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

David Miscavige at New York City Grand Opening of the Scientology Church

Here's a great speech, by David Miscavige.  One of my favorites.

David Miscavige: Presentation at the Grand Opening of the Church of Scientology of New York

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Scientology Volunteer Ministers Video

I just found this video on YouTube on the Scientology Volunteer Ministers.



Enjoy!

Opening Scientology Missions

I am impressed when I hear of a Scientologist who takes it on to open a new Scientology Mission.

There is such need to get Scientology into the hands of the people who need it.

Check out the web site for the Scientology Mission of Lafayette, Louisianna.

David Miscavige

Last weekend I attended the IAS Anniversary Event that was held in Los Angeles (a showing of the event that was held live in the UK last week).

I was once more impressed with the incredible leadership of Chairman of the Board of RTC, David Miscavige.

Mr. Miscavige began the speech with a very hard hitting statement about human rights violations being perpetrated in the name of "security" and recent US legislation legitimizing this flagrant disregard for international human rights standards.

I have been incensed by this administrations actions in this regard and was so happy to hear this.

We must do all we can to make human rights a fact.

Bono's latest AIDS campaign is in the red

Bono's latest AIDS campaign is in the red

Bono Zoom | Photo Reprints

By DAVID YONKE
BLADE RELIGION EDITOR

"There are some things where the scale of the problem has you just in a spin. For me, and for others, I think you try on all fronts to fight this war. And I would be, personally speaking, in the blackest despair were it not for my faith in people and in God, and actually my faith even in people who don't believe in God."

- Rock singer Bono, speaking of the African AIDS crisis in a 2003 telephone conference interview with The Blade. Bono is seeing red. Not red as in raging, out-of-control anger. But red as in the symbol of emergency. And the red of precious lifeblood. The lead singer of popular Irish band U2 has been rallying forces in every corner of the world, from churches and government buildings to concert halls and farm fields, to join him in raising awareness and funds to fight the AIDS pandemic in Africa. Nearly 3 million Africans die every year from the immune-deficiency disease and an estimated 24 million people on the continent are living with HIV or AIDS. Bono and Bobby Shriver, who together in 2002 founded DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa), have been rallying support for medical, educational, and financial aid to help the impoverished, disease-ravaged African continent. Their latest innovative effort to recruit support in the fight against AIDS involves an unlikely audience: American consumers. Buying an Armani designer jacket or an Apple iPod can now raise funds for African AIDS victims. "Shop until it stops," Bono said in promoting (PRODUCT) RED, the economic initiative launched in the United States Oct. 13. Originally launched in the United Kingdom in March, the first $1.25 million raised through RED was donated in May to the Rwandan Ministry of Health and, in September, $4 million went to AIDS programs in Swaziland.>>

Making a Difference in Society

The IAS event is this weekend in Los Angeles at the Shrine Auditorium (and at the FSO [Flag Service Organization] in Clearwater, Florida. Then next week it shows at most of the churches around the world.

If you are reading this message and you are a Scientologist you should definitely attend the event and the seminar, which is the whole following day.

I've heard from people who attended the event in England that the programs that are launched will handle the major points of social ruin and start society on an upward spiral -- something urgently needed.

David Miscavige

I have great respect for David Miscavige and the work he has done to provide Scientology technology to all echelons of society.

We have some incredibly important problems that need to be addressed and handled.

And this weekend's activities in the UK are a key part of getting these handled right now.

Here's a copy of a posting on the Grand Opening of the Church of Scientology of London.

What a Day in London and What a Weekend! David Miscavige Dedicates New Church

"We are about to drive home the message ‘This is Scientology ‘ like you have never seen," said David Miscavige , chairman of the Church of Scientology (sic.) [David Miscavige is actually the Chairman of the Board of Religious Technology Center.]

So reports Robert Booth on Saturday in the Sunday Times - a story that got picked up internationally.

And Sunday’s grand opening was everything Mr. Miscavige promised.

The Scientology Press Office announces the news as follows:

With thousands of Scientologists, local residents and officials in attendance, the new Church of Scientology of London opened its doors.

Mr. David Miscavige , Chairman of the Board of the Religious Technology Center and leader of the Scientology religion , stressed the historical importance of London. "This is the city L. Ron Hubbard himself [founder of the Scientology religion] selected as home to the first Scientology organization. This is also the city wherein he first defined the human spirit as an immortal being possessed of capabilities beyond anything predicted, and so arrived at the axiomatic truths on which the whole of Scientology is founded. Your early London organizations were also the original proving ground for the bulk of Mr. Hubbard’ s social betterment programs which are used to uplift neighborhoods just like this one."

The Scientologist

I have a lot of respect for the individual Scientologist who takes on the responsibility of a Scientology Volunteer Minister and goes to help others when they really need his/her help.

The stories of several VMs are presented on a web site called "After the Tsunami."

One begins like this:

"One of the most important and powerful effects that I created was on my very first night in Nagapattinam here in India.

We were thrown into the chaotic activity of a place called St. Joseph’s Hostel. It was a place for housing many of the surviving from the Tsunami. Many who had lost their houses, children, mothers or fathers. Continued>>

Information on the technology they use to help others, developed by Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard, is available at the web site of the Scientology Handbook.

Buckmister Fuller

section: Who is R. Buckminster Fuller ?

"For the first time in history it is now possible to take care of everybody at a higher standard of living than any have ever known.
Only ten years ago the ‘more with less’ technology reached the point where this could be done. All humanity now has the option to become enduringly successful.”

– R. Buckminster Fuller, 1980

This confident assertion was made in 1980 by the late R. Buckminster Fuller–inventor, architect, engineer, mathematician, poet and cosmologist. As early as 1959, Newsweek reported that Fuller predicted the conquest of poverty by the year 2000. >>

Albert Einstein

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."

"Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from weak minds."

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

Albert Einstein

How Stuff Works

A friend of mine just reminded me of this terrific web site - How Stuff Works.

It presents factual information in a very simple way - not trying to overwhelm you with high-level information, but giving it in a way that is easy to assimilate.

They also post articles on the home page that are topical and relevant to current events.

For example, today there is an article How do scientists determine if a nuclear blast has occurred?

The Earth Organization

I support the Earth Organization.

Here is some information on the group and some of their key issues.

The Earth Organization is an international, non-profit, conservation and environmental organization, founded by veteran South African conservationist and explorer Lawrence Anthony, who recognized that new solutions were necessary to reverse the dwindling spiral of life on Planet Earth.

What Makes the Earth Organization Different?

Earth Organization members, apart from their commitment to creating a healthy habitable Planet, use and disseminate [spread the word about] the Dynamics of Existence as a simple workable tool, that for the first time explains exactly how all life, including man, actually survives. The "Dynamics" provide a simple new way of looking at man in his relationship to his own kind, the Earth and the Plant and Animal kingdoms.

The Earth Organization believes that while defense of the environment and protection of species is vital, fast declining statistics demonstrate that this alone is not sufficient to turn the Planet around. It has become abundantly clear that another approach is also needed.

One of our major purposes therefore is prompting the realization about the Dynamics of Existence among the people of Earth.

Once in possession of this knowledge, we believe that everyone can become involved in creating and protecting the earth.

Why are Trees so important to us?

Trees provide us with oxygen to breathe and absorb carbon dioxide, which also cools the Planet down. Mankind's future survival on Earth is entirely dependent on the well being of our existing trees and the regeneration of forests.

Recycling: does it really help?

Recycling is a practical way of doing something positive about the refuse that is polluting the Earth. Everybody should recycle.

What is our standpoint on zoos?

Earth Organization members do not support the conditions under which many zoos keep animals; we support the closure of improper facilities, with little or no educational benefit, where caged animals are abused or simply “gawked” at.

What is an ocean dead zone?

A dead zone is an area in the ocean which does not have any life at all. There are now nearly 150 dead zones all over the world. Some dead zones are small, and some are huge - as large as 40,000 sq. miles. Dead zones are caused by excess nitrogen from fertilizer and sewage washing down rivers into the sea, triggering an explosive growth of plankton which uses up all the oxygen in the water. Because there is no oxygen, everything that cannot swim away dies.

Lawrence Anthony, the founder of the Earth Organization is an International Association of Scientologists Freedom Medal Winner.

Congratulations to Muhammed Yunus

Muhammed Yunus, the architect of micro-credit, an innovative banking loan program that helps the poor afford everyday tools to better their welfare, and the bank he founded, Grameen Bank, have been awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.

The bank he founded gives credit to those in poverty.

Upon hearing that he was awarded the prize, the Bangladeshi professor said this was great news for the whole nation.

Here's a terrific story about him on the Third World Travelor web site.

Youth for Human Rights

I think the work that Youth for Human Rights is doing is really commendable.

With the Church of Scientology International they have produced a series of remarkable public service announcements.

I am rarely moved as much as I have been by these PSAs.

If you have any ideas on how these can be gotten into broader circulation, please let me know. They have been uploaded to YouTube and you can watch my favorite one here. It's the first video - We're all born free and equal.

Did I ever say?

Did I ever say how much I respect my father?

He passed away some years ago, and he was far from perfect.

But he always tought us that there was more to life than the material.

That's not to say that he was a "free spirit." He got bogged down in the physical universe for sure -- house, car, career.

And when I came home with my choice of profession it was:

What-do-you-MEAN-you-want-to-be-an-actress-you-can't-support-yourself...

You know how it goes.

But he had a love of music, art, theater, film, writing... and he instilled that love in his children.

And I owe a tremendous amount to him for that.

Cesar Chavez

"If you win non-violently, then you have a double victory, you have not only won your fight, but you remain free."

Chavez, Cesar Director of the United Farm Workers

Accident today

As I was out taking a walk this morning I came across an accident.

Some poor woman saw an accident occurring right in front of her and swerved to avoid getting into a pile-up, but lost control and went careening across the street into the side of a bank on the opposite side.

By the time I got there she and one of the victims in the original crash had been taken to the hospital.

Which is all a propos to my saying I really respect the emergency response personnel in LA.

They are seriously efficient, and unflappable.

That's the kind of people you want to be there for you when you get into a tangle like the three cars today.

By the way, just a funny anecdote, a couple of years ago I was called for jury duty and the case was about a car accident. The judge asked the first set of prospective jurors to raise their hands if they had not been in an accident themselves. Only one did. And he had never had a license.

Tells you something about LA?