Source: www.digitalspy.co.uk
Scientologist spies allegedly deployed against Katie Holmes - Daily Telegraph
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch weighed in on the Tom Cruise-Katie Holmes divorce story Sunday, saying he thinks Scientologists are "creepy" and possibly even evil.
The News Corporation chief urged his Twitter followers to watch the story, which broke on Friday when Holmes announced she was filing from divorce from Hollywood A-lister Cruise, a prominent member of the Church of Scientology.
"Watch Katie Holmes and Scientology story develop. Something creepy, maybe even evil, about these people," Murdoch said on his Twitter account, @rupertmurdoch.
The fairytale Hollywood couple's split was revealed when Holmes' publicist announced that the actress had filed for divorce after five years of marriage, ending an unexpected love story dogged by tabloid rumors.
A spokesman for Cruise said the "Mission Impossible" star was "deeply saddened" by the news, fueling reports that his wife's announcement had taken him by surprise.
Speculation about why Holmes wanted out has included suggestions she was concerned that Cruise was forcing their six-year-old daughter Suri deeper into the Church of Scientology.
17 November 2006: Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes and their daughter Suri leave a restaurant in Rome the night before their wedding
The TMZ celebrity news website has reported that Holmes is seeking sole custody of Suri. Citing unnamed sources, it said she feared "that Tom would drag Suri deep into the church."
"We're told the couple had been arguing over Suri - that she's now of the age where Scientology becomes a significant part of her life," it said.
Murdoch's Scientology comment generated a surge of Twitter traffic, prompting another tweet: "Since Scientology tweet hundreds of attacks. Expect they will increase and get worse and maybe threatening.
"Still stick to my story," he added.
There was no immediate response to a request for comment from the Church of Scientology, or from publicists for Cruise or Holmes.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Rupert Murdoch brands Scientologists 'creepy and evil' as he warns Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise's divorce will 'develop' - Daily Mail
- Media mogul claims Cruise is high up in the organisation
- Outburst comes as Ms Holmes says she is being spied on by cult
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Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch has taken to Twitter to urge people to ‘watch’ Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise’s divorce, even labelling Scientologists as 'creepy and evil’.
The outspoken octogenarian tweeted: ‘Watch Katie Holmes and Scientology story develop. Something creepy, maybe even evil, about these people.’
His warning comes as Ms Holmes claimed that her every move has been tracked by a team of mystery men - who she believes have been sent to spy on her by the cult
Murdoch also posted that Cruise was ‘number two or three’ in the ‘very weird cult’.
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Evil Creeps: Rupert Murdoch, left, took to Twitter on Sunday telling people to 'watch' the divorce between Scientologists Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes saying there was 'something creepy, maybe even evil, about these people'
The News Corporation chief executive risks a Hollywood backlash as a number of movie big hitters, including actors such as Cruise and John Travolta, are involved with the cult.
Cruise has previously starred in a number of films made by Murodch’s 20th Century Fox, including Rain Man and Minority Report, but the most recent was the critical and commercial flop Knight and Day in 2010.
The media mogul sparked an immediate backlash with his controversial tweets.
He first tweeted yesterday morning: 'Scientology back in news. Very weird cult, but big, big money involved with Tom Cruise either number two or three in [hierarchy].'
Murdoch was quickly attacked for his comments with one user throwing the ‘creepy and evil’ insult right back at the 81-year-old tycoon.
However, Murdoch refused to back down tweeting later: 'Since Scientology tweet hundreds of attacks. Expect they will increase and get worse and maybe threatening. Still stick to my story.
After one user asked Murdoch for his views on Mormonism, he replied: ‘Mormonism a mystery to me, but Mormons certainly not evil.'
Katie Holmes, 33, filed for divorce from 49-year-old Tom Cruise, her husband of five years, in New York on Thursday.
Meanwhile, unknown people in two cars have been seen tailing Ms Holmes since before she filed for divorce, prompting speculation they are rogue Scientologists, it was claimed yesterday.
Controversial: The outspoken octogenarian first tweeted this about the Top Gun's position within Scientology
Backlash: Murdoch faced online attacks after posting this tweet but later refused to back down saying that he was 'sticking to his story'
The church insists the men have nothing to do with it, with the lawyer for the Church Gary Soter told TMZ that the Scientology movement is 'not following Katie or conducting surveillance on her in the wake of her divorce with Tom Cruise'.
But it has been claimed this tracking has been going on for weeks - even before Friday's shock announcement the pair will divorce.
According to TMZ, 'there have been several 'mysterious' men and vehicles around Katie's New York apartment and following her when she's out.
'Specifically ... a white Cadillac Escalade and black Mercedes SUV have been seen near Katie's NYC apartment for the past week.'
The site claims sources believe these cars' occupants are not journalists, but their identity has never been established.
Are they watching Katie? A white SUV has been spotted parked near a building where the actress has visited several times this week
Who are they? The mystery occupants of a black Mercedes have also been seen in places where Katie has been
The church insists the men have nothing to do with it, with the lawyer for the Church Gary Soter told TMZ that the Scientology movement is 'not following Katie or conducting surveillance on her in the wake of her divorce with Tom Cruise'.
But it has been claimed this tracking has been going on for weeks - even before Friday's shock announcement the pair will divorce.
The religion offers little advice to those for whom divorce has become the only option, preferring to focus on providing couple's therapy to fix relationships.
There is a belief in the church of Scientology that marital problems come from 'withholds' or 'overts' - undiscussed issues or problems.
According to the official website, marriage is considered essential to family life along with the belief that the religion will strengthen bonds between partners.
Scientologists also claim that people who follow the religion are more likely to stay married.
Sticking to his guns: The media mogul refused to back down when he was attacked on Twitter about his controversial remarks
Tom Cruise was seen leaving Reykjavik airport in a helicopter on Saturday after news emerged that Katie Holmes had filed for divorce
If a couple runs into a problem, they can take courses on how to improve their marriage or speak to counselors.
However Stephen Kent, a religion professor at the University of Alberta, told ABC: 'There's no real annulment in the church. Many members have been divorced, even founder L. Ron Hubbard was married three times.'
Murdoch also used Twitter today to criticise Mitt Romney’s campaign.
'Met Romney last week. Tough O [Obama] Chicago pros will be hard to beat unless he drops old friends from team and hires some real pros. Doubtful.'
He followed it up with a second tweet: ‘US election is referendum on Obama, all else is pretty minor.
If members of the church are tracking Ms Holmes, it would not be the first time that Scientologists have turned on those who have left the cult.
The church refers to people who leave the group but practice independently as 'squirrels.
Last year, bizarre footage emerged of a group of 'squirrel busters' who fitted cameras to their heads to 'stalk' one of its defectors.
Leader: The church's current chairman is David Miscavige
Marty Rathbun, once one of its highest-ranking members, left the church a few years ago but continued to practise independently.
He was reported to be in on the secrets of the church and 'audited' some of its high-profile members - including Tom Cruise.
And last April a group of four men wearing skyblue T-shirts and black caps with the words 'Squirrel busters productions' turned up at his door and said they were there to look at his 'PC meters' - a piece of scientology equipment - and check his 'tack'.
The T-shirts bore the image of a squirrel with Mr Rathbun's head superimposed onto it.
During the standoff, which lasts a couple of minutes and a video of which was on YouTube, Mr Rathbun asks the men if they are going to 'stick around' at his house and Mr Allender answers: 'Yeah, Marty, we are here for weeks. Weeks and weeks.'
Another added: 'As long as it takes.'
Mr Rathbun apparently called the police, and a deal was struck where he agreed not to bring harassment charges against the 'SquirrelSquad' and they would not peruse assault charges for grabbing a microphone.
'Weird cult': Murdoch alleged that Top Gun actor Tom Cruise was number two or three within Scientology's hierarchy
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Smash renews safety pleas at Stoneham blackspot - Lewes Today
A SERIOUS crash closed the A26 on Saturday afternoon and prompted further calls for safety improvements at a notorious accident blackspot.
It happened at Paygate Cottages in Stoneham when a Volkswagen Polo travelling south towards Lewes was in a head-on collision with a blue Ford van travelling north.
The Polo sheared the offside front wheel away from the van, which ended up crashing into hedging. The Polo itself spun 180 degrees before coming to a standstill with its front end completely stoved in.
Debris flew into the path of vehicles following those involved in the smash, but all of these – one of which was transporting a young baby – managed to avoid any damage themselves.
The driver of the Polo, a 22-year-old man from Crowborough, was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital with two broken arms. The van driver, a 42-year-old woman from East Sussex, was also taken to hospital suffering from minor injuries.
As well as the police and ambulance service, East Sussex Fire and Rescue also attended because of fears the Polo’s petrol tank had been punctured. The road remained closed for about three hours.
Sussex Police have thanked drivers and residents for their patience. A spokesperson said: “If you witnessed the collision or have any information that could help police with their enquiries please call 101, quoting serial 1038 of 23/6.”
Alex Grey, who lives at the crash scene, said: “This particular stretch of road has seen more than its fair share of serious incidents.
“The key problem seems to be the unpreparedness of vehicles travelling south along the fast, straight stretch of road between Ham Lane and Wellingham, who then round the sharp bend at Paygate Cottages and lose control on this narrow stretch of residential road.
“The sharpness of the bend is a leftover from a road-straightening scheme which was abandoned for lack of funds in the 1990s, and the cottages now act as an unfortunate flashpoint between the fast-flowing A26 and the 30mph zone which begins 500m down the road at Earwig Corner.
“In 2007, the speed limit south of Wellingham Lane was reduced from the National Speed Limit to 50mph, but this latest crash – which occurred in dry, bright conditions – demonstrates that this is still too fast.
“It is hoped that a further reduction to 30mph, which would bring Stoneham into line with the speed limit at nearby Malling, will finally be put in place now.
“Residents here are really concerned about their safety and that of passing motorists.”
Another resident, Diane Coomber, has lived at Stoneham since 1989 and said the stretch of the A26 there had a “shocking” accident record.
In October 2006, her cottage had to be substantially rebuilt after a 12-tonne truck crashed into it, causing £36,000-worth of damage. Luckily no-one was in the building at the time but she was appalled to be called home from work to find the lorry embedded in her home.
Mrs Coomber said the only safety solution would be to straighten the road. She also suggested the introduction of a speed camera and a speed-triggered ‘slow down’ sign at the side of the road.
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Print this pageSource: www.sussexexpress.co.uk
A racy aristocrat, his cheating fifth wife, her Romanian lover and a VERY expensive divorce - Daily Mail
By Paul Sims
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He has an estimated 120 million fortune, owns two stately homes and is regarded as one of Britain’s wealthiest aristocrats.
But the colourful personal life of the five-times married Marquess of Northampton is set to cost him dearly in the divorce courts once more.
His 60-year-old estranged wife has already been offered 15 million, including a 4 million home in central London, but is understood to want a further 10 million.
Acrimonious: Lord Northampton and Lady Pamela Northampton, who split in 2010 after a 20-year marriage, are currently in the midst of a bitter divorce battle
Happier times: The couple kiss for the cameras during a photo-shoot in 1999
Lord Northampton, 66, now fears he will have to sell one of his family’s most prized possessions – a 6 million portrait of Queen Mary I, painted in 1554 – to reach a settlement, say friends.
If not, the warring couple will return to the High Court in January for a very public battle that could cost a further 2 million in legal fees alone.
Their 20-year marriage ended acrimoniously in 2010 when Lord Northampton, born Spencer Compton and known as ‘Spenny’, accused his wife of having an affair with a close friend.
Until now, her secret lover’s identity has remained a mystery.
Affair: Lady Northampton's secret lover Dr Dan Stoicescu, a Romanian scientist and entrepreneur
But in the latest twist to an increasingly bitter divorce battle he has been unmasked as Dan Stoicescu, a Romanian-born scientist and entrepreneur.
Dr Stoicescu, 60, who has a PhD in chemistry and made his fortune from a pharmaceutical company, became friends with Lord Northampton six years ago after they met at a Freemasons gathering.
Lord Northampton and his wife later enjoyed a holiday with Dr Stoicescu in America.
‘Stoicescu showered them both with gifts,’ a friend of Lord Northampton’s told the Mail.
‘He bought a lot of jewellery for her in particular. He even spent several nights at Compton Wynyates, the family’s ancestral home in Warwickshire.
‘Spenny’s friendship with him cooled towards the end of 2008.
‘Nevertheless, Dr Stoicescu effectively employed Lady Northampton and they travelled extensively together.
‘Spenny had his suspicions about what was going on, but he couldn’t prove anything. He subsequently discovered the affair and was left in no doubt that the marriage was over.
‘He was shocked and now feels betrayed by someone he once regarded as one of his closest friends.’
Lord Northampton discovered his wife’s infidelity through taped telephone conversations between his wife and her 87-year-old father, James Howarth.
Incredibly, the conversations were taped by Mr Harworth’s partner, beautician Suzanne Shipwright, over several months.
She then passed them to Lord Northampton – although there is no suggestion he had any knowledge of the covert recordings – and he threw his wife out of the 84-room family home.
Outraged, Lady Northampton sued her husband separately for breach of privacy. The action was discontinued at a High Court hearing last week but has already cost an estimated 500,000.
As the couple’s feud escalated a close friend of Lady Northampton’s insisted that she had ‘put her heart and soul into the marriage’.
The friend told the Sunday Telegraph: ‘Spenny has had a chequered past and Pamela has had to put up with a great deal.
‘It’s fair to say that after 23 years together, the marriage was already faltering a considerable time before the relationship began with Dan.
Wealthy: Lord Northampton has an estimated 120 million fortune, owns two stately homes and is regarded as one of Britain's richest aristocrats
Warring: The Marquess, born Spencer Compton, has accused his wife of having an affair with a close friend
‘After the contributions Pamela (Lady Northampton) has made to Spenny’s properties, business and life, she is entitled to a good settlement.’
The couple first met in the late 1980s through mutual friends. Pamela Kyprios, as she was known then, was twice married, blonde and glamorous and in stark contrast to her husband came from a modest upbringing.
By then, Lord Northampton, nicknamed the Mystic Marquess because of his dabblings with Buddhism and spiritualism, had four failed marriages behind him.
In 1967 he married 18-year-old ambassador’s daughter Henriette Bentinck, who blamed their divorce after six years on ‘boredom and the vacuous life of the idle rich’.
Costly divorce: Lord Northampton apparently fears he will have to sell a 6 million portrait of Queen Mary I, painted in 1554 in order to reach a settlement with his estranged wife
The 7th Marquess then married 24-year-old model Annette Smallwood, but she divorced him after the peer cheated on her with Rose Dawson-Damer, sister-in law of the Earl of Portarlington, who became his third wife.
Wife number four was ex-model Fritzi Erhardt, who married Lord Northampton shortly after divorcing Viscount Cowdray.
Speaking from his home on the shore of Lake Geneva, Dr Stoicescu told the Mail: ‘At the moment I have no comment to make.
‘I am having lunch with my son and I am trying to focus on real things.’
English divorce law largely protects inherited wealth, meaning Lord Northampton’ s two stately homes, Compton Wynyates and Castle Ashby, will remain intact for his heir.
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes Divorce: More Details Emerge - MTV
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes shook up the celebrity news cycle on Friday when they announced their divorce after years of rumors and five years of marriage.
In a new People cover story, sources told the magazine that Cruise was blindsided by Holmes' divorce filing. "He had no idea this was coming," an insider said. "He's totally devastated and heartbroken."
The magazine reports Holmes' father, Ohio-based attorney Martin Holmes, was key in helping her split from her husband. Holmes is also seeking sole custody of the couple's only child, 6-year-old Suri. "She's a strong person and makes up her own mind," the source said. "She's unwavering."
Just a day after news broke of their impending divorce, Cruise was spotted on the set of his upcoming film "Oblivion" in Reykjavik, Iceland. "Tom just wants to work hard and finish everything on time," a source told Usmagazine.com. In fact, Holmes had been on the movie set with Cruise just weeks before she filed for divorce.
"They were like all the young families that come in here," a source said of their trip to the local Sushi Samba. "It's almost impossible to think they're getting divorced because they seemed very happy that night."
According to the report, Holmes is currently staying in a Manhattan apartment she rented on her own before officially splitting from Cruise.
Since the announcement, there had been speculation that the Church of Scientology had been following Katie in the weeks before she filed. In a statement to TMZ, which originally reported on the allegation, the church denied tailing the actress.
When the news of the split was announced, Holmes hoped that the divorce could stay as private as possible. "This is a personal and private matter for Katie and her family," Holmes' attorney Jonathan Wolfe said in a statement on Friday. "Katie's primary concern remains, as it always has been, her daughter's best interest."
In his own statement, Cruise's camp said, "Kate has filed for divorce and Tom is deeply saddened and is concentrating on his three children. Please allow them their privacy to work this out."
Source: www.mtv.com
Woman dies after being hit by car in Shoreham - BBC News
A 42-year-old woman pedestrian has died after a collision on the westbound carriageway of the A27 in Sussex.
An Audi being driven by a 39-year-old woman hit the pedestrian at the junction of Steyning Road in Shoreham at about 00:30 BST on Sunday.
The woman from Portslade died at the scene from her injuries, police said.
The A27 was closed for more than three hours while the emergency services were at the scene. Sussex Police have asked for any witnesses to contact them.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Rupert Murdoch call scientologists evil. Hmmmn... Dear Pot, how are you? Love kettle.
- Fatgirl Tries..., Yorkshire, England, 02/7/2012 15:10
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