Today in Scientology -- August 25th *********************

[Scientology Today]

Today August 25th in Scientology history
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J. Gordon Melton willing to fight cults, but for a price
August 25, 1975, Rick Ross, Cult Education Institute
http://culteducation.com/group/1248-apologist/1978-j-gordon-melton-willing-to-fight-cults-but-for-a-prices.html

Tags: Church of God, Gordon Melton

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Narconon banned from S.F. schools
August 25, 2004, Nanette Asimov, San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/08/25/MNGG18DVGD1.DTL

An anti-drug program with ties to the Church of Scientology will be
barred from San Francisco classrooms because of concerns about its
scientific accuracy, city schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman said
Tuesday.

Ackerman's decision followed a review of the Narconon Drug Prevention &
Education Program by school health officials, who found that some of
its teachings were not "100 percent accurate."

Tags: Arlene Ackerman, California, Clark Carr, Jack O'Connell, Narconon, Ooze
towel, San Francisco, Steve Heilig

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Wikipedia Will Screen Changes on Articles About Living People
August 25, 2009, John C Abell, Wired
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/08/wikipedia-will-limit-changes-on-articles-about-living-people-ny-times/

Wikipedia has already locked out individuals and entities - notably,
the Church of Scientology, which got the boot in May for repeated and
deceptive editing of articles related to the controversial religion.
Wired.com readers also pulled in an award for discovering the most
egregious Wikipedia whitewashes by corporation and government agencies.

But now, if you want to sow the seeds of doubt about President Obama's
country of birth, don't bother to edit his Wikipedia entry. It'll never
see the light of day.

Tags: Jimmy Wales, Michael Snow, Wikipedia

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Board makes right call in fining Scientology
August 25, 2011, Editorial, Tampa Bay Times
http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/board-makes-right-call-in-fining-scientology/1187992

The volunteers on Clearwater's Code Enforcement Board got it right
Wednesday when they voted unanimously to require one of downtown's
biggest property owners to pay $413,000 in building code fines. If the
Church of Scientology chooses to appeal, a circuit court judge should
be just as hard pressed to find any reason to give the church a break
after it so flagrantly defied the rules.

Tags: 2006, Clearwater, Code Enforcement Board, David Miscavige, Fort
Harrison, Super Power

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Clearwater fines Scientology $413,500
August 25, 2011, Drew Harwell, Tampa Bay Times
http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/clearwater-fines-scientology-413500/1187852

When the building was finally finished in June, that $450,000 bill
became due. But the church asked the city to reduce its fine by 90
percent, to reflect its "good faith" effort in bringing the building to
code.

That request went to the city's resident-led Code Enforcement Board,
which has a record of leniency and decimating fines. But board members
voted unanimously to keep the fines mostly untouched, saying the church
had long ignored the city's rules.

"This board's order was not taken seriously," member Sheila Cole said.
"That really bothers me."

Tags: 1998, 2006, Camilo Soto, Clearwater, Code Enforcement Board, Ed
Armstrong, Flag Building, Flag Mecca, Fort Harrison, Los Angeles, Matt
Feshbach, Oak Cove, Pat Harney, Sheila Cole, Super Power

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Ivan Garcia on the Bridge and Gnat Swatting 101
August 25, 2011, Marty Rathbun, Moving On Up a Little Higher
https://markrathbun.wordpress.com/2011/08/25/ivan-garcia-on-the-bridge-and-gnat-swatting-101/

Hello,

My name is Ivan Garcia, I just turned 19 and this is my declaration of
Independence.

I like fast cars, sports, good food and good friends. And girls too.

Tags: David Miscavige, Debbie Cook, Freewinds, Independent, Jim Lynch, Orange
County, OT, Private Eye, Purif, Quicky

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Russell Brand Performs Wedding Ceremony For Outspoken Former Scientologists
August 25, 2011, Tony Ortega, Runnin' Scared, Village Voice
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/08/russell_brand_p.php

Will and Scarlett called me this morning to give me the details on
their totally spontaneous wedding. The event actually took place on
July 28 at the Chumash Casino near Santa Barbara, where Will has worked
for the past three years.

He and Scarlett met through "mutual things," Will says, referring to an
extended worldwide ex-Scientologist network. "We became Facebook
friends, and talked over Skype over the course of a year, rather
casually," he says. But then a little over a month before they were
married, they began to date.

Tags: Anonymous, Australia, Facebook, Las Vegas, Mark Bunker, Russell Brand,
San Jose, Santa Barbara, Scarlett Hanna, Skype, Vicki Dunstan, Wedding, Will
De Boer, Will Fry

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Scientology must pay Clearwater $413,000 in fines
August 25, 2011, Peter Bernard, Tampa Tribune
http://www.tbo.com/pinellas-county/scientology-must-pay-clearwater--in-fines-252820

It took 40 years to build the Mormon Tabernacle, 83 to finish the
National Cathedral.

So 12 years isn't that long to wrap up work on the spiritual center of
the Church of Scientology, the church's attorney argued.

But unique as the building may be, with features including a
black-domed running track for purging the body of toxins, that's not
how the Clearwater code enforcement board saw it.

The board voted unanimously Wednesday to fine the church $413,000 for
failing to get cracking on the building when ordered to, plus five
years of late fees and interest.

Tags: Camilo Soto, Ed Armstrong, Flag Building, Katie Cole, L. Ron Hubbard
Hall, Pat Harney, Sheila Cole, Super Power

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Scientology Sunday Funnies: The All-Video Version!
August 25, 2013, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
http://tonyortega.org/2013/08/25/scientology-sunday-funnies-the-all-video-version/

Who said the Sunday Matinee was dead? We're doing our best to bring it
back today with an all-video edition of Sunday Funnies, when we show
you the best that our Scientology tipsters have forwarded to us during
the week.

And as with any great Sunday feature down at the Bijou, we have a main
feature we'll save for last. It stars that ruggedly handsome man from
the northern wilds, David Love (right), who, as you can see, really
stretches his acting chops with the addition of a ten-gallon hat.

We think you'll really enjoy the thrills and chills of that main event.
But first, we have a killer lineup of preliminary items to get you into
the mood.

Tags: 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, Andreas Heldal-Lund, Anne Archer, Basics,
Battlefield Earth, Bert Leahy, Bodhi Elfman, Celebrity Centre, Chick Corea,
Colin Henderson, David Love, David Miscavige, East Grinstead, England, Erika
Christensen, Hollywood, Ideal Org, Isaac Hayes, Jenna Elfman, John Travolta,
Kelly Preston, Kirstie Alley, Laura Prepon, Lee Baca, Los Angeles, Matt
Stone, Michael Doven, Michael Pe?a, Movie, Nancy Cartwright, New Times Los
Angeles, New York, Office of Special Affairs, Operation Clambake, Quicky,
Saint Hill Manor, San Fernando Valley, Sea Org, Shelly Miscavige, South Park,
Sunday Funnies, Tom Cruise, Tory Christman, Trey Parker, Xenu

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The Great Ideal Orgs Scam
August 25, 2013, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
http://www.mikerindersblog.org/the-great-ideal-orgs-scam/

Smoke and Mirrors

Putting together some backlogged material that has been sent in over
the past couple of weeks. There has been so much news and so many
things happening that some of these are a bit stale, but nevertheless,
worth noting.

This "Ideal Org" program is such an abject disaster it is difficult to
overstate the magnitude of the fail.

Tags: 1959, 1970, 2004, 2008, Alexandra Hotel, Anette Iren Johansen, Basics,
Boston, Cambridge, Canada, Capetown, Clear, CLO Canada, Copenhagen, David
Miscavige, Denver, Dianetics, Facebook, Feshbach, Freedom Medal Winner, Ideal
Org, International Association of Scientologists, Johannesburg, L. Ron
Hubbard, Las Vegas, Los Gatos, Malmo, Mark Fisher, Mountain View, NASA,
Orange County, OT, Pasadena, Phoenix, Pretoria, Quicky, Sally Jensen, San
Diego, Scam, Scientology lawyer, Sea Org, Silicon Valley, South Africa,
Stevens Creek, Stockholm, Sweden, Timothy Bowles, Toronto

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(VIDEO) Scientology's Organizational Madness
August 25, 2014, Chris Shelton, Critical Thinker at Large
http://mncriticalthinking.com/2014/08/24/video-scientologys-organizational-madness-2/

Introduction

All Scientologists wonder why Scientology isn't as successful as they
think it should be. The Ideal Orgs are not filling up with new people
and the church is taking a beating in the media and in the court rooms
almost every day. You can write this off to the psychiatrists or grand
governmental conspiracies against Scientology, but that doesn't really
open the door to any handling or make these problems go away.

Working in a Scientology organization can be a maddening experience but
it's not immediately obvious to most people why this is.

Tags: 1953, 1960, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1987,
1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, Africa, All Clear Unit, Anne
Broeker, Apollo, Australia, Author Services Inc, Bridge to Total Freedom,
California, Canada, Chairman of the Board, Church of Scientology
International, Class V, Clear, Clearwater, Command Intention, Commodore's
Messenger Organization, Conditions, Continental Liaison Office, David
Miscavige, DC, Dianetics, England, Ethics, Europe, Flag Land Base, Florida,
France, Freewinds, Golden Age of Tech, Golden Era, Golden Era Productions,
Greg Wilhere, Guardian's Office, Hemet, Hollywood, Ideal Org, Inspector
General, Inspector General Network, Int Base, International Association of
Scientologists, International Management, IRS, Italy, Jesse Prince, L. Ron
Hubbard, Los Angeles, Marty Rathbun, Mission, New Zealand, Nightline, Office
of Special Affairs, OT, OT VIII, Pat Broeker, Quicky, Ray Mithoff,
Rehabilitation Project Force, Religious Technology Center, Russia, Saint
Hill, Scientology executive, Scientology operation, Scientology organization,
Sea Org, Snow White Program, Steve Pfauth, Suppressive Person, Ted Koppel,
Vicki Aznaran, Watchdog Committee

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Chris Shelton explains why Scientology is in a management death spiral
August 25, 2014, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
http://tonyortega.org/2014/08/25/chris-shelton-explains-why-scientology-is-in-a-management-death-spiral/

It seems to us that Chris has put together something that not only
helps outsiders understand Scientology's byzantine layers of
management, but also helps the people still inside that structure
understand why things are going so badly.

As he says early in the film, "By the end of this video you will
understand more about how Scientology operates than people who are in
it."

He's sure right about that. Set aside some time, and let Chris Shelton
explain why Scientology is doomed?

Tags: 1980, Australia, Chris Shelton, Daily Mail, David Miscavige, Friendly
Atheist, Hemant Mehta, Los Angeles, Mary Sue Hubbard, Sea Org, The Way to
Happiness

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Scientology: The Money Religion
August 25, 2014, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
http://www.mikerindersblog.org/scientology-the-money-religion/

Here we have the latest evidence of the state of the "church" of
scientology and its descent into the worship of money.

Of course, the ONLY thing anyone talks about in scientology these days
is "donations" and "donator statuses" - primarily to the IAS and Ideal
Orgs, but also to numerous other lesser vampire entities that hang out
in the dark cave that is the scientology world. It is what determines
your status and your ability to negotiate the increasingly arbitrary
"church ethics."

But still, who would have ever contemplated a decade ago, let alone
when the Freewinds was first launched in 1988 (26 years ago, not 25...)
that one would ever see this:

Tags: 1988, Chris Shelton, David Miscavige, Freewinds, Ideal Org,
International Association of Scientologists, OT, OT VIII, Quicky, Sea Org,
WISE

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Scientology-related Narconon rehab center may have violated law
August 25, 2014, Joe Childs, Tampa Bay Times
http://www.tampabay.com/news/scientology/scientology-related-rehab-may-have-violated-law/2194630

Substance abuse treatment centers in Florida are required to deliver
services only at licensed facilities. Since Narconon opened in 2008, it
had been licensed by the state Department of Children and Families to
provide services at one place, 8213 Cessna Drive.

"My mouth is hanging open," said Department of Children and Families
licensure specialist Troy McDermott, when told of the rented sites. In
his 21 years at DCF, he never has encountered a center providing
services at unlicensed facilities, he said.

Penalties can range from a moratorium on patient admissions to loss of
license.

Tags: 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, Atlanta, California, Clearwater, Colorado, DC,
Department of Children and Families, Florida, Hernando County, Karin Pouw,
Kurt Feshbach, Los Angeles, Michigan, Narconon, Nevada, Oklahoma, Sean
Strickling, Spring Hill, Success rate, Suncoast Rehabilitation Center, Tammy
Strickling, Tampa, Toucan Partners, Troy McDermott, Zoning

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Scientology's Organizational Madness
August 25, 2014, Chris Shelton, YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrbp7L6r_WI

In this video, I explain the unique and unworkable organizational
structure behind Scientology and how it creates more trouble than it's
worth. But worse than that, control of the entire movement was
subverted decades ago by David Miscavige and in this video I show
exactly how that occurred.

See my blog for more details of my history in Scientology and my
written articles describing specific problems with the Church and how I
got out of it. http://mncriticalthinking.com.

Tags: Church of Scientology International, Church of Spiritual Technology,
Continental Liaison Office, David Miscavige, Int Base, Religious Technology
Center, Sea Org, Video

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Finally, Scrooge Subsidizes Valley Idle Org
August 25, 2015, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
http://www.mikerindersblog.org/finally-scrooge-subsidizes-valley-idle-org/

It's just too damned embarrassing.

Even though they STILL haven't made their "ballpark figure" to able
allowed to get started on getting a final figure for construction, it
seems Uncle Scrooge McDuck is going to chip in the last few million and
get them rolling.

(Though it could be that this is just another of their numerous false
promises about how close they are to being done....)

Tags: Burbank, Hollywood, Quicky

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John Oliver exposed an intriguing link between televangelism and Scientology
August 25, 2015, Jacob Shamsian, Business Insider
http://www.businessinsider.com/john-oliver-exposed-an-intriguing-link-between-televangelism-and-scientology-2015-8

"The way they determined that Scientology was a religion was to make a
deal," Lawrence Wright, the author of "Going Clear: Scientology and the
Prison of Belief," told Salon. "Essentially, Scientology bludgeoned
them into this tax exemption, which now denominates them as a religion."

For its part, the Church of Scientology told Business Insider that "the
IRS recognized Scientology as a tax-exempt religious and charitable
organization because it provided substantive proof on the merits,
following a two-year examination, that it was entitled to that
recognition."

In "Going Clear," Wright describes the Church of Scientology's teaching
method in ways that sound a whole lot like televangelism. Both the
Church of Scientology and televangelists use a pay-as-you-go models,
where the religious organization offers small morsels of its teachings
for money. Those morsels become increasingly expensive with each
lesson, according to Wright.

Tags: IRS, John Oliver, Lawrence Wright, Trinity Foundation

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Stop worrying about ISIS and Syria and Iraq - Scientology's got this, people
August 25, 2015, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
http://tonyortega.org/2015/08/25/stop-worrying-about-isis-and-syria-and-iraq-scientologys-got-this-people/

What a great time we had last night in Boston. Another full room and a
rapt audience who threw us interesting questions. We'll pull together
some photos and an anecdote or two later. For now, we want to thank
Karen de la Carriere for sending us something interesting from the new
issue of Scientology's Planetary Dissemination magazine, which she just
received.

Here we were, thinking that things were going to get worse before they
got better in the Middle East, when it turns out the area is going to
be salvaged with the stable datum of LRH technology!

Karen pointed out that Scientology is actually talking about going into
Syria, which is an apocalyptic hellhole right now that spawned ISIS,
and she asked us a great question. She said, "Are these guys crazy?
They'll get slaughtered if they go over there. Are they really going,
or is this just for show to get the donors to fork over more money?"

Tags: Boston, Cairo, Damascus, Disconnection, Egypt, Frankfurt, Iraq, Karen
de la Carriere, L. Ron Hubbard, New Era Publications, Phoenix, Planetary
Dissemination, Quicky, Syria, The Way to Happiness, Tom Cruise

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(VIDEO) Deconstructing Scientology - Chapter 4
August 25, 2016, Chris Shelton, Critical Thinker at Large
http://mncriticalthinking.com/2016/08/25/video-deconstructing-scientology-chapter-4/

Today we are continuing my analysis of the book Scientology, edited by
James R. Lewis with chapters contributed by various religious scholars,
sociologists and psychologists all centered around, surprise!, the
topic of Scientology. Thanks for carrying on with me in this.

Today, we have Chapter 4 by David G. Bromley, professor of sociology at
Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Virginia
entitled "Making Sense of Scientology: Prophetic, Contractual Religion."

Bromley was known in the anti-cult world as an apologist of the worst
kind for new religious movements, having gone on record as accepting
money from Scientology and other groups and giving favorable testimony
in court against the concept of brainwashing or cult mind control
techniques. While I certainly agree that the day-to-day experiences of
your average Scientologist do not compare to what Robert Lifton
described in his book about Chinese re-education and brainwashing
facilities, I don't see any way that an objective observer could
possibly suggest that Scientology does not engage in undue or covert
influence methods on potential and converted members.

Tags: 1960, 1970, 1976, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1997, 1999, Buddha, Buddhism,
Catholic, Chinese, Christian, Critic, David Bromley, Dianetics, Europe, Ex-
member, First Amendment, James Lewis, Jeffrey Augustine, Jon Atack, L. Ron
Hubbard, OT III, Quicky, Robert Lifton, Scientology Money Project,
Scientology organization, Sea Org, South Park, Steven Hassan, Theology,
Thomas Robbins, University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Xenu

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Steven Mango, who appears in Theroux film, calls police to Scientology
facility over assault
August 25, 2016, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
http://tonyortega.org/2016/08/25/steven-mango-who-appears-in-theroux-film-calls-police-to-scientology-facility-over-assault/

(L to R: Andrew Perez, Steven Mango, and BBC presenter Louis Theroux)

Steven Mango makes an appearance in Louis Theroux's My Scientology
Movie, which opens in Australia in less than two weeks and in the US in
January. But last night, Mango got more than he bargained for when he
tried to warn some Hollywood tourists about his bad experiences with
the Church of Scientology and ended up with a sore shoulder, a police
report, and plans to sue over what he characterizes as an unprovoked
assault.

We first ran into Mango when he told his story in a 2014 YouTube video
about how, like so many others, he'd been sucked into Scientology as an
aspiring actor in Hollywood. In Theroux's film, he makes a brief but
memorable appearance explaining that in just a short amount of time, he
was convinced to pay huge amounts of money for piles of church
publications and courses. (In the photo above, he's pictured with
Theroux and Andrew Perez, who plays Scientology leader David Miscavige
in the movie.)

Tags: 1981, 2012, 2014, American Saint Hill Organization, Andrew Perez,
Australia, BBC, Big Blue, Call Me, Chris Shelton, David Miscavige,
Disconnection, Florida, Hollywood, John Joseph, John LaVoie, L. Ron Hubbard,
Leah Remini, London, Los Angeles, Louis Theroux, Mark Plummer, My Scientology
Movie, New Jersey, Odo Huber, PAC Base, Phil Jones, Quicky, Scientology
Information Center, Scientology staff, Scientology Test Center, Sea Org,
Steven Mango, UK, Willie Jones, Winter Wonderland, YouTube

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Thursday Funnies
August 25, 2016, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
http://www.mikerindersblog.org/thursday-funnies-98/

Has Jeanie lost her mind?

She is going to deliver the Class 8 course in Cincinnati? Never mind
the fact there is no Class VI course which is a prerequisite to Class
VIII.

Confirm your attendance in the UK

Tags: AOSHEU, AOSHUK, Cincinnati, Class VI, Copenhagen, Dianetics, Europe,
Hubbard Academy of Personal Independence, Humanitarian, International
Association of Scientologists, L. Ron Hubbard, Michael Chan, Pasadena,
Quicky, Scotland, Stockholm, Thursday Funnies, UK

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Today in Scientlology web page:
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August 25 in Scientlology web page:
http://umbraxenu.no-ip.biz/days/08-25.html