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Tom Cruise continued his Turn Off The World publicity tour (What exactly is he promoting again? We think it's a badly-written romantic comedy involving that chick from Dawson's) with an interview that aired on the Australian 60 Minutes this weekend. And once again, a foreign reporter (shades of his infamous Spiegel interview, with a little Access Hollywood thrown in) manages to work Cruise into a Hubbardy lather over Scientology, as the star charmingly compares the insinuation that his "church" is perceived by some to be part of the "lunatic fringe" to the burning of synagogues, then manages to work in a dig at his sworn enemy, the psychiatric profession:

CRUISE: Not even your own faith — I find that appalling when people who don't know what they're talking about say things like that. I think it's ... I think it's appalling. I think it's appalling that they're still burning synagogues in France. I think it's appalling how certain Muslims are being treated. I think it's absolutely appalling when we talk about freedom of speech and human rights. I think it's appalling that they electric shock people. I think it's appalling that they drug children. I think it's appalling that they say that there are no solutions for those things. I think it's appalling that people have to live a life of drug addiction when I have personally — personally — helped people get off drugs.

More from the Australian 60 Minutes transcript after the jump, with the quote in full context (video of the interview is here), as well as other Cruise tidbits from the past three days:

PETER OVERTON: [...] Why, then, was it a condition of me talking to you today that I had to spend quite an intense four-and-a-half hours in the Church of Scientology here in Los Angeles?

TOM CRUISE: You didn't have to. You could have said no.

PETER OVERTON: I felt I had to.

TOM CRUISE: Okay. Well that's how you felt. People are interested in Scientology and I find that people wanted to know. They want to know about it. It's also... There's people out there that want help and that need help.

PETER OVERTON: Would you also agree there's a perception out there that it gets bad press — cult-like secrecy, controlling — and you almost have to defend it?

TOM CRUISE: You know, I don't feel... Ignorance breeds bigotry, breeds racism, okay? You have been there and you've seen it for yourself. Okay?

PETER OVERTON: Do you feel discriminated against when people say this is what Scientology is, that you're a bunch of lunatic fringe or whatever?

TOM CRUISE: Peter?

PETER OVERTON: Tom?

TOM CRUISE: No-one's ever said that to me.

PETER OVERTON: No, I mean that perception out there.

TOM CRUISE: But that's not the perception out there. That is absolutely — maybe from your perspective.

PETER OVERTON: This isn't my personal opinion, I'm just saying, how do you feel about that when people...

TOM CRUISE: Well, how would you feel?

PETER OVERTON: If it was my faith, I'd feel really...
PETER OVERTON: This isn't my personal opinion, I'm just saying, how do
you feel about that when people...

TOM CRUISE: Well, how would you feel?

PETER OVERTON: If it was my faith, I'd feel really...

TOM CRUISE: Not even your own faith — I find that appalling when people who don't know what they're talking about say things like that. I think it's ... I think it's appalling. I think it's appalling that they're still burning synagogues in France. I think it's appalling how certain Muslims are being treated. I think it's absolutely appalling when we talk about freedom of speech and human rights. I think it's appalling that they electric shock people. I think it's appalling that they drug children. I think it's appalling that they say that there are no solutions for those things. I think it's appalling that people have to live a life of drug addiction when I have personally — personally — helped people get off drugs.

At least Cruise didn't go so far as to flush a copy of Dianetics down the toilet to make his point. A stunt like that would've been so two weeks ago. But we may have to look into this Scientology business, because it seems that they've managed to engineer a 48-hour day for their high-level, "clear" practitioners. How else does Cruise have time to personally [Ed.note—Personally.] teach kids to read, get people off drugs, abuse Oprah's furniture, make out on the world's red carpets, renegotiate his Mission: Impossible 3 contract, insult Andre Agassi's ex-wife, and tussle with a rainbow coalition of journalists? Maybe it just seems like he has more time since the War of the Worlds folks dialed back his promotional responsibilities.

Also on the Cruise beat: Cruise sister/flack LeAnne Devette puts her fingers in her ears and hums loudly to the LAT: "'I'm enjoying seeing him enjoying life,' she says. 'I think for the most part, besides our world of the media, it's being embraced.'" MSNBC readers don't do much embracing. Cruise looms over Katie's Batman Begins junket—a junket where, according to one of our operatives, Devette made sure—repeatedly—that every reporter knew that Tom was in the house to support his ladyfriend.

More Cruise updates every five minutes until WOTW finally opens. Unfolding...