Censureship

Lawyers shouldn't determine who gets to read what. Religions shouldn't determine who gets to think what. But the worst combination is when religions use lawyers to stop criticism of their actions and beliefs.

Scientology, the money making scam purveyed by the mentally deficient (I can't think of a nicer way to say it), has prevented Andrew Morton's biography of Tom Cruise, the couch and shark jumping actor, from being sold in Australia. This follows similar moves made, by threats of litigation as usual, in the UK.

Now, I don't know whether Morton's biography is a piece of crap or a meticulously researched and authoritative study, but I am minded to buy a copy by the internet just to spite the Scientologists.

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This has been a pretty standard Scientology tact for some time. They're a religion until someone publishes a critical book, and then it becomes a copyright issue. They did an attempted purge on the Internet about six or seven years ago.

What seems very sad is that the courts let this crooked organization get away with it. I can't support Germany's attempts to outright ban them, but I certainly understand the underlying sentiment.

By Aaron Clausen (not verified) on 16 Jan 2008 #permalink