PseudoScientology

Germany Will Continue to Watch Scientologists

The German government and the Church of Scientology have never been friends. Now a court has ruled that Scientologists are doing enough in Germany to warrant ongoing surveillance by the government, which fears an organized plan to undermine German rule of law.

[LET THE SPOOFING BEGIN] And David Miscavige’s flair for fancy uniforms didn’t earn any points when he showed up unannounced at the meeting which was to vote on continued survelliance of the Church of Scientology. Demanding to be heard at the proceedings, Miscavige pounded the final nail in his own coffin by offering what he thought was a typical greeting to German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble. Following an hour long rant, Miscavige was politely asked to leave, and the Administrative Court concluded the meeting with this policy statement: “There are concrete indications that Scientology’s activities are to implement Scientology’s program in Germany and to expand more and more Scientology’s principles in government, economy and society.”

Hello class. We’re going to look at some research on the 1st Amendment and point out some things that perhaps you’ve forgotten, or slept through in U.S. Government 101 or Internet technology class. Take good notes — there WILL be a test. This is a study of the protections that exist with regard to free speech in the public forum, the right to protest and the government’s role in the restraint of expression. John Stuart Mill couldn’t have possibly forseen the Blogosphere, but he certainly understood the principles that protect its free expression.The peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error.
~John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, 1859

Freedom of speech is the concept of being able to speak freely without censorship. The right to freedom of speech is guaranteed under international law through numerous human rights instruments, notably under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, although implementation remains lacking in many countries. The synonymous term freedom of expression is sometimes preferred, since the right is not confined to verbal speech but is understood to protect any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used.
(more…)