Scientology: Miscavige and Sons

[spiderpig]

From the Dallas Morning News:

GRAPEVINE 

U.S. Postal Service inspectors and IRS investigators were reportedly searching the offices of televangelist Benny Hinn in Grapevine on Wednesday.

NBC 5 reported that “a large number of agents” were seen carrying boxes in and out of Hinn’s offices, beginning at about 9 a.m. Reporters from WFAA and Fox 4 also reported seeing federal agents executing a search warrant.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/northeast-tarrant/article146961764.html#storylink=cpy

Anybody wanna program the Fed's GPS systems for Clearwater?

[Wings]

This makes me excited!  

[spiderpig]

4 hours ago, wings707 said:

This makes me excited!  

Then get a load of this!

http://web.tampabay.com/news/scientology/live-clearwater-city-council-set-to-vote-on-land-coveted-by-the-church-of/2321083#

Take that, Tommy.

[Wings]

16 minutes ago, spiderpig said:

Then get a load of this!

http://web.tampabay.com/news/scientology/live-clearwater-city-council-set-to-vote-on-land-coveted-by-the-church-of/2321083#

Take that, Tommy.

Something odd with this link. Could be my iPad.  I will check it out on my laptop tomorrow.  Snuggled in bed now.  Damn.  I know Clearwater hate COS.  

[spiderpig]

4 minutes ago, wings707 said:

Something odd with this link. Could be my iPad.  I will check it out on my laptop tomorrow.  Snuggled in bed now.  Damn.  I know Clearwater hate COS.  

So you can drift off into peaceful slumber, wings, this is from the story in the Tampa Bay Times (more horse-hockey at the link):

CLEARWATER — The City Council on Thursday voted unanimously to buy a vacant but high-profile downtown lot from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, intercepting a crucial piece of land the Church of Scientology said it needed for its campus.

A packed auditorium at City Hall greeted the 5-0 decision with applause.

Scientology leader David Miscavige had offered to bankroll a multi-million dollar revitalization of downtown if the city stepped aside and allowed the church to buy the lot, which borders its 13-story Oak Cove religious retreat. He pitched the idea last week to a select group of downtown stakeholders with help from Scientology celebrities like John Travolta, and was willing to pay more than three times what the city was offering.

But council members said the 1.4-acre property at the corner of Pierce Street and Osceola Avenue is needed for the city's 10-year, $55 million overhaul of the waterfront and Coachman Park. City staff said it could be coupled with the City Hall site across the street and redeveloped into a hotel, condos and apartments, retail or other uses.

"Will the city be able to guide the use of that property for the good of all of Clearwater? To me that's the most critical question, to which my answer would be yes," City Council member Bob Cundiff said.

About 200 people gathered in City Hall for the discussion. While roughly 25 people lined up to speak in favor of the city buying the land, only four spoke against the purchase.

"I feel the city is slowly losing control of the city's destiny, and it's going to the Church of Scientology," resident Bob Holsinger said. "I feel this issue tonight is also a symbolic issue."

The city will pay $4.25 million for the property and allow the aquarium to continue using the space for parking while it renovates its facility across the Intracoastal on Island Estates. That project could take two years.

The church wanted the land to build a pool, playground and other accommodations for parishioners staying at the Oak Cove.

Scientology spokesman Ben Shaw has made clear that Miscavige's proposed retail development hinged on the church's ability to buy the aquarium land. In private meetings with City Council members last month, Miscavige described funding a facade overhaul for Cleveland Street, recruiting high-end retailers to empty storefronts, and building an entertainment complex on Myrtle Avenue with actor Tom Cruise.

Shaw declined to comment Thursday on the church's next steps. The council's vote raises a number of questions, including: What will Scientology do with the $26 million in downtown real estate, including the landmark Atrium office tower, it has purchased since January in anticipation of its retail plan? And will its retail proposal go away entirely or evolve?

In a letter to the Tampa Bay Times on Monday, Shaw blasted the city as "arrogant" for wanting to keep the aquarium land out of the church's hands, calling it "manifest obstruction" and a statement by City Hall that Scientologists are second-class citizens.

At the time, the city's position was becoming clear even before the official vote, with three of the five council members saying they supported buying the land.

"Whose votes do not count? Whose money does not count?" Shaw asked. "The bigotry against Scientologists is barefaced."

In denying the church the land it wanted, the council "apparently believes (Scientologists) are not deserving of a swimming pool and other amenities for their children," Shaw wrote.

[Wings]

Thank you!  I love that COS is all haired off citing bigotry!  Hysterical.  

Edited April 27, 2017 by wings707

[Ruprecht]

Quote

In a letter to the Tampa Bay Times on Monday, Shaw blasted the city as "arrogant" for wanting to keep the aquarium land out of the church's hands, calling it "manifest obstruction" and a statement by City Hall that Scientologists are second-class citizens.

Do the church spokespersons lack any ability to speak professionally? Whether it's slamming ex-parishioners, reporters, or the city council of Clearwater, the person's language is always filled with extremes. "Manifest obstruction"?

And I find the use of the word "arrogant" especially rich. 

[zxy556575]

There are so many passing negative references and jokes about Scientology in pop culture these days, but this one made me chuckle. It's an upcoming Netflix series.

Edited May 25, 2017 by Lord Donia

[Giselle]

On 4/4/2017 at 7:49 AM, MrSmith said:

I wasn't planning to see The Mummy, anyway, but I had to check out the trailers (there are now 2 of them). It looks pretty lame, which is what I thought when I saw a preview in the theatre for it. And Russell Crowe plays "Dr. Henry Jekyll". So, seems pretty clear they're intending to do a Jekyll and Hyde movie. And I won't see that, either, because I don't think Russell Crowe is that good an actor.

Nor is he a singer. He was the worst thing in Les Miserables. I don't care if he had his own band at one point.

I did think he was an good actor at one time. I loved him in The Insider. 

Edited May 27, 2017 by Giselle

[2727]

Asshole Marty Rathbun has been releasing a series of Scientology-produced videos to attack Going Clear, then he turned to Leah. The latest sling the expected mud about Aftermath and its participants and are featured on one of Scientology's smear sites.

If you have a YouTube account and want to take a tiny slap back at Marty, you can downvote the videos. Scientology bots have been watching to increase view counts; the original videos were getting about 1100 views each until the bots increased them to around 30K. But you have to be logged into your account to register a vote, so those continue to be low.

[Dobian]

On ‎12‎/‎16‎/‎2016 at 7:41 AM, jrlr said:

Agree!!!   What I'd really like to see as a result of this show is for the Notchurch of $$$ have its completely illegitimate church and tax-exempt status revoked.  I can't believe the IRS (who audited me a billion years ago when I was waitressing and made a hot $4500 one year!) has bent over for these litigious con artists.  Time for the IRS to grow some balls and get what's due from this greed-based cult. 

What's ridiculous is that back in the 1970s the Church of Scientology infiltrated the IRS and other government agencies in Washington D.C. and stole tens of thousands of documents.  Several of them, including Hubbard's wife, were convicted for it.  So how can an organization that was engaged in criminal felony actions against the IRS itself get a tax exempt status fifteen years later from the very same IRS?  Insane.

[smorbie]

On 12/14/2016 at 0:34 AM, green said:

 

Too funny (and sad).  Some years ago I worked a summer job at a meter place that supplied meters (gauges) to Ford Motor Company. 

Some time later I heard they lost the contract to a plant in Mexico.  They ended up surviving because they landed the contract to become the official builder of e-meters for Scientology. 

I didn't know that and some years later when looking for work as a tech I applied at the company where I learned all that.  Got a whole tour of the place which is pretty tiny.  There were about 200 employees back the summer I was there when they had the Ford contract.  They looked to have less than 50 maybe back when I went there so the tour wasn't too long, heh. 

I did see the people assembling the stuff though.  It's the same old cheap single fiberglass board with the same old types of resistors and capacitors and crap you could buy at an old Radio Shack store back in the day and would see on any simple meter.  It's a cheapy version of a volt meter is my guess from what I saw.  All it measures is the voltage across a resistance a small current encounters between the power source and ground.  The two "cans" they hold are positive and ground in other words and the resistor is your body.  If you sweat or grip the device harder or what not the needle will move a little since it would be set to millivolts or even micro volts or less.  The auditor will tell the person anything they want to tell them.  Nothing is really happening.

Like everything else about this group it is just bunk.

BTW I never got a callback about that job which I was actually glad about.  I didn't want to help this group and would have refused anyway.  And the older woman (the floor supervisor) that gave me the tour gave me the creeps.  She took all this stuff so seriously.   I wonder now if she had been sent there by the group to assure "quality control" or something as part of some clause in the contract.

Anyway I don't honestly know if they still have that contract or not.  Been about a decade or more ago now.  But the company was Beede Electric in Penacook, NH for the record.

The book, Going Clear says that in the beginning it was just some little dials with cords connecting two soup cans.  That's why they called it "holding the can's".  Why anyone thought that would tell on them when they were having a negative emotion is just beyond me.

Edited August 9, 2017 by smorbie

[smorbie]

On 3/29/2017 at 10:38 PM, Lord Donia said:

Aevin started a Q&A video series about Scientology. The first one mentions the Incident of the Disconnected Dog. Turns out that after his episode of Aftermath aired, Scientology did indeed require the neighbor to stop associating with his dog. There was a chain link fence with a gate between her property and Aaron's and she had to replace it with a solid privacy fence.

So very loony, they are.

OMG!  The dog is an enemy of the crock!  

The thing is I actually kind of understood the woman's logic. She thought (erroneously) that the parents could explain it to the children, but they couldn't explain it to the dog.

I'm a very animal oriented person and was thinking that I certainly couldn't ignore the dog.  But, I couldn't have ignored the children, either.  That's cruel to both of them.  

I'm pretty sure I couldn't ignore my neighbors as well, especially if I had been friendly with them.  I guess I wasn't cut out to be a scientologist.  

On 1/12/2017 at 3:59 PM, funky-rat said:

Yup.  Six months ago, I didn't know about NarcAnon either, and only knew about AA because a family member went through it eons ago, and aside from the standard jokes.  Until someone I love ended up in AA.  I'm fiercely protective of people in recovery, and people with mental illness.  COS pushes all of my buttons.  Repeatedly.  I still don't know anyone who is in NarcAnon, but I know they meet in the church I attend every week, and I will protect them as fiercely as those who are in AA.  They're just trying to get better.

Okay, I don't know my computer marked out what you wrote.  I was responding to tell you I completely agree.  They are fighting a tough battle right now and I have nothing but empathy for them and antipathy for any org that tries to take advantage of them.

I hope your loved ones are doing well.  There's is a hard road, and they will stumble and fall.  It's also hard for the ones who have to pick them back up.  Take care of yourself.  If you haven't heard about ALA-NON, look it up and maybe give it a go.

[smorbie]

On 1/16/2017 at 11:39 AM, Rlb8031 said:

One thing that has given me pause in watching this show, is the language that Scientologist use to describe their religion to themselves and others.  At times the language is completely at odds with their beliefs, like when Mike Rinder daughter described her relationship with her father in a way that would resonate with non-CO$ folks, but was directly at odds with CO$ teachings. 

The second  instance that stood out for me was when the Headley's  talked about people "escaping" from Hemet. Why would the church call them escapees if they really not being held against their will? People don't escape from schools, monasteries,  or jobs which is how CO$ has described life in SeaOrg. You escape from prison. It's one of those times where I think you see Miscavage's  influence rather than LRH's. 

I do think Miscavige has taken things to a whole nother level, but people had to escape from Hubbard, too.  I think all of his children with maybe one exception ending up physically escaping from the crock.

On 2/13/2017 at 5:45 PM, Rlb8031 said:

I was listening to an episode of Surviving Scientology where they talked about Hubbard's belief that Dianetics was an essential feeder for the CO$. So he encouraged the spread of the initial books as far and wide as possible and talked about Dianetics users being the fresh meat that got fed into the system to ultimately create new members. One thousand people paying $300-$500 to get through the basic courses resulted in $30-50,000. Now it seems that DM has gotten the CO$ away from recruitment and sale of services model to simply requiring parishioners to give til it hurts. Dianetics isn't pushed to the masses, and as a result members need to reach into their pockets every Thursday or else. 

Also remember, very few people are joining this crock anymore.  So, they have to milk their victims for as much as they can get.

[smorbie]

On 2/14/2017 at 1:40 AM, Giselle said:

Can you order a caramel frappuchino as they fleece you?

snort - a couple of things come to mind.  If you can order one, it's probably incredibly expensive and let's them know you are an easy mark.

Also, you won't be able to afford a piece of caramel candy when they get done with you.

And finally, I misread your question and was wondering who on earth would order a camel frappuchino.

On 2/14/2017 at 2:27 PM, Lord Donia said:

The Bunker has an article today about the 25th anniversary of Miscavige's disasterous Nightline appearance. I never really processed that Miscavige was only 25 when Hubbard died and he initiated his power grab. That's awfully young to be so shrewdly conniving.

I assume others have also started reading Rindah's blog since the show? I gotta say, I find some of his replies in the comments section to be thin-skinned and bordering on rude. Like he told one poster not to worry her pretty little head when she suggested some legal avenues. He doesn't take criticism well.

He's got decades of indoctrination behind him but it seems like even after all the time, he still maintains some of that Scientology superiority mindset. Or maybe he was that way all along. I changed my mind about him several times on the show, going from kind of negative at first, to slightly positive, then back down again. I admire him but he can be hard to like.

There's something off putting about him.  But wasn't he put into the crock at the age of like 6?  Remember, they learn to attack anyone questioning them.  They also have to be able to control their expressions because a smile or lack thereof could get them years in the hole.  You can't just throw that kind of training off.  Your upbringing is almost hard wired by the time you're their age.

My final thought on this is that Remini trusts him.  She's no dummy.

[smorbie]

On 2/14/2017 at 2:44 PM, Giselle said:

His heart and mind may be in the right place but his delivery can be a bit harsh, rude and/or condescending at times. He is not one to suffer fools lightly. That part of his personality may always be there regardless of being in or out of scientology. It may or may not soften with time out of the cult.

It is probably a personality trait they saw in him early on and went onto cultivate, nurture and exploit to develop him into being their attack dog. A very good one according to his victims.

I'd rather him be our rude jerk than theirs.

I also don't think he has the greatest sense of humor, and that often comes across as unfriendly.

[smorbie]

On 2/16/2017 at 2:48 PM, Atlanta said:

Read this whole thread and don't think this has been touched on, but do any scientologists merely leave and never come back? I mean, do they just stop going to audits/courses/whatever this cult does and it's left alone? Do they stalk all ex members? Sea Org seems nearly impossible to escape, but I wonder about Mr Joe Public who was in the cult for a bit and just stops doing stuff. I'm also amazed that they don't make the adult Sea Org members get vasectomies or for women, their tubes tied. They are so anti having children.

Remini has said that people do leave and unless they are sea org, the crock lets them go IF they keep quiet.  If the crock doesn't think they will, or if the person starts talking, the get declared enemies.  Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.  I haven't read her book yet, so I'm just trying to piece things together from what I heard her say.

I know she said on Joe Rogen's show (can't recommend that clip enough, guys), that she did stop going for the most part after she came back from her torture session in Florida.  She went from being there every day to going in once a month or so.  That was when they called her in, told her everything that happened to her in Florida was "wrong" and told her to come back to the "church".

I'm not conversant with legal matters and children, but I know it used to be that a woman had to be 30 in my state in the US to have her tubes tied.  I don't know what the age was for a male.  I do know that when I worked with handicapped children, parents would have to hire attorneys and go to court to have these procedures for their disabled children.  There's a big problem with handicapped minors being sexually preyed upon, and their parents would sometimes think having them "fixed" would make everyone's lives easier.  

Since the poor sea orgphans are so young, I doubt they can have the surgeries done.  

[Maelstrom]

I'm not entirely certain where to put this, so this thread seems as good as any...

Tony Ortega has a fascinating and disheartening article on why it will be nearly impossible for Leah (or anyone else) to persuade the IRS to investigate the CO$ - turns out there are only three people in the entire IRS with the authority to call for an investigation.

http://tonyortega.org/2017/08/11/leah-remini-calls-for-federal-action-heres-the-frustrating-reason-the-irs-may-not-answer/#more-41794

[funky-rat]

On ‎8‎/‎9‎/‎2017 at 1:30 PM, smorbie said:

Okay, I don't know my computer marked out what you wrote.  I was responding to tell you I completely agree.  They are fighting a tough battle right now and I have nothing but empathy for them and antipathy for any org that tries to take advantage of them.

I hope your loved ones are doing well.  There's is a hard road, and they will stumble and fall.  It's also hard for the ones who have to pick them back up.  Take care of yourself.  If you haven't heard about ALA-NON, look it up and maybe give it a go.

Thanks.  He's doing well (other than being let go from his job because he was honest that his depression was returning, and his employer apparently didn't want to deal, which I've been told is a violation of the ADA, since they had placed him on short-term disability prior, so we're considering filing a complaint).  And yes, I am a friend of Lois W, and the group has been a God-send to me.

[2727]

Here's a petition started by Jeffrey Augustine to ask the IRS to investigate Scientology's tax-free status. It's a gesture of concern, if nothing else. Jeffrey has given his permission for it to be shared via social media if desired.

(We should at least get more signatures than the one by Scientology to cancel Aftermath!)

[RedheadZombie]

On ‎6‎/‎26‎/‎2017 at 9:30 AM, 2727 said:

Asshole Marty Rathbun has been releasing a series of Scientology-produced videos to attack Going Clear, then he turned to Leah. The latest sling the expected mud about Aftermath and its participants and are featured on one of Scientology's smear sites.

If you have a YouTube account and want to take a tiny slap back at Marty, you can downvote the videos. Scientology bots have been watching to increase view counts; the original videos were getting about 1100 views each until the bots increased them to around 30K. But you have to be logged into your account to register a vote, so those continue to be low.

Rathbun always comes off the most sympathetic and likable, but he's always been the most diabolical (excepting Miscavige and Hubbard) in my opinion.  It takes a certain kind of monster to sit down and carefully perform an extended/prolonged destruction of Nicole Kidman to her young children.  He instilled so much hatred and fear in those innocent kids.  He did it with malice and forethought, and he did it so insidiously that Nicole didn't figure it out until it was too late.

And for Rathbun to now be attacking those attempting to stop this cult, knowing just how bad it is, knowing his words are forever memorialized in the documentary - absolutely disgusts me.  And good will I ever had for him is forever gone.  He is lost, and this time it was voluntary. 

[TaraS1]

I don't understand the Marty Rathbun thing at all.  Is there an article or blog post somewhere that explains how/when the COS managed to get him back?

[LilWharveyGal]

1 hour ago, TaraS1 said:

I don't understand the Marty Rathbun thing at all.  Is there an article or blog post somewhere that explains how/when the COS managed to get him back?

That seems to be the million dollar question.  I don't think anyone has a definitive answer right now.  There is speculation that he didn't like the way he was portrayed by Louis Theroux in My Scientology Movie.  It's also still unclear why his wife, Monique, dropped her legal suit against the "church."  Her former lawyers suspect the Rathbuns received a payoff from $cientology and have taken the issue to court.  Tony's articles on Marty may help fill in the blanks.

[TaraS1]

Thanks very much @LilWharveyGal!  I only watched the first 15 minutes or so of that Louis Theroux movie, but I quickly got the feeling that Marty wasn't enjoying the experience.

[MisterBluxom]

I would like to post some general remarks about the Scientology cult and I've been looking for the proper place. But I don't think this is it.

Ron Miscavige (David's father) wrote a book titled, "My Son, David Miscavige and Me". I believe this thread pertains to that book. But I can't be sure because I can't find any book or video titled Miscavige and sons. Can anyone please help me to know where I can post some general remarks? Also can anyone tell me what this thread is about?

I examined the first post in this thread and it talked about an episode of Leah's show. But it didn't seem to specify exactly which episode. So, I'm kind of confused. Can anyone help me pls?

[Whimsy]

This is the general scientology discussion thread. 

The other threads discuss:

Celebrities in Scientology

Season 2

Media

Resources (movies, books, interviews, etc).

Leah

Those are the main threads that are not specific to episodes on TV.

[MisterBluxom]

I would like to post some general remarks about the Scientology cult and I've been looking for the proper place. But I don't think this is it.

Ron Miscavige (David's father) wrote a book titled, "My Son, David Miscavige and Me". I believe this thread pertains to that book. But I can't be sure because I can't find any book or video titled Miscavige and sons. Can anyone please help me to know where I can post some general remarks? Also can anyone tell me what this thread is about?

On 8/30/2017 at 2:15 PM, Whimsy said:

This is the general scientology discussion thread. 

The other threads discuss:

Celebrities in Scientology

Season 2

Media

Resources (movies, books, interviews, etc).

Leah

Those are the main threads that are not specific to episodes on TV.

 

Thanks very much Whimsy.  I have added one film to your list (at the end of this thread) and hope to add more as I learn about them. Most all the stories I have learned about this cult are highly similar. A representative of the cult begins by telling some innocent dupe all the wonderful things this cult is supposed to do for the world. Basically that can be summarized as "making the world a better place". Then, they start off very slowly and gently asking for small amounts of money to helple the cult in its work. They ask under the pretense that you will be paying for books and courses to teach you how to make the world a better place.

But as time passes, the amount of money they ask of you grows larger and the manner in which they ask grows stronger until they are demanding almost all the money you have and then all the money and property your family has. They use extremely high pressure sales tactics to convince most anyone in your family who has some substantial financial holdings - usually real estate. The convince them under tremendous and relentless pressure to change their wills to name the Cult as their primary and only beneficiary so that when they die, the Cult gets all their property and money.

Many churches also ask their member to change their will to leave the church a large amount of money and property. The big difference is that the Cult uses illegal means to do this including high pressure sales techniques that involve them coming to elderly relatives' homes and staying for days at a time. During this time, they will not allow the elderly to sleep or eat or use the bathroom. The will not allow them to make any phone calls (especially they cannot call the police to complain or ask for help). Eventually, unless the elderly have very strong wills, their sales resistance collapses and they comply. Then,  when they die, the Cult gets huge amounts of money that would otherwise go to the elderlys' relatives and to co organizations the elderly would have wanted to get that money. The sales pressure will not stop until the elderly comply or find the strength of will to stand up and tell the sales team to get out of their homes immediately or they will call the police. When that happens, a young person (usually related to the elderly) will begin to cry and beg their elderly relatives to comply and not to call the police. They do this under instructions from the sales team and it often works. Often times, the edlerly drop their demands and sign the new will and the Cult wins out at the end.

If there is any God in this world, I sure do hope He will intervene and see that justice is done to the members of this cult that treat the elderly in this way.

IMHO, these people belong in a penitentiary and they deserve to spend the rest of their lives there.

Edited August 31, 2017 by MissBluxom

[MisterBluxom]

If I had just recently learned about Scientology and had watched some of the episodes of Leah's show, I would think the question that would be foremost in my mind would be, "How does any lunatic cult that believes in all this insanity manage to accumulate BILLIONS and BILLIONS of dollars worth of property and cash? For those of you who don't know, I'd like to make this post to tell you about some of my experiences and my opinion as to how they manage to get all this money.

I think the most common way they get big amounts of wealth is when members are convinced to change their wills so when they die most or all of their wealth is left to the cult. This is not really a crime. Many real churches do the same thing. The only criminal aspect of this cult doing it is that they are not really a church. Wealthy members of any group are often visited before they die and encouraged/convinced to change their wills such that most or all of their wealth is left to the group when they die. But I learned about a different way this happens that is almost certainly criminal and I'd like to tell you about that now:

I once had a friend who had a relative who was a member of this cult. If you've watched Leah's show, you will know they sell every book and every course they "offer" and buying all these things is compulsory for all members and often adds up to more than $100K during their membership.  If a member does not have enough money to spend on these things, they are then relegated to attend course meetings which they have already attended in which they spend several hours going over the last lesson they did buy. It doesn't take long until spending several hours every day going over the very same material becomes incredibly boring - verging on a mild form of torture. So members usually find a way to get the money somehow (often by borrowing it or running up  their credit cards) or they wind up leaving the cult. The cult does not seem as interested in keeping poor members as they do in keeping wealthy members.

My friend told me of the following incident and told me this kind of thing happens fairly often in this cult. This friend had achieved one of the higher levels in the cult (Operating Thetan 4 if my memory is correct) and the people above them started to pressure them to come up with more money to buy more books and more course lessons.  In talking with them, the members divulged they had some elderly grandparents who had a few million dollars in cash and property. The cult leaders then began to apply pressure to get that money and property from the grandparents. But, more importantly, they put pressure on this person to ensure the grandparents modified their will to leave all their property to the cult. They told them that they needed to get that money in order to take all the courses they would need to have a good and happy life - a "complete" life. If they didn't get a pile of cash from the grandparents and also arrange to have their will modified, this person could never have a happy life and in fact their life would become a complete misery. They told the grandparents that without this information they would become seriously ill (both mentally and physically ill) and their lives would unravel to the point they would soon die. The pressure kept getting stronger and stronger until eventually the cult sent a team of 3 or 4 "high pressure sales" people to visit the grandparents and convince them to hand over some ten thousand dollars cash and to change their wills to leave all their money and property to the cult. This so-called "team" was an experienced "high pressured" sales team that came to the home and stayed there until the grandparents complied. They insisted on getting a copy of the of the changed will after it had been notarized. They stayed in the grandparents' home for several days at a time and continually browbeat them and put incredibly strong pressure on them to do this. They would not leave and would not stop ramping up the pressure until the grandparents agreed and complied. Legal? Of course not. But they made sure no one was recording what they did and the grandparents did not possess a sufficiently strong will to resist all the "high pressure" tactics that were used against them. According to my friend the pressure was relentless and although the grandparents initially did not want to comply, after some 48 hours with almost no food or sleep, and not being permitted to use the telephone or the bathroom, they eventually complied. They were at the point of having a nervous breakdown and could not think of any other way out of this situation. They wanted these people to get out of their home but for some reason they could not find the strength to stand up and say, "Leave our home or we will call the police".

Apparently, it came close to that. But when it did come close to that,  the cult member started crying and begging her grandparents not to do that and told them she really needed them to comply or else her life would be just worthless and she would soon die. She also told them a bunch more garbage like that.  She told me this is a common way that this scam gets older people to sign over all their money and property to the cult - either directly or by changing their will. They insisted on getting a copy of the changed will after it was notarized and they made the grandparents believe it would be some kind of crime for them to change the will without first notifying the cult of their intention.

I sure do hope that Leah will do a segment explaining how often this kind of thing happens and how many elderly people are browbeat into giving all their money to the cult and/or changing their wills so that they leave all their money and property to the cult when they die.

I also hope Miscavige gets to go where he blongs ASAP - namely to the penitentiary and for life.  If there is really a God in this world, I sure do hope he/she will intervene and give Miscavige what he deserves because it sure does seem like no one else will ever be doing that. SON OF  A BITCH!!

Edited August 31, 2017 by MissBluxom

[toodles]

8 hours ago, MissBluxom said:

If I had just recently learned about Scientology and had watched some of the episodes of Leah's show, I would think the question that would be foremost in my mind would be, "How does any lunatic cult that believes in all this insanity manage to accumulate BILLIONS and BILLIONS of dollars worth of property and cash? For those of you who don't know, I'd like to make this post to tell you about some of my experiences and my opinion as to how they manage to get all this money.

I think the most common way they get big amounts of wealth is when members are convinced to change their wills so when they die most or all of their wealth is left to the cult. This is not really a crime. Many real churches do the same thing. The only criminal aspect of this cult doing it is that they are not really a church. Wealthy members of any group are often visited before they die and encouraged/convinced to change their wills such that most or all of their wealth is left to the group when they die. But I learned about a different way this happens that is almost certainly criminal and I'd like to tell you about that now:

I once had a friend who had a relative who was a member of this cult. If you've watched Leah's show, you will know they sell every book and every course they "offer" and buying all these things is compulsory for all members and often adds up to more than $100K during their membership.  If a member does not have enough money to spend on these things, they are then relegated to attend course meetings which they have already attended in which they spend several hours going over the last lesson they did buy. It doesn't take long until spending several hours every day going over the very same material becomes incredibly boring - verging on a mild form of torture. So members usually find a way to get the money somehow (often by borrowing it or running up  their credit cards) or they wind up leaving the cult. The cult does not seem as interested in keeping poor members as they do in keeping wealthy members.

My friend told me of the following incident and told me this kind of thing happens fairly often in this cult. This friend had achieved one of the higher levels in the cult and the people above them started to pressure them to come up with more money to buy more books and more lessons.  In talking with them, they divulged that they had some elderly grandparents who had a few million dollars in cash and property. The cult leaders then began to apply pressure to get that money and property from their grandparents. But more importantly, they put pressure on this person to ensure the grandparents modified their will to leave all their property to the cult. They told them that they needed to get that money in order to take all the courses they would need to have a happy life - a "complete" life. If they didn't get a pile of cash from the grandparents and also arrange to have their will modified, this person could never have a happy life and in fact their life would become a complete misery. They told the grandparents that without this information they would become seriously ill and their lives would unravel to the point they would actually die. The pressure kept getting stronger and stronger until eventually the cult sent a team of 3 or 4 "high pressure" sales people to visit the grandparents and convince them to hand over some ten thousand dollars and to change their will to leave all their property to the cult. This so-called "team" was an experienced "high pressured" sales team that came to the home and stayed there until the grandparents complied. They insisted on getting a copy of the of the changed will after it had been notarized. They stayed in the grandparents' home for some 48 hours and continually browbeat them and put incredible pressure on them to do this. They would not leave and would not cease in ramping up the pressure until the grandparents agreed and complied. Legal? Of course not. But they made sure no one was recording what they did and the grandparents did not possess a the will strong enough to resist all the "high pressure" tactics that were used to convince them. According to my friend the pressure was relentless and although the grandparents initially did not want to comply but after some 48 hours with almost no food or sleep, and not being permitted to use the telephone or the bathroom, they eventually complied. They were at the point of having a nervous breakdown and could not think of any way out of this situation. They wanted thesen people to get out of their home but for some reason they could not get to the point where they could stand up and say, "Leave our home or we will call the police".

Apparently, it came close to that. But when it did come close to that,  the cult member started crying and begging her grandparents not to do that and told them she really needed them to comply or else her life would be just worthless. She also told them a bunch more garbage like that.  She told me this is a common way that this scam gets older people to sign over all their money and property to the cult - either directly or by changing their will. They insisted on getting a copy of the changed will after it was notarized and they made the grandparents believe it would be some kind of crime for them to change the will without first notifying the cult of their intention.

I sure do hope that Leah will do a segment explaining how often this kind of thing happens and how many elderly people are browbeat into giving all their money to the cult and/or changing their wills so that they leave all their money and property to the cult when they die.

I just hope Mr. Miscavige gets to go where he blongs ASAP - namely to the penitentiary and for life.

Just wow.  I am beyond speechless.  Prison is too good for him.

[Clearing ExScien]

Beloved peer group. More and more, they  destroying our

beautiful township with their criminal actions in Clearwater...

I´ve always wondered where the weird sect really gets their

money for many "really expensive buildings" in Clearwater... 

 

Billion of dollars ...

https://www.scribd.com/document/416050695/Scientology-Clearwater-Financial-Privileges

Edited July 7, 2019 by Clearing ExScien