December 3 in Scientology history

A follower of Romana Didulo, a woman who claims to be the Queen of Canada, was arrested in Laval, Quebec, after allegedly making threats about his daughter's school. The arrest comes after Didulo, a QAnon influencer with over 70,000 followers online, was detained by the RCMP and a search warrant was executed on her home after she made a post calling for the military of Canada to "shoot to kill" people facilitating children being vaccinated. The post was made inside a private chat room for Canadian "duck hunters," the term Didulo and her followers use to describe people chosen to carry out arrests and violence. The post featured the details of his daughters' school, which was offering vaccination to their students. He wrote "time to go hunting bang bang" at the end of the post. The post has since been removed; it is unknown why or who took it down.

Tags: Alt-Right, Arrest, Canada, CBC, Donald Trump, Facebook, FBI, Ottawa, QAnon, Quebec, RCMP, Romana Didulo, Telegram, Threats

A prominent right-wing activist with ties to many Colorado Republicans on Friday called for the mass executions of politicians he said were "traitors" to the country, including Gov. Jared Polis and many U.S. senators. Joe Oltmann, founder and president of the activist group FEC United and host of the "Conservative Daily" podcast, made a series of comments about the hanging of political opponents on his show throughout the week. On Friday, Oltmann listened as his co-host, Max McGuire, read aloud the names of the 19 Senate Republicans who this week voted with Democrats to approve an 11-week stopgap spending bill, amid far-right demands to force a government shutdown over federal vaccine mandates for employers.

Tags: 2020, Alt-Right, California, Colorado, Denver, Dominion Voting Systems, FEC United, Joe Oltmann, John Tiegen, Max McGuire, Republican, United American Defense Force, Washington

This summer when the Trump Administration first released limited information about which businesses had received Covid bailout loans, we reported that among them were three Scientology churches — the New York and DC 'Ideal Orgs,' and the Belleair, Florida mission — as well as two Narconon drug rehab entities and Scientology's nuttiest front group, Citizens Commission on Human Rights. We also pointed out that four Scientology-affiliated schools received PPP loans, including Scientology's "Hogwarts," its premier boarding school in Oregon. Now, the administration has released more detailed information about the exact dollar amounts of the PPP loans, and it turns out that several more Scientology entities are on the list. We have the full breakdown for you, which includes not only dollar amounts but also the identity of the lenders involved. "It's insane," Leah Remini told the Daily Beast when she was asked about Scientology getting Covid bailouts of taxpayer money in July. "Mike [Rinder] and I have tried to meet many times with the IRS, and the IRS knows what they've done. They've known that they've cleared the way for Scientology to misappropriate their money. It's run like a business for profit. And this just says that!"

Tags: 1953, 1954, 1955, 1963, 1964, 1969, 1992, 1994, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, Africa, Applied Scholastics, Austin, Baton Rouge, Battle Creek, Belleair, Boston, Buffalo, California, Camden, Carla Moxon, CCHR, Celebrity Centre, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chicago, Clearwater, Clearwater Academy, Daily Beast, DC, Delphi Academy, Delphian School, Detroit, Dublin, Europe, Flag Land Base, Florida, Founding Church, Fundraising, GoFundMe, Harlem, High Court, Hollywood, Houston, Hubbard College, Ideal Mission, Ideal Org, Illinois, IRS, JPMorgan Chase, Juliette Lewis, L. Ron Hubbard, Larry Hagman, Leah Remini, Lee Spiller, Life Improvement Center, Los Angeles, Los Feliz, Louisiana, Manhattan, Michigan, Mission, Missouri, Narconon, Narconon Arrowhead, Narconon Fresh Start, Narconon of Oklahoma, Narconon Suncoast, New Jersey, New Life Retreat, New York, Ojai, Oklahoma, Oregon, OT, Patrick Renna, Psychiatry: An Industry of Death Museum, Puerto Rico, Scientology organization, Scientology TV, Sea Org, Sean Ryan, Sherman Oaks, St. Louis, Sunset Boulevard, Tampa, Texas, The Way to Happiness, True School, USA, Washington, Wells Fargo

Recent posts on Tony Ortega's site include some excellent first-hand reporting from Jeffrey Augustine on the ground in criminal court in Los Angeles. Hana Islam and her son Rizza are in deep hot water. They have allegedly been engaged in a massive fraudulent scheme, bilking the government out of millions at the World Literacy Crusade. The always dapper Rev. Alfreddie Johnson is the founder and big cheese of the WLC. He was married to Hanan and claims credit for raising Rizza as his "son." Somehow, like a Teflon Don, he has managed to escape indictment.

Tags: Alfreddie Johnson, Baptist, Chairman of the Board, David Miscavige, Facebook, Freedom Medal, Freedom Medal Winner, International Association of Scientologists, Jeffrey Augustine, Los Angeles, Louis Farrakhan, Michael Roberts, Nation of Islam, Quicky, Tony Ortega, Twitter, UK, World Literacy Crusade

One of our readers in Clearwater, Florida describes themselves as someone who recently began having doubts about the organization and for a few weeks has been looking around the Internet about Scientology, including this website. They reached out to us to tell us about something remarkable that happened to them this weekend. On Saturday evening they received a blind copy of a mass email from Scientology spokeswoman Pat Harney that apparently went out to all local members of the church... When our reader called, they were asked to wait to get Harney herself on the phone. When she did, she asked our reader if they lived in Clearwater. When they said they did, Harney then said that she was reaching out to all local Scientologists to make them aware of an important election coming in March 2020, the election for Clearwater's mayor and city council.

Tags: 1963, 1982, 2004, 2020, Carla Moxon, Catherine Bell, Clear, Clearwater, Criminon, Florida, Greg Capazorio, Jenna Elfman, Mark Bunker, Office of Special Affairs, Pat Harney, Suppressive Person, Tax exempt, Tom Cruise

Now, this is a deadly serious activity. It is also another of those inadvertently revealing things from inside the bubble that appears out of the ether with more regularity than one would expect. "Sean and Frank" clearly mean business. And this is VERY important.

Tags: Europe, LSD, Quicky, Sea Org, Truth Revealed, Venezuela

The Board of Directors of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America have unanimously decided to formally and publicly acknowledge the multiple complaints and expressions of concern made both publicly and privately in recent months by former Writers of the Future finalists who state that they have had negative experiences during or after the event. As a result, SFWA has formally contacted the WotF administrators, in hopes of launching a private dialogue between our organizations, and ensuring that these concerns are meaningfully addressed. In this effort, SFWA's goal is to protect the rights of creators, thus strengthening all of science fiction and fantasy publishing, now and in the future. SFWA advises all writers to research carefully before participating in any literary contest. For more information on contests, please visit SFWA's Writer Beware page located here: http://www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/writer-beware/contests/

Tags: SFWA, Writers of the Future

Each October, the whales return to East Grinstead, England in an annual migration that we find absolutely fascinating. We're talking, of course, about the International Association of Scientologists (IAS) events that take place each year over an October weekend in England, when Scientology leader David Miscavige gathers his biggest donors to honor them with new "statuses." Scientology makes a game out of giving the church huge sums, begging big donors — we call them "whales" — to turn over more and more in the hopes of reaching a new status level, a bigger trophy, and the prospect of being feted at the IAS gala and included in a subsequent issue of Impact magazine.

Tags: 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1996, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2015, Abi Reitze, Adriana Scarpellini, Applied Scholastics, Atkinson-Baker, Bob Duggan, Brian Daniels, California, CCHR, Celebrity Centre, China, Christian, Christine Murphy, Claire Taylor, Clearwater, Costa Rica, Criminon, David Frykman, David Miscavige, Dennis Romeiser, Diamond Meritorious, Disconnection, Dissemination, Dmitry Fedorov, East Grinstead, England, Ferguson, Field Staff Member, Florida, Forbes, France, Freewinds, Germany, Hamburg, Hans Ruscheweyh, Harlem, Heather Moll, Helena, Humanitarian, Ideal Org, Ingrid Mayer, International Association of Scientologists, Jeremy Moll, Jim Bridgeforth, L. Ron Hubbard, Las Vegas, Lausanne, LeAnn Meyer, Lee Spiller, Linda Lagemann, Los Angeles, Marie Arnold, Michael Holstein, Milton, Mission, Monika Lidl, Nancy Cartwright, Narconon, New Civilization Builder, New Jersey, New York, Nina Reznikova, Norm Novitsky, OT Ambassador, OT Committee, OT VIII, Paolo Tucci, Patron Maximus, Paul Shiel, Peter Somplatzky, Philadelphia, Power FSM, Reno, Sandi Borth, Sandy Gomberg, Scientology Media Productions, Shannon Barnes, Sheila Atkinson-Baker, Silicon Valley, Simone Lorenzen, Stevens Creek, Stuttgart, Susanne Marks, Switzerland, The Way to Happiness, Tom Cruise, Tom Cummins, Trish Duggan, Ulrich Katzschmann, United for Human Rights, USA, Valley Ideal Org, Vincenzo Aloe, Whale, Wolf Mayer, World Literacy Crusade, Youth for Human Rights International

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

The weekly show where I answer viewer questions. This week's Critical Q&A was a livestream episode, so the questions asked were done live from the chat box on YouTube and therefore are not listed here.

Tags: Critic, Quicky, YouTube

(This piece was published on Tony Ortega's Underground Bunker on 12.2.2017. It is republished here for archival purposes) Jeffrey Augustine is once again keeping us up to date on Scientology's financial documents. In this case, he has new figures on how much just one of many Scientology's entities is worth, according to newly available tax documents. In 2006, a change in the law required all non-profit organizations — even churches — to submit tax returns known as 990-T forms if they generated what is known as "unrelated business income." A few years ago, I began finding and turning over to the Underground Bunker the 990-Ts for Scientology's various entities.

Tags: 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, Australia, California, Church of Scientology International, Church of Spiritual Technology, Clearwater, Flag Land Base, Flag Service Organization, Florida, Fort Harrison, IRS, Jeff Wasel, Nova Hotel Renovation and Construction, Peter Nyiri, Quicky, Sandcastle, Super Power, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker

In 2014, friend to the Underground Bunker and Chicago Fire actor Christian Stolte convinced SAG-AFTRA, the actors' union, to stop taking ads from Scientology. And now, Rod Keller catches up with Steven Mango, who has picked up that baton. Steven Mango is on a mission to help fellow actors avoid the trap he fell into when he was recruited into Scientology. In 2009 Mango answered an ad in Backstage magazine for a seminar for aspiring actors with actor Gino Montesinos. Montesinos is a Scientologist, and the seminars at the Celebrity Center in Hollywood appeal to the thousands who come to Los Angeles seeking fame. Now Mango's mission is to convince the entertainment industry not to accept ads for those seminars, and he has recently succeeded with Actors Access. Scientology's fixation dates back to 1955 when founder L. Ron Hubbard announced Project Celebrity in which Scientologists were to receive a celebrity "quarry" to be hunted and recruited into the group. The top movie stars and artists of the day were targeted then, but today the Celebrity Center in Hollywood targets those who haven't had their big break yet. They are promised help with finding an agent or manager, access to directors, producers and writers. But the goal for Scientology is not to help aspiring actors, it is to recruit new members.

Tags: 1955, 1984, 1999, 2009, 2013, 2014, Amanda Reed, Bridge to Total Freedom, Cadet Org, California, Celebrity, Celebrity Centre, Central Files, Chicago Fire, Christian Stolte, Denice Duff, Division 6, Escaping Scientology, Freewinds, Hollywood, Isa Totah, Jaime Aymerich, Jeffrey Augustine, Karen Pressley, Los Angeles, Marcus Coloma, Music, Project Celebrity, Raw meat, Rod Keller, Scientology organization, Sea Org, Steven Mango, The Problems of Work, Tom Mendola, Valeska Paris, YouTube

Scientology makes various claims about 47X expansion and 421.7 people per second reach for scientology and scientology has "the most visited religious site" on the internet blah blah Out of curiosity I looked up the status of traffic on Scientology.org. Alexa, if you didn't know, ranks websites by traffic volume.

Tags: David Miscavige, Ethics, Google, Philippines, Quicky, Sec Check, Tony Ortega

Valeska Paris joined the Scientology Cadet Org at six years of age. She then joined the Sea Org when she was 14 years old. As a teenager she was sent to Scientology's ship the Freewinds. In this gripping podcast Valeska discusses the surprise raid on the Freewinds by the French police in 1999 when it was anchored at St. Barts. Valeska then describes the suicide of her stepfather Scientologist Albert Jaquier; the suicide of a member of a Sea Org member on the Freewinds; and the punishments she suffered on the ship. Valeska talks about her relationship to Shelly Miscavige who has not been seen in public for over a decade. Other people discussed include Mike Napier, the Captain of the Freewinds, Guillaume Leserve, Heber Jentzsch, and Tom Cruise and his $400,000 birthday party on the Freewinds.

Tags: 1999, Albert Jaquier, Cadet Org, Freewinds, Heber Jentzsch, Mike Napier, Quicky, Sea Org, Shelly Miscavige, Tom Cruise, Valeska Paris

This latest piece from Porn Valley ideal building reminded me what a horrendous self-serving scam this is. You will note the "ideal Valley" is missing a few things — like about 100 staff (in order to have one for each room) and of course their filing is decades out of date. So, why is there so much effort (extracting of funds) put into these ideal nothings? The answer is simple: Miscavige is frantically trying to keep the veneer of expansion from peeling off the moldy walls of his shrinking kingdom. He uses these "ideal orgs" to convince his sheeple (and tries to persuade the outside world too, but that stopped working after Going Clear) that scientology is "expanding like never before." He shows them videos of ribbon cutting ceremonies and impressive looking "fly-throughs" of empty office spaces, auditoriums and reception areas. Always empty. And they now equate that to "expansion."

Tags: David Miscavige, Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, Ideal Org, International Association of Scientologists, L. Ron Hubbard, OT, OT IX, Porn, Quicky

(Kiwis dancing in a conga line in order to pledge money on a whiteboard) After the week we've had — with the heart-wrenching scenes with Bonny Elliott and Amy Scobee in Leah Remini's A&E series, for example — we thought it would be good to start things off today with a little levity. It's been a while since we got a look at Scientology's fundraising foibles, which used to be more of a staple around here. But even though it's been some time, we think you'll see that things haven't changed a bit.

Tags: 2013, A&E, Amy Scobee, ANZO, Bonny Elliott, David Miscavige, DEA, Florida, Ideal Org, International Association of Scientologists, Ken Dandar, Leah Remini, New Zealand, OT, PayPal, Quicky, Scott Pilutik, Tampa, Vimeo

I met Rachel Bernstein through a referral by Karen de la Carriere and I am so happy I did, as she is very knowledgeable and articulate about destructive cults and Scientology in particular. She has counseled over a thousand people through the exit/recovery process in leaving a cult behind and has a great deal of experience with Scientology practices and the harm it causes psychologically and emotionally. I thought interviewing her about this would be informative and helpful to anyone who has ever had anything to do with Scientology and would also help increase understanding for those never-ins who struggle to decipher why anyone would get involved with a destructive cult in the first place. This interview is the first of three parts. In the final part, we will cover the Fair Game tactics Scientology engaged in against Rachel directly when she first began her practice, but first we cover what destructive cults are all about and what can be done about them. I hope everyone gets as much out of this as I did.

Tags: Cult, Fair Game, Karen de la Carriere, Quicky, Rachel Bernstein, Scientology practice

(David Miscavige, captain of a legal fiction) Frequent contributor Jeffrey Augustine is back, and this time he digs into the way Scientology changes its story, depending on who it's trying to threaten or hoodwink. Take it away, Jeff! Former Scientology spokesman Mike Rinder recently reported that church lawyer Gary Soter had sent a threat letter to former Scientology executive Dan Koon.

Tags: 1980, 1989, 1993, 1995, 2000, 2016, Abortion, Bert Deixler, Bogotá, California, Chris Shelton, Commodore's Messenger Organization, Dan Koon, David Miscavige, Earle Cooley, Fair Game, First Amendment, Gary Soter, International Association of Scientologists, IRS, Jeffrey Augustine, Karen de la Carriere, Karin Pouw, Lamont Jefferson, Laura DeCrescenzo, Lisa McPherson, Membership, Mike Rinder, Monique Rathbun, Norway, Oslo, Panorama, Quicky, Rachel Bernstein, Rehabilitation Project Force, Rita Boykin, Ron Miscavige Sr, Room 174, Scientology executive, Scientology practice, Sea Org, Sleep deprivation, Tax exempt, Texas

The spirit of scientology Christmas Be a genius... Avoid handing over anything for something so stupid.

Tags: Albuquerque, Alex Weber, Amber Lopez, ASHO, Atlanta, Ben Klevit, Birmingham, Bogotá, Brandon Marion, Dave Childers, DC, Denver, Detroit, Dissemination, Freewinds, Gavin Potter, Hubbard Academy of Personal Independence, Ideal Org, International Association of Scientologists, Jason Kleiman, Kansas City, Kourosh Maddahi, L. Ron Hubbard, Miami, Murray Marvin, Natalie Jensen, New Year's Eve, Orange County, Orlando, OT, Portland, Puerto Rico, Quicky, San Diego, Sara Ableson, Sarah Condon, Telex, Thursday Funnies, Tokyo

A day after Alex Gibney's Going Clear was shortlisted for the 2016 Oscar nomination for best documentary, the filmmaker and Lawrence Wright, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the book behind the film, sat down at N.Y.C.'s 92nd Street Y to talk about the allure of Scientology — both as a subject of investigation for their own work and as a powerful belief system for its followers. The discussion was moderated by Janice Min, co-president/chief creative officer of the Entertainment Group of Guggenheim Media.

Tags: 20/20, 2012, 2016, Alex Gibney, Catholic, Catholic Church, Critic, Dianetics, Disconnection, E-meter, Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, Lawrence Wright, Leah Remini, Pulitzer Prize, Quicky, Spanky Taylor, Tom Cruise

Some of you may have noticed that, in our comments the other day, we mentioned that we were looking forward to a new article coming out about Tom Cruise and Scientology, written by a reporter we know who had hit us up for some quotes. We were really anticipating this story, because we knew from what the reporter told us that he was going to begin to set the record straight about a lot of really dumb tabloidy nonsense about Cruise and his kids Connor and Isabella supposedly breaking away from Scientology. Our reporter friend had good evidence that the opposite was true — the Cruise clan is, if anything, tighter than ever with their fellow Scientologists. And anyway, we love seeing tabloid nonsense getting its comeuppance. So we're really disappointed that the story which did appear — in Grazia magazine in England — turned out to be such a dud, and only spawned some new incorrect notions about Tom Cruise and Scientology.

Tags: 2009, 2010, 2015, Bridge to Total Freedom, Connor Cruise, David Miscavige, David Pakman, David Pakman Show, England, FBI, Freedom Medal of Valor, Galaxy Press, Human trafficking, Kelly Preston, Kirstie Alley, London, Lori Hodgson, Los Angeles, Morocco, Nancy Cartwright, National Enquirer, OT 8, Quicky, Sea Org, Tom Cruise

The full transformation into a bank is well underway. Why have people take out loans with a bank or run their credit cards to the limit when they can extend credit with "in house financing". Of course, this is EASY to do when you are selling from already manufactured inventory with massive markups. There is little risk of any loss. After all, these people are under the thumb of the church. And if they ever did have anyone default on their loan they would just divert a bit of the "library donation money" to cover the "loss" and carry on as if nothing had happened. "Hi Peter,

Tags: Bridge Publications, IRS, L. Ron Hubbard, Quicky

This was sent in some time ago by a Special Correspondent, but there have been so many other things going on that I have not been able to get around to posting it. I think it is a good topic for discussion and this is a thoughtful and insightful writeup from someone who has considerable experience from which to base their estimates. Though there is no figure placed on the number of Scientologists, my estimate is 25,000-30,000 worldwide. These are people who may still do an extension course to maintain appearances, buy a book when it is released or attend an event — though not necessarily go on course or actively engage in auditing. The hard core is more like 15,000 composed of SO, staff and those actively on lines. These figures are based on the number of IAS members and the numbers that show up for events. I am interested in others' thoughts about this. I find the membership question interesting and have some opinions based on my four decades of experience with the CofS. My speculation is the ratio of committed members versus OPENLY independent or disaffected ex-members is 4:1. BUT, the ratio of under-the radar members and ex-members to committed members is 25:1. This is extrapolation from my own circle of friends, family and acquaintances.

Tags: Chinese, Europe, Ideal Org, International Association of Scientologists, Quicky, Russia, Scientology organization, Sea Org, South America, Taiwan

Claire Headley is taking us on our journey to train as Scientologists. She and her husband Marc were Sea Org workers who escaped from Scientology's International Base in 2005. She spent years working with Scientology's "tech," and was trusted to oversee the auditing of Tom Cruise. Go here to see the first part in this series. And now we come to it. After taking us all the way up from the bottom rung of Scientology's "Bridge to Total Freedom," Claire Headley has brought us to the most legendary level of all, Operating Thetan Level Three. Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard claimed to have nearly died learning its secrets. He warned that anyone unprepared for it would catch pneumonia and perish. Before we dive into those secrets ourselves, we wanted to ask Claire and her fellow tech expert Bruce Hines about expectations.

Tags: 1972, 1973, 1975, 1979, 1988, 2005, Advance!, Advanced Org, Bridge to Total Freedom, Bruce Hines, Claire Headley, Class VIII, Clear, Copenhagen, Denver, Germany, Hollywood, Homophobia, Int Base, Karen de la Carriere, Keep Scientology Working, Los Angeles, Mission, Operating Thetan, OT, OT 8, OT Phenomena, Quicky, Sea Org, Stuttgart, Tom Cruise, Vietnam

Using $7.85 million in donations, the church bought the 15-story Cunningham Piano building in downtown Philly back in 2007. The idea was to renovate the tower into a "cathedral" called the Philadelphia Freedom Org, which would broadcast L. Ron's message to the good people of greater Philly. Instead, the building has sat untouched for six years. Now, the city's Department of Licenses & Inspections is taking the church to "blight court," a special municipal court that deals with violations like an ordinance that outlaws any building from boarding up multiple doors and windows (the church's tower has several).

Tags: Blight Court, Flag Building, Hugh Urban, Ideal Org, Philadelphia, Super Power

Police have raised concerns over student management and behaviour at the Narconon facility in East Warburton. A submission from Warburton Police to the Yarra Ranges Council has now led to a FOI request from opposition group SayNoNarcanon. In a second submission to the council's planning department regarding the controversial proposal to move Narconon drug rehabilitation facility from East Warburton to Warburton township, the officer in charge at Warburton police station, Sergeant Tom Wilkinson commented on information prepared by town planners Millar Merrigan which he said was helpful in providing an overview but raised some concerns.

Tags: Australia, Get Off Drugs Naturally, Narconon, Nerida James, SayNoNarcononWarburton, Tom Wilkinson, Victoria Police, Warburton Police, Yarra Ranges Council

Perhaps the biggest catch of the day is on ESMB, where a guy identifying himself as the former Director of Special Affairs (OSA boss) in several different locations has popped up on the radar screen and declared himself an Indie. There are a couple epic advertising fails and some bad news for the Ideal Org building that the cult bought in Philadelphia six years ago, and which is now apparently causing neighborhood blight. Tony Ortega's Blog

Tags: 1950, 2008, Anonymous, Basics, Bridge to Total Freedom, Camelot Castle, Cause Resurgence Rundown, Celebrity Centre, Clearwater, Coin, Cornwall, David Miscavige, Dianetics, Director of Special Affairs, Facebook, Florida, Fort Harrison, Google, Hollywood, Ideal Org, International Association of Scientologists, IRS, Israel, Johannesburg, Laura Prepon, Mike Rinder, Milan, Office of Special Affairs, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Inquirer, Quicky, Russia, Shelly Miscavige, South Africa, Tent, The Way to Happiness, Tom Cruise, Tony Ortega, UK, Webkinz, WhyWeProtest

I was in my car yesterday listening to C-SPAN (yes, I do that sometimes), when to my stunned surprise I heard Congressman Dan Burton launch into a diatribe on how mercury in vaccines causes autism. No, this was not a replay of a recording from a decade ago. The hearing was held just a few days ago by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Congressman Burton used this hearing to rehash a series of some of the most thoroughly discredited anti-vaccine positions of the past decade. Burton is a firm believer in the myth that vaccines cause autism, and he arrogantly holds the position that he knows the truth better than the thousands of scientists who have spent much of the past decade doing real science that proves him wrong. In a classic political move, the committee called on scientists Alan Guttmacher from the NIH and Colleen Boyle from the CDC to testify, but in fact the committee just wanted to bully the scientists. Committee members lectured the scientists, throwing out bad science claims, often disguised as questions, thick and fast. Alas, Guttmacher and Boyle weren't prepared for this kind of rapid-fire assault by pseudoscience.

Tags: 1998, Andrew Wakefield, Anti-vaxx, Autism, Bill Posey, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chelation, Dan Burton, Florida, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Jenny McCarthy, Mark Blaxill, Mercury, SafeMinds

A woman who recently defected from the Church of Scientology has claimed that she was held against her will and forced to spend almost 12 years touring the Caribbean on a cruise ship owned by the organisation. Valeska Paris told a TV interviewer that she was 18 when she joined the crew of the Freewinds, a vessel the Church describes as its floating "cathedral" and which once hosted Tom Cruise's birthday party. She alleged that her passport was confiscated, and that, until she was 24, she was prevented from setting foot on dry land without an escort.

Tags: Australia, Cadet Org, Chris Guider, Freewinds, Passport, Tom Cruise, Valeska Paris

"And we thought the asbestos was bad!" The scene here in the underground bunker is like the quiet after a major storm. A hurricane blew up out of the Caribbean this week and hit us square on. The place is a mess. The cats are skittish. But the excitement has finally died down a bit, the lights are low, the empty bottles have been cleared out, and we're trying to regain some composure here as we reflect on what happened... We seem to say it every Saturday, but this time we really mean it: what a week, Scientology watchers! Early Monday morning, we first heard from Australian journalist Steve Cannane about Valeska Paris, the woman who says she was held against her will aboard Scientology's private cruise ship the Freewinds from 1996 to 2007.

Tags: 1971, 1977, 1996, 2004, 2007, Anne Archer, Apostate, Asbestos, Australia, Bob Peterson, Brian Culkin, Caribbean, Celebrity Centre, Chateau Elysee, David Miscavige, Disconnection, Don Jason, Environmental Protection Agency, Escape, Freewinds, Germany, Google, Heber Jentzsch, Jason Beghe, Jefferson Hawkins, Karin Pouw, Kate Bornstein, Kelly Preston, Kirstie Alley, L. Ron Hubbard, Marc Headley, Mark Miglio, Marty Rathbun, Mat Pesch, Melissa Paris, Mike Rinder, Nancy Many, Orders of the Day, OT, Paris, Passport, Priscilla Presley, Ramana Dienes-Browning, Richard Nixon, Sea Org, Skip Press, Squirrel, St. Petersburg Times, Steve Cannane, Tom Cruise, Tommy Davis, Truth Rundown, Valeska Paris, Xenu, Yahoo

A. Rhodes Wilson wants to use his single-family home on Easton Road as a mission for the Church of Scientology. Looking for approval from the Plumstead Township Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Wilson, represented by Doylestown attorney Robert Gundlach, testified he intends to keep the house exactly as it is but convert its use to a place of worship.

Tags: A. Rhodes Wilson, Mission, Pennsylvania, Real estate

Wow... and I thought I was retarded.

Tags: Lawyer, Quicky

A Dublin woman who claims she was controlled by a cult has begun a High Court legal action for damages. 40-year-old sports shop owner Mary Johnson from Westwood, Foxrock, was a member of the Church of Scientology for two years between 1992 and 1994. She is now suing the organisation because of the experiences and pressures she claims she suffered while a member and the threats and intimidation when she tried to leave.

Tags: Dublin, Ireland, Mary Johnston, Sean Ryan

By noon, about 30 protesters had gathered across the street from the church's Fort Harrison Hotel with anti-Scientology T-shirts, camcorders and picket signs with messages critical of the church. The protesters say they hold the demonstration this time of year to commemorate Lisa McPherson, the 36-year-old Scientologist who died Dec. 5, 1995, after a 17-day stay at the Fort Harrison Hotel. The demonstration, the sixth, will continue today from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Tags: 1995, Ben Shaw, California, Clearwater, Clearwater Police Department, Cleveland Street, Don Hall, Europe, Fort Harrison, Lisa McPherson, Mark Dallara, Police, Tampa, Tory Christman

ANN ARBOR, MICH. ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) _ A jury Thursday rejected a lawsuit that accused Sally Jessy Raphael and her talk show of invading the privacy of a Church of Scientology member who was secretly taped. The Circuit Court lawsuit sought $72 million for Dorothy Dickerson, saying her comments broadcast on the show in 1991 made her look foolish. Two of Dickerson's daughters appeared on the show, saying the church brainwashed their mother. One of the daughters secretly recorded a conversation with her mother. Dickerson, 61, was heard on the show saying she makes only $5,000 a year and loves washing dishes for the church.

Tags: 1991, Dorothy Dickerson, Lawsuit, Quicky, Sally Jessy Raphael

Cathia Riley said Bare-Faced Messiah: The True Story Of [L. Ron Hubbard] by British author Russell Miller, is "simply an attempt to capitalize" on Hubbard's popularity because his book sales number in the millions. "The favorable ruling by the (court) supports our position that Bare-Faced Messiah deserves to be published in the country," he said. "The court's decision is to be applauded." "Our church is a religion," she added. "It is not a cult, and L. Ron Hubbard is a great religious leader. There is an anti-religious movement that likes to attack religions under the heading of 'cults.' You start there and move on to attack other religions."

Tags: Bare-Faced Messiah, Canada, Cathia Riley, Free Speech, Russell Miller

The Church of Scientology updated its battle with Pinellas County on Wednesday, filing a lawsuit for the sixth consecutive year to challenge the county's tax assessments on its properties. The Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization contends that it is a non-profit, religious group that should be entitled to tax-exempt status, according to the suit filed Wednesday in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court.

Tags: 1982, Clearwater, Flag Service Organization, Pinellas County, Property tax, Ronald Schultz