Heh ! les suisses ne veulent pas des minarets et se sont arrangé pour coller ça dans leur constitution. Parlez-moi d’une mentalité de neuneu, je vous montre la Suisse. Mais ce ne sont pas les seuls, ils sont en bonne compagnie avec l’Arabie Saoudite qui ne veux pas d’églises avec des clochers. Même topo, c’est mathématiquement prouvé. Ils sont les mêmes que les couillons qui veulent des lois anti-blasphème. Ils sont les mêmes que les opposants aux bus athéistes.

Ce sont les gens qui ont la trouille qu’un vent plus irrationnel que celui qui fait avancer leur business ne vienne mettre par terre leurs vérités.

Croire à Dieu, Allah, Xenu, ou Thor, même combat, des raisons aussi peu valables dans l’un ou l’autre des cas. Aucune raison de préférer l’un ou l’autre au fond.

Tout est au soutient politique que les sectes réussissent à s’associer pour accéder au statut de religion. Puis à l’expansion de ce pouvoir pour museler les opposants, à leur capacité de détruire ceux qui étaient là avant. Pas toujours avec des gants de velours, souvent en détruisant et baignant dans le sang. Toujours en essayant de soumettre la loi civile à la loi religieuse, souvent germée dans des cerveaux suffisamment malades pour prendre leurs hallucinations pour des réalités.

Ah, aujourd’hui le pape priait pour les victimes du HIV, ferait mieux d’aller distribuer des capotes. Y compris à ses prêtres, vu le nombre des gamins enculés (littéralement) par les clergés ça ne serait pas superflu.

NB : je sais que j’ai mis une photo de l’obélisque de la Concorde, je me demande quel est l’agenda de cet affichage, avec la pyramide du Louvre et tout

When I got this matchbook, as soon as I saw the building and the address, I said to myself (and my cat):

“I bet its that fucking Scientology building!”

Sure enough, the poor Hotel Christie has been turned into a Scientology Test Center. I used to work next door to it at the Egyptian Theater, and I remember trying to dodge “The Cult” while running to get to work on time.

Even though Scientology is a bunch of bullshit, I do give them props for their rehabilitation of old buildings. They really do fix them up nicely while trying to keep any historical attributes.

But it’s still a fucking cult.

So back to the Hotel Christie. It was built in 1922 and it was the first luxury hotel in Hollywood. Charles H.V. Christie was a Canadian that came here to make movies and opened up a little studio there on Hollywood Blvd. that made comedies. They used their earnings from that to open the Hotel Christie.

Look! A view to a kill from inside the Hotel Christie!

The Hotel Christie/Scientology Test Center is featured in one of my most FAVORITE movies of all time – “Reflections of Evil”. I found a clip on You Tube with the Hotel Christie scenes, starting at 0:09 second (where Bobby has a fit) and it’s featured in the background when the black guy is having a meltdown.

I bet Xenu enjoyed the Cocktail Lounge & Grill at the Hotel Christie!

Scientology Australia have probably just added a new SP to their dossiers after Nick Xenophon’s scathing attack on the organisation early this morning (or late last night) - check out a video report over here.

Senator Xenophon said their correspondence [fro former church memebers] implicated the organisation in a range of crimes, including forced imprisonment, coerced abortions, embezzlement of church funds, physical violence, intimidation and blackmail.

In an effort to charm every divorcee in the country, Scientology released a statement that comments from ex-members are as reliable as that of an ex-spouse about a former partner. You see they mean all the emotional abuse and denial of care with love obviously.

Another charming response on this effort was on Ten’s 7pm Project which brought in theologian Rev Dr David Milligan who was supposed to illuminate the issue, but basically said Scientology can’t be that bad because Christianity (his religion) believes in some crazy stuff you find in a book too.

So close, yet so far… video embedded below, but you’ll have to skip to about 8:35 to get to the Scientology segment (the first story about a guy who goes 600km off course after a wrong turn is a bit amusing though).

more about “7PM Project Wed 18 Nov 2009″, posted with vodpod

All organised religions are criminal..the world needs to wake up and face facts; End of story

Part 2 <–+

Although I was brought up Catholic, I have a laundry list of problems with organized religion.  It seems every faith, including the one I was raised with, always has some kind of bullet-point that manages to ostracize a group of people while simultaneously contradicting itself.  And whether you believe in a God or not, I think we can all agree that religious extremists, even when they come from faiths rooted in good morals, really only divide people further apart.  And if I’m not mistaken, Isn’t God supposed to bring people together?

Sorry to get all serious and whatnot, but what it boils down to is this: man created religion.  And like most things man creates, it is flawed.  And since it is flawed, it is open to scrutiny.  And since it is open to scrutiny, I get to make fun of it.  And what is my favorite religion to make fun of…

Scientology.

Oh what fun it is to insult a “legitimate” belief structure conceived by a science fiction writer in the 1950’s.  You know, I’ve only played in one band in my life, but both our name and logo were derived from the workings of that good ol’ nutjob L. Ron Hubbard.  Seriously, if the Polyphonic Spree & the Detroit Lions joined forces and established themselves as a religion, it still wouldn’t be as entertaining to make fun of as the Church of Scientology.  I only wish that I could actually sit through Battlefield Earth and learn more about Xenu & The Galactic Confederacy so that I could spew verbal abuse about Dianetics that much more effectively.

Perhaps you’re wondering, “Where the hell is this coming from all of a sudden?”  Well, I happened to be on MC Lars’s website tonight and stumbled upon this video. So without further ado I present “Scientology=WTF?”

You ever wonder what else is out there?

You may think this is more insane than your religion.. but that’s just because this insane bs is more recent in history.
Kids growing up being indoctrinated with this crap feel the same way as you about Jesus, Muhammad blah.

Scientology has reminded me of a lot of things, and all I ever read was Dianetics.  It’s not because I’m a Scientologist, it’s by observing the many groups surrounding this semi-mysterious, controversial group.  As someone who tries to study every religion, I find myself on a middle road in terms of opinion.  People are entitled to believe what they want, but there ought to be limits to actions perpetuated in the name of religion.  History should have taught us this.

Like almost every other religion, Scientology has gone under a lot of scrutiny.  I think it is justified and logical, as part of the human reasoning process, we should question the validity of everything that comes our way.  From its inception, it was not well-received by governments because of its activity.  Most famously, Scientology was convicted of making the largest government infiltration in American History.  It should be also noted, that Paulette Cooper and the Mayor of Clearwater were “fair gamed” before David Miscavige came along.   The publication of a book about this was banned because of Scientology lawyers.  Lisa McPherson changed a lot of things, and now reading Marc Headley’s new book, I realize her passing made a lot of lives miserable.  It wasn’t just her family like I thought, everyone but the person responsible got punished, and this makes my flesh crawl.  It’s wrong in so many ways, I have a hard time coming up with words to describe it.  Lisa suffered, her family did, and so did Scientologists.  It’s odd this woman, who cannot speak, still resonates with purpose.

Fast forward past the tax exempt status to January of 2008.  Then Anonymous arrived, like a Calvary out of the dark midst of the internet.  They caught someone smacking a cat against the wall and made sure that person was punished for this heinous act.  Also, our awesome Canadian friends to the north from Anonymous caught a pedophile by using their brains and computers alone.  They went out to protest this semi-mysterious group, and all of a sudden the flood gates opened.  Information from left and right, and I had to buy Dianetics.  I had to know what I was talking about, the fundamentals.  It was boring to me, but someone else could find it interesting.  Anyway, I realize now that it’s a heck of a lot more complicated than that. 

The social structure within is absolutely filled with acronyms.  I’m studying medical terminology, and from this perspective one rivals the others in groups of letters, I swear.  The corporate structure of shell groups is not so amazing when you find out how it’s done.  RadioPaul1 of youtube has done a number of videos on this very subject, of closed down orgs, mailbox organizations, and orgs in strange places.  At the cable store in Hudson Valley, NY there’s a Scientology sign inside a cable payment center.  Scientology reminded me fact can be stranger than fiction.  There was a quote about the tone scale: 

No Scientologist has ever really been able to adequately explain this quote to me.  I would appreciate it if anyone could give it a shot.

My interpretation would be this: There are a lot of people who are 2.2 on the tone scale, more than most people know.  This would also adjust with changes times, like “The Great Depression”.  You think people weren’t depressed?  Because of these natural fluctuations, I would be innocently assuming that LRH didn’t mean it literally,  but then I read the following:

• p. 159

Scientology is not fluff, butterflies, daydreams, or making shapes out of clouds.  It’s not tea-leaf reading crapola, Scientologists fiercely defend this mode of thought, philosophy, religion.  They are dedicated, hard-working, cut-throat at times, creative, debaters, and I also found they can be great people.

Paul Haggis recently gave up the Church of Scientology after 35 years because of the church’s support of Prop 8.  Sherry Katz and Mary-Jo Leavitt both wrote KRs (Knowledge Reports) that brought for the reality of what it is like to work under David Miscavige-Era Scientology.  It is not an “Ice Cream Social” or anything of the sort.  When Mr. Rathbun, along with other people such as Amy Scobee, Sinar Parman, Jackie Wolff, Gary Morehead, Mike Rinder came out with shocking stories also, of what it is like to serve someone who seems to, by many accounts, has an issue with megalomania.  Beating, unusual punishment, imprisonment is no laughing matter and is completely unacceptable.  You can’t call something a religion to abuse people, religion doesn’t work that way.   These folks had some great words when faced with irrelevant and silly pieces of information the church used to make itself look like the victim. 

Tommy Davis, the newest spokesthing, sent a response to the Times, which is quite telling.  See it here: http://www.tampabay.com/news/scientology/article1012575.ece  My favorite part is where Tommy said Rinder was resentful because he couldn’t roam with dogs in the big grass anymore or some crap like that.  His response was:  “I don’t want to run in toxic grass with rabid dogs”.  I think that was well said.

Tommy Davis, the poor kid.  He’s so bad at being the fall guy, it’s like watching a train wreck in slow-motion.  He at first said:  “I’m not familiar with that material”, to being offended about Xenu.  He also lied about disconnection.  A lady in Scientology had told a recently left OTVIII’s friends to take her off their Facebook.  That’s disconnection, that’s cutting off communication.  Another irregularity which I found to be sad and amusing at the same time:  Sherry Katz is awaiting her SP Declare because it GOT CLOGGED IN THE INTERNETS.  Meaning, her SP declare was emailed to people she didn’t even know.  Disconnection is part of the SP Declare, which you can read about here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SP_Declare#Abuse_of_the_.22Suppressive_Person.22_label

More about the internets, in recent blogs written by Scientologists, I think they perceive Anonymous as a threat or a pack of bullies, which is quite far from the truth.  In getting to know people from Anonymous, they come from almost every walk of life, in all different colors and sizes.  They may make noise, not to be jerks, but to grab attention.  When people like Uwe Stuckenbrock die in the RPF of multiple sclerosis, it’s not about fun and games.  When we find a picture of a man who died in the Fort Harrison Hotel, his skin nearly boiled off his body, the public gets freaked out.  When Tom Cruise went under a drastic personality change in 2004, the world noticed.  I think Scientology’s first big mistake was trying to stop the flow of free information.  One man had said; “The internet will be Scientology’s Waterloo”.  A Dutch woman, Ms. Spaink, was taken to court for 10 years and eventually won her case to post information about Scientology on the internet.  Trying to suppress information makes the public angry, suspicious, and can incite negativity.  Other religions have no problem posting their information for free.

So, I think the main purposes behind Anonymous would be:  stopping abuses, freedom of information, and at least lowering the cost of (or making it free) Scientology.  That’s been my observation.  Some people take issue with the doctrine itself, and what I would say to that is: all religious text is open to interpretation.  However, because of Scientology closing itself off from the world for such a long time, both sides have an attitude of distrust.

Anonymous hasn’t assaulted a single Scientologist, but there are incidents of Scientolgists assaulting protesters.  This is strange and unacceptable behavior as well.  Don’t believe me?  Please have a look at:  Lady protesters from Copenhagen gets shoved http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPBpS-TEjug , a minor in London  getting hit in the face by a handler  http://www.youtube.com/user/trapsicle , the infamous starbucks guy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4_b3z2E-0I , Tommy Gorman (Former Scientologist) got assaulted and charges were filed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kpvsB_At_I , news coverage of Nashville assault of college student http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvHpFtjNg_c , the infamous Anon Orange assault at Gold http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTR07SgrXfU , and there are many others.   On the subject of youtube, here’s me:  http://www.youtube.com/user/Shalindriaharam

To date, no one has shown me a video of Anonymous hurting anyone.   They are not a terrorist group or a cult, it’s a loose collection of individuals who find the behavior of CO$ to be unacceptable.  I concur, and the reason they wear masks is so that they are not “fair gamed” and have their medical privacy violated like The Pope  http://www.angrygaypope.com .  The cameras are used as evidence, CO$ likes to make false accusations.

All that considered, I’m on the fence in regards to Scientology.  Dianetics wasn’t my cup of tea, but who am I to judge?  I’d be a hypocrite, however making observations is fair.  Scientology itself deeply needs reform.  Mormonism is a modern-day example of religious reformation, but my favorite example was Martin Luther.  He attempted to reform the Catholic church, that brave soul.  They tried to kill him over it, but in the end good prevailed.  We now have the denomination Lutheranism, which is somewhat like Catholicism, just a heck of a lot less dogmatic.  Today Martin Luther’s observations about Catholicism ring true.

In summation, I would like to refer my favorite David Bowie song, Heroes.   “We can be heroes, even just for one day”. Protesters, Anonymous, Freezoners, Ex Scientologists like Jason Beghe and Tory Christman, Independents, Critics like 13Heathens http://www.youtube.com/user/13Heathens, Writers like Marc Headley (I loved the book) and Paulette Cooper, Apostates like Tommy Gorman, these people are the heroes.  The dethroning of Miscavige should be the primary objective, his behavior has gone too far.  Someday (in a perfect world), I would like to see Scientologists sharing their beliefs in the same manner other religions do.  People fear what they do not understand, this is a big barrier to overcome.  However, it is possible.

I just wanted to pass along a little info to you all concerning some upcoming protests this Thursday, November 5th, of the Church of Scientology by the group called Anonymous. An image that has become synonymous with the Anonymous protests is the mask of Guy Fawkes, who is recognized for his involvement in the infamous Gunpowder Plot on the 5th of November every year in the United Kingdom.

Many Anonymous protesters wear the Guy Fawkes mask when peacefully picketing CoS centers & passing out information to passersby about the cultish practices of the Church.  Contrary to CoS propaganda, these are peaceful protests which are designed to get out the truth about the Church and its practices; in no way, shape, or form do I, nor does Anonymous, encourage or condone any kind of violent or illegal action against the Church of Scientology!

So what’s with the Anonymous wearing the Guy Fawkes masks?  The answer is twofold: they do this not only to make a statement but also to protect themselves from the Scientologists who would attempt to ID them & label them as “suppressive persons” (SPs) and therefore target them for harassment. Believe me, even though I’ve never participated in an Anonymous event nor have I ever had a run-in with the CoS, from what I understand you do not want to be on that SP hit list.  So if you’re going to participate in one of these events, protect yourself (and others) and conceal your identity.

Anonymous tends to get its message out via the Internet, specifically through using online video.  For example, below are two Youtube videos: one of the first videos ever released by Anonymous back in January 2008…

… and a very recent video about the upcoming worldwide protests of the Church of Scientology on November 5th…

If you want more information regarding these protests, then check out the WhyWeProtest.net website.  For more information on Scientology in general, it’s hard to find a better site than Xenu.net, also known as Operation Clambake.  Spread the word.

Knowledge Is Free.

Scientology has always defended its beliefs with an army of well paid lawyers and a rabid indignation if non-believers should attack the central pillars of their belief system. These central pillars, or secrets, were usually only accessible to the highest levels of the “church” and only then after adherents had invested large amounts of time and money on working their way towards becoming one of the exalted few to whom these revelations were made.

But has the internet begun to undermine Scientology? And, if so, how long will it last if the secrets, which were for so many years inaccessible to non-initiates, are now freely available online and open to scrutiny?

The Church has always stuck with the line that the mystical secrets surrounding Xenu (the dictator of the Galactic Confederacy) are too dangerous for unprepared readers and may be harmful if consumed out of context. (The only way to prepare yourself, by the way, is to spend years paying for Scientology “audits” which will eventually help clear the subject from the reactive mind’s accumulated crap known as “engrams” and enable the subject to become “clear”.)

No doubt learning of Xenu, who brought billions of people to Earth, placed them around volcanoes and then detoneted nuclear bombs around them, could be confusing to a regular human. Knowledge of the everlasting battery which keeps Xenu imprisoned within an unspecified mountain here on Earth could be dangerous to us too, in case we all go bonkers and start digging up mountain ranges in order to find the once leader of Galactic Confederacy.

Or perhaps it is dangerous to the leading Scientologists who would find their belief system, and cash cow, gradually eroded.

It certainly seems the French Courts have decided to have a say in the matter as Scientology has recently been found guilty of defrauding its members on a massive scale after a judge debunked the use of the e-meter, a device which some may be familiar with as the crypto-scientific device used in high street “personality tests” for years.

So is the “Church” doomed? Perhaps not.

In France, Scientology has been deemed a sect rather than a religion and so is required to produce evidence to prove their wacky claims. In other, perhaps more religiously tolerant, societies like the United States, it was granted tax-exempt status as befitting a religion in 1993 and other countries such as Italy, Sweden, Spain and Portugal followed suit. Seeing as it is currently unlikely that “official” religions such as Catholicism will be required to prove that communion wafers magically become the flesh of a man who died 2,000 years ago or our good friends the Van Impes (and we’ll be looking at them again soon) will be asked to prove that God fills them in daily on the upcoming biblical apocalypse, it seems the Operating Thetans among the Scientologist brigade will be allowed to continue to ply their trade.

We can but hope the distribution of their dangerous secrets allow us to be a touch more discriminating about which religious fantasy we wish to subscribe to, however.

Oh, and if you haven’t seen Martin Bashir’s interview with Scientologist’s chief spokesman Tommy Davis, it’s worth taking a look at how the Church deals with questions from outsiders.

The most insane religion out there.. but I may feel like that because I am more used to the other crazy religions.. fuck it, they are all frigging insane..

A short video outlining the bizarre Xenu story attributed to the Church of Scientology.

This story is very popular on the internet and has been featured on South Park. Is this true? Is the Xenu story a tenet of Scientology? I, for one, would love to know. Wouldn’t it be great if we could just ask a Scientologist? Unfortunately, this Scientologist (Tommy Davis, head of the Celebrity Centre) refuses to answer the question and he leaves the interview in a huff (saying yes or no apparently not being an option). (at the 3:40 mark)

My guess is that he is legally unable to answer the question. After all, if they genuinely found the Xenu meme to be that insulting, then it wouldn’t be one of their beliefs and he would just deny it, would he? I know good and well that Evangelical Christians don’t find evolution feasible, but I accept it and I don’t shy away from saying that I do.

Personally, I think they should play up the Xenu aspect. People love shit like that. The “oh yeah, you can’t prove it’s not true” method of argumentation seems to work pretty well for most religions, I don’t see why Scientologists would feel the need for secrecy. While they’re at it, they should throw Bigfoot in the mix, too. People love Bigfoot.

Well, this latest news caps a really crappy week for the Church of Scientology, which makes me happy

Last May, I blogged about a story on how the French government was pursuing a court case against the Church of Scientology for fraud.  Well, today the verdict is in: guilty. And what was revealed during the course of the trial was very interesting…

Scientologists convicted of fraud

A French court has convicted the Church of Scientology of fraud, but stopped short of banning the group from operating in France.

Two branches of the group’s operations and several of its leaders in France have been fined.

The case came after complaints from two women, one of whom said she was manipulated into paying more than 20,000 euros (£18,100) in the 1990s.

A Scientology spokesman told the BBC the verdict was “all bark and no bite”.

France regards Scientology as a sect, not a religion.

Prosecutors had asked for the group’s French operations to be dissolved and more heavily fined, but a legal loophole prevented any ban.

Instead, a Paris judge ordered the Church’s Celebrity Centre and a bookshop to pay a 600,000-euro fine.

Alain Rosenberg, the group’s head in France, was handed a two-year suspended jail sentence and fined 30,000 euros.

Three other leading members of the group were also fined.

I have to admit, given the Church of Scientology’s overly litigious nature and proclivity for targeting their critics as “fair game” for a number of aggressive strong-arm tactics, it is refreshing to see someone stand up so strongly to them.  I suppose that more and more people are getting tired of the CoS cult and their quest for brainwashing & manipulating their members.  But, you can expect the CoS to continue their loathsome practices for as long as they are able.

And they can try, but as long as they do there will be those who oppose them.

I’ve managed to find another post for today….

As a Rabid Atheist I have a rather large amount of contempt for organised religion of all types…so now it’s time to point the spotlight on the baby religion that likes to think itself in the big boys league…Scientology.

L. Ron Hubbard…a crappy sci-fi writer..and a crappy religion starter. His successors have had a bit of a bad week, they’ve lost one of their celebs, they’ve lost a lawsuit in la belle France…and then to cap it off their “celeb centre’ spokeswhore..sorry spokesman throws a real girlie strop…watch this !!!

It made me laugh…remember everyone DON”T MENTION XENU … it upsets them..they’re a serious religion you know….well come to think of it they do have the main characteristics of a mainstream religion

• Cash pile gathering CHECK
• You’re not 100% but we have the solution bullshit CHECK
• Charity status CHECK
• Big fuck off buildings CHECK
• Ostenaciousness CHECK
• Hatred of minorities CHECK
• Silly rituals CHECK
• Silly fairy tales CHECK
• Revered figures CHECK
• Mind Control CHECK
• General mind fuckery – A HUGE FUCK OFF CHECK !!!

Fancy a laugh read about Xenu here and here (thanks @palmira_maria)

Is the Church of Scientology a crock? Does the Pope shit in the woods? Apparently France answered yes to both those questions when some former church members brought suit alleging fraud against the French branch of the sect cult church.

Now, there are people out there who will doubtless say the French did what they always do, which is stop short of actually taking decisive action (legit). But hey, at least they gave it a shot. I mean, the Church of Scientology was founded by a guy who wrote bad science fiction and had an honorary Ph.D. (which he awarded himself) from Sequoia University, a now-defunct diploma mill, which he sort of founded. Where’s the controversy?

Anyway, enough context. Here’s what we found in the New York Times:

The [Paris] court convicted the Church of Scientology’s French office, its library and six of its leaders of organized fraud. Investigators said the group pressured members into paying large sums of money for questionable financial gain and used ”commercial harassment” against recruits.

The group was fined euro400,000 ($600,000) and the library euro200,000. Four of the leaders were given suspended sentences of between 10 months and two years. The other two were given fines of euro1,000 and euro2,000.

However, the court did not order the Church of Scientology to shut down, ruling that it would be likely to continue its activities anyway ”outside any legal framework.”

Shocker that the French would use the old “Ah, if we ban ‘em they’ll do it in secret” routine. Hey, it’s more than we do in the U.S.

The verdict is ”an Inquisition of modern times,” said Scientology spokeswoman Agnes Bron, referring to efforts to rout out heretics of the Roman Catholic Church in centuries past.

The head of an association that helps victims of sects, Catherine Picard, called the verdict ”intelligent.”

”Scientology can no longer hide behind freedom of conscience,” she said.

The Los Angeles-based Church of Scientology, founded in 1954 by the late science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, has been active for decades in Europe, but has struggled to gain status as a religion. It is considered a sect in France and has faced prosecution and difficulties in registering its activities in many countries.

One could make the argument that Scientology is a religion and the French (and other Europeans) are unfairly bashing a legit outfit (much like the church’s spokeswoman claims — by the way, “Agnes Bron” is the greatest name for a spokeswoman, ever). All we’re saying is Scientology’s highest profile member is a high school graduate who claims to know the history of psychiatry. And jumps around a lot. And laughs for no apparent reason, all the time. We’re jus’ sayin’.

Yeesh. It’s been a bad week for Scientology. Paul Haggis bails because the church doesn’t like the gays, and head spokesman Tommy Davis leaves an interview with ABC’s Martin Bashir like a petulant child would.

Now the French get all French but do something…smart. Are we all, as Tom Cruise would say, glib? Or are we all all onto something here? Last one to the volcano’s an SP!

It seems that the Church of Scientology has had a pretty bad week, and if it’s one thing the CoS hates it’s bad publicity because they prefer to do things in utter secrecy.  This, in addition to a number of other loathsome practices – including brainwashing their followers and forcing them to cut themselves off from friends & family (called “disconnection”) – have widely earned the CoS status as a cult. Fortunately, in recent years, starting with the high-profile flipping out of celebrity nutwad Tom Cruise on Oprah’s couch, the CoS has been attracting a lot of unwanted attention.

Most recently, there was an embarassing batch of news coverage from a recent ABC Nightline investigation which featured a lot of things about the organization that the CoS wishes people didn’t know.  Here’s a Youtube link to the Nightline story…

Worse yet, just in the last few days there was the defection of high-level Scientologist and Oscar-winning director Paul Haggis from the Church.  And, from all appearances, he’s publicly digging up lots of dirt in the process;  below is a blog post by Marty Rathbun, also an ex-Church member, which outlines the letter that Haggis sent to the Church announcing his plan to leave. I have reproduced the text of Haggis’s letter below in its entirety…

August 19, 2009

Dear          ,

Attached find a letter to Tommy Davis. I am sending it to a handful of people, who I feel deserve an explanation. This was a personal decision; I am not seeking anyone’s agreement.  Feel free to call or write me once you’ve read it, but do not feel compelled to do so.
My very best,

Tommy,

As you know, for ten months now I have been writing to ask you to make a public statement denouncing the actions of the Church of Scientology of San Diego. Their public sponsorship of Proposition 8, a hate-filled legislation that succeeded in taking away the civil rights of gay and lesbian citizens of California – rights that were granted them by the Supreme Court of our state – shames us.

I called and wrote and implored you, as the official spokesman of the church, to condemn their actions. I told you I could not, in good conscience, be a member of an organization where gay-bashing was tolerated.

In that first conversation, back at the end of October of last year, you told me you were horrified, that you would get to the bottom of it and “heads would roll.” You promised action. Ten months passed. No action was forthcoming. The best you offered was a weak and carefully worded press release, which praised the church’s human rights record and took no responsibility. Even that, you decided not to publish.

The church’s refusal to denounce the actions of these bigots, hypocrites and homophobes is cowardly. I can think of no other word.  Silence is consent, Tommy. I refuse to consent.

I joined the Church of Scientology thirty-five years ago. During my twenties and early thirties I studied and received a great deal of counseling. While I have not been an active member for many years, I found much of what I learned to be very helpful, and I still apply it in my daily life. I have never pretended to be the best Scientologist, but I openly and vigorously defended the church whenever it was criticized, as I railed against the kind of intolerance that I believed was directed against it. I had my disagreements, but I dealt with them internally. I saw the organization – with all its warts, growing pains and problems – as an underdog. And I have always had a thing for underdogs.

But I reached a point several weeks ago where I no longer knew what to think. You had allowed our name to be allied with the worst elements of the Christian Right. In order to contain a potential “PR flap” you allowed our sponsorship of Proposition 8 to stand. Despite all the church’s words about promoting freedom and human rights, its name is now in the public record alongside those who promote bigotry and intolerance, homophobia and fear.

The fact that the Mormon Church drew all the fire, that no one noticed, doesn’t matter. I noticed. And I felt sick. I wondered how the church could, in good conscience, through the action of a few and then the inaction of its leadership, support a bill that strips a group of its civil rights.

This was my state of mind when I was online doing research and chanced upon an interview clip with you on CNN. The interview lasted maybe ten minutes – it was just you and the newscaster. And in it I saw you deny the church’s policy of disconnection. You said straight-out there was no such policy, that it did not exist.

I was shocked. We all know this policy exists. I didn’t have to search for verification – I didn’t have to look any further than my own home.

You might recall that my wife was ordered to disconnect from her parents because of something absolutely trivial they supposedly did twenty-five years ago when they resigned from the church. This is a lovely retired couple, never said a negative word about Scientology to me or anyone else I know – hardly raving maniacs or enemies of the church. In fact it was they who introduced my wife to Scientology.

Although it caused her terrible personal pain, my wife broke off all contact with them. I refused to do so. I’ve never been good at following orders, especially when I find them morally reprehensible.

For a year and a half, despite her protestations, my wife did not speak to her parents and they had limited access to their grandchild. It was a terrible time.

That’s not ancient history, Tommy. It was a year ago.

And you could laugh at the question as if it was a joke? You could publicly state that it doesn’t exist?

To see you lie so easily, I am afraid I had to ask myself: what else are you lying about?

And that is when I read the recent articles in the St. Petersburg Times.  They left me dumbstruck and horrified.

These were not the claims made by “outsiders” looking to dig up dirt against us. These accusations were made by top international executives who had devoted most of their lives to the church. Say what you will about them now, these were staunch defenders of the church, including Mike Rinder, the church’s official spokesman for 20 years!

Tommy, if only a fraction of these accusations are true, we are talking about serious, indefensible human and civil rights violations. It is still hard for me to believe.  But given how many former top-level executives have said these things are true, it is hard to believe it is all lies.

And when I pictured you assuring me that it is all lies, that this is nothing but an unfounded and vicious attack by a group of disgruntled employees, I am afraid that I saw the same face that looked in the camera and denied the policy of disconnection. I heard the same voice that professed outrage at our support of Proposition 8, who promised to correct it, and did nothing.

I carefully read all of your rebuttals, I watched every video where you presented the church’s position, I listened to all your arguments – ever word. I wish I could tell you that they rang true. But they didn’t.

I was left feeling outraged, and frankly, more than a little stupid.

And though it may seem small by comparison, I was truly disturbed to see you provide private details from confessionals to the press in an attempt to embarrass and discredit the executives who spoke out. A priest would go to jail before revealing secrets from the confessional, no matter what the cost to himself or his church. That’s the kind of integrity I thought we had, but obviously the standard in this church is far lower – the public relations representative can reveal secrets to the press if the management feels justified. You even felt free to publish secrets from the confessional in Freedom Magazine – you just stopped short of labeling them as such, probably because you knew Scientologists would be horrified, knowing you so easily broke a sacred vow of trust with your parishioners.

How dare you use private information in order to label someone an “adulteress?” You took Amy Scobee’s most intimate admissions about her sexual life and passed them onto the press and then smeared them all over the pages your newsletter! I do not know the woman, but no matter what she said or did, this is the woman who joined the Sea Org at 16! She ran the entire celebrity center network, and was a loyal senior executive of the church for what, 20 years? You want to rebut her accusations, do it, and do it in the strongest terms possible – but that kind of character assassination is unconscionable.

So, I am now painfully aware that you might see this an attack and just as easily use things I have confessed over the years to smear my name. Well, luckily I have never held myself up to be anyone’s role model.

The great majority of Scientologists I know are good people who are genuinely interested in improving conditions on this planet and helping others. I have to believe that if they knew what I now know, they too would be horrified. But I know how easy it was for me to defend our organization and dismiss our critics, without ever truly looking at what was being said; I did it for thirty-five years. And so, after writing this letter, I am fully aware that some of my friends may choose to no longer associate with me, or in some cases work with me. I will always take their calls, as I always took yours. However, I have finally come to the conclusion that I can no longer be a part of this group. Frankly, I had to look no further than your refusal to denounce the church’s anti-gay stance, and the indefensible actions, and inactions, of those who condone this behavior within the organization. I am only ashamed that I waited this many months to act. I hereby resign my membership in the Church of Scientology.

Sincerely,

Paul Haggis

Ps. I’ve attached our email correspondence.  At some point it became evident that you did not value my concerns about the church’s tacit support of an amendment that violated the civil rights of so many of our citizens. Perhaps if you had done a little more research on me, the church’s senior management wouldn’t have dismissed those concerns quite so cavalierly. While I am no great believer in resumes and awards, this is what you would have discovered:

* Founder, Artists For Peace and Justice,
- sponsoring schools, an orphanage and a children’s hospital in the slums of Haiti
* Co-Founder, BrandAid Foundation and BrandAid Project
- marketing the work of artisans from the poorest countries in the world,
* Board Member, Office of The Americas
- supporting peace and justice initiatives around the world
* Board Member, Center For The Advancement of Non-Violence
* Member and active supporter, Amnesty International
* Member, President’s Council, Defenders of Wildlife
* Member and fundraiser, Environment California and CalPirg
* Member and Award Recipient, American Civil Liberties Union
* Member and supporter, Death Penalty Focus
* Member and supporter, Equality For All
* Fundraiser, NPH (Our Little Brothers) – for the children of the slums of Haiti
* Member, Citizens Commission on Human Rights
* Patron with Honors, IAS
And formerly:
* Trustee, Religious Freedom Trust
* Board Member and fundraiser, Hollywood Education and Literacy Project
* Board Member and fundraiser, For The Arts, For Every Child
– supporting art and music in public schools
* Board Member and fundraiser, The Christic Institute
- supporting Human Rights in Central America
* Founding Board Member, Earth Communication Office
* Working Board Member, Environmental Media Association
* Fundraiser, El Rescate – Human Rights for El Salvador
* Fundraiser, PAVA – Aid and Human Rights in Guatemala

Awards for outspoken support of Civil and Human Rights:

* Valentine Davies Award – Writers Guild of America
“for bringing honor and dignity to writers everywhere”
*Bill of Rights Award – American Civil Liberties Union
*Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award – Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
*Peace & Justice Award – Office of the Americas, presented by Daniel Ellsberg
*Signis Award, Venezia, World Catholic Association
*ALMA Award – National Council of Latino Civil Rights
*Ethel Levitt Award for Humanitarian Service – Levitt & Quinn
*Prism Award – Entertainment Industries Council
*Humanitas Prize (2) – Humanitas
*Legacy Award, for Artistic and Humanitarian Achievement
*Environmental Media Award – EMA
*EMA Green Seal Award – EMA
*Image Award – NAACP
*Creative Integrity Award – Multicultural Motion Picture Association
*EDGE Awards (2) – Entertainment Industries Council
*Artistic Freedom Award – City of West Hollywood
*Catholics in Media Award – Catholics in Media Associates

And many dozens of fundraisers and salons at our home on behalf of Human and Civil Rights, the Environment, the Peace Movement, Education, Justice and Equality.

Oops, looks like the Church of Scientology screwed up royally on this one.  Good – if there were ever an organization which needs to have its dirty laundry aired widely & publicly, it’s the CoS.  They are dangerous and need to be exposed.  For more information on the Church of Scientology and its practices, I suggest reading the following links for more info…

Xenu.net – Operation Clambake

Project Chanology

Why We Protest

There were interesting comments on Marty Rathbun’s blog regarding the Part 2 of ABC’s Nightline special report on Scientology (my emphasis):

Those comments are in response to Nightline’s Martin Bashir asking Church of Scientology’s spokeperson Tommy Davis about the core beliefs of Scientology, more specifically, the Xenu story:

Tommy Davis eventually walked out upon Martin Bashir’s insistence on asking him about Xenu.

To Marty Rathbun, speaking openly of a core Scientology belief on a special report on Scientology is “[a] cheap shot,” and he is of the opinion that ABC Nightline was “pretty deceptive” because they did not warn him that the Xenu story would be addressed in Part 2.

Here is my stance on his stance.

I believe Scientology deceptively ensnaring people without first disclosing its core beliefs is a much worst “cheap shot” and much more deceptive – and it’s exactly how L. Ron Hubbard designed it.

Here is something else that was deceptive. First an excerpt:

Marty Rathbun: I watch him on Matt Lauer. And I go, “That ain’t Tom Cruise. That’s David Miscavige. That’s not the Tom Cruise I knew two years ago.”

Martin Bashir: You’re referring to the moment when he attacked Brooke Shields for suffering post-natal depression and–

Marty Rathbun: Attacked Matt Lauer, I mean, he’s talking –

Martin Bashir: For not understanding –

Marty Rathbun: – he is talking to Matt Lauer like David Miscavige talks to his staff. “You’re glib, man, you don’t get it. You don’t understand… –” you know.

The problem with Marty Rathbun’s statement here is that Tom Cruise doesn’t need David Miscavige to inspire his anti-psychiatry stance. The disgust toward mental health profession is drilled into every Scientologist as anti-psychiatry permeates all of Scientology teachings. Here are some select examples:

We want at least one bad mark on every psychiatrist in England, a murder, an assault, or a rape or more than one. This is Project Psychiatry. We will remove them.

[Ref. L. Ron Hubbard, 22 February 1966, "Project Psychiatry"]

And…

The way to redefine a word is to get the new definition repeated as often as possible. Thus it is necessary to redefine medicine, psychiatry and psychology downward and define Dianetics and Scientology upwards. This, so far as words are concerned, is the public opinion battle for belief in your definitions, and not those of the opposition. A consistent, repeated effort is the key to any success with this technique of propaganda.

[Ref. L. Ron Hubbard, HCOPL of 5 October 1971, "Propaganda by Redefinition of Words"]

And…

The names and connections, at this time, of the bitterly opposing enemy are:

1. Psychiatry and psychology (not medicine).
2. The heads of news media who are also directors of psychiatric front groups.
3. A few key political figures in the fields of “mental health” and education.
4. A decline of monetary stability caused by the current planning of bankers who are also directors of psychiatric front organizations would make us unable to function.

[Ref. L. Ron Hubbard, HCOPL of 16 February 1969, "TARGETS, DEFENSE"]

All parts of Scientology teachings, as written by L. Ron Hubbard. Even entry-level Scientology teachings plant the seed of suspicion toward mental health profession, as seen in the materials used in Applied Scholastics’ “Study Tech” program.

See also Jeff Jacobsen’s “CCHR – Human Rights Organization Attacks Its ‘Enemies’ ” for more insights re. Hubbard’s hate of psychiatry/psychiatrists.)

Teachings of intolerance and hate in Scientology scriptures are among the root problems leading to the abuses seen in Scientology. Blaming only David Miscavige is silly, Scientology had already a thick track record of abuses, wrongdoings and crimes before he arrived at the helm.

The nutters in the Scientology cult

(1/5)

Play all

Bonus

P.S. All religions are FAKE.

Para quem não sabe, a cientologia está representada em Portugal pela Igreja Portuguesa de Cientologia, em Lisboa. Mas o que é a cientologia, afinal? Que fazem os seus seguidores, além de pularem tresloucadamente no sofã da Oprah? Qual a razão para haver tanta adesão por parte das celebridades de Hollywood? Estas são todas questões bastante interessantes, às quais não vou responder.

O curioso é que o defunto Lafeyette Hubbard, a mente por detrás deste culto, era um escritor de ficção científica, ou seja, cumpria o requisito  fundamental para fundar uma religião. Através do website desta instituição sem qualquer tipo de fins lucrativos é possível efectuar um “teste de personalidade” grátis. Segundo eles, este tipo de questionários de escolha múltipla normalmente custam 500 dólares, o que faria destas as cruzinhas mais caras de sempre, ultrapassando as do totoloto por larga margem. No entanto, como são gajos(as) porreiros(as) permitem-nos fazê-lo de forma completamente grátis. Ao visitante informam, entre outras coisas, que a sua personalidade está relacionada com o respectivo salário. Desconfio que a conta bancária deles também! Senão vejamos: cá em Portugal, para subir na hierarquia e ir alcançando um nível superior de iluminação espiritual, ou lunaticidade, se preferirem, é necessário investir na formação e ir amealhando “cursos” que custam entre 50€-70€, no início, e os olhos da cara, mais tarde.

Após alguns anos de lavagem cerebral, e atingido o nível III de Thetan Operante, é-nos revelado um episódio da história que normalmente não é ensinado na escola. Há 75 milhões de anos atrás, um tal de Xenu, ditador maquiavélico e com requintes de malvadez, governava a Confederação Galáctica. Um belo dia resolveu trazer biliões de conterrâneos dele para a Terra. O que os aguardava não era o típico tranquilo passeio espacial, daqueles que normalmente se fazem ao domingo. Nada disso. Foram amarrados em torno de vulcões, onde de seguida Xenu ordenou que fossem detonadas bombas de hidrogénio. Enquanto tudo ia pelos ares, Xenu soltava um riso maléfico. Em termos visuais isto foi decerto algo de espectacular, mas não há bela sem senão: este falecimento em massa libertou uma essência maléfica, conhecida por thetan, que continua a corromper espiritualmente todos os seres vivos até aos dias de hoje. A quantidade excessiva de ficção científica presente nesta narrativa afectou-me de sobremaneira. Estou a precisar de algo que me faça voltar a ter os pés bem assentes na terra, por isso agora vou-me ausentar para uma maratona de Guerra das Estrelas e Senhor dos Anéis.

Welcome back to the Outsiders Edge everybody. Our little ramshackle of a sporting and culture website continues to float through the cyberspace as an enchanted oasis in the overwhelming desert of shitty sports media. I hope you all have enjoyed the correspondents reports as well as my radio shows over the past year with such legends as WWWF/WWE Champions Ivan Koloff, Bret the Hitman Hart and more.

Click this picture to read the recap of my interview with wrestling legend Bret Hart.

Monday night featured an absolute dick dance of sporting events on American television. The Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys engaged in an athletic battle that transcended boredom. Jake Delhomme of the Carolina Panthers is an awful professional quarterback. His voice just reeks with dumbness. He speaks like a rape victim of one of the bearded men in Deliverance. Besides sounding like a total hick, Delhomme turns into a total spaz every time he throws one of his numerous interceptions to the other team. Instead of tucking his head down in shame and walking to the sidelines like a normal person, Jake freaks out and starts flailing his body parts all over the place like a druggie who just happened to ingest an entire Fed Ex truck worth of speed. Go sit down you clown. Delhomme has as much chance of leading the Panthers to the Super Bowl as Pope Benedict the 16th does of drinking vodka shots with the alien creature Xenu and joining the Church of Scientology.  Just as an aside, how gullible does one have to be to actually believe in anything Scientology? Scientologists believe that an alien creature named Xenu populated the Earth 75 million years ago as a way of fixing the overcrowding problem besetting the Global Confederation. Riiight. Keep in mind this entire concept was created by L. Ron Hubbard a science fiction writer who was famous with coming up with shit. OK then. Apparently that idea beat out William Shatner’s religion where God was represented by a giant talking dog named Leon who created the Earth as a breeding ground for extra tennis balls.

William Shatner has a look of shock on his face after reading this paragraph.

Ah yes, where was I before I went on that tangent? Put simply Carolina v. Dallas was not a compelling matchup and I am tired as hell of seeing that stupid Cowboys stadium on television. I best finish this story before the Scientologist death squads kill me in the night. If I’m found floating in the Atlantic Ocean, blame Tom Cruise.

The other boring sports event tonight was Monday Night Raw from Albany New York with Rev. Al Sharpton as guest host. Raw is turning into an excruciating wrestling program to watch. The main event scene is stale, and WWE has completely whored their entire two hour show over to their guest hosts and whatever stupid movie or cause they are plugging in exchange for a 30 second mention or article writeup in the almighty main stream media. Vince McMahon would rather get featured in a 15 second clip on Entertainment Tonight than actually sell pay-per views. For example tonight on Raw, WWE did a fantastic job of promoting Al Sharpton’s campaign to end illiteracy among stupid children. However, they did a really shitty job of making their superstars look strong six days before the next  pay-per-view. Vince’s decision to starfuck with minor “celebrities” such as noted race baiter Al Sharpton and D-Level movie star Cedric the Entertainer have left Raw fans fuming over the past few months. I’ll be less critical if this stupid theme is able to wrangle in a few former majors stars like The Rock or Stone Cold back to Raw to entertain us for a night, but so far the only former wrestlers to host Raw so far have been old standbys Dusty Rhodes, Ted DiBiase, Sgt. Slaughter, and a totally nervous Trish Stratus who were pretty entertaining, but lacked the dynamic punch that a star like The Rock or even Bret Hart could bring.

I was beyond shocked to read that The Rock made a live appearance at a minor indy show in Florida promoted by a group called WXW. Rock appeared at the show to support his family friend Afa of Wild Samoans fame who owns and operated WXW. Can you imagine attending an Indy show with maybe 200 other fans, and Dwayne Johnson shows up and makes an in ring appearance. I would have completely pissed myself. Who would have ever thought that The Rock’s first in-ring wrestling appearance in five years would take place at WXW in Florida and not at say Wrestle Mania or the Royal Rumble?

“To the dozens (and dozens) of fans, the Roch has come back to Pensacola, Florida!”

"Dwayne Johnson can make an Indy appearance in my bed at anytime"- SJX

While I’m here, I would also like to do a quick EPL recap and compare my predicted season table with what the real thing is:

Elevation’s Table:

1- Chelsea

2- Man. United

3-Liver Pool

4-Everton

5-Arsenal

6- Man. City

7- Spurs

8-Sunderland

9-Aston Villa

10-West Ham

11-Fulham

12- Stoke

13-Blackburn

14- Bolton

15-Birmingham

16-Wigan

17-Burnley

18-Portsmouth

19-Hull City

20- Wolves

————

Actual EPL Table:

1- Man United

2- Chelsea

3-Liverpool

4-Spurs

5-Man City

6-Arsenal

7-Aston Villa

8- Sunderland

9-Everton

10-Wigan

11-Burnley

12-Stoke

13-Bolton

14-Birmingham

15-Blackburn

16-Wolves

17-Fulham

18-West Ham

19- Hull

20- Portsmouth

I have been doing pretty solid this year. I would say the three glaring exceptions are Everton, West Ham, and Fulham. All three squads have been much worse than I expected this year. I underestimated how much the Lescott situation would mess with Everton. I am pretty accurate with the Top 3. I stil think it will finish as I predicted. In terms of relegation, I have two of the teams correct with Hull and Pompey. I don’t think West Ham will stay that bad. There is still a chance Wolves will fall back. They are strong at forward but not much else. I was right on with my optimistic prediction for Sunderland. Darren Bent has been a fantastic addition for their squad. Arsenal is right where I predicted them to be, although Spurs and Man City have been playing much better than I imagined. So far Redknapp and Mark Hughes are far removed from the sack race.  I can’t say the same for Paul Hart and Phil Brown at Pompey and Hull respectively. I knew Hull would be bad, but I expected Altidore to have more of an impact.

Eight Ball: Darren Bent and Sunderland are right where Elevation said they'd be.

Speaking of Scientology, I think it will be quite interesting to see whether manager Fabio Capello decides to keep David Beckham up or not with the English national team next Summer at the World Cup in South Africa. I expect Becks will make the team due to his world stardom, global ambassadorship, and all that but it will be a gutsy call to keep Beckham on the roster over someone who may be a tad more useful such as Michael Owen, Aaron Lennon, or Shaun Wright Phillips. I’m sure England fans will be suicidal over keeping Beckham on the roster, but I think it would be a good publicity vehicle for the MLS and the LA Galaxy. Having two major international stars in Beckham and Landon Donovan featured in the biggest sports event in the world will only help a league that struggles to beat out softball broadcasts and infomericals in the ratings. I personally enjoy watching MLS games, but I’m the same person who thinks The Undertaker is one of the five best 40 and over athletes on the planet,  so I may not be their primary demographic.

David Beckham prior to a meeting with Fabio Cappelo to discuss his World Cup spot.

Alright folks. Thank you for reading the site. In case I am hacked in the night by Scientologist death squads, continue to support my online radio show and all the correspondents who are filling our minds with wonderful local reports.