It may have been in one of the above videos or in another one I was watching recently but someone who had investigated the organisation said that they didn't think TC was gay. I tend to believe that. Otherwise it would mean that all his wives/girlfriends would have been stupid enough to fall for him and stay with him for as long as they did. Not necessarily out of the question but I doubt that so many women would really do that. It would also mean that, in the age of the internet, salacious media, not to mention people with axes to grind against Scientology, not a single male partner of this man of now advanced years had ever spilled the beans or indeed claimed "abuse".
The Sea Org seems very strange. A kind of elite group that doesn't sound much fun to be in!
How the organisation works intrigues me too, in a similar way to false abuse allegations. Both seem to have characteristics of a scam. I did a bit of Googling about scams a few years ago after a run-in with a bogus "independent financial adviser" working for a bogus but PR-savvy IFA company. Though I didn't lose money as I became suspicious early enough to extricate myself, I can't claim that I wasn't initially duped into something that could have been - and, as I later discovered, has been for many other people - extremely costly. I wonder if the process of people being sucked into Scientology starts in a similar way, with people having to lay bare their souls in a "personality test" or audit, a kind of enforced honesty, as in a financial adviser's "fact find". Perhaps it creates a situation where, by revealing personal details not usually revealed to close friends, let alone a stranger, people can be lulled into a false sense of security and let their guard down, maybe assume that the person they're dealing with is being equally honest, when they could be a duped cult member or a dishonest charlatan. Not to mention wanting to believe whatever they're offering is true or likely to be beneficial. But I suppose a cult would also involve quite a bit more from the point of view of manipulation and brainwashing.
They must really know how to crack people up, given that they did such a good job on the BBC's John Sweeney!
https(colon)//www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=mjlo4u_8g60
Here's something that might interest
hedda. Calling hedda 123 123 testing testing… is there anybody there?
The Wikipedia entry for the Scientology spokesman in that video says:
"He is currently the General Manager of Consolidated Press Holdings North America LLC, a private investment vehicle owned by Australian billionaire, James Packer."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Davis_(Scientology)
It reminds me of something I read earlier today (
Beaming Tom Cruise appears in awe as he visits $16 million Scientology headquarters in New Zealand [seems to be the most recent Tom Cruise Scientology article online]) where there's a comment from a reader saying that the owners of the largest newspaper franchise in Australia are Scientologists. True or nonsense? I wonder if
hedda might have some insights into this or anything else about this subject.
According to Wikipedia, James Packer used to be involved in Scientology.
"In 2002, following the breakdown of his first marriage, and the development of a friendship with Tom Cruise, Packer began attending the Church of Scientology in Australia, taking courses on the Church's Dundas business centre. He subsequently confirmed his involvement with Scientology, saying he had found it "helpful". He later distanced himself from the church."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Packer
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