Alt.religion.scientology
Week in Review Volume 5, Issue 35
12/17/2000
by Rod Keller [rkeller@...]
copyright 2000

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 information. 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.
Subscriptions are also available on ONElist. Email
weekinreview-subscribe@onelist.com or see http://www.onelist.com
Week in Review is archived at:
http://www.xenu.net/archive/WIR/
http://wpxx02.toxi.uni-wuerzburg.de/~krasel/CoS/ars-summary.html
http://www.uni-bonn.de/~uzs1dc/scientology/wir.html
http://www.religio.de/publik/arsfaq.html

#####

> ATEG

Scientologist-owned American Technologies Group suffered two losses this
week when it was ordered to pay a former employee and was unable to stop a
competitor from selling products similar to ATEG's. From Business Wire on
December 12th:

"The California Superior Court ruled that American Technologies Group Inc.
must pay the sum of $56,544.00 to its former Vice President of Sales, Jim
Nicastro for employee compensation due. Because of American Technologies
Group's perilous financial condition, ATG's counsel requested that
payments be deferred claiming that ATG was not able to pay a minimum
initial payment of $2000. Nicastro entered into a stipulation of entry of
Judgment, which allowed ATG to make installment payments since ATG claimed
it was unable to meet payroll and other obligations."

"After reviewing American Technologies Group Inc.'s claim for a temporary
restraining order against Bio-Friendly Corp., a judge refused to give
American Technologies Group Inc. any relief whatsoever to prevent
Bio-Friendly's right to manufacture, sell, promote, distribute, or market
its products. This includes Bio-Friendly's right to promote to its
investors any of its technologies. Additionally, ATG's counsel, in open
court proceedings, admitted that ATG had no evidence to support its claim
that Bio-Friendly misappropriated any trade secrets belonging to ATG."

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#####

> Austria

Die Presse reported on December 11th on a sect specialist in Innsbruck,
Austria.

"Ever more frequently Wolfgang Mischitz, a sect specialist in family
counseling for the Tyrolian Caritas, says he is confronted with people
seeking advice who had expected all their life's problems to be solved by
sects or denominations, but were instead very disappointed. The field of
denominations and sects in recent years has grown faster than anyone can
keep track of. 'In an analysis for the Families Ministry not long ago I
listed 36 religious categories which I have been confronted with here in
the Tyrol,' reported Mischitz in a 'Presse' interview. These groups range
from movements like 'Fokolare,' 'Engelswerk' and 'His People' in the
Catholic Church to Jehovah's Witnesses and Scientology. Mischitz reports
that most of those seeking counseling wanted to keep on being members of
their respective groups, but they wanted defense against the way they were
being treated."

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#####

> Clearwater

Mark Bunker reported being asked to leave the Winter Wonderland in
downtown Clearwater this week.

"There were children singing on stage, kids getting pony rides, and a
small petting zoo on display. The lure of the bunnies waiting to be pet
were too much for us so we went inside. Within minutes of our entering
what we assumed to be a public event, one of my guests had a man poke her
in the arm and say 'Why are you here if you don't believe?' My guest was
wearing a t-shirt saying 'Think for yourself' and displaying the web
address for the Lisa McPherson Trust, a watchdog group in downtown
Clearwater which helps folks victimized by Scientology.

"Immediately after, Benetta Slaughter, a prominent Scientologist, came up
to the three of us and demanded we leave as we were on private property.
We complied immediately. We saw no indication that you had to have
specific beliefs to share in the glory of the Winter Wonderland. The signs
at the entrance welcomed all and said 'Free Admission.'"

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#####

> Finland

A recent issue of International Scientology News claims that a consul from
Finland living in Valencia, Spain is using Scientology technology in his
work.

"As the Consul, he officially looks after his government's commercial
interests and the welfare of local Finnish citizens. And while looking for
how to increase that responsibility, he came upon LRH Admin Tech. He
trained as a Consultant, then opened a Hubbard Management Consultancy.
Now, whenever a restaurant chain owner, a furniture exporter or water
systems supplier comes to him, they get real assistance. He tells them to
do an Admin Scale, or a 2-hour confront on their areas. Or he sits down
with them to work out their correct ethics condition. And that Hubbard
Management Consultancy is located right inside the Finnish Consulate
itself!"

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#####

> Drug Free Marshals

The Savannah Morning News reported on December 11th on an essay contest
being held by Scientology's Drug Free Marshals program in Savannah,
Georgia.

"The Drug-Free Marshals program is an educational anti-drug program
sponsored by the Church of Scientology International. Geared toward
children between the ages of 5 and 12, this program has grown from its
beginning in 1993 to an international anti-drug program. To make this
program more accessible to children in Georgia, an essay contest is being
launched throughout the state. The topic of the essay contest is 'Anything
is Possible When You Are Drug Free'. This contest is open to all youth
between the ages of 5-14 and all entries should be no longer than one page
in length. Children entering the contest will receive an official
Drug-Free Marshals Pledge."

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#####

> Germany

Passauer Neue Presse reported on December 9th that an Altoetting, Germany
library will not be including Scientology books in its collection.

"The building committee representing the city council has turned down an
application from Scientology in which the sect asked that their literature
be considered for the city's library system. They founded their
application in a letter to the city saying that forming an opinion was
part of the basic right of freedom of opinion. And that freedom would be
present only if their books were available in all libraries. The city
council, however, did not follow that argumentation. They unanimously
decided against the application so that Scientology literature continues
to be excluded from city libraries."

Freie Presse reported on December 13th that a cult information office will
be opening in Zwickau, Germany.

"The position will be temporary, ending 31 December 2002. The information
office was originally supposed to have been established in the
Christophorus Church congregation. But the plan did not permit having the
Evangelical-Lutheran state church office as an oversight agency. As a
result of activities in Zwickau by Scientologist and construction tycoon
Kurt Fliegerbauer, the city council made the case for an initial position
meant for those who wanted information about the sect or felt harmed by
it."

RT reported on December 14th that Scientology has lost a ruling mandating
that membership in Scientology to be considered when judging the
trustworthiness of employees.

"The Federal Labor Agency may not disregard membership in the Scientology
organization in licensing a commercial employment agency, according to the
Federal Welfare Court. In making this decision, the Federal Welfare Court
contradicted Rheinland-Pfalz State Welfare Court. That court had decided
that legal commercial untrustworthiness could not be derived solely from
membership in Scientology.

"The actual case was about the complaint of a 44-year-old masseuse who had
obtained a permit to be an au-pair placement agent in 1994 from the
Federal Labor Agency. The permit was revoked one year later after the
federal agency learned that the woman was a Scientology member. In the
legal dispute that followed the masseuse commented that she had a
'proselytizing mission,' but that she only carried that out in her private
life. The state welfare court required the Federal Labor Agency to issue
the permit. The Federal Welfare Court has now overturned this decision and
referred the case back to the state welfare court for review."

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#####

> Keith Henson

Keith Henson posted an appeal he filed to get sanctions against
Scientology for their conduct during his copyright infringement case.

"In June of 1999 Robert Cipriano started talking to my lawyer, Mr. Graham
Berry, about a number of criminal acts he and the lawyers for the
plaintiff RTC had committed against Mr. Berry before, during and after Mr.
Berry was my counsel. Mr. Cipriano's confession seems to have been
motivated by a combination of a guilty conscience and being discarded as a
used tool by Scientology.

"RTC committed fraud on the court through its activities against the
court's officer, Mr. Berry. I.e., RTC's lawyer, Mr. Moxon, and his agents
committed some dozens of felonies directed against my lawyer, Mr. Berry.
These actions were designed to interfere with Mr. Berry's ability to
represent me during the course of the underlying case.

"Defendant requests the court to admit the Cipriano Declaration (and
exhibits) as unopposed evidence, and either rule on the Rule 60 issues or
remand the case to the district court for an evidentiary hearing and
reconsideration and take such other actions as would be just."

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#####

> Boy Scouts

The Los Angeles Times reported on December 16th that a
Scientology-sponsored Boy Scout troop held a charity event for Toys for
Tots.

"Boy Scout Troop 8, with members from Burbank, La Canada Flintridge,
Glendale, La Crescenta, Tujunga and Los Angeles, held a costume event for
Toys for Tots at the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre International
in Hollywood. The admission fee was one new toy of at least $10 value.
The U.S. Marine Corps officers representing the charity were presented
with more than 300 toys that will be donated to needy children. Along
with a costume party, a haunted house and dancing, the evening featured a
performance by Kids on Stage for a Better World."

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#####

> Essay Contest

The Lisa McPherson Trust announced the winners of the annual essay contest
on Scientology.

"Three essays stood out among the 32 entries for this year's Lisa
McPherson Trust Literati Contest and have been selected as winners.

"FIRST PLACE: Chris Owen for his well documented essay entitled 'The
Control Agenda: Control, Responsibility and Freedom in the Church of
Scientology.' Chris was able to describe the four spheres of Scientology's
control -- Personal, Organizational, Societal and Cosmological -- in terms
that can be understood even by someone who is completely unfamiliar with
Scientology's totalitarian political agenda. Congratulations to Chris for
his prize of USD 7,000.00.

"SECOND PLACE: 'Anti-Virus' for 'Scientology: Soul Hackers,' an insightful
and well-researched essay by a former very high-level Scientology auditor
who was able to communicate clearly a viable technical explanation for how
Scientology is able to control its adherents. Congratulations to
'Anti-Virus' for winning the USD 2,000.00 prize for second place.

"THIRD PLACE: 'Peter Smith' for an insightful and disturbing essay
entitled 'Doubletalk: Orwellian Reversal of Meaning in Scientology.' His
Scientology comparisons to 1984's 'Ministry of Truth' and 'Ministry of
Justice' will ring true to anyone familiar with Scientology's
totalitarian, extremist doublethink. Congratulations to 'Peter Smith' for
third prize winnings of USD 1,000.00.

"SPECIAL AWARD WINNER - Junior Category. The judges decided to include a
'Junior Category' in this year's Literati Contest for a very compelling
account of a 16 year old's experience with Scientology. Congratulations to
'Darla deToledo' for her Special Award of USD 500.00 in the 2000 LMT
Literati Contest for her essay, 'When Can I Start My Life?'

"Four other essays deserve special recognition. Honorable Mention goes to
Eldon Braun's 'The Attention Fix: Scientology as a Figment of Narcissism,'
David Cecere's 'Scientology: Control, Freedom and Responsibility,' Arnie
Lerma's 'The Art of Deception II,' and 'Christina Wilson's 'Rose-Colored
Glasses.' These four entries will also be posted shortly on ARS and on the
LMT website."

Message-ID: <r97g3tk43634ipepdofecp4kgo1ammguq5@...>
http://lisatrust.net/literaticontest/contest2000/winners2000.html

#####

> Narconon

Neal Hamel reported that Scientology's Narconon group has begun an email
solicitation program

"Does someone you know have a drug addiction? Narconon Southern
California, Inc. is number one in rehabilitation, proven by our 76%
success rate backed by a guarantee. We are the ONLY drug rehab that offers
a full holistic body tissue detox to eliminate all of the drug residuals
from the fatty tissues. A unique alternative program using NO substitute
medications or group sessions. We get to the underlying issues
(one-on-one) creating the mental addiction and cleanse the body of drug
residuals creating the physical addiction. All calls are confidential!"

Message-ID: <3a38496e.86842373@...>

#####

> Scieno Sitter

A new version has been released of the Internet filter provided to
Scientologists to prevent them from reading about Scientology in email,
newsgroups or on web pages.

"As you know, part of the Scientologist On-Line program (as in the legal
agreement which you signed) includes Internet Filtering software that we
have developed which blocks entheta email messages, if any were to be sent
to you by the few 2.5% lingering on the Internet. We will periodically be
providing updated versions of this filter program to ensure that your comm
lines are protected. Thus, if you have already installed the filter
software, you should do so again in order to utilize the most recent
version. The big advantage of using this filter program is that it makes
it possible for you to shred any entheta unsolicited messages - if they
ever happen to be sent to you - without even having to look at them.

"While downloading your email messages, for instance, the filter detects
incoming email messages that should be blocked and does so. If this
occurs, it is necessary to use the other program, 'CleanMail' which will
delete the offending email message(s) before you receive it from your
Internet Service Provider.

"First, you need to download the files necessary to install the software.
Do this by going to the following Internet addresses:
http://on-line.scientology.org/sw.download/setup.exe
http://on-line.scientology.org/sw.download/clean.exe

"This filter program is not fully compatible with America On-Line, (the
email blocking features do not work with America On-Line email) however
you can still take advantage of it. In order to do this, ensure you do not
use the web browser built in to the America On-Line software, but instead
use a separate web browser to surf the world wide web. (Such as Microsoft
Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator.)"

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#####

> Sky Dayton

Forbes reported this week that Scientologist Sky Dayton's Ecompanies
technology incubator has been struggling.

"Eighteen months after its splashy birth, Ecompanies has had zero initial
public offerings and has seen one of its 14 companies, Eparties, fall flat
and end up being sold to Etoys for stock that has since fallen 72%.
Ecompanies has taken 8 companies from birth to the outside funding stage,
but only animated-programming site Icebox and photo-sharing site Ememories
have actually moved into their own buildings. US Business Exchange and
Business.com have technically left the nest, but both are still in offices
leased by Ecompanies. There could be a lot more tombstones around if
Ecompanies doesn't produce some successes soon.

"Scientology devotee Sky Dayton, 29, was the postpubescent founder of
EarthLink, one of the most successful independent Internet service
providers. For Dayton, Ecompanies was a chance to avenge his mistake in
giving away too much equity in EarthLink early on. Snowboarding chum Jake
Winebaum, 41, was the head of Disney's Internet ventures and had been
founder and publisher of the magazines FamilyFun and FamilyPC, and a
senior marketing executive at U.S. News & World Report before that.

"The duo put more than $20 million, their own money and EarthLink's, into
the incubator, and raised another $160 million for a venture capital fund
from such luminaries as Disney, Goldman Sachs and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.
They set an ambitious plan: launching an Internet company a month (or
week, depending on whom they were talking to). Casting themselves as
'serial entrepreneurs,' they offered new companies office space and
expertise in areas such as strategy, finance, technology and marketing.
The incubatees would move down the assembly line until they popped out,
ready to go into hock.

"But the pair's get-rich-quick plans quickly dissolved into quotidian
headaches. Their first flop was Eparties, an idea Winebaum reportedly got
from his elementary-school daughter for an online invitation site.
Ecompanies won't discuss Eparties' revenue figures, but no investors
showed interest in backing it before the carcass was sold last summer to
Etoys, which has since obliterated most traces of the site.

"Ecompanies is now staking much of its reputation, and investors' money,
on Business.com. Winebaum's concept is to make order out of the chaos of
business information on the Internet by creating a massive directory of
information about companies. So far the site has received more attention
for the $7.5 million Ecompanies shelled out last year to a cyber-squatter
for the domain name than for any accomplishments.

"Dayton and Winebaum did manage to attract serious interest in
Business.com, fetching $61 million in equity and content deals from the
Financial Times, Cahners Business Information, Primedia, McGraw- Hill and
Winebaum's old boss, Mort Zuckerman."

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> Switzerland

Suedostschweiz Presse reported on December 15th that Scientology has been
buying spiritually-oriented front groups in Switzerland.

"Georg Otto Schmid warns of charlatans and so-called false prophets:
behind some organizations, like Auro-Soma which originally started out as
a serious institution, lurks more and more the Scientology Church
(Dianetics). He stressed that Scientologists had recently bought up
several institutions. Dealing with spirituality as such could also be
dangerous, said Schmid. If subjects get too involved with the spiritual,
they can lose orientation to reality. 'It happens that families and
children in particular are neglected because of this disorientation.'"

From Suedostschweiz Presse on December 9th:

"'Sects: threat or challenge?' - a series of three events took place in
our region recently under this title, organized by the Glarus Evangelical
reformed congregation. The theologian Georg Otto Schmid, staff of the
state church information center 'Churches - sects - religions' spoke in
the following two events about Christian sects as well as about
psycho-sects and miscellaneous esoteric groups.

"Georg Schmid shed some light on the Scientology Organization. Its stated
goal was to improve people. In order to sound out strengths and
weaknesses, recruitment candidates are given a written test with 200
questions. During evaluation of the test, the participant is frequently
talked unto a communication course, which can cost a total of 1,000
franks. Upon completion the Purification Program is recommended to the
neophyte as preparation for auditing. In auditing people are confronted
with their own bad experiences which they have to describe until no
emotion registers during the narration on a special device called the
e-meter. They are put on the 'clearing' steps, which can cost 20,000
franks to obtain. The highest step ever attained by Scientologists today
is OT VIII, which can cost a half million franks. A separate world of
Dianetics is constructed in the courses into whose vacuum people fall as
time progresses. In light of the negative press the number of
Scientologists in Switzerland has decreased in the past ten years from
5,000 to probably under 1,000. But the number was said to be rapidly
growing in eastern Europe."

Tages-Anzeiger reported on December 14th that Embrach, Switzerland has not
granted Scientology a permit for an anti-psychiatry rally.

"The municipal council has not granted approval for the Swiss Citizen's
Commission on Human Rights - an organization founded by the Scientology
Church - to hold an anti-psychiatry rally. According to municipal
president Albert Berbier, leaflets distributed by CCHR Switzerland contain
false and libelous statements about consumption of medication, drug abuse
and medical treatment in the Hard clinic. Fifty to a hundred sympathizers
were to have taken part in a 'silent march for the victims of psychiatry.'
The Scientologists plan on gathering in Embrach on Saturday despite the
decision."

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#####

> Battlefield Earth

Year-end movie lists and the release of Battlefield Earth on video and DVD
have brought new publicity to the movie. From the Guardian on December
15th:

"Here's an unscientific, bigoted, contradictory, illogical, and dyspeptic
rundown of (nine) American media products, people and phenomena that
particularly annoyed me this year.

"4. Battlefield Earth

"Barking, leg-lifting dog (or runt) of the year - nothing else even came
close. But every reverse for the Church of Scientology is one more victory
for us 'normals'. Thus it was nice to see the man the public associates
most closely with the group, John Travolta, fall flat on his well-fed
backside in this tedious and inept, insanely expensive pseudo-epic. But
guess what - the sequel's already in the pipeline. People of Earth! Before
it arrives, we must devise and construct super-rockets and motherships,
abandon our planet to the pod-people of Chairman Ron and immediately
colonise Saturn."

From dvd.com:

"Based on a novel by the late L. Ron Hubbard, the mind hovering over all
matters Scientology, Battlefield Earth delivers one utterly convincing and
ominous warning about life in the year 3000: This is what movies will look
like when they're made by 12-year-old boys! Or maybe this isn't the most
defiantly ludicrous movie ever made.

"Describing the aliens as Psychlos suggests Hubbard may have meant the
story to represent man's internal struggle. Obviously he intends a
childish moral that's hard to argue against - that it's a shame when
people don't educate themselves and that such ignorance could lead to
their ruin. That makes it all the more baffling that Battlefield Earth
seems to be made by and for morons."

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#####

> Illustrator of the Future

Metroactive reported this week on the winner of the L. Ron Hubbard
Illustrator of the Future award.

"Art may not be his main source of income, but Frank Wu will never cease
to be an artist. The recent winner of the L. Ron Hubbard Illustrators of
the Future Gold Award, Wu has been an artist for most of his life. He was
rewarded with $4,000, a large trophy, and the publication of his
illustration in L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Anthology, Vol.
XVI. The contest, established in 1984 and maintained separately from
Hubbard's Church of Scientology, operates in two phases: three winners are
chosen from both the writing and illustration categories each quarter.

"The winning writers and illustrators were honored at a gala on Sept. 15,
at the L. Ron Hubbard Library in Hollywood. Among the attendees were nine
best-selling authors, from among the foremost writers in the world of
science fiction, fantasy, and horror. All nine served as judges for this
year's Writers of the Future contest."

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-end-