Round and Round We Go

There's a blog I like to visit daily. It's on the sidebar. Take 5.
Punky d has a had a few links to those Tom Cruise/Scientology videos that are all the rage on the net lately. One link is to Cruise's video, the other is a parody. That last one is rather funny ... in a scary kind of way.

I use to really like Cruise ...well, he's not that hard on the eyes, is he? And say what you will, he has done some pretty good movies. Admittedly, not so much lately. He has gotten a little [ahem] strange. Maybe that's what happens when you start believing your own press.

And I must admit that I hadn't given too much thought to where those videos came from or why. After all, there will always be someone out there with a bone to pick. Such is the price of fame, we say. As I said at LawEddie's yesterday, I think the explosion of technology just gives all of us more opportunities to behave badly.

But I thought it was interesting when I came across this. Apparently, anonymous hackers have released a new video declaring war on Scientology.

Whether you support the right of Scientology to exist as a religion or believe is should be crushed as a dangerous cult, the unique issue posed is the ability of dissenters to use the Internet to literally seek the destruction of a multibillion-dollar enterprise. New media is going beyond the power that traditional journalists have had to disseminate information in a way to achieve desired objectives. Perhaps more significantly, it is being done without hiding behind fictitious “objective reporting” claims. The goal — destruction of Scientology — is clearly stated.

Well, that might explain a few things. You can check out the hacker's rather interesting video at Business Lawyer Blog. And for any 'conspiracy theorisists' out there, consider this.

In fact, Lakhani’s analysis, written before the hackers released their video, raises an interesting possibility. If publicizing persecution is a way to attract members to a cult, this hacker video indirectly promotes Scientology. Could it be that Scientologists released it as a manipulative Internet marketing tool? Stay tuned.

Around and round we go. I guess some would have us believe that you can't take anything at face value anymore.