It's a pretty revealing three part article from the St. Petersburg Times written back in June.
― musicfanatic, Tuesday, 27 October 2009 22:24 (fourteen years ago) link
I wonder if Haggis has googled Xenu yet.
― Matt Armstrong, Tuesday, 27 October 2009 22:51 (fourteen years ago) link
From his letter: To see you lie so easily, I am afraid I had to ask myself: what else are you lying about?
I totally feel that, it's a reason I left the Mormon church...so weird seeing your religion's leader saying something on the TV to cover PR that completely contradicts what you're told at church.
― we are normal and we want our freedom (Abbott), Wednesday, 28 October 2009 00:18 (fourteen years ago) link
I think Scientology is like a blown up version what I dislike about religion. Pedantic self-righteous lying bastards. -> Oops, I guess I'm still pretty much an atheist despite mentioning on the Prayer thread that I mellowed when it came to religion. heehee
― Nathalie (stevienixed), Wednesday, 28 October 2009 08:46 (fourteen years ago) link
The T-shirt would read 'I spent 13 years talking about it and all I got was this $150,000 debt.'
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 25 January 2010 16:15 (fourteen years ago) link
The page you have requested cannot be found.It may have moved or may no longer be available.You may want to try searching tampabay.com for the content you desire.
― I'm FINNISH!!!! (s1ocki), Monday, 25 January 2010 16:16 (fourteen years ago) link
Had to redo the link, try again. Alternate, Gawker summary:
http://gawker.com/5456002/how-to-spend-150000-on-scientology-the-larry-anderson-story
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 25 January 2010 16:17 (fourteen years ago) link
Oopsy:
http://markrathbun.wordpress.com/2010/05/07/david-miscavige-violates-tom-cruises-confessional/
― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 8 May 2010 06:35 (fourteen years ago) link
Ding ding... Round Two
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/sep/28/church-of-scientology-john-sweeney
― Tom A. (Tom B.) (Tom C.) (Tom D.), Wednesday, 29 September 2010 12:50 (thirteen years ago) link
Watched that last night. Interesting that there's a "reformation" movement of scientologists who've left the official church but still believe in scientology as a religion, which I was completely unaware of before.
― a fucking stove just fell on my foot. (Colonel Poo), Wednesday, 29 September 2010 12:55 (thirteen years ago) link
Did that image work?
http://images.onesite.com/blogs.telegraph.co.uk/user/ceri_radford/sweeney15.jpg
― Tom A. (Tom B.) (Tom C.) (Tom D.), Wednesday, 29 September 2010 12:55 (thirteen years ago) link
That one did
― a fucking stove just fell on my foot. (Colonel Poo), Wednesday, 29 September 2010 12:56 (thirteen years ago) link
First one was better though
― Tom A. (Tom B.) (Tom C.) (Tom D.), Wednesday, 29 September 2010 12:56 (thirteen years ago) link
GAH NOT AVAILABLE IN U.S.
― aerosmith: live at gunpoint (underrated aerosmith albums I have loved), Wednesday, 29 September 2010 12:57 (thirteen years ago) link
This guy, so creepy
http://wwwimg.bbc.co.uk/programmes/i/512xn/44e31897325e72522fc6a2271f3c738f144ae9cb.jpg
― a fucking stove just fell on my foot. (Colonel Poo), Wednesday, 29 September 2010 12:57 (thirteen years ago) link
http://media.filmschoolrejects.com/images/raiders_face.jpg
― Les centimètres énigmatiques (snoball), Wednesday, 29 September 2010 12:57 (thirteen years ago) link
(obviously his face is about to melt because he's looking into a volcano as atom bombs detonate to slaughter trillions of frozen space aliens)
― Les centimètres énigmatiques (snoball), Wednesday, 29 September 2010 12:58 (thirteen years ago) link
Yo aerosmith:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPlYQx5vjcg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HHr9g3VDFk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9oGzBCmGmM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEy8qfuTPpA
― Harrison Buttwhistle (NickB), Wednesday, 29 September 2010 13:12 (thirteen years ago) link
hell yes nick b, thanks so much
― aerosmith: live at gunpoint (underrated aerosmith albums I have loved), Wednesday, 29 September 2010 13:35 (thirteen years ago) link
Man this is an awesome doco.
― cathedral-sized jellyfish in your mind (Trayce), Saturday, 2 October 2010 12:52 (thirteen years ago) link
wow, amazing how much healthier and happier Rinder looks now that he's out.
― Matt Armstrong, Saturday, 2 October 2010 17:54 (thirteen years ago) link
I didnt see the first doco, but those clips early on in this one with adherents all saying how good $ci is were creepy... the vacant, distant stare in their eyes. Reciting the lines like rote.
I just kept thinking of the Movementarians (even though Groening denies that was explicitly a dig at $cientology, but I dont buy it).
― cathedral-sized jellyfish in your mind (Trayce), Sunday, 3 October 2010 00:08 (thirteen years ago) link
Couldn't get into the documentary. Sweeney seems to be on a mission to 'prove' they were after him. Their 'scientology methods' included calling him names and interrupting him? Is that it? The only disturbing information here is that the government give scientology tax breaks and the torys are harbouring a supporter in the ranks.
― mmmm, Sunday, 3 October 2010 00:26 (thirteen years ago) link
There was a bit much of the paranoid camera angles and over dramatic music, yeah. That did annoy me.
― cathedral-sized jellyfish in your mind (Trayce), Sunday, 3 October 2010 01:04 (thirteen years ago) link
and his voice is so doomy and dramatic all the time!
I thought he spent too much time on how he personally was so persecuted and not enough time on the breakaway scientologists who still practised, the lives of the ex-scientologists - how you cope with leaving something like that is way more interesting to me than some english dude being aggrieved in stentorian tones.
― no szigeti (c sharp major), Sunday, 3 October 2010 07:12 (thirteen years ago) link
I wish we could see all of the celebrity interviews. I probably could watch 10 hours of that.
The look on Leah Remini's face when he asks her about Xenu is so difficult to put into words.
― Matt Armstrong, Sunday, 3 October 2010 07:22 (thirteen years ago) link
All the slebs reactions made me want to puke. Kirsty Alley was defensive as fuck in a really ugly way. No wonder they denied it being on the doco.
― cathedral-sized jellyfish in your mind (Trayce), Sunday, 3 October 2010 07:28 (thirteen years ago) link
I mean come on. "Would you say this to a JEW?!"
Well no, because uh.. COME ON.
― cathedral-sized jellyfish in your mind (Trayce), Sunday, 3 October 2010 07:29 (thirteen years ago) link
― cathedral-sized jellyfish in your mind (Trayce), Saturday, October 2, 2010 8:08 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark
Considering Nancy Cartwright (the voice of Bart Simpson, Nelson, and others) is a $cientologist, I tend to believe him. Sadly, that's one topic that's probably off-limits to the writers; they can ill afford to piss off one of the show's defining voices.
― Sterling-Kinney (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Sunday, 3 October 2010 08:06 (thirteen years ago) link
That did occur to me yeah.
― cathedral-sized jellyfish in your mind (Trayce), Sunday, 3 October 2010 09:50 (thirteen years ago) link
[In portentous, dramatic voice] "Years ago ... we investigated ... this crazy cult ... and its crazy track record ... of craziness. They called me names. They even made me ... yell. Now, years later, we return, to see ... if anything ... has changed. And if ... it will happen ... again." [looks over shoulder] "But am I prepared ... emotionally ... physically ... for exactly what I expect will happen? There's only one way ... to find out" [picks up rock and throws it at hornet's nest/angry moose/sleeping lion/policeman's head]
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 3 October 2010 13:55 (thirteen years ago) link
ha ha otm
― ♫ Ba-sic space, o-pen air ♪ (sic), Monday, 4 October 2010 00:40 (thirteen years ago) link
i guess i should be more freaked out by these guys than i am? discrete cabal of christian theocrats (i.e. C-Street creeps) wielding undemocratic influence over foreign and domestic policy is way scarier tbh
― hypnosis is the reason some Jewish people backed him → (will), Monday, 4 October 2010 00:53 (thirteen years ago) link
If you have only watched the nine-minute edit of the video where Tom Cruise accepts the award for the Freedom Medal of Valor, you should really watch the full 40 minutes, because it is exceptional. Part 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMvAXpq7Xj4
― funky house skeptic (polyphonic), Wednesday, 6 October 2010 21:08 (thirteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9onb8RcVnmE
― FORTIFIED STEAMED VEGETABLE BOWL (schlump), Wednesday, 6 October 2010 22:23 (thirteen years ago) link
lol
― crude interloper of a once august profession (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 6 October 2010 22:30 (thirteen years ago) link
its just KSW *swoosh* - and the suppression is shattered!
― I'm a DUDE, Dad! (Viceroy), Wednesday, 6 October 2010 22:39 (thirteen years ago) link
My favorite part is when he talks about that and the fact that his mere existence as OT9000 keeps sociopaths (suppressive persons) away from him.
― I'm a DUDE, Dad! (Viceroy), Wednesday, 6 October 2010 22:41 (thirteen years ago) link
I assume he means that when he encounters a SP he just does the manual of bullying tactics that is used to shout them down?
― Matt Armstrong, Wednesday, 6 October 2010 22:56 (thirteen years ago) link
no, SPs can't get close to him. they are like physically repulsed by his massive amounts of theta.
― I'm a DUDE, Dad! (Viceroy), Wednesday, 6 October 2010 22:59 (thirteen years ago) link
he doesn't need to do "suppression shatter" but he's still a big fan of it.
― I'm a DUDE, Dad! (Viceroy), Wednesday, 6 October 2010 23:03 (thirteen years ago) link
I tht people were just physically repulsed cz he is Tom Cruise.
― cathedral-sized jellyfish in your mind (Trayce), Wednesday, 6 October 2010 23:27 (thirteen years ago) link
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/02/14/110214fa_fact_wright
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 7 February 2011 19:35 (thirteen years ago) link
Brolin says that he once witnessed John Travolta practicing Scientology. Brolin was at a dinner party in Los Angeles with Travolta and Marlon Brando. Brando arrived with a cut on his leg, and explained that he had injured himself while helping a stranded motorist on the Pacific Coast Highway. He was in pain. Travolta offered to help, saying that he had just reached a new level in Scientology. Travolta touched Brando’s leg and Brando closed his eyes. “I watched this process going on—it was very physical,” Brolin recalls. “I was thinking, This is really fucking bizarre! Then, after ten minutes, Brando opens his eyes and says, ‘That really helped. I actually feel different!’ ” (Travolta, through a lawyer, called this account “pure fabrication.”)
― goole, Monday, 7 February 2011 20:05 (thirteen years ago) link
this whole thing is O_O as hell and you all need to read it. i knew some of the lingo and understood it to be a big scam but this is nuttier and more horrible than i expected.
― goole, Monday, 7 February 2011 22:02 (thirteen years ago) link
Waiting for my hard copy to show up, I'm still not keen on reading articles that long on screen.
― one pretty obvious guy in the obvious (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Monday, 7 February 2011 22:05 (thirteen years ago) link
that shit about the kids' education is pretty horrible
― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Monday, 7 February 2011 22:10 (thirteen years ago) link
In late September, Davis and Feshbach, along with four attorneys representing the church, travelled to Manhattan to meet with me and six staff members of The New Yorker. In response to nearly a thousand queries, the Scientology delegation handed over forty-eight binders of supporting material, stretching nearly seven linear feet...
― goole, Monday, 7 February 2011 22:20 (thirteen years ago) link
great article
― congratulations (n/a), Monday, 7 February 2011 23:08 (thirteen years ago) link
First Scientology piece I've read that addresses its latent/blatant homophobia, not to mention explicitly alludes to certain high-profile closeted gay Scientologists, which would be merely salacious were it mentioned in a publication other than the New Yorker.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 7 February 2011 23:17 (thirteen years ago) link