Someone sent me a link to this Facebook group I grew up in Ventura California and a posting there about scientology coming to town. This group has 22,000 members.
It was a pretty innocuous thing about the brightness of the sign on the building.
As of now it has over 450 comments.
Though I have not carefully read every comment, I can say with a high degree of certainty that there are virtually no positive comments about scientology.
And yet, their PR line is that the demand for scientology is so great, and they are expanding so rapidly, that to meet the demand, they have to open gaudy new buildings. Of course, everyone outside the bubble know this is a huge lie. But still, it is sometimes interesting to see it play out in the real world.
Their latest pitch is “Curious why so many people are scientologists?” — more accurate would be “Curious why so many people thing scientology is a cult and a scam?”
What is also interesting about the comments is how many people refer to Going Clear, The Aftermath and even Ortega and this blog.
The tens of millions that scientology has spent trying to smear these sources of information and their massive investment in SuMP and Super Bowl ads etc etc all seems to be for nought.
And to put a cherry on top, of course scientology is completely tone deaf to the local community. They can spout Shermanspeak about the waves and the beach and the swells and surf city, but they clearly have NO CLUE about the ethnics of a seaside community, particularly in California. Dear Leader expects balloons to be released when he yanks his ribbon, so they release balloons. And when the local community saw that, the reaction was as expected.
I pulled a few posts off Facebook. Off to a roaring start in Ventura with at least two political candidates taking a stand without being asked. Perhaps the lessons of Clearwater have been learned in other places?
Scientology is so clueless….
And finally, how they manned Ventura.
This person was reported to be the Qual Sec Pasadena.
Hey presto — a “new” ideal org is manned by taking staff from other orgs.
Pasadena still hasn’t reached the size of old St Hill despite the fact they have been trying for 15 years since “going ideal” … But who cares, there is today’s “new ” org that Dear Leader is going to promote.
The balloon release disaster and subsequent negative PR in Ventura is now even being reported in the mainstream press at CNN. Loving it! $cions are their own worst suppressive enemies. Captain Davey Clusterf*ck at your service!
https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/26/us/scientology-balloons-plastic-ban-trnd/index.html
He does love yanking his ribbon…
Did anyone else notice that the group “I grew up in Ventura California” is larger than ALL of scientology?
scientology in Ventura MIGHT be 50-100 members, I suppose; probably fewer.
Mike, I am interested in your thoughts about how Captain Miscavige will react to the PR disaster regarding the balloons. Keeping in mind, HE was the one who released the balloons. HE was the host of the event. This is HIS party and the citizens of Ventura will remember him as the leader of this ignorant and disrespectful act on their city. Regardless of “miscommunication” or the goof of an underling, it is Miscavige that people see as the leader of this contemptuous act.
Do you think he will address this as “someone personally trying to sabotage him” and set him up?
Even tho the President, Debbie Cregan (also the DSA), apologized to City Council the following Monday, and the City did take their responsibility in it saying that while they said “no balloons”, they did not physically cross it off the permit form, it will not be forgotten. I do not believe any apology will change the views of the citizens. The comments show they were not welcome even before the balloon disaster.
All of this reflects back to Miscavige personally as well as the church overall in my view.
HE will pretend this never happened and if anyone ever asks him about it the simple answer is one of his incompetent juniors messed up by failing to inform him that balloons and the oceanside don’t mix.
Thank you.
Ruby, I’m not Mike, but believe NO one will bother his eminence with such trivialities, and if he DOES hear about it, he’ll dismiss those naysayers as CSCI DBs at best. Davey gets what he wants WHEN he wants, if not before, or heads roll.
March 13th is behind the corner. DM needs absolutely things to show at the event. Stat push and all kind of “over dead bodies” stuff is allowed. You know ‘here the greatest expansion ever”. Pathetic.
LoosingMyReligion: I wouldn’t be surprised if DM’s recently screwing up the LRH birthday celebrations — holding them weeks ahead of time or ‘way late — is intentional. Hey, he doesn’t want to remind the clapping clams that LRH DID invent scientology out of whole cloth and that DM wasn’t ALWAYS the only “source”.
It took me a while to find the references related to Miscavige talking about the waves and the surf at Ventura. Eventually he will beat the pacific with three hundred lashes just as Xerxes did when his bridge of ships was destroyed. [Paradise Lost – Book 12]
“According to Herodotus, when waves from a storm destroyed the bridge of ships that Xerxes had created to cross the Hellespont, he ordered the sea to be beaten with three hundred lashes (The History 7.35 [“lashes”]). Death’s act of creating this bridge, which will inevitably be destroyed when the Day of Judgment comes, is as futile as Xerxes’ act”
History always repeats itself and now we have Xerxes, Xenu, and Miscavige on the same path.
This, from the “church” that holds expensive seminars on “How To Use LRH PR Tek To 4.7X Your Stats!!!” on a creaking garbage scow in the Caribbean. Yes, Learn From The Experts!!!
SP=SUPER PERSON
What will Kirstie Alley say about animals being harmed by Scientology?
She won’t like it. Now, I really don’t like Kirstie Alley for some reason that I as yet do not understand. There’s something about her that brings out my worst sarcastic impulses and I do pound unmercifully on her sometimes – God knows why. Something about the way she comes across as PROUDLY stupid and vulgar – its one thing to be spontaneously stupid and vulgar, but she comes across to me as being very purposefully that way thinking that she’s being funny. And she does bore the shit out of me with her endless public obsession with her weight, up and down, up and down, to the exclusion of all other topics. But then, as regards Kirstie, I have to remember that there’s a side of her that I know I would like. She IS passionate about animal rights and about exposing and eliminating all kinds of animal abuse – of domestic pets, of wild, near extinct creatures, and OMG of circus animal abuse. The elephants, the lions, the monkeys – horrible. She’s against circuses and zoos – believes that if you want to see these creatures you should see them in their natural habitats and that they should not be brought to us to live in cages nor should they be taken out of their environment and “trained” to perform for human amusement and profit. She is passionate about not keeping creatures which belong in the wild as domestic pets. Point being, I’m going to try not to pound on her any more than necessary than I’d pound on any other celeb cult creature because its not fair and I do try to be fair – not always successfully for sure but I try. Its plain to me that Kirstie Alley has her good points and if I met her personally it just might be true that as a person she’s not the vulgar, boring bimbo that, for some reason, she strives hard to project to the public. Its too bad that she can’t let go of this artificial personality and just allow herself to be real to the public, because I suspect if she did she’d be a lot funnier and a good deal more of an interesting entertainer.
She keeps pet lemurs in cages …..
Really? I didn’t know that. But – and this would be key to me – did she rescue them? Take them in after she found them being abused in some way? I’ll find out. You’ve got me going now.
Look, if she BOUGHT those creatures from stores or mills or on the black market etc. from people who traffic in wild creatures to be sold as pets for high prices, then ALL I just said about her passion for animal justice is herewith CANCELLED, and, to quote Roseanne Rosannadanna, “Never mind.”
@aqua She has a damn houseful of pet lemurs. https://people.com/pets/kirstie-alley-has-14-lemurs-but-says-she-doesnt-recommend-them-as-pets/
Wow. OK. Wow. Thank you. Hmm…
Well, I’ll go the distance and opine that she’s taking good care of them and that they’re happy. She said she has someone on the payroll specifically to take care of them and that she feeds them “organic” which I take to mean organic greens because lemurs are not carnivores. I’ll opine that they probably get a lot of attention and interaction from her because she has an affinity for lemurs and from the caretaker.
THAT SAID, she should NOT be telling all and sundry via a People Mag interview that she keeps LEMURS as pets!
That might make her interesting to write about but its irresponsible of her to let this information out to the general public, some of whom might then copycat her and get lemurs as pets for all the wrong reasons. However loved and well cared for they are and however happy they may WITH HER, they belong in their natural habitat (which I understand is highly endangered) or in a sanctuary. Copycat People Mag readers will be buying these as pets for all the wrong reasons and when the novelty wears off and the reality of how much work and expense their upkeep entails sets in the poor creatures could end up in a zoo or dead. Very irresponsible of her to allow an article like this.
Sorry for typos and grammar. I really must stop this sloppy bang-out-and-post habit of mine.
She will justify it in her mind that it is the “greatest good for the greatest number” … she and any fanatic Scientologist would sacrifice 100 puppies, dolphins and kittens if it means the survival of Scientology.
Chuckles asked:
“What will Kirstie Alley say about animals being harmed by Scientology?”
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
In 2013, scientology was fined for felling healthy trees at an event site in Clearwater.
https://www.tampabay.com/news/growth/church-of-scientology-fined-for-felling-healthy-trees-on-event-site/2138607/
They learned their lesson, right. Ummm, not so much.
https://tonyortega.org/2017/01/19/scientology-in-hot-water-again-for-cutting-down-trees-without-permission/
They will do what the hell ever they want when the hell ever they want so why shouldn’t they release balloons and violate laws regarding signage? Why do you think all those clubbed seals are paying all that money to IAS? Someone has to pay the fines to Davey the Dictator Miscaviage can have his teeny way.
SMDH
Over at the Underground Bunker they’ve published a response from the CofS saying permission was granted. My guess is that may be a typical ‘acceptable truth’ and while a permit that mentioned the balloon release was (mistakenly) granted, the city caught that and then also told the CofS that balloons couldn’t actually be released, as stated by the Ventura County Supervisor candidate (and apparent current council person). But it appears we have yet to get the complete story.
https://tonyortega.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/ScientologyBalloons.jpg
https://tonyortega.org/2020/02/25/is-david-miscavige-winning-scientology-seems-to-be-on-a-roll-but-is-the-law-about-to-step-in/
Barely acceptable truth. i.e. baldface lie.
All balloons are “biodegradable” because they are latex.
““Biodegradable” is one of those words used by companies to trick consumers into thinking that what they’re purchasing has a neutral, or even positive, effect on the environment. While looking at several sites clearly operated by balloon manufacturers, I repeatedly came across the same claim: “latex balloons biodegrade at the same speed as an oak leaf.” There aren’t any oak trees in my backyard, but leaves seem to disintegrate pretty quickly, right? Wrong! Oak leaves take at least six to eight months to biodegrade, and latex balloons are no different. In fact, when in saltwater, latex balloons can take up to a year to completely degrade. In the meantime, these balloon fragments make their home in major waterways and pose a serious hazard to various types of wildlife that live there.”
Source: https://operations.tufts.edu/recycle/news/2011/10/14/biodegradable-balloons-better-for-the-environment/
I hope the City worker posting that does not have dogs. Better watch for Scientology fair game – killing pets to get revenge.
To do something that was expressly forbidden by the city is just plain stupid. However, having been in the Sea Org myself, I know what it’s like to be given an illegal order – “damned if I do, damned if I don’t”. From a Sea Org member’s viewpoint it is better to pay the price and break a “wog law”, than it is to feel the Wrath of COB. If COB wants balloons, COB gets balloons! Make it go right…
Laughing! I know it very well. You would even uproot a forest if needed.
Every ideal org made a few guys win a ticket to the Rpf land.
Taking staff from other Orgs? That is SOP in Scientology.
Scientologists steal – money, people, money, did I say money, and more money via unscrupulous, deceptive and manipulative means. Any other for profit corporation disguised as a Non Profit would be shut down and the money returned to the victims. The slaves compensated. But not when they wear a religious cloak. In fact, Cincinnati Ideal Org ED, Jeanie Sonenfild, has legacy of stealing people and stealing money. Covertly, of course.
Ahhh…. the laws of karma grind slowly. But they do grind.
BREAKING NEWS!
Word in from Cincinnati Ideal Org Staffers: Long time, married several time, bat shit crazy, kool aid guzzling Scientologist, Jeanie Sonenfild, OTVIII and Executive Director of the Ideal Org located in Kentucky, is in the RPF AGAIN along with her son Connor Sonenfild. Anyone have any more info on her and her son? Please report here.
Their crimes according to the ex Staffer from Cincinnati: manipulating and deceiving the Ohio and Kentucky Scientologists into putting huge sums of money on credit cards and then not paying them off. Not sure why Scientology sees that as a crime. Bankruptcy is a level of humanitarian achievement for all Scientologists across the globe. That condition is SOP. Not sure why she is in the Scientology prison system? What is the REAL Scientological reason? Probably could not keep her stats up any longer – she bankrupted everyone.
L Ron Hubbard policy does say hands off the guy with the high stats. So that is why Scientologists turn criminal over years and nothing is done to them. But if people write up KR’s on you and your ethics folder gets thick – eventually karma will kick your ass and it appears it has kicked that foul mouth heartless, cold, manipulative, deceptive criminal; Jeanie Sonenfild.
Meanwhile, back in Kentucky, her 2-D, David Sonenfild, is (allegedly) Home Alone, with Stage 4 Cancer. Any have an update?
Years of sacrifice and dedicated loyalty has these Scientologists getting the grand prize of Scientology that everyone eventually gets if they stay in long enough: Discard without sorrow after being used to commit crimes of bankrupting each other and getting others to work for free and the only thing they are achieving is to line David Miscavige’s foreign bank accounts with enough money to Keep Scientology Working so Miscavige can live his lavish dictator lifestyle.
No justice are the perceived sweet benefits of the religious cloak for David Miscavige and his minions. They may be immune from the Laws of the Land but not from the Laws of Karma
Thank you dear god of ” Doing Something About It”
Interesting information. Would you email me as I have some questions I would really like to ask you….
I recall reading this on Ex Scientology Message board – the new one.
“The cult knows all about the financial and criminal irregularities its staff.
It greatly benefits from the savage and extortion type REG cycles.
Jeanie took it a step further. She had her staff take out credit cards and max them.
Then she had those same staff LEND their credit card ceilings to PUBLIC for Bridge loans.
Cincinnati looked good with all this revenue of which the cult got its cut.
Of course staff on meager pay could not keep up with even MINIMUM payments.
Eventually knowledge reports were sent up the lines.
++++++
|From leaks received, Jeanie Sonenfeld is doing hard manual labor in Los Angeles with her so Connor who she roped into
being staff, he was in HCO and also a hot shot sales person.
So while her husband is progressing towards terminal, Jeanie is in LA.
I am sorry that Jeanie is stuck in the Prison of Belief.”
I see Jeanie Sonenfild is no longer the registered agent for the “church” of Scientology. It must be true that she is in the Hole. It is time – she was a ruthless dictator of the Ideal Org in Kentucky.
I had heard that Jeanie Sonenfild and her son were in the Hole as well. I also heard three years ago that her husband, David Sonenfild, was very ill. I can’t find out what is going on because the staff in Cincinnati are all muzzled, invalidated, nullified into nothing and suppressed. They won’t talk. Mary Duda was on staff and last time I talked to her and she seemed extremely BI’s about Jeanie and David Sonenfild but she would not discuss her case on post because it is a high crime. Glad I am on the fringes not going into that ideal waste of time org in Kentucky. I have more wins making and drinking moonshine.
The Hole does not exist.
The RPF does not exist.
The check’s in the mail.
Here’s what the Ventura County ordinances say about illuminated sign. From some of the comments regarding the lights, it sounds like the Ventura Idle Morgue is not in compliance with d. or e. below:
§ 8175-5.13.10.11. Illuminated signs.
Latest version.
Sign lighting shall be designed to minimize light and glare on surrounding rights-of-way and properties in compliance with the following:
a. Temporary illuminated traffic control signs placed on or adjacent to a street or highway (by authority of a public body or official having jurisdiction), shall comply with the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
b. Illuminated signs are prohibited within ESHA and their associated one hundred (100) foot buffer, except for road signs.
c. Illuminated signs are only permitted in the Coastal Agricultural (CA) and Coastal Commercial (CC) zone and shall have indirect or diffused illumination.
d. Illuminated signs shall not exceed the brightness of a diffused light panel with cool white fluorescent eight hundred (800) milliampere lights spaced at least ten (10) inches on center.
e. In no case shall an illuminated sign or lighting device be so placed or directed as to permit the beams and/or illumination therefrom to be directed or beamed upon a public street, walkway, or adjacent properties so as to cause glare or reflection that may constitute a nuisance, traffic or safety hazard.
f. Except for automated teller machines (ATM), no sign shall be illuminated after 11:30 p.m. or close of business, whichever occurs last.
(Ord. No. 4492, § 3, 6-21-2016)
Thanks for the research work. Ventura will almost certainly now send someone out to check out the brightness of those signs after the citizen objections, and it would be in keeping with Scientology’s track record if they turned out to be in violation and required an expensive fix – which is probably now at the expense of the org left to struggle on its own.
In the meanwhile, even the crickets have left our local idle morgue. The state of the grounds around the building are beginning to deteriorate, and it’s been less than four years ago. If anyone needs a place to park their car in that busy area, no problem, plenty of parking spaces there!! Only the true, diehard people that keep their noses clean and DO NOT look on the interwebs are left. It is sad. They are told they become more powerful as they go up the bridge to total schmuckdom, but they are also told that the least little “entheta” will cause them to lose all of their gains, and then everything becomes unraveled.
Speaking as one who was once enslaved by the cognitive dissonance and has now managed to walk away:
If the teeniest bit of entheta will unravel all the gains, just how does that make you more powerful than the ones you are being forced to avoid?
That’s one of the questions that we on the “never in” side always ask ourselves! Ok, I shouldn’t speak for everyone, obviously, but that’s always been my number 1 WTF. Or more specifically, how is it that any gains by this supposed knowledge can all come crashing down so quickly? How is it that doing these courses gives you the “power” to confront, yet none of them seem to be able to get past screeching and regurgitating their script? How is it that you can see Tommy Davis or Mike Rinders ex-wife on TV discussing how disconnection does NOT exist, when you, as a Scientologist, know for a fact it does? Cognitive dissonance and all it’s remarkable bad effects strikes again!
A town welcomes scamology with the same feelings as is does dog poop on their sidewalks.
Laughing
You can hose or scrape the dog crap off the footpath but the other…
Right Krono. The other takes fire…
Absolutely astonished that the locals are upset about balloons and bright signs when a sexual predator enabling, human trafficking, soul-destroying, money grubbing con game moves in.
Don’t these people; read, or watch TV?
Probably very few Ventura residents will lose their life savings, be raped, enslaved or have their children taken away from them by the Ventura Org, because very few go that far out of their way to enter the premises.
But even one is one too many.
They got Al Capone for tax evasion, maybe they will evict Scientology for threatening the sea turtles. We can only dream.
Bruce, good comment! And it is worth reading the post by the Ventura County Supervisor, even if you have to squint to read it. They broke the law after Ventura forbid them to release the balloons, and they did it anyway. Reminds me of the time DM had his crew dig up a live tree in Clearwater on public property because he felt it hindered his event. They think they are above the law. And they protect Danny Masterson who thinks he is above the law too.
The Church of Scientology and David Miscavige at its best: Making enemies!
Hey OSA (whoever is assigned to patrol Mike Rinder’s blog), how’s your Enemies/SP-list doing? How many thousands are meanwhile on it and in your Stasi-like-files? Surely are much more than you have active members.
Since I have been out for a long time, I have been wondering for a while if a person spontaneously entered an org today for the first time and wants to go on service, what does he receive?
A metered interview? Does this service counts also on the firststart stat?
I hope Matt Levere doesn’t have any pets. I fear he’s about to be fair gamed for being an SP on the Psychs’ payroll.
Not only were 99% of the posts negative and against scientology, anyone that even remotely showed they supported the group was dog piled
They were better off with just the little mission on Eastman Drive. They are clearly unwanted and a thorn in the city’s side now. People are pissed.
As a resident you are correct. I am posting about their practices every chance I get with references to here and Tony Ortega. While they may be here to stay, that does not mean that I will not warn people about them.
Thank you Mr. Orange! That’s so important that people know the truth – that this is SO much more than just a hypocritical group on a onetime basis. Yes, what they did with their opening was terrible and totally disregarded their community and environment, but they are behind such worse! Many people vaguely “have heard scientology is bad” but may not fully understand why that’s the consensus. That’s where people start to think, “Hey maybe these guys just got a bad wrap – people believe all kinds of crazy things, they’re entitled…” but thanks to someone like you taking the time to educate, the more people are aware and the more hope something will finally turn the tide so they answer for their crimes.
The only way this evil cult may be stopped is if its victims “act up”, strictly within the letter of the law of course. Nothing else could really work. That includes contacting all their political representatives. Miscavige is very lucky that his biggest victims seem to be pacifistic.
While surfing on the web I found that DM has his own page designedly made to show how he is good guy. It includes of course the quote from Ron that he uses to entitle himself as natural successor.
To those who don’t know it: Ron has always appointed people issuing specific executive directives. Where is the one about DM? Sad that it hasn’t a place to leave a comment.
If Hubbard named a successor we would know about it. Dave has access to all the written materials, published. unpublished, scratched out on napkins, whatever.
Even if something could be twisted or edited to name Dave as anything higher than messenger boy or Special Projects In Charge (his actual title at the time of Hubbard’s death) it would be all over the events and touted in the biographical confections of Danny Sherman.
Sadly everyone who could tell the actual story is either deceased (Annie Tidman and others) or not talking. Several of those still in “the SP Hole” could tell a damning tale about Dave’s rise to power. That’s one of the reasons they are still there.
The obvious logical successor would be Hubbard’s daughter Diana. Also held at the Int Base mostly incommunicado, though apparently she shows up sometimes at events to shill for Dave.
A Scientology run by Diana would be a very different proposition, though we can’t know how she would have handled true power. Power corrupts. And she is a Hubbard hard-liner all the way, so possibly her reign might have been just as abusive. We’ll never know.
Dave said “power is assumed” and he seems to have practiced what he preaches in this case.
To be fair, Hubbard was in no shape to be naming successors or even talking rationally at the end. As Dave might say if he were reading this “It’s a dirty job but someone’s got to do it”.
True. Mine was more a sarcastic comment. I never liked him even when I was on staff. He emanetes something weird. He did a coup d’etat getting rid of all those you mention. In the lrh ed 339r he gives the organizational structure that was based on system of counterweight. No leaders. But Dave shuffled around everything.
I never liked the little idiot either. From the first day we met I knew he was very low toned and incompassionate; devoid of pity and of tenderness As much a heartless robot as anyone could be. Likening him to Der Fuhrer is totally appropriate indeed. True scientology is dead today because of him.
Didn’t Hubbard leave Pat and Annie Broeker as his successor and put it in writing? I seem to remember that he did that and then DM and his crew found all copies of that and destroyed it. I think that was in Jesse Prince’s book.
Yes I heard that but as you said every proof probably got burned. It reminds me the dark periods of nazism. The hidden handlings done over dead bodies, the elected race, the super/over man (Ubermensch Nietzsche’s madness) etc.
Nazistology
Yes, it is disgusting that DM rounded up all copies of that issue and burned them. So much for KSW. No one ever thought anyone would go so far as to burn and destroy LRH’s words. Welcome to the new regime.
Remember that DM is everything than a poor idiot. He is a clever highly motivated hearthless and fast learning person.
I do believe that he has clearly understood already in the 80s that Ron didn’t completed the ot levels and that the overall situation was stuck. I believe as well that he is the most convinced disillusioned.
Hubbard canceled his own issues, and made people like the “Pope of Scientology” he had once designated, John McMaster, into Orwellian unpersons. Hasn’t Miscavige just assumed the authority to do what Hubbard did as leader?
The new regime is much the same as the old regime, from what I can tell, except that Miscavige doesn’t have Hubbard’s flair for creating new material to try to solve problems like old material that keeps turning out not to work as promised.
Thanks Peacemaker for the hint. I just read on Ortega’s blog about John McMaster. I didn’t knew it. Impressive story indeed.
Big kudos to Ventura for having banned the release of balloons and YUGE kudos for calling out the cult’s willful violation of this important law. Balloons are polluting and extremely harmful to wildlife. I hope they’re given a yuge fine.
Yo Disgusting Cult –
Not making a very Ideal start, are we?
Off on the wrong foot rather effortlessly it would appear.
Here’s a suggestion from Little Us out here on the Fringes:
Get a good dictionary and clear the LRH term “safepointing”.
And while you’re at it, clear “Ethnic”, as in the “ethnic” of an area?
Beautiful California towns care a LOT about their environment, Cult.
Environmental concerns are a deeply entrenched part of California’s “ethnic”.
What you did created antagonism needlessly.
Why?
Would the answer be simply that you just can’t fix…stupid?
Much love,
Aqua
PS: Or ignorant, thoughtless, selfish and greedy?
True. Safe pointing? Ethnic surveys? They just don’t care. They say these are wogs. Let’s amaze them.
Nobody does anymore such pompous bombastic crap.
Sure that they came out from no existence with the town but ended up straight in a serious enemy condition. How you can become even more toxic? Unbelievable.
“They just don’t care.”
And they’re contemptuous too.
With endless money they’ll pay the fine, with endless contempt they’ll dismiss that brief but necessary interaction with Ventura’s wogs and with endless self-delusion they’ll introvert right back into their fantasy world wherein the relocation of a shrinking organization from one building to another means that the organization has “expanded”.
A typical Scientology opening – blatant disregard for “wog” laws, and manipulative creation of “facts on the ground” by going ahead and doing what they wanted, expecting no real consequences or at most a slap on the wrist. I hope that Ventura can really nail them for this, though unfortunately Scientology has a record of either getting away with things, or using their typical legal tactics to fight until some ultimate settlement that costs them little.
And apparently the signs at either end of the building facing the highway, must be very brightly lit. Maybe Ventura can do something about that, if nothing else.
It’s also a new level of desperation, if they’re pulling staff from other orgs. I’d assume that Qual Sec was replace by someone much less, um, qualified, in order to nominally free her up to go to Ventura, but ultimately it’s still weakening one org to make another appear stronger.
If I’m not mistaken, don’t they pull staff from other orgs to open each new org? It’s not like they will need them after the ribbon yanking anyway.
Val, I wasn’t aware of that kind of poaching for openings, particularly when it comes to major staff positions and people who presumably have contracts with the org they were already working for. But it could well have been going on for a while.
From what I can tell, since the orgs aren’t actually new, just old orgs being put in new facilities, they take the existing staff, which should cover all the major positions, and then augment it with new people recruited – though some of those may have previous staff experience. And reportedly that has involved a fair number of people who only show up for the opening and a little while after until they realize that they can’t actually make it on staff and are allowed to “blow,” plus a lot of “postulate” contracts in which people often far away agree to come staff once the org gets up to a certain size – which of course isn’t going to happen. So it’s all a charade and in Orlando, for instance, from photos the actual org staff didn’t seem to be much bigger a week after the opening of the new facility, than it had been all along – and one of the additions was a woman quoted as saying she’d been a staff auditor in the past.
Staff from my tiny former org were pulled off in order to beef up an org slated to go “Ideal”. They were already skeleton-staffed and barely holding it together, several staff – 3 of them, as I recall, who were OTs and also admin-trained, etc. were “moon-ripped”. They went along with it and at the time I was very surprised that they agreed to this as it was blatantly off-policy…gives you an idea of how naive I was back then. Not only staff but public from my little org were regged to switch orgs. Major stat-push, but back then I didn’t connect that term with these actions. I was just shocked – yes, shocked! – that this was going ON and that no-one except me seemed shocked about it! Ah, yes, my Golden Age Of Ignorance, I remember it well.
Aqua, thanks for confirming that. It surprises even me that they’d directly rip off contracted staff, though I know for instance that upper level orgs often find ways to hold on to auditors sent to them for training, and I frequently point out that policy can be bent or broken when it suits the ends of higher management – which goes back to Hubbard’s day.
If I remember correctly, the Qual Sec is the head of their division (and is supposed to be a clear) – in the case of your org, did they pull out staff of that high a level. or just others who might more easily be replaced?
And I wonder what happens in a case like that, with the old sort of catch-22 that staff aren’t supposed to leave unless or until they replace themselves. I’d guess that goes out the window, and it’s the org’s tough luck.
It certainly shows how shrunken and desperate they are, that they have to resort to hollowing out other orgs just to put on a Potemkin Village “opening” show for Dear Leader. And presumably their ripping of the Qual Sec, means that Santa Barbara is a small and failing org (SFO) that didn’t even have major positions filled.
Hi Peacemaker,
In answer to your questions, from what I knew at the time, there were 3 OTs taken from my org. Two were execs and long term staff. One was a long time public who had been intending to join staff at my org, the little org, because it had been HER original org before she went OTVIII. She was then convinced to not sign a contract and instead join staff at the one going Ideal. Now, from what I recall, these 2 exec OTs were never replaced.
Hmm… and now that my memory has been gently prodded, I’m recalling that it was in fact more than one long time public taken; I recall now that 3 public were taken – two of them OTs (who also joined staff at the Ideal Org) and one guy who was low on the Bridge, had no job and was not a good student but who at the same time was comfortably supported by his family. I’m not sure if he ever joined staff at the Ideal but he did switch orgs as a public, that much I know.
In brief, my former little org lost 2 existing staff who were execs and never (to my knowledge) replaced as well as 2 OTVIII long term public who had been intending to join staff and one public.
This org of mine was not doing well at the time anyway; they were desperate for staff then anyway. The staff reg cycles were getting ridiculous in their frequency. And then, boom, they got moon-ripped and from what I observed – not necessarily at the time understanding much about WHAT I was seeing nor why it was happening – from that point on the org just kept getting emptier and emptier. When I left there were hardly any staff – maybe 8 real staff, and a couple of volunteers, one of them acting as the Ethics Officer and another in Treasury. The HGC had a PC or 2.
The courseroom was a joke. Div 6 courseroom having long been collapsed into the Div 4 Academy, the courseroom was empty during the weekdays – one or two students at best (I was one of them) and in the evenings maybe 4 or 5 students, weekends maybe 10 students, most of whom were on the Basics. As LRH would say, “A limping scene”.
Aqua, thanks for that insight and detail. It gives me a better picture of what’s going on in the small and failing orgs – and the larger and only marginally better-off ones. I hadn’t realized they were being undermined quite like that, but then again it further explains their plight.
I can only imagine what’s going on at the Ventura mission. My guess is that the mission holder is being told they have to keep the location open in expectation of the “boom” the relocated “ideal” org is supposed to create, and yet is being ripped off of staff and customers in ways similar to what you described.
Well done. They got a great warm welcome from the town. The cult PR works perfectly. How to create acceptance.
I never seen any project generating such a fast reject from an area. Usually it takes more. Let’s try to make it up with other 1000 balloons.
Good job morons!
Yeah, lets just do the signs. I don’t want the sea life destroyed to destroy scientology.
So right. Here as well the Mediterranean sea begins to have more plastic than life forms. Let’s stop this BS. Balloons? I can give them a few advices on what to do with it for the next idle ogre they will announce. And they WILL do something because March 13th is behind the corner.
Tiny Fists would have been angry because without all those brightly colored balloons going up in the air his Ribbon Yank Video would have lacked the proper drama, glamour and glitz, and as such, much less “impactful” for the Sheeple forced to watch the video of this tedious, boring and utterly meaningless “event”.