Scientology News: Federal Crime Charges against Anonymous

On Wednesday, October 28, 2009, a federal Grand Jury in Los Angeles indicted Brian Thomas Mettenbrink, a member of the cyber hate group Anonymous, for his part in the January 2008 attempted destruction of Scientology websites owned by the Church of Scientology.

Mettenbrink, 20, is charged with conspiracy and “transmission of a code, information, program, or command to a protected computer.” The indictment states that he obtained a computer program from an Anonymous website and executed a “DDOS” attack from his dormitory at Iowa State University against Church computers in Los Angeles. A DDOS (distributed denial of service) attack occurs where a large amount of malicious Internet traffic is directed at a website or a set of websites, with the intent to overwhelm and shut down the websites.

Mettenbrink is the second member of Anonymous to face criminal charges relating to this attack. In May 2009, Dmitriy Guzner, then 18, pleaded guilty to computer hacking charges for his role in the attack on Church computers. He is currently awaiting sentencing.

Scientology is a worldwide religious movement with more than 8,000 Churches, Missions and groups in 165 countries. The Church and its members dedicate their time and resources to numerous humanitarian programs that Scientology has become known for around the world, including combating drug abuse, immorality, illiteracy and human rights violations.

For more information about Scientology, visit Scientology.org.

Scientology Tax Exemption Letter

Scouts and Scientology Volunteer Ministers Partner to Help the People of the Amazon

Part I: The Partnership is Forged

Scientology Volunteer Ministers and Cuauhtémoc scout leaders team up to bring help to the indigenous people of the Amazon.

As the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Amazon Goodwill Tour pulls up stakes and prepares to head farther downstream, the volunteers look back on the past five months. This is the first in a series of articles that tells their story.

In April 2009, Mexico City, Scientology volunteers were preparing for a Goodwill Tour to help indigenous people of the Amazon improve their lives through simple technology developed by L. Ron Hubbard.

The leader of Troop 333 of the Cuauhtémoc Scouts heard about the Amazon Tour. The skill and compassion of the Volunteer Ministers confirmed his impression of Mr. Hubbard, creator of the program, whom he first encountered through the pages of Dianetics in 1975.

The troop leader devised a plan to combine forces—Scouting and Volunteer Ministers—as he saw in the Volunteer Ministers program a technology to better enable the scouts to fulfill their oath: “to help other people at all times.”

His idea was to invite a team of his most trusted scouts to join the Goodwill Tour, learn the technology and gain practical experience in using it under the guidance of experienced Volunteer Ministers.

As the Scouts loved the idea, the Scout leader proposed it to the Scientology Goodwill Tour and selected three candidates from among his best group leaders to form this unique partnership.

Nasxihly, 22, a nurse and Scouting group leader of children ages 6 to 10, brought enthusiasm and compassion to the Volunteer Ministers team, and her nursing skill was invaluable in areas where illness is rampant and hygiene often lacking.

Ivan, 23, a marketing student and Scouting group leader of youth ages 11 to 15, contributed his professional talents to reach out to people through TV and radio interviews.

Manuel, 20, a university student and Scouting group leader of teens and young adults ages 18 to 22, took care of the many details in moving the tour from place to place and documented the Tour’s work through photos and video.

The three new Goodwill Tour members learned the skills that make the Scientology Volunteer Ministers so effective, through courses based on the Scientology Handbook.

In a moving ceremony on April 30, 2009, the Cuauhtémoc Scout Leader presented the entire team with the flags of Mexico and Scouting. The Scouts and the Scientology Volunteer Ministers joined hands as the leader called on them to “work very hard and achieve the purpose of bettering the lives of the people of the Amazon.” Expecting the best from them all, he said, “This is a great responsibility and we know that you will do excellent work.”

With that, the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Amazon Goodwill Tour left for Iquitos, Peru, the largest city in the Peruvian rainforest, and the gateway to the Amazon.

As their story continues in part two of this series, the skills and teamwork of the team are put to the test, as they arrive in Iquitos just as the Amazon River reaches the highest level ever recorded, prompting Peru’s President Garcia to declare a 60-day state of emergency.

For more information on the Scientology Volunteer Ministers visit www.volunteerministers.org.

Scouts and Scientology Volunteer Ministers Partner to Help the People of the Amazon

Part I: The Partnership is Forged

Scientology Volunteer Ministers and Cuauhtémoc scout leaders team up to bring help to the indigenous people of the Amazon.

As the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Amazon Goodwill Tour pulls up stakes and prepares to head farther downstream, the volunteers look back on the past five months. This is the first in a series of articles that tells their story.

In April 2009, Mexico City, Scientology volunteers were preparing for a Goodwill Tour to help indigenous people of the Amazon improve their lives through simple technology developed by L. Ron Hubbard.

The leader of Troop 333 of the Cuauhtémoc Scouts heard about the Amazon Tour. The skill and compassion of the Volunteer Ministers confirmed his impression of Mr. Hubbard, creator of the program, whom he first encountered through the pages of Dianetics in 1975.

The troop leader devised a plan to combine forces—Scouting and Volunteer Ministers—as he saw in the Volunteer Ministers program a technology to better enable the scouts to fulfill their oath: “to help other people at all times.”

His idea was to invite a team of his most trusted scouts to join the Goodwill Tour, learn the technology and gain practical experience in using it under the guidance of experienced Volunteer Ministers.

As the Scouts loved the idea, the Scout leader proposed it to the Scientology Goodwill Tour and selected three candidates from among his best group leaders to form this unique partnership.

Nasxihly, 22, a nurse and Scouting group leader of children ages 6 to 10, brought enthusiasm and compassion to the Volunteer Ministers team, and her nursing skill was invaluable in areas where illness is rampant and hygiene often lacking.

Ivan, 23, a marketing student and Scouting group leader of youth ages 11 to 15, contributed his professional talents to reach out to people through TV and radio interviews.

Manuel, 20, a university student and Scouting group leader of teens and young adults ages 18 to 22, took care of the many details in moving the tour from place to place and documented the Tour’s work through photos and video.

The three new Goodwill Tour members learned the skills that make the Scientology Volunteer Ministers so effective, through courses based on the Scientology Handbook.

In a moving ceremony on April 30, 2009, the Cuauhtémoc Scout Leader presented the entire team with the flags of Mexico and Scouting. The Scouts and the Scientology Volunteer Ministers joined hands as the leader called on them to “work very hard and achieve the purpose of bettering the lives of the people of the Amazon.” Expecting the best from them all, he said, “This is a great responsibility and we know that you will do excellent work.”

With that, the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Amazon Goodwill Tour left for Iquitos, Peru, the largest city in the Peruvian rainforest, and the gateway to the Amazon.

As their story continues in part two of this series, the skills and teamwork of the team are put to the test, as they arrive in Iquitos just as the Amazon River reaches the highest level ever recorded, prompting Peru’s President Garcia to declare a 60-day state of emergency.

For more information on the Scientology Volunteer Ministers visit www.volunteerministers.org.

Scientology Program Promotes Personal Freedom for Pakistani Youth

Freedom from drugs is the theme with 50 youth sworn in as Drug-Free Marshals at the Pakistani Independence Day celebration in Brussels.

The Church of Scientology International European Public Affairs Office partnered with the Pakistan Businessmen Forum of Belgium and the Institute for Peace and Development to help 50 Pakistani youth commit to live drug-free lives at this week’s celebration of the 62nd anniversary of Pakistani independence held in the Belgian capital.

More than 600 members of the Belgian Pakistani community looked on while the young people were sworn in as Drug-Free Marshals, taking an oath in the Urdu language to live drug-free lives and help their friends and families do the same.

The Church of Scientology’s presentation of its anti-drug campaign to the Belgian Pakistani community, including three short video clips that raised awareness of the devastating effects of marijuana, alcohol, and heroin, could not have been more timely.  It addressed the very issue raised by last Tuesday’s announcement by Pakistan’s Ministry for Narcotics Control that there are an estimated 620,800 drug addicts in Pakistan, 77% of them heroin users.

In October 1947, just months after Pakistan gained its independence, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, first Governor-General of Pakistan, said, “My message to you all is of hope, courage and confidence. Let us mobilize all our resources in a systematic and organized way and tackle the grave issues that confront us with grim determination and discipline worthy of a great nation.”  Today, one of those issues is drug abuse and addiction.

“In today’s world, independence means more than political sovereignty,” said Marc Bromberg, managing director of the European Public Affairs Office of the Church of Scientology International.  “Freedom from drug abuse and addiction is a significant aspect of an independent life.”

For more information on the anti-drug programs of the Church of Scientology visit the Scientology web site

Meeting the Demand for Scientology Materials

New facilities can print 500,000 books and 925,000 compact discs a week

Since release of the Dianetics and Scientology Basic Books and Lectures in 2007, Scientologists have flooded into their churches in greater numbers than ever. Demand for the materials has grown exponentially and, as parishioners have progressed through those books and lectures, the numbers of new people coming in to find out about Scientology have likewise grown. Indeed, the Scientology religion is now enjoying its greatest expansion era in history, with public demand for L. Ron Hubbard books and lectures escalating across more than 200 nations, 150 cultures and in some 50 languages.

Meeting that demand required facilities to provide books and lectures in any language, any quantity, with adequate speed and economy—no matter if 500 copies of a title in Swahili for Uganda or 1 million in English. No conventional printing house would serve—not with a 2,500-lecture library times 50 languages. Time frames could never be met and printing costs for a relatively small number of books for new pioneer areas would prove entirely prohibitive.

A new publishing strategy was needed and, under the direction of Mr. David Miscavige, that strategy was developed and put in place in early 2007—even prior to release of The Basics.

Mr. Miscavige directed that all books and lecture CDs be produced inhouse, the entire line from inception to distribution: printing, foiling, embossing, laminating, CD replication, packaging and shipping. Housed in massive new headquarters, the Church’s publishing arms are now the world’s largest all-digital, print-on-demand facilities. Their precision operation is visited regularly by industry leaders as a model of innovation and efficiency.

Bridge Publications manufactures all Dianetics and Scientology books, lectures and course packs for the Americas, Asia and the rest of the world, except Europe and the United Kingdom which are under the purview of New Era Publications in Copenhagen, Denmark. In combination, Bridge and New Era can print 500,000 books and 925,000 compact discs a week. Annually, that amounts to 26 million books and 48 million CDs.

Add in paperbacks and course packs, and the printed pages placed end to end would extend to the moon and back.

With digital printing and print-on-demand, production has soared and keeps pace with the demand. Eighty million L. Ron Hubbard books and lectures have been distributed in the past five years alone, more than in the previous 50 years—and 60 million in just the past two years.

Moreover, with all Mr. Hubbard’s religious works now available to anyone the world over, what has ensued is no less than a renaissance for the Scientology religion. Read more in Freedom Magazine

Scientology Volunteer Ministers–A Global Force for Help

A third of a century since its creation by L. Ron Hubbard, the Scientology Volunteer Ministers program has indeed become a force for good

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers program was launched in 1976 with the following challenge by L. Ron Hubbard: “If one does not like the crime, cruelty, injustice and violence of this society, he can do something about it.  He can become a Volunteer Minister and help civilize it, bring it conscience and kindness and love and freedom from travail by instilling into it trust, decency, honesty and tolerance.”

In a third of a century since Mr. Hubbard created this program, the Scientology Volunteer Ministers have grown to an international force for help.

There has been remarkable growth of the program in the first decade of the 21st Century. Today there are 196,000 Scientology Volunteer Ministers worldwide, compared to 45,000 in 2005 and 6,000 in 2001.

Volunteer Ministers have helped over 1.4 million people in the last year, a 300 percent increase over the 2004 figure of 550,000 people. Volunteer Ministers have helped 10.8 million people since 9/11.

Over 750,000 people have visited the Volunteer Ministers Internet site in the last year alone, with 149,000 people starting free online Volunteer Minister Courses in the last seven months alone.

18 Continental Volunteer Ministers traveling centers have toured through 116 countries covering over 300,000 miles (more than 140,000 miles within the past year).

The 135 regional Volunteer Ministers traveling centers—the signature yellow tents attached to Churches of Scientology in major cultural centers—have toured throughout their cities or towns helping hundreds of thousands yearly.

Volunteer Ministers have been involved in disaster relief efforts in 126 major disaster sites—42 locations in the last year alone.

Volunteer Ministers have trained and partnered with more than 500 different organizations and agencies including the Red Cross, FEMA, National Guard, and local police and fire departments.

For more information, or to arrange a free seminar or enroll on an online course, visit the Scientology Volunteer Ministers web site.

Scientology Volunteer Ministers Training Assists Maharashtra Civil Defense Department

Scientology volunteers, who helped in the wake of the Mumbai terror attack, trained those who train the state’s Civil Defense force and Home Guard

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers India Goodwill Tour is working with the Maharashtra State Civil Defense and Home Guard to equip them with skills they need cope with disaster.

Mumbai is the capital of the State of Maharashtra.  With an estimated 13,500,000 people living there, it is the largest city in India by population and the 6th largest in the world.

Last November’s Mumbai terrorist attacks, with coordinated shooting and bombings throughout the city, brought to light the urgent need for increased disaster preparedness.

Among the first groups that rushed to the disaster site were members of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers India Goodwill Tour. They worked directly with the victims at Sir JJ Hospital.  They used Scientology Assists, procedures developed by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard that greatly increase the speed of healing by addressing the emotional and spiritual factors in illness and injuries.

The Scientology volunteers trained the families of the victims and nursing staff and once most of those who had been admitted to the hospital were discharged they reached out with their training to local colleges and Mumbai University to help people become more effective when a crisis occurs.

The Maharashtra State Civil Defense Training College heard what the Scientology volunteers were doing, and the effectiveness of their Disaster Relief Training and they were immediately interested. This is the facility that trains the Home Guard—civilians who serve as auxiliary to the police and help maintain internal security. By improving the skill of the Civil Defense Trainers, who train 15,000 civilians a year on civil defense techniques, they would be able to greatly increase the level of security for the state.  They arranged for the Scientology Volunteer Ministers to put all the Civil Defense Trainers through a rigorous training program.

The program was carried out by the Director of the Goodwill Tour and included training in the technology of study, communication, bringing order to confused situations and assist technology. At their graduation ceremony, many of the students stepped up to the podium to share their views of the program, and gave glowing reports about what they had gained from it.   These trainers are now using what they learned to raise the standard of training and skill of the Home Guard so they can better serve the people of Maharashtra.

For more information on the Goodwill Tours, visit the Scientology Volunteer Ministers web site or the Scientology site.

Scientology Course on the Human Mind Delivered in Romania

With interest high in Scientology and Dianetics a course called “The Anatomy of the Human Mind” met with great success in Timisoara, Romania.

The publication last fall of 9 Scientology and Dianetics books in Romanian has ignited tremendous interest in the subject of the human mind.  Add to that the presence in the country of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers European Goodwill Tour, and demand for Scientology and Dianetics courses was inevitable.

In answer to the many requests for more information, a course was presented called “The Anatomy of the Human Mind Course.” It was held in the city of Timisoara, Romania to a packed house and covered basic concepts of the Scientology religion.  The course was based on a series of lectures first delivered by Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard in December 1960 and January 1961.

The course contains a precise description of the mind, how the mind works, its components, and its relationship to the individual.  It addresses such things as improving memory, how past instances of pain and painful emotion affect one’s life in the present and how to eradicate these ill effects.

Copies of the original lectures by L. Ron Hubbard are available in English and 15 other languages through New Era Publications Incorporated in Europe and Bridge Publications for the Americas, Africa, Asia, Australia and Oceania.

Scientology Mission of Redwood, California Expresses its Love of Creativity

Church of Scientology Mission of Redwood City participated in the 71st annual Redwood City Independence Day Parade with a float depicting the human right, Freedom of Expression.

The Church of Scientology Mission of Redwood participated in this year’s Redwood City Independence Day Parade, carrying out the parade’s theme “all things musical” with a float representing the freedom of expression.

The Scientology float sported bright red musical notes and a scrolled-up piano keyboard.  For the entire one and a quarter miles, a team of energetic dancers performed alongside, while other young Scientologists played drums or danced aboard and waived at the thousands of onlookers lining the parade route.

More than 80 groups, clubs and churches participated in the 71st annual Redwood City parade, with bands, floats and equestrian performances.  The parade kicked off a daylong celebration that included a July 4th fun run, a pancake breakfast benefiting the Redwood City Firefighters Association and a battle of the bands.  The celebration culminated with a high aerial fireworks display launched over water from the Port of Redwood City.

The concept of the Scientology float comes from human right number 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  The Church of Scientology Mission of Redwood supports a human rights education group called Youth for Human Rights International, dedicated to providing easy-to-understand human rights education to adults and children so they are able to grasp what fundamental human rights are as aligned with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and to effectively combat violations of human rights.

For more information visit the Scientology site.