Thursday Funnies
Oh No Ross and Carrie Love these two. The second installment is worth listening to, just like the first. Smart, funny people explaining their experiences being sucked into the scientology bubble, including attending the New Year's event. It is humorous to get their take on how things come across to normal people that walk in the door. Listen here. The IAS "Inglewood Edition" Featuring the incomparable Jackson Wyan (whoever he is) rather than the full time IAS Reg Michael Roberts, one of the VERY few African Americans in scientology. So what makes the presentation from … [Read more...]
Scientology Ad Fail
There has been plenty of discussion about scientology's ads during the Super Bowl and Grammy's. Much of it very derisive - the twittersphere lit up with comments as soon as the ads appeared. Many of them were pretty humorous. They have run two ads -- and neither sell anything. Instead they ask a lot of questions and direct people to scientology.org website. Maybe this is modeled on the original Jeff Hawkins Dianetics "question ads" that sent Dianetics back onto the NY Times bestseller list. Back then, the success of the ads was measured by the number of books sold in bookstores (today, … [Read more...]
Orlando Magic
Hey presto, it's a rabbit out of a hat. Suddenly, Orlando is the "next milestone done." It's pretty clear that nobody raised the funds for Orlando -- they are barely even an org and probably have less than 50 public and staff all told. "International management" paid for it (of course, there is no such thing as "international management" these days, it is David Miscavige and "helpers in favor at the moment.") Despite the chest pounding of the Flag OTC, they are ineffective in the ideal org fundraising game. They have been running the "Alliance" of Atlanta, Orlando, Miami and Puerto … [Read more...]
Upper Class Twit of the Year
He is at it again. John Mappin living up to the unenviable reputation of the stereotypical British upper-class twit, once again making an absurd display of himself with the apparent purpose of getting attention. I could care less, except he makes a habit of pushing his scientology messages on social media, and I have covered some of his forays down the rabbit hole before. Here is a recent Facebook post about the awesome "add" that ran during the Super Bowl: But this post concerns some of his other rather bizarre Facebook activity. Remember, because he has inherited wealth, this … [Read more...]
It’s What They Don’t Say…
This is a recent (paid for) "press release." These come out periodically as an effort to generate any sort of semi-positive media in the face of the overwhelming barrage of negative coverage that scientology continues to generate. What is amazing about this one is what it DOESN'T say. Supposedly, Scientology commissioned this religious scholar to conduct a study of scientology throughout Germany. The entire reported conclusion from this study conducted in 2013 and 2014 is precisely NOTHING. Tacked onto the end is the assertion from scientology (apparently not from the … [Read more...]
Hysteria of the SP’s and 60X Expansion
Tom Cruise's brother in law, nominal "head" of "Criminon International" and IAS fundraising shill has poured his heart into his latest letter beseeching people to come hear him speak on behalf of the IAS (so he can collect his FSM commissions). This letter is fascinating on many levels: He starts out in Chicken Little mode: look how bad things are, everyone is against us and it is terrible. But with it comes the scientology twist: all this PROVES we are winning. The "hysteria of the SP's" - ie the constant stream of bad news that pours in the door -- from media coverage to legal losses … [Read more...]
Regraded Being
Thursday Funnies
What's Next? One thing for sure -- it will involve taking your money. All of it. Craig Mathieson? Been in the SO for 40 years and doesn't have a post worth mentioning? And they can't figure out who their top technical terminal is? Moneywinds Someone has been reading this blog and forced them to do a token promotional piece that doesn't talk about making money. But how unreal can you get? Learn how to throw the switch to light a universe? Who is going to teach them that? Mountain View Juggernauts Now renamed the Mountain View Juggernoughts. You … [Read more...]
Shiny Baubles
Apparently the higher up the scientology "Bridge to Freedom From Your Money" you progress, the more gullible you are to being led around by the nose ring of shiny trinkets. They dangle these little items in front of the sheeple with as much tact as The Publisher's Clearing House. Here is the latest offering -- directed exclusively at OT VIII's. If you re-do all your bottom of the bridge stuff, you will be awarded a "pin" that announces to one and all "Get Ready for OT IX and X" (just to be a nit-picker, why doesn't it say "I am Ready for OT IX and X"? Because undoubtedly the … [Read more...]
Nothing Says Chinese New Year Like….
...left-over anti-drug booklets from the church of scientology. Residual evidence that the grand plan of distributing ginormous numbers of Truth About Drugs for the Super Bowl was another Big Fail(tm). I suspect the people who gave them money for the Super Bowl distribution might be just a bit peeved... I suppose they are trying to clear some space in the SFO "ideal org" so they can fit in more copies of the "Basics," "Congresses" and "ACCs." Every org on earth has rooms full of these items when they were forced to buy them from Bridge/NEP in order to inflate the "sales figures" -- … [Read more...]
Scientology: Human Rights Champions or Abusers?
Scientology takes great pains to present itself to the world as a champion of human rights. Their tag line is "Making Human Rights A Global Reality." Look at their website - the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is prominently featured. And their efforts to "ensure the human rights of everyone" are mentioned extensively. Same in Freedom magazine (when it is published -- seems to have dried up of late). Videos showing their wondrous human rights programs are routinely shown at Miscavige's Nuremberg Rally events. Here is the Freedom magazine home p … [Read more...]
How Scientology Views Its Marks
A revealing look inside the mind of the scientology vultures comes by way of an email from the infamous Barbara Dews,. It's all about the "close" to extract money from the mark. These are the tricks to getting someone to give you their money -- removing their "brick overcoats" of objections to handing over their money. My favorite is the "Unattached Female Buyer" -- get her with flattery. Nothing like some good old 50's sexism brought forward into today's world. Why? Because in the 1970's L. Ron Hubbard recommended this book, so this horribly outdated drivel will endure for all time as … [Read more...]
An Open Invitation To Discrimination
Here is a new invitation being circulated among the "humanitarians" of the world. Wonder how this "Open Invitation" for "The Freedom of Expression" would work out if your expression was something not entirely fawning about David Miscavige? Or L. Ron Hubbard? Or scientology? Or what if you showed up bearing a cake iced with "Where's Shelly Miscavige?" They are literally inviting everyone/anyone: this invitation accompanied a note inviting a declared SP to attend this event. But then again, this is the email address of the originator: SCN_LFBDFN@ It doesn't fill one with … [Read more...]