I’m sharing with you an email I received last week via YouTube. First a clarification: My primary concern so far has been making the evidential information freely available that Scientology has been trying to hide or dismiss, so that people who know little about the organization or are curious about it can make up their own mind or at least conduct their own research before the lies and propaganda of Scientology get to them first. There are two types of Scientologists we are talking about. The first one consists of the likes of the late L. Ron Hubbard and David Miscavige, top leaders whose sole purpose and intention is monetary gain, political power, and the destruction of anyone who stands in the way, i.e. enemies of the church. There are, however, decent Scientologists that were simply tricked and brainwashed into it and have not the slightest idea of what is really going on. They don’t know anything about the Fair Game policy; they think Operation Freakout or Operation Snow White are just some Cyber legend made up by “terrorists against the church”; Disconnect is thrust upon them whereas they are led to believe that it is for their own good. How does this happen? Because the Scientology corporation has either been carefully restricting their access to such information or brainwashing them so thoroughly that members only believe what their “religion” says. What these innocent people choose to believe and practice is none of my business, although I do hope that they have equal access to the legal and journalistic documentations as well as personal and judicial testimonies against Scientology that we take for granted; it’s the top level officials and the organization’s militias who set up front groups raving about religious freedom and human rights but in fact are practicing everything they publicly denounce and condemn that I’m speaking out against. Scientology itself is not a religion; I am even reluctant to call it a cult these days. Scientology is a commercial enterprise and a political organization that preys on innocent people on the one hand, and networks individuals with nefarious purposes in the fields of mass media, politics and the entertainment industry on the other; a “church” that hides behind the shield of religion, who will not turn the other geek and will do anything to silence or even destroy critics.
I wish people would ask more questions about Shawn Lonsdale.
But I regress. The email makes several interesting points and suggests some very good ideas. So feel free to pass it on to anyone willing to take a stand against the Scientology corporation.
It’s the 4th Friday of the month and you know it’s time for your favorite A Gentle Introduction to Linux for Non-Geeks again! We’ve been talking about what Linux is and how it is different from Microsoft Windows; now we’re finally going to get our hands dirty and actually start playing with Linux. Throughout the next couple of weeks, we’ll be looking at different ways you can run a Linux system directly on your Windows. Today, we’ll learn the easiest way to have a working Linux system on your PC without any installation using a Live CD.
UPDATE (06/06/08)Bob Dylan endorses Obama:
“Poverty is demoralising. You can’t expect people to have the virtue of purity when they are poor. But we’ve got this guy out there now who is redefining the nature of politics from the ground up…Barack Obama. He’s redefining what a politician is, so we’ll have to see how things play out. Am I hopeful? Yes, I’m hopeful that things might change. Some things are going to have to.”
UPDATE (05/25/08)The Independent interviews Gore Vidal: “But then I am an elitist. Obama has been accused of being an elitist. And as he pointed out, how can a boy who was brought up in the jungles – the woods – of Kenya, with a mother on welfare by the time they got to America, be an elitist; which is what Hillary, to her shame, was trying to reduce him to.”
“I’ve been on the road with John Edwards and now I’m supporting Obama. There’s no reason why a woman shouldn’t be in that office, but I’m not sure about this woman…”
Why did you endorse Barack Obama for the presidency? —Chris Francis Lightbourne, Long Island, N.Y.
Toni Morrison: I thought about voting for Hillary at the beginning. I don’t care that she is a woman. I need more than that. Neither his race, his gender, her race or her gender was enough. I needed something else, and the something else was his wisdom
UPDATE (05/04/08): Tom Hanks endorses Obama.
UPDATE (04/21/08): Michael Moore wrote on his website:
…if you live in Pennsylvania, can you do me a favor? Will you please cast my vote — and yours — on Tuesday for Senator Barack Obama?
…
This sleazy attempt to smear Obama was brilliantly explained the following night by Stephen Colbert. He pointed out that if Obama is supported by Ted Kennedy, who is Catholic, and the Catholic Church is led by a Pope who was in the Hitler Youth, that can mean only one thing: OBAMA LOVES HITLER!
…
There are those who say Obama isn’t ready, or he’s voted wrong on this or that. But that’s looking at the trees and not the forest. What we are witnessing is not just a candidate but a profound, massive public movement for change. My endorsement is more for Obama The Movement than it is for Obama the candidate.
…
Finally, I want to say a word about the basic decency I have seen in Mr. Obama. Mrs. Clinton continues to throw the Rev. Wright up in his face as part of her mission to keep stoking the fears of White America. Every time she does this I shout at the TV, “Say it, Obama! Say that when she and her husband were having marital difficulties regarding Monica Lewinsky, who did she and Bill bring to the White House for ’spiritual counseling?’ THE REVEREND JEREMIAH WRIGHT!”
But no, Obama won’t throw that at her. It wouldn’t be right. It wouldn’t be decent. She’s been through enough hurt. And so he remains silent and takes the mud she throws in his face.
…
But the question I keep hearing is… ‘can he win? Can he win in November?’ In the distance we hear the siren of the death train called the Straight Talk Express. We know it’s possible to hear the words “President McCain” on January 20th. We know there are still many Americans who will never vote for a black man. Hillary knows it, too. She’s counting on it.
Pennsylvania, the state that gave birth to this great country, has a chance to set things right. It has not had a moment to shine like this since 1787 when our Constitution was written there. In that Constitution, they wrote that a black man or woman was only “three fifths” human. On Tuesday, the good people of Pennsylvania have a chance for redemption.
Like most of you, I’ve been following the campaign and I have now seen and heard enough to know where I stand. Senator Obama, in my view, is head and shoulders above the rest.
He has the depth, the reflectiveness, and the resilience to be our next President. He speaks to the America I’ve envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems, a country that’s interested in its collective destiny and in the potential of its gathered spirit. A place where “…nobody crowds you, and nobody goes it alone.”
At the moment, critics have tried to diminish Senator Obama through the exaggeration of certain of his comments and relationships. While these matters are worthy of some discussion, they have been ripped out of the context and fabric of the man’s life and vision, so well described in his excellent book, Dreams From My Father, often in order to distract us from discussing the real issues: war and peace, the fight for economic and racial justice, reaffirming our Constitution, and the protection and enhancement of our environment.After the terrible damage done over the past eight years, a great American reclamation project needs to be undertaken. I believe that Senator Obama is the best candidate to lead that project and to lead us into the 21st Century with a renewed sense of moral purpose and of ourselves as Americans.
Over here on E Street, we’re proud to support Obama for President.
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Among many of the bizarre and inhuman practices inside the cult of Scientology, the policy of Disconnection is probably the most devastating for families and friends of Scientologists:
