Perfect Score



The Advocate newspaper from Baton Rouge, Louisiana reported on September

22nd that a student who earned a perfect score on the ACT college entrance

exam plans to join Scientology programs in New York City.



"Craig Gehring went over an old math test to prepare to take the ACT back

in June, but that's it. He ended up getting a perfect score, a 36. He was

the only student in Louisiana to get a perfect score that day and one of

only 72 such students across the nation.



"The ACT Assessment is taken by roughly two million high school seniors

each year, and was taken by 355,000 students in June. The ACT tests a

student's skills in English, math, reading and science reasoning.

Gehring's perfect score represents a composite score of all four tests.



"Both the ACT and the 1600-point SAT, which measures students' math and

verbal skills, are used as factors in college admissions and placement and

in awarding scholarships. Gehring, however, may not go to college. A free

thinker, Gehring said he plans to join a drug prevention and literacy

program in New York City, loosely affiliated with the Church of

Scientology. His father, Kyle Gehring, however, is uneasy. He said the son

has discovered Scientology on his own. 'We're encouraging him to go to

college,' he said. 'We think there is a lot he's going to miss out on.'"



Message-ID: 1064224829.843439@newshost01.voicenet.com





World Trade Centers



The New York Times reported on October 4th that a Scientology program in

New York aims to treat firefighters suffering from having worked at the

World Trade Centers disaster with the Purification Rundown.



"For the past year, more than 140 New York City firefighters, some ailing

from their work in the ruins of the World Trade Center, have walked into a

seventh-floor medical clinic just two blocks from the former disaster

site. Once inside, some have abandoned the medical care and emotional

counseling provided to them by their own department's doctors, and all

have taken up a treatment regimen devised by L. Ron Hubbard, the late

science fiction writer and founder of the Church of Scientology.



"The firefighters take saunas, engage in physical workouts and swallow

pills - all of which together constitute what for years has been known,

amid considerable dispute, as Mr. Hubbard's detoxification program, one

meant to wash the body of poisons or toxins. The firefighters are not

charged for their trips to the clinic, called Downtown Medical.



"One retired firefighter is a paid member of the clinic's advisory board,

and the city's main fire union has pledged its 'full support' to the

clinic as it seeks government grants and other forms of financing. 'The

statements I have heard from firefighters who have completed the program

are truly remarkable,' Stephen J. Cassidy, the president of the Uniformed

Firefighters Association, wrote in a letter that is posted on the clinic's

Web site. The letter adds, 'The work you are doing in this regard is

unique in the city, and is very welcome.'



"But the existence of the clinic has upset city Fire Department officials,

who, among other concerns, are alarmed that the medical treatment

prescribed by its doctors is being discarded by some firefighters who

enroll at Downtown Medical. They say the clinic's detoxification program

requires firefighters to stop using inhalers meant to help with their

breathing and any medications they may be taking, like antidepressants or

blood pressure pills.



"The exact makeup of the pills taken as part of the program, for instance,

is not widely known, although they are believed to contain niacin. One

clinic board member wrote a report published in a firefighting magazine

that firefighters produced blue beads of sweat during the program. One

city firefighter said that the man next to him in the sauna once appeared

to sweat a quarter-size black substance - evidence, he said, that toxins

were being drained out of his body.



"Officials with the clinic, while acknowledging some of them are

Scientologists, said the clinic is not formally affiliated with the Church

of Scientology. An official at the church's office in Los Angeles said

they were aware of the clinic, but described it as a secular enterprise

employing Mr. Hubbard's methods. Joseph Higgins, a retired firefighter who

is now a paid member of the clinic's advisory board, said Tom Cruise, the

actor, had paid for 'quite a bit' of the treatments for rescue workers,

estimated by Mr.  Higgins to cost $5,000 to $6,000 apiece.



"In a blistering 1988 report, Dr. Ronald E. Gots, a toxicology expert from

Bethesda, Md., called the regimen 'quackery,' and noted that 'no

recognized body of toxicologists, no department of occupational medicine,

nor any governmental agencies endorse or recommend such treatment.' The

report ended Shreveport's dealings with the program. In an interview

yesterday, Dr. Gots said of the program, 'It's an unproven, scientifically

bereft notion.'



"Officials at the Manhattan clinic said that shortly after the terrorist

attack, an official with the firefighters' union contacted the Foundation

for Advancements in Science and Education, a group that promotes the

detoxification program developed by Mr. Hubbard, to request the regimen

for New York firefighters.



"Stacks of of pamphlets about the program have appeared at Fort Totten,

the department's training center. Department officials have tried to

distance themselves from any impression that they endorse the regimen, but

they say that it has been difficult. 'This is a very hard battle to win,'

said Dr. Prezant, who noted that firefighters do the regimen on their own

time and do not have to report to the department that they are undergoing

it. 'It's not our job to say you can't go. All we can do is say there's no

proven evidence it works.'"



Message-ID: 1065272223.388528@newshost02.voicenet.com





Legal Waiver



The Oracle, newspaper of the University of South Florida, published an

article on September 24th on the waiver Scientologists sign to be eligible

for courses.



"Rights and freedoms often go unnoticed until they are threatened. So why

someone would choose to sign his or her freedoms away intentionally is an

anomaly. However, the Church of Scientology has been making its members do

exactly that. With this in mind, one must ask why a church, which is

protected under the First Amendment, would force its members to forgo the

rest of the rights given to them by residing in this country.



"In order to be allowed to reach higher levels of success in the church,

members must sign contracts that sign away their national rights. By

signing, members waive the right to seek medical or psychiatric care as

well as the right to see their families during church-provided treatment.

This means family members or outside medical or psychiatric personnel

cannot force the member into an outside medical situation. According to

The New York Post, these contracts also say that members seeking advanced

treatment must sign to 'forever (giving) up (the) right to sue the church

and its staff for any injury or damage suffered in anyway connected with

Scientology.'



"Instead of medical treatments, members receive vitamins and introspection

rundowns in which a guide assists the members in channeling past lives in

order to determine the source of the ailment. Under the First Amendment,

Americans have the right to practice whatever religion they see fit. But

it is contradictory of a church, protected by such an amendment, to force

its members to give up the rest of their rights if they want to be

successful in the church's eyes. It is also suspicious that they take such

precautions against potential legal actions if they did not see them as

being inevitable. It makes one question the intention of a church that is

attempting to administer such control over its followers."



Message-ID: 1064483929.342047@newshost02.voicenet.com





Hate Crimes



The Palm Beach Post reported on September 26th that Palm Beach County,

Florida ranks high on the state of Florida's list of cities with the most

hate crimes, in part due to vandalism at the Scientology org there.



"Palm Beach County ranked fifth in the state in hate crimes, according to

a state report released Thursday. There were 24 hate crimes reported

countywide last year, 13 of which were motivated by the victim's religion.

Boca Raton recorded the most incidents - nine - one more than the Palm

Beach County Sheriff's Office reported in the entire unincorporated area.



"Palm Springs reported two hate-related incidents in 2002, both at the

Church of Scientology in the Shores Plaza Mall, according to police

spokesman Lt. Mark Hall. Twice vandals broke in and rummaged through the

storefront church, painting graffiti on the walls. No arrests were made.

'As far was we know, it could have been kids,' Hall said, 'but because

(the graffiti) was directed at the beliefs of the church, it was

classified as a hate crime.'"



Message-ID: 1064570210.811542@newshost01.voicenet.com





Belgium



French newspaper Le Soir reported on September 19th on Scientology's new

offices in the heart of Brussels, Belgium.



"It's clear that Ron Hubbard's adherents love luxury. Their European

office, which officially opens 17 September 2003, is an expensive

three-story building at 91 Street of Law, in the very heart of the

European quarter of Brussels. 'For us it's nice here, thank you!' smiles

Fabio Amicarelli, director of the European office of the international

'Scientology Church' cult. In the building, painted with white flowers,

there are a few thematic halls. 'Here,' explained the director, 'no

religious services are held.' They claim this is a 'human rights embassy,'

which is 'a place for open and transparent dialogue.'



"The staff consists of ten permanent employees. 'They accept everybody

here,' emphasizes Fabio Amicarelli, 'on terms of mutual respect.' The

stage setting is thought out to the most minute detail: photographs,

symbolism, didactic paneling, slogans. Scientology does its best to show

that it is somebody you can trust, and that using the 'cult' label on them

is absolutely unjust. 'We serve as a religious association which is

officially recognized all over the world,' insists our interlocutor.



"The European office of the 'Church of Scientology' opens it doors 17

September. 'There will be many people,' asserts Fabio Amicarelli. How

many? What are their names? Unknown. Brussels was not chosen by accident.

The Church of Scientology makes no secret of its wish to have its

activities known in the capitals of Europe. Lobbying? 'If you like, yes.

But what is reprehensible about that?' And how about that speech in the

Belgian parliament from 1997 in which talks about a 'harmful cult?' 'We

respect Belgian laws and the government. But we think that Belgium lives

fifteen years in the past. Scientology is not what they say at all.' And

the questionable methods of proselytizing? And the sources of the

organization's financing? 'Rumors and prejudice,' says Amicarelli.



"The European office is a site for conducting conferences and meetings.

'We will invite the most diverse people so they can tell about our actions

in defending human rights,' says the director. 'We will work here through

our social programs: the fight against drug addiction, eliminating

intolerance and rehabilitating criminals.' The office doors will 'always

be open.' Even for the press? 'If they want to call on us.'"



Message-ID: Pine.LNX.3.96.1030922170403.112B-100000@darkstar.zippy





Russia



Newsru.com reported on September 19th that Scientology continues to

operate in Russia, and have protested outside a psychiatric institute in

Moscow.



"The director of the V.P. Serbsky Center for Social and Forensic

Psychiatry, Tatyana Dmitriev, expressed annoyance with the activities of

Scientologists on Russian territory.  Appearing today in Moscow at a

conference on problems of prison psychiatry, she mentioned that officially

the activities of the Scientologists were prohibited in the Russian

Federation. Meanwhile, in her words, the Scientologists continue to

operate under the mask of rights advocate organizations. 'And that is how

the big money works that is invested in Scientology,' said the Center

chief. 'They believe,' explained T. Dmitriev, 'that psychiatry in general

does not need to concern treatment of the sick - that, as the saying goes,

God gave you whatever you need.' It was in this respect, T. Dmitriev said,

that the Scientology protest actions were carried on outside the V.P.

Serbsky Center. One of their principle slogans, said T. Dmitriev, was

'Psychiatrists: hands away from people!' Participants of such actions also

appeal to the government to stop financing the country's psychiatry."



Message-ID: Pine.LNX.3.96.1030922170556.112C-100000@darkstar.zippy





Applied Scholastics



The Lovelock Review-Miner reported on September 4th that a pilot program

to use Scientology's study tech in a Nevada school district will be

discontinued.



"During a special meeting of the Pershing County School Board on Tuesday,

Sept. 2, the Pershing County School Board voted to permanently discontinue

use of the Applied Scholastics study program within the Pershing County

School District. Several people throughout the community, including

parents and teachers, had expressed concern with the program because the

books used in the program are reportedly based on the teachings of L. Ron

Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology.



"Pershing County Middle School teacher Debra Scilacci was one of those

teachers who supported the program. She said that she has used the program

in her classroom and it has helped several students improve reading

skills. Those who spoke against the program said that the link to Hubbard

was reason enough to cause them concern. Pershing County High School

teacher Valdine McLean expressed her opposition to using the program. She

said that she felt that Hubbard's connection to the program was her major

concern.



"Also speaking out against the program, were Pershing County Elementary

Literacy specialists Sandy Condie and Shea Murphy. Condie and Murphy run a

literacy program at the elementary school and said that the Applied

Scholastics program is radically different than what they teach in the

younger grades.



"School Board member Todd Plimpton made a motion that 'the Pershing County

School Board, upon further consideration and review of the materials and

testimony as presented, hereby suspend indefinitely, without prejudice,

the Applied Scholastics program.' Board member Rachel Clingan seconded the

motion. Clingan said that her decision was not a reflection of any the

people who have been involved with the Applied Scholastics program. 'It

has helped some students,' Clingan said 'that's not an issue here.' She

said that suspending the program is the right thing to do for the

community at this time.



"Board member Brad Arnold said that when the issue came up what he wanted

to know was if the program met the needs of the district. 'After the

reading the results presented by staff,' Arnold said 'I am not convinced

that this technique, by itself, has proved or produced a mainstream

improvement.' Arnold said that he is convinced that increased

individualized instruction as provided by staff either in school or summer

school has proven to be beneficial.



"The motion to discontinue use of the Applied Scholastics program was

unanimously passed by the board."



Message-ID: 1064311545.492938@newshost01.voicenet.com