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Today in Scientology -- August 11th ****************************************
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Scientology Today
Aug 12, 2019, 10:24:24 AM8/12/19
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Today August 11th in Scientology history
========================================
Tom Cruise's religion may affect his pocketbook in Germany
August 11, 1996, Showbiz, CNN
http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9608/11/scientology/index.html
Actor Tom Cruise may have a movie blockbuster in the United States, but
in Germany, the star of "Mission: Impossible" faces a controversy that
could hit where it hurts: the pocketbook.
========================================
Scientology vs. Psychiatry; Scientology Explored
August 11, 2005, Anderson Cooper, Anderson Cooper 360?, CNN
http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0508/11/acd.01.html
COOPER: It's no secret that Tom Cruise is a devoted, outspoken member
of the Church of Scientology. That has not always been the case. There
was a time when the subject of his religion was off limits to reporters
and to interviewers. Not so now. Just ask Matt Lauer who got lectured
by Cruise weeks ago on what the actors says are the evils of psychiatry.
Now, while some are surprised by the chance in Cruise, former
Scientologists insist it's really no mystery, they think it's related
to his rise in the ranks of the church. [Transcript]
Tags: American Psychological Association, Bill Clinton, Delphian School,
Germany, Jessica Rodriguez, Kim Masters, LGBTQ, Matt Lauer, Michael
Pattinson, Sea Org, Skip L'Heureaux, Sky Dayton, Sweden, Tom Cruise, Tory
Christman
========================================
Scientology tax victory could cost Revenue millions
August 11, 2006, Harry Wallop, The Telegraph
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2945246/Scientology-tax-victory-could-cost-Revenue-millions.html
For the past decade the Church of Scientology has battled with the
Charities Commission to gain charitable status. In 1999 the commission
ruled that it was not a religion and that there was no "public benefit
arising out of the practice of Scientology" and turned down its
application.
Undeterred, it waged a separate struggle with the tax authorities to be
granted tax-exempt status. In 2000 Revenue & Customs finally agreed
that it was a not-for-profit body and was exempt from paying VAT. It
had arrived in the UK in 1977.
In the UK it operates as the Church of Scientology Religious Education
Incorporated, with assets of ?18.9m, including donations, according to
the latest accounts filed at Companies House. Its members pay for the
church's courses, fuelling an annual income of ?9.82m.
Tags: 1999, Church of Scientology Religious Education College Inc, Companies
House, David Williams, HMRC, Taxes, UK, UK Charity Commission, VAT, VAT
Tribunal
========================================
Below the belt, without remorse
August 11, 2007, Naama Lanski, Haaretz
https://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/891873.html
Scientology was also integrated into the firm's work, when an
organizational consultant who draws on the doctrine was hired to work
with the staff, and job candidates were given tests based on
Scientology. "Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, wrote many
courses on advertising, public relations and marketing, and when I read
them I saw they matched what I had learned in practice, my beliefs,"
Morell relates. Tzur finds this the appropriate time to leave the
conference room we are sitting in so he can attend to prior commitments.
========================================
Boxer Johnny Tapia Goes Home From Drug Rehab Center
August 11, 2007, Associated Press, Albuquerque Journal
https://www.abqjournal.com/news/state/aptapia08-11-07.htm
State District Judge Kenneth Martinez agreed to let Tapia leave Friday
after he completed his stay at the Second Chance treatment project, an
inpatient program with roots in Scientology. The judge placed Tapia in
the community custody program, which requires him to wear an ankle
monitor.
Tags: Johnny Tapia, Judge Martinez, Second Chance
========================================
Campaign to clear cult leader
August 11, 2007, Alex Tibbitts, Sydney Morning Herald
https://www.smh.com.au/national/campaign-to-clear-cult-leader-20070811-gdqu3m.html
Two weeks ago Kenja placed an advertisement in Sydney papers, including
the Herald, proclaiming Dyers' innocence. The campaign has angered at
least one of the parents of the alleged victims.
"They are saying my daughter is a liar outside of the court system," he
said. "They are saying that the other girls are liars. They've tried to
do that through the press and now they're trying to build up a campaign.
" The lecture is part of Kenja's "Act for Change" campaign, which seems
to be trying to make Dyers a martyr to civil liberties. Its website
states: "The tragic death of Ken Dyers is an example of what can happen
when a person is consistently denied justice."
But by taking his own life, Dyers denied his alleged victims their day
in court and any opportunity for justice. The ad for the lecture that
ran in the Herald this week was headed "In Australia we are guilty till
proven innocent", but Ms Hamilton said it was not an attack on the
legal system, it was just about the perceived presumption of guilt in
the media.
Tags: 1993, 2005, Australia, Hamilton, High Court, Imprisonment, Ken Dyers,
Kenja, Quicky, Sexual assault, Stephen Mutch, Suicide, Sydney
========================================
Scientologists find unlikely allies in other faiths
August 11, 2007, Matt Sedensky, Associated Press, Florida Times-Union
https://www.jacksonville.com/apnews/stories/080807/D8QT4MK00.shtml
Scientologists say their interfaith partnerships show people of all
faiths clamor for solutions to real-world problems. Detractors say it
amounts to a cloaked effort to burnish the oft-maligned church's image
and attract new members by appearing less clandestine and more diverse.
And the clergy that have adopted aspects of the Scientologists'
outreach say they're simply making use of programs that work.
Tags: ABLE, Andreas Heldal-Lund, Applied Scholastics, Narconon, Pat Harney,
The Way to Happiness
========================================
Isaac Hayes' History With Scientology
August 11, 2008, Roger Friedman, Celebrity Gossip, Fox News
https://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,401321,00.html
But there are a lot of questions still to be raised about Isaac Hayes'
death. Why, for example, was a stroke survivor on a treadmill by
himself? What was his condition? What kind of treatment had he had
since the stroke? Members of Scientology are required to sign a form
promising they will never seek psychiatric or mental assistance. But
stroke rehabilitation involves the help of neurologists and often
psychiatrists, not to mention psychotropic drugs - exactly the kind
Scientology proselytizes against.
Tags: Christina Kumi Kimball, Isaac Hayes, South Park
========================================
Where do Scientologists go when they die?
August 11, 2008, Nina Shen Rastogi, Slate Magazine
http://www.slate.com/id/2197279/
Singer Isaac Hayes died on Sunday at the age of 65. Besides being a sex
symbol, a soul-music legend, and a beloved voice-over artist, Hayes was
also a dedicated Scientologist. According to his religious beliefs,
what happens to Hayes now that he's passed away?
Tags: Chuck Beatty, Isaac Hayes, Laurie Hamilton, Sea Org
========================================
Miscavige Mafia - Bert Leahy IV
August 11, 2011, Marty Rathbun, Moving On Up a Little Higher
https://markrathbun.wordpress.com/2011/08/11/miscavige-mafia-bert-leahy-iv/
Tags: Bert Leahy, David Miscavige, Quicky
========================================
The Top 25 People Crippling Scientology, No. 23: Ken Dandar
August 11, 2011, Tony Ortega, Runnin' Scared, Village Voice
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/08/ken_dandar_top_25_crippling_scientology.php
Last Friday, we started a countdown that will give credit -- or blame
-- to the people who have contributed most to the sad current state of
Scientology. From its greatest expansion in the 1980s, the church is a
shell of what it once was and is mired in countless controversies
around the world. Some of that was self-inflicted, and some of it has
come from outside. Join us now as we continue on our investigation of
those people most responsible...
The Top 25 People Crippling Scientology
#23: Ken Dandar (and other attorneys who litigate against the church)
Tags: 1947, 1970, 1980, 1986, 1987, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2007, Barry
Van Sickle, Brooklyn, California, Celebrity Centre, Clearwater, Cult
Awareness Network, Dan Leipold, David Miscavige, Dell Liebreich, Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission, Eugene Ingram, Fair Game, Flag Land Base,
Florida, Ford Greene, Fort Harrison, Grady Ward, Graham Berry, Hollywood,
IRS, Janet Reitman, John Lindstein, Ken Dandar, Kyle Brennan, Laura
DeCrescenzo, Lawrence Wollersheim, Lisa McPherson, Los Angeles, Luke Lirot,
Manhattan, Mental breakdown, Michael Flynn, New York, Private investigator,
Quicky, Raul Lopez, realitybasedcommunity.net, Rehabilitation Project Force,
Robert Cipriano, Robert Minton, Ron Russell, Scott Pilutik, Sea Org, Tax
exempt
========================================
Proof of Life - the Mclaughlins
August 11, 2012, Marty Rathbun, Moving On Up a Little Higher
https://markrathbun.wordpress.com/2012/08/11/proof-of-life-the-mclaughlins/
For those unfamiliar with how the IAS was hijacked by Miscavige and
converted into a crush regging machine that overshadowed all previous
corporate Scientology regging abuses in a matter of a few short years,
please see this discussion between Mike Rinder and me:
The Hijacking of the International Association of Scientologists
Since that very accurate report on the depowering and imprisoning of
Janet (Light) and Colm Mclaughlin, I have learned that they are alive
and well and outside of Miscavige's physical prison system. They are
living relatively free in Southern California. Proof of life:
Tags: California, Colm Mclaughlin, David Miscavige, International Association
of Scientologists, Janet Light, Mike Rinder, Quicky
========================================
Scientology Drug Program Narconon's Licensing "Extremely Vulnerable" After
Oklahoma Deaths, Says Insider
August 11, 2012, Tony Ortega, Runnin Scared, Village Voice
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2012/08/scientology_narconon_extremely_vulnerable.php
"All these Narconon centers are run on the same principles. They use
deception to get people in, they make false claims about their
effectiveness, and the person sending patients there is actually a
salesman working on commission," says Carnegie Mellon professor Dave
Touretzky, who has been studying Narconon for years and maintains an
extensive online archive of information about the drug treatment
program's many controversies.
Now, with unprecedented attention drawn to it, Narconon's vulnerability
comes into sharp focus: If Scientology itself often gets a pass because
it calls itself a church, Narconon cannot claim that privilege. If
Scientology is made up of people who have voluntarily joined to explore
their past lives, Narconon patients -- and the parents or court
officers who send them there -- often have no idea of the program's
connection to the controversial church. Although it is endorsed by
celebrities, Narconon's less glamorous reality puts very vulnerable
people in risky settings. And, increasingly, public officials are
beginning to question how such an unusual program could be licensed to
do business in their jurisdictions.
Tags: 1964, 1966, 1968, 1980, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007,
2008, 2009, 2010, ABLE, Arizona, Arrowhead Lodge, Ashtrays, Atlanta, BBC,
Bill Benitez, Bob Lobsinger, Bureau of Indian Affairs, CARF, Carnegie Mellon,
Colin Henderson, David Miscavige, David Touretzky, Deaths, Ethics, Facebook,
Florida, Gabriel Graves, Gary Smith, Georgia, Georgia Department of Human
Services, Hillary Holten, Jeanne LeFlore, Jeff Harris, Joel Kerns, Kaysie
Werninck, Kirstie Alley, Lisa Mooty, Los Angeles, Mary Rieser, McAlester News-
Capital, Mental Health, Michigan, Narconon, Narconon Arrowhead, Narconon
Chilocco, Narconon Georgia, Narconon International, Neil Gaiman, Newkirk,
Newkirk Herald Journal, Niacin, Oklahoma, Oklahoma Board of Mental Health and
Substance Abuse Services, Patrick Desmond, Pittsburg County Sheriff, Ponca,
Quebec, Sea Org, Stacy Murphy, Success rate, The Master, The Way to
Happiness, Tom Cruise, Touch Assist, Training routines, UK, US Army
========================================
A Special Correspondent Report from The Bay Area
August 11, 2013, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
https://www.mikerindersblog.org/a-special-correspondent-report-from-the-bay-area/
Dear Mike,
I wanted to give you an update on the Bay Area Scientology scene. As
you know there are San Fransisco, Stevens Creek, Los Gatos and Mountain
View orgs in this fifty mile area. Recently included to the grouping of
the Bay Area orgs is Sacramento - about one hundred miles from most of
the Bay Area. All Bay Area orgs sit empty. Just to be clear, there are
probably half a dozen veteran public that appear for course once a week
to keep their PR in.
It's a sad state of affairs that while each org sits empty of public,
some of the most well-intended (and misguided) staff you ever care to
meet continue to hope for a better day when the miracle program from
uplines will flood the orgs with public. It's a hurry up and wait
mentality. All faith based.
Tags: Basics, Chicago, Debbie Cook, Denver, Disconnection, Ethics Officer,
Freewinds, Ideal Org, International Association of Scientologists, Jewish,
Leah Remini, Los Gatos, Master at Arms, Mike Smith, Mountain View, Office of
Special Affairs, OT, OT Committee, Purification Rundown, Quicky, Sacramento,
San Jose, Sec Check, Stevens Creek
========================================
Ability
August 11, 2013, Marty Rathbun, Moving On Up a Little Higher
https://markrathbun.wordpress.com/2013/08/11/ability/
Related posts:
What We Do: Part 1
Graduating Scientology (What We Do: Part Two)
Tags: Ability Congress, Clear, Critic, Dianetics, Grade Chart, Operating
Thetan, OT, Quicky
========================================
Stop Picking on Scientology! Double-Fisted Wisdom from 1977
August 11, 2013, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2013/08/11/sunday-funnies-9/
Friday afternoon, we shared with you the comedy stylings of The Good
Liars, who handed out fliers in Times Square asking people please to
stop searching for Shelly Miscavige, who is not missing.
In a similar spirit, we wanted to jump on that theme with both feet,
and offer David Miscavige's outfit even more succor. After all, not
everyone is thrilled that the Church of Scientology perennially finds
itself the subject of government investigations, complex lawsuits,
denunciations by defectors, and constant pestering by nattering nabobs
of negativism (i.e., reporters).
Well, it's time to atone. And boy, do we have some righteous payback!
Tags: 1954, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1967, 1970, 1973, 1977, AOLA,
Aris Gregorian, ASHO, California, CIA, Colorado, David Miscavige, E-meter,
FBI, FDA, First Amendment, Food and Drug Administration, Freedom of
Information Act, George Malko, Golden Age of Tech, Hollywood Test Center,
Internal Revenue Service, IRS, Karen Black, L. Ron Hubbard, Los Angeles, Mary
Sue Hubbard, Morton Report, National Security Agency, OT, PAC Base, Pulitzer,
Quicky, Richard Nixon, Scientology executive, Scientology: The Now Religion,
Secret Service, Shelly Miscavige, Skip Press, Snow White Program, US
Department of Justice, USA, Washington, YouTube
========================================
Ideal Org "Successes" A Work In Progress
August 11, 2014, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
https://www.mikerindersblog.org/ideal-org-successes-a-work-in-progress/
Apparently these "ideal" orgs don't have anyone actually completing
anything to give "success stories" so they resort to getting (and
publishing) "successes" from people "in progress" on services.
This is the best they can come up with?
A further indictment of the complete failure of the "ideal org" program
and GAG II.
Tags: Ideal Org, Quicky
========================================
Mike Rinder on Scientology's pathetic PR, and the Freewinds welcomes a famous
clown
August 11, 2014, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2014/08/11/mike-rinder-on-scientologys-pathetic-pr-and-the-freewinds-welcomes-a-famous-clown/
We really like the question Jeff starts off with - he asks Rinder's
opinion of the performance by another Scientology mouthpiece, Sylvia
Stanard at this summer's Chautauqua, which we featured here.
As Rinder points out, Sylvia may be the best Scientology can do these
days, and actually, she's not a terrible speaker. But she's really in
an impossible situation when she's in front of a knowledgeable audience
who knows when it's being bullshitted.
Tags: California, Chautauqua, Craigslist, Freewinds, Jeffrey Augustine, Mike
Rinder, Ronald McDonald House, Sunday Funnies, Sylvia Stanard, Touch Assist
========================================
Mike Rinder on Why Scientology Inc Must Tell Lies
August 11, 2014, SurvivingScientology, YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3UG8Y5e7XU
Mike Rinder discusses the Scientology PR flack Sylvia Stanard's recent
speech about Scientology at the Chataqua religious conclave. Stanard
lied about Xenu, Disconnection, and other matters of substance. Stanard
was evasive and refused to honestly answer questions. Mike Rinder makes
the point that no Church of Scientology spokesperson can tell the truth
-- and Rinder knows as he was the International Spokesman for the
Church of Scientology for over twenty years.
Mike Rinder makes the point that all the Church of Scientology can do
is to evade, duck, and deflect the hard questions and does so by
focusing on its real estate portfolio as proof of its expansion. "If
Scientology were really that bad would we be purchasing and opening all
of these new Ideal Orgs?"
Radio Podcasts
Tags: Disconnection, Facebook, Google, Ideal Org, Mike Rinder, Quicky, Sylvia
Stanard, Twitter, Xenu
========================================
Robin Williams, 1951-2014
August 11, 2014, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2014/08/11/robin-williams-1951-2014/
News this evening that Robin Williams was found dead in his Marin home
is reverberating around the world and we'll be dealing with the shock
for some time. Early reports indicate he may have taken his own life
after a long battle with depression.
Our readers began posting remembrances of him this afternoon, and we
hope that continues. Tell us your favorite Robin Williams memories.
Also, we can already see on social media that people are trying to use
this moment to raise awareness about the debilitating effects of
depression - and that it doesn't care about fame or success.
This blog is about Scientology, and Williams only touched on it briefly.
But we want to remember those times. One of our more memorable
experiences here was talking with Harlan Ellison about L. Ron Hubbard,
and we noted that Ellison had previously told his tale about Hubbard to
Robin Williams...
Tags: 1951, 2002, 2006, Brooke Shields, Harlan Ellison, New York Times, Quicky
========================================
The Rob Ford Story - the fifth estate
August 11, 2014, CBC News, YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGiYFJ2uyTM
Crack cocaine. Alcohol. Friends who have criminal backgrounds. Just
over a year ago, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford stood next to Police Chief Bill
Blair promising to fight gang crime. Now the two most powerful men in
Canada's largest city are locked in a struggle only one is likely to
survive. the fifth estate's Gillian Findlay has more on the man who has
become the world's most controversial mayor - and the real story behind
that first notorious video.
Original airdate : November 8th, 2013
For more on the fifth estate : http://www.cbc.ca/fifth
Tags: 2013, Bill Blair, Canada, DougWiki, Facebook, Police, Rob Ford,
Toronto, Twitter
========================================
Scientology & Nation Of Islam
August 11, 2015, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
https://www.mikerindersblog.org/scientology-nation-of-islam/
The relationship between the Nation of Islam and scientology is
becoming stranger and stranger.
Whether anyone likes it or not, scientology membership is
disproportionately white. Massively so. And Louis Farrakhan is
militantly anti-white.
So, what the hell are they doing in bed with one another?
Tags: Africa, Basel, Cambridge, David Miscavige, Final Call, Harlem,
Inglewood, International Association of Scientologists, Isaac Hayes, Linda
Lombardo, Louis Farrakhan, Malmo, Miami, Michele Ross, Nation of Islam,
Ontario, OT, Quicky, Sweden, Switzerland, Tony Muhammad
========================================
Scientology's front group that targets kids gets cover from a Swiss
politician: News report
August 11, 2015, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2015/08/11/scientologys-front-group-that-targets-kids-gets-cover-from-a-swiss-politician-news-report/
Once again, Jonny Jacobsen is our man on the scene in Europe, where
news of Scientology's infiltration of a Swiss national organization
broke in the local press. Give us the details, Jonny...
A Scientology anti-drugs group is using a Swiss umbrella association
presided over by a politician as cover for its own activities, the
German-language daily Tages Anzeiger reported Monday.
Sag Nein Zu Drogen, the Swiss branch of Scientology's "The Truth About
Drugs" campaign, is part of a Swiss anti-drugs alliance, the DDS, the
paper reported. (DDS stands for Dachverband Drogenabstinenz Schweiz:
which translates roughly as the Swiss Association for Abstinence from
Drugs.)
Tags: Andrea Geissb?hler, Bern, Church of Scientology International, Europe,
Foundation for a Drug-Free World, Heber Jentzsch, Jonny Jacobsen, Karen de la
Carriere, Narconon, Quicky, Sag Nein Zu Drogen, Switzerland, Truth About Drugs
========================================
Deconstructing Scientology: Chapter Two
August 11, 2016, Chris Shelton, Critical Thinker at Large
https://mncriticalthinking.com/2016/08/11/video-deconstructing-scientology-chapter-two/
Hey everyone. This video continues my critical analysis of the book
Scientology, edited by James R. Lewis with chapters contributed by
various religious scholars, psychologists, sociologists and the like.
Thanks for joining me on this.
If you haven't yet watched my first couple videos in this series, I
recommend you do although this video can stand alone. There is a link
in the notes section below to the first part which gives the
introduction and context of this series. I also want to reiterate just
in case you didn't see those earlier videos that I am not making any
claims to be unbiased or objective in my views on Scientology.
Here we will be taking up Chapter Two of this book, written by William
Sims Bainbridge. According to Wikipedia, he is an American sociologist
in Viriginia and is the co-director of Cyber-Human Systems at the
National Science Foundation, which is the official government agency
that issues grants for research and education in all non-medical fields
of science and engineering. So he's kind of a big deal. He's got a
Harvard Ph.D. in sociology and has written a number of books on
religion including The Sociology of Religious Movements and The Secular
Abyss as well as works on specific cult groups such as Satan's Power: A
Deviant Psychotherapy Cult in 1976 about a group called The Process and
The Endtime Family: Children of God in 2002.
Tags: 1946, 1950, 1951, 1955, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1975, 1976, 1978, 2000, 2002,
A. E. van Vogt, Apologetic, Astounding Science Fiction, Bare-Faced Messiah,
Buddha, Buddhism, Buddhist, California, Children of God, Christian, Clear,
Clearwater, Critic, Cult, Dianetics, Douglas Cowan, E-meter, Florida, Gordon
Melton, Hymn of Asia, International Association of Scientologists, James
Lewis, New Mexico, Operating Thetan, OT, OT VIII, Patron Invictus, Quicky,
Russell Miller, Snake Thompson, The Process, Theodore Sturgeon, Wikipedia,
William Sims Bainbridge, Wyoming
========================================
Never-before-seen photo of Diana Hubbard, daughter of Scientology's founder
August 11, 2016, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2016/08/11/never-before-seen-photo-of-diana-hubbard-daughter-of-scientologys-founder/
This has been a great week for tipsters here at the Underground Bunker.
We're very fortunate that so many people think of us when they find
interesting news and documents about Scientology. In today's case,
however, it was something a photographer had been holding on to for
more than 30 years.
He goes by the handle Ronnos, and he lives in the Netherlands. And it
was at a Scientology event in Amsterdam on June 6, 1982, when he
captured an image of Diana while she was sitting at a piano, preparing
to perform. Ronnos tells us that he left Scientology in 1986, and it
was only a few weeks ago when he was digging through some of his things
that he found the photograph again. He wanted the readers of the
Underground Bunker to see it, and we're grateful.
Diana Hubbard, 64, is the last member of founder L. Ron Hubbard's
family who is still involved with the Church of Scientology. She's a
member of the Sea Organization, and spends most of her time at
Scientology's International Base, near Hemet, California. But our
sources who know her tell us that she does have more freedom than a
typical Sea Org member, and can come and go on occasion. When she would
come into Los Angeles, she would sometimes stay at her mother's former
house on Chislehurst Drive in Los Feliz, until it was sold in 2014.
Tags: 1982, 1986, 2012, 2014, Amsterdam, Arthur Hubbard, California, Chris
Shelton, Diana Hubbard, Hemet, Int Base, Jonathan Horwich, KABC, Los Angeles,
Los Feliz, Netherlands, Quicky, Roanne Horwich, Ron Miscavige, Sea Org,
Suzette Hubbard
========================================
Thursday Funnies
August 11, 2016, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
https://www.mikerindersblog.org/thursday-funnies-96/
Fearless Leader?
Back in action with more ridiculousness. Wee gatherings and big
gatherings - but no details about where or when. That's a secret!
Highest Ever after Highest Ever
Tags: Budapest, Central Files, Cincinnati, Dallas, David Miscavige, DC, DEA,
Fearless Leader, Field Staff Member, Flag Ship Service Organization, Ideal
Org, International Association of Scientologists, Jeanie Sonenfild, L. Ron
Hubbard, Michael Roberts, OT, OT VIII, Pakistan, Photoshop, Planetary
Clearing, Quicky, Sea Org, Tampa, Texas, Thursday Funnies, Vicki Shantz
========================================
Leah Remini calls for federal action: Here's the frustrating reason the IRS
may not answer
August 11, 2017, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2017/08/11/leah-remini-calls-for-federal-action-heres-the-frustrating-reason-the-irs-may-not-answer/
As the start of the second season of Leah Remini: Scientology and the
Aftermath approaches on Tuesday, media and public interest is ramping
way up. Leah has promised that the second season will focus on "the
abusive practices of Scientology - sexual abuse and physical abuse,"
she told The Hollywood Reporter.
Leah also said her goal is not just to spread awareness of
Scientology's mistreatment of its members but also to inspire a federal
investigation. "I'm talking about the FBI, the police, the Department
of Justice, the IRS," she said.
The FBI did investigate Scientology for allegations of human
trafficking in 2009-2010, but that investigation didn't result in
charges, and we think that probe ended for complex reasons.
Tags: 1991, 1993, 1998, 2007, 2009, 2010, Alex Gibney, Christian, Congress,
David Miscavige, Donald Trump, FBI, Fred Goldberg, Going Clear: Scientology,
Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, Hollywood Reporter, Human trafficking,
IRS, Jeffrey Augustine, John Koskinen, Lawrence Wright, Leah Remini,
Minnesota, Quicky, Scientology and the Aftermath, Steve Mnuchin, Tax exempt,
US Department of Justice
========================================
Leah Remini calls for federal action: Here's the frustrating reason the IRS
may not answer
August 11, 2017, Jeffrey Augustine, Scientology Money Project
https://scientologymoneyproject.com/2017/08/11/leah-remini-calls-for-federal-action-heres-the-frustrating-reason-the-irs-may-not-answer/
Note: This is a companion piece to the question and answer article Tony
Ortega and I had at the Underground Bunker.
*****
What would it take to get the IRS to commence an investigation into the
revocation of the Church of Scientology's 1993 tax exemption?
Tags: 1964, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2007, 2009,
Christian, Congress, Criminal, David Miscavige, FBI, First Amendment,
Internal Revenue Service, IRS, IRS Commissioner, Leah Remini, Minnesota,
Quicky, Reverend, Review, Sea Org, Tax exempt, Tony Ortega, Underground
Bunker, US Department of Justice, US District Court, Wall Street Journal
========================================
Regraded Being
August 11, 2017, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
https://www.mikerindersblog.org/friday-regraded-being-109/
Tags: Quicky, Regraded Being
========================================
Church of Fear: When John Sweeney sat down with Anne Archer and Leah Remini
August 11, 2018, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2018/08/11/church-of-fear-when-john-sweeney-sat-down-with-anne-archer-and-leah-remini/
This week in our 'Scientology Lit' series, we have an excerpt from BBC
reporter John Sweeney's 2013 book, Church of Fear: Inside the Weird
World of Scientology. Sweeney wrote about his experiences making two
BBC documentaries about the church, 2007's "Scientology and Me," and
2010's "The Secrets of Scientology." In this chapter, he's being
handled by Scientology's two spokesmen - Tommy Davis and Mike Rinder -
as he conducts interviews for his 2007 Panorama episode at the
Hollywood Celebrity Centre with his cameraman Bill and producer, 'Mole.
' He gets forceful denials about Scientology leader David Miscavige
striking his employees (which Rinder will be among those to confirm in
a 2009 piece by the Tampa Bay Times.) We hope you enjoy this cracking
good chapter that Sweeney was generous enough to share with us...
Back in the Celebrity Centre I asked a question.
'That's insane,' said Tommy.
Tags: 1987, 1992, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016, Academic, Anne Archer,
Barbara Ruiz, BBC, Bruce Hines, California, Catholic, Celebrity Centre,
Christian, Church of Fear: Inside the Weird World of Scientology, Clear,
Clearwater, David Miscavige, Donna Shannon, Facebook, Flag Land Base,
Florida, Hawaii, Hollywood, Internal Revenue Service, John Sweeney, King of
Queens, L. Ron Hubbard, Leah Remini, Mike Henderson, Mike Rinder, Narconon,
Olympic, Operating Thetan, OT, Panorama, Peter Nyiri, Quicky, Rehabilitation
Project Force, San Francisco, Scientology and Me, Scientology executive, Sea
Org, Shawn Lonsdale, South America, Tampa Bay Times, The Hole, The Secrets of
Scientology, Tom Cruise, Tommy Davis, Wall of Fire, Writers of the Future,
Xenu
========================================
Critical Q&A #172
August 11, 2018, Chris Shelton, YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaRn-nueK0M
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
========================================
Danish Kids in Danger
August 11, 2018, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
https://www.mikerindersblog.org/danish-kids-in-danger/
Something needs to be done about this.
Apparently Danish schools believe their children are going to be
educated by hearing a lecture from the DSA and watching "An
Introduction to Scientology"... This would be like "educating" children
about child sex abuse by having them attend a briefing by a
representative of NAMBLA.
If you are in Denmark, perhaps you can do something about this. Unless
these kids are provided a balanced perspective with all the
information, this may result in them being lured into scientology
sometime in the future.
Tags: Clear, Copenhagen, Denmark, Quicky
========================================
A doctor's warning: Safety is at risk in Ontario's ERs
August 11, 2019, Alan Drummond, Toronto Star
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2019/08/11/a-doctors-warning-safety-is-at-risk-in-ontarios-ers.html
Ontario emergency physicians knew, right from the get-go, that Premier
Doug Ford's electoral promise to End Hallway Medicine was hooey.
Ontarians have been forced to suffer the indignities of receiving care,
if one can call it that, in the ER hallway since the mid-1990s.
Hospitals across the province reduced their acute care bed capacity by
30 per cent in an attempt to respond to Paul Martin's reduction of the
national deficit onto the backs of the provinces. It was a matter of
balancing the books pure and simple with little to no regard on the
effect of patients.
The provinces, in a vain attempt to explain the cuts, promised a
healthcare dividend of improved home care and health promotion.
Tags: 1990, Doug Ford, DougWiki, Easter, Ford government, Health care cuts,
Hospital, Ontario, Paul Martin, Perth
========================================
Canada's marginal 'Christian right'
August 11, 2019, Jonathan Malloy, The Conversation
https://theconversation.com/canadas-marginal-christian-right-121024
The political power of the American Christian right naturally leads to
interest and speculation about the influence of similar groups in
Canada. But social conservatives and evangelical Christians are a
marginal force in Canadian politics, even in the Conservative party.
And research finds their dynamics here are quite different than in the
United States.
Is there a Canadian Christian right at all? Yes and no.
The Christian right is closely associated with evangelical
Christianity, and perhaps 10 to 15 per cent of Canadians (depending on
the survey method) are evangelical Christians. Nearly all are strongly
conservative on issues of reproduction and sexuality. But their broader
political views vary considerably. Few would support "dominionist"
ideas of imposing a theological state.
Tags: 2017, Abortion, Andrew Scheer, Brad Trost, Buffalo, Canada, Canada
Christian College, Charles McVety, Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Christian
Right, Conservative Party of Canada, DougWiki, Hamilton, Justin Trudeau,
Ontario, Stephen Harper, Trinity Western University
========================================
Election winner will choose new ambassador - and possibly a reset with
Washington
August 11, 2019, CBC News
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-votes-newsletter-week17-1.5242542
The campaign is not officially on yet, but party leaders are travelling
the country, with war rooms plotting schedules for what will be a very
busy few months.
Where they go, and why, will say a lot about what each party sees as
the strengths and weaknesses that lie ahead.
One issue that did get a lot of attention this week, is the resignation
of Canada's ambassador in Washington.
After three years in what is arguably considered Canada's most
important diplomatic posting, David MacNaughton is calling it quits to
return to the private sector.
Tags: 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2015, Aaron Wherry, Alberta, Andrew Scheer,
Apple, Associated Press, Bill Blair, Bill Morneau, Canada, CBC, Chrystia
Freeland, Congress, Danny Williams, David MacNaughton, Donald Trump, Doug
Ford, DougWiki, Elizabeth May, ?ric Grenier, Federal election, Harper &
Associates, House of Commons, Jagmeet Singh, Jason Kenney, Justin Trudeau,
Labrador, NAFTA, New Brunswick, New Democratic Party, Newfoundland, Nova
Scotia, Ontario, Ontario New Democratic Party, Politics, Prince Edward
Island, Quebec, Rachel Curran, Regina, Stephen Harper, Tom Mulcair, Tracey
Ramsey, Trudeau government, Washington, White House
========================================
Progressives owe a duty to their children to move the Overton window around
the climate
August 11, 2019, Charlie Smith, Georgia Straight
https://www.straight.com/news/1284261/progressives-owe-duty-their-children-move-overton-window-around-climate
There's a reason why right wingers have been so successful in advancing
their political goals.
It's because they're masters of moving the goal posts around what
constitutes acceptable ideas for discussion in the media.
This has occurred in a range of areas, including privatizing health
care and other public services, tax cuts for the super wealthy, and
relentless increases in fossil-fuel production in the face of a climate
crisis.
Politicians like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage make sweeping
denunciations of immigrants.
Tags: 1990, 2006, 2015, Andrew Scheer, Armageddon, British Columbia, Canada,
Climate change, Donald Trump, DougWiki, Environmental, Facebook, Fraser
Institute, Greenland, Michigan, New Democratic Party, Nigel Farage, Overton
window, Paris Agreement, People's Party of Canada, Politician, Pope, Reform
Party, Siberia, Stephen Harper, Stockholm, Vancouver
========================================
Scientology's efforts to suck up to power is appearing to pay off
August 11, 2019, Rod Keller, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2019/08/11/scientologys-efforts-to-suck-up-to-power-is-appearing-to-pay-off/
Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard called them Opinion Leaders (OLs)
and directed his followers to develop them as allies. He wrote that
these allies would come to Scientology's aid when governments come to
tax, regulate or prosecute the church. We previously reported that Greg
Mitchell, a lobbyist for Scientology, met with U.S. Vice President Mike
Pence. We now have the White House photo of that meeting. Mitchell is
seen just over Pence's left shoulder.
In addition to Pence and Mitchell, the meeting included Omer Kanat from
the Uyghur Human Rights Project, Jeff Chen from Falun Gong, Dr. Yang
Jianli from Citizen Power Initiatives for China, Southern Baptist
official Russell Moore, Randel Everett from the 21st Century
Wilberforce Initiative, Bob Fu from China Aid, David Curry of Open
Doors USA, and the U.S. Ambassador-at-large for International Religious
Freedom Sam Brownback.
The topic was religious freedom in China and one report says that
Mitchell "suggested that the U.S. government openly request that
specific prisoners of conscience in China be released." His main
interest is not China, but developing a relationship with two OLs,
Pence and Brownback, that Scientology can use in the future.
Tags: 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative, American Power and Gas, Bob Fu,
California, Celebrity Centre, China, China Aid, Citizen Power Initiatives for
China, Clearwater, Cory Palka, Cult, David Curry, Donald Trump, Eric Roux,
Europe, Facebook, Falun Gong, Front group, Greg Mitchell, International
Association of Scientologists, Ivan Arjona Pelado, Jeff Chen, Jim
Bridgeforth, Kat LaRue, LAPD, Leah Remini, Lobbyist, Los Angeles, Mike Pence,
Office of Special Affairs, Omer Kanat, Open Doors USA, Police, Randel
Everett, Russell Moore, Sam Brownback, Southern Baptist, Tom Cummins, United
Nations, US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, USA,
Uyghur Human Rights, White House, Yang Jianli
========================================
The dangerous delusion of climate change denial
August 11, 2019, Joe Ingram, iPolitics
https://ipolitics.ca/2019/08/11/the-dangerous-delusion-of-climate-change-denial/
"Yet the accelerated pace of warming is leaving existing technologies
behind, and the normal pace of private-sector technology development is
too slow to provide solutions on its own. And in the face of this, we
see political parties like those in Canada and the U.S. hiding behind
the ideological fiction of corporate social responsibility in
multinational energy companies, which time and again have proved
themselves to be both mendacious and misguided."
Self delusion in political leaders is a wonderful antidote to
ignorance, though when it purposefully deludes millions of voters and
in the process puts at risk the lives of tens of millions globally, it
borders on the criminal.
President Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris
Climate Accord, his deregulation of America's federal environmental
safeguards, and his persistently expressed skepticism of human-induced
global warming reflect a deeply distorted understanding of what is
happening to our planet. The fact that he defends his position by
trying to reassure Americans that he is "?all for clean water and clean
air?" is further evidence and reflects a failure to understand that
polluted water and air are not synonymous with climate change.
Unfortunately, many of our own politicians here in Canada suffer from
the same delusions and flawed thinking.
Tags: Africa, Andrew Scheer, Canada, Cardiff, Climate change, Conservative
Party of Canada, DougWiki, Environmental, Europe, Germany, Nobel, Paris,
Paris Climate Accord, United Nations, Wales, World Trade Organization
========================================
The Face of the Freewinds: "A Wog"
August 11, 2019, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
https://www.mikerindersblog.org/the-face-of-the-freewinds-a-wog/
For many years in the early 2000's, the "face" of the Freewinds was
Carol Miles, the "Executive Officer"/"Public Officer."
She was the face and voice (with a wonderfully genteel english accent)
of Freewinds promotional videos. She narrated tours of the ship and
appeared at the end of each Freewinds video with a pitch for people to
come and partake in the Freewinds experience.
There has been some earlier commentary on the internet that mentioned
Carol. She disappeared from public view around 2007 (like me), and as
with Heber, Ray Mithoff, Guillaume Lesevre and so many others, nobody
dared to ask where she was and eventually she was forgotten. Mention of
her has been erased. Videos she appeared in have been destroyed. She,
like the others, became a "non-entity."
Tags: 2000, 2007, ANZO, Australia, Carol Miles, Chris Guider, CLO ANZO,
Commodore's Messenger Organization, David Miscavige, Facebook, Freewinds,
Guillaume Lesevre, Karl Whitcher, Lisa McPherson, Master at Arms, Quicky, Ray
Mithoff, Rehabilitation Project Force, Religious Technology Center, Sea Org,
Sue Price, Sydney, Twitter, Valeska Guider, Valeska Paris, Wogs
========================================
Trudeau's star roster has shrunk, while Scheer runs without one
August 11, 2019, Campbell Clark, Globe and Mail
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-trudeaus-star-roster-has-shrunk-while-scheer-runs-without-one/
The Foreign Affairs Minister is doing a lot of travel within Canada.
When Chrystia Freeland goes to a steel-pipe manufacturer to talk about
the new North American free-trade deal, as she did Friday, it is a way
to send a message that the Liberals are concerned with lunch-box
issues, industry and jobs.
It also says something else: that there are stars in the Liberal
government besides its leader. She is now the biggest political asset
in Mr. Trudeau's cabinet.
It also raises another question in the weeks before a federal election
campaign: Where are Andrew Scheer's stars?
Tags: 2015, Africa, Andrew Scheer, Bill Morneau, Calgary, Canada, Canadian
Press, Chrystia Freeland, Conservative Party of Canada, DougWiki, Erin
O'Toole, Federal election, Halifax, Lisa Raitt, M?lanie Joly, Montreal,
NAFTA, Nova Scotia, Peter MacKay, Pierre Poilievre, Progressive Conservative,
Quebec City, Quicky, Stephen Harper, Toronto, Trois-Rivi?res
========================================
Today in Scientlology web page:
http://umbraxenu.no-ip.biz/today.html
August 11 in Scientlology web page:
http://umbraxenu.no-ip.biz/days/08-11.html
========================================
Tom Cruise's religion may affect his pocketbook in Germany
August 11, 1996, Showbiz, CNN
http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9608/11/scientology/index.html
Actor Tom Cruise may have a movie blockbuster in the United States, but
in Germany, the star of "Mission: Impossible" faces a controversy that
could hit where it hurts: the pocketbook.
========================================
Scientology vs. Psychiatry; Scientology Explored
August 11, 2005, Anderson Cooper, Anderson Cooper 360?, CNN
http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0508/11/acd.01.html
COOPER: It's no secret that Tom Cruise is a devoted, outspoken member
of the Church of Scientology. That has not always been the case. There
was a time when the subject of his religion was off limits to reporters
and to interviewers. Not so now. Just ask Matt Lauer who got lectured
by Cruise weeks ago on what the actors says are the evils of psychiatry.
Now, while some are surprised by the chance in Cruise, former
Scientologists insist it's really no mystery, they think it's related
to his rise in the ranks of the church. [Transcript]
Tags: American Psychological Association, Bill Clinton, Delphian School,
Germany, Jessica Rodriguez, Kim Masters, LGBTQ, Matt Lauer, Michael
Pattinson, Sea Org, Skip L'Heureaux, Sky Dayton, Sweden, Tom Cruise, Tory
Christman
========================================
Scientology tax victory could cost Revenue millions
August 11, 2006, Harry Wallop, The Telegraph
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2945246/Scientology-tax-victory-could-cost-Revenue-millions.html
For the past decade the Church of Scientology has battled with the
Charities Commission to gain charitable status. In 1999 the commission
ruled that it was not a religion and that there was no "public benefit
arising out of the practice of Scientology" and turned down its
application.
Undeterred, it waged a separate struggle with the tax authorities to be
granted tax-exempt status. In 2000 Revenue & Customs finally agreed
that it was a not-for-profit body and was exempt from paying VAT. It
had arrived in the UK in 1977.
In the UK it operates as the Church of Scientology Religious Education
Incorporated, with assets of ?18.9m, including donations, according to
the latest accounts filed at Companies House. Its members pay for the
church's courses, fuelling an annual income of ?9.82m.
Tags: 1999, Church of Scientology Religious Education College Inc, Companies
House, David Williams, HMRC, Taxes, UK, UK Charity Commission, VAT, VAT
Tribunal
========================================
Below the belt, without remorse
August 11, 2007, Naama Lanski, Haaretz
https://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/891873.html
Scientology was also integrated into the firm's work, when an
organizational consultant who draws on the doctrine was hired to work
with the staff, and job candidates were given tests based on
Scientology. "Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, wrote many
courses on advertising, public relations and marketing, and when I read
them I saw they matched what I had learned in practice, my beliefs,"
Morell relates. Tzur finds this the appropriate time to leave the
conference room we are sitting in so he can attend to prior commitments.
========================================
Boxer Johnny Tapia Goes Home From Drug Rehab Center
August 11, 2007, Associated Press, Albuquerque Journal
https://www.abqjournal.com/news/state/aptapia08-11-07.htm
State District Judge Kenneth Martinez agreed to let Tapia leave Friday
after he completed his stay at the Second Chance treatment project, an
inpatient program with roots in Scientology. The judge placed Tapia in
the community custody program, which requires him to wear an ankle
monitor.
Tags: Johnny Tapia, Judge Martinez, Second Chance
========================================
Campaign to clear cult leader
August 11, 2007, Alex Tibbitts, Sydney Morning Herald
https://www.smh.com.au/national/campaign-to-clear-cult-leader-20070811-gdqu3m.html
Two weeks ago Kenja placed an advertisement in Sydney papers, including
the Herald, proclaiming Dyers' innocence. The campaign has angered at
least one of the parents of the alleged victims.
"They are saying my daughter is a liar outside of the court system," he
said. "They are saying that the other girls are liars. They've tried to
do that through the press and now they're trying to build up a campaign.
" The lecture is part of Kenja's "Act for Change" campaign, which seems
to be trying to make Dyers a martyr to civil liberties. Its website
states: "The tragic death of Ken Dyers is an example of what can happen
when a person is consistently denied justice."
But by taking his own life, Dyers denied his alleged victims their day
in court and any opportunity for justice. The ad for the lecture that
ran in the Herald this week was headed "In Australia we are guilty till
proven innocent", but Ms Hamilton said it was not an attack on the
legal system, it was just about the perceived presumption of guilt in
the media.
Tags: 1993, 2005, Australia, Hamilton, High Court, Imprisonment, Ken Dyers,
Kenja, Quicky, Sexual assault, Stephen Mutch, Suicide, Sydney
========================================
Scientologists find unlikely allies in other faiths
August 11, 2007, Matt Sedensky, Associated Press, Florida Times-Union
https://www.jacksonville.com/apnews/stories/080807/D8QT4MK00.shtml
Scientologists say their interfaith partnerships show people of all
faiths clamor for solutions to real-world problems. Detractors say it
amounts to a cloaked effort to burnish the oft-maligned church's image
and attract new members by appearing less clandestine and more diverse.
And the clergy that have adopted aspects of the Scientologists'
outreach say they're simply making use of programs that work.
Tags: ABLE, Andreas Heldal-Lund, Applied Scholastics, Narconon, Pat Harney,
The Way to Happiness
========================================
Isaac Hayes' History With Scientology
August 11, 2008, Roger Friedman, Celebrity Gossip, Fox News
https://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,401321,00.html
But there are a lot of questions still to be raised about Isaac Hayes'
death. Why, for example, was a stroke survivor on a treadmill by
himself? What was his condition? What kind of treatment had he had
since the stroke? Members of Scientology are required to sign a form
promising they will never seek psychiatric or mental assistance. But
stroke rehabilitation involves the help of neurologists and often
psychiatrists, not to mention psychotropic drugs - exactly the kind
Scientology proselytizes against.
Tags: Christina Kumi Kimball, Isaac Hayes, South Park
========================================
Where do Scientologists go when they die?
August 11, 2008, Nina Shen Rastogi, Slate Magazine
http://www.slate.com/id/2197279/
Singer Isaac Hayes died on Sunday at the age of 65. Besides being a sex
symbol, a soul-music legend, and a beloved voice-over artist, Hayes was
also a dedicated Scientologist. According to his religious beliefs,
what happens to Hayes now that he's passed away?
Tags: Chuck Beatty, Isaac Hayes, Laurie Hamilton, Sea Org
========================================
Miscavige Mafia - Bert Leahy IV
August 11, 2011, Marty Rathbun, Moving On Up a Little Higher
https://markrathbun.wordpress.com/2011/08/11/miscavige-mafia-bert-leahy-iv/
Tags: Bert Leahy, David Miscavige, Quicky
========================================
The Top 25 People Crippling Scientology, No. 23: Ken Dandar
August 11, 2011, Tony Ortega, Runnin' Scared, Village Voice
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/08/ken_dandar_top_25_crippling_scientology.php
Last Friday, we started a countdown that will give credit -- or blame
-- to the people who have contributed most to the sad current state of
Scientology. From its greatest expansion in the 1980s, the church is a
shell of what it once was and is mired in countless controversies
around the world. Some of that was self-inflicted, and some of it has
come from outside. Join us now as we continue on our investigation of
those people most responsible...
The Top 25 People Crippling Scientology
#23: Ken Dandar (and other attorneys who litigate against the church)
Tags: 1947, 1970, 1980, 1986, 1987, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2007, Barry
Van Sickle, Brooklyn, California, Celebrity Centre, Clearwater, Cult
Awareness Network, Dan Leipold, David Miscavige, Dell Liebreich, Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission, Eugene Ingram, Fair Game, Flag Land Base,
Florida, Ford Greene, Fort Harrison, Grady Ward, Graham Berry, Hollywood,
IRS, Janet Reitman, John Lindstein, Ken Dandar, Kyle Brennan, Laura
DeCrescenzo, Lawrence Wollersheim, Lisa McPherson, Los Angeles, Luke Lirot,
Manhattan, Mental breakdown, Michael Flynn, New York, Private investigator,
Quicky, Raul Lopez, realitybasedcommunity.net, Rehabilitation Project Force,
Robert Cipriano, Robert Minton, Ron Russell, Scott Pilutik, Sea Org, Tax
exempt
========================================
Proof of Life - the Mclaughlins
August 11, 2012, Marty Rathbun, Moving On Up a Little Higher
https://markrathbun.wordpress.com/2012/08/11/proof-of-life-the-mclaughlins/
For those unfamiliar with how the IAS was hijacked by Miscavige and
converted into a crush regging machine that overshadowed all previous
corporate Scientology regging abuses in a matter of a few short years,
please see this discussion between Mike Rinder and me:
The Hijacking of the International Association of Scientologists
Since that very accurate report on the depowering and imprisoning of
Janet (Light) and Colm Mclaughlin, I have learned that they are alive
and well and outside of Miscavige's physical prison system. They are
living relatively free in Southern California. Proof of life:
Tags: California, Colm Mclaughlin, David Miscavige, International Association
of Scientologists, Janet Light, Mike Rinder, Quicky
========================================
Scientology Drug Program Narconon's Licensing "Extremely Vulnerable" After
Oklahoma Deaths, Says Insider
August 11, 2012, Tony Ortega, Runnin Scared, Village Voice
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2012/08/scientology_narconon_extremely_vulnerable.php
"All these Narconon centers are run on the same principles. They use
deception to get people in, they make false claims about their
effectiveness, and the person sending patients there is actually a
salesman working on commission," says Carnegie Mellon professor Dave
Touretzky, who has been studying Narconon for years and maintains an
extensive online archive of information about the drug treatment
program's many controversies.
Now, with unprecedented attention drawn to it, Narconon's vulnerability
comes into sharp focus: If Scientology itself often gets a pass because
it calls itself a church, Narconon cannot claim that privilege. If
Scientology is made up of people who have voluntarily joined to explore
their past lives, Narconon patients -- and the parents or court
officers who send them there -- often have no idea of the program's
connection to the controversial church. Although it is endorsed by
celebrities, Narconon's less glamorous reality puts very vulnerable
people in risky settings. And, increasingly, public officials are
beginning to question how such an unusual program could be licensed to
do business in their jurisdictions.
Tags: 1964, 1966, 1968, 1980, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007,
2008, 2009, 2010, ABLE, Arizona, Arrowhead Lodge, Ashtrays, Atlanta, BBC,
Bill Benitez, Bob Lobsinger, Bureau of Indian Affairs, CARF, Carnegie Mellon,
Colin Henderson, David Miscavige, David Touretzky, Deaths, Ethics, Facebook,
Florida, Gabriel Graves, Gary Smith, Georgia, Georgia Department of Human
Services, Hillary Holten, Jeanne LeFlore, Jeff Harris, Joel Kerns, Kaysie
Werninck, Kirstie Alley, Lisa Mooty, Los Angeles, Mary Rieser, McAlester News-
Capital, Mental Health, Michigan, Narconon, Narconon Arrowhead, Narconon
Chilocco, Narconon Georgia, Narconon International, Neil Gaiman, Newkirk,
Newkirk Herald Journal, Niacin, Oklahoma, Oklahoma Board of Mental Health and
Substance Abuse Services, Patrick Desmond, Pittsburg County Sheriff, Ponca,
Quebec, Sea Org, Stacy Murphy, Success rate, The Master, The Way to
Happiness, Tom Cruise, Touch Assist, Training routines, UK, US Army
========================================
A Special Correspondent Report from The Bay Area
August 11, 2013, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
https://www.mikerindersblog.org/a-special-correspondent-report-from-the-bay-area/
Dear Mike,
I wanted to give you an update on the Bay Area Scientology scene. As
you know there are San Fransisco, Stevens Creek, Los Gatos and Mountain
View orgs in this fifty mile area. Recently included to the grouping of
the Bay Area orgs is Sacramento - about one hundred miles from most of
the Bay Area. All Bay Area orgs sit empty. Just to be clear, there are
probably half a dozen veteran public that appear for course once a week
to keep their PR in.
It's a sad state of affairs that while each org sits empty of public,
some of the most well-intended (and misguided) staff you ever care to
meet continue to hope for a better day when the miracle program from
uplines will flood the orgs with public. It's a hurry up and wait
mentality. All faith based.
Tags: Basics, Chicago, Debbie Cook, Denver, Disconnection, Ethics Officer,
Freewinds, Ideal Org, International Association of Scientologists, Jewish,
Leah Remini, Los Gatos, Master at Arms, Mike Smith, Mountain View, Office of
Special Affairs, OT, OT Committee, Purification Rundown, Quicky, Sacramento,
San Jose, Sec Check, Stevens Creek
========================================
Ability
August 11, 2013, Marty Rathbun, Moving On Up a Little Higher
https://markrathbun.wordpress.com/2013/08/11/ability/
Related posts:
What We Do: Part 1
Graduating Scientology (What We Do: Part Two)
Tags: Ability Congress, Clear, Critic, Dianetics, Grade Chart, Operating
Thetan, OT, Quicky
========================================
Stop Picking on Scientology! Double-Fisted Wisdom from 1977
August 11, 2013, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2013/08/11/sunday-funnies-9/
Friday afternoon, we shared with you the comedy stylings of The Good
Liars, who handed out fliers in Times Square asking people please to
stop searching for Shelly Miscavige, who is not missing.
In a similar spirit, we wanted to jump on that theme with both feet,
and offer David Miscavige's outfit even more succor. After all, not
everyone is thrilled that the Church of Scientology perennially finds
itself the subject of government investigations, complex lawsuits,
denunciations by defectors, and constant pestering by nattering nabobs
of negativism (i.e., reporters).
Well, it's time to atone. And boy, do we have some righteous payback!
Tags: 1954, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1967, 1970, 1973, 1977, AOLA,
Aris Gregorian, ASHO, California, CIA, Colorado, David Miscavige, E-meter,
FBI, FDA, First Amendment, Food and Drug Administration, Freedom of
Information Act, George Malko, Golden Age of Tech, Hollywood Test Center,
Internal Revenue Service, IRS, Karen Black, L. Ron Hubbard, Los Angeles, Mary
Sue Hubbard, Morton Report, National Security Agency, OT, PAC Base, Pulitzer,
Quicky, Richard Nixon, Scientology executive, Scientology: The Now Religion,
Secret Service, Shelly Miscavige, Skip Press, Snow White Program, US
Department of Justice, USA, Washington, YouTube
========================================
Ideal Org "Successes" A Work In Progress
August 11, 2014, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
https://www.mikerindersblog.org/ideal-org-successes-a-work-in-progress/
Apparently these "ideal" orgs don't have anyone actually completing
anything to give "success stories" so they resort to getting (and
publishing) "successes" from people "in progress" on services.
This is the best they can come up with?
A further indictment of the complete failure of the "ideal org" program
and GAG II.
Tags: Ideal Org, Quicky
========================================
Mike Rinder on Scientology's pathetic PR, and the Freewinds welcomes a famous
clown
August 11, 2014, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2014/08/11/mike-rinder-on-scientologys-pathetic-pr-and-the-freewinds-welcomes-a-famous-clown/
We really like the question Jeff starts off with - he asks Rinder's
opinion of the performance by another Scientology mouthpiece, Sylvia
Stanard at this summer's Chautauqua, which we featured here.
As Rinder points out, Sylvia may be the best Scientology can do these
days, and actually, she's not a terrible speaker. But she's really in
an impossible situation when she's in front of a knowledgeable audience
who knows when it's being bullshitted.
Tags: California, Chautauqua, Craigslist, Freewinds, Jeffrey Augustine, Mike
Rinder, Ronald McDonald House, Sunday Funnies, Sylvia Stanard, Touch Assist
========================================
Mike Rinder on Why Scientology Inc Must Tell Lies
August 11, 2014, SurvivingScientology, YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3UG8Y5e7XU
Mike Rinder discusses the Scientology PR flack Sylvia Stanard's recent
speech about Scientology at the Chataqua religious conclave. Stanard
lied about Xenu, Disconnection, and other matters of substance. Stanard
was evasive and refused to honestly answer questions. Mike Rinder makes
the point that no Church of Scientology spokesperson can tell the truth
-- and Rinder knows as he was the International Spokesman for the
Church of Scientology for over twenty years.
Mike Rinder makes the point that all the Church of Scientology can do
is to evade, duck, and deflect the hard questions and does so by
focusing on its real estate portfolio as proof of its expansion. "If
Scientology were really that bad would we be purchasing and opening all
of these new Ideal Orgs?"
Radio Podcasts
Tags: Disconnection, Facebook, Google, Ideal Org, Mike Rinder, Quicky, Sylvia
Stanard, Twitter, Xenu
========================================
Robin Williams, 1951-2014
August 11, 2014, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2014/08/11/robin-williams-1951-2014/
News this evening that Robin Williams was found dead in his Marin home
is reverberating around the world and we'll be dealing with the shock
for some time. Early reports indicate he may have taken his own life
after a long battle with depression.
Our readers began posting remembrances of him this afternoon, and we
hope that continues. Tell us your favorite Robin Williams memories.
Also, we can already see on social media that people are trying to use
this moment to raise awareness about the debilitating effects of
depression - and that it doesn't care about fame or success.
This blog is about Scientology, and Williams only touched on it briefly.
But we want to remember those times. One of our more memorable
experiences here was talking with Harlan Ellison about L. Ron Hubbard,
and we noted that Ellison had previously told his tale about Hubbard to
Robin Williams...
Tags: 1951, 2002, 2006, Brooke Shields, Harlan Ellison, New York Times, Quicky
========================================
The Rob Ford Story - the fifth estate
August 11, 2014, CBC News, YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGiYFJ2uyTM
Crack cocaine. Alcohol. Friends who have criminal backgrounds. Just
over a year ago, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford stood next to Police Chief Bill
Blair promising to fight gang crime. Now the two most powerful men in
Canada's largest city are locked in a struggle only one is likely to
survive. the fifth estate's Gillian Findlay has more on the man who has
become the world's most controversial mayor - and the real story behind
that first notorious video.
Original airdate : November 8th, 2013
For more on the fifth estate : http://www.cbc.ca/fifth
Tags: 2013, Bill Blair, Canada, DougWiki, Facebook, Police, Rob Ford,
Toronto, Twitter
========================================
Scientology & Nation Of Islam
August 11, 2015, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
https://www.mikerindersblog.org/scientology-nation-of-islam/
The relationship between the Nation of Islam and scientology is
becoming stranger and stranger.
Whether anyone likes it or not, scientology membership is
disproportionately white. Massively so. And Louis Farrakhan is
militantly anti-white.
So, what the hell are they doing in bed with one another?
Tags: Africa, Basel, Cambridge, David Miscavige, Final Call, Harlem,
Inglewood, International Association of Scientologists, Isaac Hayes, Linda
Lombardo, Louis Farrakhan, Malmo, Miami, Michele Ross, Nation of Islam,
Ontario, OT, Quicky, Sweden, Switzerland, Tony Muhammad
========================================
Scientology's front group that targets kids gets cover from a Swiss
politician: News report
August 11, 2015, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2015/08/11/scientologys-front-group-that-targets-kids-gets-cover-from-a-swiss-politician-news-report/
Once again, Jonny Jacobsen is our man on the scene in Europe, where
news of Scientology's infiltration of a Swiss national organization
broke in the local press. Give us the details, Jonny...
A Scientology anti-drugs group is using a Swiss umbrella association
presided over by a politician as cover for its own activities, the
German-language daily Tages Anzeiger reported Monday.
Sag Nein Zu Drogen, the Swiss branch of Scientology's "The Truth About
Drugs" campaign, is part of a Swiss anti-drugs alliance, the DDS, the
paper reported. (DDS stands for Dachverband Drogenabstinenz Schweiz:
which translates roughly as the Swiss Association for Abstinence from
Drugs.)
Tags: Andrea Geissb?hler, Bern, Church of Scientology International, Europe,
Foundation for a Drug-Free World, Heber Jentzsch, Jonny Jacobsen, Karen de la
Carriere, Narconon, Quicky, Sag Nein Zu Drogen, Switzerland, Truth About Drugs
========================================
Deconstructing Scientology: Chapter Two
August 11, 2016, Chris Shelton, Critical Thinker at Large
https://mncriticalthinking.com/2016/08/11/video-deconstructing-scientology-chapter-two/
Hey everyone. This video continues my critical analysis of the book
Scientology, edited by James R. Lewis with chapters contributed by
various religious scholars, psychologists, sociologists and the like.
Thanks for joining me on this.
If you haven't yet watched my first couple videos in this series, I
recommend you do although this video can stand alone. There is a link
in the notes section below to the first part which gives the
introduction and context of this series. I also want to reiterate just
in case you didn't see those earlier videos that I am not making any
claims to be unbiased or objective in my views on Scientology.
Here we will be taking up Chapter Two of this book, written by William
Sims Bainbridge. According to Wikipedia, he is an American sociologist
in Viriginia and is the co-director of Cyber-Human Systems at the
National Science Foundation, which is the official government agency
that issues grants for research and education in all non-medical fields
of science and engineering. So he's kind of a big deal. He's got a
Harvard Ph.D. in sociology and has written a number of books on
religion including The Sociology of Religious Movements and The Secular
Abyss as well as works on specific cult groups such as Satan's Power: A
Deviant Psychotherapy Cult in 1976 about a group called The Process and
The Endtime Family: Children of God in 2002.
Tags: 1946, 1950, 1951, 1955, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1975, 1976, 1978, 2000, 2002,
A. E. van Vogt, Apologetic, Astounding Science Fiction, Bare-Faced Messiah,
Buddha, Buddhism, Buddhist, California, Children of God, Christian, Clear,
Clearwater, Critic, Cult, Dianetics, Douglas Cowan, E-meter, Florida, Gordon
Melton, Hymn of Asia, International Association of Scientologists, James
Lewis, New Mexico, Operating Thetan, OT, OT VIII, Patron Invictus, Quicky,
Russell Miller, Snake Thompson, The Process, Theodore Sturgeon, Wikipedia,
William Sims Bainbridge, Wyoming
========================================
Never-before-seen photo of Diana Hubbard, daughter of Scientology's founder
August 11, 2016, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2016/08/11/never-before-seen-photo-of-diana-hubbard-daughter-of-scientologys-founder/
This has been a great week for tipsters here at the Underground Bunker.
We're very fortunate that so many people think of us when they find
interesting news and documents about Scientology. In today's case,
however, it was something a photographer had been holding on to for
more than 30 years.
He goes by the handle Ronnos, and he lives in the Netherlands. And it
was at a Scientology event in Amsterdam on June 6, 1982, when he
captured an image of Diana while she was sitting at a piano, preparing
to perform. Ronnos tells us that he left Scientology in 1986, and it
was only a few weeks ago when he was digging through some of his things
that he found the photograph again. He wanted the readers of the
Underground Bunker to see it, and we're grateful.
Diana Hubbard, 64, is the last member of founder L. Ron Hubbard's
family who is still involved with the Church of Scientology. She's a
member of the Sea Organization, and spends most of her time at
Scientology's International Base, near Hemet, California. But our
sources who know her tell us that she does have more freedom than a
typical Sea Org member, and can come and go on occasion. When she would
come into Los Angeles, she would sometimes stay at her mother's former
house on Chislehurst Drive in Los Feliz, until it was sold in 2014.
Tags: 1982, 1986, 2012, 2014, Amsterdam, Arthur Hubbard, California, Chris
Shelton, Diana Hubbard, Hemet, Int Base, Jonathan Horwich, KABC, Los Angeles,
Los Feliz, Netherlands, Quicky, Roanne Horwich, Ron Miscavige, Sea Org,
Suzette Hubbard
========================================
Thursday Funnies
August 11, 2016, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
https://www.mikerindersblog.org/thursday-funnies-96/
Fearless Leader?
Back in action with more ridiculousness. Wee gatherings and big
gatherings - but no details about where or when. That's a secret!
Highest Ever after Highest Ever
Tags: Budapest, Central Files, Cincinnati, Dallas, David Miscavige, DC, DEA,
Fearless Leader, Field Staff Member, Flag Ship Service Organization, Ideal
Org, International Association of Scientologists, Jeanie Sonenfild, L. Ron
Hubbard, Michael Roberts, OT, OT VIII, Pakistan, Photoshop, Planetary
Clearing, Quicky, Sea Org, Tampa, Texas, Thursday Funnies, Vicki Shantz
========================================
Leah Remini calls for federal action: Here's the frustrating reason the IRS
may not answer
August 11, 2017, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2017/08/11/leah-remini-calls-for-federal-action-heres-the-frustrating-reason-the-irs-may-not-answer/
As the start of the second season of Leah Remini: Scientology and the
Aftermath approaches on Tuesday, media and public interest is ramping
way up. Leah has promised that the second season will focus on "the
abusive practices of Scientology - sexual abuse and physical abuse,"
she told The Hollywood Reporter.
Leah also said her goal is not just to spread awareness of
Scientology's mistreatment of its members but also to inspire a federal
investigation. "I'm talking about the FBI, the police, the Department
of Justice, the IRS," she said.
The FBI did investigate Scientology for allegations of human
trafficking in 2009-2010, but that investigation didn't result in
charges, and we think that probe ended for complex reasons.
Tags: 1991, 1993, 1998, 2007, 2009, 2010, Alex Gibney, Christian, Congress,
David Miscavige, Donald Trump, FBI, Fred Goldberg, Going Clear: Scientology,
Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, Hollywood Reporter, Human trafficking,
IRS, Jeffrey Augustine, John Koskinen, Lawrence Wright, Leah Remini,
Minnesota, Quicky, Scientology and the Aftermath, Steve Mnuchin, Tax exempt,
US Department of Justice
========================================
Leah Remini calls for federal action: Here's the frustrating reason the IRS
may not answer
August 11, 2017, Jeffrey Augustine, Scientology Money Project
https://scientologymoneyproject.com/2017/08/11/leah-remini-calls-for-federal-action-heres-the-frustrating-reason-the-irs-may-not-answer/
Note: This is a companion piece to the question and answer article Tony
Ortega and I had at the Underground Bunker.
*****
What would it take to get the IRS to commence an investigation into the
revocation of the Church of Scientology's 1993 tax exemption?
Tags: 1964, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2007, 2009,
Christian, Congress, Criminal, David Miscavige, FBI, First Amendment,
Internal Revenue Service, IRS, IRS Commissioner, Leah Remini, Minnesota,
Quicky, Reverend, Review, Sea Org, Tax exempt, Tony Ortega, Underground
Bunker, US Department of Justice, US District Court, Wall Street Journal
========================================
Regraded Being
August 11, 2017, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
https://www.mikerindersblog.org/friday-regraded-being-109/
Tags: Quicky, Regraded Being
========================================
Church of Fear: When John Sweeney sat down with Anne Archer and Leah Remini
August 11, 2018, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2018/08/11/church-of-fear-when-john-sweeney-sat-down-with-anne-archer-and-leah-remini/
This week in our 'Scientology Lit' series, we have an excerpt from BBC
reporter John Sweeney's 2013 book, Church of Fear: Inside the Weird
World of Scientology. Sweeney wrote about his experiences making two
BBC documentaries about the church, 2007's "Scientology and Me," and
2010's "The Secrets of Scientology." In this chapter, he's being
handled by Scientology's two spokesmen - Tommy Davis and Mike Rinder -
as he conducts interviews for his 2007 Panorama episode at the
Hollywood Celebrity Centre with his cameraman Bill and producer, 'Mole.
' He gets forceful denials about Scientology leader David Miscavige
striking his employees (which Rinder will be among those to confirm in
a 2009 piece by the Tampa Bay Times.) We hope you enjoy this cracking
good chapter that Sweeney was generous enough to share with us...
Back in the Celebrity Centre I asked a question.
'That's insane,' said Tommy.
Tags: 1987, 1992, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016, Academic, Anne Archer,
Barbara Ruiz, BBC, Bruce Hines, California, Catholic, Celebrity Centre,
Christian, Church of Fear: Inside the Weird World of Scientology, Clear,
Clearwater, David Miscavige, Donna Shannon, Facebook, Flag Land Base,
Florida, Hawaii, Hollywood, Internal Revenue Service, John Sweeney, King of
Queens, L. Ron Hubbard, Leah Remini, Mike Henderson, Mike Rinder, Narconon,
Olympic, Operating Thetan, OT, Panorama, Peter Nyiri, Quicky, Rehabilitation
Project Force, San Francisco, Scientology and Me, Scientology executive, Sea
Org, Shawn Lonsdale, South America, Tampa Bay Times, The Hole, The Secrets of
Scientology, Tom Cruise, Tommy Davis, Wall of Fire, Writers of the Future,
Xenu
========================================
Critical Q&A #172
August 11, 2018, Chris Shelton, YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaRn-nueK0M
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
========================================
Danish Kids in Danger
August 11, 2018, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
https://www.mikerindersblog.org/danish-kids-in-danger/
Something needs to be done about this.
Apparently Danish schools believe their children are going to be
educated by hearing a lecture from the DSA and watching "An
Introduction to Scientology"... This would be like "educating" children
about child sex abuse by having them attend a briefing by a
representative of NAMBLA.
If you are in Denmark, perhaps you can do something about this. Unless
these kids are provided a balanced perspective with all the
information, this may result in them being lured into scientology
sometime in the future.
Tags: Clear, Copenhagen, Denmark, Quicky
========================================
A doctor's warning: Safety is at risk in Ontario's ERs
August 11, 2019, Alan Drummond, Toronto Star
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2019/08/11/a-doctors-warning-safety-is-at-risk-in-ontarios-ers.html
Ontario emergency physicians knew, right from the get-go, that Premier
Doug Ford's electoral promise to End Hallway Medicine was hooey.
Ontarians have been forced to suffer the indignities of receiving care,
if one can call it that, in the ER hallway since the mid-1990s.
Hospitals across the province reduced their acute care bed capacity by
30 per cent in an attempt to respond to Paul Martin's reduction of the
national deficit onto the backs of the provinces. It was a matter of
balancing the books pure and simple with little to no regard on the
effect of patients.
The provinces, in a vain attempt to explain the cuts, promised a
healthcare dividend of improved home care and health promotion.
Tags: 1990, Doug Ford, DougWiki, Easter, Ford government, Health care cuts,
Hospital, Ontario, Paul Martin, Perth
========================================
Canada's marginal 'Christian right'
August 11, 2019, Jonathan Malloy, The Conversation
https://theconversation.com/canadas-marginal-christian-right-121024
The political power of the American Christian right naturally leads to
interest and speculation about the influence of similar groups in
Canada. But social conservatives and evangelical Christians are a
marginal force in Canadian politics, even in the Conservative party.
And research finds their dynamics here are quite different than in the
United States.
Is there a Canadian Christian right at all? Yes and no.
The Christian right is closely associated with evangelical
Christianity, and perhaps 10 to 15 per cent of Canadians (depending on
the survey method) are evangelical Christians. Nearly all are strongly
conservative on issues of reproduction and sexuality. But their broader
political views vary considerably. Few would support "dominionist"
ideas of imposing a theological state.
Tags: 2017, Abortion, Andrew Scheer, Brad Trost, Buffalo, Canada, Canada
Christian College, Charles McVety, Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Christian
Right, Conservative Party of Canada, DougWiki, Hamilton, Justin Trudeau,
Ontario, Stephen Harper, Trinity Western University
========================================
Election winner will choose new ambassador - and possibly a reset with
Washington
August 11, 2019, CBC News
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-votes-newsletter-week17-1.5242542
The campaign is not officially on yet, but party leaders are travelling
the country, with war rooms plotting schedules for what will be a very
busy few months.
Where they go, and why, will say a lot about what each party sees as
the strengths and weaknesses that lie ahead.
One issue that did get a lot of attention this week, is the resignation
of Canada's ambassador in Washington.
After three years in what is arguably considered Canada's most
important diplomatic posting, David MacNaughton is calling it quits to
return to the private sector.
Tags: 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2015, Aaron Wherry, Alberta, Andrew Scheer,
Apple, Associated Press, Bill Blair, Bill Morneau, Canada, CBC, Chrystia
Freeland, Congress, Danny Williams, David MacNaughton, Donald Trump, Doug
Ford, DougWiki, Elizabeth May, ?ric Grenier, Federal election, Harper &
Associates, House of Commons, Jagmeet Singh, Jason Kenney, Justin Trudeau,
Labrador, NAFTA, New Brunswick, New Democratic Party, Newfoundland, Nova
Scotia, Ontario, Ontario New Democratic Party, Politics, Prince Edward
Island, Quebec, Rachel Curran, Regina, Stephen Harper, Tom Mulcair, Tracey
Ramsey, Trudeau government, Washington, White House
========================================
Progressives owe a duty to their children to move the Overton window around
the climate
August 11, 2019, Charlie Smith, Georgia Straight
https://www.straight.com/news/1284261/progressives-owe-duty-their-children-move-overton-window-around-climate
There's a reason why right wingers have been so successful in advancing
their political goals.
It's because they're masters of moving the goal posts around what
constitutes acceptable ideas for discussion in the media.
This has occurred in a range of areas, including privatizing health
care and other public services, tax cuts for the super wealthy, and
relentless increases in fossil-fuel production in the face of a climate
crisis.
Politicians like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage make sweeping
denunciations of immigrants.
Tags: 1990, 2006, 2015, Andrew Scheer, Armageddon, British Columbia, Canada,
Climate change, Donald Trump, DougWiki, Environmental, Facebook, Fraser
Institute, Greenland, Michigan, New Democratic Party, Nigel Farage, Overton
window, Paris Agreement, People's Party of Canada, Politician, Pope, Reform
Party, Siberia, Stephen Harper, Stockholm, Vancouver
========================================
Scientology's efforts to suck up to power is appearing to pay off
August 11, 2019, Rod Keller, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2019/08/11/scientologys-efforts-to-suck-up-to-power-is-appearing-to-pay-off/
Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard called them Opinion Leaders (OLs)
and directed his followers to develop them as allies. He wrote that
these allies would come to Scientology's aid when governments come to
tax, regulate or prosecute the church. We previously reported that Greg
Mitchell, a lobbyist for Scientology, met with U.S. Vice President Mike
Pence. We now have the White House photo of that meeting. Mitchell is
seen just over Pence's left shoulder.
In addition to Pence and Mitchell, the meeting included Omer Kanat from
the Uyghur Human Rights Project, Jeff Chen from Falun Gong, Dr. Yang
Jianli from Citizen Power Initiatives for China, Southern Baptist
official Russell Moore, Randel Everett from the 21st Century
Wilberforce Initiative, Bob Fu from China Aid, David Curry of Open
Doors USA, and the U.S. Ambassador-at-large for International Religious
Freedom Sam Brownback.
The topic was religious freedom in China and one report says that
Mitchell "suggested that the U.S. government openly request that
specific prisoners of conscience in China be released." His main
interest is not China, but developing a relationship with two OLs,
Pence and Brownback, that Scientology can use in the future.
Tags: 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative, American Power and Gas, Bob Fu,
California, Celebrity Centre, China, China Aid, Citizen Power Initiatives for
China, Clearwater, Cory Palka, Cult, David Curry, Donald Trump, Eric Roux,
Europe, Facebook, Falun Gong, Front group, Greg Mitchell, International
Association of Scientologists, Ivan Arjona Pelado, Jeff Chen, Jim
Bridgeforth, Kat LaRue, LAPD, Leah Remini, Lobbyist, Los Angeles, Mike Pence,
Office of Special Affairs, Omer Kanat, Open Doors USA, Police, Randel
Everett, Russell Moore, Sam Brownback, Southern Baptist, Tom Cummins, United
Nations, US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, USA,
Uyghur Human Rights, White House, Yang Jianli
========================================
The dangerous delusion of climate change denial
August 11, 2019, Joe Ingram, iPolitics
https://ipolitics.ca/2019/08/11/the-dangerous-delusion-of-climate-change-denial/
"Yet the accelerated pace of warming is leaving existing technologies
behind, and the normal pace of private-sector technology development is
too slow to provide solutions on its own. And in the face of this, we
see political parties like those in Canada and the U.S. hiding behind
the ideological fiction of corporate social responsibility in
multinational energy companies, which time and again have proved
themselves to be both mendacious and misguided."
Self delusion in political leaders is a wonderful antidote to
ignorance, though when it purposefully deludes millions of voters and
in the process puts at risk the lives of tens of millions globally, it
borders on the criminal.
President Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris
Climate Accord, his deregulation of America's federal environmental
safeguards, and his persistently expressed skepticism of human-induced
global warming reflect a deeply distorted understanding of what is
happening to our planet. The fact that he defends his position by
trying to reassure Americans that he is "?all for clean water and clean
air?" is further evidence and reflects a failure to understand that
polluted water and air are not synonymous with climate change.
Unfortunately, many of our own politicians here in Canada suffer from
the same delusions and flawed thinking.
Tags: Africa, Andrew Scheer, Canada, Cardiff, Climate change, Conservative
Party of Canada, DougWiki, Environmental, Europe, Germany, Nobel, Paris,
Paris Climate Accord, United Nations, Wales, World Trade Organization
========================================
The Face of the Freewinds: "A Wog"
August 11, 2019, Mike Rinder, Something Can Be Done About It
https://www.mikerindersblog.org/the-face-of-the-freewinds-a-wog/
For many years in the early 2000's, the "face" of the Freewinds was
Carol Miles, the "Executive Officer"/"Public Officer."
She was the face and voice (with a wonderfully genteel english accent)
of Freewinds promotional videos. She narrated tours of the ship and
appeared at the end of each Freewinds video with a pitch for people to
come and partake in the Freewinds experience.
There has been some earlier commentary on the internet that mentioned
Carol. She disappeared from public view around 2007 (like me), and as
with Heber, Ray Mithoff, Guillaume Lesevre and so many others, nobody
dared to ask where she was and eventually she was forgotten. Mention of
her has been erased. Videos she appeared in have been destroyed. She,
like the others, became a "non-entity."
Tags: 2000, 2007, ANZO, Australia, Carol Miles, Chris Guider, CLO ANZO,
Commodore's Messenger Organization, David Miscavige, Facebook, Freewinds,
Guillaume Lesevre, Karl Whitcher, Lisa McPherson, Master at Arms, Quicky, Ray
Mithoff, Rehabilitation Project Force, Religious Technology Center, Sea Org,
Sue Price, Sydney, Twitter, Valeska Guider, Valeska Paris, Wogs
========================================
Trudeau's star roster has shrunk, while Scheer runs without one
August 11, 2019, Campbell Clark, Globe and Mail
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-trudeaus-star-roster-has-shrunk-while-scheer-runs-without-one/
The Foreign Affairs Minister is doing a lot of travel within Canada.
When Chrystia Freeland goes to a steel-pipe manufacturer to talk about
the new North American free-trade deal, as she did Friday, it is a way
to send a message that the Liberals are concerned with lunch-box
issues, industry and jobs.
It also says something else: that there are stars in the Liberal
government besides its leader. She is now the biggest political asset
in Mr. Trudeau's cabinet.
It also raises another question in the weeks before a federal election
campaign: Where are Andrew Scheer's stars?
Tags: 2015, Africa, Andrew Scheer, Bill Morneau, Calgary, Canada, Canadian
Press, Chrystia Freeland, Conservative Party of Canada, DougWiki, Erin
O'Toole, Federal election, Halifax, Lisa Raitt, M?lanie Joly, Montreal,
NAFTA, Nova Scotia, Peter MacKay, Pierre Poilievre, Progressive Conservative,
Quebec City, Quicky, Stephen Harper, Toronto, Trois-Rivi?res
========================================
Today in Scientlology web page:
http://umbraxenu.no-ip.biz/today.html
August 11 in Scientlology web page:
http://umbraxenu.no-ip.biz/days/08-11.html
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