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Atlanta Ideal Org Ribbon Yanking: The Real Story

April 4, 2016 By Mike Rinder 113 Comments

 

Screenshot (297)

Scientology wasted no time putting this photo (and a bunch of others) onto their website.

After all, this is the pinnacle of David Miscavige’s (and thus scientology’s) accomplishment. A “new org” is opened. This of course is not true, it is just a new building for the same old org as they all are. Scientology has not opened an actual new org in the last decade. Not a single one. I think Kaohsuing in Taiwan might have been the last one — but that was long before the “new building” was opened.

This is the big lie scientology tells its sheeple and the world. Their new buildings “prove” they are in an era of “massive international expansion” under the “guidance of David Miscavige, the ecclesiastical leader of the scientology religion.” The flowery bs on their website about the “grand opening” of Atlanta reads like the others that have come before. Shermanspeak and fawning praise for “Mr. Miscavige” and his brilliant leadership obscuring and real substance.

But there is also another aspect to the “big lie.”

For every event they must inflate the number of attendees. After all, they are claiming that these new facilities are desperately needed in order to “accommodate the demand” for scientology in the local area. The old shit-hole they have been in for 30 years just won’t do any more because now there are so many people “flooding into the org” that they have to have new premises. I noted on Saturday morning the desperation for getting bodies to fill out the crowd with the bus trip from hell to ship in staff from Flag.

True to form, the scientology.org website announces “1500 Atlanta Scientologists” were in attendance “plus those from along the Eastern Seaboard.” There haven’t been 1500 scientologists in Atlanta EVER. Meaning, everyone who has ever called themselves a scientologist in Atlanta would still be less than 1500, even though 90% of them would no longer call themselves scientologists.

This is a snip of the scientology.org page – I am not making this up:

CaptureA

But if you look at the photo the church put on its website that is at the top of this post, you can practically count every person present. (You can be sure, this photo was taken with a wide-angle lens from a predetermined location and cropped to the millimeter to ensure it included the absolute maximum number of people).

But, we don’t need to wonder about this at all. Because here is a report from someone that was actually there in the audience, along with a couple of shots and a video of the “moment” when the ribbon was cut (though you can’t see anything happen other than balloons being let off and confetti flying around).

I went to the Atlanta opening yesterday.

There were no more than 500 people and less than 100 from the Atlanta area. The rest were SO and CC Nashville staff/public or other out-of-towners.

David Miscavige’s speech papers flew away and for a moment he didn’t know what to say.

I was told there were 130 staff, but I only saw about 30 (they were roped off in their own section). Some of the staff are NOI.

The new building is 30 minutes from downtown Atlanta – far from any action or any foot traffic whatsoever. The most action they will see is from the patrons of the post office next door.

Miscavige looks old and tired and his smile appeared forced.

So, here are a couple of on the ground shots that don’t really prove a whole lot other than the person WAS there:

FRONT

\SCREEN

 

BTW — those huge video screens are ridiculous. They are virtually alongside the Great Man and would only be useful if the crowd stretched back for hundreds of yards. It didn’t. It was about 20 people deep at the most. In fact, in the middle of the video it pans right and you can see the row of potted trees they imported that is at the back of the crowd.  It is about 20 yards from the front of the “stage” sheltering the podium that Miscavige preached from.

And here is the video of the great moment – it does give a pretty good idea of how few people were actually present:

https://www.mikerindersblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/05266711-6067-4B2B-A5DD-02C685A85911.MOV.mp4

Despite the bluster they put on their website, this must be tremendously disappointing to David Miscavige. The turnouts are smaller and smaller in each successive ribbon yanking ceremony. He is going to try and make up for it with a big showing at the “opening” of the KCET white elephant where he has a lot more SO members at his disposal to fill out the crowd (and presumably a larger area to take shots that look like there are a lot of people) – though of course no mention will be made of the Golden Era facility 85 miles down the 60 Freeway that the SuMP makes completely obsolete for no understandable reason.

And finally, as for David Miscavige looking “old and tired”, it would appear he is following in the footsteps of some of the great conman televangelists who paved the way for his moneymaking schemes.

Below is the photoshopped image of Dear Leader the church put on its website from the event. At right is the infamous televangelist Robert Tilton.

Any similarity is purely coincidental.tilton3

Scientology-Atlanta-Opening-David-Miscavige-at-Podium_02C9768

 

 

 

 

 

 

ADDITION:

A commenter wrote this in response to the post. In order to preserve this invaluable information for the future, I am including it here.

Alright, I’ve had this tale bottled up for too long now, here goes:

The original budget set for the new ideal org of Atlanta was 6 million dollars; although it was a mere fraction of the final cost, the local scientologists were flabbergasted.

After a few years of fundraising, they had enough money and found a building. This building was highly favored by the then Executive Director (ED), who sent the paperwork and schematics of the building up to Int Management. However, Int, being the slow, micromanaged apes that they are, took months to approve the building. In this time, the building was bought by someone else. The ED, desperate for this specific building, negotiated a terrible deal for the building, pushing the cost of purchasing the building up to 6 million dollars. (It was originally 4 million into purchase and 2 million in renovations)

And then Int rejected the building. Oops.

Int claimed that it was too small for an ideal org and not well-situated in terms of foot traffic. Oh well, too late now, just got to roll with it!

This building, in addition to its flaws, was going to cost 3 million to renovate, instead of 2 mil. So this fundraising persisted until around 2008 or so. At this time, Another bomb was dropped: another 3 million was required to bring the building up to Sandy Springs’ new code. And, as the building was never fully inspect before purchase, they found asbestos and lead paint in parts of the building! Keep in mind this: they had held events in this building for years before this discovery was made.

So with 6 million in purchases, and another 6 million in renovations, what else could go wrong? The property war.

Sandy Springs, clearly not wanting a cult headquarters just down the street, sued Scientology too get out of the area. Their claim was that the org didn’t have adequate parking spots and that this could negatively affect the community or something like that. It was a valiant effort, but it ultimately failed. It did, however, cost the locals about a million in legal fees and a couple years in time.

Finally, they did it! They managed to raise the final dollars on the now 13 million dollar org. This occurred in February 2014, and yet, the Atlanta org didn’t open until April 2016. See the problem.

As luck would have it, the building, which had been sitting uselessly for years at this point, had begun decomposing. Load-bearing beams were rotting, the foundation was cracked, and various broken water pipes had flooded certain areas of the org. Actually, the a fair portion of the org’s CF was, I shit you not, left in a room that flooded for months at a time. This nearly destroyed half the CF. (which is probably not a bad thing really)

This rotten building was going to cost (prepare for this) an additional 6 million dollars, three for renovations and three for FFE!

What the hell is FFE?

Fixtures: light fixtures, gas and water pipes, etc.

Furniture: pretty self-explanatory.

Equipment: This is all the E-meters and books that the org must buy from Int. (Why can’t the mother church just loan them the books and have them pay back Int when they are sold? Does Int have such little confidence in Atlanta’s ability to sell anything that they need an upfront payment.)

Needless to say, the local field was crushed, but they carried on like the beaten housewives they were/are. They had grown used to amount increases; they were now numb to Int incompetence.

By Christmas, renovation amounts had been finished, and by St. Patrick’s day, the FFE had been completed. But wait! Someone forgot the 500,000 dollar back tax/some kind of property tax that was still unpaid. (It just keeps going) So, at an event that literally lasted until 2 in the morning, big donors agreed to pay up one last time. The fundraising was completely finished by 2:00 am, Easter Sunday, 2015. (I’m sure there’s something ironic about this.)

So at the end of the day, it was 19.5 million dollars, right?

Nope. All those figures I gave you were round up or down, which ever way would sound better to the local scientologists. You add in the credit card fees and the amount that was spent on events over those 11 years, and the final amount is just over 22 million dollars! So much for 6 million, amirite?

 

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Filed Under: David Miscavige, Idle Orgs, Public Relations Tagged With: Church of Scientology, Corporate Scientology, David Miscavige, Flag Service Organization, fundraising, public relations, Scientology, Scientology Idle Orgs

Comments

  1. Prop Man says

    March 21, 2023 at 10:32 pm

    I have some real estate I would like to sell at a price well above market, It fronts on an Interstate Highway and is simultaneously a very private and controllable property of substantial size. Any interest from Scientology’s real estate team? You can easily out match local political bodies and you will be near a metro area you will find very appealing.

    Just email: tiny.elf.real.estate@mailinator.com

    Reply
  2. Phillip says

    March 27, 2020 at 3:17 pm

    I know this article is older so this probably won’t be seen but I live very close to the church and would like to make a few things that I have noticed known. I remember when the church was being established there was a lot of controversy over its location. The reason that the scientologists were so obsessed with this particular building is because it is right next to the post office and is right off of Roswell Road by many cheaper apartment complexes. There is another building, that was formerly a lab, on the other side of the post office that went on the market before the the church was finalized. Through my research, and watching the show, and I have realized that this was all done in a concerted effort to grow the black population within the church. They have also been having a lot of open houses recently (for obvious reasons) but I found it odd that they block the back entrance/exit with one of their bright orange traveling minister vans. You would think that for an open house they would want as many entrances to be open especially since the parking lot is so small. Lastly, all of the cars in the parking lot have out of state plates and there are rarely new cars, but I have noticed some new cameras being put up across the street from the church and more around the entrance pointed towards the street for surveillance.

    Reply
    • Mike Rinder says

      March 27, 2020 at 5:45 pm

      Thanks for checking in and providing this report.

      We are always interested to hear on the ground reports of the local orgs.

      Reply
  3. Brian says

    November 17, 2019 at 12:57 pm

    I’ve followed Scientology humorously since I noticed it’s sad location in Atlanta in the mid-90’s, it was a cool building that never seemed to have anyone in it. One day I walked in and got the pitch, it was pathetic. So ever since, I’ve paid attention, laughed, and have been shocked at the depth this sick org will go.

    Then, living in Sandy Springs, being a patron of the post office that sits behind the org building, I take great joy in seeing the org building sitting virtually empty, and has done so since its inception. But it’s also bittersweet that this damn cult managed to fleece the system and have any existence in our city, a city that does not want the awful cult in it.

    I’d welcome any opportunity to shame this org out of my city. Or simply simply shame this cult for any reason.

    Reply
  4. Phasma says

    March 22, 2019 at 3:20 am

    So fun times, I lived just down the street from this place and watched the work go on from 2012-2017. No one in Sandy Springs wanted it there and it’s basically a ghost town today.

    After it opened, the only people I ever saw there were poor black people that I assume they literally picked up from the hood and paid to stand outside with signs of welcome. That lasted a few months and then it was back to 3 cars in the parking lot and no other signs of life.

    It’s funny you mentioned the flooding, because I’d drive by on my way to work and see the front doors propped open at all hours of the day. My guess was the poor schmucks working there were trying to air out that damp, mold smell.

    Anyways, I find it hilarious that they spent millions and millions on something that only poor people looking for a hot meal will ever seek out.

    Reply
  5. Wendy M says

    April 5, 2016 at 6:48 am

    Miscavige said something in his speech about mending broken marriages and re-uniting families…

    “Which brings us all to this point…” (to use his phraseology)

    WHERE’S SHELLEY?
    WHERE’S HEBER?
    WHERE’S GUILLAUME?
    Spoken to Ron Snr or Jnr lately? Maybe Jenna?

    And if you think that is stratospheric, wait til you see the last epic bastion of freedom standing on an island of sanity, visible from the front porch of eternity….and also visible from the earthly front porch. For nothing says corporate scientology like…a billboard rising up and imploring “CALL ME”. A sign calling to mind a policy of mindless, heartless disconnection that will forever be imbued in the history of scientology.

    Reply
  6. cathsparks says

    April 5, 2016 at 3:07 am

    I’m wondering how many warm bodies Nashville Org sent. In the years since the building has been acquired, no matter the hour, my hubs & I have *never* seen *anyone* coming or going. Never. How many “parishioners” is Nashville supposed to house?

    Reply
    • alcoboy says

      April 5, 2016 at 7:41 pm

      As a former CCNashville staff member I can tell you the exact figure: thirty.

      Reply
  7. hgc10 says

    April 4, 2016 at 11:44 pm

    In my non-expert opinion… It would be instant and total collapse. No one would know what to do. There would be a mad scramble to try to grab assets and run. Some kind of receivership would have to be imposed from outside authority. In an ideal world, Sea Org slaves would get a parachuted landing, including a plane ticket back home to Russia, and the rest would be confiscated for back taxes. Most importantly, everyone would instantly enjoy freedom of association.

    Reply
    • hgc10 says

      April 4, 2016 at 11:46 pm

      That was meant to be a reply to Zeb’s hypothetical, below. Is the reply to a comment feature malfunctiony?

      Reply
    • Mike Wynski says

      April 5, 2016 at 7:31 am

      No. There are plenty of people left at “Int” who know what to do and did it under El Con for years. It is a matter of what exactly they WOULD do.

      Reply
  8. threefeetback says

    April 4, 2016 at 11:25 pm

    Dave,

    The walls are closing in.

    First, your speech was posted on the internet before you could edit and distribute it to your minions. And ABC has it “in the can”.

    Now, there is that damn billboard on Burbank Blvd.

    The homeless encampment down the street from DM Studios is ready to jeer you on for the opening.

    Life is just getting more and more RUTHLESS for you.

    Reply
    • Dawn says

      April 5, 2016 at 4:41 am

      “David Miscavige’s speech papers flew away and for a moment he didn’t know what to say.” This gave me a good laugh! (What DID he do without them?)

      “Miscavige looks old and tired and his smile appeared forced.” He’s lined and his facial colour is orange. His tanning lotion gone wrong? Wait until he gets copies of the photograhps, someone’s head will come off because he wasn’t forwarned!

      Reply
      • threefeetback says

        April 5, 2016 at 11:12 am

        Like Atlanta, Dave’s entire cult is Gone With the Wind.

        Reply
        • Old Surfer Dude says

          April 5, 2016 at 2:28 pm

          More like ‘Gone With the “Breaking” Wind.’

          Reply
  9. Ann B Watson says

    April 4, 2016 at 7:32 pm

    Hi OSD, I dyed my very dark brown hair when young copper fire red in the Sea Org to pay tribute to Ron and Diana.Whoa too much KoolAid.And before that back in the day my first bf who I grew up with and left after five years to join SO drove a Triumph GT 6 and skied etc .Robert Redford was one of my favorites too back then.Come to think of it our CO @ Asho F before he went to Flag was a cross between Redford and Paul Newman.We genuinely loved him.Doubt that would happen today.xo,Ann.

    Reply
    • Nezquik says

      April 5, 2016 at 6:18 pm

      Hey, speaking of Diane Hubbard, she was at the event this Saturday. She resides in the basement chapel, taking pictures alongside ‘humanitarians’.

      I wonder how she doesn’t see through COB’s BS, or why COB lets her anywhere near his off policy ideal org stratedgy.

      Reply
      • Ann B Watson says

        April 5, 2016 at 7:37 pm

        Hi Nezquick, Thank you for your post. I recall Diana with impossibly long flowing red hair, in a white Grecian type dress lying across a Steinway and making all Asho float. Now in the basement chapel taking pictures alongside humanitarians…Sad. What is it that ignites the flame that causes some of the best amoung us like Marty and Mike to realize the trap of cos? For me the constant drumbeat of make wrong out ethics and the search for rock slamming at Asho became the least of the game.Looking back Rock Slamming WTF! I got tagged forever as one of those,totally wrong I might add. I wish Diana would leave and be free of cos but that is her call,for me what I thought was a shining shimmering star that would guide me to all I had been seeking my entire life was nothing but an old tattered science fiction story yellowing in the Sunlight.Love,Ann.

        Reply
  10. Sarah says

    April 4, 2016 at 6:14 pm

    Take better care of yourself Miscavige. I want you to live a long time in prison.

    Reply
    • Old Surfer Dude says

      April 4, 2016 at 9:17 pm

      With a cellmate named Bubba?

      Reply
  11. Espiando says

    April 4, 2016 at 6:07 pm

    Everyone’s saying that the Toxic Dwarf looks like Alfred E. Neuman in that photo. I’m going in a more drastic direction: he looks like Justin Bieber. Why would a man willingly get face work done to look like a Canadian reprobate thirty-two years younger than he is? Well, it’s too late to say sorry for that abortion of the plastic surgeon’s craft.

    And Special Correspondent has to go and mention foot traffic. I gave very good reasons last week, which no one countered, about why foot traffic is irrelevant, yet at the first chance, that irrelevance is pulled out of the woodwork again. I have this feeling that someone is doing this on purpose to piss me off. Don’t do that. I take psych drugs for a reason.

    Reply
  12. Jeffrey Levine says

    April 4, 2016 at 4:32 pm

    DM looks like he could be Alfred E Newman’s twin brother.

    Reply
    • Lawrence says

      April 4, 2016 at 5:46 pm

      Speaking of DM, I wonder whose fault it became after the wind in the atmosphere of Earth surrounding Atlanta blew his speech papers into the air away from him that he lost hold of his speech papers? I would not know from experience but I have heard he gets pretty riled about things that seem OUT about him and picks it out on people around him. Which is why he looks like S**T in that suit. It can be very hard to fool some people that you care about others if you really don’t. But, DM tries. 🙂

      Reply
      • GTBO says

        April 4, 2016 at 9:02 pm

        DM’s script is for pure show. Everything he does is on Tel-e-Prompter. The wind must have pulled him out of PT… oops!
        Or he was worried if the hairspray would hold…. roflmao.
        It sucks to be a big being out of PT.

        Reply
    • Boston observer says

      April 4, 2016 at 9:01 pm

      Yes, thank you! I knew I knew who he looked like but I couldn’t put my finger on it. As much practice as they have with photo shop you would think they could have helped him out a little.

      Reply
  13. Chee Chalker says

    April 4, 2016 at 3:32 pm

    With all of COB’s ‘Hollywood connections’ you would think he could afford a decent make up artist/hair stylist.
    In fairness, we don’t get to see the ‘before’ pictures.
    If his face gets pulled any tighter, his ears will be in back of his head.

    Reply
    • Aquamarine says

      April 4, 2016 at 5:39 pm

      If He keeps this up He’ll have more skin on the back of his head than He has on His face.
      He must be very vain.

      Reply
  14. Chee Chalker says

    April 4, 2016 at 3:27 pm

    It’s my opinion the entire section to the left of the front of the white columns in center of building has been photoshopped.
    NOLA posted a picture on Twitter that shows NO crowd to the left of the center.
    I’ve seen bigger crowds at high school bball games.

    Reply
  15. Mike Wynski says

    April 4, 2016 at 3:20 pm

    I zoomed in and I could see a belly button trace on DM’s forehead!

    Reply
    • Newcomer says

      April 5, 2016 at 12:16 am

      Don’t think so. I’d say it is part of His sphincter!

      Reply
  16. Zeb says

    April 4, 2016 at 3:08 pm

    If Miscaviage up and has a heart attack tomorrow, what do you think happens to the church?

    Reply
    • Old Surfer Dude says

      April 4, 2016 at 4:59 pm

      Unless they’re told what to do, it’ll be total confusion! Or, maybe they’ll say, “He’s dead. Just like the wicked witch of the West.” And of course, they’ll start the celebrations. Ding Dong the dwarf is dead!

      Reply
    • Mike Wynski says

      April 4, 2016 at 5:13 pm

      Zeb, there are probably only a few people who are now out, that could answer that with any chance of being the least bit accurate. Two of those being Mr. Rinder & Mr. Rathbun.

      Reply
    • Jose Chung says

      April 4, 2016 at 6:29 pm

      One thing is for sure, The Sea Org would have
      a problem finding someone shorter to lead the troops
      unless D.M. already cloned a mini me.

      Reply
    • Call Me Snake says

      April 4, 2016 at 9:45 pm

      If Miscavige up and has a heart attack tomorrow, what do you think happens to the church?

      Here is the perfect candidate, he already has the vocabulary down, the same hairdo, and he’s about the same height.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBpNTDlhQbY

      Reply
    • Dawn says

      April 5, 2016 at 4:47 am

      The koolaiders would be told that he’d gone to join Ron in saving Target 2, or whatever. What would happen to the church? After a scramble for the leadership role, it would stagger along, I daresay, but hopefully its demise would be faster.

      Reply
  17. Victoria Pandora says

    April 4, 2016 at 2:43 pm

    I watched der leaders opening speech on Tony’s site.
    There’s something really nagging me.
    It’s the fact that he left Brussels out, while making the list of ideal orgs Atlanta was joining.
    He listed; Milano, Tokyo, Bogota, London, Moscow, Johannesburg, Sydney, N.Y. And L.A.

    Has Brussels become “out PR?”
    Like an injured friend or relative, it has become an embarrassment, something to be not ised, lest it dampen the jubilation.

    Brussels has an ideal org, right? It seems I remember the ribbon yanking clearly.
    Grrrr.

    Reply
    • sashiebgood says

      April 4, 2016 at 6:19 pm

      meanwhile, they’re hitting people up for donations for way to happiness booklets to distribute there, you think he’d cross promote.

      Reply
  18. KatherineINCali says

    April 4, 2016 at 2:09 pm

    Love the comparison between Tilton and Miscavige. Laughter!

    Phil and Willie Jones’ billboard went UP!! Details at the Bunker.

    Reply
    • Old Surfer Dude says

      April 4, 2016 at 3:23 pm

      Woo Hoo!!!!! Thanks, KatherineINCali! Just went over to the bunker! What a beautiful sight!

      Congrats, Phil & Willie Jones! We share your excitement with you!

      Reply
  19. Lars says

    April 4, 2016 at 1:03 pm

    Botox, yes, maybe even plastic surgery on that
    indentation he had on the right side of his face.
    Plus the two vertical lines on each side of the nose
    are gone. It looks better BUT unnatural.

    Reply
    • McCarran says

      April 4, 2016 at 1:57 pm

      Heh, I’m all for growing old gracefully, but his ain’t so graceful. The eyes look like he has invisible pulleys hanging down from each eye.

      Reply
      • Old Surfer Dude says

        April 4, 2016 at 5:04 pm

        Mary, I still have all of my blonde hair (Ok…ok…there’s quite a bit of gray, but I still have some of my natural color! Like one of my favorite actors, Robert Redford, neither of us will be losing our hair.

        Reply
        • Aquamarine says

          April 4, 2016 at 6:04 pm

          Got it, OSD, but Miscavige is NOT a natural blond. Check out his early photos from the 80s. Brown hair, on the dark side.

          He’s given himself careful blond highlights, dark lowlights and there’s NO grey which means that FIRST he had an all over dye job to hide the gray, THEN the lowlights, THEN the highlights which means 3 hours in the colorist’s chair, and with short hair probably growing in gray that means his roots need to be done at least once a month, more if his hair grows fast.

          He’s also got a fake tan or some kind of fake gold bronze coloring on his face.

          If he let himself go grey and be pale he’d look like a washed out old man in his splendiferous videos.

          And I’m sure he knows that, and is deathly afraid of APPEARING old because if he starts LOOKING old people will start thinking about who should be replacing Him.

          Reply
          • Old Surfer Dude says

            April 5, 2016 at 2:31 pm

            Miscavige is not a natural ANYTHING, except for brutality…

            Reply
        • Scott Henderson says

          April 4, 2016 at 6:48 pm

          Ahh the ravages of time OSD. I have more on my back than my head, as my wife so kindly points out..

          Reply
          • Old Surfer Dude says

            April 4, 2016 at 9:22 pm

            We must come from the same ancient ape. My grandfather was a silverback.

            Reply
    • tony-b says

      April 5, 2016 at 12:41 am

      At 50 everyone has the face they deserve.

      So said George Orwell author of 1984 with some concepts that will sound familiar to observers, and perhaps even members, of scientology like Big Brother, double think, thoughtcrime and the Ministry of Truth.

      For Sci-lurkers who aren’t allowed to read 1984, a most entheta novel of political fiction and dystopian science-fiction, an extract from Wiki “The novel is set in Airstrip One …..a province in a world of perpetual war, omnipresent government surveillance and public manipulation, dictated …..in the government’s invented language, Newspeak under the control of a privileged elite of the Inner Party, that persecutes individualism and independent thinking as “thoughtcrime.”

      “The tyranny is epitomised by Big Brother, the Party leader who enjoys an intense cult of personality …… The Party “seeks power entirely for its own sake. It is not interested in the good of others; it is interested solely in power.” The protagonist Winston Smith works for the Ministry of Truth ….responsible for propaganda and historical revisionism rewritten so that the historical record always supports the party line. The instructions that the workers receive specify the corrections as fixing misquotations and never as what they really are: forgeries and falsifications. A large part of the ministry also actively destroys all documents that do not contain the revisions; in this way, no proof exists that the government is lying. Smith is a diligent and skillful worker but secretly hates the Party and dreams of rebellion against Big Brother”.

      Reply
  20. TOOT to OT says

    April 4, 2016 at 1:03 pm

    I’ve never seen a church make such a production of opening a place up.
    Why do they have to make such a big deal out of it?

    Oh, wait, for the SHEEPLE. It’s all for the dwindling herd.

    And that TERRIBLE music. It’s the same crap they used in 1983 – when I attended my first event

    Reply
  21. Joe Pendleton says

    April 4, 2016 at 12:52 pm

    Just watched it. My first thought was “a human Howdy Doody” … and then I watched that smile … has he EVER been so jaunty during one of these? … where have I seen that almost exact smile before? … then it came to me … latter day Liberace … face skin pulled tight? …. yup!

    Reply
    • Ann B Watson says

      April 4, 2016 at 1:24 pm

      Hi Joe Pendleton, Thank you for another great post.One big fear of mine is and will always be flying-monkeys and clowns. To me dm looks like a dangerous and demented Howdy Doodie with a billion or so on the front porch of infinity waiting for all the sheeple.xo Ann.

      Reply
  22. Valerie says

    April 4, 2016 at 12:20 pm

    The back right of the Atlanta opening looks suspiciously like the back right of the Milano opening.

    Reply
    • Old Surfer Dude says

      April 4, 2016 at 3:26 pm

      And we’ve never seem the Atlanta and Milano opening in the same room, right? Very interesting, no?

      Reply
  23. SadStateofAffairs says

    April 4, 2016 at 12:10 pm

    A perfect example of how Miscavige screws over orgs by making them “Ideal.” Years ago, Atlanta org jumped the gun by selling the building they previously had and owned, and selected a new building to buy. Miscavige rejected their building. They had an agreement to stay in their now-sold and previously-owned building for a year after the sale, and then the year was up, they had no building to move into, got sued by the new owners for not vacating, and ending up in 2008 having to vacate or rent the building they previously owned. Now it is 8 years later and they finally have a finished building to move into, after paying rent for 8 years, when prior to that they owned the building they were in. Great management, Dave. Keep it up and you’ll reach your goal of taking down all the orgs.

    Reply
    • Nezquik says

      April 4, 2016 at 12:39 pm

      Tell me about it; I know the whole story of fundraising if you care to hear it

      Reply
      • Chee Chalker says

        April 4, 2016 at 1:17 pm

        Hi Nezquik,
        Yes, please! The more exposure of Dave’s ‘Management Tech’ the better!

        Reply
        • Nezquik says

          April 5, 2016 at 8:31 am

          Alright, I’ve had this tale bottled up for too long now, here goes:

          The original budget set for the new ideal org of Atlanta was 6 million dollars; although it was a mere fraction of the final cost, the local scientologists were flabbergasted.

          After a few years of fundraising, they had enough money and found a building. This building was highly favored by the then Executive Director (ED), who sent the paperwork and schematics of the building up to Int Managment. However, Int, being the slow, micromanaged apes that they are, took months to approve the building. In this time, the building was bought by someone else. The ED, desperate for this specific building, negotiated a terrible deal for the building, pushing the cost of purchasing the building up to 6 million dollars. (It was originally 4 million into purchase and 2 million in renovations)

          And then Int rejected the building. Oops.

          Int claimed that it was too small for an ideal org and not well-situated in terms of foot traffic. Oh well, too late now, just got to roll with it!

          This building, in addition to its flaws, was going to cost 3 million to renovate, instead of 2 mil. So this fundraising persisted until around 2008 or so. At this time, Another bomb was dropped: another 3 million was required to bring the building up to Sandy Springs’ new code. And, as the building was never fully inspect before purchase, they found asbestos and lead paint in parts of the building! Keep in mind this: they had held events in this building for years before this discovery was made.

          So with 6 million in purchases, and another 6 million in renovations, what else could go wrong? The property war.

          Sandy Springs, clearly not wanting a cult headquarters just down the street, sued Scientology too et out of the area. Their claim was that the org didn’t have adequate parking spots and that this could negatively affect the community or something like that. It was a valiant effort, but it ultimately failed. It did, however, cost the locals about a million in legal fees and a couple years in time.

          Finally, they did it! They managed to raise the final dollars on the now 13 million dollar org. This occurred in Febuary 2014, and yet, the Atlanta org didn’t open until April 2016. See the problem.

          As luck would have it, the building, which had been sitting uselessly for years at this point, had begun decomposing. Load-beating beams were rotting, the foundation was cracked, and various broken water pipes had flooded certain areas of the org. Actually, the a fair portion of the orbs CF was, I shit you not, left in a room that flooded for months at a time. This nearly destroyed half the CF. (which is probably not a bad thing really)

          This rotten building was going to cost (prepare for this) and additional 6 million dollars, three for renovations and three for FFE!

          What they hell is FFE?

          Fixtures: light fixtures, gas and water pipes, etc.

          Furniture: pretty self-explainitory.

          Equipment: This is all the E-meters and books that the org must buy from Int. (Why can’t the mother church just loan them the books and have them pay back Int when they are sold? Does Int have such little confidence in Atlanta’s ability to sell anything that they need an upfront payment.)

          Needless to say, the local field was crushed, but they carried on like the beaten housewives they were!/are. They had grown use to amount increases; they were now numb to Int incompetence.

          By Christmas, renovation amounts had been finished, and by St. Patrick’s day, the FFE had been completed. But wait! Someone forget the 500,000 dollar back tax/some kind of property tax that was still unpaid. (It just keeps going) So, at an event that literally lasted until 2 in the morning, big donors agreed to pay up one last time. The fundraising was completely finished by 2:00 am, Easter Sunday, 2015. (I’m sure there’s something ironic about this.)

          So at the end of the day, it was 19.5 million dollars, right?

          Nope. All those figures I gave you were round up or down, which ever way would sound better to the local scientologists. You add in the credit card fees and the amount that was spent on events over those 11 years, and the final amount is just over 22 million dollars! So much for 6 million, amirite?

          Reply
          • Mike Rinder says

            April 5, 2016 at 9:47 am

            Amazing — so this information is not lost, I have added it to the bottom of the post so it is easy to find in the future. Thanks for putting this detailed account together.

            Reply
            • Nezquik says

              April 5, 2016 at 10:07 am

              Sorry for the typographical errors and the odd flow; I did not get enough sleep before writing this.

              Reply
              • Mike Rinder says

                April 5, 2016 at 10:16 am

                I corrected the typos in the version I added to the post. Flow seemed fine to me!

    • Mike Wynski says

      April 4, 2016 at 12:59 pm

      And, what exactly is the downside of closing “orgs” and keeping new people from getting sucked into scamology? 😉 Seriously though, he could just order orgs closed it he wanted to. Think about it, no one could stop him.

      Reply
      • thegman77 says

        April 4, 2016 at 8:18 pm

        He already did that with ASHO. Killed off the Briefing Course and then closed ASHO FND. And, according to Hubbard, at least two actions of Treason. No one batted an eye.

        Reply
        • Ann B Watson says

          April 5, 2016 at 7:43 am

          Hi thegman77, Thank you for your post. You said succinctly what occurred with Asho & Fdn.The last line of your post is the truth of the entire mess.” no-one batted an eye.” Also I just thought that is the main trouble with TRs.I couldn’t bat an eye or it was Flunk,but then again a lot of us were put in Treason without cause and still not one eye moved.Love to you both,Ann.

          Reply
        • Mike Wynski says

          April 5, 2016 at 10:38 am

          Correct thegman77.

          BTW, Policy was never meant by El Con to bind the person running the CoS. Otherwise, he would have had to declare himself countless times over. 🙂

          Reply
  24. Valerie says

    April 4, 2016 at 12:05 pm

    David Miscavige is looking more and more like Alfred E. Neuman every day.

    http://www.madmagazine.com/blog/2012/12/19/totally-mad-excerpt-who-is-alfred-e-neuman

    Reply
  25. Xenu's son says

    April 4, 2016 at 11:56 am

    He is looking and sounding weird.
    Has changed his stage manner to try to come across as more”caring”.Phony as hell.
    He sounds like a factory owner who just lost his factory saying to his wife:But I am grateful because we still have each other,really.

    Reply
  26. Old Surfer Dude says

    April 4, 2016 at 11:34 am

    “It is about 20 ‘years’ from the front of the “stage….”

    Mike, I gotta tell ya, that’s a long time to wait to see Corn on the COB. But, stranger things have occurred…

    Reply
    • Mike Rinder says

      April 4, 2016 at 11:38 am

      Whoops — for some reason the last edits I did were not saved! That whole sentence is now corrected…

      Reply
  27. Pete Griffiths says

    April 4, 2016 at 11:11 am

    Freaky dwarf looks freakier by the day.

    Reply
    • Old Surfer Dude says

      April 4, 2016 at 11:44 am

      As we all know, freaky is as freaky does…

      Reply
    • zemooo says

      April 4, 2016 at 12:20 pm

      Miscavage looks more like Alfred E Neuman every day. Now there’s a copyright fight I’d love to see!

      Reply
      • Scott Henderson says

        April 4, 2016 at 6:54 pm

        I’ve seen guys walk into a salon clutching a copy of GQ and saying “make me look like this” but never a copy of Mad. Just sayin…

        Reply
      • Old Surfer Dude says

        April 5, 2016 at 2:34 pm

        But, Miscavige still needs a missing tooth to REALLY look like Alfred E. Neuman. Right now he’s just a poser….

        Reply
        • Mike Wynski says

          April 5, 2016 at 7:30 pm

          Oo!, oo! Mr. OSD, I volunteer to make the needed adjustment!

          Reply
  28. Jerry Whitfield says

    April 4, 2016 at 11:05 am

    It occurs to me, ironically, that OT 8 has truly settled in on Scientology. TRUTH REVEALED!

    Reply
  29. Eileen says

    April 4, 2016 at 10:56 am

    Definitely very nervous. He lost control of his hands numerous times, starting to look like Dan Sherman’s butterfly hands.
    If DM blows who will recover him? I am sure there are dangerous people with a lot to lose if Scientology loses its spokespuppet. Maybe Tommy Davis will let him hide out at his place. Tom Cruise would be happy to put ethics in on him, I am sure.

    Reply
    • Phil... I'm Dee Dee too says

      April 4, 2016 at 11:17 am

      Ouch… I don’t think any man would want to put ethics repeatabley into this man… Yuck

      Reply
      • Old Surfer Dude says

        April 4, 2016 at 5:16 pm

        Oh, great Phil…! Now I’ve got the image……Ewwwwwwww………

        Reply
      • Scott Henderson says

        April 4, 2016 at 6:55 pm

        Mind bleach please

        Reply
        • Old Surfer Dude says

          April 4, 2016 at 9:24 pm

          And hurry…

          Reply
    • Aquamarine says

      April 4, 2016 at 6:26 pm

      Tom Cruise is always available to put ethics in on anyone ruthlessly.

      Reply
  30. Phil... I'm Dee Dee too says

    April 4, 2016 at 10:56 am

    The grumbling and upset by public and staff was also noted on Tony’s blog … My idea for a protest sign ” It’s not going to get any better next lifetime” might start helping some people wake up

    Reply
    • Jerry Whitfield says

      April 4, 2016 at 11:11 am

      Next lifetime, they won’t even be a blip on the radar. This thing has to disintegrate and their will be a lot of ex-members who will need help to recover from this horrendous experience. There are man OT 8’s out there right now who need help. Some of them are very angry and antagonistic. That tells you a lot about their tech.

      Reply
  31. Joe Pendleton says

    April 4, 2016 at 10:12 am

    Have Miscavige and Bob Tilton ever been seen in the same room together? (and yeah, everything now presented by the CoS is simply a lie … down to the increasingly large and stiff dark brown bouffant hair on their leader in his mid 50s … compensating for something, Davey? … face lift too? Probably) Also, does he still have a “2D” with his boyfriend Lou? (not that there’s anything wrong with that) You’d think he could at least score one of the Tampa Org chicks … geez … he’s SEE-OH-BEE fercryinoutloud!!!!!

    Reply
  32. NOLAGirl says

    April 4, 2016 at 10:02 am

    Atlanta must have been the height of humiliation for Dear Leader. His speech was just a bunch of words strung together with stolen phrases from movies and sports (Rise Up is the Atlanta Falcons saying) then having to gesture with his hands or step back from the podium to prompt the audience when they were supposed applaud his dumb ass. The wind blowing his speech off the podium. It was a mess.

    The spectacle has become a farce and Atlanta, like all the others, will now sit empty with a few staff waiting endlessly for the flood of people that are never coming, all while they figure out how to pay for the air conditioning.

    Reply
    • Len Zinberg says

      April 4, 2016 at 1:43 pm

      “Farce” is the perfect word to describe it! The forced gaiety of the bussed-in celebrants seemed to underscore the phony pretense that Scientology offers anything socially redeeming. The whole tissue of lies has worn so thin as to be transparent…
      and Miscavige knows it.

      Reply
      • Old Surfer Dude says

        April 4, 2016 at 5:20 pm

        Yep!

        Reply
  33. threefeetback says

    April 4, 2016 at 9:59 am

    Dave,

    Chalk up another belly flop on your list of ‘dones’.

    Reply
  34. Mike Wynski says

    April 4, 2016 at 9:55 am

    He looks, weird. I cannot quite describe it but something is wrong with his health.

    Reply
    • amy says

      April 4, 2016 at 10:41 am

      “I hope it’s nothing serious,” said Miss 1.1.

      Reply
      • Tommy J says

        April 4, 2016 at 11:07 am

        That is CLASSIC Amy. you go girl!!

        Reply
    • Old Surfer Dude says

      April 4, 2016 at 11:29 am

      Ummmm….alcoholism? Hey, I took a shot!

      Reply
    • threefeetback says

      April 4, 2016 at 11:44 am

      psychotropics

      Reply
      • Old Surfer Dude says

        April 4, 2016 at 3:29 pm

        Been there, done that. Bought a T-shirt…

        Reply
    • Valerie says

      April 4, 2016 at 12:13 pm

      The thing that got me was that his mouth was straight. He hasn’t had a straight mouth in any of the other photos or videos. His left side of his face always looks like a stroke victim’s. I wonder if he had a double, show up for him, maybe Gavin Potter? His speech is always altered through the sound system so it’s not that much of a reach to think he just didn’t show

      Reply
    • Jenny Lee de Becker says

      April 4, 2016 at 12:16 pm

      Plastic orange face….mmmmmm, weird indeed. Maybe he is a robot and the real DM is in the RPFs’ RPF……we can dream.

      Reply
  35. Robert Almblad says

    April 4, 2016 at 9:51 am

    Apparently on Underground they said ABC was suruptishly videoing him. Bet that really got to him….he will shortly become very well known as the ruthless psychopath that he is….

    Reply
  36. gorillavee says

    April 4, 2016 at 9:30 am

    His smile appeared forced? I thought forced smiles was now official church policy. That’s all I ever see in their pics.Ever take a good look at the CO Freewinds service org? They remind me of the abused wives smiling and telling everyone “it;s great! I’m so happy”

    Reply
    • Ann B Watson says

      April 4, 2016 at 12:48 pm

      Hi gorillavee, Forced smiles is very apt for all the still ins and SO and whales etc.Part of me feels sad they will not wake up,until I remember to them I am still an enemy.Love,Ann.

      Reply
  37. Wayne Borean aka The Mad Hatter says

    April 4, 2016 at 9:29 am

    Someone is going to RPF for panning that video camera too far…

    Reply
  38. Mary Smith says

    April 4, 2016 at 9:23 am

    I saw three people from Denver just in the pictures posted. I guess they didn’t count them in the Eastern seaboard count. I wonder how many of the crowd were Nation of Islam people. It looks like a lot.

    Reply
    • Jenny Lee de Becker says

      April 4, 2016 at 12:13 pm

      Imagine that being NOI and a scibot! Two cults double the ripoff.

      Reply
  39. McCarran says

    April 4, 2016 at 9:09 am

    Wow. It’s getting harder and harder for david miscavige to convince his bubble dwellers of his beautiful new clothes. Plus, photoshopped or not, david miscavige’s continuous lies are starting to weigh on his face.

    Reply
  40. XenuYesXenu says

    April 4, 2016 at 8:46 am

    Rumplestiltskin on a footstool 😉

    Reply
  41. Friend says

    April 4, 2016 at 8:40 am

    Miscavige looks strange to me .. it is not like the videos I have seen earlier ..

    Reply
  42. Jose Chung says

    April 4, 2016 at 8:40 am

    Geesh, his speech flew away !
    just goes to prove the pen is mightier
    that the Bullshit ! or if you cant take the
    heat stay out of Atlanta, it’s been burned before !
    Your toast Davy!

    Reply
    • McCarran says

      April 4, 2016 at 9:11 am

      …his speech flew away!? Heads will roll!

      Reply
      • Robert Almblad says

        April 4, 2016 at 9:43 am

        He reads from a Teleprompter, not his papers…the papers are just bs, just like his speech…in fact, I don’t think he ever speaks in his own words in public since Ted Koppel?

        Reply
        • Old Surfer Dude says

          April 4, 2016 at 11:40 am

          That was one of the MOST incredible shredding of a guest on Night Line by Ted Koppel. “Ruthless” was not in his element. He seemed quite nervous.

          Reply
    • Chee Chalker says

      April 4, 2016 at 9:52 am

      Suffice to say, Dan Sherman’s speech did not take Atlanta by storm like another Sherman once upon a time.

      Reply
      • Rick Mycroft says

        April 4, 2016 at 10:14 am

        Did the audience feel burned?

        Reply
        • Old Surfer Dude says

          April 4, 2016 at 9:28 pm

          Nah. Just singed a bit…

          Reply
    • Dawn MorninStar says

      April 4, 2016 at 2:54 pm

      I was wondering if the speech papers really flew away or if that was a contrived excuse to not give much of a speech.

      Reply

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