SCIENTOLOGY: NO RIGHTS, PLEASE

September 4, 2003 -- TOM Cruise, John Travolta, Lisa Marie Presley, Kirstie Alley, Juliette Lewis and other Scientologists may have signed away many of the rights that most Americans take for granted.

As they move up into the higher levels of the Church of Scientology, members sign documents giving up their right to psychiatric care and to see their families.

These contracts have been unearthed by David Touretzky, a research professor at Carnegie Mellon University in the Computer Science Dept.

and the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition.

Touretsky, who has been investigating the Scientology "religion" for six years, has posted the documents on his Web site, www-2.cs.cmu.edu/dst/Fishman.

One is a release form a Scientologist seeking advanced training must sign "forever [giving] up [the] right to sue the church and its staff for any injury or damage suffered in any way connected with Scientology."

Rick Ross, a well-known cult watcher, writes on his Web site, rickross.com: "It seems that Scientologist superstars may be signing away rights most citizens within free countries take for granted."

The "church" also has a document titled "Agreement and General Release Regarding Spiritual Assistance" which states, "Others may think that I need psychiatric treatment. I instead desire to receive Scientology spiritual assistance."

The same agreement prohibits "any psychiatrist, medical person, designated member of the state or family member" from placing the Scientologist into a hospital or facility for psychiatric treatment.

Instead, the Scientologists are subjected to the "Introspection Rundown," an "intensive, rigorous Religious Service that includes being isolated from all sources of potential spiritual upset, including but not limited to family members, friends or others."

The subject is supervised by "church members 24 hours a day at the direction of [a] Case Supervisor [who will] determine the time period [the subject] will remain isolated."

The "church" is under scrutiny for this practice and is being sued by the family of Lisa McPherson, who died in 1995 in Clearwater, Fla., allegedly after being held for 17 days as she underwent an "Introspection Rundown."

McPherson's body was dehydrated and covered in insect bites, according to her family, which has a wrongful death suit against the Church of Scientology.

From: boobootigger@webtv.net (Tigger)
Subject: Re: NY Post covers release contract scandal - with wrong URL
Date: Thu, 4 Sep 2003 10:13:15 -0500 (CDT)
Message-ID: <13367-3F57568B-58@storefull-2272.public.lawson.webtv.net>

Professor David Touretzky's site about the SCN Release Forms is here:

http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Scientology/ReleaseForms/Introspection.html

From: Zorrosblade........Z <zorrosblade@mailandnews.com>
Subject: Just one more time
Date: Thu, 04 Sep 2003 10:40:17 -0700
Message-ID: <uktelvovofgdmkjs05uof2atc0jvf22ska@4ax.com>

http://www.nbc5.com/irresistible/2455233/detail.html

Report: Scientology Stars Sign Away Basic Rights Church Being Sued By Family Of Scientology Member Who Died

POSTED: 9:02 a.m. CDT September 4, 2003 UPDATED: 9:43 a.m. CDT September 4, 2003

NEW YORK -- Several celebrities, along with other members of the Church of Scientology, may have signed away key rights, according to the New York Post, including their right to psychiatric care and the right to see their families.

Among those affected, according to the report, are: Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Lisa Marie Presley, Kirstie Alley, and Juliette Lewis.

The paper said the church requires members to sign documents giving up those rights as they move up in rank in the church hierarchy.

A researcher at Carnegie Mellon University discovered the documents while investigating the Scientology religion.

The documents are posted on David Touretzky's Web site.

The contracts reportedly prohibit "any psychiatrist, medical person, designated member of the state or family member" from placing the stars in a hospital or psychiatric facility. They also require them to subject themselves to church rituals that may prohibit them from visiting family members and friends, the paper reported.

From: "Bat Child (Sue M.)" <batchild1@cox.net>
Subject: Brief mention of Scn release document on Howard Stern show today
Organization: Knights of Xemu
Message-ID: <rqvflv0d650q2h0nt6nb8u07f2q081avpu@4ax.com>
Date: Thu, 04 Sep 2003 20:46:33 -0700

During the news segment of today's Howard Stern radio show today, Robin Quivers mentioned the story in the NY Post about how Scn members now need to sign a release form saying they would refuse psychiatric treatment and would instead be willing to undergo the Introspection Rundown, which could involve cutting off contact with family members;

I'm not sure if Robin actually mentioned the IR by name, as I missed part of the story, but she did say that Scn members would agree to not receive psychiatric treatment and to cut themselves off from their family members if necessary. Howard and some of the other radio show members thought that was rather an extreme thing for a "church" to ask their members to do, wondering what kind of church would actually expect their members to cut themselves off from their families.

Howard then said that he had heard vastly different versions about what Scn was like from talking to different people. He said he'd talked to Scienos, presumably some of his past celeb Scieno guests, and how they all said that Scn was a genuine religion and not some weird cult, that it really helped them, that they were free to do whatever they wanted, etc., and then on the other hand he also talked to other people who said that they were locked in a room for like 16 days and the Scns wouldn't let them leave (I think he was exaggerating a story he'd heard from someone who had gone to take the Personality Test once and the Scns wouldn't let them leave).

He then said that the Scn celebs seemed to be fairly normal, then said something like "Yeah, look at what Lisa Marie Presley is like!", then everyone busted out laughing! Howard then said something like "I saw John Travolta on TV last week dressed up like a pilot, he seemed pretty normal to me!" and there was more laughter, with someone else joking that naming their kid Jett seemed to be a normal thing to do.

Then they talked about something else.

http://members.cox.net/batchild1 http://members.cox.net/scorseseinfo

Subject: help save a Scientologist's life
Organization: Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science
From: dst@cs.cmu.edu (Dave Touretzky)
Message-ID: <3f594f5d$1@news2.lightlink.com>
Date: 5 Sep 2003 23:07:09 -0400

Please take a few minutes to help save the life of a Scientologist you don't know and will probably never meet. Someone who, right now, is being "asked" (more like ordered) to sign a release form like this one:

http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Scientology/Documents/ReleaseForms/Introspection.html

This form says Scientology has the right to hold the person against their will, isolate them from friends and family, and injure or even kill them without possibility of legal liability.

Contact TV stations in the Tampa area and ask them to assign an investigative reporter to cover this:

Tampa TV Stations:

WEDU - 3 (PBS) http://www.wedu.org/ outreach@wedu.org

WFLA - 8 (NBC) http://www.wfla.com/ http://www.wfla.com/8onyoursideinvestigations/ http://wfla.com/contactus/ news@wfla.com

WTVT - 13 (Fox) http://www.wtvt.com/ news@wtvt.com

WUSF - 16 (Edu) http://www.wusftv.usf.edu/tvcontact.html Pat Holley, Interim Station Manager pholley@wusf.org Susan Geiger, Programming Director sgeiger@wusf.org

WFTS - 28 (ABC) ABC Action News: http://www.tampabaylive.com/ http://www.abcactionnews.com/programming/callforaction.shtml News tip line: 1-866-428-NEWS.

INVESTIGATOR Page: http://www.abcactionnews.com/investigators/index.shtml

Here's what you should tell them:

Fox News' Roger Friedman covered this in his column on Wednesday, Sept. 3, and The New York Post's "Page Six" covered it on Thursday, September 4. But it has special relevance to Tampa residents and should be covered by your station. Scientology's FLAG Service Organization in Clearwater is requiring its members to sign release forms that give the cult the right to hold them in isolation for an indefinite amount of time, and even injure or kill them, without liability. A copy of these forms has surfaced and is available on this web site:

http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Scientology/Documents/ReleaseForms/Introspection.html

Scientologists in the Tampa area are at risk. They are pressured to sign these forms without reading carefully, and they are NOT given a copy to take home with them!

Please cover this story. You could save a life.

-- Dave Touretzky: "I'm the ARSCC!"

Date: Sat, 06 Sep 2003 11:21:11 -0400
From: jeske321 <jeske321@yahoo.com>
Subject: Another Mention of the Scientology Release story
Message-ID: <3f59fb65$1@news2.lightlink.com>

...and the word gets around.

http://krockradio.com/thenewrocklounge/rocklounge_story_247111537.html

For those of you obsessed with Scientology and the actors who love the "religion", there's breaking news. David Touretzky, a research professor at Carnegie Mellon University and Scientology muckraker, has discovered documents that the church requires members to sign telling them to forgo their rights to see a psychiatrist or see their families. In lieu of proper mental health care, Scientology says it will send anyone needed assistance through its "Introspection Rundown" which according to the documents provides "intensive, rigorous Religious Service that includes being isolated from all sources of potential spiritual upset, including but not limited to family members, friends or others." Once members reach certain "levels" in the church they are also asked to waive their right to sue to organization. Famous members include John Travolta and Tom Cruise.

Also mentioned at:

http://www.imdb.com/PeopleNews/#8 Scientology Stars Sign Away Their Rights?

From: ptsc <ptsc@nowhere.com>
Subject: NBC5: Scientology Stars Sign Away Basic Rights
Organization: The Buttersquash Conspiracy
Message-ID: <tblolvc33qgtr8gitjpkg8dlbngapdg1ot@4ax.com>
Date: Mon, 08 Sep 2003 10:11:31 GMT

http://www.nbc5.com/irresistible/2455233/detail.html?z=dp&dpswid=1260382&dppid=65192 Report: Scientology Stars Sign Away Basic Rights Church Being Sued By Family Of Scientology Member Who Died

(Note: The words "David Touretzky's website are hyperlinked to this broken url:

http://www.nbc5.com/irresistible/2455233/www-2.cs.cmu.edu/dst/Fishman )

POSTED: 9:02 a.m. CDT September 4, 2003 UPDATED: 9:43 a.m. CDT September 4, 2003

NEW YORK -- Several celebrities, along with other members of the Church of Scientology, may have signed away key rights, according to the New York Post, including their right to psychiatric care and the right to see their families.

Among those affected, according to the report, are: Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Lisa Marie Presley, Kirstie Alley, and Juliette Lewis.

The paper said the church requires members to sign documents giving up those rights as they move up in rank in the church hierarchy.

A researcher at Carnegie Mellon University discovered the documents while investigating the Scientology religion.

The documents are posted on David Touretzky's Web site.

The contracts reportedly prohibit "any psychiatrist, medical person, designated member of the state or family member" from placing the stars in a hospital or psychiatric facility. They also require them to subject themselves to church rituals that may prohibit them from visiting family members and friends, the paper reported.

The Scientology church is reportedly being sued by the family of Lisa McPherson, a church member who died in 1995 in Florida after going through such an isolation period for 17 days. McPherson's family said her body was dehydrated and insect-bitten at the time of her death.

Copyright 2003 by NBC5.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

-- Home of the Buttersquash Conspiracy http://buttersquash.net

From: "Roland" <roland@rashleigh-berry.fsnet.co.uk>
Subject: The danger to Scientologists of the new release form
Date: Tue, 9 Sep 2003 17:52:07 +0100
Organization: Universe Monitors
Message-ID: <bjl0gr$2ss$1@newsg1.svr.pol.co.uk>

The new release form that Scientologists the world over have signed, including celebrities such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta, effectively gives the Church of Scientology the right to imprison one of their adherents on something they call the "Introspection Rundown" and either make them fully compliant with their wishes or to hold them indefinitely until they do. And all this at the detainees huge expense. The longer it lasts, the more money will be extracted from this person's bank account. The "Introspection Rundown" became famous through the much-publicised death of Lisa McPherson, at the hands of Scientologists, on this same "rundown".

Scientologists the world over have signed away their rights to public protection through this action and by so doing have absolved the Church of Scientology from all legal redress should this person lose their life or suffer other mental or physical damage as a result. The "Introspection Rundown" can be assigned to a Scientologist for many reasons. The public have a misconception that it only applies to a person has temporarily lost their sanity through the process of "spiritual counselling" that the Church calls "auditing" (which is what happened in the case of Lisa McPherson). But in fact this action can be assigned to any of their members who they consider is introverted. Hence the name of their "rundown". Introversion can take many forms. If a person writes notes to the person handling their "case" within the Church (this person is called a "C/S" which is short for "Case Supervisor") telling them that their "auditing" is not working then they are eligible to be assigned to this "rundown". They will not have a choice in the matter and may not even be consulted. Introversion could take the form, more insidiously, of just not being happy or looking happy. There are a large number of Scientologists within the Church who are less than totally happy with the way things are being run there since the death of its founder, L. Ron Hubbard. They are aware of many changes being made to the original works of their founder and are troubled the legitimacy or effectiveness of these changes. They are aware that their donations towards their faith are not being spent in a way that would help their religion.

Many of them do not agree with the actions of their Church with regards previous members or dissenters. Many are troubled people. And "troubled"

people are, of course, introverted people within the Church. And introverted people can be assigned to the "Introspection Rundown" at their huge expense and be forced into compliance or face unending imprisonment by this action which could potentially result in their loss of life. Through this action of getting their members to sign away their rights, the Church of Scientology now holds the threat of either full compliance or death over their adherents. Basically, they either both look happy and act happy or they can be sent to their deaths. And of course, members who are happy with their Church will be expected to make donations to their Church. Maybe very large donations. And if they are unhappy with that then they are introverted and run the risk of being sent on this "rundown". It is a form of mind control that reminds a person of the excesses of Communism. Except that when a person was sent to the salt-mines at least they weren't expected to pay for the privilege. Scientologists they world over are now trapped in their Church. Most of their friends and family members will be in the Church, and should a person be sent on one of these "rundowns", then such is the hold this Church has on their fellow Scientologists that they will have no protection from their friends and relatives. They are at the mercy of their Church and they either give full compliance or risk unending imprisonment or loss of life. The management of the Church of Scientology now has total control over their members. It's a case of "be happy with what we are doing and keep giving us money or die". It is maybe time that governments the world over acted to protect these people by putting an end to this extreme form of tyranny that enjoys the protection of that cloak called "religion".

Message-ID: <3F61DE04.7080104@cox.net>
Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 07:53:56 -0700
From: barb <bwarr1@cox.net>
Subject: the "voluntary" agreement forms

Spokesclams are already defending the incredible agreement forms which were recently webbed by stating that signing them is "voluntary."

However, if you don't sign them, you don't get to continue on to the next level. It sounds more coercive than voluntary to me.

Also, one spokesclam has already lied (imagine that!) about these forms' availability. One ex-member has already stated that he had to sign the forms on site, that the form couldn't be removed from the office.

The spokesclam, however, said the forms are readily available and provided to anyone on course or considering taking courses.

What the spokeclam entirely forgot to address was that, while the forms ARE readily provided to members and Raw Meat, they may not be removed from the building.

Scientologists are masters of the half-truth to gull the unwary and inattentive.

-- -- barb Chaplain, ARS

"After over 50 years, what has Scientology given the world? Misery, hopelessness, broken families, desolation, death." -Shydavid

"I remember when my son said "Every day should be Mother's Day." But those were the days before L Ron Hubbard came into his life." --Ida Camburn

From: "Bat Child (Sue M.)" <batchild1@cox.net>
Subject: New "Globe" magazine has article about "Lisa McPherson" gag clause
Organization: Knights of Xemu
Message-ID: <3iffmvsvmnk5auqn9rn0or7ir4veemm63q@4ax.com>
Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2003 19:06:08 -0700

The September 23, 2003 issue of the "Globe" tabloid (which is on sale now) has an article titled:

SCIENTOLOGY UNDER FIRE "Superstars may be signing away rights" say experts

It includes a picture of the LA Org and pictures of Tom Cruise, Kirstie Alley and John Travolta.

The article talks about the gag clause, referred to as the "Lisa McPherson clause" regarding the Introspection Rundown which members now have to sign, and talks about Lisa McPherson and the details of her death, also mentioning the civil lawsuit (but has her age listed wrong--it says she was 17 years old--maybe they got confused regarding either her being a member for 17 years or being held in the Ft.

Harrison for 17 days?).

"Carnegie Mellon University research professor Dr. David Touretzky"

and Rick Ross are also quoted in the article.

Anyway, like I said, it's on sale now.

http://members.cox.net/batchild1 http://members.cox.net/scorseseinfo

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