Judas Iscariot had been the author of the "Life of Christ?" To
be believed and to be honest a true biography must be written by
an honorable man who himself reveres the memory of his subject.
The biographer must agree with most of us that "To live in
hearts we leave behind, is not to die." The most despicable kind
of murder is that committed by the false biographer. Nothing is more
distasteful than the discovery that a man, who claims to
write the story of another's life, does so with evil intent.
Such is the book you plan to publish and distribute. This is the
work done by your minion, Russell Miller. It is a disgrace to
your house and those who have chosen to take such a course.
I was alerted to the course this work was taking when I read on
page two of the Preface the name of one, Gerry Armstrong. I know
quite a bit about this young man and about his machiavellian
schemes and malicious sponosrs.
Some years ago I discovered that there is a regular "Dog and
Pony" show that had been put together by unscrupulous principals
and their lawyers who intended to get rich suing and defaming
Mr. Hubbard and the Church of Scientology. To do that they had
collected, trained and financed a selected group of dissidents
from the Church of Scientology and used them in many courts, on
TV and in the media to tell stories that have been fabricated
or warped from the inexperience, venality and immaturity of
their court-room puppeteers. The London Sunday Times broke a
spear on that one not too many years ago.
When I first came into this work, I discovered that many of the
people with the Church, among them many who were working with
their own lawyers to develop a defense in these cases, did not
know, themselves, the intricate workings of deep, Navy
intelligence...where Hubbard worked. Unlike MI-5's Peter Wright,
Ron Hubbard was of the old school. He never revealed important
intelligence sources and methods. As a result, in some cases,
these Church members themselves had been unable to properly
brief their own counsel in order to defend themselves from these
imaginative lawyers as they ought to have done. This factor
appeared to lend credence, in court documents, to many untrue
and highly imaginative stories.
From the "Gerry Armstrong" in the preface and on through the
manuscript Miller has exploited these shameless puppets choosing
the low road rather than going to those who might have provided
him with the facts. He was given the chance. He refused it.
Among the many weaknesses of this troubled writing one stands
out above the rest, and strangely it is a veiled one of
ommission. In his endeavor to paint this man Hubbard in as bad
light as he could this hack almost totally ignored the fact that
L. Ron Hubbard had served with the U.S. Navy on active duty from
a period beginning before America's entry into WW II on Dec 7,
1941 and throughout the war...in that silent service... Naval
Intelligence. He uses that military term once in his manuscript.
From this contrived point of view, Miller handles the subject
adroitly. On page 87 in the Chapter "The Here Who Never Was" he writes:
"On 24 November [1941], after six weeks' leave [sic]
he [Hubbard] was posted to Headquarters, Third Naval
District, in New York, for training as an Intelligence
Officer."
There it is! This is the way this pseudo-biographer handles one
of the most important periods of his subject's lifetime. Nothing
reveals the venality and sham of Miller's work more than this
cavalier treatment of Hubbard's intelligence service. This
writer tackles this subject by the simple expedient of
ommission. He never mentions the word again. This would be like
writing a biography of Charles A. Lindbergh without mentioning
the fact that he was a pilot, or of writing about Winston
Churchill without some mention of his role during WW II.
Since this is an important subject, the book becomes less than
worthless without it. Let me explain who I am and why I feel so
strongly about what you and your writer are doing.
I joined the U.S. Army in June of 1941; Hubbard joined the Navy
in July 1941. We served contemporaneously during the long years
of WW II. I served in the Southwest Pacific area during WW II as
an air force pilot. I stayed with the Air Force after the war
and in 1955 I began a nine-year assignment with the headquarters
U.S. Air Force as Chief of the office of Special Operations. This
use of the term "Special Operations" covers the meaning of "Air
Force support of the clandestine operations of the CIA." After
five years in that capacity I was assigned to the Office of the
Secretary of Defense [Gates and McNamara] in the same function.
This was followed by two more years as Chief of Special
Operations with the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff [similar
function including responsibility for all services.]
As a result of this vast experience, and related military
service, I know the intelligence business at first hand, at the
highest levels, and quite thoroughly. I have written a book on
the subject, "The Secret Team" published by Prentice-Hall and
later by Ballantine.
It may be pertinent to note here, that during my long and
top-level relationship with the US/CIA I had frequent contact
with our friends in London. In fact I worked with authors and
knew about the special arrangements that existed between those
authors, our CIA and its friends in the British publishing
business. I have on my shelves books written by Americans, fully
funded by the CIA, and first published by your more prominent
associates in London. It may well be that certain elements of
that peculiar experience add to my unique understanding of the
possible relationship between Michael Joseph Ltd and Russell
Miller and why they have chosen to take this pejorative position
with respect to L. Ron Hubbard. Would you agree with that?
Some ten years ago, or more, because of this unusual experience
and background, I was asked by a law firm representing the
Church of Scientology to provide it with "expert witness"
assistance on, among other things, matters relating to the
military record of L. Ron Hubbard. As a result I have read most
of the public record, in fact I wrote some of it, that Miller
neglected to utilize, and much more.
I have worked with various of the law firms on behalf of the
Church of Scientology on a number of cases in many countries on
these subjects. In this process I discovered many things about
what was available of Hubbard's military record that had been
misinterpreted or ignored by others...many important things.
For example: Almost all of Hubbard's millitary record is replete
with markings that signify deep intelligence service at the
highest levels. Many of his records, copies of official records,
revealed that even the originals had been fabricated in
the manner peculiar to the intelligence community in a process
that we call "Sheep Dip". I myself have supervised a lot of that
function in the offices I managed during 1955-1964.
"Sheep Dip" is a process that provides, customarily, three
files. One is the true civilian record of the agent. One is his
agency or military true record. The third is his "cover"
personality and all that it takes to support it.
Thus when one researches these files, in a routine manner, he
may get copies from any one of three...or of various kindred
files that are maintained for special reasons. Some of
Hubbard's records are kept in from 8 to 18 files as is clearly
noted in codes on the records.
Many of Hubbard's critics make light of his "war related
injuries". The official "Notice of Separation from the U.S.
Naval Service" dated and signed 6 Dec 45 includes a Section 34
that lists "Purple Heart (Palm)".
The Purple Heart medal is awarded only to those wounded in
action. The Palm is awarded in lieu of a second Purple Heart and
signifies that the recipient had been wounded in ation on at
least two occasions.
Miller treats the subject of Hubbard's "wounds" as though they
were non-existent; yet, on page 218, he quotes a "Ray Kemp...
a Royal Navy radar technician" saying:
"I knew he had been wounded because one night he kept
complaining of a pain in his side and when he stood
up a little bit of shrapnell [sic] fell out from under
his shirt."
As with the subject of "Intelligence" and with the "wounds", this
author simply dropped the subject when it did not fit his
contrived scenario. The official U.S. Navy record establishes
that Hubbard had sustained wounds in action before Dec 1945.
Miller closes out Hubbard's military career with the statement:
"Unfortunately, his US Navy record indicates he was
awarded just four medals-"
As mentioned above, he had two medals, ie. the Purple Heart with
Palm. This same Section 34 of the Notice of Separation lists
"Asiatic-Pac. Theatre (3 stars)." The Asiatic- Pacific Theatre
was a most active region and during Hubbard's service therein,
early 1942, bitter combat was frequent. The award of that medal
was for participation in that theatre during time of war and the
Three Stars were awarded for participation in three combat
campaigns in that theatre. Lacking data to the contrary it is not
too difficult to conclude that his wounds wre
received there and that this was the basis for the award of
these two Purple Heart medals during action in those three
combat campaigns.
Since Hubbard's service at that time was with an intelligence
activity, available records do not provide details of the action
or of injuries sustained in the Asiatic-Pacific theatre. (I
myself have an award, the Legion of Merit, that was given to me
by the U.S.Air Force in lieu of an award made to me by Allen
Dulles when he was the Director of Central Intelligence. Those
data surrounding that award have never been released...not even
to myself for my own keeping.]
Something most important that Miller chose to overlook was the
fact that Hubbard has been awarded (see document cited above) a
"Unit Citation". This award is most important and special. Unit
Citations are made only by the President of the United States to
those combat units performing particularly meritorious services,
for example: to the Nineteenth Bomb Group in Indonesia in early
1942. Hubbard's citation came from such service at that same
time when he was serving with "Asiatic Fleet Intelligence" as
cited above.
From that same Section 34, see above, there is the citation "Br.
& Dtch. Vict. Medals." This citation is found on very few U.S.
military records and signifies notable service with the British
and the Dutch during WW II. From what we know of Hubbard's Naval
Intelligence Serivce in the Pacific it is beyond question that
these awards were earned in and around Indonesia (Dutch at the
time) and in Australia and the seas around it (British Zone).
It is important to note that Hubbard had been awarded the
"Marine Medal". This medal is awarded rarely to Navy line
officers, least of all to those serving with Intelligence. To
back up this unusual award you will note that this Naval
Inteligence officer also held "Rifle, Pistol Expert"
marksmanship ratings. Both of these awards signify ground action
that is not typical of the sea duty expected of Navy officers.
You may recall that 400,000 Soviet Navy personnel took part in
the battle of Stalingrad. Hubbard met his major battles in a
different locale.
In the Miller scenario even the course of Hubbard's transition
from civilian life to Navy duty is handled lightly. The famous
Congressman from Washington, Magnuson, did write to President
Roosevelt urging that the President expedite Hubbard's request
for active duty. This was during early 1941. I was being
commissioned and placed on active duty at the same time. I can
assure you that it was a most unusual experience, in those
times, for a Congressman to single out one of his constituents
for such a reason...and particularly to do so by writing
directly to the President...formerly Secretary of the Navy.
Miller treats that lightly and fails to note that it was James
Forrestal, later to be Secretary of the Navy and the first
Secretary of Defense, who acted for the President and signed
Hubbard's active duty orders. For those familiar with the way
this was done it will be noted that the channel chosen for the
processing of those papers marked Hubbard as an Intelligence
recruit. He was then sent to New York where he began his special
duties under Vicent Astor the President's friend and appointee
as Chief of Intelligence in New York...Bill Stephenson's beat.
Miller failed to note that Hubbard's first Active Duty Orders
were signed by none other than Chester Nimitz, later the famous
five-star Admiral and hero of Pacific campaigns. A small code
number on those same orders identifies Hubbard as being placed
on duty with Naval Intelligence (ONI). From that intelligence
duty in New York City Hubbard was ordered to another
intelligence school in San Francisco and thence en route to
Cavite Navy Base in the Philippines. Cavite was the site of the
Navy's primary intelligence operation related to the MAGIC
program that broke the Japanese Code.
It is hard to understand the enormous oversight we have here. In
fact I have evidence that Miller has, or had been offered all
of these records that I had worked on; but declined the offer. I
can't use that word "oversight". He simply ignored vital facts.
One other subject relevant to Hubbard's unique service record
made no impression whatsoever on Miller. Or perhaps I should
understand that his programmed scenario did not permit its use.
On Page 109 he writes:
"Her [good ship ALGOL] erstwhile Navigating Officer,
meanwhile was on a four-month course in 'Military
Government' at the Naval Training School, Princeton,"
and later,
"...Ron was transferred to the Naval Civil Affairs Staging
Area in Monterey, California for further training,..."
Did Miller just muff this one? The special training at Princeton
for select Navy Intelligence personnel was to groom them for
unique duties in the Far East. The course at Monterey was the
higher grade training. This was a course derived from the Army's
"Civil Affairs and Military Government" experience in Italy. It
was so important that this was the first and only time that the
fabled Office of Strateigc Serices moved some of its choice
operators from Europe to the Pacific. This placed the OSS and
the Navy in the same work. Some rarity in itself. The end of WW
II foreclosed the wartime activity of this speciality.
It should be noted that the "Civil Affairs and Military
Government" curriculum gave birth to the famous U.S. Army "Green
Berets" Special Forces of Vietnam, and more recently to the
newer Low Intensity Conflict doctrine.
Any prescient writer ought to have recognized, at least with the
benefit of hind-sight, the deep significance of Hubbard's
assignment for that work at Princeton and Monterey...two
facilities not noted for catering to the dregs of anyone's Navy.
It would be a pleasure to comment on other sections of this bit
of writing. I know the military and I know Intelligence. So, I
have written about that. I am not a Scientologist; yet I admire
those with whom I have worked over the years. I wish I could dip
into other aspects of the book with some authority. I reserve
comment for one other amazing part of the book.
Hubbard submitted his resignation from the U.S. Navy Reserve,
simply a paper matter, on May 27, 1950. The magazine Astounding
Science Fiction of that month broke the news of Dianetics. The
book "Dianetics" was published on May 9, 1950. Miller has a good
time playing with all these dates and events. One might say he
was making fun of them...important as they are.
What he avoids mentioining is the relevance of these dates to
events that were taking place in the United Staets and among its
allies. Thse were the days of Project BLUEBIRD and ARTICHOKE,
the fore-runners of the infamous CIA project MKULTRA. These were
the days when the concepts of "Mind Control" and "Brainwashing"
were born. LRH was smart enough to get clear of that.
For example, there was an "Organization of the Special Defense
Interrogation Program" dated Feb 10, 1961 nee earlier. Among its
professional interests was something on Shock Technique. It
says:
"Psychiatrists in many nations have used insulin and
electric shock as methods of choice under certain
circumstances in their psychiatric work. Electric shock
is more rapid than any of the above techniques...etc."
A Project Artichoke memorandum of 25 January 1952 spells out
more of the same:
"(1) Drugs.
It remains the dream of the interested agencies
that a drug is imminently forthcoming that can be
given a person orally without his knowledge that
will result in his revealing anything the interested
party would like to know,..."
"(3) Hypnosis.
There is no known hypnosis research being conducted
for ARTICHOKE purposes in the US today, except what
is being done by the members of the ARTICHOKE Team.
There is evidence that unethical actions are
definitely within the realm of hypnosis and it has
been proven by the present team that a hypnotised
person can be made to lie to the polygraph...etc.
"(4) It is known that there is expressed interest in
electro-psycho-therapeutic techniques, psycho-surgery,
supersonic radiations, and extra-sensory perception,
but to the writers's knowledge there is little more
than the interest, etc."
This goes on, ream after ream. In the inner sanctum of CIA and
certain sectors of the military establishment this period of
1949 through 1955 was one of tremendous growth in the desire to
push on the frontiers of this type of forbidden rseearch and
experimentation on humans.
Hubbard was well aware of all of this research. He knew many of
the principals involved in the "mind control" underground. I
discovered a few years ago that L. Ron Hubbard had been awarded
a special "Man of the Year" bronze plaque by the prestigious
American Ordnance Association, this is the oldest and most
exalted of the Munitions Group. Since I was with Headquarters,
USAF at that time, I attended most of their annual meetings. I
know that the only people chosen for such outstanding awards
were those who had genuinely contributed to the "cause of
Defense". Hubbard was singled out for that award. The bronze
plaque hangs, today, on the walls of the Scientology Office one block
from Capitol Hill in Wasington, DC.
OK, Mr. Brooke, and your hired hand Russelll Miller, fit that
into the picture you have ordered to be drawn of this man. What kind of
a job have you done? Has it been honorable?
I'm an old hand in this business of writing. My first text was
published in 1949. When I crossed the Atlantic from London to
Washington last February I was making an ocean crossing by air
during a sixth consecutive decade of my life. One could say I
have been around. I can see the hand of the "High Cabal"...the
term--according to Lord Denning--so frequently used by Winston
Churchill when recognizing his masters...in this work.
This may be so, and even if so, it is unwise. The concept may
have some merit dating back to the halcyon days of Halybury
College; but in terms of this "biography" it is flawed. May I
suggest the terms under which this despicable book ought to be
consigned to the trash heap?
I have learned from a fine, old-time former Editor of the New
York Times, A.M.Rosenthal:
"Substitute your own name in a story for the person
you are writing about and if you can say, Well I am
going to get hurt but the facts are right and there
is no innuendo or anonymous attack, your story is
fair. If not, do it over."
Think that over. Is it fair? Is it honorable? Would you hire
Russell Miller to do your own biography...under similar terms?
Very truly yours,
L. Fletcher Prouty
(Reproduced with author's permission)
Ron Newman
>Certainly no unbiased source. Miller's book was a badly researched
>hatchet job, now forgotten among all except a few diehards on ars and at
>Cult Awareness Network.
If Miller's book is so "badly resarched" and "forgotten", why did
Mike Davis quote from it at length in his excellent book about
Los Angeles, _City of Quartz_ ?
--
Ron Newman rne...@cybercom.net
Web: http://www.cybercom.net/~rnewman/home.html
David M. Cook
>Certainly no unbiased source. Miller's book was a badly researched
>hatchet job, [...]
You've never read the book, Milne. It would be bad for your case.
The research in Miller's book is impeccable and includes very detailed
reference notes. It's also a good read. I urge everyone to try to find a
copy. I found mine 2 blocks from the Austin org.
Dave Cook
efis...@wimsey.com
> The following is a letter written to Miller's publishers in 1987,
> showing the venality and falsity of Miller's book.
but but mr. milne! did you miss something??? this, as you say was a letter
written *to* the publisher in question, not *by* the publisher in
question!!!
by... perhaps...a ... scientologist?
an *unbiased* research into mr. hubbards many purported heroic acts would
indeed be kinda fun, dontcha think? with a little foray into his many
scholarly degrees. hey! i'd support that!
regards
ef
--
NWHQ
http://www.knosso.com/NWHQ/
Clark Merrill
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
In article <4in7j5$k...@crl2.crl.com>, mi...@crl.com (Andrew Milne) writes:
>Martin Poulter (pl...@mail.bris.ac.uk) wrote:
>: Sunday Times
>: 15 Nov 87
>: Books: Face to face with fanaticism /
>: Review of 'Bare-Faced Messiah' by Russell Miller
>
>
>: By BEN HOOBERMAN
>
>: BARE-FACED MESSIAH by Russell Miller/Michael Joseph Pounds 12.95 pp390
>
>
>The following is a letter written to Miller's publishers in 1987,
>showing the venality and falsity of Miller's book.
>
>
I snipped the letter, the less I see of that man's writings the
better.
The Letter was written by Fletcher Prouty, in my opinion, a well
known kook. The following is from A FAQ on the Willis Carto & The
Institute for Historical Review. They are a bunch of racists who
believe that the Holocaust never happened.
Col. L. Fletcher Prouty has maintained a strong relationship with
the Liberty Lobby for years. During the lengthy legal battles
surrounding the Mermelstein lawsuits against the Liberty Lobby and
Willis A. Carto, Prouty and fellow PAC advisory board member Lt.
Col. James "Bo" Gritz were "prepared to testify as character
witnesses on behalf of Liberty Lobby founder Willis A. Carto."
(Spotlight, 10-7-91, 12)
Willis A. Carto was the founder of the Liberty lobby and the institute
for Historical Review. About whom in written the following 2 paragraphs:
"If antisemitism has a core, factual meaning, it was demonstrated
here." Thus did Judge Bork, in 1984, dismiss the suit brought by
Willis Carto's Liberty Lobby against 'The Wall Street Journal' for
having called it "anti-Semitic."
The Coalition for Human Dignity describes the Institute for
Historical Review as "... a pseudo-academic think tank dedicated to
disproving that the Holocaust happened. Founded by the dean of
American anti-Semites Willis Carto, IHR functions as a clearinghouse
for Holocaust denial and a meeting ground for anti-Semitic scholars
in the United States." (CHD, "Denial")
So the person who backed up Elron was also going to provide a character
reference for a person who said the Holocaust never happened. Maybe Milne
can explain why my much of my Grandfather's family in Poland ceased to
exist during WWII.
Didn't Milne also Dead agent Lerma for being a member of the liberty lobby?
the URL for the FAQ I quoted FAQ is:
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/holocaust/ihr/top.html
There are also a large collection of information about Prouty from
ftp.netcom.com in pub/jm/jmcadams. There are 22 files with prouty
information. John Mcadams researches the Kennedy assasination. He
has a large collection on the subject. Most of the files deal with
Prouty and the assasination.
One piece of information from that collection is that Prouty served
as an editorial adviser to publications of the Church of Scientology.
prouty3.txt is titled Fletcher Prouty, Mark Lane, JFK Assassination
Theories, & the Fascist Right. It is interesting reading. Also
prouty.txt contains a complete history of the man written by Edward
J. Epstein's in THE ASSASSINATION CHRONICLES where he is quoted as
saying the following:
"blaming the high price of oil on on a systematic plot of a cabal to
shut down oil pipelines deliberately in the Middle East, "Why?" he
asked, and explained to the seminar: "Because of the Israelis. That
is their business on behalf of the oil companies."
So Milne has toted out a letter by a former US Air Force officer who
allies himself with Holocaust Deniers.
Even before reading Milne's post I knew who Prouty was and I consider him
to be SCUM. I consider him to be to the far right of Pat Buchanon. Now
that is a scary thought!!!!
Just my opinions! Milne has not got me that worked up in a long time!
Clark Merrill
Baltimore, Maryland finger mer...@liner.stsci.edu for
mer...@stsci.edu pgp public key
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Alan Barclay
>Would the New Testament be read and cherished by anyone today if
>Judas Iscariot had been the author of the "Life of Christ?" To
So what? A truely enlightning document should be able to stand on
it's own merits, regardless of the writer. However, if the
document cannot, and it needs the writers alleged achivements in
order to gain and maintain acceptance then it is not our concern that
documenting these achivements to be lies will destroy the value
of the documents.
>be believed and to be honest a true biography must be written by
>an honorable man who himself reveres the memory of his subject.
No it mustn't. To be belived and to be honest, a true biography
must be written by someone who is impartial on the subject, and
it should probably conform to known facts about the subject.
For example, the biography of LRH given in Scientology
documentation is not belivable, as it contradicts the known
facts about LRH's life. This is because it is not acceptable
for any Scientologist to question LRH's offical biography.
>Some years ago I discovered that there is a regular "Dog and
>Pony" show that had been put together by unscrupulous principals
>and their lawyers who intended to get rich suing and defaming
>Mr. Hubbard and the Church of Scientology. To do that they had
Paranoia is not a new thing in Scientology. It probably says more
about LRH than all the offical Scientologist biographies put
together.
Anthony Fore
>Martin Poulter (pl...@mail.bris.ac.uk) wrote:
>: Ben Hooberman is a solicitor who acted for Geoffrey Johnson Smith in the
>: libel action brought against him by the Scientologists
>Certainly no unbiased source. Miller's book was a badly researched
>hatchet job, now forgotten among all except a few diehards on ars and at
>Cult Awareness Network.
Well not forgotten here in Oz. In all the Library's I've been in
lately it comes up on the screen when you search for Scientology or
Hubbard. And is borrowed regularly.
>Mr. Hubbard works continue to sell millions and
>are translated into 31 languages.
They are always easy to get in the secondhand shops - cheap too.
-----+----
No guru, no method, no teacher
"When I cleaned up my diction, I had nothing left to say"
Steve A
mi...@crl.com (Andrew Milne) wrote:
>Martin Poulter (pl...@mail.bris.ac.uk) wrote:
>
>: Ben Hooberman is a solicitor who acted for Geoffrey Johnson Smith in the
>: libel action brought against him by the Scientologists
>
>Certainly no unbiased source. Miller's book was a badly researched
>hatchet job, now forgotten among all except a few diehards on ars and at
>Cult Awareness Network. Mr. Hubbard works continue to sell millions and
>are translated into 31 languages.
The cult attempted to have publication of Bare Faced Messiah
suppressed in the English courts, and the courts upheld the right to
publish. In your language, Milne, the courts have effectively endorsed
the truthfulness of the claims made in the book.
Tough.
- --
Steve: SP4 and Clam Cluster, KoX, KOh
Minister in the First Electronic Church of SCAMIZDAT,
High Grand Pappadum of the Church of the SubGenius.
I thought...Bob had fallen and he couldn't get up?
[on Bob Penny, multiple sclerosis sufferer]
-- "Vera Wallace", official CoS stooge,
demonstrating the caring side of Scientology.
"Revenimus, MF" -- Capricorn.
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Andrew Milne
: -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
: In article <4in7j5$k...@crl2.crl.com>, mi...@crl.com (Andrew Milne) writes:
: >Martin Poulter (pl...@mail.bris.ac.uk) wrote:
: >: Sunday Times
: >: 15 Nov 87
: >: Books: Face to face with fanaticism /
: >: Review of 'Bare-Faced Messiah' by Russell Miller
: >
: >
: >: By BEN HOOBERMAN
: >
: >: BARE-FACED MESSIAH by Russell Miller/Michael Joseph Pounds 12.95 pp390
: >
: >
: >The following is a letter written to Miller's publishers in 1987,
: >showing the venality and falsity of Miller's book.
: >
: >
: I snipped the letter, the less I see of that man's writings the
: better.
: The Letter was written by Fletcher Prouty, in my opinion, a well
: known kook. The following is from A FAQ on the Willis Carto & The
: Institute for Historical Review. They are a bunch of racists who
: believe that the Holocaust never happened.
Whatever Prouty's views in that area ( and I suspect they are not at all
what you have represented) his credentials in the field of intelligence
are impeccable. A retired Air Force colonel, he worked closely with
intelligence services for more than 30 years. He rose through the Defense
Department chain of command to a point where all CIA military activities
were channelled through him. Between 1955 and 1963, he served as chief of
special operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and in a similar capacity
with the Office of Special Operations of the Office of the Secretary of
Defense and headed the Special Operations Office for the US Air Force.
All of these position wer charged with the military support of the
clandestine operatioins of the CIA.
It is with this background and experience that he evaluated Miller's book
as incompetent, badly researched -- really not researched at all -- and
worse of all, malicious.
Andrew Milne
: -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
: mi...@crl.com (Andrew Milne) wrote:
: >Martin Poulter (pl...@mail.bris.ac.uk) wrote:
: >
: >: Ben Hooberman is a solicitor who acted for Geoffrey Johnson Smith in the
: >: libel action brought against him by the Scientologists
: >
: >Certainly no unbiased source. Miller's book was a badly researched
: >hatchet job, now forgotten among all except a few diehards on ars and at
: >Cult Awareness Network. Mr. Hubbard works continue to sell millions and
: >are translated into 31 languages.
: The cult attempted to have publication of Bare Faced Messiah
: suppressed in the English courts, and the courts upheld the right to
: publish. In your language, Milne, the courts have effectively endorsed
: the truthfulness of the claims made in the book.
Nonsense. The court rulings did not address the issue of whether or not
the book was accurate.
Jim Bianchi
: : Ben Hooberman is a solicitor who acted for Geoffrey Johnson Smith in the
: : libel action brought against him by the Scientologists
: Cult Awareness Network. Mr. Hubbard works continue to sell millions and
: are translated into 31 languages.
Yes, Andy. You're correct here (even if the requirement to so couch
Hubbards words made for (I'm told) some incredibly stilted translations).
But, you see, what I want to know is, where can I inspect the
'scientific proof' Hubbard was so fond of citing wrt his work?
"Scientology is both immoral and socially obnoxious. In my
judgement it is corrupt, sinister and dangerous.
"It is corrupt because it is based on lies and deceit and has as its
real objective money and power for Mr. Hubbard, his wife and those close to
him at the top.
"It is sinister because it engages in infamous practices both to
its adherents who do not toe the line unquestioningly, and to those who
critisise or oppose it.
"It is dangerous because it is out to capture people, especially
children and impressionable young people, and indoctrinate and brainwash
them so that they become the unquestioning captives and tools of the cult,
withdrawn from ordinary thought, living and relationships with others."
-Justice Latey, judgement in a (British) child custody case, 1984.
(from Jon Atack _A Piece of Blue Sky_, pg 342)
---
ji...@sonic.net
Eclectic Garbanzo BBS, (707) 539-1279
tritium
>Clark Merrill (mer...@stosc.stsci.edu) wrote:
>
>: -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
>
>: In article <4in7j5$k...@crl2.crl.com>, mi...@crl.com (Andrew Milne) writes:
>: >Martin Poulter (pl...@mail.bris.ac.uk) wrote:
>: >: Sunday Times
>: >: 15 Nov 87
>: >: Books: Face to face with fanaticism /
>: >: Review of 'Bare-Faced Messiah' by Russell Miller
>: >
>: >
>: >: By BEN HOOBERMAN
>: >
>: >: BARE-FACED MESSIAH by Russell Miller/Michael Joseph Pounds 12.95 pp390
>: >
>: >
>: >The following is a letter written to Miller's publishers in 1987,
>: >showing the venality and falsity of Miller's book.
>: >
>: >
>: I snipped the letter, the less I see of that man's writings the
>: better.
>
>: The Letter was written by Fletcher Prouty, in my opinion, a well
>: known kook. The following is from A FAQ on the Willis Carto & The
>: Institute for Historical Review. They are a bunch of racists who
>: believe that the Holocaust never happened.
>
>what you have represented) his credentials in the field of intelligence
>are impeccable. A retired Air Force colonel, he worked closely with
so impeccable that he was unable to determine that the
code '16' on hubbard's record indicated 'reserve'; instead
he (prouty) used it as a basis for a concocted story
of how hubbard really was a sUpEr SeCrEt Spy, when he (hubbard)
in fact was a failure as a naval officer, and a whining
malinger who by his own applications to VA needed psychiatric
help.
=== tritium (h3) ---- anon...@nyx.cs.du.edu
I consider trial by jury as the only anchor yet imagined by man by which
a government can be held to the principles of its constitution - Jefferson
Scott McClare
>>hatchet job, now forgotten among all except a few diehards on ars and at
>>are translated into 31 languages.
>
>suppressed in the English courts, and the courts upheld the right to
>publish. In your language, Milne, the courts have effectively endorsed
>the truthfulness of the claims made in the book.
>
The day I found out that the Canadian courts had dismissed Scientology's
<tm> campaign to have Miller's book banned was the day I first learned
that the mediocre SF author I'd been reading so much of at the time, was
the founder of a criminal cult.
I kept the newspaper article. Now, I use it as a bookmark every time I
read _Bare-faced Messiah_.
Scott
Boohoos and weepers and clams, oh my!
--
-=Scott A. McClare=- SP3 |PGP fingerprint:
FidoNet: 1:221/1400.7 |4135A8BA40E65657
samc...@artspas.watstar.uwaterloo.ca |064671A9CF2B8A1C
*Though this be madness, yet there is a method in't. - Polonius*
Chris Owen
inadvertantly, I'm sure). When the Church took Miller to court in 1987
in an attempt to prevent publication of his book, it based its case on an
alleged violation of copyright, *NOT* factual inaccuracies. In fact, the
Church's lawyers explicitly said that they did not allege Miller's material
to be untrue. They did not deny the accuracy of his book in the original
case, and they did not deny it in the appeal. So I don't know what source
you're citing, but the Church has never contradicted Miller's statements in
a court of law despite having the opportunity to do so, and therefore, de
jure, the Church *accepts* Miller's factual evidence.
I've attached the relevant law reports below...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE TIMES Law Report, Oct 15 1987
----------
PUBLIC INTEREST OUTWEIGHS PRIVATE DUTY
Church of Scientology of California v Miller and Another
Before Mr. Justice Vinelott
[Judgement October 9]
Public interest in the affairs of the Church of Scientology outweighed any
private duty of confidence Mr. Justice Vinelott held in dismissing in the
Chancery Division an application by the church for an interim injunction,
pending trial of an action against Mr, Russell Miller and Penguin Books Ltd,
to restrain them from distributing and publishing in connection with a
biography entitled Bare-Faced Messiah, two photographs of Mr. L. Ron
Hubbard, the founder of the church, and extracts from his diaries and from
certain letter [sic] written by or to him. Publication of those was intended
to be effected on October 26, in connection with a biography of the late Mr.
Hubbard written by Mr. Miller.
Later in the Court of Appeal Penguin Books gave an understanding that the
book would not be published, sold or displayed to the public until after
judgement in the plaintiff church's appeal, which is to be heard on October
19. But distribution was allowed to proceed, wholesalers and retailers being
notified of the terms of the undertaking.
Mr. Alan Newman and Mr. Jacques Algazy for the church; Mr. Gavin Lightman,
QC, Mr. Michael Briggs and Mr. Philip Jones for Mr. Miller and Penguin.
MR. JUSTICE VINELOTT said that the Church of Scientology of California was
registered under Californian law as a religious organisation, but its
subsidiary in the United Kingdom was a company which had not been registered
as a charity, and it should therefore not be assumed that it would be
recognised in England as established for the advancement of religion.
Mr. Miller was an author with a reputation for investigative journalism.
Proof copies of his biography of Mr. Hubbard became available within a
limited circle on August 5.
The plaintiffs obtained a copy, but precisely how or when was not clear
from the evidence. The intended date of publication was October 26, and
serialised extracts from the book were intended to appear in successive
editions of The Sunday Times.
Distribution could not be delayed much longer if the intended date was
to be adhered to. The plaintiff's writ and notice of motion seeking interim
injunctions were served on September 29.
The injunctions were sought on three grounds:
First, it was said that the plaintiffs owned the copyrights of two
photographs, one of which, of the head and shoulders of Mr. Hubbard, was to
be used on the dust jacket and the other of Mr. Hubbard with members of the
plaintiff's staff, as an insert in the book.
Second, it was said, the book contained quotations and information derived
from confidential letters which came in confidence to a Mr. Armstrong while
an employee of the plaintiffs and that they were entitled to protect that
confidence.
Third, it was said that the documents in question were obtained by Mr.
Miller in breach of a sealing order made by the Superior Court of California
in litigation to recover the documents from Mr. Armstrong who had ceased to
be employed by the plaintiffs.
Having considered the evidence as to the photographs, his Lordship
concluded that, even if the plaintiffs owned the copyright in them, their
use in breach of copyright could not possibly harm them, whereas the
defendant's plans for launching the book would be grievously impaired if
they could not be used and held that the plaintiffs were not entitled to
interlocutory relief in respect of them.
The position as to the documents was that Mr. Armstrong, a senior employee
of the plaintiffs, had been engaged to protect and preserve Mr. Hubbard's
personal papers, while Mr. Hubbard was still alive.
When Mr. Armstrong left the church, he took with him a substantial amount
of the archival material, which the plaintiffs then took proceedings to
recover. In those proceedings the plaintiffs obtained a sealing order.
The documents included diaries kept by Mr. Hubbard during the years 1927
to 1929, when he was 18 years old, a letter from his mother also in 1929,
a letter to his first wife, and another letter from a Miss O'Brien.
The plaintiffs' case was that Mr. Armstrong owed them a duty to keep the
archival material confidential, and that their right to prevent disclosure
by Mr. Armstrong was binding on any person who came into contact with it
directly or indirectly through Mr. Armstrong.
The first difficulty confronting that argument was that the only person who
could complain of a breach of confidence was the person to whom that duty
was owed: see Fraser v Evans ([1969] 1 QB 349). The plaintiffs could not
rely on the duty of confidence owed to Mr. Hubbard.
It was argued that the material had been entrusted to the church of which
he was the founder and which was the living embodiment of his beliefs and
teaching and that in the unusual circumstances of this case the church could
claim the duty of confidence in his place.
The activities, doctrines and activities of the church were a matter of
legitimate public interest and concern. An investigation into those matters
was carried out by the late Sir John Foster many years ago, and following
his report, entry into the United Kingdom by alien scientologists was
barred.
The doctrines and activities of the church were also considered in a case
where the parents of infants were deprived of their custody, because they
were members of the church, which custody would otherwise have been given
to them.
Mr. Hubbard was the revered founder of the church, and his appearance on
the Earth was treated by church members as an event of cosmic significance.
It must follow that his life, his relationship to the church and the
circumstances in which the church was founded were clearly matters in which
the public had a legitimate public interest.
That did not mean that anyone had carte blanche to disregard a duty of
confidence. But the public interest in maintaining the bond of confidence
must be weighed against the legitimate public interest in the church's
affairs and the history of its founder.
His Lordship had read Mr. Miller's biography and it was clear that the
public interest far outweighed any duty of confidence that could conceivably
be owed to Mr. Hubbard or to the church.
The materials in question were essential if his early development and
achievements were to be properly evaluated.
Shortly stated, the church was active and proselytising, and in its efforts
to obtain converts, the personality, qualities, history and character of its
founder were matters which the church itself relied upon, and the public had
an interest in evaluating the image on which the church relied.
As to the order of the Californian court, his Lordship did not think it
necessary to examine the foundation and limits of the principle on which the
judgements of a foreign court could be enforced in this country.
The principle could have no application in an interlocutory decision of a
foreign court sealing documents pending the hearing of an action. Public
interest also clearly outweighed the order in the Californian proceedings.
The plaintiffs had become aware in May of Penguin's intention to publish
the biography, but had taken no action until September 29 to seek to
prevent publication. Their application was made at a time, whether
calculated or not, when the greatest possible damage and inconvenience would
be caused to Penguin Books.
In the absence of any sufficient reasons for the delay, the delay itself
would operate as a bar to any claim to interlocutory relief. In his
Lordship's view the application was oppressive, and was not brought to
protect any legitimate interest. It was both mischievous and misconceived.
[On a later application to the Court of Appeal, Penguin Books gave an
undertaking that the book would not be published, sold or displayed to the
public until after judgement in the plaintiff's appeal, to be heard on
October 19. Distribution, however, could go ahead, the wholesalers and
retailers being notified of the terms of their undertaking,]
Solicitors: Hamida Jafferji; Peter Carter-Ruck & Partners
----------
THE TIMES, October 23rd 1987
----------
CHURCH APPEAL TO BAN BOOK FAILS
Church of Scientology of California v Miller and Another
Before Lord Justice Fox and Sir George Waller.
The public interest in the publication of a book concerning assertions of
fact in relation to the founder of the Church of Scientology far outweighed
any duty of confidence owed by the author to the founder.
The Court of Appeal so held dismissing an appeal by the Church of
Scientology of California from the refusal by Mr. Justice Vinelott (The
Times, October 15) of an application by the church for an interlocutory
injunction. pending trial of an action against Mr. Russell Miller and Penguin
Books Ltd, to restrain them from distributing and publishing in connection
with a biography entitled Bare-Faced Messiah, two photographs of Mr. L. Ron
Hubbard, the founder of the church, and extracts from his diaries and from
certain letters written by or to him.
Mr. Alan Newman and Mr Jacques Algazy for the church; Mr Gavin Lightman, QC,
Michael Briggs and Mr Philip J. Jones for Mr Miller and Penguin.
LORD JUSTICE FOX said that the Church of Scientology was founded by Mr
Hubbard, who died in 1986. Mr. Miller had written his biography due to be
published by Penguin on October 26.
Pursuant to an order of Lord Justice Nicholls, pending an appeal from Mr
Justice Vinelott's decision, Penguin were at liberty to distribute the book
to wholesalers and retailers upon terms that the books were not to be sold
before October 26.
The grounds on which the church sought to restrain publication of the book
were, inter alia:
1. The church was the owner of the copyright in two photographs, one on the
dust cover of the book and the other contained therein and publication
would be a breach of the copyright.
2. The book contained quotations and materials from diaries and documents of
confidential nature communicated to an employee of the church, which was
therefore entitled to restrain their use by Mr Miller.
Both the breach of copyright and breach of confidence were disputed by
Mr. Miller and Penguin.
The judge, however, refused the application on the ground of the church's
delay in seeking relief. He was right.
By May 1987, the church was aware of Penguin's intention to publish the
book. The proof copies were available to it on August 5. But the application
was not made until September 29, when the preparations for the publication
were far advanced and disturbance of the arrangements likely to cause the
author and publishers the maximum embarrassment.
A plaintiff seeking interlocutory relief had to act with speed. As the judge
remarked, a cursory glance at the book would have shown the church that
substantial use was being made of Mr Hubbard's diaries and other archival
material.
Although it was sufficient to dismiss the appeal on the ground of delay, his
Lordship went on to consider the other grounds.
If the church had an arguable case on breach of copyright and breach of
confidence and would not be adequately compensated by damages, would the
church be able to meet any undertaking in damages if the defendants won at
the trial?
If publication was restrained until trial, the publishers would be exposed
to substantial and unquantifiable losses in sales and reputation as reliable
publishers.
The damages to which they would be entitled if the church lost its claim
would be substantial. On the evidence, those losses might exceed the church's
resources.
In any event the duty of confidence alleged had to be balanced against the
public interest in the church.
The church was an active proselytising church with several million members.
The public had an interest that assertions of fact should be exposed to
public criticism. The founder was dead and the material was not alleged to
be untrue.
In all the circumstances the balance of convenience was decisively in favour
of refusing an injunction for a right of confidence.
Sir George Waller agreed.
Solicitors: Hamida Jafferji; Peter Carter-Ruck & Partners
--
| Chris Owen | New Mansion House, Lancaster Gate, London W2 |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| WORLD'S BIGGEST SPECTRUM ARCHIVE -- http://www.nvg.unit.no/sinclair |
| "Piltdown Man was always biting his wife": another gem from L.Ron Hubbard |
Chris Owen
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUNDAY TIMES, ? October 1987, p. 7
----------
SCIENTOLOGISTS IN DIRTY CAMPAIGN TO STOP BOOK
The Church of Scientology has mounted a campaign of intimidation and
harassment against the author and publisher of a new book on the founder of
the religious cult to be serialised shortly by The Sunday Times.
Scientologists and private detectives have been used to put pressure on
people on Britain and the United States involved in the forthcoming
publication of Bare Faced Messiah: the True Story of L. Ron Hubbard.
Russell Miller, the author, who spent more than two years researching the
book, has been subjected to harassment and a mysterious and anonymous hate
campaign by someone who has tried to "frame" him for causing the murder of
a private detective in south London and other crimes, including a suspicious
fire at an aircraft factory in Wiltshire.
Miller was followed for days on end during his research in America. In
recent weeks supporters of the cult and private detectives have visited his
friends and business associates in Europe and American in an attempt to
discover details of his personal life and to discredit him.
The Sunday Times, which plans to begin serialisation of the book on November
1, has also been pestered by scientologists trying to prevent publication,
Senior executives have received threatening telephone calls. Last week one
member of the cult told a Sunday Times executive: "If you publish false
information, the church will defend itself. There will be trouble,"
The scientologists have employed two men in London to harass the newspaper
and the publisher of the book, Michael Joseph, a subsidiary of Penguin books.
Last Wednesday the men, claiming to be members of a consumers' group, gained
access to the offices of The Sunday Times in Wapping, east London.
Eugene Ingram, a Los Angeles private investigator employed by the church
since 1982, and a Briton who did not give his name, used a false business
card to obtain an interview with Brian MacArthur, the paper's executive
editor. Only later did they reveal they wre acting for the Church of
Scientology and tried to discredit one of the sources for Miller's book,
Gerry Armstrong.
The pair, using a videotaped interview with Armstrong, had tried the same
tactic of discrediting him earlier in the day with executives at Penguin
Books. A similar videotaped interview with Armstrong was described by the
judge at a trial in Portland, Oregon, in May 1985 as "devastating for the
church" because of its cynical use of skilful editing and its "amateurish"
attempt at entrapment.
Miller, a former Sunday Times journalist, is by no means the first author to
feel the wrath of the Church of Scientology, which has been accused of
breaking up families and brainwashing its devotees. Almost every writer who
has attempted to publish a critical book on the church since 1970 has had to
endure a campaign of intimidation.
In almost every case the cult has managed to obtain copies of the manuscript
before publication, on many occasions using burglary.
Courts in the US have heard incredible tales of the lengths scientologists
have been prepared to go to prevent publication of embarassing books.
Documents seized by the FBI have implicated them in covert and criminal
operations, including some arranged from the cult's British headquarters in
East Grinstead, West Sussex.
In 1985 Paulette Cooper, a New York journalist who wrote one of the earliest
books on the cult, was paid $400,000 after it was found that the church had
tried to frame her for a bomb threat. Cooper went through years of hell as
she was forced to appear before grand juries. Her career was almost wrecked
by McCarthyite attempts to discredit her and have her imprisoned or
incarcerated in a mental institution.
Miller's book, due to be published on Monday week, is the subject of a
forthcoming appeal court hearing. The church, which was branded "corrupt,
immoral, sinister and dangerous" by a High Court judge in 1984, has claimed
photographs used are in breach of copyright.
The appeal was granted after Mr. Justice Vinelott on October 10 rejected the
church's attempt to delay publication as "mischievous and misconceived".
Clark Merrill
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
In article <4is9tu$c...@crl8.crl.com>, mi...@crl.com (Andrew Milne) writes:
>Clark Merrill (mer...@stosc.stsci.edu) wrote:
>
>: -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
>
>: In article <4in7j5$k...@crl2.crl.com>, mi...@crl.com (Andrew Milne) writes:
>: >Martin Poulter (pl...@mail.bris.ac.uk) wrote:
>: >: Sunday Times
>: >: 15 Nov 87
>: >: Books: Face to face with fanaticism /
>: >: Review of 'Bare-Faced Messiah' by Russell Miller
>: >
>: >
>: >: By BEN HOOBERMAN
>: >
>: >: BARE-FACED MESSIAH by Russell Miller/Michael Joseph Pounds 12.95 pp390
>: >
>: >
>: >The following is a letter written to Miller's publishers in 1987,
>: >showing the venality and falsity of Miller's book.
>: >
>: >
>: I snipped the letter, the less I see of that man's writings the
>: better.
>
>: The Letter was written by Fletcher Prouty, in my opinion, a well
>: known kook. The following is from A FAQ on the Willis Carto & The
>: Institute for Historical Review. They are a bunch of racists who
>: believe that the Holocaust never happened.
>
I see you snipped my article also. It would be nice, if you mentioned it
in your article. I have no problem with you editing what I say, it would
nice if you mentioned it so I don't have to go back to the original.
>Whatever Prouty's views in that area ( and I suspect they are not at all
>what you have represented) his credentials in the field of intelligence
>are impeccable.
You rely on the man's credentials alone. I rely on what he has said and
what has been written about him. I think I have the stronger case!
I have done research on the Holocaust Deniers and the JFK assassination.
Prouty's name came up in both cases. That is why I was able to find this
information so quickly. I knew where to get it quickly. Why don't you
check out the FTP site and the web site I mentioned. The were:
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/holocaust/ihr/top.html
and
ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/jm/jmcadams/prouty3.txt
This is the Article entitled "Fletcher Prouty, Mark Lane, JFK
Assassination Theories, & the Fascist Right". That author thinks
that Prouty is a Facist. He may be right.
>A retired Air Force colonel, he worked closely with
>intelligence services for more than 30 years.
30 years and he only made colonel. That is pretty poor! 30 years is
the point where they "force" you to retire if you don't make General.
>He rose through the Defense
>Department chain of command to a point where all CIA military activities
>were channelled through him. Between 1955 and 1963, he served as chief of
>special operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and in a similar capacity
>with the Office of Special Operations of the Office of the Secretary of
>Defense and headed the Special Operations Office for the US Air Force.
>All of these position wer charged with the military support of the
>clandestine operatioins of the CIA.
>
Sounds great, but Milne, I consider you a more reliable source than Fletcher
Prouty. And you are one who who said the side paying out money
was the winner in a recent lawsuit. I know who Prouty is from previous
research. What do you know about him besides that he wrote this letter
and that someone in your organization had a copy of it.
>It is with this background and experience that he evaluated Miller's book
>as incompetent, badly researched -- really not researched at all -- and
>worse of all, malicious.
>
Yes, but Prouty also listed himself as a "an editorial adviser to
publications of the Church of Scientology". That does not make him an
unbiased source. I noticed you left this out. This is one of the key
pieces of information from my article. It is a piece of information that
one previous poster predicted before I posted it.
So Hubbard was able to get someone who worked for him to write a letter
for him. A Person who is quoted as saying:
"blaming the high price of oil on on a systematic plot of a cabal to
shut down oil pipelines deliberately in the Middle East, "Why?" he
asked, and explained to the seminar: "Because of the Israelis. That
is their business on behalf of the oil companies."
So you are relying on the testimony of a racist to prove that Hubbard is
pure and true and all he says he is.
A few more facts about Prouty: (skip it if you have heard enough, If Milne
posts again, I will post more)
He was so great the Air Force sent him to Antartica in 1963 for a while.
He was so paranoid that after JFK was murdered, he thought that it was
part of a "MASSIVE" plot to kill JFK. He was in New Zealand the day of
the assassination. He thought that it showed that there was a "plot"
because the local newspaper had an extra out on the street within 4
hours of Oswald being arrested that had a short bio of Oswald. Even
though good newspaper work and the technology of the time more than
explained it. (Paper tape to a linotype machine to input the wire service
copy directly to the printing presses and papers all over this country
carried stories about Oswald when he defected to the USSR in 1959, so they
had the information in their morgues.)
For those of you who remember "Mr. X" in the movie JFK, that character
was primarily based on Prouty. But Prouty NEVER met Jim Garrison during
that time frame. So that part of the movie was DELIBERATE lie. Prouty
also served as an advisor to the film.
Just my thoughts
Clark Merrill
Baltimore, Maryland finger mer...@liner.stsci.edu for
mer...@stsci.edu pgp public key
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Martin Poulter
>Martin Poulter (pl...@mail.bris.ac.uk) wrote:
>
>: Ben Hooberman is a solicitor who acted for Geoffrey Johnson Smith in the
>: libel action brought against him by the Scientologists
>
>hatchet job, now forgotten among all except a few diehards on ars and at
>Cult Awareness Network. Mr. Hubbard works continue to sell millions and
>are translated into 31 languages.
"badly researched", eh? Really? Well, if that's true then it should be
easy to take some major claim from the book and show us how it contradicts
the facts. Not by mere assertion, mind: give us some decent references
that we can check for ourselves.
If, on the other hand, BFM was actually very *well* researched, then you're
just going to ignore this and start on another topic.
Given your string of disasters over the past year (especially your
hilarious misrepresentation of the Dutch case- one of the most hilarious
threads I have ever seen on this newsgroup), I know which way I'm betting.
David M. Cook
Martin Poulter <pl...@mail.bris.ac.uk> wrote:
>"badly researched", eh? Really? Well, if that's true then it should be
>easy to take some major claim from the book and show us how it contradicts
>the facts.
We've already been there. Milne trotted out the ol' submarine claim.
Perhaps Milne is capable of learning, since he didn't bring it up again
in this thread.
Dave Cook
William Barwell
>Martin Poulter (pl...@mail.bris.ac.uk) wrote:
>
>: libel action brought against him by the Scientologists
>
>hatchet job, now forgotten among all except a few diehards on ars and at
>Cult Awareness Network. Mr. Hubbard works continue to sell millions and
>are translated into 31 languages.
>
>
There is more truth in Miller's book than in all the many lies Hubbard
ever told and called Scientology. And remember many of these remarkable
facts were drawn from Hubbard's own papers, rescued from the shredder by
Gerald Armstrong.
For lies, try Scientology's web sites.
Hubbard's books sit on bookshelves unmoving and unwanted.
Only an expensive and widespread campaign by Scientology
keeps up the illusion anybody wants any of Hubbard's idiot
books. Susan Goodman's astrology books sold 25 million
in half the time Hubbard sopposedly sold 17 and she did not have to play
tricks like Stupidology did.
Her books were probably not quite the insult to the intelligence
Hubbard's goofball books are.
I bet more Garfield book sell than Hubbard books by far.
Probably more useful to their readers too.
Instant lurker poll. How many out there once bought Dianetics but
couldn't get through it? How many have heard this admission from others?
I have heard this from several people who bought this tripe and realized
20 pages into Dianetics it was a wipe, a stupid waste of money.
Pope Charles
SubGenius Pope Of Houston
Slack!
Tilman Hausherr
>Whatever Prouty's views in that area ( and I suspect they are not at all
>what you have represented) his credentials in the field of intelligence
>are impeccable. A retired Air Force colonel, he worked closely with
>intelligence services for more than 30 years. He rose through the Defense
>Department chain of command to a point where all CIA military activities
>were channelled through him. Between 1955 and 1963, he served as chief of
>special operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and in a similar capacity
>with the Office of Special Operations of the Office of the Secretary of
>Defense and headed the Special Operations Office for the US Air Force.
>All of these position wer charged with the military support of the
>clandestine operatioins of the CIA.
>
>It is with this background and experience that he evaluated Miller's book
>as incompetent, badly researched -- really not researched at all -- and
>worse of all, malicious.
Atack on Prouty
Fletcher Prouty was employed by the Scientology cult to defend Ron
Hubbard's deplorable Navy record. He proposed the idea that Hubbard's
now publicly available Navy records - some 750 pages - were in fact
forgeries. He alleged that the files had been 'sheep-dipped', which is
to say that they concealed records of action so secret that they could
not be made available even to the Navy Records department. If you would
like to read the available files, write to the FOIA Coordinator, Dept of
the Navy, Naval Military Personnel Command, Washington DC 20370. Then
compare them with the chapter in A Piece of Blue Sky called Hubbard as
Hero. Then check the Hubbard pronouncements referenced there. Comparison
will show that Hubbard's own later statements are consistent in many
areas with the records (for example his posting to Australia in December
1941, and to Florida in 1942). An excellent textbook on US Navy
Intelligence is also referenced in Blue Sky - Dorwart's 'Conflict of
Duty', Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 1983.
Prouty has been a featured speaker at meetings of the Holocaust Denial
group which was long directed by senior Scientologist Thomas Marcellus -
the Institute for Historical Review. Presumably he agrees that the
Holocaust did not happen, so his specialist opinions are questionable to
say the least.
In a 1988 letter, Prouty explained that his fees were $500 per day with
a non-recoverable advance of $1,000. He also expected a royalty for any
ensuing work: "In other words, if I help you and your business make
money, we share".
In October 1987, alarmed at Prouty's statements, I wrote to him offering
debate. I pointed out a significant error in his assertions, significant
enough to topple his whole argument. He did not reply to my letter. It
was later rumoured that he was going to write the long-awaited biography
of Ron Hubbard. Bear in mind that Omar Garrison's publishing company had
already been paid over $200,000 NOT to publish the biography
commissioned by the cult. Prouty was never a member of US Navy
Intelligence.
The most significant error in Prouty's work was his assertion that the
code '16' on Hubbard's orders signified that he was a member of US Navy
Intelligence. In fact, the files themselves show that the code number
indicates simply 'Naval Reserve', and of course Hubbard was commissioned
as a member of the Naval Reserve. Prouty offers no source for his
drastic presumption.
Hubbard was indeed an Intelligence Officer, but not a member of US Navy
Intelligence. An Intelligence Officer was responsible for mail
censorship and for tracking and reporting ship movements. After a weeks
training Hubbard was sent to Australia (see Blue Sky for details of his
inglorious career there). In May 1942, cable censorship ceased to be a
duty of Intelligence Officers, and Hubbard was briefly transferred to
the Office of the Cable Censor in New York. His records and his own
statements make it clear that he was reclassified as a 'Deck Officer' in
June 1942. Neither Hubbard's own often inflated tales nor his records
say anything about a single operation working for 'intelligence' unless
we are to believe that he was sent to break up the Parsons' magick group
that he so enthusiastically participated in at the beginning of 1946.
Parsons' own extensive FBI files make no mention of such an assignment,
and his own top security clearance well beyond that date makes a mockery
of Hubbard's story.
Jon Atack
Steve A
mi...@crl.com (Andrew Milne) wrote:
>Steve A (ste...@castlsys.demon.co.uk) wrote:
>: The cult attempted to have publication of Bare Faced Messiah
>: suppressed in the English courts, and the courts upheld the right to
>: publish. In your language, Milne, the courts have effectively endorsed
>: the truthfulness of the claims made in the book.
>
>Nonsense. The court rulings did not address the issue of whether or not
>the book was accurate.
Your cult sued Miller for libel - am I correct? The only defenses
against libel are a) "I never said that", and b) "It's true, your
honour".
Russell Miller did not deny writing the book, yet he successfully
defended the suit. It can therefore be assumed that the court
considered the facts being disputed by the CoS to be true.
Live with it.
- --
Steve: SP4 and Clam Cluster, KoX, KOh
Minister in the First Electronic Church of SCAMIZDAT,
High Grand Pappadum of the Church of the SubGenius.
I thought...Bob had fallen and he couldn't get up? [on Bob Penny, sufferer from MS]
-- "Vera Wallace", official CoS stooge showing Scientology's caring side.
"Revenimus, MF" -- Capricorn.
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William Barwell
Clark Merrill <mer...@stosc.stsci.edu> wrote:
I am crosposting this entire thread to alt.slack as I know there are
indeed a number of SubGenii that are actually well known Kennedy
assassination experts. (what would you expect from a religion that can
count Kerry Thornley, Lee Harvey Oswald's roomate as a member?
Thornley did not in most likelihood meet Prouty but he can tell you quite
a bit more about Garrison than Prouty could, having been persecuted by
Garrison. We have sources.)
If anybody on alt.slack has any more to add about Prouty, please let us
know.
We need the straight poop on Prouty.
Pope Charles
SubGenius Pope Of Houston
Slack!
>
tritium
i thought i recognized the style, so i skipped to
the end of this excessively long and pointless letter,
and sure enough ...
[clip]
>Very truly yours,
>
>L. Fletcher Prouty
a letter from the supposed expert in intelligence who couldn't
figure out that a '16' in a placement code in Hubbard's record
stood for 'reserves. a man of such intellectual integrity that
he was prepared to act as a character witness for Willis
Carto, who actively seeks to demonstrate that the holocaust
never occurred.