Operation Valkyrie: FOX News Piles On Tom Cruise, Scientology
Above is the trailer for Tom Cruise's next film, Valkyrie, which details the heroic actions of Col. Claus Von Stauffenberg, a German assassin who plots to kill Nazi dictator Adolph Hitler. As history will tell us, Col. Stauffenberg was unsuccessful in his attempts, but in Germany he is considered a mythic and iconic hero emerging from a time which has marred the country's psyche even to this day.
Problem is, Tom Cruise's portrayal as a hero fighting a corrupt, evil and authoritarian government is a little more than disingenuous. In fact, the entire film's production sparked a renewed hostility towards Cruise and the faith which he actively promotes, Scientology, within Germany, where the film was shot.
As Scientology attempts to quell the tide of negative sentiment being expressed around the world, Germany stands as a leader among Western nations in its effort to ban the entire organization from operating within German borders. The CoS has already been stripped of its status as a religion, and is being confronted with an active and hostile attitude by the government of Germany.
A BBC report from last December, gives further details on the German initiatives to ban the entire CoS operation:
Germany's federal and state interior ministers have declared the Church of Scientology unconstitutional, clearing the way for a possible ban.The ministers have asked Germany's domestic intelligence agency to examine whether the Church's legal status as an association could be challenged.
Scientology is not recognised as a religion in Germany.
A Church of Scientology statement said the ministers were "completely out of step with the rest of the world".
The attempted ban is "a blatant attempt at justifying the on-going and never-ending discrimination against the Church of Scientology and its members in Germany," said the Church in a statement.
Critics accuse the organisation of cult-type practices and exploiting followers for financial gain.
But Scientologists reject this and say that they promote a religion based on the understanding of the human spirit.
Back here in the states, Tom Cruise seems to be licking his wounds and hopefully rethinking his strategy of active stumping for the Church of Scientology, as it has had a dramatically negative effect on on his star power.
According to a report at FoxNews.com, Cruise has even taken to "groveling in public" with his ex-boss Paramount CEO Sumner Redstone. The two parted ways back in 2006 after Paramount refused to re-sign Cruise at the end of his contract. Redstone had some pretty strong words for Cruise and left no room for ambiguity as to their parting ways:
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