Subject:	Re: And more PR lies… Narconon in Sweden)
Author:	keshet <keshet@cyberpass.net>
Date:	2000/03/08
Forum:	alt.religion.scientology
Msg-ID:	<8a517102dal @enews2.newsguy.com>

Rune Henning Johansen said in <38C61B89.3154C73E @online.no>:

…
how on the video tape from this event you falsely claimed that the King and Queen of Sweden personally support Narconon, which caused a big scandal here.)

Just like how they lied about the Norwegian Minister of Defense a few years ago:

http:// www.xenu.net/ archive/ media/ kosmo.html

As far as I can remember, the scientologists said they were going to publish some corrections. Did they?

Scientology's Norwegian Lies

In 1997, the Church of Scientology falsely trumpeted that the Norwegian Defense Minister, Jorgen Kosmo, praised the Hubbard book The Way to Happiness. The story was run in the Scientology tabloid Good News. According to the article, Kosmo not only endorsed TWTH but planned to distribute it to "every soldier in Norway":

For me, this book has been an eye opener. It is not enough to read it through once. In fact, each chapter demands and deserves to be studied with thoughtfulness and self-evaluation. … This is a book I respect and recommend to my friends and to all others.

See the Good News article at:
http:// www.geocities.com/ CapitolHill/ Lobby/ 7301/ GN5ART.GIF

Andreas Heldal-Lund was, not unexpectedly, a bit surprised and contacted the Ministry of Defense. As it turned out, the Defense Minister never read the book and had less-than-flattering things to say about the "Church".

Andreas further contacted the press, resulting in a front-page story "Kosmo Misused by Sect" in the newspaper Dagbladet.

See Operation Clambake Presents: COS FORGED LETTER FROM NORWEGIAN DEFENSE MINISTER at:
<http:// www.xenu.net/ archive/ media/ kosmo.html>

OK, that much we all know.

Here's a bit of follow-up. In the next issue of Good News, Scientology issued this retraction:

FOR THE RECORD
In the last issue of Good News, a statement in support of L. Ron Hubbard's The Way to Happiness non-religious moral code was mis-attributed to the Norwegian Minister of Defense. The recognition of LRH and The Way to Happiness was actually made by National Civil Defense Inspector, Mr. O. Meland, who stated:

"To anyone concerned: A while ago I received from my friend Dan Viggo one copy of The Way to Happiness. After I read it through once, I was sitting here feeling a little confused. All that is described in this book is actually natural. This is what most of us attempted to learn in our childhood. Family, close friends and school described these things as 'Golden Rules' when they wanted to prepare us for the confrontation with life and day-to-day living. The book showed me that along the way these 'naturals' have faded out and in many instances are totally gone.

"Why?

"How?

"It is not so easy to find single answers. What is absolutely sure, though, is that these basic rules must be heeded for better if we expect to continue to survive as man, and as man to man. For me this book was an eye opener. It is not enough, however, to read it through one time. Each chapter demands and deserves to be 'studied' with thoughtfulness and self-analysis. If one takes his time to do this, one could also, little by little, adopt the way that is presented and take that way. We simply have not been in the condition to see it and therefore fully understand what is demanded of us to walk on it.

"A book I respect and can recommend to friends and others."

This is what Scientology previously attributed to the Defense Minister, Jorgen Kosmo.

So now we must ask if Mr. Meland actually said this. After all, Scientology lies so facilely and blatantly, what's one more fabrication? Perhaps they simply picked another official at random, one with a vaguely similar title, and switched the quote to him.

Since Good News originally reported that the Defense Minister was "…working out how to get copies of TWTH to every soldier in Norway", I wonder if the National Civil Defense Inspector is doing the same for his "troops"? Does he have troops? Or is this merely a typical Scientology postulate, i.e., Just Another Fabrication?

Keshet

--
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