Empire of the Odd

How Scientology funded the anti-Scientology movement

Exclusive (The Register.) Google has murdered the AdSense account run by one of the web’s most influential anti-Scientology sites.

Yesterday, the search giant cut off all ads served to Enturbulation, a fledgling site dedicated to promoting activism against the Church of Scientology and all its related organizations. This could have something do with the nature of the ads Google was serving. Many of the Google-driven ads funding the anti-Scientology site were paid for by the Church of Scientology.

While going through our records recently, we found that your AdSense account has posed a significant risk to our AdWords advertisers,” read Google’s letter to Enturbulation, a kind of home base for the now famous Anonymous movement. “Since keeping your account in our publisher network may financially damage our advertisers in the future, we’ve decided to disable your account.”

Of course, it’s not Enturbulation’s fault that Google was serving the site pro-Scientology ads. AdSense automatically chooses ads based on a site’s content. And like any AdSense advertiser, the Church of Scientology has the power to ban its ads from individual domains.

Google did not respond to our requests for comment. But it should be noted that the company’s new AdSense policies say that partner sites may not include “advocacy against any individual, group, or organization.”

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Just a couple of days before the next World-Protest Scientology day (named Operation: Fair Game: STOP) Tommie Davis makes a reappearance on CNN. You may remember Davis as the “I’m angry… REAL angry” guy on John Sweeney’s Scientology piece he did for the BBC. Why was Davis angry? Because Sweeney had the utter gall to mention several times that people he interviewed called Scientology a cult. In classic “shoot the messenger” style, Davis launched into a tirade at Sweeney, then hassled him for days until he blew up on camera and shouted back at him. Then of course Davis et-al started whining “poor little us! The Bad’ol bigots are persecuting our religion AGAIN!!!)”

Now after a really horrid month (if you are into Scientology) Davis is on CNN, looking a bit tired and answering a bunch of questions that I’m sure he does not want to answer. And he’s answering them badly.
This is of course just sauce for the piece that CNN is running right now about Scientology and Anonymus.

Share and enjoy!

 TIGER WEEKLY

[25 Comment(s)]

By Kelley Cox

There is a national media storm surrounding the Church of Scientology. Celebrity members have said Scientology saved their lives. Celebrity ex-member Jason Beghe spoke out against Scientology in a series of YouTube videos. There has been widespread criticism and debate among Scientology proponents and adversaries.

Tiger Weekly’s own Web site was submerged in one such debate in response to an article published April 23, “I visited the Scientology Center of Baton Rouge … and lived to write about it.”

Local ex-Scientologist Rhett Westerman recently shared his opinions and experiences with Scientology with Tiger Weekly. Westerman said he grew up in the Church of Scientology.

“My parents were involved [with Scientology] when I was little,” he said.

Westerman added that he was a Scientologist his “whole life, up until a few years ago.”

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The Register »

XenuTV vs. Anonymous Hate Crimes

By Cade Metz in San Francisco ? More by this author

Published Friday 2nd May 2008 07:02 GMT

It seems that YouTube has one set of rules for The Church of Scientology and another set for Scientology’s critics.

Two weeks ago, YouTube vaporized a 10,000-subscriber-strong channel run by well-known Scientology critic Mark Bunker. His “Xenutv1” deserved to die, the YouTubers said, because they had already axed an earlier account, “Xenutv,” where Bunker infringed a few copyrights

Indeed, YouTube’s terms of service clearly say “A user whose account has been terminated is prohibited from accessing, possessing or creating any other YouTube accounts.”

But the world’s largest video sharer hasn’t applied this rule to the brand new channel launched by Scientology itself – and trumpeted with an official Scientology press release. Like Bunker, Scientology had an earlier account erased after it violated site policy.

Are you listening Stephen Colbert?

In March, as reported by The New York Post, Scientology launched a YouTube channel in an attempt to discredit members of Anonymous, a live-wire internet group intent on making life difficult for Tom Cruise and crew. Dubbed the “Scientology Official Report on Anonymous Hate Crimes,” the channel identified individual members of the group, describing them as “terrorists.”

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Glosslip Exclusive: Scientology Cruise Ship Freewinds Hides Asbestos Danger

Image courtesy of Neogaf.com

Breaking News: The Scientology cruise ship, the Freewinds is at the center of a scandal in the Caribbean today because of dangerous levels of blue asbestos being found on the luxury liner. From the Caribbean newspaper, The Daily Herald:

WILLEMSTAD: During refurbishing and reparatory work, which involved removing the ceiling and paneling on cruise ship Freewinds, blue asbestos was released and ended up in the ventilation system.

Freewinds’ captain did not report this when it’s own personnel were working on the ship on the Mathey warf in Otrobanda. The Curacao Drydock Company (CDM), where the ship was taken for reparatory work on the hull, heard from the surveyor that there may be asbestos on the ship. The captain acknowledged the incident and said that after the incident Freewinds had some investigation done. Keeping the incident quiet became more noticeable when it turned out that the 40-year-old ship contained blue asbestos.

The question is whether or not the blue asbestos dust, which can cause cancer, can be removed from the ship. The CDM has stopped all work on the ship. The ship was sealed and isolated and experts will investigate and measure the presence of asbestos dust in the hull and surrounding areas. Commissioners Eugene Rhuggenaath (Economic Affairs) and Humphrey Davelaar (Public Health) said on Friday.

CDM interim director Frank Esser, deputy head of the Department of Labour Affairs Christiene van der Biezen were accompanied by two inspectors and head of the health Department Tico Ras. Samples taken from the paneling last week by inspectors that were sent to the Netherlands showed that they contained significant amounts of blue asbestos. After an extraordinary meeting, the Executive Council decided to inform the public in general about the incident to avoid rumors and panic.

The CDM personnel were also informed via the media because it was impossible to gather all the workers Friday evening to personally give them the information.

The Freewinds is the floating Church of Scientology vessel used for administering the highest levels of the OT training. The Freewinds was also the staging area for the HUGE birthday party thrown by RTC President David Miscavige for actor Tom Cruise’s 40th birthday. That party was said to cost the CoS $300,000. Let’s hope some of the money donated by these celebs goes into cleaning up the hazardous levels of asbestos on the ship before someone develops a life-threatening disease.

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And if you look here, you can see why they didn’t take care of this problem twenty years ago? Why you might ask?

Because Hubbard didn’t know about asbestos.

LOL Wut? That’s why they didn’t take care of this problem until now? Because their holy source didn’t know about it?
According to Lawrence Woodcraft who was actually there…

It was explained to me (by Bitty Miscaviage, the chief in charge of a refit back in 1987) that the ship was being remodeled only according to the written policies and “advices” of L. Ron Hubbard. Since Hubbard had been in the US Navy and had then founded the Sea Org and had run a fleet of ships, he knew everything about ships. If asbestos was dangerous, he would have written this somewhere. Also Hubbard knew everything about cancer. He had written that cancer was caused by the mind and specifically second dynamic aberration (problems with relationships). I was told that people only get sick if they go into “agreement” with being sick. As the ship was going to be filled with “operating thetans” doing the highest level in Scientology (OT 8) nothing was going to make them sick. I was being a “wog” (non-scientologist) worrying about a little thing like asbestos.

I mean … damn! I suppose if Hubbard thought jumping off of cliffs was a pretty good idea we would have hordes of base-diving Scilons, who’d better pray that he invented parachute tech. This is simply one of the most absurd things I’ve ever heard of. According to them, since Hubbard didn’t mention it, it’s not a problem. He didn’t understand the Internet either

….oh shi!…….

Jason Beghe accuses church of secretly taping Tom Cruise; writes a letter that Scientology won’t deliver

by Tony Ortega

Village Voice,  April 29th, 2008 7:00 AM

Two weeks ago, in a YouTube video and an interview in the Voice, Jason Beghe denounced Scientology as a “rip-off” that “brainwashed” its members. A veteran actor of films and TV, Beghe recently left Scientology after 12 years in the controversial church, during which he estimates he spent a million dollars on classes and training in Scientology’s arcane practices.

Beghe went public with his newest offensive against the church last night by posting online a letter addressed to Scientology leader David Miscavige. In the letter, Beghe demands that Miscavige return his confidential confessional files—dossiers compiled during his therapy, which, Beghe says, are also kept on Tom Cruise and other celebrity Scientologists.

“I want my folders back. There’s no reason for Scientology to maintain them. I paid a million dollars for that shit,” Beghe tells the Voice.

Followers of L. Ron Hubbard believe that they can develop superhuman abilities through a process called “auditing,” which includes discussing past disappointments and bad behavior while holding the sensors of an “e-meter,” a machine that measures electric current in the skin. What a parishioner admits to during auditing then becomes material that is recorded in folders as they progress through Scientology’s many levels, including beginners who are “pre-clear” or “pc,” and more advanced believers who seek to become “operating thetans” or “OT.” Such sessions cost Beghe as much as $1,000 an hour.

In the letter, Beghe demands his “pc, pre-OT and ethics folders” as well as any videotapes of his years of therapy. Beghe says that he’s not concerned about the material that was recorded in his files or what Scientology might do with them, but in part he wants to make a point about the church continuing to hold onto privileged information.

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‘Help me, Stephen Colbert. You’re my only hope’

By Cade Metz in San Francisco ? More by this author

Published (The Register) Thursday 24th April 2008 12:12 GMT

Last Thursday, the world’s most popular video sharer removed the 10,000-subscriber-strong “Xenutv1” channel run by Mark Bunker, a television journalist/well-known Scientology naysayer. Earlier in the week, Bunker posted a teaser for his three-hour interview with Jason Beghe – a film and television actor who recently defected from the world of Scientology – and the account was yanked just before Bunker was due to broadcast the interview in full.

“I was planning to post the entire thing on Thursday,” Bunker told us. “But before I could do that – boom – the channel was gone.”

The channel did not contain any copyrighted material. But Xenutv1 isn’t Bunker’s first YouTube account, and two previous accounts were removed for broadcasting copyrighted clips, including a channel known as “Xenutv.” According to Bunker’s conversations with the video sharer – who would not speak to The Reg about the matter – the fate of his second Xenu channel is tied to his first.

The first incarnation of Xenutv was canceled in early February. After posting a Scientology-related clip from Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, Bunker received a DMCA take-down notice from the cable station’s parent company, Viacom. Yes, the same Viacom that’s suing YouTube for $1bn. Bunker intended to comply with the notice. But his account was removed before he had the chance to do so.

That very day, much the same thing happened to a private account where Bunker was hosting the infamous video in which Tom Cruise refers to Scientology as “a blast”. In this case, the account was canceled after a DMCA notice from the Church itself.

“I received these take-down notices within an hour of each other,” Bunker told us. “So I went to YouTube to delete these clips, and both accounts had been canceled.”

Bunker then created “Xenutv1,” and this time, he was careful to avoid copyrighted content. Thanks to some heavy publicity from an internet protest movement known as Anonymous – which sprung up after YouTube erased the Cruise clip from its entire site – the new channel developed a healthy following. Whereas Xenutv had about 3,000 subscribers when it was vaporized, Xenutv1 reeled in more than 10,000 in a matter of weeks.

When Bunker posted his Beghe teaser, the clip received 595,000 hits in less than four days. But then YouTube banned him again.

Two days earlier, the site had banned a channel run by Tory Christman, another outspoken Scientology critic and a friend of Mark Bunker’s. Shortly thereafter, a post turned up on alt.religion.scientology in which someone bragged about silencing Christman and vowed to silence Bunker too.

After an Anonymous protest, Christman’s account – which also steered clear of copyrighted material – was reinstated. Bunker’s was not.

YouTube tells Bunker that Xenutv1 was erased because of the copyrighted material posted to his earlier account. “They said that because my first account was canceled, I was never supposed to have a second account,” Bunker explained. “I was supposed to be banned for life.”

According to Bunker, the site acknowledges that someone tipped them off to his second account, and it says this person did not represent Scientology.

YouTube also told Bunker that his account would be reinstated if Viacom agreed to rescind its take-down notice. But Viacom refuses to do so. In the meantime, Bunker has posted his Beghe interview to the YouTube competitor Vimeo and his WordPress blog.

When it comes to YouTube, Bunker believes that his only chance for reinstatement is the outspoken host of The Colbert Report. This faux newsman has shown a healthy attitude towards such matters in the past – and a healthy sense of humor.

“Only one man can help me,” Bunker says. “Stephen Colbert.” ®

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On the one hand, I can understand YouTube’s take down and forget-you policy.  They are a business and in order to stay in business they have to stay on the high side of the rules, and not piss off their advertisers. Judging from all of the Scientology advertising that’s suddenly appeared on their site, they are simply looking out for number one (which has a doller sign and lots of zeros behind it.)

Scientology seems to be interested in keeping information they don’t like out of the public eye. Not that they mean to go after Mark Bunker personally…weel strike that, they would like very much for Wise Beard Man to evaporate just like Alick Guinness in that Science Fiction flick he hated so much.  Scientology can’t really wrap it’s brain around the idea that this material is going to get out there no matter who you inconvenience. People are talking now, lots of people an Scientology cannot shut up all of them, they can’t shut up even a small fraction of them nor should they try.

But they will try, they will struggle like a fish on the end of a line. Each time they do the hooks get buried deeper. Each time they do, more people find out about them.

We intercepted this communication via the Imperial email interceptor goons, (someone shoved it under the front door this morning.)

It looks legit! The message reads;

Dear Scientologests;

In a daring raid, courageous agents of the Church of Scientology descended like locust on the psych driven terrorist YouTube account of the so-called “Wise Beard Man.” After being arrested multiple time for assault and trespassing in sacred church property where parishioners were peacefully worshiping, he turned his drug addled eyes to YouTube where he found a new and vulnerable media to abuse. Unbeknown to this vile and heartless and wicked and suppressive vile and hurtful, wicked suppressive man the blissful millions in the Church of Scientology were able to intervene before it was too late. Project “clean slate” has been initiated, all entheta will be forthwith removed from the Internet so that it can once again be a safe place for our parishioners to go and get information on Scientology. This is only the first step on our road to total freedom!

Love

COB

***

My Internets spy tells a slightly different story. It seems the accounts of Tory Magoo (magoo44) and Mark Bunker (xenutv1) were both suspended from YouTube between late Wednesday and Thursday (April 15-16, 2008.). YouTube has a flagging system that’s quite vulnerable to mobbing and Scientology has been spending big money to get advertising on the parent company Google. Tory’s account was restored about a day later, Mark Bunkers (as of this writing) has not been restored and probably won’t be.

YouTube has been a safe haven for free speech and expression in vidio media, just like the web is a haven for free speech in print. One small kink in YouTube is the the TOS is written in such a way that people are only allowed one account, period. Bunker got zapped once for allegedly hosting copyrighted stuff and you only get one chance. I’m sure Scientology had nothing to do with this!

Scientology is all for free speech! No really! Unless that speech is critical to Scientology it can be as free as a bird, as free as a pretty flower! Free as a butterfly! People can talk about whatever they like.

But if it’s nasty-nasty hate speech, like say if someone posts a video claiming that Scientology has slave labor camps, or if an apostate starts spreading bad-facts about Scientology instead of doing what he is supposed to do (which boils down to “say nice things about us keep yer nasty pie-hole zipped.)

In that case, Scientology springs into action, shutting the criminal words at their source. Yay Scientology! Yay free speech!

Why did they pull Bunker’s vids you might ask? Well;, Mark Bunker had the bad humor to do a teaser on an interview. An interview with a defector!. Jason Beghe left the cult some months ago and decided to tell his side of the story–on camera, before a worldwide audience. Major scoop for Bunker, not a bad move for Beghe, big big embarrassment for Scientology, especially with all the other people coming forward and all those nasty terrorists picketing every one of their offices.

So they did what any large corporate entity would do, they took it on the chin and thought about ways to repair their image. Like do a press release saying they understood Mr. Beghe’s opinion with respect to the church and hoped he would find happiness wherever he went. That would be a reasonable approach by a reasonable company. One that was full of wonderfu — caring people who only wanted the best for their members and even their ex- members.

Nope! They are not reasonable people.

Unreasonable people are unreasonable.

They behave like a bunch of jilted teen agers.

They used mob tactics on YouTube to get Bunker’s stuff off the air. “So what—big deal” you say? The Anons used mob tactics to take down vids they didn’t like don’t they? For example the alleged bomb threats against Scientology offices. Or how about the all the times Scientology placed names and addresses of alleged Anonymous members on YouTube. What about all the bogus critic accounts that were set up by Scientology. That stuff was all taken down some of it right after it went up. Why is this different?

Well for one thing, many of the Anons ARE teen agers… just saying guys! Scientology is an organization with an average age of about 35-40 (and yes I pulled that number out of my ass but I bet it’s pretty close.) They should know better, one would think.

The real difference is the intent. When Scientology places someone’s name and address on a public web page, it is very likely that it is just to bully them into silence. Much like any saucer fiend might if they run across people saying stuff they don’t like. Scientology is full of high sounding rhetoric about freedom of thought and free speech, but they are not supporting anything of the sort. They want to direct and control opinions, the very thoughts of people, inside and outside the cult

Let me say that again, they want to direct and control your thoughts. They want to direct and control my thoughts.

Remember, it’s a high crime in Scientology to criticize the organization. So? One might ask, Mark Bunker is not IN Scientology. Why would they give a flip what he has to say? The truth always comes out in the end and if Scientology is truthful? It will be vindicated right?

Well, that may be why Scientology offices keep getting protested. This is why the Anons wear masks and hid their identity. Scientology wants to shut people up, they desire to halt the flow of information, to interrupt any idea which is counter to their own narrow world-view. They want to block the truth because the truth is too painful for them to confront. It’s also bad for busness… er worship or something like that.

It doesn’t matter if you are in or out of Scientology, if one criticize them one is automatically a criminal and by their rules they can do whatever it takes to bring a critic to justice, even if that involves telling lies. This is how Scientology works, attack the attacker, find the crimes of people who criticize you and if you can’t find any crimes, make some up. It’s the way young children fight battles. It’s the way Scientology deals with people it does not like. It’s the way many Ufologests deal with critics. First you insult them, next you namefag and harass them. Repeat until your quarry sues for peace. Stalk them, ignore them, insult them, it’s OK because you KNOW that your side is right! Actually; most fanatics deal with people that way.

An effective strategy except when your quarry understands hew this works and refuses to play. It really doesn’t work when you are using a forty year old playbook that doesn’t consider the implications of many hundreds of thousand of people who have been trained in scientific thinking since childhood. Let me repeat that.

These Anons are taking a scientific approach against Scientology, and winning.

Scientology is facing it’s greatest threat. This threat is not me, it’s not Mark Bunker or any of the OG critics. It’s not Ex Scientology members telling their experiences. It’s not the Anons, it’s not the Government,Psychologist or Big Pahrma. What they are up against is an idea.

What is that idea?

It’s very simple, so simple that almost everyone seems to have missed it.

The idea is.

“Pics or it didn’t happen. “

That’s the essence of scientific thinking.

“Pics or it didn’t happen.”

Scientology has no defense against it, they can’t prove anything.

that’s why they harass.

And they are not the only ones.

Scientology: Jason Beghe Interview Pt.1 from Mark Bunker on Vimeo.

Thanks to our dear freinds at Scientology, atheists are in the number two slot for most despised religious and spiritually oriented group in the US. Islam came in third and the Mormons were number four. This is based on a Gallup poll taken between March 24th and 27th.

Wow! That’s really really unfair! You would think the Unification Church or the Watchtower Society would at least show up!

Found at The Frame Problem.