John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John Christmas Video Confirms Mayan End-of-World Prophecy

That meany Jon Stewart and just about everyone else has made fun of this video from America’s favorite cute movie couple, Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson.

But we know that our readers will have special affection for this darling Christmas carol that features so many of the things that make the holidays special.

Continue reading John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John Christmas Video Confirms Mayan End-of-World Prophecy

Only 2,418 Scientologists in England and Wales, Vastly Outnumbered by Jedi Knights

After all the new “Ideal Org” churches David Miscavige has been opening around the world in the last decade, there must be a giant surge of new members joining the Church of Scientology, right?

Um, well, no. In fact, the figures from the 2011 England and Wales census are out, and they are grim. In the second most important country to Scientology in the world, only 2,418 people claimed that they belonged to the church.

That’s not the only alarming number that came out this week regarding Scientology’s fortunes. Let’s dig in.

Continue reading Only 2,418 Scientologists in England and Wales, Vastly Outnumbered by Jedi Knights

Tiziano Lugli Releases Non-Nazanin Boniadi Version of “Blown for Good” Rap

Tiziano Lugli just released at his website a new version of the “Blown for Good” rap that he and Marc Headley (author of the book Blown For Good) conceived and recorded.

When we were in Los Angeles, Tiziano played for us a version of the song that featured several ex-Scientologists, including Nazanin Boniadi, who was once “auditioned” by the Church of Scientology to be Tom Cruise’s girlfriend.

We videotaped Tiziano playing that song back, and it is now circling the globe on the Internet.

But Tiziano wanted to get an actual audio clip out with better quality than could be heard on our flip cam video, and he assembled a new version that features Marc Headley along with Marty Rathbun, Mike Rinder, and Jamie Lugli.

Continue reading Tiziano Lugli Releases Non-Nazanin Boniadi Version of “Blown for Good” Rap

Speaking of Scientology Rap, Did Someone Mention CHILL E.B.?

Speak of the devil!

Continue reading Speaking of Scientology Rap, Did Someone Mention CHILL E.B.?

Nazanin Boniadi Speaks! Or Rather, Raps, About Scientology’s “Blind Alley”

Well, we’ve been looking forward to bringing you this for some time now, and thanks to the folks over at Gawker, it’s now live, for all the world to see.

The too-cool-for-school commenters over there will crap all over the video of course, which is as predictable as the sun rising in the morning.

But we trust our readers will see the value in this unique video.

MIKE RINDER RAPS! Seriously, it’s dope.

Continue reading Nazanin Boniadi Speaks! Or Rather, Raps, About Scientology’s “Blind Alley”

DOX: Autopsy Report of Scientology President’s Son, Alexander Jentzsch

Alexander Jentzsch, a “Middle Eastern” man?

That’s one of the odd things we found in the autopsy report of the son of Church of Scientology President Heber Jentzsch, who was found dead on July 3 at the home of his in-laws.

We reported earlier what the Los Angeles Department of Coroner told us, that Jentzsch died because he took Methadone while he was suffering from a serious case of pneumonia. The Coroner ruled it an accident.

We have little doubt that it was an accident. But we still wonder about this young man who died while he was cut off from both of his parents in a Scientology power struggle.

Continue reading DOX: Autopsy Report of Scientology President’s Son, Alexander Jentzsch

Sunday Funnies: Scientology Needs Your Cash!

Once again our tipsters have come through for us this week, and we have another diverting set of Scientology fundraising mailers for our Sunday Funnies.

We’re counting on our formidable commenting community to analyze, synthesize, and deconstruct these latest dispatches from David Miscavige’s leaky barge of a church.

Is there a common theme running through them? We’ll let you decide.
Continue reading Sunday Funnies: Scientology Needs Your Cash!

Scientology and Past Lives: Was L. Ron Hubbard Actually Serious?

A funny thing happened on Thursday. We reviewed Vance Woodward’s book, Addicted to Scientology, and noted that one of the more interesting things in it was Woodward’s contention that a close reading of Scientology’s foundational texts convinced him that L. Ron Hubbard thought of past-life therapy as a form of make-believe.

Scientologists, however, take very seriously the idea that when they go through “auditing” and bring up memories from millions or billions of years ago they are making use of an exact science and their memories are very real.

On the same day we brought up Woodward’s doubts about that, over at Marty Rathbun’s blog, the former church executive did something really remarkable: he surveyed his readership about this very issue.

So on this Saturday, we’re going to take a closer look at the responses to Rathbun’s survey as well as Vance Woodward’s insights about Hubbard in order to answer a fascinating question:

When L. Ron Hubbard said you could hook yourself up to an e-meter and see yourself slaying enemies billions of years ago in another part of the galaxy, did he actually expect anyone to take him seriously?

Continue reading Scientology and Past Lives: Was L. Ron Hubbard Actually Serious?

Ken Dandar in Federal Court Today — And Loses Again

UPDATE: JUDGE COVINGTON AGAIN DECLINES TO STEP IN ON KEN DANDAR’S BEHALF. More on our afternoon update below

Ken Dandar gets his second chance today to convince federal Judge Virginia Covington in Tampa, Florida that his civil rights are being violated by a conspiracy between Florida’s state courts and the Church of Scientology.

Dandar is asking Covington to stop a proceeding in a Florida state court, where Scientology is asking retired Judge Crockett Farnell to award the church $1.1 million in sanctions against Dandar. At a hearing on November 19, Covington told Dandar she had no standing to stop what was happening in Farnell’s court. Dandar then filed an amended complaint which included new details about what he alleges is a years-long conspiracy by Scientology to corrupt the state courts.

After the 1 pm hearing, we’re hoping to hear from Dandar about whether his new evidence convinces Covington that Scientology, its leader David Miscavige, and its attorney Wally Pope have been operating as “state actors” in an attempt to ruin him financially.

Continue reading Ken Dandar in Federal Court Today — And Loses Again

Vance Woodward’s Book Addicted to Scientology Is An Amazing High

How does yet another self-published book revealing the “secrets” of Scientology stand out with so many others appearing in the last few years?

Well, we guarantee you haven’t read one like this.

Vance Woodward is a Bay Area lawyer who fell into Scientology at only 14, spent 22 years struggling through the church’s auditing, and handed over about $600,000 along the way.

And now, he’s gone deep into his own personal story in order to give the rest of us one of the most entertaining and penetrating descriptions of what it’s like to fall under L. Ron Hubbard’s spell in Addicted to Scientology: Overcoming the Ups & Downs of Scientoloholism.

Continue reading Vance Woodward’s Book Addicted to Scientology Is An Amazing High

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