Scientology is messed up. What else do you expect from a “religion” created by a poor science-fiction writer with delusions of grandeur? There’s so much wrong with it, it’s hard to know exactly where to start the list of fucked up shit they do. Convince people with mental disabilities or brain imbalances that drugs are bad, vitamins are the answer and psychiatry is evil? Check. Find a way to take more and more money from your members from bogus auditing that costs more and more cash? Check. Have “work-camps” where people essentially do slave labor in exchange for more stupid auditing, and refuse to release people who want to leave? Oh, you better believe that’s a check.

A former Church of Scientology member has claimed she was held against her will aboard the Church’s cruise ship, The Freewinds, for 12 years.

Valeska Paris, an Australian resident, said she was forced onto the ship by the Church’s leader, David Miscavige, when she was 17 after her mother tried to dissociate her from the organisation.

Yeah, totally not creepy at all: They effectively hold a young woman captive for a decade, and then claim she was there of her own free will. Too bad some of her fellow members actually have the guts to back up her story, or that there are loads of similar complaints. I’m beginning to wonder if any prosecutor with a set of balls is going to bother to try and bring this evil organization to justice. Here is a clear group of deranged psychos with a shit-ton of money doing anything they want with impunity since given the magical status of religion. Why is it we’re always willing to suffer the worst offenses against people if it’s done by an organized body of nonsense?

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You know, with all the sex scandals within the Catholic Church, we sometimes forget that there are plenty of other religious organizations who have a similar disregard for the wellbeing of their congregation. The latest incident involves the Church of Scientology, where a senior member of their Australian branch is accused of trying to intimidate an 11 year old girl into providing a false statement regarding her step father’s abuse.

Ms Rainer has alleged that Ms Eastgate, who was then head of the church’s citizens’ commission on human rights in Australia, told her she should deny any charges of the sexual abuse or she and her brother would be taken away by social services.

Ms Rainer’s mother Phoebe has also admitted Ms Eastgate told both of them what to say and to lie to police and in an interview with the Department of Community Services. Ms Eastgate previously called the allegations “egregiously false”.

What’s the easiest way to coerce one of your flock? Just use your stupid nonsense against them!

Ms Rainer had previously said that she was told by senior Scientology members that abuse was punishment for being bad in a previous life.

“She said, ‘Just say no, keep repeating that’,” Ms Rainer told the ABC in an interview last year.

“They told me it was my fault because I’d been bad in a past life. I believed them.”

Man, people who spew bullshit for a living sure have a wealth of techniques to get their sheep to fall into line, don’t they? How often do you think this, or some other similar lie, compelled a victim to remain silent in the face of abuse?

Hilariously enough, Jan Eastgate had recently been the recipient of a humanitarian award by her own sinister organization, proving just how dedicated these clowns are the the “betterment” of mankind.

In response to these allegations, a senior government official by the name of Nick Xenophon (yes, that’s a real name) is calling for the Church to lose their tax exempt status. Now if only we could do the same thing for the Catholic Church and every other institution that tries to cover up sexual abuse, then we’d be cookin’!

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As promised, our special Bonus Episode on Scientology is free for members of the site. If you aren’t yet one, just click on the members button or follow this link and sign up for free. Freebie members get this episode for zilch. Consider it our way of enticing you to eventually become patrons.

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If you haven’t listened to the podcast recently, you might have missed a subject I briefly talked about last show. I was talking about a little known organization called the Cult Awareness Network, and their ties with Scientology. It’s a bit of a complicated story, so you’ll have to bear with me while I explain it.

In 1978, the tragedy of Jonestown led to the creation of an organization dedicated to identifying and combating cults. It was dubbed the Cult Awareness Network, and it became the largest organization of its kind in the US. One of their big opponents was Scientology, which they correctly identified as being a dangerous cult of greed.

In 1995, a young man named Jason Scott was kidnapped by a deprogrammer named Rick Ross, and because Jason’s mother had been referred to Mr. Ross by CAN, they were sued successfully for US$1 million. Around the same time, the Church of Scientology organized a massive litigation campaign, convincing 50 of their members to sue the organization simultaneously. The suits crippled the organization, which had to declare bankruptcy.

But this was not the end of the Cult Awareness Network. Shortly after they went bankrupt, Steven Hayes, a Scientology attorney and the man behind the suits, bought CAN in bankruptcy court for $20,000. Now, the “New” CAN puts all of it’s focus on fighting for “religious tolerance” (go visit their website; it’s fucking creepy). What was once a thriving organization fighting against destructive cults has ironically enough been commandeered by one of the most aggressive cults in the world. It’s no joke that if you call them up, you’ll probably be talking to a Scientologist.

This is just one small example of how Scientology uses the court system to try and bully, intimidate, silence, and occasionally destroy their opponents. They are simply following the advice and edict of their pseudo-god, L.Ron Hubbard:

The purpose of the suit is to harass and discourage rather than win. The law can be used very easily to harass, and enough harassment on somebody who is simply on the thin edge anyway . . . will generally be sufficient to cause his professional decrease. If possible, of course, ruin him utterly.

The usurpation of CAN is a sad testament to the fact that so far, these scumbags are winning. Feeling depressed yet? I know I am…

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