911



The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported on September 7th that Scientologists

there plan to offer "assists" to commemorate the first anniversary of the

terrorist attacks on September 11th.



"Minnehaha United Methodist Church will add a solemn procession to the

revelry of Sunday's praise and worship, and then holding a separate

remembrance service Wednesday evening preceded by a prayer vigil. Several

churches will do the same.



"For Jews, the timing of the Sept. 11 anniversary is even more profound.

It falls in the middle of the High Holy Days, spanning the period from

Rosh Hashana to Yom Kippur. 'It's clearly on everyone's minds here,' said

Rabbi Alan Shavit-Lonstein, new assistant rabbi at Temple of Aaron in St.

Paul. 'It's something we're considering as we prepare our remarks for the

holidays.'



"Amin Kader, president of the Islamic Institute of Minnesota in Maplewood,

will speak at a church in Minnetonka on Tuesday. He has conflicting

requests on Wednesday, teaching an introduction to Islam class at Augsburg

College and an invitation to a Jewish program at a St. Paul synagogue.



"Volunteer ministers of the Church of Scientology are setting up 'assist

centers' in U.S. cities to help people suffering emotional trauma related

to the anniversary."



Message-ID: qejknu4252cvg2p6aelr4jqhdku4fk8b7d@4ax.com





Admin Tech



The San Diego Business Journal reported on September 12th that a banjo

manufacturer credits his company's success to the use of L. Ron Hubbard's

business management techniques.



"The Deerings - Janet and husband Greg - employ 50 people, up from 25 last

year.  Their 27-year-old business turns out a range of instruments, all

banjos. Custom models, finished with walnut burl veneer and inlaid mother

of pearl, cost thousands of dollars.  Yet the growth in the past few

years, says Greg Deering, has come from sales of massproduced beginner

banjos costing a few hundred dollars.



"The Deerings have long had to deal with being banjo makers in a

guitar-centric culture.  The circumstances would have made others quit.

Quitting was tempting, Greg Deering recalls. However, he and his wife made

a pact they would not. Half a decade ago, he says, 'we realized we got

really good at not quitting - and now it was time to get really good at

making money.'



"Today the company is profitable, Janet Deering says. She attributes the

success of the last few years to implementing organizational techniques

from L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology."



Message-ID: pk1anusim16ep0grvk3700prqn48c15jea@4ax.com





CCHR



An email being distributed to Scientologists this week urges them to

bombard the CBS television network with emails thanking them for a segment

on the show 48 Hours on Attention Deficit/Hypertensive Disorder.



"EVERYONE NEEDED TO EMAIL CBS NEWS, 48 hrs, AND THANK THEM FOR AIRING, A

2ND TIME, THEIR SPECIAL ON PSYCHIATRY'S BOGUS DISORDER, ADHD. Psych front

groups, like CHADD, are going nuts (as they do when their bogus diagnoses

and mind altering drugs are exposed) emailing and complaining to 48 hrs

that they shouldn't have aired the show. Attached are web pages

highlighting the show.



"Click on www.cbsnews.com then go to the very bottom of that page and

click on the tiny link 'feedback.' Send your comment. Thank the producers

and Dan Rather for the program on ADHD and how much you liked it, how

important it was, etc. PLEASE DO THIS ASAP. IT WILL ONLY TAKE 2 MINUTES

AND WILL HAVE A BIG IMPACT ON GETTING CBS TO DO MORE."



Message-ID: 20020907154005.22931.qmail@nym.alias.net





Clearwater



The letters to the editor or the St. Petersburg Times on September 2nd

contained a rebuttal to a letter last week criticizing Scientology and the

construction of the Super Power building in downtown Clearwater, Florida.



"If I were to write you a letter using hate-group derogatory names and

bigoted statements about different religions, you would not publish my

letter (I would hope). Yet you publish a letter from some guy in Dunedin

who, while expressing his viewpoint about the new Church of Scientology

building in downtown Clearwater, rants and raves about Scientology in

clearly bigoted and discriminatory fashion and then compares it to the

Presbyterian Church.



"By printing such a letter, you have taken the support of religious

bigotry and religious discrimination to a new level. You should be ashamed

of yourself. People have opinions but you need to grow up as a newspaper

and better learn how to represent the community as a whole and not some

radical, religious hate-group viewpoint that only serves to enflame the

fires of religious discrimination in a community. - Thom Kicinski,

Dunedin"



Message-ID: aeJc9.197$AJ5.20262@news2.voicenet.com





University of Houston



A columns in The Daily Cougar, newspaper of the University of Houston, on

September 5th by Ellen Simonson criticized Scientology and its revision of

history.



"If you're a faithful reader of The Daily Cougar, you may have noticed

some inserts in this fine paper over the past few issues. These inserts

were a little more insidious than your average Ikea flyer; they were

designed to mimic an actual newspaper, and the first one failed to

indicate its status as an advertising supplement, potentially leading some

readers to confuse it with actual editorial content.



"Nothing could be further from the truth. You see, these inserts dealt

with Scientology, which is in itself about as far from the truth as any

normal, non-raving-lunatic individual can imagine.  Scientology would like

you to believe it is a religion. It's true Scientology has a bit in common

with more traditional organized religions - it purports to explain all the

secrets of the universe, and it could always use a little more of your

cash. But this 'religion' is little more than a cult with a bit more

capitalist savvy than most.



"The man whose portrait appears on those inserts looks like a decent

person. But keep in mind that before his alleged 'breakthrough' in mental

science, Hubbard wrote a letter to the Veterans' Administration pleading

for psychiatric treatment; was convicted of petty theft and stolen checks;

was diagnosed twice as a paranoid schizophrenic; beat, tortured and

strangled his wife rather than granting her a divorce; and was sentenced

to four years in prison on a fraud charge.  That's just the beginning.

Hubbard also messed around with Satanism, claimed to have several

doctorates after having failed his undergraduate studies, drank heavily,

claimed that smoking tobacco prevents lung cancer and committed bigamy.



"Scientologists who attempt to leave the 'church' are harassed, tortured,

persecuted and sometimes even killed (a former member recently received a

$8.7 million settlement from the 'church' after a 22-year battle; his

lawsuit detailed the mental abuse he'd undergone as a member, as well as

the $150,000 he'd spent for the privilege).



"Real churches ask for donations. Scientology makes you pay for knowledge.

Real churches urge their members to practice compassion. Scientologists

have a term for those who don't agree with them - 'suppressive person' -

and adherents to the 'faith' are forbidden to interact with them or give

their ideas credence.



"The fact that this organized crime/financial fraud hybrid presents itself

as a religion is scary enough, but the fact that it aggressively markets

to college students is far worse. As they attempt to discern who they are,

why they're here and what they want to do with their lives, college

students become far more susceptible than the average person to the

touchy-feely, sugarcoated invitations of cults.



"Which is exactly what Scientology is. Members have an 'excessively

zealous, unquestioning devotion to the identity and leadership of the

group,' an 'exploitative manipulation of members' and pose 'harm or the

danger of harm to members, their families and/or society' - the three

defining characteristics of a cult according to the American Family

Foundation [International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA)].



"The point, then, is you need to avoid the living hell out of Scientology.

There are plenty of churches out there founded on the principles of faith,

love, truth and justice. Scientology, on the other hand, is no better than

any other giant, greedy corporation - except its CEO not only thought he

was God but said so."



Message-ID: Jv4e9.35$wZ4.4386@news2.voicenet.com





Israel



An email being distributed to Scientologists describes the bulk email

campaign of The Way to Happiness Israel, and requests donations to

continue the work.



"This is Azriel emailing you from The Way to Happiness Israel. I am a

member also CCHR Israel for a few years already. A few months ago there

were terrorist bomber who exploded themselves right close to my home. I

decided that I must use my knowledge and my ability to do what I can to

change the situation. I felt that I am at an axis that might decide the

future of the world. I once heard a theory that in every minute there is a

certain one place in the world in which is decided the next step in

history, that anything which happens in that place, for good or for bad

will determine the future.



"I saw that my activities in CCHR are not enough and decided to join The

Way to Happiness in Israel which is called here The Association for Peace

and Prosperity in the Middle East. I learned techniques of collecting and

sending emails in large amount and started on my way. I sent thousands of

emails every week to the Arab world, to governments of the world, peace

organizations and to many private Arab people. The email carried a message

telling about The Way to Happiness and success stories from Palestine and

the Arab world, and invited people to order the booklets for free.



"About 2 months ago we have been contacted by Dr. Akbar Kahn Raji Mousa,

the chief editor of a magazine of the Saudi Arabia consulate in Mumbai,

India.  On the 23.9.2002 will be the National day of Saudi Arabia.  The

magazine which Dr. Kahn is editor is about to issue a special supplement.

This magazine will be circulated in about 50,000 copies, 30,000 of them in

Arabic and 20,000 in English. He has agreed that we place The Way to

Happiness booklets inside the magazine as an insert and also that we write

a few words for the National day of Saudi in the magazine including an

offer for free booklets, cooperation and contribution.



"The problem is that the National Day of Saudi is coming closer and we

still don't have the money. We need $5,000 to print the booklet there and

to place our message in the magazine."



Message-ID: LAESX89P37506.4542824074@anonymous.poster





Scotland



The Scotsman published a letter on September 7th in response to an article

on a Scientology anti-drug festival in Edinburgh.



"Is it really necessary to create a controversy by stirring it with

someone in the council and in the Church of Scotland, when the controversy

was already there? In the one corner, drug pushers are killing youngsters

with drugs and the growing and defeatist 'harm reduction' movement is

factually condoning it. In the other corner we have the Church of

Scientology and surprisingly few other organisations but many individuals

who believe the war on drugs is not over and can be won.



"Scientologists are 100 per cent drug-free.  In my experience those who

oppose our anti-drugs campaign are usually pushing drugs or at least

taking them - or are incited by those who are, they're doped or duped. -

Graeme Wilson"



Message-ID: f758becc.0209071212.2e2bc4b0@posting.google.com





Protest Summary



Christopher Wood and "Member X" reported a protest at the Toronto

Scientology org on September 2nd.



"Attendees: Me, Gregg Hagglund, Keith Henson, and a new person. Flyers

were varied - my new one, plus the property tax flyer and the stalwart

crimes/Xenu. I gave out about 50, Gregg gave out approximately 75, and

Keith usually gives out a fair number. So, my estimate is about 200 for

the 90 minutes that we picketed.



"A Scientologist in the org kept trying to photograph the new picketer,

and he kept putting his sign in front of his face whenever she tried. The

org was practically dead today."



"I selected a sign which said 'SCIENCE FICTION, SCIENCE FANTASY, SCIENCE

FRAUD, SCIENTOLOGY' on one side and 'SCIENTOLOGY DESTROYS LIVES AND MINDS'

on the other. Gregg provided me with an assortment of pamphlets and some

good advice on how to carry them so the culties could not grab them

easily.



"Gregg noticed an assembly of Sea Ogers, complete with their toy navy

sailor suits, enthusiastically smoking outside the building on St. Mary

St. and headed for them. It was comical watching this assembly scramble to

avoid his entheta: 'If there were any OTs we would not be picketing

today.' They ran for cover through an alley at the back of their building,

but Gregg did not pursue them. Instead, he watched their reflections in a

nearby window, and continued to direct his patter at them until they

finally realized he could tell they were still out there.



"A lot of people politely declined pamphlets, smiling and saying they

already had them. Whenever this happened, I asked the person if he or she

was aware that their property taxes were subsidizing the cult. Many

weren't, and happily accepted a pamphlet describing the property tax break

enjoyed by the Toronto Co$. Needless to say, most people were outraged

that their own taxes were higher as a direct result of the preferential

treatment given to the cult, and agreed that a complaint to their city

councilors was in order. With any luck, Toronto city hall will have to

deal with several dozen angry tax-payers tomorrow. I talked to perhaps

eight or ten people at some length, and handed out 50 or 100 pamphlets."



Message-ID: pan.2002.09.02.23.14.45.474677@NOSPAMxenu.ca

Message-ID: 3d762c16.98167281@news2.lightlink.com