RIVERSIDE — A Riverside County ordinance that prohibits picketing closer than 30 feet from a residence has never been enforced since a divided Board of Supervisors approved it, prompting critics Tuesday to call for its repeal. “There are no picketing incidents now or in the past that show the necessity of this ordinance in the County of Riverside,” said Julie Waltz, a county resident who has been a vocal critic of the measure since it was enacted in March. “This ordinance ...

Paulette Cooper, a journalist based in Florida, wrote the book The Scandal of Scientology in 1971. She was the first reporter to expose some of the unsavory elements of the Church and its teachings. As a result, the Church hounded her for years and tried to intimidate her into no longer challenging them. She didn't give in. ''Paulette agreed to respond to some of her frequently asked questions here on Jewcy, as well as discussing her Jewish roots and explaining ...

For years, the Western world has listened aghast to stories out of Iran, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern nations of citizens being imprisoned or executed for questioning or offending Islam. Even the most seemingly minor infractions elicit draconian punishments. Late last year, two Afghan journalists were sentenced to prison for blasphemy because they translated the Koran into a Farsi dialect that Afghans can read. In Jordan, a poet was arrested for incorporating Koranic verses into his work. And last week, ...

Lance Hoskins joined the church in the 1970's, and then worked for the Sea Org - the church's management body in the US. (duration: 44?58?)

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 ...

Bruce Livesey investigates how former inner-sanctum member Gerry Armstrong became the Salman Rushdie of Scientology. The first time I met Gerry Armstrong, I thought he was paranoid. I’d driven down from Vancouver, summer 2007, into the verdant Fraser Valley to Chilliwack, BC, a somnolent, wind-blown town surrounded by jagged mountain ranges. A place as far removed from Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Scientology’s loopiness as one can possibly get. Armstrong and his third wife Caroline live in a walk-up, one-bedroom apartment ...

A previously covert member of a controversial web-based group called Anonymous is headed for Boston Municipal Court this week to face misdemeanor harassment charges for his alleged role in anti-Church of Scientology demonstrations. In an unusual case pitting First Amendment free-speech protections against an individual's right to practice religion without harassment, Anonymous member Gregg Housh is slated to be arraigned on April 30. Housh, already on probation in federal court, is charged with unlawfully participating in a series of protests between ...

The controversial group has been labeled secretive, inspirational, dangerous and misunderstood. The Church of Scientology? [Picture]Disguised members of an internet-based group called Anonymous protest near buildings associated with the Church of Scientology on Saturday, March 15, 2008, in Los Angeles. (Chris Weeks/AP Photo) No, it's a mysterious group of masked men and computer hackers called Anonymous who say are committed to dismantling the powerful religious organization renowned for its celebrity members such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta. Over the past ...

[Picture / Caption: "A bomb squad robot heads into the alley behind the Dianetics and Scientology Life Improvement Center at 336 First Ave. N in St. Petersburg on Thursday after the Scientology headquarters in Clearwater received a bomb threat. A large suitcase found in the alley behind the St. Petersburg office did not contain a bomb."] CLEARWATER — The Church of Scientology was told again Thursday it could not have a court order restraining Anonymous protesters this weekend, largely because the ...

The church filed a suit for an "injunction for protection" from a group called Anonymous. [Picture / Caption: "Anonymous protesters walk south on Fort Harrison Avenue in front of the Church of Scientology's new Super Power Building on Feb. 10 in downtown Clearwater."] CLEARWATER - After weeks of enduring Internet video taunts from a group called Anonymous, the Church of Scientology posted a YouTube video of its own Wednesday. It includes what Scientology claims are video snippets from Anonymous, threatening phone ...

CLEARWATER - The Church of Scientology tried to stop protesters from returning to the sidewalks outside its headquarters this week by filing a type of petition in court usually used by women in fear for their safety. And in large part because of that approach, a Pinellas-Pasco circuit judge denied it late Wednesday afternoon. In a petition filed Tuesday, the church claimed the Internet-based group Anonymous wants to harm the church and its leaders, in particular the Rev. Heber Jentzsch, the ...

CLEARWATER – Circuit Judge Douglas Baird today denied a motion for a temporary injunction sought by the Church of Scientology to prevent protesters from getting within 500 feet of Scientology buildings. A group of protesters calling itself Anonymous plans demonstrations against Scientology Friday and Saturday, coinciding with the church's birthday celebration of its founder, L.Ron Hubbard. This is the second of two similar suits filed by the Church of Scientology this week. The first was rejected by Circuit Judge Linda Allan ...

Watch Tom Cruise goes Missing [G, 2:51min.] (Help): Play The video But there are some people whose tender feelings receive a lot more consideration from the News Ltd empire. On the same day that News's website carried a link to The Australian's piece about Carey's childhood, it carried another story right next door. Global Scientology protests begin in Australia. — News.com.au website, Global Scientology protests begin in Australia But what's this? A pixelated poster? What can it have ...

Commentary Scientology's Cruise Control Kai Falkenberg 02.07.08, 10:30 AM ET Hollywood celebs like Tom Cruise typically want as many folks as possible watching them onscreen. Not so with a recently leaked video of Cruise promoting his Scientology religion. The nine-minute clip features a wide-eyed Cruise trumpeting his Scientology beliefs with what many have described as messianic zeal. Soon after the video surfaced on the Web, the Church of Scientology International demanded it be removed–claiming the posting of the stolen video violated ...

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 an Unauthorised Biography will not be distributed in New Zealand by the publisher MacMillan. The biography by Andrew Morton, author of a top selling book on Princess Diana, is understood to contain controversial assertions about the Church of Scientology. MacMillan publicist Angie Willocks said the book would not be distributed in New Zealand but that the company would make no further comment. The star's lawyer Bert Fields has previously condemned the book as "a rehash of tired old lies ...