
Last Dec. 4, I blogged about the upcoming Cruise interview with Barbara Walters to air on "The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008".
Here is the interview itself.
Scientology News from an Independent Perspective

"Say what you will about Scientology, But Xenu knows how to throw a star-studded Christmas bash."
"Since January, over 9000 Anonymous in over 140 cities worldwide have staged monthly protests"
"After all, how could a bunch of teenagers who'd never heard of Scientology until a few months ago possibly not easily destroy an organisation which has been around for decades, with tens of thousands of dedicated grownup members and many millions of dollars in the bank? "Piece of cake", as Lafayette R. Hubbard would say. Sorry, I may have misplet 'cake'."
"Will Smith credits Tom Cruise with his record-breaking box-office success - because the icon reviews his movie scripts before he takes on a new role.
The stars have become close friends over the years, and Smith admits he turns to Cruise for advice before signing on to a film.
Smith tells Newsweek, "I was so used to competition between other artists that I just didn't get him at first. And then Tom just broke it down to me and said, 'Will, we are not competing, so don't think that way.' That blew my mind because that is not how this business works at all..."
From http://www.postchronicle.com/news/original/article_212191284.shtml
I am very gratified to read your perspective both on Scientology and the Anti-Cult freaks that so mischaracterize it. I was born and raised in a Scientologist family, with a very strong willed and critical thinking Scientologist mom, while Dad was less critical but perhaps more deeply philosophically-minded – together they made a fine, inquisitive pair.
Like you, I have noticed that there are cultish aspects of the church that are both encouraged by some of LRH's writings while completely contradicted by others. My big cognition was that the EP of Scientology was growing the cojones to leave Scientology.
Anyway, it really heartened me to read your perspective, because I deeply appreciate much of what I learned in the CoS, and I wouldn't trade the training and study I had as a young adult and adolescent for anything. It was a great way to grow up and it instilled in me a lust for learning and bent for philosophical inquiry that benefits me to this day. The anti-Scientology comments from overwrought critics annoy the hell out of me. It's sheer ignorance and closed-mindedness. I am also annoyed at my friends who constantly tease me when I still use the term "we" while gently correcting their misinformation regarding the beliefs of Scientologists (after spending most of my life identifying with that group, it slips out sometimes) and who make cult jokes and rib me about Xenu. Like you, I walk the middle ground, defend Scientology when appropriate, and agree with criticism when appropriate. I am very glad to know that I am not the only one!
I am not a Scientologist, but I'm not a non-Scientologist either. I'm my own damn self!
Thank you so much for your website.
Forrest Ackerman died Dec. 4 at the age of 92.
"From a performance standpoint, the new cast is just as capable as the old, with one odd exception. Mock his love of Scientology, but John Travolta was a much more effective villain in the original Punisher than Dominic West’s Don of Douchebags, Billy Russoti, aka Jigsaw."
When asked if the negative press surrounding Scientology, his religion, upsets him, Danny Masterson told Hollyscoop,"No, because no one ever says anything that makes any sense and no one ever says anything that’s true."Masterson's interview coincided with Tom's appearance on Barbara Walters's Most Fascinating People special, which featured Tom at number 9.
"Also scientology is so new 58 years now at least were not having to deal with the inquisition and the crusades. That’s pretty good."
"You can tease Tom all you want I don’t really think he cares."
'Looking back on her 10-year marriage to Cruise, which ended in 2001, she says there are no regrets. She doesn't dwell on the relationship and there's no discussion of the acrimonious, highly publicised divorce. Sensitive, presumably, to the feelings of her older children, the actress doesn't have anything negative to say about her ex-husband (who is now married to the actress Katie Holmes) or about his religion, Scientology, which she also embraced. "That's the journey of life – we all go through it. You have love, you lose love, you find new love." '
'In order to avoid all the crazy theories circulating about her, Tom, Scientology and whatever else is out there, Katie says she doesn't go online: “I would get too upset and overwhelmed if I read or looked at what's out there."'Maybe just as well... That would explain how she could just focus on her role in the highest grossing show on Broadway and ignore Anonymous, proving them wrong simply based on her performance.
"I have too much to do," Holmes said. "I'm a mom and an actress with a play to do every night. I can't pay attention to all that noise."
"When I met Tom I was completely in love and, yes, I admired him growing up – he's Tom Cruise! … When I met him, he was so warm and I thought, Wow! You can be a superstar and a human being. He made me feel so amazing”.
According to an article on ABC featuring snippets of an interview with Barbara Walters to air on "The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008", Cruise has earned "Germany's prestigious media prize, the Bambi award for courage"."It was inspiring," Cruise said. "A story that I didn't know about, and that I had no idea that happened. And that it was just very compelling." [...] "I'm an actor, and this was a story that I found compelling and I felt there was something to contribute to it," he explained.The article also confirms what could be observe de visu, that Cruise is working at mending his reputation and that he currently stays away from promoting Scientology (other than just being a "role model"):
The "new" Cruise has been working overtime to keep a low profile. He no longer wishes to speak out about Scientology. "Now, I just say look, I'm not going to talk about my religion, and if people want to know about Scientology, they can absolutely just go to the Web site."He also seems ready to live with his couch jumping episode, which the article claim became part of America's lexicon under the expression "jump the couch", meaning: "going off the deep end".
"And I really think that all men should celebrate their women. ... They should all jump on couches for them."Also check out T-Magazine web site, featuring video interviews of Tom and Katie, and hubpages.com for a list of some of the past winners of the 10 Most Fascinating People selected by Barbara Walters since 1993.
"Several times they've taken legal action to try and stop websites revealing their teachings"It would be more exact to write "Several times they've taken legal action to try and stop websites posting their copyrighted material"
"The Church of Scientology set up a campaign called Operation Freakout to discredit her."Makes it sound as if the operation was actually carried out. It wasn't. It was only a project that remained on paper.
"the Church falsely told the FBI she had sent them two bomb threats""Falsely" seems to be here the author's opinion, because there never was any definite proof one way or the other. See my page about the Cooper Bomb Threat myth at http://bernie.cncfamily.com/sc/cooper_bomb.htm
"The court cases went on for some years and eventually the Church won. Armstrong filed for bankruptcy and fled to Canada. The Church filed further lawsuits against him in the 1990s and into the new century. There have been numerous other examples of Scientology trying to suppress criticism."This is incorrect and I am surprised that a journalist who supposedly has researched the CoS comes up with such a myth. Armstrong settled his case and received $800,000 as part of the settlement. He fled out to Canada with the money and joyfully breached the agreement 131 times. He can't go back in the US where he is now wanted by the law.
"numerous other examples of Scientology trying to suppress criticism"That may be, but the examples provided on the article do not really support that claim. The complain being made against The Complex is for libel, not criticism. The examples given about "legal actions against web sites" were for copyright, not "revealing their teachings". Operation Freakout was never enacted, and there is no proof that the bomb threat accusation against Cooper was false. As for Armstrong, he is wanted in the US for what amounts to stealing $800,000 from the CoS, not because he is a critic.
"Because of the unbiased descriptive stance of my books on new religious movements, anti-cultists have accused me of being a "cult apologist"."This always is an honor, because "cult apologist" is the term anti-cultists use for moderate onlookers who don't share their frantic and paranoid views on cults and actually check facts.