Monday, August 3, 2009

Scientology: Top Lieutenants Speak Out Against Miscavige


I missed this story when it came out in June. The St. Pete Times in Florida is one of the *best* newspapers in the nation for their coverage of Scientology. Since that church first moved in (under false pretenses) to the town of Clearwater (sister city to St. Pete) the Times has done thorough, award winning investigative journalism on this dangerous cult.

Here they have one of the most comprehensive collections on Scientology you can find anywhere, including archives of all their own reporting. In this recent June story, 4 former high-ranking Scientologists gave interviews, detailing the erratic and extreme physical violence within the "Church's" upper echelons. It's a harrowing story, but some damn fine reporting. I highly recommend it.

In an odd, only marginally related note, Miscavige's bio is like my faovrite sci-fi character if he had chosen the dark side. (Check out Lois MacMaster Bujold's "Miles Vorkosigan" series for some of the best damn literature written in the past thirty years.)