Another African American publication has been alerted...

A noteworthy item: Brandy and the "Church" of Scientology

I'll TRY to keep this short! I have been observing Scientology since the 90s. There is a lot of good, documented information about this group on the web, along with a great big pile of self-promotional sites from Scientology itself.

Brandy's name has come up recently in association with Scientology. The Scientology organization has used celebrities for promoting itself to the public for a long time. I am concerned that Brandy is being groomed by the "church" to serve as a recruitment tool among the African American community. Recruitment has been steadily dropping off as the Internet evolves. The recent trend has been to target Latino and African Americans, as the cult assumes that these groups aren't as computer literate.

Scientology has a 50 year history of fraud and abuse that they can't hide with a flood of glossy PR brochures. However, people need to know where to look in order to research them. I have no doubt that Brandy may influence some poor, unsuspecting young adults into joining up and wasting a chunk of their lives and mental wellbeing.

There are several excellent websites with good documentation that I highly recommend. The premier site is www.xenu.net for an overview. Other sites deal with exposing Scientology's numerous front groups, established to recruit under the guise of social concerns such as drug abuse and literacy programs. Looking behind Scientology's slick promotional material, it's easy to see that their programs are ineffective, and only serve to foster legitimacy and acceptance in our society.

Education and Literacy: http://studytech.org/home.php Drug Rehab: http://stop-narconon.org I should mention that Narconon's presentations to California public schools has been terminated by the state this week. It was found to be promoting Scientology beliefs to kids, as well as misinformation about drugs and drug addiction.

At its heart, Scientology is a predatory scam, feeding off the insecurities and vulnerabilities of innocent seekers while hiding behind the cloak of religion.

I like to encourage people to do their own Google research. A search with Scientology, coupled with 'racism, deaths, crimes, fraud, Raul Lopez, Lisa Clause, abuse, domestic espionage, harrassment, Lisa McPherson' will provide hours of fascinating reading.

People need to be warned about this. Scientology celebrities are treated very differently from other members. Scientology is definately trolling the African American communities for recruits. An internal Scientology memo in 2003 outlined this quite clearly;

"Did you know that over 12% of America is Black, but that a far lesser percentage than that make up American Scientologists? Did you know that the Black population is 3rd and 4th dynamically oriented - when Black people do get on to Church lines, 50% of them join staff!! More than any other ethnic group!! This is a community that NEEDS our Tech, and you can help!"

Discarding the Scientology jargon, this memo points out that African Americans are more likely to join staff. Working long hours for little pay, staff members are the grunts who keep Scientology working. This is Scientology at its predatory finest. It's not a religious issue. It is the actions of Scientology that critics find objectionable, not the beliefs. When Scientology starts acting more like a church, and less like a thuggish Mafia organization, I don't think anyone will have a problem with them.

Anyway, I hope you'll agree that this is an important issue. People are certainly welcome to join Scientology, but I think they deserve to be fully informed before making that decision. -- --barb Chaplain,ARSCC

"Imagine a church so dangerous, you must sign a release form before you can receive its "spiritual assistance." This assistance might involve holding you against your will for an indefinite period, isolating you from friends and family, and denying you access to appropriate medical care. You will of course be billed for this treatment - assuming you survive it. If not, the release form absolves your caretakers of all responsibility for your suffering and death.

Welcome to the Church of Scientology."

--Dr. Dave Touretzky Peter Alexander

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