ChasUFarley

We used this last night to shoo the little ones to bed... they loved it and Andreas, our 4 year old, got out the globe so we could show him exactly where "Santa" was at...

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Try Sophos - it's free and way better than AVG and similar programs...

http://www.sophos.com/

I use it for work and found it to be the best and most user friendly - along with great instructions on how to fix problems.... and it's free. How good is that?

Interesting article here... http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article6921140.ece

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The Church of Scientology faces the prospect of a police investigation in Australia after being accused of torture and embezzlement and of forcing employees to have abortions.

Nick Xenophon, an independent senator, presented letters to the Australian Parliament from seven former Scientologists which he said showed that the secretive church was a front for physical violence, intimidation and blackmail.

“I am deeply concerned about this organisation and the devastating impact it can have on its followers,” he told the Australian Senate in Canberra. He called for a Senate inquiry.

The State Crime Command of New South Wales police yesterday confirmed that Mr Xenophon had handed over the letters for investigation. Fed- eral police have also been contacted.

Kevin Rudd, the Prime Minister,said that many Australians had “real concerns” about Scientology. “I share some of those concerns,” he added. “We would like to proceed in a cautious and methodical way in examining those matters and then we’ll decide what, if further, parliamentary action is necessary.”

Aaron Saxton, a member of the church in Australia and the US between 1989 and 1996, said in one of the letters that he had participated in the “forced confinement and torture” of others. Other letters described how individuals were pressured to hand over large sums of money to the church, leaving them in poverty.

Carmel Underwood, a former executive director of the Sydney branch of the church, wrote that Scientology executives covered up a case of child molestation and pressured pregnant staff to abort their babies so they could keep working for the church. “There are many who are still suffering and being abused financially, physically and mentally,” she wrote.

Kevin Mackey, 46, a farmer, wrote that the church sought cash donations from members for the “crimes” of drinking alcohol or watching pornography.

“Scientology is not a religious organisation — it is a criminal organisation that hides behind its so-called religious beliefs,” Mr Xenophon said. “The letters received by me contain extensive allegations of crimes and abuses that are truly shocking.

“These victims of Scientology claim it is an abusive, manipulative, violent and criminal organisation, and that criminality is condoned at the highest levels.”

The Church of Scientology has dismissed the allegations as “an outrageous abuse of parliamentary privilege” but said that it will co-operate with police. “Senator Xenophon is obviously being pressured by disgruntled former members who use hate speech and distorted accounts of their experiences in the church,” it said. “They are about as reliable as former spouses are when talking about their ex-partner.”

Mr Xenophon is a maverick independent politician from South Australia. He was a compensation lawyer before he won a seat in the federal Parliament in the 2007 election on an anti-gambling, pro-consumer protection platform promoted by his “No Pokies” (slot machines) group.

The Church of Scientology traces its origins to 1950 and a self-help book by the science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard. It is officially recognised as a religion in Australia, where it has tax-free status. It claims 12 million members worldwide, including the Hollywood stars Tom Cruise and John Travolta.

Last month the Church of Scientology in France was fined €600,000 (£545,000) after being found guilty of cheating vulnerable members out of their life savings.

The allegations

Former followers, who are willing to be questioned by police over the allegations, reported crimes ranging from forced imprisonment, coerced abortions, embezzlement of church funds, physical violence, intimidation and blackmail.

? Paul Schofield admitted to being part of a campaign to cover up the facts surrounding the death of his two daughters, including two and a half-year-old Kirsty, who died during a purification programme.

? Aaron Saxton confined and tortured a follower and coerced females to have abortions, one who used a coat hanger for fear of punishment. He also has details of murder confessions from members in the US, information that was never passed on to police.

? Carmel Underwood was put under "extreme pressure" to have an abortion, and witnessed a young sexually abused girl being coached on how to keep it secret.

? Anna and Dean Detheridge, who were forced to reject a gay relative, provided evidence that personal information was used to blackmail and control them.

? Kevin Mackey revealed how he handed over nearly a million dollars in exchange for services and products after he was conditioned by the sect.

? Peta O'Brien was discouraged from seeking treatment for cancer, was cut off from her son and provided evidence of being assaulted.

Alien beliefs

? Founded in 1954 by the science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology describes itself as a religion that seeks spiritual enlightenment; it says that it has more than 3,000 churches in more than 133 countries

? Celebrity members include Tom Cruise, below, John Travolta and Lisa Marie Presley

? Full knowledge of Scientology's holy books is reserved for those who have completed a series of courses, at a cost estimated by anti-Scientology campaigners to be £190,000. There is no official confirmation to outsiders of what scientologists believe

? According to popular culture, Scientology teaches that 75 million years ago the intergalactic tyrant Xenu brought millions of aliens to Earth. These aliens, called Thetans, cling to human bodies. Scientologists try to re-create the Thetans’ painful experiences in order to free themselves

? Scientology members usually undergo personality tests and a form of counselling known as “auditing”. A counsellor or “auditor” locates the spiritual problems of the subject — known as the “preclear” — through questions and the use of an implement called an “e-meter”. Scientologists say that the sessions help members to reach levels on which they are “literally seeking immortality, which is priceless”

Sources: Reuters, Times database

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A cult, is a cult, is a cult? No?

It's lipstick on a pig....

Click HERE for story....

Paw - I love that - it's edgy and different. Very worthy of a checking out on iTunes....

DMiller - your post made me think of one of my favorite guitarists and a musician who lives right here in NH... we've seen him in concert a few times... I've heard this song used in a memorial... great song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CqINDrS-dY

hmm. . . often, doesn't one spouse "pick sides" in favor twi? . . . would make it difficult for the other to believe someone would go to bat for them.

Not always... I went for years in my first marriage with an untrained, non-clinical counselor who worked as a housepainter by day and weekly counselor by night. He thought his associate's degree in theology from a cult in a cornfield qualified him to advise me and mine on finances, communication, sex, and sex.

I am so thankful that TWI isn't a part of my kids' lives. I had left TWI before they were born. Parenting under those "rules" - wooden spoon, etc., - would never work for a child like my youngest. Part of the ODD is that if you do spank or maybe slap their hands, then they retaliate - it turns into a one-upsman thing. Not the kind of contest you want to get into with a child you can't reason with or can understand right from wrong. Discipline is a whole new art. We use a combination of sign/verbal/pictures with the youngest and one thing that will stop him in his tracks is a frown on my face. Don't know why, but it works. He would have certainly been labeled 'possessed' by TWI but we know he's not. As you put it - he's wired differently. In-your-face confrontation/correction just DOES NOT work those kids or people.

But do you think they'd ever take that into account? Nope.

Remember - in TWI you've got people with Associate Degrees or less telling you how to manage your life and raise your children, but they have no clinical training what-so-ever. I'm amazed that someone hasn't sued them yet for marital counseling or family counseling without a license!

Our youngest child has some issues similar to your son's. He's been diagnosed with ADHD and Oppositional Defiance Disorder. He may have Asperger's or Autism Spectrum - we haven't received a definitive diagnosis there but he's only four years old. There's a sensory integration issue and possibly a slight hearing issue. He is currently enrolled in the special education pre-school program at our local public school. We've been through Hell and back with that child... the simplest milestones for a "normal" child become boulders for children with special needs.

I can recommend some great books for you to read about Asperger's - one is written by the electronics tech for KISS (no kidding) (Look Me In The Eye by John Elder Robison) and people with Asperger's are generally very intelligent and have an above-average IQ but do not function well or at all socially. Another great book is Sound Of Falling Snow: Stories of Recovery from Autism and Related Conditions by Annabel Stehli

Whatever program, IEP, special aid, etc. you find for your son, don't be afraid to disclose information about your home life. You don't have to explain TWI but you can explain that you and your ex have very different approaches to parenting. Disclose as much as you're comfortable but the more the services know about your situation the more they can help and work with your son so that he can make progress.

The biggest issue I've seen with this situation is that the medical community, social services, and the schools do NOT communicate well with each other. Keep copies of all papers. Ask for copies of test results, forms, etc., and keep them in a binder. It will become a life-saver when he's going for ANOTHER assessment or whatnot. Follow-up with various groups to make sure they're sharing information. I learned the hard way - after we were on a waiting list for a year for a diagnosis for my little guy - that the doctors never received information from his pediatrician and then we were DROPPED from the list. After a whole year! (And never assume pediatricians are trained to deal with these issues! They're often aren't and there's some medical conditions that are specific to these disorders - such as a swallowing disorder, as my son has...) Oh, I could go on.

I do have a blog on this too - not to bore you but perhaps it will help... BLOG It's my life with my son that I've talked about here and his older brother who is beyond "normal" but is considered "gifted and talented"... Our oldest boy is reading at the 7th Grade level and doing math at the 6th Grade level while he's currently in the 3rd Grade. We've got both ends of that spectrum....

I can get some much needed sleep tonight knowing that Steven Tyler ISN"T leaving Aerosmith!!!! What a contrived excuse for a story

Maybe he's just on a Permanent Vacation...?

Oh, and "Every Breath You Take" by The Police was about familiar spirits...

I thought this was going to be a thread about the motorcoach or the Green Room....

I don't know the name of the song but that should be a Wal-Mart jingle...

I have the cold or upper respiratory virus from hell right now...

Hmm.... why is it that there's never a LOWER respiratory virus? Where is your lower respiratory system anyhow? Isn't it all upper???

Yeah, man. Cold meds make me dippy. Hate the crap but with two little ones and a home business it's not like I can call in sick. This is my busy time of year and I make about 50% of my total income in Nov/Dec.

Anyhow... this is one of those colds that doesn't let you sleep. At all. I feel like the walking dead today and can't say a sentence without coughing... I guess the kids have it good because I can't yell today... And nothing tastes right or even like it's anything at all... bleck!

You're the best!

If you hear it too many times, it starts to sound fake. VPW said it all the freakin time! How did he know I was the best? He knew nothing about me.

Then there's the, uh, colorful version of that: "You're the breast. Rub you!"

Chas,

Anytime you feel a head spinning coming on, just look at this so you can LYAO:

Go to the video called "Christians don't dance"

I have to add that I'm not making fun of the performers on the video. They are talented (and decent people from what I know from working with them at HQ). It's just damn funny what TWI (aka Rozilla) demands of the choir and Way Prod and calls it entertaining. They should change the outfits for these poor people.

I can't watch that every again. I want to bleach my brain and lysol my eyeballs after the first viewing of that horrid video....

And here's the one word that will make my head spin...

We all know why Waydale went down, don't we? ... One explanation that was _not_ the reason is this (oft recurring, unfortunately :( ) _rumor_ that The Way reached a settlement with the Allens on the condition that they shut down Waydale. ... FALSE! I mean, think about it. TWI was literally on its knees, and wanted to settle out of court before the trial happened, one that they were sure to _lose_. Ie., The Allens had TWI where they wanted them. So TWI was in _no_ conditions to demand terms. ... At all! I mean, what were they going to say? "Give in to our demands, Paul & Fern, ... or else TWI will continue to trial and LOSE!!" ... Right!

Paul himself clearly indicated that Waydale was taking up his and Fern's lives, and they both just wanted to get on with their lives quietly. They saw Waydale as accomplishing its mission culminating with the victorious lawsuit. And as a bonus, Pawtucket kept the ball rolling by starting up Greasespot Cafe.

Thus, TWI wouldn't have gotten what they wanted anyway.

Yes, we all know why... Yeah, it's not like I was there or anything....

I was less than happy when Waydale came down, to be honest.

I don't mean that comment as a dig to the Allens or anyone involved in the lawsuit. I knew what the information was going to be used for and it was clear. I just wasn't prepared for it to *poof* like it did. I grumbled for a few weeks about it... Yes, of course, I understand it had to happen. I shouldn't have been surprised. That isn't to say I embraced the change.

Waydale was my first connection with others who were out of TWI and had gone on with life.

I don't have the words to describe how fearful for my life I was when I first started pondering leaving TWI. I remember my heart racing as I argued with myself about what I knew was true vs. The Truth that had been fed to me via TWI. I was on a fence - and if you know me, you know I *hate* indecision. I knew I needed to get off that fence quickly but I just didn't know how. The TWI that I had joined and the TWI I knew in 1999 were two different animals. I had burned thru a marriage, my 20's, and missed more opportunities for school, jobs, and even owning a farm, than I care to think about right now - I gave it up to be part of something that was really... well, nothing.

Waydale was an oasis in all that fear. There were people who had lived it and knew both sides of life - in TWI and out of TWI. They were approachable, willing to share experiences, and I connected with many of them via chat, telephone, email, etc. Many are still dear friends today.

Waydale is what I found when LCM told the twig coordinators not to surf the internet. I guess I still owe him a thank you letter after all these years.

Chas....You weren't supposed to use Waydale as a dating site....

You know better... :)

I didn't.... but when I told Mathman I was really a girl, he responded with something like he was really a female cross-dresser with a scheduled appearance on the Jerry Springer show modeling fur g-strings and I was hooked. :blush:

The "Ambassador" crapola always got to me... A real ambassador is a high-ranking official but yet people who were pretty new and very clueless to TWI were called "Ambassadors" (this is after the WOW program was dumped.) Call 'em what they are - "Recruiters".

And don't get me started about the "Athlete" crap....

Of course I do.... a husband, a house, two cats, one dog, and two kids later... How the hell could I forget?

The idea he might be in danger of assassination was entirely his own,

and he had bodyguards who, in some cases, literally expected that people WERE

trying to kill him.

Yes, he did, actually. It was the husbands of the women he was sleeping with in the motor coach!

I remember being asked what we needed for our income for living on a "needs basis" and being surprised at getting a clothing allowance that exceeded what I'd spend on groceries in a month for two people, but then 6 weeks later being cut a check for $600 to get two bus tickets and a new apartment in a strange city because we'd been told we had 8 hours to get off grounds. (Oh, and this was in 1997 - not that long ago... and not a time or place when $600 could get you more than a roach motel.)

I'm wondering why the school isn't calling a "snow day" in light of the absences already this week.... 5 out of 18 students were in Kris' class yesterday - that means that 13 were out (presumably sick). Kris is doing okay but not a lot of stamina. He ran out of gas at about 7pm last night and put himself to bed a little early. I can't see a lot being accomplished academically speaking, as far as the school is concerned... they should just call a day on Thursday and Friday, disinfect everything in sight, and let this cycle break.

Andreas' teacher told me that kids get this flu, sorta recover, come back to school, and then the symptoms come back. He'd been symptom-free (no fever or vomiting) for 48-hours, so I thought we were good. Nope. He's slept well over 14 hours in the past 24-hours, with naps in between. He's running a very low fever and is very stuffy. He has no energy and no real appetite, other than for crackers and juice... He's ok... but that's it. As you may or may not know, he's developmentally delayed so getting him to tell me if his head, throat, or tummy hurt isn't an option - he hasn't got the skills for that yet.