I find that odd, since Tommy Davis admitted that there was in fact beatings. They admittted the muscial chairs took place. They admitted that people where overboarded.?(though they are trying to down play it)
So they confirmed what these “disgrintled wierdos” were talking about. The fact of the matter is, if there were beatings that were witnessed by Davis and MANY others, then why did it go unreported? What “church” would allow this and for what reason?Many more will come foward. Many have been saying these SAME things in the past also for years, not just these four people.
So you are still going to say that ALL these people are disgrunted wierdos? I think not.
Wake up, you have abuse and crime within the organization, why do you find that so hard to believe, when the entire orgainzation is built on a pyramid scheme? WAKE UP!

From a SP Times editorial today:

In recent years the Church of Scientology worked hard to present a kinder, gentler image to the public, claiming it had cast aside the criminal activities, dirty tricks and abusive behavior of the past that brought it widespread condemnation and sent some of its former leaders to prison. But a St. Petersburg Times special report this week revealed the reality behind the new facade: At its core, the Church of Scientology has not changed. It is an organization that uses intimidation and brutality to control its employees, places financial ambition above spiritual service to its members and stops at nothing to undermine its critics.

Read more:

http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/article1012832.ece

Bye bye $cientology

I’ve tried to give them the benefit of the doubt. I’ve talked about the whole charging money thing. The thing I always pointed out to sort of defend them is that @ least they don’t hide the fact that their services cost money. They’re right upfront about it. Go to their website, and they have the online store to order their books & tapes, with prices set. 15 or so years ago, when I walked into a Scientology center & took that free personality test, they told me that I should take all of these courses that cost X amount of dollars. Soon as I heard that I said no thanks & got the heck out of there. So the folks who do sign up know what they’re getting into, right from the beginning.

And, y’know, I’ll still go see Tom Cruise movies if I think they look good (same for Will Smith, though I really really hope that he’s telling the truth about not really being a Scientologist). But the more I learn about this organization, the clearer it becomes. I can’t comment on all the rank & file believers, but the leaders are flat-out EVIL. This “church” has more in common with the Mafia than it does with any other religious organization.

You know, the myth that there’s an all-powerful super-evil UFO-worshipping cult whose global tentacles reach into everything, bribing politicians and police and movie stars, hypnotizing the public into being controlled by a weird electronic device that makes you want to join pyramid schemes and buy armloads of books. And then they tell you to stop talking to your family, to abort your children, to dress in funny outfits and live in a concentration camp gulag. Or maybe they just kill you.

Then I grew up a little. Okay, a LOT. And realized that I used to enjoy such outlandish tales for the same reason I used to enjoy talking with buddies about the CIA and the NSA and the Bilderbergers in college, and speculate on how these shadowy secret guys were gonna declare worldwide martial law, you know, any day now.

I no longer see hints of eviltry by the Illuminati or the Freemasons or DARPA or the Knights Templar or any other secret societies in the news. And that includes the Scientologists.

Are the Scienos perfect? No, far from it. But what man is? Are they anything like the lurid myth that disgruntled weirdos have been trying to foment for years? Naw. But it makes for a great story to give ourselves a shiver while roasting marshmallows around the cyber-campfire, doesn’t it?