Today in Scientology -- October 14th *****************************************************

[Scientology Today]

Today October 14th in Scientology history
=========================================

Clearwater changes foreseen from ruling
October 14, 1993, Ned Seaton, St. Petersburg Times
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/51776301.html?dids=51776301:51776301&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Oct+14%2C+1993&author=NED+SEATON%3BWAYNE+GARCIA&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&edition=&startpage=1.1.1&desc=Clearwater+changes+foreseen+from+ruling

The city has not received property taxes from Scientology during the
11-year battle over whether the group's property should be tax exempt,
and any tax money the city would have gotten would have been an
unexpected bonus, said Finance Director Dan Deignan.

But Deignan figures that if the IRS decision had gone the other way,
the city would have been in line for nearly $2-million in back taxes on
the more than 11 Scientology-owned properties, valued at $25.4-million.

Tags: 1989, Clearwater, Downtown Development Board, IRS, Property tax,
Richard Haworth

=========================================

Scientologists Granted Tax Exemption by the U.S.
October 14, 1993, Stephen Labaton, New York Times
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE6D81638F937A25753C1A965958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all

The Government said today that it had agreed to grant a tax exemption
to the Church of Scientology and more than 150 of its related
corporations, ending one of the longest-running tax disputes in
American history.

"This puts an end to what has been an historic war," said Marty
Rathbun, president of a Scientology organization that received a tax
exemption. "It's like the Palestinians and the Israelis shaking hands."

Officials at the Internal Revenue Service and the Scientology group
declined to spell out the details of the settlement and would not
explain why it had finally been reached after four decades of costly
and bitter court fights.

Tags: David Miscavige, Frank Keith, IRS, John Burke, Marty Rathbun, Snow
White Program

=========================================

Church takes case to Strasbourg
October 14, 2003, PRIMA News Agency
http://www.prima-news.ru/eng/news/news/2003/10/14/26254.html

Moscow, RUSSIA. Representatives of the Church of Scientology in
Nizhnekamsk have brought a case at the European Court of Human Rights
against the Ministry of Justice in Tatarstan, which has refused to
register their church.

=========================================

Anti Scientology protestors coming to Hastings
October 14, 2008, Sussex Express
https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/479/Anti-Scientology-protestors-coming-to.4589606.jp

A protest group calling themselves Anonymous contacting The Observer
this week to say they would be coming to town on Saturday October 27.

According to organisers they will direct their protests against two
local organisations which the group claim have links to the
controversial organisation.

Tags: Anonymous, Hastings, UK

=========================================

Intellectual Cleansing 2 - Why journalists stay silent
October 14, 2008, Jonathan Cook, ZNet
http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/19139

Here is a typical experience I had early on with the Echo. I had been
approached by a group of residents concerned that the Church of
Scientology was intending to use a local health clinic to promote their
work. The residents felt this was a misuse of public space and that the
clinic's reputation might confer some legitimacy on the Scientologists'
claims. When I told the news editor about the story, he looked
mortified. "We never run stories about the Scientologists," he said.
Why, I asked. "Because they have money and sue every time we mention
them in the paper."

I am not even sure whether his excuse was genuine. Had I written the
story for the Advertiser, I doubt we would have been sued. But, looking
back, I think his comment concealed some bigger truths about the
difference between the Echo and the Advertiser.

=========================================

Message to Scientology about Uwe Stuckenbrock
October 14, 2008, axelfear, YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7avR4iGr3FA

*transcript*

Hello, leaders of Scientology.

Eight months ago, we launched our campaign to end the evil practices of
the Cult of Scientology. We had become aware of the atrocities
perpetrated by your cult, and it became our sworn duty to put a stop to
the criminal, immoral, and totalitarian policies that the Church has
now become notorious worldwide for.

Tags: 2001, Anonymous, Cult, Lisa McPherson, PAC Base, Quicky, Rehabilitation
Project Force, Uwe Stuckenbrock

=========================================

Anonymous Invincible
October 14, 2009, trinity12357, YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USpuUodcOt0

This is why we protest.

Made for fair use.

Download

Tags: Anonymous, Quicky

=========================================

International Association of Shills
October 14, 2010, Marty Rathbun, Moving On Up a Little Higher
https://markrathbun.wordpress.com/2010/10/14/international-association-of-shills/

Before I get started on another IAS fraud story, a short announcement.
On the day of the IAS event, tomorrow Friday Oct 15th, a one hour
interview with Mike Rinder will be aired on the Edge with Tom Smith in
Tampa. You can tune in at 12:30 p.m. eastern time at www.hawkradio.com.

With the annual IAS event just around the corner, here is some timely
news.

Below you will find an actual casting call notice in the United Kingdom.
It was issued the week of the IAS event 2009. Rumors swirled about
this in certain forums many months ago. I couldn't believe it was
looking for extras for the IAS event. I guess I was reasonable.
Recently I met with an actor who actually answered the call. He
confirmed that five busloads of extras were shipped out to fill up the
Great Hall at St Hill Manor for the 25th Anniversary event. The actors
were briefed that they were not to let on that they were extras. They
were instructed to act enthusiastic as if they were thrilled to hear
Miscavige's bombastic claims at the event.

Tags: 2009, ABLE, David Miscavige, East Grinstead, International Association
of Scientologists, Los Angeles, Mike Rinder, Quicky, Tampa, Tom Smith, UK

=========================================

Miscavige's Death Throes
October 14, 2011, Marty Rathbun, Moving On Up a Little Higher
https://markrathbun.wordpress.com/2011/10/14/miscaviges-death-throes/

Anyone who has followed the news and/or this blog for very long knows
David Miscavige, head of Corporate Scientology, has spent millions of
dollars attempting to spread the sickness of his cult compound to the
world at large. Miscavige has given his go-to private investigator Dave
Lubow unlimited funds to buy phone records, stalk through illegal
electronic surveillance through phone gps devices,harass and annoy,
spread rumor and innuendo, and organize KKK-like gangs to stalk and
attempt to intimidate. Now Miscavige has sunk to even further depths.
His agents have set up phony internet links to targets' names that go
back to child porn sex chat sites.

Read all about it at the Village Voice:

http://blogs.villagevoice.
com/runninscared/2011/10/susan_clickner_scientology_hates_clean_ice_2.
php

Tags: David Lubow, David Miscavige, Independent, Ku Klux Klan, Mike Rinder,
Office of Special Affairs, Private investigator, Quicky, Robert Almblad,
Village Voice

=========================================

Scientology Hates Clean Ice, Part 2: Another Target, and the Web as Weapon
October 14, 2011, Tony Ortega, Runnin' Scared, Village Voice
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/10/susan_clickner_scientology_hates_clean_ice_2.php

Checked your cubes for bacteria lately? On Wednesday, we told you about
a Scientology "Fair Game" operation that seems beyond the pale: the
church, known for its vindictive treatment of perceived enemies, is
accused of harassing a business to keep it from bringing to market a
potentially life-saving machine for hospitals that produces
bacteria-free ice. Why? Because the company employs a former
high-ranking church member that Scientology now considers a threat to
its existence.

In that first story, we talked at length with Robert Almblad, the
machine's inventor, a man who spent 35 years in Scientology but was
never a high-ranking official, and after his departure from the
organization in 2007, never publicly criticized the church. Two years
ago, after he hired Mike Rinder, Scientology's former chief spokesman,
Almblad came under intense surveillance and interference to his
business by a longtime Scientology private investigator and his squad
of cameramen and bodyguards.

Today, we're bringing you another side of the story: a woman who has
been slandered online, followed, harassed, and says she can hardly
believe what she's been through.

Tags: 2007, David Lubow, David Miscavige, Dennis Erlich, Doctor, Europe, Fair
Game, Florida, Jim Lynch, Los Angeles, Mike Rinder, Office of Special
Affairs, Orange County, OT, Private investigator, Quicky, Robert Almblad,
South America, Squirrel Busters, Susan Clickner

=========================================

"Then there is me!" - Tom Cruise
October 14, 2012, Marty Rathbun, Moving On Up a Little Higher
https://markrathbun.wordpress.com/2012/10/14/then-there-is-me-tom-cruise/

Many have speculated just how far Tom Cruise has gone into the
Scientology Inc. bedlam created by his best man David Miscavige. The
book The Scientology Reformation answers that question rather
definitively, now available in Kindle e-book format.

Excerpt from Chapter 8: The Gates Of Hell

?Miscavige's reaction to my escape was chilling. He ordered John
Brousseau, his resident handyman ? and the architect of most of the Tom
Cruise vehicle and home upgrades ? to install prison bars on all
windows in the Hole so that no one else could escape.

Tags: 2004, Chairman of the Board, David Miscavige, John Brousseau, L. Ron
Hubbard, Michael Doven, Nazanin Boniadi, Norman Starkey, Ray Mithoff, Review,
The Hole, Tom Cruise, Tommy Davis, Tony Ortega, Torrance

=========================================

Marty Rathbun Reveals New Details in Nazanin Boniadi Story, Other Scientology
Bombshells in New Book
October 14, 2012, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2012/10/14/marty-rathbun-reveals-new-details-in-nazanin-boniadi-story-other-scientology-bombshells-in-new-book/

Former high-ranking Church of Scientology official Mark "Marty" Rathbun
has released a book that condemns current church leader David Miscavige
for taking Scientology away from the concepts of its founder, L. Ron
Hubbard, and blasts Miscavige and his best friend Tom Cruise for a
litany of malfeasance and corruption.

In Scientology Reformation: What Every Scientologist Should Know,
Rathbun argues that since the death of Hubbard in 1986, Miscavige has
damaged the church he took over by placing an emphasis on fundraising
for projects that have little do with what Hubbard wanted. Along the
way, Rathbun says, Miscavige has discarded Hubbard's plans for
expansion in favor of raising huge sums that he can spend on himself
and his friend Cruise, while imprisoning and violently assaulting his
underlings.

Much of what Rathbun covers in this book we have heard about in news
stories over the last few years. But Rathbun also provides startling
new information about what he witnessed working closely with Miscavige,
and also includes details of the Nazanin Boniadi/Tom Cruise story that
seem as if they could have only one possible source - Boniadi herself.

Tags: 1940, 1952, 1980, 1986, 1990, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2008, Author
Services Inc, Bonnie View, Bryan Zwan, Catholic Church, Colm McLaughlin,
David Miscavige, Debbie Cook, Denise Miscavige Gentile, Dianetics, Digital
Lightwave, Feshbach, Freedom Medal of Valor, Ideal Org, Int Base,
International Association of Scientologists, L. Ron Hubbard, Los Angeles,
Marty Rathbun, Maureen Orth, Nazanin Boniadi, New York, Nicole Kidman, OT 7,
Penelope Cruz, Pope, Quicky, Sea Org, SEC, St. Petersburg Times, Super Power,
Super Power Building, The Hole, Tom Cruise, Tommy Davis, Vanity Fair, Yolanda
Pecoraro, YouTube

=========================================

Scientology Wants You to Party With a Purpose!
October 14, 2012, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2012/10/14/scientology-sunday-funnies-3/

On Sunday mornings, we love to reveal the latest Scientology
fundraising mailers that tipsters have forwarded to us over the past
week. And this week, our sources have not let us down.

On tap in this installment of Sunday Funnies: Jim Meskimen wants to
party with you, librarians are going crazy for Ron's new encyclopedia,
and you really need to get to Flag to discover the abilities you've had
for billions of years! Oh, where do we sign up.

While Scientology's celebrities have been going through some tough
times, the church can always count on good old Jim Meskimen to step to
the plate. In this case, he's going to be on hand as the American Saint
Hill Organization in Los Angeles - "Big Blue" - celebrates...

Tags: American Saint Hill Organization, Big Blue, Jim Meskimen, Los Angeles,
Quicky, Sunday Funnies

=========================================

Leah Remini Takes Another (Muffled) Shot At Scientology On DWTS (AND
SURVIVES!)
October 14, 2013, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2013/10/14/leah-remini-takes-another-shot-at-scientology-on-dwts/

Tonight's episode of ABC's Dancing With the Stars had a theme -
contestants were asked to describe their most memorable year, and then
turn that story into a dance, or something.

Anyway, during the week, Leah had revealed that this year was her most
memorable, and we can imagine why - it's been a big year for us, too,
ever since we broke the news in July that Leah was ditching the Church
of Scientology. "You can't let anybody dictate to you how you should
live," Leah said in tonight's preview, and so we prepared for another
unloading on Tom Cruise's weird church.

But she did so without actually using the word "Scientology." And we
think we know why.

Tags: Dancing With the Stars, Leah Remini, OT VIII, Quicky, Tom Cruise

=========================================

Miscavige's Incredible Strategy "That Is Going To Work..."
October 14, 2013, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
https://www.mikerindersblog.org/miscaviges-incredible-strategy-that-is-going-to-work/

Ideal Orgs is COB's strategy. It's an incredible strategy and one that
is going to work.

When is the working part going to start. There has been 11 years of
"get-ready" - by now you would think the first Ideal Orgs (Buffalo,
Joburg, NY, Tampa, SFO) would have something to show as a result of
this brilliant strategy being implemented.

I mean even if this was a 100 year strategy, by now 10% of those cities
should be clear.

Tags: Buffalo, Chairman of the Board, Clear, David Miscavige, Diane Temps,
Ideal Org, Johannesburg, OT Committee, OTC, Quicky, Tampa

=========================================

Scientology Payback: Revenge of the Videographers
October 14, 2013, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2013/10/14/scientology-payback-revenge-of-the-videographers/

Bert Leahy We've told you Bert Leahy's story before. He was the Texas
freelance videographer who worked briefly for Scientology's "Squirrel
Busters" caper, helping to snoop on Marty and Monique Rathbun in 2011,
before his conscience got the better of him.

Bert soon realized that working for "Dave Statter" wasn't really the
documentary project he thought he was working on - he and his fellow
Squirrel Busters were obviously just stalking the Rathbuns, and had
been told, in Statter's words, to "Make Marty's life a living hell."

Leahy quit after a couple of days, and then felt so lousy about taking
part in something so nefarious, he contacted Rathbun to apologize.
That's when, after talking to Rathbun, the two of them realized that
"Statter" was really Scientology private investigator Dave Lubow.

Tags: 2009, 2010, 2011, Angry Gay Pope, Bert Leahy, Church of Scientology
International, David Lubow, David Miscavige, Inside Edition, Israel Cardoza,
J. Swift, John Sweeney, Judge Ronald Sohigian, Karen de la Carriere, King of
Queens, Laura DeCrescenzo, Lawsuit, Leah Remini, Les Strieber, Los Angeles
Superior Court, Marty Rathbun, Monique Rathbun, Office of Special Affairs,
Panorama, Private investigator, Quicky, Squirrel Busters, Texas, The Secrets
of Scientology, Tommy Davis

=========================================

Tao Te Ching
October 14, 2013, Marty Rathbun, Moving On Up a Little Higher
https://markrathbun.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/tao-te-ching/

Reference: Pursuit of Understanding

Tao Te Ching, A New English Version by Stephen Mitchell.

Scientology begins with the Tao. It works to the extent it parallels
the Tao. It ends up going against the Tao. Scientology departed from
attaining toward harmony and equanimity and headed instead toward
attempting to conquer the natural balance that is the universe in which
we live. That leads to the creation of ego, mental mass, conflict,
individuation, and ultimate misery. It effectuates that departure by
mocking up constructs as reality, complete with imagined or created or
adopted nemeses, enemies, fears, paranoias, and delusions of superiority.

Tags: OT, Quicky

=========================================

Celebrity Meltdown - Amanda Bynes, Ke$ha and Harvey Levin
October 14, 2014, TheLipTV, YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvBUYA7cWjw

The latest celebrity scandals and meltdowns-from Stephen Collins child
abuse allegations, Ke$ha's civil suit against former manager Dr. Luke,
Amanda Bynes involuntary commitment in a psychiatric facility -- as
well as the shady influence of TMZ and Harvey Levin in the wave of
celebrity insanity journalism are all discussed. Scientology's
celebrity fraud involving female comedians is also aired out by

GUEST BIO:

Mark Ebner is an investigative journalist who has covered celebrity and
crime culture for such publications as Rolling Stone, Maxim, Details
and Spy. Mark has investigated such controversial subjects as
Scientology, dog fighting and the Ku Klux Klan. A published author,
Mark co-wrote the New York Times bestseller "Hollywood, Interrupted"
with Andrew Breitbart and Six Degrees of Paris Hilton. Most recently he
co-authored "We Have Your Husband," a story about a kidnapping in
Mexico. In addition to writing, he has served as a commentator on NBC,
CBS, ABC, MSNBC, NPR, Court TV and E! Entertainment Television to name
a few. Mark was a consultant on the Emmy nominated episode of South
Park's "Trapped in the Closet" and also consulted for NBC/Dateline on
the Paris Hilton Tapes report. Ebner runs a blog at
hollywoodinterrupted.com where he reports on breaking news from
Hollywood.

Tags: ABC, California, Celebrity, Harvey Levin, Hollywood, Hollywood,
Interrupted, Mark Ebner, Mexico, MSNBC, NBC, New York Times, NPR, Paris,
Poison, Quicky, Rolling Stone, South Park, TMZ, Trapped in the Closet

=========================================

Former Scientologist indicted in financial scheme that victimized other ex-
church members
October 14, 2014, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2014/10/14/former-scientologist-indicted-in-financial-scheme-that-victimized-other-ex-church-members/

Frank Pate On August 13, a man named Frank Pate was indicted on federal
wire fraud charges in the Eastern District of Texas. According to Pate
himself, who has written a short blog about his legal troubles, he was
arrested in Phoenix on September 2 and arraigned in Texas later in the
month. At the arraignment he entered a plea of not guilty.

Pate was the CEO of something he called the Infinity Companies, an
investment firm. According to the indictment, from July 2004 to April
2013 Pate perpetrated "a scheme and artifice to defraud persons and to
obtain money and funds from persons by means of false and fraudulent
pretenses."

The indictment accuses Pate of using new investors to pay off earlier
investors, a method which is known as a "pyramid" or "Ponzi scheme."

Tags: 1967, 1990, 1997, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2013, Bernie Madoff, California,
Catholic, FBI, Frank Pate, Michael Laws, Phoenix, Ponzi scheme, Reed Slatkin,
Texas

=========================================

Lies, Lies, Lies
October 14, 2014, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
https://www.mikerindersblog.org/lies-lies-lies/

This is for posterity's sake. A bit of relative calm before the storm
on the horizon.

This is a list of the unfortunates who have handed over cash for the
Valley "ideal building" (there is no "org").

I notice the Silver Humanitarian Taufer-Gregorian Family - I assume
they are in some way connected to Quinn The Eskimo... ? And Bart
Simpson (Nancy Cartwright) is now identified as "Nancy" rather than the
Royal Governess OT Rockstar Princess Queen etc etc etc. Apparently it
is still embarrassing to include her full name, though I cannot fathom
why this is? And I had no idea my old handcuffed friend and paddleboat
captain Ed Bryan is now supported by Pat Frey?

Tags: Bernie Madoff, Craig Jensen, Ed Bryan, Humanitarian, Nancy Cartwright,
OT, Pasadena, Quicky, Silver

=========================================

The Scientology Sandbox
October 14, 2014, Marty Rathbun, Moving On Up a Little Higher
https://markrathbun.wordpress.com/2014/10/14/the-scientology-sandbox/

There are those who dismiss L. Ron Hubbard as the consummate con man.
They insist that with conscious aforethought he created and operated
dianetics and scientology as a fraudulent bait and switch operation
fooling and fleecing tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of relatively
intelligent adults. So cunning was Hubbard according to some
anti-scientologists that if you were to take their words for granted
you would have to rank Hubbard as one of the more able and intelligent
minds of the twentieth century. The complexity, the breadth, and the
duration of Hubbard's alleged fraudulent scheme would be a virtual
impossibility for any mere mortal to accomplish.

At the opposite extreme pole hard core scientologists truly believe
that L. Ron Hubbard was 'Source', a sort of God from which nothing but
ultimate truth was issued. They have trained their own minds to reject
any information even tangentially relating to mind or spirit that does
not come from Hubbard's mouth or pen.

The anti-scientologist with his name-calling, absolutist statements and
lampooning serves to reinforce the scientologist believer's conviction
that Hubbard and scientology deserve undaunting and vigilant defense.
Likewise, the Ron-quoting scientologist's aggressive certitude serves
to reinforce the anti-scientologists' views that Hubbard's work is good
for nothing more than creating unthinking, conformist zealots.

Tags: Quicky

=========================================

Canada's real barbarism? Stephen Harper's dismembering of the country
October 14, 2015, Martin Lukacs, The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/true-north/2015/oct/14/canadas-real-barbarism-stephen-harpers-dismembering-of-the-country

The threat of barbarism is grave, insidious and far-reaching. Those
responsible are a small group nurturing a foreign-inspired ideology on
Canadian soil. They pore over rigid doctrines in cloistered rooms. They
scheme to impose their values, attractive only to a minority, on the
majority of Canadian people. They have carefully veiled their true
selves but their agenda is unmistakable: to erase the country's
achievements in security and fairness.

This threat comes not from a handful of niqab-wearing Muslim women. It
has always come from Canada's Conservative party. Their imported
neoconservative ideology, baked into homegrown resentment toward the
federal state, has never been palatable to a country with progressive
ambitions. They have risen to power through other means: money and
economic clout; a deep network of right-wing media and think tanks that
have shaped policy options; and an unreformed electoral system that has
allowed a party with only a quarter of the electorate's support to rule
unhindered.

They have not been one for grand gestures. Their approach has been a
steady accumulation of small, methodical steps, animated by a long-term
vision. That vision is to extinguish Stephen Harper's perception of
Canada: "a northern European welfare state in the worst sense of the
term," as he once described the country. That those Scandinavian
governments are the world's best in providing free healthcare and
education, redistributing wealth, and guaranteeing political
expression: this to Harper is cause for loathing.

Tags: Abortion, Canada, Climate change, DougWiki, Europe, Facebook, First
Nations, Indigenous, LinkedIn, Manitoba, Muslim, Ottawa, Quicky, Stephen
Harper, Syria, Turkey, Twitter, UK

=========================================

Ex-Scientologists: David Miscavige Is a 'Terrorist'
October 14, 2015, Nico Hines, Daily Beast
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/10/14/ex-scientologists-david-miscavige-is-a-terrorist.html

Former high-ranking Scientologists claim the church and its autocratic
leader, David Miscavige, have taken on the modus operandi of a
terrorist network in the latest documentary film to examine the
secretive religion.

The BBC's My Scientology Movie places the spotlight on the church's
extraordinary alleged attempts to control the actions of both its
members and its ex-members.

Tom DeVocht, a Scientologist from 1977 to 2005, claims the church's
inner workings have evolved into a system of devotion on a par with the
fanatical recruiters and brainwashers of al Qaeda and the so-called
Islamic State widely known as ISIS.

Tags: 1977, 2004, 2005, 2014, BBC, Company, Conditions, Copyright, David
Miscavige, Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief,
HBO, Hollywood, Jefferson Hawkins, Leah Remini, Los Angeles, Louis Theroux,
Marty Rathbun, My Scientology Movie, Politics, Scientology executive,
Terrorist, Tom DeVocht, Trademark, YouTube

=========================================

My Scientology Movie by Louis Theroux: 'I felt like I'd been blooded'
October 14, 2015, Louis Theroux, The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/14/louis-theroux-my-scientology-movie-i-felt-like-id-been-blooded

I've always been fascinated by Scientology ? intrigued by its status as
a 20th-century religion (founded by a colourful, self-mythologising
science-fiction writer), and oddly beguiled by its glossy promotional
videos. It's an unlikely combination of religion, science, spirituality
and a Fortune 500 corporation. Leaving ethical questions to one side,
there is something wonderfully American about an organisation that uses
the business model of McDonald's to sell enlightenment and salvation.
True believers of Scientology seem to know with utmost certainty that
they have found the answer to the deepest riddles of all time ? they
may or may not be right, but that kind of self-belief is very appealing.

The church is a gold-plated example of something I've tried to make a
central theme in my documentaries: well-meaning people making decisions
that might look bizarre to the outsider, but making them for very
relatable human reasons.

Tags: 2003, 2007, 2011, Cathriona White, Celebrity Centre, Chairman of the
Board, David Miscavige, Facebook, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of
Belief, Hollywood, Indonesia, Jim Carrey, John Dower, John Sweeney, L. Ron
Hubbard, London, Los Angeles, Marty Rathbun, My Scientology Movie, Panorama,
Paul Haggis, Religious Technology Center, Scientology lawyer, Scientology
practice, Simon Chinn, Suppressive Person, Survival Rundown, Tom Cruise,
Tommy Davis, Twitter, YouTube

=========================================

My Scientology Movie review: 'gloriously funny'
October 14, 2015, Tim Robey, The Telegraph
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/my-scientology-movie/review/

London Film Festival, My Scientology Movie review. It's no hard-hitting
expos?, but Louis Theroux's attempt to get under Scientology's skin is
a giddy, Pythonesque delight. 4/5 stars

Louis Theroux versus the Church of Scientology. It's a
near-irresistible contest: the very face of deadpan scepticism, up
against that many-headed hydra of indecipherable rage.

My Scientology Movie is the second documentary on the subject this
year, following Alex Gibney's more thorough and methodical Going Clear.
Where Gibney circled the movement right from its beginnings, seeking to
analyse its methods and impugn its motives, Theroux just gets right in
there and jabs it in the ribs, that imperturbable mask of irony driving
its partisans even more bananas than usual.

An unpunctuated "Don't go there big man" is among the messages Theroux
received from caution-advising Twitter followers, on announcing his
intention to investigate Scientology for this BBC-financed doc. Another
warns him that "the crazies" will soon be out in force against him, as
indeed they are.

His efforts in Los Angeles to speak to their current membership meet
with stony refusal, so only the apostates come forward: figures such as
Marty Rathbun, former "Mister Fixit" of the organisation, and now
Public Enemy No. 1, as far as the church and its much-feared leader,
David Miscavige, are concerned.

Tags: Alex Gibney, BBC, David Miscavige, Louis Theroux, Marty Rathbun, My
Scientology Movie

=========================================

'MY SCIENTOLOGY MOVIE': Louis Theroux's doc premieres tonight at the London
Film Festival
October 14, 2015, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2015/10/14/my-scientology-movie-louis-therouxs-doc-premieres-tonight-at-the-london-film-festival/

More than three years ago, we first heard from producer Simon Chinn
that he planned to make a feature film about Scientology that would
star Louis Theroux. Since then, the BBC-backed producer hired a
director named John Dower, won an Oscar (for Searching for Sugar Man),
and tonight will finally reveal what he and Dower and Theroux have been
up to.

We're on the scene, and we're really looking forward to tonight's
premiere of My Scientology Movie at the London Film Festival. We've
been enjoying Theroux's work since we first ran across him as a
correspondent on Michael Moore's 1990s series TV Nation. Theroux's
deadpan humor and fascination for America's quirky subcultures should
be a perfect fit for the Church of Scientology, which reportedly did
its best to keep him from getting any access to its members and ended
up sending people to film Louis as he filmed them (which is going on in
the picture, above).

We really don't know what to expect from this film - here it is the day
of the premiere and we haven't even seen a trailer from the BBC - but
we're ready for a great experience and we'll tell you what we can after
we've seen it.

Tags: 1990, Barcelona, BBC, Chill EB, DC, Fort Harrison, John Dower, Jon
Atack, London, Louis Theroux, Martin Padfield, My Scientology Movie, Norway,
Pete Griffiths, Quicky, Russell Miller, Simon Chinn, Super Power, The
Unbreakable Miss Lovely, Truth About Drugs, UK, Washington

=========================================

U.S. int'l religious freedom interest downgraded to special 'advisor' from
'envoy'
October 14, 2015, Kelly Ledbetter, Christian Examiner
https://www.christianexaminer.com/article/state-department-buries-religious-freedom-in-bureaucracy-demotes-special-envoy/49650.htm

International religious freedom now has its own "special advisor" --
which reports to an ambassador, rather than a "special envoy" which
reports to the Secretary of State, the White House has announced. And
Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.) is challenging how that approach to
key U.S. foreign policy objectives works -- especially since the
"special envoy" position has been vacant for a while.

"The Administration has taken the position that 'promoting and
protecting religious freedom is a key objective of U.S. foreign
policy,'" the senator wrote in an open letter to Secretary of State
John Kerry, "yet the Ambassador-at-Large for religious freedom is
buried in layers of bureaucracy rather than reporting directly to you
like the Ambassadors-at-Large for the Office of Global Women's Issues
and the Office of Global AIDS Coordinator."

A special envoy reports directly to Secretary Kerry, while a special
advisor may report to an envoy or ambassador.

Tags: 2009, James Lankford, John Hanford, John Kerry, Knox Thames, Near East
and South Central Asia Religious Freedom Act, Special Advisor for Religious
Minorities in the Near East and South and Central Asia, US Commission on
International Religious Freedom, US State Department, White House

=========================================

Who Are The Bigots?
October 14, 2015, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
https://www.mikerindersblog.org/who-are-the-bigots/

The church of scientology loves to toss around the term "bigot" to
describe anyone who expresses opinions that differ from their own. They
shout long and hard that those bigots are discriminating against them
and are "attacking their religion."

But the truth of the matter is that the church is the source of a great
deal of discrimination against those who do NOT wish to be
scientologists. Such people, especially those who may have once called
themselves scientologists, are singled out for disconnection, libel,
harassment, trickery and various forms of fair game. Of course, when
the church engages in these activities they proclaim they are simply
exercising their constitutional rights to freedom of religion and/or
freedom of speech. For a perfect example, see the arguments they
presented to the court in Texas claiming their repulsive "squirrel
busting" and fair game tactics were "religious activities."

Of course, there has still been no final determination of that matter,
though the Judge was not impressed with this argument. It remains on
appeal.

Tags: 2004, 2009, 2011, 2014, David Miscavige, Disconnection, Fair Game,
Graeme Wilson, Human trafficking, Independent, Int Base, Martin Padfield,
Marty Rathbun, Office of Special Affairs, OT, OT Ambassador, OT VIII,
Passport, Quicky, Sovereign Finance, Squirrel, Suppressive Person, Texas, Tom
Shuster, UK

=========================================

'Holy Sh*t, We're in a Cult!'
October 14, 2016, The Atlantic, YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3ess8txBX0

How do well-meaning, intelligent people end up in a cult?

Tags: Cult, Quicky

=========================================

Jim Carrey's lawyers 'hire ex LAPD investigators to find dirt on late ex-
girlfriend's family'
October 14, 2016, Jennifer Smith, Daily Mail
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3837381/Jim-Carrey-s-lawyers-hire-former-LAPD-private-investigators-dirt-late-ex-girlfriend-s-family-fight-wrongful-death-lawsuit-claims-drove-suicide-giving-STDs-supplying-drugs.html

The family of Jim Carrey's late ex-girlfriend Catriona White have
accused the actor and his lawyers of hiring private investigators to
dig up dirt on them.

Brigid Sweetman, White's mother, filed a lawsuit against Carrey on
Monday, claiming he was responsible for her September 2015 suicide.

She alleges the actor gave her daughter sexually transmitted diseases,
supplied her with drugs and 'abused' her throughout their
on-again-off-again romance between 2012 and 2015.

Tags: 2012, 2013, 2015, Brigid Sweetman, Facebook, Hollywood, Jim Carrey,
LAPD, Mark Burton, Michael Avenatti, Private investigator, Quicky

=========================================

Older than Pythagoras, and guaranteed to raise your IQ: What Scientology
promised in 1954
October 14, 2016, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2016/10/14/older-than-pythagoras-and-guaranteed-to-raise-your-iq-what-scientology-promised-in-1954/

(L. Ron Hubbard, circa 1954)

Previously, our tipster who searches through old newspaper clippings
found for us a rare interview of L. Ron Hubbard that took place in
Tunisia in 1968. One of our favorite revelations in that interview was
that Hubbard didn't deny that he'd claimed to have made trips to
"Heaven."

This time, our archives wrangler found another interesting item, from
an earlier era. It was June 1954, and Chicago magazine ran an unbylined
piece about visiting some local Scientologists as they went through
processing at the local org.

Tags: 1947, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1968, Andrea Garner, Buddha, Chicago,
Chicago magazine, Cuba, Dianetics, England, Final Blackout, Florida,
Johannesburg, London, Louis Theroux, Michigan, My Scientology Movie, New
York, Pete Griffiths, Phoenix, Quicky, Sara Northrup, Tel Aviv, Tunisia,
Wichita

=========================================

Regraded Being
October 14, 2016, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
https://www.mikerindersblog.org/friday-regraded-being-67/

This is a special Regraded Being - it is the 2 year anniversary of the
first Regraded Being, which appeared Oct 09, 2014.

Thanks for your hard work, insight and a lot of genuinely funny moments
over these past 2 years RB. Your intelligence and humor has built a fan
base that looks forward to Friday mornings - plainly demonstrated by
the uproar that has occurred when technical difficulties or other
commitments have prevented you from providing a new episode.

Hope you will be around for as long as it takes to get the job done.

Tags: 2014, Quicky, Regraded Being

=========================================

Being Declared in Scientology... Kind Of
October 14, 2017, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
https://www.mikerindersblog.org/being-declared-in-scientology-kind-of/

Being declared" in Scientology-short for "being declared a suppressive
person,"-lets one know he or she is an evil, despicable, and degraded
being, and that everyone associated with this person should disconnect
from him or her immediately.

LRH said an SP is someone who, many lifetimes ago, got squashed so
severely that he or she took on the valence of his suppressor. He
listed the characteristics of these people in HCOPL 7 August 1965,
Suppressive Persons, Main Characteristics.

"Nobody puts baby in a corner."

Tags: 1965, AOLA, Ashtrays, Bridge to Total Freedom, Committee of Evidence,
David Miscavige, Ethics, Ethics Officer, Facebook, Field Staff Member, L. Ron
Hubbard, Master at Arms, Narconon, Office of Special Affairs, Paris,
Scientology staff, Sea Org, Squirrel, Suppressive Person, Terra Cognita, The
Way to Happiness, YouTube

=========================================

Coming to grips with Scientology's most vile secret, which was hiding in
plain sight
October 14, 2017, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2017/10/14/coming-to-grips-with-scientologys-most-vile-secret-which-was-hiding-in-plain-sight/

About two years ago, a reader first made us aware of a shocking passage
in L. Ron Hubbard's book Dianetics that somehow seems to have been
overlooked by generations of commenters on that important volume, the
very basis for what became the Church of Scientology.

We had missed it ourselves. We blogged Dianetics cover to cover in
2013, and didn't notice it.

In our first edition copy of the 1950 book, the passage appears in Book
Three, Chapter IX, Part Two, under the subheading "Differences" on page
336...

Tags: 1950, 2007, 2013, A&E, Basics, Child abuse, Craig Milton, David
Miscavige, Dianetics, Dublin, Firhouse, Ideal Org, John McGhee, Kansas City,
Leah Remini, London, Lorraine Bulger, Mike Rinder, Mirriam Francis, Quicky,
Scientology and the Aftermath, Sexual assault

=========================================

Critical Q&A #130
October 14, 2017, Chris Shelton, YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbBdNCoc3J0

The show where I answer your questions. Please leave any comments or
feedback in the comments section here below. I see everything and want
to hear from you.

SHOP FOR CRITICAL MERCHANDISE

http://shop.spreadshirt.com/chrisshelton

Tags: Audio, Critic, Quicky, Scientology: A to Xenu

=========================================

Critical Q&A #130
October 14, 2017, Chris Shelton, Critical Thinker at Large
https://mncriticalthinking.com/2017/10/14/critical-qa-130/

The weekly show where I answer viewer questions left for me in the
comments sections of my Q&A videos or sent to me by email at
AskChri...@gmail.com. This week, the questions I answer are:

(1) Your comment about peeling off layers of belief and thinking, "How
could I have ever believed X", got me to thinking more broadly. In a
sense a family is a cult, though not always destructive. The local
community, school, and so on are similarly cults as they support
beliefs and values common to their respective communities. I have found
as I grow older that certain non-Scientology things I learned or came
to believe earlier in my life have elicited a similar "how could I"
response. I do think that much of this is the process of aging and
maturing, and/or keeping up with the times on social changes that come
about. Any thoughts on that?

(2) How is it possible to have "natural" Clears, let alone "natural"
OT's? Let's grant that maybe someone is a natural Clear, a prodigy or
freak of nature. But the content of the OT levels was "discovered" by
Hubbard alone for the FIRST time ever, and by enduring great perils to
himself. This was unprecedented, in the entirety of history as he was
the first one to brave the sizzle of the "Wall of Fire." So if someone
is a natural OT, they would have either "discovered" the OT contents by
themselves. This would make them equal to Hubbard. Unthinkable! Or,
they would have received auditing in a past lifetime. Yet how could
they have been audited on this, as Hubbard's inexpendable "research"
did not commence until the 1950's?

Tags: 1950, Christian, Clear, Critic, E-meter, Field Staff Member, Human
trafficking, IRS, Jeffrey Augustine, Jewish, Mike Rinder, OT, Quicky, Sea
Org, Thursday Funnies

=========================================

Scientology Exposes My "Life of Crime"
October 14, 2017, Nathan Rich: Enturbulated, YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1GVFLKvVzE

Scientology made an attack video on me after I appeared on A&E's Leah
Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath on October 10th, 2017

On Aftermath I helped expose the Mace-Kingsley Ranch, a Scientology
punishment camp for children, now notorious for its poor treatment of
children and numerous child abuses.

The attack video has the same family that disconnected from me trying
to portray me as a living a life of crime. Unfortunately for
Scientology and my family that suddenly remembers I exist, I don't care
at all about anything they are saying about me.

Tags: A&E, Child abuse, Fair Game, Leah Remini, Mace-Kingsley Ranch, Nathan
Rich, Quicky, Scientology and the Aftermath

=========================================

Critical Q&A #181 - Livestream
October 14, 2018, Chris Shelton, YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsCVhVFkcVA

The show where I answer your questions. Please leave any comments or
feedback in the comments section here below. I see everything and want
to hear from you.

Tom Cruise video story: http://www.forum.exscn.
net/threads/the-story-behind-the-tom-cruise-video-leak.24610/

SHOP FOR CRITICAL MERCHANDISE

Tags: Audio, Critic, exscn, Quicky, Scientology: A to Xenu, Tom Cruise

=========================================

Detroit gets an Ideal Org: Scientology 'expansion' comes to Motor City
October 14, 2018, Tony Ortega, YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WCu2oitY2w

For more information please see these stories at The Underground Bunker...

https://tonyortega.
org/2017/10/23/despite-scientologys-efforts-a-bunker-reader-attended-saturdays-grand-opening/

https://tonyortega.
org/2016/04/04/video-david-miscaviges-entire-speech-at-scientologys-atlanta-ideal-org-opening/

Tags: 2016, 2017, Detroit, Ideal Org, Music, Quicky, Underground Bunker

=========================================

Detroit going Ideal! Scientology throws its invite-only party in Motor City
today
October 14, 2018, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2018/10/14/detroit-going-ideal-scientology-throws-its-invite-only-party-in-motor-city-today/

The stage is set for Scientology's Ideal Org grand opening in Detroit
today at 1 pm. We hope to have live reports from a couple of
correspondents on the scene.

This is the first Ideal Org opening in the US since Orlando in May.
Scientology was very secretive about that shindig, but it was even more
stealthy about its September grand opening in Stuttgart, Germany.

The local Detroit press has been all over today's event, probably at
least in part because the location is so prominent - no one could miss
the giant "Scientology" sign on the top of the old Standard Federal
Savings and Loan building on West Jefferson at Griswold, though
Scientology kept the sign under wraps until the last minute.

Tags: 2015, Athens, Birmingham, Boston, Buenos Aires, Detroit, Facebook,
Germany, Ideal Org, Jada Pinkett Smith, Leah Remini, Montreal, New Year's
Eve, Orlando, Perth, Port Elizabeth, Quicky, Rod Keller, Russia, Scientology
TV, Sea Org, Stuttgart, Taiwan

=========================================

In Harper's World, Trudeau's Brand of Liberalism Can Only Fail
October 14, 2018, Theophilos Argitis, Bloomberg News
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/in-harper-s-world-trudeau-s-brand-of-liberalism-can-only-fail-1.1152173

Whatever disdain Stephen Harper had for liberals as Canadian prime
minister shows no signs of abating now that he's out of office.

In an interview Thursday in Toronto, where Harper was promoting his new
book "Right Here, Right Now: Politics and Leadership in the Age of
Disruption," he explained his thoughts on populism, economics, recent
political developments in Canada and why the "pragmatic center left"
approach won't work.

His thesis boils down to a few core ideas. One, the world is in a
period of dramatic economic and cultural change that has dislocated
large swathes of people in advanced countries. Second, mainstream
politicians need to adapt by abandoning ideological rigidity and
"elite" thinking to address real problems faced by working families, or
risk losing them to fringe parties.

Third, and here's Harper's kicker, the moderate left and liberals
actually can't adapt, because they have become so extreme on social
issues they will be rejected by the electorate. The risk is voters --
feeling voiceless -- increasingly seek populist solutions. For Harper,
it's moderate conservatism or bust for the Western world.

Tags: 2015, Canada, Doug Ford, DougWiki, Environmental, Europe, International
Democratic Union, Justin Trudeau, Ontario, Ottawa, Politics, Quebec, Stephen
Harper, Toronto

=========================================

L. Ron Hubbard and Family
October 14, 2018, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
https://www.mikerindersblog.org/l-ron-hubbard-and-family/

I came across this quote in a recent Scientology promo piece:

"A family is simply a group for the purpose of sexual pleasure and the
rearing of children and mutual economic advantages amongst ourselves.
You know, it's a small group. Therefore, we have this actual group. The
race wouldn't be anywhere without the family."

- L. Ron Hubbard, Classic Lecture, On the Second Dynamic-Sex, Children
& the Family (6 April 1955).

Tags: 1955, L. Ron Hubbard, Terra Cognita

=========================================

A Conservative government would weaken Canadian innovation policy
October 14, 2019, Elia Rasky, The Conversation
http://theconversation.com/a-conservative-government-would-weaken-canadian-innovation-policy-123073

Since Andrew Scheer was elected leader of the Conservative Party, a lot
of attention has been paid to his positions on pipelines, taxation, the
environment, immigration, abortion and LGBTQ rights - some of which are
more well-defined than others.

Not much attention has been given, however, to his position on
innovation and research and development - or R&D - an issue that's of
crucial importance to Canada's economic future.

Scheer's position on innovation and R&D is one of non-intervention, as
he shows no inclination or desire to invest in these activities.
Nowhere in his platform are there policies to support scientific
research in Canada's universities, nor are there policies to support
innovation in high-tech industries such as biotechnology, life
sciences, advanced manufacturing, digital technology and artificial
intelligence.

Tags: 1932, 1960, Abortion, Andrew Scheer, Brian Mulroney, Canada, Canadian
Institute for Advanced Research, Conservative Party of Canada, DougWiki,
Justin Trudeau, LGBTQ, National Research Council, Ottawa River, Privy
Council, Stephen Harper

=========================================

Chinese social media giant flouting Canadian election law
October 14, 2019, Elizabeth Thompson, CBC News
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/wechat-election-social-media-1.5318589

This Conservative Party ad appeared on WeChat.

"Justin Trudeau's Liberals have a plan to legalize hard drugs just like
they legalized marijuana," reads the ad. "Only Andrew Scheer's
Conservatives will stop Trudeau's hard drug legalization plan and keep
our kids safe."

The ad carries the Conservative Party's logo and says it was
"authorized by the official agent for the Conservative Party of Canada.
" It's similar to an attack ad that appeared on the Conservative
Party's official website on Oct. 9.

No comment from Conservatives

Tags: Andrew Scheer, Canada, Chinese, Conservative Party of Canada,
DougWikiTwitter, Elections Canada, Facebook, Federal election, Google, Hamish
Marshall, Justin Trudeau, Michelle Lalibert?, Natasha Gauthier, New
Democratic Party, WeChat, Yves C?t?

=========================================

David Miscavige made the scene in England: But how about his best Scientology
bud?
October 14, 2019, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2019/10/14/david-miscavige-made-the-scene-in-england-but-how-about-his-best-scientology-bud/

Well, our wild speculation was wrong, wrong, wrong.

Because David Miscavige has held zero "Ideal Org" grand openings this
year and none since the ceremony in Detroit last October, and because
he's talked about the rest of the renovations opening "simultaneously,"
we believed (and still believe) that it's his way of putting off any
additional personal appearances in the U.S. because he knows that
process servers are out looking for him to serve a series of
devastating new lawsuits.

However, we also guessed that he might stay away from this weekend's
IAS gala in East Grinstead, England and beam in his annual speech in
order to keep underground. That didn't happen. He did show up, although
looking like he's lost some weight, perhaps out of worry, and his 59
years seem to be catching up with him a bit.

Tags: 1953, 1985, Austin, AVC, California, Church of Scientology
International, Columbus, Critic, David Miscavige, Detroit, East Grinstead,
England, Freedom Medal of Valor, Ideal Org, International Association of
Scientologists, IRS, Kansas City, L. Ron Hubbard, London, OT, Patron, Quicky,
Saint Hill, Tom Cruise

=========================================

Don't stick Toronto with Ford's transit bills
October 14, 2019, Editorial, Toronto Star
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2019/10/14/dont-stick-toronto-with-fords-transit-bills.html

TTC riders still don't know what new transit lines they'll get or when
they'll be built. And now they don't even know who will wind up owning
the city's subway system.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford seems to have taken to backtracking on his
own government's plans with the same vigour he previously applied to
blowing up other governments' plans. The result is the same - chaos and
confusion.

First, Ford blew up the city's longstanding plan to build a downtown
relief line, with shovels to have gone in the ground next year. He
promised to upload the city's subway system and replaced the relief
line with his "faster, better, cheaper" Ontario line. When he unveiled
this in the spring he really seemed to expect a standing ovation as he
portrayed himself as a white knight bringing transit to those in need.

Now, he's offering to let the city keep its subway system so long as
council endorses his Ontario line, which will release billions in
federal funds to help pay for the $11-billion (or so) project,
according to reporting by the Star's Ben Spurr.

Tags: Ben Spurr, Doug Ford, DougWiki, Ford government, John Tory, Ontario,
Ontario Science Centre, Queen's Park, Richmond Hill, Scarborough, Toronto,
Toronto Transit Commission, TTC

=========================================

Everything We Know About the Mass Shooting Video Screened at Trump's Miami
Resort
October 14, 2019, Matt Novak, Gizmodo
https://gizmodo.com/everything-we-know-about-the-mass-shooting-video-screen-1839021632

President Donald Trump's resort in Miami hosted a conservative
political conference this past weekend that included some violent
parody videos, according to the New York Times. One of the viral
videos, edited from a clip of the 2014 action movie Kingsman: The
Secret Service, shows President Trump violently murdering political and
media figures like Adam Schiff, Mitt Romney, and Rachel Maddow.

But there's more to the story that isn't included in the New York Times
article, including who created the videos and how those videos made
their way to a pro-Trump conference filled with some of the president's
top allies, like former White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders,
Congressman Matt Gaetz, and professional failson Donald Trump Jr.

The video getting everyone's attention this weekend is called "The
Trumpsman: The MAGA Service," created by TheGeekzTeam, part of a loose
collective of pro-Trump video creators known online as Meme World.

Tags: 2014, 2018, ABC, ABC News, Adam Schiff, Alt-Right, Andy Ngo, Barack
Obama, Ben Garrison, Benny Johnson, Bernie Sanders, Carpe Donktum, Cesar
Sayoc, CNN, Congress, Corey Lewandowski, Dana Loesch, Dinesh D'Souza, Donald
Trump, Donald Trump Jr, Filmmaker, Florida, Garrison, George Soros, Hillary
Clinton, Jack Posobiec, Jason Chaffetz, Joe Biden, John McCain, Kansas,
Kansas City, Laura Loomer, Logan Cook, Matt Gaetz, Maxine Waters, Miami, Mike
Cernovich, Mitt Romney, Nancy Pelosi, New York Times, NPR, Politico, Quicky,
Republican, Roger Stone, Ron DeSantis, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Sarah Sanders,
Secret Service, Shooting, Twitter, Washington Post, White House

=========================================

Greta Thunberg Is Being Told On Twitter She's "Not Welcome" In Alberta
October 14, 2019, Colin Leggett, Narcity
https://www.narcity.com/news/ca/ab/greta-thunbergs-alberta-visit-is-being-met-with-tweets-telling-her-shes-not-welcome

Greta Thunberg will visit Alberta, according to a tweet from the
teenage climate activist. Thunberg has visited Canada already, having
attended the Climate March in Montreal on September 27. By heading to
Alberta, Thunberg will be stepping foot into the heart of Canada's oil
industry.

"Heading north again. Now follows a few days of well needed rest while
enjoying the spectacular nature of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. Then on
to Alberta, Canada! #slowtravel" Thunberg wrote in her tweet. Thunberg
made the announcement just one day after giving a speech in Denver,
Colorado.

Thunberg travelled to North America on a zero-emissions sailboat in
August in order to attend the U.N. climate summit.

Tags: Alberta, Canada, Climate change, Colorado, Denver, DougWiki, Greta
Thunberg, Idaho, Jason Kenney, Justin Trudeau, Montana, Montreal, Russia,
Twitter, Wyoming

=========================================

'Look after the people": Manitoba snow storm evacuees target Scheer for
campaigning during state of emergency
October 14, 2019, Olivia Stefanovich, CBC News
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/scheer-winnipeg-campaign-snowstorm-emergency-1.5320611

Evacuees in Manitoba driven from their homes by a massive recent
snowstorm that cut off power to thousands said today they were annoyed
by Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer's decision to campaign in Winnipeg
today.

A few dozen people evacuated from rural Indigenous communities hit hard
by the storm were in the lobby of the city's Radisson Hotel this
morning, waiting for a Red Cross bus to take them to other temporary
housing, when journalists following Scheer's campaign tour showed up
for an afternoon policy announcement.

Several of the evacuees said Scheer's choice of venue for the
announcement - in a city and a province that have declared states of
emergency in the wake of a storm that left tens of thousands without
power - was misguided.

Tags: Andrew Scheer, Canada, CBC, DougWiki, First Nations, Indigenous,
Jagmeet Singh, Manitoba, Minnesota, New Democratic Party, Ontario, Ottawa,
Red Cross, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg

=========================================

Right-Wing Meme Makers Who Attended Trump's Social Media Summit Deny Making
Mass Shooting Video, But Revel in Attention
October 14, 2019, Benjamin Fearnow, Newsweek
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-shooting-video-right-wing-meme-makers-created-1465052

A convoluted crew of far-right wing meme makers and attendees of
pro-Trump conferences in Miami and Washington have denied creating a
doctored video showing the president killing members of the news media
- but they are reveling in the attention.

The "Trumpsman" video parody, which was first posted by TheGeekzTeam
YouTube channel in July 2018, sparked social media outrage Monday after
The New York Times reported it was played at the latest American
Priority Conference in Miami last week. The edited clip of the 2017
film The Kingsman shows President Donald Trump's face superimposed onto
actor Colin Firth's head as it depicts him killing people inside a
church as Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Freebird" plays in the background.

Two individuals who met the president in July at the White House social
media summit denied creating the Trumpsman video, but claimed a
"friend" made the video.

Tags: 2017, 2018, Alt-Right, Anthony Scaramucci, Brian Stelter, Carpe
Donktum, CNN, Donald Trump, Huffington Post, Jack Posobiec, Jim Acosta,
Kansas, Laura Loomer, Logan Cook, Miami, Mike Cernovich, New York Times,
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Shooting, Stephanie Grisham, Tim Murtaugh, Twitter,
Washington, Washington Post, White House, YouTube

=========================================

The spectacular rise of the Bloc has been months in the making
October 14, 2019, Chantal H?bert, Toronto Star
https://www.thestar.com/politics/political-opinion/2019/10/14/the-spectacular-rise-of-the-bloc-has-been-months-in-the-making.html

MONTREAL-With a week to go to the federal election, the only question
still to be answered about the Bloc Qu?b?cois is whether it will finish
first or second to the Liberals in Quebec next Monday.

Neither Justin Trudeau's Liberals, nor Andrew Scheer's Conservatives
had factored in the possibility of a Bloc resurrection in their game
plans.

And yet anecdotal evidence suggests the build-up that is leading to the
Bloc's spectacular recovery was months in the making.

Tags: Alberta, Andrew Scheer, Bloc Qu?b?cois, British Columbia, Canada,
Conservative Party of Canada, DougWiki, Federal election, Fran?ois Legault,
House of Commons, Jason Kenney, Justin Trudeau, New Brunswick, New Democratic
Party, Ontario, Ottawa, Quebec, SNC Lavalin, Twitter, Yves-Fran?ois Blanchet

=========================================

Veterans' Group Relaunches 'Anybody but Conservatives' Campaign
October 14, 2019, David Beers, The Tyee
https://thetyee.ca/News/2019/10/14/Veterans-Anybody-But-Conservatives/

A former Canadian soldier who spearheaded a 2015 effort to deny Stephen
Harper's Conservative government re-election because of its treatment
of veterans is once again urging voters to vote "ABC - anybody but
Conservative."

This time around, Tom Beaver says he is personally endorsing the
Liberal government for meeting its key campaign promises to veterans.
But the website for his group is called Veterans Against Conservatives.

"Yes, I am a Liberal. But In the past, I have also voted NDP and even
Conservative once!" writes Beaver in a statement circulating via social
media. "And yes, I have many good friends that support the NDP and
Conservatives.... I trusted my life to them in the past, and I would
again. I hope they would do the same. The ABC campaign is not telling
anyone who to vote for. We are asking you not to vote Conservative."

Tags: 2015, ABC, Andrew Scheer, Canada, Conservative Party of Canada,
DougWiki, Harper government, Maxime Bernier, Ontario New Democratic Party,
People's Party of Canada, Stephen Harper

=========================================

Violent spoof video of Trump killing his critics shows how memes have
reshaped politics
October 14, 2019, Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/10/14/violent-spoof-video-trump-killing-his-critics-shows-how-memes-have-reshaped-politics/

A violent parody aired this weekend at President Trump's Miami-area
golf resort - and the video's mass sharing afterward - is yet another
example of how Trump and the once-fringe movements of online trolls and
meme-makers who support him have reshaped mainstream politics and the
media.

The meme video, a spoof derived from a bloody action film, drew outrage
from some for its depiction of Trump shooting journalists and attacking
political figures who have been critical of him, both Democrats and
Republicans. Some warned that the clip and others like it could incite
real-world violence.

But that outrage also helped ensure the video, which had been available
on YouTube for more than a year, would be circulated more widely.
TheGeekzTeam YouTube channel, where the video is displayed, was viewed
more than 129,000 times on Monday, up from an average of about 600
views a day, according to data from the tracking site Social Blade.

Tags: 2014, 2018, 2020, Alt-Right, Bernie Sanders, Black Lives Matter, Carpe
Donktum, CNN, Donald Trump Jr, Drew Harwell, Facebook, Fake, Google,
Hollywood, Ilhan Omar, Jack Dorsey, Joe Biden, John McCain, Kansas, LinkedIn,
Logan Cook, Matt Gaetz, Maxine Waters, Miami, Mitt Romney, New York Times,
Reddit, Republican, Sarah Sanders, Secret Service, Silicon Valley, Stanford
University, Stephanie Grisham, Time magazine, Twitter, Utah, White House,
YouTube

=========================================

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