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The Real Story of the Freewinds

May 6, 2019 By Mike Rinder 103 Comments

With the recent outbreak of measles on the Scientology ship, Freewinds , Leah and I thought it important to highlight some points that are the real story about this ship.

With the exception of Newsweek, generally the media is missing the boat.  Their focus is on a case of measles rather than the bigger picture of the Freewinds.

To directly answer the least important question:  Do Scientologists believe in vaccinating?

Most Scientologists have little faith in “Wog” (non-scientology) medical care. L. Ron Hubbard believed medical doctors wanted to maintain their monopoly on “healing” and therefore they rejected his “discoveries.” He thus proclaimed them enemies.

Scientologists are taught to believe they are superior beings who can heal themselves with Hubbard’s technology. He proclaimed through the use of Dianetics a person will not even contract common colds.

With that said, there is no exact proscription about vaccines written by Hubbard, though he certainly believed “Big Pharma” was deliberately drugging the world to control the population.

The Daily Beast article “Inside Scientology’s Measles Infested Million Dollar Cruise for True Believers”,  includes the following:

Among the most visible anti-vaxx advocates is Scientologist, Jenna Elfman, who came out against SB-77, a 2015 California bill requiring vaccinations before students enroll in school. 

At an anti-vaxx rally in May 2015, Elfman  told  the crowd that when “You open up the door of taking away parents’ rights, you open the door to a constitutional slippery slope.” In a Facebook post from that year promoting a petition against the bill, Elfman asserted, “There is no health crisis (unless they care to create one— wait for it….).” Danny Masterson, another Scientologist (and one facing  multiple accusations of sexual assault ; he denies them), circulated the same petition, calling the bill in  a tweet  “California fascism.” And both Juliette Lewis and Kirstie Alley, also prominent Scientologists,  came out  against the bill. “NO on SB277…no no no…protect your rights to CHOOSE the vaccines your kids and YOU have…they are NOT all HARMLESS…”  Alley wrote . “Ur kids,Ur choice [sic].”

Most fundamentally, scientologists believe that if they do get sick, it is only because they are connected to someone or something that is negative about scientology. More on that below…

Scientology and “Wog” Medicine

Wog is a derogatory term used by scientologists to describe non-scientologists or things/ideas not based on Hubbard’s ideas.

Scientologists pity “wogs” — they consider them lower level humanoids unable to truly cope with life and rise to their full potential because they have not availed themselves of the “tech” provided by Hubbard. It is a cold view of the world and everyone in it. Scientologists are only solicitous to wogs to humor them in the hope they will create a good impression and perhaps get them to join up and hand over some cash. Behind your backs, scientologists are generally condescending towards everyone who is NOT a scientologist.

“Acceptable Truths”

Scientologists are taught and believe they are above wog medicine AND wog law.

They are taught how to lie to authorities and tell what is called in scientology an “acceptable truth” to avoid “negative PR” or trouble. Scientologists are trained to tell a “Shore Story” which will be acceptable to the “wogs” “on shore” to protect the operations of scientology (in this case aboard the Freewinds ).

Here is a perfect example of a “Shore Story” offering up an “acceptable truth” about the measles case on the  Freewinds . It is a typical L. Ron Hubbard inspired “Nothing to see here, we are law abiding citizens on the Scientology Fun Ship”…

According to Bonner, “As Scientologists, we follow every law. The woman is now OK and the measles has past [sic],” — no, they absolutely do NOT follow every law. Not even close.

“We have not been given her identity or whereabouts and none of us care.” And neither should you — we don’t want anyone outside the bubble being able to track this person down and discover who ELSE she may have been in contact with.

“We are “All” prepared to stay onboard the ship for the duration. The staff is wonderful and amazing and we’re all having fun training!!” In fact, the only people REALLY enjoying this are the scientology registrars who have a captive audience to suck money out of.

The Harsh Truth 

If a Scientologist or sea org member gets sick, they are immediately pulled into a scientology interrogation to find out who they are connected to that is “anti-scientology” and what transgressions against scientology morals they have been involved with in order to “pull in” this bad situation. In scientology, especially if you are a staff member, you are penalized for being sick.

They are grilled on the lie detector meter (called an e-meter) to see if they have seen Going Clear or The Aftermath or have read anything “negative” about scientology.  Once they have the intel, the victim is then sent to the “Ethics Dept” of the Sea Org where they are met with an Ethics officer or Master At Arms, (MAA) who has been provided with the “confessions” and their punishment is determined. For parishioners this often entails handing over money.

Being labeled PTS

This is an acronym for Potential Trouble Source. A state that Hubbard described to explain those who get sick or are involved in accidents despite their participation in scientology (which in theory should prevent bad outcomes such as this). It is “explained” that by looking on the internet or talking to your mother, father, sister, child or anyone who is negative or questions scientology, you become “PTS”. Those sources of negative information are making you sick . You are connected to Suppression. Evil. Unless you disconnect from the evil, you will be trouble to yourself and scientology.

The “PTS” then has to agree in writing that they will no longer look at anything negative about scientology, L. Ron Hubbard or David Miscavige and they very often have to make up the damage to the group for their evil deeds.

If a sea org member is sick, in addition to uncovering their “connection” to negative information or people, they are also interrogated on the e-meter with demands to know what their “evil intentions” are towards scientology and mankind. These sessions do not end until you come up with an answer. And then you are required to confess to wanting to purposely infect the ship or something similar, and admit to seeking the destruction of David Miscavige and every man, woman and child on earth.

This is why scientology has so many “confessions” from former Sea Org members they pull out once those people start exposing the abuses of scientology.

If the “flap” is bad enough, the Sea Org member can be removed from his or her post and be assigned to the Rehabilitation Project Force (RPF) for months and years. There they will be physically and emotionally abused beyond the average abuse Sea Org members bear in order to reform their thinking.

What is the Sea Organization

In 1967, seeking to avoid the efforts of governments to investigate his activities, L. Ron Hubbard took to sea where he would be outside the jurisdiction of the US and British authorities.

He created the Sea Organization, a paramilitary organization that runs scientology in accordance with Hubbard’s policies and directives.

Sea org Members profess their loyalty to Hubbard and scientology by signing a billion-year contract. They live communally and forfeit their former  lives, possessions and relationships. Scientology and the Sea Org becomes their ONLY life.

Scientologists believe it is a great honor to hand over their children to the Sea Organization.  For it is the Sea Org that is literally responsible for saving mankind.

Nowadays Sea Org members cannot have children. But before those rules were implemented, both my children were born and raised in the Sea Org by the Sea Org.  My wife and I did not raise our children. The Sea Org did. They were (and still are) Sea Org members first. Our job was our Sea Org job, not parenting.  We rarely saw our children, no distraction was tolerated to Clearing the Planet. No bed time stories, no family vacations, outings, first school plays, graduation of Kindergarten, dances, Valentines Day, Mothers Day, Fathers Day etc etc. It is a horrible way to grow up, and I wish now I could change it.

The Sea Org creates a nazi youth mentality in children. Their Sea Org training is harsh, their miserable lives are clouded by the idea that they are on a very important mission, giving them a sense of purpose and creating an alternate personalty devoid of empathy and compassion. They are in reality groomed to be victims of abuse (and to some extent so is every child raised a scientologist).

This explains why it is so easy for young Sea Org members to disconnect from even their scientology parents.

The Freewinds is NOT a Cruise Ship

The Freewinds delivers Scientology’s ultimate service: OT VIII. It is the only place in the world where this most exalted level of scientology is available. (Though there are only a handful at any given time who have completed OT VII ready to do OT VIII so they allow other scientologists to come on board for lower level services as long as their bank accounts are adequate — at times the Freewinds has been so cash-strapped it could not buy fuel so sat at dock for weeks).

This is the pinnacle of scientology at the top of “The Bridge to Total Freedom” — a confidential level that all Scientologists seek to achieve. Most scientologists spend a large part of their lives, sacrificing careers or families, but certainly hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to get to OT VIII. Before this, they must progress up the Bridge and through the earlier “OT Levels.” These materials are confidential to scientologists until they have made their way “up the Bridge”, but they have been available on the internet for years.

Hubbard promised immortality and spiritual freedom as one progresses up his Bridge. For scientologists, Hubbard’s “technology” holds the answers to life, including promising you can be cured of the causes of all illness and disease on OT V (New Era Dianetics for OTs or “NOTs”).  OT’s believe that they will be given the keys to move into their next life with TOTAL recall of this life. They are sold lies. That is why many who finally reach OT VIII leave. They realize they have made it to the top and it is not what was promised and hoped for during their ascent.

Horrors of the Freewinds

The Freewinds promotes itself as being “off the crossroads of the world”, and this is in some ways true. It is outside the purview of the US Government. It is not in the media spotlight. It is an enclosed and controlled world with no outside intrusion.

The majority of people on board the Freewinds are the crew of the ship. Sea Org members. They exist in an isolated bubble within the larger bubble that is scientology.

The Freewinds , has over the years, been a convenient place to keep dissidents or those scientology does not want in public view. Even things that would otherwise generate interest or outrage have gone largely unnoticed (See for example when it was discovered the ship was contaminated with blue asbestos and Sea Org and other workers had been exposed).

Former crew members of the Freewinds have provided extensive testimony concerning abuses aboard, including deaths being covered up and people held against their will.

In 2004 a Mexican Sea Org member who was an engineer on the ship named Jorge Arroyo went insane. He needed professional mental help. Instead he was locked in a small room under guard. He hanged himself in the shower. When his body was discovered, the ship left Aruba and sailed to Curaçao, because the Freewinds had better public relations there. Jorge’s body was removed in a black bag so that no one saw. Jorge’s brother, who was also an engineer on the ship, was lied to and told he had a heart attack. Jorge’s family in Mexico was told the same lie. This is something the Mexican Government should be investigating.

Ramana Dienes-Browning wanted to leave the Sea Org. She was forced to spend a year in the engine room and on decks (doing hard labor) as punishment for wanting to leave.

Colm McLaughlin was held against his will, escaped onto the dock and was wrestled back to the ship — the local dock-workers were told he “was drunk.”

Don Jason escaped by using a rolling pin to slide down the lines tying the ship to the dock.

These are the real stories that need to be told. They are the tip of the iceberg.

The Freewinds being in the news for the first time is the opportunity for the truth to be revealed.

As with everything in scientology, whenever you scratch the surface it is ALWAYS worse than it appears at first glance. This is not a cruise ship with an isolated case of the measles, it is a scientology prison-ship full of ugly secrets.

May 9, 2019 at 1:13 pm

lRH promised victory over death. He also said”The way out is the way through”. Therefore to win over death, one must die.

May 9, 2019 at 12:07 pm

When I left the Freewinds when it was discovered that I had AiDS they sent me to”Dr” ( He is not a licensed doctor) James Keppler who told me that the meds the doctors would give me were worse than HIV AIDS. He was very opposed to vaccinations and gave me materials to read opposing them. He worked on LRH in 1978. As a result of his “advice’ I very nearly died.

May 8, 2019 at 11:59 am

Mike’s right in saying the freewinds is NOT a cruise ship, they have a pool onboard I don’t think a single person used it during the entire time I was there, I saw one person using the gym, these features are up on deck and probably kept there for show rather than intended for use. Similiarly they have someone who is supposed to encourage you to go ashore for activities, the majority of public don’t leave the ship, and even if you do you have such time pressure on you that there is no enjoyment to it, I think the most time we had was 3 hours off one time, and even then we had to work late catching up on the crappy course they make you buy when you get on the ship. You can’t even relax at meal times, apart from the fact you are running to a deadline you are expected to rate every meal and if you give it anything less than outstanding then you get a member of the kitchen crew coming to speak to you as otherwise they get into trouble for being ‘downstat’. There is the obligatory sea org recruitment video showing, and beware if you are young and single you are an ideal candidate for high pressure tactics to get you to stay and become a staff member. You have to complete a routing form to get onto the ship, running round finding people to sign this can take two days, of course it includes a visit to the IAS office, as well as others each trying to get extra money out of you eg for upgraded accommodation, buying scientology themed crap from the onboard ‘gift’ shop. They take your passport away and to get it back you have to complete the leaving routing form, once again they try to get you to stay longer and you have to convince them you have had a wonderful experience even if you can’t wait to leave that hell hole!

May 8, 2019 at 1:53 pm

Thanks for the info on the Ship Gimpy. One thing to add. If you make the mistake of recognizing a friend of yours sitting at the OT VIII table at meal time and join them at their invitation, you will be asked to leave and get another seat somewhere else, as “this table is solely and only for those on OT VIII.” I asked why others can’t sit there too and they said that OT VIII is an important auditing thing and they don’t want their VIII’s having any invalidations or bad reactions from sitting with “others” (read “the unwashed”). They don’t want their VIII’s going PTS they said. Talk about elitism.

May 8, 2019 at 1:56 am

Is anyone on or near the dock/ship in Curaçao so that if/when the quarantine is lifted, the world will be able to see who was on that ship, if there were any “famous” people aboard. If there isn’t someone there, there should be.

May 7, 2019 at 10:15 pm

All blame falls on the leader who must have pulled in this PR disaster. His “church” is dying, his flock is abandoning him, and he has ousted anyone who could handle the situation.

What a piss-poor leader he is!

May 7, 2019 at 5:25 pm

Monica Pignotti was in the Sea Org who worked on the Apollo from 1970 to 1975.

Monica Pignotti discusses her Scientology Experiences (1989) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qy3DbO8CDI

May 7, 2019 at 1:55 pm

I came upon this the other day. It made me think of LRH and how he’d steal anything with a kernel of truth, wrap it in his mystery sandwich BS and call it his own. I don’t believe the Tao Te Ching (Way of Life) has ever purported to heal physical ailments through the power of the mind, but if you read this with the eyes of a con man looking to make a buck you sure will.

“The Way of Life” (ISBN 0451626745)

-71- “To know you are ignorant is best; To know what you do not, is a disease; But if you recognize the malady Of mind for what it is, then that is health.

The Wise Man has indeed a healthy mind; He sees an aberration as it is And for that reason will never be ill”

Yeah… I think he metaphorically means you’ll never be ill… not “You’ll never get the flu again and if you do, you did something to deserve it!”

May 7, 2019 at 1:39 pm

Bernard Bonner: “As scientologist, we follow every law”… (Every one that we’re forced to follow, that is). Given any chance, we’ll do a “Kim Jong Un” and SAY we’re going to comply while actually doing the complete opposite.

May 7, 2019 at 8:19 am

If you think that Scientologists look down with pity on “wogs,” it takes no stretch of the imagination to think what Int/Gold Base staff members thought, not only about wogs but fellow Scientologists and not only fellow Scientologists but fellow Sea Org members. But not only fellow Sea Org members, but fellow base staff Sea Org members. Basically, it came down to the fact that everyone except for LRH and David Miscavige was a completely useless degraded being. Of course, we all know where that viewpoint originated, don’t we, Dave?

May 7, 2019 at 10:49 am

Hubbard? Miscavige learned at the feet of the master, and while he’s carried on as an effective narcissist and sociopath, he’s had other handicaps like not being such a glib and even charismatic public persona, nor having the flair for creating the illusion of a constant flow of new “tech” to keep followers on tenterhooks.

May 7, 2019 at 7:06 am

We learned how to “Game the system” and playing Games. No excuse for that. I wish there where more people who would address this phenomenon of playing games. Sometimes with other people life.

May 7, 2019 at 12:01 am

The section on “Being PTS” is an excellent example of magical thinking.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_thinking

May 7, 2019 at 12:40 pm

Kyle – Many years ago after I left Scn I took up Transcendental Meditation for two or three months but I got bored with it. They had this worldwide meditation day when everybody around the world was supposed to meditate at the same time of day which would cause some kind of shift or impact on world consciousness. Good intentions I guess. I don’t know if they still do it.

May 7, 2019 at 1:10 pm

In TM they give you a mantra which you repeat over and over in your mind while meditating, taking the mantra ever “deeper”. It turns out my mantra was the name of some Hindu goddess. TM used to say that some of their advanced meditators could levitate but debunkers said they only saw people who seemed to be hopping a bit.

May 6, 2019 at 8:51 pm

I think the govt just wants to stay out of it and look the other way because of the cult being labeled a “religion “. I blame the government for granting the cult tax exempt status. I ju set hope no new people get involved in the cult. It’s funny to hear how they didn’t have $ to pay for gas? Why don’t they use their billions $. It’s also funny how it’s suppose to raise your IQ. But yet it takes these “smart” OT8s to finely realize they’ve been scammed, IM not a fast student, or even considered “smart”, but I could tell something was never quite right with Hubbard’s material. That shows you right there that their IQ never gets raised.

May 6, 2019 at 7:59 pm

I can only hope that someone on that ship is desperate enough to get off that they talk. Unfortunately, they may be too scared since the ship is now docked in its home port. If the stories about the others attempting to flee in curacao are remembered, it will likely make them less likely to believe that they will get help.

I also hope that the news stories continue to probe scientology. I noticed a slight uptick in stories this week. Today there was a story about the Canadian case involving a lawsuit about low wages. It was settled out of court- likely in a bid to quash publicity- but the reporter asked for anyone with information about scientology to contact him. I sent him an email, and hopefully he will look into the cult. Otherwise we all need to keep educating as many people as possible- eventually someone will listen.

May 6, 2019 at 8:55 pm

Be careful that “reporter” could be an undercover Scientologist.

May 7, 2019 at 6:02 pm

I vetted him first. he’s legit.

May 6, 2019 at 6:13 pm

I have been lurking the past year after watching Leah Remini on A&E. I have been jacking off my temporal lobes with Scientology L’s and the Bridge to Total Freedom for many years. I have attained levels of delusion never experienced before. I am tired of chasing the carrot on a stick. You are all right. There are no Clears or OT’s. I am a Clear and an OT and I have nothing but shattered relationships, ruined career, bankruptcy, foreclosure, financial ruin, multiple marriages and divorces plus horrible memories from my life in Scientology. I am so excited to have made the decision that I am done and I am out. I will be going all the way down the rabbit hole now to read and watch everything I can find regarding the truth about L Ron Hubbard and Scientology. Thank you for your Blog and the show Mike. I would probably have stayed in forever and gone down with the sinking ship. Scientology is nothing now. Membership is at an all time low. Thank you everyone.

May 6, 2019 at 10:05 pm

Wow. Awesome. Congratulations on finally getting out. There is so much to read and rabbit holes to go down to find out the whole truth about scientology and its leader. These will help you unravel. But the greatest thing I found in my life out was a new freedom and appreciation for so much good on the outside and I wish you the best of it. I hope you discover beauty, love, peace, kindnesses, empathy and compassion and many new and wonderful friendships.

May 7, 2019 at 9:33 am

Thank you Mary. “Unravel” is right. You give me hope that I can restore my compassion, kindness and empathy back. My friends and family told me throughout the years that I lost my humanity and became more and more arrogant, controlling and that I have no empathy. One friend who disconnected from me told me I became phony. They told me that with every divorce, I acted like it was no big deal. They knew I filed bankruptcy and said I acted like that was no big deal. Ruining your life is a big deal. Scientology trains you to not feel or show emotions and to pretend all is well when it is not. Being fake, phony, arrogant, having no empathy are all side effects of Scientology training, auditing and “group think” from being a Scientologist in the cult of Scientology. I was brainwashed into believing I had super powers and it was nothing but a lie. My ego got inflated. What hooked me was manipulating me to put money on account for my Bridge. That was my trap. I did not want to be wrong that “Scientology worked”. I was deceived into signing the contracts and then the implanted idea about “being SP” if auditing did not work coupled with I knew that REFUND was a filthy dirty word in Scientology and that they would not refund the money ever and that I would be declared SP if I asked for a refund. Cringe

May 7, 2019 at 10:56 am

OFG, it sounds like you have a lot of self-awareness, which is a critical starting point.

Fortunately, these days there is a lot of good material on cultivating empathy, and I hope that you can find things that work for you. One general exercise I’d recommend, which Hubbard specifically forbade as part of his attempt to make others narcissists and psychopaths in his own mold, is to volunteer to help others – totally “out exchange” by Scientology standards.

It’s a typical of high control groups or cults, that while promoting ideals like world peace and saving the planet, they actually bring out some of the worst in people. I wish you the best.

May 9, 2019 at 12:14 pm

Congratulations on this decision, OfG.

You may have lost a lot and suffered a lot but you are head and shoulders above the Still Ins who will not, cannot confront and deal with the truth, as you have.

I don’t say that lightly. I am not flattering you just to make you feel good. I do mean it. HEAD AND SHOULDERS above those stubborn cowards still in.

You can rebuild, you are still alive, you are aware. You said, “I am so excited to have made the decision that I am done and I am out.”

That strength, that awareness, the persistence that got you out will be that get you through the hurdles and impediments to come. As Yogi Bera famously said, “Nothing is over, until its over!”

Never mind your chronological age, your life is beginning again.

Stay the course; you’re on the right tack, OfG. Keep sharing with us. We learn from you; you learn from us. Keep going down that rabbit hole and getting all the data you want and need, sort thru it.

In brief, really well done., OfG. OUTSTANDING, I’d say!

May 7, 2019 at 9:58 am

Aquamarine – thank you. I appreciate the encouragement. I do agree with you. It takes a lot of courage to confront the truth. The truth hurts. The betrayal cuts like a knife. Scientology wraps its tentacles around every aspect of life so there is no escaping this pain from the betrayal. For your information, most Scientologists are in doubt most of the time. As you know, there are many traps to keep them in Scientology and many tricks so they won’t look, however, most sense something is wrong and they hide under the radar. “Pretending” is a way of being in Scientology and Scientologists lose touch with reality. I think they go insane.

May 7, 2019 at 5:18 pm

You’re welcome, OfG.

“I think they go insane.”

I KNOW they go insane.

Pretending to see what you DON’T see: pretending NOT don’t to see what you DO see…continually… day in, day out…year after year…to others…to oneself…while, at the same time, convincing oneself and being convinced one is on the road to TRUTH… if THIS isn’t the road to insanity, what is?

May 6, 2019 at 10:13 pm

OFG…. Thank you for your courage. It takes a lot of chutzpah for someone like you — with all that invested to see the truth and get out. I wish all the best for you. My ex-spouse has been in for 40 years and does not have the strength it takes to see that.. Despite losing two marriages and a daughter (who died in a terrible way). Scn could not/would not help her.. It’s too terrible for my ex-spouse to even realize.

BTW: the “wins” you’ll have getting your own self back will far exceed those you thought you got in the cult!

May 7, 2019 at 10:14 am

titlewaves – thank you. I have OT friends who also won’t confront the truth. It is traumatizing to deal with this shit. I can understand many who can’t deal at all. I made a postulate in Scientology that I want the truth about everything. I guess my postulate came true. Scientologists get trapped in Scientology trying to solve their own human problems. The traps are many. People get stuck in the trap of Scientology who train members to lie and lie and lie about help. People harm others in Scientology and they harm themselves. By the time they realize it, it is too late, their lives are ruined.

May 7, 2019 at 1:55 am

OfG, Congratulations! If you need one more nail for that coffin; just one more example of how Hubbard not only stole credit for being “source” and then manipulated the results after others had done the heavy lifting .. well, check this out. Suffice to say, the following account by first “Clear” John McMaster about how scientologists were for ever more made both PTS and in constant need of ethics “handling” in one fell swoop: https://backincomm.wordpress.com/2014/05/22/come-home-john/

May 7, 2019 at 10:00 am

Thanks scn-911. I will check that out. Going Clear is the SCAM of the Century.

May 7, 2019 at 9:29 am

Thanks for sharing your story – and sorry to hear about what you went through. If you are willing and able, I hope you will share more, including what it is like being a members in recent times, and what’s going on at the orgs.

How, for instance, do you realize that membership is at an all time low? Many of the still-ins seem to buy into the propaganda about “expansion,” with some even believing that there are 20 million members somewhere.

May 9, 2019 at 5:11 pm

Peacemaker – thank you for your support. How do I “realize” that membership is at an all time low? Great question. Here is the answer – short, sweet and works standardly when applied. I actually LOOKED! I actually went around to the Ideal Orgs and observed with my own eyes the facts that they are all empty. The Ideal Orgs are nothing but vacant and dead. Our tiny Org has been shrinking every year for a long time and you get used to seeing people leave all the time. The tech keeps members silent as to where they are. Staff will lie about where they are. It did not take me going OT to finally get it. The propaganda says one thing. When one looks as LRH says to – one sees a totally different thing. Every Scientologist knows Scientology lies. Hell – we lie to ourselves the entire time we are in. It just takes a bit of confront to do something about the lies – like LOOK, KNOW and then leave. The lies never end. Pretty soon one does not know the difference between make believe, pretending and the truth. It is very destabilizing and makes one dependent on Scientology. Once you get out, you start to feel more and more stable because the truth is stable.

May 7, 2019 at 10:15 am

So happy for you. I truly hope you get all the help, support and resources to hopefully get your life and relationships restored. Take care you brave human. Love from Melbourne Australia

May 10, 2019 at 9:31 am

Thank you Kim. We are all warriors together. We were in a Concentration Camp of the Mind. We freed ourselves and we need to help free others. Keep telling people the truth about Scientology. I make it my goal each day to tell 10 people about the Scientology scam. I meet and talk to a ton of people each day and I get paid to do it. I love that I can suppress Scientology and get paid to do it.

May 7, 2019 at 1:41 pm

Welcome out!

This list may be a way to start checking out the rabbit hole.

https://whyweprotest.wikia.org/wiki/Former_Church_of_Scientology_members_who_have_spoken_out

May 7, 2019 at 8:33 pm

Wow – thank you for the list. Thank you for your kind words. I know some of the people on the list but I think there are a TON of people whose names are not on this list but should be. Mine, for example. I can tell you the mORGue I went to has dried up over the last decade. It was always small but now it is really tiny. There are a few families that keep it open. The diehards. I have witnessed that every Org seems to have them. So many people are not going in anymore. They learn how to survive Scientology and avoid SP Declares by giving acceptable excuses like – I am not interested at this time, paying off debt, too busy with work and family etc. Those excuses work. I am stoked I will never ever EVER get regged again.

May 8, 2019 at 5:00 am

We only add people to the list who have spoken out using their real name.

Should you decide to use your real name to post here, AND is there proof on the net that you were once in (e.g. at https://www.truthaboutscientology.com/ ), then you can be added.

Same goes for every one else. We know by far most people who ever got in are out (I think I once estimated 95%) , but by far most people never speak about it. Which, of course, is perfectly fine.

May 8, 2019 at 6:13 pm

Thank you TrevAnon. Honestly, I am not as courageous as you guys are about coming out publicly. I don’t know if I will ever be able to come out in public. I am still freaking out. The mind fucking fear based Scientological implants are reeking havoc with my frontal lobes. I was so scared when I watched Leah Remini and Mike Rinder on A&E that I honestly thought they would “know” and knock on my door. How does Scientology do that to us? I was so freaked out, I blocked all windows, made sure I was alone and binged watched all fucking 3 seasons in a few days. I cried, I screamed, I went nuts. Believe me Mike Rinder and Leah Remini when I tell you that this show is so perfect for the Scientologist in Doubt. Know that you will be getting many more out. EVERY SINGLE Scientologist is CURIOUS ABOUT the show on A&E. BELIEVE ME. EVERYONE in Scientology wants to know what the fuck happened to Leah that Leah was able to pull off one of the most effective BLOWS to Scientology since Xenu threw the aliens in the volcanoes and blew them up with H-Bombs. They will never admit it out loud but they are curious. All it will take is something to happen to them “personally” by Scientology or Scientologists and as we all know, everyone gets fucked many times by Scientology and Scientologists. It is only a matter of time. Thank you so much for your care and support.

May 9, 2019 at 9:44 pm

Out for Good – Everyone appreciates your honesty and sincerity and what you’ve been through is no laughing matter.

However…………….,”……..one of the most effective BLOWS to Scientology since Xenu threw the aliens in the volcanoes and blew them up with H-Bombs.” laughter! That quip hit my funny bone. Thanks for the laugh, OfG. 🙂

May 10, 2019 at 9:33 am

Richard – Thank you. I am happy I made you laugh. WINNING! LOL I stopped joking around when I got into Scientology. It was a high crime. Now – I will poke fun at Scientology and Hubbard every chance I get. The little dwarf Miscavige too.

May 7, 2019 at 3:47 pm

Congratulations, Out for Good!!!! Welcome to the truth and to wonderful friends you now have on this blog.! I’m very glad you found your way out. Do you have kids or relatives still in the church? Is disconnection a consideration? I hope not. And I hope you can give us more of your story and your name once it is safe to do so. I’d love to know the Ah Ha moment when you decided you’d had it. Read and view and talk and find the truth and be brave enough to go down the rabbit hole. And things will go up from here for you.

May 10, 2019 at 9:37 am

Cindy – thank you. The Ah-ha moment. Hmmmmm. There were a ton of them over the years but the Scientological traps were many and the traps coupled with the carrot on a stick kept me in waaaaaay too long. The traps were hard to free myself from. I did all of the auditing and training services and I got worse and my life got worse. Then applied the PTS / SP tech and disconnected from friends and family that did not agree with Scientology or Hubbard and had the balls to say so. Once I started to look and go down the rabbit hole to the truth – I realized that THEY WERE ALL RIGHT and I immediately reconnected with them all and told them they were right and that I was sorry. They also watched Mike and Leah so they forgave me very quickly. Also – what I noticed is Scientologists don’t care about anyone. There is no love or care. No one helps you. Ethics is crazy. I noticed that Most scientologists get worse over time and are crippled and failing in life. My Ah-ha moment: I watched Mike and Leah on A&E. I watched Scientology – the Aftermath. The truth set me free.

May 10, 2019 at 1:36 pm

OUt for Good. I got goosebumps reading your post. This makes my day to know that someone who was so entrenched in Sc that they did all training and all auditing that was there, actually watched The Aftermath show and started allowing themselves to look after that. That is so great that you did that. Do you have family still in the church? I hope they have the courage to watch Leah and Mike’s show too.

You said you noticed that, “Most scientologists get worse over time and are crippled and failing in life. ” This is true for me too. I noticed it around me and in myself too. I told a friend of mine that I was doing way better in life when I was just new in Scn, and was below the level of Clear and had no auditor training at all. That was the height of my success and good life and it all went downhill from there until I was on OT VII and broke, not doing well in a job, on and on. I had that cog and immediately couldn’t have that. Not after all the training and auditing I’d done. It would make me wrong to have that cog. So the cognitive dissonance kicked in hard and I decided not to look at how I was doing before and after and just compartmentalized it. Wow. Imagine a cognition of that magnitude and just squelching it. I did just that and I bet many in the church are doing it. That is why Mike and Leah’s Aftermath show is so important. It gets people to really look and think and research more and some eventually leave as a result.

May 7, 2019 at 5:21 pm

Welcome to a whole new world OFG! Here’s wishing you all good things to come. There are many people who care and will support you. Way to go!!! ☺

May 10, 2019 at 9:41 am

Thank you Ann. You are a sweetheart.

May 7, 2019 at 6:00 pm

Welcome to sanity! Let me know if there is anything I can do to help. Im a ‘never-in’ but always willing to listen.

May 7, 2019 at 7:40 pm

Out for Good, welcome to freedom!

“The Road To Freedom” is a farce; when one is in Scientology one is owned.

Others who replied to you have said good things already. About the emotions, you are spot on. I’m an ex too, and my emotions were frozen when I had left and when they loosened up again, it has been often a roller coaster ride. When working through the indoctrination backward, getting all the info and connecting the dots, I have been so often in turmoil. It can take some time to get the equilibrium again; be patient with yourself, you are doing good.

How you tell and describe your experiences and thoughts is very, very good. It is often difficult to describe these situations, but you have an ease with it so that it is communicating really well. This is very valuable and it is great that you speak out.

Wish you all the best!

May 10, 2019 at 9:45 am

Pluvo – thank you for your kind words and understanding. Frozen – YES! It is a roller coaster ride. I get triggered by so many things. I just listened to a you tube video about the malignant narcissist and gas lighting today. Wow – That is how Scientology fooled us all. Gas lighting is SOP in Scientology. Scientology is a malignant narcissist that uses gas lighting to trick and deceive. The lies are huge!

May 8, 2019 at 7:13 am

Welcome back to reality, Out For Good! I used to be extremely religious, and even within mainstream religions there are movements that over-emphasize how hellish the real world is and how badly you need to stick to their ways, lest ye be devoured. Scientology takes it to the extreme. In your new freedom, you will hopefully restore a healthy love for the world, and at the same time, a healthy ability to think more critically of it, too….but on your own instincts, not those of El RH or anyone else.

May 10, 2019 at 9:46 am

Yes – “Eat or be eaten” Francis. Thank you. I do get that now. Scientology will chew you up and spit you out and leave you for dead after taking and consuming all of your resources. Scientology will leave you broke and broken and then blame you. I have seen most people in Scientology treated this way – used and abused.

May 6, 2019 at 5:16 pm

I hope there is a season4 of Aftermath with Leah and Mike. The more exposure to crimes the better. Legally they are almost impenetrable. PR wise not so much Spreading the truth is our best exposure of truth ??

May 6, 2019 at 7:39 pm

I COMPLETELY agree. It is obvious that the US government is unprepared to handle the situation of a “religion” that routinely commits crimes in the name of that “religion”.

May 6, 2019 at 4:51 pm

Len, by sister cult you mean Sea Org? NOI? Thx.

Crap – that is misplaced. Len said: It is not an overstatement to observe that Scientology, like it’s sister cult, has blood on it’s hands. The rest of the comment was about the code which I’d read umteen times but looks very differently now.

May 6, 2019 at 4:43 pm

I think the outbreak of diseases on the ship is a lead-in to a potentially bigger story. I’m talking about all the senior citizens in isolated environments like a ship or the hole or one of the compounds that is surrounded by razor wire.

In the past, I’ve tried to sound an alarm that one day, there will be a “tipping point” and many of the older people will no longer be able to care for themselves and may well be victim to fast-spreading diseases. The mentality of the monsters who run this scam is such that they really have no intention of providing required medical care and there could be large numbers of elderly people who will die from a lack of care. The big question is whether that story will ever make it out to the public and if it does, will law enforcement finally conclude, “Enough is enough!” and maybe there is a line being crossed. The line between religious freedom and willfull homicide or even manslaughter. I see a whole lot of cases of manslaughter happening among the aged population of cult members.

I just hope the monster winds up in prison for these crimes against the elderly.

May 6, 2019 at 5:11 pm

I agree. Once the elderly are broke and unable to generate funds anymore be it their own or others, they aren’t relevant. And if they begin to cost money, they are disposed of even quicker. My mom is one of those “elderly” people. When she disconnected from me, I begged her to save some of her money and keep it private and not to tell them. So that she could afford, board and care for her self. I tried to tell her they will take every cent and she will suffer more then the loss of her only daughter and grandkids. She was sobbing. That was a hard goodbye for us both.

May 6, 2019 at 10:29 pm

Oh geeez Lora – another one. So sad for her. Maybe she is one of the hundreds waiting to route out? Perhaps you can try and phone?

May 7, 2019 at 4:05 am

Lora, that just breaks my heart. Thank you for posting that for others to see.

May 6, 2019 at 8:11 pm

Those elderly are there of their own free will, Skyler. They cannot be forced to leave the cult. They have to WANT to leave. They have to DECIDE to leave. THEN they cannot be kept AGAINST THEIR WILL. Unfortunately, they are perfectly at liberty to stay in the cult’s Sea Org of their own free will. This applies to ALL Sea Org members. Provided they STATE that they’re where they want to be, of their own free will, that no onE is forcing them to stay (that’s called “kidnapping”) and provided that no ABUSE has been REPORTED to the police, no one is going to INVESTIGATE.

I’m a businesswoman with many friends, business associates and some family.

If one day I decide, without saying anything to anyone, to just leave, to join up with some isolated Wiccan commune or something and I pick up and go, and if this commune has no phone and no email and there’s no way to reach me, someone I know would assuredly report me. missing. I’d be traced and found. But if I say to the authorities,

“Thank you for your concern, but I’m not breaking any law, I am where I want to be, no one is abusing me or forcing me to stay, I’m living my life, and, no I don’t want to make a public statement, nor do I wish to ever again speak to anyone I once knew. Please respect my privacy and leave me alone,” – if I communicate THIS to the authorities, then I MUST be left alone, per LAW.

That’s how it rolls in the US of A.

This is the situation with the Sea Ogres, of all ages.

May 7, 2019 at 1:26 am

You can make a decision, informed or otherwise. But a criminal organisation, such as the Co$, can exercise undue influence and the decisions that the victims take are not their own.

Undue influence is a thing in court – also in the US of A. The victims are not entirely at fault.

Check out “opening minds: the secret world of manipulation, undue influence and brainwashing” by Jon Atack.

May 7, 2019 at 10:36 am

Sorry jens. Ain’t gonna happen UNLESS you can get the person declared incompetent. Which ain’t going to happen because when you get a Heber on the stand he will be very lucid. This is rooted in the human right of Freedom of Association. You DON’T want the gov’t messing with that unless one is an idiot. Because there will ALWAYS be a TEENY, TINY % of the population that lack the common sense to not get duped and you don’t want to scrub the rights of the other 99.9999% of the population who has common sense enough.

May 7, 2019 at 5:46 pm

Well said, Wynski.

Years ago there was a film wherein young people lay down in the middle of a busy road. I forget the name of this film but it caused a huge stir because a few young kids saw this film, went out and did the same thing , got run over and died, if I recall correctly. Possibly just injured, I forget. Anyway, arguments sprang up that films should not show such acts because they caused young people to copy them and lose their lives. It was the film’s fault because the young people had thought what the film characters did was “cool”. Well, sure, but WHAT “young people”. Out of, say, 10 thousand kids, how many would be mental or stupid or high enough to FOR REAL lay themselves down in the middle of a busy road or highway because some characters they identified with in a film did it? No kidding, if they’re that impressionable and mental or drugged out, they wouldn’t be long for this lifetime anyway. Completely absurd.

May 7, 2019 at 10:08 pm

Right Aqua. Evolution has got us to the point where we are now. A HUGE part of that is the NATURAL weeding out of those who are deficient. Penalizing everyone else because a tiny fraction are defective is completely insane.

May 9, 2019 at 1:54 am

What about Heber’s child (or children)? Who never had the freedom to form their own choice?

I’m saying that courts do take undue influence seriously, no matter how much some people like to blame victims.

And the criminal organisation known as the “church” of $cientology wants everyone to blame the victims exclusively.

May 7, 2019 at 5:01 am

Hello AM. You are quite correct, of course.

Isn’t brain-washing an incredibly insidious way to commit crimes against people? You convince them that they want to give you all their money and to go into debt in order to borrow as much money as they can and then give it to you. When your family asks where all your money has gone, you tell them that you wanted it to give it to the monsters and they should just go away and leave you alone.

It’s almost a perfect kind of crime. So perfect, there has to be a law against it. Sigh.

May 7, 2019 at 10:38 am

Skyler, you can’t make laws against stupidity. It isn’t eh gov’ts job to run around with people trying to instill common sense.

May 6, 2019 at 9:42 pm

I think there is more potential for the elderly folks to be taken financially. I’ve heard of a person who is over 75 that was talked into getting credit cards with $70,000 so the person could take classes. There’s no way for this person to pay that off in this lifetime.

May 7, 2019 at 5:17 am

Hello Lynne. I was only ever involved with this scam for a few days. The reason I feel so strongly they must be taken down is because of a story I heard where a team of “Reg’s” came to an elderly couple’s home and lambasted them 24 hours a day – refusing to leave them alone until they agreed to give the scam a large sum of money they recently inherited so that their daughter (or granddaughter) could take courses that she needed to take to save her life.

At least they had these people convinced she needed these courses to save her life.

If you are interested in my story, you can read about it here: http://www.forum.exscn.net/threads/hello-from-ali-shibaz.49451/

It is post #13.

That post should have all the details about how that team of reg’s bullied and browbeat that elderly couple until they agreed to hand over all the money they had recently inherited.

I hope you will be able to find that story using my link. Please let me know if you have any difficulty. The best way would be to send me email to:

[email protected]

May 7, 2019 at 6:04 pm

Was this person physically forced to charge 70K on his/her credit cards?

Did this person have dementia or Alzheimers?

If the answer is “yes” to either of the above, there might be a legal case.

OR did this person, legally sane, merely succumb to clever, well pitched, high pressure sales tactics?

Such sales against those who are vulnerable/lonely/inexperienced /gullible/ ignorant/elderly are certainly IMMORAL.

Unfortunately, they’re not illegal.

Of course, FRAUD is illegal.

It all depends upon what is PROMISED, and then, what is DELIVERED.

AARP says that some elderly people are extremely LONELY which is why they’re willing to give con artists the opportunity to get to know them. Someone is reaching out and TALKING to them. Its a big deal.

In this instance, I’d say the CRIME (not the legal crime, but the moral one) is someone SO alone, so lonely, that ANYONE calling on the phone, ANYONE professing some sort of interest in them, is welcome, even an unscrupulous, calculating salesperson.

May 7, 2019 at 10:13 pm

Yes Aqua, were the caring family members BEFORE the sales people arrived?

My in-laws are old. We don’t live near them so we Skype them once a week and talk via phone several times a week. They KNOW to pass by us any major financial matters and also through their atty. We make sure they get special safety equipment installed in their house as they get older to prevent accidents, etc. NO ONE is going to scam them because they will call my cell phone the moment someone tries to sell something expensive or needing a contract.

May 6, 2019 at 4:30 pm

Some time back you covered the big $ci.. shindig where Shelly’s husband proclaimed all of the “great accomplishments” of the past year. In reading that, I tried to put myself in the clam mindset of “whatever he says, has to be true” and concluded it would be inspiring to the most insulated clams. (Telling people the lie they want to hear, as truth, is almost always joyfully accepted.)

So with that thought in mind – Shelly’s husband can easily proclaim that this year “interest in $ci.. reached an all time high with coverage by all the networks, magazines and newpapers”. Of course he’ll attribute it to people wanting lrh’s blather (a lie), but the clams can be euphoric in their bubble until they question why no growth came from all of this “positive” coverage.

PS In Bonner’s post he says the “measles has past” – does this mean this set of measles had previously been with other women?

May 6, 2019 at 4:54 pm

Phillip, buddy, I hate to give you bad news, but, these measles have not only been tramping around, but, the women who contracted this set of measles, I’ve been told, is the Worst ever seen. I’m sorry to break the news to you.

May 6, 2019 at 4:29 pm

OT (Off Topic) One of my morning rituals consists of having a look at Wikipedia’s landing page. Reading the ‘Did You Know…’ and ‘On This Day’ sections is kind of like a trivial pursuit exercise for me.

Today I noticed in the ‘On This Day’ section there was this: 1991 – Time magazine published “The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power”, an article highly critical of Scientology, leading to years of legal conflict.

I clicked on the link to the main article and had a nice walk down memory lane. Our tireless proprietor was even mentioned in the article. Congrats Mike you’re world famous!

A word of warning to newbies, never-ins, cult doubters – sideliners and UTR lurkers who read this blog. Reading these type of articles and clicking on the handy links that Wikipedia provides can lead to some real time consuming rabbit holes. Click at your own risk. However, the great benefit of clicking these links is that your ignorance will be cleared up faster than a cult reg can empty your pockets and you will never be blindsided by that flavor of stupidity again.

May 6, 2019 at 6:02 pm

Reading these types of articles and clicking on the handy links that Wikipedia provides can lead to some real time consuming rabbit holes

Oh my lord, I can attest to that!! Trust me, it’s not just Wikipedia! I started reading Mike’s blog just a few months ago, which lead to another one. And then another one. And then another one. Rince/repeat X I don’t even know how many anymore. LOL.

I’ve been trying to catch up on 10+ years of various blogs and posts. Feel free to check back on my progress in about 2 years. Haha 😉

May 6, 2019 at 4:27 pm

What a mess of low life, lying crap Scientology is. It’s about time the ship of the damned received some well deserved international attention for the despicable human rights abuses it camouflages itself behind by fronting itself as an elite lifestyle with the purpose of saving humanity. But OMG!!!! imagine being ordered by the sovereign authorities of the waters that ship is in to remain onboard for 3 more weeks! And to make it even more crappy than it already is, I seem to recall (it really stretches my memory though) but even Hubbard wrote in a LRH ED that the AOs of the world were to deliver OT8. So what is the purpose of the ship? The above information lays it out in gruesome detail.

May 6, 2019 at 5:05 pm

You are correct. AOLA sold OT8, many many of them back in the day…

May 6, 2019 at 4:17 pm

“MANY ARE CALLED

FEW WE CAN AFFORD TO TURN AWAY.

HELLO? IS ANYBODY THERE…?????”

May 6, 2019 at 4:57 pm

Yes, Peter, I’m still here. Now quit waking me up!

May 7, 2019 at 4:08 am

Hello Peter. What a great name you chose. Have you ever seen the old movie about a doctor turned pirate named Peter Blood? It’s a really good movie and it was a great name for that pirate too.

May 7, 2019 at 12:57 pm

That’s good to know. I was worried it was a medical condition.

May 6, 2019 at 3:26 pm

I know that Suzette [Hubbard] was vaccinated against small pox. That’s about all I know about it. I don’t know Hubbard’s general attitude about medical disease prevention other than what he wrote about it via-a-vis Dianetics and PTS condition.

I asked Rowan’s nanny about the subject when she was in my office playing one day but she didn’t know about her vaccination status and had not seen her get any at an age when she should have. But, that would have been up to Diana…

May 6, 2019 at 2:59 pm

Thank you Mike! I went to the FW’s once in the 90’s to talk with my husband who they were trying to go to get to go to Europe to “handle” Adnon Kashogi’s son. (He being the TOP ARMS DEALER at that time, and his wife at Flag…becoming a $cientologist). I arrived and was ordered to: “STAND ASIDE!” (Not allowed on, due to medicine I took for Epilepsy). They finally Ok’d me on. I got my husband to promise not to go. He was a total wreck after OT 8.

May 6, 2019 at 6:06 pm

I remember that time. It was top secret who was to come aboard for the lowly staff members. Just that some of the richest person was about to come. I figured out anyway that it must have to do with the Kashoggis (Adnan Kashoggi).

“Arms dealer”, that is what I thought also with disgust. It felt so wrong regarding the proclaimed “Aims of Scientology: A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war,… . “Without war”?… and then pay court to the Kashoggis?? Unbelievable! It’s all about the money. Disgusting! No integrity!

The executives and CMO were crazed with excitement, and there was a hectic as if the King of some important country would come. I felt so wrong. But then it came to nothing. Later I heard it was all about the arms dealer’s wife.

May 6, 2019 at 2:18 pm

When I did my OT VIII on the ship, I said to myself I would never ever EVER step foot on the Freewinds ship again. While doing the level, I realized that all of the OT levels were based on BELIEF. There was nothing scientific about it. Yes, the story about XENU is all true. Cringe. Confession: I thought the entire story was bullshit when I read OTIII – the story about XENU. I went through with it because I had spent so much money. It’s bullshit. You don’t have BT’s & Custers all over you and you need to audit them off. It is a money making scam for the cult. Lurkers – Get OUT of Scientology. You are going to regret it if you don’t. You WILL get hurt too. Leave now and never look back.

May 6, 2019 at 4:59 pm

And you don’t have to do dianetics only to find out you don’t have a reactive bank (that Ron/DMSMH told you, you did) and that you were mocking it all up – well yah, duh!

May 6, 2019 at 1:49 pm

They take away all the rights of their members, they take away choice (forced abortions), and have the audacity to use freedom as an argument for anything they don’t agree with. Hypocrites devoted to smoke and mirrors at its best.

May 6, 2019 at 1:44 pm

Isn’t it ironic that ” the world’s coolest religion ” and ” the tech that is senior to life itself “, relies so heavily on elitism, punitive measures, and aggressive and arbitrary labelling ? Is it not ironic that ” the most ethical group on the planet ” has, for over 6 decades, ruthlessly imprisoned, human trafficked, defrauded, physically and sexually abused, and otherwise shat on and destroyed not only its adherents, but its critics and those who seek to expose and stop this heinous “ecclesiastical” behavior? SCIENTOLOGY: ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS WORSE THAN YOU THINK.

May 6, 2019 at 1:37 pm

Some call the MeasleWinds a ship of fools. That only applies to the paying customers. For the crew, it is like the Trireme that Ben Hur had to row when he was a Roman slave.

Thanks to all the exs who spent time on the $cineo ships, we know what really goes on there. it is not ‘spiritual perfection’, it is a floating Dachau.

May 6, 2019 at 12:56 pm

Older people often find that the frequency of getting colds is reduced. At 65 I get one every few years now instead of every few months.

If Scientology cannot even prevent colds, something that can occur naturally with age, then it cannot do much health wise. Try yoga or nutrition or getting enough sleep something that works.

Hubbard himself is proof that Scientology does not improve one’s health. He was an overweight broken down old man who died of a stroke at 74. In his final years he was senile to boot. Claimed people were breaking into his quarters to steal his shoes, wear them and then return them.

Hubbard made various pronouncements claiming that measles were mostly or entirely psycho-somatic, such as this in Dianetics:

“Measles, for instance, can be just measles or it can be measles in company with engramic restimulation, in which case it can be nearly or entirely fatal. A check of many subjects on this matter of childhood illness being predisposed by, precipitated by and perpetuated by engrams causes one to wonder just how violent the diseases themselves really are. They have never been observed in a Cleared child and there is reason to investigate the possibility that childhood illnesses are in themselves extremely mild and are complicated only by psychic disturbance, which is to say, the restimulation of engrams.”

A 1968 confidential lecture seems to imply that measles and other diseases are just part of an “implant” intended to reduce a supposed ridiculously large population that once lived on this planet, in Hubbard’s “space opera” cosmology:

“For instance, there is cyclical illness which is dictated in the various R6 implants. A fellow was forced to get sick at the age of five, followed multiples of five, and he’s supposed to get sick from this and from that, and from the other thing. Measles and, you know he’s supposed to have and that’s certain. They predict his health, in other words. When he’s fifty he’s supposed to something or other. What they’re trying to do is make a body cave in. See?

Problem R6 was trying to solve was overpopulation. With some 250 billion inhabitants on this planet, the average through this federation was 178 billion, hundred and seventy-eight billion beings per planet.”

Those and others are collected at: http://scientology-research.org/the-infectious-disease-angle/

May 6, 2019 at 12:45 pm

Information on Measles Vaccinations

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/diseases/child/measles.html

May 6, 2019 at 12:39 pm

Wow – you put it right out there – this is complete madness and control – i find it difficult to understand how it can continue in this day and age. is nobody in authority looking

May 6, 2019 at 9:06 pm

Mostly not.

May 6, 2019 at 12:30 pm

Scientology’s Creed begins with the words ”We of the Church believe…” and concludes with “…the spirit alone may save or heal the body.” This nonsense reinforces a group-think conspiracy-driven mentality that all but rejects the lifesaving science of Immunology, and has consequently contributed to innumerable deaths that would otherwise have been preventable. It is not an overstatement to observe that Scientology, like it’s sister cult, has blood on it’s hands.

May 6, 2019 at 12:12 pm

Go GET EM Mike and Leah!!!

May 6, 2019 at 5:25 pm

Does anyone have any info on the next season of Aftermath?

Does anyone know if there will likely be another season? If there is another season, would anyone have any ideas as to what topics may be discussed in this next season?

I surely do hope there will be more seasons. I hope there will continue to be season after season until the monster winds up in in the penitentiary for life. That would be a most wonderful outcome of this show.

May 6, 2019 at 5:33 pm

Stay tuned, as soon as we know exactly what is happening and when we will let everyone know.

May 6, 2019 at 7:40 pm

And wouldn’t some true stories from actual Freewinders make some great shows!

May 6, 2019 at 10:30 pm

May 7, 2019 at 4:11 am

Wonderful! Thanks so much Mike.

Personally, I’m hoping for some episodes about elder abuse – especially if there is any evidence about a potential upcoming collapse of the care for all the elders who can no longer care for themselves.

May 7, 2019 at 10:16 am

Skyler, most of the worst cases just get off loaded to relatives and die. I don’t think that the SO has ever had a policy of paying for professional palliative care.

What I’m saying is that there is no history of care to collapse…

[…] Here is some background information from an earlier post: The Real Story of the Freewinds […]

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Woman Says She Was Kept on Scientology Cruise Ship Like a Prisoner

Woman claims scientology ‘freewinds’ cruise ship was like a prison, rare animal from madagascar born at nashville zoo, ‘chillest man ever’ sips drink as cops chase fleeing suspect, experts warn of 'gas station heroin' ingredient tianeptine, shopper finds dress by jackie kennedy designer at goodwill, actress sydney sweeney stars as nun in new movie 'immaculate', charles barkley says he lost 65 pounds while taking mounjaro, la dodgers fire shohei ohtani's interpreter amid scandal, will donald trump pay $464m bond in civil fraud case, dana carvey apologizes to sharon stone for 'snl' sketch, billionaire who drowned was intoxicated: report, inside deals: ihome vacuum, wireless thermometer, lower back stretcher & massager, k-9 tackles stolen lexus suspect: cops, pastor arrested for hiring hitman to kill daughter’s boyfriend: cops, man in ‘jesus saved my life’ hoodie punches cashier over id: cops, new banksy tree mural defaced days after popping up in london, delta pilot charters plane to hawaii for retirement party, why are people watching tiktokers crushing random objects, richard simmons shares skin cancer diagnosis, toronto man collects more than 25,000 hot wheels over 43 years, 3 ‘little rascals’ arrested for bank robbery: fbi, former scientologist valeska paris says she was ordered to join the ship's crew after her mother criticized the religion..

The church of Scientology's vessel " Freewinds " is a beautiful oceanliner, but one woman says it's more like a slave ship.

Former scientologist Valeska Paris said she was order to join the ship's crew after her mother criticized the religion. 

"I felt like a prisoner," Paris told Inside Edition. "I was supposed to go for two weeks and I ended up being there for over 11 years."

She claimed the crew's comings and goings were closely monitored.

"When the ship is docked, you have to go via the gangway to get off the ship and there's a big security guard there, which will stop you from getting off if you're not allowed to get off," she said.

Paris added that the impending arrival of Scientology leader David Miscavige triggered frantic preparations onboard. She said crew members would be up "until 4 in the morning" cleans and painting.

Paris said she was eventually excommunicated from the church.

A representative for Scientology told us Valeska Paris is a “liar who peddles false stories to the media.” They say she “loved her time” on the ship “as evidenced by numerous photos.”  Adding she voluntarily “left the ship hundreds of times alone and with others to go shopping” and other outings. 

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Inside stranded Scientology cruise ship MV Freewinds

Hundreds of Scientologists remain trapped on a mysterious luxury cruise ship after a measles outbreak. Here’s what it looks like inside.

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Hundreds of Scientologists remain stranded aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean after a measles outbreak forced authorities to board the vessel and jab unvaccinated crew and passengers.

More than 300 people have been trapped aboard the MV Freewinds, the only ship in operation from the church’s original flotilla, since a Danish crew member tested positive for the disease on April 29 .

Authorities had been hoping to disembark all passengers by Wednesday this week but Curacao’s chief health officer, Dr Marlene Fredericks-James, said the vessel would remain quarantined for the duration of the measles incubation period, which is up to 12 days.

The 216 crew and 102 passengers belong to Scientology’s most mysterious and dedicated branch — the Sea Organisation, which requires members to sign billion-year contracts and

work 365 days a year for little or no wages.

Scientologists aiming for the church’s spiritual climax, Operating Thetan Level 8 (or OT8 for short), are sent aboard the Freewinds.

The ship is the only place in the whole organisation that offers the OT8 course, which can set devotees back between $US500,000 ($A714,000) to $US2 million ($A2.86 million) and take years to complete.

At first glance, it might not seem a bad place to be stuck.

The 134 metre “religious retreat” is fitted out with five-star restaurants, luxury cabins, a cinema, panoramic sun deck and shiny, state-of-the-art control rooms.

Then there’s the glittering Starlight Lounge, where church mascot Tom Cruise famously belted out a rendition of Bob Seger‘s Old Time Rock and Roll with X Factor contestant Stacy Francis on his birthday.

The lounge features a stylised portrait of church founder, former sci fi writer L Ron Hubbard, wearing a captain’s hat behind the stage.

The Mission Impossible actor is not the only celebrity to have spent time on the Freewinds. Cruise’s former wife Katie Holmes, John Travolta and wife Kelly Preston have all celebrated birthdays on board.

Others known to have taken a sail include jazz great Chick Corea, Elvis’ daughter Lisa Marie Presley, actors Catherine Bell and Juliette Lewis, as well as longtime Australian devotee Kate Ceberano.

There are also whispers Scientology’s leader David Miscavige, whose wife mysteriously vanished from the public eye years ago amid an alleged mental health crisis, is on-board.

“Miscavige turned 59 on Tuesday,” former Scientologist Tony Ortega wrote on his cult-busting website The Underground Bunker last week .

“Was he aboard the Freewinds for a birthday party when it was quarantined in St Lucia on Monday morning? We think the chances are low that Miscavige is aboard, but we’d love to know one way or the other.”

Former Church executive Tom DeVocht said if the elusive leader was on the ship “he will be micromanaging the crisis, and Scientology will do its best to appear to be co-operating fully with (government officials).”

It’s not the first crisis to hit the Freewinds.

In 2006, a Sea Org member reportedly contracted chickenpox, passing it onto at least one other crew member before the infected pair were offloaded at a hotel ashore, according to bombshell claims by Sea Org whistleblower Valeska Paris.

“What I can say is that the Sea Org member who got measles will be in serious trouble,” Ms Paris told The Underground Bunker .

“When I was on the Freewinds in 2006, a Sea Org member named Angela got chickenpox. “She passed it to another Sea Org member named Isabel. All crew members were asked if they were vaccinated for chickenpox and if they had had it before.

“There were a handful of us who had never been vaccinated and had never had chickenpox, including myself. It was right before maiden voyage, and we should have been quarantined.

“We all had to have blood tests to confirm whether we were immune or not. I wasn’t immune, and there were about four other Sea Org members who were not. The ship’s doctor got vaccinations for us, and we were all vaccinated on the ship.

“Then Isabel, Angela and everyone who hadn’t had chickenpox were sent ashore to stay in a hotel. Isabel still had chickenpox when she was sent ashore. They were there the entire maiden voyage week and came back after (Scientology leader David) Miscavige left the ship.”

Authorities say the source of the latest outbreak, a Dutch woman, boarded the Freewinds in Curacao as a crew member on April 17. She went to the ship’s doctor complaining of cold symptoms on April 22 and was immediately isolated from others on board.

A blood sample was taken and sent to nearby Aruba, where officials confirmed it was measles on April 29. By that time the ship had already departed for St Lucia.

Curacao officials alerted their counterparts in St Lucia who quarantined the vessel upon arrival before turning it back to its home port

On May 4, a medical team led by Curacao’s chief epidemiologist Dr Izzy Gerstenbluth boarded the Freewinds and examined 216 crew members and 102 passengers — a process that took up most of the weekend.

At least 31 crew members and 10 passengers were able to provide proof of vaccination or immunity, but the remaining 277 were awaiting the results of blood tests being conducted in the Netherlands.

“There’s nobody on the boat that did anything wrong,” Dr Gerstenbluth told AFP.

“Somebody came from Europe, and after a couple of days had the sniffles and was isolated and turned out to have measles. We’re trying to contain.”

Dr Gerstenbluth said passengers would be allowed off the vessel once the samples had all come back negative. The outbreak has forced Freewinds officials to cancel scheduled trips to Dominica on Friday and Aruba on Sunday.

Measles has sickened more than 700 people in 22 US states this year, with federal officials saying the resurgence is driven by misinformation about vaccines. Symptoms include runny nose, fever and a red-spotted rash.

Most people recover, but measles can lead to pneumonia, brain swelling and even death in

some cases.

A Qantas passenger who uploaded a photo of their meal has left online users scratching their heads over what exactly it is.

A commuter has slammed a major “flaw” at a Sydney train station, calling out the “dumb” design.

A tourist has shared the moment he was subjected to a spray of racist abuse while travelling through Western Australia.

Inside Freewinds, the luxurious Scientology cruise ship under quarantine

In case you missed it, a Church of Scientology cruise ship – Freewinds – has been quarantined following a measles outbreak, with authorities ordering 28 people to stay onboard.

The remaining 318 crew members have been given the all clear to leave the ship, which docked at the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao.

Curious to know what goes on inside a ship like this?

While not all ex-members have dished positive reviews of the MV Freewinds (according to one unhappy passenger, a two-week holiday turned into a  12-year sentence ), there's no denying the ship was built with luxury in mind.

The floating retreat features a slew of five-star restaurants, luxe cabins, state-of-the-art tech and resort-style spaces. Click through for a look inside.

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Freewinds began service as a Church of Scientology religious retreat in 1988.

The 134-metre-long motor vessel accomodates up to 540 passengers and “provides a distraction-free environment for Scientology worshippers to study and experience the highest level of spiritual counselling available in the Scientology religion,” according to the Church of Scientology website .

The ship welcomes thousands of Scientologists and guests from more than 100 nations around the world every year.

Onboard, the church hosts religious services, conventions and special events.

The ship’s bookstore is kitted out with Scientology books, lectures and other scriptural materials.

The Starlight Cabaret holds weekly graduation ceremonies and other programs for passengers, including the annual convocation known as the Maiden Voyage Anniversary of the Freewinds – a week-long celebration for leading Scientologists from around the world.

It also hosts special seminars for officials, military, police and interfaith groups from throughout the islands and across Central and South America.

In La Paloma Blanca — The White Dove — passengers and guests gather after graduations, concerts, recitals, seminars and other events held in the adjoining Starlight Cabaret.

La Paloma Blanca also serves passengers daily during breaks in their studies and spiritual counselling sessions, known as auditing.

Freewinds claims to be the “ultimate distraction-free environment” and is “devoted to seeing that every Scientologist attains their goal of spiritual freedom,” according to its website.

The Sky Lounge acts as in formal place for passengers to gather and eat.

It seems as though the days on Freewinds aren't entirely spent worshiping -- on the pool deck, passengers can drink from the bar and enjoy the sun.

For more information, visit the website .

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What Do You Do on a Scientology Cruise Ship?

Play shuffleboard, hang out in the starlight room, achieve operating thetan level viii, jump in the hot tub ….

Photograph by Steve Mason/Thinkstock Images.

An Australian woman claims that the leader of the Church of Scientology forced her to spend 12 years as a working prisoner  on a church cruise ship, after her stepfather committed suicide and her mother publicly blamed the church. What do guests do on a Scientology cruise?

They hang out in the Starlight Room, play shuffleboard, and achieve Operating Thetan Level VIII . To an outsider, the Freewinds looks just like any other cruise ship. In fact, it was an ordinary cruise ship called the MS Bohème before the Church of Scientology bought it from Commodore Cruise Line in 1985. It has a shuffleboard court on the top deck, a couple of restaurants, swimming pools, hot tubs, and a night club that features either the regular band or a local group from the ship’s current port. (Tom Cruise once took the microphone in the Starlight Room for a pitchy birthday rendition of “ Old Time Rock and Roll .”) But a trip on the Freewinds is nothing like a Carnival cruise. Scientologists board the ship to progress in their spiritual studies , and their activities are tightly scheduled. Most days, they are in lecture halls or counseling sessions from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m., with one-hour breaks for lunch and dinner. Playing hooky to bum around the pool is not an option. Supervisors take roll call at the beginning of each session, and tardy students are sent to ethics officers. The Freewinds ’ biggest draw is that it is the only place where an adherent can complete the coursework to achieve Operating Thetan Level VIII, the highest degree of spiritual achievement currently available in Scientology.

Coursework on the Freewinds is a combination of independent book study, cooperative activities, and personal counseling sessions. In lecture halls, students complete lists of assignments that include reading book chapters and using modeling clay to demonstrate their understanding. They also participate in “ training routines ” to improve their communication skills. Classic examples include staring another student in the face for hours without blinking, or reading Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to each other. In the counseling sessions, Scientology officers probe students for any psychological resistance to doctrine or ethical lapses, many of which include communication with or sympathy for the church’s enemies. (The organization counts among its enemies governments and reporters, whom they refer to as “ merchants of chaos .”) Students in counseling sessions are required to hold onto the famous e-meter , which is a lie detector, of sorts.

Cruise guests have a few opportunities for recreation. The cruise director might schedule workout sessions for the morning before classes start or a cabaret in the Starlight Room after 10 p.m. Saturday mornings are sometimes open for approved excursions like snorkeling or shopping on the island. (According to one former guest, the cruise director encourages on-shore excursions, because it looks strange when a cruise ship docks but no one gets off.) Students might also have a few hours to kill while waiting for a counselor to become available.

Getting to Operating Thetan Level VIII is neither fast nor cheap. Most guests spend two or three months onboard. Preparatory and onboard counseling each cost between $15,000 and $30,000. Accommodations run about $1,000 per week, including food. In addition, representatives from the International Association of Scientologists ask for donations on top of what guests have already paid. Movement on and off the ship is limited, in large part because guests surrender their passports to church officials when they embark.

The Freewinds is a private ship, and guests come aboard by invitation only. Scientologists have brought their non-believing friends and family aboard with the church’s approval—Penelope Cruz was on the ship with Tom Cruise—but the church tries to sell them services and seeks donations from them once on the ship.

In addition to the ordinary spiritual education cruises, each year the Freewinds hosts Scientology’s glitterati for a cruise commemorating the ship’s maiden voyage.

Got a question about today’s news? Ask the Explainer .

Explainer thanks documentarian Mark Bunker and former Scientologist Michael Pattinson.

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DAVID MISCAVIGE: THE FREEWINDS SCIENTOLOGY’S RELIGIOUS RETREAT AT SEA

The Freewinds began service as a Church of Scientology religious retreat in 1988. The 440-foot motor vessel provided a distraction-free environment for parishioners to study and experience the highest level of spiritual counseling available in the Scientology religion.

After the ship's first 20 years of service, she underwent a full refit and restoration.

The refit was the largest in her history. Far more than a cosmetic upgrade, the ship was stripped from stem to stern, below the water line to the top of her stacks—all six decks. She emerged a fully redesigned, technologically advanced vessel—the ideal religious retreat for ministering religious services.

In June 2008, Mr. Miscavige was joined by the current and former Prime Ministers of the Netherlands Antilles in the Freewinds home port of Curacao to rechristen the Freewinds on her 20th anniversary and commemorate her Maiden Voyage as a wholly refit ship.

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Cruise from hell: I was trapped on Scientology ship while Tom partied

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A woman who recently defected from the Church of Scientology has claimed that she was held against her will and forced to spend almost 12 years touring the Caribbean on a cruise ship owned by the organisation.

Valeska Paris told a TV interviewer that she was 18 when she joined the crew of the Freewinds, a vessel the Church describes as its floating "cathedral" and which once hosted Tom Cruise's birthday party. She alleged that her passport was confiscated, and that, until she was 24, she was prevented from setting foot on dry land without an escort.

The claims were aired by ABC news in Australia, where she currently lives. They have been strongly denied by the Church, who say Ms Paris boarded the ship of her own free will and was perfectly free to leave.

Her troubled relationship with the organisation spans three continents and several decades. Born in Switzerland, to parents who were both involved in Scientology, she moved to the UK at the age of six, and spent her formative years at the Church's headquarters in Sussex.

After turning 14, Ms Paris graduated from the organisation's youth wing, the "Cadet Org" to its senior volunteer wing, the "Sea Org". She signed a contract agreeing to remain a member for the ensuing period of no less than one billion years. Trouble began, she now claims, when her mother defected from Scientology in 1995, and began denouncing it on French television. Ms Paris says church elders then ordered her to "disconnect" from her parent.

A year later, when she was 18, Ms Paris joined the crew of the Freewinds. "I was sent to the ship for two weeks," she told ABC, adding that for a salary of $50 a week, she was often required to work long shifts in the vessel's engine room.

"It's hot, it's extremely loud, it's smelly, it's not nice," she said. "I was sent down there at first for 48 hours straight on almost no sleep and I had to work by myself... I did not want to be there, I made it clear I did not want to be there."

Among the landmark events of her time on board was the 2004 birthday party of the actor Tom Cruise. In a second interview, with the Village Voice newspaper, Ms Paris recalled helping to decorate the ship, but claims she "wasn't allowed" to attend, because she was suffering from a cold sore.

Video of the ensuing celebration later leaked to YouTube shows Cruise performing the song "Old Time Rock and Roll".

Ms Paris left the Freewinds in 2007, and moved to a church facility in Sydney with her husband, the former Australian rugby league star Chris Guider. They eventually decided to defect from the church and now have a young son.

The Church meanwhile denies that it ever holds anyone against their will. In a two-page statement, it described the Freewinds as a "wonderful place", saying Ms Paris was free to leave at any time and made numerous unaccompanied trips to dry land.

"She certainly wasn't 'forced' to be there," it read. "Her allegation that she could only leave the ship with an escort is totally false... That she is now attacking her former religion and former friends, and fabricating these stories, speaks volumes about her. She is a true apostate."

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WELCOME TO THE FREEWINDS

The Freewinds is a religious retreat that marks for Scientologists the pinnacle of their journey to total spiritual freedom . Its position at sea is designed to provide an aesthetic, distraction-free environment off the crossroads of everyday life. As a center of spiritual enlightenment, it is a place where lives are transformed.

Its calm and friendly atmosphere comes from within, from dedicated officers and crew whose work aboard the Freewinds provides an incomparable sailing experience. Amid its service and amenities that begin at the gangway, everyday challenges of life seem to vanish.

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118 N. Fort Harrison Ave. Clearwater, FL 33755

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» Phone: (727) 445-4309

MEET A SCIENTOLOGIST

Dave—Sound Quality Engineer

Who are Scientologists? Meet Dave, a sound quality engineer in the automobile industry.

“Scientology has really helped me to think much more clearly about problems and solutions in engineering,” says Dave. “As I went through various courses in Scientology, everything I would pick up and learn and start using, it all worked. It wasn’t very long before I figured out that, yeah, this is really a lot different than any other subject I’ve studied.”

Phil—Subway Engineer

Who are Scientologists? Meet Phil, a subway engineer in New York City.

“Scientology is just about how to deal with the situations in life and since I have availed myself of this knowledge I'm able to share that,” says Phil. “There's no greater feeling in the universe than to help another person."

David—Dentist

Who are Scientologists? Meet David, a dentist with a practice in Florida.

“Scientology has helped me to actually communicate with patients,” says David, “and therefore they seem to appreciate that the most. You can actually get somebody to say ‘Wow, I’ve never been to a dentist like this before.’ That’s what we try for, that’s the fun part.”

Cheryl—Entertainment Publicist

Who are Scientologists? Meet Cheryl, an entertainment publicist in New York.

“The thing Scientology has given me the most is me,” Cheryl says. “Earlier in life I felt I was trying to fit into what I should be as a black person, what I should be as a woman, what I should be as a young person. Now I actually have just me. I like me.”

Kenton—Race Car Driver

Who are Scientologists? Meet Kenton, a race car driver from the Northwest United States.

“I got involved in Scientology in 1996,” said Kenton. “The first book I ever read was Dianetics. My reaction time is night and day better, being able to handle speed and problems and fears and apprehensions and 170 mile-an-hour-racecars!"

Aaron—Skateboarder

Who are Scientologists? Meet Aaron, a skateboarder from Northern California.

“The thing that happened before Scientology and after,” says Aaron, “was I was learning tricks a lot easier, things were just coming to me a lot easier, with less effort. I can really do more of what I want to do instead of what people tell me I should do or what people tell me to think. I am confident in who I am, where I am going and who I want to be."

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Measles Case on Cruise Ship Leads to Quarantine in St. Lucia

By Daniel Victor

• May 2, 2019

The Caribbean nation of St. Lucia quarantined a cruise ship on the island for several days after identifying a confirmed case of measles on board, a health official said.

Passengers and crew members aboard the large ship were not permitted to leave, Dr. Merlene Fredericks-James, the nation’s chief medical officer, said on Tuesday. The ship remained moored at St. Lucia until around midnight Thursday, when it departed to the west of the island.

The highly infectious disease, which can be mostly prevented by a common vaccination, is in the midst of its largest outbreak in a quarter-century in the United States, with more than 700 cases reported.

“Because of the risk of potential infection, not just from the confirmed measles case but from other persons who may be on the boat at the time, we thought it prudent to make a decision not to allow anyone to disembark,” she said in a statement.

The ship’s doctor requested and received 100 doses of the measles vaccine from the St. Lucia Department of Health and Wellness, the department said in a statement on Thursday. It said all crew members and passengers were stable.

Dr. Fredericks-James did not name the ship. But Victor Theodore, a St. Lucia Coast Guard sergeant, told NBC News that it was identified as Freewinds, which is reportedly owned and operated by the Church of Scientology. A ship by the same name was moored in St. Lucia on Thursday morning, according to online records .

The church describes the 440-foot ship online as “a religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling” that can carry several hundred passengers. The Church of Scientology did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday.

Largest U.S. Measles Outbreak in 25 Years Surpasses 980 Cases

Mapping where every case has been reported.

Records show that the ship moored in St. Lucia changed its name to Freewinds from Boheme in 1986. The Freewinds took its maiden voyage as a Scientology retreat in 1988, according to the church.

Despite the church’s outspoken opposition to psychiatry and psychiatric drugs, Scientologists use prescription drugs and are treated by medical doctors , according to the church’s website.

But the church has not expressed a specific position on vaccinations. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter in 2016, the church said it “takes no position one way or the other on this issue,” despite several high-profile celebrities in the church speaking out against vaccines.

[Everything you need to know about measles.]

John Carmichael, the president of the Church of Scientology in New York, told the Beliefnet website in 2006 that the church had not taken a stance on vaccinations “as a religious principle.”

“Scientologists are pretty independent people, though I will say this: They tend to do a little more research, perhaps, on the effect of various medical procedures or whatever,” he said. “They make their own decisions, but those aren’t decisions that the church tries to influence in any way.”

Scientology advertises the Freewinds , which is based in Curaçao, off the coast of Venezuela, as “the pinnacle of a deeply spiritual journey.” It is used to carry out “ humanitarian missions ” across the world, the church said.

“The Freewinds is a very special place,” the church’s website said. “It is the one place a Scientologist may go and be certain he will be able to devote himself entirely to his religious practice and in the company of people who share his religious commitment and outlook on life in general.”

In 2011, an Australian woman said she was held against her will on the ship for years, which the church denied.

A single person infected with measles can easily spread it to others who are not vaccinated. One woman who was under quarantine endangered dozens of moviegoers in Fullerton, Calif., last week by attending a screening of “Avengers: Endgame.”

Niraj Chokshi contributed reporting.

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Cruising the Cornish coastline, which is steeped in maritime history and home to one of the largest natural harbours in the world, will satisfy all sailing abilities from novices to experts. Our sailing holidays from the South West, let you explore the wonderful estuaries and creeks locally as well as providing an excellent departure point for further cornish cruising or indeed channel crossing to France and the Channel Islands. The Isles of Scilly are just a short hop away providing quite possibly the most picturesque anchorages in Northern Europe. Falmouth Tall Ships Regatta is now filmly on the radar for next season along with Falmouth Week and Fowey Week Regattas - so please get in touch now for your sailing event with us.

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Sailing holiday from cornwall with freewinds yacht charter from falmouth marina, why not try a cornish day sailing trip.

From first contact to the moment you depart from your sailing holiday we will ensure that Freewinds Yacht Charter provides you with a personal customer service second to none. We can achieve this due to the size of the company and through providing well equipped privately owned yachts.

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Cruising the Moskva River: A short guide to boat trips in Russia’s capital

There’s hardly a better way to absorb Moscow’s atmosphere than on a ship sailing up and down the Moskva River. While complicated ticketing, loud music and chilling winds might dampen the anticipated fun, this checklist will help you to enjoy the scenic views and not fall into common tourist traps.

How to find the right boat?

There are plenty of boats and selecting the right one might be challenging. The size of the boat should be your main criteria.

Plenty of small boats cruise the Moskva River, and the most vivid one is this yellow Lay’s-branded boat. Everyone who has ever visited Moscow probably has seen it.

This option might leave a passenger disembarking partially deaf as the merciless Russian pop music blasts onboard. A free spirit, however, will find partying on such a vessel to be an unforgettable and authentic experience that’s almost a metaphor for life in modern Russia: too loud, and sometimes too welcoming. Tickets start at $13 (800 rubles) per person.

Bigger boats offer smoother sailing and tend to attract foreign visitors because of their distinct Soviet aura. Indeed, many of the older vessels must have seen better days. They are still afloat, however, and getting aboard is a unique ‘cultural’ experience. Sometimes the crew might offer lunch or dinner to passengers, but this option must be purchased with the ticket. Here is one such  option  offering dinner for $24 (1,490 rubles).

If you want to travel in style, consider Flotilla Radisson. These large, modern vessels are quite posh, with a cozy restaurant and an attentive crew at your service. Even though the selection of wines and food is modest, these vessels are still much better than other boats.

Surprisingly, the luxurious boats are priced rather modestly, and a single ticket goes for $17-$32 (1,100-2,000 rubles); also expect a reasonable restaurant bill on top.

How to buy tickets?

Women holding photos of ships promise huge discounts to “the young and beautiful,” and give personal invitations for river tours. They sound and look nice, but there’s a small catch: their ticket prices are usually more than those purchased online.

“We bought tickets from street hawkers for 900 rubles each, only to later discover that the other passengers bought their tickets twice as cheap!”  wrote  (in Russian) a disappointed Rostislav on a travel company website.

Nevertheless, buying from street hawkers has one considerable advantage: they personally escort you to the vessel so that you don’t waste time looking for the boat on your own.

Prices start at $13 (800 rubles) for one ride, and for an additional $6.5 (400 rubles) you can purchase an unlimited number of tours on the same boat on any given day.

Flotilla Radisson has official ticket offices at Gorky Park and Hotel Ukraine, but they’re often sold out.

Buying online is an option that might save some cash. Websites such as  this   offer considerable discounts for tickets sold online. On a busy Friday night an online purchase might be the only chance to get a ticket on a Flotilla Radisson boat.

This  website  (in Russian) offers multiple options for short river cruises in and around the city center, including offbeat options such as ‘disco cruises’ and ‘children cruises.’ This other  website  sells tickets online, but doesn’t have an English version. The interface is intuitive, however.

Buying tickets online has its bad points, however. The most common is confusing which pier you should go to and missing your river tour.

“I once bought tickets online to save with the discount that the website offered,” said Igor Shvarkin from Moscow. “The pier was initially marked as ‘Park Kultury,’ but when I arrived it wasn’t easy to find my boat because there were too many there. My guests had to walk a considerable distance before I finally found the vessel that accepted my tickets purchased online,” said the man.

There are two main boarding piers in the city center:  Hotel Ukraine  and  Park Kultury . Always take note of your particular berth when buying tickets online.

Where to sit onboard?

Even on a warm day, the headwind might be chilly for passengers on deck. Make sure you have warm clothes, or that the crew has blankets ready upon request.

The glass-encased hold makes the tour much more comfortable, but not at the expense of having an enjoyable experience.

Getting off the boat requires preparation as well. Ideally, you should be able to disembark on any pier along the way. In reality, passengers never know where the boat’s captain will make the next stop. Street hawkers often tell passengers in advance where they’ll be able to disembark. If you buy tickets online then you’ll have to research it yourself.

There’s a chance that the captain won’t make any stops at all and will take you back to where the tour began, which is the case with Flotilla Radisson. The safest option is to automatically expect that you’ll return to the pier where you started.

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Restaurant-Yacht Chaika

Ratings and reviews, location and contact.

Pleasantly surprised, service is good so is the food. Great selection of Fusion food, a mixture of Italian, Japanese, European, Asian etc. A pleasantly nice dining experience, highly recommended, a must try!

Thank you for your feedback and invite you to have lunch or dinner again aboard the ship in an atmosphere of high standards of yacht hospitality.

everything was perfect - the food, the service, the desserts were the best, nice atmosphere and the location - magical

Best food, best view in Moscow. absolutely faultless from arrival to finish. Best risotto i had for many years absolutely perfectly cooked. The view on Ukrainian hotel and the white house by night is amazing

Had to wait for the food for 1.5 hours and then another 20 minutes for the check. Finally called for the manager and he offered... a 10% discount as a compensation. Simply pathetic! The food is mediocre at best. Not bad per se, but one... would expect something better considering the prices. There are many places to eat in area that are much better. Avoid this one at all costs. More

Hello, Alexander Your comment is extremely important for us, thank you a lot for it. We are terribly sorry for your time that you`ve spent waiting your order and we have already taken actions to improve quality of our service and it would be realy... More

Food is very expensive,very pretentious, doesn't worth that money. Portions are very small. We ordered ravioli and there were 4! Four raviolis! For almost 15 euros. Then we asked to bring us dessert menu but nothing, they didn't even bothered, so we payed and left... without dessert. Very poor service for that price. More

This is a very good restaurant. The food is really good, maybe the best in Moscow. The service is also good. The view from the restaurant is great. The prices are very high.

I often visit this restaurant and must say it’s one of the best in Moscow in terms of quality and service. Staff really try hard to make sure that you are happy and satisfied. Customer service is a huge problem in Moscow but Chaika sets... a great example for others in the industry! Food is delicious and the menu has lots of options for everyone! Atmosphere is great and view is beautiful on the embankment. Special thanks to German & Oleg! More

Thank you for your feedback! Again aboard the yacht restaurant "Chaika" in accordance with the high standards of yacht hospitality.

Highly recommended, great location in the city center of Moscow with a superb atmosphere. Too many menu choices, though all delicious!

Thx a lot for your review! We are looking forward to see you in our restaurants.

Visited this lovely restaurant with a friend of mine. It was relaxingly warm August evening - so the place on the river seemed like a good idea. We came quite early and the restaurant was not full. The hostesses kindly offered several places to sit... and we chose to sit on the sofas. We had some wine, which was good. We struggled a bit when deciding about the food as few options (scallops) were not available. Fish on ice on display did not look very fresh. To be honest it was an unusually hot August and it is probably understandable that some see food options were not available. However, we did manage to order something and sat waiting and looking onto the river. My long-legged friend struggled sitting at the low sofa and the manager noticed that, offering as a very good, proper table beside the open window. It was nice touch and I was very pleased by their polite observations and immediate reaction to solve the problem. Food was quite good and presentation was perfect. Perhaps I can something about the food, but 1 visit is not enough to criticize or make a definitive opinion. Overall, quality place, which of course, does not come cheap. I would recommend this restaurant without hesitation. More

Good afternoon! Thank you for your detailed feedback! We are looking forward to seeing you again, we are sure that you will be delighted with our dishes!

I've been here several times during two business trip in Moscow. The overall quality for both service and food is absolutely top-notch, plus the location is very unique.

Hello! Thank you for your feedback! We are looking forward to visiting again!

Located on a boat at Krasnopresenskaya River Bank this 5 Star Restaurant transforms into a party location due to multiple groups hosting events. Impressive wine selection, Asian and European kitchen...

Thx a lot! We are waiting for you!

It is a nice place to gather specially at the lounge The service and staff very good I like the river view The food is almost like all restaurants in Russia they serve different cuisine. Staring Russian appetizer till Asian dishes Presentation and taste amazing... I consider it overpriced little bit More

Good location. Nice views. Good choice of food and drinks. European and Asian menu. Nice service. Pricey enough.

Had a large group dinner here. Food was above average and service quite good. The real attraction is the view of Moscow from the river on a nice night. Great place for a larger group dinner. More

Hello, John We are really pleased by reading that you and your friends were satisfied by our service, client`s experience is the highest value for us. We will be happy to see you again, come and enjoy some new dishes from our chef and nice... More

The luxurious atmosphere of this place, the view and the location make it quite outstanding. We had dinner here with friends and the dishes were amazing, accompanied by a chilled bottle of Chablis, it really made me feel as if it was a part of... the classic Russian movie. More

RESTAURANT-YACHT CHAIKA, Moscow - Presnensky - Menu, Prices & Restaurant Reviews - Tripadvisor

• Service: 4.5
• Atmosphere: 4.5