Scientology, The Truth About A Lie 2010 France Directed by Jean-Charles Deniau (The film is in a mixture of French and English. All the French parts are translated into English, but not all of the English parts are translated into French.) Scientology is recognized as a religion, for income tax purposes, in the U.S., but not in France. In France and Germany it is generally considered a cult. While church members had already been convicted of fraud in France, last year ...

Wake up and good morning. If some of you wonder why the business media is not taking a deeper "what the heck happened" look at the financial meltdown of recent years, take heart. ProPublica, an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. has begun publishing a series about how, in the middle of America's housing bubble, Wall Street bankers perpetrated one of the greatest episodes of self-dealing in financial history. And in the latest part of ...

In an exclusive interview, the director’s stepdaughter breaks her silence about her Scientologist sister, Vivian, who hasn’t spoken to the family in 10 years. For the last ten years, whenever anyone asked Katharina Kubrick—stepdaughter of the late, legendary filmmaker, Stanley Kubrick—about her youngest step-sister Vivian, her response was, “Oh, she’s living in L.A., doing something.” Their mother, Christiane Kubrick, would say the same thing. “We weren’t lying, we were just being economical with the truth,” Katharina says over the telephone from ...

A new lobby group for families affected by suicide has sparked concerns over links with the Church of Scientology. Casper (Community Action on Suicide Prevention, Education & Research) was formed by two mothers who lost their children to suicide. However, Green MP Kevin Hague said the Citizens Commission for Human Rights (CCHR) was closely associated with Casper, and was established as an arm of the Church of Scientology. Maria Bradshaw, mother of suicide victim Toran Henry, 17, said the new group ...

AUSTRALIAN of the Year Prof Patrick McGorry is among a number of top psychiatrists who have been targeted by the Church of Scientology after they spoke out against the religion. The University of Melbourne professor, with Monash University's Prof Louise Newman and Prof Ian Hickie, director of the Brain and Mind Research Institute at the University of Sydney, publicly backed calls by South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon in March for a senate inquiry into Scientology. They have since received requests under ...

This is a simple guide to one of the most controversial advantages that the Church of Scientology (in the form of COSRECI) has in the UK. That is the 80% mandatory business rates relief granted to them by the City of London Corporation (CoL) in October 2006 for their "Ideal Org" at 146 Queen Victoria Street. This mandatory business rates relief saves them more than 270K GBP per year and this has to be paid for by everybody in the UK. ...

Christiane Kubrick had 42 wonderful years with her husband. But in the decade since his death, she has been beset by tragedy. For the first time, she talks about losing one daughter to cancer, another to Scientology – and why her uncle made films for Goebbels [...] I never met their youngest daughter, Vivian. There was mention of her being in Los Angeles, but I sensed I shouldn't ask about it because something had happened. Vivian had once been a big ...

Prosecutors in Samara Region are taking a high-flying businessman to task for forcing his employees to go on scientology courses. The director of electronics company RosKabelSvyaz Lev Syrolev was threatening to sack faithless workers, but now faces charges for using extremist material. “These practices are illegal and violate laws on combating extremist activity, labour laws, as well as the constitution of Russia,” Prosecutors said in a press release. The Surgut city court considers the ideas of L Ron Hubbard, Scientology’s founder, ...

The city of Hamburg said this week it would suspend the work of its 17-year-old Scientology task force, one of the most vociferous critics of the secretive organization. Leader Ursula Caberta has successfully defended herself in numerous cases brought by Scientologists. However, the city says it will continue to monitor the group. From Berlin, Germany, to Clearwater, Florida, there are few people more disliked by the Church of Scientology than Ursula Caberta. For 17 years, Caberta has fought against Scientology in ...

Scientologists face the same discrimination as victims of apartheid, a Johannesburg resident has claimed in a hate speech complaint. Ryan Woodley, 29, complained to the Broadcasting Complaints Commission about a show on popular radio station 5FM. The programme, Kim's Corner, on DJ Sasha Martinengo's morning show, was about the "strange rituals of some religions". During the show, presenter Kim Schulze referred to Scientology's E-meter, which is used to measure a person's mental state. Woodley, who has several Scientologist friends, complained ...

Sir Geoffrey Johnson Smith, who died yesterday aged 86, was a charismatic television reporter who switched to politics and enjoyed a 41-year career in the Commons. [...] Johnson Smith, who was later to launch a successful campaign on behalf of haemophiliacs who had been given infected blood, fought a long battle to curb the Church of Scientology, which had its headquarters near East Grinstead, in 1970 enduring a six-week libel case before a jury vindicated his stance. [...]

The Church of Scientology won a major victory in federal court when U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer granting summary judgment in two major lawsuits alleging labor law violations, human trafficking and forced abortions. The opinion raises some interesting questions over the deference shown by courts in such disputes. Two of the litigants, Claire and Marc Headley, detailed how they allegedly worked as virtual slaves for Scientology as part of the organization’s super secret Sea Organization. They left Scientology in 2005. ...

The Church of Scientology won an important victory in federal court Thursday when a judge dismissed two lawsuits that accused the church of labor law violations, human trafficking and forced abortions. Claire and Marc Headley, who left Scientology in 2005, said the church controlled them with threats of harsh punishment and other tactics that prevented them from leaving the Sea Organization, Scientology's religious order. But U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer ruled that the Sea Org is protected by the First ...

By the early 1990s years of over-work and lack of sleep were taking their toll on Maureen Bolstad’s health. Scientology’s solution was to force her to disconnect from her mother. [...]

A parent workshop will be held Monday at St. Paul AME The Rev. Jessie Battle received a center director and teacher certification from the Applied Scholastics International organization recently. He will hold his first free workshop teaching parents how to teach their children self-regulated learning at 6 p m., Monday, Aug. 2, at St. Paul A.M.E. Church, located at 531 West Warren Ave. in Kingsville. [...]

[Ongoing censorship of critical views in the comments section, as confirmed by a Seattle Times official: "Dear readers, As many of you have noticed, many comments have been suppressed in this comment thread. This has not been due to an editorial decision by The Seattle Times, but rather has been due to other readers reporting and flagging abuse. I have gone into the problem queue and unflagged all appropriate comments. Nikolaj Lasbo Online News Producer seattletimes.com"] —– For the Rev. Ann ...

Helen Hunter recently jumped into the local roller-derby circuit. This is an appropriate footnote about the always-on-the-go Ocala firefighter. Hunter is pushing 40, and she smiles at the mere thought of derby competition. She embraces athletics, working out, fighting fires, health and the relationship between all of them. She will tell you with complete conviction the healthier she is, the better she can fight fires for the taxpayers who pay her salary. She is passionate about performing at her best, physically ...

L. Ron Hubbard's footprint is growing — in Seattle and beyond. Want proof? The writing is on the western slope of Queen Anne in Seattle. The block letters on the side of a five-story brick building paint a pretty clear picture: "SCIENTOLOGY." Seattle's new Church of Scientology regional headquarters opened its doors last weekend. The streets around the building at 300 West Harrison St. were closed Saturday for a grand opening attended by more than 1,500 parishioners. The next morning, they ...

Prosecutors have opened a criminal case against a Scientology center in the town of Shchyolkovo, 13 kilometers northeast of Moscow, on charges of inciting hatred, punishable with up to five years in prison. Investigators have decided that documents and literature confiscated at the center promoted extremism, a law enforcement official told Interfax, without elaborating. The decision was based on expertise conducted by leading Russian linguistic institutions, including the Linguistics Institute at the Academy of Sciences, Interfax reported. In April, works by ...

A high-flying computer expert went for a stress test at the Church of Scientology — then flew into a rage and attacked the man testing him. Matthew Hickey, 26, walked into the controversial church's Deansgate branch and became angry when he was hooked up to an 'E-meter' stress-testing machine. He believed the device was actually a lie detector — and grabbed tester Brandon Sandler by the tie. The pair tussled and Mr Sandler fell backwards off his chair, injuring his back ...

The following is is a guest post from Lib Dem councillor, John Dixon, who was recently the subject of a complaint to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales for calling Scientology 'stupid' in a Twitter post. The views expressed below are John's personal opinion, and are not expressed in his capacity as a councillor; nor are they the official views of the Lib Dem Humanists & Secularists. I think I can safely say that I've come to the end of what ...

A Cardiff councillor who referred to Scientology as "stupid" on a social network site has been referred to an ethics committee. A Church of Scientology member complained about John Dixon's post on Twitter. The Public Services Ombudsman has ruled there is a case to answer under the councillors' code of conduct. Liberal Democrat Mr Dixon claimed he tweeted in a private capacity and his freedom of speech should be protected. The referral follows a trip by Mr Dixon to London last ...

A woman who got into an argument with protesters near a Church of Scientology building in Halifax and punched one of them in the face was given a conditional discharge Tuesday. Nicole Cassandra Andersen’s behaviour on Sept. 19, 2009, was "entirely inappropriate," Judge Marc Chisholm said in Halifax provincial court during her sentencing hearing on a charge of assault. "The protesters were engaging in appropriate and lawful protest of an organization in a manner that is well within their rights as ...

Watchdog says Cardiff councillor John Dixon's Twitter message 'likely' to have breached code of conduct for local authority members A councillor is facing a disciplinary hearing after calling the Church of Scientology "stupid" on Twitter, it emerged today. The Welsh public standards watchdog investigated Cardiff councillor John Dixon's short message and decided it was "likely" to have breached the code of conduct for local authority members. News of the ombudsman's decision prompted a flood of messages of support on Twitter for ...

The imposing four-story, 50,800-square-foot building at 35 S. Raymond Ave. will serve around 10,000 Scientologists from the San Gabriel Valley to the Inland Empire, said Eden Stein, president of the Pasadena Church. "We're very pleased," Stein said Monday, a day after about 4,200 Scientologists celebrated at a street party on Raymond attended by church leader David Miscavige. "We'll be shopping here, eating in restaurants," she said. "We're looking forward to doing our share in contributing to the economic vitality of Old ...

Sur l’afficheur, le numéro était bloqué, mais je savais déjà que je parlais au Salman Rushdie de l’Église de scientologie. La première fois que j'ai entendu parler de David Edgar Love, c'était l'automne dernier. Le téléphone sonne à la maison. Un homme se présente en anglais : « Hello, My name is Gerry Armstrong... » Sur l'afficheur, le numéro était bloqué, mais je savais d'instinct qu'au bout du fil se trouvait le Salman Rushdie de l'Église de scientologie. Gerry Armstrong est ...

[Credit: Transcript by Anonymous @ whyweprotest.net.] —– ABBREVIATIONS: TS = Tom Smith DL = David Love The format of the time offsets is minutes:seconds (MM:SS). —– TRANSCRIPT: 00:02 Announcer: hawkradio.com, student radio for Tampa Bay and the voice of Hillsborough Community College, streaming on the web 24/7. 00:12 Announcer: The content of the following program does not necessarily express or imply the opinions and/or policies of Hillsborough Community College, hawkradio.com, or WXYB AM. The producer of this program created it ...

(TROIS-RIVIÈRES) «Notre mission, c'est d'aider les toxicomanes à se reprendre en main et à devenir des membres actifs de la société. Nous ne sommes pas un centre de propagande religieuse ou quoi que ce soit. Tout ce qu'on veut, c'est aider le monde». Le message que veut lancer le directeur général de Narconon Trois-Rivières, Marc Bernard, est clair: les événements des derniers jours et même de la dernière année qui ont fait que son établissement s'est retrouvé sur la place publique ...

(Trois-Rivières) C'est un David Edgard Love visiblement troublé qui a participé, samedi, à une manifestation organisée par le regroupement Anonymous en face des locaux du centre de désintoxication Narconon du boulevard Parent à Trois-Rivières. «De très mauvais souvenirs. J'ai de très mauvais souvenirs de ce qui m'est arrivé là et de ce qui est arrivé à d'autres personnes. Il y a des choses très mauvaises qui se passent dans ce bâtiment. Ça doit se terminer», a-t-il laissé tomber d'un ton troublé, ...