VOLUME 7 |ISSUE 2 |2016 3735
is under no obligation to take up the interlocutory appeal for
consideration the nine justices will vote on whether to grant
or deny the petition for review ...A response is due March
21. Rathbun fired her attorneys in January and is representing
herself ...Miscavige did not file a motion to dismiss and is not
a party to the appeal.” (Courthouse News Service, 02/24/16)
Watchdog bans Scientology TV ad for misleading viewers
A TV ad aired by the Church of Scientology was banned for
misleading viewers into believing that the church has helped
24 million people. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)
banned the ad because the ASA had not been provided with
suitable evidence to back up Scientology’s claim of helping
24 million people. “We concluded that the claim had not been
substantiated and was likely to mislead viewers,” the ASA said.
“We told the Church of Scientology International to ensure
they held adequate evidence for any claims that viewers were
likely to regard as objective and capable of substantiation.” (The
Guardian, 03/02/16)
Belgian court acquits Church of Scientology of organized-
crime charges
Prosecutors accused Scientology’s Belgian branch and
European headquarters, and also a number of church
members, of forming a criminal organization involving alleged
fraud, unlawful medical practice, extortion, and invasion of
privacy. However, presiding judge Yves Regimont dismissed all
the charges against the Church, criticizing the investigators “for
what he said was prejudice, and prosecutors for being vague in
their case.” (ABC Online, 04/11/16)
Google gave Church of Scientology nearly $6 million in free
advertising
Google has approved advertising grants totaling $5.7
million for the Church of Scientology, according to a
spokesperson for Scientology. Google works with more than
20,000 nonprofits in more than 50 countries. The Church of
Scientology was officially recognized as a tax-exempt religion
by the IRS in 1993. Because of this decision, Google “may have
felt it was not appropriate to distinguish between one officially
recognized church and another.” (Business Insider, 01/06/16)
Renowned guru is accused of spoiling New Delhi’s river
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the founder of the Art of Living, has
been accused of destroying New Delhi’s river. Celebrating 35
years of his work, Shankar hosted a 3-day event March 11–13
that was expected to include more than 3.5 million people
and about 37,000 artists. For the event, Shankar built a large
tent city the size of six football fields on the flood plain of the
Yamuna River. River activists were not happy about this, saying
it would cost $1.8 million to restore the floodplains after the
event.
For the most part, the Yamuna River is trashed, and no one
visits unless there is a religious festival going on. Shankar says,
“People just want to gain fame by making these allegations.
In the heart of heart, everyone knows it is a dead river. It is so
polluted, so toxic. There is nothing left to pollute. To say we are
damaging the river is the biggest joke of the century.” (Press
Herald, 03/8/16)
Three thousand couples from 62 countries tie the knot in
South Korea
On February 20, 2016, 3,000 couples from 62 countries, plus
12,000 couples who participated via the Internet, were married
in South Korea. The Unification Church conducted the
ceremony. The church’s leader, Sun Myung Moon, who passed
away in 2012, had done mass weddings since the early 1960s.
His wife, Hak Ja Han Moon, coordinated the recent large
ceremony. Newlyweds numbered about 1,000, while 2,000
sought to rededicate their marriages and families to God. (In-
Depth-Economic Times, Reuters, 02/20/16)
Judge spares fraud conspirator jail time, blaming spiritual
brainwashing
For 2 1/2 years, A Virginia Beach, Virginia woman, Bobi Hillman,
falsified real-estate settlement forms in order to give money
to her Wave Church. Hillman didn’t do this alone she worked
with two other men from the church whom she met through
work. With Hillman’s help, Ben Julian and Jared Williams tricked
banks out of more than $531,000. In court, US District Judge
Arenda Wright Allen was shocked to learn that Hillman didn’t
do this for greed, but to be “closer to God.” Hillman pleaded
guilty and was sentenced to probation and a year on home
detention because her intentions were not malicious. The
Williams brothers both pleaded guilty last year and were
sentenced respectively to 14 months and 25 months in federal
prison. (The Virginian-Pilot, 03/11/16)
Fugitive yoga leader caught in France
Gregorian Bivolaru, a yoga instructor and founder of the
Movement for the Spiritual Integration in Absolute (MISA),
was taken into custody and is awaiting extradition, according
to French sources. Bivolaru escaped from Romania in 2005 after
being prosecuted for human trafficking and organized crime.
(Romania Journal, 02/26/16)
Yoga guru must pay compensation to former employee,
jury decides
The founder of Bikram Yoga, Bikram Choudhury, has been
ordered to pay his former employee Minakshi Jafa-Bodden
$924,500. In her lawsuit against Choudhury, Jafa-Bodden
alleges that she was sexually harassed, suffered gender
discrimination, and was fired after she began investigating
claims that Choudhury raped a yoga student. Choudhury
denies all of these accusations and told jurors that he let Jafa-
Bodden go because she didn’t have a license to practice law
in the United States. The hearing for punitive damages began
on January 26, 2015. Many other women have filed lawsuits
against Choudhury claiming sexual harassment and abuse. (Los
Angeles Times, 01/25/16) n
is under no obligation to take up the interlocutory appeal for
consideration the nine justices will vote on whether to grant
or deny the petition for review ...A response is due March
21. Rathbun fired her attorneys in January and is representing
herself ...Miscavige did not file a motion to dismiss and is not
a party to the appeal.” (Courthouse News Service, 02/24/16)
Watchdog bans Scientology TV ad for misleading viewers
A TV ad aired by the Church of Scientology was banned for
misleading viewers into believing that the church has helped
24 million people. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)
banned the ad because the ASA had not been provided with
suitable evidence to back up Scientology’s claim of helping
24 million people. “We concluded that the claim had not been
substantiated and was likely to mislead viewers,” the ASA said.
“We told the Church of Scientology International to ensure
they held adequate evidence for any claims that viewers were
likely to regard as objective and capable of substantiation.” (The
Guardian, 03/02/16)
Belgian court acquits Church of Scientology of organized-
crime charges
Prosecutors accused Scientology’s Belgian branch and
European headquarters, and also a number of church
members, of forming a criminal organization involving alleged
fraud, unlawful medical practice, extortion, and invasion of
privacy. However, presiding judge Yves Regimont dismissed all
the charges against the Church, criticizing the investigators “for
what he said was prejudice, and prosecutors for being vague in
their case.” (ABC Online, 04/11/16)
Google gave Church of Scientology nearly $6 million in free
advertising
Google has approved advertising grants totaling $5.7
million for the Church of Scientology, according to a
spokesperson for Scientology. Google works with more than
20,000 nonprofits in more than 50 countries. The Church of
Scientology was officially recognized as a tax-exempt religion
by the IRS in 1993. Because of this decision, Google “may have
felt it was not appropriate to distinguish between one officially
recognized church and another.” (Business Insider, 01/06/16)
Renowned guru is accused of spoiling New Delhi’s river
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the founder of the Art of Living, has
been accused of destroying New Delhi’s river. Celebrating 35
years of his work, Shankar hosted a 3-day event March 11–13
that was expected to include more than 3.5 million people
and about 37,000 artists. For the event, Shankar built a large
tent city the size of six football fields on the flood plain of the
Yamuna River. River activists were not happy about this, saying
it would cost $1.8 million to restore the floodplains after the
event.
For the most part, the Yamuna River is trashed, and no one
visits unless there is a religious festival going on. Shankar says,
“People just want to gain fame by making these allegations.
In the heart of heart, everyone knows it is a dead river. It is so
polluted, so toxic. There is nothing left to pollute. To say we are
damaging the river is the biggest joke of the century.” (Press
Herald, 03/8/16)
Three thousand couples from 62 countries tie the knot in
South Korea
On February 20, 2016, 3,000 couples from 62 countries, plus
12,000 couples who participated via the Internet, were married
in South Korea. The Unification Church conducted the
ceremony. The church’s leader, Sun Myung Moon, who passed
away in 2012, had done mass weddings since the early 1960s.
His wife, Hak Ja Han Moon, coordinated the recent large
ceremony. Newlyweds numbered about 1,000, while 2,000
sought to rededicate their marriages and families to God. (In-
Depth-Economic Times, Reuters, 02/20/16)
Judge spares fraud conspirator jail time, blaming spiritual
brainwashing
For 2 1/2 years, A Virginia Beach, Virginia woman, Bobi Hillman,
falsified real-estate settlement forms in order to give money
to her Wave Church. Hillman didn’t do this alone she worked
with two other men from the church whom she met through
work. With Hillman’s help, Ben Julian and Jared Williams tricked
banks out of more than $531,000. In court, US District Judge
Arenda Wright Allen was shocked to learn that Hillman didn’t
do this for greed, but to be “closer to God.” Hillman pleaded
guilty and was sentenced to probation and a year on home
detention because her intentions were not malicious. The
Williams brothers both pleaded guilty last year and were
sentenced respectively to 14 months and 25 months in federal
prison. (The Virginian-Pilot, 03/11/16)
Fugitive yoga leader caught in France
Gregorian Bivolaru, a yoga instructor and founder of the
Movement for the Spiritual Integration in Absolute (MISA),
was taken into custody and is awaiting extradition, according
to French sources. Bivolaru escaped from Romania in 2005 after
being prosecuted for human trafficking and organized crime.
(Romania Journal, 02/26/16)
Yoga guru must pay compensation to former employee,
jury decides
The founder of Bikram Yoga, Bikram Choudhury, has been
ordered to pay his former employee Minakshi Jafa-Bodden
$924,500. In her lawsuit against Choudhury, Jafa-Bodden
alleges that she was sexually harassed, suffered gender
discrimination, and was fired after she began investigating
claims that Choudhury raped a yoga student. Choudhury
denies all of these accusations and told jurors that he let Jafa-
Bodden go because she didn’t have a license to practice law
in the United States. The hearing for punitive damages began
on January 26, 2015. Many other women have filed lawsuits
against Choudhury claiming sexual harassment and abuse. (Los
Angeles Times, 01/25/16) n
