Delphi School



The North County Times reported on April 30th that a new Delphi School is

planned for San Marcos, California.



"The Old Richland Schoolhouse will soon be a school again.  Arie de Jong,

the owner of the building that served as a reception hall for nearly a

decade, said Monday that Delphi Schools Inc. signed a five-year lease on

the building effective April 1.  The private school, which has a campus in

La Jolla, plans to hold an eight-week summer session at the site starting

June 24. The regular session is slated to start Sept. 3, said Stacey Ruiz,

the headmistress of the soon-to-open Delphi Academy of San Marcos.

School officials will also use the facility at 134 Woodland Parkway for

weekend social events such as wedding receptions or dinners, de Jong said.

The school can serve up to 80 students.



"Ruiz said that 30 students will be in the summer session and that 35 will

begin school in the fall. The San Marcos campus will serve kindergarten

through third grade, while the La Jolla campus serves kindergartners

through sixth-graders.  Ruiz said she and her partner, Chris Gerson, the

headmistress of the La Jolla school, wanted a site in North County and

found the one in San Marcos by accident.



"The school is going through the permitting process with San Marcos, Ruiz

said. Its enrollment could grow, she added. Delphi Academies focus on

individual learning and teaching students at their own pace, she said.

There's one teacher for every 15 children."



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France



The Associated Press reported on May 17th that the Paris Scientology org

has been fined for mishandling personal information of its members.



"A French court on Friday fined the Paris branch of the Church of

Scientology for a data protection violation but acquitted the church of

attempted fraud and false advertising in connection with its efforts to

recruit and keep members. The court fined the church 8,000 euros (about

dlrs 7,300), while imposing a 2,000-euro fine (dlrs 1,824) on Marc Walter,

the president of the Ile de France section that includes Paris. The court

also declined to impose the harshest penalty sought by prosecutors - an

order to disband the church's Paris branch.



"The church said it would appeal the ruling, saying that it violated the

European Convention on Human Rights. 'The decision is an attempt to apply

commercial law to prohibit religious expression. It is an intolerable

interference by the state with the religious freedom won from 2000 years

of history in Europe,' said Leisa Goodman, human rights director for the

Los Angeles-based church.



"The conviction stemmed from a complaint by a former member who said he

was bombarded with publicity materials even though he wished to end his

membership."



From CNN on May 17th:



"Scientologists have likened the trial to a witch hunt and say their faith

is a religion like any other. The church has 40,000 members in France,

including 20,000 in Paris. In France, it is placed on a list of nearly 200

groups under surveillance to prevent cult activities. The church is to a

significant extent devoted to the personality cult of L. Ron Hubbard, who

died in somewhat mysterious circumstances in California in 1986 leaving a

corporate empire worth millions of dollars as well as a huge personal

fortune."



From Agence France Presse on May 17th:



"The church was cleared of the more serious charges of fraud and spreading

mendacious publicity.  The National Union of Associations for the Defense

of Families and the Individual (UNADFI), which brought the case, said the

result was a victory because under a controversial law on sects passed a

year ago if the church is convicted a second time it could be disbanded.

'The way is open for other cases. UNADFI has an appointment with

Scientology in other courts,' said lawyer Olivier Morice. 'A few hours ago

the scientologists were saying that they would not be found guilty. But

here on a matter of principle the church is convicted. The symbolic

importance should not be underestimated,' he said.



"Spokesman Jean Dupuis said the church's acquittal on the more serious

counts was welcome, but the conviction for breach of confidentiality was

'evidence of the political and judicial conspiracy which sets out to

destroy those who dare to think differently.'



"The church says it is the principal target of last May's anti-sect law,

which was described by the US administration and international human

rights groups at the time as an assault on religious tolerance. Entitled

'the law to reinforce the prevention and repression of groups of a

sect-like character,' it made it an offence to abuse a vulnerable person

via the 'exertion of heavy or repeated pressure or techniques liable to

alter his judgment. It also allowed courts to close down associations

after two convictions for a range of crimes."



From Voice of America on May 17th:



"French prosecutors say the Church of Scientology harassed former members

of the group long after they left the organization. The court did not

impose the strongest penalty sought by prosecutors - that of dissolving

the Paris Scientology chapter - but would consider such action if the

chapter faces similar charges in the future.



"According to a spokeswoman for Scientology, Gaetane Asselin, the court's

decision represents a partial victory for the organization. 'The main

accusation of fraud and false publicity was relaxed,' she said. 'So it

means we were found not guilty of any of these accusations, which is very

good for us. Because the attorney of the opposition has been trying to

prove for years that is what we are doing, and one more court admitted it

has nothing to do with us.'



"Lucia Salazar, who works with a private group that is fighting

Scientology, says her organization will continue its efforts to dissolve

the church. Mrs. Salazar supports the new French law on sects. She says it

allows victims of so-called cults to fight for reparations."



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Lawrence Wollersheim



Denver Westword published an article on May 16th on Lawrence Wollersheim's

efforts to collect his 16-year old judgment from Scientology.



"A 22-year legal battle came to an abrupt end last week when the Church of

Scientology paid $8.67 million to one of its harshest critics: a former

member who claimed the church had harassed him for years and driven him

'to the brink of insanity.' In the past, litigation involving the

controversial 'new religion' and disaffected ex-members has been resolved

quietly, the terms kept strictly confidential. But Wollersheim says his

settlement contained no such conditions and came minutes before a court

hearing at which his attorneys planned to introduce a recently acquired

document challenging the Church of Scientology International's tax-exempt

status.



"'I signed no gag orders,' says Wollersheim, who now lives in Nevada. 'The

only reason they settled was that somehow they pierced our intelligence.

Three hours after we [uncovered] an absolutely conclusive piece of

evidence that [CSI's] corporate structure is a scam, the check was

delivered to the court.'



"Wollersheim says he became disillusioned with the group and was subjected

to thousands of hours of intensive counseling at 'thought-reform camps

designed to make you crazy.' He filed suit in 1980, claiming that members

continued to harass him after he left the church. In 1986, a California

jury awarded him $30 million in damages; the award was reduced to $2.5

million on appeal. But he was unable to collect from the Church of

Scientology of California and spent years trying to 'pierce the corporate

veil' of its parent organization, CSI. Outside of court hearings, church

supporters carried protest signs declaring that they would pay 'not one

thin dime to Wollersheim.'



"Five years ago, Wollersheim told Westword that he'd rejected a $12

million settlement offer from the church because it would have required

him and other FACTNet members to cease their anti-cult activities and

destroy their extensive archive of Scientology materials.  Last week's

payment of $8,674,643 represents the $2.5 million award from the 1986

trial plus sixteen years' interest. 'The cult that vowed it would never

pay me one thin dime has now paid over 86 million thin dimes,' Wollersheim

noted in a statement on FACTNet's Web site (www.factnet.org).



"Asked for comment, Church of Scientology of California president Neil

Levin provided a written statement noting that the judgment was against a

church entity that has since undergone restructuring. 'This is a

twenty-year-old case involving an old Scientology church that doesn't

exist anymore,' Levin wrote. 'We've been trying to pay Mr. Wollersheim for

five years, but he has so many creditors, we couldn't do it. So finally,

we put the money into the court.'



"Although much of the money is owed to attorneys, Wollersheim says there

should be enough left over to allow him to continue to support FACTNet and

to become involved in 'less confrontational' activities. He sees the

settlement as a turning point in the tumultuous history of Scientology.

'Now victims who have been intimidated into silence by the belief that no

one could ever get paid are calling their attorneys,' he says.  'This is

also a tremendous encouragement to other social-advocacy groups - the

cigarette-company victims, environmental groups, whatever. The message

isn't that Lawrence got paid. It's about justice and patience. It really

can work if you just work the system.'"



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Leipzig Human Rights Award



Leipziger Volkszeitung reported on May 13th on the presentation of the

Leipzig Human Rights Award to Alain Vivien.



"Alain Vivien, the French government's cult commissioner, was

distinguished for his involvement in taking action against totalitarian

organizations with the presentation of the third Leipzig Human Rights

Award. In the 'Old Stock Exchange' the 63-year-old socialist received from

the hands of Bavaria's Interior Minister Guenther Beckstein (CSU) the

'Alternative Charlemagne Award,' an image of the Nicholas Church encased

in glass.



"Vivien successfully applied himself to creating a legal framework to

protect the victims of Scientology and other similar organizations in

France. The minister has been addressing problems related to sects and

totalitarian cults since 1983. In 1993 he worked on the first French

Enquete report in that area.  He has been the French president of the

'Interministeriellen Mission im Kampf gegen Sekten' (MILS) for the Prime

Minister of the Republic of France.



"Beckstein described Vivien in his laudatio as a 'pioneer in the

Scientology controversy across Europe and across the world.' At the same

time he called for cooperation among political parties in the fight

against totalitarianism. Vivien said he was pleased 'to receive the award

in a place from which freedom of thought has for so long emanated.'"



Message-ID: 3CE79B87.6020807@dialogzentrum.de





Bob Minton



The St. Petersburg Times reported on May 18th that Bob Minton testified he

has spent $10 million on causes against Scientology.



"Scientology critic Robert Minton has funneled $10-million into a global

anti-Scientology crusade, financing lawsuits against the church and

supporting some of Scientology's most strident opponents. No one has ever

orchestrated such a campaign against the church, said Scientology

spokesman Ben Shaw. 'He obviously had something in mind and he went out to

accomplish it,' Shaw said. 'He was trying to destroy the church.'



"He dumped more than $2-million into a now defunct anti-Scientology

organization in downtown Clearwater called the Lisa McPherson Trust, named

for a Scientologist who died in 1995 under the care of fellow

Scientologists. Minton testified that he put up nearly $2.5-million for

the movie The Profit, made in the Tampa Bay area by two Scientology

critics.



"Minton said he gave $700,000 to Lawrence Wollersheim, a former

Scientologist who recently collected an $8.6-million settlement from

Scientology, ending one of the longest-running lawsuits in California

history. And he funded lawsuits against Scientology in places as distant

as Germany and France.



"But the focus of his anti-Scientology efforts was the Pinellas County

wrongful death lawsuit that blames the church for Lisa McPherson's death.

Minton gave $2-million to fund the litigation. Circuit Court Judge Susan

Schaeffer is taking testimony on a motion by the Church of Scientology to

have the lawsuit dismissed. In what remains an astonishing reversal,

Minton is testifying on behalf of the church in the hearing, which began

May 2 and is expected to last at least another week. Minton is accusing

Tampa attorney Ken Dandar, who represents the McPherson estate in the

lawsuit, of serious misconduct in the case.



"Minton has said his recent testimony came about from tremendous legal

strain in the McPherson case. He was facing contempt of court charges and

feared going to jail for perjury he said he committed at Dandar's urging.

Minton said he decided it was time to clear the record. His St. Petersburg

attorney, Bruce Howie, says Minton wants nothing more to do with funding

anti-Scientology litigation. His close friend Stacy Brooks, a former

Scientologist and critic said Minton got caught up in the anti-Scientology

movement. 'I think he was swept up in the idea he was really fighting

evil,' Brooks said. 'Neither he nor I feel that way anymore.'"



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John Mappin



The Daily Mail reported on May 5th that UK Scientologist John Mappin will

declare bankruptcy.



"Scientologist and Winchester educated John Mappin, 35 is expected at the

bankruptcy court in London this morning.  It may have something to do with

Benji 'The Binman' Pell being awarded repayment of pounds 77,500 and costs

of around pounds 350,000 when he sued Mappin in the High Court.



"Mappin duped Pell into handing over thousands of pounds to make a

Hollywood blockbuster of his life story and promised to introduce him to

filmmakers such as Steven Spielberg or George Lucas.  Instead, Benji met a

hairdresser who was putting himself through film school."



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Protest Summary



Christopher Wood reported a protest in Toronto on May 11th.



"Picketers: Me, Gregg Hagglund, Keith Henson. Leaflets: Scientology's

Founder: Con Man / No Science in Scientology (by me) Xenu / Crimes (by

Gregg).



"Gregg and I arrived in front of the org at about 1:00, with Keith in his

usual position up the street. I gave out nearly all the leaflets in my

bag, while Gregg and Keith depleted their supplies in a somewhat similar

fashion.  No Scientologists approached Keith Henson this time. In past

pickets, Scientologists have actually gone near him, talked to him, and

stood watching him pass out leaflets. At this picket no Scientologists

were engaged in actively disproving their supposed fear of Keith.



"Just after we got to the org, Gregg did a side trip up Saint Mary St.,

reading from his copy of OT3. Suddenly, the OT Scientologists started

moving the other Scientologists into the org. I still don't understand why

anyone would submit to being treated like this. We wound it up at 3:00

when we discovered that we were nearly out of leaflets."



Keith Henson reported a protest in Toronto on May 18th.



"Saturday, May 18, 2002 we picketed the org and the hotel where the org

had the local Dianetics event.  Early afternoon at the org there were

three of us: Gregg and the unknown picketer in front of the org and me

across the street.  A young thin guy came up while I was talking to a

woman and insisted he was a scientologist.  The woman I was talking to was

just boggled when I mentioned I had this space cootie story on the flyer,

handed her one and the horrified kid said it was confidential and ran.



"About 4:30 we went to the Colony Hotel, same place as they used last

year. Gregg paced off 100 feet from the ballroom they had rented and

stationed me up the street.  I gave Xenu flyers to at least 4 'raw meat'

who where headed for the event.  Gregg, the unknown picketer, and Chris

Wood picketed and handed out flyers in front of the hotel. There were some

tour buses full of high school kids from Tennessee that came in and many

of them took flyers. Some of them said they were going to check out the

event. I would guess we had 20-30 people in the event with flyers.



"Three bicycle cops showed up and politely asked Gregg if he had been

abused by the Scientologists yet. Gregg explained that they had been

behaving themselves for most of the last year.  The hotel lobby revolving

door is below the street in a driveway. The effect was to focus Gregg's

voice so it was able to punch through the single glass when the revolving

door was in that position. People inside told Gregg he fairly well

controlled the conversation by coming in lumps (Scientology Management

Lies!). In between the door revolutions the old time Scientologists in the

lobby were talking loudly about Gregg. According to a person who came out

they were claiming that Gregg had his wife lobotomized. After hearing that

she had a brain tumor removed that has left her somewhat emotionally

vulnerable and that the Scientologists have attacked her using this, the

guy looked back in and said they were not only crazy but vicious."



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