Every year, Miscavige bestows IAS Freedom Medals on individuals who have “eradicated psychiatry” or “brought peace” to “entire nations” through their “tireless efforts” to implement LRH tech and distribute the Way to Happiness as a “calming influence” on society.
But one only has to look at the real world to see how contrived these “accomplishments” are.
In 2005 (coincidentally) he lauded dedicated IAS members for their work in Venezuela and Ukraine. If you glance at the news, you will see both of these nations undergoing massive internal upheaval and civil unrest.
Yet, if you go back and look at the videos or read the Impact mags at the time you would be quite correct in assuming from those hype-filled depictions of their accomplishments that these “Medal Winners” had single-handedly changed conditions and brought peace and a bright future to their countries.
Here are a couple of Shermanspeak quotes from the Impact magazine that mentions them. I cannot be bothered to go back and look at the event itself, I am sure it is WAY more over the top than the single paragraph they got in the mag:
At a crucial time in Ukranian history, with over half a million people in the streets protesting a rigged election and the denial of their democratic right to a government of and for the people, IAS members Valery Kokura and Anatoly Tretiak applied a battery of LRH technology, bringing calm and greater awareness of human rights. So substantial were the positive effects….
Using the Way to Happiness, Audrey Cabrera and Ruddy Rodriguez were instrumental in defusing a potentially catastrophic national situation in Venezuela. They moved swiftly to bring The Way To Happiness to both side of the conflict, making he 21 precepts a point of common agreement…. Audrey Cabrera and Ruddy Rodriguez have given the people of their nation a new road to peace.
The issue is not whether what they did was good, bad, adequate or insufficient. It is what was SAID about it in order to create the false impression that “IAS sponsored actions” are changing the world.
Every year there is some “anti-psych crusader” who is awarded and Miscavige details how psychiatry is being obliterated/annihilated/destroyed/smashed/driven into the sea/exterminated etc etc. This is “proven” and the “effectiveness of the IAS” is demonstrated with much fanfare about the number of “psychs jailed this year.” In fact, all that happens is CCHR has some people who do Google searches to find psychs who have been incarcerated and then Miscavige announces that there has been a “massive roll out of our psych obliteration campaign” (a lie) and we are “seeing the results” (another lie), “as a result of your support of the IAS” (more lies) there have been “X psychs put in jail in the last 12 months and they threw away the key!” There may have been that number of psychs who were jailed, but it had nothing to do with CCHR and certainly even less to do with the IAS.
It’s how the world of RCS “PR” works.
I don’t doubt Audrey Cabrera and Ruddy Rodriguez distributed some WTH in Venezuela. Or that Valery Kokura and Anatoly Tretiak used some LRH tech in Ukraine. But there is no direct correlation between their actions and what is claimed as the result.
Think about it: If there WAS a connection, then someone should publicly take away their Freedom Medals as they have stopped what they were doing and are allowing their countries to regress into chaos and violence.
There are only two possible explanations:
1. They stopped their actions after getting the medal (kind of like a Nobel Peace Prize winner giving up their work once they are honored with the award….)
2. Their actions were not the causes of bringing peace and human rights to Venezuela and Ukraine.
Or both.
Bad news either way.
And while on the topic, there are a LOT of earlier IAS Freedom Medal winners who have disappeared from the stage — Ann Roberts , Dennis Dubin, Joan Lonstein, Nicky Hopkins, Isaac Hayes, Lawrence Anthony and perhaps some others I don’t recall have died.
Jane Allen became very ill, Dennis Clark also became very ill and last I heard he was reaching out to anyone (including me) to help him as he had been abandoned by the church and the IAS.
Wendy Honnor publicly departed the church. Joy Westrum is no longer active. Rick Pendery the same.
Peter Schless and Rena Weinberg were banished to the Hole.
Augie Pinto is the only person who ever had his medal taken away, by Captain Miscavige personally in the lobby of the hotel in Lausanne.
Others are just MIA — Don Moore? Julia Migenes? Gabrielle Segala? Keith Code? Martha Ballesteros? Javier Ramirez? Boris Levitsky? Bud Riechel? Felice Cantu? Rohn Walker? Paul Rood? Michel Raoust? And probably plenty of others I have forgotten.
It would seem that if the hype that accompanied the accomplishments of these “Freedom Medal Winners” were true, by this time there would be some sort of evidence of their impact in the real world. By that I mean some sort of media or UN report or scholarly study or SOMETHING about how the drug problem has been solved in Mexican prisons and Colombia, peace has been brought to the Congo and Pakistan or education tech has changed Papua New Guinea and The Gambia “the psychs” have been shut down in France and Russia and Italy, or Criminon is now used in all prisons to great results in South Africa and Israel etc etc.
The truth is, the accomplishments of these often well-intentioned people (leave aside the Michael Roberts and Jeff Pomerantzes) are so over-hyped and blown out of all recognizable proportion that many slink off into the sunset because they cannot live up to the unreality of the image that is presented of them to the Scientology world. They are embarrassed.
And without doubt, once the “big push” is over with the Gold Shoot Crew staging shots and twisting facts, the best they can do is revert to what they were doing before and it really doesn’t have much impact on anything.
The harsh reality is that the church/the IAS/Scientologists are NOT engaged in any “planetary salvage” or “changing conditions on the 4th dynamic” or “clearing the planet.” They are in a bubble of unreality. And the ONLY source of information about their incredible accomplishments are what they are fed at their internal Miscavige Rallies.
Is it any wonder they forbid cameras and phones or anyone who does not have a valid OSA certified photo ID from these events?
The first time anybody tried to reg me for a contribution to the IAS I asked, Where does the money go? I was told, The war chest, to fight our enemies, like the psyches. I asked is there a breakdown of where the money goes? I was informed that there is no document of where the money gets dispersed, but, “Believe me, it all goes to a worthy cause.” At that moment I made a decision to never give one cent to the IAS, and even though I remained in, auditing pcs for years, I never did. Any reputable Charity or Cause will be willing to give its contributors a written breakdown of where their contributions go.
If they don’t or WON’T provide TRANSPARENCY of where their funds go, that is a gigantic red flag that says the money could be going ANYWHERE AT ALL.
The IAS freedom awards are nothing more than a feeble attempt by CO$ to “prove” that your IAS contributions are doing something worthwhile. I never believed that. A handful of awards and obviously falsified stats are just not convincing enough. When COB is standing up there talking about how much expansion has taken place and how much orgs, including the one you are currently working in, have expanded, you can see with your own eyes that this is a lie. Therefore, why contribute to the IAS?
The fact that folks still do, including thousands and even millions of dollars must make Miscavige laugh all the way to the bank. I can predict what he says to himself,” If these people are stupid enough to give all this money with NO TRANSPARENCY AND NO ACCOUNTABILITY then they deserved to be defrauded. Quick let’s whip up a new batch of medals and a few fake videos for our next Event….
If you are still “in” and still giving…wake up. There is a saying, “Don’t throw good money after bad.”
IAS does not really stand for International Association of Scientologists.
Even DM could tel you- IAS stands for I AM STUPID.
Sorry, it had to be said.
Felice Cantu passed away a few years ago. He was instrumental in helping to create new Narconons
in Italy and even Africa, specifically a fledgling one in Cairo which is still hanging in there. Narconon has been reduced to a Scientology whipping boy of late. This unfortunately overshadows the very real help to children through preventive drug lectures Narconon has done for the past 48 years. Narconon Centers have helped thousands of people get off drugs and stay off them. Yes. Unfortunately there have been too many reversions as well as heartbreaking deaths. I don’t know the track record of other drug rehabs but I know from the nature of addiction that they have not been unscathed by death either. Drug addicts are desperate people regardless of their age or financial status. Their lives are in tatters. Narconon staff are predominately former drug addicts. They are a compassionate group and go above and beyond on a case by case basis without fanfare. I’m saying this because I was a contracted staff member at Narconon International for 10 years. I loved working there. As the Senior C/S for Narconon Int during the last 5 years there I visited many Narconons as a trouble-shooter and apprenticing C/Ses. I didn’t just walk through these places. I worked in them for weeks or months and became very familiar with the lines and the people who man them 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week. Narconon is real. It was commandeered by the CofS for PR purposes when it got stuck under ABLE and secularized – meaning LRH materials were rewritten for non-Scientologists. Some tech was lost at this point. This was something I worked for years to correct with barriers galore, including the complete lack of an IA line. During my last 2 years there I finally just issued things under my own name. C/Ses were delighted. But even so, I was only able to address the tip of the iceberg.
Narconon is a “bootstrap” program. It is viable for addicts who want to stop being addicts who don’t have medical hindrances that require medical care. Since 1966 there have been changes in the behavior of addicts with lots of new drugs finding their way into the mix. For quite some time, medical care is often needed in an addict’s initial withdrawal. This is not a Narconon service. However, medical detox is often too rapid and the addict is left mentally jonesing even if physically no longer dependent. Narconon drug-free withdrawal fits in here very well. When done compassionately, Narconon withdrawal helps a person to sleep normally, tolerate food like a regular person and have a clear enough mind to start pulling up those bootstraps.
Very well expressed. Thank you for your contributions. Real help is always welcome and appreciated.
Mike… on the subject of medal winners.. what ever happened to Sharyn Runyon? I know she got into hot water with COB following her award and was doing amends at NY Org. She was one of the few SO members to receive the award.
Mark
Mark — I think she is still in EUS. She and John Carmichael are the only two SO members apart from Peter Schless and Rena Weinberg that got the award.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHVUUSWR-_8
Why, next you’ll be saying that TWTH didn’t bring peace to the middle-east!
https://web.archive.org/web/20031202205316/http://www.apume.org/results_and_endorsements.asp#results
Mike, just pass all of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6IIkpmw8Ow
Has anyone done a headcount of the drug dealers, murderers and rapists jailed in the last year? I’m sure that was all down to Criminon and Narconon. Davey is missing some key stats there.
Dani thank you for sharing that. And thank you for helping Rami and for being a good example to him of keepiong your integrity in even if it means leaving the corrupt church.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EJGZt3X6uU
Coop, “They will both be on deck, likely with freedum medals on, when the stern section disappears beneath the waves!” This is very apt description and will apply to many of the fundamentalists who will sing Kumba Ya while holding hands while the Titantic sinks.
One of the first things I discovered when I left the Sea Org, was that the “WAR” with Psychiatry was completely fabricated. It is imaginary. I mean. I think Superman, Batman, Ironman, Wonder Woman and the Hulk are more real than this war. They certainly cost less to believe in that is for sure.
I was so taken aback by that, especially after all the tireless work that I had done to “CLEAR” the planet and take care of this sector of the universe that I was genuinely shocked.
I think that when Scientologists realize that maybe they will open their eyes. That ALL THAT MONEY has done absolutely NOTHING. Close to BILLIONS of dollars that has been scammed from them. I think that would be a tipping point. I mean it would have to be. I never gave any money because I didn’t have it. I just sacrificed 8 years of my life and parts of my sanity (that took years to restore).
I don’t get how any of these people can see what is going on in the world, like in Ukraine and other places and truly believe that their money is making a damn bit of difference. Or doing anything at all.
Ugh. It is just depressing to think how dumb these people are. That they just keep their eyes so averted from the truth on PURPOSE. They fight the truth, tooth and nail, to the death. For a religion that is supposedly the “ONLY Way Out” of the mire of the physical universe, they sure are expert at keeping people bogged down in the mud.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0UFZVHfel4
When I was 19 years olds old and in progress on a sec check so that I could be cleared to go uplines (I was CMO) I got off a “withhold” in session that I believed COB was making up stats for int events. I was immediately given a PDH sec check which went on forever despite no reads. Eventually I made up a past life PDH just to complete the sec check. I was assigned to the RPF for 3 years. I believe the Brooke Shackleton that Thoughtful refers to may be Brooke Lemeron who at the time was Deputy Commanding Officer Internal at CMO IXU. She was the one who assigned me to the RPF. I was told many years later by another CMO staff member that Brooke was busted out of the CMO for repeatedly false reporting her stats. Mutual out-ruds much? A belated blessing that I never made it uplines.
My hero’s , I will admit my doubt, I will acknowledge bravery, Niels former Anon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgDVuYrx1sA
I will not be me without presenting an alternive. The L Ron Hubbard Tone scale learns you to leave them alone because they don’t are “ÏN EXCHANGE.I have never toold my mother about scientology ethics. Because she would not believe their could be such a religion that does these things
I LOL’D FOR FUCKING REAL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNFMnieVEk4
I am a Desemminattor, I love human beings, I will get this arround
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh2uS-Om_Bs
I have audited three freedom medal winners. To say that each of the three had their own hair-raising stories of suppression from within management and ran in to sabotage and abandonment before, during and after these medals were bestowed would be an understatement. My god to be put in to such a situation of being honored in the limelight all the while knowing the extent of deception and manipulations by the “management” of the “religion” they were trying to help. Huge casualties of such a group are predictable if they are social personalities IMHO.
I don’t know of this is from the old man, but there is some truth in it:
“How to trap a thetan? Give them prizes”
of=if
“But there is no direct correlation between their actions and what is claimed as the result.”
Excellent observation! In propaganda studies, this is what is called a “Post Hoc” (or “Ergo Propter Hoc”) fallacy. And it is amazing how often the Church of Scientology uses this and soooo many other propaganda techniques.
In fact, it is almost impossible to find an official Church of Scientology message sent out to the masses that doesn’t rely on an abundance of formally recognized and academically defined propaganda techniques.
After the recent event video leaks on Tony Ortega’s blog, I was inspired to comb through that smarmy drek and build an index of the Top 100 Propaganda Techniques commonly used in official Church of Scientology’s dogma and fund raising practices that available on the following link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9hwLoP07dRxdDA0RTVraG9RU1E/edit?usp=sharing
I don’t see why it’s such a surprise.
From what I understand Miscavige is a big fan of what is known as “Perception Management” these days and for a while was a buddy to spooky Bob Gray over at H&K before they jettisoned the Scientology account. Along with the Mooney’s.
Ironic that they’d considered they’re accounts with fascist dictators and murderous warlords supported by their friends at the agency less volatile than the Unification Church and the Church of Scientology but there ya go.
Anyhoo….
Sure they use psywar or psyops techniques but they use them so incompetently that’s it’s laughable.
I mean every time OSA runs a PR caper of some kind they almost always are limping along with another foot bullet afterward.
Yeah their aim is true for sure.
When I was still in (sorry Mike I know it wasn’t your fault and that the evidence suggests that you were being micromanaged by the moron) watching OSA “handle” something was a constant face palm moment.
Sheeeesh
I remember I diffused a flap with a reporter I knew personally who wrote a story about Scientology’s Boris and Natasha (John Cole and Greta Van Susteren) and was told I should let the “pros” handle this.
Yeah sure ….whateeeever.
Anyhoo….
They took a story that was buried on the internet and made it international.
Way to go 🙂
I remember a couple of years back my spouse and mom attended an IAS event (think I had feigned being too ill to go or something). They both came back blown away by all the wins including the fact that some IAS heroes had “shut down all the psych hospitals in Holland”.
I was utterly sceptical – didn’t believe a word, so duly got onto Google and looked for ANYTHING relating to Psychs and Holland – typed in every possible permutation – and found ……….nothing – nada – zip – zilch. Not a word. Yet more hogwash coming from the Church and yet another warning bell for me.
Hmm, I am afraid your spouce and mom didn’t duplicated the wonderfull announcements of CoB. In the IAS-event of 2011 he told that all psych.hospitals were shut down in Italy…….
And in 2012 he told that “from now on all children in Holland doesn’t get psych.drugs, ordered by the Dutch goverment”.
In 2011 I thought “Uhhh???”
In 2012 I I thought “Get the hell out of here”. And I did!
There is absolutely NOTHING they have that is not already in the internet. They DO NOT HAVE anything that any other religion or business would spend any money in “corp espionage.” So, it BEGS the question “Why so much secrecy for a cult event that no one outside the Truman bubble is interest in?” If they believe in the Easter Bunny, then . . . yes, it all makes sense . . . or does it?
The “Wizard of Oz”:
You don’t need a brain, just a diploma (OT Certificate) for the wall.
You don’t need courage, just a medal (Freedom Medal) to hang around your neck.
You don’t need a heart, just donate enough to become a “Humanitarian”.
See if you think she’s a humanitarian.
http://m.eonline.com/news/514440/angelina-jolie-sits-in-her-room-and-wonders-what-am-i-supposed-to-be-doing-with-my-life
If anyone sees a donation direct from a narCONon front organisation, in particular the Nevada one “Narconon Fresh Start,” there is a lawyer in Nevada, Ryan Hamilton, who probably could put that information to good use. I know we’ve had “narCONon Southern Europe” show up as an IAS donor, I was wondering about others.
Jens. Good idea. I don’t have what you are looking for but if someone who still has the IMPACT magazines could review them. Each issue used to include a listing of IAS donors.
For the church to own and operate a prison constructed out of a skanky double–wide trailer and at the same time feel it is in the position to bestow “Freedom Medals” to anyone is far beyond irony.
However, a Freedom Medal could rightly be bestowed on a small team of people who were willing to drive a truck straight through the gates at Hemit, hook up to the double-wide prison and haul the whole thing out of there and down the road.
Now that I’d pay to see!
Well, OTs did bring down the Berlin Wall (Der Maurer) and caused the USSR to collapse, right?
It’s odd though. The OTs can do those things, but cannot psych out one judge by sitting there Manson-like in the courtroom “postulating” that the judge will rule in favor of the Church.
Regarding making a real impact, please check this out:
Kiran Bedi: A police chief with a difference #TED : http://on.ted.com/thpi
We were all true believers once, so it’s difficult for me to fault those who, deluded, and certain of their delusions, toil on behalf of the cult.
But the cynical manipulation of the “Humanitarians” is so truly obscene. These “Nelson Mandollars” that
scam the innocent and then turn over a portion of their ill-gotten gains to Miscavige in exchange for an ego massage, and are held up to the Sheeple as something to be admired and emulated.
This is toxic sewage marketed as perfume.
I smell the stink from here.
What Mike laid out is exactly accurate. When David Miscavige musical chaired me out of my career in marketing and into scriptwriting (which I knew nothing about) in May 1997, I soon got to see exactly how these crap events are created because I was forced to contribute to their stink. The LRH references about “captive minds” — people who are virtually imprisoned by the government because of their talent, scientific knowledge or skill — was exactly what happened to me in the CoS. I made it well known for years that I despised scriptwriting and did not want the post. Did no good. I also made it well known that I saw no value in Int events whatsoever since they produced no Valuable Final Product of any kind, the only two that mattered being course and pc completions. Writing trash scripts for COB’s pet trash videos is akin to being a large ball bearing bouncing down a path in a Pachinko machine. You know where you are going: to the bottom and into the hole, and you have absolutely zero say in anything. The bumpers bouncing you around are the voluminous COB dispatches and critiques. In 2000, I put all of mine into binders. They covered 33 different types of videos that we produced. The binders were jammed full of paper. They took up 14 linear feet of shelf space. Fourteen f’ing feet of insane micromanaging on how to create the world’s worst videos ever recorded that are pathetically horrendously awful.
Without anyone acting to restrain David’s rattled brain, he created by himself BATTLEFIELD EARTH, the movie, with Psychlos wearing cod pieces the size of basketballs… voted the Worst. Movie. Of. All. Time. Ever. In history. Of the world. That’s Dave Miscavige. And the TOM CRUISE IAS Medal of “Valor.” Valor? Maybe as “the biggest dupe of a psychopath who ever lived.”
And by the way, for anyone who doesn’t know what a “cod piece” is here is the dictionary definition: “a pouch, esp. a conspicuous and decorative one, attached to a man’s breeches or close-fitting hose to cover the genitals, worn in the 15th and 16th centuries.” So that’s what Dave thinks everyone wants to see: codpieces the size of basketballs. Nothing addled about his brain.
That same kind of “out of his mind” ideas form the patented Miscavige Pachinko Scriptwriting machine. It works exactly like this: You write a script. He reads the first page and rejects it and calls you to a meeting where he destroys whatever you wrote and issues 30 pages of instructions on what you are to do with a 10 page script. He says “you don’t know the story,” “you don’t know how to write a documentary,” “you… this” and “you… that.” Plus it’s all salted down with “you are out ethics” and “this is just destructive” and “what you wrote is suppressive.”
In my first scripts to him I create what I thought would be in Scientology’s actual character. And I had the temerity to criticize his scripts as being what are called in copywriting, “brag and boast” — it’s considered TERRIBLE writing. But that’s all he will accept.
One IAS Medal Winner, which some have heard me mention before, was a lady who went to Indonesia to visit her sister, Churlia Wurfel. While she was there, there happened to be an earthquake and she delivered some touch assists. There was no story. This was Miscavigized and Shermanized into Churlia deliberately setting out “to change a continent through LRH tech.” Every time we ran out of story… (because there was none), every time we had nothing more to say about her accomplishments (because there weren’t any) old Dave HIT THE ROOF screaming generalities and obscenities that we “didn’t know the story” and “didn’t know how to write” etc. Well, there was no story in the first place. Each time we were sent to ethics and then cramming, on top of forced sleep deprivation for weeks on end.
And through this process, of relentless and repeated confrontations, condemnation, trips through ethics, no sleep, sec checks, humiliation, no sleep, more ethics, “cramming” by RTC over no sleep, meanwhile at every staff muster guess who is announced as coming up as CI on COB’s lines in front of 400 people? And at every product conference who is shouted at and nattered about for “trying to pull COB off post,” “sabotaging the event,” “sabotaging everyone’s Christmas,” “trying to destroy Scientology”? And meanwhile at every staff meeting, who is called up in front of the group to confess their “out ethics” for not getting X, Y and Z scripts done yet for King of the Rabid Monkeys? That’s why I say it’s like a Pachinko machine where the ball drops down, down, down, bouncing off bumpers before vanishing in the hole.
I remember having a bognition in 1998 which I discussed with Dan Zimmatore (the only other person who clearly saw that the scripts Miscavige was forcing us to write were complete crocks of shit): we realized what was expected of us was to fabricate videos which convinced our audience of Scientologists that the medal-winning Scientologists were really pulling off huge accomplishments. The idea being our audience of Scientologists would in turn rush out (now thinking it was possible because they saw others do it on video) and try to “change a nation” like they saw Churlia doing. In other words, Miscavige was forcing videos to persuade people they could walk on water, after all Anne Archer did it, Anne Roberts did it. Churlia Wurfel did it.
I remember when the group bullbait started within Cine, shortly after taking post, I told the Cine crew they were having an “entheta fest.” In response, Brook Shackleton stood up on her hind donkey legs and brayed “That’s Black PR on COB!” The champion of asses could never understand what was really going on and she died of a brain tumor a few years later.
But let’s look at it in terms of “TR-4,” the Training Regimen that teaches a person how to “duplicate and understand” an origination. Brook Shackleton never understood what was going on. But she sure did duplicate what was going on — because a brain tumor is a perfect duplicate of David Miscavige and his slavish power-drunk lackeys like Tommy Davis who will “do anything” LRH (or DM) says, down to every last illegal comma, every last illegal punctuation mark, because thanks to his inverted and refused understanding of the 8 dynamics he has twisted the idea of the “greatest good for the greatest number” to justify and embrace the ultimate in SP psychosis: “We are above the law.”
Great post Mike.
“In response, Brook Shackleton stood up on her hind donkey legs and brayed “That’s Black PR on COB!” The champion of asses could never understand what was really going on and she died of a brain tumor a few years later.”
Well Steve, when you put it THAT way, how can we all fail to get the point?
Very funny!
Whew, powerful testimony, Thoughtful. Is Brooke Shackleton by any chance the same as Brooke Lemeron? If so, I have a funny and very on-topic story about her and COB (and event statistics).
Yes, I believe so. She was also related to the famous explorer, Shackleton. But did not have the same survival instincts…
Great post, Thoughtful! I was on staff in Hawai’i, but, it was NOTHING like what you went through. I hope your life now is fantastic! You certainly deserve it.
The end for the cult is coming…
Thoughtful, I shared the agony you went through from a slightly different perspective but seeing the ridiculous piling on of DM’s advices – as you say – thirty pages on a 10 page script, or another 30 pages on the video edit which just could never get approved! He was so full of how he could always do it better than anyone else. It seems absurd now to think that we all just ‘buckled down’ to try and follow the often contrary and absurd generalities issued to us as orders – try to pick your way through the labyrinth of DM orders that formed the buffers of the Pachinko machine! Seems absolutely insane now but at the time any dissent would lead to a 20 question sec check on what you’d done to DM. The midnight bus journey to Happy Valley was in retrospect the best bus journey of a lifetime – it was a way out!
Hi Natural Philosopher, ahhh, yes I remember that fantastic midnight bus ride. I wouldn’t have traded my seat on that bus ride for anything, lol. I was in the first sweep of 100 people bound for “offload” in I think late Dec 2003. Happy times, happy times, lol.
Mike,
Why not do to the Co$ what they love – that is, throw real numbers and stats back at them. Use the inside information you have and compile a list of all the Freedum of Medal winners and their current status. Then, when there are gala events like this, pass out flyers stating the real stats, for example: 90% of previous winners have since left the church, been declared, etc etc. I am sure readers of this blog can help fill in some blanks
Absolutely Chee, the people still in need to get the data that the stats are down and not just where they are, but everywhere. Any Scientologist understands that stats are the thing, they wont listen to what they consider are motivators, or prejudice against gays, beatings, or maybe even mass abortions. I believe that in the mind of the true believer they may consider these things to be true but if the planet is being cleared then these things are done for the greater good. Its the Tech being tampered with and the stats that count, in their various forms, that show the massive straight up and vertical contraction.
Spot-on as usual, Mike. I actually did some fact-checking and follow-up on one time on some of these Freedom Medal winners and where they ended up and what happened with the projects they had done. Rick Pendry, for example, and the whole prison reform in Baja California. What a joke. That thing ended very badly with criminal charges IIRC for fraudulent activities to try to keep their public funding.
And good luck on getting any dox to back-up any of the other Freedom Medal winners on Google. All you hear are crickets every time you try to fact check any of the Church’s claims using legitimate media sources. If these programs were really working and really effecting any change, then surely there would be some positive media somewhere.
I also began to notice in many of the videos of government or university leaders endorsing the Freedom Medal winners, that many of them were “emeritus” or “retired” or “former” meaning that no one who was actually IN the government or actually working intellectuals were backing up the Church’s claims. Not that being retired makes your opinion valueless, but it’s not the same as having an active, on-the-front-lines OL endorsing you.
I think the information you have given shows conclusively that the Freedom Medal “program” is another classic failure of the Church, wrapped up in shiny bows and a lot of musical hype to sell it to those still in and give them some idea that RCS is actually doing something in the real world.
A simple way to improve conditions:
http://twistedsifter.com/videos/elderly-woman-waves-at-passing-students/
I do say the Freedom medal keeps up the walls up in Scientology.
It’s a prop, completely ineffective but grease to keep the wheels turning.
Good report Mike
These events with the hype about the winners always looked to me as a make wrong.
I looked around me at the public watching and could almost touch their discomfort and collective thought “why can’t I do that?”
The creeps….these events gave me the creeps …
Be Do Have –> Shoop Do Be Whee!
Mike,
Thank you for this article about the Freedom Medal winners. A comment and a story:
Comment: Joan Lonstein, Freedom Medal winner for her achievements as head of Criminon WUS, was a close friend. She made it to OT 8 but soon after contacted a weird illness that nobody could treat and died of it a few years ago. A truly noble lady who devoted her life to Scientology.
A True Story: Mike, you forgot the one Israeli who made the award, the long-forgotten Rami Lev-Ari.
Rami did incredible work with Criminon in Israel. With his own money, some initial support from friends and unlimited energy and time, he built a force of some 20 course supervisors. They were granted access to several jails in Israel and did work of huge magnitude, really saving lives with LRH tech and turning hard-core criminals and convicted murderers into honest people. There is real evidence of the huge impact this had.
Rami was promised major IAS funding as he could no longer finance it out of his own pocket. And then DM heard of the achievements and started bragging and lying about it at events. COB claimed it was all the IAS before they gave a penny. They also sent a Gold crew who spent a month here re-enacting “scenes” from made-up jails so as to show at the next IAS event and give Rami the award.
But Rami was furious with the lies and being manipulated and wrote a sharp KR on DM! Yes, a KR saying DM is a liar and assigning him Treason. This was about 10 years ago.
The IAS wanted the story dearly and turned to the top auditor in Israel to handle Rami. Yes, they asked Tami Lemberger to calm him down. Rami gave the KR on DM to the Tel Aviv Org Ethics Officer to route to DM. The E/O gave me, Dani Lemberger, the KR so that I talk Rami out of the idea and I get him to cancel it.
The handling had to be done at Dror Center because Rami refused to go into the Org or talk to people who work for DM. I already then had a “reputation” for not agreeing with DM, and this time this came in handy for them.
I sat with Rami several hours and finally he agreed to drop the KR. Then he got some auditing from Tami to good wins, upset handled and seeing that the Tech works. He finally agreed to have the film done and receive the award. This handling was done under direct supervision of the IAS. Daily phone calls from LA to Haifa to see how the cycle is going.
The Gold crew came back for another month and redid the film. Just consider the costs of a crew of 3-4 Gold staff, in a Tel Aviv hotel, twice for about a month, and their flights, and creating the sets here and paying local actors posing as jail guards and inmates, all to create a 5 minute clip.
The clip was shown at the following IAS event. Rami got his award. DM got his applause and one more opportunity to extort money. IAS funding never came through, not a penny. Rami’s Criminon project collapsed although it was a huge success and was giving Ron’s Tech fantastic PR.
Rami left Scientology immediately thereafter, in disgust. Never did any other service. We were in comm with him after we left the church in July 2012. He congratulated us on our courage and integrity. He said he would never come close again to anything related to Scientology.
(NOTE: The above may sound like fantasy but is totally true, it all happened in my office. Minor details may be off, this is from memory of events of about ten years ago.)
Wow! Thanks for the info Dani. Why am I not surprised?
Dani,
VWD on reconnecting with Rami and shining the light of truth on one more sordid affair created by the Radical Cult of $cientology.
Yo Dave,
Locate a time when you told the complete truth to another. I will be waiting while you look…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………OK, I will repeat ……………………………………….
Thanks for sharing this story, Dani. The emotional distress and injustice involved and who was responsible are plain to see. It is important that reports like this be made public.
Spot on, plus the usual generalities: “applied a battery of LRH technology…So substantial were the positive effects….”
What LRH technology? To whom? For how long? Where? When? Which positive effects exactly? and so on.
The bubble has burst and more and more people are, openly or quietly withdrawing support to Black Heart, his minions, their abuses and lies. It’s just a matter if time. These type of lies can not go on forever.
…
3. There NEVER was peace and human rights in Venezuela and Ukraine.
Not all media are merchants of chaos and out to get the church. There are plenty of human interest stories that are published every week. How come we haven’t seen stories like “The Little Book That Changed The World” or “Hope In The War On Drugs”.
Rohn Walker still runs the Mission in Stockton and Reno. He also has one in Thailand and as I recall, used to have one in the Santa Monica area? The Stockton mission is run by an OT VIII (forget her name) but it is only open on a very limited schedule. Rumor has it the rental space was let go and the operation moved to a house in preparation for the massive expansion anticipated from GAG II. (They will need massively huge new quarters so may as well close the small space and start looking for a big new one)
Rohns wife Vicky is staff at Sac Org.
In about 2010, my wife and I had dinner with Rohn and Vicky. It was set up by my wife to see if Rohn could talk some sense into me seeing how he was a huge opinion leader and a stalwart of the cult. We had a nice evening. I talked a lot about solar energy, the coming peak oil debacle and ‘other meaningless stuff’. Later Rohn offered to my wife that the best option would be to “lose him”. Guess he figured I was too far gone!
He would be correct so I’ll give him one for correct perceptions. Rohn and Vicky are well intentioned folks who both wear very rose colored glasses. They will both be on deck, likely with freedum medals on, when the stern section disappears beneath the waves!
After I got chewed up in the cult machinery and was completely bewildered by what happened, a friend suggested I ask Rohn Walker for help, which I did. This was maybe a year or two after he won his medal. Rohn attacked me on the phone, humiliated me, insulted me, eviscerated me, and left me in tears, in under 3 minutes. It was bad, even by cult standards. I was stunned. This is a spiritual person? Someone who can’t even help someone in their own group?
After that I could not ignore how many of these people on 7 had anger issues, and were walking around on the verge of blow-up. Another I saw do that was Robert Brooks. It’s a sign of psychological damage.
I’ve observed that too and it really put me off of doing the OT Levels. Interestingly, I haven’t observed this with OT 7s who are auditing independently in the field out of RCS. I guess its a “valence” thing.
Typo. “Best” not “Besy”
I think this analysis is unfortunately very true and it maybe the saddest part of the scam. Its toying around perversly with the public’s hope for a better fourth dynamic, for profit; this is the kind of deed that contributes large portions of humanity being extremely untrusting and always suspecting hidden agendas from any form of help; we all pay the price with criminals like these who are doing it on purpose. Dave is distorting help BIG time; Im not religious but Id call him a true SINNER.
Mike Rinder:
This is off topic, but I wasn’t sure how else to contact you…
It seems there are so many levels on which to protest the COS: disconnection, financial fraud, the hole/rpf, child labor etc. Maybe there’s just too many – the focus gets diffused. If there was someway to focus the entire anti-Scientology community on one big issue, theoretically that could become the singular spearhead to break the thing wide open.
My nomination would be the issue of Scientology’s position on homosexuality. There are other issues that might be bigger or more disturbing, but this one has the best chance of really capturing the public’s attention in our current cultural climate. To put it in blunt advertising terms – it’s a “sexy” issue.
With anything even remotely smacking of discrimination against gays and lesbians guaranteed huge media attention – there seems to be a major gay rights story every week capturing the media’s attention whether it’s Arizona or Alec Baldwin slurring a photographer – this would be a winning issue to focus on.
Plus, the anti-COS movement could really capitalize on the irony of using Hollywood against the COS. With gay celebs like Anderson Cooper (from a hard news angle) and Ellen DeGeneres (from a humor angle) leading the way, isn’t it time Hollywood spoke up against the COS with the same vociferousness they speak against all the other percieved enemies of the gay rights movement?
Just imagine the impact it could have if the whole Hollywood community focused on the gay rights discrimination within Scientology with the same intensity and amount of “noise” they’ve focused on other political issues. As cliched (and irritating) as the image of a star highjacking the Oscars to make a political point (no one’s been able to top Brando at this, and that was 30 years ago!), it would get an awful lot of Americans asking an awful lot of questions if the Best Supporting Actor or Best Director got up in front of 60 million TV viewers and asked “Why are innocent men and women being held in Scientology prisons right here in our country because they have admitted to having homosexual thoughts?”
Just a thought! Keep up the great work, be happy!
Besy,
JPB
I know you are writing to Mike directly, but just wanted to chime in: the homosexuality issue is easy for the church to diffuse. I personally know of openly gay staff members at a Class V org, as well as an openly gay scientology public couple, who cohabit. If attacked on this issue, the church has a ready defense in promoting the tolerance and acceptance these (and other gay people in the church) have been shown. The culture in The Crutch has changed, and this indictment just won’t stick. On the bright side, have you heard the expression, “Death by a thousand cuts”?
Scnethics: Thanks, makes sense. The “thousand cuts” does seem to be having a sizable effect. Especially since the COS is so inept at applying band aids!
Actualy it is not “Death by a thousand cuts” — It is “Death by tray”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv5iEK-IEzw
Wonderful video. Let’s see, who does this remind me of?
Hmmm not to be totally suspicious of your comment but I am TOTALLY suspicious of “Openly” gay staff members and public anywhere in Scientology. As a former SO member who was in fact RPFed because I “Kissed a girl” and yes I LOVED it. We actually didn’t break the 2d rules. We didn’t have sex before marriage and there was no heavy petting, sorry guys who just got SUPER interested in this story. It doesn’t have the late night Cinemax ending for you. My RPF assignment was one sentence: “Nora Sova is assigned to the RPF for out 2D with another Sea Org Member.” End of statement. No long winding explanation on why I was a grody homo or any of that but let me tell you I have never been so tortured in my life.
I was KRed EVERY time I smiled at another girl. Any time I was HAPPY near a girl, any time I made TOO MUCH EYE CONTACT, TOUCHED SOMEONES SHOULDER, LAUGHED with a girl. EVERY one of those things was a “2D flow” and was out ethics and PERVERTED. There is NO bigger crime in the church than being a Homosexual. None.
You can be a pedophile, I know a few who zoomed up both sides of the bridge- no problem, you can even have bestiality in your past- know a couple of those guys who got promoted and even held exec positions, but if you like to bump uglies with someone with the same hoo hoo as you then you are worse than a Wog, worse than a psych you are THE MOST degraded being in the entire universe and you will NEVER go free and you will NEVER be a good person.
Or at least that is what was pounded into me for 3 years, every day, every minute, on the RPF. So I apologize if I find your announcement of this new found gay friendly Scientology to be utter hogwash.
Scientology is homophobic. They are more homophobic than the Westboro Baptist Church and that is saying something.
Wow Nora, I was on the RPF with you – had no idea you were sent because of that – makes no sense but actually does come to think of it.
@Basketballjane – well, I have no suspicion whatsoever about your story, as I know how scientologists really think about homosexuality. And I’m sure there are no openly gay people in the SO. I assure you my story is true also. Many scientologists disapprove and talk about them behind their backs, consider that their behavior is aberrated and so forth. However, in the event the COS faces some concerted attack on the homophobia issue, ALL those homophobic scientologists will happily trot these token gays out as an example of how tolerant scientology is, and pretend to love them unconditionally and so forth. That’s really my point I guess, that it’s not so easy to attack the church on the issue, because it’s an issue that is easy to for them cover up and to lie about.
MJ not sure who you are but hit me up if you would like to chat. Scnethics I agree 100% that the happy gay Scientologists will be marched in front of the cameras to say how tolerant Scientology is and all that but the documentary just made by Stevn Mango will utterly refute that. As would my story and many references that any Scientologist can quote by memory. I think this could be a key breaking point for them. There is only so long that they can smile and lie about how great it is to have gay people around while they are secretly throwing up at the aberrations. It will blow up in their face as the forced abortions are now and as disconnection has and will continue to. This could be the focused attack that would break the camels back.
I remember that one of the questions on the A to J Check was, “are you a practicing homosexual?” Maybe they took that one off for PR purposes, but I knew a gay guy who wanted to join SO and he was refused when that question read on the A to J and he admitted that he was gay. They turned him down for the SO after that happened.
Also when I was on OT VI, there was a gay public who didn’t get Eligibility to go onto OT VI Part C or VII. He didn’t say why he didn’t get Elig, but I assume it was because he was gay. Of course the church probably gave him a different “reason.”
I agree that if we can get the gays protesting the church’s bigotry, it will get press big time. (And the church throws that word, “bigotry” around a lot. Now I know where Kirstie Alley got that word when she hurled it at Leah Remini. She just was repeating the words verbatim that OSA told her to say, “bigot bigot bigot.” Kirstie the sock puppet!
Thanks for responding Nora. Hit me up at shawnuff@hushmail.com and I’ll fill in the details.
@Basketballjane (&scnethics) – I’m just observing from the sidelines with no direct experience in Scientology, but it does seem like a movement of former gay church members with stories like Basketballjane’s would be a real eye-opener for a lot of people. There’s a big difference in the mind of the average American between someone voluntarily subjecting themselves to an abusive “religion” (“if that’s what they want “…”live and let live”…”all religions are nutty”…) and minorities being persecuted. The former is very hard to campaign against – after all, what could be more American than the right to throw your life away by joining an abusive cult? BUT the latteris a ready-made media friendly understandable issue – what could be more anti-American than being thrown into a concentration camp (RPF) for being gay?
This is an era when the entire culture is turning a corner on how they think about gay issues. Forget the 24 hour cable news caricature of the extreme bible-thumping, fire-breathing anti-gay bigot. Most middle-American average regular people, who maybe 10 or 20 years ago thought of gays as strange people who lived in San Francisco and New York City, have evoloved quite a bit. The gay dads on Modern Family are America’s most beloved TV couple since Lucy & Desi. America’s favorite lesbian is hosting the Oscars. The military has opened up to gays with little or no problems. Things are changing (of course there’s still prejudice, but you know what I’m saying). In general, I don’t think most people in the country are going to look favorably on forced imprisonment of homosexuals. Certainly not the media and Hollywood.
I really think this issue – gays being forced into a slave labor camp for being gay – is so stunning, so impossible to rationalize, it could be The Big Issue this movement needs.
It’s real Third Reich stuff happening right now in the USA!
Basketball Jane, I tried to respond to you but there was no way to hook my comment to your post, so hope you get this. I think bringing gay issues to the media is a great way to get light shined on Dm’s prison at Int and on the whole mess. I think you have the basis for a good lawsuit against him. You were RPFed in inhumane conditions BECAUSE you were gay and he was homophobic. That would be a good lawsuit and keeping DM tied up in lawsuits is the way to go. But more importantly, it will bring media attention on it and maybe even start an investigation into The Hole. Please consider a lawsuit?
@Basketballjane, @justpassingby (and others)
With new anti-gay legislation in Uganda, which could spread to other parts of the anti-gay continent of Africa, and with many churches in the US being openly homophobic, it’s not as sensational to people as it should be that yet another kooky church discriminates against and punishes people for being gay. It’s not that I don’t think it’s a good idea – I can see your point, and I think that it’s a VERY good idea for people with experiences like this to organize and try to bring the media’s attention to the issue – I just don’t see this as something that will severely damage the church. Few are joining this crappy cult, and very few sheeple will hear this story, and if they do, they’ll squash it just like they do everything else negative they stumble upon (just like I did).
Now if you have the basis for another lawsuit
@Basketballjane, I’m an under the radar anti-scientologist, still in good standing, working on a way to make a break and bring some folks along with me if I can.
@ scnethics @basketballjane All good points, thanks. I guess the thing that most knocks me out is how they are able to get away with the RPF and The Hole, and the gay angle seems like it would be a great way to highlight both. Just trying to see the issue through the eyes of the average guy who isn’t paying that close attention – doesn’t read these blogs, etc. The fact that The Hole / RPF exists at all is mind boggling. How does the governor of California allow such a flagrant violation of all human rights and American constitutional freedoms like this in his state? I get it if the local sherrifs etc are paid off – but everybody?
Thank you both for your replys, it’s an interesting discussion! And Scnethics: good luck and God-speed on your upcoming “break”!
Thanks guys and gals! The support is appreciated. And I hope soon for you ScnEthics that you can come out from under. I spent a while like that. It is harder than just being out. I got my whole family out. You can too.
The movement behind the public’s image of Scientology, does not dampen the reasons new people join new religious groups or join any groups.
I’m not a Scientologist any longer, but LRH correctly repeated a point that people will get into groups even after hearing and reading all manner of bad things, because the people still individually wish to see for themselves, look for themselves, and LRH didn’t mention the other factors, the other factors being what new seeker type people are still wishing to find. If they think Scientology has some of what they are seeking, they weigh all the factors and try Scientology. I did, even though I read almost all of Arizona State Univ’s student library of mags and newspaper anti Scientology articles.
My two cents is for Scientologists to always politely rationally bring up that Ron’s Org and splinter indie Scientologists mainly just do training and auditing.
Distinguish the less dogmatic and completely unabusive freezone Scientology practitioner groups around the world who do NOT go legally nutso, they don’t go intel Guardian’s Office/Office of Special Affairs legal nutso, no PIs, no draconian disconnection nor the abusive myriad stupidities that the public right now hate of official Scientology.
I agree Chuck,
Add to that is much of the media’s “credibility gap” thanks to many of their corporate and Government sponsors.
I mean who ya gonna believe?
Problem is that a lot of people use only two valued “logic” instead of investigate for themselves.
For instance it didn’t take me reading all the bad press or ARS or OCBMB or the Ex Scientologist Message Board of any of the many “natter” boards that were springing up in the ’90’s to see that the Church was fucked.
What reading these sites did was confirm my suspicion that all was not well in the Magic Kingdom and there were a lot of people seeing the outnesses I saw as well.
All it took was looking at what was going on in the so called “Church of Scientology” for me to see that it was time to get the fuck outa Dodge especially with Sheriff Dave on the loose.
I mean this guy is so corrupt that he makes the GO look like paragons of virtue which is pretty tough to do but he’s managed to succeed.
The reason I stuck around as long as I did was I was hoping that someone would depose the fascist lil’ moronic dictator.
There was a point when I came to the realization that this wasn’t going to happen any time soon and that many Scientologists were buying into his Potemkin villages.
Justpassingby,
For the record, I am not anit-Scientologist. Just because someone reads or writes here does not mean they are part of an “anti Scientology movement.” If I were “anti” I would not waste my time writing about it. This is a blog where Michael Rinder and other people share information (and sometimes misinformation) and viewpoints, opinions and speculations. I write here because I want the subject to survive and even flourish, and I believe that the subject and organization has been severely misdirected, distorted, and harmed by the current leader who is not, in my opinion, qualified for leadership he has assumed. I communicate to give support to others and to do what I can to help rectify the situation and to find a way to preserve the wisdom and workability of the subject. I subscribe to the original idealism in the creeds and codes and axioms of Scientology, and I value the techniques that can be employed to help life!
Sorry Mike, this is completely off topic from this post, but I just finished reading Tony’s blog. The new Co$ theme song is posted there and, as you can guess, it’s horrible. Which leads me to my question……..can you please give us some details on the We Stand Tall video shoot? My questions include…..where did DM find that shirt? Where is that shirt today? (in my fantasy it is on display in some museum and touted as having super powers). Is it true everyone else was instructed to wear solid color sweaters so DM would stand out? Anything else you can remember from that day would be most appreciated!
In my opinion, international Scientology events are the most effective method used by the C of S to make its members think it necessary to stay in and support it.
Golden Era Productions is very good at what they actually do, which is to make a professional presentation of false claims that really make it look authentic to people inside of their bubble.
This makes them think that the Church of Scientology is “the most powerful force of OTs ever assembled” that is “making a real impact on the state of the planet”.
The events are very convincing to church members.
I think that this post by Mike is one of the most important subjects that needs to be communicated to those still in the church who are at least to some degree capable of having their attention directed to the church’s contradictions of reality and truth.
Mike, I’m curious as to whether you saw the email I sent you recently and whether it had anything to do with your decision to post this today.
Dave. I saw your email. You got me thinking…. Always a dangerous activity. 🙂
Nice! I see it also as LRH’s narrative, of what his theory study and practice will do to the world, it’s a narrative all through LRH’s writings of the improvement the world is to always see when effective Scientologists go to work fixing society. Not really the events’ faults, the whole LRH traffic on the importance or usefulness of events, it sure is debatable what the return is from events.
Graduation is a weekly lower key event, much more logical, but even Graduation which is in training policy, to me seemed oddly irreligious, not like Sunday service in normal churches.
Scientology altogether is very much a shoehorned into reality religion compared to other longer established churches’ staff recruitment and training of their members, and expectancies, for sure.
Events also seem culturally more acceptable in this movie going and TV celebrity presentation platform age, and it’s a social gathering in Scientology’s history, with the 5 or 6 evenly space “events”. The ‘event’ are Scientology modern obnoxious ritual gatherings!
Dave, the skill set you are remarking on comes completely from Dave Miscavige. Much earlier, he employed his trademark ability make mountains out of molehills and make molehills out of mountains in the weekly report line from WDC members and senior execs, up to LRH. Yet, Golden Era Productions is good at manufacturing glossy lies, but they learned their craft from DM. From the beginning, he always ran Cine directly. No other area of Gold had as much direct micromanaging. Cine was from the start his baby.
As mentioned before, there was a CBO (Central Bureau Order) where LRH forbid International events. It was written about 1978. If anyone could find that CBO it would devastating to DM’s credibility because it DA’s the validity of his sickening events.
Would personally love to see that CBO as well.
And to think that one day I thought of working at Int.
Thoughtful Steve,
Chances are that the CBO you’re referring to ended up in “jaws” or buried deep in archives somewhere in the CST vaults.
That said.
There is Div VI policy written back in the ’60’s that pretty much ended congresses which back then were International events basically because they were a waste of time and effort.
I think the last congress ever given was at Saint Hill in 1960 and that was it.
After that with the exception of the GO’s Prayer Day , events like the occasional RJ which was usually issued New Years, May 9th ,Ron’s Birthday, Xmas and later on the Auditors Day events were all done locally.
Why the GO was the exception to the rule?
……Was probably because they were the GO.
I mean try telling a 600 pound Gorilla that they couldn’t have their event
But anyhoo….
Other than the original IAS event which was another 600 pound Gorilla or more accurately 600 pound vampire which was the unholy resurrection of the undead Safe Environment Fund there was never any Int events until the Ol’man passed away in January ’86 and it seems after that the Gates of Hades opened up on International Events.
Personally I don’t know what happened to that Central Bureau Order but empirically we can see the result of all these international events.
I mean originally International Events were pretty low key affairs. Ron would talk about Scientology’s latest technical developments or Jane would dress up in ministers garb and read the Creed of the Church of Scientology with Ron’s kids standing beside her on the stage then everybody would get down and party to the strains of the Incredible String Band or some other group of Scientology musicians.
Now they are nothing but disinformation campaigns backed up by a/v implants shown on a stage that would put Hitler’s Nuremberg Rally to shame.
Aside from being boring as hell.
Sheeesh
A couple of points/ responses on this thread:
1. I think the CBO would have been 1971 or so. I believe it was issued right after the 1970 Grand National Convention in Long Beach because major production stats crashed during that time. Maybe there were two similar issues, but I remember something specifically written in response to the GNC 1970 (which I attended as an excited new scientologist). I read the issue later when I was on staff.
2. Prayer Day – wow! That’s history! As I recall, Prayer Day was instituted by the GO in 1971 or 1972 to reinforce religious image. The FDA was still trying to regulate the e-meter as a medical device. AMA and APA members/committees were pressing government regulatory agencies and complaining that Scientology was practicing medicine and/or psychology without a license. Establishing religious status (“applied religious philosophy”) was crucial because orgs could and would have been closed down as practicing psychiatry/psychology/medicine without a license. Auditors could be personally liable, and practicing without a license is a criminal act!
Religious image was one thing the GO did well in terms of protecting the practice of auditing and use of an e-meter. Unfortunately, those hard-won protections are now apparently being used to hide egregiously abusive and seriously irreligious, immoral, even illegal conduct (witness the Anti-disparagement covenants).
Folks in OSA who read and cross-file these posts: You are not helping protect Scientology by justifying David Miscavige’s outpoints. Trying to deny the truth of the laughing-stock that scientology has become (behind your backs), ignoring the crashed below NE global stats, and calling reports of crimes and overts commited by senior management as nattery disparagement is just making things worse – AWFUL, in fact. You are making the acceptance of scientology and the good things LRH did almost impossible. That’s why I am pushing you to step outside the box and do something – at least step off the steam roller that is ruining LRH’s good legacy. His legacy is NOT in the pretty buildings – it is in the creative potential of theta. That is what is being crushed.
Off soap box…back to my life.
Boy, I had forgotten this aspect of being in the church. Where I really believed the church was the reason for hardly won positive things like the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, and the only reason the Middle East hadn’t truly exploded in nuclear war, etc, etc. Just goes to show how logic flies out the window if you can’t see beyond the end of your church’s nose.
And good point about how the over-the-top presentation of what was done makes it impossible to live up to. The few folks I personally knew who won medals back in the 80’s and 90’s worked hard for it. Why not just tell the true tale? The ones in the trenches working with individuals every day made a difference to the people they worked with, but rarely beyond.
And then, when you do get someone who really does do a lot to open up an area, like Robert Anderson with Nepal and the Philippines, the medal goes to… Tom Cruise (while sitting in the event where Tom Cruise won the medal, all I could think was, “Oh, he finally is going to acknowledge in public that he’s a Scientologist,” because he’d been laying low for years.
Even if you do read the papers when you’re in (which isn’t forbidden to general staff and public last I knew), you’re oriented to believe anything that conflicts with something you saw at an event as a conspiracy or lack of obnosis on the part of all those news wogs.
BTW, does this mean Bud Reichel is no longer on staff at Tampa?
No Mike, you are wrong. The claims are real. The media is suppressive and cover it up.
I just got back from a prison in Baja Mexico. I actually went there on vacation. It was one if the not wonderful experiences of my life.
I meant most wonderful experiences of my life.
Autocorrect and bad spelling got me.
Mike,
Please read the new staff contract docs, one the contract, one is the muzzle doc, on Tony’s blog, and I’d really like to have your public thoughts on these docs, and the whole behind the scenes history of the legal docs, and the lawyers who may have infused their corporate cookie cutter practices into making corporate Scientology.
To me, it was distasteful and freedom of speech of ex members trumps treating ex members like corporate employees who can’t tell even their lives to their family!
Chuck Beatty
ex routing forms final researcher and writer (and I had to press OSA legal guy, forgot his name,he quit long ago, to get the dozen or so legal docs approved by the OSA hired lawyers for the routing forms)
Dan Feeley, was the OSA quitting legal staffer who I used to prod to get the lawyer okays on the routing form signup legal docs, refund repayment legal doc, etc, all went through OSA. What a sorry history that seems so unlike what a religion should be doing to their volunteer staffers and followers.
Chuck I posted about this on Sunday.
Wow Mike – pretty powerful post! Puff Daddy always makes it sound like SCN is taking over the world. The first time I ever heard him was the LRH death event. He couldn’t just say the man died and acknowledge some of his many accomplishments. He was off developing levels beyond my wildest dreams that only could be done without his body. I remember thinking who is this fucking guy?
Amazing how many freedom medalists have died. I do have an update on Boris. It was true as of a year ago and good reason to believe it is still true. He is living with my x-wife, Susie Cooper, in Orange County. I believe he is working at a motorcycle shop.
Also, when I was on the ship in Colombia a couple of years ago, there was an award ceremony for the Cartagena police chief. Was about how TWTH reduced crime at a large local event down to zero. I searched on Google for any story about TWTH or SCN reducing crime in Colombia. Nada.
You can add Debbie Mace to the list. Not long after winning her metal she ran off with someone else’s WIFE and disappeared from the “church”.
I heard that the black judge that was “getting the ethics tech into the justice system of Atlanta” also left the “church” shortly after getting her Metal of Bullshit.
You make a good point about the event video being so over-hyped and blown out of all recognizable proportion that many slink off into the sunset. I know this to be true. Many times it puts these “winners” in an uncomfortable situation with those close to them, that know the truth. Instead of heroes, they feel like fakes. They can’t just say “Actually the IAS video was just a bunch of made up bullshit to get your money.”
As a result they are left with the classic missed withhold.
This information is much more damning than the list of the first 100 Clears. It’s easy to look at that the list of Clears (most were declared and they were all clearly homo sapiens), and think that there was something wrong with the tech at the time or some nonsense like that. The freedom medal winners, however, were designated by The Crutch as doing more for and with scientology than any other public scientologist (of which I hear there are millions). These people could not possibly be SPs. These are not dilettantes. The only conclusion one could possibly reach after looking at this information is that The Crutch is full of crap.
Spot on comment, scethics. Also, I like “The Crutch”. With your permission, it is now my favorite name for Miscavige’s Cult.
@Aquamarine – Thanks, and you may use “The Crutch”, but be aware I’ve licensed it under the WTFPL (more info here: http://www.wtfpl.net/)
Oh, I always wondered where she disappeared to. And why she was no longer connected with Mace-Kingsley.
Me too.
All these former Freedom Medal winners, sort of reminds me of the line one of the characters in the LRH tech film about the Doll and drilling with the Doll, where one character says….. “So the wins, they aren’t permanent?”
And the good guy doll Captain Jak says: “Oh they are permanent enough. It’s just that life has a way of getting to one.”
In a way, Scientology’s no different.
I concluded LRH’s big promises of permanent improvement and supposedly increased valuable accomplishments which supposedly would follow doing Hubbard’s auditing steps or theory advice, that these highest most capable Scientologists, the supposed Freedom Medal Winners, were supposed to get, that really they are all and all of us are no different.
It’s like what LRH admitted to Sarge, in Wright’s book’s final pages, and also more extensively laid out in Marty’s 3rd book, “Warrior” book, chapter 24. LRH at least admitted so some degree he failed.
On this very point, of the supposed great personal accomplishments which would supposedly forever more accompany one’s reaching the highest steps of the Bridge or by being zealously effective in using LRH’s ideas in society, etc., this isn’t the main deal in Scientology, auditing is the main activity, and like you point out the hoopla has become the image, the show gala image, rather than the practice.
It’s almost a major part of how the public misperceives Scientology.
Who needs that gold star handout celebration, I’d agree all the IAS all hoopla for the money, for money that doesn’t return to society in very equitable helpful ways, that’s for sure.
Some really smart cookie ought to do the Exchange by Dynamics as an article on David Miscavige’s years as “leader” of Scientology, third dynamically and fourth dynamically, all of them, as a Report Card on the last 30 or so years.
Chuck,
To be fair they should be giving this Freedom Medal to anyone Scientologist or not who was actually doing something to improve conditions according to Div VI policy.
Like say the the late Dr. Thomas Szasz or others who in some way contributed to making the world a better place.
Instead this whole Freedom Medal thing is nothing but a PR caper which is being played more for internal consumption than anything else.
Fact is IMHO is that it’s just another means of regging money for the IAS. A scam in other words.
Take the biggest Freedom Medal winner. Tom Cruise.
What has he done to make the world a better place?
For that matter.
What has he done for Scientology?
All he’s done is make Scientology seem like some crazy cult by jumping on Ofra’s couch like some spastic wacko.
Anyhoo….
You are right the Church of Scientology should do what it began as a successful action and stick to auditing and training people but it doesn’t do this anymore.
Instead.
All it does these days is hand out Indulgences and build “cathedrals” and offer their own version of sainthood.
Bitter words but they do have bite.
Couldn’t agree more.
Cruise’s appeal regarding his Scn side of life ONLY has appeal to the few remaining RC$ sheeple, so they still cheer and think he’s the greatest Scientologist of all time. Anyone not controlled by the RC$ thinks he’s nuts for staying in Scientology. No one goes to check out Scientology because Cruise is in it. They talk about it as a reason to stay away because look how obnoxious it makes you.
This makes the point even further that the people in the “church” really truly don’t even remember that they are supposed to be concerned about the whole rest of the planet.
So lying PR videos shown to the RC$ robots are greatly appreciated by them and they go home happy knowing that stats are up and everyone in the world loves Scn and Cruise.
I mean…just think…if Cruise came to his senses how much would that ROCK the very foundation of the squirrel RC$. Loooove thinking about the repercussions of that.
Hey Gato,
I remember when Cruise did his couch jumping routine and doing a face palm and a double face palm when the “Scientologists” around me believed that this was some kind of major PR coup.
Sheeeesh
I mean how deluded can you get?
Well actually before that there was Battle Field Earth and “Scientologists” making assclowns of themselves by giving that turkey a standing ovation.
But anyhoo…
Back to Cruise control.
My think is that Cruise is on some kinda Manic Mission Impossible of some kind where he looks at any of the flaps as self flagellation.
In my opinion it’s hard to tell who controls who.
I mean Dave is his pimp and his overseer for SO slave labor.
Like who else would run interference for his wife Mimi while he’s boning Nicole over at the Magic Kingdom in a field of Daffodils?
Personally I think he’s been using the Church at least as much as the Church has been using him.
So much so that I’ve lost any respect that I’ve had for the guy.
Stuff like what he’s been doing in my opinion makes it hard to cop some mea culpa plea that he was “brain washed” by the “cult”.
Yeah sure….uh huh.
No Cruise as far as I’m concerned went into this whole deal with his eyes wide shut 🙂
Funny you should mention the Ukraine. I have just been reading the papers daily on the situation over there (oh, wait, isn’t that an OVERT?!). The situation there has been pretty horrific and out of control. No one can agree on who is to control the country or how it should be run. I was just thinking the other day how, to my observation of what is going on in the world, that there is absolutely ZERO impact ANYWHERE on the planet by Cof$. How people (sheeple?) can believe such hype is beyond belief, that is, until you realize that they are not allowed to read the newspapers to see what is really going on around them and so believe whatever is fed to them by the emperor of lies, prevarication and stupidity. I’m just sayin…
Mike, what is the story behind the Augie Pinto medal recall? It sounds intriguing!
yes – Augie has been on and off Miami public, so I’ve met him. I had no idea about the freedom medal.
Very good points here. There are 4 South African freedom medal winners. Greg Capazorio is now ED Crimanon Int and brother-in-law of Tom Cruise. Rena Weinberg as you mentioned. Lawrence Anthony as you mentioned and lastly Kevin Jones who was trying to sell his medal a couple years ago as he was so broke only to discover the gold content of it is not worth very much.
At a fair guess, some 50% of freedom medal winners are departed, or declared SP, posting on the Internet or hit the skids…or some such.
Marty did an interesting post on one such Freedom Medal Winner Dennis Clark ~
http://markrathbun.wordpress.com/2011/07/19/ias-atrocities-part-one-dennis-clark/