Francis, you stated ” I’ll bet the thirty were imported”. Is that code for trafficked? No, of course the law abiding tiny terror would never risk the IRS tax exempt status to engage in human trafficking…

Peacemaker, to be honest, I didn’t do a stake out. I was driving by there on my way to an appointment. I didn’t see anyone coming in or going out, but I was only there a few minutes as I drove to and from my appointment. It was on the way. But the parking lot was pretty full whereas other times it has been empty but for one or two cars. I think they are selling parking to pay light bill.

Untrue. YOU don’t know. I DO know. Peacemaker, ALL it takes is looking…

I’ll bet All 30 were . . . . Encouraging.

You’re welcome, and understood, Ronnie. Great to know you’re reading regularly 🙂

Hi Aqua! I don’t comment much on the blogs anymore, but I read here (and at Tony’s) every day. Thank you for the kind hello.

Cece, I don’t remember seeing details – how many people did you see coming and going, and do you have any guess as to how many were staff versus public?

Thanks for taking time to do a real stakeout and count!

Wynski, there are a number of key secrets of the orgs about which we seem to know almost nothing. For instance, we get consistent reports that even the “idle morgues” have 24 to 48 staff members total between “day” and “foundation” orgs – so are there really 12 to 24 people on each shift, or are many of those positions part-time? And who makes up the typical 30 to 50 people we see in org event photos, is it half people who are on staff (if only part-time) and half public, meaning Scientology has a ridiculous ratio of staff to active members?

Counting cars, or walking around the perimeter of an org with a video camera for 10 or 20 minutes, at some random time, doesn’t necessarily tell us much very specific. If staff and members are carpooling and using public transportation, or if orgs make an effort to keep people from coming and going when video cameras are outside, then such measures could be very skewed. And in Southern California in particular, they don’t seem to account for where at least a thousand or two public come from, who attend the big events at the Shrine Auditorium (on top of Sea Org used to help fill the 6,300 seat venue).

Then there are questions such as how many orgs are completely insolvent, and rely on donations from local “whales” or the forgiveness of payments due “uplines” in order to even keep the lights on and the doors open. There were old reports of a couple of orgs (and missions) in such straits, but nothing recent to really tell us about the state of things.

There are reports from Scientology’s heyday that there were often times there was no pay even when orgs were booming and pulling in money, and staff had to moonlight to make ends meet; the CofS financial system is designed to suck all the money “uplines” regardless of the state of things, so lack of pay doesn’t necessarily tell us much either, unless it can somehow be quantified as being even worse, and more irregular, than it ever has been before.

@ Peacemaker,
In other words like what Mark Twain said about how people can prefer to go on being fools rather than admit they’ve been fooled…something like that. Well, I can relate 🙂 Not easy to confront that one has been a gullible jackass for the greater part of one’s adult life but it has to be done. Now, if you’ll excuse me I think I’d like to write a Success Story 🙂

Thanks, Peter 🙂