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It is not so much ridiculous as it is the epitome of POV pushing. I don't believe there is an article on Misplaced Pages as unbalanced as this one. If anybody knows of one, please show it to me. 90.135.103.105 (talk) 01:05, 21 November 2008 (UTC)
You're welcome to put in your own sources to "balance" it. In fact, please do. What POV do you think it is neglecting? The official Church of Scientology POV (in fact, all of them) is represented in the article.MartinPoulter (talk) 10:09, 21 November 2008 (UTC)
No. A truly balanced article would be highly unwelcome to many people. Just check the discussion page history for deleted suggestions. People were fighting tooth and nail to keep pictures of airplanes, volcanoes with funny captions and nuclear explosions in the article because "images add so much to an article." Just tell me of a more unbalanced article than this so I can work on that on instead. 90.135.144.74 (talk) 02:13, 23 November 2008 (UTC)
As you can see, those images were removed, therefore making it more balanced. If they were removed then there should be no problem. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.122.175.62 (talk • contribs)
WP:V establishes that questionable sources can be used as sources for themselves under seven specified conditions. That is the intended role of some of the crucial sources in this article:
The "Revolt in the Stars" screenplay
The "Assists" audio lecture, given 3 October 1968
Ron's Journal 67, audio lecture given in 1967, also known as RJ67
These sources are cited only for their own content as it relates to the subject of the article, not as a basis for claims about anything external. It seems to me that the conditions are satisfied (but I offer this for debate) although we need to establish point 7. "the source in question has been mentioned specifically in relation to the article's subject by an independent, reliable source." Are the requirements for WP:V met?
The Revolt in the Stars article includes a number of examples where the screenplay is mentioned in secondary sources. I don't know how we establish that the quote in the article is actually from that screenplay. I don't have a copy.
I haven't located a paper mention of "Assists"
Apart from the many mentions and alleged leaks of RJ67 online, it is cited on pages 401 and 409 of Atack's A Piece of Blue Sky (1990). Atack specifically cites a 1983 release of the lecture audio tape, published by Golden Era Studios.
The remaining issue from the featured article review, it seems to me, is the page number from the Dianetics and Scientology Technical Dictionary. I don't have a paper copy of this source, but it's available for sale to the public and has been cited in academic literature so I hope someone who does have access will come forward.MartinPoulter (talk) 15:14, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
Doh! There is a secondary source for "Assists". ABC Nightline 14 February 1992 broadcast an extract of the tape in its "Conversation with David Miscavige" episode. The audio in the broadcast, identified as L Ron Hubbard, matches the audio that has been released online more recently. The quoted extracts concern Hubbard's visit to the Van Allen Belt and the Xenu story, "Boxed them up in boxes, threw them into space planes. DC-8 airplane is the exact copy of the space plane of that day. No difference, except the DC-8 had fans, propellers on it, and the space plane didn't." MartinPoulter (talk) 15:27, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
Issue about the Tech Dictionary has now been solved by someone with paper copies of the dictionaries. The Featured Article review has reiterated the need to remove self-published internet sources. I've gone on the attack against these, but it's lengthy work. Any help appreciated.MartinPoulter (talk) 19:58, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
This Gawker item from the External Links section has an eight-minute extract from "Assists" which seems to contain all the relevant quotes from this article, and more, and which matches the audio in the Nightline broadcast The History Of Xenu, As Explained By L. Ron Hubbard In 8 Minutes. What's the status of Gawker- is it counted as just a blog or as a online publication with an editing process?MartinPoulter (talk) 01:22, 30 November 2008 (UTC)
Another confirmation: RJ-67 is mentioned in the Janet Reitman Rolling Stone article: "Indeed, as even Rinder himself points out, Hubbard presented a rough outline of the Xenu story to his followers in a 1967 taped lecture, "RJ 67," in which he noted that 75 million years ago a cataclysmic event happened in this sector of the galaxy that has caused negative effects for everyone since." "Rinder" here refers to Mike Rinder, at that time a Church of Scientology spokesman.MartinPoulter (talk) 12:27, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
Merge Galactic Confederacy
Proposing to merge in Galactic Confederacy. That piece is an unnecessary WP:CFORK based almost entirely on primary materials. The only bit of it that has secondary sourcing is a mere mention in reference to Xenu ("Back then Xenu, who was apparently the Galactic Federation ruler") so it fits best here. --Justallofthem (talk) 14:15, 26 December 2008 (UTC)
