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Why it was Scientology leader David Miscavige who declared Lisa McPherson ‘Clear’

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[Miscavige, in 1998; photo by Robin Donina Serne]

 
Marc Headley remembers where he was and what he was doing because David Miscavige, the leader of Scientology, was spitting obscenities about, of all things, the bad teeth belonging to Marc’s stepfather.

Continue reading Why it was Scientology leader David Miscavige who declared Lisa McPherson ‘Clear’

Countdown to Room 174: Remembering, in real time, Scientology’s grimmest scandal

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Right around this day twenty years ago, Dallas resident Fannie McPherson, who was then 70 years old, had her last telephone conversation with her 36-year-old daughter Lisa.

Continue reading Countdown to Room 174: Remembering, in real time, Scientology’s grimmest scandal

Under oath, Narconon official lets slip that drug rehab organized just like Scientology

Jonathan_LittleIn August, we told you about Jonathan Little (pictured), an Indiana attorney who is handling several lawsuits against Scientology’s drug rehab network, Narconon.

He turned heads with his outspokenness. Referring to Scientology’s delaying legal strategy, he said, “If Narconon and Scientology want to have a decade-long war, I have nothing else to do and I’m not going away.”

Continue reading Under oath, Narconon official lets slip that drug rehab organized just like Scientology

Narconon is dead, long live Narconon! How Scientology solved its drug rehab addiction

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[The woman Scientology won’t name]

You have to give Scientology leader David Miscavige one thing: Once he makes a decision, it can get carried out very quickly. And after this weekend’s opening of a large new Narconon center in Clearwater, Florida, it’s plain that a major project Miscavige set into motion a couple of years ago is now pretty much complete.

Narconon, as we know it, is over.

Continue reading Narconon is dead, long live Narconon! How Scientology solved its drug rehab addiction

Scientology on the high seas: When L. Ron Hubbard was still making tech ‘breakthroughs’

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We have something of a cryptic story this morning. Some months ago, we were asked a question by a researcher and we didn’t have access to the answer at the time. Now we’ve stumbled upon it, and we thought rather than just email that person, we’d post the answer publicly for the heck of it.

Continue reading Scientology on the high seas: When L. Ron Hubbard was still making tech ‘breakthroughs’

Up next for Scientology: Sending out Tom Cruise to put on a grand performance?

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Former Scientology spokesman Mike Rinder has a great new post at his blog this morning, and in it he predicts what Scientology leader David Miscavige may do in response to “Hurricane Leah,” the media storm that is still raging after Leah Remini’s book Troublemaker was published on Tuesday.

Continue reading Up next for Scientology: Sending out Tom Cruise to put on a grand performance?

Desperate to hurt Going Clear‘s Oscar chances, Scientology goes down a dangerous path

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We’re still jonesing for the next issue of Scientology’s propaganda magazine, Freedom, which completely missed putting out an issue in October. The magazine had been chugging along with monthly issues after it was retooled and relaunched in July 2014 with a new, very earnest focus on issues of the day rather than goofy attacks on Scientology’s critics.

Continue reading Desperate to hurt Going Clear‘s Oscar chances, Scientology goes down a dangerous path

SCIENTOLOGY DENIED: APPEAL SHOT DOWN AFTER YEARLONG WAIT

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After more than a year since an oral hearing was held in the case, the Texas Third Court of Appeals has finally ruled in Monique Rathbun’s favor, denying the Church of Scientology’s appeal of a lower court’s ruling.

Continue reading SCIENTOLOGY DENIED: APPEAL SHOT DOWN AFTER YEARLONG WAIT

Jefferson Hawkins: What those Scientologists in yellow T-shirts at a disaster scene really want

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Jefferson Hawkins was once the top marketing executive for the Church of Scientology and helped it reach its greatest extent with the famous “volcano” TV ads in the 1980s. He’s told his tale of getting into and out of the church with his excellent books Counterfeit Dreams and Leaving Scientology, and he’s previous written a series about Scientology “ethics” for the Underground Bunker.

 
Continue reading Jefferson Hawkins: What those Scientologists in yellow T-shirts at a disaster scene really want

Can the tabloids ignore this photo of Tom Cruise getting his Scientology on?

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Yet another photo of Tom Cruise at the recent Scientology annual IAS gala in England hit social media today, and this is the best one yet that unambiguously shows the actor making the scene under the big tent in East Grinstead, England.

Continue reading Can the tabloids ignore this photo of Tom Cruise getting his Scientology on?