Scientology is Solutions: Your Human Rights

Scientologists want a better world. We try to use what we know of Scientology to achieve that. To someone who understands the basics of Scientology, the need for human rights in this world is very obvious.

When a government feels it has a perfect right to pick up a citizen of another country who is not charged with any crime and transport him to third country so he can be tortured, when slavery is still going on in the world and when other human rights abuses are occurring all over the world, then there is no true security for anyone.

Donations from the International Associations of Scientologists have

• funded Public Service Announcement videos that promote the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
• published educational booklets to explain Human Rights to children,
• funded a world tour that this year alone has covered 174.000 miles and travelled to 57 cities in 45 nations,
• helped build an impressive new Human Rights website,
• helped in getting 570 organizations and governments to work with the human rights program as part of a unified front across 85 nations
• and much more.

So, Scientology not only supplies solutions within the scope of a single individual, but also in the broader scope of solutions for mankind.

Hope for the Congo

Amidst the confusion of the fighting in the Congo it seems there is a ray of hope. It is mentioned in an article in the New York Times, although the journalist probably didn't even realize it. See paragraph 3: Confusion Reigns on Congo’s Front Line.

There is a tenuous cease fire in place at the moment, so let's hope that The Way to Happiness can help spread some calm in a place where it is sorely needed.

Another Criminon Success

Criminon's results speak for themselves:

When I first begin these 7 courses I didn't feel a whole lot of confidence in myself, now 4 courses later I can proudly stand up and say I'm a changed man!

I'm no longer "thinking" about helping myself become a better person. I'm doing it! Those around me see the changes in my everyday attitude. These courses are helping me to help others over come obstacles and addictions.

Recently I had another inmate come to my cell and ask me if I was the "Criminon dude" everyone is talking about. When I told him I was, he held his hand out and when we shook hands he said to keep on helping these "cats" because they really need the kind of caring, understanding and willingness in their lives I've been showing them. He then asked me if he could maybe get the address to "Criminon" so he could take the courses for himself.

With tears in my eyes I gave him that address!

If anyone ever has doubts about these courses, just ask an inmate that's had the world turn its back on him and see the look in his eyes. You'll find your answer. I will always help those who have a willingness to change.

An inmate from Arkansas

In case you didn't know, Criminon (which means "no crime") is an international non-profit public benefit corporation dedicated to addressing the causes of criminality and restoring the criminal’s self-respect through effective drug detoxification, education and common sense programs. By making them responsible for their actions, people under the Criminal Justice system can become ethical and productive citizens. Criminon uses secular methods developed by L. Ron Hubbard.

Foundation for a Drug Free World

The new website for the Foundation for a Drug Free World is awesome. That's the best word I can come up with, anyway.

It has an amazing "Flash" home page and a superb video channel.

Check it out.

Win from a Criminon student

A friend of mine is a correspondence course supervisor for the Criminon program. She just shared this win from one of her students. He is serving time and took the course while in jail. His win was from the Personal Integrity Course:

In the past I've done wrong and hurt people and justified it by saying look what people have done to me. I'm being punished for that now. But now I have learned to make decisions thinking of others first and taking responsibility for my actions. So I don't make the same mistakes now. This course has helped me fine tune and explore how to be a better person and avoid overt actions against society. - TB, Florida

It's great to see another human being helped to free himself of his past and gain the ability to move on to a better future: better for him and for society. Yes, criminal rehabilitation is possible if you have effective methods with which to help them.

Charity Concert raises nice chunk of change for Air Ambulance

I wish I'd been there.

The L. Ron Hubbard Foundation and the Church of Scientology held a charity concert at Saint Hill Manor in the UK, featuring musical styles ranging from the rock of Edgar Winter through the pop of Kate Ceberano, the Jazz of Elena Roggero all the way to the jive of the Jive Aces.

There were more than 1,500 there enjoying the concert and giving their support, including Mayors, District Council Chairmen, Town Councillors, and community leaders from all over the South of England. Also attending were representatives from a wide variety of embassies, including from Cameroon, Bulgaria, Vietnam, Fiji, South Africa, and Liberia. Other guests flew in especially from all over Europe and as far away as the United States and Canada.

The beautiful Kelly Preston hosted the event and presented the check for £50,000 to Sussex Air Ambulance.

You can read more about it:

• Kelly Preston Hosts Sussex Charity Concert


• Saint Hill Gala Charity Concert 2008 (with videos)


• Scientology Gala - 12th Annual Charity Concert

How Drug Smart are you? Take the Quiz.

It's a short quiz but I wonder how many of you will know the answers.

The article is by the Community Drug Education Programs Coordinator for the Church of Scientology International, a lady who is very well informed in this area.

So, read the article and take the quiz and learn some interesting facts:

Scientology Churches Support Drug Prevention

Church of Scientology London Runs for Charity

The Church of Scientology of London put together a team that took part in the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay, an event that raises money for charity.

You can read all about it here: Church of Scientology London Takes Part in the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay.

Boston Legal Gets it Right!

The Sept 29 episode of TV show Boston Legal really showed the truth about big pharma and their money making activities at the expense of true help. This article on the blog called "Side Effects of Antidepressants, Antipsychotics, Psychostimulants, Hypnotics and More", tells you even more about it: Big Pharma (PhRMA) Hammered on Boston Legal.

Here is one of the best quotes from the show:

Alan, “The fact is the U.S. pharmaceutical industry spends almost twice as much on promotion as it does on research and development. That’s obscene! American television viewers see as much as 16 hours of prescription advertising each year. 16 hours! That’s more time than most people spend at the movies. The fact is that they invent diseases like Social Phobia, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, to sell mind altering drugs.”

Wow! Hollywood gets it right.

Study: Psych Drugs kill 23,000 elderly in the UK every year

Here is an alarming article about a study done in the UK that shows over 23,000 elderly patients are killed by psych drugs administered to "keep them quiet".

Ballard and colleagues found that Alzheimer's patients who were treated with anti-psychotics had a significantly higher rate of death than those given a placebo. After 24 months of treatment, only 54.8 percent of the anti-psychotic group was still alive, compared with 78 percent of the placebo group. By 42 months, the survival rates had dropped to 28 percent in the anti-psychotic group and 60 percent in the placebo group.

Those are frightening statistics. You can read the full story here: 23,000 Alzheimer's Patients Killed Each Year in the U.K. by Psych Drugs.

These drugs are not only damaging to the brain but they also cause heart attacks and more and according to this study they actually don't help the people they are given to. Isn't it time we stopped drugging our children, elderly and ourselves just so drug companies can make huge profits?

Scientology: Anti-Drug Campaign

Here is one of the PSA's produced for the anti-drug campaign. "Party all night"



The truth can be pretty hard-hitting.

What the Church of Scientology wants its members to do - (cont)

The tools the Church uses to help promote the idea of a drug-free life include the "Truth about Drugs Video", the Truth about Drugs booklets and the Truth about Drugs Public Service Announcements.

Other cool programs include the Drug Free Marshals and the Drug Free Ambassadors.

Here are some facts about the campaign:

• 385 anti-drug partnerships forged in cities and towns
• Booklets distributed to 2,253.000 people in high drug usage zones
• 111 million reached with the Truth About Drugs message in the last year.
• 8,000 booklets a day distributed in high usage neighborhoods.
• Pledge drives (pledging to be drug free) and youth rallies reach 3 million youth a week in high risk schools
• PSAs airing in cafes, theaters, bars and clubs across eleven top drug consumption nations.

This is all being done by Scientologists who volunteer their time to help their communities.

What the Church of Scientology wants its members to do - 2

A few posts ago I told you about the human rights activities that the Church of Scientology encourages its members to get involved with. In this post I'm going to talk about the the anti-drug campaign that the Church encourages us to support.

To begin with here is an article on the New York Coordinator for the Foundation for a Drug-Free World: Scientologists In Action: Meghan Fialkoff. This is a great interview where Meghan shares her reasons for helping keep kids and adults of drugs. I particularly like her comment: "When you know there are things going on in the world which are heading in a bad direction, and you know you have the exact tools to handle those situations, help people, and save lives, if you then don't do anything about it you are the one who has to live with that."

What have you done for me lately?

My wife was watching a video about various celebrities getting fed up with the media harassment of Tom Cruise (I don't know what site she was on but you can see the video here: Celebrities say "Enough is Enough"). Anyway, she noticed a comment someone had posted that said something like "They should leave him alone. But what does his church do for anyone anyway?"

My wife was flabbergasted: What does his church do? The commenter obviously had no idea. Now I won't vent my own frustrations in this area (or at least I'll keep it to a minimum) but the main-stream media almost never mentions the gazillions of things Scientologists and the Church of Scientology do for their fellow man.

So for the benefit of anyone who doesn't know, here is a small sample:

• Runs the largest residential drug rehab network in the world
• Runs the largest anti-drug educational campaign in the world
• Runs the largest human rights educational campaign in the world
• Runs the largest volunteer disaster relief organization in the world
• Runs the largest psychiatric abuse watchdog organization in the world

Yeah, but what have you done for me lately?

What Scientologists Did in 2007 - Part 2

Last year we continued to run the largest Human Rights campaign in the world, distributing over 100,000 Human Rights Education kits to civic and social associations, educators and legislators.

The 30 Human Rights Public Service Announcements which demonstrate each of our human rights were aired on CNN, ESPN, Sky News and on screens at airports, bus stations and many more places.

We helped over 140,000 people sign petitions urging their governments to adopt a human rights agenda and mobilized another 720,000 people as human rights advocates.

Since the start of this campaign (shortly after 9/11) we have introduced 600 million people to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

More ahead in 2008!
2008 marks the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in recognition of this, a new series of Human Rights message ads will run in governmental newspapers and journals all over the world.

Plus we will introduce even more people to the Universal Declaration so millions more will know what their rights are, because only by educating people and by them demanding their rights will Human Rights become a fact.

What Scientologists Did in 2007 – Part 1

2007 was another very active year for Scientologists all over the planet.

We continued to run the largest anti-drug campaign in the world, distributing over 156,000 "Truth About Drugs" booklets, putting up 280,000 posters and billboards across 57 nations and creating three Truth About Drugs Public Service Announcements that will play on TV networks to 20 million 7 – 14 year olds and their parents.

Since its inception the campaign has gotten "Truth About Drugs" booklets into the hands of more than 18 million people in 15 different languages. All this has been achieved through the volunteer efforts and donations of Scientologists and the support of the International Association of Scientologists.

Download free booklets and learn the truth about drugs:

• Ecstasy
  
• Crystal Meth
  
• Joints
  
• Crack
  
• Cocaine
  
• Kiddie Coke
  
• Painkillers
  
• Heroin
  
• LSD
  
• The Truth About Drugs

Helping to prevent Crime and Drug Abuse

National Night Out is an annual event sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch. It is designed to
* Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness;
* Generate support for, and participation in, local anti-crime programs;
* Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; and
* Send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

Churches of Scientology all over the United States participate in National Night Out, supporting their communities and community partnerships with law enforcement. At this year's event, Scientologists also called for parents, educators, and community groups to strike back at widespread drug abuse and crime by initiating strategies for drug demand reduction.

The full story can be read here: National Night Groups Urged to Strike Back at Crime and Drug Abuse

Drug-Free Hungary Marathon 2007

Look at all the hands! That's kids in Hungary pledging to be drug free!

Just one of the many products from the Drug-Free Hungary Marathon 2007.

I wrote an article earlier about Scientologists being drug-free and the Marathon is just one more way we go about encouraging others to live happy and drug-free lives. We're a busy lot!

Head First Books: Hitting and Missing the Mark

Several months ago I bought the best book I've come across to do with Software Design Patterns: Head First Design Patterns. It's a great book for software developers who want to understand what design patterns are and how to use them effectively. The reason it is so good is that purely by accident it utilizes some of the basics of L. Ron Hubbard's Study Technology.

• The first basic is study gradients. The book takes a "start simple and gradually get more complex" approach when introducing the different patterns, and the book itself starts with the simpler patterns and gradually gets into the more complex.
• Next is supplying the mass or objects of the subject. Not an easy thing to do when talking about software, but the book gives tons of real-world examples. It demonstrates why a pattern would be better to use than another method by showing you realistic examples.
• It's not bad on defining words, but could do a better job. For example it doesn't really get into a clear definition of "Design Pattern" until page 579.
• Another basic of Study Technology is emphasis on underlying basics and fundamentals. The book does a good job of that.

Compared to other Design Pattern books I've had to painfully slog through, because they violated just about every principle of Study Technology, this one was not only easy to read but I got a much better understanding of the subject and found I could apply it much better, which is after all the end product of study.

So, when I was looking for a good book on project management I decided to check out the book Head First PMP (PMP means Project Management Professional). I browsed through it in the store and was majorly disappointed. Unfortunately, because the designers of the 'Head First" methodology think that they are basically stuffing a brain rather than communicating ideas to a living being, the book completely misses the mark. It just isn't useful. It has too many of the "Head First" gimmicks in it and the actual principles which made Head First Design Patterns work were (as far as I could see) missing.

For those of you interested in learning more about L. Ron Hubbard Study Technology here are some links:

• L. Ron Hubbard Study Technology: Effective Learning and Education
• Applied Scholastics Study Technology and Tutoring
• Study Technology in Use
• Applied Scholastics International
• Study Trouble; Difficulty Learning and Retaining Things?
• How can we improve the quality of education?
• Overcoming Education Struggles & Learning Disabilities

Cruise the heal-raiser - It's Hollywood in Chelsea at WTC bash

Superstar actor Tom Cruise headlined a Chelsea soiree with all the excitement of a movie premiere last night to raise money for his program to help Ground Zero workers still suffering from the toxic after-effects of 9/11.

"It is an injustice that after six years people who were down there are still suffering," Cruise told about 200 guests. A fund-raiser for the program held last year raised $1.5 million. The money goes to the New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project, a program Cruise co-founded in 2002.

From Cruise the heal-raiser