It’s a crying shame that when someone is fighting what is arguably the biggest battle of their life, they have to worry that some unscrupulous, money-grubbing twit is going to sell their secrets to the tabloids.  That’s what happened to Farrah Fawcett, as she continues her fight against cancer:

UCLA Medical Center has disciplined an employee for snooping in Farrah Fawcett’s medical records, the hospital said Wednesday, a few weeks after announcing that several employees were fired for taking peeks at Britney Spears’ files.

Fawcett expressed concern to a doctor in May that details of her condition were being leaked to tabloids, and he reported it to hospital executives, UCLA spokeswoman Roxanne Moster said.

Fawcett’s attorney, Kim Swartz, said an employee at the hospital accessed Fawcett’s medical records without authorization, and details about her cancer treatment later showed up in the National Enquirer. The tabloid published details about a recurrence in Fawcett’s cancer before she had a chance to tell family and friends, Swartz said.

“She’s a very private person and she’s reluctant to go public about this, let alone take legal action,” Swartz said. “She’s fighting for her life.”

Farrah was declared cancer-free in February 2007, but the cancer returned a few months later.  She has been seeking treatment in Germany:

“It’s disturbing to her when there are false reports that she’s given up and wants to die, when the opposite is true,” said Swartz. “She’s a strong person and a fighter.” […]

“She is cautiously optimistic,” Craig J. Nevius told the Times. Nevius is producing a documentary about the former star of “Charlie’s Angels” and her battle with cancer.

“Farrah has learned the hard way that with cancer, the test is time. At the moment she has no detectable cancer,” he said.

In related snoopiness, several workers were disciplined and thirteen were fired after peeking around in Britney’s files when she had her 5150 hold a few months ago.

For the Enquirer’s part, they are taking the high road:

Enquirer senior reporter Alan Smith told the Times that Fawcett’s cancer is newsworthy.

“We publish what we believe is accurate,” he said.

Isn’t that nice.  I could come on here and say that Britney is the spawn of two aliens and that she drinks goat’s blood for breakfast, claim that I believe it is accurate, and I guess that makes it journalism.  Hey, I just found a way to make my job a whole lot easier!  Forget all the fact-checking, cross-referencing, and making sure I get my story straight, I’ll just pull things out of my butt and say, “I believe it is accurate.”  Because if I believe it, it’s so!

Look, whether you are Farrah Fawcett, Britney Spears, or Joe Schmoe The Ragpicker, when you enter a hospital you have certain expectations of privacy.  Anyone who would sell things like this to the tabloid press should not only be fired but prevented from working in any sort of health-care industry again, no matter if they were a nurse or a janitor.  You need to concentrate on getting well, not worrying about whether somebody is rifling through your personal files.

Our prayers and best wishes go out to Farrah in her continued recovery.

Part 2 in the series of Glosslip’s interview with Andrew Morton we discuss the disintegration of Tom Cruise’s marriage to Nicole Kidman and what influence Scientology has had on Nicole’s disconnection and separation from her children, Isabella, age 16 and Connor, age 13.

Andrew discussed PTSSP Rundown, a course teen Scientologists are given to during their adolescence which in cases of divorce or separation from parents can in effect cause “disconnect” to take place. Andrew suggests what will happen with Nicole’s children, and what we’ve already witnessed happening to their relationship when Tom left Nicole and she parted ways with Scientology.

With the McCartney divorce brouhaha, I kind of overlooked that Howard K. Stern testified in the ongoing Daniel Smith inquest.  He told the court that he did not give Daniel drugs, nor did he see Anna Nicole Smith do so:

Stern said he had no idea Daniel was taking any kind of prescription medication, including Methadone. Stern said from September 2005 until June 2006, he wasn’t even around as much because he was working full time on Anna’s fight with Pierce Marshall.

Stern said there was no duffel bag full of medication at the hospital where Daniel died. He said neither he nor Anna brought any medication into the hospital. As for Stern giving Daniel Methadone, he said absolutely not.

Stern said when he first learned that the toxicology report said that Methadone or any other medication was in Daniel’s system, he didn’t believe it.

He also told the court the while he did take a photograph of Daniel after he died, it was not for nefarious purposes:

Stern also talked about the photo he took in the hospital room of Anna with Daniel after he died. He said Anna would not believe Daniel had died and she wanted to bring Daniel home with her. Stern testified Anna wanted him to take a photo because she couldn’t accept Daniel was dead and needed the photo for proof. Stern said he took the photo, never made money off it and would do it again.

Stern testified he was asleep when an agitated Anna said, “Howard, Howard, Daniel’s not breathing.” Stern said he went over and touched Daniel’s neck but found no pulse. They pushed the emergency button, workers came in the room to resuscitate him, to no avail. They tried to physically remove Anna but she would not break away. After the doctors stopped, both Stern and Anna continued resuscitation efforts.

The whole situation is heartbreaking.  If it were my son, I might react in the same way.  Who is to say what is proper behavior when one loses a child?

But it is heartbreaking in another way as well…the argument could be made that while it is sad that Daniel died, it is equally as sad that he never really got the chance to live.  Not live as a normal, anonymous, regular person, that is.  He spent most of his life in the fishbowl of his famous mother’s life, only he tried as best he could to stay hidden in the shadows.  I think it eventually got to him and he acted out in the only way he knew how…by turning to drugs.

Yes, I know that you can do everything right as a parent and your child still go astray, and you can do everything wrong as a parent and somehow your child turns out okay.  But if Anna Nicole seriously thought that her son would grow up to be even relatively normal, she was more deluded than we originally thought.

And say what you will about HKS (and I have), I hope in this case he is telling the truth.  I’m still not quite convinced that he didn’t give Daniel drugs at some point, or at least knew about them, but I’m going to say that he is telling the truth about not bringing a bag of drugs to the hospital (hospitals don’t let you bring in your own medication) and the photograph.

Regardless, it’s a very sad situation all around.

While covering the DC Anonymous event, I was extremely pleased to have the opportunity to meet Jean Marie, the young woman I wrote about during the last Anonymous protest in February, in person.

Jeanne Marie shared her story on Glosslip Radio, as well as, with the crowd. She is brave and fearless in the way she holds nothing back about the death of her father who committed suicide after being turned away for help from the Church of Scientology.

Jean Marie’s father was a member of the Church for many years, but when he began to suffer from an extreme bout of depression and reached out to his faith for help, they declared him an SP, or supressive person. This fundamentally changed her father and he quickly spiraled into a state of complete despair, and based on her eye-witness account, he did what Scientology instructs its members to do when they have no use for them any longer: go away and die. Like a faithful parishioner, he complied, leaving Jean Marie and her sister and mother alone, with their hearts broken.

I am personally pleased to have been able to capture Jean Marie addressing the crowd once more, and getting to meet her in person. She is even more beautiful than I imagine, as well as sincere, engaging and kind.

Jean Marie, among all the reasons I continue to expose the abuses of the Church of Scientology, I do it for you.

Your story, your heart, and your hurt move me immeasurably.

Where is Scientology’s heart? Where’s their compassion? When will they take responsibility for your pain?

I have a YouTube video waiting to go up which mentions Jenna, Astra and Kendra’ s new site Exscientologykids.com, but the internets and YouTube are constantly conspiring against me and I could wait no longer for my video to upload before letting those who are currently trapped inside Scientology know that people are out there to help you.

I have been getting contacted by many, many people who are afraid, but bravely willing to break free from the chains that bind them to the Church of Scientology.

To those still trapped by the Church, please know people care about you.

There are people who’ve been where you are now, Jenna Miscavige for example. Her uncle, David Miscavige, is the head of the Church of Scientology. Jenna, like many people who’ve been inside the Church of Scientology, state it is difficult to leave. Scientology has a process which members must go through in order to leave and part of that process is being declared a “suppressive person” or a “potential trouble source.” These SP’s and PTS have reported being threatened, harassed, disconnected from loved ones still inside the Church, and ultimately cut off completely from their former lives for choosing to leave.

The experience can be distressing, alienating, confusing and for many, disorienting. Now imagine you are a child going through this. In Scientology, they believe children are merely souls — old souls having lived many lives before — simply trapped inside a child’s body. Because of this, Scientology takes no special measures to protect children from traumatic events, such as being separated from loved ones.

Contrary to Scientology’s beliefs, all professions who deal with children, such as pediatricians, counselors, teachers, child psychologists and child development researchers, will tell you children are special. They require different treatment than adults. Their minds and bodies are still developing - and therefore - quite impressionable. It’s not only important, but essential they should be treated with a sense of responsibility, care and concern for their well-being. With this in concern in mind these three brave young women have developed a kid-centric, kid-friendly website to address these concerns.

Please help spread the word so we can reach the people who need to see this.

SCIENTOLOGY KIDS, A Special Message To You:

If you have suffered from abuse, are afraid, feel isolated, please know you aren’t alone. There are groups willing to give you the support you need. Go visit Exscientologykids.com. It may seem a little strange to you at first, but the people who are running this website were where you are now, and they have designed this site with you in mind.

You are an innocent person. We love and care about you. Don’t be afraid. There are people who want to protect you from being exploited. If you can’t go anywhere now, please know that there are lots of very concerned people working to help you. Stay strong, you are NOT alone.

In what is being reported as an apparent suicide, 39 year-old Clearwater resident Shawn Lonsdale, an outspoken local critic of Scientology, was found dead in his home on Saturday.

The St. Petersburg Times has more details:

But wait, there’s more…

Today marks one year since Anna Nicole Smith died of an accidental overdose of prescription medicine. Anna was 39 years old at the time of her death.

A mere six months prior to Anna’s death, the model-turned-reality star was blessed with a joyous occasion, the birth of her second child Dannielynn, only to face the worst moment any parent could ever face a mere three days later, the death of her son, 20-year-old Daniel.

Anna’s never been easy to pigeonhole or analyze as a media figure. She’s either engaged or disengaged. When Anna was engaged with the world, she was vivacious, stunningly beautiful and charismatic. When she was disengaged she seemed confused, unfocused and randomly distracted.

But wait, there’s more…

Forgive me for not giving a crap about this nutjob’s “apology.” Apologies only count when you decide to do it on your own because you realize you have hurt or offended someone, not because you’ve been forced in to it, due to overwhelming pressure from higher-ups.

Not only did this hateful buttplug cheapen Heath Ledger’s death, an absolutely crass, cruel and pointless thing to do, but he’s been making fun of gay people for some time now. Haven’t we had enough of this right-wing based agenda of hate?

Here’s the original clip where John mocks Heath’s death, and makes fun of his one-time role playing a gay/bi-sexual cowboy in the critically acclaimed film “Brokeback Mountain.”

But wait, there’s more…

This is just really horrifyingly awful. Popular actor, and Academy Award nominee Heath Ledger has been found dead in his Soho, NY apartment. MSNBC is reporting:

A New York Police Department spokesman says the actor Heath Ledger has been found dead at a downtown Manhattan residence.
According to TMZ.com, Ledger, 28, was found dead in his bed in one of his residences in Soho by his housekeeper at 3:35 p.m. ET Tuesday.

The actor has a two-year-old daughter with former fiancee Michelle Williams. Ledger was set to play the Joker in the upcoming Batman film “The Dark Knight.” He received an Academy Award nomination for his work in “Brokeback Mountain.”

Additional information on Heath’s death is being reported by NY Times:

At 3:31 p.m., a masseuse arrived at Apartment 5A in the building for an appointment with Mr. Ledger, the police said. The masseuse was let in to the home by a housekeeper, who then knocked on the door of Mr. Ledger’s bedroom. When no one answered, the housekeeper and the masseuse opened the bedroom and found Mr. Ledger unconscious. They shook him, but he did not respond. They immediately called the authorities. The police said they did not suspect foul play. Officials said pills fear found near the body.

Heath, who won critical acclaim for his role as a bi-sexual cowboy in the widely praised hit film Brokeback Mountain met his ex-fiance, Michelle Williams, who’s the mother of his two-year old daughter, Matilda Rose, while filming that movie. Heath and Michelle have been separated since last year. Heath’s most recent finished project was playing the Joker in the new Batman film, The Dark Knight. Ledger was currently working on the new Terry Gilliam film in London,”The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,” which is set to be released next year.

No confirmed cause has been given for how or why Heath died. But based on reports, and recent stories about Heath in the tabloids he may have been suffering from some sort of depression over his split back in the fall from Michelle Williams.

Very, very sad. RIP Heath.

Update: TMZ has been updating on this story and here’s what we know so far:

*Heath’s body was found face down on a bedroom floor of his apartment and there were no visible signs of trauma.
*Heath had a history of substance abuse problems, but was reportedly clean in the last year.
*Prescription sleeping pills were strewn all over the bed in the room Heath was found.
*Contrary to earlier reports, Heath was NOT at Mary Kate Olsen’s apartment.
*An autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow, and law enforcement are not ready to say whether Heath’s death was an accidental overdose, or a suicide.

We’ll keep you posted as further details emerge.

I will be joining Shaun Daily on BlogTalkRadio’s BTR Today show in 20 minutes or so and will definitely be discussing this terrible news. If you wish to listen or call in with question - click here.

Update 2: Heath Ledger was suffering from pneumonia at the time of his death, further complicating the events which may have lead to his passing. He was NOT found on the floor, but rather in his bed naked. He was placed on the floor by emergency workers and reports are stating he had been gone for a while before his body was found.

His family has also taken greats pains in emphasizing he DID NOTkill himself, as he’s “not that kind of person.” His ex, Michelle Williams is said to be “devastated” by the news of Heath’s death. We will certainly be hearing more from those who knew him over the next few days. I pray for the sake of his family, his death is found to be accidental.

I am just really stricken. His poor little Matilda, no one should loose their daddy at such a young age.

Just when you think the Church of Scientology couldn’t get any more bizarre, they go and do something like this.

The article from today’s NYDN’s Gategrasher quotes best-selling author (and next week’s Glosslip Radio guest) Ian Halperin from his upcoming “undercover” expose on the Church of Scientology. From Ben Widdiecombe’s article:

Have you been wondering who Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, who died in 1986, would vote for to be President?

Investigative journalist Ian Halperin has. The best-selling author is about to publish “Hollywood Undercover,” his exposé of the controversial church. But when he asked a Scientology recruiter in Los Angeles the question, he received the most offensive response imaginable.

“He said, ‘I can tell you who shouldn’t be President - Barack Obama, Condoleezza Rice and the Rev. Al Sharpton. They should not be allowed to run for office, they should be sweeping the office.”

Clearly we can imagine the Church’s response to this story will go something like “The views expressed by one radical member of the church in no way reflect the views of the Church itself. The Church embraces people of all ethnic and racial backgrounds are is proud of it’s multi-rational membership.” Or some such wishy-washy backtracking nonsense.

And then they will likely hire some Scientology goon to shadow whoever made that statement and that person will POOF! vanish into thin air. Think I am kidding? Don’t be too sure. I have written several stories about Scientology over the years and not so coincidentally, have been contacted by members of the Church more than once, who were quite savvy about where I lived and what I’ve been up to. Nothing overtly threatening, just an air of “weirdness.”

These past couple weeks have been a difficult time for the Church with some very inflammatory assertions being leveled at the Church, by yet another best-selling author, biographer to the stars, Andrew Morton. While some of Morton’s claims seem a bit outlandish, including one suggesting Tom and Katie Cruise’s daughter Suri is the product of some creepy insemination process using L.Ron Hubbard’s frozen sperm, to a secret COS mission to take over Germany, the media itself seems to be in agreement on one thing: The Church of Scientology isn’t exactly what you’d call “kosher.”

Hopefully, Ian’s new book, which has him posing as “as a gay man wishing to be “cured” by Scientology” will in fact, shed some light on what goes one behind close doors. Halperin also “aims to expose the prejudice of the church,” which clearly exists considering the above statement about Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Senator (and popular presidential candidate) Barack Obama and Reverend Al Sharpton.

Oh, and I’d be quite remiss in not mentioning this past week’s leaked Scientology Indoctrination videos featuring an impassioned and completely unhinged Tom Cruise’s fervent proselytizing of the powers of Scientology from website Gawker. Whom, btw, were immediately hit with a cease and desist from COS lawyers. So far, the video remains available on their website, but who knows for how long.

Be sure to tune in to next Sunday’s Glosslip Radio show when we can talk to Ian himself about what he saw and heard during his investigative undercover reporting on the Church of Scientology.

Update: As I anticipated, the Scientologists and their feverish paranoid masses have tried to refute the claims of the COS being a bunch of racists xenophobes, so I was presented a quote direct from L. Ron Hubbard himself to his second wife. Thanks to Ian for the quote. There’s also some other interesting quotes noted by barb in the comments section below. iI recommend you check it.

L. Ron Hubbard to second wife: “You shouldn’t be scrubbing the floor on your hands and knees. Get yourself a nigger; that’s what they’re born for”.