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The man was "close enough to hurt them" when one of the guards shot him, Hara said.

"A thetan who is completely rehabilitated and can do everything a thetan should do, such as move MEST and control others from a distance, or create his own universe."

— L. Ron Hubbard

In the mid-1980s, more than ever before, television advertising was about big budgets and excess. Bucking that trend was Scientologist and marketing whiz Jeff Hawkins, whose understated, minimalist TV ads for L. Ron Hubbard's Dianetics helped launch the book onto the best-seller list—and arguably sparked a worldwide interest in the religion.

Hawkins' ads featured simple questions like, "Why are you unhappy?" in white print against a black background, backed by edgy music supplied by Hawkins' friends, and finally, a shot of the Dianetics book splashed against a volcano. The ads cost around $2,000 to make, yet within months of their first nationwide appearance, Dianetics made the New York Times Best Seller List for the first time since its initial publication in 1950—and a special commemorative edition of the book was printed to mark the occasion.

Hawkins estimates he made more than $200 million for the church in his 35 years of marketing Dianetics. Nevertheless, he ultimately paid for his success by being thrown out of the church in 2005. Now living in Portland, Hawkins is writing a book about his experiences in Scientology.

And boy, is he pissed....

An Oregon man who was fatally shot as he wielded samurai swords and tried to attack guests at a landmark Scientology building had been involved in "prior incidents" with the church, police said Monday.

Mario Majorski, 48, was shot once by a security guard as he tried to use the swords to attack guests at the Scientology Celebrity Centre in Hollywood on Sunday, Detective Wendi Berndt said.

Berndt said that the Scientology church and security guards were already familiar with Majorski, and that he had been associated with the church in the "distant past." She did not elaborate on the earlier dealings.

"The security people were aware of him through some prior incidents," Berndt said.

The shooting will be reviewed by the district attorney's office, but police were treating the killing as justifiable.

"The security guard had to take action to prevent the deceased from killing or maiming people on the premises," Berndt said.

Security surveillance tape showed Majorski arrived around noon in a red convertible, then approached the guards with a sword in each hand before he was shot, Berndt said. She said the tape would not be released to the public because it was too graphic. No other weapons were found in the car, which Berndt said she thought was a rental.

Majorski was pronounced dead at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.

Public records show he had been associated with a string of addresses in Los Angeles County and in Oregon over the last two decades. He filed for bankruptcy in 2000.

Eldritch wrote:You mean there were no Operating Thetans available to incapacitate the guy with their amazing powers over matter, energy, space, and time?!?

Imagine my shock.

"A thetan who is completely rehabilitated and can do everything a thetan should do, such as move MEST and control others from a distance, or create his own universe."

— L. Ron Hubbard

Majorski was a church member and student at UCLA in 1993 when he and a classmate sued a psychiatry professor and the university. The professor, Louis West, now deceased, was an expert on brainwashing and an outspoken critic of Scientology, which he dismissed as a "pyramid scheme." Suits filed in state and federal court accused West of activities, including speeches to anti-cult groups, that transgressed the separation of church and state and interfered with Majorski's practice of religion.

Code: Select all

Mario Majorski   HQS                     Celebrity 240     1990-09-01
Mario Majorski   L 11 NEW LIFE RUNDOWN   Source 72         1990-09-01
Mario Majorski   L 11 RUNDOWN EXPANDED   Source 72         1990-09-01

The professor, Louis West, was an expert on brainwashing and an outspoken critic of Scientology, which he dismissed as a "pyramid scheme."

Suits filed in state and federal court accused West of activities, including speaking to anti-cult groups, that transgressed the separation of church and state and interfered with Majorski's practice of religion.