Conference back40::soapbox

  INDEPENDENT, 9 August 1996

Germany's mission imperative

IMRE KARACS
Bonn

 A "bunch of extremists and fanatics" in Chancellor Helmut Kohl's Christian 
Democratic party were organising a boycott yesterday of the Hollywood 
blockbuster Mission Impossible, and all because of the religious affiliation 
of its main star, Tom Cruise.
  
 That, at least, was the considered view from the Hamburg headquarters of the 
Church of Scientology, under whose influence Cruise was said to have fallen. 
The German government is trying to ban Scientology, and Mr Kohl's youth wing, 
the Christian Union, decided to strike the first blow against the 
"totalitarian organisation'.
  
 "The tactic of Scientology is to connect it with the notion of success," said 
Burkhard Remmers, head of the Christian Union in the state of Lower Saxony. 
"That is aided by the many US stars who go on publicity tours in Europe. But 
Scientology does not mean success." 
 
 That has certainly not been Cruise's experience, whose latest box-office hit 
opened in Germany last night. Its low-key launch has been boosted by the young
Christians' publicity campaign, virtually guaranteeing good takings through 
the summer doldrums. Party members planned to stand in front of cinemas, 
handing out leaflets denouncing the "dangerous wheeling and dealings of the 
Scientology organisation".  

 "There is a fad going on in Germany," said Franz Riedl, a spokesman for the 
Church. "Politicians who can't make waves in other ways use Scientology to 
grab headlines."  

 That certainly appears to be the case this time, but concern in official 
German circles about Scientology, which has an estimated 30,000 members in 
Germany, is deep-seated and genuine. Earlier this year, Bonn's family ministry
issued a  pamphlet accusing Scientology, a Californian-based Church which 
believes in the fulfilment of the individual as a spiritual being, of trying 
to undermine democracy in a bid for world domination.
  
 On Wednesday, Johannes Gerster, head of the Christian Democratic Union in 
Mr Kohl's home state of Rhineland-Palatinate, called for Scientologists to be 
banned from government jobs. "We firmly believe that Scientology has 
unconstitutional goals," said Mr Gerster, who unveiled a 10-point list of 
proposed curbs on Scientology, to be submitted to the party's national 
conference in the autumn. 

  THE TIMES, 9 August 1996

Anti-cult picket at Cruise's new film  

FROM ROGER BOYES
IN BONN

 ANGRY young Germans yesterday picketed cinemas throughout the country to 
protest against the involvement of Tom Cruise, the American actor, with the 
Scientology sect.

 The protests - organised by the normally placid youth wing of Helmut Kohl's 
Christian Democratic Union - are a token of the growing political pressure in 
Germany against Scientology, which has been actively recruiting. 
 
 Paul Stefan Mauz, a Christian Democrat member of parliament, claimed 
yesterday that Cruise was a "high-ranking" Scientologist and that, as the 
leading actor and co-producer of Mission: Impossible, he was likely to swell 
the coffers of the sect.
  
 Herr Mauz is trying to persuade the Government to restrict subsidies to 
cinemas that show films starring known Scientologists. The Christian 
Democratic youth wing took up the cry and is picketing many of the 600 cinemas
showing Mission: Impossible.  

 "We want to fight the sect and not cinema-goers as such," said Burkhard 
Remmers, the regional chairman of the young Christian Democrats in Lower 
Saxony.  

 Renate Rennebach, a Social Democratic deputy and opposition spokeswoman, 
argued that a film boycott "made a great deal of sense", if it emerged that 
the film was partly financed by the sect. However, she said it was wrong to 
boycott the film simply because Cruise is known to be a Scientologist. 

Looks like the British press is a bit confused over this one.

While the CSU/CDU coalition is the ruling party, and the SPD is the
opposition, the German press is making it completely clear that both
are ready for a crackdown on Scientology.

Renate Rennebach of the Social Democrats, quoted in the British press as
urging restraint on the film boycott, is quoted in the German press as
calling for the federal government to fight the "totalitarian and faschist"
Scientology Organisation.

I suspect Germany will be no more successful in banning the Scientologists
than they have been in banning the neo-Nazis.

/john

>I suspect Germany will be no more successful in banning the Scientologists
>than they have been in banning the neo-Nazis.
    
    WIthout meaning to be perjorative here, are you equating the two
    organisations? In what way?

The German Social Democrats are equating them by calling them totalitarian
and fascist.

/john

    I know that the S. folk are scummy and all that, but there is a
    magnitude of difference between them and those that pretend the
    Holocaust never happened.

OK, so will that difference make it easier for Germany to ban them?

/john

    Nope. Hyperbolae never helps in these kinds of situations. Accuracy is
    crucial if distraction is not sought.

I'm not really sure where the hyperbole is.

If this organization is as dangerous as the Mafia (which the German
government claims), then it is potentially more dangerous than a bunch
of disorganized skinheads who spread the lie so few believe that the
holocaust never occurred.

The descriptions of how the Scientologists have moved in on German
corporations and real estate holdings are rather spectacular.

My statement was that Germany might not be any more successful stopping
the Scientologists than they have been stopping the neo-Nazis.  The
German government seems to think they are quite as dangerous.

/john

    Ok, who am I to argue. Good luck to 'em.

re .6:

They certainly not Nazis but they can be extremely troublesome to those who
criticize them or stand in their way.  They love to sue over any criticism
and the press is generally gunshy about reporting on them.

As far as comparisons to Nazis, Scientology has been comparing the current
German government to Nazis since the government ruled they didn't deserve
the status of a religion in Germany.  They also make some comparisons of this
"persecution" to the early Nazi persecution of Jews. 

    .13
    
    In addition to being a totalitarian organization based on mind control,
    Scientology is one of the cleverest pyramid schemes in existence.  It's
    a plague that should be stamped out.

    Yes, but aren't you just the tiniest bit proud of being from the
    country that created the cleverest pyramid scheme in existence?

    It's considerer irresponsible cowardice not to challenge pyramid
    schemes in Germany.  This is a little known fact that I just made up.

re .14:

I think it is more of a bait-and-switch scheme than a pyramid scheme.

  .17  there's sphinx involved in either case.

-1:

agagagaga!

    .17
    
    > I think it is more of a bait-and-switch scheme than a pyramid scheme.
    
    I *know* it is a pyramid scheme.  I *know* how members' bonuses are
    calculated for recruiting additional people.

  questioning hare binder about a pyramid scheme, madman?  tut, tut.

    it's good way to make a lot of mummy.

  yep, sounds like it tomb me.

Madman's in denial over his error.  It's quite Cleo that Binder knows whereof
he speaks.

    yep, he's always busting our cheops over this kind of stuff

 .24  maybe hare binder was a victim.  not likely that egypt anyone.

.20:

Ok, it's a pyramid scheme.  It's a bait-and-switch scheme.  It's a floor wax.

.21:

>  questioning hare binder about a pyramid scheme, madman?  tut, tut.

Don't encourage me about debates on _that_ kind of pyramid scheme, I have some
heavy artillary to draw on....

-Madman

    I don't get it. What's so bad about thes Scientology people? What do
    they believe in? I can't recall hearing about these people, and I don't
    understand where the controversy is.
    -ss

There are _lots_ of web pages critical of Scientology that can answer your
question, especially regarding their battle against the Internet (mostly
the Usenet newsgroup alt.religion.scientology)

An "Introduction to Scientology?" web page from a critic's viewpoint is at
http://www.tiac.net/users/modemac/cos.html

A 1991 Time Magazine cover story on Scientology is at
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Fishman/time-behar.html

(Scientology sued Time for over $400,000,000 over this article, after several
years of litigation the case was thrown out)

A very extensive "Church of Scientology vs. the Net" page is at
http://www.cybercom.net/~rnewman/scientology/home.html

There are many links to critical pages off of this page:
http://home.pacific.net.sg/~marina/misc/arshtml.htm

That Time Magazine story is particularly damning; it makes the Scientologists
appear to be significantly more dangerous than Germany's current disorganized
neo-Nazis.  (Which is not to say that the neo-Nazis are not dangerous or that
they wouldn't be more dangerous if they got as organized as the original
Nazis.)

/john

re .30:

>            -< But will boycotting Mission Impossible do any good? >-

Actually the boycott may get more interesting soon.  What will happen when
Phenomenon opens in Germany?  Travolta is also a Scientologist, and unlike
Mission Impossible where Cruise's religion is irrelevant to the story itself,
Scientology claims its highest level members get powers similar to what
Travolta's character obtains in Phenomenon.

    I have a sibling involved heavily in Scientology.
    
    Buncha bananas.  Truly scary stuff.  Costs huge money.  If approached,
    I'd advise run like hell in the other direction.
    
    On the other hand, for shoot-em-up science fiction, L. Ron is hard to
    beat.

    >On the other hand, for shoot-em-up science fiction, L. Ron is hard to
    >beat.
    
    Yeah, just look at Scientology. :-)
    
    Bright Blessings,
    
    PJ

    I didn't know Tom Cruise was a closet Scientologist.  When did he come
    out of the hubbard?

    He let on when out for a Ron.

    So the Germans are dianetic him off?

Squash Hubbard!

    ...and the Old Mother whose dog had no bone.

    That was some kind of gardening joke wasn't it, Gerald.  

    I believe John Travolta is, or has been, a scientologist.
    
    Many years ago Martin Gardner wrote a really hostile piece about
    scientology and L. Ron Hubbard. A masterful job too.

Karen Black's a Scientologist too.

    Extra: The US Gov't will retaliate by refusing to allow in any German cars
    that have Cruise control.
    

    It's about Tom!

    
    	Who're you trying to Kid, man?
    

    .32
    
    > On the other hand, for shoot-em-up science fiction, L. Ron is hard to
    > beat.
    
    Every Hubbard book sold returns a royalty to the Church of Scientology. 
    Keep buyin' them books, folks, support the Church.

    I like the part about the books that keep coming out, even though he's
    been dead for quite a while (what, 15 years?).
    
    I guess he did a lot of writing the last day or two...

Good ad for Scientologists, I guess.  Writing after death.

    post-humus literature.

    litter-raght-chyear.

The annual U.S. State Department report on Human Rights blasts Germany for
its treatment of Scientologists, stating that, "Business firms whose owners
or executives are Scientologists may face boycotts and discrimination,
sometimes with government approval."

Germany has denounced the criticism, saying that its Nazi past permits it
to make special efforts to suppress extremist groups.  Scientologists in
Germany, on the other hand, compare their current situation with that of
the Jews in pre-War Germany.

/john

>Germany has denounced the criticism, saying that its Nazi past permits it
>to make special efforts to suppress extremist groups.  Scientologists in
>Germany, on the other hand, compare their current situation with that of
>the Jews in pre-War Germany.

Time to invite these guys in the 'box.

    .64
    
    > Time to invite these guys in the 'box.
    
    I don't think so.

A "Scientology in Germany" "faq" by a German critic of Scientology is at:

http://www.snafu.de/~tilman/faq-you/germany.txt

An interesting link found on Tilman's home page is

	http://www.bayern.de/STMI/Scientology/

Useful only if you read German, it is an _official_ Bavarian Government page
entitled "Measures of the Bavarian State Government against Scientology."

OH.  Here's the English version of the page.  Not quite as many links, but
it includes the "Bavarian 15 point catalog of measures against Scientology."

	http://www.bayern.de/STMI/Scientology/welcomeE.htm

/john
                                 

Interesting editorial from MS NBC is at:

http://www.msnbc.com/news/53640.asp

On Thursday, Rep. Donald Payne, D-N.J., introduced a House resolution
condemning the German government for discrimination against Scientologists.

Actress Anne Archer, singer Isaac Hayes and jazz musician Chick Corea
all appeared together with Payne in a press conference announcing the
resolution.

The German embassy responded that the German government does not consider the
Church of Scientology a religion, but a business that must be regulated.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has promised to bring the matter up
with German leaders during her stop in Bonn next week. 

The resolution is H. Con. Res. 22.

/john

    Doing an AltaVista simple search for "dianetics" or "scientology"
    always seems to pop up an ad for Scientology.
    
    I thought these ads were random...