"Battlefield Earth" defeated

Gladiator conquers USA

Cologne, German
May 21, 2000
Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger (KSTA)

The first battle of the American movie summer is over, and the conqueror has already been determined: Ridley Scott's "Gladiator," with its battling in the Roman Coloseum, won the audience, leaving John Travolta's pet project, "Battlefield Earth," light years behind.

While "Gladiator" (budget: $103 million) raked in an excellent $24.6 million on its second weekend and the total income is spiraling up to $73 million after ten days, the Scientology "Battlefield" parable, which has been ridiculed from the start (budget: $90 million), made a pitiful $11.5 million on its premier weekend.

60 Pianists at the "Klavierfestival Ruhr"

Essen, Germany
June 12, 2001
http://www.weser-kurier.de

Essen (bm) For the 13th time the Ruhr district will have pianists elite of the world as guests. The "Klavierfestival Ruhr" begins on June 16 in Essen and ends August 18 in Muelheim. In the two intervening months almost 60 pianists will be heard, famous names such as Pollini, Berman, Lupu, Afannassiev, Sokolov, Andsnes, Barenboim and Koscis, but also lesser well-knowns. For instance the festival will present this years winners of the piano competition form Sydney, Leeds, Fort Worth and Tel Aviv and the "French Piano School in Three Generations." Jazz in the Ruhr district will be performed by Chick Corea, Brad Mehldau und Martial Solal. The concerts will take place in 13 cities, many of them in Bochum, Essen and Muelheim. The festival was arranged by "Initiativkreis Ruhrgebiet," that is 44 major businesses.

"It's never a routine job with Chick"

American pianist Chick Corea turns 60 today

Dresden, Germany
June 12, 2001
http://www.dnn.de
Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten

Recently there was even a street named after him in the USA. In Massachusetts, where the pianist Armando, alias "Chick", Corea once grew up. With that his life's work was honored almost at the same time of his 60th birthday, over 40 years in the music industry, whose virtuosity and multi-facetedness can hardly be surpassed. "My interests have been constantly changing over the years, and I have tried to discover as many aspects for myself as possible," is how Corea describes his consistently open attitude. "More important than anything else, that the music comes from the heart."

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Since the 1990s, Chick Corea has gotten on the wrong side of people with his open profession to Scientology. Especially in Germany most organizers have hardly given him a second thought since then. Measures which were time and time again criticized sharply in the USA.

Chick Corea himself has very been very reserved in the Scientology discussion and has mainly concentrated on his music. Since 1997 he has been working intensively with his band "Origin" ...

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Matthias Wegner

The Mental Potential of Scientology

From : "Main Post"
January 15, 1999

SCHONUNGEN (HEI)

"We use only ten percent of our mental potential." This is the message which residents of Schonungen are receiving these days. That is, mass mailings are put in their mailboxes, on which this quote by Albert Einstein is stamped next to a portrait of the physicist. Underneath that is the slogan "Mentally fit + physically fit = Enjoyment in Life".

Well, yes, who would want to contradict one of the leading physical scientists of the 20th century? Surely nobody, Scientology would have thought. That's right, it is none other than the controversial organization who has had the above-named mass mailings sent out. Sure enough, the name "Scientology" does not appear anywhere - but integrated with the page is an ordering form. Using that, you can buy the book "Dianetics" by Scientology founder, Ron Hubbard, (19.80 marks) or a video (35 marks) of similar content.

Now Scientology is not an illegal organization, even if Bavaria has already been urging for some years that it be prohibited. However, since Scientology is active nationwide, the federal administration would have to be the one responsible for the ban, as Michael Ziegler, press speaker of the Bavarian Interior Ministry, states. Kohl's cabinet, said Ziegler, did not follow up on the Bavarian request with "sufficient verve."

The obvious fact that Scientology that Scientology offers products for sale "to disguise its true intentions," the press speaker believes, is a sign of weakness. Members are leaving the organization and sales are declining. Ziegler says: "They have a need to rally their resources."

"That's right": A person uses only ten percent of his brain's capacity

by Christoph Drosser

From: "Die Zeit", Nr. 40
September 26, 1997

That's wrong. This allegation is cheerfully belabored in esoteric circles - mostly in connection with the challenge of activating the remaining nine tenths of the brain in an expensive course program. This is how the Scientology sect advertises with the portrait of Albert Einstein, to whom the statement is ascribed.

Another possible source of this wisdom is the American psychologist and philosopher, William James. The anthropologist Margaret Mead would even go so far as to say that we only use six percent of our thought capacity.

Let us begin with Einstein. Did he say it or did he not? Alice Calaprice, of Princeton University in New Jersey, is the publisher of Einstein's collective quotes. She has often been asked this question. "I personally doubt he said that," states Mrs. Calaprice, "because somebody certainly would have disagreed, and there would have been a discussion. Of course, it is also true that not every word that came out of his mouth has been written down." Neither are other sources able to be confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt.

However, even if Einstein had made this statement, what could he have meant by it? Is the statement, "Only ten percent of the brain is being used," really supposed to be a quantitative statement? If so, then several interpretations present themselves.

One interpretation is that at any given time, only one tenth of the brain cells are active. To this, one can only say that it is good that not all are active, because that would be tantamount to an epileptic seizure. A second interpretation is that ninety percent of the brain's cells lie uselessly around in the skull and have no function. That is also nonsense. As far as can be determined by science, all healthy cells take part, in some way, in the brain's processes. An index for that is that in the loss of a brain function, in the loss of an eye, for example, the corresponding neurons die.

A third interpretation: if we used only a fraction of our thinking ability, we would really be able to notice many more things. However, the brain does not have any "storage cells," like in a computer. Memories are models which are produced by a combination of cells, and the number of these models is unlimited. Nobody knows the maximum limit that can be established in memory.

Generally speaking, the concept is in error. More brain activity is not synonymous with "better" thinking. Detlef Linke, brain researcher at the University of Bonn points out the fact that our intellectual performance often consists of collecting may individual experiences into one "super symbol" - abstractions make thought more economical.

Linke estimates that half of all brain functions are inhibitors, so that they decrease, not increase, the activity of the gray matter.

Therefore, more "flickering" in the skull does not mean that we are dealing with a more intelligent head. If Einstein did make the statement, what remains is that he meant it metaphorically - it would do us all some good if we were to use a little more common sense.

Who would want to contradict him there?