OPPOSITION Leader Martin Hamilton-Smith has admitted he used fake documents for a parliamentary attack accusing Premier Mike Rann of corruption. He apologised to Parliament over his reliance on faked documents linking Mr Rann to a supposed illegal $20,000 donation from an organisation linked to the Church of Scientology. Mr Hamilton-Smith told Parliament on Tuesday that Mr Rann had a meeting with Applied Scholastics, an education company linked to the Church of Scientology, in Melbourne to smooth the way for "special treatment" ...

Scientology Edited by James R. Lewis (Oxford University Press, £18.99) THE clock starts striking 13 very early in this book, which claims to consider Scientology from a standpoint of scholarly objectivity. In the opening essay, "Birth of a Religion", J. Gordon Melton sets out "an overview of the life of L. Ron Hubbard anchored by the generally agreed facts". The general tone can be deduced from his conclusion: "After a suitable pause to acknowledge the founder's life and accomplishments, the church ...

In this article, we argue that Scientology’s founder, L. Ron Hubbard, likely presented a personality disorder known as malignant narcissism, and then we establish that this disorder probably contributed to his creation of organizational policies against perceived enemies that reflected his narcissistic rage. We illustrate our argument by discussing Hubbard’s creation of an internal Scientology organization called the Guardian’s Office, which carried out a sustained and covert attack against a Scientology critic, Paulette Cooper. This attack, and the Scientology policies that ...

RESPECTED Panorama journalist John Sweeney was this week seen on TV exploding in a fury during an interview with a leader of the Church of Scientology. Here he apologises but also reveals the other side of the movement ? what one one judge called “corrupt, sinister and dangerous” ? not to mention the stranger hiding in the bushes outside his recent wedding. THE Archbishop of Canterbury, MPs, Lords, top coppers and, for all I know, Wayne Rooney and the Beckhams: Anyone ...

A group affiliated with the Church of Scientology has forged close ties with several influential members of the Arizona Legislature as part of a nationwide battle against the mental-health industry. The Citizens Commission on Human Rights has courted key lawmakers with trips to glitzy Scientologist events in Hollywood. And, observers say, it has been the force behind more than two dozen bills in Arizona in recent years, including measures to restrict prescriptions of Ritalin and mood-altering drugs. One of the measures ...

Our summer of Tom Cruise's madness and Katie Holmes' creepy path toward zombie bridedom has been a useful reminder of how truly strange Scientology is. By now those interested in the Cruise-Holmes saga may be passingly familiar with the church's creation myth, in which an evil, intergalactic warlord named Xenu kidnaps billions of alien life forms, chains them near Earth's volcanoes, and blows them up with nuclear weapons. Strange as Scientology's pseudo-theology may be, though, it's not as entertaining as the ...

[Transcription of the meaningful parts of the 1023 form as submitted by the Church of Spiritual Technology to the IRS. For the complete document, see PDFs] [...] Church of Spiritual Technology 419 Larchmont, Suite 162 Los Angeles, CA 90004-3013 Form 1023 [...] [b]Part I, Question 8 – Previous Exemption Application[/b] Church of Spiritual Technology ("CST") filed an application for recognition of its tax exemption under section 501(c)(3) on August 24, 1983. That application was denied by an adverse ruling dated July ...

"Never treat a war like a skirmish. Treat all skirmishes like wars." —L. Ron Hubbard The Church of Scientology does not turn the other cheek. Ministers mingle with private detectives. "Sacred scriptures" counsel the virtues of combativeness. Parishioners double as paralegals for litigious church attorneys. Consider the passage that a prominent Scientology minister selected from the religion's scriptures, authored by the late L. Ron Hubbard, to inspire the faithful during a gala church event. "People attack Scientology," the minister quoted Hubbard ...

The storage facility on Sunset View Ranch, now owned by The Church of Spiritual Technology, will be used to preserve the religious and philosophic writings for generations to come of the late L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology. Michel Ouelette, 40, formerly of Montreal in French-speaking Quebec, Canada, who said he is manager of the 3,000-acre ranch, explained the purpose of the Church of Spiritual Technology over coffee in the handsomely remodeled former Ben Walker residence, now called ...

EVEN the strongest stomach at this summer's American Booksellers convention must have heaved in protest when comely goons hired by Bridge Publications, the publishing arm of the Church of Scientology, marched up and down the aisles of the auditorium literally setting ablaze a book by L. Ron Hubbard — a "hot" author, get it? — a man who is said to have improved the lives (If not the careers) of such celebrities as Sonny Bono and John Travolta. Judging from their ...

CLEARWATER — In Pinellas County — with its 7 percent unemployment rate the signs on the four Church of Scientology buildings draw attention. Two say simply, "Now Hiring." Others promise a job with "low pay — great future." One along busy U.S. 19 touts jobs for "kitchen personnel." Two others boast: "We are recruiting." What the signs don't say is that the Church of Scientology isn't looking for employees. It is trying to recruit members. The signs also don't say that ...

The Church of Scientology has embarked on a citywide publicity campaign in the wake of five days of public hearings on the sect by the Clearwater City Commission, a church minister said Monday. At a 10:30 a.m. press conference, Scientology spokesman the Rev. Hugh Wilhere announced the beginning of an "open house" publicity campaign. Less than an hour earlier church attorney Paul B. Johnson of Tampa had told the Commission he would not use the four days set aside for church ...

CLEARWATER — Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney James T. Russell said Tuesday that members of the Church of Scientology have attempted to infiltrate his office at least five times since 1976. The alleged infiltration attempts failed because routine background checks on the job applicants revealed that hey were members of the Church of Scientology, Russell said. Asked if it was legal to turn down job applicants solely because they are Scientologists, Russell said, "I don't know, but I'd like to fight a lawsuit ...

A former mayor and police commissioner, Scientology representatives, and former inmates will be participating in a special awards event at the Arizona State Prison on May 22. The event is sponsored by NARCONON, Scientology-based rehabilitation program, which is also active in California and Illinois. The awards will be presented to prison officials by NARCONON's nationwide supervisor, Arthur J.Maren. Recipients of the awards will be the Assistant Superintendent of Custody, Dale F. Brandfas, and John Russell, Construction Foreman, NARCONON's first sponsor. "The ...