More Speak Out

The St. Pete Times has another lengthy expose of David Miscavige’s brutal treatment of his underlings.

They are stepping forward — from Dallas and Denver, Portland, Las Vegas, Montana — talking about what happened, to them and their friends, during their years in the Church of Scientology.

Jackie Wolff wept as she recalled the chaotic night she was ordered to stand at a microphone in the mess hall and confess her “crimes” in front of 300 fellow workers, many jeering and heckling her.

Gary Morehead dredged up his recollection of Scientology leader David Miscavige punishing venerable church leaders by forcing them to live out of tents for days, wash with a garden hose and use an open latrine.

Steve Hall replayed his memory of a meeting when Miscavige grabbed the heads of two church executives and knocked them together. One came away with a bloody ear.

Mark Fisher remembered precisely what he told Miscavige after the punches stopped and Fisher touched his head, looked at his palm and saw blood.

These and other former Scientology staffers are talking now, inspired and emboldened by the raw revelations of four defectors from the church’s executive ranks who broke years of silence in stories published recently by the St. Petersburg Times.

Those behind-the-scenes accounts from Marty Rathbun and Mike Rinder, the highest officials ever to leave Scientology, were buttressed by detailed revelations of highly placed former managers Amy Scobee and Tom De Vocht.

Now their stories have prompted other former Scientology veterans to go public about physical and mental abuses they say they witnessed and endured.

Some want to support and defend the initial four, whom church representatives labeled as liars attempting a coup. Others say they feel more secure now that Rathbun, Rinder and the others are on the record with their unprecedented accounts of life on the inside.

But fear still prevents many defectors from talking. For every former church staffer willing to speak out, one or two more refused.

Those who talked confirm the earlier defectors’ stories of erratic, dehumanizing treatment and provide a deeper view into the controlling environment in which members of the religious order known as the Sea Org live and work.

A few days ago, Miscavige distributed a special Freedom Magazine issue smearing the four people who spoke out in the first St. pete Times articles.  He’d better crank out the next issue fast before the villagers chase him down with pitchforks and torches.

Slappy sees the end draw near.

Meet the Untouchables

I don’t know how long this site has been online but I just stumbled upon it.  It’s a new new site from loyal Scientologists who are spilling the beans on current diminutive leader David Miscavige.

We are a think tank of loyal Scientologists formed around the recognition that Scientology’s problems trace directly to the hidden corruption and criminality of David Miscavige, the self-appointed dictator who subverted Scientology.

Our purpose is to provide transparency to all sides and thereby bring Scientology out of its own Dark Age and into present time where it belongs.

Non-violent, non-corporate and non-commercial, our only pledge is to observe and state what we have observed, do what we can to help and support those abused by Miscavige and bring about a reformation of the subject to its real purpose — giving people greater freedom in their lives.

I can support that.  I’ve just started reading it but among the points they make is the out-tech way Miscavige uses huge events and the fraud of the big ad campaigns that these events unveil.

The money, tens of millions of dollars every year, is funneled into the Church where a fat chunk goes to Miscavige every week. With it he buys $500 shirts, cars, motorcycles, suits, homes, buildings, cameras, flat-screen TVs, swimming pools, spy equipment, guns, home theaters… whatever he wants. He builds himself houses, offices, takes vacations, goes to the races and hangs with his millionaire friends like Tom Cruise.

Here’s where the real Ponzi fakery comes in. The “dissemination campaigns” are launched but the TV ads that were shown to the Scientologists play for only a few weeks in spot markets instead of throughout the year as implied in the event. After all, every campaign is hyped up as “our biggest campaign ever!” In this way, the “dissemination programs” announced by Miscavige appear to be happening and Scientology seems to be really moving somewhere! Woo-hoo.

But in reality, the car never left the driveway. All Miscavige did was start the engine, rev it up a couple of times and shut it down. In this way, one tank of gas is made to last indefinitely. But Scientologists mistakenly continue to invest money all year long into “the expansion of Scientology” and “IAS Programs” which are all a big fat lie.

Spending a pittance to get a few ads made by slave labor, that’s cheap. Putting a smattering of ads on TV or radio for a few days or weeks, that’s cheap. Miscavige simply keeps all the cash. There is NO accountability for the funds. Not to the IRS because it’s a “church,” not to the SEC, not to anyone.

So as the St. Pete Times articles were printed a few weeks ago, people spotted Scientology ads EVERYWHERE.   Are they still running?  I haven’t heard a peep lately?  Could it be that all that parishioner’s  money was spent just to rehab David Miscavige’s tarnished reputation?

Xenu Was Hiring

There’s a very funny account about how one man was lured into a job interview with Narconon that is a very entertaining and informative read.

I live in East Sussex, which is on the South East coast of England, and my interview with Narconon was on Wednesday morning at one of their main drug rehabilitation centres. The building, a Tudor mansion that is well over one hundred years old, is quite simply magnificent.

I’d arrived a little early and took a moment to sit on a bench outside, soaking up the majesty of the surroundings. Very impressive indeed; must have cost a fortune.

Moments later, somebody came out to see me, and introduced himself. It was Bob, the chap I’d spoken to on the telephone when arranging my interview. We entered the building via the reception – the inside was as pretty as the out – and Bob handed me an application form.

I was taken to another room, and there I met Adam, who was also applying for the position. Bob explained that even though Adam had arrived first we would be interviewing together. The importance of this unity – that Adam and I needed to stay together – was reinforced upon me on several occasions thereafter, to the point where, looking back, I have to wonder if Adam was actually a genuine applicant, or somebody they had used to watch over me. But that’s crazy, paranoid thinking. Right?

I finished the application form and returned it to Bob. Adam followed. Now back in the reception area, I was admiring the beautiful fireplace when I noticed a large, fairly old-fashioned looking book on the mantle. The author’s name grabbed my immediate attention.

L. Ron Hubbard

The book was still shrink-wrapped – it was available for purchase. It’s not unusual to find an association between religion and rehab programs, but this still caught me a off-guard. My mind drifted back to the application, and a section therein that asked if I represented a newspaper or had the intention of writing a story about the facility. I had assumed this was a legal procedure to protect the guests, and I’d ticked the box marked “no.” Hindsight is, of course, 20-20.

Bob then led Adam and myself into a private room, and said we needed to watch a video that explained the history of Narconon. Fine; this was not the first time I’d had to sit through introductory materials for a new job. What Bob neglected to mention, however, was that the video was essentially an introduction to Scientology. Sure, it was mostly about Narconon, but L. Ron Hubbard and/or Scientology were typically given a very specific (and often congratulatory) mention at the beginning of every new scene.

They actually tell him they are paying minimum wage.  How do they break it to you later that, naw, you’re not even going to get that?

The Psychiatrist Who Cured The Scientologist

Aaron Gottfried wrote a book about growing up bipolar in a Scientology family.

Ida Camburn

Last weekend, a group of us went to visit long-time critic Ida Camburn at her Hemet home.  Tory Christman and Ida sat down to do a short video.

You can read all of Ida’s story at Lermanet.

Fact vs. Religion

That’s the nick of the young woman who interviewed Pat Harney and the former Sea Org Member.  Here are a couple extra videos from her.

And in this one she says this is the moment in the interview with Pat Harney where she just gave up on trying to get anything resembling anything remotely approaching a logical explanation.

Interview with Former Sea Org Member

The young gal who interviewed Pat Harney next spoke with “Invisible Girl.”

Interview with Pat Harney

A young woman interviews Scientology PR rep Pat Harney over the phone.  I haven’t watched this interview yet but it looks like it could be good.  You know if Pat is speaking for an hour, she has plenty of time to tell some whoppers.

Why Doesn’t Scientology Work”

This went up in December but I saw it for the first time today.   skoek reads items he finds on the net.  This one from Just Bill is pretty good.

Pat Harney Interview

I haven’t watched this yet but here’s a student interview with Pat Harney, Scientology PR person.  From the youtuber’s nick, it would appear she is an SDSU student of religions.