All of the above reasons--plus a plethora of others I'll get to in this review--are perfectly acceptable reasons to hate Maddox. Yes, hate. In the same way that Maddox "hates" old people, children, women, the Microsoft X-Box, the iPhone, and cheese pizza, I despise Maddox for being Maddox. To put it another way, I dislike the kind of guy who names his website "The Best Page In the Universe" and then uses it to mock people who somebody might actually give two shits about. Punctuating this L. Ron Hubbard-styled exercise in egotism is his brown-nosing fanbase which worships his work to the point of religious obsession. Could The Best Page in the Universe be the next Scientology, with Douglass DC-8-styled battlecruisers and intergalactic feminist aliens? Is that not the most terrifying possibility ever put onto the Internet? Let us not even entertain the thought of either and just move on.

Probably the easiest reason to hate Maddox is because he's a terrible writer. Yes, I know what you're thinking. "HURR HURR, TALK ABOUT A HYPOCRITE. SHITTY WRITER MAKING FUN OF ANOTHER WRITER'S SHITTY WRITING. LOLS!" Whatever you say, Captain Dumbass. Regardless of my writing talents, my site is tiny and inconsequential. Nobody cares what I think about anything. The likelihood of anybody--let alone several hundred thousand fans--actually reading this post and caring about what it says are slim to nil. The reason Maddox's shitty writing is so obnoxious is because he is actually a professional because of it. People actually give a shit about what Maddox thinks about something. Somehow, in spite of being a parody (one hopes) of every single stupid manly cliché ever made by anybody, ever, this man was able to get a book deal. And he got it based on--get this--his writing work on a fucking blog. Which puts him on the same publicity-hunting rung as Tila Tequila. Minus the tits and ass, of course.

Now, fair's fair, some of Maddox's later blog posts (were) actually decent. He criticized Bill O'Reilly--and was funny doing it! He coherently lampooned various crappy cars. He successfully made a tribute to some actual manly men without seeming like a chauvinistic douche about it--particularly the bits about Gregory Peck and Judge Mathis. He even satirized Sesame Street's decision to make a muppet with AIDS--and didn't even make AIDS jokes while he was doing it, which puts him above many other bloggers and so-called "humorists" one could name.

Those were the good times for Maddox--a period of time stretching all the way from 2002 to, oh, around the end of 2003. So, about a year of half-decent humor and satire. But what if you look deeper, back to where he was starting, around, say, 1998? Boy, are you in for a surprise!

It's not that I'm against a guy venting about those nasty high school jocks that stripped him naked and strung him up a flagpole or those girls that refused to touch his penis or whatever the hell people did to Maddox when he was a pasty-skinned nerdy loser, but Christ if it isn't the most irritating thing whenever "entertainment" writers start putting it on their front page. As a warning: No, nobody wants to hear that you think girls are Nazis. As a side note: Nobody gives a shit. Seriously, cut it out.

In later years, "just to be a dick", Maddox started timing his posts once every few months instead of once a week. Just about everything Maddox has made during this period--which, unfortunately, includes the present--is unfathomably terrible. Some argue he bottomed out around where he started ranting over crappy movies nobody cares about.  Others say it happened when he criticised states nobody cares about. Probably his worst-ever blog post was his bit on puns, where he lashes out both at people who make puns (who nobody cares about) and Dave Matthews Band (a band nobody cares about). Clearly, two things can be inferred from these posts:

1. Nobody cares about the topics of the blog posts.
2. Nobody cares about the blog posts themselves, either.

Nobody cares because all of this is stupid bullshit.

That's enough of talking about Maddox's blog (and yes, Maddox, your "webpage" is a blog), so let's go on to his "professional career." There are two principal parts to Maddox's career as a professional writer: Namely, a comic book about beating up women and children which is so bad it probably makes Shredded Moose look like Penny Arcade in comparison; and The Alphabet of Manliness, which I've read and therefore can confirm is so bad it makes Shredded Moose look like Penny Arcade in comparison.

The Alphabet of Manliness is possibly the longest, most knuckle-draggingly stupid treatise on everything that is wrong with men that has ever been published. Its twenty six chapters are arranged alphabetically, as follows:

1. A is for Ass-Kicking
2. B is for Boners
3. C is for Copping a Feel
4. D is for Taking a Dump (Seriously, does Maddox know how to spell? Since when does T equal a D... You know what? Nevermind)
5. E is for Enlightenment
6. F is for Female Wrestling

Seriously, good God.

In case you're wondering, yes, it gets worse from there. There's the chapter on "Knockers", another chapter on "Chuck Norris", another in which he teaches his fans how to obedience train their women, under "O", and the obligatory pieces on urinal etiquette and violence. This book--which runs 204 pages long--includes such memorable passages as

(under Copping a Feel)

Figure 2: A droopy, pudgy, lumpy mess of an ass. Notice the pockmarks (1), awkwardly shaped slabs of meat jettisoning out from the sides of the waist (2), the clenched uninviting crack (3) and the burgeoning folds of cellulite (4). Just nasty.

Figure 3: A thick ass looks like a happy smile. You can see that this ass is healthy and bursting with flavor.

A fat ass is a sad ass. You don't want anything to do with a fat ass, other than to loathe it. A thick ass, on the other hand, is plump and beautiful; it should make you feel hungry like when you see a glazed ham that you can't afford in a Christmas catalogue. (Alphabet of Manliness, page 23)

And no, I'm not including the nasty pictures.

(under Chuck Norris)

I walked up the staircase for what seemed like days, and when I finally reached the top, I saw Chuck Norris sitting on his throne. I dared not look him in his eyes because one time this guy looked him in his eyes and Chuck Norris spontaneously combusted him. No one is allowed to speak with Chuck; the only thing you are allowed to do in his presence is bow, kiss his ring, bow again, and leave. So I walked up to his throne and saw that he was wearing a ring made out of solid diamonds with a unicorn on it that had an erection [Figure 3; the caption reads "I'd have a boner too if I were on Chuck Norris' ring." Boy, do I feel sorry for the talented artists who had to draw the picture of a ring embossed with a bucking unicorn and what appears to be a two-foot erection. But, oh, wait, these artists asked to be a part of the project. Nevermind then, into the pit with you all. THIS IS SPARTAAAAA]

I kissed his ring, and then I wanted to thank him, so I said, "Sir, permission to thank you for the privilege of allowing me to kiss your ring." If Chuck Norris doesn't immediately kill you, that means he has granted you permission. I thanked him, bowed and left. It was the happiest day of my life. (The Alphabet of Manliness, page 117)

Why the hell did Maddox even decide to include this? Seriously, he'd get a boner from being on Chuck Norris' ring? He's willing to kiss an engraving of a unicorn with an erection? He thinks Chuck Norris wears a ring with an engraving of a unicorn with an erection? Is he some kind of gay zoophile or something? Oh wait, it's a joke, and he says "I'm currently not single" on his FAQ page on his blog anyway. Okay. Male or female partner, Maddox? I seriously can't tell anymore.

Oh yes, and then there was the chapter on "Metal", which I will use as an excuse to put this music video here. Hey, screw you if you don't like it, I do this for every post.

(Iron Maiden, "Number of the Beast"; posted by Nitro285, assuming he doesn't force me to take it down because he's a Maddox fan)

The most obnoxious thing about Maddox's fanbase is how they use the term "satire" to describe what he writes. Well, OK, "describe" is a bit off; "defend" is more like it. Whenever Maddox's fans are called upon by somebody with some modicum of decency to argue why it's all right that Maddox writes multi-page essays on beating women or abusing children, and they refer to his work as "satire", they're basically saying it's a joke, and it's just intended to be good natured playful humor.

If you're going to write "playful" satirical essays on beating the shit out of a woman (LOL, playful?), don't make an early statement about how feminists are Nazis and whining about how girls don't like you and all women are sluts. Seriously, just no. And, as a corollary, don't feed me shit about how your article on child abuse is a joke whenever you write early about how children are worthless without so much as cracking a smile.

I don't know how else to explain to you why this is not satire. I guess I can try the simplest reasoning I can think of: The reason it's not satire is because the person who wrote it seriously believed what he was writing. It's not like Maddox is making fun of chauvinist pricks when he says feminists are Nazis. It's not like he was just pretending to have a grudge against women when he wrote early on "To all those guys out there looking for a good woman... STOP LOOKING." No, it's quite clear this pathetic bullshit is not a joke. Which means that unless Maddox had an unusually enlightening conversation with the Tolerance Fairy and everything after that, including the obedience-training women chapter of the Alphabet of Manliness, is just Maddox making a commentary on how incredibly stupid and barbaric the American male is, he's just being a chauvinist pig. Calling Maddox's work "satire" is like referring to grape juice as wine; it's unrefined, to the point that labeling it as such is just being a pretentious (and incredibly stupid) cock.

This post is at least five pages long and I still haven't even begun to list all the reasons that Maddox is possibly the worst popular writer in the history of the Internet: The long list of obnoxious meme-like "manly" traits like his obsession with beef jerky and hot sauce; the inability to list a "like" that does not include lesbians, violence or antisocial behavior (because apparently his target audience is--you guessed it--35-year-old sexually insecure basement dwellers or thirteen-year-boys); suggesting that people kill themselves and then attacking anybody who says differently; and much, much more. Ha ha ha, Maddox, that suicide piece is hilarious. And your rebuttal to your detractors is just icing on the cake of brilliance.

In the end, you could almost forgive Maddox for being so awful if he were just venting. But when the guy's so fuckin' insecure of his self-worth he literally mentions in his bottom-of-the-page stat counter that he won't be eligible for the Presidency until 2016 ("Vote for me then, guys, I'll take away female suffrage and legalize rape"), says that his fans would make him President if they could, and you know they would just like he says, it becomes unforgivable. It's like looking at Hitler before he became Chancellor of Germany, and yes I invoked Godwin's Law. Because you know that's how Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. Because you just know that it was sycophantic morons like this guy that contributed to Hitler's ability to enslave all of Western Europe. Thank God Maddox's legions of fans will never leave their computers, because otherwise I'd be terrified of their collective strength. Head for the hills! Maddox's fans are coming! They're going to go after the women and children like 4chan's Scientology raid, only a billion times stronger and infinitely more stupid.

Just to finish this off: One of Maddox's posts is entitled "Wireless Internet may well destroy our chances of contacting intelligent life." In it, he describes how one of his fans is a complete retard and goes off on the rest of his fans using her as an example. The apparent gist of it all is that these people are making aliens think we're all a bunch of semi-intelligent Neanderthals that aren't worth contacting. Just so you know Maddox, it's not your fans. Oh no. They're the least of our problems. Our bigger problem is with the half-cocked, insecure dumbshit leading them into new levels of stupidity by driving asshatted unfunny chauvinistic crap into their thick skulls, calling it "humor" on the way down the Golden Road To Retard Center. Seriously, Maddox, go fuck yourself, or get your man-crush Chuck Norris to do it for you. You're such a pathetic excuse for a "manly man" it would be a miracle if he even let you suck his cock, and if you think "a woman in the passenger seat, just like God intended" is the pinnacle of masculinity, you'd might as well trade in your penis and get a vagina. It wouldn't be missed, trust me.

Within the last year more than 100,000 Scientology Volunteer Ministers were active in most countries of the world and trained tens of thousands in their technology.

Here is what Scientology Volunteer Ministers do:
Scientology Handbook

And here what they are like:
Scientology VM Website.

Scientology's founder, L. Ron Hubbard is definitely a well-known name.  It's all over the Internet and the media.  This is mostly because of Church of Scientology and celebrities like Tom Cruise.  This video gives a concise but in-depth overview of many of the facets of L. Ron Hubbard's life, even before he founded the Scientology religion.  Things you probably didn't even know about.

Although more than a million fans converged on Austria for the Euro Cup last month the entire event came off without incident. Behind the scenes of this and every huge international sports event are the men and women who see to the safety of those attending and handle any emergencies that arise--emergencies that could easily become catastrophes if not cared for quickly and competently.

Those attending the Euro Cup could relax and keep their eyes on the ball and their favorite teams and players because the emergency response personnel were keeping their eyes on security. And in appreciation for their work, the Scientology Volunteer Ministers European Cavalcade team decided to make their work a little easier by providing food and drinks to the police, firemen and other emergency workers who were looking out for the welfare of those attending the event.

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers European Cavalcade arrived in Austria from the Slovak Republic in time for the Euro Cup. There, they had spent several months providing one-on-one help and courses and seminars based on technology developed by Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard.

By Tony Ortega
Tuesday, June 24th 2008

• 
  

  Scientology leader David Miscavige, in full Sea Org regalia. Miscavige's status as "captain" of the Sea Org was central to a court case that resulted in the largest court penalty in Scientology history.

Six years ago, when I was a reporter at New Times LA, I’d written several stories about Scientology (Los Angeles is one of its headquarters), and I was about to uncork the longest one yet—a 7,000 word piece about an embarrassing, $8 million defeat Scientology had just suffered, when the weekly paper suddenly folded.That unpublished story has been sitting in storage ever since. Fast forward to 2008, and the world of reporting on Scientology has changed radically, thanks in part to the lunacy of Tom Cruise, but also in part to a worldwide, leaderless movement that calls itself Anonymous. Ravenous for any information about L. Ron Hubbard’s strange organization, Anonymous scours the world for the least tidbit about Scientology.

Well, here was a pretty meaty morsel just sitting in my hard drive. It’s still a substantial bit of reporting, and it fills in some gaps in the historical record of one of the most humiliating court losses Scientology has ever suffered.

Originally scheduled to be printed in October 2002, the piece follows. (It’s unchanged except for updates in

[brackets].) This material may come as a revelation to some readers, but even for the know-it-alls at Anonymous, there are juicy bites.—Tony Ortega

What Scientology Paid $8 Million To Hide

With an hour to spare, Hubbard’s minions settle a debt they vowed never to pay

(Prepared for publication in October, 2002) by Tony Ortega

Even before it started, the 1986 trial of Lawrence Wollersheim v. the Church of Scientology of California caused a mob scene at L.A.’s downtown superior court.

When a judge decided during pretrial motions that documents describing confidential Scientology beliefs should be put in a file open to the public, 1,500 Scientologists swamped the court clerk’s office to keep anyone else from requesting them. The next day, the judge resealed those records. But an L.A. Times reporter managed to get past the crush of Scientologists and copy the file. Newspapers around the country had a field day with what the Times reported: the documents showed that high-level Scientologists are taught that each human contains the souls of alien creatures banished to Earth 75 million years ago by a galactic overlord named Xenu.

In the lawsuit, Wollersheim claimed that after he left Scientology in 1979 the organization retaliated by destroying his business and attempting to destroy him. In five months of testimony, Wollersheim, his psychologist, and former Scientologists described the coercion he was subjected to, sacrifices he was expected to make, and bizarre teachings he was fed, which made Hubbard’s outfit sound more like a mind control cabal out of The Manchurian Candidate than the mainstream faith it claimed to be. Scientology’s attorneys countered that Wollersheim had come to the organization with a preexisting mental condition and was a drug user. Wollersheim was seeking $25 million in damages.

The jury awarded him $30 million.

It was a stunning blow to Scientology, but probably the most lasting impression that many took from the trial was the reaction of Scientologists themselves, who continued to protest at the courthouse day after day for more than a month after the verdict. Staging their demonstrations from a tent city set up across the street, the members wore pins made from ten cent coins and chanted over and over: “Not one thin dime for Wollersheim!”

It was a vow that Scientology kept for 16 years.

The episode itself lampoons Scientology by knocking its methodology, allegedly scientific basis, and status as a big, fat, global scam. It also lambasts the various celebrities that the so-called religion claims as a foundation for its legitimacy, including Tom Cruise (whose alleged homosexual proclivities give the episode its title and caused him to flip his shit just around the release of Mission Impossible 3 - which for the record was a bad-ass movie), and John Travolta.

I entirely agree with South Park's sentiments about this wretched attempt at a religion, and appreciate that Parker and Stone stepped into Scientology's own line of fire when they made this episode. In The Zen of South Park I compare the show's portrayal of Mormonism and Scientology in order to show how two religions that are totally invented (and in quite an obvious way) are not evaluated similarly.

Are you a Scientologist? Do I have it all wrong? Would you like to come on my blog and do a guest interview?

What do you think of Scientology? Do you know any Scientologists? Have you ever known anyone who converted to Scientology? Did that person change into someone you don't know any more?

Some day soon I'll tell you about my experiences in a London Scientology center.

The Church of Scientology Flag Ship Service Organization on the Freewinds ministers the highest levels of religious services, as well as other select services to help one on his route to OT.

The Flag Ship Service Organization (FSSO) is a unique church of Scientology which is located aboard the Motor Vessel Freewinds, a 440-foot ship based in the Caribbean, with the home port of Curaçao. The ship was acquired in the mid-1980s shortly before the release of the highest advanced auditing level currently available, New OT VIII.

Needing a safe, aesthetic, distraction-free environment appropriate for ministration of this profoundly spiritual level of auditing, this church of Scientology returned to the sea, far from the crossroads of the workaday world. And while the Flag Service Organization ministers the highest levels of training and auditing from the bottom of the Bridge up to New OT VII, the most advanced OT level—OT VIII—is entrusted exclusively to the FSSO.

To a Scientologist, coming to the Freewinds for New OT VIII is the pinnacle of a deeply spiritual journey. Years of training and auditing have brought him to this ultimate point. It is the most significant spiritual accomplishment of his lifetime and brings with it the full realization of his immortality.

The Freewinds is a very special place. It is the one place on this planet that a Scientologist can go and be certain that he will be able to devote all of his attention to his religious practice and, at the same time, share the company of people who share his religious commitment and outlook on life in general. A voyage on the Freewinds is nowhere close to a vacation. Rather, it is the perfect religious retreat dedicated to enabling one to devote his full attention to spiritual growth.

One parishioner said, “Not only was I in a part of the world I had never seen, I was also there to embark on a spiritual journey of immense importance. The religious service I did there could only be accomplished at sea—literally off the crossroads of the world, where I and other Scientologists in a completely distraction-free environment could find out about ourselves and realms of spirituality that were quite beyond anything I had ever dreamed of.”

“I’ve come to realize that my visit to the Freewinds was the launching point for my spiritual reawakening,” wrote another parishioner after his first visit to the FSSO. “I’ve found where I was destined to be and know with certainty the group to which I truly belong.”

Religious services ministered aboard the Freewinds are not limited to Scientologists who have reached OT VIII.

Rather, there are many specialized services ministered involving training in advanced spiritual concepts that would give a tremendous boost in awareness to any Scientologist, no matter where on the Grade Chart he may be. These services are based on several series of very popular lectures that L. Ron Hubbard gave in the 1950s on the state of OT, such as The Route to Infinity, The Dawn of Immortality and The Creation of Human Ability.

Other religious programs conducted aboard the Freewinds include religious conventions and seminars for staff and parishioners of churches of Scientology from around the world as well as specially arranged gatherings also for Scientologists from a particular country or community for a particular program of religious services.

Each year the annual Maiden Voyage event, commemorating the anniversary of New OT VIII, has come to be one of the most important gatherings of dedicated Scientologists and an opportunity for senior Church officials to meet and work directly with these parishioners to advance their religion. Scientologists who attend this annual spiritual cruise become “OT Ambassadors” and initiate programs to help Scientologists all over the world advance the aims of Scientology and to reach the top of the Bridge at New OT VIII.

The Freewinds is like no other place on Earth. It truly marks the beginning of a voyage to all eternity.

Information about the ecclesiastical leader of Scientology, David Miscavige, can be found on the website of the Religious Technology Center: http://www.rtc.org/david-miscavige.htm

“In Scientology no one is asked to accept anything as belief or on faith. That which is true for you is what you have observed to be true. An individual discovers for himself that Scientology works by personally applying its principles and observing or experiencing results.”

This is a brand new concept for a religion, as most religions are about faith, but it becomes very clear when you read Scientology and Dianetics books by L. Ron Hubbard.

His books are pretty remarkable. By reading them I have gained so much insight into myself and questions I’ve had forever: Who am I? What is the purpose of all this? What happens to me when I die? Have I lived before?

It is pretty startling to find that these are not esoteric questions at all, and the answers are available to anyone.

And now all the Scientology and Dianetics books have just been re-released. For the Western Hemisphere they have been published by Bridge Publications. It was announced last week at an international Scientology event, by Mr. David Miscavige.

For the rest of the world, the publisher is New Era Publications International

Will Smith i jego żona, Jada Pinkett-Smith uchodzą za wzorowe małżeństwo, bo są ze sobą już od jedenastu lat. Jak na Hollywood to już niemal kazirodztwo...

Dlaczego są ze sobą tak długo? Bo od samego początku państwo Smith trzymają się zasady, że ich związek jest otwarty.

Jak wygląda otwarty związek w praktyce? Najlepiej wytłumaczy to chyba sam Will Smith:

Z naszej perspektywy wygląda to tak: nie jesteś w stanie uniknąć tego, co jest naturalne. Zawsze będziesz czuł pociąg do innych ludzi. I kiedy to się zdarzy, jedno z nas może powiedzieć do drugiego: «Słuchaj, muszę pójść do łóżka z kimś innym, ale jeżeli się na to nie zgodzisz, to nie zrobię tego». [...] W naszej przysiędze małżeńskiej nie było słów «będę unikać wszystkich innych». Powiedzieliśmy sobie: «Nigdy nie dowiesz się po fakcie». Wiemy, że to zniszczyłoby nasz związek.

Niezłe jaja: Kochanie, dzisiaj pójdę do łóżka z kimś innym, co ty na to?

Skąd się to wszystko wzięło w rodzinie Smithów? Will Smith gorąco ostatnio zaprzeczał plotkom, że należy do Kościoła Scjentologicznego. I kłamał w żywe oczy. Tom Cruise jest już tak poddany swojej sekcie (jest w niej od ponad 20 lat!), że nie zadaje się z nikim, kto nie dzieli jego wiary. A Will Smith jest od dłuższego czasu jego najlepszym przyjacielem. A co jeszcze gorsze - aktywnie wspomaga go w werbowaniu innych ludzi.

Wielu znajmomych w współpracowników aktora mówi z dużym niesmakiem o tym, jak Will Smith otwarcie zachwyca się on scjentologami. Nie może mówić o niczym innym. Dzieci Willa Smitha uczą się już w prowadzonej przez scjentologów szkole, a cała rodzina jeździ na organizowane przez sektę uroczystości.

W książce opisującej sposoby działania scjentologów w Hollywood jeden z informatorów utrzymuje, że Will Smith to przynęta dla sceptycznych. Aktor udaje, że nie należy do sekty założonej przez L. Rona Hubbarda i dzięki temu werbuje bardziej ostrożnych aktorów, scenarzystów czy reżyserów, czyli bogatych ludzi se swojego otoczenia którzy są żyłą złota dla sekty.

Podobno przebywanie na planie filmowym z Willem Smithem było wyjątkowo uciążliwe dla pracowników planu, bo w trakcie kręcenia filmu Hancock przez cały czas opowiadał o zbawiennych duchowych wartościach scjentologii i wielokrotnie wdawał się w dyskusje z innymi aktorami na tematy religijne.

Sprawy zaszły nawet tak daleko, że gwiazdor zaczął rozdawać wszystkim na planie Hancocka ulotki reklamujące należące do organizacji ośrodki wypoczynkowe. Broszury zawierały także informacje na temat wierzeń scjentologów.

Niemcy umieścili Kościół Scjentologiczny na liście groźnych organizacji niszczących osobowość swoich wyznawców i ich działalność została za Odrą prawnie zakazana. W Polsce scjentolodzy zostali przepędzeni dzięki wielu krytycznym publikacjom w mediach. Ale wrócą. Co do tego nie ma wątpliwości.

Here is a wonderful story from HELP Miami of a "problem" child who jumped three grades in four weeks.

Summer school has been in session for just four weeks and in that time H.E.L.P. Miami has done what 10 years of schooling could not for one of our students... we got a him to learn. (And oh my DOG...it was sooo simple!) I met this 10th-grader in June. He had failed the grade, which was just another loss in a chain of educational upsets. When he was younger, he was labeled and medicated against his will and his academics and attitude got worse. So here is this hopeless teenager in my office being "ordered" to summer school and not very happy about his situation. When I asked him and his mother why he was put on medication their answer was that he was "bored in school." (Can you imagine...a 10-year-old boy...bored...in school...being the basis of a "mental disorder"?) I probably should be put in a straight jacket with my viewpoint on modern education! Anyway, the boy has struggled and struggled and now is being held back because he failed a class. He tested out around 5th grade in most of his subjects and was put on a study program addressing grammar and English (the class he failed). The end of his first week in summer school, he came into my office and said that he FINALLY understood Shakespeare! The second week he cleared up misunderstandings in grammar and handled a few things in math as well. This week he retested and has gone up three full grade levels in reading and language arts! He says he is learning...ACTUALLY learning! And get this...he is having fun! OH MY DOG! A STUDENT LEARNING SOMETHING AT SCHOOL...THAT'S CRAZY!!! Anyway, he is happy and so is his mother!

A team of Scientology Volunteer Ministers has continued the work begun after the tsunami, bringing help to the people of the South Eastern India state of Tamil Nadu.

On hearing of the disaster, two French Scientologists, Marc and Prisca Arrighi packed up their entire family and flew to this French-speaking region to provide help to the survivors. They joined hundreds of Scientology Volunteer Ministers who traveled from around the world to join the South Asian Tsunami Disaster Relief Teams in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

After several months, helping people in towns throughout the region, the Arrighis made a decision that would change their lives. When other volunteers got ready to return to their homes, the Arrighis decided to stay in Southern India to continue the work they began by establishing the Mobile Volunteer Minister Center of Tamil Nadu.

Over the past two and a half years the Arrighis and the team of local residents who joined them have trained over 55,000 people in Scientology assist technology. Scientology assists are techniques developed by Scientologyfounder, L. Ron Hubbard, that relieve the emotional and spiritual factors that lengthen the time it takes to recover from illness or injury.

The volunteers deliver Scientology assists, Dianetics workshops and seminars in Study Technology in villages and towns throughout the area.

They have also delivered over 4000 Dianetics session to help people spiritually to recover permanently from the effects of the trauma they experienced.

The Arrighis contact the local civic and government officials in every town and village they visit to find out what the community needs. In almost every case they have been asked to help the children gain the literacy they need to compete in today's technological world. In response, the Volunteer Ministers provide seminars in study technology, based on a chapter of the Scientology Handbook by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.

Marc and Prisca Arrighi, the directors of the Volunteer Ministers Mobile Center of Tamil Nadu, with the District Collector of Cuddalore District (in the center).

While they measure their success by the number of people they have helped, the Arrighis and their team at the Mobile Volunteer Minister Center were thrilled to receive this official acknowledgement this week from the District Collector of Cuddalore, the chief administrator of the city:

"I have come to know about the activities of Scientology Volunteer Ministers led by the Mr. Marc Arrighi and Mrs. Prisca Arrighi (from Paris, France) in Cuddalore, Villupuram and Pondicherry...they started their services immediately after the Tsunami and worked with Tsunami affected coastal communities including adults and school children, NGO (non-governmental organization) representatives and grass roots workers. The target group was not only confined to communities primarily affected by the Tsunami but also with the secondary affected groups....Study Technology ('Learning How to Learn') and 'Dianetics' has been highly useful for the people in the 77 villages in Cuddalore District where they have been working. I wish them good luck in all their future efforts and look forward to their partnership in the School Education Programme, Total Literacy Campaign and Elimination of Residual Illiteracy."

CLEARWATER

Scientology's big tent hosts ship's big date

Notice the big tent? The one for 3,000 people that takes up most of a downtown city block? The roughly 150- by-200-foot tent was erected by the Church of Scientology to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the maiden voyage of the Scientology training ship Freewinds. Church spokeswoman Pat Harney said the celebration usually is held in the church's auditorium. But because of renovations and because Ruth Eckerd Hall wasn't available on all the dates the church wanted, Scientologists put up their own tent on an empty lot south of Franklin Street and just east of Garden Street. Festivities are expected to last throughout July, Harney said.

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The Freewinds is a great ship and organization cruising the Caribbeans. More about the ship and what's happening there is posted here.

Vor wenigen Tagen wurde auf der Scientology Internet Seite ein 10-minütiges Porträt ihres Stifters der weltweiten Öffentlichkeit vorgestellt. In diesem kurzen Videobeitrag wird ein chronologischer Überblick über das vielfältige Leben von L. Ron Hubbard präsentiert, sowie seine Meilensteine in der Entwicklung der einzigen großen Religion, die im 20. Jahrhundert entstanden ist.

Seit fortdauerndes Vermächtnis umschließt sein Werk als einer der produktivsten und über die Grenzen Amerikas weit hinaus bekannt gewordenen Autors mit über 250 Millionen Kopien seiner Bücher und aufgezeichneten Vorträge im Umlauf. Das Video enthält historisches Archivmaterial über das Leben von L. Ron Hubbard und umfasst drei Vierteljahrhunderte an Schaffenskraft. Es kann auf der internationalen Webseite www.scientology.org , in deutsch auf www.scientology.de oder auf dem Scientology Video Kanal auf You Tube unter www.YouTube.com/ChurchofScientology angeschaut werden.

Während Scientology auf internationaler Ebene zu einem festen Begriff geworden ist bedarf ein jegliches Verstehen einer Religion auch ein Verstehen ihres Stifters. Dies führt unweigerlich zu der Frage : Welche Art von Mensch war L. Ron Hubbard.? Er selber sagte hierzu: „ Um das Leben zu verstehen muss man Teil des Lebens sein. Man muss sich heranmachen und schauen; man muss in die Ritzen und Spalten des Daseins vordringen und man muss alle Arten und Typen von Menschen kennengelernt haben, bevor man schließlich bestimmen kann, was der Mensch ist.“ Er sah so viel Elend auf dieser Welt, aber auch so viel Weisheit und arbeitete ein Vierteljahrhundert intensiv daran eine Brücke zwischen dem Osten und dem Westen zu bauen und zwischen der Wissenschaft und der Religion.

L. Ron Hubbard hat eine religiöse Bewegung entfacht, die alle Kontinente und Kulturen umspannt und heute umfasst die Scientology Bewegung über 7700 Kirchen, Missionen und Gruppen in mehr als 165 Ländern dieser Erde.

In der Bemühung die beispiellose öffentliche Nachfrage nach online Informationen über Scientology und um die Frage „Was ist Scientology?“ zu beantworten, hat die Kirche eine einzigartige online Kampagne entwickelt, die die korrekten Informationen über ihren Glauben und deren Ausübung der allgemeinen Öffentlichkeit zur Verfügung stellen.

Der im März 2008 erstmalig vorgestellte Scientology Video Kanal enthält 82 Videos, die ein umfassendes Verstehen über die Scientology Religion vermitteln, einschließlich der karitativen Programme, die die Kirche unterstützt.

There is a series of new videos on the Scientology Video Channel, 20 or so, and I wanted to invite anyone interested to watch them. The same videos are also on the Youtube Scientology video channel.

My absolute favorite: "Inside a Church of Scientology".

Powerful! And very realistic!

Then there is a short biography about L. Ron Hubbard.

Also I found several news clips about Dianetics and at least a dozen new PSAs against drugs. Somebody was really busy in the last month!

Enjoy, talk about it, ask questions about it!

- Louanne
("officially" back 20th July or so)

The Scientology Video Channel and it's YouTube counterpart have about 100 video clips covering all areas of Scientology and Dianetics activities all over the world, as well as activities supported by the Church of Scientology and information about the founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard.

]]> http://scientologyandme.wordpress.com/?p=40 Thu, 10 Jul 2008 03:14:00 +0000 Luana http://scientologyandme.wordpress.com/?p=40 A new video on the Church of Scientology Video Channel: Inside a Church of Scientology!

The Scientology Video Channel and it's YouTube counterpart have about 100 video clips covering all areas of Scientology and Dianetics activities all over the world, as well as activities supported by the Church of Scientology and information about the founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard.