BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A Pinson woman claims in a discrimination lawsuit that she was fired by a Warrior dentist after she told the "Rick and Bubba" radio show that Scientology was part of her staff training. In a federal suit filed Tuesday, Cortnie L. Beasley claims Dr. Susan Wells required her to read a book by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Church of Scientology. Beasley says she's a Baptist. Wells' office said she had patients Friday was not ...

A Pinson Baptist has sued a Warrior dentist, claiming she was fired from her job after she said on the "Rick and Bubba" morning show that Scientology was being forced upon her in the workplace. Cortnie L. Beasley contends in a federal lawsuit that on the first day she reported to work at Dr. Susan Wells' office she was taken to the office's basement and was required to read a book by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Church of ...

Some residents in Destin are upset about the possibility of another Narconon drug rehabilitation center opening in their neighborhood. There's already one center operating in a residential area, and apparently some homeowners believe the program is too close to home, but the residents may not have a choice in the opening of the new facility. These trees hide the Narconon Gulf Cost a safe haven for recovering addicts. Debbie Ross and her husband converted their home off of scenic 98 into ...

It was well after midnight and the Tampa airport terminal was almost empty. Just a few late-night travelers sitting on the benches, reading, trying to sleep or, like me, watching the movie on the screen hanging above the waiting area. They were showing Pancho Villa, the 1972 Eugenio Martin film with Telly Savalas as Villa. I was identifying with Villa – his betrayal and imprisonment, his escape, his revolt against his enemy, Huerta. I could feel Villa’s hot outrage. ''¡Viva la ...

Destin can’t stop Narconon Gulf Coast from opening a “community residential home” for recovering addicts as long as the home abides by Florida law, the city’s land-use attorney says. “The state has made a decision to encourage the treatment of individuals â€Â¦ in a community homelike setting,” Land Use Attorney Scott Shirley told the City Council Monday, and that pre-empts the city’s zoning and even homeowner association covenants. It wasn’t what the council wanted to hear. “If I put myself in ...

The Narconon drug-treatment program can open a "community residential home" for recovering addicts in a single-family neighborhood, city staffers say. "We have determined that they are abiding by the state statutes," said Destin Planning Manager Ken Gallander. "Now they have to get licensing from the state." Debbie Ross of Narconon Gulf Coast said that while Narconon has looked at a home in the Emerald Breeze subdivision off Emerald Coast Parkway, it has no firm plans, no contract and no lease. "We ...

What do Galileo, Thomas Edison, Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Cruise, John F. Kennedy and Sir Richard Branson have in common? They are all famous personalities, icons who succeeded despite being affected by learning disabilities. Some children's difficulty to read is not a disability, experts say. The condition can affect those with average or above-average intelligence. Various factors "There could be several factors, from environment at home to the lack of motivation on the part of the child," says Freda Jones, managing director ...

When people first heard Will Smith and his wife, Jada, were donating $1 million to a new private school, there were cheers all round, however, the press has changed its tune after discovering the facility will be run on Scientology principles. The New Village Academy, which will open later this year, has reportedly hired a team of Scientologists to help integrate Scientology teaching methods into the school curriculum – although the dreaded 'S' word isn't mentioned anywhere on the school's website, ...

Three women—including a top church leader's niece–are helping others leave the controversial faith. In September 2006 Kendra Wiseman, 25, was reading an old issue of Glamour when she came across a story by Astra Woodcraft titled "Why I Fled Scientology." Like Astra, Kendra had grown up in the secretive religion and made the agonizing decision to abandon it. She wrote to Astra, thanking her for the story. A year and a half later, Kendra heard another shocker: Jenna Miscavige Hill, the ...

[Abstract] The number of children in the US taking prescription drugs for emotional and behavioral disturbances is growing dramatically. This growth in the use of psychotropic drugs in pediatric populations has given rise to multiple controversies, ranging from concerns over off-label use and long-term safety to debates about the societal value and cultural meaning of pharmacological treatment of childhood behavioral and emotional disorders. This commentary summarizes the authors' eight main findings from the first of five workshops that seek to understand ...

Prayer can heal, the Bible says. It's right there in James 5:15: and the prayer of faith will save the sick man. Lots of people believe in the power of prayer. Most also believe that doctors and medicine are necessary to keep themselves and their families healthy. That's why it's difficult for many people to understand parents such as Carl and Raylene Worthington of Oregon and Dale and Leilani Neumann of Wisconsin. Each couple lost a child in recent months because ...

Forbes has a story about YouTube with a few hard, if unsourced, financial numbers — the kind Google and YouTube keep very close to the vest. The article, by Quentin Hardy and Evan Hessel, says YouTube is going to bring in $200 million this year, and possibly $350 million next year. From one perspective that's small taters (the fourth "Indiana Jones" made $126 million in four days), but it's a heck of a lot more than YouTube was making last year, ...

Hollywood power couple Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith have won critical acclaim for pumping nearly $1 million of their own money into a new private school that will offer organic meals, laptops for every student and an environment of learning based on "equity" and "respect" to create "citizens of the world." Here's what the parents of the school's pupils aren't being told: The New Village Academy plans to use some teaching methods developed within the Church of Scientology and has hired ...

In the early 1990s, Michael and Marla Sklar deducted part of their children's school tuition from their income tax in an amount equal to the proportion they viewed their tuition going toward religious instruction, as opposed to secular teaching (e.g., math, english). He listed his deductions under section 170 of the Tax Code, which permits deductions for charitable and religious contributions. The IRS denied the Sklars their deduction, noting that the Sklars had not provided receipts from the Church of Scientology. ...

[Embedded Youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbZh5sejqHw ] When Rev. John Carmichael, president of the Church of Scientology of New York, came face-to-face with a small contingent of Anonymous protestors this past Monday, he didn't engage them in a spiritual debate. Instead, he leaned into one member on a Times Square street and said, “Let me tell you this: I smell pussy.” Then, looking squarely at the Anon added, “You in particular.” All caught on tape, Carmichael hits a breaking point with the handful ...

The police force that issued a teenager with a court summons for calling Scientology a cult could face a judicial review over the legality of its policing guidelines. Although prosecutors last week declined to take the 16-year-old to court, freedom of speech campaigners are to ask City of London police to explain how the initial decision to issue the summons was made. Campaigners said they would call for a judicial review if it is found that the force's guidelines for policing ...

The San Diego chapter of the controversial Church of Scientology is moving its focus to La Mesa with the May 21 purchase of a Coleman College campus at 7380 Parkway Drive. The Church of Scientology’s San Diego offices are located at 1330 Fourth Ave. between A and Ash streets. The church purchased the new site for $9.3 million. The two buildings, which are 53,400 square feet and 11,000 square feet, will be used as an educational campus, said the broker on ...

Jason Beghe tried to get inside the Scientology building on E. 46th Street yesterday, but was turned away by three beefy security men who told him it was their job to keep him out. The confrontation happened while a contingent of about 50 protesters from the anti-Scientology “Anonymous” movement cheered on Beghe from across the street. Members of Scientology itself didn’t make an appearance during the late afternoon protest. Beghe, who had tipped off the Anonymous activists that he’d be making ...

It’s legal for the Narconon drug-treatment program to open a “community residential home” for recovering addicts in a Destin single-family neighborhood, city staffers say. “We have determined that they are abiding by the state statutes,” Current Planning Manager Ken Gallander told The Log. “Now they have to get licensing from the state.” Debbie Ross of Narconon Gulf Coast said that while Narconon has looked at the Emerald Breeze subdivision off Emerald Coast Parkway as a possible site, they have no firm ...

It may be one thing for freedom of expression to be an object of controversy in Canada — which is, after all, a somewhat tenuous experiment in democracy and federalism, one whose final shape and outcome may yet remain to be determined — but it is quite another to see it tormented in Great Britain, the historical anchor of most of the liberties we take for granted. When Britain injures what the rest of regard as British principles, it is a ...

Scientology expert and outspoken critic Dave Touretzky will be joining Glosslip to discuss his knowledge of LRH's controversial "Study Tech" and the drug addiction program Narconon. The second hour we'll be talking to best-selling author and Scientology critic Mark Ebner of the popular website Hollywood Interrupted. Ebner has written countless articles on the CoS and has been victimized by the CoS.

Anyone who thinks the police aren't interested in diversity will be amazed by the links they have built with Scientology Once again our great nation has entertained the world, putting on two stunning exhibition matches this week. First was the Champions League final, between the clubs who finished first and second in our very own Premier League. The second - and whether the parties were quite as closely matched as Manchester United and Chelsea will be for you to decide - ...

Kofi Annan, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Voltaire, L. Ron Hubbard. One of these things is not like the other. If you said “L. Ron Hubbard,” then you are correct. On May 12th, the Youth for Human Rights International organization came to our school and hosted an assembly on human rights. For the uninformed, this may have seemed like an ordinary assembly to raise awareness on an issue that we, as Catholics, should be aware of. Sure, this got the point ...

The Midtown property housing the Church of Scientology Mission of Memphis at 1440 Central Ave. has sold for $635,487 to David Slaughter, the church’s trustee or “mission holder,” and Bennetta Slaughter, according to The Daily News Online, www.memphisdailynews.com. The sale closed Tuesday, and Slaughter said he will renovate the 10,500-square-foot building into a residence. He said he will live in the home temporarily and eventually put it on the market once the renovations are complete. Meanwhile, the church will stay in ...

Most of the local recovery facilities apply for use permits to remain open. Those that did not may stay open for one year. At least two drug and alcohol recovery home operators, including Newport’s second largest, have chosen not to apply for use permits with the city by the Thursday deadline. City officials had received 30 applications from rehabilitation homes as the deadline closed in late Thursday afternoon. “The majority of homes have submitted applications at this point, albeit most with ...

A teenager who was facing legal action for calling the Church of Scientology a cult has today been told he will not be taken to court. The Crown Prosecution Service ruled the word was neither "abusive or insulting" to the church and no further action would be taken against the boy. The unnamed 16-year-old was handed a court summons by City of London police for refusing to put down a placard saying "Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous ...