Body Thetans? Bridges costing $350K? None for me, thanks!

More down-stat news for Xenu-fearing folks. It seems Tom Cruise’s Church of Scientology has lost another one its wealthy “donors” as news of Australian media mogul James Packer stepping away from the money-making front group emerges on the internet.

James Packer, a close friend of Tom Cruise, was recruited into the organization during a vulnerable time in his life. Recently divorced from his first wife, humbled by some bad financial deals in his family’s multi-million dollar media company, Packer was ripe for the Cruise picking, but like any decent mogul, Packer and his money have seen the light. Details from a Sydney Morning Herald:

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Glosslip Radio is extremely excited to have ex-Scientologist Marc Headley back for a second interview.

Marc, who spend 15 years in the Church of Scientology’s Sea Organization is working on a major project which will intimately detail his experiences within the church and working closely with RTC president and Scientology leader David Miscavige.

The last interview we did with Marc has reached legendary status, having over 12000 people listen to the show. Tonight’s show will focus on the Scientology cruise ship, the Freewinds and the current scandal surrounding they cover-up attempts by the Church regarding a massive asbestos contamination on that ship. For coverage of this story, see Glosslip’s reports.

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A couple weeks ago I tried an experiment, it was a huge failure, and I am that much wiser for it. But not wanting to entirely ban the idea, I am opening Glosslip up for Saturday as a reader-generated content day in honor of the May 10 global protest from Anonymous. I know lots of people will be protesting, but some of us can’t, but we can still contribute in our own way.

It is open to anyone and can include photoshops, videos, poems, haikus, short stories or on-site news reports from in the field.

Essentially if it’s tasteful (not pornographic, hostile, violent or abusive) and could be considered a tolerant form of protesting, informing or sharing, we’d like to host it.

This Saturday will be the fourth global protest in a series of monthly protests staged and organized by the internet activist group called Anonymous.

From the beginning of this movement in January, I was intrigued and compelled to follow up on what has become an integral part of Glosslip. I spoke at a conference today on blogging and while I was there representing Blogcritics.org, many people seemed interested in the investigative and celebrity stories we do here on this site. Truly, the two subjects work well together simply because Scientology uses celebrities to provide a glamorous face to their corrupt organization and Hollywood is a tremendous component to our popular culture. We worship at the altar of Celebrities, and their causes (or fake religions) are part of mainstream America. Glosslip seeks to expose and confront false worship.

Like Anonymous, I have found myself drawn into a noble effort to expose the outrageous, cruel and pervasive abuses throughout Scientology. For too long, our apathy as a country has allowed this open sore on humanity to fester. Anonymous, like any activist movement before it, has created a cohesive and like-minded mass in which together these individuals are able to execute change in their world.

Understanding the corruption of Scientology is not easy. It is complicated, time-consuming and mind-boggling. Just when you think it can’t get any worse than brainwashing, illegal silencing of critics and perversion of our tax system, you discover forced abortions, labor law violations (including child labor), physical abuse of members and the mysterious deaths of those who’ve sought refuge in Scientology.

Every single day, EVERY DAY, I get emails from former members who are finally speaking out, or from those who’ve lost loved ones to the cult, or those who’ve lost years of their lives working towards what they thought was a noble effort to help mankind, only to find they’d been deeply misled and taken advantage of.

If you think the world’s problems are too big for one person to do anything about, then let Anonymous be your inspiration. Join the movement, save a life, stand up for a cause, stop the abuse. See Enturbulation.org for ways you can help show your fellow citizen you care.

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.

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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.

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RECONNECT: Road To April 12, 2008 from Pelvidar on Vimeo.

Pelvidar, the individual who created the above video does amazing work. This brought many tears to my eyes, not only because of the sadness which runs deep in those whose lives have been damaged by Scientology, but because I have watched this movement from the beginning.

There have been those in my life whom I respect and care about tell me this was not worth pursuing and I have lost my way and become obsessed. Perhaps they are right, but then again, as Mark Bunker says at the end of the video, when you see something is wrong, you should stand up and do something about it.

Should I have used Glosslip as a soapbox for exposing a group which forces families apart, physically abuses its members and flaunts its celebrity roster in an overt effort to recruit members? Maybe not. But it’s the only tool I have and as long as my family stands firmly behind me in my continued coverage of this story, that’s all the encouragement and affirmation I need.

How often in life do you have an opportunity to help save people’s lives simply by using pixelated words strung together in sentences? It’s the least I can do. I only wish I could do more.

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.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO SHOW

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The Globe Magazine is featuring a cover story by none other than NYT best-selling author and filmmaker “His Highness Ian Halperin,” about actress Nicole Kidman, her two teenage children Isabella and Connor, whom she adopted while married to actor Tom Cruise.

Perhaps this is why Halperin became mum on the subject of Nicole during my visit to NY to see his film premiere, “His Highness Hollywood.”

Andrew Morton, Ian and I were discussing their two books, comparing similarities on the subject of Scientology, when we brought up Nicole Kidman, Ian suddenly excused himself and disappeared. Apparently he was holding out on us. I clearly need to work on my super-sleuth skillz.

In any case, the Globe’s article reveals Ian met Nicole while working undercover and the two became close enough for her to confide in him her concerns about her ex’s involvement in Scientology and most especially, the decision for their two children to be raised as Scientologists, rather than as Catholics, which both Nicole and Tom were before joining Scientology.

Here’s some details from the Globe story:

*She would have left Cruise prior to their 2001 split, but was afraid of what the Church might reveal during “intimate auditing sessions.”
*Cruise demands all his significant others devote themselves completely to Scientology
*She wants Isabella and Connor to explore other faiths.

Ian was quoted as saying this about Tom and Nicole’s differing thoughts about the kids and Scientology:

“Nicole wants her kids freed from Scientology. She definitely wants them out of the church. She had a lot of problems about bringing them up as Scientologists, but Tom insisted on it. That was a big issue in their split.”

Ian also suggests Nicole, who is expecting a child with her husband country star Keith Urban, is planning to move to Los Angeles to be closer to her two older children and mainly as an effort to help extract them from the secretive, insular church.

“She was tired of Tinseltown and wanted to raise the kids in a farm-like setting, but Cruise was attached to Scientology and to L.A.” Ian said Nicole and Keith’s current plans to relocate to LA are part of an overall effort to “be closer to her kids.”

According to Ian, Nicole also expressed concern for Tom’s increased visibility and power within the Church of Scientology, where essentially officials in the Church have stated Tom is just a regular parishioner with no more control or importance than any other member. Andrew Morton’s book claims differently, and asserted Tom was in fact, the Number 2 guy behind CoS president David Miscavige.

“Nicole is concerned with how powerful Tom has become in the church. This guy has no religious background, or accreditation to lead a religious institution, but they rely a lot on what he says. He’s the de facto head of the church - that’s what Nicole said. The Church’s primary goal is to make as much money as possible and take over the world.”

Nicole’s fight for Isabella and Connor won’t be easy, Scientology does not take kindly to outsiders interfering in the family affairs of members of the Church, especially someone as important as Tom Cruise. If Nicole pushes too hard, she may find herself declared a Suppressive Person, or SP, in which case both Isabella and Connor will be forced, as Scientologists, to serve her with a disconnection letter and Nicole may find herself completely cut off from her two children.

In our continued coverage of the astounding interview we did with ex-Scientologist and Sea Org member Marc Headley, he revealed David Miscavige, RTC President and head of the Church, was directly involved in the cover-up of Lisa McPherson’s death. Lisa, a young and pretty Scientologist whose death in 1995 rocked the Church of Scientology, has since become the poster child for the alleged abuses leveled at the Church.

The story of Lisa’s death is incredibly tragic. Not simply because we see the face of vibrant, beautiful young woman cut down it the prime of her life, but because for all intents and purposes, her death was completely preventable. Here’s a very brief summary in the interest of time, but I encourage anyone interested to do more research about the events surrounding Lisa’s death:

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