AFTER reading so many news articles of violent deaths and murders in the past few weeks I am sure I am not alone in wanting a solution to the problems that cause such occurrences. Frustrated politicians and social commentators tell us that we have to stop the killing, and the primary solutions offered are more police, tighter gun controls, "intervention" with enforced mental health "treatment" and tougher prison sentences. And while it is obviously true we have to do something about ...

WASHINGTON – After years of holding the U.S. government in contempt, the Church of Scientology is enlisting members of Congress, the U.S. State Department and even President Clinton to advance its agenda in foreign lands. Prodded by the Scientologists' paid lobbyists and its cadre of sympathetic entertainers, several lawmakers and the Clinton administration have criticized the German government for allegedly discriminating against Scientology practitioners. They even got their argument against Germany to the floor of the House of Representatives last November. ...

MARCH 9, 1998: It’s 11:30 a.m. in New York City, nearly lunch time for most people, but Isaac Hayes sounds like he just rolled out of bed. At first, I’m concerned. Flyer: How are you, Mr. Hayes? Hayes: Mmmm [long pause] I’m okay. How you doin’? Flyer: Just fine. Is everything all right? Hayes: Yeah, yeah, I just got off the air. Sometimes it hits me and I get a little sleepy, you know? Flyer: I hear ya’. So, you’re doing ...

There are some Germans out there who don't trust John Travolta. Not only that, at least one of these Germans - actually a member of Germany's parliament - doesn't at all like the idea of Travolta talking with the president of the United States or his national security adviser, Sandy Berger, about the state of U.S.-German relations. The reason this German lawmaker worries about the popular movie actor getting to see the president and his advisers is that Travolta is a ...

Type: Tort, intentional infliction of emotion distress, alter ego. Bench decision: Amendment of judgment - $6,025,857 ($4,649,328 renewed judgment plus $1,376,529 accrued interest). Case/Number: Larry Wollersheim v. Church of Scientology of California / C332027. Court/Date: L.A. Superior Central / Oct. 29, 1997. Judge: John P. Shook. Attorneys: Plaintiff - Craig J. Stein (Gartenberg, Jaffe, Gelfand & Stein, LLP, L.A.); Daniel A. Leipold, Cathy Shipe, Robert F. Donohue (Hagenbaugh & Murphy, Orange); Lita Schlosser (Encino); Ford Greene (Hub Law Offices, San Anselmo). ...

Regarding "Reassessing U.S.-German Friendship" (Special Report, Dec. 9) by John Dornberg: Mr. Dornberg writes that claims of discrimination against Scientologists in Germany are "ludicrous." As human rights counsel for the Church of Scientology of Germany, I must inform you that Mr. Dornberg's statement is flatly incorrect. I have personally documented hundreds of cases of Scientologists who have been seriously discriminated against in Germany. In some cases they have been forced to leave their country and seek asylum abroad. Scientologists in Germany ...

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Late on a November afternoon two years ago, a 36-year-old Scientologist named Lisa McPherson was involved in a minor traffic accident. She was not injured, but she inexplicably stripped off her clothes and began to walk naked down the street. A paramedic rushed her into an ambulance and asked why she had taken off her clothes. Ms. McPherson replied: "I wanted help. I wanted help." She was taken to a nearby hospital for a psychiatric examination, but several ...

When you sit down to read, do you find yourself feeling blank or sort of spinny? Squashed, bent or just not there? Sure you do. And here's why: You've gone past a word you don't understand. In fact, the only reason a person gives up studying or becomes confused or unable to learn is because that person went past a word that was misunderstood. At least that's what the followers of the late Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard want you to ...

TAMPA, Fla., Nov. 7 — A Federal immigration court judge has granted asylum to a German member of the Church of Scientology who claimed that she would be subjected to religious persecution had she been required to return to her homeland, the woman's lawyer and a Scientology official said today. While few details of the case were available, it is believed to be the first time the United States has given asylum protection to a Scientologist. The Church of Scientology has ...

BERLIN — Speaking from a vast video screen, actor John Travolta told a mass rally of Scientologists here Monday that there is no excuse for government discrimination against religious bodies. Singing and chanting, adherents from Germany, the United States and across Europe joined the L.A.-based Church of Scientology's largest demonstration in Germany against what it said is official discrimination against religious minorities. "Scientology is our religion," Travolta said in the video message, taped in Los Angeles. "It has helped us a ...

EDUCATION: Organizer of a conference being held today is a Scientologist, and that worries' some in the school-reform group. ORANGE — Leaders of Orange County's "back to basics" education movement are split over attending a conference tonight because the chief organizer belongs to the Church of Scientology. Orange County Department of Education board member Ken Williams said he withdrew from the "Back to Basics Education Crusade" because of discomfort with its organizers, not because of disagreement over the crusade's goals. "I ...