Scientology Movie Battlefield Earth gets Suckiest Movie Ever Award

How do you make the suckiest movie in the world? Why, by mixing committees and religion, of course! Take the screenwriter's masterpiece, let a bunch of religious executives chop out key scenes, add irrelevant subplots, change characters and design stupid sets.

That makes a bad movie. But to really make it the worst movie of the decade, use Scientologists, who are gullible and irrational to begin with, then throw in John Travolta, their famous mouthpiece (and a good actor), and let him suck in the big Hollywood money so that you can REALLY screw up.

This year the Razzi for the "Worst Movie of the Decade" went to J.D. Shapiro, author of Battlefield Earth, the mega-blockbuster based on the novel by Scientology founder L Ron Hubbard. Not one to duck, Shapiro accepted the award in person, and his speech is a real hoot.

Scientology: A Business, not a Religion

What do Bart Simpson, Tom Cruise, Lisa Marie Presley, and John Travolta have in common? All of them belong to a religion that seems designed to steal people's money and break up families. Ok, in the case of Bart Simpson, it's actually Nancy Cartwright, the actress who is Bart's voice.

A new controversial documentary from Germany, Bis Nichts Mehr Bleibt (Until Nothing Remains) illustrates that Scientology is nothing more than a business, whose product is a bunch of pseudo-scientific hocus pocus, and the price is misfortune, unhappiness, and sometime the loss of your entire family.

It's a typical Scientology story:

Catholics and Scientologists: Two of a Kind

There is a feature article about Scientology in the New York Times, which on the face of it says a lot about the decline of Scientology. The terror they once inspired in reporters has waned, they're hardly more than a paper tiger now.

But the article reminded me of something cool: Catholics and Scientologists have a lot in common. This statement will horrify most good Catholics, who look on Scientology as nothing more that quackery and fraud dressed up dressed up in voodoo pseudo-science religion. (I suppose Scientologists would be horrified to learn that they're really just the new Roman Catholic Church, too.)

What is it that binds these two? They believe that they can tell God what to do, and he'll actually do it. They teach that a priest here on Earth can excommunicate someone, and God will honor it. They actually believe that some guy down here on Earth has control of your fate, that if some church guy declares you a persona non grata, you're banned from Heaven forever, denied eternal life, to either die or go to Hell.

The sheer arrogance of it is stunning. It's an insult to the concept of God.

Scientology is a Criminal Organization: Australian MP

Another courageous politician has come out and frankly called Scientology a criminal organization. Senator Xenophon, a Member of Parliment in Australia, yesterday said the Church of Scientology hides behind its "religious beliefs," and implied that their beliefs are fake anyway.

"Do you want Australian tax exemptions to be supporting an organisation that coerces its followers into having abortions? Do you want to be supporting an organisation that defrauds, that blackmails, that falsely imprisons?"

Mr. Xenophone went on to say he'd received "extensive" allegations of criminal activity from his constituents, some of which were truly shocking.

There are many things that churches do that I don't like (and many things that I heartily approve of), but Scientology stands out from all other religions: It appears to me to be dishonest to the core. I also believe it was created purely for economic gain, that its founders and current leadership don't believe any of their own drivel that they call religion, but push it on innocents who are looking for answers to life's difficult questions and are easily victimized.

Its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, was a weirdo, intelligent and yet unbalanced. Have you ever watched this video, made in 1968 on his ship? He made the mistake of granting an interview, which has turned into one of the biggest publicity nightmares scientiologists ever faced. Just watch this video and you'll have no more doubts about the origins of scientology.

Scientology Conviction: Why Not Here in the USA Too?

Finally, Scientology is convicted in France for its crimes: The courts say it's just a good old con game. The French courts saw through their religion ruse. According to the French court's verdict, they're guilty of organized fraud, and the court fined the church $600,000 for its criminal activities. For the first time, the church itself (in addition to a number of individuals) has been convicted of a crime.

This was only possible in France because Scientology couldn't hide behind the special protection that religion gets in the United States. Here, the church can claim all sorts of immunity from discovery, and when prosecutors do go after the Scientologists, they scream persecution. But in France, Scientology is classified as a cult, not a religion.

This conviction leads me to wonder: Why should churches get any special consideration under United States law? If the Constitution says Congress shall make "no law" about religion, doesn't that mean churches have to be treated just like any other nonprofit organization?

Let's say that some other non-profit like Greenpeace, or maybe Mother's Against Drunk Driving, were tricking their members into turning over thousands of dollars to participate in purification rituals and to buy vitamins that can be bought over the counter for a few dollars. Wouldn't we expect the government to press charges? Why is it that by claiming to be a religion, the criminal nature of such fraudulent activities evaporates?

If religion is to be truly free of government interference, then they should be subject to the exact same laws as any other organization. Their books should be subject to auditing, their communications should be subject to discovery during legal proceedings, and their leaders should be accountable in the eyes of the law.

After all, if the services they offer are legitimate, they shouldn't be afraid of scrutiny. Only hucksters need to hide.

The Science of Luck - Really!

When I saw the headline, "Be Lucky – It's an Easy Skill to Learn," I thought, "Oh boy, here's another unscientific bit that might be fun to deconstruct!" Imagine my surprise and pleasure to instead find that this article about good luck was actually scientific, well researched, and fun to read!

Prof Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertfordshire (UK), according to his own web page, "has gained an international reputation for research into quirky areas of psychology, including deception, humour, luck and the paranormal." He has a REALLY cool blog with some great illusions and puzzles.

Many people, perhaps most, think their luck is a metaphysical phenomenon, controlled by beneficent or malevolent forces of good and evil, or maybe god, fairies, devils, what have you. When bad things happen, they are victims; when good things happen, they don't take credit.

Wiseman took the approach of a true man of science. He studied it, and discovered that the people themselves caused their own fortune and misfortune. After interviewing hundreds of self-described lucky and unlucky people, he discovered the underlying reasons:

• Lucky people were able to spot opportunities quickly and take them. Unlucky people overlooked opportunities, even obvious ones.
• Lucky people were optimistic and relaxed, unlucky people were anxious and worried.
• Lucky people listen to their intuition, unlucky people do not.
• Lucky people had positive expectations, unlucky people expect the worst.

If that were the end of it, you might imagine that unlucky people were pessimistic and shunned their intuition because bad luck had taught them bitter lessons. But Professor Wiseman went a step further: he offered lessons in how to improve luck, and it worked!

This is real science, and it's refreshing. All too often in this blog, I find myself criticizing yet another silly quasi-religious pseudo-scientific theory, whether it is homeopathy, scientology, or faith healing. It's too bad there aren't more men and women like Professor Wiseman, showing world that our fates are really in our own hands, not some mythical, mystical world of demons, fairies and gods. Life is much better when we live in the real world.

Scientology finally prosecuted in France

At last some good news about the "church" called Scientology: They're being put on trial for criminal fraud in France.

I've written about Scientology before, especially their crazy, misinformed attitudes about psychiatry. Anybody who can form a rational opinion can easily deduce that Scientology is nothing but a money-making corporation, and their business is taking money off gullible people under the guise of religion.

Well, the French government finally had the courage to call a spade a spade: Several Scientologists stand accused of organized fraud, and ironically (given their strident claims that psychiatrists over-prescribe medication) they're also accused of illegally prescribing medicine. France doesn't categorize Scientology as a religion, so they have no special protection.

Yet, this makes me wonder: Why should any church enjoy special protection anywhere? Why is it that by claiming to be a church in the United States, a business can enjoy a tax-free status, special insulation against lawsuits, and immunity from all sorts of criminal charges?

Scientology and Atheism Unite!

Ok, I admit it — this April Fools joke fooled me for a few minutes! But it's a good one:

Scientology and Atheism Unite, 'sexy' worldwide demonstrations scheduled

It's very well done, and only when I blogged to learn more did I discover that the organization's leader doesn't seem to exist.

It was only when I realized that April 1st has already come in Australia, even though it's not here yet in California, that the light went on. Well done!

Scientology Causes Schizophrenic Teen's Death

As someone who deals with mental illness in my home daily, this article infuriated me. According to the story, a Scientologist father convinced his schizophrenic son to stop taking his medications, AND he placed a loaded gun on the teenage boy's nightstand. Not surprisingly, with the sudden withdrawal the anti-depressants, the young man's voices began tormenting him again, and the boy killed himself.

Anyone who lives with a person afflicted with schizophrenia knows what a terrible affliction it is. The victims are often terrorized by voices, running 24/7, that are so realistic, so convincing, that they lose track of reality. They believe these are real people. And these voices are not nice – often they're yelling, saying horrible, insulting, or degrading things to the patient. All day long.

Schizophrenia is not something that these patients make up. They don't just feel a little bit off, or unhappy. They can be completely incapacitated by fear from the unrelenting voices that yell at them, curse them, or just whisper awful things to them, day after day, year after year.

Getting back to Scientology, they are flat out WRONG about the causes of schizophrenia. It is not a matter of poor diet, or "allergies," or of psychiatrists getting patients addicted to drugs they don't need. Schizophrenia is a terrible disease. Nobody knows the cause. Nobody knows the cure.

Scientologists, in my opinion, are acting immorally and irresponsibly when they, with no scientific or medical training, diagnose illnesses, contradict the best scientific and medical advice available, and convince a patient to stop following the doctor's prescribed treatment plan.

Only a religious group could get away with such immoral and outrageous behavior.

Modern medicine doesn't have all the answers, but in this case, I can say from first-hand personal experience, as well as a thirty-year career working with some of the finest medical researchers in the world, that Scientology is wrong. And in the case of this teen who shot himself, they're dead wrong.

As far as I can tell, Scientology has always been, and continues to be, a destructive religion. It was a complete fraud, perpetrated by founder Hubbard, from day one, and it's disgraceful that so many have fallen into its grip. I hope those responsible, directly and indirectly, for this young man's death will be punished. Unfortunately, the reality is that they'll probably get a "Get out of Jail Free" card, because their quackery was done in the name of religion. They can make any wild-ass claims they like, and the government can't stop them. Even if someone dies.

I can understand many things, but Scientology's stance on psychiatry and mental illness is beyond belief, beyond rationality. It's just cruel.

Tags: scientology schizophrenia medicine religion morals atheism

Scientologists: Psychiatrists caused 9/11 attacks!

I've heard some whacked stuff from Scientology, but this one takes the cake. The Scientologists have a weird hatred of psychiatry that goes beyond the normal anti-science you often find with fringe religions. But now it's over the top: Scientology claims that psychiatrists caused the 9/11 attacks! According to this video (which I don't recommend, it's a half hour of ranting and babble):

It was [doctor] al-Zawahiri, trained in Cairo, who convinced bin Laden to establish al Qaeda. ... [During an interview], al-Zawahiri claimed credit for the attacks [while] bin Laden sits beside the doctor, muttering to himself while caressing his beard. The exact methods utilized by al-Zawahiri to influence bin Laden are as yet unknown. But more than one source has reported that the doctor, is also a psychiatrist. ... bin Laden has been been know to take psychiatric drugs, or anti-anxiety pills. ... Freedom [Magazine] found the influence of psychiatrists, psychologists, and their methods in terrorist groups to be strong and pervasive.

The video goes on and on, digging deeper into their pile of imagined plots and conspiracies and other manure.

Techniques of drug-induced mind control were already being tested by North American Psychiatrists fifty years ago... [in] experiments conducted under the aegis of the U.S. Intelligence Agencies. One aspect of such experiments was to find the exact combination of drugs, hypnosis, and other forms of psychiatric and psychological methods, to produce individuals who could be programmed to commit acts of violence, including assassination.

By the end, they've condemned them all: The entire psychiatric profession seems to be to blame for all terrorism worldwide. If you believed this drivel, you'd be convinced that getting rid of terrorism would require nothing more than rounding up all of the psychiatrists and psychologists. Wars would stop, terrorists would recover from their drug-induced stupor and go back to being normal, productive citizens. They even drag Hitler and the Holocaust into the act, claiming that psychiatrists were behind the Nazi regime and the atrocities of WWII.

It would be funny if it weren't for the collateral damage the Scientologists' cause. Their anti-psychiatry conspiracy theories have prevented more than one person from getting adequate help, including some recent high-profile cases.

Tags: al-qaeda psychiatry scientology terrorism religion atheism