SPT: Scn owns downtown / Scientology sells Clearwater to retailers
[NOTE: This one's a bizarre one. Scientology killed downtown
Clearwater, Florida and wiped out the business tax base. Anyone
who has the displeasure of driving through town are photographed
and videotaped by the organized crime syndicate and people often
talk about hoping they don't have car trouble while having to
pass through.
The freakish atmosphere caused by zombie cultists, many of which
are dressed up like little robot toy sailors, and many of which
dress up in fake police uniforms make everyone who can stay out of
Clearwater... and then the crime syndicate sends frekish, insane
advertisements to prospective rubes to try to sucker them into
Clearwater in the hopes they've never heard of Scientology.
But what it means the most is that the criminal Scientology cult
thinks it's in charge of Clearwater and can do anything it wants
regardless of how stupid or potentially damaging. The crooks think
they own the place. Horribly, they're right. They do.]
Scientology sells Clearwater to retailers
The church says it has an interest in seeing downtown Clearwater
thrive for its parishioners and the area.
St. Petersburg Times
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/05/29/Northpinellas/Scientology_sells_Cle.shtml
CLEARWATER - The Church of Scientology has sent out promotional
brochures to national retailers such as the Gap and Banana Republic
in an effort to lure more upscale businesses downtown.
But city officials, largely caught off-guard, expressed surprise and
disappointment at the strategy.
"I thought that it was odd that an independent entity would
do this," Commissioner Whitney Gray said. "You don't see
other businesses, or churches certainly, marketing downtown to
this degree."
Gray said she had been notified by the church about plans for the
eight-page flier touting downtown. She met with a church representative
and bluntly outlined her concerns. Given the church's dominant presence
downtown, there are people who refuse to spend money there because they
think it would benefit Scientology, according to Gray.
"If it looks to the public like the Church of Scientology is
building downtown," she said, "people won't come."
Indeed, a recent church-commissioned survey cited deep and widespread
negative opinions about the church among Pinellas County residents.
Church spokesman Ben Shaw said the survey results and the flier's impact
are unrelated.
The brochure was distributed to 10 to 20 retailers, including Haagen-Dazs
and Ann Taylor, Shaw said. The church, he said, has an interest in seeing
downtown thrive, both for parishioners' benefit and for the community at
large.
He said the brochure was an afterthought, part of an ongoing initiative to
kick-start redevelopment. It was meant to augment the city's efforts, not
compete with them.
"We see it as a community effort," Shaw said. "It's
not just the city's job.
But the brochure, which does not cite sources or disclose its author,
provides information about business incentives offered by the city and
includes names and phone numbers for city staff.
Commissioner Frank Hibbard said the church had ventured outside its
traditional bounds.
"When you talk about promoting Clearwater as a whole,"
he said, "that is the role of city government."
In fact, the city put out a glossy brochure of its own in March, sending
it to 4,000 developers nationwide. Assistant City Manager Ralph Stone said
the effort was widely publicized and sought input from a host of city
groups, many that include members of the church.
"They had a chance to coordinate with us and they chose not
to," he said. "Our preference is that they would."
Stone later acknowledged the church had supplied Economic Director Reg
Owens with a mockup of its brochure, which remained in his desk on
Wednesday. Stone said Owens did not understand that the church's brochure
was intended for distribution.
"I think he thought it was pretty innocent," Stone said.
Mayor Brian Aungst said he was surprised by the brochures.
"I don't know that it hurts anything," he said. "It's
probably helpful, but we'll find out, I guess."
City officials said they had no problems with the information contained
in the church's flier - it is standard economic development fare, with
statistics on population (78,421 within a 3-mile radius), median age
(44.2) and income (45 percent of families earn more than $50,000
annually).
But they worried about straying from a unified message.
At the very least, Gray said, the city of Clearwater needs to be perceived
as heading up its own economic development.
"This just makes it a little bit harder," she said.
- Jennifer Farrell can be reached at 445-4160 or farrell@sptimes.com
May 29, 2003
By JENNIFER FARRELL
[Note: The
Scientology®
organization has at best estimate approximately
45,000 to 50,000 followers world wide -- contrary to the 8 million figure
that the organization has been claiming for the past few years or so.
While that number continues to drop (thanks in part to the Internet) few
of the remaining followers are even aware of the unending series of police
raids, indictments, and prison terms their leaders and fellow cultists are
subjected to routinely. Few are allowed to know about their organization's
criminal history, or its current racketeering activities. Even fewer of
the cult's remaining followers are privy to their messiah's written
policies which dictates the criminal behavior that keeps getting their
organization raided (see Xenu.NET for
suitable references of Scientology policy) Scientology management
is the problem, not the thousands of honest believers who are good,
honest citizens; themselves victims of Scientology - flr]
The name "Narconon"® is trademarked to the Scientology organization through one of their many front groups. The name "Scientology"® is also trademarked to the "Church" of Scientology. Neither this web page, nor this web site, nor any of the individuals mentioned herein assisting to educate the public about the dangers of the Narconon scam are members of or representitives of the Scientology organization.
E-Mail Fredric L. Rice / The Skeptic Tank