Slashdot Mirror
CoS Bigwig Likens Wikipedia Ban to Nazis' Yellow Star Decree
We mentioned on Thursday that Wikipedia has banned edits originating from certain IP addresses belonging to the Church of Scientology; reader newtley writes now that Scientology leader (CEO and Chairman of the Board of the linked, but legally separate, Religious Technology Center) David Miscavige calls the ban "a 'despicable hate crime,' and asks, 'What's next, will Scientologists have to wear yellow, six-pointed stars on our clothing?' During World War II, Hitler forced Jewish men, women and children to wear a a yellow cloth star bearing the word Jude to brand them in the streets of Europe, and in the Nazi death camps."
I remember saying very close to the same thing quite a number of times to various people when I was... 10?
He loses the argument. End of story.
For a real argument, editing Wikipedia is not akin to, say, being able to buy food. IPs can and do get banned for all sorts of reasons.
I am officially gone from
So when does he think that the Wikipedia stormtroopers will march up to the scientology homes and round them all up to labour camps that have a Work is Freedom banner at the front gate? Honestly, it's the first time I've ever seen a conversation Godwin itself from the original argument. Reduction Nazium indeed.
i suppose when they actually have to wear yellow stars he'll have a point.
The CO$ got banned because they systematically abused the PRIVILEGE (not a right) to do edits on Wikipedia because they were doing so to silence criticism.
If they'd made edits to correct factual errors instead of their own (since they have already violated Godwin's Law) NAZI like internet tactics this never would have happened.
Now I wish Wikipedia would start banning other corporate abusers, such as Sony, who also notoriously edits out any criticism of them and their ethics. Go look at all the edits on the Star Wars Galaxies article and SOE liar in chief John "Smed" Smedley.
Corporatism != Free Market
not really, there's not much judgementalism when operating on the creators' unlimited supply of newclear power. just more&more energy, process, observation, interaction, connection & separation/intervention as needed, usually based on motive.
So the Jews had to wear the stars due to the fact that they were pushing its own agenda on the 'free encyclopedia anyone can edit?
Being a Jew, I feel strongly that the Jews were treated this way due to the anti-semitism of the times, which is NOTHING to do with the current Church of Scientology situation.
Just because you hate what happened doesn't make it a hate crime.
Written by Church of Scientology, Clearwater, FL
Hahahaha
If they didn't like what Wiki did, they're going to hate being Slashdotted!
"The goal of Scientology is a sane world, without criminals, without psychiatric terror, without war. Ultimately, the goal of Scientology is sanity itself"
Can't even begin to understand where this man is coming from.
Exception Duck - may or may not contain chicken.
They aren't being forced to wear something or being branded. Their HQ IP block was banned because they were violating the Wikipedia terms by editing their own pages and planting false information.
"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." --Mark Twain
will Scientologists have to wear yellow, six-pointed stars on our clothing?
Actually I was thinking they should be marked with something like a scarlet letter on their foreheads.
Perhaps a big "I" for Idiot.
It would certainly make them easier to spot.
Beta sux! Join the Slashcott! http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=4760465&cid=46173047
I'm all for Scientologists wearing something we can easily identify them by, so we can avoid their ignorance.
Comparing your 'religion' to Judaism is ridiculous. I won't go into detail as to why I think so, because I think all religions are absurd, but it's like comparing pop tarts to a t-bone steak. One company, running a website, decided to block all IPs linked to Scientology. You are not being 'persecuted'. No death marches, no concentration camps, no shootings in the street. But we can all hope for that! Just kidding.
And did he just godwin himself?
The Reg article really oversimplified the Wikipedia ArbCom ruling, making it sound more one-sided than it was. If you actually read it, you'll see that it recognizes both pro- and anti-Scientologists as troublemakers, and includes sanctions for some hardcore Scientology critics as well.
This is actually a relief to me, as anti-Scientologists can get as wacked out as the Scientologists themselves. Wikipedia ArbCom has made some bone-headed decisions in the past; it's good that they were level-headed in this case.
These people are being persecuted because of their beliefs and their willingness to stand up for their beliefs.
Do you know which Jews made it through the Holocaust unscathed? It was the ones that joined up with the Nazis as soldiers and police. Through their complicity, these Jews were responsible for the millions that were slaughtered in the camps.
Now, if you want to say that these guys, these mealy-mouthed, race traitor guys, were better than the other Jews because they sought to get along with the establishment... Well, I don't know what that makes you.
David Miscavige ... asks, 'What's next, ... death camps?
Let me get back to you on that idea.
Next thing you know Jimbo will be rounding up Scientologists,forcing them into camps near active volcanos, and then blowing them all up with H-bombs.
They're masters of fooling idiots into thinking that salvation lies in a hokey lie detector, then using any means at all to keep them from leaving once they wake up to themselves. If you want an analog to Jewish yellow stars look no further than their fucking E-Meter
never heard Godwin used as a verb before, but if you can google, then why not.
Who said innovation was dead? (not CoS obviously).
Humorous signatures are over-rated.
A group that uses physical intimidation tactics against journalists doesn't get to ask for fair treatment.
They had their chance, but preferred to act as sociopaths. Too bad. Civilization is for the civilized.
Wikipedia also regularly bans Congressmans' offices from editing because they try to use the site to create fictional accounts of either their own candidates or the opposition. This is actually a show of integrity by Wikipedia (equal treatment of all). They are preventing a certain behavior from occurring -- not certain group of people from behaving.
Any guest worker system is indistinguishable from indentured servitude.
Yeah, posted AC for obvious reasons.
Is that like the chewbacca defense with a Jewish twist?
That is fucking awesome. Those Scientology people are too stupid to realize they are in a pyramid scheme and the people that do know want to keep it a secret. Sigh, we can only hope and wait the atf goes waco on all those idiots.
Jews are from this planet!
I argue because it's the internet....and I can.
There's apparently ample evidence that CoS members, located within and with specific support of the CoS institution, were doing the questionable editing practices.
This is the normal "help, help, we're being 'religiously' repressed" nonsense that the CoS always appeals to, even if they commit genuine crimes. In the case of Wikipedia, it's a minor little thing, but still pretty annoying. I think what Wikipedia has chosen to do is a bit much, but on the other hand it isn't going to have much effect, so it doesn't matter in the end.
Regardless, I think the comparison to labeling Jews in the Nazi era is pretty demeaning. Banning edits from certain locations is a hate crime? Give me a break. All Wikipedia is saying, really, is that the CoS will have to set up yet another shell company or have their members post from their home accounts rather than being able to do it from CoS facilities. Oh, boo hoo. Pay their home internet bills and you'll be back in business with the same nonsense in no time, and the admins at Wikipedia can play whack-a-mole with individual IPs.
It's not a ban of CoS followers, it is a ban of IP ranges from which there have been consistent problems -- IPs which just happen to be ones sponsored directly by the CoS. If multiple CoS sockpuppets hadn't been playing games while being behind single IPs, then banning ALL those IPs because of the actions of SOME of the individuals behind them wouldn't be necessary.
http://img200.imageshack.us/my.php?image=6pointedyellowstar.jpg
(Might get modded down for MSpaint, but oh well.)
Several comments note that Wikipedia is a private company and it can ban whoever it wants to. Dangerous. Wikipedia is becoming bigger then itself, it is no longer just a website. Many see it is a realiable and impartial source of information. I often use wikipedia before google as I am more likely to get the result I want. For that matter, the first page in a google result is often wikipedia.
Wikipedia claims to have no agenda, to be impartial. Yet it has for CoS now decided that THIS is the truth, not what CoS says. Fair enough, but where does it end? What truths are going to be determined next. The holocaust? Certainly denial of it is lying so ban the deniers. But others are less clear. Other exterminations by other countries. The turks, the chinese, the dutch, the americans, the japanese. All of which have shown less then favourable reaction to being pointed out that they are equally guilty of mass extermination against others. What is the official version of american, australian, canadian history relating to the natives at the moment?
CoS is being banned for two reasons. First, it is claimed they use underhanded tactics like scaremongering, lawsuits to silence opposition. But that is true for any religious group, should all religious groups be banned? They also violated the terms of the site. But that as I said is dangerous because it is effectively one individual/company saying how they think so called impartial information should be gathered.
I don't have an answer. You can't constantly have highly biased information being inserted and neither can you have someone else decide that their truth is the truth even if it is about someone else.
Sadly, the truth is often hard to get at and depends entirely on your point of view. You can easily point at the antics of CoS and call it wrong, but then I would look at the antics of your school of faith and wonder what the difference is.
All you can wonder now, who is going to be banned next for pushing their view on articles relating to them.
Remember, wikipedia was NOT supposed to be a regular encyclopedia with a choosen set of editors who get to decide what the view of the institution is. It was supposed to be open to all. Now it isn't.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
I'm torn between giving someone "equal time" to respond to something done to them by a company, and saying that Slashdot did nothing more than feed a troll by allowing this particular posting.
I talk about stuff.
or six.
*rimshot*
...that I see a Scientology ad here.
Circumcision is child abuse.
I'll skip commenting on the "Wikipedia Ban = Nazism" claim. Many, many other people, I'm sure, will point out just how ridiculous it is. After you place that ridiculousness to the side, however, I found something odd. The person making the comparison is "Scientology religion's chief executive officer Mr. David Miscavige". A religion's "chief executive officer"? Since when does a religion have a CEO? Am I just ignorant of the structure of religions other than Judaism (which has a very loose-knit make up - the joke is that if you ask two Jews a question, you'll get three opinions)? Are there other religions with CEO's?
My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
Yes!
What hoops do I have to jump through to see subject lines on Slashdot again?
Fake post is fake..... As much as I find their behavior reprehensible, I can't really say trolling them this way shows any more *cough* maturity.
Hhmm ok I'm just going to say how I feel here, anyone that compares anything to Hitler to make their point needs to be kicked in the head a few times. Due to the reason comparing anything to Hitler and what was done during that time of a monstrous horror it just a cry to make them look good and claim they where not doing anything wrong. They where abusing the system that was out there, so Wikipedia put an end to it.
It's also saddening to see how quickly otherwise liberal minded people revert to the old, dictatorial, oppressive and ultimately ineffective ways of trying to silence people they don't like.
politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
If I were Jewish I'd be really insulted by this. I wouldn't want the genocide of my people compared to getting kicked out of McDonalds for repeatedly setting the restroom on fire.
Yes, we want them all to have a badge of Xenu on it, have the abbreviated South Park version printed on their back with the text "this is what I actually believe" bellow.
You know this is a parody, yes?
It's not real.
So, I actually clicked through to RTFA, and was stunned by the article. I'm pretty sure it's a fake. Just to quote it - "There is so much nonsense on the internet about Scientology, all of which was written by anti-religion extremists in the employ of the Psychiatric-Pharmaceutical industry. Many are also being paid by certain depraved, degenerate factions within the German government. You can't believe any of it. If these scumbags had their way, all children would be psych-drugged into oblivion, most eventually becoming high school gunmen; vicious de-programmers would constantly be leaping out from shadowy corners; there would be all-night electroshock parlors on the high street of every village, town and city; and anyone who tried to live an ethical life would quickly receive an icepick lobotomy."
That scans more like Burroughs than anything else. Kind of a satirical send-up of the scientologists, you know? If it *is* real, I think this guy should write more press releases.
I doubt anyone would ever make them wear yellow stars. However, based on this moronic overreaction we could arrange bright red tattoos on their foreheads that say "Dumbass"!
Professional Politicians are not the solution, they ARE the problem.
How about T-Shirts that say "I'm with Stupid" with the arrow pointing up? How dare they compare their made up religion to someone else's made up religion.
Hitler never banned edits from any IP addresses.
The benefit of censorship of the 'ban' type to clean up poor debates is linear for n banned organisations.
The problems that arise from censorship, the debate and distractions and criticisms, is exponential.
Just wait and see. There will be plenty of articles and discussion around this - next time they ban an entire group of people there will be ten times as much.
It just makes me wonder, is it a David and Goliath type battle or just a Mascavige of Justice?
Smivs on the intertubes!
> David Miscavige calls the ban "a 'despicable hate crime,' and asks,
> 'What's next, will Scientologists have to wear yellow, six-pointed
> stars on our clothing?'
Only on France.
I recommend reading it. It's utterly unhinged. Mental.
"If these scumbags had their way, all children would be psych-drugged into oblivion, most eventually becoming high school gunmen..."
That's a lot of gunmen.
"Scientology has also been declared a bona-fide religion by Mr. Frank Flynn, Adjunct Professor of Sociology at the University of Kansas."
If it's cool with Frank, then it's cool with me.
"Many celebrities are Scientologists, and ordinary public Scientologists sometimes get to meet them."
Awesome!
"...Scientologists deserve to be treated fairly, which means that we should be allowed to do things that other groups may not do."
What?
"We do not find critics of Scientology who do not have criminal backgrounds."
I got arrested for being drunk in charge of a bicycle once. Does that count?
I've always been impressed with how ridiculous the CoS can be, but this is a new low, even for them.
In case any of you don't know, the guy quoted there, David Miscavige, was named heir as the leader of Scientology by its' founder, Lafayette Ronald Hubbard, and from everything I've seen, is equally schizophrenic.
Scientology has destroyed countless lives. There are very few things about which I agree with Anonymous, but their quest for the end of Scientology is one of them.
Eventually, Scientology will be destroyed, all of the lives that it has taken will be avenged, and their wronged spirits will finally be able to rest.
You might have been able to survive everything that came before it, Dave; but you will not survive the righteous wrath of the 'Net.
What's next, will Scientologists have to wear yellow, six-pointed stars on our clothing?
No, just one that says "[Citation needed]".
But seriously, Wikimedia treated CoS the same way they treat any other individual or organization that reliably skews the prose of Wikipedia. CoS should be flattered to be put on the same pedestal as other more reputable and recognized organizations.
while looking at the summary from google reader, i saw a cos advert! it took me to their homepage. i must say though, their website looks quite polished and professional.
Wealth is the gift that keeps on giving.
So the church of Scientology actually recognises the Holocaust now? Ah well :)
Of course the Thetans are going to complain when you try to clear them. If the Thetans didn't misuse their ability to "implant" suggestions then Wikipedia would not have to clear them.
/me listens to the repetitive (and correct) cries of 'Godwins Law!' This is just silly in my opinion. The Church of Scientology is no more special than any other user on Wikipedia, and in the case of other users editing and re-editing articles constantly so as to create a bias of any kind, they are banned and their IP addresses flagged. If they did not see this coming, then they should have read the page 'Wikipedia:Neutral point of view' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view). The first line spells it out clearly "Neutral point of view is a fundamental Wikimedia principle and a cornerstone of Wikipedia. All Wikipedia articles and other encyclopedic content must be written from a neutral point of view, representing fairly, and as far as possible without bias...". Also; a general tip for David Miscavige, using analogies that stretch things to the extreme rarely work, and more often than not they merely make the creator of the analogy look melodramatic and in this case, whiny and unintelligent.
I hate seeing this argument pop up again and again. Wikipedia has a lot of de facto power. We gave them this power by using the service and promoting it among our acquaintances. We didn't give Jimmy Wales this power so that he could use it to advance a personal agenda of changing social perceptions or silencing arbitrary voices. There's a certain amount of accountability here.
But the decision to ban Scientology's IP's was perfectly in line with a reasonable prior policy. That's what makes this is OK, not the fact that Wikipedia is private property.
'What's next, will Scientologists have to wear yellow, six-pointed stars on our clothing?'
No, a t-shirt saying "I'm With Stupid" and an arrow pointing to a picture of L Ron Hubbard should suffice. . .
I truly believe that L. Ron Hubbard started Scientology as a Joke/Experiment to show how gullable people are to religion. I think it was taken over by people who know exactly how to profit from religion (not unlike the clerics etc. of most religions - especially the T.V. religions). Fuck them! I truly do HATE people who try to force irrationality down the throats of others. They should be killed.
Over-the-top Response Guy! Giving "Over-the-Top Responses" since 1970.
Is that they did a lot of bad things. Are you only allowed to say "this person is doing this bad thing" if:
(pick one)
- Nazis didn't do it
- Some person more well-known than the Nazis, who was not themselves a Nazi, did it
- The person you're talking about has ALSO killed six-million jews
Just because the Nazi's killed a bunch of people doesn't suddenly excuse everything they did leading up to killing a bunch of people, or make it okay.
-- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
I think the idea of identifying CoS members has some merit, although a dunce cap might be more appropriate than a yellow star.
Or maybe the Puritans had something: we could dunk them in water, and if their body thetans don't weigh them down, they're truly "clear" and then we can put the dunce cap on them.
I don't know about you all, but I want to be able to identify people with goofy beliefs. At least on Sunday the religious nuts go to church so for a few hours a week we know where they're all at.
Anyway, everybody knows the only true belief system is Thelema.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Scientology is a racket for the gullible and mentally deficient.
Don't You See? It's Da JOOOS.
Wow... way to make your case, there. Nope... not crazy at all. Now, where'd I put that icepick...
In a way Wikipedia is just like IRC: +v is a privilege, not a right.
/kick /ban.
Wiki did the equivalent of: "/mode -v CoS"
Just "/ignore CoS" and maybe CoS will stfu and gtfo without requiring a
a pointy little Dunce cap!
I think a better requirement would be to prominently display the amount of their and others' money the Scientologists have siphoned off them.
This is a fake for many reasons:
1) One of the tags is "Marcab Confederacy." The Marcab Confederacy is part of the confidential OT levels in Scientology (like Xenu) and would never be disclosed publicly.
2) David Miscavige stays out of the public eye. To my knowledge, he has never issued a public statement on anything and the most recent interview he has given was over 10 years ago. If this was
authentic, it would have been issued by a spokesperson, such as Tommy Davis.
3) One of the comments on the article posted by the author is "NOOOOOO IT'S REAL IT'S REAL. "
The author took some quotes and ideas from speeches Miscavige has delivered over the years at Scientology events and tried to present it in a way that is accessible to the public.
Godwin's Law IN THE ARTICLE AND SUMMARY! YES!
A missed opportunity to combine both the infamous "First Post" and "Godwin's Law -- Discussion Over", making the shortest Slashdot comment thread theoretically possible.
If only the article somehow involved Natalie Portman eating Grits and telling CoS "All your base in those Hawaiian volcanoes belong to us"...
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
... it's obviously a Miscavige of justice. I'll get me coat.
Gee, they didn't even wait until the discussion thread to invoke the Nazis. Isn't that an automatic epic fail?
Life needs more saving throws.
Wikipedia is in league with Xenu!!!
i see that all my misconceptions about the scientologists and scientology was wrong ! they were quantum angels from the sky. or whatever. yes yes. nazis. and the yellow star. yeees. that. that and a f#@in pair of boots to be fitted into that guy's ass.
Read radical news here
n/t
you had me at #!
So Hitler did not allow the Jews to edit their own wikipedia entries? I'm not Jewish, but I thought they were pissed about the whole genocide thing.
I wasn't going to comment at length about this, but this guy's rant just screams for a line-by-line rebuttal.
Sorry, but this isn't a hate crime. Blocking someone from using your privately owned service (which Wikipedia essentially is even if the public contributes to it) is perfectly legal. You can even block groups of people. If an evangelical Christian group started post-bombing a forum I run telling people to accept Jesus or burn in hell, I'd ban the lot of them. They could scream and shout all they wanted, but it wouldn't be a hate crime and they wouldn't have a legal leg to stand on if they tried to sue me for access to my site.
So leaving the Scientology compound is undesirable? Isn't that one of the signs of being a cult? Telling members that they should either reside on "the compound" or else?
I'll have to get back to you on this. Wikipedia's takeover of the US government is still in the pre-alpha stages. Seriously, though, how does a private entity banning a group on grounds of abuse equal Nazism. Oh right, because it happened to them, therefore it is evil incarnate.
Personally, I've always found sanity overrated. *cue Daffy Duck looney laugh as I bounce off the walls*
Brutal? Criminally attacking? I must have missed the news story where Wikipedia sent storm troopers into the Scientology compounds to shoot random people, beat them with their own monitors, and hang them with Ethernet cabling. It didn't happen? It was just an IP ban? The horrors!!!!
I'll give "the world's most ethical people" a pass since every group pretty much thinks they are the best. Otherwise why would they belong to the group. (Yes, I'm stifling a lot of laughter given Scientology's past behavior here.) But presenting their "religion" in "the most positive and truthful light"? Translation: "Wikipedia wouldn't let us mass-edit pages to spin everything to favor us. How dare they not give us the final word on what should be written about us on their own site!!!"
I'll agree with him here. Tons of nonsense. Of course, it doesn't help when your "religion" is nonsense to begin with.
This post brought to you by the letter P, the number 666, and a big honkin' paycheck from Psychiatrists Insistent on Scrapping Scientology.
Perhaps he can instruct me how to receive these payments. I missed out on the "Jews run the world" power position. At least I can settle for "paid by the Psychiatric-Pharmaceutical industry a
My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
the wiki reich is imprisoning the scientologists.
I think thats perfect for scientoligy and should perhaps be some sorta confirmation in all other entries before changes are made... or at least some of them that inspire such a debate. As for comparing them to the jews and normal people as nazis here's the thing; yes, I am atheist... Yes, I think alot of stories of bible are nuts but not as nuts as half the stuff I know about scientology. I listen, watch, or read anything on them and the idea of a jewis carpenter walking on water, healing people and dying and comming back seems totally sane and rational to me.. In fact you could tell me the moon conspiracy, bigfoot and lock-ness are real, you have proof and elvis is behind them all and I'd still think you were a million times saner.
Anyways. Rant done, good job on blocking them
Probably a good idea to do this with all organized religion, cult or anything else with such conflict
Take care
Geo
P.s. I don't give a poop if someone hates me for what I said. If you reply with intelligent, replyable answer I will
Otherwise don't bore me
If you Scientologists wouldn't mind, yes. Thanks. Perhaps tin foil hats as well.
cross the CoS, you get reamed. amongst their successful takedown targets: the IRS. yes, the IRS. read all about it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_snow_white
see the part where they break into IRS offices? i wonder how many times this section has been deleted by CoS griefers
this is a good article:
http://www.villagevoice.com/content/printVersion/487758
if these assholes have no bringing the god damn IRS to heal, what the hell do you think they are going to do about wikipedia? we all should worry, these CoS trolls are committed, and the splash damage could seriously bring wikipedia's integrity into question if the CoS wins any sort of battle with wikipedia
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
And systematically assault and harass all known critics of his "religion."
I honestly think this world would be a better place if the people who run this sick sham of a "religion" were taken out back and had the shit kicked out of them. Not the underlings, many of whom are probably genuinely confused / lonely / sad people on the margins of society...
But the people who perpetuate it? Fuck 'em. They're the real terrorists and I frankly don't give a shit if they get tossed in some backwater pound me in the ass prison.
From the way people are responding, I'd have to say that either:
a) They didn't RTFA; or
b) This went WHOOSH! over their heads
Some of the replies come from people who clearly did read the "statement," and they still didn't realize it was a parody. For goodness' sake, someone's even tagged it fakepost!
The problem with most scams is the people that do them usually aren't that smart and get caught. Scientology is an extremely well thought out scam operated and organized by the same people who run Amway and other scams. (Yes... I called AmWay a scam because it is). They keep control close to them and only let people *think* they have power. Only the super rich can make it to the top and by then those people are so greedy the truth doesn't bother them at all.
I truly believe in everyone's right to believe in what they want to. However... when your organization is blatant in it's manipulation of desperate people... then i have a problem. Hiding behind the wall of religion to promote an incredible pyramid scam is beyond cowardice. The only reason they haven't been busted is the lack of evidence... but that is because they are so secretive and protective of their "secrets".
Sigh... it's so sad that there are so many people in the world like this.
I want to watch a holocaust survivor walk up and belt him one for comparing the murder and suffering of millions to a packet filter rule.
will Scientologists have to wear yellow, six-pointed stars on our clothing?
Yes.
Hey David Miscavige! Go jump on a couch.
You know the Nazis had pieces of flare they made the Jews wear...
It's FLAIR, you insensitive clod!
In times of universal deceit, telling the truth gets you modded -1 Troll
As long as Wikipedia's "power" does not have force of law, it is not censorship. You don't have to give them this power over you, and you can take that power away from them very easily by ceasing to go there. Make your own "Freepedia" if it really bothers you so much.
Aaaaa I see Godwin's Law has proved itself yet again.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Jewish_Nazi_collaborators
There's more if you google around. There were also a number of international very high level zionists who wanted the persecutions, because it served their interests to get more immigrants to go to palestine to help start the jewish state there. Germany even offered a one time bailout/bribery fee to have the whole jewish population moved, but it was rejected by these same rich zionists, it is like they wanted the holocaust so that there would be this huge compelling reason to forcefully takeover what is now Israel, an excuse. Fascinating history. Gruesome, but fascinating, and plenty of odd occurrences and traitorous activities and high level machinations (the bankrolling of the nazi regime is another interesting aspect, some very serious charges could have been levied there but weren't in the allied world, and a lot of these bankers were guess what) and so on to go around. The allies intel knew the camps were in operation, yet failed to ever destroy the rail lines leading into and out of the camps to help shut them down. You have to wonder why this wasn't done.
So, if you didn't know about it, jews working for or bankrolling the nazis and collaborating, etc., consider yourself now informed, and go do your own research. If you live in Germany or a few other nations with so called "hate crimes" laws, watch your step doing the research.
One of the things you will find out is how nasty they get if you try to bring these subjects up, you get immediately labeled anti semite or whatever.
It is actually a crime to bring this up in a public setting in some nations. It is labeled "holocaust denial". One of the more blatantly newspeak big brother thought crimes out there. For instance it is illegal to just dispute total death figures, or try to find details on deaths from dysentery as opposed to direct fast executions. Not that camps didn't exist or that a lot of people died there, but just to try and prove that in some instances the numbers were much lower than the "officially recognized" figures. That is considered an actual bona fide crime that they can and do prosecute people for and lock them up.
I don't think anyone outside the CoS's cultists will take such a comment seriously. All the +5 comments I see here are variants of "Bwahaha! Fool." in discrediting Miscavige's analogy.
However, remember that one way the CoS keeps its claws on its cultists is by appearing to them as a persecuted minority. This /. comment is enlightening.
Hence, I believe this comment rather serves to get his troops to hang tough and together.
Misleading titles? Inflammatory blurbs? Keep in mind that Slashdot is a tabloid.
Wiki-nacht was 'the night of the lost privileges'. It was a major pogrom which marked the overt beginning of large-scale "had about enough of your crap" against the COS.
His official titles are Chairman of the Board Religious Technology Center, and Captain in the Sea Org.
Also, this seems like a parody press release.
Irene KHAAAAAAN!
The CoS are making themselves out to be the persecuted minority because Wikipedia has banned them from editting pages. It was not because they were making new pages to promote their beliefs, but rather because they were vandalizing pages of other beliefs with their propaganda. What was that saying everyone's mother told them, " If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. They dug their own grave by being disrespectful to other and vandalizing others' pages... now they have to lie in that grave they dug.
Just because you are wrong and I called you out on it doesn't mean I am a Troll.
So the church of Scientology actually recognises the Holocaust now? Ah well :)
Yes but they blame psychiatrists for doing the Holocaust, and 9/11, and blowng us up with hydrogen bombs millions of years ago. Yes really.
Irene KHAAAAAAN!
Not only does the story Godwin itself, but it's pure troll.
Lots of sites are carrying this story, and experience has made us all quick to believe the most ridiculous things about Scientology, but this looks incredibly fake, and I can't find any reliable sources.
Does anyone have any evidence that this is real?
"You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war." -- Albert Einstein
From TFA:
The Scientology religion is the only major religion to have emerged in the 20th century.
You're forgetting Jedi - which scored higher than you multiple national censuses. Whats that you say? Its made-up science fiction? Yes, and so is Jedi.
It is the world's fastest growing religion, found in over 264 countries
And this is why they don't let you edit Wikipedia. You only get to 264 countries if you include Narnia, Mordor, Ankh-Morpork, Azkhaban, Ruritania, Elbonia, Grand Fenwick, and about 55 other places that are as real as Xenu.
(sorry if this is a dupe, but my link to /. went down a few hours ago when I was posting this)
From TFA:
NOOOOOO IT'S REAL IT'S REAL.
Posted 22 Hours Ago
Church of Scientology
Clearwater, FL
Given that this is the same author of the original post, and that there is no link to a CoS website source anywhere, I guess that's not really Mr. Miscarriage's opinion. Not that it would surprise me if it were.
I would guess that yellow star would not fit next to big "SS" mark scientologists already wearing. Well, this would be joke if it was not such insane truth :-(
Wow! Open an argument with Nazi reference. Godwin's law closes the discussion and you have the last word!
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
CoS and Miscavige are FAIL. Over and over again.
(Mod points yesterday, none today..!)
David Miscavige says "With this brutal decision, not only is Wikipedia criminally attacking the world's most ethical people, members of the Scientology religion, but it is preventing Scientologists from presenting our religion in the most positive and truthful light."
With this brutal decision (I woke up this morning and found myself unable to write about how I debated the Dalai Lama to a standstill at the age of 12) not only is Wikipedia criminally attacking (we are so going to sue you non-profit Wikipidea) the world's most ethical people, members of the Scientology religion, (hyperbole is something that happens to other people) but it is preventing Scientologists from presenting our religion in the most positive and truthful light. (I admit we do put propaganda on wikipedia but I really thought that was what it was for I mean look at all the good press that Obama fellow gets on Wikipedia)
Written from The House of the Venerable and Inscrutable Colonel
I felt like it was April's fool when I read this /.. Isn't ironic to read an article about Scientology being bashed when the Google Ads displayed at the top of the page is one about the Scientology Church? This made my day!
Parent comment is not a troll. Someone with mod points doesn't want /. readers to know about the RPF camps where they make people run round a pole for 12 hours a day.
Tell Mr. Miscavige to call me after they have their own Krystalnacht. Until then, perhaps he should watch the hyperbole.
Its more like telling child molesters they can't live near schools and playgrounds anymore. They broke the rules after repeated warnings and now they have to deal with the punishment, that is to say they have people editing Wikipedia from computers not on their company's IP range. Real hardship, that.
I also don't put Wikipedia, no matter how popular it is, as having the same amount of influence and power as Hitler's Germany. I mean, seriously, its a website anyone (that isn't part of a wingnut cult) can edit, not a government that has a standing army or anything like that. So comparing themselves to the Jews, or the Five Civilized Tribes, or the slaves is completely absurd.
Live by the sword, die by the sword. I'm not in favor of any kind of censorship of any kind (and technically, it's not censorship unless the government uses legal means to stop publication). However, with the Scientologists, it's the chickens coming home to roost. They want to stop other people from exercising free speech so they have no right to demand that right for themselves.
and we don't have a Wiki Admin who is a member or favors them over another group.
Though your criticism of SOE and Smedley is exactly the reason I don't really like COS being banned from edits of articles relevant to them. What is one person's truth can be another persons heresy.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
Pasta Be Upon Him!
Ramen.
We must move up our plans! Start shipping those Scientologists to the camps immediately!
Wearing the star in a climate that hates people who wears the star should be a sensible comparison to being outcast from Wikipedia?
Hey, how about this: Make Scientologists wear some symbol that marks them (a big bright L on the forehead would be appropriate IMO), and ask them again if they still feel like this is about as much a problem as being locked out from a Webpage.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Well no, the first thing they appeal to is the courts to get critics slapped with copyright violations. Then they talk about how they're being repressed, as they try to jackboot all opponents into the dirt.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
The difference here is that Judaism is a real religion and scientology is a fraudulent scam. They should be put out of business in this country as well.
The Jews weren't harassing a free service using it to spread lies.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
I don't see why they're called a religion, *and* given tax breaks, when they don't take "offerings", they charge real money for services.
Worse than a yellow star: make them advertise in the "adult services" section of craigslist.
Point of information: in 1967, at the Worldcon, a number of us were standing around John W. Campbell (go google him, those who don't have a clue, and add "analog" to your search), and someone asked about scientology and LRond, who Campbell knew very well. His answer was that over the years, Hubbard had wandered back and forth between believing it, and thinking it a great scam.
mark "I report, you get the idea"
Just Kidding! (There goes my positive karma rating)
Would anyone here complain if Gitmo were repurposed solely for curing the world of scientology?
It'd be better than its current racist use, at any rate.
Nice. Self-Godwinning-Slashdot-Articles...
All scientologists should wear a bright yellow shirt with huge star on the front saying "I'm a gullable idiot - please laugh at me"
Scientologist should wear tin foil hats, I think that's more appropriate.
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
'What's next, will Scientologists have to wear yellow, six-pointed stars on our clothing?' During World War II, Hitler forced Jewish men, women and children to wear a a yellow cloth star bearing the word Jude to brand them in the streets of Europe, and in the Nazi death camps."
Well, if that's a problem, we could force them to wear a colored arm-band around their right arm. This shouldn't be a big deal, since many of their members already do. And if they are extra-good, they get the gold-colored band and they can even spend one night per week with their spouse! /Heebie-Jeebies/
Seriously, name a single other "religion" that charges members "donations" individually for services, complete with a price sheet?
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
No. How about a five pointed one?
Have gnu, will travel.
There are three meaningful differences:
1) Nobody is being identified as CoS. The comparison is ridiculous and specious on its face. However, I can understand how Scientologists wouldn't want people to know who they were.
2) CoS is being removed from a private site with limited reach (admittedly an important one), but this in no way affects them outside that site. This is no more "censorship" than would be being removed from the golf course that senators play at.
3) CoS is being removed for a pattern of poor behavior of editing things in their interest, without providing appropriate sources, removing well sourced material, in the hopes of changing their public image. Each of these is against Wikipedia's stated policy, and the group was warned more than a dozen times over the course of several years.
They are merely Godwinning so that they don't have to accept that what happened to them is the result of their organized campaign of unethical behavior (as were it any surprise, given their other activities.)
Routing around in 3, 2...
StoneCypher is Full of BS
What's your pilot name?
I'm Denidil from Shadowed Command [XSCX], executor corp of Fatal Ascension [FA]
If you cannot keep politics out of your moderation remove yourself from the Mod Lottery.. NOW!
'What's next, will Scientologists have to wear yellow, six-pointed stars on our clothing?'
Bill Engvall has a sign for you to wear.
--You will rephrase your request for me to go to hell. Goto statements are not acceptable programming constructs
As both a Jew and a human being, it deeply offends me that David Miscavige feels that being deprived the right to post on Wikipedia is equivalent to genocide. While I disagree with Wikipedia's decision, I think it is a ridiculous statement to compare the two. Not every wrong committed should evoke the Nazis.
MacroHard - Boning you in a big way! (TM)
Why give air time to that moron? You just fed the stray. Expect further over-the-top religious comparisons -- because, well, you've just proven that it pays.
to be persecuted ? Scientology is FAR from that. Persecuting them is more like pursuing criminals and thieves than persecuting a religion. I HAVE been accused of being intolerant against the Scientologists and the LDS, but I feel it is not intolerant but just returning the behavior I get from them. My cousin is due to be married in an LDS temple soon, as her family we are expected to attend, support, provide financial support, but as NON MORMONS, we are also expected to stand outside the wedding with the doors closed until the ceremony is over and they come out fron for the reception. Needless to say the family has SEVERELY rejected that idea and it has caused no end of stress. My 85 year old grandpa, bless his heart, said what everyone else was thinking and refused to go or support, nor will her father give away the bride. She is screaming we all want her wedding to fail, and we are saying what wedding....
errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
Hate crime... hardly. You abuse a privilege, you loose it. This is not Nazism by even the most extreme stretch of the imagination.
"Godwin's Law'd!!!!"
"OW! my appeal to emotion!"
N4st0r, trixx0r h0bb1tz0rz! Th3y st0l3 0ur pr3c10uzz!
A closer analogy, while remaining a false analogy, would be for them to wear purple flying saucers, not yellow stars of david.
In any case, it's a false analogy because the wikipedia ban is a result of their active attempts to destroy a shared resource. Any group so engaged risks a similar response. A more accurate analogy would be prosecuting (as opposed to persecuting) people who actively engage in human sacrifice as part of their religion.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I would think that the church of scientology would jump at the chance to wear an emblem which so accurately represents their origins.
Now whenever someone does something unexpectedly, sometimes in a negative way. I stop. And I think. Why did he/she do that? Was it something I did, something I said?
Now, as far as Scientology is concerned.. there is a lack of transparency, and well, their direction and the way they handle things is.. somewhat unethical.
Also, bringing your ideological conflicts into a public, secular domain, such a move is unwise by any Religious organisation's standards.
We'll make it a yellow volcano.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Gosh, boys, please read the fine print. This article is a HOAX! It is not true in any way shape or form... And all you "experts" fell for it.
... while the politician does evil deeds, for him to actually start doing something for the public which he should have anyway.
Does this sound encouraging?
Democracy almost ensures that rulers and powerful people have no sense of ownership or belonging in the well being of the public. Sometimes I feel monarchy is better because there could be a sense of belonging and there exists a possibility of benevolent dictatorship.
Democracy needs to have a very strong media and transparency, without which it is rule by proxy through temporarily recruited opportunistic agents who crave for credit at best and for power and control over everyone's life at worst.
DemoNcracy is a better word for this suitable design.
Democracy is useful only if accompanied by mandatory voting.
Obama won on a 4% margin, IIRC 52 to 48, and that too of the 60% who voted. In effect a little over 30% Americans wanted Obama or a Democrat to win.
That's minority rule, in one sense.
Back to what makes politicians act - personal loss or threat of it - whether emotional, financial or psychological.
How do you ensure that democratically and transparently?
Do you know which Jews made it through the Holocaust unscathed? It was the ones that joined up with the Nazis as soldiers and police. Through their complicity, these Jews were responsible for the millions that were slaughtered in the camps.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonderkommando
Are you thinking of these?
I listen to both RIAA and non-RIAA stuff if I like the music, tangential business/politics nonwithstanding.
'What's next, will Scientologists have to wear yellow, six-pointed stars on our clothing?'
Nah, a dunce hat and groucho glasses would be fine.
Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
As soon as i thought about defenseless little kittens getting their tails ripped out i began to shed a tear...
:'-(
*sniffle*
My blood hurts...
I think he will be justified in his remark if and only if he and his people are rounded up and sent off to the gas chambers. Personally, I find the comparison of anything so trival as a IP banning to the horror of what happened to the Jews in Europe during WWII disgusting.
"You should wear tin foil hats, SO WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE".
has to do with the CoS, I would think a face tattoo saying, "Abusive Con Artist" would be more appropriate.
Maybe as a mandated sig, digital signature, etc... too.
Wherever You Go, There You Are
i accidentally my whole wikipedia privilege. is this a bad thing?
'What's next, will Scientologists have to wear yellow, six-pointed stars on our clothing?
I hope so, it will help me recognize those insane/evil people, so I can avoid them like the plague that they are.
You do know that there is a difference between persecution and prosecution right? One can sometimes lead to the other but they are not the same.
yes. So he is. How can you tell? His lips move...
I mean really IMO thats all it was ment to be in the start. A nice religious based tax exemption and then they realized people were buying the BS they had to sell so they took it a step further. If you want a lovely afternoon of Scientology hating you can always watch the Anonymous videos on Youtube. I like to watch Scientology try to make moves and totally screw up. It really makes my day.
Also, we need a new mod rank called "BUSTED!" IMO. Or how about a +1 where you get to write your own little thing. Put a character limit like 12 letters?
And this has been another installament of Captain Obvious!
[The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved.]
[This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.]
[It has been suggested that this page or section be merged with Space opera in Scientology doctrine (discuss)]
Like all Scientologists, I am outraged that in the 21st century, it is acceptable for Wikipedia's ArbCom to commit such a despicable hate crime as blocking Scientology parishioners from editing Wikipedia in the comfort and security of Scientology-owned properties. Blocking the IP addresses of computers located at Scientology's Pac Base, Int Base and Celebrity Centre is just a way to force Scientology parishioners into an undesired beingness [citation needed]. What's next, will Scientologists have to wear yellow, six-pointed stars on our clothing?
The goal of Scientology is a sane world, without criminals, without psychiatric terror, without war [citation needed]. Ultimately, the goal of Scientology is sanity itself [citation needed]. Only the insane would attempt to stop Scientology. With this brutal decision, not only is Wikipedia criminally attacking the world's most ethical people, members of the Scientology religion [citation needed], but it is preventing Scientologists from presenting our religion in the most positive and truthful light [neutrality disputed]. There is so much nonsense on the internet about Scientology, all of which was written by anti-religion extremists in the employ of the Psychiatric-Pharmaceutical industry [citation needed]. Many [who?] are also being paid by certain depraved, degenerate factions within the German government [citation needed]. You can't believe any of it [citation needed]. If these scumbags had their way, all children would be psych-drugged into oblivion [citation needed], most eventually becoming high school gunmen [citation needed]; vicious de-programmers would constantly be leaping out from shadowy corners [citation needed]; there would be all-night electroshock parlors on the high street of every village, town and city [citation needed]; and anyone who tried to live an ethical life would quickly receive an icepick lobotomy [citation needed]. This is why it is necessary for Scientologists to try to present a balanced perspective, by showcasing all the good things [citation needed] about the Scientology religion, and removing all the lies.
The Scientology religion is the only major religion to have emerged in the 20th century [citation needed]. It is the world's fastest growing religion [citation needed], found in over 264 countries, with tens of thousands of new people becoming Scientologists every day [citation needed]. Scientology was accepted as a religion by the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in 1993 [citation needed]. Scientology has also been declared a bona-fide religion by Mr. Frank Flynn, Adjunct Professor of Sociology at the University of Kansas [citation needed]. Scientologists in the United States enjoy tremendous tax advantages, not available to members of other religions [citation needed]. Many [who?] celebrities are Scientologists, and ordinary public Scientologists sometimes get to meet them [citation needed]. As members of a minority religion, Scientologists deserve to be treated fairly [citation needed], which means that we should be allowed [citation needed] to do things that other groups may not do. In this way, we are just a little bit compensated for all of our humanitarian efforts [citation needed] and our sharing of Mr. L. Ron Hubbard's extremely workable [citation needed] technology.
Make
were you expecting to see a sig here? perhaps you'd rather see the inside of an ambulance!
That's exactly how David Miscavige writes and speaks. Remember - to a large degree he's not communicating to you, he is being consistent to the line he has already fed to his followers...
Wouldn't being "depressed" probably be a legitimate diagnosis of someone who does *anything* and goes and kills themselves two hours later?
I mean, okay, they're a bunch of charlatans, we all know that. The thing is, do you hold some fortune teller responsible for your depressed kid's death when the fortune teller makes an obvious read off the kid's demeanor and tells her what is effectively, the truth? Would she have not killed herself if a shrink told her that? I've read nothing to indicate that they made that judgment and then somehow completely broke down her entire psyche so that she's suddenly suicidal after having a great day. I mean, if they really have that super-villain power, maybe there's something in this Xenu shit after all.
These guys need to be investigated completely, but I'm a little annoyed that the reason they are doing it is something like this and not perhaps, the tax evasion, criminal mischief, slander and threats they have made against people in the past. Or maybe those aren't really as important as some MP's kid under the law.
Hey, by all accounts the movie sucked, but the book is actually a lot of fun. And unlike "Mission Earth," it's not preachy or didactic - Hubbard's beliefs are kept to the background, becoming a bit more explicit towards the end.
Though it tends to attract "love it or hate it" reactions: either you love it as an exciting, page-turning thrillride in the pulp style, or you think it's pulp drivel filled with ridiculous science. Suspend your disbelief!
I guess Tom Cruise will try to leave a briefcase bomb in Wikipedia's headquarters.
Scientologist: Hurrr Ima pushin mah agendaaa!!!
Wiki: No.
Scientologist: FUUUUUUUUUUU-
It's one thing to be skeptical of Scientology from reading second and third hand articles on the Internet. It's another thing to see directly how this is likely a cult headed by people with serious psychological problems by reading an article written by none other than the CEO of the organization. It's so over the top it's hard to believe this isn't a hoax.
In a real emergency, we would have all fled in terror, and you would not have been notified.
I read this, then I $#! bricks.
Wikipedia did not ban Scientology, it did not ban Scientologists, you do not get banned for being a Scientologist.
An IP address which belonged to the CoS was banned, not because of its affiliation, but because it has a history of taking a dump on Wikipedia articles, which Wikipedia's administrators don't take kindly to.
Mr. Miscarriage is more like someone who would like the rest of us to walk around with yellow stars. That's probably where he got the idea in the first place. Wait, I feel something attaching itself to me. Could I be a 'Suppressive Person'?
If only you were a Jew and a Jew with a brain, you might have RTFA'd and spotted the giveaway troll line: Scientologists deserve to be treated fairly, which means that we should be allowed to do things that other groups may not do. You, amongst all the other accidental humourists here in Slashdot-im-morally-outraged-land, have been trolled. Congratulations, ya jackass !
(Y) --- Official AssHat Designation
I think this is completely different, it's quiet annoying if someone alternates data to fit their ideology, .. this is not what wikipedia was meant for, I can understand that they got banned because they did alternate data intentionally for their benefit and not because it is the truth, worse is that often students look a lot up on sites like wikipedia it is bad enough that sometimes wikipedia publishes wrong information, .. that some moronic group who thinks the universe is only 3000 years old is changing all the input to fit their needs.
If you go on a IRC server and do not respect the rules of that community you will be banned as well, .. if those guys would of respected the rules they wouldn't of been banned, it's because they did it over and over and over again. Worse they did it intentionally to brainwash others, to tell people see it's on wikipedia so it must be true. It is them who are the nazi's, it is them who want everyone to think like them, not wikipedia for banning someone who doesn't respect their rules.
'...'What's next, will Scientologists have to wear yellow, six-pointed stars on our clothing?' ...'
No, your group will wear the other symbol popular at the time.
LOL, CoS stitched on their own stars long ago. All they have to do to draw ridicule is open their stupid mouths. Like the morons handing out the mini- condenced MMPI tests in public( so they can evaluate your needs and fix them of course, for a ridiculous price) Like their spokesmodels melting down on video. Like any discussion of wacked out paranoid bad science friction writers on private yachts. Like anything anyone with a mind of their own hears about SEAORG. Like any of the hush, hush yet openly public screw ups CoS has caused that made the press over the last few decades. Yeah, they need to take responsibility for sewing on their own stars and quit blaming others for their screw ups.
*Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
FTFA. From Mischievous Guru Miscavige: "(...) Scientologists deserve to be treated fairly, which means that we should be allowed to do things that other groups may not do.(...)" Here we are, we have the explanation why Church of Abuse, Church of $cientology, Church of money extortion do all what they do: because they should be allowed to. Can I be allowed to be happy when such a double-standard people are silenced ? Please ? Why not ? C'mon!
One Godwin point awarded to Co$.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law
Religion is just a sophisticated superstition. If you research it a bit you can easily see a spectrum from the most simplistic beliefs right through to the most modern and complex religions. And all of it is untrue. Apart from that, it's totally wrong that religions get special treatment in law and society. Why TF should they? Especially when the result is they get more money and power to spend on promoting their lies and fucking up people and the world even more than they already are. It's utterly stupid, utterly despicable.
Christianity is NOT better than Scientology. Superficially, it might seem so. But if you look at the reality of what it's doing in the world RIGHT NOW, and worse, what it's done in the past, it's actually far, far worse than Scientology is (so far anyway). Christian religions have been directly responsible for war, death, torture, rape, persecution, suppression, and more, of millions. Also their history is one of greed, power, corruption, lies, manipulation and just about every other negative you could think of. To use just one tiny example, if I'd said this in the past in Europe I'd be tortured and murdered by those same Christian churches. And these things continue to this day. Christianity is killing people right now. And it continues to accumulate money and power and influence. (I won't spell out how, it's not so hard to find out.) If you don't already know this, that means you don't know what kind of organisation you belong to. So how can you reasonably associate yourself with it? You need to research your religion's history. And not what they tell you either. That's just propaganda. More lies, like all religions, all lies. If you believe in that stuff, there's something wrong with what you know and / or the way you think. Some are a lot worse than others (in so many varied ways). But all of them are bad because they teach people to be stupid and they teach outright, provable lies. That's bad for all of us, for all humanity, for the whole planet. (Sorry to be direct, I'm sure you're a very nice person, but that's all the more reason not to be sucked in by those evil organisations. And it doesn't matter if the liars are sincere and believe in what they say. It's still untrue. What I've written above is true, as much as any of us can know about our past.)
But Jonh Travolta has got a really hairy head of hair nowadays, despite bemoaning his incipient baldness long, long ago. So it seems Lord Xenu has The Power to Cure Baldness! Sh*t! I'm going to check out my local CoS tomorrow! Hmmm... I wonder if he can increase penis size too? I guess he could. After all, he could fly all those DC-8-like spacecraft (hahahahahahahahahah - sorry) around the universe so an extra few inches should be easy enough, surely?