Here is a new video from Tampa Org (with 58 likes and 3 comments). They promote themselves as both "Ideal" AND "SH Size" -- in fact they promote themselves as the FIRST ideal and FIRST SH size org. They even start out with the humble assertion "What does every other Org want to be?" Well, let's take a look at what every org on earth aspires to. Because Tampa has given us a wonderful glimpse of just how much they actually accomplish. They kindly provided statistics for the last decade as significant accomplishments that everyone else should be jealous of. It is a good measure of the … [Read more...]
How Many Churches of Scientology Are There?
Just how many churches of scientology are there? If you ask scientology, they will never tell you. You can look up on scientology.org and count the number of listed churches of scientology -- but it's tedious and they don't make it easy. But it is around 150, the same as it has been for decades. You can also try to count the number of missions, that is even more difficult. But again, it is around 300 (and many of these are VERY part time affairs, open a day or two a week). The best they will do is offer that there are "10,000 Churches, Missions and affiliated groups" without … [Read more...]
Thursday Funnies
I have kept a few of the "Christmas" promo pieces, but the number of them is ridiculous so I just ignored most. The amount of promotion about scientology pretending to somehow be part of the Christian Christmas "scene" is crazy. As always, they are trying to create "religious image" and look like "real churches." A new civilization... And nobody in Sydney is even aware they exist. Most of them have no scientology at all... The vast majority of countries in Asia have no scientology presence. The graybeards... This is the … [Read more...]
Scientology and Christmas
It seems the media is becoming more aware of the truth about scientology. This recent article in the Kansas City Star is not the sort of "goodwill" and "PR area control" scientology was hoping to garner from opening their new "ideal org" and launching into a PR offensive for the holiday season. The title of the article alone is enough to send shivers down COB's spine: Kansas City’s Church of Scientology opens a Winter Wonderland: Is this some ploy? Ploy you ask? Ploy? You can read the full article at the link above. I have a few thoughts about it. Following the evocative h … [Read more...]
Thursday Funnies
New Years is on Saturday! The wog world is behind the times. Only scientology is fully at cause over matter, energy, space and TIME... This will "literally be the most EPIC!" How could anyone possibly miss it? I bet Tom Cruise won't be there... Or Elisabeth Moss. Or Laura Prepon. There are going to be a whole lot of people who manage to resist the most epic event ever... And look at this -- they will hold your children in pens for the duration of the event! That's cause over Matter. They are even trying to get people to come for the event by offering a free dinner. Bet … [Read more...]
Handling Crime in Brussels
Of course, they cite nothing to support their bold claims -- but then again any scientologist would NEVER even think to question the IAS. After all, this is the international association of the most ethical group on earth. There is nothing to substantiate the figures of distribution at all, they pluck these numbers out of the sky usually. Someone paid for a printing of the booklets. They may or may not have actually printed that many. No doubt, however many they printed, they did NOT get distributed. Often they end up being dumped. And the "network of 1400 … [Read more...]
Scientology TV — What’s Missing?
Scientology is making a really big deal about their new episode featuring Chick Corea. Chick is an interesting story that has been mentioned before. He got into financial troubles when his wife was hammering his credit cards. David Miscavige had known Chick for a long time because his father, Ron, was good friends with Ron Moss, Chick's manager. (Ron Moss is father of Elisabeth Moss of Handmaid's Tale fame). Miscavige was alerted to the problem and not wanting a "flap" with one of scientology's longest term celebrities, brought in Lyman Spurlock as a CPA to look through his finances. … [Read more...]
Thursday Funnies
It's an Extravaganza And it's being done by Quentin Strub no less. He was the CO WISE EUS back in the 1980's and has risen no further. What an extravaganza of leadership and success he is. Freetown perhaps? Seems they have trouble with spelling and grammar everywhere... Free Admission But if you show your military ID you get free tickets for each child? A "professional" Life Improvement Counselor You have to wonder how you make a profession out of delivering free seminars? A major purpose of getting children … [Read more...]
Rev. Alfraudie Johnson
Recent posts on Tony Ortega's site include some excellent first-hand reporting from Jeffrey Augustine on the ground in criminal court in Los Angeles. Hana Islam and her son Rizza are in deep hot water. They have allegedly been engaged in a massive fraudulent scheme, bilking the government out of millions at the World Literacy Crusade. The always dapper Rev. Alfreddie Johnson is the founder and big cheese of the WLC. He was married to Hanan and claims credit for raising Rizza as his "son." Somehow, like a Teflon Don, he has managed to escape indictment. I have written about him … [Read more...]
What Those IAS Billions Buy
Back in October Tony Ortega's article about Nancy Cartwright highlighted how much money people give to the IAS. More recently Tracey McManus got Bob Duggan on the phone and he informed her that the Forbes information stating he had given $360 million to scientology was in fact considerably on the low side, that is was "much more" (half a billion maybe?) Scientology constantly claims that this money is used for all their social betterment programs around the world -- it is their standard plea for more money "we need to do more good." But how much good does this money actually do? Simply … [Read more...]