[dfwgator]

L. Ron Hubbard when he was still alive probably said many times , "You mean they actually believe in this sh!t?"

[LiteKeeper]

INTREP

[lelio]

That "Fishman" link in the story didn't work. This is David Touretzky's site on Scientology. Interesting stuff on there.

xenu.net is the main anti-Scientology website out there.

[Salman]

Not really surprising. Scientology, or more properly Dianetics, started as a school of quack psychiatry. They became a "religion" to get the government off their backs about practising medicine without a license.

[strela]

And the weirdest part? New converts to Scientology's Sea Org (organization) sign a contract with a term of one billion years, over multiple lifetimes.

[Be active]

Brainwashing for money. A very scary organizaton.

[rockfish59]

When those geeks approached me back in the 60's they would always point out someone there who had 'made millions' with $cientology.

Money seemed to be the only driving force!
Freaks!

[syriacus]

The "church" is under scrutiny for this practice and is being sued by the family of Lisa McPherson, who died in 1995 in Clearwater, Fla., allegedly after being held for 17 days as she underwent an "Introspection Rundown."

Looks like Scientology is making a big push in Florida

FLORIDA POLITICIANS AND OFFICIALS  LENDING UNDUE CREDIBILITY TO SCIENTOLOGY

From a recent St. Petersburg Times editorial: Some Tampa Bay area public figures who lately have sounded like supporters and defenders of the [Scientology] church - including Pinellas County Commissioner Susan Latvala and political consultant Mary Repper - should know of those hazards. So should Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, who accepted campaign support from Scientologists earlier this year and recently had dinner with actor Tom Cruise, a celebrity Scientologist, at Repper's house.

[kimmie7]

bump for reading tonight....

[Petronski]

Instead, the Scientologists are subjected to the "Introspection Rundown," an "intensive, rigorous Religious Service that includes being isolated from all sources of potential spiritual upset, including but not limited to family members, friends or others."

Also known as "the Full McPherson."

[tictoc]

Here's my proposal.

We're currently in a fight to the death against the forces of radical Islam. Problem is, our people in the West have gone soft: they are unable to muster sufficient aggression to counter the Islamokazes.

Scientologists, on the other hand, are anything but soft. Their founder was stark raving mad, just like the "Seal of the Prophets" his own self, and the membership will crawl over broken glass if so ordered by the "Church" elders.

Solution: form anti-Islamokaze shock troops from the ranks of Scientologists. These are absolutely ruthless people who stop at nothing.

The danger, of course, is that the new "Scientologist Shock Troops" will be too successful. If they vanquish and then convert the Muslims, it'll be L. Ron Hubbard on steroids!

[HamiltonJay]

SCIENTOLOGY IS A WELL FUNDED CULT... NOTHING MORE.

[Hank Rearden]

Amazing. People too stupid to even be Mooslims. I didn't think it was possible.

[AppyPappy]

You cannot sign away your rights.

[Jeff Gordon]

So? What is the problem?

Just remember, there is a chair for every ass in America.

[Stew Padasso]

Send in Reno and the tanks. We have a dangerous cult here.

[searchandrecovery]

I was in Scientology for a couple of years in the 70's. On staff even. Got out. What got me out was that the Hubster defined scientology as "The science of knowing how to know" - and yet, he just pulled this sh-t right out of his ass. There is NO science involved at all.

The stuff that pulls people in is the low level stuff, which is actually kind of useful, imho. But the upper levels are sci-fi. A useful usenet newsgroup is alt.religion.scientology.

Very expensive. Very flawed. Hubbard was an insane genius. My summation of scientology - a fool and his money are soon parted.

[William Terrell]

One is a release form a Scientologist seeking advanced training must sign "forever [giving] up [the] right to sue the church and its staff for any injury or damage suffered in any way connected with Scientology."

But that's for civil suits, it seems? Fraud is criminal. You complain to the DA and, he prosecutes 'em after a grand jury indicts them. Besides, if "the church" breaks any law in doing what they do to you, that you can't sue for, that wouldn't be covered under the release, right?

[strela]

The same agreement prohibits "any psychiatrist, medical person, designated member of the state or family member" from placing the Scientologist into a hospital or facility for psychiatric treatment.

Meaningless. No psychiatrist or medical person would sign such a document, and would probably be sued for attempting to honor it anyway.

Scientologists are scum.

[Final Authority]

My hero with respect to the issue is Bob Minton. He puts his money where his mouth and heart is. He is a one man crusade against the so-called church. Do a search on google. The story is interesting.