Clearwater



The St. Petersburg Times reported on May 29th that Scientology has mailed

promotional materials to encourage retailers to open stores in downtown

Clearwater, Florida.



"The Church of Scientology has sent out promotional brochures to national

retailers such as the Gap and Banana Republic in an effort to lure more

upscale businesses downtown. But city officials, largely caught off-guard,

expressed surprise and disappointment at the strategy. 'I thought that it

was odd that an independent entity would do this,' Commissioner Whitney

Gray said. 'You don't see other businesses, or churches certainly,

marketing downtown to this degree.'



"Gray said she had been notified by the church about plans for the

eight-page flier touting downtown. She met with a church representative

and bluntly outlined her concerns. Given the church's dominant presence

downtown, there are people who refuse to spend money there because they

think it would benefit Scientology, according to Gray. 'If it looks to the

public like the Church of Scientology is building downtown,' she said,

'people won't come.'



"The brochure was distributed to 10 to 20 retailers, including Haagen-Dazs

and Ann Taylor. The church, he said, has an interest in seeing downtown

thrive, both for parishioners' benefit and for the community at large.



"Commissioner Frank Hibbard said the church had ventured outside its

traditional bounds. 'When you talk about promoting Clearwater as a whole,'

he said, 'that is the role of city government.' In fact, the city put out

a glossy brochure of its own in March, sending it to 4,000 developers

nationwide. Assistant City Manager Ralph Stone said the effort was widely

publicized and sought input from a host of city groups, many that include

members of the church.



"Mayor Brian Aungst said he was surprised by the brochures. 'I don't know

that it hurts anything,' he said. 'It's probably helpful, but we'll find

out, I guess.' City officials said they had no problems with the

information contained in the church's flier - it is standard economic

development fare, with statistics on population, median age and income.

But they worried about straying from a unified message. At the very least,

Gray said, the city of Clearwater needs to be perceived as heading up its

own economic development. 'This just makes it a little bit harder,' she

said."



The article prompted a letter to the editor on June 1st.



"The headline should read, City of Clearwater sold downtown to

Scientology. The city of CLEARwater has long since been handed away bit by

bit to this church by ill-informed and misguided commissioners and a few

mayors, most recent being the ever-so-eloquent Brian Aungst. It does not

bother me that the 'The Church of Scientology' operates in the city; it

has a constitutional right to and I believe it should. However, do not

think for a second it has the citizens of Clearwater in the forefront of

its mind.



"The church operates and caters to a transient population that, for the

most part, is crammed into motels and apartment complexes throughout

Clearwater and Pinellas County and is clothed and fed by the church. How

is this helpful to a once thriving city? It is not. I challenge the City

Commission to research the legal term ad valorem, and try to enact a bill

that would restrict any tax-exempt entity from owning a certain percentage

or dollar amount of property within a single city limit. - Paul Hodges,

Clearwater



The St. Petersburg Times reported on May 23rd that Scientology is

requesting the Lisa McPherson wrongful death case be moved from Clearwater

because of the low opinion potential jurors have about the organization.



"Earlier this spring professional researchers combed Tyrone Square Mall

asking Pinellas residents what they thought of the church. 'A cult,' said

person after person. 'Scam,' said one. 'Crooks,' said another. The

researchers, hired by the church, questioned 300 people. Their findings

were grim: Four out of five had unfavorable things to say about

Scientology. The church concluded that the negative opinions Pinellas

residents hold toward Scientology are so deep and widespread, it could not

get a fair trial here.



"This week, it took the unusual step of asking the court to move a civil

trial out of this area because, it says, potential Pinellas jurors have

been prejudiced by negative media coverage. The motion for a change of

venue comes in a related matter, a countersuit against the McPherson

estate and its attorney Ken Dandar. The church alleges that Dandar

improperly attempted to add Scientology leader David Miscavige as a

defendant in the wrongful-death suit. That case is scheduled for trial

July 7.



"'(The church) has learned that the breadth and intensity of 'community

prejudice' against both the Scientology religion and Flag (the church's

Clearwater entity) within Pinellas County is such that Flag cannot receive

a fair trial in this venue,' the 28-page motion states. 'The community

prejudice has been fueled by an ongoing barrage of negative media

comments, principally by the St. Petersburg Times and the local television

stations, including publication of inflammatory and unethical public

statements by Kennan Dandar.'



"Dandar, who has represented McPherson's family for six years, called the

allegation 'a bunch of baloney' and another delay tactic by the church's

formidable legal team.



"Ben Shaw, the church's head of public relations in Clearwater, said the

respondents were residents whose perceptions were 'created by the

continuing onslaught of negative media coverage.'



"Times editor and president Paul C. Tash defended the paper's coverage.

'The Church of Scientology remains a big and important institution in the

Tampa Bay area and we're going to continue our coverage, fully and fairly,

even if sometimes the church officials object to that coverage,' Tash

said.



"Dandar said he wasn't surprised by the survey's findings. 'They (church

officials) are complaining about the newspaper reporting on the tragic

death of Lisa McPherson when they are the ones who caused her death in the

first place,' Dandar said. 'They are blaming everyone but themselves for

their bad public relations image.'



"Last month, the case was reassigned from Circuit Judge Susan Schaeffer,

who sat through weeks of hearings last year, to Senior Judge Robert Beach.

Chief Circuit Judge David Demers made the move after Schaeffer recused

herself from handling a counterclaim."



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Narconon



The South Idaho Press reported on May 20th that city officials in Rubert,

Idaho will hear a presentation from Narconon



"The council will also hear from officials of the Burley-based NARCONON of

Idaho. The group offers drug treatment and counseling. NARCONON's

treatment is based on methods created by L. Ron Hubbard. 'It's a natural

method of ridding the body of drugs stored in fat. They use herbs, saunas,

sweating and exercise to help in the process,' Neiwerth said.



"The council needs to know about drug treatment alternatives, she said. 'I

wanted the council to be aware of some of the methods available to help

people get off drugs so they can get out of that drug mode and trafficking

and making drugs. It's to help take them off that dependency for drugs,'

Neiwerth said."



Message-ID: 3ECADCE2.1030601@tikk.net





Leipzig Human Rights Award



Freie Presse Chemnitz reported on May 18th that the Leipzig Human Rights

Award has been presented to Andreas Heldal-Lund, creator of the web site

xenu.net.



"The information technology specialist was honored in Leipzig on Sunday

for his work against the Scientology cult and his efforts towards freedom

of speech on the Internet. For almost seven years, Heldal-Lund has

maintained a web site by the name of Operation Clambake, in which he

distributes information about the Scientology organization.



"Last year's award winner Alain Vivien said in his laudation that

Heldal-Lund had revealed the machinations of the Scientologists with

'respect and intelligence.' In doing this he was helping both potential

and past victims.



"In his acceptance speech, Heldal-Lund emphasized the role of the citizen

in the fight for basic rights, such as freedom of speech. 'These rights

being anchored in the Constitution is not good enough,' he said. Therefore

every individual should deliberate on how to put a stop to such churches

and organizations. Also people had to continue to earn their basic rights.



"Heldal-Lund uses his Internet pages to inform people about the doctrines

and practices of Scientology that the organization itself does not want

published. Despite legal complaints from Scientology and temporary

boycotts from several Internet Service Providers, Heldal-Lund has not shut

down his web site.



"The award is conferred annually by the European-American Citizens

Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA. Besides

Americans and Germans, the committee includes members from England,

Austria, Russia and Sweden. The Citizens Committee was formed in 1997 and

opposes physical and psychological abuse of humans under the pretext of

religion, among other things. One of the people who received the award

prior to Heldal-Lund was former Labor Minister Norbert Bluem."



From Frankfurter Rundschau on May 15th:



"The Norwegian Internet expert from Stavanger is receiving this year's

Leipzig Human Rights Award on Sunday. For six years Heldal-Lund has been

engaged in uncovering the human rights violations of the cult-like

Scientology organization, as reported by the 'European-American Citizens

Committee for Human rights and Religious Freedom in the USA' in Berlin on

Wednesday. The recipients of the unremunerated honor, bestowed since 2000

in the form of a glass-contained sculpture with an image of the Leipzig

Nikolas Church, include former federal labor minister Norbert Bluem (CDU).

In presenting its award to individuals, the Committee hopes to promote

'human rights reforms' among cult-like organizations."



Message-ID: Pine.LNX.3.96.1030525055801.121A-100000@darkstar.zippy

Message-ID: Pine.LNX.3.96.1030524061946.119B-100000@darkstar.zippy





Scientology Tour



Skyway News published the second of two articles on May 12th on a tour of

the Scientology org in Minnesota.



"After a quick talk with Scientologist Troy about how I don't have to be

introverted, and, really, the depression score isn't high enough to be a

real concern, Diane, another volunteer working at Scientology's 1011

Nicollet Mall center, asks if I'd like to see a video on Dianetics.

There's a process in it that can help people figure out what's wrong and

give them the tools to fix it.



"There is a certain cadence to the narration and pacing of the imagery,

the monotonous voice of the narrator regularly punctuated by exceedingly

long pauses. However slowly, I am being introduced to the only system in

the world that has ever figured out the source of man's problems and, more

importantly, how to fix them.



"Basically: the mind is split into two parts, the 'analytical mind' and

the 'reactive mind'. The analytical mind is incapable of making mistakes,

it is logical and rational - it is sane. The reactive mind is toxic,

holding on to negative impressions of the world formed by bad experiences

or by people saying things to us while we're in an unconscious state;  it

is the source of neurosis and insanity.



"Michael has pulled out a screening form.  The questions quickly grow

intimate: Have I had any alcohol in the last 24 hours, how much do I

normally drink, have I ever had any illegal drugs, am I on any medication,

ever had psychiatric treatment or counseling, if so, why, how long, what

was the analysis?  I end up telling him things I don't usually divulge to

strangers.  Have I or a family member ever personally contributed to

negative articles in the media about Scientology? Am I a member of the

news media? Am I with the CIA or FBI or any other government agency?



"I ask a free church service is contingent upon my profession or

government involvement. 'The church has to protect itself from

infiltrants,' he explains.  Like I said before, I'm the managing editor of

Skyway News, but I'm not in the CIA or anything. He just writes 'No.' With

the form completed, albeit incorrectly, and oddly without me having to

sign it, we move on.



"For the next hour or so, I recount 10 times each the experiences of a

bike accident and a previous childhood chin injury, eyes closed.

Unfortunately, I couldn't recall anything said to me when I was

unconscious, no engrams. But I did get a headache and my neck got tight -

evidence of regression, i.e., reliving the experiences on that part of my

time track.



"I just need to pay for some books I picked up from hours ago.  Michael

drops me off with a woman who can process the book order. There's no cash

register. She has to go to the basement to get change. Standing there,

waiting, I browse the brochures. I'm back in the area where I watched the

Dianetics video.



"One of the men in the navy-like outfits approaches.  'Are you in the

navy?' I ask.  'No, I'm in the Sea Org.' Uh-huh.  'Would you like to

complete our survey?' he asks, handing me another opportunity to offer up

personal information: name, address, am I married, do I have kids? How

many? Do I have debts? How much? And answer 'yes or 'no' questions like,

'DO YOU HAVE A PURPOSE TO HELP CLEAR THIS PLANET?'



"Another man approaches as I finger brochures. 'Do you like to read?' he

asks. Yes, I like to read, in fact, I work at the local newspaper; no, I

don't have much time. The woman emerges from the basement with my change.

Despite my desire to leave, I find it impossible to be rude and leave the

friendly man who approached me. We agree to talk until 4:30 p.m., no

longer.  At 5:30 p.m., I get up to leave.



"Diane comes out. 'How was the auditing?' The next step is the basic

Dianetics course for just $35 and another audit that costs $200 but it's

eight hours long.  Over the next day or so, I find 'Dianetics' impossible

to read. I quote a passage to my husband and can't imagine calling the

kind man for assistance decoding it."



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Reed Slatkin



Slatkinfraud.com reported on May 26th that Scientologists have been

pressuring their members to join in opposing the Reed Slatkin trustee's

attempts to recover money from Scientology orgs.



"Scientologist profiteers used high pressure tactics to pressure fellow

Scientologists with creditor status in the case to sign up for a legal

maneuver almost entirely contrary to their own interests. In a mass email

sent out last January, longtime Scientologist Tony Lonstein, currently on

the hook for nearly $2 million according to the suit filed against him by

the estate, called on his fellow Scientologists to join an objection to

the trustee's plans to reorganize the estate, claiming that trustee Todd

Neilson is 'out of control' and plotting to attack the church.



"'The Trustee is out of control, suing anyone he can find. As an example,

in the 50 page interrogatory which he just sent us, there is a full page

devoted to listing out every single corporate entity of the Church,

followed by questions related to our dealings with the Church. Despite the

fact that this is highly inappropriate, it does lead one to believe that

the Trustee has taken significant time researching all the Church's legal

entities, and one must wonder if he doesn't intend to use this information

in some sort of a suit or other attack against the Church, which I am sure

you would not want to support.'



"Scientologist net-loser Al Ribisi questioned Lonstein's failure to make

clear his own pecuniary interest in the motion, and chided him; '(for)

positioning the issue in any way with our Church. Leave the Church out of

it. It's off-line. We have an Office of Special Affairs to handle these

things.' Lonstein responded by quoting liberally from Scientology founder

L. Ron Hubbard, and claimed that trustee Todd Neilson was a 'suppressive'

- a Scientology term for an 'enemy' - for attempting to recoup Slatkin

profits from 'hundreds of upstanding, ethical, productive Scientologists.'



"'I personally believe that the Trustee's actions are suppressive, and

that his suit of hundreds of upstanding, ethical, productive

Scientologists is suppressive, and that his attempts use the legal system

to strong-arm Scientologists into paying him by trying to get their assets

attached in advance of a judgement are suppressive, and that his posturing

to sue the Church is grossly suppressive, and if he sues the Church, he is

100% suppressive, and that anyone who actively backs him up or sits

quietly on the sidelines getting monetary benefit from his actions is

aiding and abetting a Suppressive. Think about it, one of the

distributions you receive from the Trustee could potentially be money

extracted from the Church. No-one would want that to occur.'"



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Tampa



The Tampa Tribune reported on May 31st that Scientology has been

aggressively distributing material in Ybor City, a neighborhood of Tampa,

Florida known for its large number of bars and restaurants.



"For months, well-dressed Scientologists have lined parts of Seventh

Avenue, two on each side of the street, passing out pamphlets and asking

passers-by to take a personality test. Now, Ybor City residents and

business owners are complaining to the city that they are being harassed

by Scientology recruiters who follow them down the street and won't take

no for an answer. 'People have said they are just as annoying as

panhandlers,' said Vince Pardo, president of the Ybor City Development

Corp.



"The church is renovating a building it is leasing at 1619 E. Eighth Ave.

and plans to open The Scientology Life Improvement Center on June 7, said

Ana Tirabassi, spokeswoman for the church's Tampa headquarters. It will

offer lectures, courses and films on Scientology, she said. Scientologists

stand on street corners not to harass people, Tirabassi said, but 'to

introduce us to people new to the subject.' 'It's a traditional way of

letting people know about Scientology,' she said. 'It's what we do in

cities all over the country. We have excellent relations with our Ybor

neighbors, and there have been no complaints that I know of.'



"In response to complaints made to the city, Councilwoman Rose Ferlita on

Thursday asked the city's legal department to investigate the issue and

find out what, if anything, the city can do to limit how Scientologists

recruit in the district. 'We have two issues here,' Ferlita said. 'The

respect of visitors of Ybor and religious rights. I don't really feel you

can equate this to panhandling, but them approaching someone may

ultimately end in the request for a contribution.'



"Tampa has an aggressive panhandling ordinance that prohibits people from

repeatedly asking for money. Members of the Ybor Coalition have asked the

city whether it can draft a similar ordinance to limit how many times

Scientologists can ask someone to take a personality test. But because it

is a religious organization, it has protection, said Gina Grimes, chief

assistant city attorney. The city is faced with balancing the

constitutional religious rights of the church with the rights of someone

to walk down the street without feeling pressured, she said.



"Joe Howden, an Ybor resident and Barrio Latino commissioner, said he

walks past at least four Scientologists daily on his way to work at King

Corona Cigars at 1523 Seventh Ave. 'We've worked hard to get panhandlers

out of this area, and now we have these people standing on the street

approaching people, and it's unfair,' he said. 'I don't know why this

organization seems to think it has the right to step beyond the boundary

of personal space.'



"Irene Pierpont, general manager of Centro Ybor, said she has had to ask

Scientologists to leave her property. 'We wouldn't have a problem if we

didn't witness them following people down the street,' Pierpont said. 'But

we just can't have that here.'



"Rachelle Wagner, an Ybor resident, said she's glad to see the church

renovating a vacant building, but she's concerned that members don't

identify themselves when approaching people on the street. 'The average

person doesn't know what a personality test is or what Scientology is,'

Wagner said. 'What bothers me most is that they seem so sneaky.'"



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