ALERT: Cult compromises human trafficking help group

caroline · **Posted:** Fri Aug 13, 2010 9:48 pm

Gerry Armstrong wrote:

ALERT: Scientology is inside Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST)

On August 11, “Leapfrog” posted to ESMB an e-mail Nancy Many has been sending out about a group that supposedly helps people for free, providing an attorney and social services if the people meet certain criteria, and that she couldn’t imagine that Sea Org or ex-SO members wouldn’t meet their criteria. http://www.forum.exscn.net/showthread.php?t=19654

I called Nancy because I’m ex-SO, am being subjected to ongoing crimes perpetrated by Scientology, and could certainly use some legal help. Nancy asked me some preliminary questions; like was I ever locked up inside the cult, which I was, was my correspondence ever censored, which it was, etc. She told me the group that could help is the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST), and she gave me the number to call 888-539-2373. http://www.castla.org/

In our conversation, I mentioned that Scientology, although a clear human trafficking cult, had been usurping the anti-human trafficking mantle, just as the cult, an egregious human rights abuser, had usurped the human rights mantle with its Youth for Human Rights front group. Nancy indicated she wasn’t aware of this but was sure that CAST was not associated with the cult in any way.

Nancy said that CAST has a screening procedure where an interviewer will ask a bunch of questions and then, based on the information provided, refer the calling person to someone else in CAST, and that there are a couple of levels of clearance before the person meets anyone. She said that CAST operates quietly, off the grid, and doesn’t give out its addresses.

After our call, I found a couple of Scientology’s anti-human rights pages and sent the following e-mail to Nancy:

Gerry wrote:

Hi Nancy:
Thanks for the info re CAST. I mentioned Scientology's usurping of the anti-human trafficking mantle. See: http://www.theta.com/human-trafficking/index.php

This would give them an in with CAST. They probably provide $ to CAST, which says it needs $. And probably the cult has people working with CAST, to derail applications for help, just as Scientology has people in the LAPD, Riverside Sheriff Dept, etc to derail victims' claims, and just as they had agents in CAN to derail Scientology victims' requests for help.

In any case, I'll contact CAST and see what comes of it.

See also this:

http://www.theta.com/human-trafficking/20070111_ht_1.php wrote:

January 11, 2007

Los Angeles — Human rights activists from Southern California will gather on Wednesday, January 17th to address the growing problem of human trafficking in Los Angeles and throughout the United States.
[...]
The event is being organized jointly by the International Foundation for Human Rights & Tolerance, the Los Angeles City Commission on the Status of Women Human Trafficking, the San Diego Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition, Youth for Human Rights International, the Human Rights Department of the Church of Scientology International, Artists for Human Rights, the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force, the Rescue and Restore Southern Region Coalition and the Salvation Army.

Please do NOT assume that Scientology does not have influence in CAST. That would be naive.

Good luck out there.

Gerry

I then took a quick look at CAST’s site and found that one of its “coalition members” is Youth for Human Rights International. http://www.castla.org/coalition-members#la

Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI): www.youthforhumanrights.org

YHRI is an operation of Scientology’s notorious Office of Special Affairs. Cult attorney Timothy Bowles, who has been involved in some of the rottenest human rights abuses, is or was its Executive Director.

I also found that CAST Executive Director Kay Buck appears in OSA’s Freedom Mag. http://www.freedommag.org/english/vol36I2/page21.htm

In my opinion, it is completely wrong for any Scientology victim to contact CAST and give that organization one shred of information. The approach should be to expose CAST’s connection to and support for the human trafficking cult of Scientology, to warn everyone about this deception, and to do what is necessary to get CAST to sever its ties to Scientology and denounce the cult.

Obviously there's more work to be done to identify more connections between Scientology, Scientologists and CAST. But what is here is enough to stop the op.

Please get the word out to anyone who has contacted CAST or might be considering contacting this entity.

Dorthe · **Posted:** Fri Aug 13, 2010 10:00 pm

thanks Caroline

I'll pass it on

D

brownjedi · **Posted:** Fri Aug 13, 2010 10:10 pm

Wow, just wow.

Don Carlo · **Joined:** Mon Jul 25, 2005 6:20 am **Posts:** 8098

Did they plan to be expert witnesses at the Headley trial?

brownjedi · **Posted:** Sat Aug 14, 2010 1:01 am

As other cases pop up, it is good to know that they are available as expert witnesses.

caroline · **Posted:** Sat Aug 14, 2010 2:43 am

I'll post this Impact 119 article here as it connects Scientology's anti-human trafficking PR, its Youth for Human Rights fraud, and the efforts of attorney Tim Bowles (formerly of Bowles and Moxon) to convert and recruit child soldiers and would-be child soldiers to his Youth for Human Rights brigade in West Africa.

There is no doubt that people in these West Africa nations have endured terrible suffering and myriad deaths and maimings. But that doesn't justify Scientology's lies, like Bowles is "ending the cycle of atrocity and rekindling the decency in every human being across Western Africa," or that "from the former killing grounds have risen 9,000 human rights activists," etc. Well that was 2008; now there'd be over 9000.

I'm going to investigate this criminal cult's claims to the extent I can. They sound like they were written by Miscavige. "everyone still keeps stand-by Kalishnikov (sic) rifles in the bush." Shameless.

Scientology's horrendous record of domestic human rights abuses should make it clear they have no business dealing with anyone's confessions or conversions.

Impact 119 wrote:

IGNITING THE FLAME OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN WEST AFRICA
In lands where human rights atrocities had reached unspeakable levels, IAS Freedom Medal Winner 2008, Tim Bowles, launched a movement that is rekindling decency and hope.

Between Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone lies a place very close to hell. It's a place where they'll tell you even God gave up and there is ' no language adequate to convey the horror. Here is where blood diamonds were mined, adolescent killers were created and where rape became a weapon of war. Here is where rebels hacked off the hands of twenty thousand villagers to keep them from voting. But ending the cycle of atrocity and rekindling the decency in every human being across Western Africa is Human Rights Field Director Tim Bowles. As a crusading attorney for the Church of Scientology in the late 1980s, Tim learned early what it means to safeguard human rights. While acting as a legal advisor for the Youth for Human Rights World Tour of 2005, he organized the conferences for India's dispossessed. It was on that global trek that he came to Western Africa. The experience was profound, and Tim officially signed on as Field Director for the Church of Scientology's worldwide human rights initiative.

Returning to Africa, Tim met up with Jay Yarsiah whom he'd met at Ghana's Human Trafficking Conference in 2005. Jay wanted to step on board, but first had a story to tell. He told Tim how he'd fled Liberia in 1990 and lost contact with his mother just shy of Sierra Leone. He spoke of a 12-year old "General" who inspected the ranks of refugees, and maybe because Jay was only eleven, the General finally let him go, but was forced to watch as they mowed down the others with AK-47s. He spoke of bodies piled up like cords of wood in Monrovian streets and 40,000 refugees wasting away from malaria in camps across Ghana. The point was, he wanted Tim to know what he was getting into.

Next to join the team was 29-year old war zone mediator Sammy Jacobs Abby, director of Ghana's Center for Conflict Resolution and Human Rights Analysis. He was also known for fact-finding missions in the Congo, Zimbabwe, Uganda and Darfur and held United Nations volunteer status.

Jay suggested Buduburam Refugee Camp to Tim as the perfect testing ground for the Youth for Human Rights instructional materials. They communicated to kids across first world nations, but what about a former child soldier who had fed grenade launchers that wiped out entire villages? Or, conversely, the ones who had lost everything including their hands?

When they arrived, Tim was warned not to meet the eyes of the twenty-somethings as those were the ones who had most likely seen action in the small boy brigades. Waiting in the courtyard were thirty camp leaders who had obviously lost faith in everything. They used a hand-cranked generator to play the PSAs, and then Tim began his discourse on the Universal Declaration: how it came to be, how it superseded all laws, politics and even the power of their AK-47s. He told them these were the inalienable rights of man and with them one could rise to higher states despite all reasons to hate.

The first young man to respond said he had done horrible things, too horrible to tell, but now he wanted to make a confession. Others followed suit, their voices flat and matter-of-fact, their faces tracked with tears. And when it was over, no one had ever seen anything like it. No one had even imagined it possible. These former child soldiers, these embittered amputees, these long time combatants from West African wars were literally now standing for universal human rights.

Seeing that the Universal Declaration contained enough truth that just discovering it brought about real change in people, Tim set out to create a way to bring it to everyone in the region, including Liberia and Sierra Leone. He named it the African Human Rights Leadership Project and described it as "role reversal." Instead of youth becoming child soldiers, he would channel them into brigades of human rights advocates and train them to activate others. They would become fact-finders to pinpoint and publicize human rights abuses. He launched the program in the still shell-hocked Liberian capital of Monrovia. Sammy Jacobs Abby scheduled forums with a hundred students from regional schools, then another 80 from the upper schools and the central university. It spread out across the provinces where half the students had been orphaned in the war.

It wasn't until Tim received the first actual field reports from the students did anyone realize just what he had unleashed. The first was entitled "A Summary on Rape and Sexual Violence" and documented 196 cases in the space of two months, with proportionate failures to prosecute—another legacy of the war. The news broke in the Liberian papers and was headlined on an All-African network. It ricocheted up to the Ministries of Education and Justice and then to the desk of the Liberian Vice President himself. Twelve teams from fifty schools had seemingly risen from nowhere to spotlight abuses, both past and present. Not only were they West Africa's new voice for human rights, they were also now its conscience.

The next step was to take the program country wide, and that meant going to the still traumatized rural areas—known as "up country," where the civil wars begin. Tim and his team started in Liberia's outlands, beyond which lay the diamond fields of Sierra Leone. The towns are still pockmarked from mortar fire and everyone still keeps stand-by Kalishnikov rifles in the bush. But between returned refugees from the border camps and those who had laid low during the war, Tim was soon signing on 60 and 70 youth at a time. Fact-finding teams in Freetown's secondary schools and youth groups documented amputee accounts from the Blood Diamond zones. More than 80 human rights chapters formed along the cape and across up-country villages.

The program was suddenly self-generating with no less than 2,000 human rights leaders on the ground to spot abuses for international human rights groups, coordinating with human rights tribunals and special courts, while better than a hundred non-government organizations lent support.

It was indigenous. It was real. Ministries of Justice, Youth and Education officially mandated human rights forums across Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

And from the former killing grounds have risen 9,000 human rights activists, 12 million advocates and another 20 million bearing witness to the fact that human rights are at last alive in West Africa.

The Vice President of Liberia said of Tim, "He has an interest that goes beyond just work. He's a person who feels that his is somewhat like a calling to render services to humanity in a special way. And that makes a big difference."

Igniting the Flame for Human Rights in West Africa (2008). Impact 119, 78-83.

caroline · **Posted:** Sat Aug 14, 2010 11:40 pm

We did some further checking into connections between CAST and Scientology. Note the link in our OP to Scientology’s Freedom Mag:
http://www.freedommag.org/english/vol36I2/page21.htm
http://www.freedommag.org/english/vol36I2/page22.htm

The events Freedom is reporting on were a “series of “Slavery Today” panel discussions.” They were “sponsored by the Foundation for Human Rights and Tolerance,” which is a Scientology operation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Foundation_for_Human_Rights_and_Tolerance

Two CAST execs are identified as attending: Jennifer Stanger, National Training Director; and Kay Buck, Executive Director.

Attendee Joseph K. Grieboski, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Institute on Religion and Public Policy, is a Scientology agent who influences governments around the world for the cult. See, for example, http://www.gerryarmstrong.org/50grand/writings/armstrong-ltr-grieboski-2004-10-25.html

In a 2004 letter to Grieboski, Gerry wrote:

Your board member Lynsey Bartilson is identified on your web site as a “human rights activist,” is a Scientologist. She describes herself on her own web site as “the International Spokesperson for Youth for Human Rights.” She says that the purpose of this Scientology group is: “To teach youth around the globe about human rights, thus helping them to become valuable advocates for the promotion of tolerance and peace.” http://www.lynseybartilson.com/

Bartilson, who was a panelist at the FHRT events, is the daughter of Laurie J. Bartilson, a cult attorney in Bowles & Moxon, later Moxon & Bartilson, and a standard Scientologist violator and suppressor of human rights. See, for example, this declaration: http://www.gerryarmstrong.org/50k/legal/a4/4367.php

See also this 2009 letter to Grieboski about his receiving $8,000 a month from Scientology to start and operate his organization: http://www.gerryarmstrong.org/archives/3255

Attendee Nancy Reyes-Rubi is an attorney from the Legal Aid Foundation, which a CAST coalition member. See also this cpedia entry:

http://www.cpedia.com/wiki/Institute_on_Religion?hit=21&source=23#ref_0 wrote:

Presented by the Human Rights Office of the Church of Scientology International, the International Foundation for Human Rights and Tolerance, and Youth for Human Rights International, the conference features speakers from human rights and community organizations, including Lisa L. Thompson of the Salvation Army, Nancy Reyes-Rubi of the Legal Aid Foundation, Joe Grieboski of the Washington, D.C.-based Institute on Religion and Public Policy and Ms. Goodman of the Los Angeles-based Church of Scientology International.
scientology.org/news-media/news/2003/030801.html

Ms. Goodman is of course Leisa Goodman of OSA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leisa_Goodman

Attendee Lisa L. Thompson, is from the Salvation Army, another CAST Coalition member. Here’s Ms. Thompson, Grieboski, and 3 Scientology OSA personnel – Jentzsch, Weiland and Susan Taylor – getting together in a letter to Russian President Putin: http://sites.managerslogin.com/folder49/listing/LetterPutin.pdf

Re: Katie Scolari Borden, Western USA regional manager for the UNICEF Fund, see also this WWP thread:
http://forums.whyweprotest.net/69-cos-front-groups/fact-checking-youth-human-rights-international-10932/

See this endorsement for YRHI: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:5CYVP2OerdkJ:www.youthforhumanrights.org/about/endorsements.html%3Flocale%3Dde+site:www.youthforhumanrights.org+borden&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk

See this cached page with this entry:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/2e4nog7 wrote:

YHRI being presented with a Certificate of Appreciation. From left to right: Mary Shuttleworth, Dir of YHRI, Claire Kevitt, Youth President of YHRI, Katie Scolari Borden of the US Fund for UNICEF, Leisa Goodman, the Human Rights Director of the Church of Scientology International and Beth Akiyama, the Public Affairs Director of the Church of Scientology for the East US.

YHRI being presented with a Certificate of Appreciation. From left to right: Mary Shuttleworth, Dir of YHRI, Claire Kevitt, Youth President of YHRI, Katie Scolari Borden of the US Fund for UNICEF, Leisa Goodman, the Human Rights Director of the Church of Scientology International and Beth Akiyama, the Public Affairs Director of the Church of Scientology for the East US.

YHRI RECEIVES UNICEF AWARD

By Claire Kevitt, Youth President for YHRI

New York – On May 2, myself and the Director of YHRI, Mary Shuttleworth were honored to receive a Certificate of Appreciation signed by the President of the US Fund for UNICEF, Mr. Charles Lyons. UNICEF, which stands for United Nations Fund for Children, plays a very important role in the world. The goal of UNICEF is to advance humanity through providing health, education, equality and protection for every child on this planet. YHRI has worked on projects with UNICEF, especially in Los Angeles. In fact the person who we worked with in LA, Katie Scolari Borden, is now based in New York as the Program Officer for the Campaign development and Program Services. That’s Katie presenting the certificate above.

Attendee Caroline Wittcoff, federal prosecutor in the Los Angeles office of the United States Department of Justice, apparently prosecutes human trafficking cases in LA. http://pipl.com/directory/name/Wittcoff/Caroline

Did the Headleys and their attorneys know about this connection?

Ambassador Lou de Baca, Director of Trafficking in Persons at the State Department, is quoted in the Freedom article as if he was also an attendee at the Scientology event. The Headleys and their attorneys should also be aware of this connection.

Then see this important page from Freedom about US Representative Diane Watson:

http://www.freedommag.org/english/vol36I2/page23.htm wrote:

In February 2004, Watson’s efforts to do something about the problem were rewarded. She announced a million-dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to the Los Angeles-based Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST), enabling the organization to expand its services for trafficking victims. “Despite the growing volume of trafficked persons in the United States,” Watson said at the time, “there is not one shelter for trafficked persons in the U.S. It is my hope that the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking will be able to build a model program that can be duplicated across the nation.”

Shortly thereafter, CAST opened the country’s first shelter in the United States for survivors of sexual trafficking, the location confidential for protection of the victims.

Note too on the same page this connection to another CAST employee Namju Cho:

http://www.freedommag.org/english/vol36I2/page23.htm wrote:

The Justice Department grant “has had an immense impact on our ability to assist survivors of trafficking,” Namju Cho, advocacy coordinator of CAST, told Freedom. “By having safe, stable housing, our clients can focus on stabilizing other aspects of their lives.”

Here, Watson is identified as a Scientologist: http://people.famouswhy.com/diane_watson/
Same here: http://www.nndb.com/people/871/000040751/ Note her footnote about her religion: "Originally (and possibly still) a Roman Catholic."

Here’s a Scientology press release about the August 7, 2010 CC anniversary event:

http://www.prweb.com/pdfdownload/4365244.pdf wrote:

More than 1,400 Attend Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre 41st Anniversary Gala

More than 1,400 guests attended the 41st Anniversary Church of
Scientology Celebrity Centre Gala in Hollywood on Saturday, August 7.
Los Angeles, CA (Vocus) August 9, 2010 -- More than 1,400 guests attended the 41st Anniversary Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre Gala in Hollywood on Saturday, August 7. The guest list included many of the Church’s well-known members, including John Travolta, Kelly Preston, Leah Remini, Anne Archer, Erika Christensen, Nancy Cartwright (voice of Bart Simpson) and Jenna Elfman.

The annual event highlights the humanitarian programs sponsored by the Church—programs addressing drug abuse, human rights, moral values for a modern world, illiteracy and disaster relief.

The evening’s guest speakers included California Congresswoman Diane Watson; LAPD Hollywood Division Captain Beatrice Girmala; Mr. Albert DeCady, Special Advisor to Haitian Ambassador Raymond Joseph; and the former Liberian Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Nathaniel Barnes.

Congresswoman Watson told the audience of her history in working with the Church: “As a public servant I’ve had the privilege of a close working relationship with you for many years on many vital issues of our society, and especially since becoming the U.S. Representative for this district in 2001. The relationship has been productive because your social programs are for people no matter who they are—and it has been rewarding because they work, and the resources you so generously provide are very effective.”

Here are a couple of commendations from Watson to CCHR:

http://www.cchr.org.au/recognition.php wrote:

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES RESOLUTION: "Highly commends CCHR for securing numerous reforms around the world, safeguarding others from abuses in the mental health system and ensuring legal protections are afforded them." - Congressman Diane Watson, 2009

U.S. CERTIFICATE OF SPECIAL CONGRESSIONAL RECOGNITION: I join with Congress in recognizing the Citizens Commission on Human Rights for its longstanding commitment to advancing the fundamental freedoms set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Nuremberg Code. CCHR serves as a stellar example of the united power of individuals who achieve reform through dedicated efforts to better society and effective education and advocacy. We recognize CCHR for the many great reforms it has championed, which today protect individuals against cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment and for its leadership role in raising public awareness so that dignity and human rights can be returned to all men." - U.S. Congressman Dan Sherman, Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, Senator Diane Watson, 2005

Obviously there are many more connections to be made between CAST and Scientology’s own cast of characters. But the above alone are overwhelming evidence, and justify warning ex Sea Org people to not approach this organization for help, which requires that they submit to interrogations by CAST staff. This evidence also justifies confronting CAST on what on earth it was doing enlisting Nancy Many as its agent and encouraging ex SO victims to come to it for "help."

Scientologist Diane Watson, according to Scientology itself, arranged a million dollar grant to start CAST. To believe that the cult has no influence in CAST is foolish.

Don Carlo · **Joined:** Mon Jul 25, 2005 6:20 am **Posts:** 8098

CAST started in 1999, says Calif business database:

Date Filed: 06/16/1999
Status: ACTIVE
Name: COALITION TO ABOLISH SLAVERY & TRAFFICKING
Agent for Service of Process: KAY BUCK

Clicking on the name gives address of
5042 WILSHIRE BLVD 586, LOS ANGELES CA 90036

http://kepler.sos.ca.gov/cbs.aspx

Googling "5042 Wilshire Blvd" & '586"
shows that also in suite 586 is attorney Stephanie K. Richard, who has no link to Scientology that I can find on the Internet.

caroline · **Posted:** Sun Aug 15, 2010 8:25 pm

Don Carlo wrote:

CAST started in 1999, says Calif business database:

Date Filed: 06/16/1999
Status: ACTIVE
Name: COALITION TO ABOLISH SLAVERY & TRAFFICKING
Agent for Service of Process: KAY BUCK

Clicking on the name gives address of
5042 WILSHIRE BLVD 586, LOS ANGELES CA 90036

http://kepler.sos.ca.gov/cbs.aspx

Googling "5042 Wilshire Blvd" & '586"
shows that also in suite 586 is attorney Stephanie K. Richard, who has no link to Scientology that I can find on the Internet.

You're right. I misinterpreted this:

Freedommag.org wrote:

In February 2004, Watson’s efforts to do something about the problem were rewarded. She announced a million-dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to the Los Angeles-based Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST), enabling the organization to expand its services for trafficking victims.
[...]
Shortly thereafter, CAST opened the country’s first shelter in the United States for survivors of sexual trafficking, the location confidential for protection of the victims.

Whittle, T.D. Freedom. (n.d.). Retrieved on 15 August 2010 from http://www.freedommag.org/english/vol36I2/page23.htm

I now see that J. Swift made the identical misinterpretation in 2006:

In 2006, J. Swift wrote:

I have found the "who" behind Alfreddie Johson and Scientology's links to the Nation of Islam: It is Congressional Rep. Diane Watson of Los Angeles. Congressional Rep. Diane Watson of Los Angeles is a Scientologist and has used and abused her powers in favor of Scientology. For example, Rep. Waston got $1,000,000 in funding to start a Scientology front group aimed right at the soul of Black people, slavery, and the fight against psychiarty. The Scientology front group is CAST and we read about it online in Freedom magazine, a Scientology publication: More...

Unlike Swift, we don't consider CAST a Scientology front group, just that its clear connections to the cult warrant warning Scientology victims to not seek help there. Until CAST does the responsible thing about these connections.

"5042 Wilshire Suite 586 may be a maildrop. Google maps lists "Wilshire Mailbox" at that address, but not CAST. Also, the buildings on that block appear to be less than five stories high.

Kay Buck's office at "Nonprofit" :roll:

is apparently some blocks away on Wilshire:

http://www.spoke.com/info/pEa8gFN/KayBuck wrote:

Kay Buck
Title and Company: Executive Director Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking at Nonprofit
Company Address:
3550 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 1432
Los Angeles, CA 90010-2415
Executive Director Kay Buck(213) 365-1906 x101 kay@castla.org

Notice Buck's co-workers. For example, attorney Robin Toma.

http://www.spoke.com/info/pEa8lCJ/RobinToma wrote:

Robin Toma
Title and Company:
Executive Director at Nonprofit
Company Address:
3550 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 1432
Los Angeles, CA 90010-2415

Nonprofit, CA, Social service, Executive Director

Los Angeles Times on 20 November 2009 wrote:

Robin Toma, executive director of the Human Relations Commission, said the data underscored the importance of the passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which extends federal hate-crime protection to victims of sexual-orientation crimes.

Much of the overall decrease in hate crimes was connected with a 16% decline in racially motivated crimes. Some of those racial crimes, however, were tied to the presidential campaign of Barack Obama.

Across the country there were numerous cases of vandalism, displays of nooses and acts of intimidation, and in Los Angeles eight cases were reported in which homes, cars and other property displaying Obama signs or stickers were vandalized with swastikas or racial slurs, Toma said.

"While hate crimes targeting African Americans decreased, they still remain by far the largest group of hate crime victims," Toma said. "They are 61% of racial hate crime victims and yet comprise only 9% of the county population."

Latino victims remained the second-largest targeted group and the percentage of crimes against them remained the same. Crimes targeting Asians, Middle Easterners, Armenians and whites declined.

Although religious hate crimes rose 14%, that increase is attributed to 15 crimes targeting the Church of Scientology, Toma said. Two-thirds of those crimes involved similar threatening letters sent to various church branches that were probably from the same individual, he said.

Abdulrahim, R.(2009, 20 November). L.A. County hate crimes drop 4%.latimes.com.Retrieved 15 August 2010 from http://articles.latimes.com/2009/nov/20/local/la-me-hate-crimes20-2009nov20

See also http://defenselawyerslosangelescriminal.blogspot.com/2009/12/robin-toma-beyond-in-race-and-human.html which also quotes Toma.

Daily News on 19 November 2009 wrote:

While most of the religious hate crimes were anti-Jewish - 65 percent - anti-Scientology crimes composed 13 percent and anti-Christian hate crimes totaled 9 percent.

Most of the anti-Scientology crimes appear to have been committed by the same person and involved threatening letters containing a white powder mailed to various Scientology churches.

Anderson, T. (2009, 19 November). Religious, homophobic hate surges in L.A. county. dailynews.com. Retrieved 15 August 2010 from http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_13829526

The folks over at WWP noted the mention of Robin Toma on a cult site too. http://forums.whyweprotest.net/291-scientology-discussion/article-daily-news-lol-yeah-right-56909/#post1073361

Freedominla wrote:

Rabbi Freehling: The Commission has set up a network of satellite groups called the Human Relations Network. It is made up of numerous non-profit, human relations and social justice groups who are combining their forces so that they can be more effective and give better assistance to people affected by actions motivated by hate or suspicion.

Additionally, I have formed the Council of Government Representatives. This council consists of local, state and federal law enforcement commanders, myself and Robin Toma, Executive Director of Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission. We are looking at how we can improve our response in the event of natural disaster or human calamity.

Voices of Los Angeles Call for Unity Through Human Rights. (n.d.) freedominla.org.Retrieved on 15 August 2010 from http://www.freedominla.org/issue07/page12.htm

Nonprofit's VP and chief attorney is ex-federal prosecutor Michael Gennaco:

http://www.spoke.com/info/pEa8kO2/MichaelGennaco wrote:

Michael Gennaco
Vice President Chief Attorney at Nonprofit
Company Address:
3550 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 1432
Los Angeles, CA 90010-2415

jewishjournal.com wrote:

Hate acts against Jews in California—up or down?

“I would take any of these figures with a grain of salt,” said Michael J. Gennaco, who as a former top federal civil rights attorney prosecuted some of the highest profile anti-Jewish crimes. He now serves as head of the Los Angeles County Office of Independent Review.

A major problem lies in the fact that all hate crime statistics depend ultimately on law enforcement agencies reports, which are voluntary and often spotty, haphazard and protective of local reputations, Gennaco said.

[...]

“While the civil rights situation is certainly better than it was 40 years ago in this country, the surveys show that there are still individuals and groups who strike out against their fellow countrymen,” Gennaco said.

“These days, that hatred is fueled by the bad economy, fear of terrorism and anti-immigrant fervor. Even one case is one too many,” he added.

While the interest of the Jewish community focuses on anti-Semitic acts, these are only a small part of the overall picture depicting American prejudices.

In all the surveys, the majority of hate crimes are based on race or ethnicity, with anti-black attacks predominating. About one-quarter of hate acts are directed against gays and lesbians, and about one-fifth on the basis of the victim’s religion.

In the latter category, anti-Jewish acts represent between 65-75 percent of reported incidents, distantly trailed by anti-scientology and anti-Muslim acts.

Tugend, T. (2010, 27 July). Hate acts against Jews in California—up or down? jewishjournal.com. Retrieved 15 August 2010 from http://www.jewishjournal.com/community/article/hate_acts_against_jews_in_california_--_up_or_down_20100727/

caroline · **Posted:** Thu Aug 19, 2010 9:23 pm

Gerry Armstrong wrote:

Victims of Scientology’s Sea Org operation are being referred to the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST) in LA for legal and social service help. I contacted the referring person Nancy Many because I meet the criteria and need legal help, and other offered social services. She asked me a prepared set of screening questions and cleared me for CAST's help.

Caroline and I then did some checking around and discovered a number of connections between Scientology, including OSA personnel, and CAST and its execs. Major CAST funding was arranged by Diane Watson, a Scientologist and US Representative from California’s 33rd District. I alerted Ms. Many and posted what we were finding to Scientology-related forums. Ms. Many’s e-mail exchange with me ended in a threat that I take seriously, and consequently I will be making our correspondence public.

Because ex-SO people are being referred to CAST as human trafficking victims, this matter relates to the Headley v. Scientology human trafficking case that was just dismissed on summary judgment in US Federal District Court in LA.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/22419969/Clai ... Strike-Out

Much of the information Caroline and I discovered up to a point we’ve posted in this thread on Operation Clambake: http://ocmb.xenu.net/ocmb/viewtopic.php?t=32760

There are discussions on Why We Protest and Ex-Scientologist Message Board that contain the same basic information plus some attacks and some support:
http://forums.whyweprotest.net/24-fair- ... oup-70673/

http://www.forum.exscn.net/showthread.php?p=461168

Caroline and I have continued to gather information on this situation, all of which adds up to something fishy and scary. There's an effort, which includes people who should know better, to discount the Scientology – CAST connections and their implications, to dispense with this as wild speculation, dispense with me as a wild speculator, keep the referral line going. It hasn’t been properly understood that I am the client and so far the only identified victim in this situation.

We’re making these videos to present further evidence we’ve assembled, and to answer various questions that people have asked or respond to certain charges. We urge people to do their own research, and if they have a question for me to ask. If it’s a good question, I’ll answer.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V5IqxngDEY

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgH3FKsHLNY

--
Edit: Update url for Part 1

Simonymous · **Joined:** Tue Feb 26, 2008 2:48 am **Posts:** 1156

Gerry or Caroline -- Correspondence with Nancy Many ended in a threat? A "be careful, Sci is dangerous" kind of threat or a "don't screw with my pet organisation" kind of threat? I know you said you'll be making it public, but if you're finding links to Scientology in companies that should NOT have them, I'm really hoping it's the former, and not the latter.

J. Swift · **Posted:** Thu Aug 19, 2010 11:50 pm

I Googled in search of proof for this COS claim:

Quote:

Rebels hacked off the hands of twenty thousand villagers to keep them from voting.

I cannot find any evidence of the claim that, "rebels hacked off the hands of twenty thousand villagers to keep them from voting." This is the article that Scientology appears to have copied from: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/africa/j ... _1-23.html

While Scientology makes the claim that 20,000 people had their hands chopped off, nowhere does Scientology mention that it helped these victims by purchasing them prosthetic hands or offering them any other form of real aid. People who have lost their hands need something more than Tim Bowles, his camera team, and copies of The Way to Happiness.

True to type as a Cult, Scientology instead cheapens mayhem and death in Africa in order to create PR and recruiting opportunities for itself and Tim Bowles:

http://www.africanleadershipcampaign.or ... ts-a-fact/

*****
Scientologists link the alleged story in some of their blogs:

http://jetteroheller.wordpress.com/scientology-blogs/

/////

RedPill · **Joined:** Sat Sep 22, 2007 8:33 am **Posts:** 1362

Funding CAST and co-opting it and or having started it in the first place would be a brilliant OSA op.

If I was one of DM's top henchmen or DM, here is what I would do ... I would first and foremost conceal the Cof$ connection, that would be the most important. Next, I would have genuine, well meaning people running the op as my useful idiots. This would include the shrinks, dentists, job trainers, medical people, etc. Help would be provided to the ex members, real help. No shit.

The agenda would impinge only on two points ... the schiesters would do nothing but alibi for the cult, explaining in legaleze why it is that the ex sea ogre has no case, in spite of abuse. Also, there would be some counciling on "moving on with your life" as part of the "healing" as opposed to engaging Cof$ by going public with horror stories and/or filing lawsuits.

It would be money well spent, and probably a lot less than would be spent on PI's and lawyers. The objective would simply be a gentle, Aikido like redirection as opposed to some confrontational strikes.

Strategies such as these have been used in politics. Is there opposition? Better to create the opposition group yourself and therefore control it ... all of your political opponents can therefore be identified, misdirected, and rendered powerless.

Pete

caroline · **Posted:** Fri Aug 20, 2010 6:31 am

RedPill wrote:

Funding CAST and co-opting it and or having started it in the first place would be a brilliant OSA op.

If I was one of DM's top henchmen or DM, here is what I would do ... I would first and foremost conceal the Cof$ connection, that would be the most important. Next, I would have genuine, well meaning people running the op as my useful idiots. This would include the shrinks, dentists, job trainers, medical people, etc. Help would be provided to the ex members, real help. No shit.

The agenda would impinge only on two points ... the schiesters would do nothing but alibi for the cult, explaining in legaleze why it is that the ex sea ogre has no case, in spite of abuse. Also, there would be some counciling on "moving on with your life" as part of the "healing" as opposed to engaging Cof$ by going public with horror stories and/or filing lawsuits.

It would be money well spent, and probably a lot less than would be spent on PI's and lawyers. The objective would simply be a gentle, Aikido like redirection as opposed to some confrontational strikes.

Strategies such as these have been used in politics. Is there opposition? Better to create the opposition group yourself and therefore control it ... all of your political opponents can therefore be identified, misdirected, and rendered powerless.

Pete

You got it, Pete. Thanks.

caroline · **Posted:** Fri Aug 20, 2010 7:36 am

"Hey Gerry, what's the deal with you and Nancy Many and CAST?" Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdxGRMFhM6Q

"Hey Gerry, what's the deal with you and Nancy Many and CAST?" Part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgq65LKWBQM

ALERT: Cult compromises human trafficking help group

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