Publication: AAP PR Releases

Media release distributed by AAP Medianet.

Church Responds to Second Xenophon Allegation

We note that although Senator Xenophon mentioned the name of the deceased child in Parliament, NSW law prohibits such identification

In a speech in the Senate last week, Senator Nick Xenophon made several allegations concerning the Church of Scientology, including one related to the tragic death of a two-and-a-half-year-old girl in February 2004.

The Church of Scientology is responding to each of these false allegations for the purpose of placing the truth in the public record. The facts are these:

In September 2005, Deputy State Coroner Dorelle Pinch concluded the child died following the accidental ingestion of some 30 potassium chloride tablets in the family home.

Senator Xenophon, in his speech last week, claimed potassium chloride was used by the girl’s father as part of the Purification Program of the Church of Scientology.

This is utterly false. Potassium chloride is not part of any Church program or service in Australia or internationally.

The Coroner’s finding said:

‘Mr S gave evidence that he started using potassium supplements around 1978. At that time he worked for the Department of Lands and was often required to work in rural areas of New South Wales in high temperatures. Apparently, one of his work colleagues recommended that he take potassium for salt depletion.

‘Mr S stated that he had been using the particular product Slow-K, a sustained release potassium preparation, for the last five years. He purchased this at various pharmacies in Sydney and in country centres’.

The Coroner’s findings in this case made no mention whatsoever of the Church of Scientology or its services, recognising that the Church was not involved in any way in this tragic incident.

There was no attempt by Church executives to interfere in either the police investigation of the death or the coronial investigation.

The truth about Scientology is simple. Our aims include a world without insanity, without criminals and without war. The Scientology religion recognises Man as a spiritual being with unlimited potential, and with care and compassion, the Church assists individuals to achieve spiritual freedom and happiness.

The Church of Scientology is also engaged in broad community programs including a drug prevention program that has reached over 500,000 individuals in Australia. Scientologists also support literacy programs for at-risk youth and provide humanitarian assistance in disaster areas and inner cities through the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Program.

Scientology has fought for religious freedom for all around the world. In a few countries, the Church has been forced to litigate the issue of its religiosity, either affirmatively or in response to outrageous unfounded charges. Inevitably, the Church has prevailed in these cases and its status as a world religion has been unequivocally recognised. Some of these decisions, including decisions by the Cassation Court in Italy and the 1983 decision by the High Court in Australia, are now considered by leading scholars and judicial authorities to have established the standards regarding religious recognition that all religions must meet.

Factual information about the Church of Scientology and its practices and many world-wide social programs can be viewed at its video channel http://www.scientology.org

The Coroner’s decision can be read at:
http:/www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/coroners_court/ll_coroners.nsf/vwFiles/KS.doc/$file/KS.doc

For more information:
Vicki Dunstan
0402 617 409
vicki.dunstan@scientology.net.au

SOURCE: Church of Scientology

Cheers,

Venise

The Muppets do Bohemian Rhapsody

VIEW THE FILM HERE:

The Marketing of Madness

If you have ever thought or had the consideration that the way that depression is treated, with anti depressants or psychotropic drugs is a bit odd, or the fact that so many children and the elderly are being drugged today with heavy psychotropic drugs is not quite right….. WATCH THIS FILM and do PLEASE forward it on to everyone that you know.

Shaw’s headline read “Xenophon didn’t go far enough: no religion should be tax free.”

AGREE? DISAGREE?

I agree: I cited some of the obscene wealth of some cults/religions to re-enforce my belief. My belief being NO RELIGION SHOULD BE TAX-FREE.

Are you with me so far?

Do you think you may err on the side of pedantry at all? A taxation expert’s opinion, although perfectly valid-in its place-does not make for riveting reading.

When I allude to something which is not at all germane to a subject-such as using horsy terms-it is a sure sign that someone is boring the pants off me. Okay?

Don’t attribute that quote to NEWS.com.au. Attribute it to Virginia Stewart, cult spokesperson.

NEWS.com.au reports:
The church today said the allegations were false. “Based on detailed evidence, deputy state coroner Jacqueline Milledge ruled that Lauren’s death was an accident and that an inquest was unnecessary,” the church’s spokeswoman, Virginia Stewart, said in a statement.

The father alleges that he was pressured not to reveal this information. Therein lies the issue.

Senator Xenophon has exploited this personal tragedy and made some shocking and untrue allegations to impugn the reputation of the Church of Scientology

No, I am not ashamed. I really do not cover up on line. Non-believer, caring, perhaps a bit left of centre.

Goodness knows why I am even writing this explanation, because it is consistent with everything I have ever posted. I don’t quite know what is meant by the statement re syntax.

On this thread, I have consistently sought to draw attention to the real situation re tax liability of DGR (Deductable Gift Recipient) status of organisations and the many different ways that organisations can be exempted from taxes, both State and Federal, due to their status before the law - religious, charitable, tax exempt, etc. The number and type of taxes is varied, from Local Government to State to Federal and can be levied upon payrolls, income, land value, local government rates and so forth. The range is broad and there is no catagory of religion or private body which is, in all instances, “tax exempt”. This term is an oversimplification of the real world situation and is misleading, as I have stated several times.

Anybody who thinks that religions are exempt from the whole gamut of taxes is misguided, as also is anyone who thinks that other organisations which may be tax exempt for certain purposes are on a level footing with the God-Botherers.

Vernise, please proof read that which you post and try to be consistent and logical, both of which are at times beyond your grasp.

If you don’t understand the subject and/or the discussion, may I suggest that you resume your slumbers in private and leave the rest of us to stay on topic and rational?

In summary, I would welcome an inquiry into the tax exempt nature of religions and would also support similar exemptions from taxation in respect of humanism, atheism and so forth. If this is not popular, then I suggest that any tax exemption for propagation or teaching of religion should be banned.

So, get off your horse and concentrate on the debate. Please.

Hummmmn. Thinks; During this thread you have fronted up to the jump of religion a few times, then sort of cantered sideways, or ducked-out as we horsey types say. Perhaps you should front up to it again. But this time take the jump and admit that you are a believer.

There’s no shame in being a believer-unless you think so.

We tax people in order to redistribute the money into services. Religions provide a host of services. Whether you like it or not, making them all tax exempt is the easiest way to allow them to provide those services. The alternative is to tax them, waste half the taxes paying for public servants to decide where the money goes, and then end up sending the remaining money back to religious institutions when the government decides that they need the services.

Great idea.

You have no idea who Anonymous are. You don’t get it. They are not an underground hate group (as your clandestine organisation has labelled them), they are an emergent property of society at large. They are the made from its many individuals acting according to their own rules and moralities out of which forms a pattern of behaviour. Individual people come and go at any point. There is no leader. No organisation. No tangible target for your lawyers to acquire.

While I do not condone the criminal actions of any individual, I understand their motivations. The cult of $cientology has been exposed for the massive fraud it truly is. Thanks to the internet we have all seen your bizarre OT, auditing, and procedural documents which detail the fantastic claims made by your founding sci-fi author.

If you really do have the technology to save humanity, then bring it out in the open so that we can test it, refine it, make it publicly available in every hospital, and care facility in the country. Just like any other company you can retain the rights to the technology, save millions of people, and make an absolute fortune in the process. I am sure the government would gladly give you massive grants to develop your product if it’s actually shown to work. So how about it?

By the way, I do not think anyone here is impressed by a “news” article published by the cult itself:

“FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Karin Pouw
Church of Scientology International
(323)960-3500
mediarelations@scientology.org

SOURCE Church of Scientology International”

Yawn.