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 Welcome to our ongoing project, where we blog a 1950 first edition of Scientology’s bible, Dianetics, with the help of ex-Scientologist, lawyer, and author Vance Woodward. Go here for the first post in the series.
Vance, we’ve reached the final chapter of this book. It’s been a long slog — this is our 25th installment, going back to January 4 — and we’re looking forward to your overall thoughts about re-reading this book. But for now, let’s deal with this final offering from the Commodore. He starts off this chapter, “Dianetics — Past and Future,” by telling us that his work on Dianetics dates back to 1935, and that 1938 was the pivotal year when he made some of the first key discoveries. Continue reading Blogging Scientology’s Bible: Vance, We’ve Reached the Finish Line! Advertisement
 Judge James Whittemore has scheduled an evidentiary hearing for July 24 in Luis and Rocio Garcia’s federal fraud lawsuit against the Church of Scientology.
At issue will be the church’s motion to disqualify the Garcias’ attorneys — Ted Babbitt and Ronald Weil — who, the church alleges, improperly worked with Robert Johnson, an attorney who previously represented the church in numerous matters between 1982 and 1998. Each side has until July 18 to turn in a list of witnesses and exhibits, and we’ll be curious to see if either side plans to subpoena Brian Culkin (pictured), whose declaration was such an important part of the church’s motion. Continue reading Judge Whittemore Sets Evidentiary Hearing in Garcia Federal Fraud Lawsuit
 We just received a call from the U.S. Supreme Court informing us that Justice Anthony Kennedy has denied the Church of Scientology’s application for an emergency stay in Laura DeCrescenzo’s four-year lawsuit. For the moment, that leaves the church with no legal way to avoid turning over thousands of pages of evidence to DeCrescenzo, which was ordered by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ronald Sohigian.
As we reported yesterday, the church had asked Kennedy to stay Sohigian’s order as it once again appealed the decision that it must turn over to DeCrescenzo her “pc files” — hundreds of folders of confessional material compiled during her 13 years as an employee of Scientology’s “Sea Org.” In her lawsuit, DeCrescenzo is alleging abuse, including being forced to have an abortion at 17. Twice before, the church had appealed Sohigian’s order to turn over DeCrescenzo’s files and had lost. The court’s spokesman explained to us that the church does still have some options. Continue reading JUSTICE KENNEDY DENIES SCIENTOLOGY REQUEST FOR STAY IN FORCED-ABORTION CASE
 Geir Isene reached Scientology’s heights — Operating Thetan Level Eight — but the Norwegian has left the church and is now providing startling insights about his time in the organization.
Recently, he came to the United States, and has made a series of videos with former church member Karen de la Carriere. In the first video, he reveals that he was brought in to educate top Scientology officials about the Internet, and learned that they had met personally with Google’s Sergey Brin, asking him if it were possible for the search giant to filter results so that only positive information about the church would be returned on the word “Scientology.” You can imagine how that went over… Continue reading VIDEO: Scientology Told Google’s Sergey Brin It Wanted Only “Good” Search Results
 Justice Anthony Kennedy With just days before a court order will force the Church of Scientology to turn over thousands of pages of evidence in Laura DeCrescenzo’s lawsuit alleging abuse during her employment in the church’s “Sea Org” — including an abortion she says was forced on her when she was only 17 — Scientology has applied to the U.S. Supreme Court for an emergency stay to stop the lawsuit in its tracks. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ronald Sohigian has already decided that DeCrescenzo is entitled to her own “pc files” — confessional material that was compiled while she worked for the church from only nine years of age, joining the Sea Org at twelve and then finally leaving it at 25 in 2004. Scientology has appealed and lost that decision twice, most recently at the California Supreme Court. Now, Scientology wants the U.S. Supreme Court to review that state supreme court decision, but in the meantime, it wants an emergency stay to freeze the case so the church doesn’t have to turn over the documents on July 2. Continue reading SCIENTOLOGY ASKS U.S. SUPREME COURT FOR EMERGENCY STAY IN FORCED-ABORTION CASE
 Claire Headley is taking us on our journey to train as Scientologists. She and her husband Marc were Sea Org workers who escaped from Scientology’s International Base in 2005. She spent years working with Scientology’s “tech,” and was trusted to oversee the auditing of Tom Cruise. Go here to see the first part in this series.
Claire, last time you steamed us up in Scientology’s sauna program, the Purification Rundown. What’s up next? CLAIRE: TRs and Objectives. The concept is that you have now freed yourself from the harmful effects of drugs and toxins in your body, so now you’re ready to be rehabilitated on the subject of control, communication, and havingness. Continue reading Claire Headley Explains How Scientology’s New Edicts Can Be a Gold Mine for the Church
 Laura DeCrescenzo’s attorneys have answered the Church of Scientology’s latest attempt to derail her forced-abortion lawsuit, and they’ve done it in only two pages.
The church has until July 2 to turn over DeCrescenzo’s “pc files” — thousands of pages of confessional material compiled while she was an employee of the church starting at only nine years of age. DeCrescenzo believes that the documents will bolster her claim that she was abused as a member of Scientology’s “Sea Org,” including her assertion that she was forced to have an abortion at 17. Scientology has already lost two appeals fighting the court order, and have now asked LA Superior Court Judge Ronald Sohigian for a protective order to keep the documents from being seen by the public. Her answer to that request is short and sweet. Continue reading Laura D to Scientology: It’s Too Late for a Protective Order in Forced-Abortion Case
 We’ve learned that, if you’re in Orange County, California next weekend, there’s a way to get some exercise, pelt yourself with fun colors, and raise money for Scientology causes all at the same time!
We want to thank the tipster who sent us information about the 5K race that’s been organized by a powerful OT VIII Scientologist by the name of Myles Binford. Before we tell you more about him, check out the nifty video that was made for his upcoming 5K, which he calls The Charity Bomb!
Continue reading Sunday Funnies: Scientology Gets Colorful!
 Neil Gaiman’s new book, The Ocean at the End of Lane, is garnering good reviews and a lot of attention as his first novel for adults in eight years. Gaiman, 52, is well known for his fantasy and science fiction, including The Sandman comic series, the Hugo-winning novel American Gods, the Hugo-winning novella Coraline, and much more.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a mesmerizing read that should please Gaiman’s many fans. We were charmed by its tale of childhood danger and myth stemming from a mysterious suicide on a country lane. But there’s also a lot here to consider for Scientology watchers. As Gaiman has said in press interviews, his idea for the book came from an actual suicide of a lodger staying in his family’s home a short distance from Scientology’s UK headquarters, where Neil’s father was a prominent executive. And now that we’ve read it, we can say there’s a lot more about Neil’s Scientology past that makes this an interesting read. Continue reading In His New Book, Is Neil Gaiman Exorcising His Scientology Past?
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Welcome to our ongoing project, where we blog a 1950 first edition of Scientology’s bible, Dianetics, with the help of ex-Scientologist, lawyer, and author Vance Woodward. Go here for the first post in the series.
