Predicting cult destiny using the MLM model

Cult watch day 3000, RIP Shawn Lonsdale.

There are plenty of linear list comparing the common characteristics of cults and MLM. I would think there are internal structural similarities that make them appear so similar on the outside. Though I don't know enough about Scientology nor MLM.

The concept of MLM is pure and simple but Scientology not so much. I would love to have discovered that SCN is just a pyramid so we can use the history of MLM to predict it's destiny. But I think the SCN symbols said it all - that it is multiple pyramids all about money (the double triangle and the $).

Certainly Hubbard would have incorporated the MLM schemes started in the 30's to 50's. His Dianetics is basically a spiritual copy of Nutrilite, probably the first popular MLM product line. Just as Avon realized it needs MLM to survive in 2005, Hubbard would make up MLM structures as he went along.

SCN is therefore not a simple pyramid (but perhaps it actually is), but you can clearly identify smaller pyramids. Auditing is a MLM scheme. To be a higher level auditor you have to pay for the training. So every public who buy the product (auditing) also pays higher ups on the auditing pyramid.

Narconon is a pyramid scheme. Customers are recruited into staff and everything is based on commission.

It's harder to compare public scientologists with MLM associates. Scnists are in, they pay but they don't sell. Perhaps you can look at the product as an improved-self. A public paid for the product and sold it to others, by being better employees or entrepreneurs. They do recruit others into Scn and the return for them may be an improved company, workspace, or colleague, that has monetary value to them.

Diskkeeper and Tom Cruise are big recruiters.

It is very interesting if we can predict the destiny Scn with the MLM model.

The Internet itself isn't going to kill off MLM despite the amount of negative experiences of MLM is all over the web. There are always enough gullible people who join for the instant dream starting package, reading the web or not. Especially if the recruiter is your aunt who is doing well. It's also hard for people to leave even if they have no money left and have the same bad experience matching what the web says. They invested so much and have no alternative dream. They may be like the majority of MLM recruits, lying idle when money runs out.

Regulation isn't going to kill off MLM easily. The FTC lost to AmWay and started the 20 billion industry. The FTC crashed Herbalife in 2012 and then 2014. Other MLM companies stock prices follows. Even with criminal investigations it's probably not enough to wipe out HLF.

You are not fighting one MLM, but the whole 20 billion industry and it's lobby. It's even harder for cults because even major religions sometimes think like cults, as seen in the forced abortion case.

How will it end? I would like to know too.

The Independents are hopeless. There's no MLM breakaway executives who can take over the mother company with the SAME product and story. You got to have a "better" product, be a successful company and then swallow the mother company.

When recruitment dry up, the pyramid will collapse on it's own weight. Sure they will run out of gullible people but there will be new markets. Fortunately no way China will open up to another new cult and Scn is doing poorly if at all in South America like Brazil. These are now new big markets for MLM.

Scn is dead once they stop producing auditors in enough numbers. This has already happened. May be COB is clever enough to move away from MLM with something like direct cannibalism to preserve the core and self.

Top level associates left. This is a great bat signal that the boat is sinking. They are not making money. This has happened but in Scn their importance and rank can be covered up, becoming just another bitter apostate. It have to be well known names like the actor in the Orientation film, or Tom Cruise.

Product recall and lawsuits. This had happened, the big brainwash lawsuit but not enough to bankruptcy them. Narconon is another possibility.  It is the perfect bad product. If they spend 100 million on lawyers and settlement each lawsuit, they will be bankrupted very soon. 10 mil will do the trick if enough people come forward.

How the Org squeezed money out of Steve Wu, the richest Scientologist in Taiwan

Meet the IAS bank account team crush responsible for Taiwan.

Jerry Chen with his US$200,000 IAS quota

 Jerry Chen is the OT responsible for the IAS donation for all of Taiwan.  He is from Taiwan, a US citizen, and reports to the mother Org.

 In the picture he is holding the IAS donation target chart, with a quota of US$200,000 written on top.

He was high profile on Facebook but disappeared. His wife, Jill Chen, was the first woman OT8 from China.  She is still on Facebook, but endorsed Connor Chen, who is a dropout from Delphi School since last year.  He is now in a California public school.

The Org staff responsible for Taiwan is Erick Hilgers, then the Deputy Manager for the Hotels, the Church of Scientology.  He is seen with Jerry Chen on the same IAS quota meeting, together with other team crush helpers.

Jerry Chen and Erick Hilgers

Erick Hilgers and Team Crush members

Erick Hilgers told the following story in Taipei, 2011:

"When I was at Flag, I found out what happened to the wife of Steve Wu regarding their relationship.  While his wife was at Flag (Clearwater, Florida) on OT VII course, they found out that she was having an affair. In other words she was having another man in her life. This is a big aberration because based on the Org's ethics, you can’t have this happening on the highest level of Scientology. 

Of course his husband Steve didn’t know this at the time.  When Steve Wu went to the Freewinds, they told him about the affair.  He was put under pressure to make a big donation to the Org, which would handle the situation for him. 

So he did just that.  He paid around US $100,000 or may be more to the International Association of Scientology.  But what Steve Wu didn’t know is that everything was well planned to put presure on him, and to make him PAY THAT MONEY.  This was a big flap (the Scientology term for a problem) inside the Org and that all senior executives know that problem."

All the big Registrars at the Org knew about Steve Wu's problems.

Then the same story happened at Los Angeles, at the Celebrity Center.  Simone Hsu, mission holder of Taipei Centre, was told the story about Steve Wu and his wife. Simone’s response was “I knew something was wrong with Steve Wu”.

So Steve, not only the Org knew about your problem, but it is also well known to all your close friends and associates.

What the Org can really handle in this case is to order Steve Wu's wife not to file a divorce, or she will be expelled from the Org and lose her chance for eternal life.  They can order the other man to leave her alone if he is also a Scientologists.  Or, they can break them up using secrets from their auditing folders.  The Wu couple may be residents in California or Florida, or have significant assets there.  Both are no-fault states, meaning that the wife will get half of Steve's fortune WHENEVER she chooses to.  If this is what Steve wants to avoid and to handle, $100,000 is a cheap price.

The original reporter's story is fully acknowledged and linked.  I do not name him because we are not associates.  If you want legal actions, it have to be done at least twice.  It is my own legal responsibility to publish the story as fact, beyond reasonable doubt, for the sake of public safety.

Attempts were made to contact Steve Wu, his wife, and Karin Pouw, spokesperson of the Church of Scientology International,  for comment.  No response was received after at least 3 Internet days.

Scientology Extrapolation 2013

It's way too late and too busy to do a 2012 review, so it's extrapolation time instead.  No apologies as Thursday 2pm is not our thing.

Exodus out of the church of Scientology is evident if you believe that the church once has 10 million "members".  Now it has an estimate of 25,000 members in US, mostly in LA and Clearwater.  The new census in UK shows that there are only 2,400 Scientologists.  That explains the large numbers of familiar American faces appearing in Saint Hill annual events, and coach loads of attendees from other parts of Europe.  Now they bring everybody from all over Taiwan by coaches to Taipei to attend events.  Miscavige's one year old Facebook page has only 800 fans before the last minute stat push at the end of the year to 3000.

Now leaving the Sea Org is reported to be easy.  Even in Int Base, you just need to say you are pregnant and the medical officer won't even challenge you.  If you know any dirty secrets you may even have useful severance money and accommodation arrangements.

A reliable estimate of Scientologists in Taiwan is 1300.  There is a very public rebellion since the Debbie Cook incident played out on Facebook.  Our only celebrity went back inline with the church, while others became vocal critics.

The Superpower building, in the works for about 15 years, is still not open due to insufficient Sea Org staff.  This is an excuse not to let it open.  Once it's open, Scientologists will see that it will be as empty as in all the other Ideal Orgs.

The first Asian Ideal Org in Taiwan is still not opened for the same reason.  Not enough Sea Org members are recruited.

The extrapolation for 2013 is - decimation.

Victims or critics return to haunt CoS in a big way and in numbers.  The difference now is that they have Marty Rathbun to "consult" or dispose.  "Did you kill my dog?", one old time journalist asked.  Marty also has to reveal in court that the church spent over 30 million dollars to cover up the Lisa McPherson case, including favors to lawyers and judges.  Sweeney already started the new year with an article selling his book critical of Scientology.  Several books are due just in January.  These aren't just self publish books, but some written by best selling professional writers on behalf of victims.

Scientology lawyers can't deal with the number of lawsuits even if they are not in the RPF and even if they are half capable.  Just for Narconon there are at least 5 major cases, each of which can shut them down even if the state authorities aren't investigating (they are).  Outside lawyers are hired who aren't going to play dirty and shield the church from responsible for illegal activities.

Let's not forget one French police turned PhD who wrote a thesis of how to prosecute the church of Scientology.  Having read the thesis by the French prosecution team is one defense that the church used and failed.  The Belgium prosecution also has their hands on the thesis long ago.  I predict that they had enough after they raid the church in 2008, and declared in EU once again that the church is a criminal organization.

The local and state governments were afraid of Scientology because they have the finance to sue the government until their legal budget ran out, without wining the lawsuit.  But this can only happen in US.  It's not going to happen in Europe and Asia.


The extrapolation for 2013 is that even Taiwanese victims are coming out asking for justice, and I know for sure.  I can't think of any lawsuit Scientology has a chance to claim victory.  It looked like they worked out a formula in 2012 to pay anybody who sued them.  It's like being forced to exchange pieces near the end game.  At the end they are left defenseless.

Desperation is in the air for the church.  They started a Dianetics campaign  yet again.  This time the print run is 10,000 and they first pile it up as a pyramid to enter the Guinness book of world records.   They even hired a leggy B/C list model/starlet to be the witness on TV.  My prediction is that they will have about 9,900 unsold Dianetics this time and the starlet will kiss goodbye her career in mainland China - she got scorned immediately after she posted her pictures of the event.

How many Scientologists does it take to sell Narconon on the streets?  A whole platoon of Sea Org members.  They are kicked out of schools, they are kicked out of voluntary organizations.  They have to deploy a platoon of Sea Org members and conscripted a lot of scientologists including women and children, to get enough head for a picture that they can publish in a press release.  They even published most of their names to thank them for their efforts.  At other times, they may just release a picture with two anti-drug campaigners and a passerby.

In the small county where Narconon Taiwan is, the District Attorney's office is well infiltrated or controlled by Scientologists.  They use the DA office to assign Criminon counselors to get into schools.  This is so desperate and I think they self destructed.  Narconon was kicked out of schools there years ago and the new mayor had assigned a police officer as the liaison with us for reporting possible criminal activities within Narconon.

 You can hear Scientologists sobbing "nobody will criticize human right activities". They borrowed another cult's play book that failed as well.  When all else failed, they sent their 19 year old Delphi graduate to lecture about human rights.  I think she got away with it because she is pretty, appeared in TV commercials briefly and doesn't speak Mandarin.  The other is not even a Scientologists, but a professional US motivational speaker who is also a famous virgin in his 30's.  This time some university students aren't attending even being bribed with course credits.  They did use the Taiwan federation of medical students to generate some PR, but I doubt very much if the church haven't alienated all of the medical students afterwards.  The events preceded with an edit war in Wikipedia, concerning whether the Taiwan Youth for Human Rights is connected to the church.  After the events, some of my videos have more hits in a month than the previous quarter.

My extrapolation is that their desperation will turn into self-destruction. 

I fail to extrapolate on one thing.  Now the FBI are involved, Homeland Security are involved, the Australian Federal Police are involved.  I can't think of any more.

Finally my advice to staff and Sea Org members.  Don't wait until it's too late to abandon ship.  Marty is between a rock and a hard place.  He wanted to omit a lot of things while he is in charge.  Now if he tell the truth he doesn't have the protection of the church.  And if he lies, the church can contradict him at all cost, and put him in serious legal trouble even if the church has to sacrifice it's reputation.

Young girl imprisoned, beaten and abused in Sea Org headquarter, Dundas, Australia

The following is translated from ptt.cc, the front end to one of the largest BBS in Taiwan, where almost all college students are registered.  The victim is well known to the Church of Scientology and her brother made public the incident with real names.  The Australian Federal Police, Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and local hospitals have plenty of records.  Australian media is aware. The OP sanitized the names.

OP:

This happened to my colleague.  One day he disappeared after work.  I asked around and heard that he went to work in Australia.  This is common so I didn't ask.  Until a few days ago he came back and turned up at a company event.  I didn't chat with him much because I thought that he completed his task in Australia and resumed his duties.

This is what he posted on the community page of the company on Facebook, and asked us to tell as many people as possible.  Please consider very carefully in joining any religious groups.

Victim's brother Jake:

I am beginning my military service.  There is something that I want to be honest with you.  Also, please help!  As a matter of fact, I don't have direct connections to the xx bureau, but I think our bureau has influence in the world.

I was stunned when xx said that I was gone without saying goodbye.  But that is what actually happened.  First, I asked for a few days off, and then disappeared.  I went to Australia.  Doing what? I didn't say clearly and honestly.  But in fact, it isn't glorious.

This is what happened.  My sister Alisa joined a religion — Scientology.  She went to Australia using religious reasons.  Three months later, my sister called home.  She told us that she was imprisoned, beaten and abused in a Scientology base.  She needed us there to rescue her.  Unbelievable!  We first thought it was one of the fake kidnapping schemes that cheats ransom money out of us.  But it was no doubt my sister. She was sent to a hospital because of serious injuries.  The Australian medical system isolated her from Scientologists, so she had the chance to call home for help.

First, we asked for help from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan.  The Ministry staff pointed out that on average, an incident occurs every three months when parents come looking for their children.  These children all went to Scientology in Australia, and mostly disappeared.

Later, I came across anti-Scientology groups. Nearly all of them ex-followers escaped from Scientology. With their help, I went to the unfamiliar Australia with connections. But my sister went to a psychiatric hospital.  Although in my opinion, apart from the physical wounds, she has no mental problems. Australia's mental health care system is very strict, not easily allowing patients to be discharged. My sister stayed in the hospital under observation for nearly two months. So I checked into the home of an ex-Scientologist, commuting to visit my sister almost every day.  I also listened to an ex-Scientologist, once trapped inside for more than 10 years, for a lot of inhumane treatments inside. During the hospital stay the Australian Federal Police came to take note. I'm back now after two months.

It seemed very exaggerated, very serious, but this is real, all true. What I ask everyone to help is to talk about it. Let everyone know that "Scientology" is engaged in such things, because Scientology is here in Taiwan.  And that is what I introduced to others like a salesman. A friend introduced me, and I introduced Scientology to my sister.  My sister went to the headquarter in Dundas, where she was abused. Now I know how terrible Scientology is. In fact, I believe somebody know about the Scientology scandals in the bureau, bro' xx and lil' x  ...  But no one warned me! Why?  Could be because I was in the midst of pleasure!

Lil' x, please take the trouble to send my message to the priest during worship.  Ask him to tell the faithful that they must be especially careful of Scientology, because the surface looks quite gorgeous and beautiful, but in the name of religion, to do good, to help, to learn knowledge, it's actually a money-making fraud, and even engages in human trafficking.

Strictly speaking this is a private matter, but thank you for help anyway.  After my military service I will be back to the bureau, but I may be in Australia for a period of time to sue the Church of Scientology.

Characteristics of a cult - turning cheese into diamond

After 4 years of studying in the "university of cults", I realized that some cult characteristics aren't listed in some checklists.

One characteristics is the systematic, selective peeling off of one's rational reasoning.  (The other is polarization.)

As far as checklists go, the symptoms (absolute obedience) rather than the cause (destroy reasoning) are more suitable.

The destruction of reasoning has been well discussed.  Some refers to it as thought stopping.  However, thought stopping is defined in some controversial therapy as "tell yourself to stop thinking about that" whenever "that" thought occurs.  I prefer to use reasoning to describe a more complex process than "thinking about something".

I rather not use the word logic as it had become a dirty for cult members.  They are criticized as being illogical so often that they might think that their "reasoning" is another branch alternative to "logic".

So, for outsiders who have read a few of Scientology's criticisms, they may think that, "How do you believer that when there are so many holes in it?".  But for believers, Scientology is a bullet proof, perfect diamond. 

How does LRH turn cheese into diamonds?  Brain wash, mind control come to mind.  But how?

Peeling off your reasoning seems to be a good description.  It can be in huge chunks as in a Dianetics intensive course.  Or more likely, it's gradual.

People who accept Dianetics isn't picky about the difference of science and pseudo-science in the first place.  Dianetics say 2% of the population are anti-society suppressive persons, who can be get rid of silently without sorrow.  Either you accept it without thinking about it, or you think it's reasonable.  But if you accept this, you are accepting to be much more extreme than the Nazis.  When you progress up the bridge, this fact will be reinforced.

For example in the free Volunteer Minister course, the third-party rule is introduced.  Whenever there is an argument, there must be a third-party behind it who benefits from the conflict.  It may or may not be true but it's 100% in Scientology.  You may think it's reasonable to say that, may be 30% of the time is true.  But once you accepted it, sooner or later it will be 100%.  Whenever people criticize Scientology, your will call them SP's (that they can be destroyed with sorrow) and the psychs must have sent them.

Each piece of programming isn't just sugar coated, but comes with a huge pot of honey.  You accept auditing and the e-meter because the make you feel better.  But the fact is, the beginner’s auditing is similar to some common therapy techniques.  You can get it elsewhere, it's not original, and the more effective the better.  It's a huge carrier to bring some destructive payloads into your reasoning process, no matter how tiny the destructive forces are.

So when discussing whether LRH's tech is effective, effectiveness is irrelevant.  Firstly, LRH is seldom the source who invented the effective part.  And if it's not at all effective, nobody will be a Scientologist.  You have to figure out the tiny piece of destructive programming in each area of tech.  It's a cheese to diamond tech, but only if you fall for it.

The peeling off is systematic - overwhelming and relentless.  It's is also selective so a lawyer can still be a lawyer, an engineer can still be an engineer.

The history of the fall of the church of Scientology

This is the new title for both Chinese and English versions of the blog.  Now the Chinese title is nice and short, with a little bit of originality.

I have reasons to believe that the old title prevents some Scientologists and ex-church members to click on it in search engine results.

The old Chinese title is basically the nouns Scientology, Dianetics and LRH in one sentence, plus two negative adjectives each like fraud, cult, greedy.  Later it was shortened to one negative adjective to appear less mental.  The purpose was to stand out from the cult's many other websites, and to tell Scientologists that they can't do anything about the title.

This is not a postulate, but really history.  To me the CoS has fallen since 2008, since the Tom Cruise video incident.  That was the first time I knew what Scientology really is.  I asked myself how can the cult win when it takes only a few minutes at most to upload one video with no traces?  That was even before Gawker hosted the video on their website.  I even posted other copyrighted materials on videos as a little experiment.  It took the RTC three months to take one down!

Since then, the church has been forced to use full guerrilla tactics.  There are no spokesperson to confront the media.  Scientologists were given instructions in no uncertain terms not to defend in their own way their religion on the Internet.  Curtains will be drawn when the first protestors arrive at an Org.  Names and places are withheld in press releases in Taiwan, so nobody knows where or who to send complains to.

To be a Christian, you normally belong to a church, even if only your birth was celebrated there, and your funeral will be held there.  An ex-church member means that you are no longer a Christian - same as an ex-Christian.  But Scientologists has no such luck.  An ex-church member merely means that he/she has no other church to join, though he/she may still believes in Scientology.

One reason that some Scientologists (the Writer) don't leave the criminal and greedy church is because they are afraid that the whole Bridge will be lost, along with all Hubbard tech.  To me Hubbard is evil and crazy, but I can reassure Scientologists that the Bridge will still be there.

Take Karen de la Carriere for example.  She is the highest level of auditors trained by LRH himself.  She is the ex-wife of the current President of Scientology International, Heber Jentzsch.  She alone can take you up the Bridge many times over.  There are much more people like her outside of the church than inside.  She left the church in 2010, long after LRH dropped his body.  Therefore she cannot be a squirrel and sell impure LRH tech.  She is still a firm believer of Scientology even though she accused the church of causing the death of her son.

Karen is also a friend of OT8 Helen Chen, and appeared as guest on Helen Chen Academy’s graduation celebration in Los Angeles.

An 18 year old 2nd generation Scientologist in Taiwan came out to defend her religion.  She has been happy in Scientology and she said 18 years can't be wrong.  Wrong.  Many had been in for twice that, and Karen was trained by LRH himself.  If the church is gone, her group will still be there for some time.

Below is the memorial for Alexander Jentzsch, Karen's son.  You can see all the big guns there, many can take you far up the Bridge.  Without the church, you can still have your Scientology silent birth, weddings, and funeral.  And if you drop your body some day, you may still go to the other galaxies.

Legend of the Guardians

The movie (sorry to disappoint you) gave me inspirations about "what is a cult?".

If for nothing else, kids will watch and may understand what is a cult with parental guidance.  There is the possibility that children raised in a cult may understand that the outside world is different.

A cult enslaves people, the weak.  It's not on a check list of cult features that I re-posted, hence this discussion.

You are the elite, or promised a path to be an elite, if you join.  It's OK to rule the weak, enslave them or extort huge amounts of money from them.  In order to move up the path of the elite, or keep yourself there, you will do a lot of things otherwise you will not do.

You are a slave master that money can't buy.  You regard that you are the saviour of mankind while Bill Gate is far from it.  It's OK not to talk to your family because they don't agree with you and they are weak.

The current leadership structure of a cult is a pyramid scheme to enrich people at the top - a cult is about money and power, exchangeable.

One difference between a religion and a cult is the concept of zero return, or that a cult rob Peter to pay Paul.  An established "religion" do not need to do that.

A cult sells you something addictive, for example, auditing.

Religion and cult evolve, so the concept of evolution make sense.  Evolution goes in all directions and cults are at the dead ends if they can't adapt.  Cults will have a lot of anti-society features, such as Fair Game and Keep Scientology Working.  Society will kill them like cancer.

Evolution gave us a large brain, astronomy and condoms.  You can't keep on fighting these things, for one Galileo that falls, ten will be born in his place.