APUME



Cultnews.com reported on June 23rd that a new Scientology organization has

been formed to distribute The Way to Happiness in the Middle East to

promote peace.



"The so-called 'Association for Peace and Understanding in the Middle

East' (APUME) seems to be little more than another ploy to promote

Scientology. On its website APUME says, 'We are volunteers - American,

Palestinian and Israeli' with offices in 'Florida' and 'Los Angeles,' two

bastions of activity for Scientology.



"Their featured publication is titled The Way to Happiness by

Scientology's founder L. Ron Hubbard. APUME says it has handed out more

than a million of these booklets in Hebrew and Arabic and hung up

'thousands' of promotional 'posters.' APUME claims it is 'not a religious

group and does not have a religious agenda.'



"APUME says you too can help bring peace to the Middle East by giving them

money to produce and distribute more booklets. They advise, 'Every dollar

that you donate buys one copy of The Way to Happiness booklet for an

Israeli family and one for a Palestinian family.'"



Message-ID: 3ef659a2@news2.lightlink.com





Australia



The Sydney Morning Herald reported on June 24th on a student at a

Scientology school in Sydney, Australia who has overcome his shyness.



"Tears before school was a Monday morning ritual for Raja, a little boy

lost at his large local primary school in the inner west. Then she

stumbled across an advertisement for a Newtown school which boasted that

no class exceeded 15 pupils. Mrs. Nallathambi, a Hindu, was unaware that

The Athena School is Sydney's only Scientologist school. 'Now he's more

confident, there's no more tears,' she said. 'At the other school he had

no friends, now I can't get him to come home at the end of the day.'.



"The Athena School has 90 pupils, from pre-school to year 10, and eight

teachers, who have reportedly completed six months training in L. Ron

Hubbard teaching techniques, rather than holding formal qualifications.

Fees are about $1500 a term. The principal, Clare Holbrook, says that no

religion, including Scientology, is taught. But the school does base its

teachings on Hubbard's philosophy of education, centred around the theory

that children, like adults, need to 'learn how to learn.'



"Values are inculcated through a Scientologist booklet, The Way to

Happiness, whose principles would not look out of place alongside the

commandments of the Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions."



Message-ID: 3e471c14.0306231248.5f27a02f@posting.google.com





Clearwater



Letters to the editor of the St. Petersburg Times on June 25th again

addressed the issue of Scientology's impact on downtown Clearwater.



"The Church of Scientology has done more to clean up and rebuild downtown

Clearwater than any other single group that I have seen since I first came

here in 1970. They have rid N Fort Harrison Avenue of most of the hookers

and undesirables and they have turned the dilapidated motels that were

populated with drug dealers and vagrants into clean units that have

clean-cut people coming and going all day.



"We can walk freely to a concert or an event in Coachman Park (many of

those supported by the Church of Scientology) and not worry about leaving

before dark out of fear of being assaulted. We can shop downtown or enjoy

sitting outside having a cup of coffee while watching the people or the

sunset from the bluff because of the prosperity the Church of Scientology

has brought to Clearwater.



"As a good Catholic, I do not want to belittle the author of 'It's a

cult,' but suggest that he and all of us live together, respect each

other's views, religions and lifestyle preferences, and make Clearwater

and Pinellas County a great and prosperous home for ourselves, our

children, our grandchildren and the tourists. - Thomas J. Murrin, Belleair



"What prompts this letter is the specific warning in your editorial about

church officials marketing downtown Clearwater. You should be applauding

the effort, not deriding it. I was assistant city manager for economic

development in Clearwater for more than four years.  I never had a more

honorable ally and advocate than church staff, starting at the very top.

Directly said, the church is a key and positive component on the downtown

mix.



"The church's efforts in the mailing were small, targeted and based on

public information. As your story pointed out about halfway through,

senior city officials knew well in advance what the Scientology staff

wanted to do. Just because they neither raised an objection nor informed

their elected officials is hardly reason for commissioners, top management

or you to imply that something untoward had occurred.



"Downtown development is going to take a lot more than pretty pictures and

vague promises. It is going to take the concerted efforts of everyone who

has a stake in progress and the future of Clearwater. The Times needs to

make a decision of conscience and without old prejudices. Are we going to

work in the present and the future or continue to live with past mistakes

and biases? - Robert Keller, Clearwater



Message-ID: 1056535988.654045@newshost02.voicenet.com





Lisa McPherson



The St. Petersburg Times reported on June 27th that Scientology has asked

that the Lisa McPherson wrongful death case be moved out of the county

that includes Clearwater, Florida. A similar request to move the related

counter-claim case was recently withdrawn.



"The Church of Scientology says that media coverage of the landmark Lisa

McPherson wrongful death case has turned back the clock to days of 'overt

hate mongering and media-fueled public animus' and it can no longer get a

fair trial in Tampa Bay. The church on Wednesday filed a motion seeking to

move the wrongful death trial to either Palm Beach or Broward county.

Church attorneys blame a 'barrage of negative media coverage' about the

lawsuit for widespread community prejudice against Scientology, documented

in a random survey of shoppers at Tyrone Square Mall in early spring.



"And the culprit for much of that negativity, the motion argues, is the

repeated inclusion of 'inflammatory and unethical' quotes from Ken Dandar,

the attorney for the estate of McPherson, a Scientologist who died in 1995

after 17 days in the care of the church in Clearwater. 'For six years

Dandar has made outrageous claims, accusing Flag of 'capturing' and then

'imprisoning' Lisa McPherson, then torturing and intentionally causing

Lisa McPherson's death - indeed murdering her,' the motion states. 'Yet

Dandar knew all of these allegations to be utterly false and eventually

they were found to be false by judges.'



"Dandar stood by his statements Thursday. Dandar said the church's attempt

to move the trial is aimed at running up his expenses in hopes it will

persuade the estate to settle the lawsuit.



"According to the motion filed Wednesday, decades-old community prejudice

against Scientology had 'subsided markedly' prior to Dandar filing the

wrongful death suit. 'To the extent the tide had been turning by 1997,

however, this case changed matters,' the motion states. Attached to the

motion are copies of hundreds of newspaper articles, editorials and

letters to the editor - enough to fill a shopping cart - which contain,

the motion states, 'derogatory content of one kind of another on

Scientology.'



"After taking a public relations hit when it released the results of the

survey in the previous motion for change of venue, this time church

attorneys were careful to characterize the context of the negative

comments made about the church. Robert C. Sorensen of New York, who

orchestrated the survey of 300 people, noted that on the subject of the

Scientology religion generally, there were an equal number of neutral and

negative responses. But when asked about Scientology in connection with

the wrongful death case, four out of five gave negative opinions, he

stated."



Message-ID: 1056708717.192739@newshost02.voicenet.com





Narconon



The Battle Creek Enquirer reported on June 28th that Scientology has

opened a new Narconon facility in Battle Creek, Michigan.



"The Narconon Stone Hawk Rehabilitation Center has been in operation since

late January. The facility will hold its grand opening today with

residents, local officials and the leadership of the national Narconon

organization in attendance. Festivities, will include food, entertainment,

a traditional Native American blessing and guest speakers including State

Reps. Michael Nofs and Lorence Wenke.



"'Tomorrow is going to be a huge celebration,' Kate Wickstrom said Friday.

Wickstrom is executive director of the facility, on St. Mary's Lake in

Pennfield Township. Wickstrom, who operates the facility with her husband,

Per, said more than 400 people have turned in reservations for the event,

and it's open to the public. Narconon centers follow a strict regiment of

classes, proper eating habits and the use of saunas, as laid out by

Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard in his book 'Clear Body, Clear Mind,'

to teach people how to beat their addictions, Wickstrom said.



"Last year, when the Wickstroms sought approval for a use variance from

the Pennfield Zoning Board of Appeals to begin operations, numerous

neighbors spoke out against the property being used as a drug

rehabilitation facility. However, the variance was approved 2-to-1.



"One neighbor moved soon after the Pennfield Zoning Board of Appeals

approved the special use permit for Narconon, he said. 'He put it on the

market the day after the township approved it,' Booher said. 'I think

there's some skepticism among the neighbors.'



"Currently there are about 45 residents in the facility, which is expected

to house as many as 100 people when it's at full capacity. So far,

Wickstrom said, nine people have graduated from the program."



Message-ID: 1056796689.493133@newshost02.voicenet.com





Scam Artist



The Arizona Republic reported on June 28th that a Scientologist has been

sentenced to prison for stealing the money of investors in his company.



"A former Carefree man who pleaded guilty to spending elderly investors'

money on planes, luxury cars, and jewels was sentenced Friday to 17 1/2

years in prison. Benjamin Franklin Cook III, 55, who has been jailed since

October 1999, agreed to plead guilty to three theft counts in exchange for

the dismissal of more than 30 other charges. Admitting that 'mistakes had

been made,' Cook asked for probation so he could try to repay about 300

investors more than $43 million he collected between Jan 1, 1998, and

March 15, 1999.



"'If this isn't an aggravated case, I don't know what is,' he told Cook,

who once lived on a 10-acre spread in Carefree. 'This is so much money and

the fraud is so gross, there just has to be a major sanction against you.'

Cook's Dennel Financial Limited collapsed after a nearly three-year

investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Arizona

Corporation Commission, the U.S. Customs Service and state Attorney

General's Office. Prosecutors said Cook promised to sink investors' money

into a secretive European Bank Trading Program but spent it on two planes,

a 31-foot cabin cruiser, jewels and fat commissions for top salesmen,

including a BMW.



"Lawrence Warfield, a certified public accountant appointed as the

receiver in the Cook case, testified Friday that the money was never

invested and the type of foreign investment Cook promised 'doesn't exist.'

Warfield's seizure and sale of Cook's home and other assets netted about

$15 million. That includes the $1.5 million Cook donated to the Church of

Scientology, which handed over the money as part of a civil suit."



Message-ID: 1056796510.2055@newshost02.voicenet.com





Reed Slatkin



Knight Ridder Tribune Business News reported on June 19th that a hearing

was held in the Reed Slatkin investment fraud case, which may lead to some

investors getting money back from the Slatkin estate. Slatkin was a

Scientology minister, and many of the investors are Scientologists.



"There were hundreds of winners and losers after a court decision

Wednesday concerning the Reed Slatkin investment scandal that erupted two

years ago in Santa Barbara.  More than 400 defrauded investors are now a

step closer to receiving the first distributions of recovered money in the

$254 million case.



"But there's disappointment among more than 100 others who object to Mr.

Slatkin's guilty plea and the very foundations that the case is built

upon. After their arguments were rejected Wednesday by U.S. Bankruptcy

Court Judge Robin Riblet, their attorney said he plans to appeal.  The

dissenting group, represented by attorney Howard Kollitz of Los Angeles,

wants to convince a judge that Mr. Slatkin did not operate a Ponzi scheme.

They also argue that Mr. Slatkin was a stockbroker and was ineligible to

seek bankruptcy relief under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection two years

ago.



"Judge Riblet said Wednesday that Mr. Slatkin was not a stockbroker and

did run a Ponzi scheme - a Ponzi scheme is illegal because investors are

not told that their money is simply being used to pay off earlier

investors.



"Friday, Judge Riblet will review and possibly approve the long-awaited

plan that's been OK'd by a vast majority of creditors. That would lead to

millions of dollars being sent to victims later this year.  Mr. Neilson

said these 100 dissenters received more money from Mr. Slatkin than they

invested with him, and are using these tactics to try to avoid refunding

millions of dollars. Mr. Neilson has already sued some of the dissenters

to recover funds."



Message-ID: c8vjfv49dnnofn0s6qgr5iju1onfmi6tea@4ax.com





UK



The Western Gazette, a newspaper in Dorset and Somerset, England, reported

on June 19th that Scientology is being accused of harassing potential

recruits in public.



"A Top politician has criticised the methods a religious sect is using to

spread its message, saying shoppers are being unfairly harassed.

Shoppers said they felt uncomfortable at the way they were persuaded to

follow representatives into the centre's temporary base at Woods Wine Bar

in Middle Street and given a pamphlet offering a 'free personality test'.



"This included questions such as: Do you often 'sit and think' about

death, sickness, pain and sorrow?; Would it take a definite effort on your

part to consider the subject of suicide?; and Do you ponder over your

inferiority?



"Anne Davis, aged 22, of Yeovil said: 'This girl just stopped me in the

street and started asking me some questions. They started off quite

general but when she asked me to follow her to the basement below Woods

wine bar it got a bit creepy. By this stage I was starting to have my

doubts and when she sat me in a chair and told me to look through a book I

started to get a bit worried. The simple fact is her perseverance started

to unnerve me. I felt like a rabbit caught in the headlights of a car. The

questions got more and more personal and she started asking me about past

relationships. I don't necessarily have a problem with people's belief in

Scientology but I don't like having it shoved down my throat.'



"South Somerset District Council chairman Tony Fife said he was uneasy,

too. He said: 'I am concerned about this religion and I would not like to

see them encouraged in Yeovil. There are enough established religions in

the town. I think it is totally outrageous that they are persuading

shoppers to go into this basement with them.



"The Dianetics Centre's local representative Simon Harrison, 34, of Yeovil

said he was sorry if people had felt unnerved. It carried out these kinds

of book-selling sessions every Friday and nobody complained. Mr Harrison

said: 'We ask people a few questions and if they will do a survey. If they

say yes, we ask them to come in and ask about the book. I am not a

salesman, I do not get paid.'"



The East Grinstead Observer reported on June 25th that Scientology

volunteers have organized clean-up events near the Saint Hill compound.



"Volunteers have been giving a brush-up to the Park Road Bridge site in

East Grinstead over the past couple of weekends. The team spent two

consecutive Sundays clearing the site in liaison with the Town Council.



"About 120 bags of rubbish were removed with 11 shopping trolleys and a

host of other debris, such as traffic cones, signs and old batteries. The

clean-up operation was organised by the East Grinstead Scientology

Volunteer Minister Group, assisted by residents and town clerk Chris

Rolley.



"Tom Shuster of the group said: 'The intention is to put two waste bins at

either side of the bridge, but until that occurs we ask people not to

discard their rubbish but take it home with them."



Message-ID: 1056622545.380831@newshost01.voicenet.com

Message-ID: 1056536716.752687@newshost02.voicenet.com