Hurricane Ian has devastated a huge swath of Florida, a swath that includes Flag and the "ideal" orgs in Tampa and Orlando. Where is the "Largest Private Relief Force on Earth?" There are more scientologists in Clearwater/Tampa Bay than anywhere on earth according to scientology. 14,000 of them if you take them at their word (other times they have said 12,000 or 10,000, it's probably more like 5,000 total staff and public). They even have a dedicated building along the Potemkin Village row on N. Ft Harrison in Clearwater: You know if they WERE doing something, they … [Read more...]
A Billion Years Update and Audiobook
A short clip from when I was recording the audiobook... I understand there is a problem with the audiobook in the UK and Australia. I do not understand the problem, as it had been all set to launch with the book itself and then it turns out there is some issue with distribution rights that is too complicated for me to understand. I have asked the appropriate people to see if they can step in and sort it out... For the time being, you will have to do things the old fashioned way and read the book. I went to Barnes and Noble in Manhattan to see it in a real bookstore with my own … [Read more...]
Brainwashed According to Scientology
I noticed this some time ago, but had not gotten around to doing anything with it. Another brilliant analysis from the experts at STAND: who of course know absolutely nothing, including what Hubbard had to say... He kicks his piece off with a witty description of how to "wash a brain" before prattling on about how brainwashing is a hoax: How to wash a brain: Carefully remove the brain. Gently immerse it in a bowl of lukewarm soapy water. Scrub the brain gently with a fine bristled brush. Rinse the brain. Wrap the brain in plastic wrap to prevent further … [Read more...]
A Billion Years UK & Australia Editions Update
As many of you know, there have been some difficulties with Amazon concerning the non-US edition being published by Humfrey Hunter and Silvertail Books. Sadly, the problems with A Billion Years caused all of Silvertail's titles to be removed from Amazon, which hurt other authors they publish. Through a lot of hard work and persistence, Humfrey has now resolved the issue and all his books are back up. But titles that were previously noted as "bestsellers" have been reset to "zero." Any pre-orders of A Billion Years will likely have been lost (check your Amazon account) and you will … [Read more...]
Stories About Ron — the Back Story
A few days ago I did a posting about the fact that Wick Allcock was telling stories about Hubbard in Melbourne: Personal Stories About Ron -- Sort Of When I did the post, I was reminded by my old friend Karen De La Carriere about an earlier post at Tony Ortega's blog written by Rod Keller Sailing with L. Ron Hubbard In that post, Rod recounted some of the history of Wick, prompted by another promotional piece where he was riffing on Ron in Tampa. I wonder what he said about the "research" for NED for OT's? That Hubbard suffered another heart attack and David Mayo was … [Read more...]
Elisabeth Moss: Scientology PR 101
The recent New Yorker article piece by Michael Shulman has resulted in a ton of media pickups, mostly focused on her responses to questions about scientology. There have been a number of takes on this of interest: Martha Ross wrote an excellent piece in the SJ Mercury News Martha quotes journalist Yashar Ali who tweeted: And Tony Ortega added some thoughts from Geoff Levin who was extensively interviewed for the story, but little of it made it into print: Now, let me add some of my thoughts, as it was my job back in the day to … [Read more...]
Episode 80: Tony Ortega Inside the Scientology Bubble
We welcome our old friend Tony Ortega back to the Fair Game podcast to talk about the current state of scientology, their ongoing financial crimes and the devastation COVID 19 has wrought on their information control. Tony is a gold mine of information about the cult, and our chat was no exception. He documents the world of scientology on his daily blog: The Underground Bunker. Tony's two books on scientology: Battlefield Scientology Unbreakable Miss Lovely We talk about Miscavige's Pandemic bulletin of March 2020: … [Read more...]
Neil Sarfati Hits the Big Time
My old friend from the Apollo, Neil Sarfati alerted me yesterday that he had finally "made the big time." He didn't mean he had a new number one album of his sax playing, he was referring to becoming a target of the STAND League haters. It's familiar stuff from STAND buffoon Martin Landon. First, if you have not do so, you should listen to the interview Neil did with the BBC Outlook program. I link to it below. It is very even-handed, mild-mannered and rather gentle on L. Ron Hubbard and life in the Sea Org back in the days of the Apollo. But because Neil is a no longer a cult … [Read more...]
Episode 68: Chris Shelton on Cult Apologists
This week we talk to our old friend Chris Shelton about cult apologists. These are the people who make a career (often lucrative) out of offering expert academic opinions in support of "New Religious Movements" -- cults. It's a racket that scientology has used to gain credibility. We cover a lot of ground here. Chris has recently published a series of articles on this topic on Tony Ortega's blog -- they are well-worth reading. Chris also has a podcast that is worth subscribing to on YouTube: Sensibly Speaking Podcast We mention the scientology STAND League -- the OSA … [Read more...]
The Big Lie: “They Incited Murder”
Yesterday, Tony Ortega reported the news out of Australia concerning the perpetrator of the tragic murder at the Advanced Organization in Sydney. Stefani Hutchinson weighed in with her always cogent and fact driven take on things like this, I recommend reading her blog on the subject. While there is much to be said about what happened, the tragic circumstances, the scientology refusal to acknowledge real mental illness and other things, there is a singular point I want to make. Scientology seized on this tragedy to make baseless and … [Read more...]