Wikinews has obtained audio of the message, which can be heard here.

Nancy Cartwright has been following the Church of Scientology since 1989 and also voices the roles of Nelson Muntz, Todd Flanders, Kearney and Ralph Wiggum.

Executive producer, Al Jean stated, “This is not authorized by us. The Simpsons does not, and never has, endorsed any religion, philosophy or system of beliefs any more profound than Butterfinger bars.”, referencing the advertisements featuring the Simpsons for the Butterfinger candy bar.

Cartwright begins the message with “Hey, what’s happening man, this is Bart Simpson…”, and then says she is kidding and identifies herself as the voice actress. Cartwright proceeds to use her own voice and Bart’s voice throughout the message.

She states “I’m now auditing on new OT (Operating Thetan Level) Seven,” referring to the Operating Thetan levels within Scientology. Operating Thetan level seven is one of the higher levels in Scientology. She uses Scientology jargon while speaking in Bart’s voice, saying she will share her “many wins” as an “Auditor” at the Hollywood Scientology event.

The message has since been removed from YouTube. Visitors of the link, which appears in several press articles, are now left with a message saying “this video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Twentieth Century Fox.” Wikinews sent an e-mail to FOX regarding the incident, but as of this report, they have not replied.

Religion has been a major theme in The Simpsons. In the episode “The Joy Of The Sect”, the commentators said that Movementarians were largely inspired by Scientology, the Jim Jones cult and the Peoples Temple, the Heaven’s Gate Cult, the Osho movement, the Raelians, the Oneida Society and Chen Tao.

Isaac Hayes left South Park over its attitudes towards Scientology depicted in “Trapped in the Closet”. Isaac Hayes died of a stroke on August 10, 2008.

• Bart Simpson used to promote Scientology
• Claire Sweeney “Aye carumba! Bart Simpson is spruiking Scientology“. The Times, January 29, 2009
• Jesse Perez “Bart Simpson used by Cartwright to promote Scientology“. Macquarie National News, January 29, 2009
• Chris Matyszczyk “Bart Simpson robocalls for Scientology“. CNET News, January 28, 2009
• Josh Gillin “Bart Simpson is promoting Scientology now“. St. Petersburg Times, January 28, 2009
• Natalie Finn “Bart Simpson’s Voice Speaks for Scientology“. E! Online, January 28, 2009
• Elliot Olshansky “Bart Simpson’s voice being used to promote Scientology event“. New York Daily News, January 28, 2009
• Roy Edroso “Voice of Bart Simpson Robo-Calls for Scientology“. The Village Voice, January 27, 2009

Creative Commons Attribution 2.5

Dmitriy Guzner, aged 18, will admit to the charges related to carrying out the DDoS attack. He now faces a maximum sentence of ten years imprisonment.

In response to incidents such as these, Scientology have called Anonymous “cyber-terrorists.”

A DDoS attack occurs when multiple computers to attack a certain website with so much traffic that it is not accessible. The hackers attack the servers taking up all the available space, preventing the legitimate user from accessing.

United States Attorney’s Office released a statement on this issue. “A New Jersey man was charged today for his role in an attack on Church of Scientology websites in January 2008 that rendered the websites unavailable,” they said. “Dmitriy Guzner, 18, of Verona, New Jersey, has agreed to plead guilty to computer hacking for his role in the distributed denial of service (DDOS) attack against the Scientology websites. ”

PRIMARY SOURCE:

PRESS RELEASE, United States Attorney’s Office
Central District of California
October 17, 2008

NEW JERSEY MAN CHARGED WITH ATTACKING CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY WEBSITES IN THE NAME OF ‘ANONYMOUS’

LOS ANGELES – A New Jersey man was charged today for his role in an attack on Church of Scientology websites in January 2008 that rendered the websites unavailable.

Dmitriy Guzner, 18, of Verona, New Jersey, has agreed to plead guilty to computer hacking for his role in the distributed denial of service (DDOS) attack against the Scientology websites. A DDOS attack occurs where a large amount of malicious Internet traffic is directed at a website or a set of websites. The target websites are unable to handle the high volume of Internet traffic and therefore become unavailable to legitimate users trying to reach the sites.

According to the criminal information filed in United States District Court in Los Angeles, Guzner participated in the attack because he considered himself a member of an underground group called “Anonymous.” “Anonymous” has led protests against the Church of Scientology at various locations across the country, and in January 2008 posted a video on YouTube which announced a new offensive against Scientology.

Once he pleads guilty, which is expected to take place in the coming weeks in federal court in New Jersey, Guzner faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service Electronic Crimes Task Force in Los Angeles. The agencies involved in the investigation were the United States Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation.

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Creative Commons Attribution 2.5

According to YouTube the 11 videos were removed by direct DMCA requests from Schaper. The videos have been reported to be of anti-Scientology protests, recorded by various members of the group Anonymous.

In early September, an entity named American Rights Counsel LLC — which has described itself as a ‘rights group’, but without provision of contact details — requested the removal from YouTube of over 4,000 anti-Scientology videos. Many of these videos consisted entirely of self-made content by anti-Scientology protesters; others were quite explicitly extracts from official Church of Scientology footage. Users had initially speculated that Schaper was responsible for these requests; no evidence, however, has been obtained to this effect, nor has official comment been obtained from American Rights Counsel.

When comment was requested further to these earlier removal requests, Schaper stated that he was a “… very strong advocate for the Church of Scientology, the religion of Scientology and a free speech advocate.” Schaper alleged that he had “…to this date no information about the American Rights Counsel” and “no connection, knowledge or involvement in this company [American Rights Counsel]“.

Wikinews contacted Schaper to find out why he made the new requests. According to him, the videos were not of protests against Scientology, but instead were videos of alleged hate-crimes and hate-speech, which were allegedly attacking Schaper personally.

“None of the videos are accounts of any protests. The videos in question have been produced by an YouTube (U.K.) user to directly attack me and my companies. I made the requests in accordance with YouTube’s terms and condition, after confirming directly with YouTube and the local ECTF office in Los Angeles, to remove material that infringes on my copyright. None of the videos removed by YouTube fall under the fair use guidelines or can be considered news-worthy. The content of the videos has been classified by law-enforcement as hate-speech and frivolous attack. The producers of these videos are based in the U.K. and local law-enforcement has been contacted by the FBI,” said Schaper to Wikinews.

When Wikinews asked Schaper if he was acting on behalf of the Church, Schaper denied any such involvement. He also stated that he was not attempting to remove videos critical of him, or the Church, but also emphasizes other videos still on YouTube that are “a personal attack against me and my beliefs.”

“Despite the fact that I am a Scientologist, none of the videos removed, where(sic) removed on behalf of the Church of Scientology or any organization associated with the church. In addition I like to point out that I have not removed any video, critical of me personally which does not violate my copyrights and I have no intention to do so,” said Schaper.

In addition, Wikinews invited Dr. Schaper to comment on the apparent discrepancy between his actions and his advocacy of free speech. Dr. Schaper feels that that the two stated aims are not in conflict, stating, “I believe the First Amendment but I also see how Anonymous tries to abuse these liberties. Not everything is protected under the free speech clause and laws have been enacted to protect each citizen from abuse.”

Schaper also stated that Anonymous is “breaking the law” by uploading material to YouTube which could be considered hate crimes. He also states that he would not mind a one-on-one conversation with some members of Anonymous, but “these guys don’t have the balls for a direct sit-down because they should get their facts straight.”

“Anonymous is overstating a case and claims that their abuse and online bullying would be protected under the First Amendment forgetting the fact that they indeed are breaking the laws,” added Schaper.

Schaper does not plan on enforcing the Church’s copyrights saying, “they can handle their own content” and that he “will continue to enforce my copyrights and seek full prosecution in cooperation with federal law-enforcement.”

Wikinews has contacted YouTube for a statement regarding this incident, but has yet to receive a response.

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Other reports say that the website 4chan.org is responsible for starting the rumor which began to spread quickly over the internet.

The rumors started after a statement Winfrey made on a recent show, defending a United States Senate bill against pedophiles and child rapists saying a pedophile group has “9,000 penises” harming children. She was referring to a comment someone, left on her website claiming to be a pedophile. Wikinews can confirm through anonymous sources that the rumor was started by the group Anonymous and the website 4chan.

According to an edit made by Camalex, a registered user on Wikipedia, Winfrey was found dead “in her Chicago home early Saturday morning”. It was followed by a source linking to a Digg.com article, which links to oprahsdeath, a blog website regarding her alleged death. The first edit to her Wikipedia article had stated her death, which was posted by an anonymous user which stated that Winfrey had “lying dead on her bed” when a family member found her. According to the edit, she had been suffering chest pains for several days, but concealed the discomfort.

According to the website, Winfrey was found dead in her home at 8:21 a.m. on Saturday morning. Winfrey was “appeared to have a bloody area around her eye, a bullet wound in her stomach and some cuts and bruises up and down her body.” The post also says the suspect was “beaten” and “shot by a handgun”.

Shortly after the Wikipedia edit, an anonymous user with the IP address, 24.109.236.254 on Wikinews, added an edit to the Newsroom that she had been “found dead”.

On Digg users posted links to screen shots of websites allegedly carrying the news of her death via an alleged Associated Press report. Other Digg users left comments claiming to have seen it on their local news stations. Another screen shot apparently shows a BBC News article on her death which states that police released the claims.

Despite the reports, there were no other news agencies covering Winfrey’s alleged death which had lead many to believe the reports to be a hoax. A user commented on the Reddit.com website that “there are over 9000 reporters currently converging on Chicago”. According to Encyclopedia Dramatica, the term “Over 9000!” has been known to refer to an internet ‘meme’ which is derived from an Asian television show called Dragon Ball Z. The term came to popularity when Anonymous used it during its war against Scientology.

The Post Chronicle state that the reports are nothing more than a hoax created by members of the internet website 4chan.org. According to the Post’s report who quote the 4chan, they are vowing to create “joker-like chaos” for at least the “next week”.

“Let us take control, create “Joker-Like” chaos, this week has been a cute start, but I believe we can do more, much more. We are the new world order. The Illuminati are like children compared to our stature. To put it simply, my point is, Kill the Oprah,” stated the Chronicle.

A video posted on YouTube which shows a broadcast of Winfrey’s show, shows her talking about the United States senate bill 1738 which is aimed at establishing “a Special Counsel for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction within the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, to improve the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, to increase resources for regional computer forensic labs, and to make other improvements to increase the ability of law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute predators.” The bill is sponsored by 2008 vice presidential hopeful Joe Biden, Barack Obama’s running mate.

Near the end of Winfrey’s statement on the bill, she states that on her message board on her show’s website, someone claims to be “part of a known pedophile network.”

“[He] doesn’t forgive. [He] doesn’t forget. His group has over 9,000 penises, and they are all raping children,” stated Winfrey. “I want you to know they are organized, and they have systematic ways of hurting children”. ‘We don’t forgive, we don’t forget’ is a phrase common among the group Anonymous. 4chan has claimed responsibility for the post, and in return allegedly began to spread the rumor of Winfrey’s death.

One individual who claims to be part of the hoax, tells Wikinews that it “was fun as hell” spending “all day /b/ [4chan] photoshopping screenshots of news stories. She got what she deserved. She called anonymous a bunch of pedophiles. Believed a troll on her message boards”.

Wikinews has contacted The Oprah Winfrey Show to get a statement on the incident, but has yet to receive a response.

The group Anonymous has claimed responsibility for several pranks, or hacks against famous people in recent days. Hackers first started by hacking into Sarah Palin’s Yahoo e-mail account and the information contained in it was posted to Wikileaks.org. After the incident, FOX News commentator Bill O’Reilly made comments against Wikileaks and other press agencies who posted the material, which was met with retaliation by hackers who broke into his website, BillO’Reilly.com.

VIDEO: “9000 penises”:

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Creative Commons Attribution 2.5

YouTube has restored the accounts and reposted the videos removed under the DMCA takedown notice.

In an exclusive interview with Wikinews the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) acknowledged that they “don’t know anything about” the Counsel and that any attempt to intentionally commit fraud by filing false DMCA requests, could lead to criminal charges.

“We don’t know anything about this group. However, if these DMCA notices were sent improperly, there could be legal remedies. The particulars would depend on the particulars of the situation,” Rebecca Jeschke, a spokeswoman for the EFF, told Wikinews.

The EFF first broke the story regarding the requests. YouTube received the notice all at once, in a single request. When Wikinews asked the EFF if they knew the names or links to the material in question, they stated that they do not know the names and that they have not seen the notice filed with YouTube.

According to Jeschk, the “EFF fights abuse of the DMCA. …” but did not state where the EFF heard about the request.

“We have not seen the notices, merely heard about them [and] we don’t know enough to know if the DMCA has been abused here. However, only copyright holders can issue DMCA takedowns,” Jeschke said.

The EFF is investigating the incident, and it is not yet known who or what was behind the DMCA request. Some have speculated that the Counsel is a front for Scientology operated by a Dr. Oliver Schaper. In an exclusive interview with Wikinews, Schaper denied any involvement with the DMCA requests and also denied having any knowledge whatsoever of the Counsel.

“As many other people, and even members of the Church of Scientology received information about a company that removed anti-Scientology content from YouTube, shit hit the fan and members of Anonymous went on a full attack on me. I still have to this date no information about the American Rights Counsel and I have no connection, knowledge or involvement in this company which I have been informed of does not even exists,” Schaper said.

Producer of XenuTV Mark Bunker defends Schaper and does not believe he is responsible. Bunker also believes that the Counsel is a fraud and called the DMCA requests a crime.

“I next did a Google search for American Rights Counsel LLC which brought up absolutely no results so clearly this was fraud from the beginning. I had never heard of Schaper before he was accused of this. I don’t know anything about him other than he contacted me and said he was not involved. I don’t know who was responsible. 4000 deletions in a matter of hours is a pretty major feat. It would be worth a subpoena to find out who committed this crime,” Bunker said.

Currently the EFF does not represent any of the users or groups who were effected by the mass take-down.

In a related story, TheStandard.com is reporting that YouTube has begun reposting the videos and restoring accounts that were removed as a result of the takedown notice:

YouTube has yet to comment on the issue, and many of the accounts and videos pulled over the weekend have now been restored after those affected filed counter claims. However, the guilty-until-proven innocent method of dealing with notices like this may have to be re-evaluated. While filing a false DMCA notice is a criminal offense, prosecution in these cases rarely comes about.

related:

‘Rights group’ tries to have 4,000 anti-Scientology videos removed from YouTube

Church of Scientology in France accused of fraud; ordered to stand trial

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According to the report, the charges come from an unnamed woman, who in 1998 purchased nearly US$30,000 worth of Scientology self-help material which allegedly included prescription drugs. After a few months passed, the woman said she felt like she was being scammed. Following several complaints from other unnamed individuals and an investigation, judge Jean-Christophe Hullin ordered at least two Scientology departments and the seven Scientologists to be put on trial for fraud and “illegally practicing as pharmacists.”

The Church released a statement following the order saying that they felt “stigmatized” by the French judicial system.

“The special treatment reserved for the Church of Scientology Celebrity Center raises questions about the equality of the justice system and the presumption of innocence,” the Church said in a statement to the press.

The AFP says the case is to be heard at an unknown date, and will also include an investigation by France’s association for prescription drugs. Olivier Morice, a lawyer representing the unnamed woman and others in the case against the Church, say the trial could begin as early as 2009.

On September 5, an alleged rights group called the American Rights Counsel LLC attempted to have at least 4,000 anti-Scientology videos removed from the video sharing website YouTube, filing a DMCA request. Upon further investigation, Wikinews found that most videos and clips were added to YouTube by the copyright holders of the material; as DMCA requests are for the purposes of requesting removal where service providers host material that infringe on the copyright of the complainant, the merit of these requests remain questionable. It was also discovered that the alleged rights group does not exist as a physical entity which started rumors from the internet and from one Scientology critic Mark Bunker, that the Church fraudulently submitted the DMCA requests.

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Creative Commons Attribution 2.5

Within the past 24 hours, according to the EFF, the Counsel “sent out over 4000 DMCA takedown notices to YouTube, all making copyright infringement claims against videos with content critical of the Church of Scientology.” A DMCA notice, or Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice means an attempt to limit the use of copyrighted material that is often infringing on the rights of an alleged copyright.

Wikinews made attempts to contact American Rights Counsel LLC for comment on the take-down notices, but was unable to obtain contact details for the alleged organisation. One post on a YouTube discussion page related to the organization states that they “do not appear to exist outside of these claims on YouTube.” Wikinews contacted YouTube several times asking them if they have a process of verifying DMCA requests from individuals or entities claiming copyright infringement, but when they responded, they directed Wikinews to their terms of service saying, “item 8 addresses the DMCA and 8 B addresses counter-notice procedures.”

YouTube’s terms of use in regarding filing DMCA requests states that only “A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed” can make such claims. It also goes on to say, “Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site.”

The EFF says the videos attempting to be removed had shown clips from Anonymous protests of the Church and news footage from Australia and Germany which were critical of Scientology. Some videos were also messages from Anonymous to Scientology, and vice versa. Others were also video clips from a City Commission meeting in Clearwater, Florida. Accounts hosting the material were “suspended by YouTube in response to multiple allegations of copyright infringement.”

YouTube does, however, have a process for users that wish to file a counter-notice against a take-down under the DMCA. After the DMCA notices were sent, YouTube users began to revolt, by sending “DMCA counter-notices” to YouTube. The EFF states that the counter attack resulted in many of the accounts being reinstated and their videos restored.

One user claimed that he had shot and uploaded one of the videos that was taken down. “How can someone else file a claim against a video I MADE?,” said ShadowVsScientology, one of the YouTube users who had a video deleted. Since he owned the rights to the video, he alleges that the American Rights Counsel had no legal grounds to request the its removal.

A video posted on YouTube by a user called ‘Church0fScientology’, which was responsible for the original ‘Message to Scientology’ in January of 2008 created after the Church had a video of a Tom Cruise interview removed from the site, states that the organization responsible for the DMCA’s is does not exist and is run by a man named Dr. Oliver Schaper. They state that he “fronts” the organization for Scientology. It also calls Schaper’s actions “deceptive”. Schaper also had an account on YouTube which has since been suspended. Wikinews obtained a cached version of his account page in which he states to the group Anonymous, “I respect your efforts as long your efforts remain within the limits of the law and remain fair. Although I don’t censor the any postings, I would appreciate if any conversation could remain civil and insult free.” Schaper also states that he “will not censor because I strongly believe in the freedom of speech.” They accuse him of running and owning media companies that distribute gay pornography, something Schaper later admits, but only that it’s an “adult television network.” Homosexuality is not accepted within the Church of Scientology and is not tolerated. Scientology believes that homosexuality is a disease and can be cured.

A user named “Oschaper” has written articles on the the online open-sourced encyclopedia Wikipedia about Peephole TV and Volksmusik TV. Oliver Schaper is the founder of Peephole TV, and is also involved with Volksmusik TV. In an e-mail to Wikinews, Wikipedia user Oschaper claims that his first name is Olaf, and that he is “not related” to Oliver Schaper. “Olaf” writes: “My name is Olaf Schaper and I use the handle oschaper on Wikipedia. I’m not related to Oliver Schaper and we share only the last name … If you like to contact Oliver Schaper please see his companies website at www.acos.tv”. When asked how he managed to get an e-mail address with that last name, Olaf replied, “I got the email because my best friend works for his networks hence the creation of my postings on Wikipedia.”

Wikinews contacted Schaper for exclusive comments. Schaper replied saying that he is a “very strong advocate for the Church of Scientology, the religion of Scientology and a free speech advocate” and “I don’t need to go into details but I felt that my family and myself have been direct targets and in an attempt to control the situation, I started to track down and remove online links between me and my religion. This included postings made by HouseSpiderAnon on his videos, who publicly connected the dots and made them available to a larger audience.”

“I requested several times to have my information removed from his videos as I wanted no association with his work but he refused, even after I stated several times that he has the right to protest but that I would like to enforce my right of privacy. He refused and demanded documentation of the attacks, something I refused because it was not my attention to allow more documents to be available online in public hand,” added Schaper who also said he has been a victim of identity theft and now has the FBI involved in investigating his claim.

“Tustin PD [police department] has been on the case and now the FBI is involved as well. Social Security has been notified and we have seen about 200 attempts to use the SSN [social security number] for fake credit cards applications,” Schaper told Wikinews

Schaper admits that he contacted YouTube to have videos which contained images of him that were being used without permission and videos which “which violated [his] privacy removed.” Those requests made by Schaper were eventually accepted by YouTube but “videos that contained just a text messages directed against me or my church remained,” he added. He also admits to owning “several broadcasting companies, ACOS Broadcasting Corp. (eight mainstream television and two radio networks) & Media House Enterprises, Inc. (adult television network PEEPHOLE TV).”

“I had the power to go fully against copyrighted material because we own or licensed large amounts of content. But it was not my responsibility to enforce all copyright violations on YouTube. In addition with the attacks on our servers, websites and infrastructure, no time would have been available to take on a fight,” added Schaper.

Schaper also denies any involvement with the alleged rights group and also states he was just notified that it doesn’t even exist.

“As many other people, and even members of the Church of Scientology received information about a company that removed anti-Scientology content from YouTube, shit hit the fan and members of Anonymous went on a full attack on me. I still have to this date no information about the American Rights Council and I have no connection, knowledge or involvement in this company which I have been informed of does not even exists,” Schaper told Wikinews.

Wikinews has also learned that a contributor on Wikipedia, claiming to be a member of Anonymous, has posted what is allegedly personal information of Schaper. The edit, made to the article Peephole TV states that he is a lawyer, employed with a firm on Ricklinger, Stadtweg in Hanover, Germany. It also stated that he is affiliated with the “Tustin Org” in California. In what seems to be a gathering of information on Schaper from other online sources, according to Enturbulation.org, the result of releasing the information has resulted in legal and physical threats from Schaper to someone, known as ‘HouseSpiderV2′ on Enturbulation, who has claimed to have released e-mail correspondents between him and Schaper.

“Don’t think I will not be able to track you down and serve you with papers. I would make the case so expensive for you that you would not be able to even fight this on your own funding as I have the money at my disposal,” allegedly states Schaper to ‘HouseSpiderV2′ in an e-mail. “You have 24 hours to remove the postings or I will start to make this a legal issue. That makes it simple,” he added.

Despite the claims that the Wikipedia contributor is Oliver Schaper, he claims to have never registered an account with Wikipedia. He also says he has never made any threats of physical harm to members of Anonymous.

“I had not the need to register an account with Wikipedia and after all this trouble will not get involved at all. There has never been any threat of violence against Housespideranon or any other member of Anonymous made by me,” Schaper told Wikinews.

Related:

Electronic Frontier Foundation
September 5th, 2008
Massive Takedown of Anti-Scientology Videos on YouTube
News Update by Eva Galperin

Over a period of twelve hours, between this Thursday night and Friday morning, American Rights Counsel LLC sent out over 4000 DMCA takedown notices to YouTube, all making copyright infringement claims against videos with content critical of the Church of Scientology. Clips included footage of Australian and German news reports about Scientology, A Message to Anonymous/Scientology , and footage from a Clearwater City Commission meeting. Many accounts were suspended by YouTube in response to multiple allegations of copyright infringement.

YouTube users responded with DMCA counter-notices. At this time, many of the suspended channels have been reinstated and many of the videos are back up. Whether or not American Rights Counsel, LLC represents the notoriously litigious Church of Scientology is unclear, but this would not be the first time that the Church of Scientology has used the DMCA to silence Scientology critics. The Church of Scientology DMCA complaints shut down the YouTube channel of critic Mark Bunker in June, 2008. Bunker’s account, XenuTV, was also among the channels shut down in this latest flurry of takedown notices.

Related Issues: DMCA, No Downtime for Free Speech Campaign

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According to a press release sent by the anti-Scientology website whyweprotest.net, two videos — Reclamation : Phase Three and Message to Anonymous and our Allies — were posted to YouTube on Friday, August 1, 2008, at 6:00 pm Eastern standard time.

In Reclamation: Phase Three, Anonymous — using the same computer speech software as in the previous videos — declares a change in tactics after 6-months of Internet-based battles with the Church of Scientology.

“Do not consider this a new call to arms,” the synthetic voice intones. “Consider this a call to reclaim what is ours. Consider this a shift from the tactics of the past six months to more subtle and shocking tactics that will shake the Scientology organization to its very core. It is time for phase three…. Nothing will stop us from raising our voices. The world will hear us. The echo will be relentless…. Anonymous will reclaim Project Chanology once an for all…..”

According to the press release issued by whyweprotest.net, “Anonymous is not a group of people, it is anyone who decides to do anything online under the guise of anonymity. The videos here were not done by anyone associated with the actual sending of this press release. These videos were done by Anonymous. The press release is meant to spread the word and nothing more.”

Related:
Scientology exposed as “unauthorized” Tom Cruise bio hits number one on Amazon.com, New York Times best sellers list

Tom Cruise Scientology promotional video leaked to the Internet

“Anonymous” releases statements outlining “War on Scientology”

Church of Scientology website being attacked by hackers

‘The Regime’ hacks 711chan.org in response to ‘Anonymous’ attack on Scientology

711chan.org administrators call for an end to attacks on Scientology

Individuals from the group Anonymous have held monthly international protests against the Church of Scientology since February, as part of the anti-Scientology movement Project Chanology. The Project Chanology movement began when the Church of Scientology attempted to get a leaked Scientology promotional video featuring Tom Cruise removed from websites YouTube and Gawker.com.

Members of Anonymous were motivated by the actions of the Church of Scientology, and bombarded Scientology websites and were successful in taking some of them down. Anonymous later changed tactics towards legal measures, and held international protests against Scientology on February 10, March 15, April 12, and most recently May 10. Localized protests have also been held in various cities in between the international protests.

The May 10 London protest took place near St Paul’s Cathedral at the Church of Scientology’s headquarters on Queen Victoria Street. The 15-year-old boy’s poster read: “Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult”. City of London Police approached the boy at the May 10 protest and cited section five of the Public Order Act 1986, which deals with “harassment, alarm or distress”. In response, the boy cited a 1984 judgment given by Mr. Justice Latey in the Family Division of the High Court of Justice of Her Majesty’s Courts of Justice of England and Wales, in which Latey called Scientology a “cult” and said it was “corrupt, sinister and dangerous”.

In the actual 1984 judgment made by Judge Latey, he stated: “Scientology is both immoral and socially obnoxious. [...] In my judgment it is corrupt, sinister and dangerous. [...] It is dangerous because it is out to capture people, especially children and impressionable young people, and indoctrinate and brainwash them so that they become the unquestioning captives and tools of the cult, withdrawn from ordinary thought, living and relationships with others.” The boy told fellow protesters he was not going to take the sign down, saying: “If I don’t take the word ‘cult’ down, here [holding up his sign], I will be either, I think, most likely arrested or [given] a summons. I am going to fight this and not take it down because I believe in freedom of speech, besides which I’m only fifteen.”

When the boy refused to take his sign down, City of London Police removed it, cited him with a court summons and informed him that the matter would be referred to the Crown Prosecution Service. The boy was the only protester who did not comply with the police requests to remove signs which referred to Scientology as a “cult”. According to The Guardian, a CPS spokesman stated that: “In consultation with the City of London police, we were asked whether the sign, which read ‘Scientology is not a religion it is a dangerous cult’, was abusive or insulting. Our advice is that it is not abusive or insulting and there is no offensiveness, as opposed to criticism, neither in the idea expressed nor in the mode of expression. No action will be taken against the individual.”

“The CPS review of the case includes advice on what action or behavior at a demonstration might be considered to be threatening, abusive or insulting. The force’s policing of future demonstrations will reflect this advice,” said a spokeswoman for the City of London Police in a statement in The Guardian.

Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, voiced concerns about the actions of the City of London Police, as did James Welch, legal director of Liberty. Liberty represented the 15-year-old boy to the City of London Police. Chakrabarti told The Guardian Wednesday that Liberty is looking into the matter and may file a complaint with the Independent Police Complaints Commission if it is determined that the City of London Police has a policy on appropriate wording on protest signs which relate specifically to anti-Scientology protests. Freedom of speech campaigners may also call for a judicial review of the legality of the protest guidelines of the City of London Police.

“Curtailing people’s freedom of speech is a very serious issue and it’s important to know whether this is part of the force’s policy or a decision relating specifically to the Church of Scientology. There is the possibility of a complaint to the IPCC or a judicial review,” said Chakrabarti in a statement Wednesday in The Guardian. “Some people are very easily intimidated and will be put off exercising their right to free speech by the thought that they may face court action over it. We have to defend that right and show how wrong the police were in issuing this summons.”

Protesters in Scotland that routinely gather to protest against the Church of Scientology outside the Scientology center in South Bridge, Edinburgh contacted the City of Edinburgh Council in order to get the Council’s input on using the word “cult” on signs at anti-Scientology protests.

In a statement in The Scotsman on Tuesday, an Edinburgh County official said: “I understand that some of the signs you use may display the word ‘cult’ and there is no objection to this.” The Scotsman reported that a representative for the Lothian and Borders Police said that the Scotland police force had “no issue” with the use of the word “cult” in a peaceful protest. A representative for Liberty spoke positively of the position taken by the City of Edinburgh Council. “The leadership shown by the City of Edinburgh Council’s decision to protect free speech is a positive step,” said Liberty media director Jen Corlew in a statement Tuesday in The Scotsman.

The City of London Police has faced controversy in the past for its close association with the Church of Scientology. When the City of London Scientology building opened in 2006, City of London Chief Superintendent Kevin Hurley praised Scientology in an appearance as guest speaker at the building’s opening ceremony. Ken Stewart, another of the City of London’s chief superintendents, has also appeared in a video praising Scientology. According to The Guardian over 20 officers for the City of London Police have accepted gifts from the Church of Scientology including tickets to film premieres, lunches and concerts at police premises.

Unlike the City of London Police, the Metropolitan Police Service (the territorial police force responsible for Greater London excluding the City of London) has not raised an issue with protesters using placards with similar wording at protests against Scientology, according to The Guardian and Londonist.

Film and television actor Jason Beghe visited a protest organized by members of Project Chanology on Thursday in New York, New York. Beghe joined Scientology in 1994, and gave US$1 million to the Church of Scientology over the course of his membership with the organization. He told Roger Friedman of FOX News that Scientology head David Miscavige called him “the poster boy for Scientology”. Beghe appeared in promotional videos for Scientology in 2005. In April 2008 he left Scientology, and contacted Scientology critic Andreas Heldal-Lund, who put him in touch with another critic Mark Bunker. Bunker arranged an interview with Beghe, which was uploaded to Bunker’s YouTube account on April 7. The posted video is a 3-minute portion of a larger 3-hour interview with Beghe about his criticism of Scientology. In the video Beghe states: “Scientology is destructive and a rip-off. … It’s very, very dangerous for your spiritual, psychological, mental, emotional health and evolution.”

Beghe participated in the May 10 international protests against the Church of Scientology, attending the protest in Los Angeles. He met with fellow Scientology critic and former Scientologist Lawrence Wollersheim and spoke with members of Project Chanology.

Approximately 50 people attended the Thursday protest outside the Church of Scientology of New York building on East 46th Street in New York City. Beghe met with individuals from the group Anonymous and expressed support for what they were doing. “What you guys are doing means so much to me, and so much to these people … It just kills me. It makes me want to cry. You don’t know what kind of good you’re doing,” said Beghe to the protesters.

After meeting with the protesters, Beghe walked across the street to the Church of Scientology building but was blocked from entering by three men standing outside the building. Beghe told The Village Voice that he believes these individuals were not Scientologists but hired private security guards. He said to the guards “I paid a million dollars, and I want to go in,” but was told to go back across the street. When he rejoined the protesters on the other side of the street he called the Church of Scientology asking to speak to the president of the Church of Scientology of New York, John Carmichael, but said “they hung up”. According to a blog post at The Village Voice website, Carmichael was caught on video at an anti-Scientology protest held in New York City on Monday telling a protester: “Let me tell you this: I smell pussy,” and then addressed an individual protester and said: “You in particular.” According to The Village Voice blog post, the incident occurred after protesters prevented Carmichael from capturing images of them and identifying them, by shining a flashlight at his camera.

Each of the Project Chanology international protests against Scientology has had a theme: the February protest called attention to the birthday of Lisa McPherson, who died under controversial circumstances while under the care of Scientology, the March protest was arranged to take place two days after Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s birthday, the April protest highlighted the Church of Scientology’s disconnection policy, and the May protest highlighted the Scientology practice of “Fair Game” and took place one day after the anniversary of the publication of Hubbard’s book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. Another international protest is planned for June 14, and will highlight the Church of Scientology’s elite “Sea Organization” or “Sea Org”.

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Creative Commons Attribution 2.5

Individuals from the group Anonymous have held monthly international protests against the Church of Scientology since February, as part of the anti-Scientology movement Project Chanology. The Project Chanology movement began when the Church of Scientology attempted to get a leaked Scientology promotional video featuring Tom Cruise removed from websites YouTube and Gawker.com.

Members of Anonymous were motivated by the actions of the Church of Scientology, and bombarded Scientology websites and were successful in taking some of them down. Anonymous later changed tactics towards legal measures, and held international protests against Scientology on February 10, March 15, April 12, and most recently May 10.

City of London Police approached the 15-year-old boy at the May 10 protest and cited section five of the Public Order Act 1986, which deals with “harassment, alarm or distress”. In response, the boy cited a 1984 judgment given by Mr. Justice Latey in the Family Division of the High Court of Justice of Her Majesty’s Courts of Justice of England and Wales, in which Latey called Scientology a “cult” and said it was “corrupt, sinister and dangerous”. In the actual 1984 judgment made by Judge Latey, he stated: “Scientology is both immoral and socially obnoxious. [...] In my judgment it is corrupt, sinister and dangerous. [...] It is dangerous because it is out to capture people, especially children and impressionable young people, and indoctrinate and brainwash them so that they become the unquestioning captives and tools of the cult, withdrawn from ordinary thought, living and relationships with others.” The boy told fellow protesters he was not going to take the sign down, saying: “If I don’t take the word ‘cult’ down, here [holding up his sign], I will be either, I think, most likely arrested or [given] a summons. I am going to fight this and not take it down because I believe in freedom of speech, besides which I’m only fifteen.”

When the boy refused to take his sign down, City of London Police removed it, cited him with a court summons and informed him that the matter would be referred to the Crown Prosecution Service. The boy was the only protester who did not comply with the police requests to remove signs which referred to Scientology as a “cult”. According to The Guardian, a CPS spokesman stated Friday that: “In consultation with the City of London police, we were asked whether the sign, which read ‘Scientology is not a religion it is a dangerous cult’, was abusive or insulting. Our advice is that it is not abusive or insulting and there is no offensiveness, as opposed to criticism, neither in the idea expressed nor in the mode of expression. No action will be taken against the individual.”

“The CPS review of the case includes advice on what action or behavior at a demonstration might be considered to be threatening, abusive or insulting. The force’s policing of future demonstrations will reflect this advice,” said a spokeswoman for the City of London Police in a statement in The Guardian.

The 15-year-old boy’s mother called the CPS decision a “victory for free speech”, saying: “We’re all incredibly proud of him. We advised him to take the placard down when we realized what was happening but he said ‘No, it’s my opinion and I have a right to express it’.”

The incident has generated significant interest on the Internet, from civil rights groups and anti-cult groups, and in the press. Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, and Ian Haworth of the United Kingdom-based Cult Information Centre were highly critical of the actions of the City of London Police. George Pitcher of The Daily Telegraph called the actions of the City of London Police “a mockery of the law”. Other publications also criticized the actions of the police, compared the boy to past civil rights protesters, and analyzed how the characterization of “cult” applied to Scientology. The Guardian reported that human rights activists “were outraged” when reports of the actions of the City of London Police at the protest surfaced this week. Marina Hyde wrote in a comment piece in The Guardian that the City of London Police should spend a little less time “reaching for the collar of free-speaking children”. An article in The Guardian about the boy’s court summons hit the front page of the website Slashdot on Wednesday, and an article about the statement by CPS hit the site’s front page on Friday. The anti-Scientology website Enturbulation.org devoted its front page to the incident on Saturday.

BBC News reported that attorneys for Liberty represented the 15-year-old boy to the CPS. In media statements Friday, Liberty said it would continue its inquiry into the actions of the City of London Police. “The police may have ended their inquiries into this tawdry incident but rest assured that Liberty’s inquiry will continue. Democracy is all about clashing ideas and the police should protect peaceful protest, not stifle it,” said James Welch, legal director at Liberty. “Reason has prevailed in the case of the anti-Scientology protester”, wrote Welch in a comment piece in The Observer. According to The Press Association, Liberty’s inquiry may result in actions taken against the City of London Police.
Protesters and police in London at the April 12, 2008 Project Chanology international protest against Scientology Image: James Harrison.

The City of London Police has faced controversy in the past for its close association with the Church of Scientology. When the City of London Scientology building opened in 2006, City of London Chief Superintendent Kevin Hurley praised Scientology in an appearance as guest speaker at the building’s opening ceremony. Ken Stewart, another of the City of London’s chief superintendents, has also appeared in a video praising Scientology. According to The Guardian over 20 officers for the City of London Police have accepted gifts from the Church of Scientology including tickets to film premieres, lunches and concerts at police premises.

Unlike the City of London Police, the Metropolitan Police Service (the territorial police force responsible for Greater London excluding the City of London) has not raised an issue with protesters using placards with similar wording at protests against Scientology, according to The Guardian and Londonist.

Each of the Project Chanology international protests against Scientology has had a theme: the February protest called attention to the birthday of Lisa McPherson, who died under controversial circumstances while under the care of Scientology, the March protest was arranged to take place two days after Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s birthday, the April protest highlighted the Church of Scientology’s disconnection policy, and the May protest highlighted the Scientology practice of “Fair Game” and took place one day after the anniversary of the publication of Hubbard’s book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. Another international protest is planned for June 14, and will highlight the Church of Scientology’s elite “Sea Organization” or “Sea Org”.

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Creative Commons Attribution 2.5

Individuals from the group Anonymous were protesting Scientology in the fourth protest in as many months, as part of the anti-Scientology movement Project Chanology. The Project Chanology movement began when the Church of Scientology attempted to get a leaked Scientology promotional video featuring Tom Cruise removed from websites YouTube and Gawker.com.

Members of Anonymous were motivated by the actions of the Church of Scientology, and bombarded Scientology websites and were successful in taking some of them down. Anonymous later changed tactics towards legal measures, and held international protests against Scientology on February 10, March 15, April 12, and most recently May 10.

At the May 10 protest, the 15-year-old boy was present and held up a placard which stated: “Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult,” with a mention at the bottom of the sign to the anti-Scientology website Xenu.net. He attended the protest held outside the Church of Scientology building on Queen Victoria Street, near St Paul’s Cathedral in London. In a post made by the boy on the anti-Scientology website Enturbulation.org, he stated: “Within five minutes of arriving I was told by a member of the police that I was not allowed to use that word, and that the final decision would be made by the inspector.” The website describes itself as “A Source for Information on Dianetics and the Scientology Organization”. Using the pseudonym “EpicNoseGuy” at the Enturbulation.org message board, the boy goes on to describe how he was “strongly advised” by police to remove the placard.

City of London Police cited section five of the Public Order Act 1986 to the boy, which deals with “harassment, alarm or distress”. In response, the boy cited a 1984 judgment given by Mr. Justice Latey in the Family Division of the High Court of Justice of Her Majesty’s Courts of Justice of England and Wales, in which Latey called Scientology a “cult” and said it was “corrupt, sinister and dangerous”. In the actual 1984 judgment made by Judge Latey, he stated: “Scientology is both immoral and socially obnoxious. [...] In my judgment it is corrupt, sinister and dangerous. [...] It is dangerous because it is out to capture people, especially children and impressionable young people, and indoctrinate and brainwash them so that they become the unquestioning captives and tools of the cult, withdrawn from ordinary thought, living and relationships with others.” According to the boy’s post at Enturbulation.org, the City of London Police told him he had 15 minutes to remove the sign in question. He was given a court summons by the police about a half-hour later, and his sign was removed and taken by the police as evidence.

In videos of the May 10 protest posted to YouTube, City of London Police can be seen telling protesters not to use the word “cult” in their signs. Protesters discussed the issue with police and stated that they had checked with lawyers and verified that criticizing religion was a valid form of protest. The police warned protesters that if they violated police instructions regarding usage of signs “you will be prosecuted”. A female police officer read a form statement to the 15-year-old and stated: “I’ve been asked, if you could remove it [the sign] by 11:30, if not then I’ll have to come back and either summons you or arrest you.” The boy read Mr. Justice Latey’s 1984 judgment to the police, and then said: “I’m not going to take this sign down.” He told fellow protesters: “If I don’t take the word ‘cult’ down, here [holding up his sign], I will be either, I think, most likely arrested or [given] a summons. I am going to fight this and not take it down because I believe in freedom of speech, besides which I’m only fifteen.”

After the boy was given a summons one of the protesters asked a member of the City of London Police force: “Are we allowed to say Justice Latey says Scientology is a cult?”, to which the police officer responded: “I’ve already had this discussion with people. Direct quotes by individuals, I haven’t got a problem with.”

“This barmy prosecution makes a mockery of Britain’s free speech traditions. After criminalising the use of the word ‘cult’, perhaps the next step is to ban the words ‘war’ and ‘tax’ from peaceful demonstrations?” said Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti in a statement in The Guardian. The boy has appealed for help in order to fight the potential charges and possible legal action from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Ian Haworth of the United Kingdom-based Cult Information Centre also commented on the actions of the City of London Police to The Guardian, saying: “This is an extraordinary situation. If it wasn’t so serious it would be farcical. The police’s job is to protect and serve. Who is being served and who is being protected in this situation? I find it very worrying.”

News of the summons issued to the UK minor has received significant attention on the Internet, hitting the front pages of websites Slashdot, Digg, and Boing Boing on Wednesday. The story has also been discussed in hundreds of blog postings, including sites related to the tech-sector and others related to civil liberties.

In a statement given to publications including The Guardian and The Register, a representative for the City of London Police explained the rationale for the summons: “City of London police had received complaints about demonstrators using the words ‘cult’ and ‘Scientology kills’ during protests against the Church of Scientology on Saturday 10 May. Following advice from the Crown Prosecution Service some demonstrators were warned verbally and in writing that their signs breached section five of the Public Order Act 1986. One demonstrator, a juvenile, continued to display a placard despite police warnings and was reported for an offense under section five. A file on the case will be sent to the CPS.”

“City of London Police upholds the right to demonstrate lawfully, but we have to balance that with the rights of all sections of the community not to be alarmed, distressed or harassed as a result of others’ actions,” said City of London Chief Superintendent Rob Bastable in a statement given to The Register and The Daily Telegraph. Unlike the City of London Police, the Metropolitan Police Service (the territorial police force responsible for Greater London excluding the City of London) has not raised an issue with protesters using the word “cult”, according to Londonist.

A spokesman for the CPS told The Guardian that they did not give City of London Police specific instruction about the boy’s protest sign. The spokesman said that the CPS gave the City of London Police “general advice” about the laws governing protests and “religiously aggravated crime”, but did not give advice about this specific case. “… if we receive a file we will review it in the normal way according to the code for crown prosecutors,” said the CPS spokesman.

The City of London Police has faced controversy in the past for its close association with the Church of Scientology. When the City of London Scientology building opened in 2006, City of London Chief Superintendent Kevin Hurley praised Scientology in an appearance as guest speaker at the building’s opening ceremony. Ken Stewart, another of the City of London’s chief superintendents, has also appeared in a video praising Scientology. According to The Guardian over 20 officers for the City of London Police have accepted gifts from the Church of Scientology including tickets to film premieres, lunches and concerts at police premises. Janet Kenyon-Laveau, spokeswoman for the Church of Scientology in the UK, told The Guardian that the relationship between the City of London Police and Scientology was mutually beneficial, and said that Scientologists conducted clean-up campaigns in urban areas affected by drug use problems. A City of London Police spokesman released a statement in November 2006 saying: “We are conducting a review to ensure that all members of staff are aware of the force policy on accepting hospitality and to assess whether clarification or amendment of this policy is necessary.”

Each of the Project Chanology international protests against Scientology has had a theme: the February protest called attention to the birthday of Lisa McPherson, who died under controversial circumstances while under the care of Scientology, the March protest was arranged to take place two days after Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s birthday, the April protest highlighted the Church of Scientology’s disconnection policy, and the May protest highlighted the Scientology practice of “Fair Game” and took place one day after the anniversary of the publication of Hubbard’s book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. Another international protest is planned for June 14, and will highlight the Church of Scientology’s elite “Sea Organization” or “Sea Org”.

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Creative Commons Attribution 2.5

According to The Daily Herald, the Freewinds was in the process of being renovated by the Curaçao Drydock Company. The article states that samples taken from paneling in the ship were sent to the Netherlands, where an analysis revealed that they “contained significant levels of blue asbestos”. An employee of the Curaçao Drydock Company told Radar Online in an April 30 article that the Freewinds has been docked and sealed, and confirmed that an article about asbestos ran in the local paper.

Lloyd’s List reported that work on the interior of the Freewinds was suspended on April 27 after health inspectors found traces of blue asbestos on the ship. According to Lloyd’s List, Frank Esser, Curaçao Drydock Company’s interim director, joined Curaçao’s head of the department of labor affairs Christiene van der Biezen along with the head of the local health department Tico Ras and two inspectors in an April 25 inspection of the ship. “We are sending someone so that they can tell us what happened, where it came from, since when it has been there,” said Panama Maritime Authority’s director of merchant marine Alfonso Castillero in a statement to Lloyd’s List.

The Church of Scientology purchased the ship, then known as the Bohème, in 1987, through an organization called Flag Ship Trust. After being renovated and refitted, it was put into service in June 1988. The ship is used by the Church of Scientology for advanced Scientology training in “Operating Thetan” levels, as well as for spiritual retreats for its members. Curaçao has been the ship’s homeport since it was purchased by the Church of Scientology.

According to his 2001 statement, Lawrence Woodcraft had been an architect in London, England since 1975, and joined Scientology’s elite “Sea Organization” (Sea Org) in 1986. He wrote that he was asked by the Sea Org to work on the Freewinds in 1987, and during his work on the ship “noticed a powdery blue fibrous substance approximately 1 ½” thick between the paint and the steel wall,” which he believed to be asbestos. He also discovered what he thought was blue asbestos in other parts of the ship, and reported his findings to Church of Scientology executives. Woodcraft discussed his experiences in a 2001 interview published online by the Lisa McPherson Trust, a now-defunct organization which was critical of the Church of Scientology.

Church of Scientology spokeswoman Karin Pouw responded to Radar Online about the asbestos reports, in an email published in an article in Radar on May 1. “The Freewinds regularly inspects the air quality on board and always meets or exceeds US standards,” said Pouw. She stated that two inspections performed in April “confirmed that the air quality is safe,” and asserted that the inspections revealed the Freewinds satisfies standards set by the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Clean Air Act.

Pouw told Radar that “The Freewinds will be completing its refit on schedule.” The Church of Scientology-affiliated organization Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) had been planning a cruise aboard the Freewinds scheduled for May 8, but according to Radar an individual who called the booking number for the cruise received a message that the cruise had been delayed due to ongoing work on the ship. Citing an article in the Netherlands Antilles newspaper Amigoe, Radar reported on May 6 that a team from the United States and supervised by an independent bureau from the Netherlands traveled to Curaçao in order to remove asbestos from the Freewinds.

“I stand by everything I wrote in my 2001 affidavit,” said Lawrence Woodcraft in an exclusive statement given to Wikinews. Woodcraft went on to state: “I would also comment that if the Church of Scientology claims to have removed the blue asbestos, I just don’t see how, it’s everywhere. You would first have to remove all the pipes, plumbing, a/c ducts, electrical wiring etc. etc. just a maze of stuff. Also panelling as well, basically strip the ship back to a steel hull. Also blue asbestos is sprayed onto the outer walls and then covered in paint. It’s in every nook and cranny.”

Many Scientologist celebrities have spent time aboard the Freewinds, including Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, John Travolta, Kelly Preston, Chick Corea, Lisa Marie Presley, Catherine Bell, Kate Ceberano, and Juliette Lewis. Now magazine reported that Tom Cruise has been urged to seek medical attention regarding potential asbestos exposure, however a representative for Cruise stated he has “absolutely no knowledge” of the recent asbestos controversy. Cruise, Holmes, Travolta and Preston have celebrated birthdays and other events on the Freewinds.

In a May 15 statement to the United Kingdom daily newspaper Metro, a representative for the Church of Scientology said that “There is not now and never has been a situation of asbestos exposure on the Freewinds.” The Asbestos and Mesothelioma Center notes that agencies have recommended anyone who has spent time on the Freewinds consult with their physician to determine if possible asbestos exposure may have affected their health.

Raw blue asbestos is the most hazardous form of asbestos, and has been banned in the United Kingdom since 1970. Blue asbestos fibers are very narrow and thus easily inhaled, and are a major cause of mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a form of cancer which can develop in the lining of the lungs and chest cavity, the lining of the abdominal cavity, or the pericardium sac surrounding the heart. The cancer is incurable, and can manifest over 40 years after the initial exposure to asbestos.

“This is the most dangerous type of asbestos because the fibres are smaller than the white asbestos and can penetrate the lung more easily,” said Toxicologist Dr. Chris Coggins in a statement published in OK! Magazine. Dr. Coggins went on to note that “Once diagnosed with mesothelioma, the victim has six months to a year to live. It gradually reduces lung function until the victim is no longer able to breathe and dies.”

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Creative Commons Attribution 2.5

The 612-page manual for Scientologists written by L. Ron Hubbard contains instructions for the eight different Operating Thetan levels including ‘clear’ and OT8.

Most of the manual is typed from a computer, while the packet contains some hand written notes by Hubbard himself who also signed them. The manual also contains letters by Hubbard to individuals who have passed the according levels.

“A great many phenomena (strange things) can happen while doing these drills, if they are done honestly,” Hubbard writes in regards to ‘OT1.’ Hubbard then goes on to explain in hand written notes, the ‘drills’ one must do in order to become ‘OT1′:

“One: Walk around and counts bodies until you have a cognition. Make a report saying how many you counted and your cognition. Two: Note several large and small female bodies until you have a cognition. Note it down. Three: Note several large and several small male bodies until you have a cognition. Note it down. Four: Final a tight packed crowd of people. Write it as a crowd and then as individuals until you have a cognition. Note it down. Do step over until you do.”

Hubbard then goes on to explain OT2, but before he does so, he tells the Churches how to keep Scientology working. One way is to not divulge information on their “technology.” Doing so, says Hubbard, would result in “the complete destruction of all our work.”

“On the other hand there have been thousands and thousands of suggestions and writings which, if accepted and acted upon, would have resulted in the complete destruction of all our work. Our technology has not been discovered by a group. True, if the group had not supported me in many ways, I could not have discovered it either. But it remains that if in its formative stages it was not discovered by a group, then group efforts, one can safely assume, will not add to it or successfully alter it in the future,” states Hubbard in a confidential letter dated February 7, 1965.

Hubbard also goes on to say that “man has never before evolved workable mental technology and emphasizing it is the vicious technology he did evolve—psychiatry, psychology, surgery, shock treatment, whips, duress, punishment, etc., ad infinitum.” Hubbard also says that “war, famine, agony and disease has been the lot of Man” and that Man “has been what has made Earth a Hell—and if you were looking for Hell and found Earth, it would certainly serve.”

Hubbard calls those ‘men’ “SP Body Thetans” or those who “are out of valance” and who are “stuck to another thetan or body but is not in control” with Scientology. Some he says are even “psychotic, serve faces and have fixed ideas” which “inhibits recovery.” Thetan is derived from the Greek word “Theta” which means “thought or life.”

“An individual being such as a man is a thetan, he is not a body and he does not think because he has no brain,” states Hubbard.

It is not until ‘OT3′ when you learn the true beginning of Scientology. In Hubbard’s own hand written notes, he begins to describe a series of “76 planets [orbiting] around larger stars founded 95,000,000 years ago” which he says “are visible from here [Earth].”

From those planets, which were over populated by “about 250 million per planet,” came a “head of the Galactic Federation” named ‘Xenu’ who solved the overpopulation by sending mass amounts of his people to Earth somewhere between “75,000,000 and 4 qadrillion [Sic] years ago.” Hubbard says that he brought them to Earth and dropped them off inside volcanoes on an island he describes as Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. Xenu then captured the ones who escaped after 36 days and exploded the remaining individuals with a hydrogen bomb. Xenu was later “captured after six years of battle” and Earth had since become a “desert.”

It is also said at this level, an implant, in what Hubbard calls an “engram” will be given in which the individual can “see pictures.” However these pictures are not to be “stuck” or permanent.

At ‘OT4′ individuals are allegedly rid of illegal and legal drugs. Documents state that addicts are not treated with drugs, but simply not given anything.

“As drugs and drug incidents have been so common on the whole track, to simply generally ask for drugs or drug incidents when dealing with BTs and clusters, could cause a total restim,” states the document which then says that individuals are made to wait out the effects of the drugs. Another process used to try and stop drug use is to “take any previously given Drug somatic items, or newly list any additional items connected with reading drugs, medicines, etc., and assess for reading somatic item.” Hubbard insists that these methods are proven effective.

‘OT5′ is when individuals learn about the “physical universe, not the laws of physical scientists, but the basic considerations about Matter, Energy, Space and Time,” states Hubbard.

At ‘OT6′ you allegedly learn telepathy and ‘OT7′is the “rehabilitation of ability to project intention.”

The final level, ‘OT8′, you are to “have full certainty and, therefore, perception on all” of your issues. According to Hubbard, the ‘OT8′ manuals are supposed to stay aboard the Free Winds Scientology ship which has heavy security because nothing is supposed to leave the ship. Despite that, Hubbard himself claims to have smuggled out his own ‘OT8′ instructions for the “elite” Scientologists.

“I am breaking security as I disagree that this should only be released to an elite in Scientology. I do, however, ask it not be released to psyches or ’squirrels’ or anyone who will break the Independent Security Network and allow it to get back to the Church of Scientology. It would be best if they do not find out that we have it. Please treat this data responsibly. It is the key to the only truth possible,” said Hubbard in regards to his ‘OT8′ instructions.

Wikileaks previously leaked documents relating to the Church of Scientology’s division the Office of Special Affairs. The 208-page document released March 9th details Scientology’s involvement in black propaganda according to its “Fair Game” practices.

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Creative Commons Attribution 2.5

The two protesters, who earlier on participated in the delivery of a ‘global speech’ collaboratively written and read by members of Anonymous at protests worldwide, were arrested are believed to have been charged by Atlanta police for protesting without a permit and causing ‘offensive or hazardous conditions’. However, other members of Anonymous who took leading roles in arranging the protest are adamant that the Atlanta police had previously told them they did not need a permit to protest.

The arrests were filmed by other members of Anonymous who subsequently posted the videos onto popular video-sharing website YouTube. The videos show a very quick arrest in which the arresting officers did not read the Miranda rights of the protesters. This was confirmed by other members of the group who say they didn’t hear their rights being read before they were lead away.

In other videos published on YouTube, the same members of Anonymous were shown thanking police for their work and offering them some of the cake members of Anonymous had brought to the protest, shortly before they were arrested.

Members of Anonymous have composed an open letter to Atlanta’s Chief of Police, asking if such a show of police strength was really needed at a non-violent protest organised and attended mainly by college students and young Americans.

Drivers showing their support for the protesters by honking their car horns while driving past were followed by police bikes waiting in the Scientology building’s driveway and given tickets for violating noise ordinance laws. However, many members of Anonymous have voiced confusion over these tickets, as the honks of support were only 2-3 seconds in duration at most, and noise ordinance laws state a horn must be sounded for longer than 60 seconds to count as a violation of the law. When, after the arrests were made, the police started to adopt the policy of ticketing drivers who honked, members of Anonymous quickly raised “Don’t Honk” signs to drivers.

Both of the members of Anonymous have been released, one with a bail of $763.00. There are confirmed to be two charges standing against one. No information has been released from the police department at this point.

Initial reaction from bloggers was generally critical of the arrests. Kalira of Doomfeller blog wrote: “This is UNACCEPTABLE. They did no wrong, and that building they were led into was reportedly the Scientology Org building. If the police — nay, the walking tanks, totally uncalled for with a peaceful protest — had them unmask inside…suffice it to say if they get harassed, there will be great big steaming piles of hell to pay.” Scientology critic Jeff Jacobsen, interviewed by Wikinews on February 19, wrote on his blog: “But then I see that the Atlanta police arrested two Anons, and were even stopping cars that honked in approval of the protest! Is Atlanta not a part of the United States? I don’t get it.”

Interview

The videos and arrests have sparked outrage amongst members of the public and Anonymous, and Wikinews interviewed members of Anonymous who were at the Atlanta protest on Saturday:

Wikinews What was your initial reaction to the arrests at the protest?

Anonymous 1: Just disbelief. On February 10th, the police were completely cool, and we heard they liked us.

WN What has been your experience dealing with the Atlanta police?

Anonymous 1: Usually the police are very chilled with the protests and such. This is the first time that I can recall them acting like this.
Anonymous 2: They really didn’t talk to us at all at the last protest. Several people had called in before both protests to confirm that we didn’t need a permit and that everything was OK- they knew we were coming, and so on- but at this protest initial requests to get more information from the officers were either ignored or met with hostility.

WN Was there any statement issued by police on what the two arrested individuals were arrested for?

Anonymous 2: Originally I heard that they couldn’t answer that, but then people started saying it was for inciting disorder and for protesting without a permit. We had contacted the police department earlier, and were told that we wouldn’t need a permit.

WN The videos published on YouTube show the individuals arrested very quickly- simply frog-marched off. Did the arresting officers follow procedure – reading the individuals their rights, and so on – during the arrest ?

Anonymous 2: Nobody heard them being read their rights.
Anonymous 3: They were grabbed and taken behind the complex in one swift strike. There was no Miranda rights read when they were initially grabbed.

YouTube Video of the arrest of anti-Scientology protester in Altanta:

source

Creative Commons Attribution 2.5

Location reports…

Adelaide, Australia

News.com.au reported that approximately 200 masked protesters gathered outside of the Church of Scientology’s headquarters in Adelaide. An anonymous spokesman told News.com.au that their group feels Scientology should not have tax-exempt status, and should not be considered a religion. At one point six police officers came by the protest; four members of a security firm stood outside the Scientology building during the protest.

Boston, Massachusetts

Correspondent: TUFKAAP

Over 250 Anonymous protesters were out in force once more on the corners, at the Boston’s Scientology church at the corner of Beacon and Hereford Streets. Protesters only took up three corners, instead all four like they did last time as police did not allow them too.

Wikinews talked to the police and was denied a video statement by one officer telling the reporter, “Get out of here,” and brushing him off. However, the reporter asked another officer if there had been any trouble. The officer responded that there had been “no trouble, just people walking back and forth.”

Some Anonymous put forward concerns about Scientology plants in the crowd trying to incite disruption, however, none was noted. Other protesters mentioned there were rumors that the Scientologists were going to bus in Scientology students to disrupt the protester, however, that did not occur.

Scientologists were outside taking photos of the protesters, unlike Feburary 10th, were they remained inside and photographing from the buliding. The Wikinews reporter asked a Scientologist why he taking pictures, he took my photograph and noted that he “was just taking pictures.” Wikinews asked a church member if he would like to give a statement to Wikinews on camera, they denied the request and told the reporter they would send a statement via email to him.

Brussels, Belgium

Correspondents: Brianmc and Stevenfruitsmaak

Starting off from a meeting point in Brussels central station, the anonymous protesters proceeded on foot to their licensed protest point outside the stock exchange. The turnout was about half that of the previous protest with only 15 or so people present. Per advice from police cake was – regrettably – not on offer. It had been pointed out this would likely get the protesters mobbed by children and vagrants.

Belgian media were in attendance again with one film crew interviewing several of the protesters and catching their banners on tape. The slogans were mostly in English, ranging from “Religion is free, Scientology isn’t” to “One billion years of servitude = super powers” – the latter a reference to the contracts that Scientologists sign when they become involved with the church.

The police presence was low-key with only one senior officer visible. However, for some reason a member of the Belgian intelligence services was in attendance.

Manchester, England

Correspondent: Anonymous101

The protest started at approximately 11:00 local time with protesters saying that over 100 people have turned up to protest for at least part of the protest. It started at Deansgate, which is the same location as the one for the start of the February 10 protests. Members of Anonymous have told Wikinews that their members started arriving at 09:00 local time.

Protesters were holding placards with statements such as “Freedom of religion – A right / Freedom to oppress – A crime.” Placards asking “How do I anger seasoned Amnesty International prize winning journalist, John Sweeney?” were also held as part of the protest. John Sweeney was heavily featured in the UK press after he produced a documentary in which he claimed representatives of the Church of Scientology were constantly following him.

As with the other protests, protesters brought cake, as a result of it being the birthday of Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology.

One of the protesters told Wikinews that “The so-called Church of Scientology’s multiple violations of the UN’s Universal Declaration on Human Rights have gone un-noticed and unchallenged for far too long.” He continued saying that “the corporation needs to learn that suppression of free speech, institution of forced labour and the more general suppression of its parishoners is both legally and morally wrong. The protests will continue until such a time that major changes are made to the Scientology’s organisational structure, or until they meet accusations of wrongdoing head-on and provide evidence that the community’s worries are unfounded.” He added that he was not “not protesting against the religion of Scientology, but the corporation that delivers it.”

London, England

Correspondents: Adambro, Skenmy, JamesHarrison

Once more, protests took place outside of both the Queen Victoria Scientology Headquarters and the Tottenham Court Road Dianetics centre. The additional time available for protesters in the aftermath of a rushed February 10th protest allowed the many of Anonymous to expand their protest to include even more outreach towards members of the public, with Anonymous members handing out free cake, sweets and other confectionery along with leaflets and stickers to passers-by.

Signage was loud and varied, proclaiming a variety of messages to the public and Scientologists. Many of the signs declared amusing yet pointed comments, with others making more serious jabs at the Church of Scientology.

Despite a larger police presence at the Tottenham Court Road protest, the protesters and Scientologists were both peaceful. Police officers, when asked if they had had any problems with the protesters, replied, somewhat jovially, ‘I can’t really speak to you, the only thing I can say is ‘No comment’. No problems. I mean no comment.’

Buffalo, New York

Correspondent: DragonFire1024

Throughout the day, nearly 100 protesters including ex-Sea Org Scientology member Chuck Beatty, turned out in Buffalo with signs and enthusiasm. It was a cold and foggy day with temperatures in the low 30’s (F) which is significantly warmer than the previous February 10 protests that drew only about 50 people. People filled Main Street across from the Church in a line which extended an entire city block. A radio was on hand playing ‘Rick Roll’ and also the audio recording of the Scientology interview with Tom Cruise.

The day started off with an off duty Buffalo Police detective instructing the crowd to protest peacefully. The detective, who was identified to Wikinews only as ‘Detective Tim’ then immediately told protesters to remove masks that could be considered threatening. Scarves were allowed as it was a cold day, but bandannas were not permitted to be worn.

Wikinews was earlier accused of being “fake” and Detective ‘Tim’ refused to give a statement to Wikinews saying “no media. You made that (press badge) from the internet. I never seen this site before.” ‘Tim’ then refused outright to give his last name and badge number. ‘Tim’ was quoted only during his time speaking publicly to the protesters.

Shortly after instructing people to remove masks, ‘Tim’ then accused a member of Anonymous of “portraying an Arabic terrorist” because of a scarf he was wearing and asked him to remove it.

Shortly after, at least three protesters were detained by police and questioned after taking photographs and video of the Church from across the street. Police approached the three and began to “yell” at them. ‘Tim’ then told one protester that “the Church want you arrested. Now how am I going to avoid that.” The protester then willingfully handed over his videotape of the church and asked not to be arrested. Subsequently all three were released without being charged. According to Detective ‘Tim’, “the tape is now the property of the police.” The protesters were not on Church property and were only filming the areas of the Church visible from across the streets.

During the protest, a member of Anonymous read a speech, which according to him, was a wordlwide speech to all Churches.

“Today – The Ides of March – is the day Julius Caesar was betrayed by those he trusted. Today we gather together as Anonymous to call attention to another betrayal of trust – that of the Church of Scientology upon its followers. Since is inception, Scientology has traded in false hopes and promises, betrayed the trust of its members, taken their money, their rights, and at times thir very lives,” said the statement.

“Last month 10,000 people demonstrated in one hundred and seven cities across the world. They came together to make the first breach in the wall of silence,” added the statement.

Despite the incident, ‘Tim’ was friendly to the protesters, even stating that “he might be back later to have a few cupcakes.”

According to a member of Anonymous, “we will come again, our numbers ever increasing, in April, May, June and July.”

New Orleans, Louisiana

The protest in New Orleans Louisiana was expressed by Anonymous as a “full win.”

One protester reports: “I was the first Anon on the scene and one of our friendly city Police officers was sitting in front of the Church of Scientology waiting for us. I went over and spoke to him for a bit. The officer asked me if I knew the rules and I said that we couldn’t block traffic or pedestrians. I also stated that we were to remain peaceful and not cause a disruption. He told me that we were welcome to stand on the median in the middle of the street where the streetcar runs or across the street but we couldn’t stand directly in front of the Scientology center. While there is a public sidewalk in front of the Church, I wasn’t going to make an issue about it. The one thing that stood out the most about this officer was that he said that he was there to protect our rights of free speech.

“I waited around for about 15 minutes before my fellow Anon started showing up. We went to the median and setup. At this point the officer came over and talked to us as a group (6 of us at this point). He said that he got off at 4:00 a.m. and this was a detail for him. He asked us what our protest was about because he wanted to understand what he was guarding. We gave him some fliers, discussed our presence there, and asked him to do some research on the net. He thanked us for talking to him and said that he would look the information up.

We had a lot of honks from cars passing by. Unlike last time the streetcars were running and we were able to hand fliers to the people on the car as they passed. One of the streetcar drivers even stopped so that she could get a flier.

There were a couple of Scientologists from the February 10 protests that took a few pictures, but for the most part they stayed inside. The one big confrontation that we had was from a Scientologist mom with her kids in a minivan. She pulled to the end of the driveway and was talking on her cell phone. One of our guys kept trying to direct her into traffic when it was clear. When she did finally pull out she stopped and blocked two lanes of traffic to tell us, “What do you know about Scientology!” We said that we knew plenty cause it’s all over the internet. She made a few other mean comments then the police office started his siren cause she was blocking traffic. She finally moved and went to the U-turn lane over the median and stopped. One of our Anons went over to hand her a flier while I walked behind to film. She started asking, “Why are you trying to make fun of me when I have kids in the car?” I said, “We weren’t making fun of you we were trying to be helpful.” We traded a few other words which will be on the video when I post it. The police officer pulled up in his car behind her and hit the siren telling her to move it along. She stuck her head out of the car and said, “They were shouting obscenities at me.” This to which the officer said, “I didn’t hear any obscenities move along NOW!”

After she left, she drove down the street where some members of Anonymous were getting materials from their car. At this point she started to harass the members, and she insisted on remaining next to their car. Fearful for the car’s safety, the Anonymous member moved it closer to within site of the protest.

Our cake showed up around 1:00 p.m. It said: ‘Happy Birthday L. Ron from all of your SP’s.’

Around 1:45 p.m. a Transit unit police officer pulled up on the median and told us that we were causing a disruption by being on the streetcar line and that our presence there was a liability to the city. I mentioned that we had been told that we could be there by the other officer. He stated, “I’m not trying to restrict your right to protest or your free speech but you are causing a disturbance on the streetcar line and you will have to move to the sidewalks.” The rest of Anonymous figured it was time to go and headed off to an after party in the French Quarter.

I walked over to the first police officer to thank him for his presence today. He thanked me for our keeping things civil. He said, “Well you’ve been out here for about three hours. Hopefully you’ve got your message across.”

Overall, the reception in New Orleans was very positive. Members of Anonymous got many passersby interested in the effort, as well as lots of supportive honks from passing vehicles.

Interview

This interview was carried out yesterday with two of the Manchester protestors.

* Wikinews Why do you consider it important to take part in the protests?

Anonymous Member 1: We consider it important to take part, most of us are regular internet uses who believe in free speech. The CoS has on numerous instances suppressed the flow of information regarding any of their critcisms or more estoteric beliefs. Examples include the ARS newsgroup during the 90s, and the recently leaked Tom Cruise video.

We are taking part to demonstrate our beliefs that freedom of knowledge and information are basic human rights. Most of us have also done our own research regarding the CoS, and come to the conclusion that it is a malign cult, that harms its members and tries to subvert public opinion to further its own ends.

* WNHow many people do you expect to attend the protests worldwide?

Anon. 1: No real way of knowing until the day and headcounts are done, but we are hoping to exceed Feb 10th due to a lot of Anonymous members not turning up due to fear of retaliation, laziness, or generally not being sure of what to do. Videos of the Feb10th have shown how peaceful yet fun the protests are, so we are hoping to do quite well on the 15th.

* WN Why are you protesting against CoS?

Anon. 1: We are protesting the CoS, not the religious doctrine itself. Whilst many of us may disagree with some of the faiths tenants, we believe freedom of religion is every persons right. However the CoS uses this sacred human right to perform immoral and illegal actions, whilst labelling anyone who criticises it as Religious Bigots, terrorists, or criminals.

* WN Many people consider some of the actions taken by anonymous illegal. Do you think your actions are justified?

Anon. 2: The problem with this question is the way anonymous is organised, as it isn’t organised. its just a collection of people from various corners of the internet. if someone makes a threat to the CoS and says they’re anonymous there’s nothing we can do to stop them saying that, anonymous doesn’t have a membership card.
Anon. 1: Yes.

source

Creative Commons Attribution 2.5

In his ruling, Judge Douglas Baird of Pinellas County, Florida wrote: “This Petition has been filed against twenty-six individuals alleged to be associating as a group referred to as ‘Anonymous’. The Petition contained no specific allegations of wrongdoing against the individuals named as Respondents, nor it is alleged that any of the said named Respondents are responsible for any threats, phone-calls, or specific wrongful acts sought to be enjoined. The Petition fails to allege that any of the Respondent have interfered with or have attempted to deprive the Petitioners of any cognizable right. Further, the Court finds that the Petition’s certification of notice is insufficient to justify the insufficient of an in junction without notice to the Respondents.”

Anonymous’ response

Wikinews: The last protest was peaceful, do you expect the 15th to be the same?

Anonymous: Absolutely. There’s no reason to believe the success of the 10 February protest won’t carry over to this weekend’s.

WN Do you believe the threats the Church mentioned in the injunction filing came from members of Anonymous?

Anon: No. They have a history of fabricating these things, and I have no reason to believe this is any different a situation.

WN How have Anonymous defended themselves in court?

Anon: Well, there’s been no need for any kind of defense. The restraining order has been rejected by every judge the church has brought it before and furthermore, there’s no reason to believe any of the names on their court filing even consider themselves Anonymous. They appear to be completely made-up by the Church of Scientology.

WN Do you view this as an attempt by the Church to stop peaceful protest against them?

Anon: Absolutely. They’ve used the courts to stop free speech before, they’re doing it again. Public protest draws attention to the Church’s human rights abuses, so they’ll do anything to stop them.

source

Creative Commons Attribution 2.5

LisaMcPherson.org is a memorial site created in 1997 containing information on her death and the resulting legal case against the Church of Scientology.

Lisa McPherson died in 1995 while in the care of the Church of Scientology. After a car accident, she became mentally unstable. Scientologists removed her from the hospital and placed her in the Introspection Rundown, she died 17 days later while still in care of the Church. She was used as an icon during Project Chanology, the protest of the Church of Scientology by Anonymous. Protesters were pictured with signs that said “Remember Lisa McPherson” and “Ask Scientology Why Lisa McPherson Died”, other protesters had posters with her picture on it.

The Interview

Wikinews: Give a short description of yourself and what you do outside of protesting Scientology.

Jeff Jacobsen: I’m a Political Science senior at Arizona State right now. Full-time student. I’m 52, from South Dakota Was in a cult age 16-22 (not Scientology). Got a BA in Religious Studies in 1984. Worked at Lisa McPherson Trust until it closed.

Wikinews: What was your job at the trust?

J.J.: Librarian, and researcher. So I helped the people “downstairs” when they needed documents or whatever.

Wikinews: I see from your website that you list your “cult experience” as your once belonging to the United Pentecostal Church. Do you consider all organized religions as “cults”?

J.J.: No. Not all religions are cults. The word is loaded but I think still useful. A cult is totalitarian, has an us vs. them mentality, and thinks they are the sole keepers of The Truth And uses deception, takes advantage of members.

Wikinews: How do you finance your activities in this area?

J.J.: Myself.

Wikinews: What happened to Bob Minton, your former chief financial supporter?

J.J.: That’s a sore point for many, but I’ll give my version. I think he wasn’t prepared for the backlash he’d get from Scientology. So finally he caved into the pressure that Scientology is so good at applying, and to get out from under them he agreed to certain things, he changed his testimony in court to be helpful to the church, he stopped all anti-scientology activity and he has left the scene.

Wikinews: How powerful is the Church of Scientology in your opinion?

J.J.: Their power now comes from their money. I don’t believe they have much recruiting ability, nor that many members (maybe 100,000 worldwide) Also their ruthlessness gives them power. But I do believe they are on the decline.

Wikinews: Do you feel mocking the silliness of the upper level teachings is helpful?

J.J.: No. But, I think exposing their secret teachings is good. It’s very strange that you have a religion where you can’t tell what they believe until you pay them. So it’s fine by me to expose their teachings so people can decide if that’s what they want to get into or not. I suppose I’ve helped make fun of Xenu, though.

Wikinews: As we understand it, the Church believes their teachings allow you to overcome illness. Does this work? What do they do when it doesn’t?

J.J.: Scientology makes abundant medical claims in their writings, yes. But they are not qualified in any way to deal with medical issues. Lisa McPherson was the perfect example of that. They were handling her according to Hubbard’s teachings, and she died as a result. This is one of the ways Scientology hurts people. It should be stopped. Exposing their unscientific gobble-dee gook is hopefully helpful in stopping more harm.

Wikinews: What is Church of Scientology policy for off-loading its members when they become seriously ill?

J.J.: I’m not sure of the answer to that. I’ve heard of “off-loading” where there have been reported cases that they’ve kicked out people who are more a burden than a help and from what I know, they have no retirement plan for long-time employees or Sea Orgers. I’ll give one example, Heber Jentzch’s wife, Yvonne, got cancer. She died at a young age, they treated it as if she chose to do that. In their obituaries they say “we look forward to X’s soon return”. They believe in reincarnation.

Wikinews: What is your key issue with the Church having tax exempt status within the United States?

J.J.: 1) they got it by pressuring the IRS rather than legitimately 2) they aren’t qualified 3) they conducted the largest infiltration of the federal government in US history, then that government gives them tax exemption? These are the same people that were there back then. Kendrick Moxon was part of Operation Snow White and he’s still a Scientology attorney. Many reasons. The Sklar case, and the Hernandez Supreme Court ruling also de-legitimizes their tax exemption.

Wikinews: Why mock an organization that has members who believe it has helped them?

J.J.: I hope we don’t mock. I hope we inform, expose, and educate. It’s easy to make fun of Xenu and that, and I suppose I’m guilty of doing that too. But the goal of critics is to inform, not mock.

Wikinews: Some people claim Scientology has worked for them, why should they be persecuted or hounded, for what after all is free choice of belief?

J.J.: Again, critics aren’t (I hope) persecuting anyone. It’s to inform. I’ve seen in several of the Anonymous protest videos where Anons say they’re not there to ridicule the beliefs but to complain about their actions. That’s a correct stance.

Wikinews: It is claimed by some anti-Church of Scientology campaigns that some Scientology doctrine is flawed or inconsistent, could not the same be said of the arguments put forward by those campaigns. (or indeed the ideological doctrines of any number of other religions)?

J.J.: I’m a Christian. I actually like reading about the inconsistencies of my religion, so I can understand it better. If any organization promotes some belief or teaching, then it’s fine to point out inconsistencies. In fact, it’s good. I just happen to know a lot about Scientology, so that’s what I deal with.

Wikinews: The German Government continues to pursue it’s investigation into Church of Scientology, why should law enforcement waste time on such investigations?

J.J.: Obviously, they don’t think they’re wasting their time. If there is evidence of illegality, it should be pursued. Remember Operation Snow White, for example. Scientology railed against the FBI as being anti-religion and bigoted when the raids happened. Yet the FBI turned out to be right.

Wikinews: One aspect of Scientology, is a rejection of modern psychiatry, would you not agree that even the best of shrinks can still get things badly wrong? (even when implementing so called ethical practices)?

J.J.: Psychiatry definitely has problems. And if people think that’s something that should be researched, great. But I deal with Scientology. They reject psychiatry so much that they made a video of themselves blowing up psychiatry with a grenade. Their goal is to eradicate psychiatry. As a whole group, not just get rid of the bad practices. That’s wrong.

Wikinews: When an organization faces an ideological challenge from specific individuals, is it not reasonable to have sufficient information to mount a robust defense?

J.J.: Is this referring to Scientology defending itself I guess? Hopefully, the information being used in defense is correct information. And sure, I’ve been on radio with a Scientologist before. I enjoy it when they debate. But that’s very seldom, unfortunately. If you could set up a debate I’d love it

Wikinews: How does campaigning against Church of Scientology materially differ from ‘hate crimes’ as defined by many laws?

J.J.: Critics of Scientology are more like whistleblowers or muckraking journalists. We’re not doing it out of hate. We’re doing it out of concern for the truth. People get hurt so we try to prevent it. Ted Kennedy eulogized his brother Robert saying “he saw a wrong, and tried to right it.” I think that’s what critics are doing. It’s not a hate crime to expose wrong.

Wikinews: If the campaigners are presenting genuine arguments, why has there not been more action from governments (in particular the United States)?

J.J.: Short answer: Because governments sometimes suck? But really, on xenutv.com there’s an interview with Ray Emmons of the Clearwater Police. He said he compiled a lot of information about Scientology, then presented it to the feds. Their response; “will they come after me?”. So he got nowhere. Part of it is actual fear. Part of it is the “religious cloaking” where the government doesn’t want to be seen going after a religion. Part of it is incompetence, imho [In My Humble Opinion]. But remember there have been governmental charges against Scientology, even in the Lisa McPherson case.

Wikinews: Church of Scientology has fought and won legal actions, juries cannot be that easy to sway?

J.J.: I can’t think of many cases that Scientology actually won. You’d have to give me a couple of cases. Generally, Scientology sues in civil court to harass and intimidate, not even to win anyway. So I’d need a specific case to discuss here I guess…

Wikinews: Did you actually know Lisa? Or any of her family?

J.J.: No, I first heard of Lisa about one year after she died. I have met her cousin, her aunts and uncle. They are all very nice. Lisa’s mom died about one month after Lisa did. Her brother and dad died several years before she did.

Wikinews: Isn’t it disrespectful of Lisa’s memory to use her memory for purposes so clearly counter to her known beliefs?

J.J.: My question there; what were her beliefs when she was being held against her will in her last days? My suspicion is she changed her mind about Scientology. I know I would have. But her friend, Kelli Davis, said she had talked to Lisa not long before she died, and Kelly thought that Lisa was implying that she was leaving Scientology. So my opinion is that Lisa’s beliefs in her last days was that Scientology sucked and I will go with that.

Wikinews: Is it possible to bring murder or manslaughter charges against the Church of Scientology again?

J.J.: IANAL [I am not a lawyer] but there’s no statute of limitations for murder. I hope that will happen some day. Perhaps some of the people involved will come forward with information compelling to a prosecutor

Wikinews: Do you know any details about the 2004 settlement with Lisa’s relatives? Is it true that they have not yet received any money from this settlement with the Church of Scientology?

J.J.: On lisamcpherson.org is a statement from Lisa’s family after their “settlement” of the civil suit. I do not know for sure. I believe the court case is still listed as active. As far as whether they were paid, I do not know. The assumption was that it was over though.

Wikinews: What do you expect Project Chanology to accomplish and when?

J.J.: I am not an Anon, and know little about the movement. But I was extremely impressed that Anonymous brought out thousands of people to protest around the world on short notice. From what I’ve seen, I believe they can accomplish a lot. I hope a few more protests, then work on Scientology’s tax exemption, which I believe is a very vulnerable area for Scientology. Project Chanology is a strong force with able people. It can do a lot.

Wikinews: Anonymous utilized criminal tactics, why should such organizations be trusted and regarded as credible?

J.J.: Us long-time critics were initially very frightened of Anonymous. You can tell that from Wise Beard Man’s first video but since then it appears that Anonymous has dropped the original things we were seeing. So I see it as self-policing happened and things are on track now. I do not condone anything but peaceful, legal methods. And now Anonymous is promoting that as well, so I am happy.

Wikinews: What should be the next step for the Anonymous movement?

J.J.: Wow. That’s not for me to say. I’m not a part of it. But I do hope they will do as they have been, which is listening to us who have been in the field for a long time. You can listen and learn from what we’ve done, then decide where to go from here. My one wish would be to go after Scientology’s tax exempt status in the US. Otherwise I have confidence that Anonymous will find the right path.

Wikinews: What are your crimes?

J.J.: religiousfreedomwatch.org tried to find my crimes, most of what they came up with is about my dad. So I like to tell people I’m Scientology-approved! They couldn’t find any crimes

Justice2: What keeps you going? And how much fair game have you got got?

J.J.: I’ve been deposed 3 times by Scientology attorneys. My home has been picketed. My business has been picketed twice. In Clearwater I was followed sometimes daily by PIs [Private investigator]. Lynn Farney yelled at me “we will raid you and sue you! You are on notice!” after one deposition. I’ve had my neighborhood leafleted with flyers calling me a bigot. What keeps me going is that Scientology hurts people. When they stop hurting people, I’ll stop bugging them.

Justice2: What advice would you give to those who get “Fair Gamed”?

J.J.: Go to the police right away. Keep a record of everything. Carry a video camera. I always had a video camera with me in Clearwater, even going to the grocery store. And another thing I liked to do is post everything that happened online. One time I posted “if I disappear, here’s the plate number of a car that’s been following me…”

source

Creative Commons Attribution 2.5

Bunker started XenuTV in 1999 and began to make videos that he provided for the Lisa McPherson Trust. Bunker has been a critic of the Church of Scientology since 1997.

In 2006, he won a regional Emmy Award after he and KUSI-TV news reporter Lena Lewis produced a documentary news video on the issues with the United States – Mexico border with San Diego, California.

The Interview

Wikinews: Why don’t you start by telling us about yourself and what you do.

Mark Bunker: I work in TV news in San Diego and have been speaking out about Scientology’s fraud and abuse since 1998. I worked “anonymously” for a year before showing my face and starting my website XENU TV.

WN: Tell us about your history with criticism of Scientology?

M.B.: In 1998 I was living in a house in the Hollywood hills. The woman who lived there prior to me was a Scientologist. Probably at the Celebrity Center because I would get her issues of Celebrity magazine and other Scientology periodicals. Reading them left me bewildered. They have their own language in many ways. I was intrigued and visited the Celebrity Center at one point to check the place out with a friend — as a skeptic, mind you. I took the personality test, played with an e-meter and got my own personal screening of Orientation before sitting down with the head of the CC. I had seen the 60 Minutes reports in the eighties but didn’t have a lot of knowledge at my fingertips. I wish I knew then what I know now so I could have asked pointed questions.

WN: Such as?

M.B.: I did ask things like, “Do I have to buy all these books? Don’t you have a library?” Of course, they want you to buy everything. After 45 minutes, I broke it to him that I wasn’t interested. I went home, did a quick search on the net and found out about XENU. Then I discovered Operation Snow White and Operation Freakout and other crimes committed by Scientology. This was more than some silly little group. I was amazed that this whole different world existed inside the U.S. and no one really paid attention to it.

WN: Has the Church ever been convicted of any crimes?

M.B.: It has been convicted in Canada for some of the same espionage tactics they used here in Operation Snow White. There have been more but I don’t have them at the tip of my fingers. That’s the nice thing about the net. You can now quickly research anytime, anywhere.

WN: How would you describe yourself in the context of religions, churches, and belief systems, and what you are seeking to accomplish?

M.B.: I think I stand outside the religious arena. I’m not interested in buying a ticket for the big game. People are free to believe anything they want but when it comes to fraud and abuse, I think it’s important to object.

WN: There are other religions that practice things that are just as bad as Scientology. For example the Catholic Church, Scientology and Islam dislike/sin homosexuals. Why protest Scientology? The Catholic Church, in terms of atrocities, has likely committed more? Even Muslim extremism… Is Scientology really worth more to protest than those religions or any other?

M.B.: The Catholics standing outside the Boston churches, protesting the priest sex abuse scandals were heroes in my mind. Scientologists who stand up to David Miscavige and say stop disconnection, forced abortions, the RPF [Rehabilitation Project Force, ed.] and fraud are as well.

WN: That was protest the crime and cover-up? Similar to your work?

M.B.: Exactly. It says nothing about the Catholic religion to say stop the priest sex abuse. Except it does make one wonder how a religion could systematically cover up such rampant abuse.

WN: Other than your experiences with ex-members of Scientology, do you have any special qualification that would make you an expert on so-called “cults”, i.e. do you have a degree in sociology, anthropology, psychiatry, psychology, theology, or any similar related subject area?

M.B.: None whatsoever. I took one course in world religions back in college. That’s it. I am not a psychologist. I am not going to council people in need of therapy. I speak out against fraud and abuse. Anyone can do so. Nor have I studied Political Science but that does not prevent me from speaking out against the Bush administration.

WN: Would that include the fields of tax law, i.e. do you have a degree in accounting, finance, law, or any similar related subject area?

M.B.: Far from it.

WN: Scientology, as many members have claimed, has saved their lives. Do you think, comparing the circumstances, the good things Scientology has done, out weighs the supposed bad things it has done?

M.B.: Well, people can feel they gain benefits from a wide range of things. I am not opposed to anyone following Scientology and auditing themselves till the time they drop their bodies. But along the way, many people are getting hurt. Fix that and people would stop protesting. Although I think they may still giggle about Xenu. We have the amazing ability to convince ourselves about anything. Our government is protecting us by wiretapping our phones and getting us into a needless war while letting the real terrorists regroup. But – hey -we were scared and went along with it. Sit in a dark room and imagine there is some scary creature about to get you and you can probably raise some goosebumps. That doesn’t mean that there is actually anything in the room. We easily can be tricked and trick ourselves and lead with emotion instead of intellect. So people may feel that Scientology has saved their lives but has it? Have they not also lured them into a group which takes over an increasingly large part of their lives and income, at the same time it is stripping them of their reality to replace it with Hubbard’s? I spoke with Billy Sheehan last weekend at the picket and he told me is an OT3 and would talk about anything about his religion. I asked him to tell me about Xenu and Body Thetans and he couldn’t. He just can’t. He’s not allowed to. I am free to do so. How are you becoming a better, more free individual when you have to follow such strict orders or a group that promises to teach you to “Think for yourself?”

WN: What will it take to get Congressional Hearings to review the Church of Scientology? Specifically, their tax-exempt status.

M.B.: It is going to take a groundswell of media interest into the abuses (of the Church) before it happens. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done. On public knowledge versus Scientologist knowledge, that is troubling for me. We on the outside know what is in store for the people moving onto the bridge. I think it is bait and switch to not tell them that their real problems are they are covered with BT’s [Body Thetans, ed.]. That’s a major case of fraud in my mind.

WN: What, if any, changes or improvements have been made in Church policy and structure since Hubbard died, and more recently too, that might have already addressed, at least partially, issues such as Snow White, Lisa McPherson, disconnection, unrealistic promises of Scientology benefits, etc? On what do you base your answer to this question?

M.B.: The only major policy change I’ve seen from David Miscaviage is the introduction of the Lisa Clause. What Scientology learned from the tragic death of Lisa McPherson is to have all their members sign a form to say they grant Scientology the right to treat them as they did Lisa and to promise not to sue. Otherwise the group seems to be as militant as when Hubbard was still around which is astonishing in a way. A cult usually dies with its founder. I believe Scientology is a cult yet it lurches on with the help of its richest members and the ability to bleed dry the rank and file.

WN: I assume you mean “Lisa Clause”?

M.B.: Yes. Lisa Clause. As to Scientologists who say that I don’t know what I’m talking about, why do I have documents to back up my claims and they have shore stories?

WN: How do you think most Church members feel about your protests? What would you say to those who would criticize your protests as misguided or the information you post and expose as untrue?

M.B.: We are seeing some indications that the Scientologists inside the group are responding to the protests. There was one insider who got a message of support out. Clearly, when materials like the Tom Cruise tape are being leaked, there are people inside who are concerned about how the group is behaving.

WN: We have a somewhat difficult question to put next…Is R2-45 Auditing a joke within Scientology, or is it actually real?

M.B.: I think it was probably a sick joke by Hubbard but he did actually put it in some orders. It’s not anything I ever discuss. There is so much sensational material about Scientology. People find it hard to believe the actual truth. I have no knowledge of anyone being shot by Scientology and wouldn’t claim otherwise. That said, I find it unbelievably odd that DM’s mother-in-law supposedly committed suicide by shooting herself with a shotgun…three times. That’s weird. But I won’t say it’s murder.

WN: Do they actually run camps associated with that?

M.B.: R2-45 camps? Never heard of it. DM loves guns but there’s no camps for shooting.

WN: What is the next step we should take in raising the general public’s awareness of the atrocities of the “Church” of Scientology. Also, besides http://www.XenuTV.com , what are some other, reputable, citable sources of information on these abuses?

M.B.: There are plenty of great sites starting with the granddaddy of them all – www.xenu.net. Professor David Touretzky’s various sites are well researched and important resources. Stop-Narconon and such. My favorite book on Scientology is Bare-Faced Messiah. It and many others can now be read on the web. I’d like to do audio book versions of them for people to download. Where oh where is the time, however.

WN: Why does Scientology accuse people of crimes when they are asked questions?

M.B.: Hubbard put it into writing. “Always attack – Never defend.” There are policy letters where he ordered people never to answer questions about Scientology but instead twist it around to the crimes of the critic. So when you see that happening in my videos, you are hearing Hubbard’s words come through the Scientologist’s mouth, which is one of the reasons I never get mad at them. This is what they are taught. They literally can’t think for themselves.

WN: Why do you think Scientology dangerous? From a European (French) point of view there are many strange organizations in the United States (Nazi party, many religious groups). Why is Scientology your fight?

M.B.: I think Scientology is dangerous to individuals who find their realities stripped. I think it’s dangerous to families when they are broken up by disconnection. I think it’s dangerous to society when they write laws that our politicians back to attack psychiatry. Anytime they stop free speech, I think that’s bad in general. Scientology is my fight because others were too afraid to take them on. I hate bullies. Scientology (while dangerous) acts like a big school yard bully. Now if that bully in 4th grade had a crack legal team and a gang of devoted followers who would do dirty tricks to send you to jail, a mental ward or the grave — he would have been a real threat! Scientology also brings together my general interest in cults, sci-fi and Hollywood in a unique way. I never expected to pick a fight with a dangerous cult but someone had to stand up to them. I thought I could help.

WN: And that’s part of the reasons you support ‘Anonymous’ and – apart from DDoS – their actions?
The internet VS. Scientology’ used to describe the war which begun between the internet and the Church on January 19. Image: Jason Safoutin, Cuarto and CedricBLN.
The internet VS. Scientology’ used to describe the war which begun between the internet and the Church on January 19.
Image: Jason Safoutin, Cuarto and CedricBLN.

M.B.: People need to stand up and speak out. If Anonymous can do that legally and you’ve shown me you can, then I will happily support that.

WN: I’ve seen your response to their protest on YouTube you almost seemed proud that a younger generation had “taken up the torch”.

M.B.: People have been attempting to get Scientology to reform for close to 60 years. They have resisted all change. When I reached out to Anonymous, I thought I may well get attacked myself but I saw immediate reform in the group. Scientology could learn a lot from Anonymous. The biggest protest in the past was maybe 50 – 60 people. Anonymous got thousands of people out everywhere around the globe and did so peacefully. I am proud of them for that. We’ve laid the groundwork for years. Now hopefully, some of Anonymous will continue to learn more and to speak out. There will be attrition but so far there seems to be an eagerness to make a real positive impact.

WN: What happened to Bob Minton? He is alleged to be in favor of Scientology now. Did they give him an ‘incentive’ to stop his protests of the Church? In a video of yours, posted on YouTube (Scientology: Clearwater Trip – Day 3 – Pt 2), Minton says that the Church attempted to “pay him money” several times. Did they finally succeed? Or was he blackmailed into shutting up?

M.B.: I wrote about Bob on my blog last week. He is my friend and I was there through most of his struggle. Scientology launched a global assault on Bob which we came to describe as having the Terminator coming after you. Rather than type it all out again, check out the blog: Minton and the limit.

WN: How many members of Scientology do you estimate are within the organization?

M.B.: Far fewer than Scientology estimates. They now say ten million but I think they are counting me for coming in and playing with the e-meter. The best source would be the census reports which put the number pretty low. More people claimed to be Jedi Knights than Scientologists in the UK for example: Church Members.

WN: What is your opinion on Free Zone Scientologists?

M.B.: I consider them friends. I support their wish to follow Hubbard’s technique. They do so without the criminal aspects of Scientology itself. People can knock themselves auditing as far as I’m concerned. I’m worried about the fraud and abuse. I believe Hubbard was a conman and we have the documents to prove it. If the freezoners don’t care, I can’t stop them. They aren’t emptying people [of their] accounts and breaking up families.

WN: What do you think anonymous should do if Scientologists plant fake anons in a protest and act like idiots to show anons up?

M.B.: Scientologists pretending to be Anonymous at your pickets, that’s bound to happen. That’s what Hubbard ordered. Adopt a “suitable guise” and infiltrate an organization to collect intelligence. They also are logging this channel and watching every word here and anywhere else we speak about them. As for the dopey comments, I understand completely that that is the power of being Anonymous on the net. It allows you to say outrageous things with no repercussions. It happens everywhere on the net and I am not offended. People say things they would never say to your face.

WN: Are you going to upload the old XenuTV movies (RealVideo) to Google Video or something similar?

M.B.: Will my old RealVideos be uploaded to Google? Yes. I have been working on it but I have a full time job and tons of things going one which has only gotten worse since this thing started. I was talking to Tory yesterday and she is overwhelmed by the emails she’s getting. I look at them and have panic attacks that I haven’t even been able to read all of mine yet let alone respond.

Questions from IRC users

DA-freakshow: As you know now, the Anonymous Protests Was Extremely Huge, but we are planning a Second Round The 15th Of March. And I – a 12-year-old WILL attend, is that a good sign that so young a person wants to be involved, or is it a bad sign?

M.B.: Well, it’s good if you understand what you’re getting yourself into and your parents or guardians are aware as well. Scientology is serious. They won’t harm you but they don’t play games either. 12-year-old kids get swept into Scientology’s Cadet Org and moved into the Sea Org shortly after. That is far more dangerous to a 12 year old than picketing fraud and abuse.

Carbonflux: Can you put any of this in a historical context? Have you studied the history of Scientology in relation to its “parent” organizations (cults praying on the elite) in the 18th – 20th centuries ? (Many of L. Ron Hubbard’s ideas were taken directly from OTO which he was a member of in his early life for example).

M.B.: Hubbard did call Crowley his good friend but I doubt that he was seriously deep into it. I think he stumbled into a situation at Jack Parson mansion in which he could live high off the rich guys cash and steal his hot girlfriend. I think he probably enjoyed a good laugh at the satanic rituals he engaged in but it certainly informed his understanding of how to run such a group and how people can buy into any wacky belief system.

toresbe: By sheer virtue of numbers, we have become very hard to harass, to the point of the personal risk to ourselves being almost negligible. There have been others before us with far more courage who have spoken up against far greater odds. What do you think the effect of our actions have been on these “pioneers”? (yourself included) Do you personally feel that we anons have revitalized the more “serious” efforts of those in the past who have come out with full names – and have probably gotten into problems over this? And do you believe it serves to ease the process for those Scientologists who were already considering leaving?

M.B.: To deny Hubbard’s connection to OTO is impossible but it also one of the most bizarre aspects of his life and many people would think it impossible and over the top criticism. That was one of the many flaws of the movie, The Profit. Ultimately Anonymous’ rise will be beneficial. It can cause people inside to rethink their beliefs and draw media attention to Scientology’s fraud and abuse. All very good. The way they rose however is a double edge sword because when I do interviews, I have to respond to white powder mailings and bomb threats. The anonymous nature and early attacks on Scientology make it easier for Scientology to blame these more serious charges on the group. People in the vast unwashed public aren’t looking into it very deep and can believe Scientology’s distortions. There is also the fear that we old timers can be lumped in with those abuses. I’m sure Scientology is going to accuse me of being a leader of terrorists. That is a huge risk I run, but in helping reshape Anonymous to a peaceful league group, I believe I am doing a great service to Scientology. Not that they’ll thank me. Especially if their tax exempt status is revoked.

jennam: I was just wondering if you were aware of the many other abuses of other religions such as The Watchtower organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses.. They do things strikingly similar to Scientology with regards to killing and abusing members and disconnection policies – now, I’m in no way in favor of the management of Scientology but it does look a little blind to me when these other so-called religions get off scot-free. Have you heard of any such allegations before? My concern is that while a step forward is good against one religion, there are others out there just biding by without no real exposure essentially letting them get away with their abuses. I was also wondering if you knew if The Profit would ever be released for viewing?

M.B.: There are some horrible abuses in other churches. I interviewed a couple people in a Christian cult in Wisconsin with horrific stories to tell. I feel I have my hands full fighting Scientology and hope others speak out for what they feel needs to be redressed. I stumbled upon a great site awhile back from former members of the Children of god. This group’s founder promoted sex with kids and sent women out to recruit new members by sleeping with them: Video Archives. Watch some of these videos and your jaw will drop. This kind of thing happens every day and we are unaware of it.

themandotcom: What do you say to those people that say that Anonymous and the similar groups are religious bigots?

M.B.: Just say no. People can believe what they want. Just stop the fraud and abuse and if you speak out against my god Zeus, I will call you a bigot, too!

StevenFruitsmaak: Isn’t it strange that some countries are recognizing Scientology as an official religion while other countries pursue the Church? What would you say to lawmakers in the former country? Perhaps a short 3 things you need to now about the Church?

M.B.: While there is a shared humanity, there are differences in laws and customs, too. Religion is such a taboo here in the U.S. that cloaking themselves with that was the smartest think Hubbard ever did. Germany has a unique perspective since it is in their charter that they will never again allow an extremist political group to rise again. That is an important thing to point out. They are not just a church. Hubbard wrote about how they should take over the government and be the ones to say what is legal BEFORE Scientology is stopped. Another important thing to know is that Scientology lies. If they are talking to you, they are lying to you. Look for the documented proof. The third thing, DM is a snappy dresser. Sorry couldn’t come up with a third thing right now.

Kakama: What do you think of the fact that Anonymous’ motivations are not a moral outrage and are in fact based on the desire to destroy something and get laughs, aka lulz? What about the fact that Anonymous regularly uses illegal activity for its purposes (though we have suspended most in this raid) and is often risque and perverted in nature?

M.B.: The thousands in Anonymous who have reached out to me have moved beyond the lulz. There are going to be many who drop out but there are more who will learn and continue. Just this morning a member sent me a link to a Portuguese version of the Anonymous message to get people involved in his country. And a 14-year-old girl in Finland said she gave a class report on Scientology because of this and got an A+ . She also told me she baked a cake for her mom and dad — and put my name on it. I told her she’s done something no one else on the planet has ever done. So the word gets out at the positive succeeds.

Neglacio: How do you feel about the several nicknames given to you, like Wise Beard Man (WBM), and the several slogans accompanying it? And, by the way, what music do you like?

M.B.: WBM is great. The people at work love it. I suspect many of the ladies are wearing Wise Beard Man thongs — but won’t admit it. And possibly some of the guys. As for my taste in music, I have to admit I was never in my era at anytime in my life. I never listened to the radio growing up so I became a fan of people in old movies like Bing Crosby from the Hope and Crosby films. Don’t hate me for it. My taste runs more to Mel Torme and Rosemary Clooney in their later jazz period and can be heard in some of my videos.

planetstar: There was a bomb (hoax?) threat video on YouTube by an “elite anonymous” as he himself called himself. What would be the implications of such an attack? Could this be another plant by Scientology, and could they actually go through with it?

M.B.: The bomb threat, this is what comes from being anonymous and starting off on the wrong foot. There will be those who believe it is Anonymous. I sure hope it isn’t. It may well be Scientology creating a phony threat. They have that history. However it should be prosecuted because it is terrorism.

Sfan00: So you would urge Anonymous to report any such threats to the authorities?

M.B.: Yes, Anonymous should report these things and make it clear that it condemns such actions.

WN: Anything you would like to add Mr. Bunker?

M.B.: Yes. I hate to lose any credibility by saying I love Rosemary Clooney.

source

Creative Commons Attribution 2.5

Touretzky, a research professor in artificial intelligence and computational neuroscience at Carnegie Mellon University, has been a prominent critic of the Church of Scientology since mid-1995, and has been protesting against Scientology vociferously since then; he has also run websites that publish material that Scientology wishes to keep suppressed from the public eye, such as extracts from Scientology’s formerly-confidential Operating Thetan (OT) materials. Touretzky views the actions of the Church of Scientology as being “a threat to free speech”, and has endured harassment by the Church of Scientology for his activities.

The Church of Scientology continues to suffer damage to its public reputation through continued exposure on the Internet and vocal protests by Scientology critics such as Prof. Touretzky. A recent event that focused intense attention on Scientology’s totalitarian attitude was the leak of an internal Church of Scientology propaganda video to the Internet video sharing site YouTube, in which celebrity Scientologist Tom Cruise spoke heavily in Scientology’s jargon and stated that that “we [Scientology] are the authorities” on resolving the difficulties of humanity.

Scientology terms such “SP” (Suppressive Person, an enemy of Scientology) and “KSW” (Keeping Scientology Working) were used in the video and, as Prof. Touretzky comments in the interview, these previously-unknown terms have now entered into common usage across the Internet through the ensuing discourse. The declaration of war by Anonymous followed shortly after this leak, in the form of a video posted to the Internet. A representative of the Church of Scientology told Wikinews in e-mail correspondence that the Church considers the activities of Anonymous to be illegal, and that Anonymous “will be handled and stopped”.

Wikinews asked Prof. Touretzky about the impact that the activities of Anonymous will have on Scientology, the public relations effect of the Tom Cruise video, the recent departure of individuals from the Church of Scientology’s executive management, the strategies that Anonymous will employ and Touretzky’s experiences of picketing the Church.

The interview

Wikinews (Nicholas Turnbull): How deep do you think the impact of the Anonymous protests and Internet action will be on Scientology’s cashflow?

Prof. David S. Touretzky: Anonymous will not have any effect on Scientology gross income. Their stats [statistics] are already in the basement. The only folks left are hardcore true believers who think the Intertubes are full of criminals. What Anonymous might do is increase the pressure on Hollywood celebs to distance themselves from the cult. There was a really good article yesterday about how Anonymous is morphing… changing from hackers or pranksters to a legitimate social protest movement.

WN: Yes, indeed… the movement seems to be taking a different sort of shape from just a load of pranksters to a proper, organized protest. So your basic opinion regarding the impact on Scientology’s stats is that they are already too low, and failing, for the damage to be significant?

DT: That’s my view, yes. But that’s only one kind of damage. There are several other kinds of damage that may be significant. One is to warn off Hollywood celebs from cozying up to the cult, like Kimora Lee Simmons was just caught doing. And Will Smith too. A second kind of damage has to do with Scientology’s attempts to make inroads into civilized society, specifically government programs and local schools.

WN: Presumably this would be, in part, because the celebs wouldn’t want to sully their own PR [public relations] image.

DT: Yes, the celebs have agents and PR people who will tell them in no uncertain terms to stay away from those crazy Scientologists or risk alienating their fan base. It must be difficult to be a Tom Cruise fan right now. What can you say when your idol publicly steps in dog poo and insists it’s spun gold?

WN: Quite… the leaked video was quite possibly worse than the Oprah fiasco for his reputation, I think.

DT: “Tom Cruise is batshit crazy” has entered the national lexicon, along with “SP”, “KSW”, and “We are the authorities”. Yeah, that line ["We are the authorities"] is priceless.

WN: Yes, indeed; it has now become part of popular culture and the “blogosphere” has gone crazy over it.

DT: There’s one more thing I hope Anonymous can accomplish, and that is to shift the focus from Xenu and BTs [“body thetans”, souls said to be attached to a person in Scientology’s secret “OT III” teachings] to disconnection, fair game, fraud, and barratry. Did you know that DM’s [David Miscavige, the current leader of Scientology’s] niece is appearing on Inside Edition tonight?

WN: I didn’t know that she was appearing on Inside Edition, actually. I must catch that.

DT: She has nothing to do with Chanology [the recent anti-Scientology movement that has gathered on Internet message boards], but what we’re seeing here is a “perfect storm” of entheta [material considered negative by Scientology]. It’s all coming together in a chain reaction: The Tom Cruise video, Andrew Morton’s bio, Kirstie Alley’s craziness, Kimora Lee Simmons, Jenna Miscavige, and there’s more to come!

WN: I believe the things like disconnection, fair game, the RPF [Rehabilitation Project Force, a Scientology penal system within the paramilitary Sea Org] etc. are all more captivating to the hearts and minds of the general public than Xenu… so do you think that the Church of Scientology will ever be able to recover from this blow to their reputation? In other words, will this be the “beginning of the end” of the Church seriously being able to promote themselves to the general public?

DT: I’ve learned it’s impossible to predict what will happen next with CoS [the Church of Scientology]. We try, but we always get it wrong. They have capabilities for self-destructive behavior that far exceed those of normal individuals. Now that Mike Rinder has blown, anything is possible. And he’s not the only exec out there who has a gripe with DM.

WN: Indeed. There have been many high-profile blows [departures] from upper exec [executive] strata and I wonder how many more the CoS can cope with.

DT: Yes, these folks are starting to go public. John Peeler has already done so. And who could have predicted Jenna Miscavige would turn SP? Amazing!

WN: A further question, if I may, regarding the impact on Scientology: do you think that the recent activities of Anonymous will have a profound effect on the Sea Org hierarchy and possibly make it harder for the Church of Scientology to continue maintaining their PR image to their own staff members? Could this trigger a massive series of “blows” from the Sea Org?

DT: You’re probably in a better position [as a former member] to assess the affect on Sea Org members, but my guess is that they won’t even be aware of Anonymous actions, or will write them off as crazy Internet hatemongers. I think a bigger impact will come from Jenna Miscavige [leader David Miscavige's niece].

WN: What exactly is Anonymous going to do on the 10th? Are their intentions peaceful?

DT: Oh yeah, they appear to be *very* concerned about avoiding any kind of violence or unlawful behavior. From what I can see, they understand that any kind of violence or criminality would play into CoS’ hands. It would allow CoS to portray themselves as victims and score a PR win. One anonymous person suggested that the policy towards all participants should be: “If you do anything illegal, WE will call the cops on you ourselves.”

WN: What is your opinion on the reverse: do you think the CoS will be peaceful and legal in its handling of “Anonymous”? In a recent e-mail exchange with Wikinews, a Scientology staff member said that Anonymous would be “handled and stopped” and that the actions “have been reported”. Will Scientology carry out its usual harassment, or do you think that it has learned its lesson that such abusive tactics cause more of a backlash?

DT: My best guess is that the Scientologists will employ their famous “hiding tech”. Doors locked, lights off, and PIs [private investigators] discreetly filming from a distance.

WN: I imagine the CoS will attempt their usual approach of trying to turn it into a pro-Scientology rally, as they have done at many smaller pickets, although I feel that it would fail miserably.

DT: I was at the pickets in 1997 (twice) and 1999. They tried counter-picketing. They tried harassing us and getting in our faces. Even physically harassed a woman with a seeing eye dog. But eventually they switched to hiding tech. I also did a solo picket on L. Ron Hubbard Way, and they kept trying different ways to “handle” me. I was only planning on spending an hour there, but I was having so much fun I didn’t quit ‘till it got too dark to see. I thought about running out to buy a flashlight, but decided to call it a day. My feet were sore!

WN: [laughs] So it sounds like you had quite a day of it, Dave.

DT: Yes, I have fond memories of that day. For me, it was like going to Disneyland and seeing Mickey Mouse.

WN: What have been your most effective tactics against the CoS, then, Dave, in terms of impact and education of others?

DT: The web sites are probably the most effective, but doing radio and TV appearances has also been pretty helpful. I’ve done over 20 radio interviews and 3 national TV appearances, two of which were on Keith Olbermann’s show. I was gonna say: there’s a reason Scientology felt it necessary to counterpicket us in Clearwater.

WN: Presumably because of the public exposure?

DT: [It] has nothing to do with the public. It’s because they don’t want to appear powerless in front of their members. It was a face-saving gesture. But it didn’t work out the way they’d hope. The public will drive by a picket, honk their horn, and forget about it by time they turn the corner. But the members see their cult being publicly mocked by a bunch of SPs, that makes a deep impression. Especially when there are signs about Lisa McPherson’s death, or t-shirts containing the text of OT III.

WN: Indeed, as their PTS/SP [Potential Trouble Source/Suppressive Person] handling tech [technology] needs to be seen to be “working” at least to Scientologists.

DT: So they sent out their members to counter-picket us as a way to make them feel better, but it didn’t work. The members behaved badly, and at some level they must have known they were being jerks. So forget about confronting suppression. The new tech is “lock doors, douse lights, and whine as loudly as you can!” My suggested picket sign for large Orgs: “Mike Rinder Blew. You Can Too!”. Rinder appeared in a tuxedo at past IAS [International Association of Scientologists] events. They know who he is.

WN: I would have thought that [Scientologists hiding from critics’ protests] to be “non-confront” [refusing to face up to something] in the Scientologists’ own doctrine; although they would see it, I suppose, as “cutting entheta comm” [refusing to engage in negative communication].

DT: Yeah, I don’t know how they explained the strategy switch to their members, but your suggestion sounds right to me.

WN: In your experience in pickets, has the “Why are you here? Ok, right. So why are you really here? Hehehe, no… why are you *really* here?” bullbaiting [of protesters] been killed off?

DT: My last picket was in 1999. I imagine, with so many sites being picketed this time, we’ll see a variety of strategies. But bullbaiting picketers was never very successful. For the 1998 solo picket my sign had two sides. One side said “Doubt is not a crime. Freedom is not a stat.” The other side said “RTC: who crashed gross income?” That one drove them ape. I didn’t fully appreciate why that sign would upset them so much, until some ex-member explained it to me: it was a call for a witch-hunt.

WN: I think that kind of stratagem is probably going to be the most effective, because the Scientologists themselves can identify with such things; perhaps it may well be that it touches enough of a raw nerve in their own world, as it were, to give them pause for thinking. Is Scientology losing it grip on maintaining its “Wizard of Oz” world whereby its staff consider the tech to be infallible and the orgs to be clearing the planet?

DT: Yes, the members must be having huge doubts by now. But there remains a hardcore of followers who will not look at critical materials. I’d put them in two categories. First are the old timers who never got the whole Intertubes thing [the Internet]. The second class is younger folk who are just losers. Not bright or intellectually curious. Maybe ex-addicts who ended up joining staff. They’re not going to go surfing the web for entheta, any more than Tom Cruise would.

WN: Quite… there were very few “Founding Scientologists” in my day, largely because the purge in the 1980s had cleared most of the remaining ones out, and the remainder had left in disgust following “hard ethics” [severe disciplinary procedures].

DT: Yeah, and DM has done his best to alienate whoever was left. […] DM has been a disaster for Scientology.

WN: Well, Dave, thank you so much for answering my questions, you’ve given an interesting perspective on all this.

DT: My pleasure, Nicholas.

WN: In closing: how long do you think Scientology has got?

DT: I think they’re looking at a major contraction in the next 2 years. But they’ may linger on, a mere shadow of their former ominous selves, for decades.

WN: Thank you so much, again. You’ve been wonderful, and it has been a pleasure talking with you.

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Hill wrote an open letter addressed to Karin Pouw, Public Affairs Director of the Church of Scientology International, in response to a 15-page statement issued by Pouw on January 14 which was highly critical of Andrew Morton’s new book on prominent Scientologist Tom Cruise, Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography. Hill’s letter was posted to the Internet newsgroup alt.religion.scientology on January 25, and has since been widely posted on other Internet message boards.

In Pouw’s statement on Morton’s book, she called it a “bigoted defamatory assault replete with lies”. In her letter to Pouw, Hill responded “I am absolutely shocked at how vehemently you insist upon not only denying the truths that have been stated about the church in that biography, but then take it a step further and tell outright lies.” Specifically, Hill rebuked the Church of Scientology’s denial of a practice called “disconnection”, where members are instructed to sever all ties with friends and family who are critical of Scientology and deemed a “Suppressive Person”, or SP.

Hill wrote that it was this particular policy which broke up her family when she was 16, going on to detail how the Church of Scientology restricted her communications with her parents: “Not only was I not allowed to speak to them, I was not allowed to answer a phone for well over a year, in case it was them calling me.”

When contacted for a comment on Hill’s letter, Karin Pouw told the Agence France-Presse: “The church stands by its statement of 14 January. The church does not respond to newsgroup postings.” Hill explained her motivation for writing the letter to the Agence France-Presse: “My intention is to put it on a public forum so they are pressured into changing their ways — even if it is just to cover for themselves.”

In a broadcast of the television program Inside Edition which aired Tuesday, Hill spoke with reporter Les Trent about Scientology’s disconnection policy. Hill described a pregnant friend whose parents are still members of the Church of Scientology; but will not speak with her: “She lives in L.A. – her parents live right around the hill from her, you know she tried to call them when she was having her first child, and they were like: ‘No, sorry, I can’t speak to you.’” The Church of Scientology told Inside Edition that the allegation made by Hill is “the opposite of what the church believes and practices.” Hill last spoke to her uncle David Miscavige four years ago, around the same time that she viewed a promotional video featuring Tom Cruise, at an awards ceremony. This video was recently leaked to the Internet and appeared on the video sharing site YouTube. YouTube took the video down due to a legal complaint from the Church of Scientology, but though the website Gawker.com received a similar legal complaint, Gawker has stated that the video is newsworthy and will not be removed.

Prominent free speech activist and critic of Scientology David S. Touretzky commented on these recent developments, in an interview Wednesday with Wikinews reporter Nicholas Turnbull: “She has nothing to do with Chanology [the recent anti-Scientology movement that has gathered on Internet message boards], but what we’re seeing here is a “perfect storm” of entheta [material considered negative by Scientology]. It’s all coming together in a chain reaction: The Tom Cruise video, Andrew Morton’s bio, Kirstie Alley’s craziness, Kimora Lee Simmons, Jenna Miscavige, and there’s more to come!” Another critic of Scientology, Mark Bunker of the website XenuTV.com, compared the recent revelations to troubles in Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s family: “Just as L. Ron Hubbard’s family was rocked with turmoil, so it seems is Miscavige’s.” Bunker commented on the Inside Edition piece: “This is a jaw-dropping TV segment — although Inside Edition clearly didn’t understand just how important a story they had.”

In an interview published Wednesday in the New York Post, Hill stated that she has been harassed by the Church of Scientology for speaking out against the organization: “The church has contacted several of my friends, telling them that I am smearing the church and I am going to be declared a suppressive person and asking my friends if they would disconnect from me and, in at least one case, insisting that they do.” The New York Post attempted to contact Karin Pouw for a comment, but she did not respond in time for their publication.

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