Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes Among Scientologists Exposed to Asbestos Aboard Ship

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are listed among a host of Scientology luminaries who have at one time or another been aboard a church-owned ship that was recently sealed by authorities after it was found to contain high levels of asbestos.

The 40-year-old ship, Freewinds, was in dry-dock in Curacao when repair workers discovered the blue asbestos. Officials immediately decided to cordon off the vessel, which is described as the flag-ship of the Scientology fleet.

Reportedly, the ship's captain initially responded to the discovery of asbestos dust in the ventilation system by trying to keep the news secret, even from the crew.

Blue asbestos is the most dangerous form of asbestos. A single microscopic grain can become lodged in the lungs for years and even cause cancer. Decontaminating the ship will cost millions of dollars and require months of work.

A list has been released of the Scientology celebs who've spent time on Freewinds (pared down here to remove uninteresting names):

Kirstie Alley
Catherine Bell - - actress
Nancy Cartwright - - voice of Bart Simpson
Erika Christensen - - actress
Tom Cruise
Bodhi Elfman - - actor
Jenna Elfman - - actress
Katie Holmes
Danny Keough - - actor, musician. ex of Lisa Marie Presley and father of her children
Juliette Lewis - - actress
Christopher Masterson - - actor
Daniel Masterson - - actor
Corin Nemec - - actor
Lisa M. Presley Keogh - - Elvis' daughter
Laura Prepon - - actress
Beth Riesgraf - - actress, mother of Jason Lee's child Pilot Inspektor
Marissa Ribisi - - actress, wife of Beck Hansen and mother of his children
John Travolta

Lapsed Scientologist Jason Beghe was also reportedly on the ship. All could now be dying of cancer...unless Scientology detox was successful in sweating the asbestos out of their lungs.

The telling point here concerns the actions of the captain, whose first instinct when he found out about the asbestos was to try to hide it. Scientology clearly cares more about protecting its secrets than about protecting the health of its members. Were I a Scientologist with even a jot of sense, I would be disturbed by this.

(Thanks Patricia)

Xenu's Biggest Fan

Nancy Cartwright is the biggest Scientologist in the world. Yes, the same Nancy Cartwright who has given voice to Bart Simpson for the last couple of decades. She reportedly gave $10 million to the church last year - the largest sum by any single individual.

Nancy reportedly outdonated even Tom Cruise, who gave only a paltry $5 million. And she completely blew the doors off John Travolta and Kelly Preston who gave $1 million each. In return for her generosity, Nancy was given the prestigious Patron Laureate Award.

I guess Nancy really, really wanted that Patron Laureate Award. I mean, 10 million bucks? Who knew someone who worked on The Simpsons even had that kind of money.

And how wonderful does it make you feel, Simpsons fans, to know that a part of the money you've spent on your love of the show has ended up being funneled into the Scientology coffers? Yup - if you went to see The Simpsons movie (which sucked), or if you've bought any of the DVD sets, or if you've helped the show's ratings by watching it, hence allowing the network to jack up their advertising rates and the actors to ask for more money...you've basically become a financial supporter of Scientology.

I guess now we know why, unlike South Park, The Simpsons never makes fun of Scientology or Tom Cruise. They're afraid Nancy will quit the show and they'll have to find another Bart. Of course, The Simpsons makes fun of Christianity all the time, and Judaism and Buddhism and pretty much every other religion. But they don't dare piss off the one Scientologist amongst them.

Scientologists are so open-minded and have such a wonderful sense of humor about themselves.

(source)