The above is a quote from the public affairs officer of the Church of Scientology International, acting in an official capacity. He appears to have sent the note with some enclosures concerning Willis Carto and the SPOTLIGHT to D/DSA CC PTL Angie Mann. From a handwritten note at the top, it appears Angie Mann then sent a copy of this document to two people at the Oregon Observer. Alex was also in contact with the Observer. The Observer printed a laudatory article about Scientology, and was subsequently contacted by Willis Carto, in a personal capacity.
Carto images, page 1, 2, 3, 4.
from the desk of WILLIS A. CARTO
OCT. 23 1996
Dear Ed:
I am sure you got the fax of this letter but
here's a hard copy. Also, you may not have seen the Dan Pilla article about the
tax exemption the IRS gave to the Scientology racket, so I'll enclose a copy of
that, too.
I talked to [attorney] Mark Lane about the letter and he says it
is safe for you to run as a letter because it is my opinion, to which I have a
right, and your paper has certainly a right to print it since you are not saying
it. Of course, you can add what editorial matter you want to it.
Got your
article for The SPOTLIGHT and it's in the pipeline.
Best,
Willis
[attachment]
WILLIS A. CARTO P.O. Box 28802 San Diego, CA 92198
October 22, 1996
The Oregon Observer
15033 SE McLoughlin #312
Milwaukie, OR 97267-2800 FAX (503)786-7035
Editor:
I was amazed and
puzzled to see you printed a very laudatory article about Scientology on page 1
of the October issue of your normally very excellent paper.
Like thousands
of others I have had personal experience with Scientology which has changed my
opinion from favorable to very negative about this "cult of greed," to
quote the cover story of Time magazine for May 6, 1991.
If anyone is in
doubt about the real nature of Scientology all they have to do is to look up
this issue of Time in their library if they can find it because it may have been
removed by Scientology's "Guardian" office -- their secret service. It
is a devastating expose. One of the operating principles of Scientology is to
sue anyone who tells the truth about them, so they did sue Time. However, the
court found that Scientology's suit was meritless and threw it out. Although I
have often criticized Time's normally liberal and internationalist bias, in this
case they were right and I think the magazine deserves credit for their
courageous expose.
Scientology has wrecked innumerable homes, both here and
overseas. Many people have committed suicide. It is recognized for the scourge
it is in most European countries, none of which give it preferred tax status as
the IRS has in the U.S.
On October 1, 1993, Scientology and some 150 of its
front organizations were granted full tax exemption and contributions were made
deductible by the IRS. This exemption was granted on the basis of "negotiation"
instead of Scientology fulfilling the rules for attaining the preferred status.
The circumstances surrounding this scandalous deal were written about by Dan
Pilla, a recognized expert of the IRS, in the July 8, 1996 issue of The
SPOTLIGHT, the weekly newspaper published in Washington by Liberty Lobby.
My own personal experience with Scientology is similar to that of Observer
editor Id Snook. I did many favors for these people, for gratis. I saw to it
that spokespeople for the so-called "Citizens Commission on Human Rights,"
one of Scientology's front organizations existing for the purpose of recruiting
naive people into Scientology's web, were interviewed on Radio Free America.
Often these interviews were reprinted in The SPOTLIGHT. I was favorable toward
Scientology because at the time they were very strongly opposing the IRS and the
income tax. Their members were engaging in hostile action against the IRS
throughout the country. However, after October l, 1993, Scientology's opposition
to the IRS ceased because they got what they had wanted for over 30 years -- tax
exemption. Now, Scientology is part of the Establishment, and goes along with
anything Washington or the Anti-Defamation League wants. Scientology has become
part of the problem.
I also approved of their hostility against psychiatry,
not realizing at the time that the one and only reason they don't like
psychiatrists is because that profession is competitive to their own racket.
Competing with psychiatry is exactly the modus operandi of Scientology. They
play mind games with the suckers they recruit -- for a price, a very high price.
As recruits go up the ladder, they pay more and more. Their payments are not
free-will contributions They have to pay the price set by the "church."
(The IRS now says that these mandatory payments are "gifts" and "contributions"
and consequently are deductible just like contributions to a real church.)
Incidentally, members get commissions from the fees they mulct from unwary,
gullible recruits.
A great deal has been written about the Scientology
racket but the "church" has a policy of buying up all the books (or
magazines, as in the case of the May 6, 1991 issue of Time) and putting pressure
on the publishers not to publish a second printing. The more one reads of the
history and methods of Scientology, the more nauseous one becomes. I know what I
am talking about from very personal and unwanted experience. I made the serious
mistake of trusting a Scientologist.
He worked for me for 14 years -- until
David Miscavige, the "Wizard of Oz," who secretly is the boss of the
whole empire -- told him to take over a multimillion dollar operation and throw
me out of my own business. Using unbelievable deceit and treachery, and methods
of mind control learned in his Scientology classes, he incited the other
employees and performed what even their lawyer said was a "coup d' etat."
This is copiously documented in lawsuits I am pressing.
There is more, much more, about this appalling racket that disguises
itself as a bunch of do-gooders but is in reality -- as any unbiased person who
has studied it will say -- a cult of greed and power of the most dangerous sort.
In defense of their racket, Scientologists will point to individual cases of
getting people off drugs and solving other personal problems. To a limited
extent this is true, but any good Scientology does is far outweighed by their
unprincipled and corrupt leadership, which employs many secret agents to
infiltrate and take over or destroy organizations they for some reason (often
unknown to their targets) may want.
I have unwillingly learned a lot about
Scientology since I was victimized by it and can say that anyone who trusts a
Scientologist does so at his own risk, and may be destroyed whenever David
Miscavige wants to.
Anyone who wants more data may check on the growing
library that disaffected members can provide. One of these former members--whose
own personal story is chilling -- is Arnie Lerma. He can supply some 600 pages
of documents, proof covering a thousand times more than above, for a very modest
cost on diskette or in paper form. Write him at: FACTnet, 6045 N. 26th Road,
Arlington, VA 22207 or he can be reached via E-mail at.- alerma AT dgs.dgsys.com
or WEBB: llttp://www2.dgsys.com/-alerma
Sincerely,
Angie's images, page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
[handwritten:
To Sandy & Ed
From: Angie
5 pages - more Carto
docs]
NOV-20-96 WED 20:05 CC PORTLAND 228 0116 P.01
11/20/96 at
17:39:31 Date: 11/20/96 Time: 17:39:31 PAGE 1 OF 5
FAX COVER PAGE
To:
D/DSA CC PTL - Angie Mann
Pages: 5
Date: 11/20/96 Time: 16:05.20
From. Alex Jones, Church of Scientology Int'l
Fax Number: 202-667-6314
Willis Carto once planned to halt what he termed the "inevitable
niggerfication of America" by convertly [sic] organizing a campaign to send
all Blacks to Africa, has been hit, with a multi-million dollar judgment for
illegally diverting $7.5 million from a California non-profit group.
Carto
had been authorized by the non-profit Legion for the Survival of Freedom to act
on its behalf to collect a $7.5 million bequest willed to the group by the late
Jean Farrell, an expatriate living in Switzerland.
However, according to
San Diego Superior Court Judge Ruston G. Maino, Carto kept the money and then
began illegally distributing it to Carto's Washington, D.C.-based Liberty Lobby.
an ultra-right wing group. Judge Maino ruled on November 14th that Carto and
several other defendants owe the Legion $6,430,000 plus 10% interest running
from January 1. 1991. Liberty Lobby, which publishes the controversial Spotlight
newspaper, owes the Legion $2,650,000 including 10% interest running from
January 1, 1993.
During the trial, Carto failed miserably in his efforts to
impress tile court. In a November 13th letter. Judge Maino noted that Carto's
attitude was one of "arrogance, deceit, evasiveness and convenient memory."
Carto now also faces the strong possibility of criminal prosecution for
financial fraud. Costa Mesa police raided his home in March of 1995 and
according to law enforcement officials, gathered convincing evidence that Carto
illegally tools the money.
Attached is Judge Maino's ruling. His detailed
letter on how he viewed the testimony from Carto and others in the trial is
available upon request by fax at 202-667-6314 or phone at 202-667-6404.
The following is a report I am issuing from my public relations hat as a staff
member of the Office of Public Affairs of the Church of Scientology
International in Washington, D.C. Its purpose is to brief Scientologists so that
they have the true data behind a series of attacks on the Church that have
appeared in The Spotlight newspaper and can assist in the handling of the paper
and its publisher, Willis Carto. Please contact me directly if you have any
comments or questions after reading. ARC,
Alex Jones
WHAT'S BEHIND The Spotlight NEWSPAPER'S NEGATIVE COVERAGE OF THE CHURCH OF
SCIENTOLOGY?
PART I, The Entheta Begins
In October of 1993, days
after the IRS officially announced it had recognized the Church of Scientology
as a religious, non-profit, charitable organization, The Spotlight newspaper
began running negative articles on the Church, a practice that continues to this
day. These articles have been full of fabrications, lies and distortions. Up to
that point, The Spotlight had always run favorable articles on the Church's
social reform programs, so this change was a surprise. The first negative
Spotlight article in October of 1993 sighted unnamed "informed"
sources who claimed that the Church of Scientology had made a back-room deal
with the Anti-Defamation League in return for the ADL ordering the IRS to grant
the Church its tax exempt status. The source of both this ridiculous speculation
and the paper's attack on the Church was Spotlight publisher and Liberty Lobby
founder, Willis Carto. Numerous communications from myself and other Church
officials (i.e. phone conversations, letters, explanations of documents, etc.,
etc.) have proven ineffective in disabusing Carto or his close assistant Mike
Piper of this conclusion.
The deal that the Church allegedly made,
according to Carto, was assistance in "destroying" the Institute for
Historical Review, an organization which claims that many details of key
historical events have been misreported. (This is the basis for what is known as
"historical revisionism.") Carto had been associated with this
organization for many years.
The IHR has gained the enmity of the ADL and
other Jewish organizations for claiming that many details of the Holocaust have
been exaggerated for political reasons.
Notwithstanding, the stupidity of
Carto's charge and his lack of evidence, Carto refused to handle on his lies on
the Church and continued printing negative stories. Thus, I began to pull the
string and discovered some fascinating things.
The True Story
What
actually occurred was that the IHR, which was being run
by Tom Marcellus -- who happens to be a Scientologist -- ousted Carto after
discovering Carto had illegally diverted a $7.5 million bequest intended for the
Legion for the Survival of Freedom, IHR's parent organization. Carto took
possession of the money on behalf of the Legion and just kept it, disbursing it
however he wanted.
All indications are that Carto embezzled millions of dollars intended for a
non-profit organization.
The $7.5 million bequest was left by Jean
Farrel, grand-niece of inventor Thomas Edison, upon her death in 1985. Swiss
court documents which finalized lengthy litigation over her estate are very
clear that 45% of the estate was to go to the Legion.
Carto claims that
Farrel promised the money to his care, which is fine. However, he took control
of the money for the Legion and was henceforth legally bound to disburse it only
with Legion approval. All indications are he did not do this.
As Carto has
refused to provide an accounting of how the money was spent and has, in fact,
pleaded the 5th amendment, his claims of innocence are not credible.
Law
enforcement authorities are likewise unimpressed. On March 22, 1995 Costa Mesa
police raided Carto's home and that of his associate Henry Fisher to seize
evidence of their embezzlement of the bequest. Carto subsequently filed a civil
suit charging violation of his constitutional rights and has futilely attempted
to have the search warrant invalidated. On Friday, June 23, 1995 a California
municipal court judge ruled that the police search warrant was valid and that
Carto's attorneys had failed to show that it had been based on lies as Carto had
asserted.
Costa Mesa attorney Michele Vadon, told reporters after one of
two hearings on the search warrant that Carto "seems to think the best
defense is a strong offense; file a civil rights suit, challenge the warrant,
sue everyone and maybe they'll go away. But we're not going to go away. There is
no doubt. The documents are very clear ... Carto took the money."
However, prosecutors have not yet indicted Carto and are apparently waiting for
the outcome of the litigation between Carto and the IHR. This litigation will
determine the legal officers of the IHR and the rightful controllers of the Jean
Farrel bequest.
Another point concerning credibility is the fact I have
been unable to get documents from Carto or Mike Piper supporting their claims of
Carto being improperly ousted from the IHR. Piper assured me that such documents
exist and that he would get these to me yet despite numerous verbal and written
nudges, I have received nothing. The only "document" I have received
from Carto is a 1994 court declaration which is mostly a Carto diatribe
describing how evil, dishonest and greedy his IHR opponents are.
On the
other hand, when I contacted the IHR, I received a detailed pack of information
including supporting documents and listing specific events, times, places and
people which supported the IHR belief that Carto had covertly, dishonestly and
illegally taken control of the Legion's money and that Carto had, on numerous
occasions, taken action which harmed the Institute.
I am convinced that
Carto's attack on the Church in the pages of The Spotlight has been nothing more
than a smoke screen designed to play on the religious prejudice of his readers
and to divert their attention from the true question: What has Carto done with
the $7.5 million bequest?
* * Carto's True Political Agenda * * * * in PART
II of this report.
The following is a report I am issuing from my public relations hat as a staff
member of the Office of Public Affairs of the Church of Scientology
International in Washington, D.C. Its purpose is to brief Scientologists so that
they have the true data behind a series of attacks on the Church that have
appeared in The Spotlight newspaper and can assist in the handling of the paper
and its publisher, Willis Carto. Please contact me directly if you have any
comments or questions after reading.
ARC, Alex Jones
WHAT'S BEHIND The Spotlight NEWSPAPER'S NEGATIVE COVERAGE OF THE CHURCH OF
SCIENTOLOGY?
PART II
Carto's True Political Leanings
Willis Carto
is a dishonest, pro-Nazi, white supremacist, masquerading as a American
populist. He is duping and getting hundreds of thousands of dollars from
Americans who don't know this and who are genuinely concerned about their
country. Many of Carto's political and financial supporters and readers of The
Spotlight would be shocked to learn of Carto's true racist, pro-Hitler political
leanings and even those who share such views would be shocked to learn of the
man's dishonesty.
These are my conclusions after researching Carto, The
Spotlight and his ouster from the Institute for Historical Review for several
months. It is based on The Spotlight itself; conversations with Carto, his
staff, former associates and a police investigator; Carto's own writings and
various legal, law enforcement and public documents.
The Spotlight and
Liberty Lobby ostensibly operate on the populist principles of pushing for
honesty in government by exposing government corruption, promoting reform and
reporting those stories which The Spotlight claims the establishment media
doesn't have the courage or independence to publish. Indeed, the paper discusses
issues which concern many Americans such as tax reform, alternative health care,
etc.
Yet among these articles are stories written by Spotlight publisher
Willis Carto -- under various pen names -- or at his direction by others, which
contain fabrications and lies designed to forward a hidden agenda of which
Spotlight readers are unaware. The paper's dishonest reporting of the entire IHR
affair is an example of this. There are also other articles which push thinly
veiled racist and pro-Hitler messages. One for example positioned a late Nazi
field general as a "Belgian war hero who led allied forces against
communist Russia" during WWII. Another praised the controversial book, The
Bell Shaped Curve, as definitive proof that Blacks are genetically inferior to
Whites.
Regarding Carto's true political views, his own writings and
actions reveal a man who is racist, pro-Hitler and prone to subterfuge. In a
letter to a Norris Holt, Carto stated that the world would be a better place had
Hitler won the war. In that same letter, Carto cautioned Holt not to disclose
the existence of Carto's new group, designed to send all American Blacks to
Africa.
"Hitler's defeat was the defeat of Europe, and America,"
Carto wrote. "How could we have been so blind? The blame, it seems, must be
laid at the door of the international Jews. It was their propaganda, lies and
demands which blinded the West as to what Germany was doing." "No,
please don't do anything to publicize the JCR yet," Carto added, referring
to the 'Joint Council for Repatriation of Negroes Back to Africa.' "I want
to keep it as quiet as possible until we get a good, strong group behind us. To
come out prematurely might mean immediate smears and destruction by the J's. If
there are some strong men behind us, they won't be able to do that . . ."
What You Can Do
I strongly urge all Scientologists who read this
paper or who know other Scientologists or non-Scientologists who read this paper
to do two things:
(1) Challenge the paper directly whenever they run
distortions and falsehoods on the Church. Call or write them. If you need
additional data to do this, write to me:
Alex Jones Office of Public
Affairs Church of Scientology International 1701 20th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20009
RE: The Spotlight
Understand that these negative
articles on the Church are being printed at Carto's direction. His employees at
The Spotlight need to be forcefully reminded as often as possible that the
publisher's lies are ruining the paper's credibility. Two good people to write
to are Spotlight editor Paul Croke and reporter Mike Piper.
I would
appreciate any feedback. SPOTLIGHT's phone number: 202-544-1794 Address: The
Spotlight 300 Independence Ave., S.E. Washington, D.C. 20003
(2) Inform
anyone you know who reads The Spotlight of the paper's gross distortions of the
IHR affair and that most has been printed to divert attention from what Carto
has done with the $7.5 million. The stable datum here is that Carto's claim of
innocence to the embezzling charge is not credible in light of his refusal to
provide an accounting of what he has done with the bequest money. If he is
innocent then why is he withholding data? This is not the action of an innocent
man.
The bottom line here is that Carto's lies and distortions must be
exposed for what they are.
If you have any questions or information that
may be of value in exposing Carto and the paper, please e-mail me at 71317,3562
AT compuserve.com. You can also call me at 202-667-6404, fax me at 202-667-6314
or write to me at the above address.
ARC, Alex Jones
The following is a letter to The Spotlight newspaper that I am sharing with you
from my public relations hat as a staff member of the Office of Public Affairs
of the Church of Scientology International in Washington, D.C. I am doing this
to keep Scientologists informed so that they can assist in the handling of this
paper.
If you read or are familiar with The Spotlight, please write to them
everytime you read or hear of them running a negative article on the Church of
Scientology.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact me. You
can e-mail me at 71317,3562 AT compuserve.com, phone me at 202-667-6404, fax me
at 202-667-6314 or write me at: Office of Public Affairs, Church of Scientology
International, 1701 20th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20009.
ARC, Alex
Jones
June 28, 1995
Letters-to-the-Editor The Spotlight 300 Independence Ave.,
S.E. Washington, DC 20003 ATTN: Mike Piper
RE: Scientology coverage Dear
Mr. Piper:
Since December, 1994 The Spotlight has published no less than 10
articles which contain distortions, outright falsehoods and blatant religious
bigotry regarding the Church of Scientology and the founder of the Scientology
religion, L. Ron Hubbard.
These articles deal with everything from the
Church's battle to preserve the freedom of German Scientologists, our efforts to
promote freedom and responsibility on the INTERNET, our relationship with the
7th Day Adventists, and the specious allegation that the Church was somehow
involved with Willis Carto's ouster from the Institute for Historical Review.
These articles unfairly and irresponsibly communicate a false and derogatory
image of Scientology and contain information that many of your readers know to
be untrue. These articles are contributing to the erosion of the credibility and
reputation of The Spotlight. For example, the December 19, 1994 issue of The
Spotlight carried a bigoted and ignorant piece based on an article that had
appeared five months earlier in Liberty, a magazine published by the 7th Day
Adventists. Not only was the original article old, but Liberty itself had
already run a correcting letter from Scientology president Rev. Hebert Jentzsch.
The Spotlight failed to mention this and the fact that the Church of Scientology
has, and is, working hand-in-hand with the 7th Day Adventists and nearly 60
other national religious organizations and churches on projects to protect
churches from unwarranted government interference. The Spotlight's omission of
this information paints a false picture and is sloppy and irresponsible
journalism.
The April 3, 1995 issue of The Spotlight repeats a number of
lies published by Dr. James K. Warner of the Sons of Liberty concerning
Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard. One of these falsehoods has to do with the
notorious Aleister Crowley and his satanic cult, the Order of Templars
Orientalis. The truth is that in the mid-40's, the headquarters of Crowley's
U.S. group was operating out of a huge house in Los Angeles where a number of
top U.S. scientists also lived. A number of federal agencies were concerned that
Crowley's controversial group might create a security breach among these
scientists. Mr. Hubbard, still an officer in the U.S. Navy, was sent in to
handle this situation and successfully infiltrated and destroyed Crowley's U.S.
operations. The group never recovered.
The May 22, 1995 issue of The
Spotlight carried a gratuitous derogatory comment about Scientology in
connection with Church member Tom Marcellus. The paper noted that Marcellus "is
suspected of having fled the country for Britain" to avoid a legal suit by
Spotlight publisher Willis Carto. I don't know who suspected this but Marcellus
was in the country and was reachable by phone at his home had anyone at The
Spotlight bothered to try. I know this to be true as I was personally in direct
communication with Tom Marcellus during the time period when he was "suspected"
of being out of the country.
The June 5, 1995 issue of the paper carried a
derisive article which implied that a German federal court in Berlin had ruled
that the Church of Scientology is not a religion. This is a gross distortion of
the facts. The court held that the Hamburg Church's sale of books, materials and
life improvement courses falls under the definition of trade. However, the court
also stressed that the mere registration of a trade does not impact the
protection the Church enjoys under the religious freedom clause of the German
constitution. In fact, other churches in Germany have been required to sell
their books and materials through registered trade organizations as well.
The bottom line is that when it comes to the Church of Scientology, The
Spotlight cannot be trusted. Despite months of amicable communication from the
Church, the paper has continuously and willfully printed speculation, lies,
rumors, fabrications and distortions on the Church and its activities.
The
Church of Scientology stands for freedom and the right of the common man to
control his own destiny. We have fought to protect these ideals against some of
the wealthiest and most powerful vested interest groups both within and outside
the United States. And when the dust has cleared, not only were we still
standing, but we had grown and expanded.
People respect the Church of
Scientology for this and despite the falsehoods The Spotlight has been printing
about us, we will continue to grow and expand. We don't quit and we have the
courage to fight for what counts: freedom.
Sincerely, Alexander R. Jones
I have also issued a detailed report on The Spotlight's negative coverage of the Church. If you missed this report and would like to receive it, please contact me and I will send you a copy. ARC, Alex
Alex's images, page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Church of Scientology 02:43 PM 11/17/96, Truth about Carto - Part 1
Return-Path:
ata Date: 17 Nov 96 14:43:06 EST
From: Church of Scientology 71317.3562 AT
CompuServe.COM
To: Sandy Abbott AT oregonobserver.com
Subject: Truth
about Carto - Part 1
X-Envelope-To: AT oregonobserver.com 17 NOV 1996
TO: ANGIE MANN
CC: SANDY ABBOTT
FROM: ALEX JONES RE: THE SPOTLIGHT & WILLIS CARTO
Dear Angie,
Thanks for your response to my fax on Willis Carto and The Spotlight. For
your info, I've attached 3 briefings which detail the whole scene and the reason
Carto is so upset with Scientology. I am sending these by e-mail to Sandy. In
addition, I am faxing you a 13 Nov 96 letter from a San Diego Superior Court
judge which will make a lot of sense once you read my briefings and will
validate many of the conclusions in the briefings. I began researching Carto
because his paper -- The Spotlight -- has been running entheta articles on us
ever since we got our tax exempt status in October of 1993. To make matters
worse, despite all efforts to prove to Carto and his Spotlight reporters that
the items the paper runs on Scientology consistently contain false information,
the paper has responded by refusing to run any of my letters-to-the-editor since
December of 1994. The most recent refusal came after I wrote a letter to correct
an August 26, 1996 article the paper ran on the Church. What I need is help in
forcing the paper to get its ethics in. Specifically, I need people to write and
call The Spotlight to complain about their August 26, 1996 article on
Scientology. This article read in part: "DANGEROUS. In Germany, the
Christian Democratic Youth group picketed theaters showing the movie "Mission
Impossible" starring Tom Cruise. The group believes that Cruise, as a "high
ranking member of the Church of Scientology," would further swell the
coffers of Scientology, which has been accused of trying to infiltrate and
control the German government.
Printed for Sandy Abott AT cyberhighway.net
2
Church of Scientolo, 02:43 PM 11/17/96 , Truth about Carto - Part 1
Scientology is a dangerous racket, not a genuine religion, warns the German government. It is banned in some European countries."
If you are not certain how to handle the falsehoods and omitted data in this
article, let me explain.
(1) The big lie this article repeats is that
Scientology is not a religion. There are numerous facts which disprove this.
First of all, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service IRS conducted the most extensive
review in its history of the Church of Scientology and concluded that
Scientology and all its affiliated organizations are organized and operating
solely for religious and charitable purposes. In reaching this conclusion the
IRS examined a host of charges against the Church -- such as those in the
Spotlight article -- and concluded they were without merit.
In addition,
the Church recently published expertises that were prepared by 28 of the world's
MOST RESPECTED scholars of religion and sociology, all of whom -- after serious
study -- independently concluded that Scientology is a religion.
These
scholars include: Bryan R. Wilson, Ph.D. Emeritus Fellow Oxford University
England (This man is the world's foremost authority on new religions.)
Mr.
Fumio Sawada Eighth Holder of the Secrets of Yu-Itsu Shinto Japan
Dario
Sabbatucci, Ph.D. Professor of History of Religions University of Rome Rome,
Italy
Christiaan Vonck, Ph.D. Rector Faculty for Comparative Study of
Religions Antwerp, Belgium
Michael A. Sivertsev, Ph.D. Chairman for New
Religions Board of Cooperation with Religious Organizations Office of the
Russian President
David Chidester Professor Comparative Religion University
of Cape Town South Africa
Printed for Sandy Abbott AT cyberhighway.net 3
Church of -Sciento o, 02:43 PM 11/17/96, Truth about - Part 1
M. Darrol
Bryant, Ph.D. Professor of Religion and Culture University of Waterloo Waterloo,
Ontario, Canada
Per-Arne Berglie, Ph.D. Professor, History of Religion
University of Stockholm Stockholm, Sweden
Lonnie. D. Kliever, Ph.D.
Professor of Religious Studies Southern Methodist University Dallas, Texas, USA
J. Gordon Melton, Ph.D. Director Institute for the Study of American Religion
Santa Barabara, CA, USA
Alan W. Black Associate Professor of Sociology
University of New England Armidale, New South Wales Australia
Harri Heino,
Ph.D. Professor of Theology University of Tampere Helsinki, Finland
(2) The
Church is NOT banned in any country, let alone any in Europe. This is a complete
fabrication. I challenge them to document this. Now, as for omitted data:
The attempted boycott of Tom Cruise's movie, "Mission impossible," was
a dismal failure. Over 760,000 Germans saw the movie the first weekend it
opened, making it the 6th largest grossing movie opening in German history.
The real issue here is that a political party made an attempt at artistic
censorship based solely on religious bigotry. The Spotlight, which claims it is
for individual freedom and liberty, is betraying its readers by trumpeting the
attempts of a foreign government to suppress both its own citizens and foreign
visitors because of their religious beliefs. Whether you agree with Scientology
or not is not the point. The point is that honest, law abiding, productive
citizens should not be politically, socially and economically
Printed for
Sandy Abbott AT cyberhighway.net
Church of Sciento, 02:43 PM 11/17/96, Truth a- about Carto - Part 1
ostracized solely because of their religious beliefs. That is what is happening
in Germany today and The Spotlight is actively and hypocritically promoting this
suppression. Please write a letter of complaint in your own words to:
Paul
Croke Editor
The Spotlight, 300 Independence Ave., S.E. Washington, D.C.
20003 CC: Willis Carto
Michael Piper
In addition, please call and
talk to one of the above at 202-544-1794. Please make a point and do this ASAP.
Your comm does impinge on these guys and they frequently comment to me about,
particularly Paul Croke. If you have any questions, you can reach me by phone at
202-667-6404, by fax at 202-667-6314 or by e-mail at 71317,3562 AT
compuserve.com. If you talk to any of the above, they will likely attempt to
sidetrack you with a lot of entheta. The items they are likely to discuss is
contained in the attached briefings. Simply stick to something simple; demand
that they document their ludicrous claim that we are banned in some European
countries. They can't because we aren't. Just stick to this as it is the most
outrageous lie and the easiest to disprove.
ARC,
Alex Jones
Printed for Sandy Abbott AT cyberhighway.net 4
[image]
Willis Carto copy to: Paul Croke
The Spotlight copy to: Michael Piper
300
Indepedence Ave., S.E. Washington, D.C. 20003
Dear Mr. Carto:
Thank
you for a most enlightening conversation yesterday.
It is clear that you
have a very bad opinion of Scientology. That's OK because Scientology is not for
everyone.
However, what I found revealing is that you have allowed your
personal opinion to so influence The Spotlight's coverage of the Church that the
paper makes claims that cannot possibly be proven.
For example, as we
discussed on the phone, the August 26th edition of the paper reported that "It
[the Church of Scientology] is banned in some European countries"- a
ludicrous and dishonest statement which has become all too typical of The
Spotlight's coverage of Scientology. Again, we are not banned in any country in
the world.
My position is even clearer after my conversation with you: The
Spotlight does not support unbiased, truthful reporting as I felt it did when I
subscribed to it. I cannot renew my subscription and I will urge my associates
to cancel theirs and I will urge others not to subscribe.
Yours,
S[xxx] D[xxx]
15 October 1996
Paul Croke
copy to: Editor
copy to: The Spotlight
300 Indepedence Ave., S.E. Washington, D.C. 20003 Willis Carto Michael Piper
Dear Mr. Croke:
I have been a stalwart supporter of "The
Spotlight" for many years ... until recently. Your handling of the
Scientology situation in Germany goes against the very grain of what I felt your
newspaper stood for. I had formerly believed that you sought the facts out
before reporting and that you prided yourself on having the facts straight.
First of all, the Internal Revenue Service will supply you with documentation
showing its most exhaustive investigations of a religious body. Its findings
concerning Scientology were conclusive and without any doubt - the Church of
Scientology is a bona fide religion. These findings were upheld in many, many
countries throughout the world ... and if you can find ONE SINGLE COUNTRY where
Scientology is banned, I would be astounded. You cannot because the statement is
blatantly untrue. I have been a member of the Church of Scientology for over 22
years. Scientology has significantly helped me in my business, in my personal
life, with my family and in more ways than I can count. The Church has helped
millions of people to come off drugs. The Church has helped millions of children
become literate and able to learn! The Church has helped in so many local
communities around the world that I hear of something new almost every week!
Why did you print such obvious untruths? The very basis that The Spotlight was
founded on, at least from what I could glean, was: the truth and only the truth,
no hidden agendas, no smokescreens and no vested interests.
Do you have a
vested interest in slandering a religion that is helping millions of people
every day? Your treatment of the Tom Cruise/Germany/Scientology issue argues
that most powerfully. Germany is a country that is struggling anew with human
rights problems ... it does not take a historian to recall earlier precedents
here. Your reporting fans those very same flames.
I had a subscription that
lapsed and I was considering renewing it, but I cannot in good conscience do so.
My colleague has cancelled his subscription because of this. And I am
sufficiently affronted by the untruths in the paper that I am compelled to tell
others that The Spotlight no longer traffics in the truth.
I think it a
point of major integrity that you correct this article and that you get the
facts of the matter communicated. I am sure adequate information has been
presented to you ... it needs to be read without bias and then the facts need to
be printed without bias.
S[xxx] D[xxx]
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J[xxx] E. E[xxx]
Paul Croke Editor
The Spotlight
300 Independence Ave., S.E.
Washingotn, D.C. 20003 Oct.21,1996
Dear Mr. Croke:
Having returned
from an extended trip abroad I just read the August 26, 1996 issue of The
Spotlight. I am writing because your article about Scientology contains serious
errors which need to be corrected. How can The Spotlight, which claims to stand
for individual freedom and liberty, reprint the obviously false and derogatory
statements made by the German government about this religion ? There is a
striking similarity to the German government's accusations and lies about the
Jewish people in the 1930s. Doesn't this ring a bell with you Shouldn't our
freedom-loving press be the ones to awaken the public to this appalling repeat
of history rather than let it happen again ? The facts are:
Scientology is
a religion. -No matter what the German government says! This has not only been
confirmed by German courts. but has also been independently concluded by the
world's most respected scholars of religion and sociology.
The Church of
Scientology is NOT banned in any country, let alone any in Europe. Contrasting
this important fact to the falsehoods of the German government would help your
readers judge the accuracy of this inflammatory story. Why didn't you include it
Over 760.000 Germans saw the movie "Mission Impossible" starring Tom
Cruise the first weekend it opened. In a relatively small country like Germany.
this is a tremendous response.
Chick Corea, one of the world's leading jazz
pianists, was told in 1994 by the state government of BadenWuerttemberg not to
come and perform, specifically and only because of his membership in the Church
of Scientology.
The integrity of The Spotlight calls for you to investigate
the situation immediately and print the truth rather than actively and
hypocritically promote the suppression of citizens and foreign visitors because
of their religious beliefs. Will you take up the challenge ? I look forward to
hearing from you.
Sincerely.
cc: Willis Carto Michael Piper
[image]
Mr. Paul Croke Editor Spotlight 300 Independence Ave. S.E. Washington, D.C.
2003
18 October 1996
Dear Mr. Croke,
I note that you are
continuing to labor on behalf of subversive foreign interests whose purpose is
clearly anathema to everything the United States of America stands for. I am
referring to your August 26 1996 attempted slur on the Church of Scientology
where you parrot the line of some Nazi elements within the German government
regarding Scientology.
By the way, the Nazi attempt to get German people to
boycott Tom Cruise was a total failure as over 760,000 Germans saw the film on
the first weekend it opened. Looks like the majority of the German population
has become enlightened which is excellent news.
You would think that the
remaining, and very much in a minority, anachronistic German fascist elements
had learned their lesson having gotten their ass kicked so soundly twice this
century by the U.S. and other countries that are genuinely interested in
freedom. Well, maybe we'll have to do it all over again before the century is
up.
Speaking of which. What exactly have you and/or your associates done
for which you could be jailed right now? Accepting pay from the Nazi elements
within the German Government? Planning or forwarding some plan for a new
holocaust?
Murder? Theft? Pederasty? What exactly are you guys guilty of
Paul? I recommend that you come clean now and get honest and straight and for
heaven sakes please don't insult the intelligence of every American by
pretending to be patriotic. Your paper used to have some integrity but obviously
sold out some time ago. I urge you to mend your ways. L[xxx] B[xxx]
cc:
Willis Carto cc: Michael Piper cc: Alex Jones
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January 3, 1997
M[xxx] N[xxx]
Paul Croke Editor
The Spotlight
300 Independence Avenue, S.E.
Washington, DC 20003
Dear Mr. Croke,
Recently, I received from a friend some copies of
articles that were published in The Spotlight. Both articles were concerning the
Scientology religion; one debating the tax exempt status of the religion and the
other on a boycott in Germany of Tom Cruise's movie Mission Impossible, because
he is a Scientologist.
Being raised a Roman Catholic, and having friends of
different religious beliefs, I find it hard to pass judgment on anyone's
religion. I have been a Scientologist for 9 years now and I have found no truth
or validity in any of the slander in the articles you published. I do not
condone the act of attacking, ostracizing or otherwise harassing someone because
of their religious beliefs, which is what your articles are promoting.
I
also know of no country where Scientology is banned and your generalization that
it is would have to be proved to me. The situation in Germany today is appalling
and is clearly the sign of sick nation, one that is already under investigation
for human rights' violations, and their sorry history is full of it.
I have
been greatly helped by Scientology and personally know many others who make the
same claim.
As a result of these articles, I am sending the facts to the
friend that sent them to me, and she may soon stop subscribing to a magazine
that promotes religious prejudice. Get the facts before you publish any further
articles on Scientology.
Sincerely,
cc: Willis Carto <--
Michael Piper