Just how many churches of scientology are there? If you ask scientology, they will never tell you. You can look up on scientology.org and count the number of listed churches of scientology -- but it's tedious and they don't make it easy. But it is around 150, the same as it has been for decades. You can also try to count the number of missions, that is even more difficult. But again, it is around 300 (and many of these are VERY part time affairs, open a day or two a week). The best they will do is offer that there are "10,000 Churches, Missions and affiliated groups" without … [Read more...]
Orlando — Flag East
They have made a big deal about how Orlando is an “ideal org”, it is also clear that it would not have happened without the Flag OT Committee. They did the fundraising. They did the files. They recruited staff. Orlando would not be ideal were it not subsidized by Flag. But now we find out the org is actually MANNED by Sea Org members from Flag! More of the ruse of "ideal orgs" on display. Scientology pretends they are in response to "public demand" and "curiosity" about scientology, which is "rapidly expanding" in [fill in blank]... The truth is that these orgs don't … [Read more...]
Your Goals and Purposes in Scientology
One of our faithful readers sent me this promo piece with a bit of background that illustrates the inherent dishonesty that is part and parcel of being involved in trying to sell scientology... Hi Mike, Every New Year's our org would promote that they were having a New Year's Admin scale workshop. I dodged it for years and one year I found myself really in need of a new look at my business to just inspire me to start the new year. So I called the person planning and I said if I go to this thing I want to do a admin scale for my business not for the ideal org or whatever. She said oh … [Read more...]
Regraded Being
Thursday Funnies
I have kept a few of the "Christmas" promo pieces, but the number of them is ridiculous so I just ignored most. The amount of promotion about scientology pretending to somehow be part of the Christian Christmas "scene" is crazy. As always, they are trying to create "religious image" and look like "real churches." A new civilization... And nobody in Sydney is even aware they exist. Most of them have no scientology at all... The vast majority of countries in Asia have no scientology presence. The graybeards... This is the … [Read more...]
Scientology and Christmas
It seems the media is becoming more aware of the truth about scientology. This recent article in the Kansas City Star is not the sort of "goodwill" and "PR area control" scientology was hoping to garner from opening their new "ideal org" and launching into a PR offensive for the holiday season. The title of the article alone is enough to send shivers down COB's spine: Kansas City’s Church of Scientology opens a Winter Wonderland: Is this some ploy? Ploy you ask? Ploy? You can read the full article at the link above. I have a few thoughts about it. Following the evocative h … [Read more...]
Belief in Scientology
Another gem from the STAAD website. Things have really slowed down there. It seems without weekly airings of The Aftermath, their reason for existing has become muddled. They liked to pretend they were some altruistic exercise, but it was clear that was just a cover to be able to attack The Aftermath and its contributors. Nowadays their website is merely a collection of scientology talking points they use to try to convince the world they are "normal" and "like every other religion." But when they are not the subject of discussion, they seem to lose interest pretty quickly in fighting … [Read more...]
Catch and Kill
I recently finished reading Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow. It was an excellent, if horrifying read. Being familiar with the tactics scientology uses against victims of sexual abuse or "enemies" I didn't learn any new techniques or methods used by the unscrupulous to protect their crimes. But I was struck again at the similarities between Harvey Weinsten and scientology. I wrote about this in an earlier post Harvey Weinstein & Scientology -- Separated at Birth? All the tactics are described in this book: Hiring high p … [Read more...]
STAAD Resurrects “#WhereIsShelly”
We don't hear much from STAAD any more. Seems Fast Eddie has gone back to stuffing envelopes in the basement or whatever it is that he usually does. He has been silent on Twitter -- one post since 22 October and that could have been written by any of the STAAD flunkies and posted on his behalf. Even the STAAD League itself has been pretty dormant, every now and then sending out a retweet promoting Marty Rathbun like the last Japanese soldier on a Pacific Island firing into the air in an act of defiance to keep the fight going. This is one of their most recent retweets from a year or … [Read more...]
The True Measure of Scientology “Expansion”
On 6 January 2014 I published a blog post entitled Straight Up and Vertical - Not which included information about the target of "10,000 onto or through Solo NOTs". At that time, almost exactly 10 years ago, they claimed to have 6410 people who had accomplished that feat. Ignore whether this number is true or not, we will take them at their word. Until 2014 they had managed to get 6410 people cumulative onto Solo NOTs. Many of them are no longer scientologists. Many of them have since died. What is important is how many are making it to the "top of the Bridge" each year. That is, … [Read more...]
Regraded Being
Thursday Funnies
New Years is on Saturday! The wog world is behind the times. Only scientology is fully at cause over matter, energy, space and TIME... This will "literally be the most EPIC!" How could anyone possibly miss it? I bet Tom Cruise won't be there... Or Elisabeth Moss. Or Laura Prepon. There are going to be a whole lot of people who manage to resist the most epic event ever... And look at this -- they will hold your children in pens for the duration of the event! That's cause over Matter. They are even trying to get people to come for the event by offering a free dinner. Bet … [Read more...]
Aharon Friedman on Israeli National TV
Long term supporter of this blog, Professor Aharon Friedman sent me a link to this show that aired last night on Israeli national TV (one of the 3 state owned stations, channel 11 which is like Israel's BBC).. I asked Aharon to give a little bit of information about himself as an introduction and he sent me this: I got into Scientology when I was in Long Island for my post doctoral studies. The LI Church was quite an intimate place, and there was no pressure or “hard sell”. In 1987 we moved to Maryland and started attending the DC Org. This was a different ball game. During my tim … [Read more...]
Handling Crime in Brussels
Of course, they cite nothing to support their bold claims -- but then again any scientologist would NEVER even think to question the IAS. After all, this is the international association of the most ethical group on earth. There is nothing to substantiate the figures of distribution at all, they pluck these numbers out of the sky usually. Someone paid for a printing of the booklets. They may or may not have actually printed that many. No doubt, however many they printed, they did NOT get distributed. Often they end up being dumped. And the "network of 1400 … [Read more...]
Scientology TV — What’s Missing?
Scientology is making a really big deal about their new episode featuring Chick Corea. Chick is an interesting story that has been mentioned before. He got into financial troubles when his wife was hammering his credit cards. David Miscavige had known Chick for a long time because his father, Ron, was good friends with Ron Moss, Chick's manager. (Ron Moss is father of Elisabeth Moss of Handmaid's Tale fame). Miscavige was alerted to the problem and not wanting a "flap" with one of scientology's longest term celebrities, brought in Lyman Spurlock as a CPA to look through his finances. … [Read more...]