Scientology Files Criminal Complaint Against Aaron Smith-Levin
Aaron Smith-Levin discuss recent fair game tactics Scientology had taken against me, the Aftermath Foundation and the "Scientology & the Aftermath" show.
Aaron Smith-Levin
Twitter: @GrowingUpInSCN
Instagram: asmithlevin
Supporters of Leah Remini FB Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1401290063318947/
The Aftermath Foundation www.TheAftermathFoundation.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AftermathFoundation
Twitter: @AftermathFDN
Instagram: TheAftermathFoundation
Showing posts with label Scientology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scientology. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Monday, December 11, 2017
How America Got Divorced from Reality: Christian Utopias, Anti-Elitism, Media Circus
Americans are inherently a little crazy. But now the crazy is being enabled by politicians in the White House and by the internet. How exactly did it get so bad?
How America Got Divorced from Reality: Christian Utopias, Anti-Elitism, Media Circus
| Kurt Andersen
--
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Americans have always been magical thinkers and passionate believers in the untrue. We were started by the Puritans in New England who wanted to create and did create a Christian utopia and theocracy as they waited for the eminent second coming of Christ and the end of days. And in the south by a bunch of people who were convinced, absolutely convinced that this place they’d never been was full of gold just to be plucked from the dirt in Virginia and they stayed there looking and hoping for gold for 20 years before they finally faced the facts and the evidence and decided that they weren’t going to get rich overnight there. So that was the beginning. And then we’ve had centuries of buyer-beware charlatanism to an extreme degree and medical quackery to an extreme degree and increasingly exotic extravagant implausible religions over and over again from Mormonism to Christian Science to Scientology in the last century.
And we’ve had this antiestablishment "I’m not going to trust the experts, I’m not going to trust the elite" from our character from the beginning. Now all those things came together and were super-charged in the 1960s when you were entitled to your own truth and your own reality. Then a generation later when the Internet came along, giving each of those realities, no matter how false or magical or nutty they are, their own kind of media infrastructure. We had entertainment, again for the last couple hundred years, but especially in the last 50 years permeating all the rest of life, including Presidential politics from John F. Kennedy through Ronald Ragan to Bill Clinton. So the thing was set up for Donald Trump to exploit all these various American threads and astonishingly become president, but then you look at this history and it’s like no we should have seen this coming.
The idea of America from the beginning was that you could come here, reinvent yourself, be anybody you want, live any way you wanted, believe any thing you wanted. For the first few hundred years, like everywhere else in the world, celebrity and fame were a result of some kind of accomplishment or achievement, sometimes not a great accomplishment or achievement, but you did something in the world to earn renown. America really was the key place that invented the modern celebrity culture, which was, beginning a century ago, more and more not necessarily about having won a war or led a people or written a great book or painted a great painting, but about being famous, fame for its own sake.
We created that, we created Hollywood, we created the whole culture industry and that then became what I call the fantasy industrial complex where, certainly in the last few decades more than ever more than anybody thought possible before, fame itself, however you’ve got it, was a primary goal for people. And again, as so many of the things I talk about in Fantasyland, not uniquely to America but more here than anywhere. And then you get reality television, which was this unholy hybrid of the fictional and the real for the last now generation where that blur between what’s real and what’s not is pumped into our media stream willy-nilly. There are now more reality shows on television than there were shows on television 20 years ago. And that’s another way for nobodies to become famous overnight. YouTube, another way for nobodies to become a famous overnight for doing almost nothing or nothing.
How America Got Divorced from Reality: Christian Utopias, Anti-Elitism, Media Circus
| Kurt Andersen
--
Follow Big Think here:
YouTube: http://goo.gl/CPTsV5
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BigThinkdotcom
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bigthink
Americans have always been magical thinkers and passionate believers in the untrue. We were started by the Puritans in New England who wanted to create and did create a Christian utopia and theocracy as they waited for the eminent second coming of Christ and the end of days. And in the south by a bunch of people who were convinced, absolutely convinced that this place they’d never been was full of gold just to be plucked from the dirt in Virginia and they stayed there looking and hoping for gold for 20 years before they finally faced the facts and the evidence and decided that they weren’t going to get rich overnight there. So that was the beginning. And then we’ve had centuries of buyer-beware charlatanism to an extreme degree and medical quackery to an extreme degree and increasingly exotic extravagant implausible religions over and over again from Mormonism to Christian Science to Scientology in the last century.
And we’ve had this antiestablishment "I’m not going to trust the experts, I’m not going to trust the elite" from our character from the beginning. Now all those things came together and were super-charged in the 1960s when you were entitled to your own truth and your own reality. Then a generation later when the Internet came along, giving each of those realities, no matter how false or magical or nutty they are, their own kind of media infrastructure. We had entertainment, again for the last couple hundred years, but especially in the last 50 years permeating all the rest of life, including Presidential politics from John F. Kennedy through Ronald Ragan to Bill Clinton. So the thing was set up for Donald Trump to exploit all these various American threads and astonishingly become president, but then you look at this history and it’s like no we should have seen this coming.
The idea of America from the beginning was that you could come here, reinvent yourself, be anybody you want, live any way you wanted, believe any thing you wanted. For the first few hundred years, like everywhere else in the world, celebrity and fame were a result of some kind of accomplishment or achievement, sometimes not a great accomplishment or achievement, but you did something in the world to earn renown. America really was the key place that invented the modern celebrity culture, which was, beginning a century ago, more and more not necessarily about having won a war or led a people or written a great book or painted a great painting, but about being famous, fame for its own sake.
We created that, we created Hollywood, we created the whole culture industry and that then became what I call the fantasy industrial complex where, certainly in the last few decades more than ever more than anybody thought possible before, fame itself, however you’ve got it, was a primary goal for people. And again, as so many of the things I talk about in Fantasyland, not uniquely to America but more here than anywhere. And then you get reality television, which was this unholy hybrid of the fictional and the real for the last now generation where that blur between what’s real and what’s not is pumped into our media stream willy-nilly. There are now more reality shows on television than there were shows on television 20 years ago. And that’s another way for nobodies to become famous overnight. YouTube, another way for nobodies to become a famous overnight for doing almost nothing or nothing.
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
Why do people join cults? - Janja Lalich
Today, there are thousands of cults around the world. Broadly speaking, a cult is a group or movement with a shared commitment to a usually extreme ideology that’s typically embodied in a charismatic leader. But what exactly differentiates cults from other groups – and why do people join them? Janja Lalich describes how cults recruit and manipulate their members.
Friday, August 25, 2017
20/20 Scientology: A War Without Guns
Actress Leah Remini Sits Down With Anchor Dan Harris to Discuss Her Fight Against the Church. “20/20” reports on former members of the Church of Scientology, including those who are crusading against it and others who still practice outside the Church.
In a new interview, ABC News’ Dan Harris sits down with actress Leah Remini, who describes her fight against the Church, including her goal to have the organization lose its tax exempt status as a religion. The Church claims that the movement against it is a conspiracy led by a handful of people who spread lies for fame and money.
In a new interview, ABC News’ Dan Harris sits down with actress Leah Remini, who describes her fight against the Church, including her goal to have the organization lose its tax exempt status as a religion. The Church claims that the movement against it is a conspiracy led by a handful of people who spread lies for fame and money.
Saturday, August 19, 2017
Leah Remini on Finding Out About Xenu (from Joe Rogan Experience)
Leah Remini talks about reaching OT III and having Scientology's origin story revealed to her.
Taken from Joe Rogan Experience #908.
Leah Remini on Finding Out About Xenu (from Joe Rogan Experience #908)
Taken from Joe Rogan Experience #908.
Leah Remini on Finding Out About Xenu (from Joe Rogan Experience #908)
Friday, August 18, 2017
Xenu from Scientology explained
I had to share this chilling sequence from "Going Clear", even better than the South Park version, for being less comical and more haunting, fantastic montage, fantastic documentary, two of the most informative, and mesmerizing hours of my life...
Yes I could be categorized as "christian" and a lot of people are quick to point out that Scientology is no different from any other stupid and brainwashing religion... I disagree, no other religion asks for that much money for you to become a better believer, other religions have gods to worship, and in my religion in particular, the river in which Jesus was baptized is still there, Jerusalem is still there, the bible is historically accurate in a great portion, and the creation myth (which i take as metaphorical, not literal) doesn't use modern features in what was supposed to be the beginning of time... not mentioning that the big bang and the creation are very similar...
i'm not saying Christianity is right nor true (you and I can't prove nor disprove it) I respect every religion with good principals, but Scientology is not a religion... created by a science fiction author, pay plan from the beginning, harassment inside, and also after you leave...
Written by Cinemaniac Jean
From: Going Clear about Xenu. Scientology
--
Scientology
Thursday, August 17, 2017
Leah Remini Explains Scientology's Scam | Chelsea
Former Scientologist and "Aftermath" author, Leah Remini, describes the internal workings of the controversial religion.
Watch the full episode: http://netflix.com/watch/80154006
Leah Remini Explains Scientology's Scam | Chelsea | Netflix
Watch the full episode: http://netflix.com/watch/80154006
Leah Remini Explains Scientology's Scam | Chelsea | Netflix
Wednesday, August 16, 2017
Leah Remini on the Cult of Scientology | Real Time with Bill Maher
"Scientology and the Aftermath" creator and host Leah Remini joins Bill to discuss the challenges of leaving the Church of Scientology.
Leah Remini on the Cult of Scientology | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)
2017
Leah Remini on the Cult of Scientology | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)
2017
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
Leah Remini Argues That Scientology Isn't A Religion
'Leah Remini: Scientology And The Aftermath' creator Leah Remini describes what differentiates Scientology from religions.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert @ CBS August 2017
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert @ CBS August 2017
Sunday, July 16, 2017
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
David Mitchell On Scientology - Outtake
The panel share their views on Scientology, while Richard Ayoade explains YouTube.
David Mitchell On Scientology | Was it Something I Said? - Outtake
BBC
David Mitchell On Scientology | Was it Something I Said? - Outtake
BBC
Thursday, March 9, 2017
Scientology: Mysterious Deaths - Real Stories
Scientology is one of the world’s most controversial and secretive religions. Famous followers extol its virtues but a series of suspicious deaths brings into question its treatment of their members.
In this film, we investigate three cases of deaths of Scientology members. We find incomplete police investigations, suspicious circumstances and family members who are convinced there is more to their loved ones deaths’ than meets the eye.
A look at the dark side of a new but powerful religion.
Follow us on Twitter for more - https://twitter.com/realstoriesdocs
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/RealStoriesChannel
Instagram - @realstoriesdocs
Scientology: Mysterious Deaths (Scientology Documentary) - Real Stories
In this film, we investigate three cases of deaths of Scientology members. We find incomplete police investigations, suspicious circumstances and family members who are convinced there is more to their loved ones deaths’ than meets the eye.
A look at the dark side of a new but powerful religion.
Follow us on Twitter for more - https://twitter.com/realstoriesdocs
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/RealStoriesChannel
Instagram - @realstoriesdocs
Scientology: Mysterious Deaths (Scientology Documentary) - Real Stories
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Scientology: Mysterious Deaths - Real Stories
cientology is one of the world’s most controversial and secretive religions. Famous followers extol its virtues but a series of suspicious deaths brings into question its treatment of their members.
In this film, we investigate three cases of deaths of Scientology members. We find incomplete police investigations, suspicious circumstances and family members who are convinced there is more to their loved ones deaths’ than meets the eye.
A look at the dark side of a new but powerful religion.
Follow on Twitter for more - https://twitter.com/realstoriesdocs
Instagram - @realstoriesdocs
Content licensed from Java Films. Any queries, please contact us at: realstories@littledotstudios.com
Produced by NTV.
In this film, we investigate three cases of deaths of Scientology members. We find incomplete police investigations, suspicious circumstances and family members who are convinced there is more to their loved ones deaths’ than meets the eye.
A look at the dark side of a new but powerful religion.
Follow on Twitter for more - https://twitter.com/realstoriesdocs
Instagram - @realstoriesdocs
Content licensed from Java Films. Any queries, please contact us at: realstories@littledotstudios.com
Produced by NTV.
Monday, December 19, 2016
Sensibly Speaking Podcast - Oh No, It's Ross and Carrie and Scientology!
This week I am joined by Ross Blocher and Carrie Poppy from the skeptical Oh No! Podcast. They recently infiltrated Scientology in LA and we talk about that as well as their experiences investigating other odd, strange and unusual groups.
Sensibly Speaking Podcast #55 - Oh No, It's Ross and Carrie and Scientology!
The Oh No! Podcast: http://ohnopodcast.com
PODCAST WEBSITE: http://sensiblyspeaking.com
Sensibly Speaking Podcast #55 - Oh No, It's Ross and Carrie and Scientology!
The Oh No! Podcast: http://ohnopodcast.com
PODCAST WEBSITE: http://sensiblyspeaking.com
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Narconon / Scientology Exposed - Today/Tonight 04/04
Feature on "Today Tonight" on Channel Seven in Australia exposes and challenges Narconon on their Scientology links.
Purification Rundown on wikipedia
http://enturbulation.org
http://xenu.net
http://whyaretheydead.net
Purification Rundown on wikipedia
http://enturbulation.org
http://xenu.net
http://whyaretheydead.net
Thursday, October 6, 2016
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Scientology: Enough is Enough - Jon Atack: Recovering from Scientology
Ex-members of the Cult of Scientology speak out against its fraud and abuse at a Dublin conference.
More about Jon Atack here: http://bluesky.exscientologistsireland.org/
Scientology: Enough is Enough http://exscientologistsireland.org/
This took Place:
Friday February 6th 2015 from 6:30 p.m. and Saturday February 7th 2015 from 12 noon at Filmbase, Curved Street, Temple Bar, Dublin.
Speakers from Ireland and abroad will share their experiences. The information and testimony shared at the conference will be freely available on this website.
Some of the special guests at the conference include:
John Sweeney (author of Church of Fear)
Russell Miller (author of Bare-faced Messiah)
Jon Atack (author of A Piece of Blue Sky)
Nancy Many (author of My Billion Year Contract)
Stephen Jones (ex-Sea Org)
Dee Findlay (ex-Guardian’s Office volunteer)
Victoria Britton
---
Filmed and Edited by Anonymous Hamburg.
Find us:
Anonymous Hamburg Blog : http://hamburger-anon.blogspot.de/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HHAnonymous
Board: http://anonamegame.net/forum/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hhanon040
More about Jon Atack here: http://bluesky.exscientologistsireland.org/
Scientology: Enough is Enough http://exscientologistsireland.org/
This took Place:
Friday February 6th 2015 from 6:30 p.m. and Saturday February 7th 2015 from 12 noon at Filmbase, Curved Street, Temple Bar, Dublin.
Speakers from Ireland and abroad will share their experiences. The information and testimony shared at the conference will be freely available on this website.
Some of the special guests at the conference include:
John Sweeney (author of Church of Fear)
Russell Miller (author of Bare-faced Messiah)
Jon Atack (author of A Piece of Blue Sky)
Nancy Many (author of My Billion Year Contract)
Stephen Jones (ex-Sea Org)
Dee Findlay (ex-Guardian’s Office volunteer)
Victoria Britton
---
Filmed and Edited by Anonymous Hamburg.
Find us:
Anonymous Hamburg Blog : http://hamburger-anon.blogspot.de/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HHAnonymous
Board: http://anonamegame.net/forum/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hhanon040
Friday, September 16, 2016
The Decline (and Probable Fall) of the Scientology Empire - Jim Lippard
Jim Lippard spoke on the history of the Church of Scientology, how it has collided with the Internet and lost control of its secrets and its membership, and is now seeing an accelerating decline as its top members leave for new alternatives.
Jim Lippard founded the Phoenix Skeptics in 1985, and co-founded the Phoenix Area Skeptics Society in 2011. He's written articles and book chapters on skeptical topics, including two articles in Skeptic magazine on Scientology, "Scientology vs. the Internet" in 1995 (co-authored with Jeff Jacobsen) and "The Decline (and Probable Fall) of the Scientology Empire" in 2012. He also contributed to Gordon Stein's Encyclopedia of the Paranormal and Joe Nickell's Psychic Sleuths.
Video notes starting at 13:50: The Fraser Mansion, though referred to by Scientology as the "founding church" from the 1970s to 2010, wasn't the original building. The original building, at 1812 19th St. NW, is now a museum called the L. Ron Hubbard House (though his house was across the street), which the church acquired in 2004. The Fraser Mansion is now Scientology's National Affairs Office.
The first use of the name "Church of Scientology" was by the Church of Scientology founded in Camden, N.J. in Dec. 1953; the first Church of Scientology corporation was in Los Angeles (Feb. 1954, which became the Church of Scientology of California in 1956), the Church of Scientology of Arizona was incorporated that same year. Hubbard's organization while he lived in Phoenix was the Hubbard Association of Scientologists, International (HASI), founded in Sep. 1952. All HASI assets were folded into the Church of Scientology of California in 1966.
(Views expressed are those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the views
of the National Capital Area Skeptics.)
Jim Lippard founded the Phoenix Skeptics in 1985, and co-founded the Phoenix Area Skeptics Society in 2011. He's written articles and book chapters on skeptical topics, including two articles in Skeptic magazine on Scientology, "Scientology vs. the Internet" in 1995 (co-authored with Jeff Jacobsen) and "The Decline (and Probable Fall) of the Scientology Empire" in 2012. He also contributed to Gordon Stein's Encyclopedia of the Paranormal and Joe Nickell's Psychic Sleuths.
Video notes starting at 13:50: The Fraser Mansion, though referred to by Scientology as the "founding church" from the 1970s to 2010, wasn't the original building. The original building, at 1812 19th St. NW, is now a museum called the L. Ron Hubbard House (though his house was across the street), which the church acquired in 2004. The Fraser Mansion is now Scientology's National Affairs Office.
The first use of the name "Church of Scientology" was by the Church of Scientology founded in Camden, N.J. in Dec. 1953; the first Church of Scientology corporation was in Los Angeles (Feb. 1954, which became the Church of Scientology of California in 1956), the Church of Scientology of Arizona was incorporated that same year. Hubbard's organization while he lived in Phoenix was the Hubbard Association of Scientologists, International (HASI), founded in Sep. 1952. All HASI assets were folded into the Church of Scientology of California in 1966.
(Views expressed are those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the views
of the National Capital Area Skeptics.)
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Grant Cardone answers about Scientology
What kind of person exemplifies the successes Scientology can bring? The answer is: Grant Cardone
Member of Scientology Grant Cardone answers about Scientology.
I have never heard about Grant Cardone before. But after watching this video I have one question. Is Grant Cardone on drugs?
Member of Scientology Grant Cardone answers about Scientology.
I have never heard about Grant Cardone before. But after watching this video I have one question. Is Grant Cardone on drugs?
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Sensibly Speaking Podcast: Oh No, It's Ross and Carrie and Scientology!
Sensibly Speaking Podcast #55: Oh No, It's Ross and Carrie and Scientology!
This week I am joined by Ross Blocher and Carrie Poppy from the skeptical Oh No! Podcast. They recently infiltrated Scientology in LA and we talk about that as well as their experiences investigating other odd, strange and unusual groups.
The Oh No! Podcast: http://ohnopodcast.com
PODCAST WEBSITE: http://sensiblyspeaking.com
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