It was only a matter of time. After my two posts on scientology, I knew the church would be after me. I have, of course, taken precautions, wearing heavy disguise - actually Nige's Groucho face gear - and varying my route to my desk daily. But the first sign they are closing in arrives in the form of an email from one Linda Sarkovich. 'Hi Bryan,' it begins alarmingly. And then:
'I found your blog entry about John Sweeney losing it and entering the "Valhalla of YouTube immortals." I see from your book titles that you have an inquiring mind. You mentioned that the real story was the conduct of Scientologists (I am one) but I think the bigger story is journalistic integrity. Did you get a chance to view "Panorama Exposed" which you can link to via our website (www.freedommag.org)? This documentary tells a fascinating story of a journalist who planned in advance how to make his show entertaining and sensational and was not too interested in finding out or portraying the truth. Would like your views on "Panorama Exposed" if you have a chance to watch it.'
Sorry, Linda, the truth is I don't have any inquiring mind so I won't be watching your vid. I am now relocating to Bhutan, discreet jewel of the East.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
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A blog about, among other things, imaginary ideas - What ifs? and Imagine thats. What if photographs looked nothing like what we see with our eyes? Imagine that the Berlin Wall had never come down. What if we were the punchline of an interminable joke? All contributions welcome.
We are very interested in your money and have some very exciting information about space-aliens and volcanos for the enquiring mind.
ReplyDeleteI've only just watched the Sweeney video as a result of your last post and the scientology fellow would have caused a saint to shout at him - self-righteous little tosser - and Sweeney's expanation about shouting like the sergeant-major he'd played at school in Oh What a Lovely War seemed plausible to me. I could feel myself wanting to hit the yank - a bit of stage shouting was a mild reaction to his nonsense. It's ridiculous to be required to be 'tolerant' of the silliness that these people come out with. What's good enough for the Catholic Church (which is vilified at every turn) ought to be good enough for them.
ReplyDeleteI never thought I'd be an advocate ofr the BBC, but good on you Sweeney!
Bhutan is an excellent choice, Bryan - not least because the national costume is invariably finished off with a comedy nose-moustache-and-glasses combo. (The tourist people tend to keep this quiet.)
ReplyDeleteI'd agree, Philip, and tis only a pity Sweeney didn't follow up with a beautifully executed head-butt, Philip.
ReplyDeleteOops, sorry bout the second Philip.
ReplyDeleteWas Groucho a closet Bhutanian? Are you,Nige?
ReplyDeleteI don't like to talk about it - the Bhutanian code of honour and all that...
ReplyDeleteThe problem with Scientology and its strange beliefs is it quickly becmoning a seemingly harmless and funny matter but a googling of Linda Sarkovich's name quickly led to the following:
ReplyDeleteThe Clear List project is dedicated to Ida Camburn. Ida has been a tenacious Scientology watcher ever since her once-loving son became involved in Scientology and disconnected from her. For years, Ida collected Scientology publications and scanned the lists of names, searching for news of her son and making notes on Scientology movers and shakers along the way. In accordance with Scientology's vengeful policies, Ida's actions - including attending support groups, writing to her elected officials, and sharing information with other disconnected families - have been met with stalking and harassment by Scientology operatives. This project honors the pioneering work Ida did, and the loving concern she shares with the thousands of others who have lost family members to Scientology's practice of disconnection.
I'm confused. Was Linda harassing Ida? What is the link to the Clear List project and Linda S.? Expliquez-nous, Andrew.
ReplyDeleteThe site that turned up was a rather odd one as it seemed to be an official scientology one. So if I re-do the search it might sort out my own faint confusion also, Susan. Either way, disconnection is a very insidious tactic of scientology as shown in an earlier scientology thread in this illustrious blog. I don't think Linda S had anything to do with the story of Ida's disconnection from her child but give us a minute....
ReplyDeleteHere's the relevant site
I htink Linda Sarkovich yielded the site just as a result of being a scientologist- the site seemingly self-styled The Truth About Scientology. A cursory look would suggest they have put a lot of researched effort into the site.
Just to clarify that obviously enough, that means it's not an official scientology.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, you probably already know this, but Scientology is quite litigious. Best to be very careful about what you write and very clear when you attribute anything to a member lest you end up in court as well. As it is, your clarification wasn't clear or coherent.
ReplyDeleteI notice I missed a word. So to clarify that is not from an official scientology site.
ReplyDelete