Ritalin



The Washington Post reported on September 25th that Lisa Marie Presley and

other Scientology witnesses were scheduled to speak before the U.S. House

Government Reform Committee.



"Cause Celebs Lisa Marie Presley and Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York,

have been traipsing the halls of the Congress lobbying for their

respective pet projects. Presley, a Scientologist and mother of two will

be testifying today before Indiana Republican Rep. Dan Burton's House

Government Reform Committee on the evils of hyperactivity medication for

children."



Advocacy group CHADD issued a warning prior to the hearing.



"On Thursday, September 26, the House Committee on Government Reform,

chaired by Representative Dan Burton (R-IN), will conduct a hearing

entitled 'Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders - Are Children Being

Over Medicated?'



"Four of the five witnesses - invited by Representative Burton - are

reported to be spokespersons for or persons associated with the Citizens

Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), an affiliate established 1969 by the

Church of Scientology. CHADD is concerned that four witnesses associated

with the hearing share the belief that AD/HD is a lie and a fraud. They

include: Lisa Marie Presley, Bruce Wiseman, Dr. Mary Ann Block, Patricia

Weathers.



"As further context of the CCHR's philosophy, among their publications

currently in circulation are 'Psychiatry Betraying Families: The Hoax of

ADD/ADHD and Other Learning Disabilities,' 'Psychiatry: Shattering Your

World with Drugs,' and 'The Hoax of Learning and Behavior Disorders.' The

fifth witness, invited at Mr. Burton's request, is Mr. Neil Bush, the

President's brother, whose son was incorrectly diagnosed with AD/HD.



"Through the efforts of Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) to ensure a

balanced discussion, Clarke Ross, CEO of CHADD and Dr. David Fassler,

representing the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

(AACAP) and the American Psychiatric Association (APA), also have been

asked to testify. It is expected that the National Institute of Mental

Health will also send a witness."



From Reuters on September 26th:



"Adversaries in the debate over widespread prescribing of Ritalin and

other stimulants to children squared off on Capitol Hill Thursday, only to

arouse the ire of lawmakers who accused them of serving as fronts for the

drug industry and religious groups.



"A parade of witnesses came before the House Government Reform Committee

to tell lawmakers why an estimated 3 million to 6 million US children are

currently on Ritalin and other drugs used to treat attention deficit

hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Committee members voiced concern that

doctors are too quick to diagnose the disorder and prescribe strong drugs

in children who may not actually have a mental disorder.



"Chief among the drug's detractors were three witnesses from the Citizen's

Commission on Human Rights, an anti-psychiatry watchdog group. The

organization points out that scientists have no reliable way of confirming

a child's ADHD diagnosis and that teachers have too much sway in

convincing doctors to medicate unruly children.



"But Rep. Constance Morella (R-MD) pointed out that the Citizen's

Commission for Human Rights (CCHR) was founded in 1969 by the Church of

Scientology, a religious group known both for attracting celebrity members

and for vehement opposition to all of psychiatry. Morella read a statement

from Jan Eastgate, the organization's international president, which calls

psychiatry a 'malignant disease' that 'threatens society and ultimately

mankind.' Wiseman said he agreed with that view, and said that his group

maintains an independent tax status from the Church of Scientology.



"Morella also challenged Dr. Mary Ann Block, a board member who treats

ADHD children with nutritional and anti-allergy interventions instead of

drugs. Block accused psychiatrists and other doctors of prescribing ADHD

drugs for financial gain. 'You'd probably gain a little bit too if people

were scared away from psychiatric drugs,' Morella said.



"The committee also heard from Children and Adults with Attention

Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD), a group that defends the

widespread treatment of children and adults diagnosed with the disorder.

The CEO of CHADD, E. Clarke Ross, told the committee that ADHD may be

underdiagnosed in US kids and that more doctors should be aware of

professional guidelines governing the identification and treatment of the

disease.



"Psychiatrist David Fassler told lawmakers that drug treatment 'can be

extremely helpful' in treating ADHD but that 'medication alone is rarely

the appropriate treatment.' 'Medication should only be used as part of a

comprehensive treatment plan that will usually include individual therapy,

family support and counseling and work with the schools,' said Fassler,

who heads the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry."



From People Daily News on September 27th:



Lisa Marie Presley testified before the House Committee on Government

Reform in Washington, D.C., to discuss what she considers an alarming

trend to medicate children for mental disorders ranging from

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to bipolar disorder.



"'I have personally seen the effects of overmedicated children and it

terrifies me, especially having two kids of my own,' said Presley, the

international spokesperson for Citizens' Commission on Human Rights, a

psychiatric watchdog group founded in 1969 by the Church of Scientology

(of which she is a member). The group advocates legislation that would bar

schools from forcing parents to medicate their children for ADHD and

similar disorders.



"Presley says her passion for this subject is purely personal. 'I became

involved with this whole issue because of a little 4-year-old boy, a

friend of the family, who has suffered from being overmedicated,' says

Presley.



"Presley told PEOPLE that her first time testifying before Congress left

her 'a nervous wreck, ' but, she said, 'I was really impressed with the

whole system and with the knowledge of the congress people. They really

knew their stuff and asked good questions and got right to the point. Even

the people who were on the other side of the issue seemed to understand

where we were coming from.'"



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Laura's Law



A Los Angeles Times editorial on September 28 urged the Governor or

California to sign a law that would allow judges to order outpatient

treatment for mentally ill people. Scientology has protested against the

law outside the state capitol.



"By press time Friday night, Gov. Gray Davis still had not signed 'Laura's

law,' an important bill that would let judges order outpatient treatment

for seriously mentally ill people who can't fathom the gravity of their

condition. The deadline is midnight Monday.



"Davis had pledged to do everything in his power to protect Californians

from crime, so supporters of the bill had expected him to embrace the

measure. It would enable some of California's most vulnerable people,

including many who live on sidewalks or alongside freeways, to get help

before they harm themselves or others. But opponents of the legislation

have grown particularly vocal in recent weeks.



"Two weeks ago, for instance, a subgroup of the Church of Scientology,

which opposes virtually all psychiatric treatments, sponsored a rally at

the Capitol against Laura's law - named after a 19-year-old killed by a

man whose mental illness had been left untreated.



"Gov. Davis often says his top priorities are protecting law and order.

Few bills now before him would do that job better than AB 1421."



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CCHR



The Canton Journal reported on September 27th that Scientology has

protested outside a hospital in Ohio to bring attention to alleged

mistreatment of patients.



"Members of a Church of Scientology group, called the Citizens Commission

on Human Rights, recently protested outside the Judge Rotenberg Center in

Canton. Their banners read 'Patients Tortured Here' at the Rte. 138

center. One protester was Lorraine Barritz of Canton. She said she was

deeply disturbed to find that anyone in the community would be subjected

to such forms of cruelty and abuse. The protesters did not go inside or

have contact with the center staff.



"The Judge Rotenberg Center treats severely troubled clients. It uses

physical punishments with some patients. But it does not physical abuse

clients, he says.



"A Scientology official named Christopher Garrison, director of the

Citizens Commission on Human Rights, brought up the case of a woman who

died in the center in 1990. She died of a perforated ulcer. Garrison

charged a connection with a therapy she was undergoing. Garrison lists a

number of treatments his group dislikes. 'Tortures,' said one of the

banners, 'that have been used - electric shock, restraints, food

deprivation, foul odors, helmet static (noise), and physical abuse' are

all questionable therapies.



"In recent years the Center has been investigated and cleared in the death

of a different inmate. A court suit ended up clearing the Center and its

people in that case. Answering the more recent protests was the Center

director, Dr. Matthew Israel. He is the center's founder, too. Some of the

therapies on the Scientology list are actually legitimate treatments, he

notes. Physical restraints are part of some therapies. So is food used as

a reward, within limits. He calls the type of therapy used at the center

is known as 'aversive therapy' which involves behavioral modification.

Absolutely, Israel said no client had ever been physically abused at the

Center.



"What the Scientology group plans to do is uncertain. It asks those who

have violations of human rights to expose them through the Commission on

Human Rights, which is a private organization. Yes, the Judge Rotenberg

Center sometimes uses tough methods. And those can shock the uninitiated

lay person. Cases of physical abuse have to be guarded against at all

times in this sort of treatment. But the Scientologists have no case to

press here."



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Keith Henson



Keith Henson reported that Scientologists have interfered with efforts to

sell his home in Palo Alto, California by posing as interested real estate

agents.



"Santa Clara County Association of REALTORS

1525 Meridian Ave., Suite 101

San Jose, CA 95125



"Dear Board Members:



"I would like to call your attention to seriously unethical behavior on

the part of one of your members. I have been subject to attack from the

Scientology cult for years. After the cult corrupted the DA's office and

the courts in Hemet, CA I was sentenced to a year in jail for picketing

Scientology's desert compound over the two women they killed in the spring

and summer of 2000. As a result of death threats against me on the

Internet I elected to become a refugee in Canada rather than be subjected

to a Scientology controlled jail. This past summer my wife and I decided

to sell our Palo Alto home so she could join me in exile.



"We tried to sell it through an agent, but the ones we talked to were in

fear for their children should they take such a commission. So we sold it

ourselves, only to find it had an illegal lien in it. That involved the

bankruptcy court. The court ruled that my creditor (Scientology) should be

given a chance to get a better price. An agent contacted by our lawyer

told my wife that we had received fair market and that the existing sale

should go through since he could do no better. This would not give the

cult the delay they were seeking so they turned to a Scientologist, Pat

Dulleck who is a real estate agent as well as an agent for Scientology.



"I believe that bringing in an agent who is well known for infiltrating

and trying to destroy a Scientology splinter group and is a close

associate of Darlene Bright who works against me for the cult's dirty

tricks department is a violation of the court's orders. Pat Dulleck and

two others who we believe are also be Scientologists inspected my home

without identifying themselves as members of the cult that considers me an

enemy and will do anything under their 'fair game' policy to destroy me."



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Narconon



Narconon International Newsletter reported that a meeting of its Science

Advisory Board was held at its Oklahoma location.



"Narconon International held a major meeting of its Science Advisory Board

at Narconon Arrowhead. Attendees including Alfonzo Paredes, M.D., David

Root, M.D., Shelley Beckmann, Ph.D., and Jim Barnes. Also there were

friends and consultants of Narconon Arrowhead, Sandy MacNabb and Emery

Johnson, M.D. (former Asst. Surgeon General U.S.), as well as Arrowhead's

new Medical Director, Dr. Gerald Wooten.



"Other attendees who shared their experiences and knowledge were Dr.

Allan Sosin from Narconon Southern California, the distinguished Dr.

Schoenthaler from California State University Stanislaus, and with Michael

Phillips from Utah, who is completing a long-term outcome study on the

reduction of crime in juveniles who've completed the New Life Center

Narconon program.



"The day's discussions focused on how to design and complete a series of

objective evaluations and studies of the Narconon program's effectiveness.

Dr. David Root was elected the board's new Chairman; he has authored

several papers on L. Ron Hubbard's sauna detoxification program and

addressed international conferences. Finally, we were all honored to have

a special guest, 54-year veteran Oklahoma State Senator Gene Stipe, who

praised Narconon staff for their decades of care and help for addicts who

too many have rejected as hopeless."



The McAlester News-Capital & Democrat reported on September 24th that

Narconon celebrated the first anniversary of the new facility in Oklahoma.



"In 2000, the Association for Better Living and Education purchased the

former Arrowhead Lodge from the Choctaw Nation for $1.9 million and began

renovating it into a treatment center that officially opened for business

in August of that year. The program moved to the Arrowhead facility from

Chilloco, where it had been since 1989.



"Since its opening, Narconon Arrowhead has had numerous graduates finish a

treatment course at the center, according to Gary Smith, executive

director. In fact, 99 received certificates of completion during a

graduation ceremony Friday night. Luke Catton, president of Narconon

Arrowhead, called the anniversary a 'milestone,' since in one year the

facility had gone from 'opening to being nearly filled to capacity.'



"As the ceremony began, persons carrying flags representing 49 of the 50

United States and 15 foreign countries gathered at the front of a large

tent while those assembled joined to sing 'God Bless America.' State Rep.

Ray Miller, D-Whitefield, who attended the graduation Friday as well as

Saturday's anniversary ceremony, said, 'It was most touching, or heart

rending, I don't know the exact words to use, listening to addicts who

have broken the downward spiral of addiction.'"



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Protest Summary



Keith Henson reported a protest at the Toronto Scientology org on

September 28th.



"The unknown picketer and I put in a late afternoon picket at the Toronto

org Sat from about 5:40 to 6:40. As usual I was across the street (which

actually results in a lot more flyers being handed out). The Unknown

picketed in front of the org where 20 scns inside were rapidly reduced to

two.



"We gave out flyers at a faster rate than usual, 200 for me. I was giving

out the Parsonage flyers and again a number of people said they would call

and complain about a non-religion, non-charity getting a tax break on an 8

story office building."



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Priscilla Presley



The New York Daily News reported on September 26th that Priscilla Presley

thinks that her Husband Elvis would have been a Scientologist if he were

alive today.



"'I wish that he knew what Scientology was before he died,' the King's

ex-wife told us Tuesday night at a CD-release party for 'Elvis 30 #1 Hits'

at the Hard Rock Cafe. Like her daughter, Lisa Marie, Priscilla has long

been a member of the controversial church. And she's convinced that it

could have 'helped Elvis a lot' as he fought an addiction to prescription

drugs."



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Internet Archive



CNET News reported on September 24th that Scientology has removed archives

of certain web sites that are critical of Scientology.



"Buckling under pressure from the Church of Scientology, the Internet

Archive has removed a church critic's Web site from its system. The

Internet Archive, a site that preserves snapshots of old Web pages and

bills itself as 'a library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts

in digital form,' no longer contains links to archival pages of Xenu.net.

Instead, surfers are pointed to a page telling them the site was taken

down 'per the request of the site owner.'



"However, Xenu.net operator Andreas Heldal-Lund said he never made any

such request. Heldal-Lund, a Norwegian businessman and longtime church

critic, said he's eager for people to read archived pages of his site.

'I'm the author, and I never asked that it be removed,' he said. 'I

believe what's happening in this case is important history.'



"A representative of the Internet Archive said the organization, which is

run mostly by volunteers, took the pages down after lawyers for the Church

of Scientology 'asserted ownership of materials visible through' the site.

He said the group replaced the links with a generic error message about

blocked sites.



"However, the organization removed not only Xenu.net pages containing

excerpts from Church of Scientology documents, but also the entire

Xenu.net site, which contains pages crafted entirely by Heldal-Lund."



The Internet Archive issued a statement defending its actions.



"The Internet Archive archives data that is publicly available to provide

services, such as the Wayback Machine, that are useful to researchers,

historians and scholars. While we endeavor to provide as a complete a

record of the Web as possible, we are a small, non-profit, largely

volunteer organization with limited resources.



"Lawyers for the Church of Scientology contacted the Internet Archive,

asserted ownership of materials visible through the Wayback Machine, and

those materials have been removed from the Wayback Machine."



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