AN OVERVIEW OF SCIENTOLOGY IN LATIN AMERICA
by: Special Correspondent.
I just happened to visit Mexico City and here is some information about the Scientology scene in this country.
As a background Mexico City has 21.2 million people. Per a report from March 2012, a Dianetics spokeperson claimed 5,300 followers in the City alone.
You can arrive at your own conclusions as far as the straight up and vertical expansion.
Mexico City has several Organizations – ODD, ITD, ACD, IFA and Centro Cultural Latino Americano. They are known as Organizations because despite various requests, the Government Office has not approved them to be registered as “Churches.”
Here is some brief information about Religion in Mexico, from Wikipedia:
The government does not provide financial contributions to the church, nor does the church participate in public education.
In 1992, Mexico lifted almost all restrictions on the religions, including granting all religious groups legal status, conceding them limited property, and lifting restrictions on the number of priests in the country.
The Catholic Church is the dominant religion in Mexico, with about 82.7% of the population as of 2010.
Despite the lifting of virtually all restrictions in 1992, Scientology has been denied authorization at least three times, even if they have presented 8 kilos (about 17 pounds) of ‘valid documentation.’ Why?
Here is what the Government Office concluded as the reasons for denying the recognition as a religion:
-Dianetics Organizations are known to evade taxes and they still owe some.
-Dianetics and Scientology, after the Mexican Government’s own search, found this group is involved in several legal suits such as France & Belgium due to fraudulent deals with the public.
-There is a specific Dianetics Organization that owes rent for over a year and there is no intention to remedy the matter.
The main purpose of those directing the request to be recognized as a religion is to obtain tax exemption, no other purpose than that.
Currently several OTs have come to realize the fraudulent Fundraising Events and endless donations and some have silently withdrawn their support. Without it, the Orgs are even struggling harder as those OTs were the main force in delivering conferences and bringing people in.
Without remorse a story is well know among the Mexican Scientologists; A Class VIII C/S, trained at Flag for years, was dismissed some years ago from the Organization for sexual misbehavior. This person now audits in the field, authorized by the Orgs, and is the Chairman of the OTC. But the Orgs lost a Class VIII auditor and Senior C/S.
A fairly accurate article was published in March 2012 by Juan Pablo Proal in a well-known magazine Progresso. The article explained:
Sea Org Members earn 150.00 pesos a week (about 11.50 USD) for their 12 or more hour workday. They have no Social Security, nor any legal contract to protect them. If the staff gets sick, they get abandoned.
Foreign members work with no valid visa and, when their tourist visa is about to expire, they take a trip to Guatemala, re-enter Mexico and keep going until the newly renewed permit expires.
They do lie to other Latin American countries’ individuals promising them work. Once they arrive the individuals are made to sign a Sea Org contract. In one specific instance a girl from Colombia needed to return to her country to renew her documents, she was not allowed to do so and the culprit Sea Org member that forcefully retained her, ended in jail for extortion and kidnapping with force. He was sentenced to 4 years in jail.
And the story goes on with other horror anecdotes.
More recently a public paid for his Mark VIII E meter. When he asked when he will get it, he was told to first return his old Mark VII. He protested as he had paid for it, but he was told “no return of old e meter, no receipt of new one and no refund of your payment”. As of about 3 ½ weeks ago all the public was asked to turn in their old e meters, some of them did so. “What will happen to them?” someone asked. The answer was “We don’t know. The order comes from way up lines.”
Finance-wise millions of pesos have been collected for the Ideal Orgs and IAS. Where is the money?
To have further reality on finance, 1 dollar equates to 13.00 Mexican pesos.
One intensive of auditing is about 13,000.00 pesos (about 1,000 USD). However, the minimum salary in Mexico City ranges between 155.00 and 463.00 USD monthly. For people in higher position, with a title, their pay range is about 4,900.00 USD monthly. Senators and such range in 11,500.00 USD monthly.
Do the math on when the man in the street could reach auditing at those rates plus the new e meter is being charged in USD.
In visiting, for about one hour, OCD (Organizacion Cultural Dianetica) it was observed that the glasses in the entrance were broken, the little wooden roof covering the entrance was also torn apart. No public went in. Suddenly a person came out with another and they did what was obviously a locational. Oh, a public being audited. No, later on we found out he was a staff member receiving ESTO steps.
As if by magic I met a person that has no knowledge of Dianetics or Scientology; she did mention having seen the Org, opened in full fanfare by the ‘leader’ in 2010. She said she went in but left after 10 minutes as nobody was in reception and the place was empty.
More people are leaving the organizations in Mexico City. OSA of course has started its investigations asking public to “spy” on X or Y person as they haven’t shown up for a while and then report back to them on what they find.
We could not take photos but I hope the narrative above gives you a good picture of the real scene of Dianetics and Scientology in Mexico City.
Hope Alvaro is okay. He worked in Tech Services at ASHO for years but ended up having to go back to Mexico. Heard he was at ODD or ITD “doing well.” Doesn’t look like anyone in Mexico City is doing well.
For the sake of truth re that Class VIII and the smear campaign that the shamefully used tool of cob aka “committees of evidence” found him guilty of – this Class VIII was a friend of mine. He was “guilty” of having a relationship with a younger woman before married to her and who he married and had three children with. He was already an experienced Grad V CS when he came to Flag to do his SHSBC then Class VIII training.
This was a similar story in nature to another couple from the same org who fell in love and married and had a child when back in their org after training. Sometime well after their child was born someone “KRed” them for having sex when at Flag before they were married. The end result was that both of them were comm eved! HIS GRAD V FPRD auditor certs were suspended pending retrain which he never did, she had to do months of amends away from her family and the marriage eventually broke under strain and 3P IMHO and ended.
This is but a few stories of the aberrated concept in the church about the second dynamic as forced off on to the Class V staff. For me these stories I was hearing about while still on staff myself were stacking up on my own experiences and causing a strengthening of my resolve to do something effective about the injustices I saw mounting nearby the burn pile of LRH policy I saw being thrown out.
That Class VIII was/is a good man. A staunch tech resource and determined in spite of cob’s hunger games he’s created. It makes me so frustrated NOT to have guys like him leave like many other trained and experienced auditors/CSes have and help expose that rat bastard but I have to learn to accept that some of them are staying in spite of his corruption because they believe what they’re doing in delivering the tech is senior to the admin outpoints and unfortunately they must believe and wrongly so IMHO that they can actually separate out tech and policy in the running of orgs and remain true to LRH’s tech. A mistake but then again they are under a great deal of suppression when being told tens of thousands of hours of study and application of auditing tech will be taken away if they don’t do what they’re told.
If you’re reading this (not out of the qn, these LATAM guys are very self-determined by nature) – HI to you and your wife and kids. You know how to reach me if you would like to talk privately.
Awesome!! Well done and best wishes!
In Mexico, before the GAG II, the cost of Student Hat was about 350 dlls, now the cost is about 1400 dlls. On average a Mexican engineer gets 1100 dlls per month!!!!!.
The idle org mexico is located in one of the main strets of the city. There is government oficces, Hotels, Theaters, Museus, Turistc places, etc. too many people, a LOT of people pass every day around the org. However the org looks like the picture: Empty . I mean an Ideal Org type DM: Dead!
DM = dead man?
POT, Maybe that is what occurred in SA. I did books for a fella (Jan 2003-06) that had moved to Johannesburg and was living on US Social Security there and able to get 12.5 for 600$.
Wonder what took DM so long to plug that leak in the money machine? Or perhaps their rates raised also since 06?
Doesn’t matter anyhow since there likely are no auditors in SA these days…..
Remoteviewed,
I and Mike’s WordPress are not getting along to good so I can’t respond to your comment above – hope you see this.
You said: My wife got kicked off post in AOLA Tres for reporting financial irregs to Int Management back in the late ’80′s.
Even though the Org was making over a half a million a week in GI the Org couldn’t afford paper, pens and list for their auditors (I mean we had to steal correction lists from Cont Mimeo) toilet paper or tampons for their SO female staff.
Where was all that money going to?
The Magic Kingdom.
Seems Int (mis)Management was sucking up 90% of AOLA’s income in (mis) Management fees.
According to AC1 it’s only supposed to be 10%.
End quote of yours
This differs from my recall as Treas Sec AOLA mid 85-90.
I never had a junior get kicked off post in my division (unless it was me but I was not your wife – unless my X is free now!) And during those 5 years we perhaps missed only 2 payrolls and often got more then 50$ because we got part of FSMC from FSO. We all had paper (I know I personally carried in the several cases each week!), we had pens and lists (that would have been up to mimio but we always had paper because I drove to Kelly paper and bought it. We also had TP. If the gals didn’t want to by tampons with their pay that was their problem.
May 85 when I came on I even got up in front of the crew and requested anyone who was owed for an approved re-imbursement and had not been paid to dispatch me with receipt and some bit of proof it had been approved. These amounts went on the orgs bills summary until paid in full. Even un-paid pay went on the BILLS summary.
The only gals I recall I had under me were Becky Parker in Income Department and Gisela Anderson in RAM. Marc Jefferson took over from me in 90 and then Erin Selle later when I was long gone (after mid 96).
So what are you trying to say here? Maybe a different year? Maybe in Registration (Div 2?) Oh and yes – management pretty much always wanted more then 10%. Angela Alvet would be in my face wee hours of the am to get ‘MORE’. I had several ways to get around that
Please e-mail me @ cecegangle@gmail.com. I would like to speak to your wife. Lets get the ‘Whole truth & nothing but the truth’ out. Thanks
Thank you Special Correspondent, great article.
So the fundamentalist witch hunt begins in Mexico. This is troubling for the Scientologists who want to leave quietly and obviously for the church since it has decided to suppress its parishioners there.
Asking people to return their old meters is ridiculous. They are the property of those who paid for them. That wouldn’t go over well here is the US. Although, it might if Miscavige announces that LRH would have wanted it that way and this was just found out because some SP had hidden the policy away. Which He found.
Having OSA go out and make contact with people who haven’t been around for a while is disturbing if that’s true. This is supposed to be a church, not the parole board after all.
If I happened I be one of those out quietly in Mexico and wanted to keep it that way because I had kids in the SO or staff, I would tell those goons that I had lifelong problems with depression and was having suicidal ideation. Or maybe a newly discovered heart defect which I could drop dead from any minute. That keeps them away pretty well. The CoS is terrified of someone dying in the orgs or on the base, not to mention committing suicide while receiving services. Just a bit of advice if anyone finds themself in a similar situation.
BTW, I also have a stock of emeters; right and left handed, six in total.
Hi Pepper,
Are you willing to sell any of your meters. I lost mine recently in a natural weather catastrophe along with all other original LRH books, courses, tapes etc. and all other possessions, home, etc.. I don’t know how it works here but it’s ok for Mike to give you my email.
Also my friend saw lots of emeters and books for sale on Ebay for not much money at all.
Love the new picture Mike. What I got from it was, “Don’t fuck with me brother”.
Cool…I won’t. LOL
Photo was taken by Tiziano Lugli when we were in LA two weeks ago for Christie’s deposition in Laura D’s case.
That picture says: “Mike Rinder, the old frosty lion of winter.”
Alanzo (:>
I LOVE the new picture Mike. Got to say it took me awhile to figure it out but I think you look like a younger version of actor John Larroquette, I’m sure you’ve heard this before. If not, by the way it’s a compliment!
(Sorry all off topic)
Insightful data, Mike, thanks. Miscavige certainly has Mexico in His vise-like grip. What a madman. As to the e-meter grabs by the RCS, I think it just opens the door for some brilliant techie/engineer to copy and build another one. That’s if a shortage occurs, with a demand that outstrips the supply. Someone will just build another one. I’m not at all knowledgeable about such things but people have shared that the e-meter is not complicated machines. Necessity is the mother of invention. If there is a demand, someone will supply it. There’s not much that Miscavige can do about that, except sue for copywright infringement if he can, right?
Regarding e-meters on ebay…as referenced above… Are these sellers legitimate 2nd hand dealers or fronts for the church or??? One of the sellers (Tech Library) has 100% rating and has been in business since 2002, but anything 100% makes me a little suspicious that it is a gimmick, and it just seems that the Radical Church of Scientology management would try to undermine such a seller.
I personally have bought from Tech Library and I know of others. It’s a legitimate seller and he has a good selection of materials. Check him out on eBay.
i have bought materials from Tech Library. They are legit.
I got Tech Vols from Tech Library. Very professional
As as I know there was a Radio Broadcast about DM`S Business in South America, I think it`s this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZthFtcqPR5s
It seems that your case gain is also the same as the VIII Emeter and turnings one’s old meter back in.
Anytime Captain Davey comes out with something new, you have to turn it in (or in the issue of case gain, just ignore it) and start from the beginning again.
From the previous blog post, this has now degraded into just pretending one has achieved something just by giving away your money for nothing.
At least this eliminates the problem of having to return something. Thanks Davey…
He would acknowledge you but he’s tied up in strategizing how not to be deposed and the new GAT 3 materials. I’m sure you understand. Can we confirm you for all future events? We have a new issue coming out soon which will explain it all.
ML,
2nd Assistant to the Secretary
Put me down as confirmed. 🙂
Wow! It’s like Miscavige is rolling out his equivalent of Obamacare…from on the most highest highs of authoritative position various forms of control to maintain control over some aspect of our individual lives and choices.
Miscavigecare anyone!
Thanks, I’ll pass.
Hi Mike,
Thank you for posting this informative report concerning the utter destruction of Scientology in Mexico. It has prompted me to speak of what I know about the history of Scientology in my country of origin, history which I consider one of the most important parts of my 73 years of life this lifetime and perhaps previous times. I would like people of this generation to know from a witness how Scientology began in Mexico City, how it spread like wildfire into the rest of Latin America up to the point when David Miscavige took over from LRH.
First , to make myself known, I will start by saying I am a fully Flag trained (1974) OEC, FEBC, DSEC, HEJSC, Flag Missionaire trained person who held the post of Flag Management Evaluator between 1974 and 1981, the year I blew from Clearwater, when I saw what David Miscavige was already doing.
Way back then in 1968 in Mexico City, nobody knew anything about Dianetics and Scientology. Mexico was virgin territory. My mother was a professional multilingual translator. One day one of her clients gave her a book to translate. The client was a 33 degree Mason who had just been to the US and brought the book back to Mexico. He had been so taken by the book, he decided to get it translated into Spanish. I was 27 then and close to my mum but I didn’t know what the book was about until she finished the translation. After she finished she insisted I should read it and after reading it once, my entire life was transformed. The book was DMSMH and it was the dissemination of it’s contents that started the ball rolling in Mexico. We made lots and lots of copies of the translation and gave them to lots of people in Mexico City. Then, through the same contact who had given her the book to translate, my mother obtained other LRH books books and many other basic materials which were soon translated and spread around. On top of that, after having enough materials and understanding of the subject, we began lecturing in Mexico City and around the country, intent on passing the word to as many people as we could. All without charging a penny. That’s how important it was to us.
We went on doing all that with great results from 1968 to 1971, when word got to the Flag ship Apollo that things were happening in Mexico. A great lady named Liz Ausley, who was LRH’s appointed person to deal with such matters aboard the ship, ordered a mission to Mexico City to set up a Sea Org base. One day in 1971 we received a telegram inviting us to join the Sea Org, which we promptly accepted. And the first Sea Org Unit in Latin America was formed. Yvonne Jentsch was very much involved and she provided the ED and HAS from her CCLA staff. Val Garcia and his wife Cathy were sent on garrison to Mexico. We were a group of about 12 people on a billion year contract, 5 of them recruited by me and my mum before we joined the Org. The org was duly registered as Organizacion de Dianetica AC (Asociacion Civil) Dianetics Organization Civil Association. With translations by my mother and a lot of Banda printing by me we soon had enough basic materials to start delivering to raw public. And soon enough Dianetics and Scientology began to spread at a fast rate, groups were forming and sending people to LA for Auditor and Supervisor training, a mission called IFA (Instituto de Filosofia Aplicada-Institute of Applied Philosophy) was established, I was called to LA to do my SO training on board the Excalibur then sent back to be the CO and,…well, things just took off from there.
From Mexico Scientology and Dianetics spread to the rest of Latinamerica.
The pricing for all services was always calculated as per
LRH’s policy, so most people could afford them. Entire families could come into the Org and take a Comm Course, followed by auditing or whatever they wanted to do next. And the expansion continued unabated. Nothing could stop it. And it was mostly WORD OF MOUTH.
In 1974 I left Mexico and became a Flag evaluator at Clearwater. Cathy Rinder was put in charge of Mexico.
In 1981, when the off policy actions generated by David Miscavige started to hit Flag, I blew an never returned.
It took a lot of years and a great deal of work and sacrifices by many people (most of them now declared SO including yours truly) to introduce and expand Scientology in Mexico and the rest of Latin America. But it hasn’t taken long for David Miscavige to utterly destroy it.
Alex castillo
Wow, what you say has the ring of Truth Alex. Thanks for the info. Val Garcia is now regging for AOLA. His last email to me said the staff weren’t allowed to have phones as it was ‘off-policy’ which translates to me as DM doesn’t want them to have have that much leeway on comm lines.
Anyway, informative write-up. I’m sure if LRH were around he’d throw shorty overboard for starters.
MJ –not just the ring of truth, but the truth — I arrived on the scene in 1972 at CCLA and Mexico was a big part of Yvonne’s CC expansion plans. Alex was right there AT the beginning!!
I didn’t know about Liz Ausley/Gablehouse’s part — that’s interesting. She is long gone from Scn.
Most of the entrepreneurs, successful businessmen from that era are gone. BUT many remain as big time KA drinkers — Agami’s for example.
It’s always MUCH easier to blow up a city than to build one.
Perhaps times are changing … people are tired of business as usual.
If the Pope can entertain the idea of civil unions — if Ukranians can meet their aggressors without arms — if those in formal gowns and tuxes can be served slices of pizza —
Then nothing is any longer SET IN STONE — except the minds of KA drinkers but even they might melt with enough global warming (Joke – considering it’s going to be MINUS 25 in my neck of the snow filled woods tonight)
Christine
Thanks Christine. Yvonne was such a dear. If she were alive today, DM would most likely declare her as so many loved her.
Thanks for the Back Ground on Scientology in Mexico Alex.
Funny how the people who really boomed Scientology are either declared or dead or both.
This is no coincidence.
Really interesting Alex, thanks for telling us, and for what you and your mum did !
The other thing I’d like to say on this, is that its been done before, with the help of some very capable people, get Dave off the lines, it can happen again!!
Interesting that when the Mark 6 E-Meters came out, this is what LRH ED 301 INT had to say,
“In ’78 a lot of time was spent in developing the New Mark VI E-Meter. It was needed as OTs were going off the top of the Mark V. The New World Corps is equipped with the specially built Mark VI. This beautiful and far more sensitive meter will be available to general auditors around February ’79 from Pubs Orgs. The Mark V will continue to be valid and sold as it’s a good meter and less expensive. The Mark VI is just a Rolls Royce.”
If it’s good enough for Ron, it’s good enough for me.
+1 MJ
I’ve used the meters that the Church developed since the Mk VI and I gotta say they make great paper weights and good door stops 😉
And expensive ones at that!
Yeah go figure.
The price of electrics goes down.
Computers, smart phones, stereos are cheaper. Yet the sorry asses at the Church figure they can charge more for an emeter.
Go figure.
Not exactly booming. Guess not everyone knows about photoshop.
I have a Mark VII Quantum, right handed, I’ll ship to someone who would like to have it. Send US shipping details to Mike; he can contact me.
I had a British-born friend who went to Mexico from Los Angeles for auditing in 2005 or 2006 because of the more economical price of auditing offered.
Thanks WidowDenk. I put my name in for it with the intention of using for Solo training and OT 7
Dave, you can’t have this meter so don’t contact Mike with an address in Hemet..LOL
…BTW…Just a few years ago I had a beautiful, white, limited-edition Quantum with a red velvet interior. I loved that meter, but I foolishly donated it to our Ideal Org fundraisers-Bad decision. A wealth woman near Pueblo, Colorado ended up winning it at auction. From time to time I think about deploying a one man black-opps team (me) to recover my missing treasure..LOL
KFrancis – Thank you. What a wonderful purpose you have.
I have my own emeter anecdote: Dr Denk had a really nice emeter. The gold case even had his name on it on a name plate. After he passed, his meter became my second meter, the backup one. I sent it uplines for recertification and when it came back, that name plate had been removed. Someone had to make a really big decision about that or … oh, whatever. That emeter got shipped to Marty several years ago along with my own.
This emeter is one I picked up on eBay a couple years ago when I thought I might train/audit. It never panned out that way so I’m delighted to put it in your hands. I shall patiently await Mike’s contact of shipping information and send it along immediately when received.
Oh my goodness, thank you- I am very touched by this! And thank you so much for sharing the story of your husband’s e-meter and the route it took through the church. So sorry to hear they removed his name plate but glad to hear it made its way out of Golden Era and into Marty’s hands.
When I am done with OT 7 ( I completed OT5 just several weeks ago now) I will pass your gift onto another so they can also use it for what LRH intended- auditing. I won’t let it sit idle. You have my promise on this! ML, KFrancis
I find it hard to believe that E meters are to be turned in that are paid for.
If you bought it ,you own it in my book.
The OT 8 meters seems like has so many strings attached you never really own it.
You just rent it until D.M. takes it back.
I don’t think this will work in Mexico.
To many Pancho Villas to deal with.
My comment is kind of off the subject of “returning your old e-meter before you are permitted to use the new meter you just paid for.” But it did remind me…
Speaking with a reliable source just the other day, I was told that the Church is no longer giving repayments (refunds for advanced payments for services not used) in the event one decides they no longer wish to participate.
Apparently there are legal paper one signs when one pays for advanced services which stays something to the matter of fact that the Church is not obligated to repayments.
This may be old news to you but I am truly surprised that the Church has taken this recent position
from my five years ago when I received my repayment.
It’s hard to believe that the Church would actually do this.
I can’t figure out “why” the Church would want to be so unbelievable out-of-exchange
unless they are running out of money quickly.
Is there a well-found reason “why” the Church is taking this viewpoint?.
Is there a well-found reason “why” the Church is taking this viewpoint?.
The RCS is motivated by, runs on and worships money. They don’t like giving any of what they have taken in to anyone.
“Well-found”? No.
True? Yes.
No doubt the furry lil’ rodents ripped out and either burned or shredded the policy on Refunds and pretty much scrapped the Auditors Code.
Unfortunately the Secret Closing Agreement they signed with the “Tax Cruds” allows them to do this sorta thing because now all benefits are considered “non tangible” donchaknow meaning if you didn’t make any gains from your auditing tough titty.
Funny what happens when you change one lil’ word like “fee” and call it a “donation”.
Robin — its not quite as simple as that. In fact, they are hung by their own petard in the representations made to the IRS and Supreme Court. The IRS contended that the refund policy was a very strong indicia of a quid pro quo transaction. The church dealt with that problem (and it was a serious issue) by asserting that the church is bound by the religious doctrine of exchange.
Ironically, it may well be the IRS record (and the Hernandez Supreme Court decision) that ends up being what allows courts to enforce the church to pay up.
Thanks for the background Mike.
I wasn’t aware of any of this.
In my opinion the Church should be forced to pay up and stop trying to weasel out of refunding the money of their many unhappy customers.
Then maybe they’ll have the cognition that their tech is totally out.
For the last couple of weeks the amount of e-meters for sale on eBay has risen quite nicely. Their prices have dropped too (I saw a special edition Mark VII Quantum being sold for under $400) . Anybody having an idea why suddenly so many meters are for sale????
If you need one, now is the time to buy!
The whole situation is a farce. A sad comedy of errors.
If you have to return your expensive Mark VII (s) what’s that make the real cost to you of a MKVIII (s) ?
Stick with the VII and tell them to go to hell.
Suppressive trait #12 is in full force in the CO$ – “12. The antisocial personality has a bad sense of property and conceives that the idea that anyone owns anything is a pretense,made up to fool people. Nothing is ever really owned.”
Sounds right to me.
RPF Assignment – David Miscavige. Report to Uniform I/C for one orange boiler suit. Your only terminal is your dad. Failure to comply will make the penalties you earlier issued seem like a Sunday boat cruise.
Starman I’m sure you’re referring to the Quantum E-meter ($4000.00 ?) that must be turned over with no compensation for a new Ultra which can be made useless after one year or whenever you fall out of favor with the church.
You’re dead on with this as regards to the suppressive trait this reveals in DM. You can pay to for a meter but you can never really own it-Bad sense of property!
Back in the late ’90s a parishioner onlines at LA Org found out that the auditing in Mexico was 25% the cost of auditing in the US and was promoting that fact broadly to anyone in LA Org who would listen, including a selectee of mine. When I inquired about it, a directive was issued on telex lines that forbade Mexico orgs from delivering auditing to foreigners at other than the rates they could get auditing for in their home country.
There. Problem fixed. Expansion stopped.
When the picture was taken, I was there for about two hours. In that time, only ONE public left the building. The street vendors evidence the “perfect” area control.
Thanks for checking this out Ed! This sort of information speaks volumes, especially to those looking as a part of their doubt formulas!
Corruption in it’s most evil form. I love that the entire system is grappling to hang on to the edge of the cliff, with slippery hands.
2010 – the grand opening. I remember it well. Only because my ex husband’s new OSA girlfriend was begging her new boyfriend to get his Dad to do the ribbon cutting. Needless to say Placido Domingo had other plans after our long chat about what was going on but nice try Miscavige.
PS – not it’s not paranoia. My ex’s new girlfriend was the DSA Tampa Org 😀
Well done Sam!
..” As of about 3 ½ weeks ago all the public was asked to turn in their old e meters, some of them did so. “What will happen to them?” someone asked. The answer was “We don’t know. The order comes from way up lines.” ” …… in Debbie Cookes letter she quoted an LRH reference (paraphrasing) “drop no curtain” that would obfuscate what management was doing in Scientology that would not be transparent to the public. This type of operation also supports “hidden data lines” as well as criminal level of exchange. “something for nothing”. It does not get any more blatant than that.
We’ve come a long way baby.
They are not dropping curtains. They never lifted them.
Holy crap! That photo says it all. Looks like the stats are straight up and vertical for trash piled in the front entrance!
Yo Dave,
Better get some of your demoted RFPers down to Latam to get the shithole cleaned up. Obviously the Org staff is so backed up with new public flooding in the doors they can’t keep up. Better yet, since no one can get a job done it seems without YOU, I suggest a short trip South to pull an inspection and set things right. I forgot, everything you do somehow revolves around a ‘SHORT…. TRIP SOUTH’!
Cheers good buddy! Take the rest of the day off.
Mike,
“For people in higher position, with a title, their pay range is about 4,900.00 USD monthly”
That would be a minority. The majority of people in Mexico are low middle class to poor.
Scientology for Mexican people is totally unreal, useless and actually dangerous as they have a long history of abusing and unlawfully detaining young volunteers in the sea Org.
It has been supported mainly by Mexicans living in USA, who can afford their prices. But even the relatively decent treatment they were afforded, has gone by the boards, as DM pushed his GATs crappola, and fund raising idiocy.
Maybe scn is now what you say to the new generation but it was very real and very helpfull when I pioneered it between 1968 and 1973. Believe I know more than you on this subject.
I agree Alex.
Mexico was actually doing very well until the coup took over in the ’80’s.
“More recently a public paid for his Mark VIII E meter. When he asked when he will get it, he was told to first return his old Mark VII. He protested as he had paid for it, but he was told “no return of old e meter, no receipt of new one and no refund of your payment”
That’s the first I’ve heard of this. Is it this verifiable?
That smacks of illegality.
These things can’t remain hidden forever.
Funny thing…..they’re not being hidden now. People’s willingness to LOOK is all that stops them from seeing the massive outpoints in the church.
Yes Ronnie, the truth will out. Every day I’m getting more enlightened as to what the glorious one has been doing to subvert Scientology. It’s right out of Black Dianetics.
All of this information is great and the photo at the top speaks volumes. Of great interest is the “return your old meter in order to get your new one”. I thought at the time that the new Mark VIII was probably an effort to totally control auditing and inhibit the steady expansion of the Indy field.
It is amazing the amount of force that David Miscavige is attempting to bring against Scientologists to prevent departures. First, you will lose your Church and all friends and associations from your religion. Then personal friends and family will shun you. If you have a job or clients who are Scientologists, they will shun you as well, resulting in financial distress that can range from mild to catastrophic. Furthermore, you will be told you will never be eligible for OT 9, 10 and above (when DM gets around to inventing them). If your children have young friends who are come from Scientology families, they will never be able to talk to their friends again. If they attend a Scientology run school they will be expelled. But for David Miscavige this is not enough. He has to be able to melt your emeter from long range as well.
He wants those meters back. If you do not bow to the great David Miscavige, you may not have an emeter.
This meter release tells it’s own story. An improved emeter sits in storage for 9 years. Finally it is released when there is a rapidly expanding Indy movement and the only purpose for the meter release is to get uncontrolled emeters out of circulation and replace them with ones that DM can legally get back whenever he wants.And he charges $5000 for a meter that cost a few hundred to produce and which was specifically designed to lower the price of emeters!
The Mark VIII emeter story tells any interested person everything they need to know about David Miscavige and his motives. Increase Money and Control while suppressing the religion and it’s members.
Meantime, as David Miscavige works late into the night planning his next arcane legal moves to escape due justice in various court cases that he created with his obscene evil purps, the Class V org sector is rotting into the ground.
Kudo’s to our Special Correspondent from Mexico City.
Shame on Scientologists that refuse to look with their own eyes.
Any Scientologist in the world could make a list of the 3 closest Class V orgs and just walk in and look around. The results would tell them everything they need to know about the state of Scientology.
Thank you for the excellent analysis, Roy. Great article from Mexico correspondent.
Agreed on all points.
WOW….so, now some of the mexican public has come to realize the real scene and are departing. Good for them. With that high rate population it will take, about forever, to reach all the public and give them services.
I come from that country and, specifically can attest that another Org found in Guadalajara (a state in the Mexican Republic close to Puerto Vallarta) has had an Org since the ’80s. It is very small, hidden among other buildings and practically, Dianetics and Scientology are NOT known at all in that province.
Straight down vertical disaster, a monumental one we may add.
Thank you for publishing this data Mike.
Geez, this is good to know. I hope the order of having to turn in your old e meter that you paid $1000’s for,, before you can receive your new meter that you must buy two of for $5000, will be enough to wake up those whom are left. This alone could bring many people out of the “Church”. Wreaks of death throes!
OSA – you can purchase back my pristine Mk VII Meter any time – all offers over $10,000 considered.
Just some information;
Mexico’s population as of 2012 is estimated to be at 120 million.
In Mexico the average household income is $12,732 USD per year.
However the top 20% earn 13x as much as the bottom.
60% of people aged 15 to 64 have employment.
36% of adults have a GED or equivalent quite low by world standards.
Even taking into account David Miscavige’s extremely limited educational background.
Mexico seems to be a horrible investment. It is quite difficult if not impossible to try to make any sense of David’s actions.
As David Miscavige apparently has extreme learning disabilities it is next to impossible to make any sense of his actions.
The only was Scientology could make any money in this country is via drug smuggling. It just makes no sense whatsoever to expand here that I can see.
“As David Miscavige apparently has extreme learning disabilities”
Not to mention his severe emotional instability. Want to see stimulus response in action; walk into his space and say “Marty Rathbun and Mike Rinder Rock!” and then you had better get out of there. No telling what could happen.
LOU!!! #@&!!
Yeah as I said on the other blog.
Seems Dave probably had a crashing mis-u on the Clearing Course and ended up erasing his analytical mind 😉
Pretty funny Robin….
Glad I could brighten up your day a little 😉
Drug running? The Freewinds may come in handy after all, as it cruises between Cartagena and other destinations.
Probably when they’re not smuggling arms for their good friend Adnan Khashoggi.
Robin — Kashoggi was no friend of Scientology. He visited Clearwater once to see his wife (Loredana) and son (Ali). Marty and I met him and gave him a tour of the FH. He was completely uninterested in Scientology in any way, shape or form. He only wanted to ensure that the convenient out of sight, out of mind location was acceptable. He had moved on to other wives. Loredana and Ali lived in the Presidential Suite in the penthouse. This is one of those instances where there is a kernel of truth (one of his wives was a Scientologist) but any speculation about anything beyond that (and there has been plenty) is merely dub in of the same order as the church hired Hill and Knowlton, Bob Gray took money to PR things that helped the CIA, therefore the CIA runs the church.
Mike,
Well I wouldn’t say the CIA runs the Church but aside from using its advanced technology which has been pretty much documented I suspect they use it for cover on occasions.
Also the fact is that the Church did indeed hire H&K see the following:
The Church of Scientology
Another of the scandalous accounts taken by H&K after its acquisition by WPP Group included its work for the Church of Scientology. After the death of its founder L. Ron Hubbard, the Church turned to Hill and Knowlton for help in cleaning up its tattered image[46]. The Church had been embroiled in controversy over its strong-arm tactics in dealing with its critics. Eleven of its members had been jailed in the early 1980s for burglarising and wire-tapping several government agencies that had been investigating it, including the US Internal Revenue Service[47]. In 1991 Time had described Scientology as a “highly profitable global racket that survives by intimidating members and critics in a Mafia-like manner”.
The broad aim of H&K’s campaign was to present Scientology as grossly misunderstood, but H&K’s activities went beyond the normal PR remit. In addition to dealing with media appearances and lobbying on Capitol Hill, they handled Freedom of Information requests to get government documents relating to the IRS investigation and H&K executives were even sent to bail out two scientologists who had been arrested[48].
As part of their work for Scientology H&K engaged in lobbying against the licensing of certain prescription drugs. These activities involved calling for a congressional investigation of the drug Prozac. At the same time the advertising agency, J Walter Thompson, another WPP Group company, had an account with Eli Lilly, the makers of Prozac. Who raised complaints with WPP. Eventually the Scientology contract was dropped due to complaints from them and other pharmaceutical companies[49].
http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=380
This is also covered in Susan Trento’s book Power House which is reviewed here:
http://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/23/books/darth-vader-of-the-lobbyists.html
Note they compare Bob Gray to Darth Vader.
Mike, Marty and I already discussed Miscavige’s connection to him some time back plus the fact that he was star struck by the Madman.
Anyhoo…
Moving on.
How do you explain the connection between Bill Odom former directer of NSA and ATG?
Another thing saying that Davy is solely all by his idiotic, moronic and incompetent self brought down the Church in my opinion is basically the same as a “conspiracy theory” in reverse.
Robin — I didnt say you said the CIA runs the church. I was giving that as an example of the “connections” that get strung together to draw conclusions that have no basis in fact.
I know all about H&K. I was the church liaison for them. I was their “handler” in the church.
Their motivation was money. Pure and simple. Bob Gray may be a spook, there are a lot of people in Washington who work in lobbying and PR who have shady histories. Virtually everyone in DC is corrupt in one way or another. Bob Gray was the rainmaker for H&K, he had little direct involvement after getting the account (which was done following a meeting with Miscavige, Marty, me, Starkey and Heber and Gray and his “Scientology account executives”).
Another thing saying that Davy is solely all by his idiotic, moronic and incompetent self brought down the Church in my opinion is basically the same as a “conspiracy theory” in reverse.
Not sure who it is that believes this — he has had a LOT of help from a lot of people. Myself included for many years. And a lot of people who write at this blog, mostly to a much lesser extent than me. And he is still has many “enablers” assisting him today.
But there is no government conspiracy. The IRS isnt running the RCS. The CIA doesnt pull the strings.
It is a fundamentalist cult, and given all that encompasses, it is perfectly understandable that it is doing what it is doing and heading in the direction it is. This is a group of people who cannot see. As long as anyone tells them “I am on Source” or “It’s what LRH wanted” there is no further scrutiny given. Miscavige has mastered this art. And the blind follow him because he has convinced them this is true.
Part of the problem is the inculcation of Scientologists to believing that this is the ONLY route to spiritual enlightenment and that anything said by Hubbard is gospel truth. It creates a narrow-minded attitude and it becomes easy to lead people around by the nose ring of that conviction.
This requires a much longer discussion to be really clear. But if you see the reality of what exists, what has happened and is happening is not just understandable, it is a foregone conclusion.
Mike,
Funny how we got into this discussion on deep politics over a wise crack I made about Kashoggi.
I’ll take it back if you want?
Regarding H&K. I figured you’d be the go to man on that account. Maybe I misread your post on dub in regarding that.
I mean it’s not the first time I’ve gone off half cocked 😉
Yeah Washington DC AKA the Death Star is corrupt for sure.
On that I recommend a excellent series on Netflix starring Kevin Spacy called “House of Cards”:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1856010/
I LOVE House of Cards. I kept telling Christie it is scarily close to reality….
Yeah Mike 🙂
Best series I’ve seen.
If ya get a chance. Try catching Rubicon. It only played for one season but that series is the most realistic spy thriller I’ve seen next anything written by John LeCarre.
BTW you may be right about Dave and that it might not be any more complicated than what you say.
Then again some us conspiracy wackos could be right and it might be a bit more complicated.
In either case it doesn’t matter since both of us are no longer part of that circus calling itself the Church of Scientology.
Maybe some time when you’re in LA again we can discuss it over a couple of expresso CBTL 😉
“But there is no government conspiracy. The IRS isnt running the RCS. The CIA doesnt pull the strings.”
Maybe they don’t pull the strings but I suspect they have some influence on the organization to a degree.
Don’t you find it interesting that after the CIA got into remote viewing that the original OT levels mysteriously vanished from the Grade Chart and the GO was taken out.
The FBI made all the salacious docs public like “Operation Freak Out” and “Snow White” yet didn’t release any of the myriad of reports that Pat Price filed with the USGO on CIA’s RV Program.
Regarding the IRS.
Never believed like the folks at Sc-irs-ology did that the IRS ever ran the Church.
I can’t imagine the IRS running anything even themselves.
They are nothing but a bunch of bean counters.
Old joke:
What’s the difference between the IRS and the INS?
The IRS can count.
Mike, how long do you give the church before the Idle orgs start shutting their doors for good? i mean, with more people waking up and walking away, how long can they last? Scientology is really dead.
Something I would like to know as well. But when you have 4 billion dollars, you can stay afloat for a very long time. Otherwise, I’d give them til the end of the year.
Maybe John P could give us his projections.
I haven’t been able to find the new AO site yet. It should be easy since it’s going to be (if completed) the largest org in the world with the possible exception of the SP Building. If anybody has any info, I would appreciate it. rodkeller8008@gmail.com
I just found from a reliable source in Mexico City that the building for the AO is large, very big. It has been bought for over a year now, but no construction has been started as they need to handle first one of the other Orgs, there (ODD). It is the ones owing rent, doesn’t make its quotas on ‘donations’ and is shrinking. This is the excuse of why the Mexico AO has no started renovations; plus they need the permit from the Government to call it a Religion.
It was bought In 2008 and it is a very large mall with escalators. It is a joke.
Nobody fails like the RCS.
Too bad they don’t learn from their mistakes.
Yeah. The definition of insanity; doing the same things over and over and expecting a different result.
I remember back in the late 70s or early 80s that scientology seemed to be expanding quite nicely in Mexico. At least that was the propaganda that was being spread at the time. Although I never did see it written, there was talk going around, all sort of a wink-wink, nudge-nudge, that Mexico had been declared the first ‘clear’ country. Anybody else hear that one way back when, or is it just my faulty memory?
I was there in the early 80’s visiting all the orgs in the city as an ASHO reg. They were very much sweating it as the prices had been escalating all over the world at that time and without any consideration at all to these lower economies. The cost of auditing was just as high as in the US and very few in the US could afford it. And then it was finally adjusted to a lower cost, but it was still way, way out.
Consequently it was only the very affluent of the very affluent there that could afford anything and they would pretty much only go to Flag and, sometimes, ASHO and AOLA. But you could still, even then, get a couple hundred people to an event.
I always understood that the Mexico hay day was in the 70’s before the price increases. You’d hear people talking about this, wistfully, back then. I think I saw only the remnants of this in the early 80’s.
HAven, not faulty memory. I was one of the people who helped expand can in Mexico, 1968-1974
Wow. I wonder if public are going to be asked to turn in their old e-meters in the states as well. Anyone know? Is this so Indie’s can’t use them?
Yes, it is so the Indies and “I don’t want to join a cult” persons can’t use them. After Marty left the “church” and went public, many languishing “disaffected apostates” offered their old meters to Marty and others trying to make a go of it in the zone outside the church’s bubble. So the “new features” (internet license renwal, loyalty oath, continued maintenance of IAS membership) of the Mark VIII Ultra were a direct result of Miscavige’s orders to deal with Marty and the other disgruntled heretics who were (gasp!) practicing Scientology outside the bastion walls of the “church”.
Since the Mark VIII Ultra is supposedly “LRH’s vision of a fully OT meter” I still want to see the LRH issues that describes, documents, and record his vision.
Or maybe Miscavige and his boy Sherman are just making that phrase up.
Maybe?
Step on their toes.
POT,
I’m pretty sure they’re making shit up.
I mean having a meter with a variable sensitivity (one that changes when the TA changes especially with that bull shit algorithm based on resistance not mass which they claim causes the change) goes against what the Ol’man says in Emeter Essentials.
I can dig up the chapter and verse if you’re interested.
This is just another of the Church’s Hidden Data Lines(TM).
You ask for a reference and you’ll never get one because it doesn’t exist.
Like the “ref” which says that an “F/N” has too go back and forth at least three times before you can call it an “F/N”.
An “F/N” is a very distinct needle manifestation which any well trained auditor should be able to spot before it even swings by once never mind three times.
“Verifying” it is just asking for overrun especially in the case of what is known as a “Fleeting F/N”.
Anyhoo…..
(As per Joe’s request 😉 )
Personally I doubt if the Ol’man ever envisioned any thing like the Easy Bake Oven look alike appropriately called the Mk Ultra because of its potential mind fuck capabilities such as Orwellian spyware that verifies if you’re in good standing or not and paid tribute to the IAS or whatever other scam they got going and a chip that secretly records you’re sessions.
Sheeesh
I mean if someone really wanted to really fuck up auditing they’d get some low IQ, self important moron with a messianic complex of some kind that is your typical cult leader(TM) who happens to be a failed auditor that got washed off the internship for slappin’ a PC silly and place him in a position of power then advise him on “improving” the tech to the point of total unworkability.
In this contrary to what he says about “Ideal Orgs” gradients *do* apply.
I’d say the destruction of Scientology started when the original OT levels were replaced with “New” OT Levels back in late ’81 early ’82 then moved forward with a bunch of BTWO courses then throw in a meter (the Mark Stupid VII) with such a sensitive needle that no one anywhere could ever F/N a 53 add a few”HCOBs” that were originally BTBs which were eventually compiled into a “new and improved” set of Tech vols.
This caused enough confusion on auditing and tech lines in general to call for an Unusual Solution known as the Golden Age of Tech which really fucked things up.
But obviously didn’t fuck up the subject bad enough.
Thus we have “Phase II” which in my opinion is just a mop up operation.
Anyhoo….
😉
Back to the subject under discussion.
Mexico.
So typical of the dishonesty of the Church these days.
They just can’t seem to get their financial shit together long enough to get religious recognition there.
No surprise there.
My wife got kicked off post in AOLA Tres for reporting financial irregs to Int Management back in the late ’80’s.
Even though the Org was making over a half a million a week in GI the Org couldn’t afford paper, pens and list for their auditors (I mean we had to steal correction lists from Cont Mimeo) toilet paper or tampons for their SO female staff.
Where was all that money going to?
The Magic Kingdom.
Seems Int (mis)Management was sucking up 90% of AOLA’s income in (mis) Management fees.
According to AC1 it’s only supposed to be 10%.
Guess they must have been dyslexic or something and got the percentage wrong.
Anyhoo….
You could say that my opinion of Int Management was that they were nothing but a bunch of thieves and pirates probably flying the Jolly Roger over the Int Base but my priority was the tech and despite all this they still seemed to be delivering it until the Golden Age of Tech that is.
I guess for a lot of us the “ends justified the means” that is until the ends, ended.
They should stop drinking the kool-aid and start taking their medicine.
Was Pirates of the Caribbean named after them?
Probably was 😉
Good luck getting Johnny Depp to join.
For a good laugh on TM see The Love Guru with Mike Myers. What’s BTWO?
Means “Based on the Works of”.
Some us call him Botwo the Squirrel and here’s a picture of the lil’ guy:
http://rundbrief.org/kd0044/archiv/sc-i-r-s-ology/veritas/mailings/sw-1-1.htm
😉
Thanks.
remoteviewed said:
“I mean if someone really wanted to really fuck up auditing they’d get some low IQ, self important moron with a messianic complex of some kind that is your typical cult leader(TM) who happens to be a failed auditor that got washed off the internship for slappin’ a PC silly and place him in a position of power then advise him on “improving” the tech to the point of total unworkability.”
I see what you did there 🙂
It is amazing that in an organizational group that counts in the many many thousands of people, that something can be said about ONE person in that group with no name given, and yet everyone knows absolutely who that person is……I mean WOW right?
You mean you don’t believe what Tom Cruise said about him – “We’re lucky to have you.”?
POT
I clearly remember seeing an LRH advice about an OT meter. That would have been in late ’83.
I don’t remember any details. Maybe Dan Koon can shed some more light on this.
Greta
Greta — there was a lot about this, but it had to do with a meter that did not require cans. There was a prototype of the thing sitting in BV.
I haven’t verified this, but here is what an UTR friend in the states told me: Those on OT VII were allowed to keep their Mark VII as a backup meter and were allowed to only buy one Mark VIII. I assume same is true of field auditors. But in Mexico, the article says it is not this way. Can anyone verify what my UTR source said is happening in the U.S?
This is the one on Belisario Dominguez.
http://i1349.photobucket.com/albums/p741/RodKeller/mexico_zps9d5d2e14.jpg
Impressive….
That’s a good collection of pics of Narconon facilities. I didn’t realize there were so many. 🙁