October 28 in Scientology history

With just a week to go before his sentencing on Medicare fraud was to happen, Scientology donor and Middletown, NY chiropractor Jay Spina threw a wrench into the process, causing his government prosecutors to ask for a delay. The good news for court watchers is that what might have been a fairly routine matter now threatens to turn into something more like a trial, as the two sides want to fight over the facts of the case in a court hearing before Judge Kenneth M. Karas imposes a sentence on Spina. It's also yet another lesson about what money can buy wealthy people who find themselves in America's justice system. At the last minute, Spina spent a boatload of money on expensive lawyer work which may buy him some more time before sentencing and may have a real effect on how much prison time he ultimately receives.

Tags: 1953, 2003, 2018, A&E, Australia, Bryan Seymour, Charles Bagley, Christian Right, David Miscavige, England, Europe, Fair Game, Foundation for a Drug-Free World, FOX News, Jay Spina, Kim Spina, Leah Remini, Mariah Carey, Medical, Medicare, Michael Jackson, Mike Rinder, New York Times, Scientology and the Aftermath, Tom Cruise, Tommy Davis

One of the interesting parallels between Scientology and Jehovah's Witnesses is their dedication to hierarchy, including the case of hierarchical knowledge. Some things are not meant to be shared by the elite with the great unwashed masses. In a new video, ex-JW activists Lloyd Evans and Cliff Henderson reveal some of those elite secrets that are not supposed to be shared with rank-and-file Jehovah's Witnesses. Here's Lloyd's description: In the first of a three-part series of special livestreams, ExJW Fifth (Cliff Henderson) joins me to discuss the judicial material found in the latest edition of the 2019 "Shepherd the Flock of God" elder's manual, which regular Jehovah's Witnesses are forbidden from reading.

Tags: Jehovah's Witnesses, Lloyd Evans, Quicky

Between 2010 and 2012, the group raked in at least $65 million from billionaires, corporations and nebulous groups that don't disclose their own sources of funding, recent filings show. Many of the group's top donors have now lined up behind President Donald Trump, cutting big checks to his reelection bid. The now-defunct conservative group was largely active in the 2012 election cycle, spending $15.2 million on political ads attacking then-Democratic President Barack Obama during his reelection bid. The group also spent almost $5 million on independent expenditures in the 2010 cycle targeting Democrats and promoting Republicans in congressional races. Between late 2011 and 2012, the group gave out $26.3 million in grants, most of which went to the Center to Protect Patient Rights, another dark money group with close ties to the Koch brothers.

Tags: Americans for Job Security, Barack Obama, Center to Protect Patient Rights, Charles Schwab, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, Citizens United, Dan Wilks, David Horowitz, Farris Wilks, Helen DeVos, Koch Bro, Peter Thiel, Richard DeVos, Robert Shillman, Sheldon Adelson, Steven Mnuchin, Wilks Brothers

The far right is on a roll. Just a few years ago, liberals and conservatives would have considered its recent political victories a nightmare scenario. Right-wing extremists have won elections in the United States, Brazil, Hungary, India, and Poland. They pushed through the Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom. In the most recent European Parliament elections, far-right parties captured the most votes in France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Hungary. Sure, Trump is being impeached, Brexit is a mess, and the far right in Austria and Italy have suffered recent setbacks. Still, looking at the bigger picture, it's hard not to conclude that such extremists have acquired the sort of mainstream legitimacy across the planet that they haven't enjoyed in nearly a century. What's worse, those electoral victories obscure an even deeper, potentially far more influential success — in the world of storytelling. The radical right has developed a global narrative that, by uniting virulent racists and commonplace conservatives, mass shooters and populist politicians, is already injecting fringe ideas into mainstream culture.

Tags: 1920, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1981, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2012, 2017, 2018, Adolf Hitler, Africa, Allen Ginsberg, Alt-Right, Anders Breivik, Anti-Semitism, Austria, Bill Clinton, Brazil, Brexit, Brussels, Charlottesville, Christchurch, Christian, Climate change, Copyright, Croatia, Donald Trump, Easter, Environmental, Europe, European Union, France, Generation Identity, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Mediterranean, Muslim, Neo-Nazi, New Zealand, Nobel, Norway, Paris, Poland, Renaud Camus, Russia, Syria, Tony Blair, Turkey, Twitter, Unite the Right, Viktor Orbán, Virginia, White nationalism, White replacement, White supremacist, YouTube

David Miscavige is fond of talking about how his "Ideal Org" program is creating "islands of sanity"... It is prominent in his official hagiography at scientology.org The idea that "OT's" are the ones "changing the planet" and creating "ideal orgs" is a "truth" scientology. It was one of Miscavige's strokes of genius to make the "OT's" responsible for creating ideal orgs. That way, they could not complain that they were not able to do OT IX and X, because Miscavige set an arbitrary that all orgs had to be "ideal" before this could happen (it actually began with all orgs St Hill Size, but when that was recognized as unattainable and therefore not a usable carrot, he changed it to "Ideal Orgs")/ The Flag OT Committee harps on fundraising for these ideal orgs as if their ethics clearance depends on it. Of course, it does. Or at least, healthy contributions to the ideal org fundraising is a great when sitting in front of a scientology ethics officer or chaplain.

Tags: Berlin Wall, Caribbean, Chaplain, Colombia, David Miscavige, Ethics Officer, Facebook, Freewinds, Ideal Org, OT, OT Committee, OT IX, Puerto Rico, Quicky, Twitter, Wogs

ST. PAUL — Before a 52-year-old man died, he attempted to rob a Church of Scientology employee who fought back and was joined by other workers to hold him down in downtown St. Paul, police said Tuesday, Jan. 21. Officers found the man unconscious and not breathing Monday night, and he was pronounced dead at Regions Hospital. The cause of his death remains under investigation. Officers were called to the parking ramp by 505 N. Wabasha St., which is the Church of Scientology, about 7 p.m. Monday. Witnesses reported the man, whose name hasn't been released, tried to rob a 49-year-old Church of Scientology worker in an elevator lobby just before officers were called.

Tags: Grand Forks, Hospital, Police, Quicky, St. Paul

In part two of my deep-dive livestream trilogy, I am joined by colleague Mark O'Donnell (John Redwood) to dissect the child sex abuse policy of Jehovah's Witnesses as laid out in the latest edition of the secretive "Shepherd the Flock of God" elder's manual. Question about whether the "Shepherd" book is accessible to non-elders (1:20) Introductory paragraphs (14:05)

Tags: Abuse, Apostate, Escape, Jehovah's Witnesses, John Redwood, Legal, Mark O'Donnell, Patreon, Quicky, Review, Twitter

Michael Smerconish wants to continue the conversation we began on Saturday on his CNN show on his SiriusXM radio program. Hoping we will have a little longer to get into these issues in more depth. Scheduled to begin Tuesday morning at 11:04am on SiriusXM channel 124.

Tags: CNN, Facebook, Michael Smerconish, Quicky, Twitter

Scientology has been belittled, parodied, and jabbed by so many television shows in recent years, we long ago lost count. And we very rarely say anything about these in-jokes and throwaway lines for a number of reasons that bore us to go into. But once in a while we feel compelled to pay attention to a Scientology skewering, and this is one of those times. Primarily, we have to say, because it involves two of the very best of all time, Alan Arkin and Michael Douglas, and also because we know we're going to be getting a lot of emails about this one so what the hell. We're talking about episode sixteen of The Kominsky Method, now releasing its second season at Netflix. And to set it up, all you really need to know is that Norman Newlander, played by Arkin, is thinking of selling his Hollywood agency and going on a spiritual quest, which his friend, acting coach Sandy Kominsky, played by Douglas, scoffs at. In a previous episode, it had been mentioned that Norman's grandson, Robbie, was involved in Scientology and had disconnected from the family. But now, surprise, Robbie is back (played by Haley Joel Osment). Here are the relevant scenes from the episode, which was written by Chuck Lorre and Al Higgins, and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller.

Tags: 1953, 2013, Academic, Canada, David Miscavige, England, Europe, Exteriorize, Hollywood, Ideal Mission, Jesus, L. Ron Hubbard, Laura DeCrescenzo, Netflix, Office of Special Affairs, Operating Thetan, Potential Trouble Source, Quicky, Rehabilitation Project Force, Sea Org, Suppressive Person, US Supreme Court

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 AskChrisShelton@gmail.com. This week, the questions I answer are: (1) Did L. Ron Hubbard actually give lectures in front of a live audience? Did he ever give the same lecture twice or was everything taped? When you listen to him you get the feeling that he comes up with the things on the go. No way he could remember what exactly he was rambling about. In real life, if you give a lecture you have do it again and again yourself and you have to know your stuff. You can not just send a tape for the next audience to listen to. But of course, Hubbard was too busy and important since he was already moved on after each lecture, doing new research. Thoughts? (2) I heard a former Scientologist say once that when they were being reg'd and had hit their credit card limit that the Registrar would take their credit cards and go make phone calls for a few minutes. More often than not they'd come back having negotiated higher credit limits. One day this person (knowing that in their financial situation most banks wouldn't even consider giving them more credit) asked the Reg how they managed it and were told that some Scientologists working in banks would often extend a limit if they knew it was paying for Scientology services. In spite of this being extremely poor conduct and something they'd quickly be fired over if they were ever found out, I can imagine how easily the complicit bank employee would justify it to themselves by thinking the card holder would become more able the pay back the debt by doing Scientology. Is this sort of thing widespread in Scientology or a case of that particular Reg having good contacts? Did you ever observe this activity where people who clearly shouldn't be given credit were? Also isn't it funny that Scientology, since you know it's so amazing and all, doesn't just allow members to put the services on a sort of tab and let them pay it back when they gain all the benefits their supposed to get? But nope they always just seem to want the money up front.

Tags: Clear, Copyright, Critic, Cult, Facebook, James Randi, Quicky, Reddit, Registrar, Scientology: A to Xenu, Sea Org, Skeptics, Tony Ortega, Twitter, YouTube

(Narconon quackery: It's continental!) Rod Keller finds that Scientology's Narconon scam can get, yes, even sketchier... Scientology opened Narconon Europe in 2015 in Helsinge, Denmark on the banks of Lake Arresø to serve as a "continental" Narconon that would deliver the drug rehab program but also to train Narconon staff members in Europe. It's hard to find any mention of Scientology on their website, even the page praising L. Ron Hubbard. If you search for it, you can find this statement:

Tags: 1960, 2015, Ashtrays, Carlo Balasini, Conditions, David Miscavige, Denmark, Elvis Seko, Europe, Hollywood, Hubbard Communications Office Bulletin, Jörg Carl, L. Ron Hubbard, Mike Rinder, Narconon, Narconon Europe, Narconon staff, Narconon Tijuana, Objectives, Potential Trouble Source, Purification Rundown, Quicky, Rod Keller, Survival Rundown, Thomas Pettersson

Following in the hallowed footsteps of Michael Roberts, Jeff Pomerantz and Andrik Schaapers, Tony Muhammad has hit the IAS fundraising circuit. What could possibly motivate the West Coast Leader of the NOI to devote his time to promoting scientology and not his own religion? Can anyone imagine Vicki Shantz, the West Coast region head of scientology (CO CLO WUS), on a tour of NOI mosques promoting their good works? She would be in the RPF or declared a Suppressive Person in the blink of an eye.

Tags: Andrik Schapers, CLO WUS, International Association of Scientologists, Jeff Pomerantz, Michael Roberts, Nation of Islam, Quicky, Rehabilitation Project Force, Seattle, Suppressive Person, Tony Muhammad, Vicki Shantz

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

How we learn doesn't jive with LRH's paradigm of the human mind. Since Ron was so "stats-oriented," let's start with the numbers. He said we've all lived for quadrillions of years. By multiplying this number times all the pictures in all our memories over this period, we come up with an amount greater than the number of grains of sand on Earth. Whoa. Terra Math

Tags: Cancer, Clear, DC, Delphi, Google, L. Ron Hubbard, OT, OT 8, Potential Trouble Source, Suppressive Person, Terra Cognita

New Continental Liaison Organization at 40 Baker St., Guelph.

Tags: CLO Canada, Guelph, Ontario, Quicky

Yesterday, Ray Emmons died of a heart attack. He was 75. We're remembering him here at the Underground Bunker with the help of Robert Peterson, 68, who got to know Ray when Bob was working for the Lisa McPherson Trust in 2000. In 1975, when buildings in Clearwater were purchased under the name "United Churches of Florida," it didn't take locals long to figure out that something was fishy. In fact, it was L. Ron Hubbard and the Church of Scientology invading the town with subterfuge. Later, shocking things about Scientology were revealed in documents uncovered in an FBI raid, and the city of Clearwater wanted to learn more about its new residents. The job of investigating Scientology locally fell to a Clearwater Police Department sergeant by the name of Ray Emmons, who soon was promoted to lieutenant. His work laid the foundation for the 1982 hearings held by the city, and Ray's famously comprehensive report was released the following year, in 1983. Ray L. Emmons was born on March 31, 1942 in Carey, Ohio. He got a bachelor's degree from St. Leo University, and a masters degree in criminal justice from the University of South Florida. He served in the US Navy from 1960 to 1964, and in 1967 he married Georgienne "Gigi" Tice. They have two daughters, Kimberly and Christine. Ray started with the Clearwater PD in 1968 and worked there until 1985, when he went to work for the Pasco County Sheriff's Department until 1993. Following that he worked as a private investigator and later, his favorite job of all, as a substitute teacher for the Pinellas County school system.

Tags: 1942, 1960, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1975, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2014, Amsterdam, Ben Shaw, Birmingham, Bob Peterson, Clearwater, Clearwater Police Department, David Miscavige, Dublin, Emmons Report, England, Facebook, FBI, First Amendment, Flag Down, Gabe Cazares, Ideal Org, Lisa McPherson, Lisa McPherson Trust, Mark Bunker, Office of Special Affairs, Ohio, Pasco County, Pinellas County, Private investigator, Ray Emmons, Robert Minton, Scientology practice, United Churches of Florida, University of South Florida, US Navy

Tags: Quicky, Regraded Being

It was a video that lasted only 14 seconds. Long enough for a woman named Tiponi Grey to make a short statement behind a pair of large sunglasses... "Hello, world. I am Tiponi Grey Magi. And I am no longer employed with the Church of Scientology. Thank you and have a wonderful Wednesday." It's not unusual for people who work for Scientology to leave. But it is very unusual for them to announce it publicly on YouTube and Facebook.

Tags: 2000, 2011, African-American, Big Blue, California, David Miscavige, Facebook, Harlem, Ideal Org, Inglewood, Isaac Hayes, Jason Beghe, Karin Pouw, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, PAC Base, Personality test, Quicky, Sea Org, Survival Rundown, Tiponi Grey, YouTube

The cult of Scientology is a snitching culture. Family members report on each other to the mother Church, the Cult jealously wants total devotion and family love is a threat to that kind of loyalty. My ex husband in one lock down session in a room he was not permitted to leave, he wrote up 23 "Knowledge Reports" on me by the force of Religious Technical Center "missionaires." Here is a list of some of the divorces ordered by head of Scientology Inc. David Miscavige.

Tags: Abortion, Cult, David Miscavige, Divorce, Facebook, Knowledge Reports, Twitter, Video

Representative David Jolly is running to replace Marco Rubio for Florida's Senate seat and should Jolly succeed he will be the first to represent Scientology. Jolly's district is currently the "spiritual headquarters of Scientologists planetwide" and considered the organizations "Mecca". Will Jolly's ties to the church be a strength or weakness for his campaign? Jose Marcelino Ortiz and Nik Zecevic take a look on The Lip News. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/10/16/scientology-could-get-its-own-senator.html

Tags: David Jolly, Florida, Marco Rubio, US Senate

Apparently Footbullet Dave can never be satisfied with shooting himself just once or twice. He just has to keep blasting away like Yosemite Sam on steroids. A normal person would learn their lesson and not repeat the same idiocy again. But that would be the logic of mere mortals, not big beings like Dave . He "knows" when something he has ordered blows up in his face that it was only because the constant parade of SPs he has working for him have once again deliberately sabotaged his genius plans. So he has them "get it right this time" and do it again. The Squirrel Busters blow up in his face so he sends them to do it again on camera at LAX. Jenny Linson, Marc Yager and Dave Bloomberg acquitted themselves brilliantly. You can even hear Dave's orders being executed:"the reason it blew up was that the idiots didn't say 'I am dong this personally not on behalf of the church."' You have to tell him he is meaningless and nobody cares about him, it will totally cave him in." More brilliant guidance that resulted in another viral video.

Tags: Academy Award, Beck Hansen, David Bloomberg, David Miscavige, Gary Morehead, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, Jefferson Hawkins, Jennifer Linson, LAX, Leah Remini, Louis Theroux, Marc Yager, Pope, Portland, Private investigator, Quicky, Religious Technology Center, Ron Miscavige Sr, Shelly Britt, Squirrel Busters, Tax exempt

We're just back from what turned out to be an incredible day here in Adelaide. Not only was it a big day here at the Underground Bunker with our big Leah Remini scoop, but we also had an event to put on here in this South Australian capital, and it was great. Our thanks to Bryan Seymour and Nick Xenophon for helping us put on a fun show at "The Wheaty," the funky entertainment space at the Wheatsheaf Hotel. And now, for the real capper to our day... To help celebrate the publication of Leah Remini's book, Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, our own TheHoleDoesNotExist has secretly been working on a new song with several other Bunker denizens. If you enjoyed her last work — the official theme song of the Underground Bunker — we think you'll enjoy her tribute to troublemaking women. Take it away, Moxie Magee! And speaking of troublemaking women, Karen de la Carriere sent us her latest video, part four in her series about Heber Jentzsch. Give it a look!

Tags: Adelaide, Bryan Seymour, Heber Jentzsch, Karen de la Carriere, Leah Remini, Moxie Magee, Nick Xenophon, Perth, Quicky, South Australia, Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology

Remember the ad that appeared in the Thursday Funnies last week? "We pay $1000-$2000 per week and you get Bridge and auditor and admin training to Class 8 totally free." Follow along here as one of our Special Correspondents checked in with the South Coast Mission about their pay plan.

Tags: 2000, Australia, International Association of Scientologists, L. Ron Hubbard, Life Improvement Center, Mission, Orange County, Org Board, OT, OT 8, Purification Rundown, Quicky, Sean Dernehl, South Coast Mission, Thursday Funnies

The European Court of Human Rights has dismissed Scientology's bid to challenge its convictions for organised fraud in France. A second such French conviction could threaten its very existence there. 1 I confess I missed this one. But then again, I don't think Scientology put out a press release on it.

Tags: 2009, 2012, 2013, Appeal, Celebrity Centre, Cour de Cassation, Europe, European Court of Human Rights, France, Paris, Paris Court of Appeal, Quicky, Scientology staff, Strasbourg, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker, Versailles

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium [CMA] wants to build a $64 million attraction on a waterfront bluff now occupied by Clearwater City Hall. The church owns property on two sides of the site, including the renovated Fort Harrison Hotel. It pays more than $1 million a year in tourism "bed taxes," and the CMA wants up to $30 million of that revenue stream for its project. "That was the reason for meeting with us," Commissioner Charlie Justice explained. "To start laying out the plan against voting for that, should we get to that point -- which I assume we will."

Tags: Bed tax, Charlie Justice, Clearwater, Clearwater Marine Aquarium, David Yates, Florida State University, Fort Harrison, Norman Roche

If you've been with us a long while, you may look back fondly, as we do, on our series about "OT Phenomena" from old issues of Advance! magazine. Once a week on Fridays, as part of our regular feature "This Week Aboard the Apollo," we'd pull out the most fun tall tales that Scientologists told each other as they tried to convince the newbies that if they could only get up into the expensive "Operating Thetan" levels, they would experience superhuman and otherwordly powers they called "OT Phenomena." Jeff Hawkins, who at one time edited Advance!, tells us these were always the most popular feature in the publication. Scientologists just couldn't get enough of these eerie tales of metaphysical derring-do.

Tags: Advance!, Anonymous, Apollo, Baltimore, Jefferson Hawkins, Karen de la Carriere, Operating Thetan, OT, OT Phenomena, San Francisco, Super Bowl

A third generation Scientologist, Kate Ceberano was joined by fellow devotee Tom Cruise this month when she was awarded one of the church's highest honours. The singer and cabaret star received the International Association of Scientologists' Freedom Medal Award in a lavish two-day ceremony on October 17 that also commemorated the 30th anniversary of the IAS. Mission Impossible actor Cruise received a Freedom Medal Of Valour a decade ago and proudly wore his heavy gold medallion to the event.

Tags: 2004, Australia, Daily Telegraph, David Miscavige, Facebook, Freedom Medal, Hollywood, International Association of Scientologists, Kate Ceberano, Mission Impossible, Music, Nancy Cartwright, Quicky, Radar Online, Ruddy Rodriguez, Saint Hill, Sussex, Tom Cruise, Venezuela

A sampling of the back story to the video Scientology's Top Managers In Action, at alturl.com/xevpd. The first segment is me interviewing a scientology paid outside professional who blew the whistle on the operation. The rest are samplings of the operation in front of - and behind - our home and other locales. The blog scientology is attempting to shut down is markrathbun.wordpress.com.

Tags: Quicky

With no public in the orgs (or afraid that if they shoot anyone they call in specially to appear in a video they might be found to be a disaffected/SP before the video can be edited and shown) Golden Era IN LOS ANGELES — the largest single community of Scientologists on this rapidly clearing planet — has resorted to paying actors to make it appear there are people in orgs for EVENT VIDEOS. How ironic is this? To convince Scientologists that things are really swell in the orgs (all orgs except the one they happen to be sitting in of course) they are paying actors to PLAY Scientologists to show to Scientologists so they believe there are actually Scientologists in OTHER orgs.

Tags: Golden Era, OT, Quicky

An enormous mural draped Monday over a massive tent that was erected downtown by the Church of Scientology might violate city sign laws, city officials said. The church, which didn't alert the city in advance about the mural, later told the city's planning director that it's a religious symbol. Planning director Michael Delk said he will have to determine how much of the mural is signage and how much is symbol.

Tags: 1995, 2009, Clearwater, Clearwater Beach, England, Flag Building, Fort Harrison, Golden Age of Tech, International Association of Scientologists, Joelle Castelli, Keep Scientology Working, Michael Delk, Twitter

We don't know yet how Luis and Rocio Garcia will respond to Scientology's attempt to have their fraud lawsuit against the church thrown out of court based on jurisdictional issues. But while we wait for their attorneys Ted Babbitt and Ron Weil to try and save the lawsuit, we asked our own attorney, Scott Pilutik, to look more deeply into the issues the Garcias face. As Scott explained to us last week, Scientology claims in a new motion to dismiss that the Garcias chose an improper venue — federal court in Tampa, Florida — to bring their lawsuit which alleges that they were duped fraudulently into giving donations to the church totaling about $400,000. Citing a very basic legal concept of "diversity jurisdiction," the church pointed out that three of its entities being sued by the Garcias are actually based in California, where the Garcias are — and that makes it a mistake to sue them in Florida. Chief among those entities is the Church of Scientology Religious Trust (CSRT), which took in most of the Garcias' donations. In a declaration by CSRT trustee Glen Stilo filed with the church's motion, Stilo indicates that he lives in Clearwater, Florida and is one of CSRT's trustees, but other trustees live in California...

Tags: 2008, 2010, Angry Gay Pope, California, Catherine Bernardini, Church of Scientology Religious Trust, Clearwater, David Petit, Florida, Glen Stilo, Guillaume Lesevre, Hospital, J. Swift, Karen de la Carriere, Legal, Lori Hodgson, Los Angeles, Luis and Rocio Garcia, Pinellas County, Quicky, Richard Fear, Scott Pilutik, Tampa, Ted Babbitt, The Hole

On October 16th the movement suffered a severe blow in the highest appeals court in France, which upheld the 2009 conviction for fraud of Scientology's main institutions in the country, and of five of the group's leaders. The institutions, including a bookstore, have been fined €600,000 ($827,000) and two prominent figures received suspended prison terms of two years each. The Church of Scientology, which claims more than 10m worldwide members including film stars John Travolta and Tom Cruise, said the verdict was a blow to religious freedom and vowed to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

Tags: Amsterdam, Dutch, European Court of Human Rights, France, Fraud, Marco Ventura

Re: Expansion Update – Dror AO Academy Hey Marty, We are enjoying expansion like we've never seen before.

Tags: Aviv Bershadsky, Class IV, Clear, Dror Center, Israel, Office of Special Affairs, OT, Potential Trouble Source, Quicky, Student Hat, Tone Scale

Once again, our tipsters have come through, and we have a great new set of Scientology mailers to share with you. On Sunday mornings, we love to show you the fliers and come-ons that were forwarded to us during the week. We seem to be getting more than ever. (Although we haven't heard from Australia in a while. What's happening down there?) Anyway, this week we have a fun selection for you: There's a new mission in Texas! People in LA have yet another chance to experience the IAS gala! You'll be happy to know that the Sea Org is still hiring. And best of all — prices are going up! Well, after what David Miscavige had to say about the state of Texas, we're happy to see that, in fact, Scientology is not giving up on the Lone Star State. In fact, there's a new mission opening in the Dallas area that is apparently aimed at our Spanish-speaking friends there.

Tags: Australia, Daily Mail, Dallas, David Miscavige, England, International Association of Scientologists, Los Angeles, Quicky, Sea Org, Sunday Funnies, Texas, Tom Cruise

"They handed me a copy of Dianetics when I first started doing work for them, and I just threw it in the trash. It didn't catch my attention," he says. "As long as they paid me in a timely fashion, I wasn't going to judge. I'm a fucking mercenary. "I give the Church of Scientology props. It's funny, I had a potential client call me who wanted some background done on certain people. You could call these people a borderline religious organization, a borderline cult. I told them they could take an example from Scientology, because they seem to do it right when it comes to gathering data." I asked him if he could characterize the kind of work the church asked him to do. "Most of the cases I worked on were doing background information on ex-members who were saying things about them that weren't pleasant," he answered.

Tags: 2006, Boston, California, Colorado, Dianetics, Florida, Howard Stern, Jason Beghe, John Stamos, Marc Headley, Mark Chauppetta, Marty Rathbun, Matt Stone, Mike Rinder, Private investigator, Rebecca Romijn, Robert Almblad, South Park, Texas, Trey Parker

Well, with mixed emotions, we are announcing we are now declared "suppressive persons" – the mixed emotions are amusement and embarrassment – our amusement, but not our embarrassment. It is embarrassment for IJC and CJC and all those involved in writing or approving this issue. We will share part of it with you, so you can see that it must have been written quickly and under a lot of pressure to do so – thus it was general (in violation of writing an ethics order), full of out points and very inaccurate. Number one, it says: "Mark and Lisa Hamilton of Henderson, NV"…now come on, don't they read their emails? their mail? or any website? At least they could have looked in the phone book. We live in Gardnerville, NV – which is almost 500 miles north of Henderson…we have NEVER been to Henderson, nor do we even know anyone who does. We are debating if they are simply that sloppy or they thought there might be people trying to stay friends with us or find us and this might throw them off the trail….hmmm…

Tags: Basics, International Association of Scientologists, L. Ron Hubbard, Lisa Hamilton, OSA Int, Quicky, Suppressive Person, Wyoming

That's right, Disconnection is cancelled. Tommy Davis said so, twice. As reported here, last year Davis told CNN's John Roberts, "There's no such thing as disconnection as you've characterized it…Scientology actually mandates – it's really part of the code of being a Scientologist – to respect the religious beliefs of others, so certainly a Scientologist is going to respect their family members' beliefs…We consider the family to be a building block of any society, so anything that is characterized as disconnection or this kind of thing is just not true. There isn't any such policy in the Church dictating who you can and cannot be in communication with, it just doesn't happen." He's just repeated the statement, in response to Paul Haggis' letter. An AP story here reports that "Davis again disagreed with Haggis and said the church doesn't mandate disconnection with anybody and that it was an entirely 'self-determined decision.'

Tags: 1968, 1983, CNN, David Mayo, David Miscavige, Disconnection, John Roberts, L. Ron Hubbard, OT, Paul Haggis, Potential Trouble Source, Quicky, Robert Vaughn Young, Tommy Davis

Mr Lock also found that Mr McBride's intention to take his own life "was not reasonably foreseeable" by the Church of Scientology, which the private had recently joined. The coroner said the church's psychological audit file of Mr McBride, which was not produced during this inquest, may have been able to shed some light on what caused his mental state to deteriorate prior to his death. An ADF commission of inquiry will begin this month to investigate issues arising from Mr McBride's death.

Tags: Australia, Death, Edward McBride

A French court fined the Church of Scientology $888,000 on Tuesday after a couple claimed they'd been manipulated into buying between $30,000 and $73,000 worth of church products. The verdict is "a historical turning point for the fight against cult abuses," said the leader of France's "government cult-fighting unit." How does this special cult-busting unit distinguish between cults and bona fide religions? Vaguely. French law doesn't define the term "cult." Rather, it uses the expression "cultlike movements" to describe groups that demand unreasonable financial contributions, encourage nonparticipation in elections, promote anti-social behavior, or cut members off from their families. It's easier to target bad behavior, the thinking goes, than to get into a semantic debate over what is and isn't a cult. The French government has, however, tried to define the term in the past. In 1995, a special parliamentary commission compiled a list of 10 cultish characteristics, including the indoctrination of children, a mentally unstable membership, and the attempt to infiltrate public institutions. The commission also released a list of 173 groups that qualify as cults—that is, they meet at least one of the 10 criteria—including the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Church of Scientology. (At least one group—the followers of Anthroposophy—sued the report's main author for defamation and won.) *

Tags: China, Falun Gong, First Amendment, France, Hare Krishna, Jehovah's Witnesses, Miviludes, Moonies, Russia, Solar Temple, US Commission on International Religious Freedom

In a 31-page interim report, released ahead of an army Commission of Inquiry, Mr Lock expressed frustration at the Church of Scientology and its Sydney leaders, who spirited away secret files on Mr McBride to the church's US headquarters in defiance of a Queensland Police warrant for their seizure. The coroner also dismissed as "selective" evidence given to the hearings by a spiritual counsellor, known in Scientology parlance as an "auditor", who had led Mr McBride through an intensive course designed to help followers face distressing issues from their past. For this "draining, straining, personal and confronting" experience, the soldier paid the Church of Scientology $25,000.

Tags: ADF, ARC Straightwire, Australia, Brisbane, Commission of Inquiry, Drug Rundown, Edward McBride, Happiness Rundown, John Lock, Kate Devine, Lisa O'Kane, PC folders, Queensland, Richard Hutch, Suicide

We just received the following message from Sherry Katz, who recently posted her Knowledge Report on Marty Rathbun's blog. Sherry says: "I thought you and all who read your blog might be interested to know, that, in demonstration of the new 'no disconnection' policy in Scientology, as stated by Tommy Davis just a couple days ago, this Scientologist, JoJo Zawawi, (in the photo) sent around the following to three friends of mine who then forwarded it to me. Evidently, JoJo was not informed of the 'no disconnection' policy. Perhaps OSA Int was not informed either. Here is what JoJo sent: 'Subject: Sherry Katz

Tags: Disconnection, Facebook, Geir Isene, Knowledge Report, L. Ron Hubbard, Marty Rathbun, Office of Special Affairs, OSA Int, Paul Haggis, Quicky, Sherry Katz, Suppressive Person, Tommy Davis

Bad luck really does come in threes, if you're a Scientologist. First - the controversial cult was today convicted of fraud by a court in France for harassing members to hand over large sums of money. Second - just hours later, a two-time Oscar winner quit the group, branding them cowards and liars. Third - the spokesperson for Scientology walked out on a national television show.

Tags: David Miscavige, Disconnection, France, John Sweeney, Martin Bashir, Nick Xenophon, Paul Haggis, Tommy Davis, Xenu

The Clients It's the 'A" list. Hollywood filmmakers. Santa Barbara socialites. Wealthy corporate leaders. The rich and famous believe Slatkin is a savvy investment advisor. They give him cash but Slatkin takes more than just their money. The Scam The lie is over. The truth is out. Slatkin confesses to operating one of the nation's largest Ponzi schemes pulling in more than $600 million from his investors. American Greed profiles his crimes and the investigators who brought him to justice.

Tags: Anne Archer, Daniel Sadeh, Earthlink, FBI, Fraud, Giovanni Ribisi, Greta Van Susteren, Jay Sedrish, John Poitras, Kevin O'Donnell, Ponzi scheme, Reed Slatkin, Todd Neilson

Los Angeles 24 October 2008. Dan Murnan, Patty Baber and Jeff Farrow harassed me when I took photos at Scientology's Los Angeles complex PAC Base, aka Big Blue.

Tags: Big Blue, Dan Murnan, Harassment, Jeff Farrow, Los Angeles, PAC Base, Patty Baber, Quicky

The Church of Scientology sued the Sun and Bono. Three or four times in short order, as I recall. Some Scientologist managed to intercept a letter sent by Bonokoski to a colleague in a Florida paper. Bono sued the Church for this invasion of privacy. The Sun files on Scientology disappeared. It was feared a Scientologist had taken the file. Years later I learned a Scientologist got a job at my law firm and took copies of documents from my files at night -- the young lady pleaded guilty to theft, but I digress.

Tags: Canada, Infiltration, Legal, Snow White Program

THE Church of Scientology is preparing to expand its creed to the north of England by opening a centre in Manchester next year. The church, which has been criticised as a cult, has paid £3.6m for a disused distillery in the city. It plans to turn the five-storey building, near Old Trafford, into "a place of worship and religious instruction". The move is part of a world-wide expansion strategy by the American organisation, which was founded by L Ron Hubbard, a science fiction writer, in 1952. According to Graeme Wilson, Scientology's head of communications, its aim is to establish "large new centres in major cities around the world, and Manchester is one of the priority cities for having such a centre".

Tags: Graeme Wilson, Real estate, UK

THE CHURCH of Scientology is pressing ahead with plans to convert a Trafford distillery into a "place of worship" for hundreds of followers. The controversial group - whose celebrity members include Tom Cruise and John Travolta - bought the Grade II-listed building on Chester Road for a reported £3.6m.

Tags: Manchester, Real estate, UK

Close to the end of the course, and on the verge of my first auditing session, I asked Dorothy about the claims that Scientologists believe humans derive from aliens. She left the room. For several minutes, Dorothy and a shorter woman stood in the corridor, staring at me through a glass panel. Neither smiled. Eventually the shorter woman came back in and sat down opposite me. "I heard you had some questions for us," she said. "Do we look like aliens? Are you a journalist?"

Tags: Real estate, UK

In the fall of 2002, the Perkinses drove their 27-year-old son to Dr. Conrad Maulfair, a Scientologist and osteopath in Pennsylvania who promotes natural, drug-free healing methods. "They had to physically forcibly drag him in there. He didn't appreciate the treatment," says Case. Nuchereno says Maulfair's clinic had an unusual explanation for Jeremy's symptoms. "They conclude that he was suffering from certain digestive problems, that he had certain chemical toxins in his body. And he needed to be purged of it. And he needed to be energized through vitamin therapy," he explains. Asked if vitamin therapy for this profound mental illness is a treatment, Dr. Joseph says, "No, it's nonsense."

Tags: CCHR, Celebrity Centre, Conrad Maulfair, Elli Perkins, FACTNet, Jan Eastgate, Jeff Carlson, Lawrence Wollersheim, Lisa McPherson, Rich Dunning, Richard Griffin, Sea Org, Stephen Kent, Tom Cruise

A jury trial is slated to start in Los Angeles Superior Court Tuesday in a case in which an attorney who failed to secure a written representation agreement is seeking to recover the reasonable value of her services. So far, that probably seems hum drum. What makes this case worthy of note is that the proceeding will take place in Case No. C332027—which was filed on July 28, 1980. The name of this 25-year-old case will probably sound familiar. It's Wollersheim v. Church of Scientology. Five Court of Appeal opinions have come in the case (including an unpublished one not discussed here), and action was taken in the case at one point by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Tags: 1969, 1979, 1980, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2002, Academic, Appeal, California, California Supreme Court, Church of Scientology International, Church of Scientology of California, Clear, Judge Harry Pregerson, Judge James Ideman, Judge Mariana Pfaelzer, Judge Robert Hess, Judge Ronald Swearinger, Lawrence Wollersheim, Leta Schlosser, Los Angeles Superior Court, Religious Technology Center, RICO, San Francisco, SLAPP, US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

An 83-year-old cult leader facing 22 sex charges says the accusations are part of a witch-hunt by disaffected former members who are trying to destroy him. Kenneth Emmanuel Dyers, co-founder of the self-styled spiritual healing group Kenja, was arrested yesterday at his house in Bundeena in Sydney's south over the alleged aggravated sexual and indecent assault of two 12-year-old girls. He faces 17 aggravated indecent assault charges and one count of aggravated sexual assault in relation to the first girl. He also faces four aggravated indecent assault charges in relation to the other girl.

Tags: 1982, 2001, 2002, AAP, Australia, Cornelia Rau, Cult, Jan Hamilton, Ken Dyers, Kenja, Qantas, Quicky, Sydney

OSLO, Norway, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Critics say actor Tom Cruise, chosen as co-host of Norway's Nobel Peace Prize concert, will use the forum to promote the religious sect Scientology. Cruise and Oprah Winfrey are scheduled to host the Dec. 11 concert in Oslo, Norway, but some religious leaders have asked the Nobel Institute to reconsider having Cruise, a practicing Scientologist, for the event, MSNBC reported Thursday. "They're a manipulative sect that takes over people's lives and finances," said Karl-Erik Nylund, a priest from the Magdalena Kyrka church in Stockholm, Sweden.

Tags: Andreas Heldal-Lund, Critic, MSNBC, Nobel Peace Prize, Norway, Oprah Winfrey, Oslo, Quicky, Stockholm, Sweden, Tom Cruise

Thousands joined actress Kirstie Alley and singer Isaac Hayes in a protest against the French government attitudes toward the Los Angeles-based Church of Scientology. After the rally in the city center, the international group of protesters moved elsewhere for a day of speeches and concerts.

Tags: France, Isaac Hayes, Kirstie Alley

A day after thousands of Scientologists demanded religious freedom in Germany, the Church of Scientology was trying to convince a German court today that it is a religion. A favorable decision by Germany's highest administrative court would entitle the group to benefits such as tax-exempt status and the freedom to recruit followers. The Los Angeles-based Church of Scientology won a legal battle in July when a court in the Baden-Wuerttemberg state capital, Stuttgart, ruled that Scientology was a religious society, not a business as many critics argue. The state is seeking to overturn the decision in the Berlin court.

Tags: Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany

The Los Angeles-based Church of Scientology won a legal battle in July when a court in the Baden-Wuerttemberg state capital, Stuttgart, ruled that Scientology was a religious society, not a business as many critics argue. The state is seeking to overturn the decision in the Berlin court. The court case could be the first to clarify Scientology's status in Germany, where the government has taken steps to outlaw the group. Scientology says its members suffer discrimination, including banning its members from membership in political parties and putting the group under surveillance as a threat to democracy, a step toward seeking an official ban.

Tags: Germany

"Scientology is our religion," Travolta said in the video message, taped in Los Angeles. "It has helped us a lot, as it has helped so many others around the world." Police said there were up to 3,000 at the protest, while organizers, who had hoped for a crowd of 10,000, put the figure at 6,500.

Tags: Berlin, Germany, John Travolta

BERLIN (AP) _ Federal judges considering Germany's fight with Scientology signaled today that they would not decide the central question of whether the Los Angeles-based church is a religion or a business. The Church of Scientology claims widespread discrimination against its members in Germany, and had hoped for a ruling that would give it legal grounds to challenge the treatment of followers. Scientologists went to court after the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg revoked the non-profit status of a local branch in Stuttgart in 1986. The state said the group was primarily concerned with making money by selling books and self-improvement courses, not the "idealistic goals" generally associated with a non-profit organization.

Tags: 1986, 1993, Anne Archer, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Berlin, Germany, Hollywood, Holocaust, John Travolta, Judge Werner Meyer, Los Angeles, Michael Quaas, Quicky, Scientology lawyer, Stuttgart, Wilhelm Bluemel

BERLIN (AP) _ Federal judges considering Germany's fight with Scientology signaled today that they would not decide the central question of whether the Los Angeles-based church is a religion or a business. The Church of Scientology claims widespread discrimination against its members in Germany, and had hoped for a ruling that would give it legal grounds to challenge the treatment of followers. Scientologists went to court after the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg revoked the non-profit status of a local branch in Stuttgart in 1986. The state said the group was primarily concerned with making money by selling books and self-improvement courses, not the "idealistic goals" generally associated with a non-profit organization.

Tags: 1986, 1993, Anne Archer, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Berlin, Germany, Hollywood, Holocaust, John Travolta, Judge Werner Meyer, Los Angeles, Michael Quaas, Quicky, Scientology lawyer, Stuttgart, Wilhelm Bluemel

The Founding Church of Scientology dedicated its new center last weekend in the renovated Fraser Mansion at 20th and R streets NW, near Dupont Circle. The mansion, built in 1890 for former representative George S. Fraser, will serve as a spiritual center for local members and as the East Coast center for ministerial training, spokeswoman Sylvia Stanard said. The church, with about 3,000 members in the area, will continue to operate its "celebrity center" on 16th Street NW for counseling purposes, she said. L. Ron Hubbard, who founded the Church of Scientology in Washington in 1952, was director of the first organized church, at 1826 R St. NW, from 1955 to 1959. Today, the organization lists 2,000 centers in 107 countries.

Tags: 1950, 1952, 1955, 1959, 1993, Founding Church, Fraser Mansion, Internal Revenue Service, Real estate, Sylvia Stanard, Washington

Even before the IRS granted tax-exempt status to the church this month, the organization planned considerable renovations to Scientology housing and office space. Scientology spokesman Richard Haworth has said the church has no immediate plans to purchase additional downtown Clearwater properties.

Tags: 1975, 1987, 1992, Clearwater, Cleveland Street, Flag Land Base, Fort Harrison, Hacienda Gardens, IRS, Richard Haworth, Super Power, West Coast Building

The church's bold plans were outlined more than a year ago in documents filed in Washington to persuade the IRS that Scientology was a bona fide religion that deserved tax-exempt status. On Oct. 1, the IRS ended years of dispute by granting the tax-exempt status to 153 Scientology churches, missions and corporations. The tax agency then made public nine boxes of its examiners' questions and Scientology's answers in connection with the tax dispute. The church's spending plans were outlined in response to an IRS inquiry about the Scientologist's reserve account. Along with continuing to build up its reserves for a rainy day, the church said it has specific plans to spend $432-million on renovations, property acquisitions and dissemination of Hubbard's works.

Tags: 1954, 1992, Africa, Auditing, Australia, Clearwater, Copenhagen, Europe, Flag Land Base, Internal Revenue Service, IRS, Los Angeles, Paris, Pinellas County, Riverside County, Scientology properties, Sea Org, Super Power, Tampa, Washington

The temperature must have been well over 100°F, a dry burning heat that shimmered the figures on the roof. They were dressed in faded blue denim, heads bare under the sun. One looked towards the road and our car. But the guard below yelled and the man bent his head back to his work of resurfacing the roof. My companion in the car said quietly, "That's a Rehabilitation Project Force. They're RPFers, psychological prisoners -slave labour - , in a way." This was America, summer 1984, on a major highway between the southern Californian city of Riverside and the millionaires' playground of Palm Springs. Here, in the cactus hamlet of Gillman Hot Springs, where the masts of a $565,000 clipper ship sway incongruously in the desert winds, is the world headquarters of the Church of Scientology. Yet the great helmsman of this bizarre cult was not on board. No one knows for sure whether L. Ron Hubbard, the 74-year-old founder, is even alive. His round, smiling face gazes down from the walls of more than 100 Scientology offices around the world, orders are given in his name, but he hasn't been seen in nearly five years. He may be in seclusion, as Church leaders claim, or he may be, as recent defectors believe, either dead or in failing health and under the control of half a dozen young followers who are manipulating big fortune.

Tags: Advanced Ability Center, Alan Walter, Anne Broeker, Apollo, Author Services Inc, Bent Corydon, Bill Franks, Bridge Publications, Canada, Church of Spiritual Technology, Clearwater, David Mayo, David Miscavige, Diane Voegeding, East Grinstead, Edward Walters, Finance Dictator, Forrest Ackerman, Gerry Armstrong, Gilman Hot Springs, Happy Valley, Heber Jentzsch, Howard Schomer, Inspector General Network, IRS, Jay Hurwitz, Judge Breckenridge, Judge Krentzman, Kathy Gorgon, Ken Macfarlane, L. Ron Hubbard, Laurel Sullivan, Lee Lawrence, Lyman Spurling, Marc Yager, Michael Garside, Michael J. Flynn, New Era Publications, Pat Broeker, Rehabilitation Project Force, Religious Research Foundation, Religious Technology Center, Rick Aznaran, Ron DeWolf, Saint Hill Manor, Sea Org, Secondary copy, Southern Land Sales and Development, Steve Marlowe, Tanya Burden, UK, Vicki Aznaran, Warren McShane, Wendell Reynolds