41 VOLUME 9 |ISSUE 3 |2018
of Scientology since the early 1980s, and suggests that the
city allowing a group that does not have recognized charity
status in Canada—as many religions do—could ‘open the
doors’ for other groups ‘of questionable legitimacy.’ ...Revenue
Canada’s website currently does not show Scientology as a
registered charitable organization in the country. A written
response from Edmonton’s Church of Scientology casts doubt
on Kent’s academic standing and honesty, in regards to the
denomination, and [states that] that the church is a registered
religion in Canada, and, indeed, meets all the criteria to be
included in the Interfaith Centre. Further, it supports the
statements made from the city and the Interfaith Centre about
their inclusion in the group, and says that singling out the
religion is ‘pure bigotry.’” (VueWeekly, 03/29/18)
FSB officers raid St. Petersburg Church of Scientology
“Searches are conducted at the premises of the Church
of Scientology of St. Petersburg, the press service of
Federal Security Service’s (FSB) regional directorate reports
Wednesday. The raids are directed to identifying more items
and documents confirming the criminality of the religious
organization leaders’ actions, according to the statement. ...
According to investigators, from 2013 to 2016, the organization
received over 276 million rubles (about $5 million) for
rendering its services. However, the Church of Scientology of
St. Petersburg has not been incorporated under the law, an FSB
representative said in court earlier. Dianetics and Scientology
are a set of religious and philosophical ideas and practices
that were put forth by L. Ron Hubbard in the US in the early
1950s. ...The Moscow Regional Court ruled in 2012 that some
of Hubbard’s books be included on the Federal List of Extremist
Literature and prohibited from distribution in Russia.” (Rapsi,
03/28/18)
Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath renewed
“Leah Remini’s A&E documentary series, Leah Remini:
Scientology and the Aftermath, has been renewed for a third
season. Scientology and the Aftermath, launched in 2016,
features the actress who previously defected from the religion,
sharing stories of abuse, misconduct and retribution within
the organization. Remini co-stars on the series with former
high-ranking Scientology official Mike Rinder. ...‘We’ve
been getting an overwhelming amount of emails and people
contacting us through [social media] about other cults that are
similar [to Scientology], so I’m looking into that,’ she said. A&E’s
third season renewal comes after the Church of Scientology
recently launched their own network dedicated to the religion,
Scientology TV. The Monday launch featured a rare appearance
from leader David Miscavige.” (UPI, 03/15/18)
Scientology unveils network launch set for Monday
“The Church of Scientology on Sunday surprised the media
business by unveiling its plan to launch the Scientology
Network on platforms including DirecTV, Apple and Amazon
starting Monday. Scientology distributed a ‘network
countdown’ video Sunday afternoon via social media touting
the launch of ‘a new voice, a new network’ at 8 p.m. ET
on March 12. The two-minute video obliquely references
Scientology’s battered reputation after numerous exposes
about the church’s practices and tactics in dealing with those
who leave their orbit. ...Scientology promises the channel will
be available on Apple TV, iTunes, Roku, DirecTV, Chromecast
and Google Play, and Amazon’s Fire TV. A rep for DirecTV and
others did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The recent focus on the National Rif[l]e Assn. and gun
control laws in the wake of last month’s high school shooting
massacre in Parkland, Fla., has raised public awareness of
the growing number of corporately owned channels that
are gaining distribution on startup OTT platforms hungry for
content. Apple and Amazon have come under fire for carrying
the NRA TV channel that promotes gun ownership and the
lobbying org’s legislative agenda with numerous programs
done in the vein of traditional unscripted reality shows. ...The
grave concerns raised about Scientology’s practices and the
conduct of its leaders will also undoubtedly lead to pressure
from activists on distributors who agree to carry Scientology
Network.” (Variety, 03/11/18)
“Supreme Being,” formerly of Kansas City, Kansas, must pay
$8 million to woman for human trafficking
“A woman who spent 10 years toiling without pay for a Kansas
City, Kan., religious group has won an $8 million judgment
against the group and its leader. U.S. District Judge Daniel
Crabtree issued a 57-page ruling Wednesday, finding that
Kendra Ross was the victim of human trafficking at the hands
of Royall Jenkins and his group, which calls itself The Value
Creators. Crabtree, who referred to the group as a cult, found
that Ross was subjected to physical and emotional abuse and
years of ‘humiliating and degrading treatment.’” (Kansas City
Star, 5/24/18)
European court upholds German move to take kids from
sect
“The European Court of Human Rights has upheld Germany’s
decision to take away the children of families in a Christian
sect to protect them from being disciplined by caning. The
Strasbourg court said Thursday it found no violation of
European rules protecting four families’ right to respect for
private and family life. It said Germany’s decision to remove
the eight children in 2013 from members of the ‘Twelve
Tribes’ sect in Bavaria was justified by the ‘risk of inhuman or
degrading treatment.’ It noted that ‘the parents had remained
convinced during the proceedings that corporal punishment
was acceptable’ and that German authorities concluded ‘they
had had no other option available to them to protect the
children.’ The sect was founded by a Tennessee high school
teacher in the 1970s.” (The Associated Press, 03/22/18)

42 ICSA TODAY 40
Department of Labor finds multiple child-labor violations
at Common Sense Farm as a result of Twelve Tribes
investigation
“Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon today announced
the preliminary results of an ongoing investigation into the
Twelve Tribes community located in Cambridge, NY, based on
an Inside Edition (IE) investigative report that aired on Friday,
6/1/18. The IE video showed children as young as six years old
being put to work in farm and factory settings. On Monday,
June 5, an investigative team from the Department of Labor
Worker Protection unit conducted an on-site investigation at
Common Sense Farm. The team found multiple violations
involving 12 minors who were engaged in factory work,
which is prohibited. As a result of these violations, the DOL
has opened cases that could result in significant fines in
the tens of thousands of dollars. ‘Every child under the age
of 18 in this state has a right to be protected by the Child
Labor Law, and we take our enforcement responsibilities
seriously,’ said Commissioner Reardon. ‘Children are our most
valuable asset and compliance with the Child Labor Law is not
discretionary—it’s mandatory.’ As part of the investigation,
The Department of Labor also educated the owners about
child labor standards. DOL is also investigating the following
12-Tribes related entities across NYS. …New York has some
of the best child labor protections in the U.S. The law restricts
the hours that children can work, requires working papers for
each child, limits the age at which children can perform certain
types of work, prohibits assisting in dangerous occupations
or using certain types of machinery, and imposes other
requirements. (New York State Department of Labor, 6/05/18)
Upstate religious cult allegedly beats kids, forces them into
labor
“A religious cult is forcing children as young as 9 to work the
assembly line in its upstate factory—packaging fancy soaps
and other goods that are then sold by Amazon, Whole Foods,
Target and Walmart, a new exposé claims. The factory, in rural
Cambridge—a small town an hour northeast of Albany—is
owned and run by a controversial international religious cult
called Twelve Tribes. The cult has been fined by New York
authorities at least twice before, in 2001 and 2006, over child
labor-law violations.” (New York Post, 5/31/18)
Study says yoga and meditation may make you Zen, but
they also inflate your ego
“One of the foundational points of yoga and meditation is
to let go of the sense of self and release the ego in order to
attain nirvana, or bliss. Unfortunately, the modern practice
could instead be causing the exact opposite. Despite the
best of intentions, practicing yoga and meditation may
instead inflate the ego, according to a new study published
online by the University of Southampton. A classical theory
by US psychologist William James notes that practicing any
skill creates ‘self-enhancement,’ or ego. Although Buddhism
teaches that meditation helps to overcome self-regard, James’
theory holds that practicing any skill makes it, in and of itself,
egotistical. To see whether yoga affected the ego, researchers
followed almost 100 yoga students for nearly four months.
After a yoga class they would answer questions about how
they felt after having practiced, including how they compare
to the average yoga student in the class, how they rated
themselves following those classes, and evaluating a scale
ranking their self-esteem. In a majority of cases, students who
evaluated themselves within an hour following a yoga class
had higher views of themselves compared with when they had
not taken a class.” (IFL Science!, n.d.) n