Former executives of the Church of Scientology, including two of the former top lieutenants to Miscavige, have come forward to describe a culture of intimidation and violence under David Miscavige. These former Scientology leaders served for years with Miscavige. Courtesy of the St. Petersburg Times.

L. Ron Hubbard was not the source of Dianetics and Scientology, but he was it’s spokesman aka front man. Scientology was only one outcropping from a hidden group of men who wanted to find methods of controlling minds. And they were seeking to find methods for increasing their own, “mental and spiritual powers‚” (which they are playing the game of self-limiting in the first place). This search was going on well before the lifetime of L. Ron Hubbard. Research data was being collected over a long period of time. Part of their collected data was these volumes of information subscribed to India. Hubbard’s participation came later, after they were already going. Although that knowledge handed out around India was all mucked up, there was still some distorted pieces of the original valid knowledge that could be gleaned out of it. L. Ron Hubbard acted as a front man for this hidden group of researchers.

Lots more available here.

From WikiNews: “In response to The Guardian report, Eric Pickles issued a statement saying that Scientology should not receive privileged tax status and did not deserve to do so, “Tolerance and freedom of expression are important British values, but this does not mean that the likes of Church of Scientology deserve favoured tax treatment over and above other business premises.”

The new British coalition government has warned local authorities in the United Kingdom not to provide tax breaks to branches of the Church of Scientology. After an investigation by The Guardian newspaper revealed that several local authorities have granted Scientology tax breaks worth over a million pounds, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles intervened to urge councils to end the practice.

Pickles noted in a statement that Scientology was not officially recognised in the UK as a religion or a registered charity and was not eligible for tax relief. Pickles commented, “I do not believe the majority of the public would want their own council to be giving special tax breaks to such a controversial organisation.”

The minister’s intervention followed the disclosure by The Guardian that at least four local authorities have given Scientology lucrative tax discounts on branches in their areas.
So… when was the last time they were in YOUR community battling drug abuse, illiteracy, declining moral values, human rights violations, criminality and more?

The depth of deception that is Scientology is incredible.

The Church of Scientology believes one woman, Maureen Bolstad, is one of the worst people in the world. She is one of a few to be declared a “suppressive person.”

Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard declared so-called “suppressive” people “cannot be granted the rights ordinarily accorded rational beings.” Her crime? Talking to the media about the church.

They just keep coming out and telling their stories don’t they David? One of these days, they will be telling YOUR story … and it won’t be a pretty one!

Bolstad was recruited into the Church of Scientology at age 16. She was told she’d get an education, and the chance to see the world.

Twenty-six years later, Bolstad walks down Gilman Springs Road near Hemet where Scientology’s world headquarters is located. She walks with a sense of fear.

“I lost three years of my life staying out here,” Bolstad said, “The confessional procedures were just torture. They weren’t to help me. They were to get me to introvert and think about what I had been doing wrong as to why I wanted to leave. But the reason I wanted to leave was the sleep deprivation was killing me. I wasn’t being allowed to visit my family. I wasn’t getting paid for my work. I said, ‘I can’t do this. This is abusive.’ Physically, I couldn’t do it anymore.”

When she tried to leave, Bolstad says guards tackled her much like they recently tackled protestors. When she tried to leave again, she says they placed her in the Rehabilitation Project Force, known as “RPF.” This special “rehab center” is located at the Old Gilman House in the northwest section of the Scientology headquarters. Bolstad says she was assigned manual labor.

“Like 7:00 AM or so until the sun went down and I got $11 a week for that. And, I got meals. I basically ate in a shack over there. I had to eat separate from everyone else, because I was lower status and I was being segregated from everyone else.”

Bolstad didn’t spend all her years in the “RPF.” To prove her claims, Bolstad showed us her social security tax forms. Despite working nearly 100-hour work weeks shooting Scientology videos, many years she earned nothing at all. She says the church forced her to pay for the camera equipment she broke when she first started on the film crew.

We asked Bolstad, “What do you say to the belief that the Church of Scientology says that what happens at RPF is only counseling?”

She answered, “I say that’s a lie because there’s a lot of punishment involved. Your status is lowered. You’re only allowed to speak when spoken to, so you have to call everyone else “sir.” You don’t have the same privileges as other staff. Like I said, you’re not allowed to send mail, you’re not allowed to make phone calls. I had trouble getting medical care.”

If this place is so terrible, than why did she stay for a dozen years? Perhaps because since the age of 16, it was the only life she ever knew.

Bolstad remarks as she looks at Hemet’s IntBase, “I had laid the tiles for all those roofs over there. I painted a lot of the rooms in that “qual” building. I helped place some of these sidewalks. Everything here has my blood, sweat and tears in it. I thought it was my home. It was my home. That’s why I invested in it.”

We will have the second half of our interview with Maureen Bolstad Wednesday night at 11 on News Channel 3. Bolstad tells her account of 12 year olds working in the church headquarters and women coerced to have abortions or risk being declared a “suppressive person” by Scientology leadership.

Money could go to better use

In this time of recession, when people are losing jobs, houses are going to foreclosure and times basically are tough all over for everyone, it’s nice to see the cult of greed spending $40 million on renovations to its lair — not for the good of the community or to help those less fortunate, but to add to its own excess.

As a “religion” and a “church,” you would think that Scientology would put that money to better use. And I like the fact that they told people that the restaurants and ballroom in the renovated Fort Harrison Hotel would be open to the public, but once the renovations were complete they had a change of heart.

Strikes me as ironic when a “reader” has to point out the obvious.

Most people haven’t heard of Marc Headley. He’s not a celebrity, but he has met Tom Cruise. In fact, Tom audited Marc during his Scientology training courses at Gold Base. Tom may not remember Marc, but he’ll know him soon enough.

Marc Headley is a former Scientologist who worked at the Hemet, California desert compound called Gold Base. For 15 years, Marc worked long hours at the 500 acre guarded facility, also referred to as Int Base, or International Base. Marc was a member of the Church’s paramilitary group called Sea Organzation, or Sea Org. Sea Org members are recruited from within the organization’s ranks of poorly paid workers and volunteers, they are made to sign a “billion year contract” and are often forced to live away from family and friends doing the type of manual labor typically reserved for slaves, inmates of illegal immigrants.

Marc has written a book titled “Blown For Good” [along with his web site of the same name], detailing his experiences inside the cult and what has happened to him since he left in 2005.

http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Church_of_Scientology_blames_attack_on_Pearl_Harbor,_9/11_attacks_on_psychiatry

Those folks are really amazing … living in an alternate reality really messes with your head.

In an interview on a television show called the No Drug Show, hosted by Larry Byrnes, the Church of Scientology blamed both the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States and the attack on Pearl Harbor on psychiatrists and the drugs they prescribe their patients. Scientology considers psychiatry to be barbaric and a violation of human rights.

“To take [a] person, and turn them into a killing machine, against their will or have them do things that are against their nature, you need something behind that. Psychiatrists employ drugs and conditioning techniques in order to change people from what they would normally be, into killing machines,” added Figueroa.

Figueroa goes on to say that Japanese kamikaze pilots responsible for bombing Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in December of 1941 were “on amphetamines which is a psychiatric drug” when they attacked. However, the the Japanese did not employ kamikaze tactics until later in the war.

Like the Cowardly Lion in the Wizard of Oz, Scientology must CREATE its enemy if they are to have a CAUSE to fight. This imaginary enemy is the crucial factor that binds their ideology and gives it focus. In this case, psychiatry has always been the transcendent beast … the very one which L. Ron Hubbard used from the beginning to justify his traveling snake oil show. But it is late in the day … and THIS religion is, thankfully, finally running out of oil.

This latest post sums up what has been whispered behind closed doors for a number of years …. and like the last words of the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz, Scientology seems to be saying, “I’m meeeeellllltttiiing.”

But the technology has failed. Even Scientologists can see this, though they don’t necessarily recognize the cause and effect: Fewer and fewer Scientologists are making progress “up the Bridge”. More and more are stuck somewhere. More and more are in trouble. And those that do “make progress” find that nothing happened!

The “releases” end up without the promised “new abilities”. “Clears” end up without any of Hubbard’s promised abilities. The “OTs” look, feel and act just as they did before any of this stuff.

The technology has failed.

Thanks for the “heads up.” Looks like I’ve got more reading to do :~)