The Washington Times recently reported the curious appointment by Governor Martin O’Malley of John P. Coale to the Board of Directors of UMMS (University of Maryland Medical System). Coale is a high-ranking Scientologist and trial lawyer who got rich from the “tobacco wars” and has particpated in Scientology’s assault on Ritalin, taking on not only its manufacturer, Novartis, but the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and patient advocacy group CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Defict Disorder). Coale is a member of ...

Last week we learned that Amazon.co.uk has bowed to pressure to stop selling a book by a former senior Irish Scientologist. The Complex: An Insider Exposes the Covert World of the Church of Scientology (Merlin Publishing, Dublin) describes John Duignan's 21 years in the religion, not all of it a happy tale. According to Amazon, "Unfortunately, we have had to withdraw The Complex by John Duignan in the UK because we received a specific allegation that a passage in the book ...

The Complex: An Insider Exposes the Covert World of The Church of Scientology by John Duignan with Nicola Tallant, Merlin Publishing, Dublin. The Scientologists have been doing their damnedest to stop the international publication of John Duignan’s memoir The Complex. Following legal representations, it is no longer possible to buy the book, published in Ireland by Merlin, from Amazon.co.uk. That made me curious, so I had a copy sent direct from Dublin. Here’s my review. In places, Duignan – a former ...

Merlin, the Irish-based publisher of The Complex: An Insider Exposes the Covert World of the Church of Scientology, which was pulled from Amazon.co.uk for including "defamatory" content, has "emphatically denied" the allegations. Aoife Barrett, editorial director at Merlin, said the claim was "vexatious". Amazon.co.uk removed the title from sale last week. The online retailer said: "Unfortunately, we have had to withdraw The Complex by John Duignan in the UK because we received a specific allegation that a passage in the book ...

Author and former Scientologist John Duignan will be joining us to discuss his new book, The Complex: An Insider Exposes The Covert World Of The Church Of Scientology. John, a 20+ year veteran of the Church's super-secret sect, the Sea Organization, will discuss his life inside, how he got out and how the Church uses its power to oppress members and destroy its critics.

A TOP Scientologist who escaped the cult has given the most explosive insight yet into the shady "celebrity religion". A-list followers including Tom Cruise, Kirstie Alley and John Travolta believe their faith is the secret of their success. But for John Duignan it cost him everything and everyone he held dear after he become a leading figure in the church's British branch. John says he was so brainwashed that he would have killed for Scientology. And he claims another member was ...

SCIENTOLOGISTS are furious about a new book by an Irish writer that is set to expose the controversial church's military plans - including a sinister mission to 'clear the earth'. Author John Duignan claims to be a former high-ranking member of the church's secret army, the Sea Organisation or 'Sea Org', which answers directly to leader David Miscavige. His book, The Complex: An Insider Exposes The Covert World Of Scientology, details the weapons training he received at a naval base in ...

In the mid-1980s, more than ever before, television advertising was about big budgets and excess. Bucking that trend was Scientologist and marketing whiz Jeff Hawkins, whose understated, minimalist TV ads for L. Ron Hubbard's Dianetics helped launch the book onto the best-seller list—and arguably sparked a worldwide interest in the religion. Hawkins' ads featured simple questions like, "Why are you unhappy?" in white print against a black background, backed by edgy music supplied by Hawkins' friends, and finally, a shot of ...

"You wanted to see me, Sir?" I poked my head into the office of the new Commanding Officer of the Planetary Dissemination Organization, Ronnie Miscavige. "Yes, come in Jeff." He indicated the chair across the desk from his deputy, Bill Dendiu, and I sat down. They both looked very serious. [...]

It was a warm August day in 1986. I was in my office on the third floor of the main building in the PAC Scientology complex in LA — "Big Blue." We had the windows open and the fans running, to try to suck in any vestige of a breeze that we could. Out the open window, I could see Fountain Avenue below me, and across the street, New York George’s, where I sometimes had a bowl of chili. A simmering ...

Cebu, Philippines (20 April) – Scientology International donated an18-volume limited edition of The BASICS, authored by L. Ron Hubbard to the City Library of Cebu. The Scientology Volunteer Ministers' International Goodwill Tour donates books to selected libraries all over the world, and the latest addition to the roster of recipients is the Cebu City library located at Osmena Boulevard, Cebu City. Cebu City Librarian Rosario C. Chua welcomed the goodwill gesture of the Volunteer Ministers to house under her keep the ...

Watch out, there's an alien about An online onslaught against Scientology A VICIOUS cult run by cynical fraudsters, or a sincerely held religious belief persecuted by zealots? That is the long-standing row about Scientology, founded by the late science-fiction writer, L. Ron Hubbard. In some countries, such as Germany, the group is watched by the security services. In others, such as America and Australia, it has won charitable status as a religion. Until now the fight could mostly be seen as ...

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 ...

Tom Cruise’s consuming passion for Scientology is now evident in a most unprecedented way: promotional videos made in 2004 but not publicly seen until this weekend have started showing up on the Internet. In the videos, Cruise expresses his disgust for psychiatrists — vowing to “crush” them with “no mercy” — spews Scientology lingo and addresses the group’s dead founder, L. Ron Hubbard, as if he were still alive. Hubbard died in 1986. Cruise, who does not have a college degree, ...