I have seen speculation that Ray Mitoff may have been replaced as Snr CS Int. According to a recent Scn publication, Dan Koon is now there. Regardless, let me give some advice on how to judge movement up/down in the cult. I doubt that few of you are versed in this, but let's give it a try.

In the old Soviet Union (a good model for a totalitarian comparison to an equally totalitarian Scientology), May Day was a day that the CIA would use to see who was in power because the "power" appeared and the "depowered" disappeared from the podium.

That was how the USSR operated. If one was promoted, there was fanfare (a la "1984") and if one was demoted, there was silence. One is a non-person.

Same with Scientology. If Mitoff had been promoted, he would be announced in his new position with great fanfare. If he has been demoted, he will be missing.

That is the same with any person in the hierarchy for the same reason that every totalitarian regime does it.

(Think on that one, RTC/OSA. You operate by the same PR principles as the old Soviet Union. Odd coincidence, eh?)

So if there is no mention of Ray Mitoff, he's busted. Outathere. Probably on the "Freewinds," for safe keeping and until they rescramble his brains/thetans.

I kind of liked Ray. He was a casual sort of guy. He and I used to forge a lot of LRH material together. (Whoops! Did I say that?) He and I (and DM and Pat and Mike) stopped smoking together, after LRH's death, out at LRH's other secret ranch, the one near Barstow. (DM, Pat and Mike didn't last.) Ray had a tough time of it. He went to "Bandits." I went to "rough cut." (look it up.) I think I'm the only one who stayed off, but hey, what's that compared to OT8?

Robert Vaughn Young
writer@eskimo.com