Tag: Religion and Churches

NEW YORK, N.Y. and LOS ANGELES, Calif., May 7, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Midtown Manhattan reverberated with angry voices chanting "Stop the Torture-Ban ECT" as a phalanx of protesters from Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) made their way from Times Square to the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) at Jacob Javits Convention Center. Their demands: The American Psychiatric Association must end coercive practices.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., May 2, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- An ensemble of 22 kids proved "Rock and Roll is Here to Stay" with their high-energy rendition of Grease [PG] at the Church of Scientology Los Angeles last week, produced and directed by Inner City Shakespeare Ensemble Founder and Executive Director Dr. Melanie Andrews.

BUDAPEST, Hungary, and LOS ANGELES, Calif., May 2, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- In the aftermath of the UN and World Health Organization guidance directing that psychiatry cease its coercive practices in the field of mental health, the European Psychiatric Association (EPA) Congress in Budapest in April 2024 attempted damage control. Their arrival sparked protest: a march and the launch of an exhibition to expose psychiatric violations, organized by the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, the mental health watchdog founded in 1969 by psychiatrist Thomas Szasz and the Church of Scientology.

COMPTON, Calif., May 2, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- On average, 22 adolescents ages 14 to 18 died of overdose in the U.S. every week in 2022. Each was a tragedy. Reaching youth with effective drug prevention can save young lives. Looking for a program that would get through to kids on this vital subject, Compton Unified School District (CUSD) decided to partner with the Foundation for a Drug-Free World. They began using its Truth About Drugs curriculum last summer. And the results proved they were right.

DIEPSLOOT, South Africa, and LOS ANGELES, Calif., May 1, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Citizens Commission on Human Rights South Africa brought the Psychiatry: An Industry of Death Exhibit to Diepsloot, a densely populated township in Gauteng, South Africa. The exhibit, held April 19 to 26, educated officials, business owners, members of African royalty and residents on human rights abuse, racism and harmful practices that pervade psychiatry, including its role in promoting racism.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 30, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Millions from across the country and around the world visit Hollywood each year, and among the district's unique attractions is the L. Ron Hubbard Life Exhibition which celebrated its 33rd anniversary this month. The museum presents the panorama of Mr. Hubbard's extraordinary life. With expertise in so many varied disciplines, he has been described as a man who lived 20 lifetimes in the span of one.

BARLETTA, Italy, and LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 27, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- A group known as Say No to Drugs (Dico No Alla Droga) has been active in drug prevention for more than 15 years throughout Puglia, the region that forms the heel of the boot of Italy. Joined by a corps of volunteers from the Church of Scientology Mission of Barletta, they contacted businesses and briefed individuals on the Truth About Drugs campaign to help kids decide to live an active, drug-free life.

ODISHA, India, and LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 25, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- In the 1880s, to call attention to the plight of the "untouchables" the famous Indian social activist Jyotirao Govindrao Phule coined a term to represent these people: "Dalit." United for Human Rights Odisha has taken on the challenge of restoring fair and equitable treatment to these and all people of India.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 24, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Even before Barbie and Ken entered the "real world," rollerblading in their dayglo outfits along its three-mile coastline, Venice Beach was a world-famous, iconic, great place to have some fun. But that wasn't the only reason the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre and its Hollywood Village Team selected Venice Beach for their April cleanup and their annual Earth Day activity.

NASHVILLE, Tenn., and LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 22, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Help is a central concept of the Scientology religion. In a lecture delivered by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard in 1958, he said, "the biggest right there is, is not the right to vote, is not the right to freedom of speech or press or religion or anything else. The biggest right there is in human rights is the right to help."

SYDNEY, Australia, and LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 18, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- The Psychiatry: An Industry of Death Exhibit, produced by Citizens Commission on Human Rights International, was held at Embassy Conference Centre on George Street in Sydney as one of the first phases of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights Psychiatry: An Industry of Death 2024 World Tour. Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) is an international mental health watchdog founded in 1969 by psychiatrist Thomas Szasz and the Church of Scientology.

SEATTLE, Wash., and LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 18, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Public Health Seattle King County reports 1,060 overdose deaths involving fentanyl in 2023 - up nearly 50 percent from 2022. For World Health Day 2024, Seattle's Church of Scientology invited a representative of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to shed light on the crisis.

FLORENCE, Italy, and LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 17, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Forced treatment, threats, restraints, crippling sedation: Despite past reforms, the horrors of the past are still stark facts of life for those caught in Italy's mental health system. This was the theme of a demonstration at the 2024 Congress of the Schizophrenia International Research Society in Florence. Both events were organized by Citizens Commission on Human Rights, a mental health watchdog founded in 1969 by psychiatrist Thomas Szasz and the Church of Scientology.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 16, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Some 1,500 guests from the Los Angeles Bangladeshi community gathered on L. Ron Hubbard Way for their annual Chaand Raat celebration. On the eve of Eid ul Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan, Muslims in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh celebrate Chaand Raat. The term means "The Night of the Moon" in Urdu and it signals the sighting of the crescent moon that ends a month of prayer, fasting and spiritual reflection.

ATLANTA, Ga., and LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 15, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- This year's Rx and Illicit Drug Summit highlighted a grim fact of life: "Overdoses and deaths involving synthetic opioids have reached record rates, and every community across our nation is feeling the impact." According to the CDC, more than half of opioid overdose deaths in 10 states studied tested positive for fentanyl. It's time to slam the pedal down on prevention, says Foundation for a Drug-Free World.

MUNICH, Germany, and LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 10, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- In July 2016, an armed shooter killed nine and injured 16, leaving Munich reeling. A team of volunteers from The Way to Happiness Association sponsored by the Church of Scientology of Munich literally took matters into their own hands. They began giving copies of The Way to Happiness to people one-on-one, beginning with those living or working in the district where the shootings took place.

NEW ORLEANS, La., and LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 10, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- United for Human Rights brought its youth-friendly human rights program to NSBA24 - National School Boards Association (NSBA) Conference for 2024 in New Orleans April 6 to 8. The purpose of NSBA is "to ensure each student everywhere has access to excellent and equitable public education governed by high-performing school board leaders and supported by the community." So how does human rights education relate to this endeavor?

WASHINGTON, D.C., and LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 10, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- L. Ron Hubbard joined the Boy Scouts in Tacoma, Washington, in 1923, in the early years of Scouting, a movement founded by Robert Baden-Powell in 1910. By the spring of 1924, Ron had not only earned an impressive 21 badges, he also led Washington, D.C., Troop 10 to victory in the Washington Post-sponsored Scout Advancement Competition and was one of four youths to represent Scouting at President Calvin Coolidge's Presidential Celebration of National Boys' Week. Five days later, two weeks after celebrating his 13th birthday, L. Ron Hubbard became the nation's youngest Eagle Scout.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 9, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- L. Ron Hubbard Life Exhibition in Hollywood, California, proudly announces a new permanent display featuring the royal bestowal of Datu and a Kris sword, presented by HRH Sultan Tomas Cabili Jr. and HRH Sultana Remedios Pastor of Mindanao, Philippines, on the anniversary of Mr. Hubbard's birthday.

AUSTIN, Texas, and LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 4, 2024, (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- SXSW EDU is an educator conference in Austin, Texas, "designed for the brightest minds in education to change the future of teaching and learning." United for Human Rights set up a booth at the conference, where human rights was a recurring topic in presentations, conferences and workshops. Educators, entrepreneurs, and members of civil society from across the U.S. around the globe visited the booth to learn about the program.