PROGRAM/MEETING

We will hold our meeting on TUESDAY, December 8.  (Drinks 6:30pm, dinner at 7pm) at Yocono’s Restaurant, 1666 West Exchange St, Akron  No reservations are required.

ELECTION

Enclosed you will find this year’s ballot.   Please take the time to fill it out and return either at the meeting or via mail.

ABC’s Nightline Continues Expose on Scientology

Nightline’s usual  format is 30 minutes covering two to three stories.  However, ABC used the entire 30 minute program on both Thursday and Friday night to cover the CoS.  The following account of ABC’s Nightline’s expose on Scientology of October 22, is taken from GlossLip.com. 

ABC Nightline’s, Martin Bashir interviewed Scientology cult spokesman Tommy Davis (son of actress Ann Archer) last night. He interviewed ex Scientology members Marty Rathbun, Amy Scobee and Bruce Hines. Ex members Mike Rinder and Tom DeVocht although not present for the taping of the interview, did answer questions for ABC.   

Rathbun and Scobee along with ex members Tom DeVocht and Mike Rinder were recently interviewed by the St. Petersburg Times. Their interviews with the SP Times revealed scathing allegations of  the physical and mental abuse of Scientology members  that they witnessed at the hands of current Scientology cult leader David Miscavige. If you missed it, you can watch it here.  Although there was no mention of why cult leader David Miscavige was not present, Tommy Davis did a pretty wonderful job of looking far from credible. You don’t have to be a body language expert to notice Davis’ constant shifting eyes, how he constantly looks away, the fidgeting with his hair, clasped hands, along with his stuttering to know that he was not too comfortable with the questions that Bashir was asking him.

Bashir and Davis discussed a bunch of allegations levied against the cult, including family disconnection within the cult of Scientology’s Sea Organization, as well as a punishment called the Rehabilitation Project Force aka The RPF for short.  It was great that Davis did not deny that there was an actual RPF within Scientology’s Sea Organization, but Davis claims that the RPF is a VOLUNTARY punishment. This statement sent me through the roof.   Davis said that Sea Org members are put on such a punishment if they fail in their duties. What he didn’t mention, was that a Sea Org member can be put on RPF for something as tiny as looking at someone the wrong way. I also would love to know what Sea Org members would voluntarily put themselves on a punishment which involves lack of sleep, low quality food, not being able to talk to anyone, wearing black clothing to further separate you from others, being shamed, ridiculed, and being forced to run everywhere rather than to walk. The RPF usually means that you will be put on some sort of  manual hard labor which can go into all hours of the night and this punishment can literally last for YEARS.

Just one trip to the ex Scientology kids website will validate these claims about the RPF. Or you can pick up books written by ex Scientology members. Books like The Complex by John Duignan and Blown For Good by Marc Headley (which we recently did an article on) are just two examples of ex members shedding more light on this abusive cult. There is also a new book which just came out, called My Billion Year Contract by ex Scientology member Nancy Many who dedicated for 27 years of her life to Scientology.  Nancy’s book title derives from the contract you sign when joining Scientology’s Sea Organization. You must sign a billion year contract with Scientology in order to join the Sea Org. I kid you not. Click here to see an actual copy of Scientology’s Sea Org contract.

So back to the interview…. The ex cult members that were interviewed, dedicated 20+ years of their lives to the cult, and luckily were able to escape. Although mentally, they are still suffering. 

One of the MANY things I found VERY disturbing about this interview, was the subject of family disconnection within the Sea Org. The mention of family disconnection itself is disturbing on its own.  But when Bashir asked Davis about Sea Org members who get married, (this is where Davis really starts to squirm) and if there are controls put in place on how often members are allowed to see their families, Davis said “there are “specific policies” that  apply to the RPF which governs what they do and what their schedule is“. Bashir then asks Davis how many times in a week would they be allowed to see their family members and Davis said “he didn’t really know off the top of his head“. 

Why would a spokesman for the “church” not know the policies of his own ”church” after being a member of Scientology for practically his entire life? And when Bashir asks Davis what was a fair guess of how many times a week Sea Org members get to see their family members, and asks if it once a week is correct, Davis said “once a week sounded about right“. Davis also said he thought seeing family members once a week was appropriate. LOVELY “church” isn’t it?  Where or where are the family protective services in all this?

If you are horrified, then please also understand this his statement is not entirely true. It’s worse. Some members can go years without seeing their family. Davis is also referring to Sea Org members whose family members are WITHIN the Sea Org and stationed at the same Org. And even then, members still don’t get to see their family. Davis is also not referring to any Sea Org members who have family members that are not in Scientology. There are people who haven’t seen their children in years. The cult fears outside interaction with family members. They fear that family will try to persuade their members to get out of the cult. To cut off members from their families is of course in pure cult fashion.  Sea Org members who are stationed at Golden Era Productions aka Gold Base in Ca., are not allowed to leave that property at all. Hard to believe that this is allowed to happen in the US today. But it does.

Also what Davis said doesn’t apply to many Sea Orgers that have other family members in the Sea Org stationed elsewhere in other countries. Many of these Sea Orgers are not on RPF, they just will never get the chance to see their family period. Members will never be spared the time to do so, nor can they afford to travel on their .25 cents an hour pay. Besides, Scientology is afraid they will flee.  According to ex Sea Org member Bruce Hines, (who was also physically abused by cult leader David Miscavige) gets a little tearful during the interview discussing his past life in Scientology. There were periods of time that he was not allowed to see his son while he was on RPF. He said at times he would wave to his son from afar if he saw him running by. His son was attending the Scientology school near by. Not being able to see you parents is considered child abuse in my book. Thankfully Bruce’s son also left the cult.   Hines also discusses his divorce and how divorce is encouraged in Scientology, and also the disconnection from other family members he still experiences today. How sad is this? 

ABC stated that members of Scientology wrote several affidavits denying that Miscavige was an abusive person and that Rathbun was the abusive person. Of course members and staff will do what they are told to do, or suffer the consequences. Rathbun does not deny that he was abusive, but blames Miscavige for  his actions.  Speaking of cult leader David Miscavige, where is he? He is the current leader of this so called “church”, so why wasn’t he interviewed?  Perhaps his last defensive interview with Ted Koppel back in 1992 was all he can manage with his “busy” schedule.

Back to wonder boy…Tommy Davis had the nerve to say that the church is experiencing growth and is flourishing. Stop it Tommy. Just stop it.  On the contrary. There have been reports of Scientology Org buildings laying dormant for years and the ones that are open are struggling to stay open. Some have recently closed. Their silly “Super Power Building” in Clearwater, Florida which looks fine on the outside, still remains unfinished after 10 years and is nothing but an empty shell. Scientology also owes the town over $245,000 in fines and continues to receive fines for in-completion. I wonder how members feel that their “donations” have funded a phony project, and that their money will go towards paying off fines.

Scientology has become so desperate, that they are trying to squeeze every last dime they can out of their members. Scientology is having constant fund drives, and running their library book scams. Which is raising funds from their members for books. The members are told that their “donations” will go towards putting Scientology books in local libraries across the US. Problem is, the books never show up the libraries, or if they do, the libraries don’t want them, and they throw them out or they send them back. Some have ended up in a bargain bin for a couple of bucks. I myself bought Dianetics for a buck! Biggest piece of gobbledy goop I have ever tried to read.  Members are also being pushed to take more courses and give, give, give till it hurts.

But just exactly WHAT are they giving to? Where does all their money go?  It goes to paying for Scientology lawyers, private PI’s, Scientology’s Office of Special Affairs aka OSA whose job is too dig up info on “suppressive people” and fair game them into oblivion. Unsuspecting members think that all their “donations” and all their years of dedication are going towards making this a better place to live and to “clear the planet” (which means having everyone practicing Scientology). They have visions of total enlightenment at the top of Scientology’s Bridge To Total Freedom. Some members will mortgage their homes, disconnect from their families, and as John Duignan was once quoted, “he would have killed for Scientology“.

Doesn’t sound much like a “church”. It does sound like there is an awful lot of abuse and brainwashing going on.  Now ABC only scratched the surface of the abuses of Scientology. They didn’t get into all the horror stories of the Sea Org members, how mysteriously Scientology’s tax exemption was acquired by the IRS, (shame on IRS) fair game activities, Scientology related deaths, child labor, human trafficking, past and current law suits like Operation Snow White and Operation Freakout, their many front groups or the pain and suffering of not only Scientology’s past and current Sea Org members, but also Scientology’s public members. To clarify, Scientology has different types of members. They have staff members, Sea Org members, celebrity members and public members. I know it sounds all very confusing. But keep in mind that is how Scientology works. They thrive on deception, confusion and secrecy, which are some of the main staples of being able to operate as a cult.

Scientology’s former members are speaking out at protests , on forums, in interviews, in court testimonies, in documented affidavits and everywhere else in between. They speak of how many years it took for them to deprogram themselves and how they still struggle with their painful memories today.  There is a list on the Why We Protest Wiki of ex members who have spoken out and that list has grown to over 750+ names since the last time I checked it. It also contains ex member’s stories, court documents and testimonies, their interviews, videos and their affidavits. Links are right next to their names for you to click on so you can research for yourself.  Or hop on over to www.exscientologykids.com for some heart wrenching stories from ex members who were children growing up in the Sea Org. If those stories don’t break your heart and get you mad enough to want to get involved in helping to shed more light on this abusive cult and fight for members who don’t have the courage, the mental ability or the means to fight back, then I don’t know what will.

Of course ABC can’t cover all of Scientology’s abuses is such a small span of time, but at the very least, they are shedding more light on an abusive cult that has survived under the radar in the US and world wide since the 1950’s.  It’s ok to believe in what you want. But when you believe in something that was achieved by brainwashing you and there is documented proof that your “church” is not only hurting people, but ruining lives, it’s time to bow out. The longer you stay in, the more you are contributing to part of the problem.

 

Rev. Moon Turning over Church to Sons
By AP / HYUNG-JIN KIM  Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009  TIME

(SEOUL, South Korea) - The Rev. Sun Myung Moon, now approaching 90 and still one of the world's most controversial religious figures, is handing over day-to-day control of his Unification Church to three U.S.-educated sons.  There are some changes afoot in fundraising and boosting membership, the sons say. But Moon - who will preside over another series of his trademark mass weddings on Wednesday - remains in charge as the church's self-proclaimed "Messiah."  Still, the sons are quietly assuming more responsibility in managing a church that has steadily expanded its business and charitable activities while trying to avoid the criticism that dogged it during the 1970s and 80s.  The youngest, 30-year-old Rev. Moon Hyung-jin, was tapped last year to take over as the church's religious leader. Moon Kook-jin, 39, is in charge of business ventures in South Korea, while 40-year-old Moon Hyun-jin oversees international operations. The church said all the brothers have Harvard degrees. 

Since founding the church in Seoul in 1954, the elder Moon has built a business empire with hundreds of ventures in more than a half-dozen countries, from hospitals and universities to newspapers and even a professional soccer team and ballet troupe.  These include the Washington Times newspaper and the New Yorker Hotel in Manhattan, as well as an ad agency and ski resort in South Korea, and a seafood distribution firm that supplies sushi to Japanese restaurants across the U.S. There are also ventures in North Korea, where Moon's ties are strong enough that for his last birthday, the communist country's leader Kim Jong Il  sent roses, lilies and prized wild ginseng. The church's interests include fledgling automaker Pyeonghwa Motors and the only foreign-owned luxury hotel in Pyongyang.

Among the most controversial of Moon's legacies are the mass weddings he calls "blessing ceremonies" - arranged marriages often pairing followers from different countries that he says are aimed at building a multicultural religious world. Critics maintain the weddings, involving people who usually don't meet until shortly before the ceremony, are evidence the Unification Church brainwashes its followers.  Since the first weddings took place in Seoul in 1960 and 1961, mass weddings have been held at New York's Madison Square Garden and at Seoul's Olympic Stadium, where 42,000 people were married in 1999.  On Wednesday, Moon will wed or reaffirm the marriages of more than 40,000 people: 20,000 in South Korea and the rest in countries around the world, including the U.S., where church officials say ceremonies are planned in nearly every state, including at the church-owned New Yorker Hotel.  Moon Hyung-jin, the Rev. Moon's hand-picked successor as religious  director,  was just 17 when he took a bride chosen by his father; the couple now have five children. In addition, three of the Rev. Moon's grandchildren were  set up with followers from Japan, the colonial ruler of Korea. The younger Moon says he sees the unions as an opportunity for diplomacy. "If people from Korea and Japan marry with this broad mindset, their children won't see their parents' countries as enemies and instead will come to love both countries," he told The Associated Press in an interview at his Seoul office.

Baby-faced and soft-spoken, Moon Hyung-jin was born and raised in New York, where he was known as Sean. He admits he's still growing into his new job. "When my father asked me to take on this role, I told him this responsibility was a bit much for me," he said. "He told me not to worry, that many people would help me." Since then, the younger Moon says he has carved out some areas of change, including making the church's fundraising activities more transparent. The church has been accused of duping followers into handing over their life savings. 

Membership is also a key concern. Though the church claims millions of members worldwide, experts say the figure is far lower - no more than 100,000. In South Korea, Unification Church members are far outnumbered by Catholics, Presbyterians and Buddhists.  "We've been weak on membership and on figuring out the church's direction.  We've been trying to resolve those issues," Moon Hyung-jin said. "But the church is getting stronger, and church members are happier." 

Critics maintain the Rev. Moon is little more than a charismatic cult  leader who brainwashes followers. "What Rev. Moon says is the law," said Lee Young-sun, a follower who left  the church in 2001 after 31 years. Her family so revered Moon, she said, they hung his portrait on the wall and thanked him in their mealtime  prayers. "The church's brainwashing is exactly what North Korea does," she said.  Still, some analysts say that by anointing a new generation, Moon may ensure the church endures after his death.  "Some people say the Unification Church may perish after Moon's death but I don't think so," said Tark Ji-il, a religion professor at Busan Presbyterian University. "It's more accurate to view them now as a corporate organization uniting people with similar religious beliefs."