Free Minds. Free Hearts
Patron
Time to call out Whole Foods and Starbucks.
On Tony Ortega's Sunday Funnies he posted with Ladies with Babies Facebook Mother's Day flyer (which was actually plagiarized from a Philip Morris ad…). http://tonyortega.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/lwb-email-4.jpg
There is also http://happyhouse.org/site/
LWB FB is at https://www.facebook.com/ladieswithbabies
Flyer is at http://tonyortega.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/lwb-email-4.jpg
(As an aside, the original Philip Morris ad is at http://www.refinedguy.com/2012/06/19/50-hilarious-vintage-cigarette-ads/#30 )
But the point is they are advertising Whole Foods Arroyo Parkway and Starbucks as sponsors
The LWB FB page is swarming with links for Scilons. https://www.facebook.com/ladieswithbabies/timeline?filter=2
Whole Foods Arroyo Parkway is 1-626-204-2266 and their FB is https://www.facebook.com/WholeFoodsArroyo.
Emails [email protected], [email protected] , [email protected], sp.pr@wholefoods.com.
Aslansown and I have both emailed Whole Foods regarding "Ladies with Babies", and Aslansown got a reply (I just emailed this morning and did not hear back yet).
Here is what Aslansown emailed to the two CEOs ([email protected], [email protected]) and the regional manager.
I was very concerned when I saw a flyer that said that you are sponsoring a Scientology event on May 4th in Pasadena (flyer attached). I became aware of this when I read today's post onTonyOrtega.org .
I know that part of your mission is to be involved in the community, which is highly commendable. This time, however, I think you have missed the mark by sponsoring an event for an abusive cult.
This is not just my opinion. Since 2009 the Tampa Bay Tribune has done extensive investigative reporting on Scientology. Time magazine did a cover story entitled "Scientology:The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power" (mirrored because it is no longer online). You only have to google "scientology abuse" to see pages and pages of links to first-person accounts of abuses. Also, please google "Operation Snow White" and "Operation Freakout" to see the unbelievable lengths that this group will go to.
I know this may sound preposterous, but if you read even a little of the reports I have linked to, you will see what this group is really about. I absolutely hold to the freedom that anyone should be allowed to believe whatever they wish, but it is the abusive behavior of this cult that I and many others take issue with.
I hope that you will reconsider your sponsorship of this event. I respectfully request that you reply to this email so that I will know where you stand.
Then Aslansown got a reply from the Regional person:
My name is Cindy and I am the Marketing Team Leader for Whole Foods Market Arroyo. Thank you for reaching out to us.
I can understand your concern, but allow me to assure you that we are not supporting Scientology (or any religion or belief) in any way. The organization that we are supporting is Ladies with Babies (https://www.facebook.com/ladie.... They came to us requesting support and an opportunity to partner for their upcoming event. The event is open to the public and the church is not involved in any way (besides just providing space) - I know this because I attended in the past. Ladies with Babies itself is a non-denominational group.
Hope this clarifies things for you. If you have any other questions or concerns, please e-mail or call.
Cindy Estorga
Marketing Team Leader
Whole Foods Market Arroyo Parkway
tel: 626.204.2266 fax: 626.204.2267
[email protected]
Aslansown continues: Since she already mentioned it was in a "church" I didn't write about that, but tried to get them to see the connections between another (Nancy Cartwright) program that uses TWTH and that the LwB FB page had fundraising flyers to fund those programs on their page, so there was a connection.
Then I sent the following email to the two CEOs and Cindy:
Thank you for your speedy reply.
Cindy Estorga was nice enough to reply this morning, so I have added her name on this email to give her more information about the connection of events that Whole Foods sponsors and Scientology.
As Cindy pointed out, the public is invited to participate in these events and they seem "non-denominational" since the connection to Scientology is hidden.
I am just trying to give you a reason to do more research before you sponsor an event (any event).
Since I sent my email I have found out that your logo is prominently displayed as a sponsor of several "Ladies with Babies" events (including their convention). While you may believe that you are supporting a non-denominational group, some of the other events you have sponsored (at Nancy Cartwright's House - the 2013 flyer attached) are fundraisers for Happy House (happyhouse.org) which uses a program called "Good Choices". These flyers are found on the LwB FB page, showing a link between the groups.
It all sounds innocent enough until the Happy House website and the Good Choices website reveal that the program uses a Scientology booklet as its guide: "Happy House’s activities since its inception and the Happy House Good Choices™ program are based on the booklet The Way to Happiness®."
This publication is written by the founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard. Scientology routinely denies that it has anything to do with this booklet and has tried to get it into schools in many states. Once the relationship to Scientology is discovered, the states/schools have denied it on the basis of separation of church and state (I'm most familiar with Illinois' decision.) It's a common tactic to get these booklets into organizations and schools as a way to recruit new members.
Just a few months ago, France's highest court convicted Scientology as an "organized fraud" and just last month federal prosecutors in Belgium have taken the cult to trial and have characteri z ed the movement as a " criminal organisation ." In theory it could be banned in Belgium if convicted. (And by the way, did you know that they believe that psychiatrists caused the Holocaust? http://www.cchr.org/documentar... ? (CCHR is another front group for Scientology).
I know I probably sound like a conspiracy theorist or a nut (!). If it helps my credibility a little, I can tell you that I have a Master's degree and have worked in Fortune 100 companies most of my life. But I am one of many hundreds of thousands of people who are trying to reveal the truth about Scientology.
Again, my only motive is that you will do more research on the groups that you sponsor, perhaps by looking at a few of the links in my emails.
Thank you all for taking the time to read my long emails, and I appreciate the fact that you responded.
Here is what I emailed (Free Minds Free Hearts) to [email protected], [email protected] , [email protected]:
As a regular customer of Whole Foods, I am writing to express my deep concern about your sponsorship of the Ladies with Babies event and convention.
This is being put on by a Scientology front group. Ana Candela Grinta, who runs the LWB Facebook page, is a scientologist. There are links on the LWB FB page to Scientologist Nancy Cartwright’s Happy House fundraiser, to Pasadena Scientologist Catherine Stroud’s recruitment event at the Pasadena Scientologist headquarters, to Scientologist Lee Parrish’s dental blog, etc.
It is not surprising that a Scientologist would want to advertise other Scientologists and their events on their website. What concerns me is that they are not upfront about who they are. Why are they embarrassed to admit they are Scientologists? It is because they know how scary and dangerous their cult seems to the outside world. For example, they use the Way to Happiness booklets - which is a Scientology publication to advertise and recruit – it is scientology’s effort to publicize itself without making a specific link to the cult upfront.
So what is my problem? It is not the Scientology beliefs, it is their actions. This group is only considered a church in the US because they harassed and intimidated the IRS (thousands of lawsuits, background investigations, etc.) into throwing in the towel and giving them tax-exempt status. In France, Scientology was convicted recently of fraud for lying about what they offer and in Belgium they are also on trial as a criminal organization.
Scientology is a dangerous mind control cult. One of their most toxic policies is “disconnection” which tears families apart, forcing parents and children to disconnect from each other if one party questions scientology in any way.
Ladies with Babies is very ironic, because Scientology is widely known for forcing/coercing young women in their billion-year contract “Sea Organization” to have abortions, since children detract from their time at work. There is currently a lawsuit in federal court, by Laura DeCresenczo (Diekman), regarding the fact she was coerced to have an abortion at age 17. She was told that otherwise her parents and partner would need to “disconnect” from her, not to mention she would lose her eternal salvation. Tony Ortega, an investigative reporter who blogs regularly on Scientology, has a post on the lawsuit at http://tonyortega.org/2013/10/... The case is also covered on https://www.youtube.com/watch?... There is also an affidavit by Margery Wakefield, who says, “I became pregnant six times in Scientology, and was forced to have six abortions. I was sent to California social services to arrange the abortions, then given bus fare and an address of an abortion clinic, and told not to come back until the abortion was completed.” (http://www.forum.exscn.net/sho.... There are also stories at http://blogs.villagevoice.com/... - from Gary Morehead, a Scientologist who identified how to convince women to go to taxpayer funded abortion clinics, and Claire Headley, who has since escaped from Scientology and started a family with her husband.
They consider children to be little adults – responsible for their own actions – the founder Hubbard has locked children in chain lockers for disobedience. http://www.spaink.net/cos/mpou...
LWB/Scientology is using your logo in their advertising, which unfortunately links Whole Foods with a dangerous mind control cult.
Please do some research and find out how dangerous this group really is before you put your good name (and logo) on the line with them.
I am not signing my name because my sister is still in the Sea Organization. She had an abortion and she also has disconnected from me in the past. If my criticism is not anonymous, she will be forced to disconnect from me again and I do not want to risk that.
On Tony Ortega's Sunday Funnies he posted with Ladies with Babies Facebook Mother's Day flyer (which was actually plagiarized from a Philip Morris ad…). http://tonyortega.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/lwb-email-4.jpg
There is also http://happyhouse.org/site/
LWB FB is at https://www.facebook.com/ladieswithbabies
Flyer is at http://tonyortega.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/lwb-email-4.jpg
(As an aside, the original Philip Morris ad is at http://www.refinedguy.com/2012/06/19/50-hilarious-vintage-cigarette-ads/#30 )
But the point is they are advertising Whole Foods Arroyo Parkway and Starbucks as sponsors
The LWB FB page is swarming with links for Scilons. https://www.facebook.com/ladieswithbabies/timeline?filter=2
Whole Foods Arroyo Parkway is 1-626-204-2266 and their FB is https://www.facebook.com/WholeFoodsArroyo.
Emails [email protected], [email protected] , [email protected], sp.pr@wholefoods.com.
Aslansown and I have both emailed Whole Foods regarding "Ladies with Babies", and Aslansown got a reply (I just emailed this morning and did not hear back yet).
Here is what Aslansown emailed to the two CEOs ([email protected], [email protected]) and the regional manager.
I was very concerned when I saw a flyer that said that you are sponsoring a Scientology event on May 4th in Pasadena (flyer attached). I became aware of this when I read today's post onTonyOrtega.org .
I know that part of your mission is to be involved in the community, which is highly commendable. This time, however, I think you have missed the mark by sponsoring an event for an abusive cult.
This is not just my opinion. Since 2009 the Tampa Bay Tribune has done extensive investigative reporting on Scientology. Time magazine did a cover story entitled "Scientology:The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power" (mirrored because it is no longer online). You only have to google "scientology abuse" to see pages and pages of links to first-person accounts of abuses. Also, please google "Operation Snow White" and "Operation Freakout" to see the unbelievable lengths that this group will go to.
I know this may sound preposterous, but if you read even a little of the reports I have linked to, you will see what this group is really about. I absolutely hold to the freedom that anyone should be allowed to believe whatever they wish, but it is the abusive behavior of this cult that I and many others take issue with.
I hope that you will reconsider your sponsorship of this event. I respectfully request that you reply to this email so that I will know where you stand.
Then Aslansown got a reply from the Regional person:
My name is Cindy and I am the Marketing Team Leader for Whole Foods Market Arroyo. Thank you for reaching out to us.
I can understand your concern, but allow me to assure you that we are not supporting Scientology (or any religion or belief) in any way. The organization that we are supporting is Ladies with Babies (https://www.facebook.com/ladie.... They came to us requesting support and an opportunity to partner for their upcoming event. The event is open to the public and the church is not involved in any way (besides just providing space) - I know this because I attended in the past. Ladies with Babies itself is a non-denominational group.
Hope this clarifies things for you. If you have any other questions or concerns, please e-mail or call.
Cindy Estorga
Marketing Team Leader
Whole Foods Market Arroyo Parkway
tel: 626.204.2266 fax: 626.204.2267
[email protected]
Aslansown continues: Since she already mentioned it was in a "church" I didn't write about that, but tried to get them to see the connections between another (Nancy Cartwright) program that uses TWTH and that the LwB FB page had fundraising flyers to fund those programs on their page, so there was a connection.
Then I sent the following email to the two CEOs and Cindy:
Thank you for your speedy reply.
Cindy Estorga was nice enough to reply this morning, so I have added her name on this email to give her more information about the connection of events that Whole Foods sponsors and Scientology.
As Cindy pointed out, the public is invited to participate in these events and they seem "non-denominational" since the connection to Scientology is hidden.
I am just trying to give you a reason to do more research before you sponsor an event (any event).
Since I sent my email I have found out that your logo is prominently displayed as a sponsor of several "Ladies with Babies" events (including their convention). While you may believe that you are supporting a non-denominational group, some of the other events you have sponsored (at Nancy Cartwright's House - the 2013 flyer attached) are fundraisers for Happy House (happyhouse.org) which uses a program called "Good Choices". These flyers are found on the LwB FB page, showing a link between the groups.
It all sounds innocent enough until the Happy House website and the Good Choices website reveal that the program uses a Scientology booklet as its guide: "Happy House’s activities since its inception and the Happy House Good Choices™ program are based on the booklet The Way to Happiness®."
This publication is written by the founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard. Scientology routinely denies that it has anything to do with this booklet and has tried to get it into schools in many states. Once the relationship to Scientology is discovered, the states/schools have denied it on the basis of separation of church and state (I'm most familiar with Illinois' decision.) It's a common tactic to get these booklets into organizations and schools as a way to recruit new members.
Just a few months ago, France's highest court convicted Scientology as an "organized fraud" and just last month federal prosecutors in Belgium have taken the cult to trial and have characteri z ed the movement as a " criminal organisation ." In theory it could be banned in Belgium if convicted. (And by the way, did you know that they believe that psychiatrists caused the Holocaust? http://www.cchr.org/documentar... ? (CCHR is another front group for Scientology).
I know I probably sound like a conspiracy theorist or a nut (!). If it helps my credibility a little, I can tell you that I have a Master's degree and have worked in Fortune 100 companies most of my life. But I am one of many hundreds of thousands of people who are trying to reveal the truth about Scientology.
Again, my only motive is that you will do more research on the groups that you sponsor, perhaps by looking at a few of the links in my emails.
Thank you all for taking the time to read my long emails, and I appreciate the fact that you responded.
Here is what I emailed (Free Minds Free Hearts) to [email protected], [email protected] , [email protected]:
As a regular customer of Whole Foods, I am writing to express my deep concern about your sponsorship of the Ladies with Babies event and convention.
This is being put on by a Scientology front group. Ana Candela Grinta, who runs the LWB Facebook page, is a scientologist. There are links on the LWB FB page to Scientologist Nancy Cartwright’s Happy House fundraiser, to Pasadena Scientologist Catherine Stroud’s recruitment event at the Pasadena Scientologist headquarters, to Scientologist Lee Parrish’s dental blog, etc.
It is not surprising that a Scientologist would want to advertise other Scientologists and their events on their website. What concerns me is that they are not upfront about who they are. Why are they embarrassed to admit they are Scientologists? It is because they know how scary and dangerous their cult seems to the outside world. For example, they use the Way to Happiness booklets - which is a Scientology publication to advertise and recruit – it is scientology’s effort to publicize itself without making a specific link to the cult upfront.
So what is my problem? It is not the Scientology beliefs, it is their actions. This group is only considered a church in the US because they harassed and intimidated the IRS (thousands of lawsuits, background investigations, etc.) into throwing in the towel and giving them tax-exempt status. In France, Scientology was convicted recently of fraud for lying about what they offer and in Belgium they are also on trial as a criminal organization.
Scientology is a dangerous mind control cult. One of their most toxic policies is “disconnection” which tears families apart, forcing parents and children to disconnect from each other if one party questions scientology in any way.
Ladies with Babies is very ironic, because Scientology is widely known for forcing/coercing young women in their billion-year contract “Sea Organization” to have abortions, since children detract from their time at work. There is currently a lawsuit in federal court, by Laura DeCresenczo (Diekman), regarding the fact she was coerced to have an abortion at age 17. She was told that otherwise her parents and partner would need to “disconnect” from her, not to mention she would lose her eternal salvation. Tony Ortega, an investigative reporter who blogs regularly on Scientology, has a post on the lawsuit at http://tonyortega.org/2013/10/... The case is also covered on https://www.youtube.com/watch?... There is also an affidavit by Margery Wakefield, who says, “I became pregnant six times in Scientology, and was forced to have six abortions. I was sent to California social services to arrange the abortions, then given bus fare and an address of an abortion clinic, and told not to come back until the abortion was completed.” (http://www.forum.exscn.net/sho.... There are also stories at http://blogs.villagevoice.com/... - from Gary Morehead, a Scientologist who identified how to convince women to go to taxpayer funded abortion clinics, and Claire Headley, who has since escaped from Scientology and started a family with her husband.
They consider children to be little adults – responsible for their own actions – the founder Hubbard has locked children in chain lockers for disobedience. http://www.spaink.net/cos/mpou...
LWB/Scientology is using your logo in their advertising, which unfortunately links Whole Foods with a dangerous mind control cult.
Please do some research and find out how dangerous this group really is before you put your good name (and logo) on the line with them.
I am not signing my name because my sister is still in the Sea Organization. She had an abortion and she also has disconnected from me in the past. If my criticism is not anonymous, she will be forced to disconnect from me again and I do not want to risk that.
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