This is an update on the VM’s activities in the Bahamas since I posted this: Scientology Volunteer Ministers scam exposed once again
First up, the urgent call to get a photographer to accompany the “1,000 VM’s we are activating for immediate deployment” to the Bahamas (yes, that IS what they said was happening). What could be more important to get to the disaster site than a photographer?
Seriously? They put this on social media and don’t even care.
Now, here is the latest update sent out by the VM’s on Tuesday night.
I guess they didn’t find a photographer after all. They got 2 photos in Clearwater of VM’s in their brand new pristine yellow T-shirts, loading stuff into a truck and 4 VM’s boarding a plane.
Then in the Bahamas, they got one guy handing a box to someone, and one lady carrying a gas can towards a helicopter.
A thousand VM’s??
Perhaps I missed something, so I went to the Volunteerministers.org website and clicked on “News” — here is a screencap of that page.
Surely if they had an army of VM’s in the Bahamas, they would be saying so on their website? Not even a MENTION…
So, I went to the Facebook page of the VM’s.
Their forces have “joined the few hundred” non-VM’s on Grand Bahama. No mention of how many they are but the pictures show just a few of the same people over and over.
BTW, this video has 156,000 views, but only 150 comments — and scanning through them the majority are from South America? That’s a little odd…
Below this is the latest post on their Facebook page:
Their entire report seems to be about cleaning out a children’s home.
Look, I thank the people who ARE there for the work they are doing. It is necessary. It is back-breaking. These are good people giving up their time and making sacrifices to help others. Some of them are purely altruistic. Some are probably trying to get themselves out of an ethics condition or it becomes an excuse as to why they don’t have to give more money. Even that doesn’t matter, they are there and they are doing some good.
They point here is to expose the incessant scientology lies.
They constantly claim they have an ARMY of VM’s ready to mobilize at the drop of a hat. In fact, they have claimed they are the “largest private relief force on earth.” I didn’t go back to find that quote, I just pulled up the description of Volunteer Ministers on the scientology.org official website, and now they have toned it down just a bit to “one of the largest and most visible independent international relief forces”…
The Volunteer Ministers don’t lack money. They are also over-funded. The IAS has billions of dollars they CLAIM is used for this sort of thing (it is not).
This was a massive, devastating natural disaster within 100 miles of Florida. This is the sort of thing scientology claims they are expert at. Florida has the largest population of scientologists on earth outside California. They claim to have 12,000 just in the bay area. Two other ideal orgs — in Miami and Orlando. It was their chance to show to the world that they are in fact what they claim to be.
Believe me, they do NOT miss out on opportunities to video and photograph ANYTHING they do. This is a mantra of scientology. You must ALWAYS get the images to use for PR. It is why I put that as the first thing in this post.
For scientology, everything aligned here:
A massive, catastrophic natural disaster,
right alongside the second largest concentration of scientologists on earth,
with the biggest and most effective “OT Committee” on earth,
and even an entire building in the Potemkin village in Clearwater devoted to the Volunteer Ministers,
with unlimited funds — hell between Florida residents Cardone, Bridgeforth, Clouden, Sjouerman and Cummins they have probably handed over $50 million to the IAS.
It was the true test of just how big and how effective the VM’s are.
The pictures tell the story. No shot has more than 5 VM’s visible — except the ones in Clearwater.
This is yet more proof that the claims made by scientology of their massive size and continued growth are, every one of them, hollow lies.
Volunteer “ministers”
The “church” of scientology
The “religion” of scientology
David Miscavige as the “leader” of “the church”
🤣 🤤 🤪 💩
These fucktards are 10X nuttier than than Mormons, which is saying A LOT….
Most of this “PR” is for the benefit for the poor saps still in. When you are trying to “Clear the Planet” and you have so much bad press (That you actually aren’t allowed to read, or you will have to do an ethics cycle where you pay for your own auditing, and pay to be allowed back into the group), you are willing to do almost anything to appear like you really do care, at least to the rest of the world that might look.
Underneath all of the effort made by these people, who might actually do something to help another human in need, is the lie that $cientology is really expanding and making a difference. It isn’t doing anything except for draining those that are still in of their money. Believe me.
Come on, VM’s! There are a bunch of homeless and hungry Bahamians waiting for their WTH booklets!!
🙂 MarcAnon. Hilarious! Yeah, they are just sooooo studentable!
(That’s a little Scientologese I’m slingin’ at ‘ya, folks. “Studentable”: it means “Well rested and well fed, able to study”, in cultspeak.
https://www.npr.org/2019/09/11/759780932/how-to-help-hurricane-dorian-survivors-in-the-bahamas
https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=7485
The Volunteer Ministers are not on the list of respected charities.
And did you notice how many church-related charities (from multiple religions) there are on the list? That’s what true religions do! But Scientology wouldn’t know that nor DO that!
Strictly speaking though isn’t helping someone without getting anything back “out ethics”?
I actually called the number to “volunteer” myself as the photog. I was going to see what information I could get before they were able to uncover what I was up to. Unfortunately, no one answered the call and no one called back.
It will be interesting to see what the tax returns for VM are like next year- how much they claim was spent on this endeavor, verses the actual amount spent. I still think these front groups are the weakest link in the cult. They can be shown to not be doing what they were set up to do. There has to be a money trail, as well as the final place the money collected ended up (the pockets of the IAS and DM). This could constitute a major fraud if they set up any go fund me sites- I know Grant Cordone set one up.
By the way Mike- congrats on the new ambassadorship!!! It’s awesome and you and Leah will be a force!
Hilarious that no-one was on post!
Kat, unfortunately non-profits are another type of organization are allowed to get away with things that it might seem that that shouldn’t be able to – and of course “religious” non-profits are the ones given the widest berth. As I referred to in another comment, there are all too many fraudulent non-profits of various sorts, such as the ones where almost all of the money raised goes to costs – mostly to pay the fundraisers.
There are a few things that can actually get a non-profit in trouble, but typically Scientology will have figured out how to skirt those. I think their other strategies has just been to shut down groups that got in trouble, since typically, as in business and financial regulatory enforcement, actions are just of the cease-and-desist type without much in the way of penalties, much less prosecutions.
I would guess the reason no one answered your call is because the reason they advertise they will accept calls is just for their bullshit propaganda. They can point to those ads at a later date and brag about how much they help the world when the truth is they only help themselves to other peoples money.
By the way, if you never saw the movie titled, “Other Peoples’ Money”, it’s not a masterpiece, but it is a very friendly – even heart warming movie staring Danny Devito and Penelope Anne Miller and Gregory Peck. These three actors did a fine job and it was really worth watching this film. I would recommend it to you as a nice diversion on a rainy day.
I will Skyler!
What is also very surprising is that call for a photographer.
Surely, with SMP, Golden Era, etc., Scn should have dozens of photographers instantly available to go on mission.
I wonder if it’s merely to get someone who will pay their own way?
Yeah they aren’t going to spare a Sea Orger to have to pay to fly them, feed them and house them…no way.
Of COURSE they’re one of the most visible organizations, because sites like this watch them like hawks. The Bahamians likely only noticed them when they got in the way of real recovery efforts to take their selfies.
The VMs have always been about disaster tourism. It is their raison d’être.
I seem to recall that Greta Van Susteren personally made a sizable donation to Franklin Graham’s Samaritan’s Purse (which does real relief work) around the time of the Haitian earthquake.
One possible explanation for this could have been Greta Van Susteren’s recognition that Scientology, despite it’s PR puffery, does nothing effective in disaster situations.
The other, more cynical explanation is that Greta was attempting to forge some sort of Scientology partnership with Graham’s organization.
I think the latter explanation is more likely, but the eternal optimist part of me hopes that I’m wrong.
She’s down there right now with her new TV show. Her first stop was Franklin Graham’s hospital that he had set up. Over at the Underground Bunker the other day was some PR shots that were posted. How much do you want to bet that at the year end IAS extravaganza something like this will be spouted…”After Hurricane Dorian raged through the Bahamas our own Greta Van Sustern with her ground breaking new show arrived to lend a helping hand to Franklin Graham’s hospital.” I posted something similar at the Bunker as well.
We desperately need some UTRs to get us the videos that are played at the IAS galas and Org Events. Miscavige is doing everything he can to make sure no more videos leak to the net. Now everyone has to have their IAS Membership card on their person before they will be allowed into events. I guess he thinks he’s going to flush out the leaks…he’s wrong.
One of the VM posts says they were going to help someone local who owns a bunch of properties that were destroyed, who a member of the group knows. So they are going to help a landlord with his properties (that may explain why the picture of the person holding a chair, is in a yard full of appliances) – and I wonder what the chances are that is a scientologist who lives down there?
Last year, I think it was, on the East Coast, it appeared the VMs were helping a member on the fringe of the storm-hit area closest to Florida who had a couple inches of water in his house and some downed trees, when there was much worse damage further into the disaster zone and people much more in need of help. It seemed that maybe then they fanned out a bit and help some others in the same neighborhood, so perhaps that’s their strategy, concentrate on helping someone they know if not a fellow member, and then give a hand to other “wogs” nearby as convenient.
I remember back when Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana and MS. I contacted an OT VIII friend who lived there by email and he said he needed financial help because all the banks were frozen and no one could take money out. So I got on the Scn internet group, I think it was called Itheta or something like that and asked for any help for him and others stranded there. I even said an OT VIII in LA needs your help. Well a cray cray Scn got on my lines and chewed me out for ever letting it be publicly known that an OT VIII needs help. He said we should not promote that and should keep their mystique as near-Gods up there by not showing that they need help. He also implied that they should be able to “glow things right” because they are OT VIII. I told him this is an act of nature or God, however you want to look at it, and no one is immune to needing help. He wrote a KR up on me and sent it to the Ship.
This is why this ‘religion’ disgusts me. WTH kind of shite is this? ‘No don’t help that guy he’s OTVIII he should be able to manifest money if he needs it…and as for you well I’m going to KR your ass all the way to Miscavige himself for making our OTs look like human beings. We don’t help each other it’s OUT EXCHANGE!’
Thanks, Linear 13. I agree with you. He thought I was bad to put an OT VIII in a bad light for the world to see. Heck, he had just suffered through a huge hurricane!
Nothing changes except the extent of their PR cover ups of the real activity going on. Money pressure. More money pressure. Lots of photo ops faked to make it appear differently. Ugh. Just like the 70’s. They never think anybody is smart enough to figure this out. Truth wins every time. Duh. 🙏
I sincerely hope they are bringing more food and water to the islands than their volunteers are consuming.
I sincerely doubt they are. The four or five individuals would consume more than they were able to bring on a small boat and/or the tiny plane.
Good point, they likely consume more resources than they bring, if their burden was analyzed carefully to consider everything such as the transportation capacity they divert for short stays and then to move around on the island taking pictures, plus of course the burden that their being there puts on the infrastructure from food to sanitation. That reminds me of the scam charities that keep almost all of what they raise to pay themselves, justifying it as doing a service just by raising awareness about whatever issue they nominally support as they go around asking people for money.
I have to comment on one picture in particular. “The lady carrying a gallon of gas to a helicopter.” As a retired helicopter pilot what would I do with one gallon of gas in a jet fueled chopper. Even if for some generator somewhere,how long is one gallon-looks like half gallon ,going to last. They really need someone to vett their pictures and stories. The actual workers on the ground must be shaking their heads in exasperation seeing this stuff.
Very thoughtful post Mike. Those who showed up to package and deliver whatever supplies were available should be recognized as doing a good thing and their hearts are in the right place. Sad that they are doing a good thing for a very corrupt business to be props for DM’s next big show. None the less, anything that can be done to help people who have had their lives turned upside down no matter whether it’s one person or 100s these volunteers are doing a good thing. The cult leader could care less about the suffering of others as long as he can squeeze more money from his clueless donors.
Deceit is the hallmark of scamology.
Deceit IS Scientology.
Is no wonder the lies come up so easily. The so called leader miscavige is an expert at it and has been for many years.
And you are right, it is a compulsion and as such, in their own words, denotes a degraded personality.
“You will be back 24 to 36 hours.”
Yikes! I wonder just what kind of spin they intend to put on this.
The first thing that crossed my mind were all the crazy, stupid and empty promises made to people who were recruited as staff in places where they never get paid and are never permitted to leave. They go there and the become prisoners for a very long time – maybe even a lifetime?
So, how can they spin this sentence to mean, the photographers will be forced to stay there forever?
By “forced”, I don’t necessarily mean they will be chained or handcuffed or confined to some kind of prison cell. The “force” may well be a kind of indentured servitude where they are told, “Of course you can return within 36 hours. But surely, you didn’t expect us to pay your travel expenses. Did you?
Oh dear, unfortunately that was just your misunderstanding. You have to pay the cost of travel and you must purchase your tickets from one of our approved agencies where the costs range between $10,000 and $20,000. You cannot claim that you did not understand that? If you do, then you must submit to 1,000 hours of sec checks and other shit like that.
But you should feel good about that because all that money is going to our organization and will be used to clear this planet.
I caught the 24-36 hours too, Skyler. If they just went over and came back on a boat, that would likely take 24 hours; longer if the seas are churned up in the Gulf Stream as the boat might take the pounding at higher speeds, but the crew and passengers might not like 8-10 hours of crashing about
I have had a horror dream. Everything written disappeared as all the writings in present time. To be a nobody is to be a zero.
I was a nobody once. But I graduated to being a zero! This is the greatest day of my life! I always New I’d achieve Zero. Thanks to all that helped me! Boy, do I feel great!
Uh, you forgot to thank COB dickhead in your success write up. Back to the Purif for you OSD.
5 days ago they posted a request for donations to the IAS to help the victims of Dorian. As of today, sept 18, there is $0 donations.
Zero donations? Bwahahahahahahahahahahah!!! Now that’s funny!
People aren’t going to donate to the IAS until they HAVE to…ie under pressure at an event or an ethics action. What makes me really sick is that their big whales could give even half as much as they’ve given to the IAS and make a huge difference in the Bahamas. Look at their biggest whale Trish Duggan and children (no Bob he hit the road haha)…she would be on every front page if she donated as much to a disaster relief effort…but no give it to the IAS so they can donate it via the VMs to help disaster relief. I think even she knows that the IAS gives NOTHING to anyone.
What has become most evident (and frightening) to me recently is the fact that I doubt Seriously that most $’s actually Believe this propaganda; rather, they cannot face the fact that they have allowed themselves to be so Deluded, And for So Long. . . . . There Is No Way Out. . . . . . Therein lies the Real Tragedy of this Hoax!
Belynda, they made their bed, so now they have to sleep in it. And I doubt that they’ll get any sleep.