The Smiths Donate $1.3 Million To Charity

[VIsqo]

Whats going on with u people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????????????

[MaxFly]

Incidentally, can someone post a copy of Will's '07 tax returns? I find this a little interesting because tax returns in the United States are not a matter of public record, so I wonder how this publication aquired the information on how much Will gave and to whom. I can't imagine why Will would release his tax returns... he's not running for anything, nor is he part of a group that requires it. Can someone help me out with that please... A PDF of it would be good. Thanks in advance!

whether true or not, if you think about it Max, somebody *cough*foxnews*cough* always pulls a scientology link out of the bag around the release of Will's films, they did the same with Hancock and IAL. I too was wondering how they just happened upon his tax returns, I could care less what he spends his money on, I think at this point he could care less if his career suffers from any association, it's pretty obvious. Foxnews is so blatantly racist & biased i'm surprised they have any credibility, it's plain as day people are trying to "find" some kinda dirt or scandal where he's concerned, it's actually kinda pathetic, lol.

personally I wouldn't be bothered with the COS, but i'm not him, and I don't know all the facts, I take what I read on the internet with a grain of salt.

I'm with you Ashley... the pattern has become blatant, and it's a little sad that people are still preoccupied with this foolishness.

[Ale]

its not right when you save 10 people's lifes and have killed one person on the other side. you cant overlook and play it down, just because he donated 9 times more to christian churches.

Not to state the obvious DefCEM, but this is a gross oversimplification. Again, we don't know what the money he donated will be used for nor do we know if the story is even accurate. For all we know, it may be going to a battered women's shelter or a program for disadvantaged children, if it is even true. Would you compare those initiatived to murder.

Couldn't have said it better.

come on there are already known facts now. he has opened up his own private school for his kids with scientology teachers.

You're operating on old information. I'm not sure whether you missed that thread, but that issue has been resolved. He had a visit from a few members of Anonymous and he pretty much humiliated them and deaded all of their arguments infront of a number of people. Can someone provide a link to that thread for DefCEM.

Sure:

http://www.jazzyjefffreshprince.com/forum/...showtopic=12565

he hangs out a lot with tom cruise and do you remember what Will once said on an interview? if you wanna know who you are, just have a look at the 5 closest people you surround yourself with and you'll know who you are.

Will also said that you don't have to be a Scientologist to be a friend of Tom Cruise.

Edited December 23, 2008 by Ale

[MaxFly]

well maxfly, he is manipulated in that way that he is ready to give money to scientology. its not about for what kind of charity he gave the money for. its about the ethnic and spiritual intentions all those scientology foundations have. yeah, maybe this money is going to help indigent people, but that way, those people are going to be depended from scientoloty. its like they're going to be deeple indebted to scientology.

Well let's be accurate... He's given money to charities that are ostensibly doing good work in communities. He isn't cosigning their group nor everything they believe in. It would be like me giving money to an Islamic charity. I don't agree with most of their teachings, but if I see that they are doing good work with a targeted group, I won't allow my ambivalence concerning their religion to affect my view of the work they are doing.

I don't believe that people who are being helped by these charities are signing over their lives to these groups. That's actually quite illegal in the Unites States. Charities whose aid is contingent on membership in some group or that compels people to join some group aren't charities, and have violated their tax designation as a charity. People always have a choice. What saddens me further is that you seem to be implying that it would be better for those who are helped by these charities to stay in the state that they are in, whether it be homlessness, or drug dependence, rather than be aided by said charities.

its like missionary. you just cant take this whole situation so superficially. scientology acts and aims its goals on a mental level. and all those scientology charities do have the same goal. its all about "production" and recruiting new members, to destroy their lifes and making them dependend to the organization. married people divorce just after 6 weeks of auditioning, they break all their ties to their old environment, spend thousands of dollars.

Wow, can't believe that Will and Jada are still married then...

scientology members are known to be obsessed of teaching people how great their life can beover and over again, by doing exactly the same they do. and for me Will is pretty damn obsessed in any way. if he's really in scientology, i dont know when he got into it, but that dude is going crazy.

Most religions teach that in following the principles of said religion, your life can be great. But what leads you to conclude that Will is going crazy?

I'm starting to get the sense that you're just really concerned that Will hasn't released an album in a few years...

[Hero1]

Defcem makes a compelling argument..tom cruise has clearly had an influence on will because before they met will wasn't donating money to Scientology..I also don't like will's argument when he defends it.."I can't say it's crazy because I believe Jesus was born from a virgin Mary" see it's not about what you believe it's about hoemw you try and influence people. Will should really go and listen to ms holy roller. Let's be honest here.scientology and tom cruise would be absolutely gunning to make will one of them..as defcem described their whole ethos is to attract powerful people in the world into their organisation.. Do I believe will is a scientologist? No. Do I think the media manipulates and tried to make the most out of this story? Yes. Do I think scientology is having an effect on will? Yes. He clearly has changed lately.. I can't say I really like it.. Just read some of wills in depth interviews lately.. The reason I've been such a fan over the years is that will is still just a regular guy.. I guess u can't be in the positib he's in without it getting to you..

What worries me ? What he's saying, his career path, his own private school, all his children now starting movies, his relationship with tom cruise, donations to scientology, abandoning music.. Does this make me any less of a fan? I don't think so I'm just like a concerned frient loooking on a litle worried...

[DefCEM]

of course im mad that he doesnt make an album. thats just one more point which makes me crazy. but you should just inform yourself about scientology and its interns, i dont want to explain the whole thing, thats not what i want to talk about here.

people just dont see that they're exploited and utilised by scientology, cause you get the extremely opposite impression once you started. people who dropped out of scientology just had realized that when they got older and wiser. iits up to you if you believe that those organizations are doing good things just for the sake of it. but once you got into the facts of scientology, you'll see how this machinery works and how they attempt to achieve their goals. a good comparison to the way scientology acts would be capitalism and its dark sides. its just all about manipulating the psyche of the human beeing and you can easily see that their not only almost active in any social area, but also all over the world. and thats what im really concerned about. they are too powerful and you know what happens when a group of people get more and more power. its going to be a main influence and sometime in the future politics will have to comply with scientology in the race for votes. its also gonna be about representing their interests, when you wanna be president or whatever.

you should really think about what consequences it could have. and btw, this marriage stuff and about the old environment i talked about, they just make you do that when they think that those people are a obstacle and a negative influence for you and so further on for the "church", and generelly they are.

its ok when you donate money to a muslim charity (i'm a muslim btw) cause that religion is not about exploiting the human beeing. its based on humanity (in case you read and inform yourself about scientology, watch out particularly for the meaning of that word in their life philosophy). you just cant compare a criminal organization to a worldwide religion.

btw, i used to donate my old clothes to various organization for helping people in africa but i stopped and do you wanna know why? because i found out that instead of giving it to them for free, it usually happens that they sell it for a good amount of money to some local sellers. thats shocking but true. if you wanna help someone, go and give it to the beggar personally.

[Hero1]

Well said defcem, I think people are glossing over what scientology is really about here.. It has been banned in certain CPU tries for a reason

[MaxFly]

Defcem makes a compelling argument..tom cruise has clearly had an influence on will because before they met will wasn't donating money to Scientology..I also don't like will's argument when he defends it.."I can't say it's crazy because I believe Jesus was born from a virgin Mary" see it's not about what you believe it's about hoemw you try and influence people. Will should really go and listen to ms holy roller. Let's be honest here.scientology and tom cruise would be absolutely gunning to make will one of them..as defcem described their whole ethos is to attract powerful people in the world into their organisation.. Do I believe will is a scientologist? No. Do I think the media manipulates and tried to make the most out of this story? Yes. Do I think scientology is having an effect on will? Yes. He clearly has changed lately.. I can't say I really like it.. Just read some of wills in depth interviews lately.. The reason I've been such a fan over the years is that will is still just a regular guy.. I guess u can't be in the positib he's in without it getting to you..

What worries me ? What he's saying, his career path, his own private school, all his children now starting movies, his relationship with tom cruise, donations to scientology, abandoning music.. Does this make me any less of a fan? I don't think so I'm just like a concerned frient loooking on a litle worried...

I certainly think Will has changed, but I wouldn't call it something that's only taken place lately. His outlook on things and the types of movies he's sought to make have been changing since Ali. In terms of the school he opened, he's said for years that he thinks the educational system in the US is broken... years prior to opening the school or even becoming close with Tom Cruise. His kids have begun to act in movies, but I'm not sure what that has to do with scientology. As for music... we all had to know that there would come a day when he would put music aside. Whether he's done so permanently is still undetermined... but I never got to sense that Will would be in his mid to late 40s rapping and going one tour. I think he'll be fine in the long run and I honestly think much of this is manufactured controversy...

I'd still like to know how they got a hold of Will's tax returns though.

[MaxFly]

of course im mad that he doesnt make an album. thats just one more point which makes me crazy.

Lol, to be honest, I think it's the main point, and it's making a lot of you guys crazy.

but you should just inform yourself about scientology and its interns, i dont want to explain the whole thing, thats not what i want to talk about here.

people just dont see that they're exploited and utilised by scientology, cause you get the extremely opposite impression once you started. people who dropped out of scientology just had realized that when they got older and wiser. iits up to you if you believe that those organizations are doing good things just for the sake of it. but once you got into the facts of scientology, you'll see how this machinery works and how they attempt to achieve their goals. a good comparison to the way scientology acts would be capitalism and its dark sides. its just all about manipulating the psyche of the human beeing and you can easily see that their not only almost active in any social area, but also all over the world. and thats what im really concerned about. they are too powerful and you know what happens when a group of people get more and more power. its going to be a main influence and sometime in the future politics will have to comply with scientology in the race for votes. its also gonna be about representing their interests, when you wanna be president or whatever.

I'm sorry, but I don't think we're dealing with an illuminati type situation here and I don't think scientologists will be playing a major role in determining the POTUS in the conceivable future for a number of very, very obvious reasons. If individuals want to define them as an inherently evil and insidious organization, that's fine... I don't care for them myself. But again, I must stress that we should be prudent in how we respond to these bits and pieces of information coming to us from various news organizations. These sorts of things have happened before with Will (it's like he's too clean, so they just have to find something to soil him). Unfortunately, people almost always come away from these sorts of reports looking exceedingly foolish. It's happened multiple times on this forum alone.

you should really think about what consequences it could have. and btw, this marriage stuff and about the old environment i talked about, they just make you do that when they think that those people are a obstacle and a negative influence for you and so further on for the "church", and generelly they are.

I think Jada would be a prime candidate for someone who would be an obstance or have a negative influence on Will and for the "church." She doesn't strike me as the kind of person who would put up with that kind of nonsense. It should be interesting to see how long they'll remain married.

btw, i used to donate my old clothes to various organization for helping people in africa but i stopped and do you wanna know why? because i found out that instead of giving it to them for free, it usually happens that they sell it for a good amount of money to some local sellers. thats shocking but true. if you wanna help someone, go and give it to the beggar personally.

What you should have done is looked for legitimate organizations that get the resources you want to donate directly to the people you want to help. Otherwise the question becomes, how many times have you been to Africa to provide resources for those in need personally? Personally providing aid is not always practical.

[DefCEM]

so you dont think? and thats the reason why its just not true or what? i gotta tell you something, its not about what you think, its about facts. man i have nothing to say actually, cause you really dont know what scientology is all about. there are facts! you must be blind or just stubborn or not interested at all to not see them. to compare this whole situation to an illuminati conspiracy is so ridiculous, it just shows me that you're not into it at all. you're talking about bits and pieces, maybe you should go out and look for some ex members who can tell you a lot more than just bits and pieces. you just dont like the idea of what could've happened regarding Will and Scientology, but i'm saying it again, please dont start to play that whole thing down.

btw maxfly, have you ever heard of something called lobbyism in politics and special interests? a group of people with a lot power and money who could possibly support your election campagne? think about it.

and do you know whats funny? it happened a lot of times that really big foundations, who even had their own programms in television, supported by a lot of famous people with all that gloss and so on, were sued due to money laundering and corruption. there's a saying here in germany that says, don't trust a statistic you didn't fake yourself.

and don't think that you're in a position to laugh about me, cause this whole scientology thing can come back to you one day. maybe you're just living a too good life, where such bad and evil things are impossible to be true, but fact is that the world spins the other way around.

[Ale]

DefCEM, man, it seems that you believe we're defending Scientology. At all. You're the one who is saying that Will Smith is going crazy, you are the one who is accusing him without any proof. Don't let the media manipulate you, dude.

I think everyone here knows how dangerous Scientology is, so don't say we're ignorant, please.

[Radewart]

Yeah, Christianity and Islam never have followers do awful things to one another, it's just Scientology.

[DefCEM]

Yeah, Christianity and Islam never have followers do awful things to one another, it's just Scientology.

i just can talk on behalf of my own religion but thats not the point here. Every human with a brain between his two ears should know what scientology is.

even if other group of people did bad things, this just cant justify the whole criminal character of scientology.

man, its fundamental to set this whole thing apart. its really important to look beyond his own plate. please inform yourself about scientology and religions. its so sad, there are a lot things going on in this world resulted from misinformation and ignorance.

[bea321]

Scientologists try to get an image of respectability (I remember Tom Cruise asking to meet Sarkozy...). Will Smith is contributing to that... He's blind.

Plus, if he hadn't given money to scientology, Will Smith would have denied...

[MaxFly]

btw maxfly, have you ever heard of something called lobbyism in politics and special interests? a group of people with a lot power and money who could possibly support your election campagne? think about it.

US election laws currently limit the amount of money persons can contribute to a campaign to 2,300 dollars. People can form PACs and collect from a number of individual donors, but the names and occupations of the head of each PAC and each individual donor must be submitted to the FEC in addition to all other donations. As nefarious as campaign fundraising may seem, there's an incredible and surprising amount of transparency involved. Barack Obama just raised a little over 3/4 billion dollars... much of it through small, repeated donations of 200 dollars or less. Based on the old style of fundraising, you might have had a point... but you don't anymore. Internet technology (online fundraising, youtube, political websites, blogging) have radically changed how campaigns are waged and how candidates raise their money. I'm not sure if you paid attention, but this recent election provided a major blow to lobbyists and special interest groups and their current and future influence on government.

I'm sorry, but I know way, way too much about govenment and politics to worry about scientology having any significant influence on US presidential elections, and I think every one of my law school and Gov friends would agree. If this line of argument is something you really want to pursue, we can continue further, but it's in your best interest to drop this facet of your argument.

and do you know whats funny? it happened a lot of times that really big foundations, who even had their own programms in television, supported by a lot of famous people with all that gloss and so on, were sued due to money laundering and corruption. there's a saying here in germany that says, don't trust a statistic you didn't fake yourself.

When was the last time money laundering affected a US presidential election... I don't think you understand the extent of the laws in place and the harshness of the penalties inflicted for election fraud. Just the perception of fraud in campaign fundraising will almost undoubtedly sink a presidential campaign.

and don't think that you're in a position to laugh about me, cause this whole scientology thing can come back to you one day. maybe you're just living a too good life, where such bad and evil things are impossible to be true, but fact is that the world spins the other way around.

Yeah... I can guarantee you scientology won't "come back to me." I know what I believe, and I know who I trust in terms of salvation. I'll be ok. My concern is that you're overly fearful of this organization and people in general have become a little irrational when it comes to Will lately.