A critical evaluation of TIME's claims about scientology

I recently reposted the TIME article to alt.religion.scientology, in response to an attack on one minor point in the article by one RonAtistR.

This was not enough for Ron, apparently.

In article <3skke0$fd0@newsbf02.news.aol.com> ronartistr@aol.com "RonArtistR" writes:

> Once every ten years or so, someone write a fact-void piece on
> Scientology.
RonArtist, you claimed that the Time piece gave mostly unnamed sources. I showed that your claim as not backed by the facts. Now I will further show that the article is full of damning claims about the church of scientology, _and I will show that most of those claims are true beyond a shadow of a doubt, and that many of them are at least substantiated._ And remember, Ron, if you call me on _any_ of the points below, be ready to read my rebuttal giving chapter and verse. > The Time one was so funny that I couldn't hardly get through it all.
You did not pay much attention to the article? It shows. > Oh--if you're going to repost something that is now nearly half a decade
> old,
You brought it up. Why did you bring it up if you think it is irrelevant? I must say that I am grateful for another chance to publicise this excellent and well researched article, but the credit for putting the idea into my head rests with you, Ron.

> please post how the Church of Scientology is winning in its libel
> suits against those involved in this old article.
Name a libel suit which the church won against the originator of the article, and I will write about it. > Time is print tabloid and sells copies more and more based on that.
> Thank you, though, for conceding that the major part of the Time story
> about "why" LRH books have sold now over 100 MILLION copies was not
> fact-based or true.
> The rest of the article was the same silly trash we see more and more on
> TV and in the press.
> Ron
I did no such thing. I pointed out that the article showed _many_ more important points than the minor point (backed up by witness evidence) that you objected to. The claim about book-buying _has_ been examined and proven to be correct. Let's examine some of that "silly trash we see more and more on TV and in the press." Items in '' quotes are direct quotes from the TIME article. Indented items are my own comments providing background information to evaluate the claims made in the TIME article.

o 'Eleven top Scientologists, including Hubbard's wife, were sent to prison in the early 1980s for infiltrating, burglarizing and wiretapping more than 100 private and government agencies in attempts to block their investigations.' A matter of public record. Court documents in the case against Mary Sue Hubbard et al. o 'In recent years hundreds of longtime Scientology adherents -- many charging that they were mentally of physically abused -- have quit the church and criticized it at their own risk." Some have sued the church and won; others have settled for amounts in excess of $500,000.

Again a matter of public record. The Wollersheim finding, for instance, means the church owes Larry W $4million dollars, and no more appeals are open to the church. He proved before the court that he suffered mental deterioration at the hands of the church. o In various cases judges have labeled the church "schizophrenic and paranoid" and "corrupt, sinister and dangerous.' Again a matter of public record. The judgement of Judge Breckenridge in the Armstrong case, for instance (that's where the phrase 'schizophrenic and paranoid' comes from).

o 'According to the Cult Awareness Network, whose 23 chapters monitor more than 200 "mind control" cults, no group prompts more telephone pleas for help than does Scientology. "' Depends whether you believe the Cult Awareness Network. I have no reason to doubt there word in this particular case. Your mileage may vary,

o 'Vicki Aznaran, who was one of Scientology's six key leaders until she bolted from the church in 1987 [said]: "This is a criminal organization, day in and day out. It makes Jim and Tammy [Bakker] look like kindergarten."' Attributed quote. It depends whether you trust an ex-senior member of the cult to tell the truth, or whether you believe the cult's current leadership. There's not a lot in it.

o 'High-level defectors say the parent organization has squirreled away an estimated $400 million in bank accounts in Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Cyprus.'

Unattributed quote. Okay, so this is not verifiable. o 'Scientology probably has about 50,000 active members, far fewer than the 8 million the group claims.' Two estimates. Work posted on this newsgroup shows that the 8 million estimate is unlikely to be true. The actual figure is probably unknown even by the church. o 'Born In Nebraska in 1911, Hubbard served in the Navy during World War II and soon afterward complained to the Veterans Administration about his "suicidal inclinations" and his "seriously affected" mind.'

Again a matter of public record. Veterans Administration files.

o 'Years later, church brochures described him falsely as an "extensively decorated" World War II hero who was crippled and blinded in action, twice pronounced dead and miraculously cured through Scientology.' Again, a matter of public record. The church's official biogs clash the Veterans' Administration files and Hubbard's military record.

o 'Hubbard's "doctorate" from "Sequoia University" was a fake mall-order degree.' L. Ron Hubbard sent a telegram from England to his assistant De Mille asking him to arrange the honorary doctorate to help him to gain prestige in England. De Mille had earlier purchased his own qualification from the same degree mill, which was run by a chiropractor.

o 'In a I984 case in which the church sued a Hubbard biographical researcher, a California judge [Breckenridge] concluded that its founder was "a pathological liar."' Again a matter of public record. The Armstrong case again.

o 'Counseling sessions with the E-meter, [Hubbard] claimed, could knock out the engrams, cure blindness and even improve a person's intelligence and appearance.'

Again a matter of public record. The Appendix to the judgement "No. D.C. 1-63, United States District Court, District of Columbia, July 30, 1971 (333 F.Supp. 357)" in which the E-meter was condemned, gives a multitude of instances of such bogus medical claims.

Fortunately, the judgement stopped him making these unfounded medical claims.

o 'An Internal Revenue Service ruling in 1967 stripped Scientology's mother church of its tax-exempt status. A federal court ruled in 1971 that Hubbard's medical claims were bogus and that E-meter auditing could no longer be called a scientific treatment. Hubbard responded by going fully religious, seeking First Amendment protection for Scientology's strange rites. His counselors started sporting clerical collars. Chapels were built, franchises became "missions," fees became "fixed donations," and Hubbard's comic-book cosmology became "sacred scriptures.' Again a matter of public record.

o 'During the early 1970s, the IRS conducted its own auditing sessions and proved that Hubbard was skimming millions of dollars from the church, laundering the money through dummy corporations in Panama and stashing it in Swiss bank accounts. Moreover, church members stole IRS documents, filed false tax returns and harassed the agency's employees.' Again a matter of public record. Today I posted some court excerpts from the relevant IRS rulings.

o 'By late 1985, with high-level defectors accusing Hubbard of having stolen as much as S200 million from the church, the IRS was seeking an indictment of Hubbard for tax fraud.'

Again a matter of public record.

o 'Scientology members "worked day and night" shredding documents the IRS sought, according to defector Aznaran, who took part in the scheme.' Another attributed quote, presumably Vicki (not Richard) Aznaran. It depends whether you believe her of the cult's current leadership.

o 'Hubbard, who had been in hiding for five years, died before the criminal case could be prosecuted.' Again a matter of public record.

I will forebear to examine the article any further on this occasion, but from the examination of this part it is apparent that the points in the TIME article are far from tabloid journalism. Indeed, having come this far, I am well able to believe the assertion by the article's author that:

o 'To explore Scientology's reach, TIME conducted more than 150 interviews and reviewed hundreds of court records and internal Scientology documents. Church officials refused to be interviewed.'

-- Tony Sidaway SUPPORT DENNIS ERLICH, CRITIC SUED BY SCIENTOLOGISTS NEW ADDRESS "This is not something that is happening in cyberspace. This is happening in my house"--Dennis Erlich. "The internet is growing Woody. 4.8M nodes as of January. Deal with it." --charles oriez "Time to update your sig, Tony :-)...at least 27.5 M with e-mail access. 13.5M have full access. Full details <a href="http://www.tic.com/.">http://www.tic.com/.</a>--charles oriez

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