Rod Keller wrote:

> Church of Scientology a front-runner in fight on drugs
> The Times (Gary, Indiana)
> Posted on Wednesday, July 31, 2002
> http://www.thetimesonline.com/index.pl/articlenoad?id=25147791
>
> The July 28 letter from Jim Beebe is the trademark of someone who lives
> his life filled with hatred. He is an authority in hatred.
>
> This same man worked for the now-defunct, anti-religious group called
> the Cult Awareness Network until its bankruptcy filing in 1996. A
> Seattle Christian was awarded a large sum of money as punitive damages
> from CAN for the organization's participation in his kidnapping and
> holding him against his will.
>
> Beebe has now made a career of denigrating religious groups' positive
> projects and activities that are designed to better society. It appears
> he has a problem with kids living drug-free lives and helping their
> friends and families to do the same. It seems he also has a problem with
> Catholics, Muslims and Mormons to name but a few of the religions he
> attacks.
>
> The Church of Scientology has long been the front-runner in ridding our
> planet of the scourge of drugs. I can state that 100% of Scientologists
> are drug free. A Scientologist is a person who betters the conditions of
> himself and others by using Scientology, a state Beebe could never achieve.
>
> Narconon was founded in 1966 by an inmate in the Arizona State Prison
> and based the program on the research and writings of L. Ron Hubbard.
>
> An independent study in Sweden, where the government has supported
> Narconon for more than 20 years, found that 84.6 percent of Narconon
> graduates remained drug free.
>
> Unfortunately for Beebe, the only things he can do are sit at his
> computer and write critical and bigoted letters to editors or solicit
> loans to pay his bills so he can spew his hatred on others. It is sad
> that Beebe has to sink to that level to get attention from others.
>
> Mary Anne Ahmad
> Director of Public Affairs
> Church of Scientology of Illinois
> Chicago

Editor,

After reading Mary Ann Ahmad's letter excoriating Jim Beebe, I checked your policy. Of particular note is the following;

"Letters may be edited for clarity, brevity, libel and taste."

In printing Ms. Ahmad's letter, you clearly violated your own policy.

This is a classic example of Scientology communication skills at work.

She starts off with an ad hominem attack on Mr. Beebe, which I am surprised you allowed into print. She then follows with typical Scientology half-truths, inaccuracies, and misleading "facts." I wish to refute the following misinformation offered by Ms. Ahmad point by point, in the hope of making you aware of these techniques in the future. First up, her statement about the Cult Awareness Network. She states, "This same man worked for the now-defunct, anti-religious group called the Cult Awareness Network until its bankruptcy filing in 1996."

What she doesn't tell you is that CAN is not defunct! After they declared bankruptcy, the American Family Foundation issued this warning;

"4 November 1996

Important Notice Re: Cult Awareness Network

To Whom it may concern:

On October 23, 1996 the law firm which has represented the Church of Scientology for years purchased the logo and license agreement of the Cult Awareness Network (CAN).

Accordingly, any publications or communications using the CAN name or logo after October 23rd (1996) should not be regarded as emanating from or having the approval of the Cult Awareness Network personnel or officers who were associated with CAN before 23 October.

Sincerely,

Herbert L. Rosedale, Esq.

President AFF"

Anyone who calls CAN out of concern for a cult victim will be speaking with a Scientology representative. This is only one example of Scientology's policy of hiding behind front groups. Another excellent example is the Narconon front group. Designed to put a positive spin on Scientology when it suits them, the Narconon front group will also deny an association with the Scientology Organization when that connection may be a detriment.

Ms. Ahmad neglects to mention in her reference to "independent" studies of Narconon the fact that the Swedish study to which she refers was commissioned by Narconon itself.

A report by the California State Department of Health had this to say about Narconon's claimed success rate;

"a. Public Descriptions by Pamphlets, Notices, etc.: The 86% "cure rate"

is totally unfounded. Narconon publishes a voluminous amount of paper for the purpose of public relations. The main Narconon rehabilitation program bulletin states that a high percentage of clients, approximately 75%, are rehabilitated within 3 months. The pamphlet further states that one supervisor can supervise 42 people a day in three 3-hour periods. Furthermore, one supervisor can train 14 new supervisors in three months.

b. Misleading Claims: Narconon claims to have an 86% cure rate for narcotics addicts which is simply not true. Mr. Greg Zerovnik, National Director - Narconon U.S., explained that the 86% figure came from a study of parolees from the Arizona State Prison who may or may not have been narcotics addicts. This sort of claim is, of course, misleading to both the prospective client and to public officials who are sincerely attempting to find ways to cope with the problem of drug abuse."

Following the issuance of this report, California State funding for the Narconon program was terminated.

When the Narconon program is put under close scrutiny by qualified medical personnel, the evaluations issued are inevitably negative.

"This "purification" or "detoxification" program is claimed to help "clear" the mind of toxins such as drugs, pesticides and chemical pollutants. It consists of large doses of niacin, vegetable oil, exercise and "low temperature" saunas. According to the followers of L.

Ron Hubbard, the large doses of niacin works by stimulating the release of fat into the blood stream and this is accompanied by various "toxins" trapped in the body's fatty tissues.

According to science, large doses of niacin actually block the release of fat from fat cells. This has been observed both at rest [Acta Medica Scandinavia 1962, 172(suppl):641] and during exercise [D. Jenkins, Lancet 1965,1307]. In other words, the scientific evidence shows that the exact opposite of what Hubbard's theory predicts. There is no credible support for claims that large doses of niacin clear toxins from the brain, fatty tissue or any other part of the body.

To make matters worse, large doses of niacin are hepatotoxic and can cause serious liver damage. It may also trigger gout, raise blood sugar into the diabetic range, cause itching, flushing and a rash. Nausea and gastritis are other side effects of large doses of niacin. To subject people to these potentially serious side effects on the pretense that they are being "detoxified", "cleared" or "purified" is quackery."

(James J. Kenney, Ph.D., R.D., National Council Against Health Fraud, Santa Monica, CA - letter to Dr.

John Chelf, copied to R.W. Lobsinger, 5 January 1991)

It must be understood that this program was created by L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction writer with no medical training, a man who purchased a doctorate from Sequoia University, a diploma mill. His formal education ended when he dropped out of college.

Another grossly misleading statement by Ms. Ahmad is the following; "An independent study in Sweden, where the government has supported Narconon for more than 20 years, found that 84.6 percent of Narconon graduates remained drug free."

Again, this is a few degrees shy of the truth. The government support she mentioned is archived in this Reuters report from 1988.

"The Swedish media report that the Church of Scientology has been distributing a promotional video including footage of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, with a voice-over saying: "Even His Highness King Carl Gustaf has realized that Sweden has a solution for drug abuse. It is called Narconon."

Sweden is presented by Scientology as a country with many drug addicts and the highest rate of theft in the world. The footage turns out to be a decade old, and a spokeswoman for the Court states: "The Royal Couple does not support this organization in any way. We have made contact with Scientology and demanded that the segment with the Royal Couple be edited out."

(Reuters, 6 April 1998; Berlin Kurier, 8 April 1998; TV4, Sweden, 8 April 1998)

A more recent case of Scientology/Narconon lying to the public can be found in the small town of Bowden, Georgia, where Scientology proposed to establish a Narconon facility on 60 acres of farmland. Not only did Scientology supporters go door-to-door asking people about their attitude towards the problem of drug abuse in their community, they also approached the local paper, the Carroll Star News with the information that they had the support of the community. Fortunately, reporter J.

Pilkonis was willing to do some research into the history of Narconon.

When the Narconon representatives denied connection with Scientology, he was able to refute that lie. When they claimed to have the endorsement of the Concerned Black Clergy organization, he contacted them and found that, not only do they never endorse any drug treatment programs, they'd never heard of Narconon! A similar claim was made regarding support from the Boy Scouts, who also denied any support for the Narconon facility.

Mr. Pilkonis and the staff of the Carroll Star News was then subjected to harrassment by Scientology representatives. Due to extreme public protests, Narconon's proposed facility was run out of town!

Ms. Ahmad is surely aware that her "religion" has a fifty year history of abuse and lies. She would like you to please not look at it and just take her word that Scientology isn't a scam, or a totalitarian cult which uses mental coercion to control its followers. She would like you to believe that everything negative about Scientology is false, despite reams of documentation to the contrary.

She would also prefer that you refrain from researching the web for references to Narconon, the Cult Awareness Network, and Scientology. She would especially like you to not look at WWW.XENU.NET, as it has extensive information on all facets of Scientology and founder L. Ron Hubbard. She wouldn't want you to find out about Scientology's prison camps, or their paramilitary toy Navy, the Sea Org, or the Office of Special Affairs, their toy CIA-type intelligence branch.

She wouldn't want you to wonder what kind of a church has prison camps, intelligence branches, and paramilitary organizations.

So please. Make Mary happy. Don't look too closely at Scientology and its programs. Believe me, you don't want to get on Scientology's bad side, or you'll wind up on www.religiousfreedomwatch.com. And don't go there! You might start wondering what kind of a church would post a website dedicated to defaming people who speak out against their abuses.

-- Barb Chaplain, ARSCC http://members.cox.net/bwarr1/index.htm

"$cientology sees the world this way: One man with a picket sign:

terrorism. Five thousand people dead in a deliberate inferno: business opportunity.

$cientology oozes _under_ terrorists to hide."

-Chris Leithiser

From: jimdbb@aol.com (JimDBB)
Date: 01 Aug 2002 16:39:54 GMT
Subject: Letter to Gary Times July 28 (reposted on request)
Message-ID: <20020801123954.04601.00000793@mb-bh.aol.com>

FULL STORY

Drug-free marshal program is really a recruiting ploy

James Beebe Northbrook, Ill.

Letter to the Editor

Posted on Sunday, July 28, 2002 to the Gary Times www.thetimesonline.com

The July 19 letter on the church-sponsored drug-free marshals was alarming.

This program is a devious ploy used by the Church of Scientology to recruit members. That they would target children with their phony drug program is disturbing and should be investigated by your paper and by the state's attorney office.

The Church of Scientology is widely regarded as a destructive and subversive cult. I can tell you from personal experience as a former Scientology member that this cult is devious and has many front groups that are used to recruit new members. Scientology has another front group called Narconon, which it promotes as a drug rehabilitation program. The truth is that this is another deceptive recruiting ploy.

Susan Strozewski, who is named as the regional director, is a Scientologist, and the address she gives in Chicago is the address of the Church of Scientology. The regional essay and poster contest the church is sponsoring is a ploy to get the names and addresses of the kids parents who will be subjected to a barrage of recruiting literature from the Church of Scientology.The Times owes it to readers to alert them to the true nature of this phony drug-free marshal program.

James Beebe Northbrook, Ill.

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