Teen Calls Scientology a 'Cult,' Faces Charges

Also talks Scientology in 'Playboy' interview

(NEWSER) - Tom Cruise promotes his upcoming musical Rock of Ages in the latest issue of Playboy , but not surprisingly, the movie talk isn’t getting quite as much attention as the quotes about Cruise’s personal life. Some highlights:

• On plastic surgery: "I haven't [gotten any], and I never would."
• On his PR nightmare: Asked what he learned from his controversial interview with Matt Lauer (in which he disparaged psychiatry and prescription drugs for post-partum depression) and his Oprah couch fiasco, Cruise replied, “When I go back and look at it, I find myself thinking, I don’t feel that way. I get how it came across, but I don’t feel that way, and I never have. Telling people how to live their lives? I saw how that came across and how pieces were edited.”

Censorship only builds pressure in Internet age, warns famous artist

(NEWSER) - Authoritarian societies are all about propaganda and control, but the Internet has destroyed both of those pillars, writes the famous Chinese artist Ai Weiwei in the Guardian . Unlike Russia's glasnost, China never really opened ideologically to the West, only practically. Then came the Internet, and thanks to blogs and microblogs—whether a silly post about breakfast or serious discussions of the news—people in China for the first time have gotten used to expressing themselves. "People have started to feel the breeze," writes Ai. More»

They currently can be, and the Supreme Court will weigh in on the subject

(NEWSER) - Since 2006, lying about military valor—claiming to have received a prestigious medal, for instance—could result in prosecution. But that could change after this Wednesday, when the Supreme Court reviews the Stolen Valor Act. Proponents of the law, which include the Obama administration, say it prevents fraud. Such liars are "impersonating somebody else," says a woman whose college essay pushing for the law made its way to Congress. But civil liberties groups, writers, and media outlets including the AP are concerned about the limits the Stolen Valor Act places on free speech—and the fact that it can turn people into criminals for things they say, rather than do. More»

Organization 'obsessed with fundraising,' disgruntled member says

(NEWSER) - A leading Scientologist is attempting to spark a revolt against chief David Miscavige, who has led the organization since the death of L. Ron Hubbard 26 years ago. Miscavige has ignored the teaching of L. Ron Hubbard and turned Scientology into a fundraising machine that bleeds wealthy members dry to construct lavish buildings and stockpile more than $1 billion in cash, Debra Cook wrote in an email to more than 12,000 current and former Scientologists. Cook was a top-ranking Scientology executive for decades before leaving the organization's payroll to start an Internet firm in 2008. More»

Church denies charges, calls her 'apostate'

(NEWSER) - A woman says she was imprisoned on a Scientology cruise ship for 12 years, unable to leave without an escort for the first six, and often forced to work long hours in the hot, noisy engine room, reports Australia's ABC News . Born into a Scientology family, Valeska Paris says the head of the church personally ordered her to the Scientology ship the Freewinds, site of the church's highest-level counseling course, when she was 18, after her mother left the church and denounced it on television. "I did not want to be there, I made it clear I did not want to be there," Paris said. More»