The Church of Scientology is working overtime to try and cover up their blatant and irresponsible actions of exposing members, including their famous celeb clientele, to blue asbestos for the last 20 years.
The Church owned cruise liner, The Freewinds, is currently dry-docked in Curacao for extensive repair work, which now includes their attempts to remove the dangerous chemical from the ship. It was during scheduled renovation work when local authorities doing inspection of the ship discovered the toxic blue asbestos, which many older ships used as a fire retardant. From an article on Lawyersandsettlements.com:
The Church of Scientology’s members were attending Scientology courses, training services and functions aboard the ship. According to the Daily Herald, a local newspaper, the blue asbestos was released from the ship’s structure during refurbishing and reparatory work.
This is not the first time the MV Freewinds has been investigated for blue asbestos. In 2001, a former Scientology member, architect Lawrence Woodcraft, submitted a sworn affidavit stating that he was exposed to blue asbestos while working on the Freewinds in 1987. As well, a statement from the ship’s captain claimed that there were previous incidents where blue asbestos was released into the ship’s ventilation system. But the Church of Scientology denied Woodcraft’s claim and in so doing, the Church knowingly exposed its passengers and members to this most deadliest form of asbestos for the past 21 years!
The fibers of blue asbestos, like all asbestos fibers, can be inhaled in the lungs where they lie dormant for years until their carcinogenic toxicity begins to cause tumors to grow in the lungs, causing the disease mesothelioma, which is virtually untreatable. The result of this disease is a certain and painful death.
Last night I had the pleasure of interviewing Astra Woodcraft and her father Lawrence for our Glosslip Radio show on the BlogTalkRadio.com network. Both Astra and Lawrence were in the Church of Scientology’s most devout group called the Sea Organization and members who join must sign a billion-year contract. Being part of the Sea Org means devoting your life completely to Scientology and turning over total control to the Church. Apparently this also includes your reproductive life as well.
Glosslip.com is thrilled to announce a special radio segment on our BlogTalkRadio show, Glosslip Radio. This Monday we will be interviewing Astra Woodcraft, ex-Scientologist and child Sea Org member and her father Lawrence Woodcraft, an architect, ex-Scientologist and former Sea Org member. Recently, Astra and her father were profiled on ABC’s Nightline interview with Jenna Miscavige, niece of CoS leader, David Miscavige. Astra, Jenna and another ex-Scientologist, Kendra Wiseman started a website called Exscientologykids.com.
Also significant is Lawrence Woodcraft’s detailed history on the CoS cruise ship, the Freewinds. Just yesterday we reported the ship has been permanently sealed due to a massive asbestos leak discovered during renovation. Mr. Woodcraft reported the “blue asbestos” problem years ago, but the Church of Scientology has worked hard to cover up the problems until the recent news leak our of the Caribbean, where the ship is dry-docked.
Set Sail On The Newly Renovated DeathWinds, Now With More Cancer
Radar Online, have gotten an answer back from Church of Scientology spokeswhores on the Freewinds cruise ship asbestos story (which we broke first thanks to Anonymous sources) and as expected, their response is full of lies and prevarication, and even Radar, a reputable news outlet casts doubts on the veracity of those speaking on behalf of the dissembling Church of Scientology:
Breaking News: The Scientology cruise ship, the Freewinds is at the center of a scandal in the Caribbean today because of dangerous levels of blue asbestos being found on the luxury liner. From the Caribbean newspaper, The Daily Herald:
WILLEMSTAD: During refurbishing and reparatory work, which involved removing the ceiling and panelling on cruise ship Freewinds, blue asbestos was released and ended up in the ventilation system.
Freewinds’ captain did not report this when it’s own personnel were working on the ship on the Mathey warf in Otrobanda. The Curacao Drydock Company (CDM), where the ship was taken for reparatory work on the hull, heard from the surveyor that there may be asbestos on the ship. The captain acknowledged the incident and said that after the incident Freewinds had some investigation done. Keeping the incident quiet became more noticeable when it turned out that the 40-year-old ship contatined blue asbestos.
The question is whether or not the blue asbestos dust, which can cause cancer, can be removed from the ship. The CDM has stopped all work on the ship. The ship was sealed and isolated and experts will investigate and measure the presence of asbestos dust in the hull and surrounding areas. Commissioners Eugene Rhuggenaath (Economic Affairs) and Humphrey Davelaar (Public Health) said on Friday.
CDM interim director Frank Esser, deputy head of the Department of Labour Affairs Christiene van der Biezen were accompanied by two inspectors and head of the health Department Tico Ras. Samples taken from the panelling last week by inspectors that were sent to the Netherlands showed that they contained significant amounts of blue asbestos. After an extraordinary meeting, the Executive Council decided to inform the public in general about the incident to avoid remours and panic.
The CDM personnel were also informed via the media because it was impossible to gather all the workers Friday evening to personally give them the information.
The Freewinds is the floating Church of Scientology vessel used for administering the highest levels of the OT training. The Freewinds was also the staging area for the HUGE birthday party thrown by RTC President David Miscavige for actor Tom Cruise’s 40th birthday. That party was said to cost the CoS $300,000. Let’s hope some of the money donated by these celebs goes into cleaning up the hazardous levels of asbestos on the ship before someone develops a life-threatening disease.
We will keep you posted on this story. Major hattips to Anonymous at Enturbulation.org.
This whole Rob Lowe Nannygate crap is wearing thin. Gloria Allred has been brought in to the case to add what? A lack of credibility? The potential for high B.S. detection? To add the scent of mothballs? Seriously, aren’t there any fresh and young lawyers available to extort money from celebs?
Jessica Gibson, the ex-employee who brought a counter-suit against actor Rob Lowe and his wife Sheryl, is about as credible as OJ Simpson’s alibi. Gibson worked with the family on and off for seven years, going back to work for them several times while having jobs elsewhere. Her excuses for going back, despite accusations of sexual harassment and abuse were “love for the children,” “the hope things would get better,” “she needed the money.” Especially that last one.
I have no particular fondness for Rob Lowe. He’s some middle-aged actor who’s no stranger to scandal, but seems to have tried to make a second go at a career in Hollywood, and that’s not always easy.
In cases like this, it can go either way from my point of view. I am just as inclined to believe the accuser as I am the accused, but something about Jessica’s story smells funny.
If she were *really* sexually abused and harassed by Lowe as she claims, why on earth would she go back to such a horrific situation? Surely they are better jobs (and she seemed to have many) out there so as to not be forced to endure abuse. Second, Rob Lowe posted two very complimentary and apologetic emails from Jessica sent AFTER she quit working for them.
Thirdly, she just has something “off” about her. People has posted a photo shoot they did with her. Seriously, a photo shoot? WTF? Also, it turns out Jessica’s sister (half-sister) worked for the Lowes first and helped her get the job. From People Magazine:
Jessica, who is suing Lowe for sexual harassment, was introduced to the actor by Jamie, who had worked for Lowe and his wife Sheryl as a nanny in 2000 for about a year, then later became their assistant.
Jamie left to get married but wanted to stop working for the couple anyway, Jim Gibson says.
“She was happy to get out of there. She couldn’t take it anymore. Nothing really bad happened like it did with Jessie, but Jamie was overworked and couldn’t stand it,” he says.
He adds that although Jessica and Jamie have different mothers, “They don’t consider each other half-sisters but full, true sisters – one family. She is concerned for Jessica and is supporting her now and tries not to dwell on the past. We’ve all pulled together as a family to help Jessie.”
Lowe has denied the allegations and accuses Jessica of being behind an extortion plot.
Something about this story is rotten and my instincts scream, “this woman is a LIAR.” Again, what’s with the photo shoot? Is she a supermodel also? Ugh, Hollywood’s full of attention-whores.
Not that Rob Lowe’s some angel.
Back in 1988, Rob was caught in a scandal at the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta for videotaping sex acts with two girls he met at a bar. One girl lied about her age and in reality was only 16. Not exactly Tom Hanks this Rob Lowe fellow.
This, however, does not give the world-at-large carte blanche to take advantage of him for something that happened 20 years ago. Gloria has to know her case is shaky at best. Perhaps her hope is by linking her name to the case, it will give the perception of validity. So far it just makes it that much more suspicious.
Just saw this on Operation Clambake from Andreas himself about 20-year-old student Kaja Ballo’s death:
The media coverage on this in Norway has been unprecedented for any event ever related to CoS. I was on the phone or in studio all day yesterday to help explain what has happened. Had to fly to Oslo to attend several live TV debates. I seriously doubt there is one person left in Norway who has not learned about this tragedy by now.
I can’t list them all, but some of the press coverage and a few pictures are linked here:
This is very high profile and the media is working overtime to cover this! The direct connection to the Church of Scientology is unusually clear and her father is a very high profiled and influential politician in Norway. He has been in the Norwegian Parliament since 1997, he studied medicine at University of Würzburg, and has been a doctor. He is a member of the Standing Committee on Justice (!) and the Vice President of the Odelsting (the “lower house” in the Parliament).The Norwegian Minister of Finance and many others attended Kaja’s funeral. At the service the priest made a clear and special effort to link her death to the Church of Scientology.
The family has asked that this tragic story is debated publicly and friends of Kaja have been told they should become critics of the Church of Scientology. This is not going away. The close family has said they trust the French police and are awaiting the result of their investigation.
I hope the May 10 picket in Oslo will be an event respectful of her memory and something Norwegians will remember a long time.
I’ll try to keep you updated.
Contrary to earlier assumptions Kaja’s family has encouraged on-going debate about her tragic death. Norway has a history of being open and accepting of all faiths, for this progressive Scandinavian country which lives in relative peace and equanimity to blatantly point the finger at a “religious” organization is as Andreas points out “unprecedented.” As Glosslip has been warning for months, the United States better get with the program or it will be left looking the fool for allowing a dangerous organization to not just operate within its borders, but FLOURISH, all under the protective watch of our First Amendment. I won’t even mention the unfair tax break only Scientology gets. Oh wait, I just did.
In a stunning interview in the Village Voice, actor Jason Beghe unleashed his pent up hostility and spoke candidly about his disappointment and emotional baggage at the hands of the Church of Scientology.
Yesterday, Jason made news around the world for being the first celebrity Scientologist to speak out against the Church of Scientology, an institution so many powerful people in Hollywood call home.
The video and clearly the Village Voice interview were in the works for a while now, and major kudos to Andreas Heldal-Lund of Operation Clambake (Xenu.net) and Mark Bunker of (xenutv.com) for helping Jason tell his story. The short clip posted on YouTube was just a brief taste of what’s to come and according to Jason, the three hours he spent with Mark and Andreas (who flew in from Norway for the interview) “barely scratched the surface” of his ordeal with the sinister organization.
Jason tells the Village Voice that unlike so many celebrity Scientologists, he was the real deal, truly engaged in the process of “moving up the bridge” and felt a tremendous sense of commitment and enthusiasm for his new found religion. Jason was considered a “poster boy” by Scientology leader David Miscavige, and according to Beghe he, like so many celebs, was given special treatment:
Over the next year, Beghe says he rocketed through Scientology’s expensive levels like no one else. Along the way, he got plenty of special treatment. “Celebrity Centre. My own private sauna. Everybody kissing my ass, which I was uncomfortable with. But nice people. Couldn’t be nicer,” he says.
His move to clear was so rapid, Beghe was told that diminutive Scientology leader David Miscavige considered him a “poster boy” for the religion.
“I was Miscavige’s favorite boy, so they were doing all kinds of things to keep me happy,” he says. “I moved up the Bridge faster than anyone in history. I went at it 24/7 for about a year. I went clear. Got to OT V. I was a trained auditor.” (OT stands for “operating thetan,” and the highest level in the church is said to be OT VIII.)
“I’m farther up the Bridge than Travolta, and he’s been in there a thousand years. He’s not a trained auditor.” To Beghe, some of the celebrities “seemed like dilettantes,” enjoying the perks but not really working hard at being Scientologists.
“I was on a spiritual journey. I wasn’t trying to make money, or influence people. I just wanted to try it.”
Jason says that instead of making money, he was spending it on expensive auditing classes, and estimates he spent close to $1 million dollars during his 12 years in the organization. He also cautioned the public and unwitting celebs alike about the CoS:
Other celebrities, he points out, go through similar periods of no longer auditing or moving up the Bridge, but are still considered members. Bringing Cruise back into a more active role, Beghe says, was a major Miscavige project.
“He was out for like ten years. There are people who just aren’t doing anything Some are out but don’t talk about it. Why? The church is scary. These are bad motherfuckers.”
And for a group of people who are consumed with protecting their image, the Church of Scientology is the LAST place a celebrity should consider joining:
“Not one auditing session—which are supposed to be private—is not recorded on film,” he says, and claims that secret cameras are used at every session at the Celebrity Centre in Los Angeles, recording sessions that for Scientologists are supposed to be something like confessionals in the Catholic church.
“Will Smith is supposedly dabbling in Scientology. Let Will Smith know that his shit was fucking recorded. And tell him to look them in the eye and see if he believes it when they deny it.”
This article, like the video, was just a taste of what we can expect in the future. Jason is the first celeb to speak out against the Church, but mark my words, he won’t be the last. Like a house of cards, Scientology will begin to fall, one card at a time with celebrities and regular Scientologists alike breaking free from their bondage of this “religion”. A religion mind you that videotapes your deepest secrets and promises to forget your sins if you bring in more recruits and pay more money. If that isn’t the most perverse attempt to prey on the human spirit, I don’t know what is.
Jason you are a brave soul, and you just may be the catalyst for what ends up saving lives from the destructive practices of the CoS.
There’s not a lot of detail on this yet, as it’s in Norwegian, and since I am only Norwegian through marriage, I can’t translate. Andreas, publisher of Operation Clambake (huge CoS critic site) posted this story up on their message boards. Here’s the newsreport from an Norwegian outlet, in Norwegian. Someone on the OCBM tried to translate, so here’s what we have so far:
Verdens Gang:
A little over two weeks ago Kaja Bordevich Ballo (20) committed suicide - a few hours after she’d recieved a devastating result on a personality test administrated by the Church of Scientology.
The police in the southern French town of Nice - where Kaja studied at the university of Nice Sophia Antipolis - are investigating the controversial church’s connection to the event.
Kajas father is the noted politician Olav Gunnar Ballo (SV), a member of parliament for years, vice president of Odelstinget and fearless healthcare spokesperson for his party. Maried to Ballo and mother of Kaja is Heidi Sørensen (SV). Sørensen has previously been the leader of Naturvernforbundet and a member of parliament, she is now a undersecretary of state at Miljøverndepartementet.
The news VG publishes today, are printed after agreement with Ballo himself, and the rest of Kaja’s family.
- The information about the Scientology test has been made public through the priest’s speech at the memorial service. I can confirm that. Due to the recency of her death, I don’t wish to elaborate on or comment on other matters now, Olav Gunnar Ballo told VG.
Kaja died on March 28, and was buried at Grefsen church last friday. A large group of friends followed her to the grave. Many were also in support during a memorial held in the Stortinget the same afternoon.
Personality test
According to information VG has received, the connection to the Scientologists was made after the family found a completed personality test and the Church of Scientology’s analysis of what they contend is her personality, in Kaja’s 17 sqm student room after her death.
The test had been timestamped and dated: It had been taken the same day as her death. The Church of Scientology have their premises only a few meters from the student home where Kaja lived.
Henrik Møinichen (19), a fellow student of Kaja, tells VG that he walked with Kaja to the university and class at nine o’clock on friday the 28 of March.
- In my opinion she was as usual. She participated in class as usual, talked and was happy, Møinichen told VG.
After the class in French for foreigners was over at 11 o’clock, Henrik left for the Nice airport to meet his father. Henrik lives in the neigboring room to Kaja. The last he heard of her, was that she was walking around her room at three-four o’clock in the afternoon. He was out of his room the rest of the day with his father.
As far as VG has been able to discern no friends or acquaintances had been in contact with the 20-year-old between the timestamp of the test, and the time at which she was found dead.
Vulnerable spot
- The test was found at her place by the family. After she was finished at school I’ve heard she went to buy clothes for someone. This is how she supposedly came in contact with the Church of Scientology, Møinichen says.
From what VG has been told Kaja received an extremely bad result on the test.
- I have a feeling that something must have happened suddenly, that they hit a vulnerable spot. Personally I believe that Kaja had been alive today if she hadn’t been in contact with the scientologists. I had the impression that she enjoyed Nice. She often spoke of the the future and her plans at the university, said Møinichen.
When will they ever learn? You just can’t mess with the interbutts. First it was YouTube, who cowered in fear, when it suppressed free speech and fair use by pulling the leaked Tom Cruise Video, then it was Ebay allowing the Church of Scientology to yank post-consumer e-meters off its website, now it’s Amazon pulling negative reviews of Dianetics.
These are enormous, multi-million dollar companies acquiescing to a so-called religion, which has the structure of a pyramid scheme with a rich history of illegal and collusive activities to defraud and manipulate its members and the public at large.
The perceived threat which has caused Ebay, YouTube, Amazon and even social network sites like Digg to cow-tow to the CoS is litigious. The Church of Scientology has a history of socking individuals and corporations alike with spurious lawsuits which they either don’t intend to pursue, have no hope of winning and use simply to frighten people into doing what they want.
On February 21, someone posted on Reddit that Amazon had deleted (virtually) all negative reviews of the book again. Mine was included again. This time I was sincerely surprised and disappointed, because I think my review was completely legitimate and I restricted my comments to the substance of the book itself, rather than any attack on the author or speculation on how this was an elaborate ruse to become rich. So, I wrote them again.
A review I recently wrote of Dianetics and it was deleted. I was told this was because I discussed authors and their intentions in the review. I re-wrote it focusing exclusively on the content of the book and the style of writing and this review has been deleted as well, even though over 150 users and 99% found it useful. Please explain to me why this review was deleted.
Response (paraphrased):
I’ve checked both the reviews for “Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health” and see that they doesn’t follow our guidelines.
Your latest review of “Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health” was removed because your comments in large part focused on your personal opinions of the subject matter, rather than reviewing this item.
We provide our customer reviews section for you to comment on the merits of the item and its style. We ask that you not use it as a place for a discussion of the subject matter…What I can suggest is that you resubmit your review, restricting your comments to critically analyzing the content of the item.
Is this not the United States? Are we not living in the land which birthed modern democracy, where the will of the people decide the outcome? The will of the people is clear. The hierarchal head of Scientology’s sole purpose is to control its members thoughts, words and deeds, manipulate its image and extract as much money out of those individuals too emotionally weak or vulnerable to see past its false guises.
If this were Microsoft, Exxon, Google, Enron or any other powerful entity, would we allow a systematic aversion of the truth and fairness to continue unchecked simply because of a “perceived” threat? And have we forgotten the most apparent element in all this? THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A RELIGION FOR GOD’S SAKE. Religions by their nature shouldn’t frighten people into silence regardless of their actions. Therefore I conclude this ISN’T A RELIGION. I think we know what the CoS is, and with history as our teacher, we will be ashamed we allowed this shadow of darkness and depravity to lurk in the corners of our society for too long.
Since when are religions allowed to run rough-shod over our legal system?
Enough is enough, wake up mainstream media, wake up federal government, WAKE UP CLEARWATER AND HOLLYWOOD, you are being taken over by people who believe in aliens and want to “clear the planet” of non-Scientologists and obliterate psychiatry. Now that should frighten you.
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