How To Be a Good Creationist

YouTube - How to be a good Creationist - 3

She's pretty, she's sexy, she's witty - and she's funny while also often right.

Actually, she is an Atheist. I am not. But I also think she may have a point here.

4chan Attacks Twitter

Another "raid" by 4chan, this time on Twitter.

The article has, among others, two interesting quotes:

"Before that, they were responsible for hacking Time Magazine's voting system for the World's Most Influential Person, making the site's creator, moot, the winner by a wide margin."

Confirming my assumption that Obama's "What Do Americans Want" survey's result may very well have been riddle by the like of Anonymous and 4chan.

In a comment:

"They probably couldn't do it though. They have become weaker since the scientology days."

Interesting concept...


4chan may be behind attack on Twitter | The Web Services Report - CNET News

Belief-O-Matic - Beliefnet.com

Belief-O-Matic - Beliefnet.com

Now that's a rather interesting or potentially interesting test that will tell you what is your religion, even if you don't know it.

Below is my result. And there I thought I was a New Age type, but not quite, it only arrives 4th (but at 90%). Strangely, "Reform Judaism" arrives just after - and there I thought I was a non-believer Jew.

More on-topic, Scientology arrives 11th, with 70% - not surprisingly, as Scientology borrows many Buddhist and New Age concepts with which I identify.

It's a relief to see that Roman Catholic and Jehovah's Witness arrive last, but more surprising is the discovery that for 55% I am a Muslim - something I was really not aware of, although I must admit that the lavish promise of being cared for by 72 sweet and charming virgins in heaven is quite an attractive proposition...

1.	Unitarian Universalism (100%)
2.	Neo-Pagan (96%)
3.	Liberal Quakers (95%)
4.	New Age (90%)
5.	Reform Judaism (88%)
6.	Baha'i Faith (82%)
7.	Mahayana Buddhism (82%)
8.	Hinduism (76%)
9.	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (75%)
10.	New Thought (73%)
11.	Scientology (70%)
12.	Sikhism (68%)
13.	Secular Humanism (65%)
14.	Taoism (63%)
15.	Jainism (62%)
16.	Orthodox Judaism (61%)
17.	Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (60%)
18.	Orthodox Quaker (59%)
19.	Islam (55%)
20.	Theravada Buddhism (50%)
21.	Nontheist (37%)
22.	Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (32%)
23.	Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (30%)
24.	Seventh Day Adventist (28%)
25.	Eastern Orthodox (22%)
26.	Roman Catholic (22%)
27.	Jehovah's Witness (18%)

Scientology Sign Gets Makeover

Internationally Known Scientology Sign Gets Makeover: "Los Angeles - More than a thousand Scientologists, their friends and families cheered the lighting of a new state-of-the-art LED sign Friday night atop the Scientology complex on the corner of L. Ron Hubbard Way and Sunset Boulevard.

The updated landmark is three times the size of the previous Scientology sign, which had been in place since the late '70s and is recognized the world over. The new sign is 5.2 tons, 84 feet long, 16 feet tall and can be seen for miles - from several Hollywood and Los Angeles freeways, and indeed by aircraft from far above."

Scientology Expansion

This is a copy and paste of the article linked below.

The building statistics are certainly plausible, as can be seen through the Buildings category of this blog, and the Guinness Book one as well (it's official). The other stats, I am not sure, but if true, it would certainly be a major fail for Scientology critics and Anonymous. I have already posted critics' and Anonymous own statistics: that in spite of their claims, they have not managed to close down a single organization or mission, while in fact these doubled in five years to now reach, if we have to believe that article, 8,071 Scientology Churches, Missions and groups - almost one for each protester in the peak of Anonymous protests of Feb 2008.

Scientology certainly has many cultish aspects and there's certainly much to criticize about it, but the bigoted way Scientology critics and Anonymous go about it only helps Scientology expansion. Just take a look at the comment section of that article - instead of addressing the facts of the article, it's just cries of "cult shill" and "ban Louanelee".

The whole Scientology criticism thing has become so pathetic it hardly is worth spending much time one it anymore. It's over, and the CoS will just quietly continue to expand, ignoring the discredited cries of wolf from critics - until at last some sort of intelligent and credible criticism appears.

All critics manage to do eventually with their cruel and unfounded accusations is to draw a lot of sympathy for Scientologists and a fair amount of interest for Scientology - at least enough to keep on "feeding the beast".

Daily Kos: State of the Nation

Scientology has its expansion statistics out

by louannelee

Share this on Twitter - Scientology has its expansion statistics out

Thu Jul 02, 2009 at 06:20:29 PM PDT

The Church of Scientology International published its 2009 statistics. Notably everything is compared to a five-year-range which might be an odd way of counting, but impressive nevertheless. What do you have to say about it?

• louannelee's diary :: ::
• 
  

(Source: Scientology Today)

- The Church’s property holdings internationally have more than doubled in the last 5 years. The combined size of Church premises increased from 5.6 million square feet in 2004 to 11 million square feet in 2009.

- The Church has acquired 66 buildings since 2004 in major population centers around the world. For example: Berlin, New York, Greater Los Angeles area.




- The Church has completed 401,003 square feet of construction of new premises in the last 5 months. It currently has under construction another 475,887 square feet, including Churches in Washington D.C., Las Vegas, Quebec, Mexico City, Brussels, Rome and Tel Aviv.

- There are 8,071 Scientology Churches, Missions and groups in 165 nations, double the number five years ago.

- 80 million L. Ron Hubbard books and lectures on Dianetics and Scientology have been sold in the last decade, compared to 5.6 million in the prior decade, and 60 of that 80 million have been sold in the last two years-more than during the first 50 years of Dianetics and Scientology combined.

- The number of individuals completing auditing and training has doubled since 2007.

- Since the Church undertook to publish and reproduce its scriptural materials in-house in 2007, the average price of Mr. Hubbard’s books and lectures sold has decreased dramatically.

- There were 12.4 million visitors to the Scientology website in the last year alone coming from 234 countries, with 23 million video views.

- 4.5 million pages of L. Ron Hubbard’s writings have been translated in the last 10 years alone compared to a total of 359,459 for the prior 50 years, making him the most translated author in history-according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

- Today there are 196,000 Scientology Volunteer Ministers worldwide-there were 45,000 in 2004. Volunteer Ministers helped over 1.4 million people in the last year alone, a 300% increase over the 2004 figure of 550,000 people helped.

Scientology Public Affairs Director Receives International Award

American Chronicle | Scientology Public Affairs Director Receives International Award: "Scientology Public Affairs Director for the Church of Scientology of Catania, Italy, Ms. Itria Leone, was awarded the 2009 Silver Chimera Award for the impact she has made on the community through her work as coordinator of the Church’s social reform programs.

The 8th annual International Silver Chimera Awards ceremony was organized by dell’Arte Etrusca to raise awareness of social issues and recognize those who have distinguished themselves through contribution that improves the quality of life. With the theme, “Peace in the World,” the ceremony was held this year at the Museo Castello Ursino in Catania, in Sicily.

Ms. Leone, a native of Sicily, has been coordinating the social reform activities of the Church of Scientology of Catania since 2005. At a grassroots level, she has been working to educate children and teenagers on the effects of drugs, to help them make educated choices and avoid the tragedy of addiction. She also coordinates a chapter of Youth for Human Rights International, through which young people learn their rights and help educate their friends and community on the basic rights to which every individual is entitled."

YouTube - Dancing Inmate's Michael Jackson tribute

YouTube - Dancing Inmate's Michael Jackson tribute

I've seen loads and loads of Jackson-related tributes and what not on YT, but this one is mind-blowing.

I actually saw a bit of it already on the Filipino news, as these are inmates of a Cebu prison, but they have not shown the entire video by far, available now on YT.

It almost seems impossible that they could put such a complex arrangement in such a short notice - even though they say it took them 10 hours to create. And where did all these world-flags came from? And how come there seems to be a show setup with a public? I think it probably is a show they were preparing for a long time already, and the timing just makes it as relevant as it can ever be.

By all mean, it is just f-a-b-u-l-o-u-s, and I must admit I had trouble seeing the whole thing as my eyes were blurred with tears.

Update: Apparently these inmates were already famous through a video featuring a choreography of thriller. I saw that video now, and in my opinion, the tribute video is much much much much better than this thriller video. The Thriller video does not have any kind of complex mass movements to it. It is just a bunch of people moving more or less in synchronicity and if they weren't inmates it would be nothing special, on the limit of bad taste even at the end. The tribute video is just a totally completely different kind of show - of total genius, inspiration and spontaneity.

Update 2: What do you know - it turns out that this goes MUCH further than it looks. Just watch this amazing footage. It explains it all, and shows why that clip which I am sure will become even more viral than Thriller is only the beginning of something MUCH bigger to come...

Jada Pinkett-Smith : Scientology, a Religion Just Like Other Religions

Jada Pinkett-Smith gets candid | USA WEEKEND Magazine: "Another subject she wants to set straight: persistent rumors that she and her husband are Scientologists, like their good friend Tom Cruise. She emphatically denies it, and she admits she thought it was a weird religion -- until she met Cruise.

'I'm not saying that I'm not a Scientologist because I think something's wrong with Scientology -- I want to be really clear about that,' Jada says. But, she adds, 'In knowing Tom, I realize it is a religion just like other religions. Tom is happy. And he is one of the greatest men I know.'"

Jackson Knew He Would Die Young

AFP: Jackson feared dying like Elvis: Lisa Marie Presley: "'I can't recall the exact subject matter but he may have been questioning me about the circumstances of my Father's Death. At some point he paused, he stared at me very intensely and he stated with an almost calm certainty, 'I am afraid that I am going to end up like him, the way he did.''"

I would not be surprised. I suspect that whole spiritual and living purpose of ultra-talented artists is their art. They are out on a sort of mission from heaven. When they see that they cannot perform up to their standard anymore, they must not find many reasons to stay around.

Micheal's come back show due in July must have played a role in this respect. It may be that in spite of all his hard work, he just was not satisfied with his upcoming performance In this respect, to die was the best "solution", if it could be said that way, as he was leaving with his legend intact. The show seemed to have been his last effort to get back to the level he was. Seeing he just could not, he maybe thought, supra-consciously, that it was time to go...

Just a hypothesis, of course, but I have been thinking along that way long before, especially seeing mega-stars die early.

I was a kid when I saw the come-back show of Elvis Presley. Really, for me, it really was not impressive at all, and I was wondering why all the fuss about that guy. He only was the shadow of what he used to be, and all this handkerchief throwing and idolization had little to nothing to do with any form of art anymore. Supra-consciously, he must have felt the same, and then "decided" that there was no more reasons to stay down this earth, and that he had better things to do up there.

For some others, it may not be that dramatic and they may go while still successful, but, likewise, they may feel that they have given enough and that it is time to move on to another level, literally.

Most people, of course, have more mundane goals, and that's perfectly OK as well. But the "mission order" of those who received gifts far beyond the average may not be quite the same. That they would die young, or believe they would die young, is really not surprising to me.

Death of a Fallen Angel

I remember the first time I saw Michael Jackson. It was on TV at home, though at the time I was working in the Scientology Saint Hill organization in England. The clip was Don't Stop and it had some kind of Susan Boyle effect to it in that I was wondering what this guy was doing with this strange look and voice, even though he was the lead singer of the Jackson Five - until he started to dance... The whole thing blew me away and I became an instant fan. I still think it is one of his best clip and dance performance.

Michael then resurfaced with his amazing new look in a clip with Paul McCartney, then of course with Billy Jean, and reached the peak of his career with the ensuing Beat It and Thriller. The top for me was seeing him in a Brussels cafe video fly away into his famous Moonwalk, that, in my opinion, best epitomize Michael ethereal, angelic, character...

As early as Beat It, however, I started to become less of a fan. Michael was obviously a kind, sensitive, and angel type - yet, from Beat It on, he tried to be bad, rough, and a devil type - for reasons best known to him alone. This definitely did not fit him well, and he never regained the success he had back then, even though of course, he was still dancing like a God and was from then on a living legend.

That really... beats me... Had he remained true to himself, the way he was rather than trying to become something he obviously was not, his star would have shone much brighter, much higher. It is not for nothing that the best videos and performances from him, apart from Don't Stop, was the live version of Billy Jean and the tektonic dance he performed in Moscow. That was the real Michael, the real genius.

However, his talent was such that even though being a fallen angel, his light was still shining through, and he will remain imprinted in the collective memory in an indelible manner.

Thanks, Michael. In spite of all, you did bring a tremendous inspiration and message to Humanity. It must not be easy to be taken away just when you were ready for a come back after years of hard work, but maybe there is some sort of message in that as well? Rest in peace and may you find up there the match and reward for all your highest aspirations.

Michael was for a time married to Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis and Scientologist, and it was rumored that the collapse he had at the time was due to him going through the Purification Rundown. This is most probably true. Would Michael be saved if he had become a Scientologist? We will never know - just like we will never know what would have happened had he gone through his come back-show in London. By all mean, I did share his opinion 100% about Diversity, the winner of Britain's Got Talent, whom he wanted to feature on that show. That was the last I heard from Michael. There may be more, if the album he probably finished before he died would ever come out...

Kelly Preston Silent Child Birth

Bizarre Celebrity Birthing Trends - Starpulse Entertainment News: "Kelly Preston, a longtime practitioner of Scientology, endeavored to follow these austere, mum's-the-word guidelines during the 13 hour-long, at-home birth of her daughter, Ella Bleu. But in an interview with 'Redbook' magazine, Preston reports that she eventually cracked and hollered at hubby, John Travolta, 'Throw me in the car. I want an epidural!' Honestly though, who could blame her?"

Violence and Scientology

I am usually cautious about horror stories told by apostates, but in the case at hand, that of Miscavige physically hitting other people, I think there may be elements that point to it being true.

Some of these elements are the fact that there are several high ranking ex-members telling about it and that some of them I consider have an aura of credibility and integrity.

If true, it would be completely at odd with the principles of Scientology itself, that would put emphasis on the power of intention alone. There may be some elements of physical control in the form of reasonable an limited prodding (as in the case of TRs), but nothing like hitting, hurting, restraining, or any other form of actual physical force.

Particularly ominous, of course, would be if that violence was conducted against women, but even just the fact that violence at all would happen would definitely put the CoS in the wrong track, in every sense of the term.

If I was a Scientologist, I would be concerned about this kind of allegations and ask that full light be made on them.

The Associated Press: Report: Violence common among Scientology managers

Anonymous Called a Cultish Group on Wired

Scientology Media Blitz to Counter Critics Seems Counter-Productive | Epicenter | Wired.com: "The Hatfields to the church’s McCoys are itself a cultish group of loosely-organized hackers known as Anonymous"

Anonymous Widens Its Scope

Iran Activists Get Assist from ‘Anonymous,’ Pirate Bay | Danger Room | Wired.com

$80,000 per Song

Jammie Thomas Fined $1.92M for Sharing 24 Songs - News and Analysis by PC Magazine