Hurricane Ian has devastated a huge swath of Florida, a swath that includes Flag and the “ideal” orgs in Tampa and Orlando.
Where is the “Largest Private Relief Force on Earth?”
There are more scientologists in Clearwater/Tampa Bay than anywhere on earth according to scientology. 14,000 of them if you take them at their word (other times they have said 12,000 or 10,000, it’s probably more like 5,000 total staff and public).
They even have a dedicated building along the Potemkin Village row on N. Ft Harrison in Clearwater:
You know if they WERE doing something, they would have videos and photos and press wire releases. Because they never do anything without trying to get “goodwill PR.” Here are the search results from this morning. They put out 2 press releases last week about floods in Italy. Not a word about Florida.
The only thing that HAS shown up, is a request for items for “Hygiene Kits”:
This is what they are doing? Presumably in response to Hurricane Ian?
Scientology could take some of the tens of millions of dollars it has collected because people have been told it goes to “humanitarian aid” provided by Volunteer Ministers and buy a million hygiene kits if they were really needed. Or better yet, could donate the money to one of the relief funds that have been set up for victims.
Or, they could send 1,000 people at the snap of the COB’s little fingers to help the clean up efforts.
But they are NOT doing that. Why?
The viral PR catastrophe of the local scientology owned business telling their staff to come in to work during the hurricane in order to “meet their quotas” gives a glimpse into the world of scientology. And this is a PUBLIC scientologist. You can get the staff and Sea Org were under even greater pressure to “not let their stats crash”…
Watch the video from Aaron here:
The scientology “Volunteer Ministers” are as fake as the rest of scientology. It’s a scam.
I just saw Tony Ortega’s Underground Bunker this morning — which includes Joy Gendusa’s butt-liking of the COB on the scientology TV and some other details of the crazy…
KCRW The Business
I spoke to my old friend (and former sparring partner when I was in the SO) Kim Masters for her radio show about A Billion Years. You can listen to the interview here.
My plan to do nothing but read Billion and eat all weekend got derailed because unexpectedly I had to work. Well, I’m glad I have a job and a business so I’m not complaining. But then last night at 10PM I started the book and now I’m on “The Apollo Years”. Running home now to continue. Please God I fall asleep before it gets too gripping and I stay up all night! Can’t do that, tomorrow’s a work day. Mike, you write so well. Simply, clearly, eloquently, honestly. I almost cried after reading that letter to your kids ending with “I love you. Dad”. OMG. Beautiful, Mike. Your excellent writing notwithstanding, it is beautiful because it is true.
Bad news after bad news for friends still in. I bet times are difficult for those who still think for themselves to some degree.
If they took a look, they would know that the thought that was in the back of their mind was true. They could save themselves from further grief by jumping into the internet and seeing for themselves.
Or they can go further down the ksw road and kick that can up the bridge into the future.
Eventually the public heat and disrepute will save a few more souls.
Thankyou Mike for your book.
One major answer is your excellent detailed description of the Gerry Armstrong operation. There is much deeper reflection to be done on that operation, ordered by Miscavige, to have you play act as an internal dissenter (play act being a “Loyal Officer”) to draw Gerry in, so you could justifiably then ruin the Govt’s ongoing legal cases.
You truly explain things well, thankyou.
Your Kerry Gleason years you go through quickly, but it explained a lot to me there also.
You really write well.
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I relistened to Paulette Cooper’s and Tony’s interview of her, for her book.
IN real world history she truly was treated the most despicably. She was almost pushed to commit suicide, and the Guardian’s Office staff who did her operation are most of the worst of them not contrite.
The worst of Scientology goes back to Hubbard’s rules, and OSA truly needs to evaporate.
I have some serious questions, which the real world will be thinking.
a) If you could advise Scientology on curtailing their irreligious flaws, where would you start.
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To show you how “brainwashed” I still am, wonder if the real world should take Scientology seriously, Tony’s interview of Paulette near the end asks her some truly serious questions.
Her answers I do think her take longrange of Scientology are correct. She believes it will go on, and not collapse.
I wish you would review her interview with Tony, her serious answers near the end of the interview of will Scientology change.
She says no, very much like James Beverley graciously offered his expert opinion also.
The world is disgusted with Scientology. But with the Jim Jones cult, and other Bo Peep cult still going on, a cult like Scientology is going to go on even longer.
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When you did your Clay Demo of the LRH definition of PR, there is the line, which when I was a Course Supervisor, I ensured that all PR trainees DID put the point in clay, which is in the LRH definition, (it’s the one short page policy “Definition of PR”), the point to be included was that the PR man/woman was to advise the bosses of policy to be set if not existent. This tiny leeway was to be what you PR people were to advise.
Together with LRH’s other loopholes in particular, the loopholes of “arbitrary” which is a major loophole policy (of the Class 8 Course, LRH made a big deal of dealing with arbitraries, it’s a license NOT to be tripped up and any impasses that LRH poiicy itself causes). The arbitrary policy together with LRH’s “Hiring New Staff “answer to ED Int, Guillaume Leserve, stating that Guillaume had the authority to tweek things like the list of quals for hiring staff.
LRH gave the tiniest of allowances.
Anyways, you as a top PR man, and thankfully are open and revealing of the dark sides of modern Scientology, what today would you advise official Scientology to do policy wise?
Can they get rid of OSA, since the freezone Ron’s Orgs don’t seem to need an OSA, do they?
International Amnesty, and change the rules for NO further SP declaring, and just undo all SP declares.
Open their purse strings, pay upfront and in full, accurately, all their CVB claims?
Those three I’d think are starters.
Mike, congratulations on the book. I have requested my library to get a copy. They will. Off topic it is nearly the 40 year anniversary of the infamous Mission holder’s conference. In the audio the punching pontiff introduces a guy called Steve Marlowe. He sounds like a pompous dick. Is he still around or was he crushed under the jackboot of the tiny tyrant ? Did you have any involvement ?
Interesting re 40 year anniversary as we were a group about 10-15 people who left the Stockholm org in about october 1982 and never looked back. I don´t think anyone of us knew anything about that conference or how bad it really was in the US. We heard or experienced some about the Finance police, Price increases and Knowledge reports and pressure of different kinds etc and that was enough for us. It just wasn´t fun any longer!
Steve Marlowe seemingly got RPFed not long after the Mission Massacre. I met him on the RPF at Gold, where he was twinned with Jon Horwich (Diana Hubbard’s ex and father of Hubbard’s grand-daughter Roanne).
He had a strange series of postings at the CMO Gold area at the Int Base. At one point he was Ron’s Audio-Visual (in charge of Hubbard’s audio equipment and all sound operations at Gold). Dave Miscavige famously gave him a desk sign that said something like “Chief Butt-Kicker”. “Pompous Dick” describes him really well. But he was also constantly getting in trouble and getting busted.
He was among the first of those who were declared Suppressive but not allowed to leave. Normally when you are declared you are immediately shown the door, but sometime in the late 90s Dave started declaring people and then holding them at the Int Base while they supposedly were doing some kind of bogus program to get back in Dave’s good graces.
Really these were people that simply knew too much about Dave and could not be allowed to go on and have a normal life. They might spill the beans!
Rumor is that he eventually did escape and ended up somewhere in France with his good buddy David Manley (of tube amplifier fame). No idea how true that is.
I could tell you lots of stories about the time he got me billed $39,000 for his mistakes and how I wound up back on the RPF because of it but this comment is already too long.
Cheaper for Miscavige to wait until someone else brought order in, and then send a team to pose in front of the cleanup looking utterly exhausted yet deeply satisfied.
Meanwhile, and not sin free themselves, the LDS is doing work in the aftermath of Ida:
https://www.ksl.com/article/50487414/latter-day-saint-volunteers-join-efforts-to-clean-up-aftermath-of-hurricane-ian
I live in SW Utah, not LDS but feel better and safer here than LA or Las Vegas
Is that main photo of Clearwater damage? What is the status of the town post Ian? I have never been there but I animated both Dolphin Tale movies. I hope the aquarium is okay!
MINOR TYPO: “I think you can guess” not “I think you can get”
No, that is Ft Myers beach. Clearwater had no damage
Whew! I was concerned. Such a low lying area.
Great jacket and bowtie! I might go look for a jacket and tie like that myself! Leah is beautiful as always.
I still have my “Minister of the Church” certificate which miraculously survived in the bottom of a trunk but Volunteer Ministers came after I was in and I wouldn’t have volunteered anyhow. I wasn’t religious about the whole thing. 😇
For those who don’t know, in the 1970s in order to get a Scientology Minister certificate you needed to read a book about comparative religions and read over a few of the “ceremonies” and then go “attest”. Not a real hard road to get “ordained”. Maybe they upgraded since then.
One time on a scientology blog I got into a debate with someone about whether Hubbard always said scientology was a religion and everyone involved should regard it as such. After some back and forth debate I finally agreed that when I was active I believed that everyone should eventually study scientology or become a scientologist so in essence it was my “faith” which was enough of a compromise to settle the debate.
Back then maybe one scientologist in a hundred actually called scientology their religion. It was something we were doing. We don’t need no stinkin’ religion – haha
The “church of scientology” teaches it’s members that it is a high Crime to even LOOK at Mike’s site, or any other FACTS
They do not want known.
They run bullshit “pr” campaigns, constantly.
When “in”…they used to send me out, constantly, to “help”.
Their *real* purposes began to come into 3D when EVERY time I returned, their ONE question was:
“Did we get any press? Did they mention
L.Ron Hubbard?” Fact: Scientology only cares about $$$ and connections.
Tory Christman
“In” for 30 years. Woke up & escaped out in July 2000. For more info on my story, check out ToryMagoo44 on YouTube. Thank you to Mike & all who help expose Scientology’s serious abuses!
As anyone knows who has ever stayed in a hotel, they purchase hygiene kits by the thousands and have ready access to them for pennies apiece. Which brings us to a Clearwater hotel which may easily be the most profitable operation of its kind on the planet. Not only do they employ human trafficking to “recruit” workers by re-defining pot scrubbers and toilet cleaners as “religious workers”. They have no worries about unions and labor laws: These workers enjoy not even fundamental rights taken for granted since the darkest days of the industrial revolution; they don’t even get to keep their own passports. Even better, by employing (often multi-generational) brain-washing about “securing one’s eternity” this hotel has a clientele that they can easily compel to stay there, eat there and be regged there.
As inexpensive as it would be for such a money-printing operation, don’t expect this hotel to share the hygiene kit wealth though. They don’t even share their toilet paper with their own staff.
This organization acts like the looters brought out by any disaster: With zero concern for the well-being of their community, they most assuredly WILL find a way to profit from this by aggressive fundraising.
The Miscavigologists are such serial liars.
10,000. 12,000. 14,000.
Perfectly round numbers…..
Obviously not real statistics which are then reported to the public.
Very Obviously they do not simply count the numbers in their central files logs.
After 9/11 I visited one of my best friends from High School who was a N.Y. fire fighter during the attack. The PR we were fed in the Sea Org was that Scientology Volunteer Ministers had been leading the way, even more than the Red Cross, to provide aide to the firemen and victims. When I mentioned the cult BS that I had been fed, he had no idea what I was talking about. He had not seen anyone in a yellow T-shirt helping anyone and knew nothing about Scientology or the VMs helping anyone. It was yet another red flag and wake up call to the fact that I was being lied to by the cherch. Unfortunately it took a lot more to wake me up. As a note, it is easier for Scientology to lie about all their “incredible feats” in far off places than it is in the back yard of Flag. They collect millions of dollars in donations for promised help and then pass out some soap and toothbrushes. I hope the Sea Org members all got a toothbrush and a bar of soap …
Here is a side note based on my 20 years as a Sea Org member at Flag. When public Scientologists checked out of their rooms at the Fort Harrison and Sandcastle they often left behind products like soap, shampoo, toothpaste, etc. The maids collected the items and made them available for staff that hadn’t been paid in weeks/months but mainly they were for the many staff that could not be paid because they weren’t legally in the country. An OSA staff member named Glen oversaw the visas at Flag and it was a COMPLETE mess. Passports would get lost, visa extensions would not get filled in time, if ever. When the general staff did get paid (something between $15 -$45 for the week) each division did a collection from each of its members so as to give some money to those that could not get paid legally. I remember OSA blaming the Immigration Office for the problem and saying there was an SP (Suppressive Person) in the government responsible. In 2004 OSA actually filed a law suit against the Immigration Office in a typical Scientology response. I pointed out to Glen the obvious, that the problem was being caused internally due to lack of funding, poor administration and forcing staff to violate immigration laws.
Thanks Mat for a great insider perspective. Very interesting.
Hygiene kits are a feeble token effort when considering the humongous destruction resulting from Ian, when, as you point out, the cult has unbelievable treasure to dip into. Another factor that the VM’s surely know but are not heeding is that the authorities are stressing donations should be monetary to authorized charities that deal with such a catastrophe, e.g. Red Cross, and not donate items, e.g. hygiene kits.
The veneer continues to slide off. Clearwater-based Postcard Mania CEO Joy Gendusa is a fine example. She should have NEVER been allowed, as a business leader and business owner, to put out that video to her staff. I agree with Aaron, of course the video would get leaked to the broader world. If Hurricane Ian has coughed up a “Scrooge,” Gendusa may be that. It’s one thing to be lacking in empathy or compassion, but to also NOT acknowledge the real conditions of an actual hurricane. Wow, does not come across as someone who is (wait for it…) IN PRESENT TIME.
Some in the U.S. may recall after Trump got elected, people wore T-shirts, “Not My President.” If I was still in and working at Postcard Mania, I’d be tempted to create a T-shirt “Not My OT 8” to signify my disappointment that Gendusa is representing the top of the C of S flock.
“Not my OT” would be sufficient, I believe
What Mike said.