The Rescue Specialists of Scientology: Volunteer Ministers awarded for aiding at all fronts following the violent Typhoon Morakot

Kaohsiung, 17 October 2009 - In a special ceremony Scientology Volunteer Ministers were commended for their part in helping Taiwan recover from the deadliest typhoon to hit the country in 50 years. Ms. Mei Tsu Lee accepted the award presented by the Youth Volunteer Association and the Kaohsiung City Council for the Church of Scientology in Taiwan.

Typhoon Morakot slammed into southern Taiwan last August, killing more than 600 and causing an estimated $1.5 billion in damage. More than nine feet of rain inundated the island causing record flooding and mudslides buried entire villages.

Despite more than 20,000 troops pressed into service for disaster relief, without the volunteer community the country could not have coped with the needs of some 7,000 who lost their homes and the enormous cleanup operation needed to restore the island to any semblance of normality.

The bright yellow shirts of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers fast became a welcome sight in the days following the typhoon. The Scientologists helped distribute food, water and supplies and rolled up their sleeves to help villages clean up mountains of mud that were everywhere.

But it was Scientology Assists—spiritual first-aid—that were the most valuable contribution of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers. Assists are procedures developed by L. Ron Hubbard that provide relief by addressing the emotional and spiritual factors in stress, trauma, illness and injury.

“I could not close my eyes to sleep,” said one woman who lived through the storm. The Assist brought her immediate relief. “The feeling of numbness is gone and now I can sleep.”

“Thank you for helping me put the smile back on my face,” said one person aided with an Assist. “The pressure in gone.” She asked to be taught techniques herself so she could help her family and neighbors.

To the 64-year-old woman whose banana farm was literally washed away, it seemed the typhoon had destroyed everything. She was desperate with worry about how she and her daughter could carry on. But after her Assist it all looked different: she was relaxed, even optimistic, as she started to plan for the future.

The Volunteer Ministers were not there only for the Morakot victims, they also gave Assists to the military who were carrying out disaster response. One solder was so impressed by the change he experienced from his Assist that he asked the Volunteer Ministers to teach him how to give them. “I really felt lucky to have helped in this disaster,” he said. “I have never been involved in a more meaningful activity. Now I want to do more.”

For more information on the Scientology Volunteer Ministers, visit their web site at www.volunteerministers.org or the Scientology web site at www.scientology.org.

New Church of Scientology opens in Washington, DC

Located just six blocks from the White House in the historic Embassy Building on Embassy Row, stands the new Founding Church of Scientology of Washington, DC, at 1424 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036.

Six blocks! So Obama can drop in during his lunch break, I guess :-) and watch an Introductory Film:

"Dianetics and Scientology introductory films are shown in our state-of-the-art theaters, located just off Reception. Here you can watch An Introduction to Scientology, the only filmed interview L. Ron Hubbard ever gave. See Mr. Hubbard provide answers to the questions posed by millions — What is Scientology? How can Scientology help people overcome their problems? Why is Man on this planet and what is his purpose here?"

Scientology News: Federal Crime Charges against Anonymous

On Wednesday, October 28, 2009, a federal Grand Jury in Los Angeles indicted Brian Thomas Mettenbrink, a member of the cyber hate group Anonymous, for his part in the January 2008 attempted destruction of Scientology websites owned by the Church of Scientology.

Mettenbrink, 20, is charged with conspiracy and “transmission of a code, information, program, or command to a protected computer.” The indictment states that he obtained a computer program from an Anonymous website and executed a “DDOS” attack from his dormitory at Iowa State University against Church computers in Los Angeles. A DDOS (distributed denial of service) attack occurs where a large amount of malicious Internet traffic is directed at a website or a set of websites, with the intent to overwhelm and shut down the websites.

Mettenbrink is the second member of Anonymous to face criminal charges relating to this attack. In May 2009, Dmitriy Guzner, then 18, pleaded guilty to computer hacking charges for his role in the attack on Church computers. He is currently awaiting sentencing.

Scientology is a worldwide religious movement with more than 8,000 Churches, Missions and groups in 165 countries. The Church and its members dedicate their time and resources to numerous humanitarian programs that Scientology has become known for around the world, including combating drug abuse, immorality, illiteracy and human rights violations.

For more information about Scientology, visit Scientology.org.

Scientology Headquarters for the United Kingdom Hosts International Arts Festival

Saint Hill Manor, once home of Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard, gears up for 18th annual international arts festival

Saint Hill, the headquarters for the Scientology religion in England, and home in the 1960’s to Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard, is about to undergo its once-yearly transformation into an international haven for the artist, with the 18th annual Saint Hill International Arts Festival opening there on Sunday the 2nd of August.

L. Ron Hubbard once wrote, “A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists.” And it is the regard with which he held the artist that inspired this yearly weeklong tradition of concerts, performances, workshops and projects in which those attending stretch their creativity and polish their craft while sharing their talent with others.

This year’s festival opens with an evening of world-class performances, including concert pianist Gabriel Arnold, soprano Marion Shuster, violinists Mike Perroud and Martin Sonneveld, violist Anne-Marie Sonneveld, actor/comedians Georgina Roberts and Robbie Scandrett and dancer Barbara Lanik, with a guest performance by Hollywood actor and singer, Judy Norton, best known for her role as Mary Ellen in the Waltons.

To cap the evening, guests will be treated to a professionally staged fireworks extravaganza.

The concert begins the week of workshops, exhibitions and classes in painting, drama, singing, dance, filmmaking, photography, fashion design and sculpture, including a master class in piano. For the entire week, the grounds of Saint Hill Manor will be transformed into an art exhibition, where all those attending can display their work.

“The Saint Hill International Arts Festival provides artists and potential artists with the ideal environment in which to blossom, where art is taught by people with the correct technology, without invalidation, and where one is free to perform and be appreciated,” said Festival Executive Producer, Sheila Gaiman.

For more information on L. Ron Hubbard, whose work inspired the program, visit the Scientology site. For more information about the festival please contact comm@arts-festival.org or go to www.arts-festival.org.

Scientology: Know Yourself - Know Life

Scientology Know Yourself, Know Life (http://www.scientology.org/) ads, launched May 18th, by the Church of Scientology's International office have been running in the US and Canada on MTV, Discovery, The Learning Channel, CNBC, MSNBC, CNN, ESPN, Fox News and Fox Sports. The Know Yourself, Know Life ads have been appealing to the interest of ten thousands every day since the start of the information campaign. The current Know Yourself Know Life ads will air daily until the end of 2009.

Additionally, the video channel website http://www.scientology.org/ features a new section called “Meet a Scientologist” with videos of 100 Scientologists from all walks of life - bus driver, artists, inventor, doctor, professionals, race car driver, equestrian, housewife, and others - in their life situations. Visitors can learn why these people chose Scientology as their religion.

The Church’s website explains that Scientology is an applied religious philosophy and features visual depictions of some of the Church's core principles. The website also details four of The Church of Scientology’s worldwide campaigns - anti-drugs, human rights, volunteer ministers and The Way to Happiness (a common sense moral code) as well as data on the secular programs of Narconon and Applied Scholastics - programs that address drug addiction and literacy.

The word Scientology literally means "the study of truth." It comes from the Latin word "scio" meaning "knowing in the fullest sense of the word" and the Greek word "logos" meaning "study of." Scientology is the study and handling of the spirit in relationship to itself, others and all of life.

The Scientology religious philosophy was founded by L. Ron Hubbard. Mr. Hubbard is a 3-time Guinness Book of World Records holder of the most published works by a single author, most audio book titles on Earth and most translated author.

The “Know Yourself Know Life” (http://www.scientology.org/) ads are sponsored by the Church of Scientology which was formed in Los Angeles in 1954 by a group of Scientologists, and within a few year churches were formed across the country and around the world. Today there are 8,000 churches, missions and related organizations in 164 countries. For more information you can also visit http://www.whatisscientology.org/.

More here

Scientology Member in Sicily Receives International Award

Scientologist recognized for outstanding contribution to the culture with the Silver Chimera Award for 2009

Scientology Public Affairs Director for the Church of Scientology of Catania, Italy, Ms. Itria Leone, was awarded the 2009 Silver Chimera Award for the impact she has made on the community through her work as coordinator of the Church’s social reform programs.

The 8th annual International Silver Chimera Awards ceremony was organized by dell’Arte Etrusca to raise awareness of social issues and recognize those who have distinguished themselves through contribution that improves the quality of life. With the theme, “Peace in the World,” the ceremony was held this year at the Museo Castello Ursino in Catania, in Sicily.

Ms. Leone, a native of Sicily, has been coordinating the social reform activities of the Church of Scientology of Catania since 2005. At a grassroots level, she has been working to educate children and teenagers on the effects of drugs, to help them make educated choices and avoid the tragedy of addiction. She also coordinates a chapter of Youth for Human Rights International, through which young people learn their rights and help educate their friends and community on the basic rights to which every individual is entitled.

In accepting her award, Ms. Leone acknowledged L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Scientology religion, for inspiring her to dedicate her life to helping others.

Other recipients of this year’s Silver Chimera Award were: in literature, Dr Sandro Distefano; in medicine, Dr. Ennio Roman; in civil service Dr. Domenico Pinzello, chief representative of the Minister of Interior for the province of Catania, for his many years of effectively combating organized crime, professor Giuseppe Adernò, who has distinguished himself an entrepreneur and cultural leader and Concetta Bufardeci, who has carried on a centuries-long family tradition of representing the country of Spain to Sicily.

Scientology Video Channel: Meet a Scientologist

"Meet a Scientologist" with testimonials of Scientology members that are medical doctors, bus drivers, baseball coaches, run art galleries or work as photographer or fitness trainer.

Since the Church of Scientology has launched its new video channel on www.Scientology.org, scores of individual videos have been added, most remarkably a section called "Meet a Scientologist" with testimonials of Scientology members that are medical doctors, bus drivers, baseball coaches, run art galleries or work as photographer or fitness trainer.

The Scientology Video Channel provides a comprehensive overview of the basic beliefs and practices of the religion while answering the question "What is Scientology?," as well as information on the many humanitarian programs sponsored by the Church—programs addressing drug abuse, illiteracy, human rights and disaster relief.

The video channel contains hundreds of broadcast-quality videos, comprising almost 4 hours of content. These videos have previously been available for viewing by the general public in Church exhibitions around the world.

By making the Scientology Video Channel available on the Church's website, the Church is able to provide far more expansive and enlightening information to those who have questions about the religion. Visitors to the Scientology Video Channel wondering just "what is Scientology?" can request a free book entitled "A Description of the Scientology Religion" or obtain other basic books about Scientology or Dianetics.

As Scientologists number in the millions and come from all walks of life, included in the online content are statements from Scientology parishioners themselves expressing why Scientology is their chosen faith.

The Church of Scientology has always considered the Internet a resource for disseminating accurate information about the religion—concentrating on using the Internet to promote its message and mission in the world. Since 1996, Church sites have provided hundreds of thousands of individual pages of material and images on the religion. These sites are available in most major languages and are visited by tens of millions each year.

The Church firmly believes that understanding is achieved through knowledge and information. It is in this spirit that the Church is putting this special video channel online, designed to answer the question most often asked: What is Scientology?

The Church of Scientology encourages anyone desiring information about the Scientology religion to visit the Church video channel at www.Scientology.org.