Dell



Magill magazine published a story in its June issue about the use of

Scientology training methods at Dell in Ireland.



"Since February of this year, Dell's Limerick plant has been availing of

the services of Effective Training Solutions and its '100% Proficiency

Training' programme. The programme helps employees to train better, and

thus become more efficient in their work. ETS trained a number of Dell's

own in-house trainers, who then rolled it out to employees. 'You will

learn about and become skilled in the use of some vital training tools

that very few people are trained in,' explains the introduction to the

programme's '100% Proficiency Training Workshop' manual, which forms one

part of the overall programme. 'Your power and ability to influence your

own training and education (and others' should you help other people) will

be greatly increased.' Since February, Dell's in-house trainers have

rolled out the programme to approximately 200 Dell employees who are

engaged in production work at the plant. Dell says the reaction from

employees to the course has been extremely positive. But not every

employee who underwent the course was happy after realising where the

course originated from. The 100% Proficiency Training Workshop is, the

manual explains on its last page, 'derived from the copyrighted writings

of L Ron Hubbard on the subjects of training, education and management,

and used with permission.' Nowhere does the manual state that Hubbard was

the founder of Scientology. A spokesperson for ETS stressed that those who

chose to undergo the training course at Dell did so voluntarily.



"ETS was formerly known as Applied Scholastics of Fremont, California -

part of the wider Applied Scholastics International movement which is seen

by many as an educational arm of Scientology, although Applied Scholastics

disputes this, saying it is a secular charitable organisation independent

of Scientology.  In 1992, a Californian company, Applied Materials,

settled out of court for an estimated $600,000 with three former employees

who claimed they were forced out of the company after complaining about

work-place training given by Applied Scholastics of Fremont.  Applied

Materials admitted that it had 'lacked sensitivity with regard to the

controversial nature of L Ron Hubbard' when employing the Applied

Scholastics training. The training involved communication courses. An

attorney representing the three workers claimed before the case was

settled that some of the training given was identical to material in

Scientology handbooks.



"Hubbard's ability to break down barriers not recognised by other

educators is news to some. Professor of Education and Vice President of

University College Cork, Aine Hyland, is one of this country's leading

authorities on the history of education. She is unaware of any

breakthrough contribution made by Hubbard to the field. 'In my research

into education in the 1960s in scholarly educational journals, I have not

come across any reference to any major or significant contribution made by

L Ron Hubbard to educational philosophy, nor am I aware that scholars in

the area since then would regard any of Hubbard's writings as of major

significance in the history of education.'



"Dr. Finian Buckley of Dublin City University's Business School,

meanwhile, doesn't agree that Hubbard has made significant contributions

to business, management or training. 'Hubbard wouldn't be regarded as

having contributed to any cutting-edge research in these fields,' he says.

Hubbard's writings, he believes, are more in line with the type of books

available in bookstores that promise to reveal the previously-secret steps

to sensational business success. 'Most of those serious professional

trainers wouldn't touch,' he adds.



"The company said that the results of the programme 'led to significant

quality improvements on the Dell production floor. The reaction from Dell

employees to this particular training course has been extremely positive.'

A host of major international companies other than Dell who have used the

course say likewise: DuPont, Bayer, National Semiconductor, Chevron and

Cisco among others. Yet it is not the course materials as such that bother

the Dell employees who spoke to Magill, but rather the fact that L Ron

Hubbard was, in part, responsible for it. The manual states that if the

participant is interested in learning more about Hubbard or his lecture

series, or ETS itself, they should mention this to their trainer.



"In other countries, courses using Hubbard material have been accused of

trying to introduce participants to Scientology. ETS states categorically

that while its 100% Proficiency Training Course is derived from Hubbard's

writings, it does not address religious issues. Nor does it make mention

of Scientology. Nor does it attempt to introduce participants to

Scientology.  Dell stressed in its statement that it 'supports diversity

in the workplace and does not in any way promote any particular religious

group or religious ethic. ETS has also confirmed to us that they have no

links - financial or otherwise - to the Church of Scientology.'



"Many Scientology websites have sections on Applied Scholastics. One site

mentions Applied Scholastics as one of its 'related programmes,' and the

information printed is copyrighted to the Church of Scientology. America's

Internal Revenue Service (IRS), however, apparently made little of the

disclaimer when it reached a confidential settlement with the Church of

Scientology in 1993 after a long-standing tax dispute between the two.

Applied Scholastics was included in the settlement as a

'Scientology-related entity.'



"Dell since announced it is to cut 150 jobs at its Limerick plant. The

jobs being cut will come from the administrative and middle-management

staff, and will be decided on a voluntary redundancy basis. The company's

future looks bright nonetheless, and it will continue to contribute

significantly to the Irish economy. ETS's Gudenas says 'the real story in

our business world is the exodus of jobs and companies to south-east Asia

and China. The only way to stay competitive is through efficiency, quality

and proficiency of the Irish workforce, and that's what our programme

provides,' she says. 'Your article could help us keep more jobs in Ireland

as you are in a key role to get the politicians and the government to

support training - for example, in the USA, the states refund companies a

portion of their training costs. You could push the politicians to do

this; why aren't they thinking about the future and the threat of China

and supporting training? That's the real story regarding the economic

future for Irish people,' she says, before adding: 'In this enlightened

age, when your house is on fire, do you stop to ask the religious

affiliations of the firemen before you accept their help? I think not.'"



Message-ID: rlscfu0vjbg5q3ftt344l3je23vf3q3t25@4ax.com





Gerald Armstrong



A lawsuit against Gerald Armstrong, Bob Minton and the Lisa McPherson

Trust was posted to a.r.s this week. Scientology is seeking compensation

for breach of contract.



"Beginning in late 1989, Armstrong systematically began breaching

virtually every material covenant to which he had agreed by entering into

the Settlement Agreement. In 1992, CSI instituted suit against Armstrong

seeking damages for his repeated breaches and provisional and permanent

injunctive relief against future breaches. CSI obtained a monetary

judgment and a permanent injunction. Armstrong, who characterizes this

Court's Injunction as 'illegal' and 'unconstitutional,' and 'a great

stupidity,' began almost immediately to violate the terms of the

Injunction. As a result, Armstrong has been found by this Court to be in

contempt on two separate occasions, citing 14 separate violations, and is

the subject of two outstanding bench warrants. On July 13, 2001, Armstrong

was again fount to be in contempt of the Injunction on no less than 131

additional occasions. Armstrong has evaded both the fines and the

imprisonment to which he has been sentenced by fleeing the jurisdiction

and relocating to British Columbia, Canada.



"CSI asserts claims for breach of contract against Armstrong, as the

contracting party, claims for intentional interference with contractual

relations against Defendants Robert Minton and the Lisa McPherson Trust

whose financial resources were intended to, and specifically enabled them

to act in concert and conspiracy with Armstrong to perpetuate his ongoing

contempt of this Court and to violate virtually a daily bases CSI's

contractual rights.



"Despite its deceptive and misleading name, Defendant Lisa McPherson Trust

is neither a trust nor any other sort of nonprofit enterprise. LMT, at all

times until its dissolution in December 2001, was a for-profit

corporation, organized and existing under the laws of the State of

Florida, with its principal place of business in Clearwater, Florida.

Minton is the founder, sole incorporator, and is the source of the

financing of LMT.



"Armstrong on the one hand and Minton and LMT on the other hand combined,

conspired, and agreed to perform the unlawful acts which are the subject

of this Complaint and to conceal from discovery both the unlawful acts and

the unlawful, conspiratorial participation of Minton and LMT therein.



"On December 6, 1986, CSI and Armstrong entered into the Settlement

Agreement, designed to end bitter litigation, including several separate

cases then pending. In consideration for a payment of $800,000, Armstrong

and CSI exchanged mutual, general releases. Armstrong made various

covenants, including the following: 'Plaintiff agrees never to create or

publish, or attempt to publish, and/or assist another to create for

publication by means of magazine, article, book or other similar form, any

writing or broadcast or to assist another to create write, film, or video

tape or audio tape any show, program or movie, or to grant interviews or

discuss with others, concerning their experiences with the Church of

Scientology, or concerning their personal or indirectly acquired knowledge

or information concerning the Church of Scientology or L. Ron Hubbard.

Plaintiff further agrees that he will maintain strict confidentiality and

silence with respect to his experiences with the Church of Scientology and

any knowledge or information he may have concerning the Church of

Scientology or L. Ron Hubbard. Plaintiff agrees that if the terms of this

paragraph are breached by him, that CSI and the other Releasees would be

entitled to liquidated damages in the amount of $50,000 for each such

breach.'



"Beginning in late 1989, Armstrong began breaching his obligations under

the Settlement Agreement.  Armstrong, having fled the jurisdiction,

continued his contumacious conduct virtually unabated. Since the February

1998 contempt order, Armstrong mad oral statements and statements created

and transmitted vial e-mail and by 'posting' to the Internet newsgroup

alt.religion.scientology thus committing more than 200 separate breaches.



"In December 1999, Armstrong traveled to Clearwater, Florida at the

invitation of Minton and LMT, who paid for the expenses of Armstrong's

visit, with the purpose and intent of enabling Armstrong to violate the

Agreement including media and other public appearances as part of LMT's

anti-Scientology campaign. While in Clearwater, Armstrong appeared at and

addressed a gathering assembled and sponsored by LMT, which also produced

a videotape of Armstrong's remarks. So brazen was Armstrong that he began

his videotaped remarks by acknowledging that his address was prohibited by

the Injunction.



"On December 10, 1999, while still in Florida at the request and expense

of Minton and LMT, Armstrong appeared on Radio Station WMNF-AM in Tampa,

Florida and gave an interview on that station. In June 2000, Armstrong

traveled to Germany to attend a public ceremony where Minton was presented

with an award for his anti-Scientology activities by a small group of

like-minded extremists. During this trip, Armstrong met with media

representatives and engaged in further breaches of the Settlement

Agreement. On information and belief, these travels and actions were

financed and supported by Minton, individually or through his alter ego,

the LMT, with the knowledge that Armstrong would use this opportunity to

further violate the Settlement Agreement.



"From May through July of 2001, Armstrong traveled to Russia, Germany,

Denmark, the United Kingdom, and other countries where he met with media

personnel and made numerous public statements in violation of the

Settlement Agreement. On information and belief, these travels and actions

were financed and supported by Minton, individually or through his alter

ego, the LMT, with the knowledge that Armstrong would use this opportunity

to further violate the Settlement Agreement by making numerous public

appearances where those violations occurred, including in Leipzig, Germany

where Armstrong publicly appeared with Minton, Brooks, and other LMT

employees. Minton encouraged Armstrong in the above violations.



"Armstrong has committed 201 separate and distinct breaches of the

Settlement Agreement, as a result of which CSI is entitled to liquidated

damages of $50,000 for each such breach, totaling $10,050,000. Minton and

LMT have knowledge and notice of both the Settlement Agreement and the

Injunction and nonetheless wilfully, deliberately, and maliciously aided

and financially rewarded and enabled Armstrong to breach his contractual

obligations."



Message-ID: 3CF21500.EBDFF988@hammerhead.com





Milwaukee Mission



The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on June 1st that the Milwaukee

Scientology mission has moved to larger offices.



"After about 15 years at 710 E. Silver Spring Drive in Whitefish Bay, the

Church of Scientology-Milwaukee Dianetics Mission recently moved to larger

quarters in Milwaukee at 6806 W. Wedgewood Drive. The mission is open from

6 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday

and Sunday. Sunday service begins at 10:30 a.m. and is open to the

public."



Message-ID: TLqK8.1387$%k1.1025736@monger.newsread.com





Protest Summary



Graham Berry reported protesting Scientology's Gold Base in Hemet,

California.



"Sunday May 26 I was driving into the town of Hemet and the nearby Gilman

Hot Springs. I decided upon an impromptu 'Justice For Keith Henson Solo

Picket.' I parked my borrowed car in front of the Ashley Shaner Memorial

and its adjacent Scientology surveillance camera. I only had one picket

sign available. One side read 'Scientology: Church of Fair Game.' The

other side read 'LRH DIED ON PYSCH DRUGS.'



"I crossed Highway 79 at the bottom gates into the Golden Era film studio

facilities. There did not seem to be anyone out and about.  As I slowly

strolled up towards the main gates holding my picket sign aloft I noticed

bicycles and mopeds haphazardly parked and strewn along the sides of the

paths and roads of the Base on both sides of Highway 79.  The Guard House

had two guards on duty. Because of my presence with a picket sign, the

gates had to be closed, and two white passenger vans turned around and

driven back into the base. The old black scientology security SUV was

driving up and down. It parked behind my borrowed vehicle as if to

intimidate and threaten me.  I continued sauntering down the highway and

to take photographs."



Keith Henson reported protests at the Toronto org.



"Two pickets, one May 20, Victoria day and one today, June 1.  Last time

was Chris Wood, a new guy, Ron Sharp, Gregg and me. We did 3 hours of

picket and gave out about 400 xenu and other flyers. This was the last

time the 'making the able more able' sign was up at the org.  Two of the

goon squad showed up but they just watched. We took a break when the

Victoria Day parade went down Yonge St.  The org has gone to blue tarp

tech, only in this case it was black foam boards in the Dianetics windows

on Yonge St.



"Today it was just David Palter, Gregg and me for an hour and a half. We

gave away 125 flyers on each side of Yonge St. The new sign blocking the

window is false advertising saying that Dianetics is a 'science of the

mind.' First thing that happened to me when I started was a tall woman

with brown hair came by and said she was a Scientologist and that this

Xenu stuff was crap. I mentioned that I had seen it in Hubbard's own

handwriting. She said it was still crap even if LRH wrote it. I said she

was going to have to do a knowledge report about having talked to me and

she left going down the street freaking out. I watched and she never

crossed the street to the org.



"There was one funny sequence where this guy who is either involved or has

a relative in carefully checks out that nobody is watching him from the

org, takes a flyer from Gregg and stuff it into his pants."



Message-ID: 20020601015028.18817.00001660@mb-cc.aol.com

Message-ID: 3d00abe2.257542307@news2.lightlink.com





Slovakia



Slovak news agency reported on May 29th that the Slovak Intelligence

Service is monitoring Scientology and other cults as possible security

risks.



"Presenting the report to parliament on Wednesday [29 May], SIS

Director-General Vladimir Mitro said crime groups focused on drug

trafficking, but also on public procurement tenders, privatization tenders

and other state orders. The SIS also monitored activities of the sects

Church of Scientology and Moonies in Slovakia. Scientologists have

official centres in Martin and Bratislava, and secret civic associations,

language schools and private companies."



Message-ID: WsoJ8.920$%k1.691390@monger.newsread.com





Digital Lightwave



The St. Petersburg Times published a story on June 2nd on Digital

Lightwave and the effects Scientology has had on the company.



"It was New Year's Eve 1997 when Digital Lightwave's chief, Bryan Zwan,

made his biggest deal: a $9-million contract for his signature product, a

10-pound device that tests telephone lines. But his overtaxed workers -

they had put in 100-hour weeks during the holidays - didn't have enough

time or materials. As the night wore on, the crew sent incomplete and

unassembled units to a shipping warehouse, giving the impression the order

was filled. Digital had done this before. The company even had shipped

units to salesmen's homes for storage and booked them as sales. A

manufacturing manager named Chuck Anderson became fed up. Most company

whistleblowers typically alert the Securities and Exchange Commission to

possible wrongdoing. But Anderson reported the trouble to his own higher

authority: the Church of Scientology.



"He wrote a 'knowledge report,' addressed to church leaders, warning that

the New Year's Eve shipments were the latest in a troubling pattern in

Digital that could create a 'huge potential flap' for Scientology. 'What

happens if someone goes to the newspapers, the investors, the SEC?'

Anderson, a Scientologist, wrote in his report. 'Not to mention putting

Scientology and Scientologists at risk.'



Zwan, a longtime Scientologist, has long insisted that Digital has no

connection to the controversial church. Zwan said he never hired people

because they are Scientologists and never sought church advice on company

matters. 'We are a public company,' Zwan said. 'We have nothing to do with

the Church of Scientology. It has no role in this company.'



"A Scientologist helped Zwan develop Digital's fiber-optic technology.

Scientology facilities, including the landmark Fort Harrison Hotel in

Clearwater, were backdrops for important company negotiations. Zwan tapped

Scientologists for his early management team. And fellow Scientologists

were Zwan's early backers, many reaping riches from Digital's run on Wall

Street. Zwan hired as one of his top executives Denise Licciardi, the

sister of Scientology's worldwide leader, David Miscavige. Quickly

promoted and given a six-figure salary, Licciardi was widely regarded as

Zwan's right hand at Digital. She urged him to run day-to-day operations

by following Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's business practices known

as 'LRH Tech.' Digital could 'become a showcase of LRH Tech,' Licciardi

wrote in one memo to Zwan. 'This was what you communicated to each of us

was your dream.'



"In 1993, Zwan needed investors to take Digital Lightwave out of the

incubator. He found a wealthy business partner while visiting

Scientology's international spiritual retreat, the Fort Harrison Hotel in

Clearwater. One day over lunch in the hotel's Hibiscus room, a Scientology

staff member introduced Zwan to Brian Haney, a fellow entrepreneur

visiting from Columbus, Ohio. Haney had become a millionaire in his 20s

selling toys through his Great American Fun Corp.



"Zwan traveled to Columbus to discuss a deal, meeting Haney at the

Scientology facility there.  First on the agenda was Scientology. The

church wanted $100,000 for its planned Super Power building in Clearwater,

a massive, $50-million complex now under construction. Haney balked. He

had already given the project $200,000. But Zwan and the church staffer

kept asking. Eventually, Haney wrote the check. The businessmen then

turned to Digital Lightwave. The two Scientologists discussed using

Hubbard's teachings to run the company. They had an unspoken

understanding, Haney said: No one would mention Scientology and Digital in

the same breath. 'It was known people would frown upon it,' Haney said.

Investors and potential customers might be leery of a company with ties to

a controversial church.



"'We were going to be two Scientologists who ran a Scientology company

that would bring in a ton of money that would get donated to Scientology

so Scientology could put up Super Power buildings all over the globe,'

said Haney, now 43. The entrepreneurs made a pact. For $5-million, Haney

said, he wound up with 49 percent of the company and left daily operations

to Zwan. Haney and his wife, Linda, had grown disillusioned with

Scientology and left the church. The church labeled Mrs. Haney a

'suppressive person,' a name given to people the church believes are

working against it. Church members are not to associate with a suppressive

person. Haney said Zwan summoned him to a meeting at the Fort Harrison

with church staff member Mary Voegeding Shaw, now president of FLAG,

Scientology's spiritual retreat in Clearwater.  'Mary Voegeding says to me

because my wife is a declared (suppressive) person I cannot be a partner

in business with Bryan Zwan and that I only have two choices: I have to

either divorce my wife or stop being Bryan Zwan's partner.'



"Zwan decided to sell stock to the public, a bold move to generate cash so

his young company could grow faster. To help navigate the expansion, Zwan

recruited Seth Joseph, a 41-year-old securities lawyer from Miami. One of

the few non-Scientologists in Digital management, Joseph was given a

$250,000 salary and up to 656,666 stock options, potentially worth

millions. Another executive came aboard then, too: Denise Licciardi, a

36-year-old Scientologist and sister of the church's leader, Miscavige.

Zwan soon promoted Licciardi to vice president of administration, paid her

a $123,000 salary and gave her 60,000 stock options. Her authority

bothered Joseph, who questioned her qualifications. 'She was very, very

close to Bryan beyond what her skills would warrant,' he said. 'It was

because of her relationship with Bryan in Scientology.'



"On Feb. 6, 1997, Digital Lightwave staged a successful initial public

offering, trading at $12 a share. For Zwan, that meant his 20-million Left

out of the millionaire's jubilee was Haney, the early investor who had

left Scientology. Saying he had been tricked into selling back his shares,

Haney later sued Zwan, claiming his stock would eventually have been worth

$235-million.



"Just months after coming aboard, a frustrated Licciardi wanted more of

Hubbard's 'Admin tech' in the workplace. She wrote Zwan a nine-page memo

reminding him that in recruiting her and other Scientologists, he had

promised to use the Scientology methods. 'We left our lives behind for a

reasonable salary (and) a small amount of stock to help you attain your

goal,' she wrote. 'Here all we are trying to do is get to be a

billion-dollar company in the telecom industry. Why don't we just apply

the tech?'



"Nearly half the sales Digital reported in the second quarter of 1997

involved deals that either never happened or were not closed. A stunning

79 percent of third quarter sales were wiped off the books. The

restatement triggered SEC and Nasdaq investigations, and more than 20

shareholder lawsuits. And as the company was reeling from the bad

publicity, it was facing another crisis internally. Licciardi told

higherups that on New Year's Eve she had shipped out a couple of dozen

partly filled boxes to be counted as sales.  'It was clear she had to go,'

said Joseph, the lawyer who served as Zwan's No. 2. 'She had committed

criminal conduct. She admitted to it. It was devastating.'



"Scientologists and non-Scientologists turned on each other as the

company's top two financial officers, Joseph and Steve Grant, called for

Zwan to fire Licciardi. A group of Scientologists in the company went to

Zwan to rally support for Licciardi. That morning, some said they saw

Scientologists in distinctive naval uniforms in the corridors. Others said

it was hired security.



"Three days later, it was non-Scientologist Joseph who was forced out.

Zwan said Joseph's firing was part of a companywide restructuring. Joseph

cried foul, filing an arbitration complaint to recoup thousands of stock

options. An arbitrator later sided with Joseph, ordering Digital to pay

him $3.8-million.



"But Licciardi didn't survive either. In two weeks, she was gone too. Yet

her departure was largely on her own financial terms, which she spelled

out in an e-mail to Zwan titled 'Ending Cycle,' a Scientology term. She

told Zwan she was 'without a doubt guilty of executing on orders without

question.' Licciardi wrote she applied 'Simon Bolivar to a 'T,' ' a

Scientology phrase referring to loyalty.



"Today, Digital still is a big player in fiber-optic testing, with a 36

percent market share in the United States and specific strategies to push

its international sales. It has 110 employees, and this year contracted

with Jabil Circuit of St. Petersburg to manufacture all its units.

Digital's stock price closed Friday at $3.10. The company ranks 25th on

this year's Times list of top-performing public companies. Digital also

has put in place new accounting practices that, Zwan says, will prevent

past problems from recurring.



"As for the turbulent last four years: The SEC imposed a $10,000 fine on

Zwan in settling its case last fall. There was no admission of wrongdoing.

The SEC had hoped to develop Licciardi as a witness against Zwan. The

agency interviewed her in 1999 but could not find her as it prepared for

trial. The Times likewise could not find Licciardi. A Times reporter

visited several times a residence listed on Licciardi's driver's license,

mailed her letters and sought interviews through her mother and Gerald

Gentile, whom she married after leaving Digital. Reporters also left an

interview request at a Scientology Mission in Belleair Bluffs, where she

is said to work.



"Joseph works at a Miami law firm. Digital has not paid him the

$3.8-million award, and is appealing. His case, though, resulted in a

strong rebuke from Miami lawyer Stanley Beiley, the arbitrator who heard

Joseph's complaint. Digital shareholders should have been told, Beiley

wrote, that 'senior management knew that Denise Licciardi admitted to

significant inventory falsifications and yet rewarded her by permitting

her to resign, rather than firing her.'



"Brian Haney sold his toy company and is a venture capitalist. He also

runs a Christian charity organization out of his home in Columbus. Haney

and Zwan settled their suit in 2000. Terms are confidential.



"Zwan, now Digital's chairman, CEO and president, recently upped his stake

in the company to 60 percent. He insists Scientology plays no part of

Digital's operations. He says no more than three Scientologists work there

today."



Message-ID: JGqK8.1386$%k1.1025521@monger.newsread.com