Linktastic fun with the “Church” of $cientology

It all started here, with the chilling and funny in a car-accident way Tom Cruise Scientology video that leaked onto the Net. YouTube had it first, then Co$ threatened, they took it down, and Defamer.com, bless their cotton socks, put it up and refuse to take it down.
I am morbidly intrigued by cults, and no doubt Co$ is one of the most powerful and one of the most dangerous. Their ultra-seriousness, their righteousness, and–from the videos I’ve seen–their barely contained anger and victim mentality make them ripe for mocking, but read further and they become quite frightening.
The Cruise video led me to this fascinating BBC Panorama doc from May 2007, where John Sweeney investigates the “Church” and becomes victim to their harrassment, including being followed, being verbally assaulted, and on and on until Sweeney finally snaps and screams his head off. It’s quite shocking, but I find it strange that the BBC, who had once investigated the cult in 1987 (as my friend Chris reminded me), didn’t prep Sweeney for the kind of “bull-baiting” that is exactly intended to result in outbursts like his. Watch it and ask yourself if you could handle the same pressure. Also, the footage the Co$ shot of the outburst was then sent to Sweeney’s boss, his boss’s boss, and so on to smear him and to try to get him fired.
That in turn led me past the wonderful Operation Clambake website and onward to XenuTV.com, Mark Bunker’s site. Sweeney should have watched how Bunker runs rings around these pesky twerps on his many journeys into the cold, evil heart of Co$ in Los Angeles and more importantly in Clearwater, Florida, which to non-cult members is a “occupied city.”
For a gruesome record of what Co$ is capable of, check this slideshow (contains some disturbing autopsy photos).
For some more lighthearted info about Lord Xenu and the Co$ creation myth, check this funny animation.
But for the best laughs of all, the infamous South Park Scientology episode which the Co$ got pulled off TV…still exists on the web, the glorious web!!!
UPDATE! MORE LINKS!!:
Here’s a harrowing first-hand account of the cult from someone who was brainwashed for over a decade.
Now that $cientology has angered the geek community, there’s even more leakage of their precious, dark materials. Here’s an Orientation Video for your amusement. Don’t watch too long or Xenu will get you!!!