Tom Cruise has a new bone to pick with psychiatrists. He's boasting that he has helped think nearly half-a-million kids off of meds. Tonight, we reveal what Scientologists don't like about psychiatry. You're going to hear from a church member. Also tonight, are we on the brink of a mini ice age? Some experts say things could be getting much colder in some parts of the world. We will tell you what makes them so concerned. From America and around the ...

Secret flying-saucer base found in New Mexico? Maybe. From the state that gave us Roswell, the epicenter of UFO lore since 1947, comes a report from an Albuquerque TV station about its discovery of strange landscape markings in the remote desert. They’re etched in New Mexico’s barren northern reaches, resemble crop circles and are recognizable only from a high altitude. Also, they are directly connected to the Church of Scientology. The church tried to persuade station KRQE not to air its ...

A councillor in East Sussex has asked for Scientologists in his town to be stopped from working for the council. Councillor Michael Murphy has had his proposal seconded by councillor Paul Scott, but other members of Crowborough Town Council have raised objections. He suggests the council "refrains from using the voluntary services of the Scientologists until a full investigation has been carried out". A Scientology centre in nearby Saint Hill has invited Mr Murphy for a visit. His motion was supposed ...

Tom Cruise has emerged as the biggest ever donor to the controversial Church of Scientology. The actor and his pregnant fiancee Katie Holmes were given a standing ovation at the cult's annual gala in East Grinstead, Sussex at the weekend, where Cruise received a Diamond Meritorious Award for donating £2m. Cruise became a vocal member of the Scientologists 15 years ago. [...]

In 1989, Fielding McGehee and I published The Need for a Second Look at Jonestown, a collection of essays written by those who had been involved with Peoples Temple. In this retrospective volume, people reflected on their experiences of the previous decade, as well as on their understanding of the Temple. Contributors included former members, relatives, and others who had had connections with the Temple, such as news reporters and social activists. Shortly after the book appeared, Chris Hatcher, the psychologist ...

A jury trial is slated to start in Los Angeles Superior Court Tuesday in a case in which an attorney who failed to secure a written representation agreement is seeking to recover the reasonable value of her services. So far, that probably seems hum drum. What makes this case worthy of note is that the proceeding will take place in Case No. C332027 — which was filed on July 28, 1980. The name of this 25-year-old case will probably sound familiar. ...

Lynley Hood finds deep flaws in the Lake Alice settlement. News that the police have found no evidence of criminal offending by psychiatrist Dr Selwyn Leeks, former head of the child and adolescent unit at Lake Alice Hospital, has been greeted with dismay by the psychiatric patient advocacy group, Citizen's Commission on Human Rights (CCHR). "We're not giving up now. We are still working with victims and are still going to be filing criminal complaints," the group's New Zealand executive director, ...

When the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre moved to Far East Dallas, the neighbors were nervous. Visions of traffic clogging the tree-lined streets and rumors about religious rituals had some homeowners on edge. Now, after spending five years in a salmon-colored mansion at Buckner Boulevard and Dixie Lane, the Scientologists are moving to the suburbs. And many of their neighbors are sorry to see them go. "They've been very friendly," said Jim Depetris, who lives next door to the Celebrity Centre. ...

Just when Tom Cruise was starting to look good again, we hear from the New York Daily News that Cruise's pregnant fiance, Katie Holmes, is supposed to sign on for a "silent birth," without screams or painkillers. Ouch. But is "Quit yellin', it's only childbirth," as the News headline so succinctly put it, the true position of the Church of Scientology, of which Cruise is a member? Not according to Greg LaClaire, vice president of the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre ...

At first I thought it was a tossup which news item was scarier: the bombing of a peaceful Smurf village in a new UNICEF commercial, or the news that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are expecting a child. But after reading up on Scientological birth practices, the choice is clear. Even the loss of Smurfette to carpet bombs, and the subsequent abandonment of Baby Smurf, who ends the 20-second public service announcement alone and weeping amidst what one New York tabloid ...

A FORMER Scientology staffer is breaking her silence about being sexually assaulted 100 times at ages 16 and 17 by the church supervisor she was "ordered" to live with, and then receiving threats and intimidating phone calls when she reported the abuse. Five years ago, Gabriel Williams, then a 27-year-old chief supervisor at the Church of Scientology in Mountain View, Calif., forced then-16-year-old Jennifer Stewart to have intercourse with him on the first evening she moved in, according to her statements ...

Los Angeles city school officials were caught off guard this week by the Church of Scientology's role in an upcoming event at a South Los Angeles high school, which, while not illegal, is considered unusual. On Monday, teenagers from about 25 countries are expected to meet with students at Jordan High School in Watts for a conference on human rights. The gathering is part of a three-day event organized by Youth for Human Rights International — a group with close ties ...

For a moment, you might think you're in 17th century France and glaring up at a Normandy chateau. But you're not - you're peering up at L. Ron Hubbard's towering salute to the artist on Franklin Street in Hollywood. The Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre International, a 10-minute drive from USC, is a church, but one like no other. The church caters not only to the spiritual needs of its parishioners but also to its artistic needs. L. Ron Hubbard, the ...

A HIGHER PROFILE ; CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY OPENING MORE VISIBLE FACILITIES, INCLUDING ONE IN NEW HAVEN FRANCES GRANDY TAYLOR; Courant Staff Writer Hartford Courant 09-09-2005 A HIGHER PROFILE ; CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY OPENING MORE VISIBLE FACILITIES, INCLUDING ONE IN NEW HAVEN Byline: FRANCES GRANDY TAYLOR; Courant Staff Writer Edition: STATEWIDE Section: LIFE Despite such high-profile adherents as Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Chick Corea and Kirstie Alley, the Church of Scientology can seem as mysterious to outsiders as its reclusive founder, science-fiction ...

The Rev. Mary Lou Reile of Elma, director of special affairs for the Church of Scientology in Buffalo for 20 years, died Monday in Mercy Hospital after a short illness. She was 72. Born in Buffalo, the former Mary Lou Urso graduated from Kensington High School, what was then Rosary Hill College and Hubbard College, where she achieved Executive Status One. The mother of seven, she was crowned Mrs. Buffalo in 1957. As a minister in the Church of Scientology, she ...

When prospective students tour GW, one of the things they learn is how easy it is to start an organization. Tour guides chirp about the school's most famous alumni - Colin Powell and Jackie O, of course, and if the tour guide is feeling daring, he might throw Watergate's "Deep Throat" into the mix. But one name that prospective students do not hear is that of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Church of Scientology. Perhaps it's because students are ...

“It is irresponsible for Mr. Cruise to use his movie publicity tour to promote his own ideological views and deter people with mental illness from getting the care they need.” —– So states Dr. Steven Sharfstein, president of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), in response to recent talk show activities of actor Tom Cruise. Weeks earlier, Cruise had criticized actress Brooke Shields for taking anti-depressants for postpartum depression. Cruise believes all psychiatry to be pseudoscience, chemical imbalances to be imaginary, and ...

Tom cruise calls his religion "extraordinary," but 26-year-old Astra Woodcraft, who grew up in the Church's inner circle, has a different story to tell — about bizarre beliefs, pressured rules and how she finally broke tree to start her life over. On a chilly February evening in 1998, I strode quietly through Los Angeles International Airport, clutching a Virgin Atlantic ticket for London in one hand and a duffel bag stuffed with my clothes in the other. I was drenched, having ...

If a high-ranking LAPD official can be believed, perhaps the Scientology-affiliated The Way To Happiness should take a page from its own teachings. Two of the Glendale-based nonprofit organization’s 21 guides to achieving happiness are “Be Worthy of Trust” and “Seek to Live the Truth,” neither of which were followed apparently in the group’s dealings with the LAPD and a city in Texas. Officials with the group, which over the past two decades has distributed booklets of the same name to ...

Posted on Aug 16, 2005 | by Staff ATLANTA (BP)–Karen Pressley has heard it all before. The talk of space aliens having come to earth a millennia ago, the authoritative worldview, the buffed movie star glibly handing out solutions to personal conflicts. Movie star Tom Cruise may be spouting the truth according to the Church of Scientology these days, but Pressley has lived in that world longer than Cruise and knows firsthand the nightmare it entails. “Tom Cruise is doing exactly ...

A drug program run by Scientologists and labelled dangerous by medical authorities is being given free rein at dozens of Melbourne schools. The controversial Narconon group gave a speech at Melbourne High on Sunday and has made classroom presentations at Melbourne schools including MacRobertson Girls High. The group – which does not disclose its Scientology background to schools – gives students booklets that condemn prescription drugs and equate coffee with heroin. "All drugs are basically poison . . . Two or ...

In response to the July 24 Post-Gazette news articles "Scientology Comes to Town": As a 60-year resident of Pittsburgh and a 20-year member of the Church of Scientology, I am compelled to set the record straight on your July 24 articles about Scientology. The article missed the help the church and its members are extending to millions around the world, including residents of Pennsylvania. The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, were a rude awakening for everyone. For many of ...

A walk through Codman Square past the shoulder-to-shoulder houses of worship can put you in a spiritual state of mind: Greater Life Baptist Church, The Temple of Restoration, Global Ministries Christian Church. But one storefront in particular, with its eight-pointed cross, has piqued local curiosity. ''Dorchester Scientology, Something Can Be Done About It," a poster on its window declares. Amid the 35 churches and temples in the Codman Square area, Dorchester Scientology opened a year ago as a satellite of the ...

Margarita Lopez is under fire for taking contributions from Scientology while giving funds to the group’s Downtown detox center, and is also at risk of losing public matching funds because of unresolved problems with her 2001 funds. Yet, the East Side councilmember, in a lengthy telephone interview on Monday, claimed she has done no wrong and expressed confidence in her campaign for borough president. Lopez blasted back at the New York Post — which broke the story of her Scientology contributions ...

COOPER: It's no secret that Tom Cruise is a devoted, outspoken member of the Church of Scientology. That has not always been the case. There was a time when the subject of his religion was off limits to reporters and to interviewers. Not so now. Just ask Matt Lauer who got lectured by Cruise weeks ago on what the actors says are the evils of psychiatry. Now, while some are surprised by the chance in Cruise, former Scientologists insist it's really ...