"We believe that all men have inalienable rights to think freely, to talk freely, to write freely their own opinions and to counter or utter or write upon the opinions of others." — From "The Creed of the Church of Scientology" IT WAS A GLORIOUS DAY FOR A PICNIC, WARM, CLEAR and bright. Even that old cynic, Sunset Boulevard, looked young and innocent under the sun's radiant benevolence. All around the parking lot of the Church of Scientology's, "Big Blue" headquarters, ...

SAN JOSE - A Glendale critic of the Church of Scientology lost a round in federal court Tuesday as a judge declined to lift an order barring him from transmitting copyrighted religious texts onto the Internet. The order remains in effect against Dennis L. Erlich, a former church member. But U. S. District Judge Ronald M. Whyte rejected arguments by church lawyers and lifted restraining orders against a North Hollywood computer bulletin board operator and a San Jose-based Internet access supplier, ...

Glendale: Church representatives with court order remove files allegedly containing copyrighted texts from home of outspoken critic. BYLINE: ALAN ABRAHAMSON and NICHOLAS RICCARDI TIMES STAFF WRITERS GLENDALE – Led by a lawyer brandishing a federal court order and backed up by a pair of off-duty police officers, a handful of Church of Scientology representatives searched a Glendale house Monday and seized hundreds of computer disks and files allegedly containing copyrighted religious texts. In the latest twist to a fractious dispute that ...

Perturbations, pleasures and predicaments on the information superhighway: The controversial Church of Scientology is not making any new friends on the Internet. In recent weeks, attorneys for the church have threatened legal action against people who they say post church documents in the alt.religion.scientology discussion group. Now the church wants to shut down the alt.religion.scientology newsgroup entirely, claiming its top-secret "scriptures" are being revealed, and its copyrights and trade secrets violated. "We are trying to deal with an anarchy created by ...

It was a strange way to describe an aspect of a theology. But L. Ron Hubbard, the highly successful science-fiction writer who founded the Church of Scientology in the 1950s, had little tolerance for those who challenged his beliefs. And so it was, at one time, that Scientology scripture came to include an unusual litigation clause: "The only way to defend anything is to attack, and if you ever forget that, then you will lose every battle you are ever engaged ...

Is the Church of Scientology a religion, or a multimillion-dollar corporate cult? Some former Scientologists have spoken of spending thousands of dollars or working long hours without food or sleep to pay off debts to the church. The church characterizes itself as misunderstood and persecuted, emphasizing testimonials and community outreach activities, while attempting to discredit critics. "Scientology is a racket," says Bloomfield Hills attorney Constance Cumbey, who has handled four Michigan lawsuits against the church. "That's not to say that everyone ...

WHY DID LISA Marie Presley and Michael Jackson get married? Love, if you believe her press release, the one pledging to "dedicate my life to being his wife." Or, according to speculation from Hollywood, Jackson is rehabbing his image and simultaneously consummating the ultimate entertainment empire merger. But another possibility is circulating among the conspiracy-minded former members of the Church of Scientology. It's an astounding theory — that the church itself helped arrange the Presley-Jackson union. But these defectors say that ...

Scientologists and their critics are colliding in cyberspace. The critics started the fight, creating an electronic bulletin board dubbed alt.religion.scientology on the Internet, a worldwide web of computer networks with an audience pushing 25-million. Then they downloaded their knowledge and opinions in e-mail messages that just about anyone with a computer, a little money and a modem can view. "As you will see, Scientology is astronomically prohibitive," one anonymous writer said on a.r.s in a message that reprinted the church's price ...

Computers have done what years of opposition couldn't do, uniting the handful of former Scientologists who have waged war against the Church of Scientology. These dissidents are now gathered under the rubric of the Fight Against Coercive Tactics (FACT) network, or FACTnet, a free data base and electronic bulletin board available to the public. The network, based in Golden, Colo., electronically stockpiles information critical of Scientology, from affidavits to court rulings to federal investigations. Although fewer than 150 people now use ...

On the verge of a trial, the Church of Scientology has settled a $40-million federal lawsuit against its former publicity agent, Hill & Knowlton, and foe Eli Lilly and Co. for an undisclosed sum of money. "All parties acknowledged that they are pleased that the case has been settled," said a statement from the Church of Scientology International in Los Angeles. The agreement requires confidentiality, said Kurt Weiland, a director of the Church of Scientology International and head of its Office ...

Jury selection is scheduled to begin tomorrow in U.S. federal court in Washington, D.C., in the Church of Scientology's $40 million lawsuit against WPP Group's J. Walter Thompson and Hill & Knowlton units; Martin Sorrell, WPP's chief executive officer; and Eli Lilly & Co. The trial, which is expected to last six to eight weeks, alleges Eli Lilly pressured Hill & Knowlton, a public-relations firm, into dropping the Los Angeles church organization because Scientologists were critics of the antidepressant drug Prozac, ...

A BRISTOL man is suing an organisation which he claims taught him to lie and reject his family, whilst charging him over £7,000 for the pleasure. John Simpson, aged 24, (not his real name) is a former member of the controversial cult of the Church of Scientology or Dianetics, as it is otherwise known. He finally 'escaped' last month after seven months in the group. If you had quizzed him last year about his involvement with Scientology, he would probably have ...

Exclusive A former cult security guard blows apart the star's squeaky clean image with claims of shocking abuse HOLLYWOOD megastar Tom Cruise has been sensationally named in a multi-million dollar lawsuit in the United States alleging receipt of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of illicit perks from the controversial Scientology religious cult. The 32-year-old Oscar winner is alleged to have turned a blind eye to the use of slave labour to build him a gym, an apartment and other gifts ...

YOUR story Ex-Scientologists to 'Expose' Cult (March 4) completely missed the point. What your readers were not told is that the two Scientology "ex-members" in question have been involved in removing materials from church premises and using these for their own ends. The true story is this. Robin Scott and Ron Lawley engaged in a criminal conspiracy in 1983. In furtherance of' that conspiracy, Scott and others went to Denmark, entered a church using a subterfuge, and stole sacred religious scriptures. ...

[Picture / Caption: RESOLUTION — "I think the judge just wanted to bring an end to this case," says Graham E. Berry, right, with Gordon J. Calhoun.] For years, the Church of Scientology has been synonymous with bitter litigation battles. But the 40-year-old religious organization, long known for its aggressive legal tactics, threw in the towel recently on a federal lawsuit in Los Angeles that it had been waging against two critics. Besides serving as a legal setback, the action in ...

[Transcribed by Anonymous <nowhere@bsu-cs.bsu.edu> 21 May 1995 07:35:27 +0100] The Church of Scientology may call itself a religion, but it does not have a reputation for turning the other cheek. For a week last month Jon Atack and his family were subjected to scenes like this outside their home in Cranston Road, East Grinstead. Why? The placard-carrying demonstrators are Scientologists, and they do not like Mr. Atack because he is an outspoken critic of the cult. The police were twice called ...

Police are investigating complaints that private investigators employed by the Church of Scientology, the cult created by L. Ron Hubbard, have intimidated witnesses and plaintiffs in forthcoming court cases. The cult, which claims to have 300,000 members in Britain and 8m worldwide, has attempted to undermine its critics after coming under severe financial pressure in this country. It is anxious to protect its funds which are set to be drained further by a series of expensive civil actions brought by former ...

For both sides, the relationship between the Church of Scientology and the nation's largest public relations firm, Hill & Knowlton, had been a good one. But that relationship fell apart in 1991, just two days after a cover story in Time magazine blasted Scientology as a cult of greed. Hill & Knowlton dropped Scientology as a client. Lilly and Scientology have been locked in battle over Scientology's campaign to discredit Prozac, an antidepressant drug made by Lilly. Scientology blames Prozac for ...

In the third part of his special investigation into the Church of Scientology, chief reporter PAUL BRACCHI reveals the true cost of one man's involvement with the cult. [A small picture of Mr. Bracci is shown, as on previous days.] HARD SELL... two words synonymous with door-to-door salesman, second hand car dealers, and estate agents. Two words you would definitely not expect to find in the vocabulary of any religion. But this is not any religion. It is Scientology. Today, we ...

GRAHAM E. BERRY, State Bar No. 128503 GORDON J. CALHOUN, State Bar No. 84509 LEWIS, D'AMATO, BRISBOIS & BISGAARD 221 N. Figueroa Street, Suite 1200 Los Angeles, California 90012 Telephone: (213) 250-1800 Attorneys for Defendants UWE GEERTZ, PH.D. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA No. CV 91-6426 HLH (Tx) DECLARATION OF VICKI AZNARAN RE: MOTION FOR COSTS Date: APRIL 4, 1994 Time: 10:00 a.m. Courtroom: 7 CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY INTERNATIONAL, Plaintiff, VS. STEVEN FISHMAN and UWE GEERTZ, Defendants. —– ...

They never broke into church buildings or planted electronic bugs, but for the past 13 years, undercover Clearwater police detectives have investigated the Church of Scientology. They never developed a case against the church that was prosecuted. The work ranged from gathering Scientologists' names to seeking refunds for dissatisfied parishioners. Police once stormed Scientology headquarters after hearing anonymous allegations - unfounded, it turned out - that Scientology children were being strapped to gurneys and given electric shocks. The investigation boils down ...