2-SPOTLIGHT January 6, 1997
YET ANOTHER HOLOCAUST? Germany has
created a government office to coordinate its fight against the expansion of the
Church of Scientology. Bonn contends Scientology is largely a money-making
organization that seeks world domination. The International Association of
Scientologists has funded a massive international public relations campaign
against the German government, promoting tales about "the Holocaust"
and likening modern-day Germany to Nazi Germany.
2-SPOTLIGHT February 24, 1997
NOT BANNED, BUT... The Washington Times
(which is owned by the Unification Church, a rival to the Church of Scientology)
reported on February 9 that "a court in Athens recently ordered a
Scientology center to close for offering 'dangerous and harmful' instruction to
its members" and that "Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands are
investigating the group." In Germany more than 30 German court rulings have
held that Scientology is entitled to the same constitutional protections as any
other religion, although the Scientologists still say they are being victimized
by the German government. Allegations by the Scientologists notwithstanding, the
German regime does undoubtedly victimize and jail people who question "facts"
about World War II history -even including American citizens who travel to
Germany.
The mainstream media and. Congress' are looking at the Church of Scientology.
EXCLUSIVE TO THE SPOTLIGHT BY THE SPOTLIGHT STAFF
The mainstream media has
begun exposing what some call "the dark side" of the Church of
Scientology. This development could lead to an investigation of the sealed IRS
agreement with Scientology which granted tax-exempt status to the organization,
a decision thought to be potentially worth billions of dollars to Scientology's
coffers.
The SPOTLIGHT has learned of a meeting between a longtime former
Scientology "insider" and a U.S. congressman, who cannot be identified
at this time.
The lawmaker expressed a strong interest in attempting to get
an investigation into why the IRS granted Scientology tax-exempt status. The
former Scientologist has provided documentation on the issue to other receptive
lawmakers.
The IRS decision has raised eyebrows across the globe. For
example, Michael Zeigler, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry in the German
state, of Bavaria, called the 1993 IRS decision to give Scientology tax-exempt
status "strange ... Nobody knows how they got to be tax-exempt, and nobody
in Washington will tell you."
When science fiction writer L. Ron
Hubbard founded Scientology in 1950, the church claimed tax-exempt status under
Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code, which disallows commercial enterprises from
obtaining the tax privilege. The tax agency determines what entity can be
tax-exempt after studying its organizational and operational aspects.
In
1967, the IRS revoked Scientology's previously granted tax-exempt status. The
church was found to be mainly a commercial enterprise in the business of selling
Hubbard's copyrighted works and patents.
The church's primary income was
and still comes from the process of selling personal "auditing."
Auditing is a process whereby Scientology members reveal the most intimate
details of their lives to church officials in an effort to achieve a "clear"
mental state, supposedly freeing the individual to pursue in a positive manner
his life's goals and dreams. Scientology also makes money through consulting,
health care, drug treatment and the publishing and sales of books.
"In
the history of the income tax, there is no other organization which has been
involved in more adverse legal battles with the government than the church [of
Scientology]," says tax consultant Dan Pilla. "In light of this
historical backdrop, the truce seems even more incredible. Not only is the truce
hard to imagine, but the manner in which it was achieved is even more suspect."
The mainstream press is standing up to Scientology despite the sympathetic
stance the U.S. government has taken in recent years toward the business group.
In the aforementioned decision in
SPOTLIGHT March 9, 1997 -13
1993 that hit U.S. taxpayers right it
the wallet, the IRS granted Scientology tax-exempt status after having denied
the organization that privilege for 26 years.
In a symbolic gesture, the
State Department recently released its annual human rights report accusing
Germany of conducting "a campaign of harassment and intimidation"
against Scientologists. ' For their own part, German officials freely
acknowledge that they have taken actions to curtail the growth of Scientology,
contending that the United States does not fully understand the ramifications of
Scientology's outreach efforts in Germany.
Of interest to those who have
watched Scientology's coalition-building efforts with other influential power
blocs, Rep. Benjamin Gilman (R-N.Y.), one of the Israel lobby's strongest voices
on Capitol Hill, also lent his support to Scientology in denouncing the German
government. The press in the United States had, for some years, been reluctant
to criticize Scientology because of the latter's notorious penchant for filing
lawsuits and the seemingly limitless funds it has to spend on litigation.
However, when Time magazine successfully beat back a libel suit filed against it
by the Church of Scientology, mainstream scribes began coming out of the closet.
In recent months, numerous media outlets have reported about the police
investigation now underway into the mysterious death of 36-year-old Lisa
McPherson, a Scientology member who resided in Florida.
The SPOTLIGHT
reported on the case in the December 30. Since then, the shocking story has been
featured on television's Hard Copy and
Extra. Several newsprint dailies in the Sunshine State have reported on
the death in depth. The story has recently appeared nationwide.
The Church
of Scientology is now suing the medical examiner of Pinellas-Pasco County, Joan
Wood, who handled the McPherson case. The suit demands that Wood open her entire
confidential file on the case. Wood countered what she called Scientology's "public
lies" by sharing sensitive details of the case with the press.
But
Scientology has an apparent double standard when it comes to revealing
information. It has refused to release any data in its files pertaining to
gaining tax-exempt status.
The Chicago Tribune featured a lengthy
story, "Germany zeroes in on Scientology" on the front page of its
February 16 edition. The Tribune reported that the Scientologists blame the
Catholic and Lutheran churches in Germany for its problems.
In the Tribune
article, Simone Christoffel from Hamburg, Germany told of how her family was
bankrupted emotionally and financially after her husband signed over more than
$730,000 in assets to Scientology.
"I was at the point I didn't want
to live anymore," she said. "We couldn't eat, we couldn't pay the
rent. I decided I was responsible for the children and I wasn't going to ruin my
life."
Scientology has had run-ins with the law in Spain and Italy. In
France, a former Scientology head was sentenced to 18 months in jail for
connection to manslaughter and fraud in a case stemming from a follower's
suicide. Eleven Scientology member were imprisoned in the early 1980s for
attempting to block investigations of Scientology.
German government
officials have portrayed Scientology as a global business, an enterprise
dependent on the money it extracts from members through manipulation and
coercion, resulting often in psychological and physical dependency, financial
devastation and even death. "Scientology is a commercial organization but,
more than this, it is an organization on the edge of organized crime,"
Bavarian Interior Ministry spokesman Zeigler said. "It is a very brutal and
aggressive organization in getting money."
It's too bad that Bible-believing Christians don't have the clout with the State
Department that the Scientologists have.
BY THE SPOTLIGHT STAFF
According to United States law, America doesn't do business with countries that
use slave labor to produce goods for export, nor do we grant Most Favored Nation
(MFN) status to countries that persecute persons for their religious beliefs.
Yet, of course, Red China has MFN, with the blessing of the White House and a
majority in the Congress. It is no secret that in Red China, it is very
dangerous to be a professing Christian.
Germany identifies Scientology as "A
greedy, cult-like organization, built on pseudo-science," in which "membership
can lead to psychological and physical dependence, to financial ruin and even to
suicide."
Consequently, Germany has been warned by the State
Department that it is persecuting a religion for its treatment of
Scientologists.
Convicted Watergate felon-turned-evangelist, Charles
Colson, commenting on the reaction of the US. government to the two
above-mentioned situations had this to say, in part:
Anyone familiar with religious persecution might automatically assume that the administration was seriously taking up the cause of Tibet, or finally riding to the rescue of persecuted Christians in China, Vietnam, East Timor or the Middle East, where thousands of believers have faced harassment, torture and in some cases murder. Such an assumption would be wrong.
The objects of the administration's concern are members of the Church of Scientology. It is Germany's poor treatment of this unusual group that has provoked the administration's ...ire.
This couldn't have anything to do with mutual back-scratching, could it? The
United States runs a massive trade deficit with Red China, and some soft money
comes oozing back into the campaigns of various Democrats, beginning with Bill
Clinton.
WHO IS PERSECUTED?
That would be true if the situation were
following a rational pattern. But at Foggy Bottom, the striped pants set has a
strange way of deciding who's being persecuted and who isn't.
Last
September, both the House and Senate unanimously adopted a non-binding
resolution which said, in part, that "Christians in China are now
experiencing the worst persecution since the 1970s" and that in recent
months, "eight Chinese Christian leaders were beaten to death by Chinese
authorities simply because of their religious activities."
Christian
spokesmen say this will only get worse when Hong Kong is handed over to the Reds
on July 1, 1997.
That's OK with the U.S. State Department.
Talking
about the situation of the Scientologists in Germany, Colson comments: "...
these woes in no way compare to the plight of other religious minorities,
especially Christians. So why this high level concern?"
He answers his
own question: "Because an influential group of the president's supporters
have taken up (See PERSECUTION, Page 1B)
SPOTLIGHT March 31, 1997 -15
(Continued From Page 13)
the cause. Those of us with wider persecution
concerns would be wise to closely consider their modus operandi -Scientology
headquarters mobilized actors John Travolta and Tom Cruise, and the latter's
wife, actress Nicole Kidman. Then the group launched an advertising campaign,
featuring full-page ads in the form of an "open letter" to German
Chancellor Helmut Kohl that drew analogies to Nazi-era Germany. Also signing the
"open letter" were Goldie Hawn, Dustin Hoffman, Oliver Stone and Larry
King.
(Parenthetically, Holocaust promoters took exception to the
Scientologists' attempting to grab a piece of the "holocaust"
victimization pie with the reference, possibly alienating one, of the cult's
previous allies.) While Colson hopes, in print, that the administration broadens
its approach to religious persecution, it isn't likely to happen, particularly
when it's the Red Chinese government that has the money Clinton wants and not
the Christians.
And, Western Christian groups seem unwilling to advance the
cause of their co-religionists. According to Linda Chavez, a nationally
syndicated columnist and Republican activist, one National Council of Churches
official "recently dismissed reports of Christian persecution in China as
simply the `overzealousness of local cadres.'"
SPOTLIGHT April 7, 1987 -31
SCIENTOLOGY BETRAYAL Until October 1, 1993,
the date the IRS mysteriously granted Scientology its tax exemption, David
Miscavige, top boss of Scientology had all his lemmings out there fighting, the
IRS tooth and toenail. Some of the faithful, such as Armen Condo, even went to
jail for their zeal. Since Scientology got the tax exemption, however, the
policy of the "church" has changed and they no longer fight the IRS.
This is a gross betrayal of the membership of Scientology and shows how
incredibly hypocritical Miscavige and the other Scientology bosses are. It also
exposes that they put money far above principal or ideology.
NAME WITHHELD
Los Angeles, California
(You have hit a sore point for Scientology
defenders.
Readers may recall that this newspaper supported Scientology
prior to 1994 because we, too, were taken in by its pose as being opposed to the
IRS and the income tax. -Ed.)
Impeach Clinton? This is the question that members of the Board of Policy of Liberty Lobby are now pondering. [ . . .]
There was a time in the not too distant past that the media cringed and feared
for its life when it came to reporting on the Church of Scientology They feared
libel suits and other harassment from the church and from its membership, as
laid down by procedures mandated by founder L. Ron Hubbard. In a word, the free
press was terrified
Today, however, the tables have been turned. Big media
has lost its fear to report on Scientology. Suddenly the issue of the church's
tax exemption granted by the IRS on October 1, 1993 is of major concern.
The national media was led by a sensational front-page story in the New York
Times (March 9, 1997) which focused on the "mysterious" granting
of the tax exemption.
Then, on March 25, the Wall Street Journal.
(WSJ) clobbered Scientology. In a major, lengthy (42 column inches editorial,
the WSJ echoed the finding of the Times. Both papers quoted enemies of
the sect who charge that it is not a religion at all but a clever money making
racket
But wait a minute. The SPOTLIGHT in a front-page story of its issue
on November 1, 1993, first called national attention to the tax exemption. The
SPOTLIGHT story said that Scientology, once a staunch foe of the IRS, had
decided to join the mainstream and give up the fight in return for the
exemption.
Tax and IRS expert Dan Pilla, in a SPOTLIGHT story of July 8,
1996, reviewed point by point the questionable process by which the IRS granted
tax exempt status to Scientology.
The SPOTLIGHT thus maintains its record
of often scooping the mainstream media in major stories. What makes the
Scientology story important to every taxpayer is that when a multi-million
dollar business like Scientology is removed from the tax rolls, everybody else's
taxes have to go up. It puts the government and the taxpayers in the role of
subsidizing Scientology. And if the exemption was acquired corruptly the
conspirators should go to jail.
For decades, newspapers around the country
have been intimidated by Scientology, fearing to tell the truth because they did
not want to court libel suits, a major weapon of Scientology. Now, the ice has
been broken by the Times and the WSJ. We congratulate them for deciding
to expose the deal between the IRS and Scientology.
Of course, they still
have a long way to go to tell "the rest of the story," as Paul Harvey
would say. This is that IRS Commissioner Fred Goldberg and Scientology boss
David Miscavige seem to have made a deal: Goldberg and his Zionist bosses would
give Miscavige and Scientology the tax exemption they craved if Miscavige would
take over and wreck the Institute for Historical Review (IHR), which had been
researching and publishing historical information greatly damaging to the
multi-billion dollar "Holocaust" racket.
On October 1, 1993, both
things happened: The IRS granted the exemption and there was a takeover of the
IHR involving treacherous Scientologists who were employed by the IHR. (The
chances against any two unrelated events taking place on the same day of a given
year are 133,27,5 to 1.) The story waits for both the Times and the WSJ.
Remember, your influence counts. Use it!
SPOTLIGHT April 14, 1997 -31
NEXT QUESTION
In answer to the
question: "Why the special treatment for the Church of Scientology?"
I'll bet money its because the business is operated by the same people who took
over the government of Russia, conducted the real holocaust in Ukraine in
1931-32, murdering about 6 million Kulaks, because they owned two cows, then
purposefully starving to death all the rest of the people; holocausting millions
of Germans at the end of the war and have. been holocausting the Arabs ever
since.
DICK BOWMAN New Smyrna Beach, Florida
What do Liberty Lobby and the Heaven's Gate cult have in common? Both want a
better world. And that's where both part company. Heaven's Gate cult members
sought their better world somewhere in the sky -on a spaceship which they would
board after committing suicide.
Their trip was one of irrationality,
pie-in-the-sky, if you will. They followed a leader who claimed to be Jesus and
whatever he suggested they did, right down to the kind of clothes they wore, the
food they ate, the beverage they drank and the work they did for a living.
By following this leader they claimed they had found joy that was to last them
for an eternity. They had no worries.
Cult members believed that by
dropping out of society and running from the evils and the problems of the
world, they would overcome all those mundane difficulties.
But that is not
the way the world and life work.
Liberty Lobby, the nation's premier
citizens' lobby in Washington, believes in facing reality. And by facing up to
the problems of the world, people working together and acting politically can
solve them.
There is no need to follow a self-proclaimed holy man such as
Jim Jones, David Koresh or Rev. Sun Myung Moon, all of who claimed or claims to
be Jesus reincarnated. Those who join Moon's Unification Church place their
lives in his hands. He even selects their choice of marriage partners.
In
reality, Moon and his publications, which include the
Washington Times, front for the Rockefeller empire and the CIA. This
involves big money and a shrewd ability to manipulate people. Moon's stable of
hangers-on and pundits includes a galaxy of conservative intellectuals who
consider Moon and the Times to be conservative, when in reality it is
internationalist, not pro-American.
The Church of Scientology is another
cultic organization. Its founder was a science fiction writer, the late L. Ron
Hubbard. Members believe that 75 million years ago the galactic dictator Xenu
sent the overpopulation of his outerspace realm by spaceship to Teegeeack
(earth). These folk were decimated by hydrogen bombs and it is their "thetans,"
fragments of their personalities, that inhabit our bodies and bring about the
evil in the world today.
One of the unique aspects of our Constitution is
its guarantee of freedom of religion no matter how far out. The early colonists
came to our shores to escape religious persecution. Since then, millions of
others have come here to experience religious freedom.
One's religion is
something personal and private. Liberty Lobby recognizes that fact. Even Jesus
advised man to "render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God
the things that are God's."
To correct the political, man-made ills of
the country requires political action. There is no magic involved. There is no
substitute for political action. For over 40 years Liberty Lobby has offered the
ways and means to do exactly this.
There is no mystery, no secret to
overcome the ills of our country. The key is to organize a pressure group for
patriotism, a lobby. Every interest you can name has a lobby working for it on
Capitol Hill -banking, communications, education steel, automobiles, labor, etc.
But Liberty Lobby is the only registered lobby that represents the consumers,
taxpayers and voters the people who have no high-powered plutocratic
representation in the halls of Congress.
Those of you readers who are not
members of the Board of Policy of Liberty Lobby please review my special
invitation to you to join the ranks of tens of thousands of your fellow
Americans and do something to reverse America's decline.
All you need to
know about Liberty Lobby and the benefits to yourself and your country for
joining plus an application form, are in the yellow wrap around The SPOTLIGHT of
March 31.
By joining Liberty Lobby you will not be alone in your fight for
a better America. You will cease to be frustrated at the seeming helplessness on
your part in combating America's enemies.
You will be fighting the good
fight realistically and will not have to drop out and follow the call of some
self-proclaimed holy man.
You will be persuading Congress to act for
America. The wishes of our Founding Fathers for a prosperous nation will be
realized by your participation in the process of government. You will say good
bye to Mandrake the Magician and hello to sane, rational legislation for the
common good. Let me hear from you now.
Remember. Your influence counts. Use
It
A former Scientologist gives outsiders an insider look at a cult attempting "to
save the planet."
FIRST OF THREE INSTALLMENTS
By REINHOLD SOMMERSTEDT
Scientologists believe that the technical
procedures they call 'The Bridge" lead to spiritual freedom. Scientology
defines spiritual freedom as "the state of being a healthy, high IQ,
self-determined individual." After spending up to hundreds of thousands of
dollars and several futile years, many leave in despair.
Anyone who
disagrees with or even questions the Church of Scientology (COs) is declared a
suppressive person. All Scientologists are required to disconnect from, that is
have no communication with such a person.
In 1976, for acting to preserve
my own individual rights from being violated by a group of Scientologists, I was
declared a suppressive person. I had insisted that the organization adhere to
its' own rules of justice and code of honor. The COS would not. I am no longer
puzzled by this. Although founder L. Ron Hubbard wanted Scientology to be a
church the COS isn't a church at all. Though much abused, the term "church"
is legally defined in Black's Law Dictionary as, "the religious society
founded and established by Jesus Christ, to receive, preserve and propagate His
doctrines and ordinances." Nothing in the theory or practice of Scientology
fulfills this definition.
In 1934, a German named Norden Holtz published
his book, Scientologie. The concepts and principles in the Holtz book
are clearly found in (See COS, Page, 14)
14- SPOTLIGHT May 5, 1997
COS Defector Reveals Cults Inner Secrets (Continued From Page 13)
the
seminal work of L. Ron Hubbard who published his Dianetics in 1950. Hubbard
later founded Scientology, which is 'held to mean the 'study of knowing' or:
'knowing how to know.' Adherents believe that Scientology alone can enable them
to solve spiritual as well as physical problems.
A prolific
science-fiction writer, Hubbard apparently took the work of Holtz and developed
his own technology. Scientologie, by Holtz, now available in English,
contains the same specific language and scales found in Hubbard's work.
Violating his own purported ethics, Hubbard declared himself to be the source,
failing entirely to acknowledge Holtz.
No one argues that Dianetics and
Scientology provide no benefit. Many have indeed been helped. Yet many also seek
relief from the horrendous problems that arise from the elitist power structure
of the Scientology machine. Thousands of students and staff members have
encountered harassment, costly lawsuits and even hate campaigns when they seek
recourse. Coerced to work long hours and suffer deprivations, they labor in the
mistaken hope that the bridge to spiritual freedom will save" the planet.
Those unable to break the chains of bondage become vassals for an elite power
machine that will attack :and, pursue any opposition to the ends of the earth.
The purported aim: of Scientology is to save the planet.
I spent two years
(1974-76) working as Director of Planning and Design for the Delphian
Foundation, a Scientologists' project, in Sheridan, Oregon. The staff were all
die-hard and dedicated workers Even when maltreated, they strove on. Most of
these were cast aside when The Sea Organization (the most elite part of the
machine) took control. I was summarily dismissed without cause. When I asked
about compensation I was to receive for my services I was told, "The
privilege of working here." Church President, Heber Jentzsch, also
president of the International Association of Scientologists, assisted me when I
appealed to the then-highest authority, World Wide Justice and Ethics Director,
Jane Kember. She (rightly) declared that I was a member of the cult of the
individual. Allowed no recourse, I then got wisdom. Declared a suppressive
person, I was set free. Since then, knowing how to know has been much better.
No Scientologist is allowed to enjoy a private association. During personal
counseling Scientologists are compelled to divulge all personal relations in
intimate detail.
If any associate is antagonistic toward COS,
Scientologists must disconnect from that person. Recently, Steve, the owner of a
successful business in Costa Mesa, California, sought, my services for asset
protection.
After in-depth consultations, he and his associates wanted to
undertake the program that I offered. When asked, I disclosed that I was
formerly associated with Scientology,
Though I had said nothing derogatory
he asked if I had been declared a suppressive person. I said yes. He informed me
that he could not do business with me unless I rejoined the group. At his
request, I contacted his Scientology Ethics Officer. She did not reply to my
letter and ordered Steve to disconnect; which he did.
The order to
disconnect is a fearsome weapon. COS orders members to quit their jobs or even
sever their family ties to kill any influence that questions COS doctrine or
policies.
The official aim of Scientology is to rule the world by
indoctrinating masses of individuals with their anti-Christian, humanistic
beliefs and by
(See INSIDER'S, Page 19)
SPOTLIGHT May 5, 1997 -19
(Continued From Page 14) compelling
adherents to comply with COS regulations. Opposition is to be overcome by simple
exclusion from social intercourse.
RON HUBBARD RULES
Anyone who
reveals the big secret that L. Ron Hubbard is revered as a deity is declared a
suppressive person. Containment and control is so intense that no one in the
organization can ever overcome it. Individualists must leave.
The conflict
can be so great that individuals, especially staff, disintegrate. Scientologists
call this a psychotic break. The broken individual is considered so dangerous to
the group that they are locked down with a suicide ,watch, called baby watch.
Auditing' (a form of personal counseling), is done following the principle: "What
turns it on, turns it off." Newspapers in Florida have published detailed
reports concerning the case of 36-year-old Lisa McPherson who, showed up in a
Clearwater, Florida hospital dead after such treatment.
Miss McPherson is
someone whom I recall worked diligently to help individuals. I am sure she
worked extremely long hours for years without reward. Unable to endure any
longer, she wished to return to her family. The organization couldn't let her go
free. Miss McPherson's knowledge would be too valuable to critics.
Believing the stated ideals and principles of Scientology, good people study
hard and strive to be good neighbors. Their aim is to save the planet. Somewhere
along that course The Bridge becomes a trap. Their own good will becomes the
tool of a tyrant and they live in bondage.
Mr. Sommerstedt, a former Scientologist, is the manager of Independent Trust Consultants, of Irvine, California and the founder of the Christian Institute for Ethics and Justice. While a member of the COS he qualified as an auditor and served as public relations officer in Scientology's Celebrity Center in Hollywood. His opinions are based on his own personal experience and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policy of The SPOTLIGHT.
In his book Hymn of Asia, L. Ron Hubbard declared himself to be the successor to
Buddha. Next, the COS launched a planetary public relations effort. If Buddha is
God, than L. Ron Hubbard is God.
SECOND OF THREE INSTALLMENTS BY
REINHOLD SOMMERSTEDT From the beginning, L. Ron Hub bard set up his Sea
Organization aboard a ship in order to be ready to leave port at a moment's
notice to avoid the police. By the mid-70s the Church of Scientology (COS) had
begun to realize a certain success. It then established Flag Land Base in
Clearwater, Florida. From there a powerful elite controlled the Scientology
organizations found in each major city. Rigidly controlled, the independent
missions fed business into the central Org and ultimately on to Flag for the
most expensive services.
I visited Flag Land Base in 1976. I distinctly
recall the long conversations that I had with Quentin Hubbard, the son of L. Ron
Hubbard. This bright young man was the darling of Scientologists, primarily
because -unlike his father- he was accessible. One could really talk with
Quentin, while L. Ron Hubbard never appeared anywhere. Quentin and two or three
others were the only people I ever met who had actually spoken with L. Ron
Hubbard, the commodore. He was always mysterious, and is viewed by advanced
Scientologists as a secret deity.
I liked Quentin and thought him to be a
great potential leader who would not live the elitist life of his father and his
father's snobby and ruthless staff. In fact, Quentin was outspoken, in this
regard.
Quentin was homosexual. Scientology teaches tolerance. For this
reason, homosexuals abound in the COS. His status, combined with the usual envy
conflicts associated with homosexuals, resulted in Quentin becoming a large
embarrassment to his father.
A highly placed auditor (personal counselor),
Quentin knew the technology thoroughly. He once told his cramming (quality
control) officer, "A lot of my dad's stuff doesn't work."
This
position taken by such a revered technical expert caused enormous fear among
those who controlled the machinery. Soon after, Quentin's homosexual partner was
found dead.
THE COUP
That same year Quentin was found near death in
his rented automobile outside Las Vegas. A hose reached from the tail-pipe to
the window. There were no footprints in the dirt outside.
Recovering from
carbon monoxide poisoning, he lay comatose for several days in a Las Vegas
hospital. A woman who had reason to be in his hospital room reported that she
saw an unexplained needle mark in Quentin's neck the night he died.
The
police called it a "mysterious suicide." It is my conclusion that
Quentin, as the heir apparent, would have ruined the plans of the elitist
commodore's staff. Perhaps, even the plans of L. Ron Hubbard himself.
Typically, Hubbard rejected any police investigation. Then arose the meanest and
most ruthless senior staff member of the Sea Organization, David Miscavige. He
is now the current commodore, the top boss of Scientology.
After Quentin's
suicide, the organization descended into turmoil. L. Ron Hubbard later died,
recluse, surrounded by a sea of intrigue. Shortly thereafter, all independent
missions were taken over by the Sea Organization (Flag) Senior Staff.
Not
even the daring assembly of the Independent Mission Holders at Flag Land Base
could overcome this forceful coup. Any hope of independence disappeared as a
result of the ensuing tidal wave of scandalous declarations that blacklisted all
dissenters. I was one.
BONDAGE
I have held little interest in the
organization since 1976. But now it has become evident that tyrants thrive on
neglect. Far too many people have continued to suffer the consequences of these
Scientologists who aspire to rule the planet. I feel violated by the private
prohibition of a Scientologist to do business with me.
Compelling members
to disconnect is the master stroke of controlling the opposition. This device
makes all who are not a member of the group the enemy. Ultimately, everyone must
be a compliant Scientologist or they cannot do business or have families.
Mr. Sommerstedt, a former Scientologist, is the manager of Independent Trust
Consultants, of Irvine, California and the founder of the Christian Institute
for Ethics. and Justice. While a member of the COS he qualified as an auditor
and served as public relations officer in Scientology's Celebrity Center in
Hollywood. His opinions are based on his own personal experience and do not
necessarily reflect the opinions or policy of The SPOTLIGHT.
SPOTLIGHT May 12 1997 -19
Only Scientology can save the planet. Anything else is opposition. Within the
organization, each person must comply with given policies. If he does not, he is
not allowed to have any benefit of the group. He must recant. The ethics officer
takes charge of this process. A specific program must be followed.
The
internal extreme is the Rehabilitation Project Force (RPF). There is always a
supply of individuals who need correcting. There are two types of RPF internees.
Both comprise those who won't run away and those who must be confined. This
creates a very profitable (slave) labor pool.
The entire staff works under
these conditions. They don't leave because they believe that The Bridge will
lead them to spiritual freedom and The Bridge is available only to those who
support the COS. Hubbard advises that, based on his Scale of Survival Dynamics,
one determines his actions for survival by this axiom: "the greatest good
for the greatest number [of Dynamics]." This is the COS equivalent to the
Marxist, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his
need."
TAKEOVER OF IHR
Every aspect of the takeover of the
Institute for Historical Review (IHR) and the related attacks against Liberty
Lobby and The SPOTLIGHT resonates with the type of people, the methods and the
hidden power within the COS. Remember, the sought after result is controlled
opposition.
Members of COS and others destroyed the IHR but have failed to
destroy the truth. Willis Carlo has triumphed anew with his publication of the
instantly successful magazine, THE BARNES REVIEW. Truth-seeking individuals now
rally in support of Liberty Lobby and The SPOTLIGHT. I closely observed the
operatives of the turncoat staff. Tom Marcellus acted in a manner consistent
with COS elitist power policies. He had a keeper. Greg Raven could not hide his
lying eyes when he told me, he was not a Scientologist. Mark Weber is apparently
the front for an Anti-Defamation League (ADL) component.
This operation is
clearly run by attorneys who, with a little help from the IRS, now control the
COS economically. These same attorneys represent the ADL, Russia and the
American Communist Party. This writer believes Miscavige is a puppet of the
lawyers who rule the copyrights of the so-called Scriptures of the Church.
Number 28 . . May 2,1997
IHR UPDATE is a temporary and irregular
feature for SPOTLIGHT readers interested in facts surrounding the on-going
controversy resulting from the bizarre takeover of the Institute for Historical
Review.
Two or three days after the March 22, 1995 raid by the Costa
Mesa Police and the San Diego Sheriff on the west coast headquarters of The
SPOTLIGHT, Mark Weber wrote a note to a friend. It said,
Larry,
Here's a copy of the news release we're sending out today. Also, in case you haven't seen them, are two items we're distributing about the Carto affair.
-Mark.
The, "Larry" was Costa Mesa cop Larry Rooker, the Archie Bunker
(Carroll O'Connor) look-alike who made the sad mistake of believing the lies of
Mark Weber and his equally infamous, associates and had impetuously led the
raid. (All this has been well-documented by numerous stories in The SPOTLIGHT
beginning with. the issue datelined April 10,1995.)
As soon as Rooker
returned to his office on March 22 he called friend Weber and told him all about
it. Weber then began calling around the country and even to Europe, breathlessly
relating the details. He specified the number of cartons of records removed, the
number of officers and SWAT Team, personnel and even that a helicopter was
swirling above, documenting the raid with film.
If a caller asked if he
(Weber) had had anything to do with it, or knew about it in advance, Weber would
piously deny it. "absolutely not," he protested.
Of course, Weber
lied. He and his two Scientology confederates, Tom Marcellus and Greg Raven, had
not only approached Rooker and suggested the raid. but had actually given sworn
affidavits to induce it.
On April 12, the victims of the raid sued Costa
Mesa and the San Diego' sheriff for damages. It was obvious to Rooker's
superiors that he had badly blundered and made the city of Costa Mesa -in the
bankrupt county of Orange- liable for millions of dollars. The cost of the raid
to taxpayers was about $400,000. The gullible and foolish Rocker was fired on
April 18.
The firing of Rooker stirred our anti-hero to action again and
on April 24 Weber called Tom Lazar, Rooker's superior. After the call, Weber
wrote Lazar as follows:
Dear Captain Lazar:
Thank you for returning my phone call earlier today.
I was gratified by your assurance that Larry Rooker's departure would not impair your department's investigation of Willis Carto and Henry Fischer, and that Rooker would not have acted as he did if your department did not agree that this is an important case.
As I mentioned, Carto has brought a lawsuit against the Costa Mesa police department, the City of Costa Mess, me and two colleagues, among others, because of the March 22 police search of the Carto and Fischer residences. We understand that this lawsuit, No. 746694, was fled in Orange County Superior Court on the 12th.
We are eager to continue to cooperate with your department, in any way we can, in this investigation.
Regards,
Mark Weber
Secretary/Treasurer
As was reported on page 1 of the April 21 issue of The SPOTLIGHT, all the property seized by Rooker and his approximately 30 raiders on March 22, 1995 was returned on April 3, 1997. The Costa Mesa Police Department thus tacitly admitted that the "criminal investigation" was merely a pretext for the raid and the raid itself was the crime.
SPOTLIGHT December 8, 1997 -13
Did a third party go to bat to, pressure the IRS into granting a cult a blanket exemption for profits from its far-flung business enterprises?
EXCLUSIVE TO THE SPOTLIGHT BY JAMES E TUCKER JR.
A federal judge is sitting
on information about a secret deal the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) made with
the Church of Scientology granting the global political body tax exemption as a
"church."
More than a year ago, Washington lawyer William
Lehrfeld brought a court action to force the IRS to disclose information about
its secret decision to grant the Scientologists the valuable tax exemption
(SPOTLIGHT, Dec. 2.1996).
The judge ordered the IRS to give him the
documents so he could decide if they should be made public. More than a year
later, he is still deciding. "There has been none-zero," said Lehrfeld
when asked if there has been any action by the judge. "It is unusual. It is
not a complicated case. It is straightforward, and there are no factual issues
involved."
The issue is= whether the IRS should follow the law and
explain how it reached the interesting conclusion, after three decades of
fighting, that the far-flung Scientologists are a "church" and
entitled to the tax exemption.
"Federal judges do what they want to,
when they want to, or not do anything," Lehrfeld said.
If the court
takes no action after another year has elapsed, Lehrfeld said, he will consider
prodding the judge.
But don't expect to learn the dark secrets anytime
soon.
If the judge ruled in favor of disclosure this minute, the IRS could
delay action for years during appeals up to the Supreme Court. The IRS has a
long history of such appeals, since it uses taxpayers' lawyers while a plaintiff
spends himself poor or dies during the process.
Why is the IRS
stonewalling? What is the secret to the "deal" that David
Miscavige-the boss of Scientology -made with the IRS?
Elvis isn't alive -but he is speaking from the grave. One of the nation's most
popular supermarket tabloids has taken off after the Church of Scientology.
EXCLUSIVE TO THE SPOTLIGHT. BY AARON LEIDER
On June 24 the Church of
Scientology took a public relations hit right between the eyes. The Star
tabloid magazine, which reaches some 2.2 million weekly readers, published a
sensational front-page feature story slamming Scientology. The story alleges the
controversial church is responsible for the health and emotional problems of one
of its church members, Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of the late singing star
Elvis Presley, an American music icon.
Billing the report as a "shocking
Star investigation of her bizarre secret world," the tabloid sent a very
frank message to millions of Elvis Presley fans across the country: "The
Church of Scientology is bad news."
The Star's devastating
cover article about the controversial group is the strongest attack the church
has suffered since Time magazine's lengthy and well-documented cover
story of May 6, 1991, "Scientology, the Cult of Greed." Scientology
filed a huge libel suit against Time for that -and lost.
Loss of
the suit was a watershed defeat for Scientology because founder L. Ron Hubbard
had instructed church bosses that all critics should be hit with libel suits,
not necessarily because they would win but because of the harassment. This would
cause the press to be very respectful, he said.
Richard Behar, who wrote
the Time story, has now filed suit against Scientology.
Time's
victory in the suit has been noted by all media and may have played a role in
the decision of the Star's managers to go ahead with the investigation
and bombshell story.
Add to this the fact that the Star exposé of
Scientology touches on one of the most popular American performers of all
time-whose" life and times continue to be of fascination to grassroots fans
of all ages.
Clearly, the Church of Scientology is in for some rough
sailing ahead. The Star exposé will probably have more impact on
the future of the church than anything published about the church thus far.
ELVIS HATED SCIENTOLOGY
The Star's expose featured a headline
declaring: "Elvis Blasts Scientology" and quoted the popular singer as
having said "That s.o.b. group -all they want is my money." The Star
described Presley as "one of the most vocal critics of the group"
before his death in 1977. The Star-quoting Lamar Fike, a close associate of
Elvis Presley- said Scientologists made strenuous efforts to court Presley but
were ignominiously rejected by the superstar performer.
"The hell with
those people," Fike says he remembers Presley saying. There was "no
way" Presley said he would ever become involved with the group. Fike says
Presley "stayed. away from Scientology like it wad a cobra" and that
he would be horrified "if he knew how far Lisa's gotten into it."
Although Presley suffered health problems exacerbated by drug abuse, The King,
as Presley was dubbed by his fans, was known for his devotion to his
family-particularly his wife Priscilla and their only child, Lisa Marie.
After her husband's death, Mrs. Presley, an actress, was recruited into
Scientology and brought Elvis's little daughter into the group. Now, 20 years
after the death of her father, young Miss Presley has become totally captured by
Scientology to the point that longtime friends and family have become concerned.
The 29-year-old, according to the Star, was recently hospitalized near her home
in Clearwater, Florida (a major base of operations for Scientology's global
corporate empire) where she moved in order to be close to the church The Star
says that Lisa Marie was hospitalized with stomach, liver and bronchial
infections after undergoing a Scientology process known as "cleansing."
The Star says that friends fear that the "cleansing" could put Miss
Presley's health at risk and charges that "she is under constant
observation from church members who virtually never leave her alone."
The
Star reports that "observers say Lisa Marie is regularly whisked to
nearby church buildings in a blue Chevrolet van. Anyone who gets too close is
surrounded by uniformed Scientology security guards and pressured to move on."
To make matters worse for Scientology, the Star drew parallels between the case
of Lisa Marie Presley and another Lisa -Lisa McPherson- who died in Clearwater,
Florida under mysterious circumstances (See The SPOTLIGHT, Dec. 30, 1996) and
whose family is now suing the church.
OFF BALANCE
The death of Miss
McPherson has been a major cause célèbre in Clearwater and
has put the Church of Scientology off balance, involving it in a very public
dispute with officials and law enforcement authorities who have pulled no
punches in suggesting that Scientology's mistreatment of Miss Mcpherson resulted
in her death.
McPherson's family and others say that she was preparing to
pull out of the church but that Scientologists would not let her. The Star says
that through a church process called "introspection rundown"
(essentially isolating a person) Miss McPherson's health was endangered,
resulting in her death. The Star says that arrests of Scientologists may soon be
forthcoming in this case.
Now, in the wake of the McPherson affair, the
family of Lisa Marie Presley is growing increasingly concerned, particularly
because of parallel health questions involved.
Miss Presley's friends and
family see her as a potential target of Scientology, says the Star, because on
her upcoming 30th birthday on February 1, she will come into her father's $100
million fortune which has been held in trust.
The Star says that friends
and family fear that she will be "pressured" into giving the money to
Scientology.
14- SPOTLIGHT January 19, 1998
People die every day, but Florida authorities may take a closer look the next
time a Scientologist is found dead.
By THE SPOTLIGHT STAFF
As the
death toll of former Church of Scientology members grows, Florida officials are
searching for a link between eight deaths spanning 17 years.
By themselves,
officials thought nothing of a handful of people dying. After Lisa McPherson's
death put the spotlight on the Church of Scientology's Fort Harrison Hotel in
Clearwater, Florida, probers have began looking for a connection previously
overlooked.
According to a former Scientologist who is now on a mission to
expose the group's nefarious activities, "church" members will stoop
to any level -even murder- to advance their cause.
"Once you accept
the circular world of Hubbardism cosmology, then any act is justified,"
Arnie Lerma told The SPOTLIGHT. Lerma sponsors a web-site, www.lermanet.com
devoted to uncovering Scientology.
"Scientology, by its demonic
demeanor, has exploited every device it could to accomplish its aims," he
added.
Lerma said he was attracted to it as a youth looking to create a
better world. Instead, Lerma says he found an organization top heavy with
hucksters looking to make a buck.
Scientology is the only "religion"
without a divine guide. "The Church of Scientology only answers to a dead,
bad science fiction writer" Lerma added.
Miss McPherson was an
apparently healthy young woman who was taken to Morton Plant Hospital after she
behaved erratically after a minor traffic accident. Scientologists reportedly
followed her to the hospital and told doctors Miss McPhersons religion
prohibited psychiatry and took custody of her on November 18, 1995.
Seventeen days later her body was wheeled into the New Port Richey hospital by
Scientologists. Miss McPherson was dead. (See SPOTLIGHT Dec. 20, 1996 and
others.)
Church officials have claimed Miss McPherson became ill at the
Fort Harrison, walked to a van and died as the van pulled into the hospital
parking lot. The van would have driven past other hospitals looking for one with
a Scientologist on staff in the emergency room.
Mike Rinder, a top church
official in Germany, told German television the woman "died in a hotel
room.". The McPherson family has sued the church, claiming it was
responsible for Miss McPherson's death. The trial is ongoing. Evidence made
public during the trial has given the public a look into some Scientology
practices. It has also raised questions among investigators.
BULLYING
TACTICS
One' medical examiner, Dr. Joan Wood, claimed Miss McPherson died
of a blood clot in her left lung, brought on by excessive bed rest and severe
dehydration.
According to the
St. Petersburg Times, the church sued Dr. Wood, assembled its own team
of medical experts and threatened legal action against news outlets covering the
case.
It's an old tactic. Founder L. Ron Hubbard told followers that
perceived enemies are "fair game" and subject to being 'tricked, sued
or lied to or destroyed,'" Time magazine said in a cover story May
6, 1991. The magazine was sued for libel, but won a drawn out case. The author
of the story, Richard Behar, is currently counter-suing the church.
Those
who criticize the church often find themselves engulfed in litigation, stalked
by private eyes, framed for fictional crimes, beaten up or threatened with
death," Behar wrote.
Hubbard used lawyers to strike fear in the hearts
of would be critics. "Beware of attorneys who tell you not to sue," he
wrote. "The purpose of the suit is to harass and discourage rather than to
win."
Florida officials are considering criminal charges against the
church. In addition, the national press is on the offensive against the church.
For example, the Wall Street Journal and New York Times
published front page stories on the IRS's agreement with Scientology to grant
it, after a 40 year battle, tax exempt status in late December. Four years after
The SPOTLIGHT exposed a secret deal between the Internal Revenue Service and the
Church of Scientology (Nov. 1, 1993), the issue has been forced into the
mainstream press.
Then in late December, someone at the IRS leaked a secret
agreement between the IRS and church. By the end of the year stories had
appeared in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. Lerma
has the agreement posted on his web site.
The turning point for the
orthodox media in America seemed to be Time's 1994 victory against a
libel suit brought by Scientologists. After Miss McPherson's death, the press
wanted to take a closer, critical look at the church.
Lerma says this is a
sign the press is no longer afraid of church lawyers. "There is a
perception from the media that the public hates Scientology," he said That
has fueled the negative coverage, he said.
LOCAL INTEREST
The church
owns a large chunk of downtown Clearwater. It operates 21 properties valued at
nearly $30 million. Church officials have earmarked a city block for a new
340,000-squarefoot office building it has planned.
Scientologists also want
to build an 800-space parking garage and a six-story auditorium.
Because
the Church of Scientology is the largest landowner in Clearwater; the Times
devotes a great deal of energy reporting news about the church.
An
investigation by the newspaper earlier this year noted seven other
Scientologists who died suddenly after coming to Clearwater for training or
counseling.
All of the victims appeared healthy when they arrived in
Florida, according to the newspaper. In four of those deaths, "relatives or
law enforcement
SPOTLIGHT January 19, 1998 -15
officials suspect that
the church's health regimen or its opposition to psychiatric care precluded
appropriate medical care," the Times says.
For example,
Margarit Winkelmann walked fully clothed into Tampa Bay on January 11, 1980.
Mrs. Winkelmann, 51, struggled back to the shore, then dove face first back in
the water.
Mrs. Winkelmann, a resident of Zurich, Switzerland, was
receiving Scientology treatment for a psychiatric problem. The woman was
clutching a Scientology pamphlet in her hand when police fished her body out of
the water.
A SUICIDE
Police ruled the death a suicide. In another
instance, Josephus Havenith, a Dutch music teacher, visited the Fort Harrison
Hotel for two months of "counseling" in February 1980. Havenith's body
was found by the maid in a bathtub after other guests reported water running
beneath the door of his room at the Fort Harrison Hotel into the hallway. The
water was so hot it had scalded the skin off his body. Police were told
Havenith, 45, was a man in his "50s or 60s" and was found dead in bed.
This death was also ruled a suicide.
Andreas Ostertag, an official of the
Stuttgart mission, was called to Clearwater from Germany. Church officials
reportedly had some financial irregularities, suggesting that Ostertag may have
been embezzling. On October 31, 1985 Ostertag and a German Scientologist set off
on a half-mile swim in Tampa Bay. Ostertag's body was recovered several days
later.
A major car accident left Heribert Pfaff, 31, of Munich suffering
from severe seizures. He flew to Clearwater hoping the Church of Scientology
could help him find a cure.
Scientologists took Pfaff off the medication
doctors had prescribed for the man's seizures, according to his brother. On
August 28, 1988, Pfaff was found dead in Room 758 of the Fort Harrison Hotel. An
autopsy says a seizure probably caused Pfaff's death.
The $100,000 Pfaff
brought with him from Germany was missing. The family turned down a request
Pfaff made a few days before his death to wire an additional $150,000.
Peter Frei's body -fully clothed- was found floating face down near the shore on
June 30, 1988. The Swiss citizen was taking courses at the Church of
Scientology.
At first police could not identify Frei, then on July 4, the
church reported him missing since June 29.
"Church officials had
already cleaned out Frei's room and packed up his possessions by the time police
arrived," the Times reported. "But friends told police a
valise with his wallet and other valuables was missing."
While Florida
officials were trying to identify Frei, his apartment in Switzerland was
burglarized and ransacked.
Dr. Wood ruled Frei's death a suicide, but says
she is troubled. "What's a fully clothed man doing dead in the water?"
she asked. "Clearly this death should be reinvestigated. We still don't
know what happened."
Frei's family says he couldn't swim and was
afraid of water.
MORE DEATHS
Another Scientologist, Roger Nind, ran
into the path of a car traveling 30 mph on October 16, 1992. Nind's wallet,
passport and $1,000, in cash were not returned to the family. According to a
family member, Nind wanted out of the church.
Carrie Slaughterbeck was a
healthy 23-year-old who moved from Indiana to Clearwater in 1996 to work for a
prominent Scientologist. Miss Slaughterbeck was on a nutritional program popular
among Scientologists, according to her sister. The regime includes vitamins and
algae capsules. Dr. Wood says Miss Slaughterbeck's death may have been from a
mitral valve prolapse.
Scientologists claim there is nothing unusual about
the death rate of visitors to their Clearwater, headquarters. A church spokesman
told the
St. Petersburg Times only critics such as the Clearwater police, church
defectors and news media find something suspicious about these cases.
But
law enforcement officials say the deaths of Scientologists would have received
greater scrutiny given what officials have learned through the McPherson case.
"We would handle things differently today," Clearwater Deputy
Police Chief Paul Maser told the Times. "We'd be more cautious and
we'd talk to more people and look at the scene in more depth."
Time magazine reported Noah Lottick killed himself in Manhattan after "donating"
more than $5,000 to the church. Lottick reportedly jumped from a hotel room
clutching $171 -the only money he had not turned over to the church. In March of
1988, a Frenchman, Patrice Vic, also jumped out of a hotel window to his death.
Vic had been a Scientologist for six months. Hours before his death, Vic told
his wife he needed $6,000 to pay for a church course of "purification."
Jean-Jacques Mazier, the former head of the church in France, was convicted of
manslaughter in the case. Fourteen other Scientologists were convicted of
related charges ranging from embezzlement. to fraud.
Scientology employs what Time magazine calls "a crude
psychotherapeutic technique [Scientology founder L, Ron Hubbard] called
'auditing.' He also created a simplified lie detector [called an "E-meter"]
that was designed to measure electrical changes in the skin while subjects
discussed intimate details of their past"
As Scientology became more
popular, Hubbard (shown left) added more expensive steps for his followers to
climb, according to Time. Hubbard's philosophy insists humans are made
of "thetans" (clusters of spirits) banished to Earth some 75 million
years ago by a galactic ruler named Xenu.
After legal actions resulted in
the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) stripping Scientology's mother church of its
tax-exempt status in 1967 and the federal government discounting the church's
claim to medical healing, Scientology sought' First Amendment protection as a
religion.
After a long battle, the IRS reversed itself in 1993 and granted
tax-exempt status to the church in a decision that came as a surprise and shock
to Scientology watchers:
16- SPOTLIGHT February 8, 1998
Would church members resort to killing pets to intimidate opponents?
EXCLUSIVE TO THE SPOTLIGHT BY THE SPOTLIGHT STAFF
Critics of the Church of
Scientology are beginning to believe that the cult is now adopting animal abuse
as one way of harassing its critics. Former Scientologist Arnie Lerma, now one
of Scientology's most prominent critics, recently cited several instances which
he and others believe can be traced to Scientology.
• One woman, Enid
Vein, had her cat shot when she became embroiled in a legal battle involving
Scientology. Miss Vein was forced to settle after she ran out of money, but Miss
Vein has not spoken anything about the animal's death since the settlement of
the case.
"I suppose not saying anything about her cat being shot was
part of the settlement," Lerma speculates.
• Lerma found his own
cat with its throat cut, but Lerma was able to nurse the little fellow back to
health. This incident took place when Lerma himself was also being sued by
Scientology for having exposed its doctrines on the Internet.
• The
judge in a federal criminal case against Mary Sue Hubbard, the wife of
Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, found his miniature collie drowned in his
pool.
• Robert S. Minton, a wealthy businessman who has become a
critic of Scientology (even though he is not a former Scientologist himself)
found what he called "a dead, but otherwise healthy looking cat" on
his doorstep. Minton has been providing financing for lawsuits against
Scientology by its critics, in particular in the case of Lisa McPherson who died
mysteriously while in the "care" of Scientology.
FIGHT MONEY WITH
MONEY
• Another former high-ranking Scientologist, Robert Vaughn Young
-a former national spokesman for the cult, until he and his wife left in
disgust- has suffered harassment by the church.
The Youngs established a
popular "foster home" for abused and homeless cats and dogs in the
Seattle, Washington area that saved animals from extermination by the city
pound. They have adopted out nearly 500 kittens, cats and a few dogs. However,
Scientology agents began harassing his animal sanctuary by trying to have it
closed down. According to Young, David Lee, a private investigator working for
Los Angeles-based investigator Eugene Ingram, who has long been associated with
Kendrick Moxon, Scientology's lead in-house attorney, began instigating a
letter-writing and telephone campaign to Seattle City offices urging that
Young's animal shelter be shut shown. This resulted in an official
investigation.
"Scientology knows how important our animal rescue work
is to us. They were unable to silence us so now they are seeking to find or
manufacture enough threat to the innocent animals hoping we will 'shudder into
silence," Young says. "I want the world to know the extremes to which
this cult of thugs will go.
"Scientology already has a reputation for
harassing [Internet users] as well as the media and others," be added. "Now
let Scientology add a new credit to their list of abuses: innocent animals."
For his part, Minton had a surprise in store for the Scientologists. He went to
the Seattle area and purchased a new property for the Young's animal shelter.
According to Minton, the Scientologists attempted to interfere with the new
location, but Minton said in a posting on the Internet "Let the 'church' of
$cientology be put on notice that any time they cause the Youngs' cats to meow,
the Internet and animal lovers everywhere will ROAR!"
The Clearwater, Florida community is not the only locale where there is
increasing public awareness of the enigmatic activities of Scientology.
EXCLUSIVE TO THE SPOTLIGHT BY THE SPOTLIGHT STAFF
Critics of Scientology
-including especially former members who have left the cult- have begun to step
up their public awareness efforts to alert people about Scientology.
In
locations as far apart as Mesa, Arizona; Brisbane and Melbourne, Australia;
London; Atlanta; Sacramento; Boston and San Francisco, anti-Scientology
picketing has put Scientology in the spotlight. Pickets have carried such signs
as:
• Is Scientology Practicing Medicine Without a License?
• CO$ Stole My Friend
• Lisa's Blood on Scientology Hands
• Scientology Mind Muggers
• CO$ Suppresses Free Speech
• Scientology Hurts People
• Scientology Harasses Critics; and
• Hands Off the Internet
The last picket sign refers to efforts by Scientology to censor its critics who
have increasingly begun to use the Internet as a source of communication with
fellow critics worldwide. These critics also alert Internet users to the tactics
of Scientology.
As a consequence of its efforts to censor its Internet
critics -through harassment, lawsuits, etc- many Internet users who previously
showed no interest in Scientology, have become active critics, concerned at what
they perceive to be Scientology's efforts to censor freedom of speech. As one
Scientology critic, David Gerard, has commented: "If you are having
problems with outbreaks of Scientology around your area, consider demonstrating
against the local organization. It really works, and they don't like it one
little bit. Two or three demonstrators have a lot of presence when they know the
entire Internet stands behind them. Go on out there with thirty million of your
mates behind you today."
Reprinted with permission of The Wall Street Journal Copyright 1998.
Dow Jones Company, Inc. All rights reserved
There's no particular reason
for the world to worry about a smallish cult that believes invisible 75
million-year-old thetans are floating around our skulls. The search for the
meaning of life in the vastness of the universe preoccupies most people at some
time or another, though they usually find their way into houses of worship,
therapeutic counseling or the local liquor store.
When instead they come
calling on the National Security Adviser, it may be time for a reality check.
Some of the weirdest conversations of the day concern Sandy Berger's meeting
with John Travolta, along with Tom Cruise the chief ornaments of the Scientology
movement. Scientology's founder, L. Ron Hubbard, professed to believe the evil
galactic overlord Xenu shipped frozen thetans to Teegeack, better known as
planet Earth, dropping them down volcanoes and pulverizing, them with hydrogen
bombs and setting their souls adrift. By now it seems you can't understand the
universe without plumbing thetan influence in the White House, the halls of
Congress, and the murky heart of the IRS.
Mr. Travolta brought the cult to
our attention again thanks to an article in
George magazine describing how the actor and the President of the United
States enjoyed an apparently mutually beneficial meeting last spring at a
volunteerism conference in Philadelphia. The actor was there to deliver a speech
about Scientology's educational materials. What concerned the President, Mr.
Travolta suggests, was the big screen filling up with Jack Stanton, the
Clintonesque President in "Primary Colors" -the movie Mr. Travolta was
just then making, having eaten himself into a properly presidential profile. Its
probably unlikely that a film directed by Mike Nichols would ever, treat
Stanton/Clinton as anything but a charming rogue and shrewd manipulator. But the
prospect of a wide screen valentine became ever more probable as Mr. Clinton
took the moment to feel Mr. Travolta's pain. And told him he would try to make
it go away.
Who is hurting Mr. Travolta? The German government, that's who.
Like the U.S. prior to a 1993 tax settlement mysteriously upgrading the cult to
the status of a tax-exempt religion, Germany considers Scientology a business
run by extremists and has put the church under surveillance. Assisted by
frightened escapees, the Germans make the case that Scientology exploits the
weaknesses of its members for profit that at the very least should be taxed.
This creates the worst kind of pain for Scientology, which reaps millions from "auditing,"
cleaning a "preclear" of repressed memories. With millions of years of
memories, getting cleared and achieving ever higher levels of purity can be a
lengthy and costly experience. It also yields intensely private information that
is carefully stored in files.
For some, the process has also been
dangerous. Earlier this month, German police searched five Munich locations of
the sect after the suspicious death of a cult member. In Clearwater, Florida, a
young woman mysteriously died after being held at a Scientology hotel. Maybe Mr.
Clinton could send down Janet Reno for an investigative weekend in her old
neighborhood.
But back to Mr. Berger, who found Presidential whim expanding
for duties to include stilling an actor's pain. Asked by "Meet the Press"
about his briefing of Mr. Travolta last September, the National Security Adviser
looked like he might eat his tie as he downplayed the meeting as a normal
response to reports of religious persecution by the German government. His real
goal, he said, was to get an autograph for one of his kids; we note he didn't
ask for educational materials.
Mr. Berger is not the only official caught
up in Scientology's web. Senator Alfonse D'Amato, about whom no movie we know of
is being made, has scolded Germany at a hearing organized by the Commission on
Security and Cooperation in Europe. And by the time the House finally defeated a
resolution criticizing Germany late last year, a flabbergasted Madeleine
Albright had already endured several ludicrous discussions with Germany's
equally flabbergasted foreign minister, Klaus Kinkel. A federal immigration
judge added to the surreal merriment by granting asylum in November to a
preposterous German woman who feared returning home because she is a
Scientologist.
But if that is all weird, it is nothing compared with the
mysteries surrounding the decision of the IRS to suddenly grant Scientology a
tax-exempt status after years of litigation. Our Elizabeth MacDonald reported
that in the secret settlement the IRS dropped its position that "auditing"
fees were not deductible, a position that had been upheld by the U.S. Supreme
Court. In return it got $12.5 million and a promise that the cult would drop its
numerous lawsuits against the IRS and its agents. The IRS says it is
investigating the leak.
Meanwhile, Scientology is litigating with everyone
else in sight; why not, after having intimidated the biggest gun on the block?
The IRS lately announced its desire to turn itself into a friendly agency. How.
about an auditing session? Leading off with this question: Is there anyone at
the IRS who seriously thinks that the unbelievable sums of money Scientology
spends on lawsuits meets the agency's requirement that a charity spend its funds
only on charitable purposes?