DEREK PEDLEY was right to point out that the makers of the SBS program on Scientology last week were not followers of the religion (Today, 9/5), but what was not pointed out was that they did not ask any Scientologist about any of the wild allegations they made against the church and individual Scientologists, nor did they back up any of their allegations with any proof. This disgusting program aired by SBS (which violated its own charter to be "sensitive and ...

John Travolta insists that Battlefield Earth, his $90 million screen homage to L. Ron Hubbard, has nothing to do with his longtime devotion to the Church of Scientology. Hubbard is both the founder of that controversial religious movement and the author of the 1982 science-fiction novel that forms the basis of Travolta's latest movie. Battlefield Earth is just a great story, Travolta says, and he finally has enough Hollywood leverage to push his pet project onto the big screen. Mark Bunker ...

L. Ron Hubbard said he didn't want his science-fiction work to be a press release for the church he founded. Nevertheless, the connections between Battlefield Earth and Scientology are worth noting. Put him in front of a typewriter and L. Ron Hubbard's fingers flew. He did not "piddle around" with his prose like other writers, as his friend and fellow science fiction author, Robert A. Heinlein, observed in a 1982 letter. Known in the 1930s and 1940s as a writer of ...

HOLLYWOOD, May 10 — The anticult networks are kicking up a fuss. Discussion on Internet movie sites is picking over the potentially sinister implications. Anonymous e-mails are whizzing around the country charging that, among other things, subliminal messages are being used to recruit unsuspecting moviegoers. Big summer action movies, filled with stars and special effects, don't often come with such fascinating accessories. Battlefield Earth, starring John Travolta as a nine-foot alien with talons for fingers, will open in more than 2,000 ...

John Travolta is a staunch supporter. So are many other Hollywood celebrities and it is from them that The Church of Scientology gets its best publicity. Yet while the promotion comes through association with high-profile names, there is rarely a lot actually discussed about the church. That is set to change with this French documentary (narrated in English and featuring subtitles) that examines the relationship between the Church of Scientology and the law in France, Germany and the United States. Incorporating ...

RELIGION in all its forms sparks intense debate but none more so in recent times perhaps than the Church of Scientology. A relatively young religion created by science fiction author Lafayette Ron Hubbard, Scientology's profile has risen sharply with the support of such high-profile acting identities as John Travolta and Juliette Lewis. Yet while most people would have an opinion on the church's ideology, there rarely seems to be much open debate about it in the social arena. That changes next ...

The buzz started when the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre moved into an old, quirky mansion at Buckner Boulevard and Dixie Lane, about a mile east of White Rock Lake. 'I have no idea what a 'Celebrity Centre' is, but I haven't seen anyone famous around here yet,' said Mark McCord, who lives nearby. The church's new home is in a landmark estate named 'Grandwick' by a former owner because it reminded him of a castle in Germany. The gaudy 10,000-square-foot ...

Grit MP Derek Lee a Scientology symp? You might wonder if you happened to breeze the most recent issue of the Toronto Free Press. There, pictured with church prez Janet Laveau, is the former Grit GTA caucus chair along with a group of others listed as recipients of the Friends of the L. Ron Hubbard Humanitarian Award. Lee says he got the award for helping the church make its case with the CRTC for more "religious" programming on cable. Lee, it ...

Promising a decision in a month, she questions the state's criminal charges against the church over a member's death. ST. PETERSBURG – After listening to legal arguments over two days, Pinellas-Pasco Chief Circuit Judge Susan F. Schaeffer said Thursday she will take a month to decide whether to dismiss the criminal case against the Church of Scientology. She also expressed support for key arguments raised by the church, which is defending itself against two charges in the 1995 death of Lisa ...

Pinellas prosecutors are standing by their allegation that Lisa McPherson suffered severe dehydration before she died in the care of Church of Scientology staffers in Clearwater. The hearing in downtown St. Petersburg included a rare public appearance by Scientology's Los Angeles-based leader David Miscavige, who huddled with the church's lawyers at breaks and passed them notes during the proceedings. Behind him: an estimated 200 local Scientologists, many of whom have written affidavits saying the prosecution of Scientology has burdened the practice ...

If the judge denies the church's request, the focus shifts to a five-week criminal trial scheduled in October. Seventeen months after it was criminally charged in the death of Lisa McPherson, the Church of Scientology will have its first big day in court on Wednesday and a chance, it hopes, for vindication. "The entire basis for the state's prosecution of this case has now collapsed," begins one of the many Scientology legal briefs arguing the case should be dismissed. The prosecution ...

The city's permit allows the church to shift from underground work to above ground, where the $45-million building will rise seven stories and a tower, 15 stories. CLEARWATER – After months of negotiations with the Church of Scientology, city officials issued a permit Tuesday that allows the church to continue construction of its massive new downtown building. The pair of towering white cranes that loom over the project, mostly idle since the fall, will come to life once more. For 16 ...

CLEARWATER – The records came in unrelenting batches. Medical studies, scientific research, sworn testimony and more – thousands of pages from the Church of Scientology that Medical Examiner Joan Wood considered over five months before changing her ruling in the 1995 death of Lisa McPherson. Wood refuses to say what finally tipped the scale, prompting her to rule last month that McPherson's death was an accident. But records from her office examined by the St. Petersburg Times show she reviewed a ...

Nick Ryan on the holy wars fought in cyberspace between religious movements and their critics Religion in the UK: special report August 12 1995 was a Saturday much like any other in the urban sprawl of Arlington, Virginia. Except that an alert went out over email and on Usenet groups to say that 10 people - including two federal marshals, two computer technicians, one a former FBI agent, and several attorneys - were raiding the home of former Scientologist Arnaldo Lerma. ...

BERLIN – A Microsoft spokesman called reports that the software maker has turned over its closely guarded Windows 2000 source code to the German government "just a rumor," but would not deny that the company has disclosed technical secrets in a probe of the operating system. "I can't confirm that we're sharing [the source code]," said Microsoft Germany's Thomas Baumgärtner after German news organizations reported this month that the company had offered federal authorities the opportunity to inspect its source code. ...

More than 200 church members ask a Circuit Court judge to dismiss the Lisa McPherson criminal case, saying it is an undue burden on them. CLEARWATER — A group of more than 200 Scientologists says the criminal prosecution against the Church of Scientology has hurt them personally, and they are asking a judge to dismiss the case. In affidavits filed Wednesday in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court, many church members said the criminal case stemming from the 1995 death of Scientologist Lisa McPherson ...

The Church of Scientology is not exactly used to syrupy press coverage. Too many weird scenes inside that gold mine, if you believe the tales of ex-members. But this week the church got some favourable spin on the front page of the Town Crier for its cleanup efforts in the Yonge and Isabella neighbourhood where there've been two recent shootings at nightclubs. The Crier's acting editor, Ken Shuler, says he knows something about the church's controversial past. "Yeah, I was kinda ...

There is a story about lawyers that involves a flower pot falling off a high ledge. A passer-by sues, claiming he was injured. The defense lawyer answers: First, it wasn't our pot. Second, if it was, it didn't fall. Third, if it fell, it didn't hit you. Fourth, if it hit you, you weren't hurt. This "flower pot strategy" is being employed by both sides in the current criminal case against a corporation of the Church of Scientology. Both sides' arguments ...

The Church of Scientology in Clearwater cannot rely on religious grounds to escape prosecution in the death of one of its members, Pinellas-Pasco prosecutors argued in a strongly worded document filed Monday. The document referred to the church's Clearwater entity as "a multifaceted non-profit corporation" that "engages in extensive revenue sharing activity" and generates "tremendous cash flow." The wording aims to undercut an argument by church lawyers that Scientology staffers were giving "spiritual assistance" to parishioner Lisa McPherson when she died ...

Your Nov. 15 article about Scientologists in a case in Marseille, France ("Former Scientology leader guilty of fraud in France," World digest), omits the larger picture, which includes why Scientologists have been targeted. The article also did not mention the disappearance of the court files in this trial. Documents critical to the defense were among the files destroyed, and the president of the Marseille court admitted that court personnel were responsible for it. There is also no question about Scientology's religiosity ...

The church selects Johnson Blakely to represent it on a number of local issues. CLEARWATER – The Church of Scientology has hired Clearwater's most prominent and well-connected law firm to represent it on a wide range of issues, yet another indicator of Scientology's increasing acceptance into Clearwater's civic circles. Church officials reached an agreement for legal services on Tuesday with the firm of Johnson Blakely Pope Bokor Ruppel & Burns. The account will be handled by Ed Armstrong, a partner in ...