SCIENTOLOGY NOT ALLOWED TO CALL THEMSELVES A RELIGION IN BIRMINGHAM ORG RENOVATION

media_lush • 

I've been watching the planning application video for the Birmingham Org.... a lot more fascinating than I thought.... the really cool bit that none of the papers really picked up was that one of the councillors insisted that an amendment be made that scientology NOT be classified as a religion..... another councillor also goes on to say that Mosely [the local are of Birmingham this Org is scheduled] has had experiences with scientology in the past and "they were not pleasant". The building also had to be open to hold other events of public interest.

http://www.birmingham.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/104021/start_time/4072000

the good stuff starts about 01:20:00

Basically I think the reason they went ahead is that no one else wanted to take on the refurbishment as it is a Grade 2 listed building [you're not allowed to alter hardly anything] and it can't be turned into flats.

So - even though they got the permission they're not allowed to call themselves a religion and have to allow other people to hold events there.... which could be interesting.

(Personally I doubt we'll ever see anything happen there as I'm sure tiny fists will need the £6m to pay off the ever increasing lawsuits he continues to lose.

 

Murmurs: It’s Not Too Late to Let Police Horses Unionize.

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Tags: arts tax, Scientology

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• Turns out the Dalai Lama wasn’t the only world religious leader in Portland last weekend. David Miscavige, head of the Church of Scientology, dropped by the May 11 opening ceremonies of an “Ideal Org,” an opulent church headquarters and recruiting center at 360 SW Oak St. The event included a white-robed choir singing the “Battle of Portland” anthem. You ask, the Battle of Portland? It involved two months of Scientology marches through city streets in 1985—with appearances by church glitterati John Travolta and Chick Corea—protesting a Multnomah County jury finding the church guilty of defrauding a defector named Julie Christofferson Titchbourne. The jury awarded Titchbourne $39 million in damages. Scientologists from across the country turned the verdict into a referendum on religious freedom, a judge tossed out the verdict and the two sides later settled for an undisclosed amount.