Great News on Scientology Expansion from Down Under

A survey shows that new and emerging churches are popular with young Australians and that ‘nature religions’ and Scientology are growing strongly. The survey was published in Professor Gary Bouma’s book, Australian Soul: Religion and Spirituality >>

Human Rights

What do human rights really mean? The Universal Declaration of Human Rights laid out 30 of them. Each of the rights have been brought to life in video form. See them at youthforhumanrights.org.

Indonesia's Aceh looks for peace after landmark poll

Looking to a lasting peace in Aceh...

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (Reuters) - A former separatist rebel appeared set on Tuesday to become the next governor of Aceh after a landmark election in the Indonesian province battered by decades of conflict and a horrific tsunami

Exit polls showed former rebel spokesman Irwandi Yusuf heading for victory after Aceh's first direct election for governor and other top posts on Monday. >>

Human Rights Heroes

Human Rights Day is a time to reflect on all the people in the community, from the teachers, to the emergency response personnel, to the doctors, to the clergy, who dedicate their lives to helping others survive, do well and prosper.

And don't forget the moms and dads who work to guarantee the welfare of their kids.

When you look at it this way, there are an awful lot of people doing good.

But when we do this we can't forget the many millions whose lives and rights are abused every day.

And so we should all determine to do far more this coming year to make human rights a fact.

More on the Philippines

GUINOBATAN, Philippines, Dec 8, 2006 (AFP) - Medical aid was rushed to squalid Philippine evacuation sites Friday amid dire warnings that poor sanitation could trigger an outbreak of disease among hundreds of mudslide survivors.

Babies and children sleep on the damp wooden floors of the elementary school turned into a temporary shelter for nearly 100 families in the township of Guinobatan in the eastern Bicol region, where entire villages were swept away by volcanic debris last week.

Yet these unfortunates are relatively lucky. When supertyphoon Durian hit last week, it created avalanches of volcanic mud that left more than 1,300 people dead or missing. >> Continued

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers Coordinator has announced that anyone who would like to help will be trained in disaster relief techniques.

Volunteers are needed as are donations.

Visit www.volunteerministers.org for more information on how you can help.

Scientology Volunteer Ministers of Kolkata Call for a Moral Resurgence on World AIDS Day

This was published on the Scientology Press Office site

Calling for compassion and an end to discrimination against those infected with HIV, the members of the West Bengal Scientology Volunteer joined other HIV/AIDS activists to draw attention to the need to confront and handle this pandemic.

Calling for compassion and an end to discrimination against those infected with HIV, the members of the West Bengal Scientology Volunteer joined other HIV/AIDS activists to draw attention to the need to confront and handle this pandemic.

With over one billion inhabitants, India is the second most populous country in the world. And with an estimated 5.7 million infected in India, there are more people living with HIV here than in in any other nation in the world.

Discrimination against persons who are HIV positive in their personal lives, employment, education and health care is a grave situation in India. The primary focus of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers on this issue is to provide moral support to people affected by HIV/AIDS and empower them to combat the stigma and intolerance in any sphere of their lives, while encouraging a more tolerant and humane attitude through the distribution of The Way To Happiness, a moral code based entirely on common sense.

Md. Khalil Ulah, who heads the team, wants to get a copy of The Way To Happiness into the hands of every one of the more than 13 million people of Kolkata.

In the 25 years since it was written by L. Ron Hubbard in 1981, 66 million copies of The Way to Happiness have been distributed in more than 90 languages.

For information on how you can contribute to this project contact:

The Way To Happiness Foundation
201 E. Broadway, Glendale, CA 90028
Phone: (800) 255-7906 or (818) 254-0600
Fax: (818) 254-0555
Email: info@twth.org

or the West Bengal Scientology Volunteer Ministers:

Mohammad Khalil Ullah
2/H/4 Hatibagan Road (3rd Floor),
Kolkata,
West Bengal,
India
Pin -700014.
Tel : +91 9830486950

International Volunteer Day

Here's to the volunteer -- the person who is there to help his or her fellow man.

Today is International Volunteers Day.

L. Ron Hubbard's Personal Philosophy

One of my favorite essays by L. Ron Hubbard is called "My Only Defense for Having Lived."

I think it is especially pertinent today -- International Volunteers Day -- as he expresses his views on contribution and helping others.

he only tests of a life well lived are: Did he do what he intended? And were people glad he lived?

People have often desired me to write an autobiography and while I would be perfectly willing to do so had I the time, I consider such a work, as I do myself, quite unimportant.

I have led an adventurous life and it would possibly be entertaining to read, but I doubt such a work would shed any background light on my researches and would not clarify my intentions or why I developed Dianetics and Scientology.

My motives have not been fame. I tried to give Dianetics, the entire work, to the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association in 1949 and the AMA only said “Why should you?” and the APA said “If it is important we will hear of it.”

I tried to avoid, until July 1950, saying I had personally done the research but then owned to it when I saw that unowned, it could be lost in its original form.

My motives have not included amassing great wealth. The royalties of the first book, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, were given to the first Foundation. So it is not wealth.

Power has not been my motive. I only held office in organizations to insist upon correct usage of the work, and this having been achieved sometime since, I resigned all directorships and retained only an honorary post.

Further, one cannot have more power than he himself already has as a being; so power by reason of position I consider pointless and a waste of time.

My motives are so hard to understand because they largely omit me from the equation. And self-centered men are not likely to understand such a thing since they know they would not forgo fame, wealth or power and so conceive that another would not. >> continued