Proud Suppressives

The struggle continues ...

2006-11-08T14:43:00.000-08:00

... to wrestle Ms. Holmes into submission. From the start, she has been watched very carefully, monitored, trained. There is still trouble in paradise though, and the road to wedded OTVII bliss is not running smoothly ... because of those pesky bothersome things called "family" and "parents" ... also "Catholic". Being Catholic is SUCH a problem ... Mr. TC can't have that, can he? Major wrench in the submission plan.

Here's a ridiculous article. The image of Vatican officials, and red-robed Bishops having serious meetings about this issue in the echoey drafty halls of the Vatican is ... well, stranger than fiction.

Quote from the article:

Other Vatican sources said that Cruise’s divorce, and his belief in Scientology, could prove an obstacle to a Catholic ceremony.

Ya think??

Jenna Elfman goes non-linear

2006-07-12T20:29:00.000-07:00

Quoted from http://people.monstersandcritics.com/article_1172722.php:

Broadcast on Los Angeles's "Kevin and Bean Show", Indie Film Director John Roecker retold the bizarre incident that occurred to him in the Los Feliz section of town recently. He had been walking to his car with a companion last Sunday when he was approached by a shirtless man and a tall, female blonde. "Hey, man, you're making fun of my religion," said the stranger angrily, according to Roecker.

Roecker quickly recognized the couple as actor Bodhi Elfman and his wife, "Courting Alex" star Jenna Elfman. The cause of the fuss? Roecker's black t-shirt, which had a picture of Tom Cruise on the front under the caption "Scientology is Gay!" and a 'Stayin'-Alive'-era John Travolta on the back with the words "Very Gay!" (both Cruise and Travolta and their people have said repeatedly that they are very not gay.)

Things heated up as Roecker made several references to Scientology theology and its reported central tenant, Xenu(Wikipedia link.)

Roecker retold the story saying Jenna repeatedly said "What crimes have you committed?" and then began screaming at him "Have you raped a baby?" as motorists on Los Feliz Boulevard drove by in snarled traffic.

Roecker says it appears that Bodhi Elfman prepared to take a swing at him, but thought against it. The Elfmans had a young male companion with them whom they continually instructed to move away and cover his ears whenever references to Xenu were made by Roecker.

"Have you raped a baby"???? Where did that come from???

What's up with the $cientology baby?

2006-07-12T17:04:00.000-07:00

The gossip has been flying in the last couple of days about the legitimacy, and even existence, of the TomKat baby since the creature's birth certificate was leaked to the press.

The supposed offspring of Tom Cruise, and the now-seldom-seen-and-not-looking-all-that-well-adjusted Katie Holmes has not been seen once in public since birth. And it turns out, the supposedly-happy-and-at-least-mostly-thetan-free couple never bothered to register the being's arrival on this planet. Reportedly an unidentified "friend" (INT Readiness Unit, or perhaps OSA?) showed up nearly a month after the proported new little Pre-Clear arrived on this plane of existence (well, actually California, which is somewhat near this reality) to sign (illegibly) the birth certificate.

What's up with that? What could it mean? The Chicago Tribune says the birth certificate was not signed by the attending physician at the birth, as is normal, but by a nurse who never laid eyes on the baby. "Let the conspiracy theories begin", indeed. The unidentifed OSA agent/friend of the happy couple said the baby needed a birth certificate to get a passport. I wonder where they're going? Does the Planet 10 require a visa? Or maybe they're going to Bulgravia?

Well us Proud Suppressives don't know what's going on, but we strongly suspect that if there was a normal, healthy, attractive, well-adjusted-looking mother and baby available for the Co$ to display, we would be seeing lots of pictures of Katie and the newest Servant of Xenu. So what's going on? There is no baby? Miscarriage? Maybe the baby is not related to Tom Cruise, and Co$ doesn't want people speculating why it doesn't look like him? (I'd call that one highly likely.)

We here at Proud Suppressives have well-placed agents reporting on the Minions of Miscavige, and one of those agents tells us there is indeed a contract between Katie and Tom, involving $10 million for ten years. Don't know what the document says about children, but the agent did say the baby wasn't part of the plan. (But I suppose we're not nearly so clever as those pesky SMERSH operatives.)

Which reminds us... We need to get back to that "OSA vs. KGB" comparison. If you read the history and documentation of the Co$ "security orgs", they are all but verbatim identical to the organization, objectives, and missions of the Soviet intelligence organ.

A young filmmaker in Winnipeg asks:

2006-07-01T16:51:00.000-07:00

Scientology: What the F#$%??

The video is obviously jokey (I laughed out loud a couple of times) - and he ends on a "live and let live" note which I can't agree with - but there's a lot of good stuff there to make fun of. He even somehow gets the Scientologist to allow him into an audit session. I would have thought his jocular flippant tone would have tipped them right off.

And now for something REALLY weird - UPDATED

2006-05-16T18:36:00.000-07:00

Very few people, including very few $cientologists, know that the whole "Church" of Scientology is owned by another, much more secret "Church", known as the "Church of Spiritual Technology", which is run by former senior officials of the Internal Revenue Service.

To understand how weird and suspicious this is, you have to understand the truly mysterious relationship between $cientology and the IRS. The IRS aggressively pursued legal action against Co$ for decades, before VERY mysteriously caving in and giving Co$ an incredibly generous settlement in 1993 - a settlement which came right after Co$ Fuhrer David Miscavige walked into the office of the IRS Commissioner unannounced and held a private meeting with him.

Although we don't know what happened, it appears Miscavige had some "serious dirt" on IRS Commissioner Fred T. Goldberg, or some other extraordinary leverage that persuaded Goldberg to give Scientology everything they ever wanted.

But it gets a LOT weirder.

Check out this satellite shot at Google Maps.

See that gigantic weird symbol, just northwest of that large landing strip that, incidentally, doesn't appear on any map or aviation chart?

That's the symbol of the "Church of Spiritual Technology", and it marks (for any of Xenu's spaceships that might be flying by) the location of the CST "Trementina Base", which is one of the most secret facilities in the Scientology empire.

Want to hear something even a LOT more weird?

Supposedly Co$/CST built a large underground facility at Trementina, supposedly to house the archives of all of L Ron Hubbard's writings, engraved on millions of stainless steel disks (shades of Mormonism).

And in 1992 - RIGHT AFTER THE MYSTERIOUS MEETING between Miscavige and IRS Commissioner Goldberg and during the final negotiations for the agreement between Co$ and Scientology - the "Church" of Scientology TRADED THE PROPERTY WITH THE MULTI-MILLION-DOLLAR UNDERGROUND FACILITY TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT for another parcel, worth only $28,000. Co$ had paid $250,000 for the first parcel, even before they built the underground facility, although government documents said that both parcels were worth only $28K.

Meanwhile Co$ still has access to a large underground facility at Trementina. It is very unclear whether this is the original facility, or they built a new one after they traded the first parcel to the government. Large underground facilities are EXTREMELY expensive to build, however, so I doubt they built a new one.

What's going on here???????

Did the government get a secret underground base in return for cutting Co$ the biggest tax break in history? What kind of underground base could have been worth that? Is the government "sharing" the land with an organization the IRS now calls a "religion"????????? How is that constitutional?

This is an INCREDIBLY weird and mysterious story. If anyone knows more, we would dearly love to hear about it.

UPDATE:

An anonymous commenter suggested that the land swap is related to the intelligence community's research into remote viewing, i.e., ESP. He or she refers to a timeline, found here, that says the CIA/military remote-viewing-for-intelligence effort was based on Scientology.

Looking into this, it seems that some of the key figures in the now-well-documented effort (called at different times "STARGATE" (I'm not making this up!!), "GRILL FLAME", and "SCANATE" were in fact Scientologists - and in fact were OT VII's, including the project's director at the Stanford Research Institute, Dr. Hal Puthoff, and one of his most successful "viewers", Ingo Swann.

Given that that all government agencies - and especially the intelligence and security organizations - were supposedly considered "suppressive" by Hubbard and their members were supposedly banned from Scientology, it's hard to figure out how former NSA official Puthoff manged to get to OT VII if there wasn't a secret agreement (e.g. a conspiracy) between Scientology and the Federal Government.

Did this apparent unrevealed conspiracy between Scientology and the goveernment to develop "remote viewing" have anything to do with the land swap at Trementina or the truly-mysterious tax settlement in 1992? We can't prove anything one way or the other.

But whatever happened, we know Scientology retains access to the underground facility at Trementina, which is unquestionably now on Federal property, because it appeared on an episode of 20/20 in 1998 about the preservation of Hubbard's writings.

Just when you thought it couldn't get any weirder...

Apparently they aren't kidding about "super power"

2006-05-16T17:42:00.000-07:00

From Occupied Clearwater, intergalactic nexus of Xenu Cult silliness, a story that truly does sound like part of a "SouthPark" episode, but is apparently true.

I think this is about the long-awaited and promised "OT VIII". But according to this, the OT VIII is a total disaster that turns people into vegetables, not superheroes.

Scientology officials say that the long-awaited "Super Power Building", where Scientologists will supposedly learn to use their super powers, will finally be opened in 2007, four years after the expected completion in 2003, and 9 years after the groundbreaking in 1998.

The cult says the delays are because of demands on their organization in other parts of the world. Critics say it is because the "super power program" (which may or may not be the same as "OT VIII" - of course that is part of their endless secrecy) doesn't work or hasn't been completed.

Regardless, the building has cost rich $cientologists millions in "donations", and it may be that the delays are related to the cash flow problems that the cult is reportedly suffering.

Super Adventure Club

2006-03-30T16:03:00.000-08:00

Here's a great post about the parallels between the "Super Adventure Club" featured in the episode that presumably killed of the Chef character on "South Park" and real-life Scientology.

Buying A Bridge

2006-03-30T13:53:00.000-08:00

Here's a great article by Mark Ebner, who spent 11 days undercover while going through Scientology's "tech" and "purif" in 1996, spending nearly $3,000 on audits in under two weeks before leaving.

I attended one last Scientology function, called Auditor's Day '95, which, in short, resembled a Nuremberg rally for the '90s. No brown shirts present per se, but the lockstep uniformity of 5,000 Scientologists packing the Shrine Auditorium applauding to a slide projection of Herr Hubbard sent a chill up my spine as cold as the one I felt when I saw those children lining up for liquids at the Purification Center.

Warning: the article contains one of the more disturbing photographs of Lisa McPherson after her death. It's not for the weak hearted.

The First Church of Xenu

2006-03-30T09:01:00.000-08:00

Though still under construction, a new satirical website, touting "The First Church of Xenu," is now online.

We, the true aliens of the Confederacy, supprt our wrongly imprisioned Dark Lord. As we speak our teams, comprised of millions of the best scientific minds that the Confederacy has to offer, are working on a way to disable the force-field to Xenu's cage. The rebirth of our Master is at hand. We will crush all who oppose us. Our number is many, our power is great. Soon the world will know the truth about our Dark Lord and Master.

Hail Xenu indeed.

Ignorance Is Bliss?

2006-03-28T11:41:00.000-08:00

Once again furthering the tired argument that the beliefs of Scientology should not be mocked beyond those of any other religions simply because the "church" is in its infancy, columnist Brian Hennigan writes in the Scotsman:

Scientologists do have good reason though to be sensitive. For some reason or other Scientology is routinely attacked as a cult or quack religion whose only divine mission is the emptying of its members' pockets. Those who get past the "personality tests" that are used to recruit members are always described by the Church's detractors as being "brain-washed" and/or subject to devious mind-control techniques.

Every year millions of Scientologists buy chocolate eggs and give them to children in memory of their religion's founder and his rise from the dead. Oh sorry, that's Christianity.

Flippantly likening the techniques and doctrines of Scientology to the practices of Christianity while assuming that critics attack one while accept the other, Hennigan is revealing his massive ignorance and his obvious lack of research outside of viewing a 24-minute cartoon. He nonetheless feels comfortable commenting on the subject, something no professional journalist should do. While the "Trapped in the Closet" episode of "South Park" mocked the stories about Xenu and aliens, had Mr. Hennigan bothered to do his homework on the matter before writing such ill-informed drivel such as the following:

And that is my point. The method of attack against scientology is basically to identify the more outlandish beliefs and activities and use these to undermine the whole enterprise. In much the same way that someone could attack Christians for actually believing that several thousand years ago someone got a big boat and rounded up a pair of every animal - have you ever tried to lasso one squirrel let alone two? - and put to sea until a dove came along with a twig to give the flood all-clear.

he might have discovered a thing or two about "the method of attack against Scientology" that, in fact, has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with objections to to any of their beliefs or superstitions. He later continues, ironically:

The point is that Scientologists should surely be judged on what they do and not what they believe. And it's difficult to see what they are doing that is so terribly bad.

Ironic because what Scientologists do is exactly what has earned them so many critics. Sure, many people, like myself, may have a hard time buying a story that an evil galactic dark lord named Xenu horded the surplus population of the universe around volcanoes on Earth and turned them into Thetans with nuclear bombs who now infect the bodies of humans, but it's hardly the single basis for their criticism. Besides, it's not "difficult" in the slightest to see what's so bad about the "church." It's just plain lazy. Anyone with an internet connection and thirty minutes of spare time - something one can fairly assume a responsible journalist might find necessary to spend before writing with authority on any subject, let alone one that defends a dangerous cult - can find out the basic human rights abuses of which Scientology is guilty.

If taking money from the gullible is a crime then the people that run the lottery should be on trial, as well as anyone who sells make-up to spotty oiks on the grounds that it will help them look like Jennifer Lopez. And unlike some religions, Scientology doesn't have followers decapitating people on prime-time television or bombing abortion clinics.

Perhaps not, but part of the reason why this site was even started was for the sake of people like Mr. Hennigan, so here's just a crash course in why Scientology is a lot more than just a harmless little scam that doesn't hurt anybody.

Let's start at the beginning: founded by a megalomaniacal madman who'd been ruled mentally unstable by a qualified physician, with such charming character traits as misogyny, racism and delusional beliefs about his own mediocre accomplishments specifically for the purpose of making money. Described by his own son as a pathological liar, nearly every detail he had ever boasted about his life while he was living has been proven to be false. See Bare Faced Messiah. No need to read the entire text if you haven't the time. Merely skimming a few chapters is enough to leave you itchy.

Fair Game: Read all about this lovely policy here. If you can't be bothered, here's a precis: "church" members are allowed to utilize any means available to destroy Scientology's critics personally, professionally and financially. Current members claim the policy was discontinued in 1967, though memos from Hubbard indicate that his intention was to have it removed from any "church" documents to avoid public embarrassment, but make it clear that the policy was to continue in practice.

Bad medicine: Scientology's "Purification Rundown" claims to rid the body of toxins and involves high doses of niacin and long sessions in saunas, both of which have been proven to be harmful to the human body. They are peddling a junk science made up by Hubbard, a man with no medical training, as cure-alls for ailments raning from cancer to schizophrenia.

The war on psychiatry: Members with bonafide psychological troubles are encouraged to trust in Scientology's treatments, many of which have no medical basis whatsoever, in favor of soliciting the advice and care of a trained mental health professional, sometimes resulting in disastrous consequences.

Abuse of members: There are simply too many to list here. Here's a good starting point, where you can read all about the "Sea Org" and its practices and methods for dealing with anyone who has joined, signing a billion year commitment of service, who does not toe the line.

Harrassment of critics, police, investigators or anyone who questions any of their methods: Again, too many to mention in this space, but there's enough bandwidth on the internet for all of them. Here are some accounts of some of the brutal, even life-threatening, things that have happened to anyone who has questioned the leadership of the "church." There are also enough links there to keep a person occupied with reading for hours. Some of the stories you will read will make you sick, so be warned.

Finally, if this doesn't make you sick, I'd have to question whether you even possess a human conscience. If you were to even bring up any of the names of the people mentioned at that site to a Scientologist, they would immediately feign ignorance or unleash a torrent of abuse. That is what Scientology does. What it doesn't outright deny, even in the face of irrefutable evidence, it attempts to silence, often using sinister and abusive tacticts.

I don't care about Xenu. I don't care if they believe the Easter Bunny is the prophet returned. What I do care about is who they harm, and even worse, that they do so only for money. That and that alone is the basis for the time I invest in this site.

Still want to argue it isn't hurting anybody? Be my guest. It's your right. But if you ever decide you want to find out more, I invite you to enter any Scientology center and innocently ask your hosts about Xenu to experience some of this abuse yourself. You might not be as forgiving.

The "Church" Losing Money?

2006-03-28T11:21:00.000-08:00

If it's true, this is somewhat good news:

Hollywood is reportedly pinning its hopes on James Packer to pull the Church of Scientology out of financial distress.

Heading the charge is celebrity Scientologist Tom Cruise, who has been grooming Packer to give his money - and now the proceeds of Kerry's empire - to the church, the New York Post has reported. Scientology is having difficulty attracting new members thanks to a growing celebrity trend towards Kabbalah, the religion favoured by Madonna and - ironically - Packer's girl Erica Baxter.

And without new, wealthy recruits, cash flow is an issue, the paper reported.

Somewhat, in the sense that it's not necessarily a good thing that people are jumping ship from one cult in exchange for another, but if the "Church" is having cashflow and recruiting problems, it's definitely a good omen that is hopefully a signal for the beginning of their demise. I'm willing to wager that the public antics last summer of Tom Cruise played a big part in delivering the sort of bad press that is the cause of their current problems.

Inside Scientology

2006-02-21T12:47:00.000-08:00

Tory Christman, in Scientology for 30 years before she finally saw the light and made her escape - has a huge site detailing all of her thoughts about the cult.

I find this one particularly fascinating - entitled: Do Scientologists Have Feelings?

Now you start feeling really weird, as you cannot really talk with anyone, honestly, except your 'Auditor" who at this level, is struggling themselves to figure out what the Hell is wrong with YOU. (And really, everyone on the level, as we slowly piece it together, silently, of course). On OT 7 they're a bit like the Stepford Wives.... all smiling… all looking good, but their eyes are solid stones.

South Park and Tom Cruise

2006-01-20T14:50:00.000-08:00

The recent South Park episode featuring Tom Cruise and Scientology is being pulled from the airwaves and not even shown in the UK, apparently because Cruise is threatening to sue.

You can view the video, along with a host of others, at Scientomogy.

Protecting the Faithful

2006-01-06T08:52:00.000-08:00

Here's a great article from Salon that gives details about how the "church" will generously provide members with software and hosting so that they can easily set up a personal website. The catch - it also installs a filter that blocks any sites that are critical of Scientology.

More "Fair Game"

2005-12-29T09:23:00.000-08:00

From Cult News, here's another account of the "church" harassing one of their critics.

Human rights activist Barb Warr had spent the morning protesting against the human rights abuses committed by the Scientology corporation, during which she was harassed and stalked by employees of the corrupt business; when she finished her protest, she was followed by those employees to the restaurant where she and other human rights activists had lunch. While she was eating, the city received a telephone call from someone claiming to be the manager of the restaurant requesting that her motorcycle be towed as an abandoned vehicle. The human rights activists' motorcycle was promptly towed.

The tow cost Warr $250.00.

Boycott

2005-12-27T12:32:00.000-08:00

It looks like Tom Cruise's summer antics promoting the "church" and bad medical advice have encouraged a movement to boycott his upcoming film Mission Impossible III.

The "inland base"

2005-12-18T07:21:00.000-08:00

A damning article in the LA Times about Scientology - with an extensive photo gallery attached.

The creepy picture above is Tom Cruise with the creepy David Miscavige - leader of the "religion". The two of them are thick as thieves.

From the article:

Scientology has long recruited Hollywood luminaries. But the close friendship of these two men for nearly 20 years and their mutual devotion to Hubbard help explain Cruise's transformation from just another celebrity adherent into the public face of the church.

The bond between the star and his spiritual leader was evident last year when the two traded effusive words and crisp salutes at a Scientology gala in England. Calling Cruise "the most dedicated Scientologist I know," Miscavige presented him with the church's first Freedom Medal of Valor."

Thank you for your trust, thank you for your confidence in me," Cruise replied, according to Scientology's Impact magazine. "I have never met a more competent, a more intelligent, a more tolerant, a more compassionate being outside of what I have experienced from LRH. And I've met the leaders of leaders. I've met them all."

The difference in lifestyle between the "staffers" and Miscavige is made blatantly obvious in the article in The Times.

Are we seeing an unraveling here? Scientology - for so long in charge of its own publicity - ruthless, litigious - now seems to be losing control. If an article like that can run - and in the LA Times no less - perhaps things are falling apart? The upper echelon no longer protected?

We will have to wait and see.

Cruising with the Scientologists

2005-12-18T07:07:00.000-08:00

I've been interested in the CoS cruise ship, the M/V Freewinds. Here she is:

The ship is approximately 400 feet long, 9700 tons, and her mechanical operation is managed by International Shipping Partners, a shipping management company - luckily for the Scientologist-passengers, and probably necessary for Scientology to get the ship insured. The Scientology part of the ship - the part where they turn you into an OT-VIII, which may or may not include revealing that L. Ron believed himself to be the AntiChrist, is run by the Sea Org, who are the ruling cadre of Scientology who go around in Navy uniforms and act a whole lot like the Gestapo.

The Sea Org, as we have discussed before, goes back to when L. Ron floated around the world for several years in the 1960s, avoiding the legal wrath of several national governments. The stories of what went on during L. Ron's extended cruise are legendary, and some are very humorous. Most of them involve the members of the "Sea Org" demonstrating that sailoring skills were not a prerequisite for membership in that august body.

According to the CoS agreement with the IRS from 1987 (which looks like it was written by Scientology), the mortgage of the ship is held by the Flag Ship Trust, although very little else can be learned about this trust.

For more interesting discussion of what goes on aboard the M/V Freewinds, read the complaint Pattinson V. Scientology, from May 1998. Apparently, the formula is that Scienologists pay all the money they have in the world for the privelige of being subjected to endless abuse and humiliation at sea, and extortion ashore. And once you leave the ship, according to Mr. Pattinson, they can order you to return at any time, for any reason, to enjoy further abuse and humiliation at your own expense, threatening you with "ruin" if you do not pay all the money the Sea Org demands.

Unless, of course, you are John Travolta or Tom Cruise, whom I believe get rather better treatment.

Once the genie is out of the bottle ...

2005-12-03T06:44:00.000-08:00

... there really is no putting it back in.

What do I mean?

Looks like Tom Cruise's hotshot new publicist isn't able to put a stop to pieces like this. He's just doing damage control right now - but I think the damage to Cruise's once pristine reputation is too far gone to fix.

Fiddled Figures

2005-11-21T10:45:00.000-08:00

Heads up to the Scientomogy blog for noting an independent religious survey that shows that in 1990 and 2001 a mere 45,000 and 55,000 people in the United States respectively considered themselves Scientologists, which is a very far cry from the 8 million number they claim worldwide (it's quite fair to assume that the bulk of their membership would be in the US). More people define themselves as pagan, Wiccan, Baha'l, Born Again, and Quaker each.

Scientology and South Park

2005-11-17T19:11:00.000-08:00

I've just been watching the South Park episode about Scientology. It's mildly funny stuff. Key quote: "Tom Cruise won't come out of the closet".

On South Park, Stan is determined by the Scientologists to be the reincarnation of L. Ron Hubbard. Tom Cruise hides in Stan's closet because Stan tells him that the guy who played Napoleon Dynamite is a better actor than him. Tom Cruise shouts through the closet door for everyone to go away, but Stan's father says "we can't leave you alone because you won't come out of the closet."

Scientologists and Disasters

2005-10-28T06:24:00.000-07:00

I've been hearing various reports about Scientology capitalizing on the recent hurricanes to promote their religion. Reports vary, from cultists riding around in "Mobile Command Posts", apparently trying to give a false impression that they had some official purpose or were offering some kinds of techical services, to this little item from Miami.

Apparently the Scientologists were hanging around the Miami EOC offering "massages" and "counseling" to "stressed out" city workers.

There would appear to be some central direction to the efforts of Scientologists to capitalize on the various disasters... If anyone else has reports of strange hurricane-related behavior from Scientologists I'm very interested to hear it.

Apparently Scientology has an "International Disaster Relief Team", whose purpose is to perform dianetics on unsuspecting victims already distracted by natural disasters. I guess it sort of tracks with their habit of preying on the fuzzy-headed. I wonder what hurricane victims pay for their audits?

Isolation

2005-10-25T11:55:00.000-07:00

According to this piece, Katie Holmes is now being secretly "handled" by Lee Anne DeVette, Tom Cruise's Scientology sister and publicist. Holmes fired her publicist recently (it seems that anyone who gets close to Tom must be represented by his publicist - no conflicting stories there, right? No pesky un-Hubbard-like attitudes allowed) - but there has been no official announcement, yet, that Holmes is being represented by DeVette. Apparently, it is well known in the business that Holmes' circle is becoming more and more narrow. Her family hasn't seen her in months. Her friends have been dropped. Holmes has backed out of projects for the forseeable future. And she is now being trailed by a Scientology guru (Jessica Rodriguez) - who I am sure is being paid by the higher-ups in the cult to make sure that Holmes doesn't get any funny ideas ... Rodriguez is there to make sure that this marriage happens without a hitch.

Holmes has now fired her dedicated staff of publicists - people who have worked with her for years.

The noose is tightening. Holmes is allowing it to happen. We all make choices and she is choosing this.

I would so love to know what is REALLY going on in her head. I know. I'm a voyeur. But also: I am terribly fascinated at what has been said to her, what has been actually proposed to her ... what it is REALLY like for her right now.

The more she isolates, the harder it will be for her to deal with reality. Everything that comes to her will be filtered. She will no longer have even a passing relationship with the truth.

Fair Game

2005-10-22T05:41:00.000-07:00

"Now, get this as a technical fact, not a hopeful idea. Every time we have investigated the background of a critic of Scientology, we have found crimes for which that person or group could be imprisoned under existing law. We do not find critics of Scientology who do not have criminal pasts."

— L. Ron Hubbard Nov. 5 1967

"We do not find critics of Scientology who do not have criminal pasts."

Aha. Okay. Gotcha, L. Ron!

Just one comment. The gobbledygook nature of his language is so apparent in that one quote. Scientologists believe this man was a Messiah. His thought process is a mess. "get this as a technical fact, not a hopeful idea ..." What??

How can these people think that guy is such a genius?

The Case of Robert W. Welkos

2005-10-21T16:12:00.000-07:00

In an article reprinted from an edition The Quill magazine published in 1991, journalist Robert Welkos recounts his difficulties with the "church" a brief time prior to publishing an article in the Los Angeles Times examining Scientology.

In the late spring of 1990, shortly before the Los Angeles Times published a comprehensive series on the Church of Scientology by staff writer Joel Sappell and myself, a deliveryman arrived at my house and propped a large manila envelope against my front door. It was from a mortuary, and inside was a brochure extolling the benefits of arranging your funeral before you die.

"Investigate the pre-arrangement program at our memorial park now," the brochure read. "You'll be glad you did, and so will your family."

Curious, I telephoned the mortuary and asked why they had sent me the material. To my amazement, they didn't know they had and told me they never sent brochures unsolicited because it can be upsetting. They assured me they were always sensitive to such concems and that it would not happen again.

But it did.

Two days later, my wife caught a glimpse of a man hurrying down the front walk. By the time she opened the door, he was driving away, but left on the step was another envelope from the same mortuary.

The rest of the article is just as chilling.

Some "war hero"

2005-10-21T15:48:00.000-07:00

Here's a great site detailing L. Ron Hubbard's service in the US Navy, which reveals was anything but valorous and heroic, as Hubbard and his followers have claimed in the past. Hopefully, the Stolen Valor Act (written about on this site here) will see them to at least change their tune when it comes to promoting lies on this one issue.

Sexual Assault and the "Church"

2005-10-21T15:31:00.000-07:00

From the New York Post:

October 2, 2005 -- A FORMER Scientology staffer is breaking her silence about being sexually assaulted 100 times at ages 16 and 17 by the church supervisor she was "ordered" to live with, and then receiving threats and intimidating phone calls when she reported the abuse.
Five years ago, Gabriel Williams, then a 27-year-old chief supervisor at the Church of Scientology in Mountain View, Calif., forced then-16-year-old Jennifer Stewart to have intercourse with him on the first evening she moved in, according to her statements in court records.

After Williams was charged with rape and sodomy with a minor — and later convicted of sexual battery and sodomy — Stewart's family endured death threats, stalkers and other harassment.

"We want the world to know that when Tom Cruise calls psychiatry a 'pseudoscience,' it's all part of Scientology's plan to brainwash people," said Stewart's husband, Tom Gorman, referring to the actor's "Today" show interview in June.

Stewart believed that if she went to the police, she would not be able to avoid being sent to a psychiatrist. According to Scientology, psychiatry is a source of evil. Members who see "psychs" or take psychiatric drugs will be declared "SP" — "suppressive person" — and can't achieve spiritual freedom.

In a related civil suit brought by Stewart against Williams and the church, she recently received as part of the settlement a "generous monetary resolution," said her attorney. Although the church admitted no wrongdoing, it forked over about $700,000, sources say.

The full article can be read here (free registration required).

Quote of the day

2005-10-21T15:21:00.000-07:00

“Show me any person who is critical of us and I’ll show you crimes and intended crimes that would stand a magistrate’s hair on end.”

- L. Ron Hubbard, Hubbard Communications Office Bulletin, 4 April 1965

A host of other equally charming quotes from L. Ron can be found here.

Backfire

2005-10-21T10:26:00.000-07:00

I doubt this is what the litigious jerks intended, but I'm glad for the proprietor of ScienTOMogy.

The site, ScienTOMogy.info, states in its introduction that it is in no way affiliated with the church and links those who may have gotten there inadvertently to the church's official home page. ScienTOMogy also labels its spoof videos and other material as "satirical." Still, church officials are claiming copyright infringement over the domain name.

Bloggers, many of whom say they consider Scientology a cult rather than a religion, have noted that the legal action has given ScienTOMogy a cult following of its own. The site has gone from getting 100 hits a day to more than 1 million in a matter of hours, according to a ScienTOMogy blog.

Good luck to them.

Fair Game, Part III

2005-10-18T08:02:00.000-07:00

Here's some further information about Scientology attempting to silence yet another one of its critics by passing lies to their employer via an unscrupulous private investigator.

Shhhhh.

2005-10-17T12:29:00.000-07:00

When you push a small human being out of your body through a hole that size - don't make a sound. L. Ron Hubbard tells you to be quiet. Don't scream. Don't moan. Because it will traumatize THE CHILD.

The whole "silent birth" thing has come out into the foreground these days because of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise - and I can't help but be glad. The more publicity this crazy cult gets - the better.

Or am I naive?

Great article in Slate about all of this.

The more I read about "silent birth", and the whole ritual of it - the more I see that the real purpose behind it is to separate the mother from the child as quickly as possible. Familial bonds are, of course, very threatening to cults. The cult comes first.

Let the baby enter a silent world - with no loving caress of a parent, no soft cooing voices, no happy tones of welcome ... Shuffle it off into a corner, so it can be PURE. And not "tainted" by ... er ... love.

God. It's just - disgusting and evil, is what it is.

Fair Game Part II

2005-09-19T13:01:00.000-07:00

More on the "Fair Game" policy reported at Cult News:

In a shocking video-taped confession by Scientology staff member Mike McClaughry, law enforcement officials have learned that the Church of Scientology purchased street drugs from a drug dealer in order to frame a California Health Department official for illegal possession of narcotics. The official, Jim Esterbrook, had produced a highly critical report about Scientology's NarConon church-recruitment front business. Mr. Esterbrook was also seeking funds from the state of California to help get drug addicts off drugs, a project which the Church of Scientology prevented by framing him for the misdemeanor.

"You manufacture some crimes, right? Set 'em up, sting operation type stuff. Um, oh, I know some that were actually done, I don't have to give examples," Mr. McClaughry testified. "Um, there was a guy in Sacramento named Jim Esterbrook, um, I got one of my agents [Scientology's Office of Special Affairs] to go get some, um, drugs, you know, purchase some illegal drugs, marijuana or whatever it was, plant 'em in the guy's car and then call the cops on him and try to get him arrested for possession of illegal drugs. Um, geez, just let your imagine run wild because, uh, we were allowed to do that, you know. It's like anything you could think of was basically okay."

Further details here.

The Onion Takes on Travolta

2005-09-15T12:27:00.000-07:00

Here's a brilliant piece of satire from the Onion about John Travolta being hospitalized for a low e-meter reading.

When asked whether Travolta's condition could be traced to Xenu, the intergalactic overlord who imprisoned countless thetans on Earth 75 million years ago, [Travolta's personal physician]Welch said: "I don't know what you're talking about."

Doctors have also left open a small but distinct possibility that Travolta—who was slated to begin work this week on his next film, the sci-fi epic Battlefield Earth—was poisoned.

"Certainly, a chemical contamination might be the explanation," Citarella said. "His food or water could have been tampered with by a wog, or maybe even an SP. Or, a psychiatrist or some other dead agent might have poisoned him with the killer drug Prozac, though it would've had to have been a very small amount to explain the minor extent of damage. But Mr. Travolta will be given a full Purif Rundown, just to be safe."

Brilliant.

(Thanks, as ever, to Cult News for the link.)

Fair Game

2005-09-01T13:49:00.000-07:00

Andreas Heldal-Lund, proprietor of Operation Clambake and outspoken critic of Scientology's tactics and practices, is being targeted by the "church," who are now attempting to get him fired from his job by sending his employers letters filled with lies.

(Google group link courtesy of Cult News.)

Evangelizing

2005-08-29T05:14:00.000-07:00

Tom Cruise has been looking to "land" Oprah Winfrey for the Church of Scientology - but she remains impervious. She is friends with Cruise, but she has her own faith, and resists his advances. Apparently, John Travolta and Kelly Preston have also targeted Oprah - so I wonder if this is somehow an official goal of the Church itself. Do memos go out from above, saying: "Let's get Oprah"? Or are Cruise, Travolta, and Preston acting on their own? There is much evidence that Lisa Marie Presley's bizarre marriage to Michael Jackson was directed by the higher-ups of the cult. She was told to nail him, and she did. Jackson was still a giant star at that time, his stock had not fallen ... and it would be a coup to list his name on their celebrity roster. It's scary to think that Presley is so brainwashed that she would marry someone as a recruitment device. She would do anything that the cult tells her to do.

Back to Oprah:

Fellow Scientologists John Travolta, Kelly Preston and Kirstie Alley have all told Oprah how much their strange beliefs improve their lives. Travolta, whom she repeatedly favours on her show, reportedly gave Oprah a $300,000 Bentley for her birthday.

Disgusting.

Oprah is a successful powerhouse all on her own without the "help" of the Church of Scientology. To Travolta, Preston, Alley, and the rest of you all: It's amazing how people can actually live good, ambitious, successful lives without you guys, isn't it?? How on earth do you deal with that irrefutable fact?

Glamour Takes on CoS

2005-08-25T08:30:00.000-07:00

It was mentioned on the message forum at Rick Ross's site that Glamour magazine is supposedly running an article in their next issue written by a former member of Scientology's Sea Org. Apparently, the "church" asked to see a copy of the article before it was published and the magazine refused. There's nothing I can find online as of yet, but keep your eyes open. This sounds very interesting.

UPDATE: I did find this short bit about the upcoming magazine feature, citing a New York Post Page Six item that reported:

An insider at Glamour said, “The story is about a woman who grew up in the church and literally fled to the country to escape her husband, mother and the Scientologists she lived with. During our fact-checking, we called the L.A. headquarters and several hours later two Scientologists showed up at Conde Nast and had security call the editor of the story to tell her she had visitors. In our offices, they demanded to see the story but we declined, noting we don’t release stories until they are on stands. They showed up twice more that week with DVD’s and books about Scientology and then finally with their comments. During the last visit, the Scientologists saw the latest issue of Glamour with Nicole Kidman on the cover with the tagline tease, ‘Nicole opens up about Tom,’ and demanded copies.”

UPDATE II: Just noticed the dates. This is old news from last month, but still worthy of mention, especially the Scientologists showing up at Glamour's offices and demanding to see the article in question. I still can't find it anywhere online, though.

"That dedicated glare"

2005-08-24T10:27:00.000-07:00

Article on Tom Cruise's more public stance on all things Scientology.

One former Scientologist, who worked closely with the religion's celebrity members, claims Cruise is close to becoming a member of the Church's mythical Sea Org level or something similar.She says, "You feel so good, it's like you're high on coke. If you look at him, he has that dedicated glare that Sea Org members have.

"High-level Scientologists insist the Sea Org level never existed and such claims are ridiculous.

Radar Online, a magazine that has run multiple series on various Hollywood cults - Scientology and Kabbalah, most notably - is about to run an expose on Tom Cruise, and his devotion to Scientology.

I am sure Cruise and Scientology have been harassing the people at Radar nonstop, holding up the process with legal threats, as well as friendly "visits" from OSA members, stopping by to "correct" any misinformation that might appear in the article.

I had read elsewhere (and I can't remember where, sorry) that Cruise had finally reached a certainl level in his training - he is very high up on their OT track, (he had passed OTIII a long time ago)- and this is why he has been acting so strangely lately.

About OTIII (a highly secret level - Scientolgists aren't even allowed to talk to each other about OTIII): it has been said that those who do pass this level without cracking up (this is the level where Xenu is revealed) transform into zealots. Their belief becomes much more evangelical in nature, and they get that crazy look in their eyes - which you can see any time you look at Jenna Elfman, or Tom Cruise. They are evangelists, missionaries.

If you swallow Xenu, if you allow yourself to be duped by the Xenu story ... then you have no choice than to become a fanatic.

It's an interesting psychological question. Nobody wants to admit they've been tricked, or lied to, or betrayed. Nobody wants to admit that you have spent up to $30,000 on saunas and books and classes - only to find out that the whole thing is a scam. Some people literally crack up after the Xenu revelations, and have to be restrained. (There is much speculation that Tom Cruise himself went through such a crack-up). And once you succumb, once you surrender ... all of that doubt and self-hatred and self-loathing (from being so willingly duped) is turned viciously outwards on all detractors.

Ex-Scientologists have described that process in just such a way.

There has been a lot of talk about Tom Cruise's recent behavior and how much of it has to do with the fact that he fired his aggressive shark-like publicist who kept all these pesky questions at bay for years. She refused access to anyone who brought up Scientology in an interview. Tom Cruise is the biggest movie star in the world. Journalists, talk show hosts, entertainment shows ... they all need access to him. It's part of their job. So they took Scientology off the list of topics, and focused on his work. This helped create the Tom Cruise image - of friendly, gregarious, private family man. We knew very little about him. Except that he was a huge star, and rarely had any scandals attached to his name. He was never a Russell Crowe type, always in and out of trouble. He was squeaky clean, in terms of his reputation.

So then last year: he fired his publicist, and hired his Scientology sister to be his publicist. And obviously the end-result was a bunch of couch-jumping, and now Tom Cruise's reputation has been seriously damaged. (No. Seriously. It has. He is not aware of it yet, but it's true.)

If Tom Cruise has reached this level of Scientology where you begin to feel omniscent and all-powerful (these people think they can walk through walls, and also never die ... sickness doesn't exist for them, etc.) - then of course it would be intolerable for him to have a publicist who is saying to him "DON'T talk about Scientology."

Talking about Scientology (evangelizing) has now become a duty. He must do his part to "clear the planet".

He is blinded by his own power, his own certainty. He no longer feels that there are consequences for his behavior. He can jump on couches, and slam Brooke Shields, and have disastrous interview after disastrous interview ... and nothing will stick to him!!! He's a high-level Scientologist! These petty problems can't touch him!

(I also wonder, though, if he is scared of what will happen to him if he doesn't play along with Scientologists. Because of their auditing sessions, they probably have a ton of dirt on him. It's one of the ways they keep their celebrities in line, blackmailing them with their own secrets.)

I am not sure if that deeper level exists now for Tom Cruise. I think he is completely on the other side, he is completely brainwashed. He is now a willing participant in his own surrender. He signed up, and now he shouts it to the mountains.

So while I think Tom Cruise ALWAYS was a bit nutty - and for many years we didn't know just how nutty, because he was shielded by his powerful publicist - I think there has also been a transformation over the last year. Yes, he is no longer protected. So that is probably a lot of it. You never read in-depth interviews with Tom Cruise back then, and so there were no opportunities to see the cracks in the psyche. The questions were all about his movies, and his acting. His reputation was stellar. He is a workaholic, and literally no one has ever had a bad thing to say about him on any set he's worked on. The catering guys, the gaffers, the extras ... Tom Cruise is notorious for being on time, a team-player, and always ready to work.

This is probably still true. But now - for the first time - the personal stuff has taken over. And everybody stares at him, like: "Is this the Tom Cruise I've been watching for 20 years? What?? Top Gun? Risky Business? Was he like ... THIS ... all this time?"

I don't know the man, so I can't answer. But I think he now feels he is omniscent, powerful, and his main job is to be an advocate for the Church of Scientology.

I look forward to reading Radar's piece when it launches.

Beck and Scientology

2005-08-19T14:50:00.000-07:00

Here's a really great article about musician Beck's lifelong involvement with Scientology. Here's the part I find the most interesting:

Beck has been reported in various places, by a number of people, to have attended the Apple School of Los Feliz, which was run by Scientologists. Beck's elementary class portrait as "Bek Campbell" appears in an Apple School yearbook. It's not clear what years Beck attended the school, though it ceased operating in 1985. Beck dropped out of school in the ninth grade, after a short time in public school. Many children raised in Scientology, like Juliette Lewis, Leah Remini, and Lisa Marie Presley, drop out of school early. Cult-educated children who are later enrolled in accredited schools often find themselves hopelessly behind their conventionally educated classmates, so dropping out of school is an easy choice. The lack of education among cult-raised children is crucial for future indoctrination and recruitment. A child who has never been introduced to the scientific method or critical thinking techniques is ripe for brainwashing. He will more readily accept stories about being possessed by the spirits of space aliens or about being a descendent of shellfish, or believe that Dianetics can cure illnesses. Children raised in cults are also expected to support themselves at an early age, and Scientology is no exception. As little adults, they are expected to get jobs or work full time for the cult, so a formal education is not considered a necessity.

And:

Beck is relatively uneducated. He has just an eighth grade education, and most of this education seems to have been in Scientology schools. He most likely has never had conventional education in science or health. This is by cult design, because lack of education makes a victim easier to manipulate.

It kind of makes his assertions that "it has reinforced certain things that were really constructive and good. If you actually look at what's been done through Scientology and what's come out of it, I think it blows away the criticism" even more ridiculous.

First Tom, Now Kirstie

2005-08-19T12:39:00.000-07:00

Shortly after Tom Cruise's interview with Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt Lauer on the Today show, I came across an article (I forgot where - yes, sloppy of me) describing the appearance by writing that there is little that is more embarrassing than watching a person passionately argue over a subject that they clearly know nothing about. Add Kirstie Alley to that list:

"You're talking about a group of evil, evil people who have got evil tools that they're using, who are selling in the guise of lovely little cartoon characters on TV," she said, referring to the little happy-faced Zoloft blobs. "Underneath that is at best ignorance and at worst really something pretty evil."

That's right. An actress knows better than people with medical degrees that have, you know, studied human physiology for years.

At one of the few pauses we asked: Have you ever been in therapy?

"Are you kidding? No. I've had these viewpoints my whole life," she said. "I had personal experience in my life of meeting psychologists and psychiatrists, and they're lunatics."
Along with MATT LAUER, we don't know, we don't understand. So we sat there quietly and learned about the billion-dollar psychotropic drug industry, the rate of suicide among psychiatrists, the recent growth in electroshock therapy and the role of drugs in school shootings.

"It's a legitimate war," Ms. Alley said. "It is a war. And it is controversial because you're either in or you're out. If you think it's good to give kids heroin, Prozac - I mean, heroin, cocaine, crack - then you belong in the group that likes Ritalin, Prozac, Zoloft, all these. This is the psych-think."

Right again. The shrinks are the lunatics. The brainwashed cult member and college drop out knows better than the doctors.

(Link stolen from Cult News Network.)

Niacin detox?

2005-08-08T08:28:00.000-07:00

Okay - so remember the photos of Katie Holmes with those weird "canker sores" all over her mouth? More photos here (scroll down). The photos came out right after she and Cruise "went public" with their ~~cult initiation~~ relationship in April, 2005. We saw them smooching endlessly on the red carpet ... and then four days later, these bleak weird photos of Katie shopping, talking on her cell phone, with black sores all over her lips are published.

Two theories (although the main response was: WTF?? It is rare to see a celebrity look so disheveled and terrible in public. How about a little concealer, Katie?) bandied about at the time were:

1. Katie's mouth was bruised from so much hot making out with Tom Cruise

2. Katie suddenly came down with some kind of adult form of impetigo (herpes?) - which is partly caused by stress. Of course she was stressed out by all the publicity!

Judging from the stilted phony way Cruise kissed Katie on the red carpet, the first possibility seemed highly unlikely to me. Obviously, I do not know Cruise or Holmes - so maybe they were spending hours on end mashing their faces together. Face-skin chafing is quite common for women, after major snogging sessions with men (or so I've heard. Ahem.) But something about the two of them together seemed really phony to me, and I couldn't picture them rolling around on the couch like horny teenagers, clawing at one another's belt buckles. Also, there's a difference between a little skin chafing and huge black SORES appearing all around the mouth.

What was up with Katie Holmes' face??

Remember: those sores appeared following the "TomKat are a couple!!" publicity blitzkrieg (starting on April 27). Prior to that blitzkrieg, Katie Holmes apparently (according to friends and family) had been missing for 16 days. She was seen on April 4 in New York (she had not met Tom Cruise yet) and then again on April 7 at another event in Manhattan. At some point during the next week, Holmes was flown to California to have a meeting about Mission Impossible: 3. (We now know what happened to Scarlett Johanssen during a similar meeting. Did Katie Holmes go through a similar initiation and NOT flee into the night, like Ms. Johanssen did?) After flying to LA for her "meeting": nobody heard from Katie Holmesfor 16 days. (She comes from a close-knit family - this disappearing act was seen as highly unusual). The next time anyone heard or saw Katie Holmes was when she appeared on the red carpet beside Tom Cruise on April 27. And they were "in love", etc. etc.

What was happening during those 16 days? It appears that Scientology got its hooks into her in that time. I wonder what went on, what kind of indoctrination, what kind of pressure she had to handle ... how hard did they push? How hard did Cruise push? How does one give up one's self, one's critical mind, one's Catholicism - in a matter of 16 days? What was done to Katie Holmes?

Look at those photos again of Katie with the black sores over her face.

In case you haven't heard, there is a huge brou-haha going on in New York right now, in regards to the "detoxification center" set up by Scientology to aid the firefighters who had to work at Ground Zero. Tom Cruise was at the forefront of setting up this center, which came into existence days after September 11. He, of course, "cared" about the firefighters, and was "concerned" about the poisons they had to breathe in. And so firefighters can go to the center to ~~be recruited into the cult~~ purify the toxins out of their system. L. Ron Hubbard was big on "purity", and he proposed lengthy sauna sessions as well as major doses of niacin - in order to bring these impurities out. There is no scientific evidence that going into a sauna for 8 hours will cure you of anything - as a matter of fact, it may do more harm than good.

From the article above:

A disaster was narrowly averted last summer when a firefighter ran out of a 170-degree sauna — part of the detoxification method, along with exercise and large doses of niacin — because he was "having trouble breathing," according to one witness.

As the firefighter's hands were "turning blue," a call was made to clinic higher-ups for guidance.
"They said it was just a 'manifestation' and that we should go back to the book until it passed," one horrified witness recalled.

"We were told to take him to the hospital if absolutely necessary, but to drive him there, instead of calling 911."

The firefighter was given oxygen and his condition eventually stabilized.

A spokesman for the clinic defended the operation.

"The detoxification program is under the general medical supervision of a board-certified physician," said Keith Miller. He added that the clinic "has a clear policy to call 911 when needed."

The saunas are operated without doctors present. If sores start to erupt on your body, it is a "manifestation". Manifestation? 170 degree sauna? To ... what ... purify the firefighter's body from having breathed in toxic fumes? Where is the medical science backing this up?? Typical Scientology bullshit.

Niacin, too, taken in large doses, is toxic, and can cause, among other things, major skin disturbances, such as rashes.

Here's a first-person account of the "purification" methods Scientology uses (and every member has to go through them - this is one of the cash cows of the organization):

It's a horrifying story.

G told me that my first step was the Purif. (Purification Rundown, an excersize, vitamin and sauna program designed to flush out drugs and radiation from the body). I was a bit skeptical about this - how did this address spiritual issues? G explained that spiritual progress was impeded by residue drugs and radiation. I bought it (in both senses of the word, it cost me R1500).

I started feeling dizzy. I took water and salt. And then I passed out. I was told that I was in the sauna like that for an hour. I "came to" with a lot of shouting and someone hosing me down with water - I remember the panic on the faces of the staff. Clearly something had gone badly wrong. The next day, people at my place of employment remarked on how pale I was, and I felt shaky the whole day.

These people "on staff" are not doctors. They are not qualified physicians. They are charlatans and users, messing with people's health.

From the same first-person testimony:

However, to my non-scientific mind, the whole credibility of the Purif rests on the premise that Niacin flushes out radiation and drugs.

Niacin is nicotinic acid - a vitamin of the B group, which is prepared SYNTHETICALLY in a process that includes the oxidation of nicotine. The toxic effect is the DILATION OF THE VEINS, and this leads to hot flushes - high dosages also lead to abdominal cramps, tiredness and skin blemishes.

Hubbard thought he had made a big medical breakthrough here (like all megalomaniacal wack-jobs, he thought he was the smartest, most revolutionary, most original person on the planet.)

Did it never occur to him that the flushes, the rashes, the skin blemishes were actually NOT signs of impurities being flushed out, but actually signs of harm being done?

Hubbard is asserting here that medical science is incorrect in thinking that niacin caused the skin to flush. He states, instead, that the flush is caused by niacin "running out", or getting rid of, sunburn or radiation. He offers no research to back this up. As Kim Baker points out, this is the whole basis of the Purification Rundown - an assertion contrary to medical research, made without any scientific basis, but asserted as if it had been properly researched.

When I saw Katie Holmes' blotched-up face, I never once thought of the sauna/niacin purification rundown. For some reason, it slipped my mind - even though it is well-known that this is the first step for anyone joining Scientology. I chalked the blotches up to major stress.

But now I wonder.

I'm not the only one wondering.

Of course Scientology denies, denies, denies. Not only does Scientology deny that Katie Holmes was blasted with niacin and saunas (during the 16 days when she was MIA) - but it denies that the purification program is in any way harmful. They stand by their lies.

I hope that the New York Post multi-part series brings about some good, and I hope the Detoxification Program is shut down before more people are harmed. Good for the Post for keeping the spotlight on the issue.

I believe that the blotches on Katie Holmes' face were caused by a bombardment of niacin mixed with long sauna sessions, in preparation for her quick conversion to Scientology, and her quick conversion to being the "fiance of Tom Cruise".

Stolen Valor Act of 2005

2005-08-08T08:14:00.000-07:00

The Stolen Valor Act "would place criminal penalties on those who falsely claim to have risked their lives for our country, restoring honor to those who have truly earned it".

There's a big problem of medals fraud - people claiming all kinds of glory for themselves which they never earned (disgusting). "Current law only allows prosecution of imposters who wear an unearned Medal of Honor on their person. Salazar’s legislation will expand the law to include those who publicly claim to be decorated veterans, allowing the Federal Bureau of Investigation to finally prosecute several high profile cases."

One of those "high profile cases" is the case of L. Ron Hubbard. Scientology continues to perpetuate the lie that Hubbard was a war hero, he had seen major combat, he did this, he did that - all lies.

Yesterday, a letter was sent to Congressman John Salazar (he was the one who proposed the Stolen Valor Act) asking:

Is there anything you can do to force the Scientology business to cease making its false claims about Hubbard's Navy career?

The letter states, eloquently:

This is exactly what the proposed Act is meant to redress. People, and the organizations they created, who claim military awards and medals that they have not earned and have not been awarded should be punished and execrated by society. Even though Hubbard is dead, his business still repeats his lies, and in my opinion the proposed Act should also punish businesses and organizations that repeat such falsehoods. It is a gross insult to American men and women who have actually been wounded and who have actually earned the medals and awards that frauds and con-artists falsely claim. It's despicable behavior. People who claim high military distinction, such as Hubbard and his business, insult and slap the faces of every man and woman who served the United States with distinction, honor, courage, and valor.

This should be interesting to watch. Wonder how Scientology will respond.

Mimi on Tom

2005-08-07T18:56:00.000-07:00

We were under the impression that it was Mimi Rogers that got Tom Cruise into Scientology. If so, it didn't turn out exactly as she had planned. Read about it here. Key quote:

"He was seriously thinking of becoming a monk. He thought he had to be celibate to maintain the purity of his instrument, but my instrument needed tuning, and we had to split," femalefirst quoted Rogers as saying.

Who is Jessica Rodriguez?

2005-08-01T21:15:00.000-07:00

Read about her here.

Cliff notes version: High powered Sea Org functionary who was basically born into Scientology, entrusted with what is perhaps the cult's most important mission since the war against the IRS.

Key quote:

"I remember a regular teenager, excited about life," a boarding-school friend (of Jessica) told The Post. "Now all I see is a steely glare and determination to keep the truth about Scientology away from Katie."

Reason # 20,785 to love Lauren Bacall

2005-08-01T17:28:00.000-07:00

Lauren Bacall has a few unkind words to say about Tom Cruise.

"Yeah, well, maybe Jessica just needs to chill out a bit."

2005-08-01T11:10:00.000-07:00

A Wedding Toast by Katie Holmes's Former Best Friend.

(Just a little joking around to lighten the air. Sometimes all you can do is laugh.)

Who is Joan Wood?

2005-07-22T06:58:00.000-07:00

Joan Wood was the Medical Examiner for Pinellas-Pasco Counties in Florida, and was responsible for the autopsy and forensic investigation of the death of Lisa McPherson at Scientology's "Flag Base" in Clearwater, Florida in 1995.

Wood changed the report on Lisa's death several times, originally listing the cause of death as "bed rest and dehydration", later changing it to "homicide, cause of death dehydration", and finally listing the death as an "accident", deleting any reference to cause except for the blood clot that formed in her leg and travelled to her lung.

Reportedly Wood was under intense pressure from the "Church" to not implicate them in her report, and reportedly the "Church" told Wood they could reveal information "extremely damaging to her career and reputation".

After Wood changed her report, the Pinellas-Pasco prosecutors were forced to drop the felony charges against Scientology when Circuit Judge Susan Shaeffer strongly hinted she would through the case out. The prosecutors later said Wood had "botched the case beyond repair".

After the debacle, Joan Wood was reappointed by Florida Governor Jeb Bush, but resigned her position shortly thereafter, citing "severe job-related stress" but denying that Scientology "got to her". Since her retirement, she has been extremely hard to find as many other cases she had investigated have fallen apart because of her alleged malpractice, although she has been continuously sought to testify by many defense attorneys seeking to impeach her previous reports.

The judge in the Lisa McPherson case, Susan Shaeffer, later recused herself from the civil trial because of a personal relationship with one of the lawyers in the case, then recently retired as well due to lung cancer. Judge Shaeffer had at one point made the comment that she "felt sad" that the Scientologists were forced to see people protesting the death of Lisa McPherson in Clearwater.

The Fishman Papers and OT-8

2005-07-21T10:48:00.000-07:00

If you haven't read them, you need to go check out the Fishman Papers.

The Fishman Papers occasioned possibly the most aggressive campaign in the history of Scientology, and the internet, on the part of the Church of Scientology to prevent information about their organization to become available.

I know nothing about Mr. Fishman, or whether his "fable" is true, but it says some interesting things.

One of the things it says, which Scientologists (publicly) vehemently deny, is that there is a document written by L. Ron Hubbard known as "OT-8" in which he says that he, L. Ron, is the Antichrist, and being the devil isn't so bad because Jesus was a child molester, and that he, L. Ron, will later return from the afterlife as a powerful politician and take over the world.

So do you think young Katie has heard that L. Ron is the devil? (Was the devil? Will be the devil??)

Other things it says is that David Miscavige and Tom Cruise have a "special relationship". I wonder what he means by that? It might be a pretty interesting story.

The Fishman papers are actually chock-full of juicy celebrity gossip, including lots of stuff about John Travolta's personal life and why he is married to Kelly Preston, how Mimi Rogers got Tom Cruise into Scientology, and how OJ Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clarke is married to one of the senior operatives of Scientology's "Office of Special Affairs", which is the "church's" secret police and intelligence service. Apparently they all have a lot in common with Charles Manson, who they REALLY doesn't want you to know was a Scientologist.

Perhaps the most intellectually interesting part of the Fishman Papers, however, is the discussion of the extensive relationship between L. Ron and famous Satanist Aleister Crowley. Hubbard apparently borrowed a lot of Scientology dogma from Crowley's satanic "Ordo Templi Orientis" (OTO).

The Fishman document makes a pretty persuasive case that the origins of Scientology were in Hubbard's association with Aleister Crowley and his satanic secret societies, and that Hubbard practiced all kinds of satanic rituals throughout his life. The accounts, many of which come from Hubbard's son Ron Jr., will make you cringe.

So is Scientology really a big front for the world's largest and most powerful Satanic cult? Everyone may form their own opinions, but you could (and the Fishman papers do) certainly make a pretty compelling argument for that case.

Interestingly, the case can be made in at least two ways - the first comparing the writings and actions of Hubbard and Scientology to those of Aleister Crowley's satanism, and the other by comparing Scientology to what Christian theology says about the devil and his ways.

Paranoia

2005-07-21T07:26:00.000-07:00

Paul Krassner writes about being sued for libel (for $750,000) due to a 9-word promo in the magazine The Realist, which poked fun at Scientology.

9 word satire.

$750,000 worth of damages.

Oh yeah. It totally makes sense. If you're a Scientologist, that is, and indoctrinated in the ruthless policy of "fair game".

L. Ron Hubbard wrote in 1955: "The purpose of a lawsuit is to harass and discourage rather than to win. The law can be used very easily to harass, and enough harassment on somebody who is simply on the thin edge anyway . . . will generally be sufficient to cause his professional decease. If possible, of course, ruin him utterly."

L. Ron and the Sea Org

2005-07-19T19:58:00.000-07:00

Ever see a picture of Dave Miscavige and the leadership of the Church of Scientology? Did you wonder why they appeared to be wearing Navy uniforms?

Well ultimately that's because L. Ron Hubbard's father, Harry Hubbard, was a career Naval officer, who had a long, if not remarkably distinguished, career in the Pacific.

When young Ron was growing up and his father was stationed at various Navy bases, the founder of Scientology did have some interesting experiences travelling around the Pacific. He later grossly embellished the tales of those experiences to say he had lived with Buddhist monks in China and Tibet studying Zen and Chinese philosophy, among many other things which weren't true, but his experiences with the Navy affected him for the rest of his life.

His father was a commissioned paymaster, a sort of Naval accountant responsible for payroll management and the like, and eventually rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander, which was as far as he could legally go at the time in his limited duty status. But he was well known and generally respected in the very small Navy of the 1930s, and when WWII broke out, the young L. Ron was able to obtain a regular commission as a deck officer. He then had commands of two small vessels, the "YP-422" and the "PC-815". His later autobiographical accounts claimed he was a great war hero of pitched battles against Japanese submarines, but one of his superior officers described him as "not temperamentally fitted for independent command" and another found that he had mounted a major depth charge attack on a "known magnetic anomaly on the sea bed". Later he attacked Mexico (?!) with gunfire from his small patrol vessel and was relieved of his command. This is not, however, the account of his Navy career you will hear from the Church of Scientology.

After the war, still fascinated with all things Naval, L. Ron developed the habit of wearing Naval-style uniforms just because he liked the look of himself in them, and ultimately created his own Navy - the "Sea Organization" of the Church of Scientology, which allowed him to regularly promote himself and have other people call him "Commodore". The Sea Org is like a leadership cadre for the Church - all the major players came up through its ranks - and it operates much like a paramilitary force. At one time, the Sea Org even had ships, including a small cruise ship and some nice sailing yachts, and L. Ron spent several years in the 1970s cruising the Mediterranean on one or another of his Scientology yachts.

L. Ron Hubbard was a great storyteller, as well as a lifelong pathological liar. Although he did really serve in the Navy, almost all of his claims about his service, like most of his claims about everything else, were completely made up. Likewise the Sea Org is based on Hubbard's fantasies and rich imagination of himself as a great sea captain. I would very much like to see a ship actually operated by Scientologists wearing Navy outfits, however.

PS: I wonder if Tom Cruise has one of those natty outfits, or whether he is considered to be a fighter pilot in the Sea Org because he was in "Top Gun"?

PPS: The more I read about the life and stories of of L. Ron Hubbard, the more he reminds me of Joseph Smith.

PPPS: One more cute photo of "Captain" Miscavige and his crew here.

The War on Psychiatry

2005-07-19T12:12:00.000-07:00

Psychiatry is a profession, like any other, that is not without its flaws. It can be fairly argued that many doctors have proven themselves to be overly-eager to prescribe medications as a band-aid alternative to long-term therapy. It cannot, however, be denied that the profession in general has been an enormous help to thousands of people suffering from emotional and mental disorders that cannot be treated by any other type of medicine.

Because of this, it makes perfect sense that the Church of Scientology would object to its practice. They don't want people with psychological disorders such as depression to find the help they need because it is precisely these types of people that are their prey. You'll note a number of the questions in their "personality test" ask the respondant if they often feel helpless, lonely, or experience a general sense of not having sufficient control over their life. Most of us are searching for answers in our complicated lives; Scientology proports to have them - for a price.

I think it's a terrible mistake to assume that the only people that are netted by dangerous cults or marketing schemes are the gullible and less-than-intelligent. Cults recruit from legions of emotionally weak or recently traumatized individuals. We all have moments in our lives where we ourselves suffer these weaknesses. Widows, parents with sick children and otherwise desperate people are targeted and promised cures or solutions. Anybody can fall victim without the proper support from their friends and families during these times of crisis. Believe that you can never be duped yourself is one of the surest ways that you will be.

But back to psychiatry, and more specifically, Tom Cruise's recent claims that he "understands" the profession and its history (where Matt Lauer does not; apparently Cruise took the time to research everything Lauer has ever studied or learned in his life before meeting for the interview). Cruise may "understand" psychiatry, but only as it has been taught to him by Scientology, which has never made its opposition to its practice a secret and therefore can hardly be relied upon as a objective source of information. Chances are, every word he's read has emphasized the negative, under-reported the positive and, knowing Scientology, flat out lied or made things up as it suited them. Cruise no more understands the history of psychiatry than a person who has read a handful of Greenpeace flyers can claim they understand the function of the ecosystem of an Amazonian rain forest. His knowledge is false and his public refusal to consider the possibility that a lot of people are actually helped by psychiatry dangerous, considering his widespread fame.

At least he cares about us. Every last one of us.

Interview with Rick Ross

2005-07-19T07:33:00.000-07:00

Cult expert Rick Ross is interviewed here. He covers all different kinds of cults, but of course - Scientology comes up.

On Tom Cruise:

Mr. Cruise, like many people in groups often called "cults," cannot easily tolerate an outside frame of reference. He lives in a kind of traveling Scientology bubble with his entourage of sycophants and assistants. It's doubtful that he could have a serious personal relationship with an unbeliever.

Cruise is Scientology's most important living asset and they wouldn't want it any other way. It would be a "mission impossible" for someone to become his spouse without accepting Scientology. Tom Cruise arguably lost his last link to the other side when he replaced his publicist Pat Kingsley with his Scientologist sister. If he doesn't want an unbeliever as a publicist, why would anyone think he wants one for a wife?

Here's Ross on those pesky OTs:

You hear a lot of talk about OT in Scientology. What is OT?

Scientology says that "Operating Thetan" (OT) is roughly its equivalent to the religious concept of a human soul. But there are other more cryptic meanings that connect the word to a belief in preexistence and alien beings from outer space. Scientology is after all the creation of L. Ron Hubbard who was first a Sci-fi writer before becoming a religious prophet.

Scientology zealously guards its OT secrets and has used copyright and trade secret law to keep former members from posting this information on the Internet. However, a woman in Holland has successfully beaten them legally and anyone can read Scientology's secret OT teachings by simply going to a website called "Operation Clambake."

Rick Ross blogs here at Cult News. And here's the website for the Rick Ross Institute, a valuable resource on cults around the world.

Noah Baumbach has discovered that ....

2005-07-18T08:08:00.000-07:00

His dog is Tom Cruise. Here Baumbach tells us his dog's manic inner monologue:

Do you know the history of crate training? ’Cause I do. Don’t talk about things you don’t understand. Like saying dogs are wild. Dogs are wild—that is glib. Dogs are . . . I’ve done the research; there are crates that they put us in to quote unquote train us. They throw rattlesnakes at us. Electric-shock tags! I’m not making this up. This is . . . it’s history. Crate training just masks the problem. These dogs, they become zombies. You can totally handle disobedience naturally by saying “No!” and “Bad dog!” It works. Look at the facts. Shock tags?! I am disgusted.

hahaha! I fetch! Boy, I love to fetch. I am totally fired up when I fetch. And nap. I’ve got a great dog bed with leopard spots where I can power-nap, man. I’ve got awesome chew toys, too. I’m passionate about this rubber T-bone with peanut butter hidden in it. Here’s the point: do you know there are strays on the street eating out of the Dumpsters behind Chinese restaurants? I’m not making that up. I care about those mutts. But they don’t know what the options are. They don’t know that you can live in an apartment and get fed by a human. These hounds, man—when it thunders, they think the world is ending. Because they haven’t done the research.

Look out.

2005-07-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

The public is now onto you, Scientologists!

Hubbard expose

2005-07-16T15:35:00.000-07:00

Michael Crowley takes on the reality of Hubbard in this piece on Slate.

Hubbard always imagined himself a great man of history. "All men are your slaves," he once wrote in a diary entry unearthed during a 1984 lawsuit. He reportedly once claimed to have written a manuscript that contained such brutal truths that anyone who read it went insane or committed suicide. He fancied himself a nuclear physicist, never mind his lack of training, and posited that fallout from Cold War nuclear tests were interfering with Scientology therapies. (Hubbard even wrote a book titled All About Radiation—a swell read, according to one reviewer on Amazon who says, "I understand radiation better and feel like I could survive an atomic explosion somewhere on the planet, if it wasn't, of course, really close to me.") He reportedly constructed the myth that he was a World War II combat hero, when in fact the Navy reprimanded him after a San Diego-based ship he commanded shelled some nearby Mexican islands for target practice.

Delusions of grandeur, delusions of being an expert on everything. There is nothing that is not understood (and completely) by L. Ron Hubbard. He knows everything.

"All men are your slaves."

Nice.

How can Scientologists not be aware of this stuff, or just brush it all off as lies perpetrated by people who hated him?

Questions For Tom

2005-07-15T16:54:00.000-07:00

Kudos to David Rowan at the Times of London for raising the issue of the media coddling Tom Cruise and his batshittery of late:

Thanks to his recent pronouncements, we now know that Scientology has “the only successful drug rehabilitation program in the world”, that psychiatry (as his Church teaches) is a Nazi “pseudoscience” and that antidepressants are worthless — tsk, Brooke Shields — as there is “no such thing as a chemical imbalance”. We have learnt that Cruise had a Scientology “massage ” tent brought on to Spielberg’s set (“to help the sick and injured”), that he is a Scientology “helper” who can save criminals and drug-addicts through the Church’s Narcocon programme and that his new fiancée, Katie Holmes, joyously “digs” Scientology too.

All very enlightening to the fix-grinned trivia merchants granted audiences with the great star — but in their fear of earning disapproval, too many so-called journalists have simply indulged Cruise’s questionable assertions. As talented an actor as he is, his active promotion of Scientology interests at a time when the group is pushing its medically questionable programmes in American schools and lobbying to legislate against psychiatry, demands closer scrutiny in the public interest. Instead, the tough questions go unasked and unanswered, with even Readers Digest — which once investigated what it concluded was “a frightening cult” — now reduced to attending a Scientology “immersion course” in order to interview Cruise for a cover story.

Oprah, Matt Lauer and countless red carpet mike stands in nice clothes haven't yet had the guts to ask Tom some of the tougher questions about Scientology. If he's going to use his celebrity to promote his "church," then he at least owes the public a few answers to some of the more unsettling questions.

Rowan continues:

So here are a few questions that the media ought to have asked Cruise. Tom, if you are so keen to place the Church firmly at the heart of public debate, why is it so anxious to suppress open discussion about its treatment record or finances? Why have defecting members been held to “billion-year” contracts to stay silent? And why have journalists investigating the church so often alleged that they met campaigns of personal intimidation and harassment? Richard Behar, who wrote an award-winning cover story for Time magazine in 1991, headlined “The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power”, claimed that in researching his piece, “at least ten attorneys and six private detectives were unleashed by Scientology and its followers in an effort to threaten, harass and discredit me”. The Church also brought a $415 million libel suit over Behar’s article — ultimately thrown out ten years later, but not before it served to warn off other potential investigations.

Some questions I'd like to ask Tom myself:

*Do you know who Lisa McPherson is and if so, would you care to comment on the circumstances of her death?

*Given your passionate support for the church's objections to psychiatry and pharmaceutical treatment for mental disorders, how do you feel about the founder of your church using drugs to conduct mind control experiments on his own children?

*What would your good friend Will Smith think if he knew L. Ron Hubbard was a racist that supported apartheid in South Africa?

*Do you support freedom of expression for non-Scientologists? If so, have you spoken to any of the church leaders regarding their efforts to silence anyone that raises criticism of their tactics?

It's doubtful Cruise will ever have to face such scrutiny, certainly not from the entertainment media, many of whom are willing do endure hours-long tours of the Celebrity Center in Los Angeles to kiss his ass for the privilege of an interview.

"I Don't Recognize Her."

2005-07-15T15:10:00.000-07:00

From uber-bitchy gossip aficionado Ted Casablanca:

Speaking of Tom, superinside sources connected out the friggin' wazoo tell me intended bride Katie Holmes is not experiencing from her family the smooth love-slide for Tommy-boy she would like. Ohioans in overdrive tell me Katie was expecting an all-aboard approval. Didn't exactly happen.

Yes, yes, yes, Katie's very happy. I know this. That's what K.H.'s peeps have been proclaiming fer weeks (just seems like eons). I'm sure it's true. But as I'm sure you gossipy folks have heard at this overgabbed point, Katie's family is reportedly a different story: "I don't recognize her."

And the kicker quote:

Finally saw War of the Worlds, by the by. Fabulous! However, look. If Tom Cruise makes one more bullet-ridden shoot-'em-to-death movie (à la The Last Samurai) and emerges for the epilogue like some do-me Rolling Stone cover, all dusty come-hither heroism with requisite facial scratches for beauty marks, I'm gonna lose it!

Die, you idiot, then maybe you'll finally get that damn Oscar (even though I seem to be the only one in the world thinking you richly deserve one). Do I need to remind you that your beloved ex Nic finally nabbed her statuette for drowning her depressed ass in The Hours? Love ya, mean it.

Okay, so I put that last bit in just to be mean.

One-stop Cruise-crazy

2005-07-14T10:35:00.000-07:00

Many of the highlights of the Cruise-is-crazy World Tour in one place!