Since the US is having such a hard time reporting breaking news (because essentially, in the long-run, much is about themselves or corporations that they are owned by) so are they jumping on the Comedy Central bandwagon, and moving into the parody realm? Move over NBC's SNL, here comes Katie. Al Jazerra shaming US media hotair.com "...In a defense of the State Department budget, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says “we are in an information war and we’re losing that war”.
Further, Clinton claimed that the private media isn’t up to the task of winning it saying, “Our private media cannot fill that gap”....True, Al Jazeera is kicking butt in the coverage of the Middle East and N. Africa.
On Funny or Die, Katie Couric investigates the sillies washingtonpost.com "...In a Funny or Die clip that will likely cause intense debate in newsrooms and Journalism 101 classes across the country, Katie Couric launches an investigation into whether or not it's possible to "shake your sillies out."
She goes deep into the hallways of an elementary school in search of answers. And reporters will probably look deeply into their souls as a result, asking questions like: is it OK for a respected newswoman to appear in a Funny or Die clip? Is it appropriate for CBS News to use its branding on what is clearly a satirical viral video? Is CBS attempting to be both a beacon of journalistic integrity and The Onion?..."
Earth to LRon, come in LRon WWP ~ Reported a few days ago over at WhyWeProtest, there seem to be some lulzy excerpts contained in Jon Stewart's 'Earth; (The Book) A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race regarding L.Ron Hubbard's way-out-there religion, Scientology.
To bad they didn't have a Daily Show back when Scientology was conceived. I guess the closest thing to it at the time was The Today Show (1952), but in name only, lol.
Its highest-level practitioners learned that Earth's problems began when Xenu, evil ruler of the Galactic Confederacy, brought billions of humans to earth 75 millions years ago and killed them with hydrogen bombs.
This information was kept hidden from non-Scientologists, as learning it before years of costly preparation could induce involuntary physical responses, including but not limited to laughter, eye-rolling, and exclamations of "Are you serious!?" ..."
Lovely Rita, Meter Maid
Also reported, the following photographs with labeling attached:
• e-meter:'Through judicious use of the E-Meter, Scientology auditors were able to remove countless Thetans ("dollars") from followers.'
And a picture of a mock personality test involving such questions as:
• 'How much money do you make?' • 'Where do you keep it?' • 'Do you know any celebrities?' • 'Do you know any gay celebrities?' • 'Quick -- what's your pin number?'
You've Got Mail DNA
And at the beginning of the book, where it discusses places to send DNA samples for future reconstitution by alien lifeforms, those with names starting from A-L are told to send theirs [plus the form] to the Svalbard Seed Vault.
But those with M-Z names (how lucky for Miscavige, but too bad for Cruise) are told to ship them to Scientolgy's desert stronghold, Trementina Base.
Trementina Base
37 Ultra-Secret But Totally Real Scientology Mountain Base Avenue
Trementina, NM 88349
Attention: David Miscavige, Project Administrator
The Daily Show: This Week In God - Scientology
And just for the lulz, from Jul.28.05 (back before Colbert spun-off to his own show) Stephen runs down the world of religion, from a Hindu McDonald's and Pope Benedict XVI to Scientology: Religion of the Stars. [jump to 1:31]
Tip of the 'ol space-helmet visor to JustMissedMe, and DeathHamster.
Lake Aleknagik, AK ~ Former United States Senator Ted 'the internet, it's not a big truck, it's a series of tubes' Stevens was killed in a plane crash in southwestern Alaska on Monday night. Five of the nine people on board the gigantic Google/YouTube 787 transporter headed to a remote fishing lodge were killed in the crash.
The rescue crew was not able to reach the crash site for more than 12 hours after the accident because of rain, high winds and heavy fog in an area of mountains and lakes north of Bristol Bay, not to mention all the Verizon FIOS installation trucks blocking the remote passes.
The plane went undetected by radar because in the area where it went down, about 20 miles north of Dillingham, there is no radar, wifi or cable coverage, according to one fishing lodge expert familiar with the area. The expert asked not to be identified because the FCC/Fish & Wildlife Div. is in charge of releasing information. The section of internet being transported was under DMCA Safe-Harbor flight rules, two people familiar with the area said, meaning that it was not being directed through normal routes that would normally tag and track it.
Movie tech, Eddy Troutman, said,"...Stevens wanted to watch a movie while fishing, so we arranged with YouTube to transport a tube of the internet up to his fishing lodge. Had I known the movie was Convoy, I would have refused. Everybody knows the internet's not a big truck, and it can't handle that many at once either..."
Unconfirmed reports suggest a false DMCA take-down may have been the cause of that particular section of the internet to crash.The RIAA was not answering their phones and could not be reached for comment.
Mr. Stevens, who had been the longest-serving Republican in the United States Senate while representing Alaska, was 86. He also advocated for a bridge connecting two sparsely-populated Alaskan islands, commonly known as the "Bridge to Nowhere" (not to be confused with Scientology's Bridge to Nowhere).
Even though nobody in the media contacted them, Scientology spokesperson, Tommy Davis, released a statement claiming "...Xenu and his rocket-powered DC-8 was not responsible for the senator's crash." Adding,"...if anybody in the media reports that, they're a religious bigot."
exscn.net ~ On 21 May 2010, CCHR/NZ (Scientology's front group: Citizens Commission on Human Rights, New Zealand) was denied charitable status by the Charities Commission in New Zealand.
54. The Applicant's barrister has also submitted that the Commission is "discriminating against CCHR and/or its founders, or organisers on the basis of their imputed opinions and on the basis of their religious views of ethical views". He notes that the Applicant has been linked to the Church of Scientology in the press and the Commission's decision to withhold charitable status from the Applicant has coincided with targeting of the Church in the media,
55. The Commission's decision is based on its assessment of the Applicant's specific purposes and activities against the essential requirements set out in the Charities Act and relevant case law. It is not based on the views held by people associated with the Applicant.
Charities Commission's determination 56. The finding of the Commission is that the Applicant has failed to meet an essential requirement for registration as a charitable entity in that the Applicant is not a society or institution established and maintained for exclusively charitable purposes, as required by section 13(1)(b)(i) of the Act. For the above reasons, the Commission declines the Applicants applicatjon for registration as a charitabie entity. Update: Copy of PDF also available on scribd.com (thanks anonymary)
CC Latest Newsletter: An excerpt of Trevor Garrett's, chief executive, latest newsletter:
charities.govt.nz ~ "...In registering charities, the Commission has no discretion - if the applicant meets the requirements of the Act, they will be registered. Under the Act, to be a registered charity an organisation must be established and maintained for charitable purposes, cannot be for the private profit of any individual or group, must have a name that complies with the Act and all its officers must be qualified to be officers under the Act.
Continued registration once registered is not a foregone conclusion. Once registered, charities must continue to meet the requirements of the Act, and the Commission through its monitoring and investigation function continues to assess an organisation's right to registration. If the Commission finds that a registered charity is no longer meeting the requirements of the Act, the Commission has the powers to deregister it.
Many of the deregistration and decline decisions that the Commission makes are in relation to charitable purpose. The legal definition of a charitable purpose can differ from what members of the public might consider to be “charitable”. "
More on CCHR by APA From 5/21/09 archived post here on ODIT:
'industry of death' quackery tied to church of scientology MedPage Today: SAN FRANCISCO, -- Physicians gathering for the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting here were greeted with a noisy street protest by the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), an offshoot of the Church of Scientology.
From its earliest days in the 1950s, Scientologists have waged a campaign accusing the psychiatric profession of a range of abuses. Now conducted under the CCHR's banner, the campaign currently portrays psychiatry as an "industry of death." Demonstrations like the one at this year's meeting have become a fixture at the annual gatherings.
Below, MedPage Today video report: APA President Nada Stotland, M.D., explains:
I think to some degree we've noticed the media are getting less and less interested in listening to the allegations of Scientology, many of which are patently ridiculous, you know, that psychiatrists caused the Holocaust or things of that sort. And so it doesn't cause as much disruption as it had in years past when that was the first time we had people marching up and down.
There is no other medical specialty I know of that has its own particular,, dedicated hate group. And there is no other medical specialty in which people are already stigmatized and afraid as much as they are of psychiatry, so it's a very unfortunate conjunction of those two things.
Scientology. Supposedly the biggest, fastest growing by leaps and bounds, religion in the solar system, if not the universe.
If you've ever listened to David Miscavige rattle off, during one of his speeches, all the growth Scientology has gone through the past twenty years, you'd assume the group would have more members than the population of a small M-Class planet.
Well, little does Scientology know, Xenu (galactic warlord and Scientology's arch-nemesis) has ordered a census be taken at these new Ideal Orgs springing up around the world.
In Washington DC one day, protester AnonSparrow inquired management how many publics were in the building per week. She replied,"Two hundred". "I find that hard to believe", disagreed AnonSparrow. She then added,"You're not out here when they rush to get in here a 9:00 AM roll-call."
Reveille ~ 7:30 AM So, does our pollster show up at the designated 9 AM? Nope. 7:30 for this early-bird (pun intended).
And since he used to work with all these people (knows most by name), he can distinguish who's a drone worker and who's a customer pretty easily. See the chart on the right for the eye witness breakdown. Or you can watch the complete count-a-thon in the video below:
170.0 Anonymous Scientology Protest: DC Ideal Org Census 6/25/10
Our super sleuths over at WWP and OCMB have noticed the corporation of Scientology is using the US Great Seal in their photo op's, creating an impression that it is somehow approved by or represents the state.
From the pages of a Scientology front group trade magazines, IAS's Impact, at the opening ceremony for their Washington DC building, we see blatant use of a seal similar to the US's State Department.
And our sleuths have also looked up the state department's stance on copycats: "...This is a criminal statute with penal provisions, prohibiting certain uses of the Great Seal that would convey or reasonably be calculated to convey a false impression of sponsorship or approval by the Government of the United States or any department, agency, or instrumentality thereof..."
Well seems as Criminon was still on the anti-Scientology bus when he made another Criminon faux video that surfaced (came out about same time as the above, but I never saw it) but this time, it seems, he's been kidnapped by Scientology OSA goons and forced to apologize for his constipation comedy shtick.
Get ready for a punny skit, 'cause this just turns into another video tea-bagging of Cruise, using every one of his movie titles in video confession, lol.
I have yet to see a post with both of these together, so.....
Seems these two video comedians from TheRealParis channel (over yonder)at YouTube have hit the nail on the head with their Jamie-Lynn Spears/Scientology skit. A couple of excerpts:
Jamie-Lynn: "Scientology... will, make, you, do, weird, stuff." Junior-JR: "...Only if you pay enough."
And you gotta' love this line:
Jamie-Lynn: "...They put aliens in people's bodies, ya'll, look at that there Katie Holmes. That's a little alien that she has...." Junior-JR: "She sure is cute".
WISE: World Institute of Scientology Enterprises equals FRAUD In the world of front groups, it's not surprising to find Scientology has a few, and here's an interview with a chiropractor that was involved with one of them. Video summary: Mark Bunker interviews a husband and wife, who went from banking $5,000 a month -- to bankruptcy after being introduced to WISE, Hubbard and Scientology.
From Pt1, "...They were with a "practice management group", Singer Consultants, who were connected to the church of scientology via WISE. They were licensed to utilize l ron hubbard's teachings. It wasn't covert, but very subtle. At one time it seemed that they were "pushing" it, then they backed off. So it grew from being a business consulting arrangement, to being more of a personal improvement with the church of scientology. There's always another service, once you reach one level, there's always another one they're promoting..."
'WISE'ing Up To Scientology's Front Group Fraud Parts 1-5 [34:30] 4/1/01 - A chiropractor and his wife describe how Scientology lured them in through management courses and ultimately harmed their business and their lives by sending them into bankruptcy.
At crn.com, they host an article stating Most Twitter Tweets 'Pointless Babble'. Ryan Kelly, a study researcher, is quoted as saying: "Mostly many people still perceive Twitter as just mindless babble of people telling you what they are doing minute-by-minute; as if you care they are eating a sandwich at the moment."
But as found on WWP, a simple tweet in the right direction at the right time can save a family from falling into the clutches of a money-hungry cult-front.
• I should add that the "detainee" had already been trying to get out, and was barred from contacting her family. Super fucked up.
• Had it not been for one person forwarding a news link to another, and the family reading the tampabay.com series, she'd still be there.
• Remember that next time someone tells you investigative journalism doesn't matter anymore & who cares if reporters have to work for "free." PS: they're bringing security backup, and a nurse.
And later updated with this good news: • Update on NarCONon/Scientology victim I tweeted about yesterday: She'd been in there for months, weighed about 80 lbs, severely dehydrated.
• Family brought security & nurse last nt, forcibly retrieved, drove her home. NarCONon forbade her frm contacting fam, she'd begged release.
• Drug-addicted victim signed NarCONon contract while very high, so maybe they can get the $20K they spent back, because that's fraud.
• NarCONon/Co$ ppl demanding she return, pay $15K more, sweat "colored drug ooze" in Hubbard sauna. Family knows now & won't return her.
• Family who sent her to NarCONon didn't know was controlled by Co$. Thought was Narcotics Anonymous. Thanks, Internet, for saving her. /end
• Oh &thanks! to all who tweeted anti-NarCONon resources @ me, I passed to family. Hearty fck y to Scientology trolls now threatening me here.
Former Narconon Director Gives Lecture On The Scam: narCONon Patty Pieniadz was the executive director of Narconon Conneticut and the Director of Rehabilitation for the Church of Scientology. The following video shows her giving a talk about Narconon and Scientology in general to the Boston Skeptics on 05/26/08.
Smiths Fire Head of Their School radaronline: Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith have fired the head of their controversial private school The New Village Leadership Academy.
Jacqueline Olivier - the woman the famous husband and wife enlisted to set up their Calabasas campus - was axed from her $200,000 a year position via a telephone call from the Matrix actress.
"Jada phoned Jaqueline and told her that they had 'decided to go in another direction' with the school,” an insider told RadarOnline.com. “As head of the campus her position was becoming untenable as she did not agree with Study Tech and felt uncomfortable with it.” Olivier “thrashed-out” a severance package with the couple and “it’s understood that she signed a confidentiality agreement with regard to her time at the school.”
The school head and the superstar couple were said to have clashed about the school's mysterious Study Tech curriculum which was devised by Scientologist founder Ron L. Hubbard. While the school’s official website simply reads “Coming Soon!” under Head of School, RadarOnline.com has learned that Piano Foster is the new woman tapped for the role.
"They have appointed somebody else who is more 'in-line' with their thinking as to how the school should be run," the source added. Foster remained tight-lipped when asked about her famous employers or any other controversies surrounding the school.
Scientology Founder Exposed as Fake tgdaily.com: London, UK - Scientology founder L Ron Hubbard made up his qualifications along with his religion, as shown by secret documents released to the Times.
Hubbard bought a sham college and then awarded himself a PhD from it, according to files released by the National Archives after a request by the paper under the Freedom of Information Act.
Back in 1968, Scientologists threatened to sue the British government for libel, after it banned followers from entering the country. To defend itself, the government started gathering evidence that Hubbard was a fake.
In a signed statement amongst the documents, one of Hubbard's collaborators wrote: “The position is L Ron Hubbard [and others] acquired premises somewhere in Los Angeles which they had registered as a university called Sequoia and immediately awarded each other doctorates.”
Whitehall officials followed up on this with the British Consulate in Los Angeles. They were told: "[Sequoia] is a ‘will of the wisp’ organisation which has no premises and does not really exist. It has not and never had any authority whatsoever to issue diplomas or degrees and the dean is sought by the authorities ‘for questioning’.”
The Scientologists, who number Tom Cruise amongst their numbers, have some pretty groovy beliefs. Apparently, we're all aliens who have lived before on other planets, and paying Hubbard's crew loads and loads of money will bring liberation.
Hotter Than A Volcano And what would discussion on school be without Van Halen's Hot For Teacher video?
