Alt.religion.scientology Week in Review Volume 1, Issue 38 01/19/97 by Rod Keller [rkeller@voicenet.com] copyright 1997
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 the articles.
Many include an excerpt, and all include message IDs for the articles I
cover. This may or may not be useful to you, 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://user1.i1.net/~mallen/scn/arswr/ars-summary.html
http://users.aimnet.com/~jdiver/scieno.htm
http://www.thur.de/religio/publik/arsfaq.html
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New CAN
The new Cult Awareness Network (run by Scientology) released a brochure,
portions of which were posted this week.
"A new brochure from the 'new' CAN is a flimsy affair titled 'How to bring families and friends back together' providing factual and useful information about religions in our society. 'The former Cult Awareness Network went out of business in June of 1996 following its request to liquidate in bankruptcy proceedings after receipt of a multi-million damage award against it by one of its deprogramming victims. The present organization, utilizing the same name, promotes understanding and religious freedom. to contact CAN, call 312-267-7777'.
"Would anyone be surprised that there is no mention of the news that the 'deprogramming victim', Jason Scott, has, himself, nullified the awards against 'deprogrammer' Rick Ross and the real Cult Awareness Network (CAN)? "
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Rita Garvey
The mayor of Clearwater, Florida was reported this week to have been
tricked into a press photograph by Scientology. This report was summarized
from a broadcast on Morning Edition, a National Public Radio show.
"Clearwater mayor Rita Garvey says that she was tricked by $cientologists when she appeared in a photograph with students from a clam school. The photo appeared in a clam publication, and featured Garvey with several students and their anti-drug posters.
"Garvey, who is an outspoken opponent of $cientology, said that she was not made aware that the students were from a $cientology school."
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March on Clearwater
Jeff Jacobsen announced the second annual demonstration in Clearwater.
"http://www.primenet.com/~cultxpt/demo.htm has links to information about Clearwater and information from our previous picket in Clearwater last March.
"This year's picket slogan will be 'Stop Hurting People, Scientology.' and have a candlelight memorial for Lisa McPherson. Clearwater is where Lisa McPherson died. It's the church's spiritual world headquarters. It's where Dennis Erlich was locked in the basement of the Ft. Harrison Hotel. It's where the church snuck into town under an assumed name and had projects to attack local media."
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Scientology Judge
Details from the internal Scientology list, TNX-L were posted to a.r.s
this week. An anonymous Scientologist posted:
"Murphy, who said he is not a Scientologist, said Criminon 'has turned lives around,' including those of hard-core offenders. 'When we look at Criminon, its philosophy is absolutely consonant with mine. I truly believe people are good. We have to work aggressively with them.'"
The anonymous Sons of Scamizdat post from TNX: "This is a lie. Judge Patrick Murphy is a Scientologist and has been receiving services from Barbara Wiseman, President of the Way to Happiness Foundation. This post from TNX should prove that:
"This is IMPORTANT data for anyone in Los Angeles County. Judge Patrick Murphy got connected up to The Way to Happiness, Criminon, and Narconon a few months ago and has become a TREMENDOUS ally. He is extraordinarily uptone and sane and is blown away by the LRH tech to which he's been exposed so far such as the SP/PTS tech and Tone Scale, Way to Happiness, etc. and begins to use it successfully immediately. Additionally, I have been auditing him on an assist program for a fairly serious physical problem he had but which is now fully resolved because of the assists."
>From the LA Times, published on November 1, 1996.
"Murphy, 41, worked as a nurse for nine years before graduating from Southwestern Law School. In 1991, he pulled off a major upset when he defeated presiding Citrus Municipal Judge Abe Khan. At the time, Murphy was ranked 'not qualified,' by the bar, and he got the same rating this time. The bar's 48-member committee said it felt 'he lacks the judgment needed to perform the functions of a Superior Court judge.'
"Some of Murphy's backers also note that he has become the first judge in the nation to initiate the use of a program called Criminon in lieu of, or in addition to, incarcerating misdemeanor offenders. Based on the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Church of Scientology, the program is aimed at getting criminals to critically examine their behavior and reform, according to material provided by Hollywood-based Criminon."
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Dennis Erlich
Dennis Erlich's hearing on his child support case has been postponed
again. Scientology appears to be funding his ex-wife in the case.
"It was put off again until this Friday, the 24th at 8:45am. We shall see, said the blindman."
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Earthlink
Online news provider Cnet reported that the Scientology-owned Earthlink
Internet provider will attempt to go pubic again soon.
"EarthLink Network plans to go public this month, bucking trends on Wall Street and the Internet service market in general.
"The Southern California ISP will issue up to $34.5 million in shares at a time when stock prices of other Net service providers are well below their 1996 highs. EarthLink is going against the grain with its market strategy as well, targeting individuals and small businesses while others are focusing on high-speed corporate accounts."
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Germany
Numerous articles were published this week on the battle between Germany
and Scientology. From Reuters:
"The Church of Scientology on Saturday accused German Chancellor Helmut Kohl of arrogance for refusing to reply to accusations that Germany was oppressing Scientologists in the same way Hitler persecuted Jews. In a statement on Saturday the Church of Scientology said Kohl's arrogance was 'typical of the contempt and indifference shown by high-handed German officials to the Church's complaints of discrimination over the past five years.'
"'It is German government representatives who by their actions and statements make the comparisons with the Nazi era stick,' church president Heber Jentzsch said."
>From SAT1-teletext (German TV):
"[A] news item on the director Constantin Costa-Gavras, saying that he feels uncomfortable about having signed that Open Letter to Helmut Kohl, which recently appeared in the Herald Tribune. He is being quoted, that he 'participated without knowing the exact content of the letter'. According to him, he signed the letter, after Dustin Hoffman had asked him to do so."
Jewish leaders have entered the dispute. From Reuters:
"German Jewish leader Ignatz Bubis on Monday dismissed as 'insulting' accusations from American celebrities that Germany has been oppressing Scientologists in the same way that Hitler persecuted Jews. Speaking at a reception for his 70th birthday, Bubis told several hundred guests including Chancellor Helmut Kohl that such a charge was an affront to the memory of those who had perished and suffered in the Holocaust.
"'It is insulting to the memory of the victims,' said Bubis, who survived the Holocaust but whose father, brother and sister were killed in Nazi concentration camps."
The invitation of a government official in an article from Agence France Presse:
"A senior official of German Chancellor Helmut Kohl's ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) invited critics of the government's policy towards Scientologists to come to Germany and witness that members of the sect are not being persecuted like Jews were by the Nazis.
"Johannes Gerster, president of the CDU's branch in the western Rhineland-Palatinate state, called on the 30 US celebrities who wrote a letter to Kohl bitterly attacking Germany's clampdown on Scientologists as a 'disgrace,' to come and find out for themselves that they are wrong."
And Scientology's reply, from Reuters:
"The Church of Scientology has condemned as a public relations stunt, a German government invitation to entertainment executives to visit Germany to investigate reports of discrimination against church members. In a statement issued late on Monday the Los Angeles-based Church said German leaders were ignoring several reports by international human rights organisations criticising Bonn for discrimination against minorities.
"Heber Jentzsch, president of the Church of Scientology International, said the offer by Johannes Gerster, leader of Chancellor Helmut Kohl's Christian Democrats in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate to visit Germany was just a stunt. He likened it to the 'the wolf asking the shepherd to visit his den and quickly hiding the blood and bones of the murdered sheep until he is gone.'"
An editorial from Helsingin Sanomat, the largest newspaper in Finland:
"Germany was attacked unintelligibly, when a a group of American show-artist published a full page ad, which compared German authorities activities against scientology-sect to the persecution of Jews. The ad aroused justified anger, because it insulted not only the Germany of today but also the victims of Nazis, as the leader of Jews in German Ignatz Bubis said.
"The show artists' ad tells about their ignorance and it could be laughed at fullheartedly, unless the topic isn't so serious. The authorities in German consider scientologist as ruthless business organization, not as a religion, as the minister Claudia Nolte expressed the issue. Scientologists have been criticized in many counties from robbing people's money.
"As a matter of principle the issue is important. It deals directly with the right of sovereign government to protect its citizens and itself from sects, which the country consider as an unconstitutional, dangerous extreme groups. The authorities of a democratic country has a undivided right to define, which is in terms of tax paying religious activity, which is business and which is cheating. In the USA the liberty of religions is extreme with their tax-exempted statuses. In USA works also the most peculiar sects, but it's completely their internal issue.
"Germany deserves the support from the EU and its member states, because there are lots of shady sects which are pretending to be a religion, and the fight against them isn't just the problem of one nation."
Scientology quickly found some "victims" this week, as reported by Reuters:
"Scientologists who said they were living in Britain because they had suffered discrimination in Germany on Wednesday handed in a message for Chancellor Helmut Kohl at the German embassy in London. The delegation said they were living in Britain because of 'discrimination they experienced in Germany.'"
The US Government responded with rebukes for both Germany and Scientology, in this Associated Press article:
"'We believe that the members of the Church of Scientology have a right to practice their religion in Germany and in all other countries,' said department spokesman Nicholas Burns. The authorities in Bonn 'have interfered, we believe, with the religious rights of many Scientologists, among them American citizens.'
"'[but] It is simply outrageous to compare the current German leadership to the Nazi era leadership,' Burns said. 'We have advised the Scientology community not to run those ads, because the German government is a democratic government, and it governs a free people.'"
Agence France Presse reported the comments of Guenther Beckstein, who accused Scientology of running penal colonies (the RPF).
"The row in Germany over the Church of Scientology continued Wednesday with Bavaria's state interior minister accusing it of running 'penal colonies' to brainwash wayward believers. In a statement issued here, Guenther Beckstein said celebrity supporters of Scientologists should vent their anger at such facilities, rather than accuse Germany of treating the church like Jews in the Nazi era.
"Citing what he called the testimony of a former Scientologist, Beckstein said the so-called 'penal colonies' were run under the name Rehabilitation Project Force. According to the former church member, those sent to the camps are cut off from the outside world and forced to walk 12 hours a day around a pole while meditating on their 'deviant' behaviour, Beckstein said. They must wear black uniforms and carry out menial tasks, he added.
"One of the camps, 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Los Angeles, was built in 1991 to house 750 people, he alleged. It is fitted with sophisticated security systems, and weapons have been purchased, he added. Similar camps exist in Florida state; Sydney, Australia; Saint Hill, England; and Copenhagen, he said."
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Grady Ward
Grady Ward posted a letter to Judge Whyte this week, and a filing from
Scientology in the Scamizdat case.
"In a thirty-second telephone call late yesterday afternoon, Thomas R. Hogan informs me that he will be lodging an ex parte request for an expansion of the preliminary injunction. I request that you ask him to meet and confer with me in order to seek a resolution without court intervention and that you grant me a hearing in person or by brief so that I may properly prepare a response to whatever allegations scientology presents to support such a motion.
"If they allege that I am about to post their claimed trade secrets to the Internet - which is false -- remember they have inconsistently claimed that they were able to avoid injury and loss of alleged trade secrets in the past by immediately 'canceling' (albeit unlawfully) the offending article(s). To insist that they are now about to suffer irreparable harm from a similar posting is disingenuous and would deprive me of properly and fairly responding to them in front of this court."
"NOTICE OF MOTION AND MOTION TO EXPAND PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION AND FOR DEFAULT JUDGMENT to be hear February 21, 1997 in the courtroom of Hon. Ronald M. Whyte, US District Court, San Jose, CA
"The 18 page brief rants about the cost of my shredder and how I as a pauper pro se am taking advantage of the criminal cult! The cult is complaining that I threw away the UPS mailing wrapper from the package of NOTs from Mr Lars Ek that was sent to me last year to prove that the NOTs are indeed freely and publicly available in Sweden. However I copied the address on the package faithfully and reported it to the criminal cult."
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Greece
The Associated Press reported that an Athens court has ordered Scientology
to close its doors in Greece.
"A copy of the ruling obtained by The Associated Press on Friday accused the church of operating under the cloak of a philosophic society to try to lure, brainwash and exploit members. 'It is an organization with medical, social and ethical practices that are dangerous and harmful,' Judge Constandia Angelaki wrote in her ruling. 'It claims to act freely so as to draw members who subsequently undergo ... brainwashing by dictated ways of thinking that limit reaction capabilities.'
"Angelaki ruled on the case on Dec. 20 but the verdict was officially issued Thursday. The move followed numerous complaints from relatives of members of the church, which operated here as the Center of Applied Philosophy in Greece. They claimed the center transformed their kin into moody or suicidal automatons.
"'The case is a sham,' Jentzsch wrote. 'It is unfortunately reminiscent of the former junta that ruled Greece as a totalitarian state and the assault today is simply because the mission is not 'orthodox' according to the prevailing vested interests in Greece.'"
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Keith Henson
Keith Henson posted Scientology's opposition to his deposition of head
Scientologist David Miscavige. Scientology lawyer Tom Hogan writes:
"I am writing regarding your deposition notice for the deposition of David Miscavige. As you and your cohort, Grady Ward, have already been informed on several occasions, Mr. Miscavige is the Chairman of the Board of Religious Technology Center. Magistrate Judge Infante advised you at the discovery conference in this case that there is a considerable body of federal law which provides that the deposition of senior executives is not normally permitted.
"The statements made in your notice and the documents which you request are strong evidence of the impropriety of your attempt to depose Mr. Miscavige. You have included in the notice requests for documents and information which you are fully aware are in the knowledge of Mr. Warren McShane, president of Religious Technology Center, who has been RTC's representative throughout the activities in this and other cases.
"Furthermore, other documents which you have requested are additional evidence of your harassing purpose as they do not relate to RTC and have nothing to do with whether you infringed RTC's copyrights or misappropriated its trade secrets or with any of your affirmative defenses."
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Lisa McPherson
UPI reported this week that Florida prosecutors will assist the police in
investigating the death of Lisa McPherson. Lisa died of dehydration in
1995. It has been suggested that Scientology's "introspection rundown",
which includes imprisonment, could be the cause.
"Prosecutors decline to explain why they have been called in on the case, but note they help police with investigations 'on occasion.' A Scientology spokesman says the church welcomes the inclusion of prosecutors in the probe and will 'not be afraid of anything that comes out.'"
"According to a German (!) press report, DA Bernie McCabe is now investigating the McPherson death. This is the same DA who prosecuted Tony Strawn."
>From Keith Henson's post of Lisa's autopsy report. Not for the squeamish.
"MEDICAL EXAMINER Pasco Edward a. Corcoran, M.D. Larry a. Bedore, MS. Name: MC PHERSON, Lisa Case # 1951474 Age: 36 yrs Race: White Sex: Female
Date of Death: Dec. 5, 1995 Body Identified by: Jeff Schaffner & David Slaughter Date of Autopsy: Dec. 6, 1995 at: 11:00 hrs Authorized by: Joan U. Wood M.D., D.M.E. Investigative Agency: Clearwater Police Department Agency Case # 95-29158
"Manner of Death; Undetermined Immediate Cause of Death: Thrombo-embolism left pulmonary artery due to: Thrombosis of left Popliteal vein due to: Bed rest and severe dehydration
"Severe dehydration Multiple old and recent hematomas-extremities Abrasion of nose
"Specifically absent is cash or jewelry. The body is that of a normally developed white female who appears 32 years of age and is of average nutritional status measuring 69 inches and weighing 108 pounds.
"The dorsal [back of hand] aspect of the right lower arm just above the wrist is remarkable for showing several crusted confluent dark brown lesions [scabs] consistent with 'insect/animal bites.' A hematoma [bleeding under skin/bruise] is present over the proximal [toward center of the body] portion of the right third proximal metacarpal [i.e., she seems to have hit something hard with her fist]. Mixed contusions and insect-appearing bites vary in greatest dimension from 0.2 to 0.6 cm are present over the dorsal aspect of the right hand. Over the medial aspect of the right knee there is a reddish-brown area with sharp margins. [sharp margins indicate being hit by something with straight edges. This is the kind of bruise you get from running into a coffee table as opposed to the sort of bruise you would get from being hit by a round baseball bat.]
"On the medial aspect of the left lower leg there are confluent old (green-brown) hematoma with indefinite peripheral ages. The dorsal aspect of both feet contain multiple drying scaling lesions that vary from 0.3 to 1.2 cm. On section these lesions in common lack an underlying hemorrhagic base even centrally and the margins are peripheral and sharp. Sections are obtained from such areas of the right foot. An abrasion is present above the lateral aspect of the right lower leg adjacent to Achilles tendon. Parallel to this there are superficial abrasions medial to it numbering two and averaging 1/4 inch. On the medial aspect of the right lower leg there are scattered old (green-brown with indefinite margins) hematomas that vary in greatest dimension from 0.3 to 1.0 cm. An old (yellow-green indefinite margins) 4 inch hematoma is present over the left posterior iliac crest. On the point of the right elbow posteriorly there is a healing laceration measuring 1/8 inch. Adjacent to this there is an 'old' hematoma with a greatest dimension of 2- 1/2 inches. [This is a fairly amazing amount of damage done to someone, though not directly related to cause of death.]
"LUNG: Sections of major pulmonary artery are remarkable for showing loosely adherent blood to the endothelium of the underlying vessel. Focally a layer of fibrin is present at the endothelium blood interface."
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Scientology Charity
The Observer reports that Scientology wants to become a registered charity
in the UK.
"The Charity Commission is scratching its head and taking theological advice. The Church of Scientology has submitted an application for registration as a charity. The church, founded by the late sci-fi writer L. Ron Hubbard, has a major problem: large numbers of people regard it as a weird religious cult that brainwashes converts. But its main obstacle is metaphysical - proving that it believes in a god.
"There are 182,000 charities registered in Britain. 22,000 of them 'religious' - from organ funds to church building projects and religious relief agencies. The Church of Scientology wants official registration because, as a controversial and relatively new religious grouping - even though it claims 100,000 British members and 8 million worldwide - it is not seen as a charity by the tax man.
"The law lays down four criteria as acceptable objects of a charity - relief of poverty, improving education, generally benefiting the community or furthering religion. While it draws no distinction between one religion and another and, in general, presumes that religion is for the public benefit, it does state that a religion 'must be founded on a belief and reverence for a god or gods'. It must also 'promote spiritual teaching and the doctrines of these beliefs' as well as religious rites and observance.
"But the law makes clear that 'advancement of religion' is not always charitable - for example, where the benefit of an organisation is entirely private, where a religion benefits only its members or its beliefs 'undermine accepted foundations of religion and morality.' If the commissioners agree to accept their 'god', then they will need to determine that the benefits of charitable status would not merely be for members and will not undermine existing religion. This is a hard call to make by any standards."
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The Auditor
Scientology magazine The Auditor reports that new HCO Bulletins are being
released, containing previously undiscovered meter drills.
"During the exhaustive review done of ALL LRH references on auditing, as part of the research done for the new Standard Drills, several key LRH datums on RTs and Metering were discovered that had never been issued before. These have now been made available to everyone as HCO Bulletins, and were released at this year's International May 9th Event.
"Additionally, as part of the extensive search through everything LRH ever wrote about TRs, his definition of TRs was discovered as written in 1979, but erroneously never issued. This is now released as HCOB23 Aug 1979, Issued 9 May 1996, DEFINITION OF TRs. In it, LRH redefines TRs as: 'Methods of drilling the comm formula and becoming expert in its handling and use'.
"How many times have you been told, when doing a can squeeze, to 'shake out your hands until your fingers are loose and floppy'? It was dis- covered that when LRH saw a video with an auditor asking the pc to shake out his hands, he strongly rejected this as incorrect and not part of the standard can squeeze procedure. This was added many years ago by someone else, and now the exact LRH procedure has been restored in HCOB 9 February 79RB, E-METER DRILL 5 RB, CAN SQUEEZE."
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Rod Keller
I filed this with the Federal Bankruptcy Court in Phoenix, Arizona this
week.
"Keller understands from Mr. Moxon's Motion to Compel that Mr. Moxon is no longer a party to this case, and is now the former attorney of Mr. Scott. As such his interest is derivative and dependent upon the interest of his former client. Under no circumstances does he hold an independent interest in a bankruptcy where his former client has filed a proof of claim as a creditor. Thus, he has no standing in this case, and no right to seek depositions.
"Mr. Moxon has not rectified the invalid subpoena, which is invalid insofar as it states that, 'A copy of the court order authorizing the examination is attached' but failed to attach any such order. Keller has faxed and mailed to Counsel issuing the Subpoena, Kendrick L. Moxon, Esquire, a letter requesting a copy of the missing order, but has received no reply.
"Mr. Berry did not send a press release to Keller, nor was it posted to the Internet by Keller. It was posted to the newsgroup alt.religion.scientology and other groups by Mr. Arnaldo Lerma (Exhibit C). Mr. Lerma is a client of Mr. Berry in another matter. The portion of the posting which identifies the source as Mr. Lerma has been removed from Mr. Moxon's exhibit 'N'.
"Keller is not, and has never been a member of CAN. His 'support' is limited to general agreement with the goals of the organization."
I have a conference call scheduled for Feb. 24th with the parties in the Rick Ross bankruptcy case in Arizona. The parties will be:
Bret Maidman, lawyer for Rick Ross Kendrick Moxon, pro se, claiming to be an independent creditor Charles Grube (no idea) Graham Berry, lawyer for Jason Scott and Kathy Tonkin, his mom David Bardin, lawyer for CAN, but representing himself pro se in this case yours truly Judge George B. Nielsen, Jr., Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge
All sorts of motions to compel depositions, motions to quash, replies, protective orders, etc will be heard simultaneously.
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