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Post by Martini Girl on Feb 7, 2011 18:26:21 GMT -4
An interesting read. I knew Jessica's name was familiar, I just didn't know why until this article. One of my favorite passages came towards the end of the piece when the author finally sat down and interviewed Tommy Davis. In true hyperbolic Tommy Davis fashion, he started lambasting ex-members as "the worst adultress", "The biggest liar" "an absolute drunk" etc... and when the author asked him how these ne'er--do-wells rose to the highest levels of Scientology if they were so pathetic, Tommy simply said "Well, they weren't like that when they were in Scientology"..... ;D Such loons. And Miscavige sounds like the second coming of Hitler... Oy Vey.....
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roseland
Sloane Ranger
Posts: 2,039
Mar 7, 2005 17:11:37 GMT -4
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Post by roseland on Feb 7, 2011 21:21:24 GMT -4
According to the article, the IRS didn't grant tax-exempt status until the late 80's and that was as part of a settlement because Scientology members were innudating the IRS with lawsuits. So, in order to get them to stop their harrassment of the IRS and basically making it impossible for the IRS to do their job, the Scientologists dropped their lawsuits and the IRS granted tax-exempt status. I mean, when you can fight the IRS and win, you've got some weight behind you.
Well, it was more than that. From the article:
Apparently, if a Sea Org member tries to leave, they are presented with a bill of "freeloader services" which includes their room and board, any classes they had taken, etc. These bills can add up in the hundreds of thousands. Given that these kids are getting paid about $50 a week, they don't have that kind of money. Of course, free room and board and free classes are supposed to justify why they pay these kids so low. Also, they keep their i.d. papers to make it harder for them to leave. And, if they leave, they are often forced back, where they are imprisoned, sometimes for years. It's unbelievable, the shit this church is getting away with.
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Post by kostgard on Feb 7, 2011 21:47:08 GMT -4
The article did rehash a lot of the stuff that is already out there, but it is nice to see it reported in a mainstream source like The New Yorker. There were also some tidbits I didn't know and a lot of stuff that just confirmed what I suspected.
Another thing I loved was when Spielberg said to Haggis (after Tom pitched his clam tent on the set of War of the Worlds) "Boy, these Scientologists are all so nice" and Haggis joked "Yeah, we keep all the evil ones locked in a closet." Then later he was summoned by the clams and informed that Tom was very upset with what he said, and Haggis was all, "Dude, it was a joke." Of course Tom's lawyers say that never happened, but I totally believe it. Tom has proven time and again that he has absolutely no sense of humor, and when you do something to piss him off, he sends his minions off to inform you. Like on the set of Valkyrie when he was being all Tom Terrific to the crew, and they thought he was a fun, nice guy they could joke around with, so one day they found a poster from Tom's movie "Cocktail" and drew an eye patch on him like his Valkyrie character and hung it on the wall. And Tom either said nothing or acted like "Oh, you guys are so funny" (I can't remember which) and it was later that the crew members were summoned and informed that Mr. Cruise was very upset at what they did and it was very inappropriate.
And I think Haggis hit the nail on the head when he said that Tom was widely considered the most important member of the church, and it was a role that Tom took very seriously.
I know! I don't know how the writer didn't bust out laughing when they showed up with miles and miles of "evidence" against their detractors. Like, me thinks the lady doth protest too much.
I did love him wondering "How did these morally corrupt people reach not only professional, but spiritual heights in the church?" and Davis is forced to give him a nonsense answer. Like when Davis was foaming at the mouth about how Hubbard would NEVER say anything homophobic and all his works are directly from his dictation and you cannot tamper with the tech. Then Wright is all, "But the homophobic stuff was in there. Hubbard didn't say that? Wasn't that all directly from his dictation?" So they have to come back with "Oh, well, that. Clearly that was some BIGOT who did that. We don't know who [like they wouldn't know who is transcribing and printing Hubbard's wisdom. Surely they could at least narrow down the suspects]. And we took all that out!" "Sooooooo, Hubbard's tech wasn't tampered with, except for that one part?" "Ummmmm, yes." And then it was totally still in there. I don't know how Wright didn't sit there reading Dianetics and laugh himself sick, thinking "What assholes!"
Oh, and I'm pretty sure that Hubbard said some pretty racist things too. I wonder if that will be included in the book or if Wright didn't get a chance to ask Davis about that.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 4, 2024 3:30:39 GMT -4
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2011 22:38:48 GMT -4
The military documents made me laugh. Here's the military insisting that those type of medals don't exist, but don't tell that to the Co$, because they do. I found it creepy to read about Miscavige's wife "dissapearing". I wonder where the hell she is. Or scrubbing out dumpsters with a toothbrush. All I could think was that she was six feet under. I wouldn't put anything past these loons.
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Post by Babycakes on Feb 7, 2011 23:24:09 GMT -4
I see death as a last resort. That'd rather break you than admit defeat and flat out murder you. If you die by accident, well.... I can see her being made an example of (showing that no one is too high or too "clear" to fuck up) and being sent to increasingly more horrific reeducation camps. She's probably on a human sized hamster wheel keeping the light bulbs at the Celebrity Center on.
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Post by eclair on Feb 7, 2011 23:30:46 GMT -4
I hope this FBI thing snowballs. I saw the Today piece, and I don't think I've ever pronounced "Miscavige", but I would have mispronounced it. I thought it was Miss-kah-veeg, not Miss-rhymes with cabbage. This might potentially avert future embarrassment.
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Post by leonahelmsley on Feb 8, 2011 0:09:40 GMT -4
I hope this FBI thing snowballs. I saw the Today piece, and I don't think I've ever pronounced "Miscavige", but I would have mispronounced it. I love that Matt Lauer did the interview this morning. He's so glib. What is it with the clams and their obsession with rescuing people on the PCH? Source
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Post by Freelance Exorcist on Feb 8, 2011 8:59:24 GMT -4
I really hope something comes of this FBI investigation and they nail the Clams. Those people have gotten away with murder (literally, in some cases) long enough.
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afterglow
Landed Gentry
Posts: 677
May 29, 2006 20:52:30 GMT -4
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Post by afterglow on Feb 8, 2011 10:24:27 GMT -4
Considering Hubbard's military record forgerie, by Davis' logic, Scientology is indeed based on a lie.
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Post by eclair on Feb 8, 2011 11:50:30 GMT -4
Oh, yeah, I very much enjoyed seeing Matt Lauer. He was all even toned, seated, fair, balanced, sane. Tall.
*Yeha is almost yeah, but it's also almost yehaw so I fixed it. I'm kinda delirous these days, there might be a lot of typos in my posts.
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