Panorama - Scientology

[Kezza]

The best Scientology-centered episode I've ever seen is South Park's "Trapped in the Closet." It's so d**n funny, and the creators even make fun of the litigious nature of the followers. Anyone else seen this?

[faceless]

Was that the one that Isaac Hayes left over? It was excellent. Here's a link to a torrent of it if anyone's not seen it. http://www.mininova.org/tor/155476

Also, here's the OCA test if anyone's interested in the questions they ask. If you know even a bit about psychology you'll see how it works. Strange then that they attack the sciences of Psychiatry and Psychology...

[Kezza]

Yup, that's the episode of South Park alright. Thanks for posting the link as well as this personality test -- I'm very interested to see how I do!

[faceless]

sadly you can only find out how you did by sending your results to a Scientology centre - I'm sure there's just a simple equation for working out the results though...

I just heard that two members of Scientology will be on talkSPORT radio tomorrow night at 1am UK time, answering "all questions" about the programme and the group itself. That should be interesting...

[faceless]

here's the video that the scientologists have released to counter the Panorama programme.

direct download link

[faceless]

Sorry for shouting, you weirdos
The Sun, 18 May 2007
By JOHN SWEENEY, Panorama reporter

RESPECTED Panorama journalist John Sweeney was this week seen on TV exploding in a fury during an interview with a leader of the Church of Scientology. Here he apologises but also reveals the other side of the movement what one one judge called "corrupt, sinister and dangerous", not to mention the stranger hiding in the bushes outside his recent wedding.

THE Archbishop of Canterbury, MPs, Lords, top coppers and, for all I know, Wayne Rooney and the Beckhams: Anyone who's anyone must have had a copy of the so-called Panorama attack DVD by now. It is produced by the Church of Scientology and I'm the baddie. Scientology has put the clip of me shouting my head off on YouTube - I look like an exploding tomato. I was wrong to lose it, I apologised then and I apologise now.

But Scientology is something else. They've also put out an attack magazine in which they say: "John Sweeney outdid Hitler at his Nuremberg Rally speech." I'm a disgrace, a bigot, the BBC has dumbed down. And their DVD says Panorama faked a demonstration which triggered terrorist threats against the Church implying that we might be in league with terrorists. That's what happens when you start ask questions about Scientology. They come for you, big time.

We didn't fake the demo by anti-Scientology protesters. We're not terrorists, I'm not a bigot and I don't take kindly to being compared to Hitler. Why did I lose it? I had had enough. During seven days on the road with Scientologists and ex-Scientologists I had been followed by creepy strangers, followed by cars, shouted at, called a bigot countless times, had my hotel invaded by top Scientologist Tommy Davis plus camera crew and had an interview with a critic of Scientology whom they call a "sex pervert", interrupted by Davis.

I asked honest questions about what has been widely reported as Scientology's core belief, that human beings are infected by bits of dead space aliens, called Thetans, after an intergalactic warlord called Xenu banished them to Earth and blew them up. Davis organised for me to interview a battery of Scientology celebrities including his mum, Anne Archer, who played the betrayed wife in Fatal Attraction, Cheers star Kirstie Alley and Juliette Lewis, from Natural Born Killers. They all denied the Xenu story. Tommy said: "It makes you look weird asking about it."

Their scriptures were written by the late L Ron Hubbard, who they believe is the saviour of mankind. Russell Miller wrote a book about Hubbard called Bare-Faced Messiah. He says Hubbard was a congenital liar and brilliant confidence trickster. Square that. Square, too, his war record. Scientology says Hubbard was a war hero; Miller said his stories of valour in the Second World War were lies.

People have a right to believe in whatever they want. But, after a very short time with Tommy Davis and friends, my head began to hurt. I felt I was losing control of my mind. On the seventh day Tommy took me to Scientology's exhibition Psychiatry: Industry of Death in Los Angeles. For 90 minutes I was subjected to disgusting images of what they say are psychiatric abuses. Lots of people, me too, question things like electric shock therapy. But to call for the "global obliteration" of psychiatry is strange.

One senior Scientologist told me psychiatry is "the so-called science behind the Holocaust and euthanasia, and the psychiatrist set up the whole euthanasia campaign in the concentration camps. They decided who was going to be killed." I found Scientology's hijacking of the Holocaust sickening. Then Tommy came for me, yet again, and I lost it.

Since then, the weird things happening to me haven't stopped. Creepy people (and there's no proof they are connected to Scientology) asked my neighbour questions, turned up at my mother-in-law's the day before my wedding and there was someone weird hiding in the bushes on the day we married. He drove off when challenged.

On Monday our film, Scientology And Me, was broadcast and we were able to show what made me lose it. It was the most watched Panorama programme this year, with almost 4.5 million viewers. The emails have been massively supportive. My favourite is from the Green Watch at a London fire station: "I can't remember the last time we watched a programme so enthusiastically, often shouting support to you."

London's firemen trump LA's glossiest any day in my book.

--------------