Alt.religion.scientology Week in Review
Volume 2, Issue 21
09/07/97
by Rod Keller [rkeller@voicenet.com]
copyright 1997

Contents

1. Houston
2. Advertising
3. Operation Clambake
4. Dennis Erlich
5. EarthLink
6. Germany
7. Graham Berry
8. Tony McClelland
9. Paulette Cooper
10. California Bunker
11. RPF List
12. Russia
13. Robert Vaughn Young
14. St. Petersburg Times
15. Toronto Picket

Alt.religion.scientology Week in Review summarizes the most significant
postings from the Usenet group Alt.religion.scientology for the preceding
week for the benefit of those who can't follow the group as closely as
they'd like. Out of thousands of postings, I attempt to include news of
significant events, new affidavits, court rulings, new contributors,
whatever. I hope you find it useful. Like many readers of a.r.s, I have a
kill file. So please take into consideration that I may not have seen some
of the most significant postings. 

The articles in A.r.s Week in Review are brief summaries of articles
posted to the newsgroup. They include message IDs for the original
 articles, and many have a URL to get more informtion. You may be able to
find the original article, depending on how long your site stores articles
in the newsgroup before expiring them. 

Free A.r.s Week in Review subscriptions are available, just email me at 
rkeller@voicenet.com
It is archived at:
        http://wpxx02.toxi.uni-wuerzburg.de/~krasel/CoS/ars-summary.html
        http://www.thur.de/religio/publik/arsfaq.html
        http://home.sol.no/heldal/CoS/archive/WIR/
        http://www.i1.net/~mallen/scn/arswr/ars-summary.html

#####

Houston

"The Church of Scientology of Houston will open its first bookstore Wednesday in the Park Shops in Houston Center, 1200 McKinney."

Patrick Humphrey reported on the appearance of Scientology's Jive Aces jazz band at Super Crown Books in Houston, Texas this week.

"I wandered back towards the front, and who should cross my path but Tom Wright, who apparently is hatted to be the oily PR flack for the cult at any public events. I told him that Hubbard couldn't write to save his life, which produced the predictable response of 'well, how are all those books being sold?', to which I told him, you tell me -- you're the ones hiring people to buy large numbers of 'em to keep it up on the NYT's best-seller list; at that point he was distracted by the appearance of the Aces, cloned in their teal suits with blue ties. Within a minute, the Aces were filing out of the store on their way to their next appearance (I presume downtown at the Co$' new bookstore in The Park)."

http://www.chron.com/cgi-bin/auth/story/content/chronicle/religion/97/08/
30/8-30-plate.0-0.html Message-ID: <34245921.34282740@berlin.snafu.de>
Message-ID: <szk67sg1lfn.fsf@pentagon.io.com>

#####

Advertising

"One of the principal ways they try to recruit in this country is via Dianetics leaflets. Someone I know, who wants to remain anonymous, forwarded some of these leaflets to the Advertising Standards Authority, complaining that the leaflets are presenting as fact something for which there is no evidence. The ASA have upheld the complaint and issued a warning to Scientology (specifically to New Era Publications, I presume) to state the claims as opinion rather than as fact.

"The bad news is that the ASA has limited powers to enforce its request. It deals with non-compliant advertisers either by persuading the media not to carry their adverts (which does not apply in this case, because Scn print the leaflets themselves). 'Adverse publicity is frequently underestimated as a sanction but those who have been on the receiving end of such media scrutiny rarely offend again.' So the choice for Scn is between removing the tone of absolute certainty (which appeals to vulnerable and uncertain people) from their advertising, or become officially recognised as a deceptive advertiser, with more 'media scrutiny'."

http://www.asa.org.uk/
Message-ID: <EFs34A.G6C@fsa.bris.ac.uk>

#####

Operation Clambake

"My home page has been given a new address: http://home.sol.no/~spirous/CoS/

"Old links still work, they are just automatically redirected to the new address, even if you request a document down in the system. There is only one problem; some older versions of MS Internet Explorer seems to have problems with the redirect and gives an error. If you get an error, make sure you change to the new address."

Message-ID: <340ddc35.550027047@news.sol.no>

#####

Dennis Erlich

"On Sep 15 the judge in Dennis Erlich's case will order Scientology to produce the originals of the Hubbard 1986 will and the 1982 copyright transfers giving RTC and Bridge Publications ownership of all copyrights and trademarks. Scientology WILL NOT produce the originals of the Hubbard 1986 will and the 1982 copyright transfers giving RTC and Bridge Publications ownership of all copyrights and trademarks because they are forgeries. They will non-comply with the judges order and take the court sanctions.

"MOFO will bring a Rule 37 motion to dismiss the case for Scientology's noncompliance in discovery. When Scientology defaults on presenting the original 1982 and 1986 documents every lawsuit anywhere in the world involving Scientology copyrights and trade secrets involving RTC or Bridge publications is for all intents and purposes OVER as the other victims of the fraud will demand the production of these documents if it has not done so already."

Message-ID: <340F8799.7C08@worldnet.att.net>

#####

EarthLink

"The lead investor in the private placement was Soros Fund Management LLC through its Quantum Industrial Partners LDC, which purchased $5 million of common stock in the offering. Additional investors included existing shareholders, certain members of EarthLink's board of directors and management. Proceeds from the offering will enable EarthLink to continue expanding its operations as it continues to strive toward profitability.

"Charles (Garry) Betty, president and CEO of EarthLink added, 'This private financing demonstrates the confidence investors have in EarthLink's business model, and it provides capital to continue to fund EarthLink's growth.' During the past three quarters, EarthLink has decreased its net loss each quarter, while increasing revenue 88 percent to $18.8 million in the second quarter of 1997."

Message-ID: <f4a99b5c2254f688e1d4a8623356e999@anon.efga.org>

#####

Germany

"A march which is to pass by the historic Brandenburg Gate on October 27 will be organized by a Freedom for Religions in Germany movement founded in the United States in April with notable assistance by the controversial Scientology organization. The movement claims membership of Christians, Moslems and Buddhists.

"The Church of Scientology is claiming the title of Christian denomination but German authorities have said it is a financial business acting under the cover of religion. In the United States it is considered a church. The church expects to draw 10,000 people to its Berlin rally. US jazz musician Chick Corea may be among the participants, the spokeswoman said."

Message-ID: <5upskj$43h@netaxs.com>

#####

Graham Berry

"[T]he end of summer leads me to prepare the soon to be filed litigation: Berry v. Miscavige, Rinder, Farney, Moxon, Quinn, Drescher, Abelson, Ingram, Lewis and Landmark. Write a multi-volume treatise on Scientology's litigation history and practices, with appendices of relevant documents. Work on a book on my own Scientology litigation and harassment experiences. A sale of the book and movie rights is almost concluded."

"I rush to the airport to deal with DM's minions in Denver tomorrow. A discovery status conference - and he will be deposed in the Factnet case."

"The cults lawyers (Rosen, Yingling, Blakely & Chase) and Intelligence Chief Mike Rinder were strangely foaming at the mouth over my weekend posting. In the afternoon they even told the Magistrate Judge in the Factnet case about it and asked that I be ordered to sign a confidentiality agreement because I am writing the books I referred to in the posting. The Magistrate Judge smiled broadly when he read my posting that Rosen handed up with Yingling and Rinder watching. Rinder looked ashen, white, puffy, drawn and exhausted."

"The Factnet case has revealed that BPI, at best, may have a claim to 13 copyrights and that RTC has no longer any tenable trade secret claims. The Cult cannot afford to take the Factnet case to trial. Incidentally, the cults legal expenses on the internet cases is approx. $15-20m."

"Finally, are Annie Broeker's screams in solitary confinement - as has been alleged in various declarations - still being heard on the RPF in Hemet? Roxanne Friend's files (which she gave me) are illustrative in this regard - and applicable to McPherson. Incidentally, can anyone put me in touch with Joe Leessor? Some claim he was LRH's hit man and heavy. It seems he may have been at he hospital just before Quentin died-possibly as a result of the plug being pulled. And where is Mark (Marty) Rathbun, who allegedly took John Travolta's jet to beat the fleeing Annie Broeker to New York and to bring her back to the RPF in Hemet? Last that I heard he was handling Suzette Hubbard's and Guy White's marital and child custody issues-until the church discovered Guy's and my burgeoning friendship and ordered him to disconnect from me on pain of losing access to his kids."

Message-ID: <19970901180300.OAA09533@ladder01.news.aol.com>
Message-ID: <19970902010701.VAA19660@ladder02.news.aol.com>
Message-ID: <19970904004800.UAA26416@ladder01.news.aol.com>
Message-ID: <19970905060001.CAA17335@ladder02.news.aol.com>
Message-ID: <19970905065701.CAA19676@ladder02.news.aol.com>

#####

Tony McClelland

"Brian asked if I knew the whereabouts of Joe Szimhart or whom he traveled with? Was it Joe Kelly or Pat Ryan? I replied that I did not know where any of the three were and if I did know I would not tell him. Brian asked if I knew about Joe's record and if I was in favour of coercive counselling. I replied that I did not know about Joe's record and that I was in favour of exit counselling and added that I thought exit counselling would be good for all Scientologists so they could make an informed decision. Brian expressed concern that Joe's activity was breach of United Nations Human Rights. Because I did not know about Joe's case, but I do know about the Introspection Rundown I asked Brian how he felt about the incarceration of an Australian for 3 months on an IR and was this a breach of Human Rights.

"Brian replied that the person that was incarcerated on the IR for 3 months had changed his deposition following the one he wrote the day after his release. I asked Brian if he was also able to get the Police to change the record of their release of the member when they released him from the 3 month incarceration. Brian was not able to answer the question and there was a period of silence."

Message-ID: <340e0e63.387283357@news.mpx.com.au>

#####

Paulette Cooper

"The really horrible harassment started around October of that year, when I received the most incredibly vile anonymous smear letter based on lies of the type typically made by Scientology of their enemies (prostitute, thief, sexual pervert), and some gross distortions of information known to the former boyfriend who had tried to get me into Scientology in 1968.

"[T]here was also a tremendous amount of personal harassment. I was getting a number of obscene calls (only when I saw the Washington documents years later did I learn that the Scientologists had put my name and phone number on walls, graffiti style), nuisance calls (one day as many as 11, which obviously made it hard to write, people visiting my apartment late at night trying to get in, etc. I was starting to get quite frightened.

"On December 19th, 4 days after I secretly moved here, and Joy took over the old apartment, a young black man came to my door. [He] rang 'my' bell holding flowers. When Joy opened the door, he unwrapped the 'flowers'--which were just a few twigs on top to hide a gun. He put the gun at her head, cocked the trigger, and the gun was either empty or misfired. He then began choking her, but she managed to break away and start screaming so he fled."

Message-ID: <19970904030000.XAA13199@ladder01.news.aol.com>

#####

California Bunker

"Here are the coordinates for datum WGS-84: The main gate with the nicely lettered sign (reminiscent of the 'Star Trek' typeface) which says 'NO TRESPASSING Trespassers will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,' is at: N 40 degrees 21.570 minutes latitude W 124 degrees 20.463 minutes longitude and the cutoff from Mattole Road (which is only labeled 'Not a through road' is at: N 40 degrees 20.887 minutes latitude W 124 degrees 19.804 minutes longitude

"The cutoff is approximately 2 miles northwest of Petrolia, California (which is about 20 miles west of highway 101 in southern Humboldt County)"

Message-ID: <3409b9e6.559045@199.4.94.14>

#####

RPF List

"A large percentage of these people were sent to the RPF as supposed 'List One R/Sers', although others were sent because of other reasons like 'out-2D' behavior, for being 'low OCA non-producers', 'repeated stat crashers', etc.

"Barbara Adams - HCO Area Sec ASHO D; Bella Adams - was CO Cadet Estates Org; Chuck Adams; Steve Adams - Estates Mgr ASHO D; Paulette Ausley - she's the one who did the false 'L-1' labelling; Cindy Avrin - ASHO D Div 6; Patricia 'Patty' Azevedo aka Patty Grant; Rick Aznaran - now of Phoenix Investigations; Vicki Aznaran - was Pres RTC; Jamie Beardsley - ASHO F Div 1; Jane Bertinot - ASHO D Div 6; Sherry Bird - ASHO D Div 2; John Bostrum - was Dir Income ASHO D; Wendy Bostrum - Letter Reg ASHO D; Sissy Brown - Recruiter ASHO D; Kevin Bryan - HCO ASHO F; Stacy Bryan - ASHO F; David Butterworth - GO/OSA/ASHO D; Maggie Butterworth - CO ASHO D/LRH Comm/Case Supervisor; Richard Byrd - Bridge Pubs

"James 'Jim' Neil Chapman - was Treasury Sec ASHO D; Teresa Cintron - AOLA; Frank Clark - AOLA; Lori Coanda - ASHO D; Debra Convery - ASHO D/CEO; Al Crivello - was AGF AOLA; Linda Darlington - ASHO D; Shelby Davis - ASHO D; Marilyn DeWitt - ASHO F; Kathy Drayton - LRH Comm ASHO D; Cathy Dunn - CESO; Bruce Duszak - AOLA; Ben Elkington - Treas Sec Pubs - now an IAS patron; Sue Elkington - Pubs US; James X. Ellingson - ASHO D Div 2; Gary Epstein - was CO AOLA; Leslie Epstein - CO ASHO/CO AOLA/LC NW; Mitch Esterman - ASHO D Word Clearer; Sally Esterman - CCLA - was Mitch's wife - now deceased; Richard Ferry - CESO; Doug Fiandaca - SO in PAC; Joyce Fiandaca - GO GLA; Patricia Garrett - ASHO F; Bobby Giles - Purchasing Agent for L Ron Hubbard; Claire Graef - ASHO D; Allen Grondin - Tech Sec/Chief Off ASHO D; DK Halloran - PAC SO

"Elsa Hamilton - ASHO D HCO; Eddie Hansen - Cope Officer ASHO D; Jackie Harvey - SSO ASHO D; Marty Helgeson - ASHO F; Linda Hodge - ASHO D Div 2; April Huff - Bridge/GO Finance; Greg Huff - Bridge Publications; Bob Jaillet - Bridge Publications; Karen Jensen - Dir Inc ASHO F; Marty Kassowitz - PAC SO; Penny Keaton - ASHO F; Anita Klock - Bridge Publications; Paul Koval - CO ASHO D

"Janet Landon - ASHO F; Alan Lazar - AOLA; Sandy Lazar - AOLA; Mickey Layne - ASHO D; Gerianne Long - Bridge Publications; Sam Loria - AOLA; David Mayo - was Snr C/S Int; Merrill Mayo - David's wife; Sherry Miljoiner - ASHO D Word Clearer; Doug Nagy - Tours Reg ASHO D; Guy Norlen - FBO NW; Jeanie Norlen - ASHO F; Renee Norton - CO ASHO F; Ivan Obilensky - CO AOLA; Paulette Otten - SO in PAC; Richard Otten - FBO NW; David Pearson - FBO Pubs US; Nancy Phelps aka Nancy Schwartz - ASHO F/PAC SO; Alan Prager - CO ASHO D; Dawn Prager aka Dawn Granger aka Dawn Greene - Public Off/CO ASHO D; Cecilia Prefontaine - AOLA

"Kari Rask - FR NW; Rosan Rich - Dir Inc Pubs US; Sue Richeson - BSO ASHO D; Barbara Rubio - was ordered but refused to report; was Snr C/S ASHO D; Mike Rubio - ASHO D HCO/Flag/FOLO WUS; Don Saito - Address Off ASHO D; Elaine Savitsky - TTC ASHO D; Vic Scelza - FOLOWUS; Bobby Schaffner - ASHO F HCO/Address Off - now dead; Ken Shapiro - Body Reg/ SHSBC Sup ASHO D; Candace 'Candy' Sias - Pubs US; Paul Sias - Pubs USS; Michael Silverman - AOLA Registrar; Pat Silverman - AOLA Div 6; Bill Skrifvars - HCO Area Sec ASHO D; Karen Spencer - FBO ASHO D; Larry Spencer - FBO ASHO D; Sheila Stankey - AOLA; Andre Tabayoyon - AOLA; Mary Tabayoyon - AOLA; Leslie Thompson - Dissem Sec/CO ASHO D; Ralph Toddhunter - ASHO F - wife Susan died of cancer; Bob Toftness - TTC ASHO D; Ruthie Weissberg - PES ASHO D; Carol Woodruff - AOLA; Craig Wright - ASHO D Tech Div; Suzanne Wright - Pubs US; Stacy Young - RVY's wife; Anne Zanier - FOLO WUS; Loren Zanier - CESO

"For every person I have named, there is another person whose face I can recall but whose name I cannot, who was on the RPF. Sad...Makes me angry."

Message-ID: <5un41c$p6e@drn.zippo.com>

#####

Russia

"About 250,000 families have been destroyed by exposure to sects active in Russia, said Viktor Navarnov of the Russian Prosecutor-General's Office. He said in an interview with the Itar-Tass news agency today that a similar number of children have been abandoned by parents who went into the fold of sects. Navarov said his view was that unopposed by the public, cults are winning over increasingly more Russians. However, a blessing to murder and suicide are part of the ideology of many cults, he said.

"Navarnov, who oversees ethnic relations laws, cited the Scientology Church founded by Ron Hubbard as one of the most aggressive cults in the world, whose code teaches among other dicta that one's self-determination and honour are more important than one's current life and never hesitate to harm the other for a fair cause. The prosecutor said these teachings spell licence for murder and suicide. He cited similar calls expounded in the book by a leader of the Bogorodichny Centre.

"Navarnov said the Hubbard proselytizing methods are defined in Russia as pernicious and a danger to the public. The Russian Health Ministry by its order issued in June of 1996 instructs health officials 'not to allow propaganda and the use of methods of scientology and dianetics'."

Message-ID: <3c7e2fd144e99c4d03898cb754db1555@anon.efga.org>

#####

Robert Vaughn Young

"The ability to throw and give a press conference was usually the last part of the training that we gave to Scientology PRs and the final drilling for it was what was called 'Reporter TRs.' The 'TR' acronym stood for 'training routine' or 'training regimen' and came from drills or exercises Hubbard had designed for auditors. When the acronym was applied to 'Reporter TRs,' it was a series of drills that a PR did to learn how to answer questions and to take control of the conversation and, if need be, to cave a person in. The drill consisted of a PR and a coach.

"Coach: Okay, start. So tell me, what is scientology? Student: Scientology's a way of thinking that... Coach: Flunk. Wrong answer. Here, read this. (Coach hands student PR the sheet with the approved replies.) Student: Got it. Coach: Good. Start. So I'm supposed to ask you, what is scientology? Student: Scientology is an applied religious philosophy. Coach: Who dreamed it up? Student: L. Ron Hubbard. Coach: Flunk. You didn't correct my use of the word 'dreamed up' and it might appear in the story. Start. So who dreamed it up? Student: If you mean who discovered the laws of Scientology, it was L. Ron Hubbard, an American writer and philosopher. Coach: Wasn't he a science fiction writer? Student: Yes, he... Coach: Flunk. Too quick on the admission. Start. Wasn't he a science fiction writer? Student: Mr. Hubbard was one of America's most prolific writers, writing millions of words in many fields and futuristic fiction was only one of many.

"The last Reporter TRs' drill was what was called 'verbal karate.' This is where the 'reporter' is arguing and the student PR has to cut him down, take control, wipe him out and dominate. The PR is told he is free to scream, curse, pound the table, do anything he wants to take command and control. When we wanted to really put the PR through the wringer, we'd pit two people against him/her and let 'er rip! That was why it was called 'verbal karate.' The idea was not that one should approach all reporters that way, although we did get some who misunderstood when to do it, but that the PR was _able_ to do it.

"But then no one had ever drilled holding a press conference on the day one is being raided by the FBI. It would take me years to look back and fully realize why Artie had declined to hold the press conference himself. After all, he was the head of Public Relations for the Church of Scientology and had been so identified in the media. Instead, he gave it to me. But in a few hours, I would start to learn the real reason Artie did not want to do it: he knew too much. Instead, I was about to be sacrificed to the Los Angeles Press Corps and Reporter TRs wouldn't save me."

Message-ID: <5ud46j$163$1@eskinews.eskimo.com>

#####

St. Petersburg Times

"The focus of Wilson's piece on Scientology was the tragic death of Lisa McPherson. Many people cared greatly for Lisa and the only desire of those who were with her was to help her. Wilson's crude disrespect for her death, her religion and, in truth, for any Scientologist became clear when he callously described the matter of her death as a mere 'PR problem.'

"Wilson ignores a huge discrepancy when he discusses the findings of the medical examiner, Joan Wood. Wood did not even conduct the autopsy. The man who did was associate medical examiner Dr. Robert Davis, a board-certified pathologist whose testimony regarding the details of the autopsy of Lisa McPherson does not support Wood's inflammatory allegations.

"It is long past time for the records of her autopsy to be made available so that the mystery surrounding her case can be put to rest rather than used to refuel the year-long public media circus.

"Brian Anderson, public affairs director, Church of Scientology of Clearwater"

"The Church of Scientology's original portrayal of how a 36-year-old woman died under its care bears little resemblance to the sobering tale unfolding this summer with the release of the church's own internal records. The records are a collection of detailed, handwritten logs kept by the low- and mid-level Scientology staffers who cared for Lisa McPherson at the church's Fort Harrison Hotel in November and December 1995. Their contents - page after page of frank and vivid daily reports - contrast starkly with the official version of McPherson's death put out last December by the church and its Los Angeles lawyer Elliot Abelson."

http://www.sptimes.com/News2/83097/EDITORIAL/Cozy_deal_for_speaker.html
http://www.sptimes.com/News2/90497/NATIONAL/Scientologist_s_death.html
Message-ID: <34085195.5329427@news.eskimo.com>
Message-ID: <340f8964.1058075@news.eskimo.com>

#####

Toronto Picket

"The Demo ran from 2pm to 4:45pm on a fine sunny day. Demonstrators included Gregg Hagglund, Artemis, D'Artangnan, V-Tech, Nan Maclean and Cerberus. Leaflet dissemination stats: 450 copies of RXspecial, Dyin' Ethics, and 'The Court's Opinion' were snatched up by passersby.

"After our last Demo/Picket on Aug. 16th I sent a list of complaints to the Metro Police about the conduct of the Co$ Toronto staff under the direction of Al Buttnor during the absence of Police cover. The Metro Cops responded by mustering a massive show of manpower and gracing our opening moments with a total of three bicycle cops, three beat cops and two Sergeants. He explained the show of force was to demonstrate to the Co$ not to mess with our Demo. Again. Ever.

"He also complimented me on my new equipment and as per my (unpublished) request, he was willing to advise me on its lawful and technical use. Since my new piece of hardware was the same as Police Issue he gave me a quick briefing and then invited me to try it out. 'This is the Toronto Contingent Of the ARSCC, which does not exist, 'I said,'....exist..xist..ist..st' echoed off the office building walls. I lowered the microphone of my new 10 Watt Megaphone and gave the Sergeant a raised eyebrow. He smiled and nodded and said it was ok but he wanted to go up the street a bit and check again. He walked away and headed up Yonge towards Bloor, advising me to give the Megaphone another try when I saw him wave. 'Our Last Demo was interfered with by disruptive tactics, including sound. The use of this megaphone is the promised result. You drew it in.. it in..t in... in.'

"Heads appeared in the upper windows of the Org. The sergeant gave me a thumbs up and started walking back. He gave me a 'repeat' sign and so I obliged.' Scientology does not tell the truth. Learn all about the dirty little secret of Scientology: the story of Xenu the Galactic Overlord."

"Now at first the traffic was surprisingly sparse. It being Labour Day, I had experienced huge traffic before in the same area in previous years, so I was a little disappointed. And traffic picked up considerably by 3 pm. I kept up a consistent but static commentary on the M-phone. I quoted some of OT3 and many of Hubbard's most outrageous statements like the Fair Game Policy. By 3:30 pm we were getting low on flyers. There were a lot of people who wanted to talk and more who wanted to listen to discussions. Sometimes I was literally being mobbed for RXflyers! Artemis was getting out a steady traffic of the 'The Court's Opinion' flyer and whenever I saw someone with one I would ask if they wanted the comic book companion and usually they would.

"[A] Lady clam marched out the org door carrying their 'Stress test' table and she plunked it down right in front of the natural 'discussion' area beside the org. However, since that is still part of the sidewalk of 700 Yonge street, I picked the table up and walked it 10 feet up the side street and put it down. Then I stood in front of the Org. and using my M-phone I said, 'This sidewalk is mine until 5 pm. I signed for it. If you want to demo your $50 voltmeter in the $5000 casing then stay on Org property.'"

Message-ID: <elrond-0209970954510001@cgowave-7-50.cgocable.net>