In a prior digest I posted a video of CoS leader David Midgetkavidge ranting and raving about “smart bombs” set to destroy psychiatry from a 2007 assembly. In the video he made numerous claims about international corporate ties distributing “The Way To Happiness” around the world. Most of them were debunked rather quickly, but just very recently an intrepid poster over at SA revealed the following win-win:
I just got back an official statement from Coca-Cola. (Background: DM claimed in an OT Summit in 07 that the CoS was involved with Coke and other big name companies. We questioned this, and a bunch of us called to confirm/deny. Everyone denied except for Coke, who I kept emailing week after week to make sure I got a response)
We’ve hit them where it counts the most: dollars.
Read it and cheer:
quote:
“Thank you for contacting The Coca-Cola Company regarding a possible association with the Church of Scientology.
As an enterprise conducting business in more than 200 countries, The Coca-Cola Company respects diverse cultures and beliefs around the world. However, the Company is not affiliated with any specific religion, including the Church of Scientology.
In regards to the booklet, “The Way to Happiness,” Coca-Cola Pakistan made a donation to the National Office of The Way to Happiness Pakistan in Karachi, Pakistan. This small donation was made with the specific understanding that The Way to Happiness was a Non-Government Organization (NGO), with no religious affiliation, providing non-religious support for the local community, including services for the blind. Coca-Cola Pakistan’s contribution was made with the good faith understanding that the National Office of The Way to Happiness Pakistan provided goods and services — books, Braille imprints, language translations, etc.—to the needy and handicapped similar to other non-profit organizations active in Pakistan. In soliciting the contribution, The Way to Happiness Pakistan did not indicate an affiliation with the Church of Scientology.The Coca-Cola Company and Coca-Cola Pakistan will not renew donations for “The Way to Happiness.”
Boom, baby. This is awesome, and all it took was for me (and others) to take the time to make one single phone call. Don’t ever stop, don’t give up, it’s working.
EDIT 1: Ok, so in effect, DM just shot himself in the foot on this one. His claim caused us to verify which caused companies to distance and investigate the matter. WAY TO GO, DAVEY!
BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH
Also, CoS protest videos have hit 18K views and apparently have been mentioned/embedded on several well known blogs and news sites. I DID SOMETHING