Gord's Notebook : Tom Cruise's Cult: The Church of Scientology's Sexism, Racism, Child Abuse, Coercion and Other Violations of Followers' Human and Civil Rights

"Scientology is quite likely the most ruthless, the most classically terroristic, the most litigious and the most lucrative cult the country has ever seen. No cult extracts more money from its members." -- Cynthia Kisser, former Executive Director, Cult Awareness Network

After reading Damian Thompson article comparing Scientology@ and LDS/Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints I am continuing to look for relevant comparison of the two in part because both have been accused of being top-down authoritarian sexist and racist "Cults".
and here's the link:
Where Mormonism meets Scientology by Damian Thompson at The Telegraph ,July 6,2012

The Young Turks-Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian discuss Scientology and Mormonism and Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes divorce and the Scientology connection.

-Scientology and Mormonism both weird and wacky cults both founded by con-men
ironically crazy nasty and "Evil" Rupert Murdoch calls Scientology an Evil Cult

Rupert Murdoch: Scientology "A Cult"

Published on 3 Jul 2012 by TheYoungTurks
Rupert Murdoch tweeted out his opinions about Scientology and Mormonism recently. Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian discuss Murdoch's tweets and various theories about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' divorce. Tell us what you think about Scientology in the comment section below.

Follow Cenk on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cenkuygur
Follow Ana on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/anakasparian

The authoritarian and coercive nature of various religious groups such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at times become so egregious as to lead to accusations of the violation of the basic human rights of individual members.

Signing on to become a member of any organization is not a green light for those in positions of authority to use that authority to abuse members of the organizations in ways that are unethical, immoral or illegal.

Even supposedly in joining the military of one's nation does not mean that one must abandon common sense , common decency or one's conscience.

After the Nuremberg trials and rulings it was codified that a soldiers is permitted to refuse to obey an order which is deemed as immoral, as a breach of international laws ie The Geneva Conventions and thereby characterized as committing a war crime;a crime against humanity or an atrocity or taking an unjustified action as in retaliation and simple minded revenge and so forth. So why should an organization which calls itself a religious and or spiritual organization be exempt from International Law or the rule of law and basic human rights of members of that so-called religion whether the it is the Catholic Church, or Baptists or The Church of Latter Day Saints or Sun Myung Moon's Universal Church or the Cult-like Church of Scientology.

This is not simply a condemnation of all religions but rather a realist view of these organizations since when all is said and done no matter how Holy or righteous the cause and the intentions of such organizations they are in the end are maintained by fallible human beings at the top and throughout these organizations. When such organizations abuse and deceive and coerce their members into committing immoral or unethical actions they should be treated no different than secular organizations which commit similar crimes.

So today we are taking a look at the accusations made against The Church of Scientology which has been of accused of deception, racism, sexism, child abuse ,sexual abuse, coercion , undue influence, threats and crimes such as fraud and misappropriation of funds ie stealing. By definition according to our legal friends when a poor person takes a loaf of bread without paying or takes a few dollars from a cash register this is stealing.

When a high ranking member ie CEO or what have you of a wealthy organization takes funds from their own organization this is not stealing but rather "The Misappropriation of Funds" and is viewed as merely an indiscretion while those of us who live in a more moral universe sees the person committing fraud in the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars or millions or billions ie Wall Street and London Bankers as worse than the one who is poor and steals in order to survive -the Fat Cats who steal are just greedy and immoral beings who believe they are entitled to whatever they can manage to defraud others of.

First a look at the role of Scientology in Tom Cruise's divorce of Katie Holmes.
Katie Holmes feared for her child being brought up within the authoritarian Fascist-like Church of Scientology

Why Tom Cruise opted for quickie divorce, Hindustantimes.com,July 12, 2012

Tom Cruise settled his divorce with Katie Holmes quickly in order to save The Church of Scientology, cult experts have claimed. “(Church leader) David Miscavige dictated Tom’s divorce deal. Scientology wanted a gag order as soon as possible to stop further negative information coming out,” Steven Hassan, an exit counselor who works with those leaving cults, told the New York Post.

“They would have agreed to allow Katie to raise Suri as a Catholic, as long as she doesn’t say anything bad about Scientology to Suri or the public,” he said.
But Hassan, whose new book Freedom of Mind helps those escape the grip of cults, said Holmes may regret signing the gag order.

“In the future that may not be the best decision for Katie, Tom and Suri. What would be best would be to get the truth out there help Tom escape Scientology,” he said.

Marty Rathbun, Tom Cruise’s former auditor with the Church of Scientology, claimed that the Mission Impossible star effectively chose his religion over his 6-year-old daughter, Suri, in his divorce negotiations with Holmes.

Terrorised by Tom's cult: As a war reporter JOHN SWEENEY was gassed, shot at and shelled... but nothing scared him as much as Scientologists
By JOHN SWEENEY, Daily Mail.co.uk,July 10,2012

Sinister strangers in SUVs following you around 24/7. Men in dark glasses recording your every move. Your mind probed, your sanity questioned, your loved ones spied on. Katie Holmes, welcome to my world.

I would not want my children to be brought up in the Church of Scientology — I have actually had nightmares about that — so I think I can understand a little of what Katie is going through; why she feared what might happen to her daughter Suri if she had stayed in the church that likes to wear dark glasses.

Poor Suri — a six-year-old girl whose parents are now at war. I feel desperately sorry for her, and for her mother.

Her father, Tom Cruise, believes he is defending his religion, which he thinks is a force for good. That has not been my experience of the church L. Ron Hubbard created.
When I went to wars as a reporter, I was gassed, shot at, shelled, bombed and had two sticks of dynamite shoved up my nose. But never did I feel such fear for my grip on reality as I did investigating the Church of Scientology for the BBC’s Panorama.

Sexism and Scientology: L. Ron Hubbard's Now-Absent Chapters and Female Scientology Staff's Alleged Forced Abortions | BlogHer

In a special report entitled "No Kids Allowed" at TampaBay.com, the website of the St. Petersburg Times, women come forward and tell unsettling stories of their lives working for the Church of Scientology's religious order, the Sea Organization.

The women began working for the church in their teens during the 1990s in exchange for food, clothing, shelter and medical care. They devoted themselves to performing whatever tasks deemed necessary to furthering church goals, and anything that interfered with that work was considered a distraction that must be eliminated, including children.

Some of these women were coerced to have abortions, they tell the Times. These former church staff members claim leaders intimidated pregnant women into ending their pregnancies, threatening the young women with "strenuous physical work" and subjecting them to multiple interrogations and isolation.

Church defectors say some pregnant women were forced to dig ditches. On the report's video, three women speak. However, according to the St. Petersburg Times, its investigation found the women's "experiences were not unique. More than a dozen women said the culture in the Sea Org pushed them or women they knew to have abortions, in many cases, abortions they did not want." Those who refused to abort their pregnancies were shunned.

Scientology president's daughter slams 'toxic' church Uploaded by NewsOnABC on 18 May 2010 The daughter of the president of the Church of Scientology in Australia has spoken out against the organisation.

Mike Rinder Speaks Out - Scientology (part 1 of 2

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Also see on Tom Cruise and The Church of Scientology :

Church of Scientology International v. Fishman and Geertz A selection of publicly-available legal documents filed in U.S. District Court, Central District of California.

The Secrets of Scientology

"The Church of Scientology is a rich and vengeful religious cult, or as one critic puts it, "a cross between the Moonies and the Mafia." But it would be a mistake to dismiss its underlying technology as harmless or ineffective. Scientologists know a great deal about thought control, social control, rhetorical judo (defeat by misdirection, deft use of logical fallacies) and high pressure sales, though as victims of their own technology, they wouldn't characterize it that way.

Despite its extensive advertising campaign, including half-hour TV infomercials for Dianetics, the Church has been careful to maintain a veil of mystery about its teachings, in part by outlawing any meaningful discussion or analysis of them... To learn the inner secrets of the cult requires years of strict obedience and large monetary donations. In return, Scientology promises its adherents "total freedom".

The Internet, through sites like this one, is going to make good on that promise. This web site is dedicated to exposing the various technical tricks behind Scientology, until all its secrets have been laid before the public at no charge."