RECEIVERS for the failed Letten Group have recovered $13.31 million from the sale of an historic Flinders Lane office and retail building. Savills agents Clinton Baxter and Nick Peden sold 167-173 Flinders Lane at auction yesterday, in front of a crowd of about 250 people. The property, on the southwest corner of Hosier Lane, was previously controlled by Mark Letten and celebrity health expert Dr John Tickell, who paid $3.67 million for the asset in September 2001. A permit to build ...

[...] 72. Guilt, shame, and separation constituted the social and psychological force that induced sustained, long-term commitment. Physical force, physical abuse and the fear of even greater abuse if one tried to escape were powerful deterrents to any attempts to leave. It could easily be argued that these coercions could have been sufficient to keep anyone from ever making an attempt to get out. There was, though, another level of forces exerted by Scientology that made leaving even more costly – ...

(TROIS-RIVIÈRES) L'organisme Narconon de Trois-Rivières se retrouve une nouvelle fois sur la place publique, depuis que des plaintes pour harcèlement psychologique et sexuel font l'objet d'enquêtes de la part de la Commission des droits de la personne ainsi que de la Commission des normes du travail. La personne à l'origine de ces plaintes, le Montréalais David Edgar Love, est un ancien patient et a été à l'emploi de Narconon une fois sa thérapie terminée. Bien connu pour ses sorties publiques depuis ...

Scratching the surface of Camelot Castle Hotel’s online reputation produces worrying results Update: 08/07/10 — today I got a threatening phone call from someone claiming to be a Church of Scientology minister in the USA (he withheld his number of course). He demanded to know what I had against John Mappin and Scientology. From the outset, he did that Scientology ‘handling‘ thing I’ve since learned about. Apparently, they’re trained to assault you with accusations about you, your past, your problems etc ...

WASHINGTON — Federal law says that failing public schools have to provide free tutoring service to students. It is called Supplemental Educational Services (SES). Concerned parents contacted FOX 5 about one of the groups approved for tutoring by D.C.'s Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) — a group that has connections to the founder of the Church of Scientology. Applied Scholastics International is one of 29 tutoring services listed in the Title I Supplemental Educational Services Guide. Parents of ...

John Radich has harbored a wish to run across the United States since high school, and he's got a good start. He reached San Bernardino on Tuesday with at least 75 miles behind him already, and he'll be headed up Cajon Pass this morning with a couple of runners from San Bernardino. "It will take me two months to reach Chicago and then on to Atlantic City to dip my toes in the ocean as I did in the Pacific," the ...

In today's busy world of hectic schedules, it's often difficult to get children interested in reading. Area Boy Scouts found a way to bring reading to life, partnering with Galaxy Press Saturday afternoon to encourage kids to discover the adventures that books can offer. The Muskingum Valley Council of Boy Scouts of America conducted Adventures in Reading Saturday at the Boy Scout Service Center at 734 Moorehead Ave. to show area scouts reading can be entertaining and exciting. The event, sponsored ...

Boy Scouts of America is also celebrating an anniversary. As a part of their centennial celebration, the Boy Scouts held "Adventures in Reading." Numerous boys were recognized for their reading achievements, and Galaxy Press was there to promote the importance of reading, and provide some entertainment. "We decided to do this event in Zanesville. We've not done this before but it's a perfect matching up of boys who should be reading with the reading merit badges as a perfect carrot to ...

NOT far from where I live stand two semi-completed townhouses, their derelict state an invitation to the bulldozer and a reminder of somebody's inability to service a dream. St John's Cathedral stood incomplete for nearly a century and, while far from derelict, it too was a dream of religious grandiosity beyond the capacity of its parishioners. Unlike my near-neighbours, the Anglican Church was able to rally supporters to fulfil its dream. Among them was the Federal Government, which kicked in a ...

Believe it or not, Senate Inquiries can generate all sorts of humorous exchanges. A hearing earlier this week into the Tax Laws Amendment (Public Benefit Test) Bill generated so much laughter at one point, you could be forgiven for thinking you were watching ‘Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure’ instead. It went something like this. When discussing the impact of the introduction of a Charities Commission in New Zealand, the Church of Scientology’s New Zealand Secretary, Michael Ferriss, explained that the organisation’s ...

An investigation is underway to determine whether controversial religious sect, The Church of Scientology, should be taxed on its proceeds. We look at the pros and cons.

Scientology By James R. Lewis (Editor) New York: Oxford University Press. 2009. ISBN-10: 019533149; ISBN13: 9780195331493 (hardcover), $35 ($29.92, Barnes&Noble.com, Amazon.com). 464 pages. Editor James R. Lewis claims that his volume, Scientology, is unlikely to please anyone who “engages in the Scientology/anti-Scientology conflict, which is perhaps as it should be” (p. 5). In reality, it is most likely to please persons who take an uncritical view of Scientology. Contributors to this book make diverse comments about the Church of Scientology, but ...

The Portland chapter of the Church of Scientology this month purchased the Sherlock Building, where it plans to move. But something about the location of the building sticks out: It's across the street from a strip club. Namely, it's across the street from a male nude strip club called Silverado. The club is ostensibly gay (a rainbow flag hangs outside its door), but straight women also go there. I called the president of the Portland chapter of Scientology, the Rev. Steven ...

FORMER members of the Church of Scientology have told a Senate committee of the "ruthlessness" of the church and its judicial system, and argued it should not be eligible for tax-free status. "Australian taxpayers should not be funding systematic, organised abuse," said Janette Vonthehoff, who claimed her passport was taken from her and she was forcibly prevented from returning to Australia from the United States when she was eight weeks pregnant, because the church ordered she must finish "training". Sydney tax ...

Un ancien responsable de la scientologie dans le sud de la France a été mis en examen en début de mois pour blanchiment et travail dissimulé à Nice, pour avoir proposé à des entreprises des montages fiscaux qui pourraient être illégaux, a-t-on appris aujourd'hui de source judiciaire. L'homme, âgé de 53 ans, a été mis en examen pour "blanchiment" et "travail dissimulé", et remis en liberté contre le paiement d'une caution de 25.000 euros, selon une source proche du dossier, confirmant ...

A parliamentary inquiry has heard claims the Church of Scientology leaves members to fund local charitable activities out of their own pockets, as it siphons donations to church officials overseas. The Senate committee was formed after Independent Senator Nick Xenophon raised concerns about Scientology, and proposed changes to tax law that would require religions to pass a public benefit test in order to be exempt from income tax. The Church of Scientology says the bill is being used as a platform ...

NEW HAVEN — Five months ago, Ralph Gedeon was lying trapped beneath a pile of rubble when the engineering college he attended in Port-au-Prince toppled in the 7.0 earthquake that hit the island nation. His leg was crushed and several organs were failing when his father, after digging for a day and a half, rescued Gedeon from the tumbled remnants. Miraculously, on Sunday, the earthquake survivor stood on two legs — one of them a prosthetic — and packed his bags ...

The Church of Scientology has compared itself to The Salvation Army, while defending its benefit to the community in a Senate inquiry. The organisation was scrutinised by an inquiry into legislation proposed by independent senator Nick Xenophon, which would require religious groups to prove what public benefit they provide, before getting tax breaks. Its representative, Virginia Stewart, told the committee its members lent a hand in times of disaster and promoted drug-free messages. "The church believes the proposed bill is inherently ...

THE Church of Scientology says allegations it is using Adelaide as an off-shore base for its international operations to avoid paying tax are "offensive". An investigation by Channel 7's Today Tonight reporter Bryan Seymour alleged to have uncovered a ploy used by Scientology to dodge tax obligations in the United Kingdom and eight European countries. Mr Seymour said he had details of how the Church of Scientology Religious Education College Inc registered those operations in South Australia, to a Cowandilla address, ...

Introduction This document is aimed at local government bodies in the UK faced with requests from Church of Scientology entities for business rates reductions or who are making a reapplication for the same. The author of this document is an ex-Scientologist who was a member of the Church of Scientology for five years and so is aware of the practices and beliefs of the Church of Scientology as well as their pricing structure. The author has no legal qualifications. Reference will ...

It's alleged Scientology has avoided paying tax in the United Kingdom by claiming it is run out of South Australia. In Britain, the Church of Scientology is supposed to pay tax on the millions of pounds it brings in each year. Now, the organisation has been accused of claiming its entire UK operation is part of its Australian outfit. Here, Scientology is recognised as a religion and does not pay tax. It's alleged the church is using this, combined with some ...

Once again you try to paint an ugly picture of a religious movement that has helped hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of people lead happy and successful lives. So let me address your latest falsehoods. My experience in Scientology has been incredible. I have been a member of the Church of Scientology since 1973. I met and married my husband while working for the church. I have raised two sons in the church. They are both practicing Scientologists. ...

Among the beliefs listed in the "Creed of the Church of Scientology": "All men have inalienable rights … to the creation of their own kind" and "no agency less than God has the power to suspend or set aside these rights, overtly or covertly." Yet a very different picture emerges from women who became pregnant while working for the church. They relate painful stories of intimidation, shaming, shunning or outright coercion by the church until women agreed to abortions or were ...

Twenty years ago, when Natalie Hagemo was 19, pregnant and working for the Church of Scientology, she couldn't wait to be a mother. She was near the end of her first tri­mester, she says, when colleagues in Scientology's military-style religious order, the Sea Organization, began pressuring her to get an abortion. Two high-ranking officers said terminating the pregnancy would allow her to keep working. They berated her when she said no. Supervisors told her to hide her expanding belly lest co-workers ...

Laura Dieckman was just 12 when her parents let her leave home to work full time for Scientology's religious order, the Sea Organization. At 16, she married a co-worker. At 17, she was pregnant. She was excited to start a family, but she said Sea Org supervisors pressured her to have an abortion. She was back at work the following day. Claire Headley joined at 16, married at 17 and was pregnant at 19. She said Sea Org supervisors threatened strenuous ...

Former Scientologists Claire and Marc Headley are suing the Church of Scientology in separate actions in federal court in Los Angeles. Marc Headley, 37, alleges he was the victim of unfair business practices, labor law violations and forced labor, or human trafficking, during his 15 years in the church's Sea Organization. Claire Headley, 35, alleges the church forced her to have two abortions during her 13 years in the Sea Org. She also claims working conditions at the church's international management ...