On a more serious post than you may be used to from me....
We live about ten miles from downtown Clearwater, FL, the headquarters of Scientology. The Church of Scientology owns pretty much all of the city of Clearwater, FL. They are headquartered in a "renovated" hotel named Ft. Harrisoon. No one is allowed in or out, at least not past the first floor. There are over 250 cameras mounted throughout downtown Clearwater which monitor everything. When you "join" the church, you are given a rank... I believe "Cadet" or something. The lower your rank, the more heavily guarded you are.
Every day, there are about 20 to 30 unmarked vans that transport "cadets" around downtown. All cadets wear uniforms, blue pants or skirts and a light blue shirt. They all live in the "hotel."
When you first join the "church" you are out through a series of "trials" to cleanse your body. A large portion of Niacin is administered without niacinimide which eliminates the side effects of niacin. This in turn causes the body to turn bright red. They believe you are expunging all toxins absorbed through life by reversing them out of your body with a series of steam baths, saunas and the such.
The problem is, every year they have people dye of dehydration in the "hotel," because they chain you to the bed in your room, so you cant fall prey to temptation. Many have tried to sue, and they are basically caught up in the court sytem forever.
Scientology is basically a cult. A rich one, albeit, but still a cult.
If you really want to learn about how freaky they are, check out
www.sptimes.com or tampatrib.com and run a search for local articles. Google also has a lot of pages written by members who actually escaped the "church" - for real.
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