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Scientology staffers react to Xenu, and hit up the ‘Reckless Ben’ team to work for eternity

[Xenu? Never heard of him.]

We’re premiering another video by the “Reckless Ben” team today, their fifth installment of short films about the infiltration of Scientology they recently pulled []

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Iconic sequoia dies 500 years before it should in another sign of the climate apocalypse

[California’s majestic sequoias are dying early]

“Lazarus” is the name given to an iconic specimen of giant sequoia, in the Giant Forest located in Sequoia National Park. These magnificent trees can reach 300 feet (90 meters) during a lifespan that can exceed 3,000 years, and are famously resistant to droughts and fires. Lazarus,more than 2,000 years []

Peruvian idol surprisingly turns out to have escaped conquistador destruction

 In 1533 Hernando Pizarro completed his conquest of Peru, and destroyed many symbols of the Inca Empire’s royal dynasty and religion. He ordered that the people break open the vault containing the giant wooden statue of Pacha Kamaq (“Earth Maker”), father of the popular goddess Pacha Mama (“Earth Mother”), and destroy its idol, which the []

NXIVM: Judge allows anonymous victims to give statements in Raniere sentencing

[Judge Garaufis and Keith Raniere]

Judge Nicholas Garaufis has issued an order to permit victims to provide impact statements at Nxivm leader Keith Raniere’s sentencing without having to disclose their identities.

This will include alleged victims who were not included in the second superseding indictment against []

Georgia puts legislator who promotes Scientology anti-psych efforts on mental health panel

[Donzella James, in gold, with David Miscavige at the 2016 Atlanta Ideal Org grand opening]

The state of mental health is so bad in Georgia, the federal government stepped in and sued the state, resulting in a 2010 settlement that required Georgia to improve conditions in its psychiatric hospitals and find more neighborhood-level solutions to behavioral []

White supremacists picked up for plotting murder while Trump whines about gun rights

[Three alleged white supremacists picked up in northern Georgia]

Attorney Scott Pilutik wrestles with the news of the day, from a lawyerly perspective…

The FBI arrested six white supremacists (three who entered the country illegally from Canada) in advance of a planned gun rally in Virginia where the FBI claims that a few members planned to “open []

Narconon whistleblower Lucas Catton puts out a new memoir about his Scientology nightmare

[Lucas Catton]

We have a new entry in our ‘Scientology Lit’ series, this time an excerpt from a new book by Lucas Catton, who at one time was president of Scientology’s flagship drug rehab clinic, Narconon Arrowhead in Oklahoma. Back in 2012 Luke became a major whistleblower which got him an appearance on NBC’s ‘Rock Center’ []

‘Baby Jesus’ finds the way home to Bethlehem after 40 years

 A library book due in 1980 was returned a couple of weeks []

Never mind the party photos — Trump’s own lawyer proved the link to Giuliani’s pals

[Attorney John Dowd]

Attorney Scott Pilutik wrestles with the news of the day, from a lawyerly perspective…

After Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman were arrested in October, they somehow managed to secure John Dowd as their lawyer. But Dowd was also the president’s lawyer. Because Parnas and Fruman could conceivably be in conflict with Trump, Trump would []

VALERIE HANEY’S OPPOSITION TO ARBITRATION: A strong no to Scientology’s legal gambit

[Valerie Haney]

On January 30 there’s going to be a huge early showdown for the major lawsuits filed against the Church of Scientology last summer. On that date, Scientology is going to try to convince Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Richard J. Burdge Jr. that Valerie Haney’s lawsuit should be put on ice so she can []