In a sleepy beach town in the Bible Belt, a 22-year-old journalist found himself in the middle of what was then considered by some a cult - and is now known as the Church of Scientology. That young journalist was adjunct professor Richard Leiby, one of the first to unearth religious leaders' clandestine activities during his time at The Clearwater Sun in Florida. During his stay at the now defunct Tampa Bay-area newspaper, Leiby was sent to the nation's capital to ...

COLOGNE, Germany – A German TV-movie about Scientology that claims to reveal the dark side of the organization was a huge ratings hit for public broadcaster ARD, with 8.7 million viewers tuning in Wednesday night, a 27% market share. Germany has long been at odds with Scientology. Most here view the organization with suspicion. During the shooting of Brian Singer's war film "Valkyrie" in Berlin, famed Scientologist Tom Cruise was savaged in the German press for his beliefs. The ARD film, ...

BRISBANE Scientologists claim they’re being vilified following recent TV reports calling their religion a dangerous cult. In March, ABC’s Four Corners program aired claims of forced abortions, imprisonment in boot camps and separation of families, and Channel 7’s Sunday Night program explored Scientology’s controversial beliefs. The allegations preceded independent senator Nick Xenophon’s failed bid to get the Senate to launch a Parliamentary inquiry into the church, which he labelled a cult. The Church of Scientology of Brisbane, at Annerley, has about ...

The former Science Museum of Minnesota is being transformed into the largest Church of Scientology in the Midwest. Renovations started this week on the vacant downtown St. Paul building that the church bought three years ago. It appears to be the church's first foray into St. Paul and its largest footprint in Minnesota. The building will serve followers from across the state, according to a video on the Scientology website. Church officials did not return a message seeking comment on Thursday. ...

When the Church of Scientology bought the Stevens Building in 2008, it told tenants to vacate when their leases ended. Most of them did. Now the Portland building is 42 percent vacant, another 20 percent is used for storage, and the church no longer plans to move in. “It would be nice to have it back to where it was in 2006 - about three-quarters full,” said Steven Ballinger, who has maintained a Princeton University Press sales office in the building ...

Scientology is suing Maria Pia Gardini for 2 million euros and has cowardly decided not to face off against the publisher, Edizioni Paoline, or to sue the journalist co-author of her books, Albert Laggia. The persecutory intentions of the well-known psycho-sect, which is at the center of controversy and trials around the world, are clear. In the citation [dated March 30, 2010 and available in Italian in a PDF file], Maria Pia Gardini is accused of having "behaved and spoken on ...

If you believe Marty Rathbun, people in the top ranks of the Church of Scientology have used physical intimidation and outright beatings as a means of discipline. Scientology's current leaders, including Rathbun's ex-wife, call him a liar and an "apostate." They say the only beatings were those inflicted by Rathbun and a small number of others, all of whom have left Scientology. But both sides appear to agree that periodic beatings occurred among the highest echelons of the church for some ...

Los Angeles, California (CNN) – Marty Rathbun used to beat people. He admits it. But he says he was pressured to do it by his boss. Rathbun was once a senior official of the Church of Scientology, reporting directly to church leader David Miscavige. He says that Scientology's leadership fostered a culture of violence among its top ranks and that Miscavige "constantly pushed me to get physical with people" during his time among its top ranks. "And I've got to tell ...

Violence and abuse in Scientology can be traced right back to the founder, L. Ron Hubbard, said a former Sea Org veteran who worked alongside him. At a conference in Hamburg Friday a former veteran Scientologist who worked directly with L. Ron Hubbard painted a devastating picture of the movement’s founder. [...]

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This month, "Battlefield Earth," the blockbuster bomb based on the novel by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, won the Razzie for "Worst Movie of the Decade." J.D. Shapiro, the film's first screenwriter, accepted the award in person. Shapiro, who also wrote the screenplay for "Robin Hood: Men in Tights," "We Married Margo," and is developing a King Arthur spoof called "524 AD" (524AD.com), explains what it's like to be attached to one of Hollywood's most notorious flops. Let me start by ...

SAN JACINTO, Calif. – At the edge of arid foothills far outside Los Angeles, hundreds of Scientology followers live on a gated, 500-acre campus and work long hours for almost no pay reproducing the works of founder L. Ron Hubbard and creating the church's teaching and promotional materials. The church says its 5,000 so-called Sea Organization members are religious devotees akin to monks who are exempt from wage requirements and overtime. But two lawsuits filed by two former Sea Org members, ...

[Hana was kind enough to send her whole transcript, which she did not have time to read completely at the Hamburg Symposium.] Talk given in 2010 in Hamburg, Germany My name is Hana Eltringham Whitfield. I was a Scientologist and a member of the Sea Organization for over twenty years. I captained two of Hubbard’s ships, ran his organizations, and was Deputy Commodore under Hubbard in the United States for two years. After I left, and as a way of giving ...

[Transcript by Anonymous @ http://forums.whyweprotest.net/42-english/hamburg-symposium-2010-videos-transcripts-64577/#post1207504] Good evening. My name's Bruce Hines and first I'll start by telling you a little bit about myself. Ursula asked that I speak about life in the Sea Org. And all of us here, at least five of us, were in the Sea Org for many years and we all have our own horror stories because there are horrible things that happen. So, I'll tell you a few of the things I personally experienced. They ...

[Transcript by Anonymous @ http://forums.whyweprotest.net/1207504-post1/] My name is Hana Eltringham Whitfield and, just to give you a brief biography, I was a Scientologist and a Sea Org member for over twenty-two years. I captained two of Hubbard's ships and ran many of his organizations. He took on the title of Commodore in 1967 and I served as Deputy Commodore under him in the United States for two years. I held many subsequent positions. The account of my personal disillusionment and ...

[Transcript by Anonymous @ http://forums.whyweprotest.net/1207504-post1/] Hello, everyone. I guess I'll start off with borrowing a lyric from The Grateful Dead: "What a long, strange trip it's been." My journey into Scientology started in 1976. I was in San Francisco and I was a young guy; I was twenty-one years old and full of piss and vinegar, trying to figure out what to do with my life. And I was walking down the street and this very attractive woman came up ...

[Transcript by Anonymous @ http://forums.whyweprotest.net/1207770-post6/] Thank you for allowing me to speak to you guys today. My name is Marc Headley and I'm here to tell you about a business enterprise. I'm not gonna be talking about any religious matters whatsoever; I'm going to be talking to you about an organization that I worked for. I worked there for fifteen years, and even after working there for fifteen years, not once was I told of the core religious or philosophy ...

The Wrap is reporting that Anderson Cooper will begin a four-day CNN special series Monday titled Scientology: A History of Violence. This is becoming a drumbeat now, after the St. Pete Times's excellent series last year revealed that Scientology's diminutive leader, David Miscavige, allegedly gets slappy with his employees. Now, unfortunately, the bigs are starting to weigh in – New York Times recently, and now Anderson Cooper, with what is increasingly a misguided approach to Scientology. Yes, as Cooper will no ...

In a scene in a new fictional movie about Scientology called Until Nothing Remains, one of the group's leaders is giving an impassioned speech to followers in Germany. The camera pulls in tighter on the man's face, and all of a sudden, he cries out "Clear Germany!" to a round of rapturous applause. No, he's not talking about pushing all non-believers out of the country - he's referring to "the state of clear," a condition characterized by an absence of painful, ...

(Trois-Rivières) Comme toutes les ressources en toxicomanie de la province offrant de l'hébergement, Narconon de Trois-Rivières devra montrer patte blanche pour obtenir la certification du ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux, obligatoire à partir du 1er juillet 2011. En effet, au lendemain de la sortie publique de David Edgar Love, un ancien patient devenu intervenant qui dénonce certaines techniques utilisées par le centre, l'Agence de santé et de services sociaux de la Mauricie assure qu'elle aura Narconon à l'oeil. ...

[Narconon fait partie des 14 organismes de la région qui devront se conformer à toutes les exigences du MSSS avant juillet 2011. Photo: Ève Guillemette] Le centre de désintoxication Narconon à Trois-Rivières se retrouve une fois de plus dans l'embarras. Après avoir fait les manchettes pour ses liens avec l'Église de scientologie, qui ont inspiré ses méthodes, le centre est maintenant soupçonné de ne pas avoir payé trois de ses ex-employés. Richard Lussier, Alexandre Cagliesi et Mario Lebebvre affirment ne pas ...

(Trois-Rivières) Le centre de désintoxication Narconon de Trois-Rivières, dont on soupçonne les liens avec l'Église de scientologie, se retrouve de nouveau plongé au centre de la controverse. Cette fois, c'est la sortie publique survenue cette fin de semaine d'un ancien patient devenu intervenant au sein de l'organisation qui a fait rebondir le sujet dans l'actualité. David Edgar Love, un individu de 57 ans de la région de Montréal, vient tout juste de déposer une plainte à la Commission des droits de ...

[Picture / Caption: Durant son traitement, David Edgar Love dit avoir été surpris de l'omerta qui régnait chez Narconon à propos de la scientologie. La Presse, André Pichette] (Québec) Depuis qu'il est sorti de Narconon, David Edgar Love dort à peine. Il a des flash-backs des expériences traumatisantes qu'il dit avoir vécues dans ce centre de désintoxication scientologue de Trois-Rivières et, parfois, il devient tellement angoissé qu'il en perd le souffle. En novembre, un médecin de la Cité-de-la-Santé de Laval lui ...