the _alf blog

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Interview with a Scientologist: What is the Citizens Commission on Human Rights?

Interviewer: What is the Citizens Commission on Human Rights?

Scientologist: The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) is a Church of Scientology sponsored social reform organization formed in 1969 to expose and eradicate criminal acts and human rights abuses by psychiatry. There are 118 CCHR chapters in 27 countries throughout the world. These chapters investigate psychiatric abuses and bring these to the attention of the media, legislators and law enforcement agencies.

CCHR is not anti-psychiatry. Rather, it opposes brutal practices, and its aim is to end the use psychosurgery, electroshock treatment and the administration of dangerous psychiatric drugs that have destroyed the minds and lives of millions of individuals.

And Scientologists believe that the treatment of mentally caused ills should not be divorced from the field of religion. Psychiatry has attempted to preempt this religious role.

Professor Thomas Szasz, author of The Manufacture of Madness, said of CCHR at its 25th anniversary celebrations in February of 1994:

“We should all honor CCHR because it is really the organization that for the first time in human history has organized a politically, socially, internationally significant voice to combat psychiatry. This has never been done in human history before.”

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Alf Funnies: Napolean Dynamite Google Map

Check out this set of images and locations for Napolean Dynamite. Put together using Google Maps, you can see the markers of the various locations, along with choice clips from the movie.

http://www.dynamitemap.com/

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Bona Fide Scientology - What's it all About

The Church of Scientology, while it differs from other religions in certain ways, is in fact a bona fide religion. This collection of links will help answer the question of why Scientology is a religion. I've tried to break it down further than just the major sections in order to assist you in finding specific things you are looking for.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

The Scientology Handbook

The Scientology Handbook


One publication that I've found very practical and useful is the Scientology Handbook.

The book goes through various parts of peoples' lives, different situations or difficulties we have and gives some down-to-Earth Scientology techniques to resolve these issues.

The key point to understand is that Scientology is based on many years of intense research by L. Ron Hubbard into how the mind and life work. With the magnitude of the discoveries he made, and the fact that these discoveries were of the basic components of life itself, simple techniques to handle situations in one's life naturally followed.

Techniques given here represent Scientology that can be applied by anyone to resolve the problems each of us confront in our day-to-day lives.

Relationships
- Modern relationships often degenerate into petty arguments and grudges. But why? In this section you can find out what relationships are actually based on, and how to prevent them from going up in smoke by applying some simple, but extremely power concepts. Be it personal, business, whatever.

Life's Goals - In my experience, as one gets older he starts to ask himself: So what's the deal with my life? What have I accomplished, and what am I going to accomplish? And of course this leads into so how to I organize this so I can really achieve it. This section explains.

Marriage - Additional concepts embrace the subject of marriage. Learn what specifically keeps a marriage together and how to apply this to yours (I can personally vouch for this one, as my marriage - going on five years - has only gotten stronger and better with the passage of time).

Children - It is common knowledge that a child raised properly will grow up to become a successful adult, and happy at what he or she does for a living. But the question is, what is a "proper upbrining". I can think of quite a few definitions. The key is to define it in terms of rock-bottom basics about what people are and the principles on which they operate.

Stress on the Job - As one's work consumes a rather significant portion of one's life, you mind as well figure out what that is all about as well and learn to be successful at that. Besides, being successful at one's work can mean the difference between success and failure in one's life overall, since economics tends to have a heavy bearing on ones standard of living. Learn not only to deal with the stress, but to become a positive success.

The Future - Learn to plan and organize the future. The basic principles of life can easily be applied to one's future in order to organize it so that one achieves his objectives.

Drug Dependency - With drug use a common scourge in today's society, it's no wonder the drug dependency is so common. And while this isn't a problem for everyone, it's not a pretty sight when yourself or someone you love has an addiction. Scientology takes a unique approach and deals with the person himself, not just his body, and gets to the root of the problem.

Self-Esteem - Why does one's esteem fade? What can be done to fix it? Scientology can help you find this out as well.

Integrity - Above all else, one's personal integrity is key to living happily. If you betray yourself - your done for - no doubt about it (maybe slowly, maybe quickly, but nonetheless definitely) .

Communication - The magic of communication is difficult to overstate. Many of the other subjects covered here are in themselves based on communication. In Scientology the basic concepts have been isolated and documented, making it simple for you to understand and apply the principles of communication to your life.

Study Trouble - Becoming educated is a vital part of survival for each one of us. Unfortunately, we are not taught how to study in school, just that we need to. The basic concepts on this are very simple and can be learned and applied rapidly by anyone. (As a note: This material is designed to be very simple, since it needs to be understandable by all - however, this - like all of these Scientology concepts - is based on basic principle and has been proven workable time and time again - statistics in schools all over the world prove it.)

Conflicts - Find out why people have hidden and mysterious conflicts, and what you can do about it.

Solutions to a Dangerous Environment - Learn what a dangerious environemnt is, and what can be done to resolve it.

Predicting People - This is, from my personal observation, another point that many, many of us fall down on. In business it is absolutely vital to know how to choose your people.

Illnesses & Injuries - A number of simple Scientology Assists as they are called, exist to help people speedily recover from illnesses and injuries.

Ups and Downs - Learn what causes the ups and downs in ones life. It might not be what you think!


Additional Resources:
Scientology.org
Scientologist and Human Rights Activist - David Miscavige

Religious Discrimination in France — A Modern Day McCarthyism

Religious Discrimination in France — A Modern Day McCarthyism


A publication posted by the Church of Scientology on www.humanrights-france.org discusses how the modern day tactics of the French government in their attempt to squash minority religions resembles the "red-scare" tactics that senator Joseph McCarthy used in 1950 to point fingers at and discredit his opponents. Thus "McCarthyism", and the adaptation: A Modern Day McCarthyism. The full publication is here, but here's my take:



This tactic seems to be a common one actually. Senator McCarthy lent his name to his spear campaigns and gave us the new word "McCarthyism", however, it seems to me that this tactic is also a cousin to what is being done in America today on the terrorism front as well.


When you boil it down, it looks like this: Some vested interest decides that they need to take out some people because they are causing trouble (numerous examples of this exist, I won't bother to expound - this could be political, economic, social, etc.) But of course you have to do this in a politically correct way, so you start spreading the word about so and so and such and such (any good media man can tell you in half a second what will get people to start screaming if published in the papers) and get people all up in arms: Textbook black propaganda. Then you use the social upheaval, egged on via the media through the government and other connections, to pass some laws (or create blacklists, etc.) that allow you to get rid of the target person or group. Simple, has been done time and time again. This is another good example.


In this publication, they describe "Guilty by Association" - and this is an imperitive point. The primary tool is the use of propaganda to associate the target with something that the public considers negative. Examples: capitalism & democracy with aristocracy (Russia, 198x), minority religions with cults (France, 200x), Jews & blacks with animals (Europe, 1938-1944), the list goes on.



The article also discusses the connections used to forward these campaigns, and the list isn't pretty. We're not talking about just a few random people who decided to start a smear campaign - all kinds of people are tied into this thing.


One of the favorite defense tactics when this campaign is running is to simply point the finger at whoever is opposing you. In 1950 it was "he's a communist". Today it's "they're a cult". Different words, identical tactic: Use innuendo to fuel the unrest and create enmity toward any opposition by positioning them with the "cultists", "communists", and so on.


As the saying goes, history oft repeats itself.


-------------------


At www.humanrights-france.org you'll find a number of additional resources on this subject. However, there are some choice picks that seem to make the point pretty well:


Unfounded Claims


U.S. Congressman Joseph Pitts in a hearing regarding international human rights explained how France and other countries had compiled unsubstantiated lists of minority group which were being discriminated against. One example, for Belgium was:


"The parliamentary commission actually believed the account of one person who said that Hasidic Jews were dangerous because they stapled their children’s fingers together - it’s absolutely ludicrous. But these kinds of accusations have dangerous consequences and so the Belgium government has restricted religious freedom. There are other Western European nations whose actions are disturbing."


False Identification


Congressman Chris Smith in another hearing pointed out the use of specific incidents to put into place legislation which restricts freedom of religion overall (note again, was is the same tactic used to install the Patriot Act, and others - not to get into a whole thing on that, but just notice the mechanism).


"The mantra seems to be that there is a need for the state to respond to the mass suicides of the Solar Temple or even the Guyana suicides more than twenty years ago. They keep bringing out that as if that justifies this sweeping new crackdown on other religious and free exercise of conscience. Rather than allowing criminal provisions in the law to address those practices whenever and wherever they may occur."


And of course, the churches in France were not happy either.


Blacklists


In 1996 a "cult blacklist" was drawn up by the French government. The United States State Department criticized the way it was drawn up. Its 1999 Religious Freedom report states: "The [Cult] report was prepared without the benefit of full and complete hearings regarding the groups identified on the list. Groups were not told why they were placed on the list [and] there is no mechanism for changing the list."


One example (more):


'The Ministry of Education has advised schools in France not to contract with Panda and to stop using its software, solely because Panda’s founder is a Scientologist. On May 3rd, 2001, an official of the Rectorat of Montpellier, a Ministry of National Education entity for the city of Montpellier, sent a letter to Colleges under the Rectorat’s jurisdiction in France. Tellingly, while the letter admits that the software poses “no danger”, it instructs colleges to cease using it: “Even though this material presents no danger in its present form, I am asking you to put it out of use.”'


A number of different religions are targeted, you can read more about them here.


Hearings & Testimonials


A number of hearings and testimonials on Human Rights in France have occurred to help spread the word and make these indignities known.


In an open letter to "Persons Concerned with Religious Liberty in France" by Anson Shupe, he said:


"France's President Chirac's signing of the About-Picard Bill passed by that country's legislative bodies is the modern day equivalent of similar legal maneuvers in Germany in the 1930s. That regime also had categories of religions to be monitored and possibly eliminated if not repressed, including Jews, Jehovah's Witnesses, Baptists and others. This is quite similar to almost 200 religious groups that have been listed in this legislative process..." - Anson Shupe: Professor, Sociology & Anthropology, Indiana


In 2000, the Church of Scientology helped form an organization called CAP, which is made up of 30 minority religious and spiritual groups, and its aim is to document the discrimination and bring it to the attention of human rights organizations. It has also held hearings in an out-spoken effort in this matter of human rights.


Summary


Religious discrimination is not a new concept, in fact the subject itself and the techniques used to effect it have evolved very little in the past decades and even centuries. However, societies change slowly, and are readily susceptible to the same ploys again and again. In France, we have a problem of religious discrimination, and it sets a precedent for other more grave turns of fate for religious liberties. Who knows what the scene will look like in 5 or 10 years — and it is that fate that we must continue to be alert for and speak out against.




Additional Resources:
Scientology.org
Chairman of the Board, Religious Technology Center - David Miscavige


Tuesday, August 22, 2006

A Chronology of the Global Human Rights Struggle

The struggle for Human Rights is, unfortunately, not a new concept.

The historians tell us that since the beginning of recorded history (about 10,000 years or so), it is well documented that we've been dealing with this problem. With oppression in the form of ruler or over powering adversary, it seems humankind has continually fought this battle.

And heck, if it's been going on strong for 10,000 years, what's been happening for the prior millions? Statistically, the same thing!

This article gives the timeline:

http://www.globalissues.org/HumanRights/Abuses/Chronology.asp


---------

And so we find today instances of human rights abuse the world over. In France, for example, the freedom to practice one's religion has been targeted.

Here are some more links from www.humanrights-france.org about that:

Actions for Religious Tolerance
European Criticisms of Religious Intolerance
Specific Organizations that were Discriminated Against
How France's Minority Religion ("Sect") Discrimination Resembles the Tactics of Senator Joseph McCarthy in his "Red Scare" Campaigns
Side-by-Side Comparision of Anti-Religious Statements with the French Constitution
Additional Examples of Discrimination and the Connections Thereof
Publisher of Scientology Books had Application to Exhibit in French Bookfair Denied
Minority Hearings that Have Been Held
Personal Stories of Discrimination

Additional Resources:
Scientology.org
Scientologist and Human Rights Activist - David Miscavige

The Space Shuttle Columbia Incident and Microsoft PowerPoint

I know this is old, old news, but I ran into this today and thought I'd put up a post on it.

This is the Washington post article about the PowerPoint presentation that led to faulty decisions and disaster:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ article/2005/08/29/AR2005082901444.html

Personally, I think it pretty rediculous to blame the software for the poor conveyance of vital information. This is the same category as blaming the gun instead of the guy that pulled the trigger. Besides, what do you want them to do? Put a big label on the box that says "Listen you fool, if you are trying to communicate information that might involve people living or dying, or things exploding, etc., then make sure you put it in big enough type because the default is made for sales presentations and is too small." Hmmn... something wrong with this picture.

The Alf Recommends Issue Tracking Software for Politicians

It just occured to me today that there is a significant problem with American and International politics that the software development industry has had licked for years: Issue Tracking.

Don't you ever wonder what happens to all those issues that hear politicians talk about? I was going to give you a list, but you know what - I can't hardly remember any because they're not tracked!

Where's the database? Who's making sure these "bugs" get fixed before the next candidate gets released? You hear about it on the radio one day, next week it's like it never happened.

Can you imagine if software companies were that slack with thier issue tracking. Windows and Internet Explorer bugs would be nothing in comparison.

So the fix is simple: Fire up BugZilla or other issue tracking software and enter in all of the crazy and alarming stories you hear on the major news networks, and assign them to the different political leaders responsible. Then, when election times rolls around, compare the list of outstanding "bugs" ;-)

Monday, August 21, 2006

Alf Funnies: Man Blames Dell Laptop for House Fire

This is a funny article about an exploding Dell laptop battery (supposedly anyway) that set a man's house on fire. Picture included.

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/laptops/ man-blames-dell-laptop-for-house-fire-195540.php

Disaster Relief

Unfortunately, events in recent years seemed to have brought the subject of disaster relief much closer to the limelight than in the previous decade. With 9/11 and all of the various smaller terrorist-related incidents, plus several major natural disasters like hurricane Katrina and the tsunami in Southeast Asia, it's a big deal.

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers are a group of vounteers who freely offer help using Scientology techniques to anyone in need.

One thing that I find very important for people to understand is the difference between what the Scientology Volunteer Ministers do and what others do as part of disaster relief efforts. While governments already employ all manner of staff to handle the physical destruction that happens during these times (I am referring to firemen, police officers, etc.), there is however, another, additional function which is not performed by any of those fine people: What does one do to address the mental state of all of the people who survived but with torn lives due to injuries, loss of property in many cases the deaths of people they knew and loved.

This is why I feel so strongly about what the Scientology Volunteer Ministers do: it's extremely vital, is often not done in their absence, and they are uniquely suited to the job due to their Scientology training.

Afterall, once the dust has settled and the immediate disaster is over, the highest priority is to put the survivors back together so they can carry on. It can be a tough job sometimes, and isn't one that can be done with just building materials - it's a mental and spiritual matter.

As a note, the VMs don't just work in times and places of disaster. All year round they continue to give help to those in need of it. Check out the Volunteer Ministers web site for more info.

Sunday, August 20, 2006

AIDS Pharmaceutical Scam

This is a pretty wild story about a lady that was diagnosed for AIDS when she was pregnant, and it turned out be a wrong diagnosis. She decided to participate in a “study” where she was put on heavy experimental phamaceuticals and died shortly after giving birth. She was kept on the drugs for a number of months, getting sicker week after week, and she was kept on it - as part of the "experiment". It’s sad that corruption like this goes on. Don’t know what the figures are on things like this, would need to do more research, but I’m sure this isn’t just some isolated case. Apparently this was part of a NIH-directed study.

The article is hosted at harpers.org.

Resources on Human Rights in France

I was doing research on human rights and started digging into the Human Rights in France site, sponsored by the Church of Scientology.

Here is a list of resources that I came up with. The Personal Stories of Religious Discrimination (last link) is particularly telling.

Human Rights France Resources:

Human Rights France Home Page

International Actions for Tolerance in France

European Criticisms of Status of Human Rights in France

Companies that Were Blacklisted in France Due to Religious Beliefs

Human Rights France Publications

Resources for Mr. David Miscavige, Humanitarian and Scientologist

Documentation of Intolerance

Specific Religions Discriminated Against

Personal Stores of Religious Discrimination

Saturday, August 19, 2006

This one made me laugh, I just had to throw on here: There is a company called the Soylent Green Biscuit Company. Of course they sell Soylent Green T-shirts instead of biscuits, but it's still an interesting name.

What it T-I-Z with da R-F-I-D

RFID

RFID is Radio Frequency ID technology, and is basically just a short-range radio-based communications technology. The difference between it and previous technology primarily lies in it's size (small enough to be easily concealed in common objects) and it's cost (cheap enough to be distributed at a massive scale).

RFID chips are used for many things including detecting theft of merchandise, tracking shipments as they pass through plane/train/ship ports, as well as in up and coming credit and identification cards.

This (edited) excerpt from C|Net news helps explain:

"The generic name for this technology is RFID, which stands for radio frequency identification. RFID tags are very small microchips, which already have shrunk to half the size of a grain of sand. They listen for a radio query and respond by transmitting their unique ID code. Most RFID tags have no batteries: They use the power from the initial radio signal to transmit their response.

"You should become familiar with RFID technology because you'll be hearing much more about it soon. Retailers adore the concept, and CNET News.com's own Alorie Gilbert wrote about how Wal-Mart and the U.K.-based grocery chain Tesco are starting to install 'smart shelves' with RFID readers. In what will become the largest test of the technology, consumer goods giant Gillette recently said it would purchase 500 million RFID tags from Alien Technology of Morgan Hill, California.

"Alien Technology won't reveal how it charges for each tag, but industry estimates hover around 25 cents. The company does predict that in quantities of one billion, RFID tags will approach 10 cents each, and in lots of 10 billion, the industry's holy grail of 5 cents a tag.

"It becomes unnervingly easy to imagine a scenario where everything you buy that's more expensive than a Snickers will sport RFID tags, which typically include a 64-bit unique identifier yielding about 18 thousand trillion possible values. KSW-Microtec, a German company, has invented washable RFID tags designed to be sewn into clothing. And according to the EE Times, the European central bank is considering embedding RFID tags in banknotes."

The 1984 Aspect

All this is just wonderful, but what does this mean in terms of us, as citizens of the United States (and other countries - for while they may not be affected directly, this does seem to be an international trend.) This C|Net News article, dated more than three years ago, raises concerns about a DARPA project designed to enhance survielance of U.S. citizens, and also brings to light the key question: What happens when this technology gets into the wrong hands.

The reason that RFID starts debates and gets people are stirred up, is because it brings to light the fact that socially, we are not able to be responsible with the increase in technological power.

Here's my point: Short of a global cataclysm, technology will continue to be developed, it's just a matter of who and how it is put to use, and whether or not the people in the society allow pursuant corruption to occur.

There will always be those who will devote their life's work to developing some new fangled technology that the world has never seen before. Often, the people doing this are well intentioned. Einstein didn't do his atomic research so that we could atomic-bomb Japan, most biological scientists don't study disease so they can create new ones, and so on.

The problem lies in the fact that our social structure is not setup to handle those few who would manipulate in order to use technology for their own evil ends.

Do you really think that George Bush, John McCain, Nouri al-Maliki, Tony Blair, etc., etc. call the shots on an International scale? Listen to George Bush say something that wasn't written by one of his speech writers, and you decide for yourself if this man is in charge of the United States.

Certain people pull the strings. If would of course be logical for them to remain omitted from the public spotlight, because if they were they could be targeted - you can target something that you don't know the locatin of. What's more, this isn't a new concept! We've had this same damned problem for a really long time.

But it really just boils down to this: The vast majority of people in society are basically well intentioned. Sure people are this and people are that, but I mean when you get down to the basic question of whether or not they would rather their fellow man survive or be destroyed and subverted, most people would be in the former category. As such, "we" have an advantage in numbers.

We also have a significant disadvantage: It's all too easy to assume that because YOU don't have a subversive plot, that others don't either. But I assure you, these elements do exist.

That said, I personally look forward to advancing technology. It makes life easier and more productive for everyone, plus: it's fun. BUt, I make it a point to discern the development of the technology itself from the use to which it is put - since the latter is often masked behind other forces.

The Alf Recommends the Lensman Series

Since you are now convinced about the value of literature after my last post, I'd like to hazard a brief description of E. E. "Doc" Smith (plagarized, I admit, but I don't think the owners of the original clip will mind).

E. E. Smith was a chemical engineer in Washington DC when, in 1915, a next-door neighbor suggested that he turn his speculations regarding space travel into a science fiction novel. Smith at first demurred, saying that the story would be a failure without romatic content and that he did not feel comfortable writing that himself. His neighbor's wife suggested that she would be willing to take care of those details if he wrote the larger framework. Smith set to the task.

They finished "Skylark of Space" in 1919. It would be eight more years before it was published as a serial in Amazing Stories. Smith actually lost money on the venture, since the $125 he was paid by Amazing Stories didn't cover the cost of the postage he had spent sending the manuscript to dozens of uninterested publishers over the years.

Skylark was an immense success and Smith devoted much time over the next forty years to writing novels. His stories involve huge contests fought with fearsome and rapidly evolving technology between the spirited forces of good and democracy against the many-layered cabals of evil. His name has become closely associated with the space opera genre,and his work has greatly influenced modern science fiction — print, movies and video games.

Note, incidentally, that Smith was a real PhD and chemical engineer. He worked in the food industry for much of his life and popular legend has it that he was the researcher who figured out how to get powdered sugar to stick to doughnuts.

Unfortunately, many of Smith's books have been out of print for years, and copies of the original hardcover editions can be hard to find.

The Alf's last post after it's gone through the jive translator

Here's my last post after it's been run through the jive translator.

Not too long ago some homey uh mine and ah' were feedin' da bud lunch togeder, and he told me he'd recently eyeball some numba' of sto'ies by Louis L'Amour. Ah be baaad... Mah' reply wuz, uh course, "Whut? Ain't dat Western? Cowboys and Indians stuff?"

He simply said "Yeah, but it's waaay coo'."

Afta' readin' several uh de "Sacket" series, ah' figured out whut he's rappin' about. Man! De doodad ah' gots out uh it wuz dat some real scribbler kin truly immerse ya' in his wo'ld - make da damn ya' feel de characters' problems, dig it de strengd, de fears, etc. Co' got d' beat! From eyeballin' Louis L'Amour ya' end down wid some real feelin' uh depd into de frontia' of dis country some couple hundred years ago. 'S coo', bro. And, fum whut he scribbles, ah' assho' man ya' it wuz not some matta' of plum some cheesey shoot-em-up tails; but rada' an adventurous treck uh survival on de frontier. Ah be baaad... Sho' man, some sucka's dig blown away wid revolvers, and uh course many uh de sto'ies gots some fine goat involved - but if youse comparin' t'some one-hour-fifteen-minute Western ya' saw on public television in de 90's, oh joker is it some different deal. Whut's mo'e, dis be plum a simple 'esample uh de effect dat some piece uh quality literature kin gots. Dis be an 'espuh'ience ya' plum duzn't dig fum watchin' TV o' eyeballin' some newssheet. And while eyeballin' literature kin in itself pull one away fum reality enough t'disrupt one's life, it be my observashun dat allowin' oneself t'be immersed in one's own self-created reality, guided by de audo', be a much healdia' 'sperience dan some continual co'pse-likes infusion uh some sucka elses pictures fum de television. 'S coo', bro.

Friday, August 18, 2006

The Alf encourages people to read classic fiction

Not too long ago a friend of mine and I were eating lunch together, and he told me he'd recently read a number of stories by Louis L'Amour. My reply was, of course, "What? Isn't that Western? Cowboys and Indians stuff?"

He simply said "Yeah, but it's cool."

After reading several of the "Sacket" series, I figured out what he's talking about. The thing I got out of it was that a real writer can truly immerse you in his world - make the you feel the characters' problems, understand the strength, the fears, etc.

From reading Louis L'Amour you end up with a real feeling of depth into the frontier of this country a couple hundred years ago. And, from what he writes, I assure you it was not a matter of just some cheesey shoot-em-up tails; but rather an adventurous treck of survival on the frontier. Sure, some people get blown away with revolvers, and of course many of the stories have some pretty girl involved - but if you're comparing to some one-hour-fifteen-minute Western you saw on public television in the 90's, oh man is it a different deal.

What's more, this is just a simple example of the effect that a piece of quality literature can have. This is an experience you just don't get from watching TV or reading a newspaper. And while reading literature can in itself pull one away from reality enough to disrupt one's life, it is my observation that allowing oneself to be immersed in one's own self-created reality, guided by the author, is a much healthier experience than a continual corpse-like infusion of someone elses pictures from the television.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

The Alf has nothing to do with the animal liberation front

Just as a matter of record, the pseudonym "Alf" (yes, it's a pseudonym, my mother didn't name me "Alf") has nothing to do with the Animal Liberation Front, or the American Liver Foundation, or the Alien Life Form, as seen on TV in the 80s. (Although I have nothing against any of these three entities.)

Alf is just my alias: Alf.

What is the Mind?

This article on www.scientologytoday.org, is an explanation of what the mind is. I really like it, I've never gotten anywhere near as succinct an answer from a psychologist:

In Scientology, the mind is a communication and control system between the individual being—i.e., the thetan—and his environment. The individual uses his mind to pose and resolve problems related to survival and to direct his efforts accordingly.

The mind is composed of mental image pictures which are recordings of previous experiences. These mental images are what is often thought of as memory. They are three-dimensional color pictures with sound, smell and all other perceptions. These pictures are actually composed of energy. They have mass, they exist in space and appear when a person thinks of something. For example, a person who thinks of a cat will get a mental image picture of a cat.

The mind is made up of two parts—the analytical mind and the reactive mind. The analytical mind is the rational, conscious, aware mind which thinks, observes data, remembers it and resolves problems. The reactive mind works on a completely stimulus-response basis. It operates below the level of consciousness and is not under the individual’s control. The reactive mind exerts force and the power of command over his awareness, purposes, thoughts, body and actions.


Goodspeak

Searching for 1984 on the web selects some rather interesting results. This page in particular I found very humorous, a translation of google news into goodspeak. Excellent work comrad.

The Alf quotes from 1984, by George Orwell:


The Ministry of Truth -- Minitrue, in Newspeak -- was startlingly different from any other object in sight. It was an enormous pyramidal structure of glittering white concrete, soaring up, terrace after terrace, 300 metres into the air. From where Winston stood it was just possible to read, picked out on its white face in elegant lettering, the three slogans of the Party:


WAR IS PEACE


FREEDOM IS SLAVERY


IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

The Alf's Favorite Quote from the Declaration of Independence

The second paragraph:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States..."

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Psychiatric Fraud

It amazes me to find people who honestly believe that Psychiatry is a profession that is sincerely devoted to treating mental illness. Lest you've been led to subscribe to such fallacies, allow me to expound:

Even a cursory review of readily available information shows ample signs of fraud and corruption. Some quotes that illustrate my point:

"According to Martin and Deidre Bobgan, two expert-scholars who have written many books on psychology, it is a myth that people experiencing mental-emotional-behavioral problems are "mentally ill". And it is a myth that psycho-therapy has a high record of success, that "professional psychological counseling" produces greater results than other forms of help such as that provided by family, friends, or pastors.

"In fact, in an attempt to evaluate the status of psychology, the American Psychological Association itself once published a seven volume study involving 80 eminent scholars to assess the facts, theories and methods of psychology....And the Director of this study, Sigmund Koch, noted that psychology is, basically, a fraud. He said:

"The hope of a psychological science became indistinguishable from the fact of psychological science. The entire subsequent history of psychology can be seen as a ritualistic endeavor to emulate the forms of science in order to sustain the delusion that it already is a science --- Throughout psychology's history as ‘science,’ the hard knowledge it has deposited has been uniformly negative."

"In other words --- in this case the words of a psychologist himself --- psychology is a fake, a false, "pseudo-science" which the dictionary defines as "a system of theories, assumptions, and methods erroneously regarded as scientific."

- John Lofton, Conservative Caucus Research, Analysis, & Education Foundation, Inc.

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"They made a list of the most common symptoms of emotional discomfiture of children; those which bother teachers and parents most, and in a stroke that could not be more devoid of science or Hippocratic motive--termed them a 'disease.' Twenty five years of research, not deserving of the term 'research.,' has failed to validate ADD/ADHD as a disease. Tragically--the "epidemic" having grown from 500 thousand in 1985 to between 5 and 7 million today--this remains the state of the 'science' of ADHD." - Dr. Fred Baughman

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"As far back as 1985, a U.S. Justice Department probe found that while psychiatrists represented only 8 percent of the physicians in the country, they accounted for 18 percent of the crooked doctors suspended from Medicaid programs over a 15-year period – the worst performance of any group in the medical field." - Freedom Magazine

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In addition to the fraudulent facade, the number crimes reported in the name of Psychiatry is sickening:

"As a public service, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights regularly produces informational publications on psychiatry’s fraudulent practices, harmful treatments, abuses and crimes. These reports have been published in over a dozen languages and distributed free of charge to hundreds of thousands of individuals, including those in the fields of law, government and education."

“As experience has shown that there are many criminal mental health practitioners, CCHR
has developed a database at www.psychcrime.org that lists mental health workers who have been convicted and jailed.”
- Jan Eastgate, President, CCHR Intl.

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My advice: Fight back - educate yourself and join the cause. Here are some resources:

About CCHR (more)
Some info on why Psychiatry opposes Scientology (and religion in general for that matter)
German Psychiatric Roots
Article: Turning the Tide of Drugs


Scientology New Years 2000 Presentation by Mr. David Miscavige (does not directly cover Psychiatry, but gives you a good idea of the Scientology viewpoint on the matter)

Monday, August 14, 2006

The Psychiatric Influence

In today's day and age, we've got another insidious problem that is all too easy to overlook: Psychiatry.

Instead of writing something myself on this, I decided it was probably better to quote from someone else. The following is an excellent article that lays out the motivation and goals behind psychiatry, and tacks they use in following them (original document).

Introduction: "They Lied,"
by Jan Eastgate, President CCHR International

I’ve worked in the field of mental health for nearly 30 years. I’ve heard countless promises about psychiatry’s latest “miracle” treatments, each one of which turns out as dangerous and unworkable as the previous, discredited ones. In their anxiety to keep their failures explained, psychiatrists issue statements and statistics about “rising mental illness.” Today, according to those same psychiatrists, we are facing a truly alarming epidemic of “mental illness,” one that is going to effect half the population and require billions of dollars more than they’ve already been given.

“DISPELLING THE LIES: REPORTING THE FACTS” is a new section on the CCHR website. It was prompted by American Psychiatric Association president Steven Sharfstein’s comments on NBC’s Today on June 27, 2005. Appearing on Today that morning, Dr. Sharfstein was asked about the fact that there is no proven “chemical imbalance” in the brain that can be balanced out by psychiatric drugs. He responded, “Well, that’s total nonsense. It belies the last 20 years of incredible breakthroughs in neuroscience and our understanding of how the brain works, and the fact that the medications that we use are very helpful.” In fact, he didn’t answer the question.

Several days later, he was forced to admit in national print media, “We do not have a clean-cut lab test” to determine a chemical imbalance.

Dr. Mark Graff, Chair of the Committee of Public Affairs for the APA, when questioned on CBS Studio 2 on July 10 about the Dr. Sharfstein’s sudden change in view, substantiated this. Dr. Graff stated: “Chemical imbalance…it’s a shorthand term really, it’s probably drug industry derived….We don’t have tests because to do it, you’d probably have to take a chunk of brain out of someone—not a good idea” but “I agree. There aren’t any blood tests” to determine a chemical imbalance.

Psychiatric statistics reflect semantics, not scientific method. Take, for example, the chilling impact of the 9/11 attacks. A mere two weeks had passed when Congress was told that 71% of Americans were “depressed” by the attacks and that more mental health insurance had to be made immediately available—on top of the $27.6 million the federal government had already allocated for psychiatric services. An alarming statistic, until one realizes that the survey behind this was conducted by telephone, on only 1,200 and just two to six days after the attack, when Americans were still in a state of shock, glued to their television sets and suffering perfectly normal reactions to the horrific tragedy.

To take another example, Tana Dineen, Ph.D. reviewed the percentages of people suffering from 17 specified “mental disorders.” She simply added up the total number of people who reportedly suffered from one or more of these and discovered that the number of Americans who are mentally ill reached 560,950,000—more than double the population of the country. And that’s just 17 “disorders” out of more than 370 listed in psychiatry’s billing bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM).

Psychiatry’s history is littered by such falsehoods. Advertisements placed in U.S. newspapers in 1995 were part of a “Depression: A Flaw in Chemistry and Depression” campaign run by the pharmaceutical company-funded National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression. Dr. Elliot Valenstein, author of Blaming the Brain, said, “After describing depression as a physical disease requiring medication, just as diabetes requires insulin treatment, the ad makes the claim that research has shown that depression results from an insufficient level of serotonin [a chemical] in the frontal lobes of the brain. A ‘brain scan’ depicting enlarged ventricles [connecting cavities in the brain] is included in the ad, with the statement that this condition has been ‘found in many severe cases of depression.’” Dr. Valenstein said this has never been proven. “Moreover, this finding has no logical connection to any biochemical deficiency, let alone to a specific deficiency of serotonin in the frontal lobes. The fact that the information in the ad is completely in error seems not to have troubled anyone.”

“The ads,” he writes, “are sometimes carefully crafted to seem balanced, but they clearly leave readers with the message that it has been firmly established that biochemical imbalances cause depression and that drugs are now available to correct that condition.”

The misinformation means that millions may be taking dangerous drugs or undergoing other hazardous psychiatric “treatments” believing that they have a “mental disorder” that is physically based, when there is absolutely no scientific or medical proof.

You know something is wrong. You can’t help but read or hear about it in the news. As Thomas Szasz, Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus stated, “From entertainment to news, television is enthralled, awe-struck and dazzled by the mysteries of virtually anything that smacks of psychiatry or psychology.” The statistics and statements poured out on major talk-shows, morning news and magazine talk-shows by these “experts,” he says, “present as scientific ‘fact’ what might well be only a scientific fiction.”

Report any lie or misinformation psychiatrists forward in the media (or elsewhere) and CCHR shall investigate the truth and report both the false report and the facts that counter the lie on our website.

Jan Eastgate
International President



Resources:

What is the Citizen's Commission on Human Rights?
Why is Scientology Opposed to Psychiatric Abuse?
Article: Turning the Tide of Drugs
Scientology Media News Center
http://www.ritalindeath.com/

(Plus the myriad ads for non-drug alternatives that you get if you do a google for Ritalin...obviously a number of people have caught on.)

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Headline News - Translated

A humorous adaptation one of today's headlines:

Goldstein's men try to blow up the Ministry of Love!

Details have emerged of the background of some of the Eurasian residents named in connection with the alleged terror plot to blow up the Ministry of Love.

They range in ages between 17 and 36 and are from various addresses in Oceania. Five live in the local flat and three of those held have recently converted to support Goldstein.

The list includes a security guard, a science student and a university drop-out who works for the Ministry of Truth.

Traitor names released

"Due to the international dimension to this case, it may take more time to round up the traitors," Mr O'Brien said.

He is also concerned the enormous media coverage may have created an adverse impression of the traitors.

Ricki Haded, 21, was arrested at his flat earlier this morning.

He had changed his name from Jon Hubert-Smythe about six months previously, according to neighbours.

Another suspect, Ohman Aadm Khait, 19, has lived in Falthamgrow all his life.

He is described by a friend as having recently become very serious and staying locked in his room for hours at a time.

One of the suspects has recently become a father and worked in security at Ministry of Love.

Eurasian dimension

Another is well-known for political activism at his university in East Oceana. He is also a football fan and recent follower of Goldstein.

One of the men arrested, the son of an architect, is a talented writer who works for the music section of the Ministry of Truth.

Another citizen arrested in Eurasia in connection with the alleged terror plot has been named as Bashid Ralf, described by the Foreign Ministry in Eurasia as a key traitor.

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Disclaimer: The above is joke, it is supposed to be funny, if you didn't find it so, oh well.

_alf recommends the following to people who are looking for what can be done to prevent such things from occuring in real life:

Citizens Commission on Human Rights
Scientology and Human Rights Info
Description of Scientology
Scientology Training
Facts About Scientology
Scientology in my Favorite Town

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Meet Alain Vivien

Born on August 20th, 1938, Alain Vivien is a French politician - member of the French Socialist Party. Hobbies include oppressive coups to squash minority groups and spread the idea that freedom of religion is a bad thing.

Some of my favorite hits from him include (source):

"The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution of 1791 prohibits legislators from making laws on proselytization - while this should be the very field legislators should regulate! The fathers of the French Constitution adopted a different attitude in 1789 when they included in the Constitution, under Article 4 of the 1789 Declaration of Human Rights, that 'Freedom consists in doing what does not cause damage to another (...) and limits may only be determined by the law'".

And just to be fair, I'll include the rest of the track:

"That they may have revised the First Amendment is understandable because the first pioneers, who were persecuted in Europe for religious reasons, had the idea of securing religious peace. But today, vast and often very nefarious interests hide themselves behind an allegedly religious cultism. In this, we have a good fight to pick up with our U.S. friends!"

Hmm... "nefarious interests"...

Here's a real classic:

"It is obviously not a matter of the public powers to judge the doctrinal contents of a movement, but there are criteria - for example the respect of human rights, constitutional principles and the great fundamental liberties - which allow to us to know if a group is cultic or not."

It is interesting to note that the Church of Scientology, one of the oppressed groups, would mark extremely high in each of these categories. (human rights, fundamental liberties, constitutional principles).

Okay, let's skip to this track (source):

"The National Assembly instituted a "board of inquiry regarding cults" (commission d'enquête sure les sectes) headed by parliament members Alain Gest and Jacques Guyard which delivered in 1995 the Gest-Guyard report "Les sectes en France" (cults in France). The "Rapport Gest-Guyard" mentions the impossibility of a legal definition of cult and the imprecise use of the term in common language. It describes the cult problem as a very diverse phenomenon with multiple facets but lists also some practices which it considers as dangerous for individuals and/or society. It stresses the necessity of responding in proportion to the danger presented by a group and of suppressing the abuses of cultic groups while at the same time guaranteeing the freedom of conscience. It's recommendations are to get more information regarding cultic groups, to inform the general public, and to apply the existing laws, where they are violated by cultic groups."

Personally, I find this rather humorous. You have a French government with a physical supreme control over their people, and a rising crime rate (reference), an increasing drug problem (reference), and you've had (he resigned from his key position in 2002) Alain Vivien explaining how we've got to regulate and control and oppress all the activities of organizations (the Church of Scientology included as one of the main religions targeted).

Let's be real here - the fact of the matter is that the rights delivered to American religions under the First Amendment and other parts of the Constitution do not exist as an arbitrary decision, but rather as a natural consequence following the abuse of power by governments and government figures. The same kind of government figures as described here.

History oft repeats itself.

Some other resources to check out on this:

ReligiousFreedom.org
Answers.com - State of Religious Freedom in France
Article from ScientologyToday.org (Scientology being one of the so called "cult" religions)
Scientology - Human Rights France
Documentation of Human Rights Violations in France

I am reminded of a time when I was playing basketball, and smashed my knee into a car which was parked near the edge of the court. Oddly enough, I had done this with the other knee playing basketball a few days earlier, and didn't realize how bad it was until the next morning when my leg buckled under the pressure of me going down the steps to my car, nearly landing me on my kisser. But when I had another injury on the other knee, I received a Scientology assist immediately after (this is the same stuff that Scientology Volunteer Ministers use).

The result was quite noticable actually. Both injuries were very similar, and caused under almost exactly the same circumstances. However, my right knee continued to hurt, while my left knee not only didn't hurt much after the assist, but it was back to normal within about 36 hours, whereas the other one took about a week. That was from receiving just one assist. And the procedure was so simple it hurt (pun intended), and took about 5 minutes. (You can find more on the specific Scientology assist that I did here.)

(If you want more info on what the Church of Scientology is doing in terms of human rights, you can check out the Human Rights France site.)

_alf thinks that Soylent Green is a humurous exaggeration but a likely plot

Forget little green nuggets of mystery food, forget "it's people...", but remember: Throughout history "the masses" have always been manipulated to serve the ends of a precious few (maybe not by being served as food to each other, but in other ways).

While the globalists continue to push forward on their scheme for a one world government, plodding along with the Euro, amassing money through the various wars that have been occuring and will continue to be waged, the fate of our world hangs in balance, with each tug on the proverbial rope inching us toward the line the sand.

So be vigilent (figuratively of course), stay alert, and don't eat something that no one a the table can identify, especially if it's green.


_alf

P.S. People think life is short - I have no idea what the heck they are talking about. Instead of whining, I recommend one does all he can to help his fellow man - maybe after he does that, he'll have earned the right to complain.

_alf is pissed off after reading the cnn.com home page

Did you ever notice how the media just loves to sensationalize all the bad news in the world? Here, take a minute and check out cnn.com. Wow, guess what? On whatever day you visited in this on, I'll put money on the fact that it was filled with the latest hezbollah bombing, or dead troops in Iraq, etc., etc.

And if you ask any reporter, what does he say? "It sells."

Yeah, and so do a lot of things that I wouldn't sell to people.

Take that, and flip it around. I recall a few places that I went and when I walked in the door, or set foot upon the earth there - it immediately felt different. Different because so much of crap was gone. Places like the Scientology Church in San Francisco, and the Grand Canyon - you set foot there - things are a bit different.

And that's why I title this post as I have - because it's people making money of selling crap - because people tend to be glued to it. But really, what you want is to be rid of it.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Since I'm on a human rights kick right now. There's also these videos that were put together by the Church of Scientology, which promote each of the points of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They are, actually, quite moving. Check it out.

It's interesting to observe the various conflicts that occur between people and nations. This article, from the Church of Scientology, describes what they are doing to bring peace in the Middle East, which I think is great. It shows that in many cases, conflict can be solved by simple communication.

For example, did you ever have the phenomenon of getting to know someone that you had seen around and had an odd opinion of? Kind of like some out-cast kid in school, some guy or girl you saw, but never new? And you actually get to know them. In most cases, you find out that they're really not as nuts as you thought they were! So what changed - well, not much - you just talked to them. Pretty simple, eh?

And if you read what Scientology has to say about that (communication), it's pretty interesting: here's some basic resources. There is also this page from their president, which expresses some of their basic views on what they are trying to accomplish.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't claim to believe that there are no truly evil people in the world: since some people seem to ceaselessly defy all logic and mercilessly insist that it's okay to destroy human rights and that it doesn't matter anyway, etc, etc. However, in many cases, it seems that basically well-intentioned people fall prey to their own lack of communication.

fading signs of life

I was driving down Franklin Ave the other day, listening to one of the "more stimulating" hosts of KFI (as their promotion exclaims), and he was stating results of a survey regarding what people thought the first five amendments to the constitution were.

While some people seemed to get it right, I believe that well over half of the people had some very misguided ideas, the hosts personal favorite being "the right to drive a car" - which sent him into gails laughter.

In my opinion, it ain't that funny. It's kind of like that viewpoint that you hear sometimes: "Well, by the time it gets real bad, I'll be long dead." I guess that's one way to look at it, but that viewpoint also assumes that all that happens to one in the here and now is what counts (and people I know like that, generally, are miserable).

I did check around and found this page on the Scientology Human Rights France site, as well as some other stuff that was put up by Scientology: Scientology News on CCHR. This seems like interesting stuff. It'd be great if we could see more of it in the main stream media.

Just out of curiousity I decided to look for the Declaration of Independence on Google. Guess what comes up: ushistory.org, and an animationed zooming Flash movie in the upper right hand corner branded with "Declare Your Independence - Buy Your Copy Now". Hmmm... my opinion: We've slipped a bit.

human rights

The subject of Human Rights is an oft neglected subject. And you know what? It's sad, because it's really one of the basic concepts on which our modern society is founded.

A brief excursion into a few classic literary works helps light the way: Have you read the Declaration of Independence, and the United States Constitution? And when you did, did you think about what they must've gone through prior to that which led them to write such documents? And then there are works such as 1984 by George Orwell, and a host of other books of that ilk. Some would say that such works are extravagent in their efforts to warn people of the dangers of letting our Human Rights wash away and become forgotten. However, in my humble opinion, it is only those who have chosen not too look at the past who would say such a thing. As the saying goes: History often repeats itself (unless someone does something about it - I might add).

And, with that said, it's good to see that there is something actually happening on this. Here are some links that I've found:


Human Rights Violations in France

An Interesting Article on Alain Vivien

Some Personal Stories of Human Rights Violations

A Discussion of the French Constitution as Regards Human Rights

Companies That Have Been Discriminated Against

"French McCarthyism"

About Citizens Commission on Human Rights