& we thought Mittens was weird: Tom CRUISE #3 top Scientologist dog, book says billion-yr contract

[UTUSN]

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http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/earth_to_tom_rescue_us_n67pUeozMczwenypJR7dWK

[font size=5]Now No. 3 in Scientology, Tom Cruise thinks he’s on planet to vanquish aliens: book[/font]

By MAUREEN CALLAHAN

.... His day job as an actor pales next to the billion-year contract of service he signed with the Church of Scientology, according to a bombshell new book, “Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood & The Prison of Belief.” New Yorker writer Lawrence Wright details Cruise’s demigod status within the church, as well as the group’s ultimate purpose — protect humanity from aliens living in our bodies, who are bent on destroying us and ultimately the planet. ....

By his own account, Cruise was “a functional illiterate” by the time he graduated high school. He suffered from dyslexia and was also the product of a troubled, chaotic upbringing. He was born in upstate Syracuse but spent much of his childhood in Canada. He was just 12 years old when his mother woke up early one morning, grabbed Cruise and his three sisters and fled from Cruise’s abusive father. They felt, he said, “like fugitives.” ....

Miscavige made it happen. (Mimi) Rogers was told that she had no say in the fate of her marriage, because this was bigger than her and Tom. This was about the church, which needed Cruise as its salvation. ....

Though Miscavige began soliciting Kidman’s favor, he was secretly working up a file on her. He was convinced she was a “Potential Trouble Source”: Kidman identified as a Catholic and her father was a prominent psychologist. Catholicism was one thing, but the Scientology Church’s beliefs when it comes to psychology and psychiatry — namely, that both are nefarious practices meant to control the individual through drugs and brainwashing — made Kidman an alarming presence. ....

According to “Going Clear,” Kidman asked that the DNA from the fetus be preserved in order to prove that Cruise was the father. It’s possible she was protecting herself from spurious claims by the church. ....

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[GeorgeGist]

1. link?

[UTUSN]

3. Whoa, DONE, thanks!1 n/t

[cali]

2. you need a link.

[bettyellen]

4. they were hoping for a big score in Michael Jackson, but Lisa Marie failed her mission....

I wonder if MJ ever even let them try an audit or if there are recordings. They say Miscavige used to play recordings of people's confessions and just laugh. I hope some one breaks in one day and steals them from these fucks.

[UTUSN]

5. UPDATE from Gawker: Reviews, "long awaited" book, from New Yorker author, debuting this week

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http://gawker.com/5975537/lawrence-wrights-scientology-expose-comes-out-this-week

[font size=5]Lawrence Wright’s Scientology Exposé Comes Out This Week[/font]

Mallory Ortberg

New Yorker staff writer Lawrence Wright's long-awaited Scientology book, Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, will be released this Thursday, and the reviews are already coming in. Based in part on a 2011 profile of director and former Scientologist Paul Haggis, the book focuses primarily on the legacy of L. Ron Hubbard and his successor, David Miscavige. It contains over 200 interviews with both "current and former" Scientologists from all ranks within the organization

This is one of the more eagerly anticipated book releases in the last few years; The Hollywood Reporter has run an excerpt detailing the "smear campaign" run against John Travolta's former Scientology handler. ... ....

The book chronicles Hubbard's more unusual behaviors: his secrecy, his paranoia, his fear of the government, and how they shaped the development of the church. Cigarette smoking (in honor of Hubbard's own habit) is "still a feature of the church's culture at the upper levels," along with 1950s slang, "casual misogyny," and a ban on perfume and scented deodorant, which leaves you with the most delightful image of high-profile Scientologists acting like disaffected greasers. ....

The book also takes an in-depth look at current and former abuses committed by the church. ....

The Wall Street Journal acknowledges that "few of the people who read the book will likely need disillusioning," but calls it a "feat of reporting" to tackle the "great white whale of investigative journalism about religion." ....



(Image via Getty Images)

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